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Folks,
The lessons appointed for this Sunday include (as they usually do) some real jewels. In the OT we hear of the rebellion of Absalom's rebellion against his father King David and how he died, first with his head in the "crotch" of an oak limb (sounds grisly) - the entire story making one wonder about David's tears for his son (one can recall the problems of royal "succession"). The story says that Absalom was even better-looking than David - could this have been a case of OT jealousy? Did the King actually want to be rid of his rival and son? Families area starting place for the expression of God's love of course, but are also have their own problems - a good reminder to seek as well the broader family in Community. In the gospel lesson Jesus tell the crowd that he is "the bread of life", reminiscent of the manna that fed the Jews in the dessert. But the lesson includes this: "And they shall be taught by God", an apparent quote from some scripture. I love this line, yet authorities are not sure from where it came - perhaps from Isaiah 54:13 "“And they will all be taught by God.” And in the lesson from the letter to the church in Ephesus Paul says "so that your words may give grace to those who hear" - what a wonderful realisation that we can all be instruments of God's message of love, thus participating in God's primary way of working with us mortals on earth: the "means of grace", May we all embody God's love and take up his work by the means of grace! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) And for all of us at St Matthew Parish in San Ardo! Events This Sunday we will have Morning Prayer at 10am at St Matthew Parish at 10am led by my partner Tony(!), as will our fellow mission St Luke Parish in Jolon, led by our friend Roy Morris. Other Events Our neighbouring parish, St James Church in Paso RObles, will be having theri Mid-Year Meeting along with potluck on Sun Aug 18 after the 10am service. And don't forget St James has weekly Bible Studies via Zoom, this Sunday looking at the lessons we discussed above. The Zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/97608924151?pwd=SVJscVUzaEU4c25GcEtKZlQvN0V1dz09#success as well as Wed evening services at 7pm. St James is also announcing their coming Oktoberfest, this year to take place on Oct 5 starting at 4:30pm at the church. The event is a benefit for St James, with live music, German Food and beer and wine. St James hosts an Adult Day Care Center in the old rectory run by CAPSLO and that organisation is sponsoring a Retreat for Caregivers - for full info go to bit.lv.slo.retreat or call 805.239.5679. And St James tells us that the Wine Country Players will present Cinderella, a musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein Aug 16-Sep 1 at the Park Ballroom, 1232 Park St, in Paso Robles. As mentioned previously, St Barnabas Parish in Arroyo Grande reminds us that Fr Rob Keim will be singing with the Resonance group at concert TODAY (Aug 10) at Mission Sam :ios Obispo and Tomorrow at Trinity Lutheran in Paso Robles - for full info go to https://www.my805tix.com/e/resonance-presents-life-and-breath-1 aEnter the Promo Code: LIFEANDBREATH to get $10 off General ($20) and $5 off Student ($10) tickets, select "singer" on the "how did you hear about this event?" question, and type "Craig Updegrove" (or someone else you know who is in Resonance) into the box. And don't forget St Barbabas has Centering Prayer on Fridays at 4pm. Zoom link is https://saintbarnabas-ag.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=debb1b33eb11372203a975524&id=d35b04fedf&e=acee3ced34 The Community of Divine Love monastic group also has Centering Prayer on TUesdays and TODAY a "Silent Saturday 9-11am with Sister Greta. The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6796564255
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