May 24, The Feast of Pentecost

Pentecost

 Pentecost completes the 50 days of the Easter Season.   We celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples confirming their faith in the resurrection and empowering them to bear witness to it to the ends of the earth. 

 The Holy Spirit gives gifts that enable disciples to tell the whole world about Jesus, such that all people can hear the Gospel in their own language.  Pentecost reverses the curse of Babel where humans were separated from each other by individual languages known only to one’s own exclusive group.  Pentecost celebrates the promise of unity and diversity at the same time, that God will be all in all without doing violence to any.  A cursory glance at each day’s news reveals how desperate the world is for such a miracle. 

 Disciples are now the presence of the Risen Christ in the world.  The Holy Spirit pours out gifts to enable us to be this and tell the world what we know.

 1. Counsel:  The gift of helpful words of advice to others.

2. Fear of the Lord:  This does not mean being afraid it means, respect, awe, and wonder in the presence of God.

3. Knowledge: The gift of knowing more and more about God.

4. Understanding:  The gift to realize how God is at work in everything.

5. Wisdom:  The gift of knowing how to use your knowledge.

6 Fortitude:  The gift of strength to love God with your whole self and to not be afraid of anything.

7. Piety:  The gift of knowing how much greater than all things is God.

 On Sunday we will do the Pentecost Presentation from Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in the Church as part of the Liturgy.  After the Presentation has been given people will come up row by row and choose one of the Seven Gifts, as signified by the red candles lighting from that candle a votive candle of their own.   And so we will behold in a most marvelous way the spread of the light of the Risen Christ, which will someday fill all things.   In the time that remains, consider which of the Seven Gifts you would like to receive on this Pentecost.

 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Level 1

May 24 – Day of Pentecost  

 Pentecost –

The Feast of the Holy Spirit

 God’s plan for Redemption began with Jesus but will not be complete until the Parousia, when God will be “all in all.”  Jesus fulfilled his promise of sending the Holy Spirit to all who believe, beginning with his disciples, to all who believe in Jesus through the ages and, finally, to us.  The Holy Spirit brings gifts to help us know and love God and each other and to bring about the fulfillment of God’s kingdom.

 At Pentecost, the presentation to Level I children reflects the presentation given in the main sanctuary; that is, the naming and choosing one of the seven gifts from the Holy Spirit.   The children of the other two atria, however, reflect on Jesus’ instructions to his disciples prior to his ascension; i.e., what it means to be a witness.  Also, the children of the Level II & III atria are asked to find one thing in the atrium that shows when the Holy Spirit came and place their find together with other gifts.  

 One doesn’t need to be a child of an atrium to reflect on gifts of the Holy Spirit.  This Sunday, you too will be invited to participate in receiving one of the gifts this Sunday.   Prior to Sunday, however, I invite you to prayerfully reflect on one or more gifts that help you know and love God, and encourage you to share it/them at coffee time. 

 Ms. Georgie 

 Level 4

We continue our exploration of The One and Only True and Authoritative, Historically Correct, and Officially Approved Report of the Amazing Rise, God Fearing Life, Heroic Deeds, and Wonderful Achievements of David the Son of Jesse, King of Judah Seven years, and of both Judah and Israel for Thirty three, Chosen of God and Father of King Solomon.*    Or by it’s working Title:  The King  David Report.   This week:  Mistakes were made!  By none other than David the Son of Jesse, King of Judah Seven years and of both Judah and Israel for Thirty three, Chosen of God and Father of King Solomon. 

* Quoted from the novel, The King David Report,  by East German writer, Stefan Heym

Emmaus Road:  New Book:  The Imitation of Christ

Emmaus Road has concluded its reading of James Caroll’s  Christ Actually.  Participants really enjoyed it, finding it helpful in their thinking about Christology (The study of Christ) as well as both biblical and Church history.  The book ended with the idea that what really counts is our imitating Christ, his values, his actions, his way of proceeding. 

 Well, how do you do that?  To help find out, Emmaus Road will read a book by that very name.  We will be reading The Imitation of Christ, by St. Thomas a’Kempis.  This book, written in the Medieval period is one of the most read, most influential books in the entire Christian Tradition.  Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker, kept it with her at all times.  We’ll have to penetrate the Medieval thought forms to get to the heart which is timeless.  It should be fun. The book is not very long and is available from Amazon.  We’ll be using the Dover Thrift Edition which is only $4.00.   Everyone is welcome to participate. 

 For Monday May 25 we’ll read the Second  Section and to chapter 12 of the Third Section.

An Introduction to Praying the Anglican Rosary
Hosted by Kelly Brandt and Briony James May 30th at 9:00am
Please join us at the church for an introduction to praying the Anglican Rosary. All are welcome and we have "loaner rosary beads" for those of you who don't have your own as well as a printed handout of the prayer to be recited. After a brief "how to" and introduction to the beads we will pray the rosary together. Praying the Anglican Rosary takes approximately 15 minutes. We hope you will join us!

 Disaster Preparedness.   Saturday May 30,  9-3 Ascension Parish Sierra Madre

The Disaster Preparedness is proceeding.  Vestry member Stephanie Hseih who is heading it up met with the Finance Committee to begin thinking of how we can continue operating in the event of a major disaster.   Fr. Bob has reached out to Hillsides to see about coordinating our Disaster Plan with theirs.   Fr. Michael Bamberger who consults on disaster preparedness and recover for Episcopal Relief and Development, and who is the Diocesan Disaster Coordinator will host a conference for Parishes and Institutions on disaster preparedness on Saturday May 30 at his parish in Sierra Madre.  Fr. Bob, Stephanie Hseih, and Jim Goltz will attend.  Our next step will be to figure out how the parishioners can be contacted and possibly assisted should a disaster strike. 

 Parents and  Children Barbecue  Sunday June 7, 4:30 p.m.

Young Adult Barbecue:  Saturday, June 13, 4:30 p.m.

A number of Young Adults have started attending COA.  In an effort to help connect them to each other and the parish as well, Fr. Bob will host a barbecue at the Rectory on Saturday June 13.   We look forward to a nice gathering and deepening fellowship.

 Food For Thought:   

Some weeks ago one of the parents of a middle and high schooler commented on how what their children were learning in school was there are only two kinds of things: facts or opinions.  They were aghast!  So how do you talk about values and what’s right and wrong if all that is, is just your opinion? 

 On the Food For Thought Table this Sunday an article about just this way of thinking.  It comes from a recent issue of Philosophy Now and is entitled “Meaning and Morality in Modernity:  Two Core Problems of the Modern Mind.”   We’ll get to see where these ideas came from and how they’ve taken root in our culture.

 The Second article is from a recent issue of The New York Review of Books.  It is entitled “Money and Your Soul.”  It is a review of a new book by Peter Brown, who several years ago wrote the definitive biography of St. Augustine.   Another more recent book of his was Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West 350-550 AD.   This book explored the place of money in Christian thinking, both individually and institutionally as the Church became the religion of the Roman Empire.   The book under review, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity,  carries this topic further.  We dip into history to see how Christians in the past tried to reconcile both the demands of the Gospel and economic realities.