Folks,
The lessons this week, from Isaiah, I Corinthians and Mark's gospel, have one common theme that jumped out at me - the idea of God as "father". We are not surprised to hear it from Jesus speaking in the gospel lesson for he is considered there :the Son of God", and in like manner in the epistle but with a bigger tent Paul calls God "our Father". But I was surprised that Isaiah in this poetical passage ALSO calls God "our father" Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. A little research revealed that God is called "father" in several places in the Old Testament, but none more so that in Isaiah and in particular in the later chapters (the so-called Trito-Isaiah of which this Sunday's lesson is a part). The image of loving parents, mothers and fathers, hosting the family at a feast are a delight at Thanksgiving and we hope all will pause this weekend and give thanks safely, especially inasmuch as it appears Covid prevention is getting much closer. Meanwhile, a friend shared a notion similar to Thanksgiving Day which appeared in the records of a "General Court" held at Boston in the then called for affirmation of "liberties Civil and Ecclesiastical" and a day of fasting and prayer on Nov 21, 1678, and all in a spirit of humility, a "duty of humiliation". See more at https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.03301000 As we all know, George Washington changed this a little to a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer". Our friend is amazed how the holiday has moved from fasting and prayer to feasting and imbibition over the past 342 years. These two thoughts seem very related as we approach what could be the worst super-spreader set of events yet in this country. Perhaps for safety's sake we should stay home and fast? But as often is the case, there appears to be a better "via media" (middle way). In our case, we will be visiting with friends at some of the Deanery (and beyond) parishes this weekend via their online (especially Zoom) events and will be having Thanksgiving Dinner while Zooming with family and friends for a planned two hours (it might go even longer!) May that spirit of reasonable humility prevail in all as all enjoy the feast of life that God our Mother and Father has prepared for us! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts Events As mentioned above, we will be partaking of some of the many events mentioned in our Deanery calendar and parish websites (see previous emails) while travelling for work this weekend (though we get to stay home for our Zoom Turkey Day feast). Because of the travel, we will have to curtail the events section, but we would like to leave you with a bit of (Roman) Catholic humour via our friend Lynne, followed by a Prayer via our friend Marnie: A Presbyterian died and went to Heaven. When he arrived, St. Peter offered to give him a personal tour. So they went around looking at everything and then came to a wall where it sounded like a big party going on on the other side. He asked St. Peter, "What is happening on the other side of this wall?" St. Peter replied, "Oh, those are the Catholics. They think they're the only ones here!" from Nativity Anglican Church, Niagara Diocese, Canada https://worshipwithnativity.org/a-prayer-for-putting-on-a-mask/ Creator, as I prepare to go into the world, help me to see the sacrament in the wearing of this cloth – let it be “an outward sign of an inward grace” – a tangible and visible way of living love for my neighbours, as I love myself. Christ, since my lips will be covered, uncover my heart, that people would see my smile in the crinkles around my eyes. Since my voice may be muffled, help me to speak clearly, not only with my words, but with my actions. Holy Spirit, as the elastic touches my ears, remind me to listen carefully – and full of care – to all those I meet. May this simple piece of cloth be shield and banner, and each breath that it holds, be filled with your love. In your Name and in that love, I pray. May it be so. May it be so.
