May 3, The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Coffee Hour for May and June 

 Extra! Extra!  Read All About It! 

When you volunteer for Coffee Hour

 YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE THE COFFEE!!

 A momentous discovery was made last Sunday.   We discovered the cause of a hesitancy to volunteer for Coffee Hour.  We discovered that there was anxiety over actually making the coffee itself, about not knowing how to work the coffee machines down in the basement.

 Set your heart at rest.  The coffee for both services gets made when Fr. Bob opens the Church on Sunday morning.   All the Coffee Hour volunteer needs to do is bring a snack for people to share, and help serve it if necessary. 

 For the 7:45 Service.  It’s just a matter of bringing the snack for the Coffee Hour.

 For the 10:15 Service a little more involvement is needed. 

             A.  We need the volunteer to help serve the snack.  (That involves regulating the amount the children want to get)  

             Assisting with that process, the Catechists are insuring that the children line up to greet Fr. Bob at the door after the service.  Each one has to shake hands before going to the snack table.

             B.  The other thing needed is help in taking down the Coffee Hour set up at the end.  That’s a matter of carrying the Air Pots, Condiments, etc, down to the basement, rinsing them out and leaving them upside down to dry.   Carol Law usually helps with this, and Fr. Bob jumps in as well.

 So it’ s lot simpler than many have feared.   Thanks to all who signed up for the Sundays in May.   June is still open.  So please Lean In. 

Outreach Committee:   Sunday May 3:  Mission Giving 

The Outreach Committee is scheduled to meet on Sunday, May 3^nd after the 10:15 am service.  We will review our mission, goals and budget. Anyone interested in outreach to welcome to attend, so put it on your calendar. If you’d like more information, or if you have questions, contact: Kelly Russell, Kate Kahler, Amy Denne, Barbara Robison, or Tracy Gaestel. 

 Church of the Angels Outreach Activities:

Below are some reports of Church of the Angels Outreach Activities.  These were part of the Annual Parish Meeting Reports about Outreach activities in 2014.  These include the Outreach Committee itself,  Episcopal Relief and Development, Episcopal Federal Credit Union, and Volunteer Chaplaincy with the Pasadena Police Department.

 Outreach Committee

Kelly Russell

 Church of the Angels

Outreach Report 2014

 The Outreach Committee focuses its efforts on youth, education and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  Our funding comes from parishioner donations and from ten percent of the filming revenue. 

 Youth.  Church of the Angels has been assisting a low-income family, the De la Torre family, since 1996. Recently, this support has been specifically for Adela De la Torre and her four children, Ruben (age 20), Greg (age 15), Mary Jane (age 12) and Adelita (age 8). Ruben is a full-time student at Pasadena City College, and he recently applied for a teacher’s aide position. Greg is a student at Pasadena High School, and Mary Jane and Adelita attend McKinley School.

 In the past year, the church provided funds to send Mary Jane and Adelita to a summer day camp, and to purchase groceries.  Adela works as a security guard at Southwestern Law School (located in the old Bullock’s Wilshire building), but she has been off work since early December due to medical issues. Adela recently had surgery and hopes to return to work soon. In December 2014, Kelly Russell launched an on-line campaign (via a web site called Indiegogo) to raise funds for the family. A total of $1949 was raised from both parishioners and others to help cover Adela’s rent and utilities while she has been off work. (Adela’s employer does not provide paid sick leave.) Adela and her family are very grateful to Church of the Angels for all of the support they have received. Quite literally, assistance from the church has prevented the family from becoming homeless.

 Education.  Funding was provided to Madison Elementary School in Pasadena for a special assembly (nature show with wild animals) in the Fall of 2014.  In the Spring of 2014, CoA paid for a bus to shuttle first grade students from Madison School to Kidspace Museum. Their entrance fees were picked up by the museum as part of a grant for Pasadena first graders.

 Special Project. From time to time the Outreach committee supports special projects. This past year we helped a parishioner with a medical expense that was not covered by insurance.

 International Outreach.  This year we decided to get our feet wet on an international outreach opportunity in Bukeka, Uganda.  We sent money to Global Hands of Hope to hire a local cabinet maker to make locking cabinets to hold books and supplies in the three permanent classrooms at the Suubi Children Centre.

