Email, November 8, 2015 – St. Peter's Episcopal

Last Sunday (All Saints, Year B November 1, 2015)

November 6 – 7:30am, ECM at Horne’s

November 8 – 10:00am, Godly Play

November 8 – 10:00am, "Weaving God’s Promises"

November 8 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II, All Saints

November 11 – 10:00am -12:00pm, Ecumenical Bible Study

November 11 – 5:30pm- St. Peter’s Bookgroup reading "Being Mortal"

Coming up

November 15-22 Samaritan’s Purse Collection

November 15, Last Sunday- UTO donation (check)

November 15, Last Sunday- Village Harvest donation

November 18, Last day to submit Christmas memories to Catherine

November 22, Last Sunday- Thanksgiving Contribution for ECM

Calendar

This Sunday at St. Peter’s – Servers, Readings

"Let Us Beat Swords into
Plowshares" "Tragedy of War"-Michael LaPalme

Veterans’ Day, November 11

From a Litany for Veterans by Robb McCoy-"God of love, peace and justice, it is your will for the world that we may live together in peace. You have promised through the prophet Isaiah that one day the swords will be beaten into plow shares. Yet we live in a broken world, and there are times that war seems inevitable. Let us recognize with humility and sadness the tragic loss of life that comes in war. Even so, as we gather here free from persecution, we may give thanks for those that have served with courage and honor. " Here is an English Veterans’ Service.

All gave some, Some gave all.

While the US has "Veterans’ Day" celebrating and honoring all veterans who have served, Europe and Canada has "Remembrance Day" about the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I; their brilliant red color became a symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

Mark Knopfler wrote "Remembrance Day" about this day. The song and illustrated slideshow are here .

From "Remembrance Day"

"Time has slipped away
The Summer sky to Autumn yields
A haze of smoke across the fields
Let’s sup and fight another round
And walk the stubbled ground

"When November brings
The poppies on Remembrance Day
When the vicar comes to say
May God bless everyone
Lest we forget our sons

"We will remember them
Remember them
Remember them"

St. Peter’s Bookgroup begins Nov. 11, 5:30pm Reading "Being Mortal"

Sometimes a book is so informative and so well written that it needs to be shared. Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande, is such a book. You can find it at Amazon, new and used from $9.50 to $15.60. We will read the first two chapters on Wed., Nov. 11 and then continue through the book on Wednesdays ending the second week in December.

This book provides vital information about how to make decisions about issues that will have a major impact on how we spend our last years on earth. For many reasons, we have come to think of the last years of our lives as a medical problem. Gawande, a physician, writes eloquently about the fact that not only do we need medical help in our final years, but we also need, as Oliver Sacks puts it, “a life with meaning, a life as rich and full as possible under the circumstances.”

Growing old is not negotiable, how we grow old is

“Being mortal is about the struggle to cope with the constraints of our biology, with the limits set by genes and cells and flesh and bone.
As modern doctors we think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well-being. And well-being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive.
“How we seek to spend our time may depend on how much time we perceive ourselves to have.”
“Human beings need loyalty. It does not necessarily produce happiness, and can even be painful, but we all require devotion to something more than ourselves for our lives to be endurable. Without it, we have only our desires to guide us, and they are fleeting, capricious, and insatiable. They provide, ultimately, only torment.”
“It is not death that the very old tell me they fear. It is what happens short of death—losing their hearing, their memory, their best friends, their way of life. As Felix put it to me, “Old age is a continuous series of losses.” Philip Roth put it more bitterly in his novel Everyman: “Old age is not a battle. Old age is a massacre.”
“Courage is strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped. Wisdom is prudent strength.”
“The only way death is not meaningless is to see yourself as part of something greater: a family, a community, a society. If you don’t, mortality is only a horror. But if you do, it is not.

Beginning on Wednesday, November 11th, from 5:30 to 6:30PM, those interested in this topic and in reading the book will gather to discuss the first two chapters of the book, “The Independent Self” and “Things Fall Apart.” This book group will last through the second Wednesday in December.

Did you know you can follow your box ? Looking up information about each country where your shoeboxes are delivered is a great way to teach kids geography.
Did you know you can read individual stories on the impact of a single shoe box ?
Did you know you can order preprinted shoeboxes?
Did you know you can download labels for your shoeboxes?

Collection at St. Peter’s, November 15 and 22

This is one of the oldest women’s ministries in the church and the one that has possibly had the greatest impact over 125 years.

We will hand out the Blue Boxes on Nov. 8 for collection on Nov. 15. You can put your funds in the blue boxes or write a check to St Peter’s with "UTO in the memo line. Make it a priority!

