August 17, The 10th Sunday after Pentecost
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 12:21PM The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Feast of the Assumption commemorates the Christian conviction that at the end of her earthly life, the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven, that is, enters the Kingdom of God in its fullness. There are two rules of thumb to help us think about the Virgin Mary. 1. Whose Mother she is and how she is his Mother. 2. She is the one human being like us who experiences in her life everything promised us in the Christian faith. Because all that is promised by Christ is fulfilled in her, it will also be fulfilled in us.
August 15
St. Mary the Virgin
Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Nothing certain is known of the parentage or the place of birth of the Mother of Our Lord. Only her name is known Mary or Miriam (in Hebrew) and that she had an aged relative called Elizabeth. According to the Gospel of St. Luke, Mary was a young Jewish girl living in Narzareth, engaged to a man called Joseph, when a messenger from the Lord announced that she was to be the bearer of the Son of God to the world. Her response, “Let it be to me according to your word,” and her life of obedience and faithfulness have been upheld ever since as a model for all who hear and obey God’s word. In Christian Tradition Mary is often described as “the second Eve” who offsets Eve’s disobedience. Mary was present at the crucifixion of her Son, and was with the apostles and others at Pentecost. According to the Gospel of John, at the time of his death Jesus commended the care of his mother to the beloved disciple, which may explain why in Christian Tradition her final years are associated with both Jerusalem and Ephesus. The Church customarily commemorates saints on the day of their death, and although the date and place of Mary’s death are unknown, for centuries today has been celebrated as her principle feast. (The Annunciation is seen principally as a feast of Our Lord) In the East, today’s feast is entitled “The Dormition of the Virgin;” in the Roman Catholic Church, reflecting its distinctive doctrinal emphasis, it is called “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
From Celebrating the Saints Morehouse Publishing
The quote below, from Celebrating the Saints, expands on and deepens this conviction.
Mary’s Assumption brings a new and promising future for women. Excluded from Jewish initiation rites because of their anatomy, banned from full participation in worship and the synagogue by their menstrual cycles, for a long time women—even in Christianity—subtly or explicitly have been second class citizens in the world of faith because of the “inferiority” and “poverty” of their bodies.
Mary’s Assumption, however, restores and reintegrates women’s bodiliness into the very mystery of God. Starting with Mary, the dignity of women’s condition is recognized and safeguarded by the creator of that very bodiliness. In Jesus Christ and Mary the feminine is respectively resurrected and assumed into heaven definitively sharing in the glory of the Trinitarian mystery from which all proceeds and all returns.
Her Assumption is intimately connected to Jesus’ resurrection. Both events are about the same mystery: the triumph of God’s justice over human injustice, the victory of grace over sin. Just as proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus means continuing to announce his passion which continues in those who are crucified and suffer injustice in this world, by analogy believing in Mary’s Assumption means proclaiming that the woman who gave birth in a stable among animals, whose heart was pierced with a sword of sorrow, who shared in her son’s poverty, humiliation and persecution and violent death, who stood at the foot of the cross, the mother of the condemned, has been exalted. Just as the crucified one is the risen one, so the sorrowing one is the one assumed into heaven, the one in glory. She who, while a disciple herself, shared persecutions, fear and anxiety with other disciples of the early years of the Church, is the same one, who after a death that was certainly humble and anonymous, was raised to heaven. The Assumption is the glorious culmination of the mystery of God’s preference for what is poor, small, and unprotected in this world, so as to make God’s glory shine there.
Poor, small, unprotected, is all of us at various times of our lives, certainly at the beginning, and very often at the end. The Assumption is the hope and promise that all of us will share in the final victory of the Risen Christ.
125 Anniversary Activity
Church of the Angels Wine Tasting and Architectural Tour
Saturday, August 23, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Our next activity to celebrate our 125th Anniversary will be a afternoon of tasting wine and exploring, admiring, and understanding the architecture of our church.
Dwight and April Bond have arranged for San Antonio Winery to bring a variety of wines for us to taste. The wines offered for tasting will be:
Maddelena Pinot Grigio, white Monterrey
Heritage White, dry white
Madellena Red Zinfindel, Rose, Paso Robles
Madellena Pinot Noir – Red, Monterrey
Moscato di Asti – Italy.
In addition, the San Antonio Winery is creating special label for Church of the Angel’s 125th Anniversary. The special label wine will be Maddelena Pinot Grigio – White. This is will be a fund raising activity and the Church of the Angels special label wine will sell for $25.00 per bottle.
