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Folks,
This Sunday the lessons appointed seem somewhat disjointed, with the first a lesson from Isaiah (the famous one beginning "in the year that King Uzziah died" a depiction of the writer being called, in a literally unbelievable setting loaded with "sturm und drang", to speak for the Lord, the second from Romans a lesson depicting the familial relationship we have with the "Godhead" (the Holy Trinity) and a gospel lesson from John (a repeat from recent days) including that key line in all the scriptures: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." as the sentence in the Lectionary is thought so key as to be separated out from the rest of the chapter in the text. While great lessons, I hope we can focus today on the New Testament lesson, since today, the first after Pentecost, has mention of our being "joint heirs with Christ" and my guess is while the "church fathers" (it was a male-dominated group that set the "canon" of scripture) called it TRINITY Sunday. I emphasise the word because to me when younger the notion of the Holy Trinity seemed of lessor import compared to the omniscient and omnipresent God. Yet in the context of this lesson that notion rings true, and is a useful reminder of the "three persons" (or "verticals" as the business world might call them) we use when trying to depict God: the Father, the notion of that all-powerful but seemingly unreachable Being, the Son Jesus Christ our Brother, and the Holy Spirit - as mentioned last week the Comforter. Taken together the lessons present a truly "Holy Family" of which are forever a part. May we all bask in the comfort of the Spirit and "worship" (another odd word) the Almighty as we recognise that Trinity is actually a multitude, including each of us! Our love to all, Bart (and Tony!) and for all of us at St Matthew Events Tomorrow St Matthew will meet at 10am for Morning Prayer and at the same time our fellow missions St Luke Church in Jolon and St Mark Church in King City will be meeting. All are welcome to all three! Other Events As we are hoping this week will have been the last big work week in preparation for Fire Season, we have time for only this reiteration of a special event, and it is one in the spirit of family: the Brotherhood of St Andrew's Retreat - and NOTE that while the focus is on Men's Ministry, women are INVITED: Province VIII of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is having a retreat at Barnabas's on Saturday 1 June, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The retreat will combine prayer and study. We will explore: What is men's ministry in a non-binary world? There will be ample time for prayer, reflection, and the exchange of ideas. There will also be time for socializing. Both men and women are cordially invited to attend. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is one of the oldest auxiliary bodies associated with the Episcopal Church. At the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt, it was chartered by Congress! Here is some recommended reading: The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality, Masculine Spirituality, James B. Nelson A Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church, Caroline J. Addington Hall Please contact Eric Fisher at 805-704-0238 or [email protected] for more details.
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