One act of prayerful, tangible thanksgiving at a time has a wider impact that you can possible imagine:

Did you know you 2015 United Thank Offering of The Episcopal Church awarded 55 grants for a total of $1,558,006.85 for the mission and ministry? Check out the Grants booklet (PDF)
Have you heard about the variety of their projects ? – an elevator for a wellness facility in NC, funds for an English immersion project in Tanzania, career readiness training in Haiti funds to renovate a church kitchen for Outreach in Va Here is the moving story of the effect of a grant to St. Paul’s Senior Center in New Orleans

Check out our UTO 2015 page

Please contribute boxed stuffing, canned corn, green beans or cranberry sauce to the Nov. Village Harvest by Nov. 15

The Village Harvest is 1 year old in November! It has provided these benefits:

A. Food for those who are being challenged economically.
B. Enriching those at St. Peter’s who help with the distribution.
C. Providing a role for the church in the community. People who are not members are coming here.

Over the first 11 periods through October, 2015, we served 859 people with 5,235 pounds of fresh produce with an average of 6.2 pounds of produce per person. Monthly, the parish has contributed other non-perishable products, such as chicken broth, beans, rice, spaghetti and sauce, paper product, tuna, peanut butter, etc. The list has grown from 46 people (Nov. 2014) to 95 people (Oct., 2015).

Help us celebrate our one year anniversary by contributing boxed stuffing, canned corn, green beans or cranberry sauce to the Nov. Village Harvest by Nov. 15 . Alternatively, you can always make a monetary donation with "Village Harvest" in the memo line.

Help us fill the December newsletter with Christmas memories and traditions- by Nov. 18

Advent Study- "Songs in Waiting" begins Sunday, Nov 22, 2015, 10am

Songs in Waiting weaves together the perspectives of the four Gospel writers with insights from artists, prayers, and hymns from around the world. It provides a glimpse through many centuries and cultures of God’s coming among us.

This Advent study will help you go deeper into the Christmas story.

Paul-Gordan Chandler wrote this book while spending 10 years as Rector of the Episcopal St. John’s Church/Maadi in Cairo, part of the Episcopal Diocese of Egypt and North Africa. He brings the knowledge of several cultures to bear on this book.

Updated price at Amazon

However, there are used books for as little as $4.00 including postage also at Amazon marketplace. There are other comparison sites for used copies – Books Price Book Finder

Schedule:

November 22 —The Magnificat or Song of Mary

November 29 —The Benedictus or Song of Zecchariah

December 6 —The Gloria or Songs of the Angels to the Shepherd

December 13 —The Nunc Dimititis or Song of Simeon

Kitchen Renovation update

The kitchen renovation is the result of St. Peter’s $15,000 UTO Grant in 2015. Money is only one resource – Time and talent are also what is part of stewardship.

These ladies have been responsible for every food initiative in the last 10 years – The Village Dinner 2005, The Royal Caterers 2008, Village Harvest 2014 – and have continued to put their time and talent in the kitchen. These efforts have in common a community focus which is the basis of the grant. We might worship in the Church but you and I know we gather in the kitchen helping others.

From Eunice: "We had a successful day of shopping today. Picked out our granite and our cabinet color. The cabinet door in this pic was not our chosen color but a close match that the granite store had for us to help in our selection process. "

Two people we know well, Bishop Susan Goff and our parishioner Susan Tilt will be combining their art talents for the Second Friday Art walk in Colonial Beach, Nov. 13, 6pm-9pm at the JarrettThor Fine Arts Gallery .The gallery is located at 100 Taylor St # 101, Colonial Beach, VA. The exhibit will run through December, 2015

"Tocayas" is a noun meaning friends and artists with the same name. They have been friends since Susan Tilt was a member of St. Christopher’s, Springfield, where Bishop Goff served as rector for 15 years. Susan is a textile artist, created a stole for Catherine and the fabric we had at Pentecost this year.

Check out the article on the exhibit

Bishop Goff: Pope Francis embodies vulnerability

This article appeared Oct. 28 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and reflects on a recent meeting with Pope Francis in Rome and 10 Episcopal bishops .

She speaks of the gracious welcome he provided. "This pope made himself vulnerable in welcoming, acknowledging and honoring those whom the Roman Catholic Church has long refused to acknowledge…Francis is first in the Roman Catholic Church — you can’t get any more “first” than that — but he chooses the way of humility and vulnerability…Out of the vulnerability he embraces, Pope Francis leads with courage, clarity and strength. Vulnerability does not make him weak; it does not diminish him in any way. Instead, his embodiment of vulnerability connects him deeply with the Lord in whose way he strives to walk and with the people the Lord loves. Those deep, authentic connections make him powerful. Some would say they make him dangerous."