We hope that all of you will attend. We would also like you to invite friends and family for a very fun activity.
We’ll have a sign up sheet outside Church on Sunday to sign up for the event and order wine.
April and Dwight sent out an paperless Evite to the parish email list awhile back. Don’t put it in your Spam file, but come and enjoy a great time.
The Young Person’s Guide to Love and Wealth Management
Sunday August 17 1:00 p.m.
High School, college, and post college aged young people are invited to gather at the home of Bill and Rebecca Woods after Church Sunday. We want to give a send off to Claire Votava and Max Sinclair who will be starting college this fall. Those who recently graduated from college can pass on their wisdom to those just starting out. It should be great fun. Rebecca Woods emailed, texted, tweeted, Face Booked everyone this week. Please come.
Emmaus Road Monday August 18, 7:00 p.m.
Emmaus Road continues its summer activity of viewing movies with religious themes. This Monday’s movie will be Noah. As Katie Williamson says, “It’s got Russell Crowe!” If you missed it earlier in the year, here’s a chance to see it and see for yourself what all the fuss was about. It is an interesting take on a story that used to be thought was only found in the Bible. But in the 19th Century with archeological discoveries, especially The Epic of Gilgamesh, we find that the story of the Flood was found in all the cultures of the ancient world. So, everyone has a “take” on it. We can reflect on out take by looking at someone else’s. Everyone is welcome to attend.
News from Deacon Chitra
Chitra preached a couple of Sundays in her home parish of Church of Our Savior, San Gabriel. She had a two week vacation in Carmel. (Not long enough she said) She has several things on her calendar, but wants everyone to know that she will be back with us in September. She will preach at the Liturgies on Sunday, September 21.
Coffee Hour Sign Up
The Sign up Sheet for Coffee Hour for September and October will be on coffee table this Sunday. From the calendar you can see we have some Sundays open in August. We thank our new parishioners, Adrian and Jacqueline Beltran for jumping in several times this summer. Also thank you to Raheleh and Raffi, who will be married here on August 30 for jumping in this Sunday.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to begin:
Sunday, September 7.
Being Post-Labor Day, we hope everyone will be back from summer trips. This seems like a good day to open the Atriums and begin the Catechesis again. We’ll make it a full welcome back with …(see below)
Parent and Children Barbecue:
Sunday, September 7, 4:30 p.m. at the Rectory
Fr. Bob and Tracy will host a cook out at the Rectory for all the parents and children of the parish. They do this at both the beginning and the end of the summer. It is a chance for everyone to connect and enjoy each other’s company while engaged in the most difficult and important work any of us ever does. A notice went out to the parents this week. More details will follow as we get closer.
Food For Thought
On the Food for Thought Table this weekend, an article from the recent issue of The Christian Century, In the Place of Jesus: Insights from Origen on Prayer . This is an article by Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, and he looks at prayer through the eyes of Origen, one of the most important theologians of the early Church. It is quite good.
Looking Further Ahead
All Parish Evensong and Dinner
Sunday, September 28, 4:30 p.m.
Plan to attend a special event to conclude our 125h Anniversary celebrations. This event will be a service of Evensong, followed by a Parish Dinner. September 28 is the day before St. Michael and All Angels Day, September 29. It was on St. Michael and All Angels Day in 1889 that the construction of Church of the Angels, begun Easter Eve of that year, was finished.
We will celebrate this by having a service of Evensong. Church of the Angels choir will be joined by the Early Music Group Jouyssance to lead the service. Jouyssance holds three concerts a year at Church of the Angels and also holds their rehearsals here.
Following the Evensong will be a dinner on the patio behind the Parish Hall. This dinner will be catered. More details and invitations will follow shortly. Put it down on your calendar. We hope the entire parish will participate.
Annual Parish Retreat
October 17-19 Camp Thousand Pines, Crestline.
This will be our fourth year at this site. We’ve had wonderful times here. Participation can happen in several ways. One can stay the weekend at Camp Thousand Pines. This is especially good for families with children. There is lodging in nearby Crestline as well, and people can come on the site for the program and activities. Third, the Crestline is only an hour and a half away and people can easily drive up for the day on Saturday. The Retreat is especially good for new people to get to know parishioners better.
Allen Woolery has some pictures that people can see to get a sense of things. Check the link below.
Photos:
https://churchoftheangelsretreat.shutterfly.com/pictures/5
Short Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDDq_E0gSlM