January 18, The Second Sunday After Epiphany
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 2:11PM The Financial Page
An Apology
In the last set of follow up letter regarding the Pledge Drive, somehow the Secretarial Service included people in that mailing that were not on the follow up list. So several parishioners who had already sent in Pledge Cards received a follow up letter. We apologize for this error.
Annual Giving for 2015
We are just about done with the Annual Giving Drive for 2015. Several pledges have yet to come in. Please make an Annual Giving Pledge for 2015 and send you pledge card in as soon as possible.
Annual Giving for 2014 Completing the pledges
If you’ve not yet done so, please complete your 2014 Annual Giving Pledge as soon as possible. This will enable our Treasurer Leigh Torgerson to close the parish books for the year. We will send giving statements to all of you by the end of January.
Thank you to everyone who supports our parish through their financial contributions. Everyone’s gift is both vital and necessary for our parish life. We are deeply grateful to all of you.
CGS Level I Atrium
January 18, 2015
2nd Sunday after Epiphany
The Pearl of Great Price
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matt 13:45-46 NIV
The beauty of parable teaching and learning is the layering. In Level I and ll, we discuss the value and beauty of the kingdom of God surpassing all one’s possessions. Its possession is worth all one’s efforts. When telling this parable in Level l we focus on the joy of the merchant in order that the child begins to realize the beauty and value of the kingdom of God. In Level II we look at the cost of discipleship, giving all we have for this precious treasure. Further discussion brings about the question of just who is the merchant. Does he represent an emerging Christian perhaps or, is He the one who ransoms all He has including His life and bought you, the pearl of great value? Take a look and read the two verses once more.
Emmaus Road
Monday, January 19 7:00 p.m.
Emmaus Road begins reading Thomas Cahill’s Heretics and Heroes. Below is a description of the book.
In Volume VI of his acclaimed Hinges of History series, Thomas Cahill guides us through a time so full of innovation that the Western world would not again experience its like until the twentieth century: the new humanism of the Renaissance and the radical religious alterations of the Reformation This was an age in which whole continents and peoples were discovered. It was an era of sublime artistic and scientific adventure, but also of newly powerful princes and armies—and of unprecedented courage, as thousands refused to bow their heads to the religious pieties of the past. In these exquisitely written and lavishly illustrated pages, Cahill illuminates, as no one else can, the great gift-givers who shaped our history—those who left us a world more varied and complex, more awesome and delightful, more beautiful and strong than the one they had found.
The book is available at Vroman’s or at Amazon. Everyone is welcome to join in. 7:00 p.m. Monday evenings in the Parish Hall Living Room
Annual Parish Meeting for 2015
The Annual Meeting for Church of the Angels will take place on
Sunday, January 25, 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.
Annual Meeting Reports
Every year we produce a report of all the activities in the Parish. The leaders/facilitators of the various groups write a short description of what the group is and the what it did over the past year as well as invite parishioners to join in and participate.
Fr. Bob collects these reports, formats them, and copies and emails out to the parish. Requests have gone out for reports. Please email them back to the Parish Office as soon as possible so they can be ready for 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.
Annual Parish Meeting Potluck Lunch
Following the Annual Parish Meeting we will remain for a potluck lunch. Please make a dish that can feed 5-7 people
At this point we need Everything!
Appetizer: Need 7
Beverages: Need 4
Salad/Vegetable Dish Need 7
Main Course: Need 13
Dessert: Need 7
There will be a sign up sheet outside Church on Sunday. You can also email in your sign up to the Church office.
Food For Thought
On the Food For Thought Table this Sunday
1. From the New York Times: Sunday Review Section, from their column called Couch, Getting Grief Right. This is an article about how grieving really works and how much time it really takes. Everyone thinks they know the “stages” of grief and that they should get through them in order and get through them quickly, and “move on.” Well, it’s not exactly like that. This is an article that can give us a more realistic understanding of human grief enabling us to be both empathic and compassionate to those who’ve suffered significant loss, which will eventually include ourselves.
2. From the magazine, Philosophy Now: Interpersonal Peace and Refusing Abuse. This issue of Philosophy Now is focused on peace and peacemaking. While there are articles about peace in general and a global sense, this article deals with peace on a personal and interpersonal level. “One of the key components to creating peace is to recognize when injustice is taking place. Another is to examine the ways in which we allow it to take place.” The author shares her personal learning to do both of these things, and move in another direction.