0 Comments
Folks,
We hope most of you know this Sunday, the last one in the Pentecost season, is sometimes referred to as the "Feast of Christ the King" Sunday. This is a relatively "new" (closing in on 100 years) entry in our liturgical calendars (of the Episcopal, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, and probably some others). The origin of this celebration is meant to remind us that God in Christ is lord of all (and thus a good reminder of the need for reasonable humility in our lives) as well as a looking forward to coming of the heavenly Kingdom. Therefore it makes sense to me that the lesson appointed from Ezekiel, presages the (lesser) kingship of David in Israel, and the gospel lesson from Matthew has Jesus depicting the Kingdom to come, while Paul's epistle tells us of "the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ" Note that this also underscores the importance of how leaders are chosen in the secular realm, with some concern just now for an orderly transition in US elections and in many other countries. To me, all of this reminds me of the importance of how we choose our leader. A very close friend thru university days and employment many years ago told me of the importance when seeking employment of "finding a good boss" (one who would consider the importance of the employees as well the enterprise), a rule I have tried to follow. But in no arena is this more important than the spiritual, where the leader is a King wants his followers, as stated in the gospel passage, to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, visit the sick and those in prison - and adds that when we have done so it will be as if we have done it to this King - and great will be our reward. So next time you come into the parish hall at St Matts (and in many other parishes) stop a moment and notice the figure of Christ the King mounted on the wall - Jesus dressed as a king and wearing a crown, not nailed to the cross but alive with arms outstretched to reach all! Our love to all! Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Covid reminder: We are continuing with restrictions, including outdoor Morning Prayer at 9:30am, until further notice from the diocesan office - please remember your mask and observe social distancing. Events As always, we encourage folks to keep up with Deanery events by going to https://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/74061144/month/2020-10-01/2020-11-01 as well as parish events as listed on the "Our Churches" under the "Our Deanery" tab at www.sloepiscopalians.org We also want to make special mention of our neighbouring parish, St James Church in Paso Robles, which this Sunday will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King with an outdoor Holy Eucharist service at 10:30am along with online worship at 9am and Zoom coffee hour at 10am (and note that as with pizza, they "deliver", and if let the know of your desire to receive the elements at home, they will bring them - just call at 805.238.0819. St James also has a Zoom Bible Study on Thursdays at 10am and will have a special Zoom Thanksgiving Service Wed Nov 25 at 6pm. Note that this year St James commends the Toy Drive for the Toy Bank with a collection point at Cider Creek Bakery parking lot on Dec 5. St James folks work closely with folks from St Lukes in Atascadero and remind us that St Lukes will be having a "Christmas Bazaar" on Dec 4 and 5 beginning at 9am both days at the church, 5318 Palms Dr, Atascadero. St Lukes in Atascadero has a full slate of weekly Zoom services, including Morning Prayer Sun 9am, Evening Prayer at 5pm Tues and Thurs, and Bible Study Wed at 10am. Contact pastor merrittgreenwood@gmail.com for details. St Peters Church in Morro Bay currently calls its online video Sunday services The Missive. They tell us that St. Peter’s offers a video version of The Sunday Missive and says: "We will be back again at this coming Sunday, November 22. Please join us via: https://www.facebook.com/StPetersMorroBay The service will be posted by 11 A.M. on Sunday. All of the Live Missives remain available for viewing (or re-viewing) on our facebook page, and for reading on our website: stpetersmorrobay.org. You should not need a facebook account to watch the service, but you might want to have the Missive itself open on your computer, in order to pray and sing along. St Peters Java Chat (10:30 Thurs weather permitting) is on their outdoor patio. Note that Bp Lucinda virtually "visited" St Peters last Sun, giving the homily at the at last week's Missive. She will make such visit to St Marks in King City and St Lukes in Jolon via Zoom this Sun at 11am - go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4777200535 St Barnabas Church in Arroyo Grande continues this Sun with TWO in person services, at 8am and 11:30am and an online service at 10am. St Barnabas will also be having Adult Ed on the Poetry of Advent beginning Thurs Dec 3 at 7pm and going for 3 weeks - go to https://saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=debb1b33eb11372203a975524&id=74c4a3450a&e=acee3ced34 St Barnabas will have a Zoom holiday socials at 10am Thanksgiving Day go to https://saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=debb1b33eb11372203a975524&id=98fd85dc3b&e=acee3ced34 To join the Zoom call from your phone or landline call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 820 1047 8998# and when prompted for a password put in 524141#, and then hit # a second time. Besides regular services and Hollister Institute (see the Calendar above) St Benedicts Church in Los Osos has Earthcare (environmental concerns) meetings via Zoom on the 1st and 3rd Wed each month at 2:30pm - go to https://us02web.zoom.us/s/7977776046?pwd=VUFZSXY3UVpNVitJaDl2VmhPS3E2UT09 and passcode is 93402 St Bens will have Thanksgiving Day Service at 10am at the above Zoom link. Beyond the Deanery We have already mentioned services at St Marks and St Lukes but also want to mention that Good Shepherd Church, also in the Monterey Deanery, tells us of their busy holiday (Advent and Christmas) events - details at https://goodshepherdcorral.