Michael Curry’s Vision for the Episcopal Church

This video was produced on Michael Curry’s first day as Presiding Bishop. This video along with this one on the Eucharist are the essence of Bishop’s style and thought to date. Definitely worth watching to see where he will lead the church. Combined time for both is about 11 minutes. From the vision video:

"Now is our time to go. To go into the world to share the good news of God and Jesus Christ. To go into the world and help to be agents and instruments of God’s reconciliation. To go into the world, let the world know that there is a God who loves us, a God who will not let us go, and that that love can set us all free.

"This is the Jesus Movement, and we are The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal branch of Jesus’ movement in this world. God bless you, and keep the faith. "

Story by Episcopal Cafe with transcript

Lectionary, November 8, Pentecost 24

I. Theme – Offering all to God in faith

The Widow’s Mite – Daniel Bonnell

"He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’" – Mark 12:38-44

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – 1 Kings 17:8-16
Psalm – Psalm 146
Epistle – Hebrews 9:24-28
Gospel – Mark 12:38-44

Today’s readings challenge us to offer everything to God and to celebrate the fact that God similarly offers everything to us. All of these passages today remind us that we are called to step out in faith. This is not easy, but in order to see the greater picture, in order to understand more deeply the fullness of new life offered in Christ, we have to take the leap of faith and to trust God

This week’s lectionary readings deal with some of the most important energies of life- – the energy of romance, conception, and sexuality; the energy of money and its proper use; the energetic quest for God in a difficult time; and the energetic field of force created by Christ, the high priest of wholeness.

In the story of Elijah and the widow, from 1 Kings , God honors the sacrifice and faith of the woman with abundant oil and flour. The author of Hebrews assures us that Christ not only came to remove sin, but now, in God’s presence, intercedes on our behalf. In today’s gospel, Jesus praises the generous devotion of a homeless, penniless woman.

The Kings reading and the Gospel both examine widows. The poor widow in the Gospel only serves as an example of the Kingdom of Heaven contrasting the behavior of the Scribes (“who devour widow’s houses). Her giving is similar to that of the widow of Zarephath in that she gives all that she has. This time, however, she gives out of her own faith, a sign to Jesus of her salvation.

…Read more about the lectionary…

The Widow in the Gospel – Praise or Lament.. or something else ?

By David Lose, President of Luther Seminary

"How do you hear Jesus’ description of the poor widow’s offering – is it praise or lament? "

Lose comes down on the latter- initially:

" This passage is part of a larger set of passages that focus on Jesus’ confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees and center on his critique of the Temple. Indeed, ever since Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly (in ch. 11), he has done little else except teach in the Temple and debate with the religious leadership there.
" The first verses of this week’s passage condemn the scribes precisely for “devouring widow’s houses” – shorthand for pretty much everything they own.
" In the passage immediately after this one, Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple itself, seemingly the culmination of his attack on the religious establishment of Jerusalem, an attack that has prompted his opponents to seek first his arrest (12:12) and, eventually, death (14:1).
" Notably, there is actually no word of praise in Jesus’ statement about the widow or any indication that Jesus is lifting her up as an example. All he does is describe what he is doing. Which makes how we imagine his tone of voice – praise or lament – so critical.

"All of this leads me to conclude that Jesus isn’t actually lifting her up as an example but rather decrying the circumstances that demand her to make such an offering, a sacrifice that will likely lead to destitution if not death. He is, in short, leveling a devastating critique against Temple practice and those who allow, let alone encourage, this woman to give “all she had to live on” (or, in a more literal translation of the Greek, her whole life!).

But then Lose goes in a different direction – "How does this capture, or at least relate to, the good news Jesus both brings and embodies?

"God also sees our struggles, recognizes our challenges, cares about where we are hard pressed to make ends meet.

"But even more, I think God is inviting us to look around and see each other, those in our community we know and those we don’t. And I mean really see each other – the pain of those who are discriminated against because of their ethnicity, the desolation of those who cannot find work and have been abandoned to fend for themselves, the despair of those who have given up on finding work and have lost hope, the anguish of those who have been exploited by sex traffickers. God is inviting us to see them, to care for them, and to advocate for a system that does not leave anyone behind.

"Which means, Dear Partner, that we might send our people out this week not only aware that God sees their struggles and cares, but also that God believes in them enough to use them to make a difference. We might send them out, that is, looking for where God is already at work and join God’s efforts to see those in distress, help them find comfort and relief, and work for a more just world."

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