November 22, Christ the King

Daily Scripture Readings;  bookofcommonprayer.net/daily_office.php

See the different options.  There is full morning and evening prayer.  There is also the option of the readings only.  There is also an app for receiving the daily readings by email, or on a mobile device

Sunday Scripture Readings:  bookofcommonprayer.net/lectionary.php

Set it for 1979 Contemporary, and the Bible version used in Church is Revised Standard Version 

Anglican Rosary:  Saturday, November 21,  9:00 a.m 

The Anglican Rosary devotional group meets Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. in the Church.  Everyone is welcome.

CGS Level I

Proper 29

We have begun to settle into our sacred space.   Popular works have included flower arranging and leaf washing which assist us in our appreciation of the environment; identifying colors of the liturgical seasons using replicas of priest vestments, working with the multi-piece liturgical calendar, setting up the altar and preparing cruets with wine and water are works which invite us to more fully participate in the liturgy of our faith community; geography which orients us to our home town and significant cities where Jesus lived; polishing and pouring, activities that give us skills to assist us in our personal life; painting and drawing to facilitate our unique expression of who we are.  The Good Shepherd material is rarely untouched.  We meet every Sunday at the prayer table to give thanks and pray.      

 Our weeks ahead invite us to participate in the season of Advent, hear the infancy prophecies, witness the announcement to Mary whereby she was told she would have a child and name the child Jesus.  We will hear about Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the Christmas story with the shepherds then the magi visiting the baby Jesus.  We will be participating in the children’s service, helping to write the prayers and communal service, and assist in the preparation of the Eucharist with Fr. Bob. 

 Each Sunday is a wonderful, rich time to be able to share the history of our faith tradition with the children.  It has been my experience their insight and interpretation of events matches that of any modern-day scholar.  We are fortunate to belong to a church that lifts up and celebrates the gifts our youth bring to the parish community.   May God continue to “bless us, every one!”          

The Feast of Christ the King

Last Sunday of the Church Year

Sunday November 22

Advent Event:

Following the 10:15 Liturgy on Sunday November 22

 The First Sunday of Advent is November 29.  To help us prepare for Advent we will have the Advent Event on the Sunday of Christ the King, November 22.  

Advent Potluck

Advent Wreath Making

Craft Sale to benefit the Subi School in Uganda

Craft Sale for Suubi School

On  Sunday, Nov. 22 the Outreach Committee and the  “Level 4” students will offer “crafts” from Uganda at the Advent Wreath Celebration.

The Suubi women crafts group was established in 2012 with 20 women some of whom have HIV/AIDS, are single mothers and grandmothers and their first crafts that included animal mobiles, coasters, book marks and head bands were sold through Come Together Trading Company in Texas. This encouraged the women to make more crafts which were of a better quality. One of the significant features is that  100% of the profit goes back to the group of HIV/AIDS women that Global Hands of Hope supports. The income from the crafts helps the women to support their families and children attain education.

The group now has 30 members of which 5 are men.

Suubi Craft Group

Bukeka, Uganda 

Something New This Year: 

Advent Poster prepared by the Episcopal Church Publishing Company

This is a wonderful addition to help us really enjoy the season of Advent.  The poster gives a reflection or prayer for each day of the Advent Season.  They will be available at the Advent Event.

The Advent Wreath

Advent Wreath waiting to be decorated.

For those who don't know or who have never made or had one,  The Advent Wreath is of German origin.  It contains four candles, three are purple (The color of preparing, as we say to the children in the atrium) and one pink or rose.  Each candle stands for one of the four weeks of the Season of Advent that precede Christmas.   We have a large Advent Wreath in the Church, and there is a small one of the Prayer Table in all three Atriums. 

 Making your Advent Wreath is a fun activity and a way of bringing Church into the Home.  You can place it on your dining room table and light the candles when you have dinner. 

 Why three purple and one pink you ask?  That's because on the Third Sunday of Advent, the Traditional Old Testament Reading was from the prophet Isaiah where he says that "The desert shall rejoice and blossom.  Like the Rose it shall blossom abundantly."   That of course leads us into the Christmas Hymn  "Lo How a Rose er'e Blooming."   So it all goes together. 

 We will have wire frames that have four holders for candles and we'll have a variety of greens that you can weave into them and make something unique and personal.  We'll have the candles for you as well. 

 We ask $10.00 for materials. 

