January 26, Third Sunday After Epiphany
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 at 10:15AM Annual Parish Meeting for 2014
The Annual Meeting for Church of the Angels will take place on Sunday, January 26, 2014.
Events that make up the Annual Parish Meeting
One Service combining the 7:45 and 10:15 congregations at 9:30 a.m.
Annual Meeting Follows in the Parish Hall
Potluck Lunch Follows the Annual Meeting.
How Episcopal Parishes are organized and function
Moving toward the Annual Parish Meeting, this is a good time to review how Episcopal Parishes operate.
The Organization of Episcopal Parishes
The organization of an Episcopal parish works like this. The organization rests on two supports. One is the Office of the Rector, and the other is the Office of the Vestry. What matters is the office itself, not who holds it.
The Office of the Rector
Is responsible for and in charge of, the entire parish program and the use of the parish facilities. Episcopal Canon Law refers to this as “having charge over the spiritual life of the parish.” Canon Law imposes a number of things on the office of Rector, more than one person can really do. For example the spiritual formation of children is imposed on the Rector, but so is the conduct of the Liturgy. Since it’s not possible to be in two places at once, tasks imposed on the office of Rector must to be delegated and shared among the congregation.
The Office of the Vestry
Is responsible for and in charge of the parish finances and what Episcopal Canon Law calls, “The parish’s corporate relationships to the world.” The authority of both of these offices is independent of the other, and to a large degree independent of the parish with the exception of Vestry members being elected. These two offices rest upon the governance structure of the entire Episcopal Church.
A Collaborative Enterprise
Of course everything works better when these independent offices and the congregation itself it work together. At Church of the Angels, we operate in a collaborative manner with a high degree of trust in one another. This collaborative culture makes possible the involvement of everyone and for new ideas to come forward and be tried.
What the Vestry does
I like to say that “The Vestry cares for the infrastructure upon which the life of faith is lived.” The Vestry takes care of the finances. The Vestry and Rector collaborate on keeping the parish community involved and healthy with programs and events whose ultimate purpose is, as we say in our vision statement, Nourish Christ’s people from the riches of his grace and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come. This rests on a lot of mundane stuff ya gotta do, housework and the like. It’s not very sexy most of the time. The Vestry meets the Third Saturday of each month at 8:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall Living Room. Any parishioner is welcome to attend. Also the names of the Vestry members are published in the bulletin insert. Please feel free to speak to any of them about your concerns or ideas.
How the Vestry is chosen
In the Episcopal Church, the overwhelming majority of parishes elect Vestry members by acclamation that is, the Annual Meeting is asked to vote for a slate of candidates. Large congregations may have a nominating committee to solicit candidates. At COA the Vestry has traditionally functioned as the nominating committee and this goes back decades prior to my being Rector. We seek to find people who can bring specific gifts and talents that we feel we need at particular times of the parish’s life. For example, in the years we were doing the restoration of the Church, we sought people for the Vestry who had specific experience and expertise in engineering and construction. We seek to maintain a balance of age, gender, recent, and long time members. If you have an interest in being on the Vestry speak to me or other Vestry members.
Officers of the Vestry
The Vestry has officers as part of its structure. These officers are: The Parish Wardens, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. The Secretary and Treasurer can be ex-officio or members of the Vestry. April Bond is the Secretary and is a member of the Vestry. Leigh Torgerson is Treasurer and is ex-officio.
The Parish Wardens.
The task of the Wardens is to look after the Rector. They look after the Rector’s well being. They also serve to keep the Rector on that specifically Anglican trait called The Via Media, the middle way. So should the Rector get it into his head to 1. Jump off the Colorado Street Bridge, or 2, call for a Jihad, the Wardens help him regain his equilibrium.
Secret Handshake Class This Sundays 8:30 a.m. Because of the Joint Service at 9:30 a.m. : Parish Hall Living Room
This Sunday January 26
Sacred Scripture. We will hear Sofia Cavalletti’s meditation entitled : The History of the Kingdom of God: The Bible. Then we will look at the Bible Material from Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a tactile hands on exercise of discovery. Anyone is welcome to attend
Other Subjects to be covered on subsequent Sundays.