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7cbc9cee2ea785c71ef0cbb3c&id=4b8f132b90&e=cc1155f723 St Pauls Cathedral in San Diego tells us this at 5pm of: "Evensong for the feast of Christ the King this Sunday is sung by the Cathedral Schola in a broadcast from 2017. If you love music for double choirs, this is a great service to stream. The Introit and Anthem "Hail Gladdening Light" (Charles Wood) and "O Clap Your Hands" (Orlando Gibbons)are for double choir. The evening canticles are from the Second Service (for five voices) by William Byrd. Please join us for this festive Evensong, the last before our seasonal offerings begin the following week with the Advent Procession. Details/other events at stpaulcathedral.org where you will see they are having a play reading of "Auntie Mame", a real favourite of mine, a great Adult forum, and many other online events. In San Francisco Grace cathedral, which has an "Artist in Residence" program tells us of their Artist in Residence retrospective, where Grace Cathedral takes the opportunity to reflect on the artists and the work they have created over the past eight years and give thanks for how their passion and creativity inspires us all. Tony(!) and I have enjoyed many! for full info on this and many other online events go to www.gracecathedral.org And a Bit of Church Humour - Enjoy! Our friend Bill Morley (by way of Padre Sid at St Peters Church in Morro Bay) tells us of this note he saw: "YOU COME FROM DUST, AND TO DUST YOU WILL RETURN. THAT'S WHY I DON'T DUST. IT COULD BE SOMEONE I KNOW." Folks,
The lessons for this Sunday include from the book of Judges as well the gospel lesson of the wealthy man and his talents and a wonderful lesson from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians ending with "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." But the Old Testament lesson from Judges 4 including mention of Deborah especially caught my attention. At the time the passage refers to, Deborah was judging Israel, the only female "judge" in the Bible. The following passage (in Judges 5) is sometimes called "The Song of Deborah" and may be the earliest sample of Hebrew poetry, but it basically recounts the story of chapter 4, with some embellishment. In the story Deborah tells a man, Barak, that God commands him to lead an attach against enemies and once the battle is won, she and Barak celebrate with a victory hymn (chapter 5) but since he insists that she go into battle with him, she declares that the victory will be that of a woman. (The role of women is further underscored by Jael, who kills the enemy commander using a tent-peg which was to-hand.) These days we are hearing evermore of the "greater" roles women are playing in society, so it seems appropriate to study them a these days, and particularly because there seems to me to be a lesson for all of us in them: While Deborah should help us remember that we can do more than what seems to be our assigned station in life (leading the Hebrews at the time) Jael uses her quick wit to seal the victory - indeed in chapter 5 it says 24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. 25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. 26 Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple." The last line of the passage (Chapter 5 verse 31) reads, "Then the land had peace forty years." The meditation seems clear for all of us (though we hope to avoid military action) that we can do more for good than we might let ourselves (and others) think, and resonates well with Paul's admonition to "build up each other" even as Deborah builds up both herself and Barak. As important, that we need to look inside ourselves for the thoughtless prejudices that hinder our efforts and those of the people around us - whether of gender, race or other pigeonholes that do not pertain. May we all build each other up, using our wit and judgment, to bring about a peace that lasts and longer even than forty years! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matts! Events St James Church in Paso Robles tells us they are having their usual online events and on Sun Nov 22 they will be having outdoor Eucharist at 10:30am. St James folks work closely with folks from St Lukes in Atascadero and remind us that St Lukes will be having a "Christmas Bazaaer" on Dec 4 and 5 beginning at 9am both days at the church, 5318 Palms Dr, Atascadero. St Lukes Church will also be having their usual online events, and folks there have been discussing racial justice issues with the help of the book "Me and White Supremacy" by Layla F Saad meeting after Tues Evening Prayer. St Lukes also tells us that their in person events will be available as well online via Zoom, but because of logistics, they will be having a Eucharist service only once a month. Both St James and St Lukes participate in supporting feeding and housing those in need, with organisations such as ECHO and Loaves and Fishes and because of the pandemic this year the "Mountain of Food" will be in the form of monies raised to support the effort - see their websites. For details on these and most of the deanery parishes events please see www.sloepiscopalians.org and the calendar and "Our Churches" pages there. St Benedicts Church in Los Osos reminds us that besides their many worship services, including