 The best thing about the Advent Potluck.

Year by year as we do this, we see parishioners really spend a lot of time talking together both during and after the meal.  People linger for a long time.  It’s as though the Advent Event gives us an oasis of calm before everything gets crazy with the “Christmas Season” gets underway on Black Friday.   So, please come and enjoy each other’s company.

 Hope to see you there. 

 Emmaus Road:  Monday November 23, 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall Living Room.

The Emmaus Road Group will continues reading The Givenness of Things, by Marilynne Robinson.  We will read the second essay entitled, “Reformation.”

 Thanksgiving

 Liturgy for Thanksgiving:  Wednesday, November 25, 7:00 p.m.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving on the evening before, Wednesday, November 25 7:00 p.m.  with the Holy Eucharist.  This liturgy is wonderful as we hear Scripture that touches very deeply our American consciousness, along with hymns that recall us to our heritage as well.  Doing the Eucharist on the Eve of Thanksgiving  gives us the benefit of touching our deep Christian and American roots, as well as leaving Thanksgiving Day free for family and friends.

Annual Giving for 2016

Stop the Presses!

Faith and Reason Don’t Contradict Each Other!!!!

 Last year at this time, The Wall Street Journal had an article in its Wealth Management section, entitled, “Can Money Buy Happiness?”  The article reported on some research in this area.

The results, at first glance, may seem obvious: Yes people with higher incomes are, broadly speaking, happier than those who struggle to get by.   But dig a little deeper into the findings and they get a lot more surprising—and lot more useful.

In short, the latest research suggests , wealth alone doesn’t provide any guarantee of a good life.  What matters a lot more than a big income is how people spend it.  For instance, giving money away makes people a lot happier than lavishing it on themselves.  And when people do spend money on themselves, people are a lot happier when they use it for experiences like travel than for material goods. 

The article explored the difference in the experience of acquiring things vs. experiences reflecting why satisfaction in acquiring things has a very short shelf life.  It makes an interesting case for exercises is self denial as a way of enhancing one’s satisfaction in what one has.  Maybe there is something to Lent after all!

What is really interesting in the article is the subsection called, Try Giving it Away

The paradox of money is that although earning more of it tends to enhance our well-being, we become happier by giving it away than by spending it on ourselves.   An experiment was conducted with some college students who were given a sum of money and telling them to spend it on themselves and others to spend it on someone else.  Those who spent money on other people were happier than those who treated themselves. 

This was followed up by similar experiments in other countries with the same results.  The Gallup World Poll found that people who donated money to charity were happier in rich and poor countries alike.  “The fact that we were able to observe the same we’d seen in Canada in places like South Africa and Uganda was probably the biggest surprise of my career,” the researcher said.

“A lot of us think we’ll give to charity one day when we’re richer, but actually we see the benefits of giving even among people who are struggling to meet their own basic needs.”

What moves the needle in terms of happiness is not so much the dollar amount you give, but the perceived impact of your donation.  If you can see your money making a difference in other people’s lives, it will make you happy even if the amount you gave was quite small.

Isn’t it interesting that things Christians have known and proclaimed for two millennia turn out to be confirmed by scientific research protocols.  It shows once again that faith and reason don’t contradict each other. 

What is described in the article is carried out in what we call The Four Fields of Christian Giving:

Annual Giving:  Financial Support for the life and work of the local parish. 

 Mission Giving:  Financial Support for the spread of the Gospel and the relief for human need  For us this usually means sponsored by the Outreach Committee, funded by 10% of  income from movie locations

 Capital Giving  Occasional Financial Support for building new or upkeep of Church infrastructure.  This is funded by income realized from the Church being used as a movie location, and endowment income from gifts left by the Campbell Johnston family and other benefactors.  Which leads to…

 Legacy Giving:  Making a provision for the Church out of your estate so that your support continues beyond your lifetime so that future generations may enjoy what we’ve all come to value. 

 The Annual Giving Letter and Pledge Cards have been mailed out.  We ask your participation and to please return them to us as soon as possible.

 Outreach:  Mission Giving

Helping to Build a School

 Outreach Needs Your Help!!!