Sacred Scripture, A tour of the Church (What the architecture means) Holy Baptism (What does it mean to be a Christian) The Story of Anglicanism (The history of our tradition, filmed at COA!) The Book of Common Prayer (The secret to understanding the Liturgy)The Church as a body and an institution (How we're organized)
At each class there will be time to ask any questions you may have and for the discussion to in directions that you are interested in.
Lake Wobegon Church Supper Potluck.
Following the Annual Parish Meeting Suunday January 26
For our Annual Meeting this year we're doing something a little different - a Lake Wobegon Church Supper Potluck. We're asking you to dig deep into your (real or imagined) Midwestern heritage or Prairie Home Companion fixation for your favorite dishes of days gone by. Hot dishes, sides, salads, and desserts like your mother or grandmother would have taken to a church supper. Think Tuna Noodle Casserole, Green Beans In Mushroom Soup With Little Fried Onions, Lime Jell-O With Shredded Carrots And Cottage Cheese, Pineapple Upside Down Cake - classics we seldom see anymore here on the trendy West Coast.
You must have favorites from the past too – share one! Like any of these - Main dishes: Shepherds Pie, Chicken & Rice Casserole, Baked Macaroni. Sides: Baked Beans, Scalloped Potatoes with Ham, Creamed Corn (creamed anything, actually: peas, pearl onions, spinach, etc.) Salads: Ambrosia Salad, Broccoli & Raisin Salad. Desserts: Angel-Food Cake, Apple Crisp, Rice Krispie Squares. And always Fr. Bob's favorite: fruit cocktail in heavy syrup.
The LWCSP follows the Annual Meeting, coming up Sunday, January 26 after the single service. There will be a sign-up sheet Sundays on the table outside the church. Think of a dish, sign up and join in the fun. We’ll provide the Ginger Ale & Orange Sherbet Punch. Any questions call/text Chris Askew at 626 200-5209.
Emmaus Road
The Emmaus Road group continues reading the book No Ordinary Men, about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi who resisted the Nazi’s in Germany and paid with their lives. Emmaus Road will meet Monday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall Living Room. The book is available from Amazon
Fr. Bob’s Annual Long Retreat
On Monday, January 27 Fr. Bob will leave for his Annual Long Retreat. This is a spiritual practice he adopted from the Jesuits and has done all the years he’s been ordained. The retreat covers four areas: God’s overall purpose in creation and salvation history, Sin and sinfulness personal and corporate, the life of Christ as paradigm for human choice, the Passion, and the Resurrection. The 8 day retreat is a shortened version of the 30 day retreat that Jesuit’s make when they first enter the order, and again when they complete their training. The 8 day retreat is a an annual exercise of reflection on, and renewal of, one’s core commitments. There is only one other priest in the Diocese of Los Angeles who makes this kind of retreat each year: Fr. Ed Bacon, Rector of our neighboring parish, All Saints.
Coffee Hour January and February Need More People to Help
Coffee hour is an important aspect of our parish life. It’s been called “The Eighth Sacrament of the Episcopal Church.” At coffee hour we have the chance to see and talk with our fellow parishioners and welcome new people to our parish.
Doing Coffee Hour is quite simple. All that one needs to do is bring some snacks for people to share. The Coffee is already made in the Church basement. Supplies such as cream, sweetner, stirrers, napkins, and plates are already provided.
For 7:45 a.m. You simply bring a snack of some kind. The congregation is small doesn’t need help in serving. There is also no clean up because the set up will remain for the 10:15 service,
As with everything at Church of the Angels, we try to make volunteer tasks easy and accessible to all. If you’ve not thought of signing up for Coffee hour before, please consider doing so. It adds a lot to our parish life.
Music with the Angels
January 26, 4 p.m. - Dr. Robert Zappulla (Harpsichord).