tomorrow's outdoor service at 9:30am, and their Hollister Institute events (see the Calendar) they have Earthcare (environmental concerns) events on 1st and 3rd Weds at 3pm. Also TOMORROW at 3pm they will have an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at 3pm. St Barnabas Church in Arroyo Grande is having a Fall Book Study on Ibram Kendi’s book “How to Be an Anti-Racist.” the final session being on Thurs Nov 19 from 7-8pm. St Barnabas also tells us that they will continue with the online "virtual" services even as their in-person events may vary. St Barnabas also will the having a series of online Holiday Zoom Socials, including on Thurs Nov 26 at 10am, with a bit of prayer and lots of chatting - a real service during the pandemic when loneliness may come. Use your browser to go to (and see the parish website for full info): [saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com] To join the Zoom call from your phone or landline call 1-669-900-6833. When prompted put in the meeting id of 820 1047 8998# and when prompted for a password put in 524141#, and then hit # a second time. St Peters Church in Morro Bay, which had to cancel their in-person outdoor service last week, tells us that it will be ON at noon tomorrow. St Matthews Church in San Ardo will be having is usual Morning Prayer in the courtyard and all are welcome. In addition to their regular events at Good Shepherd Church in Salinas (see their website), they tell us they are publishing a CD of their music: https://goodshepherdcorral.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7cbc9cee2ea785c71ef0cbb3c&id=a1e573c685&e=cc1155f723 Further afield we note that Grace Cathedral in SF will be having a Music at Grace: Divine Hymns, with their choir performing classically favorite hymns online at 4pm TOMORROW - for info and to watch go to bbox.blackbaudhosting.com From the Diocese As you may have read, because of work we were unable to attend the online diocesan convention, but are happy to be able to include this report (and for more complete coverage, go to www.realepiscopal.com): Folks,
Because of work on a broken sewer line that went until 6am this morning plus driving back to the ranch, I only had time for the following "meditation" part of the News, but I again recommend the many online church and community events including especially those found at www.sloepiscopalians.org and the calendar page and parish pages listed there with their own calendars. Lessons this Sunday are Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78:1-7 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 and we encourage all to read them for themselves. The meditation: Friends, It is surprising sometimes how things come together in time, making something much greater than any of those things. Today for me those things include a Yale online course on hermeneutics, English 300, The Theory of Literature, a regular Zoom event hosted most Friday nights by our sister Brandy, the discussions of the role social media are playing in our lives, the recent elections here in the USA, and of course the lessons appointed for this Sunday, including the Old Testament history of Joshua putting clearer form to the "nation" of Israel. And they were all brought together while we were waiting for two days thru 11pm Friday for the completion of a repair to a sewer mainline (the repair crew were real heroes to us!) which gave us the time to listen to the Yale lectures. The lectures ask by what means people can understand each other via their writing (Literature) but it is an easy leap to asking now they can each other at all. Some of the philosphical considerations of the course really starting make sense to me in that broader context, as I was considering the 2020 elections, and aware of the polarising tendency of social media. A key suggestion by thinkers like Gadamer, Iser, Hirsch and Jauss is that there might need to be some basic form of agreement for such understanding of meaning to occur, a sort of "reception" in a "horizon of expectation", and while there are many different dynamics afoot in talking to someone than there are interacting with text, to some useful extent they seem comparable. The scriptural text from the Book of Joshua refers to God's covenant (agreement) with the people of Israel. Our Zoom event caused us to ask how does Zoom differ from other "social media", since it is social and a media form. The key answer might be the direct interaction possible, where a "meeting of minds" might occur (I have noticed in myself a clear preference for Zoom prayer events rather "live-streamed" church services, something my sister Brandy says she (and even the folks at Grace Cathedral in San Francsico) notice as well. This "meeting of minds" might have been what Joshua was up to when he worked to form a nation of the Jewish tribe. As well it is contra the primary mechanism of social media which tends to display posters to attract who are already like-minded, leading to the polarisation of our society which many of you know is a concern of mine. And hence our recent elections, in which we saw a great deal of tweeting and other social-media used for name-calling, and very little grace (again another of my favourite concepts, much needed in human interaction), let alone a "meeting of the minds". Finding that basis of agreement, that consensus, can lead us to a real understanding of each other. May we all together seek to build such a nation with God's grace! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) And for all of us at St Matts (where our morning services will be at 9:30am as usual) |
WILLIAM BARTOSH
st. matthews newsWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2024
Categories |