Some of you may have seen (and purchased) the baskets, skirts, earrings, and other items made by the women of the Bukeka community that we sold on the church patio. These crafts help to supplement their income, the remainder of which comes from small family farming enterprises.  Global Hands of Hope is helping these people to make crafts that can be sold in the United States and go to help their food supply in the dry months when food is not plentiful.  More crafts will be available at the Annual Meeting.

 Church of the Angels Parishioners also gathered hardcover books during Advent to send to the teachers and students at Suubi Children Centre.  This was highly successful, and Tracy took 100 pounds of books to the teachers when she went to Uganda in late in December.

The outreach committee was curious about how the Children’s Center was run.  We were looking at whether it was a “top down” model, or whether it arose from the community’s needs.  Tracy went to see what she could discover.  She found that it was, indeed, an answer to needs in the community that had been discussed as priorities during a community meeting. She also discovered that the teachers are month-to-month employees and, since they do not make a teacher’s minimum wage and do not have a contract, they are open to other schools trying to lure them away.  Twenty more children need to be sponsored by mid-February in order to get the teachers a contract and raise their salary to $100 a month, which is the minimum salary for contracted teachers. (They currently make about $40.00 a month.)  Tracy has a list of the 20 neediest students who need to be sponsored.  Please see her if you would like to help (or send an email to aj575@lafn.org). Additional information about Global Hands of Hope was sent out via ‘By Way of Reminder.’ Tracy is available to answer any questions you might have about Global Hands of Hope.

 the teachers and students at Suubi Children Centre.  This was highly successful, and Tracy took 100 pounds of books to the teachers when she went to Uganda in late in December.

The outreach committee was curious about how the Children’s Center was run.  We were looking at whether it was a “top down” model, or whether it arose from the community’s needs.  Tracy went to see what she could discover.  She found that it was, indeed, an answer to needs in the community that had been discussed as priorities during a community meeting. She also discovered that the teachers are month-to-month employees and, since they do not make a teacher’s minimum wage and do not have a contract, they are open to other schools trying to lure them away.  Twenty more children need to be sponsored by mid-February in order to get the teachers a contract and raise their salary to $100 a month, which is the minimum salary for contracted teachers. (They currently make about $40.00 a month.)  Tracy has a list of the 20 neediest students who need to be sponsored.  Please see her if you would like to help (or send an email to aj575@lafn.org). Additional information about Global Hands of Hope was sent out via ‘By Way of Reminder.’ Tracy is available to answer any questions you might have about Global Hands of Hope.

Episcopal Relief Development (ERD)

Chris Ortiz

 Episcopal Relief Development (ERD) is highlighted by the Presiding Bishop during the Lenten Season.  For the past three years, the Church of the Angels has participated in ERD efforts to heal a hurting world. Lenten Prayer Meditation booklets and donation envelopes were made available to all parish members. In 2014, parish members generously supported the ERD National Campaign. ERD celebrates its 75^th anniversary in 2015!  This year we hope to continue our parish efforts to support this important national ministry of the Episcopal Church USA that responds compassionately to the suffering in our world through strengthening local churches and empowering communities to fight poverty, hunger and disease with sustainable, locally-driven solutions.

 Episcopal Federal Credit Union

Chris Ortiz

 Outreach comes in many different forms! The Episcopal Federal Credit Union was formed in 1994 as the Diocese of Los Angeles’ response to the civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles. The Credit Union provides financial services and counseling to Episcopalians throughout the diocese. The Credit Union is a social justice ministry of the diocese that strives to build self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship through business micro loans and loans to Episcopalians, especially those in struggling communities of Los Angeles. During the past four years, the Church of the Angels has supported the ministry of the EFCU by encouraging parishioners to open accounts or take out an automobile loan if they are in the market to purchase a used or new vehicle.

 Community Involvement

Pasadena Police Chaplaincy

Fr. Bob Gaestel

 It has been a quiet year for the Police Chaplains.  The rapidly declining crime rate has reduced the number of times chaplains have been called out for homicides.  There were also few suicides and traffic fatalities this year.  This is in contrast to several years ago when I was called out at least once a month.

 I continue my involvement providing pastoral care to the police officers, their families, and the general public when necessary. 