The school in Uganda, named Subbi, which is “HOPE” in Lugandan must grow.  They currently have 2 classrooms in the church building.  These classrooms are open to the elements and must be rearranged every Sunday to accommodate the growing congregants, and again every Sunday afternoon in order to be ready for classes to resume on Monday.  Here are a couple of photos of the classrooms:

The elementary school cannot grow and a new class of students cannot enter until the main floor of a new school building is built.  This needs to be built for classes to begin in February, the foundation has been poured, but the money has not been raised to finish the building.

Here is the current foundation:

To the left you can see the church and school building.  Walls need to be raised and furniture placed.  We need your help!

It has been suggested by Sue Tutt that we let the parish buy or gift others with parts of the school building.  $5,000 will build a room but there are many other ways to help.  $500. Will put steel into the walls, $105 will buy 7 bags of concrete.  $15 will buy 1 bag of concrete.  Sue has donated some cards to gift people on your Christmas list.  Won’t you please help?  A donation can be sent to COA marked Global Hands of Hope in the message (and we will get a card to you), or you can send a donation directly to Global Hands of Hope at Global Hands of Hope, 1210 Hillcrest, Normal, IL 61761.

Altar Flowers for 2016

There will be a sign up Sheet for Altar Flowers for 2016 outside Church this Sunday.  Please pick a Sunday (or several)  Sign your name, and write in the memorial or offering.   Altar Flowers are $55.00 a Sunday.

 Year of Grace Calendars

The Year of Grace Calendars for the Christian Year which begins on the First Sunday of Advent, November 29, will be available for purchase on Sunday.  They come in three sizes:  Laminated Poster, which is great for hanging on your refrigerator door, Laminated Notebook size which is 11 x 17, and Paper Notebook size.   An envelope will be available for checks and cash. 

 Coffee Hour Sign Up: 

November and December

It is time to sign up for Coffee Hour for the months of November and December.  The Sign Up Sheet will be outside Church on Sunday. 

 However, you can sign up from the comfort of your own home as you sit before your computer.  

Sign Up at Church or email it into the Office.

 Music with the Angels

We have some fun things coming up for Advent

Saturday, December 5, 2:30 p.m. -- Red Car Trolley: A vocal quartet that performs an eclectic blend of music ranging from sacred to secular, classical to contemporary, and featuring original compositions by Southern Californian composers.

Sunday December 13, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. -- Traditional Nicholas/Krampus play

and a new Krampus documentary film for Christmas produced by Al Ridenour. Krampus is the figure who, according to German-speaking Alpine folklore, accompanies St. Nicholas and punishes the bad children on St. Nicholas Day. The folk theater "Nicholas Play" dates back to the 18th century. Following the short play is the U.S. premiere of the documentary, "Krampus, an Austrian Folk Tale." Hannah Jakubowski explores the tradition, craft, family rituals, and riotous parades of contemporary Krampus practice. And don't miss Bay Area artist Kimric Smythe's Krampus-driven Steamcar. Visit the Krampus website for more details. Admission $20.00, advance tickets only: purchase 5 p.m. tickets or 9 p.m. tickets online.

Parishioners can get discounted ($10) tickets for the Dec. 13^th Nicholas/Krampus play by signing up in advance.  Susan Stanley will have a sign up sheet on the Food For Thought Table starting this Sunday.

 Food For Thought

On the Food For Thought Table this Sunday, two articles that are relevant to recent events.

1.  From The New York Times:  Finding Peace within the Holy Texts.  Columnist David Brooks looks at the crisis of violence spawned by religious extremism and following the lead of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book Confronting Religious Violence,  sees the current century of one not of secularism, but desecularization and religious conflicts.   Yet, the religious texts themselves point the way to a Theology of the Other: a complex biblical understanding of how to see God’s face in strangers.

2.  From the current issue of The Christian Century, How Wide is God’s Mercy?.  This article by Episcopal priest and theologian Charles Hefling explores an idea that is gaining traction, how the Holy Spirit is sent, present, and active prior to the coming of Christ.  We normally think of God’s revelation following a linear and chronological trajectory of Father (Old Testament) Son, (Gospel) and Holy Spirit (Acts of the Apostles and beyond)  But what if the Holy Spirit is sent ahead of time to prepare humanity for the Incarnation, in the works of holy persons within Israel and beyond?  Is there a possible connection that we’ve not seen before of all religious traditions to the one God?  Is there a both/and rather than either/or?  Remember Genesis opens with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters and God said….  And then the Gospel of St. John opens with “In the beginning was the Word.”   So which came first, the chicken or the egg.  Yes.