 Once again I participated in Every 15 Minutes, where the police and fire department stage a drunk driving fatality in front of students at a local high school.   I function as chaplain in that event role playing what would actually happen.  This includes doing Last Rites on the victim at the scene before they are placed in the Coroner’s van, and at Huntington Hospital in the Emergency Room with the student taken there with their parent standing next to me as I say, “Depart O Christian Soul, out of this world…”  It has a real impact.  It looks like we’re being successful in preventing teen fatalities due to drunk driving.

 In addition to working with the Pasadena Police Department, I am also involved in what is called Area C which is the San Gabriel Valley.  The chaplains of police departments in Area C meet every two months at one of the police agencies for training and fellowship.  The Area C Chaplains are coordinated by The Rev. Mary Glen who is chaplain at Alhambra PD.  I’ve given two presentations to the group.  One was how to do Invocations.  I showed the structure of Collects from the Book of Common Prayer, how they are organized in three parts: Address, Petition, Doxology.  I demonstrated how one could compose an Invocation using this structure and gave some examples of public invocations that I have delivered.  One of the clergy, a member of an evangelical denomination which expects clergy to make up prayers on the spur of the moment, told me he hated giving invocations, but that with what I had shown them, he could see himself doing this with more comfort.  The other presentation was on how to give Last Rites at the scene of a fatality, suicide, or homicide.  I explained how you

 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Level 1

May 3, 2015:  Easter 5

The Eucharistic Presence of the Good Shepherd I

You prepare a table before me.  Ps 23:5

 In her book, The Religious Potential of the Child, Sofia Cavalletti writes of searching for nearly 20 years for the best approach to explain the Eucharist for the youngest child.  The culmination of that search resulted in the CGS work called: The Eucharistic Presence of the Good Shepherd.  “The Eucharist is the place and time in which we encounter our Good Shepherd in a most particular way; He calls His sheep to gather around His altar, to feed them .. .” pp 80-82. 

 It is important for children of the atrium to understand Christ didn’t just give His life up at the point of death, but continues to give of Himself in the Eucharist - throughout all time and to everyone (including them).  “Christ’s whole life is a gift to the Father and to humankind.” p 81. 

 We have two sheepfold scenes set up.  One used with their work on the Good Shepherd, the other with an altar table and cloth set in the middle.  In explaining the second sheepfold, we tell the children “the Good Shepherd calls each of His sheep by name to come close to Him around His altar and near to Him once again, in another sheepfold which we call the “church,” a fold where we too go when Eucharist is celebrated.”  Materials with the presentation are moved accordingly.  The sheep are now around the altar table with an image of the Good Shepherd. 

 The presentation continues: “Here the Good Shepherd’s presence has a totally special character.  The Shepherd’s presence is not tied to a little wooden statue; at Eucharist, the Good Shepherd is present in the signs of the bread and wine.  (At this point, we place the models of the chalice and paten on the altar.)  We take away the Good Shepherd image of Jesus; as it does not change anything with regard to the life-giving presence of our Shepherd.” p 82.

 The purpose of this presentation is to “allow the children to see the sheep around the altar, thus establishing the bond between biblical scripture (Good Shepherd parable) and Liturgy (the Eucharist) in a visible way.  We do not enter into the discussion as to how the Eucharistic presence is realized, but rather to renew the proclamation that the Good Shepherd “remains” in us and we in Him in the Eucharist in an altogether special way. 

 The first year of the Level I presentation stops here.  The extension of the work comes when the child is aware s/he is the sheep and the sheep are replaced with people around the altar table.   For this Sunday, we are just going to enjoy the first part of the presentation and wonder about the image of the sheep around the altar, in the life-giving presence of the Good Shepherd. 

 Ms. Georgie 

 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd:  “Level 4”

Sunday, May 3, 9:00 a.m.

Last Sunday we met the first King of Israel, Saul and we explored the problematic relationship between the religious and political spheres.  The prototype didn’t work very well.  This week “There’s a new kid in town,” soon to be the New Sheriff.

 Food For Thought:   

On the Food For Thought Table, two interesting articles.

2.  From the newest issue of The Atlantic,  an article by Ross Douthat, one of the conservative columnists for The New York Times, Will Pope Francis Break the Church?   This article reviews three current books about Pope Francis and his impact on Roman Catholic Church now and in the future.   Pope Francis seems to be the person people can’t stop talking about.  Our own Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby (who?) a very capable man must be wondering, “What am I, chopped liver?”