November 6, The Sunday of All Saints

 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

November 6,  Sunday of All Saints

 From its earliest days, the Church has recognized as its foundation stones those heroes of the faith whose lives have excited others to holiness and have assumed a communion with the Church on earth and the Church in heaven.  Celebrating the Feast of All Saints began in the fourth century.  At first it was observed on the Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost; this was to link the disciples who received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the foundation of the Church, with those who were martyrs, giving their lives as witnesses for the faith.  In the eighth century, a pope dedicated a chapel to All Saints in St. Peters at Rome on November 1 and within a century this day was being observed in England and Ireland as "All Saints Day." 

The Feast of All Saints  Why It Matters

Why is All Saints such an important observance in the Christian faith.  The most obvious reason can be seen in all of the images expressed in Halloween and in our part of the world, Dia de Los Muertos,  or the Day of the Dead.   Standing back and looking at it all, while it is fun, there is a certain rush in being scared, like going on a roller coaster  or watching a horror movie, there is also a sober realization embedded in all this.  That is, if the Christian faith is not true, then what we see on Halloween and The Day of the Dead is all there finally is.  That is where the human being finally ends up.  Thinking about witches, ghosts, goblins, skeletons, zombies, what we see are parts rather than whole human beings.  We’re looking at frailty, old age, exclusion, invisibility, fracture, and an emotional vocabulary limited to loss and fear. 

All Saints matters because it affirms what Christians hope for, the entire human person finding fulfillment, completion, permanence, and love in our living the life that makes God, God.   The saints as heroes of the faith act as a lens through which we see this hope as shining through people in all the variety that is the human race.   On All Saints we behold that the human person becomes a whole, not reduced into parts, and that our final destiny as human beings is not nothing, it is everything. 

 So come and be a part of the future that awaits us.

The Feast of All Saints:

Sunday, November 6, 2017

Stories of the Saints

Prayers for those who’ve gone before us

Holy Eucharist

7:45 & 10:15 a.m.

All Saints Day Remembrance

If you missed the sign up sheet and want to have loved ones remembered on the Sunday of All Saints, please email the names into the Church Office.  Please indicate which

 All Saints:  Stories of the Saints for 2016

We have two Saint Stories for the Sunday of All Saints.

 St. Mary Magdalene:  First Witness to the Resurrection.

(You can see her in the window over the altar)

This Saint Story will be presented by parishioner Anne Miles

Peter Drucker:   Theorist of Business and Management  (Episcopalian and member of St. Ambrose Parish in Claremont)

This Saint Story will be presented by parishioner Bill Woods.

Coffee Hour:  November and December Sign Up Sheet

The new sign up sheet for Coffee Hour for November and December will be out on the table this next Sunday.

Annual Giving Begins

Church of the Angels Annual Giving for 2017

Annual Giving for 2017 has  begun.   We ask everyone to make a pledge of financial support for our parish life for the year to come.  . 

New:  Fill out your Pledge Card online

It is possible for your to fill our your Pledge Card for Annual Giving online. 

 Go to:  http://www.coa-pasadena.org/pledge

 You will find a Pledge Card on the page of our Website.  You can fill in the information.  When you press the “Submit” button your pledge card will automatically go to an email address specifically for the Parish Treasurer. 

Preparing for Advent:   Three Things

Advent will be upon us sooner than we think.  So we have three things coming up to help us prepare.

Year of Grace Calendars.

The Year of Grace Calendars for the Christian Year which begins on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 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. 

Advent Event:

Following the 10:15 Liturgy on Sunday November 20

  The First Sunday of Advent is November 27.  To help us prepare for Advent we will have the Advent Event on the Sunday of Christ the King, November 20.  

 Advent Potluck,  Advent Wreath Making

The Sign Up Sheet for the Potluck and Wreath Making will be on the table outside Church on Sunday.

Altar Flowers for 2017

This Sunday we’ll begin taking sign ups for Altar Flowers for 2017.  See the Sign Up Sheet on the table outside Church on Sunday.

 Das Boot:   Working on the Boat that is Church of the Angels

After a recent film shoot, the crew in putting the benches back in their place, dropped one and caused a huge crack in the leg.   And as is always the case on The Boat that is Church of the Angels, nothing is easy to fix.   It’s never a matter of a quick trip to OSH!

 Parishioner and Vestry member Eric Jones, who is a master of furniture restoration took on the task and repaired the bench for us.  You can see his work in these pictures.  Again, we are blessed as a parish with such wonderfully talented people!

Food For Thought

On the Food For Thought Table this Sunday an article from The Wall Street Journal,  “Vatican, China, Consider Deal on Selection of Bishops After Decades of Division.”  You think our politics are complicated?  Try this one on for size as the Vatican and China try to resolve their differences about the Chinese Catholic Church which comes in two versions, the state sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which operates under the control of the government, and the Underground Catholic Church which remains faithful to the jurisdiction of the Pope.   Talk about a stately dance!

 Emmaus Road:  Monday November 7, 7:00 p.m.

We are close to finishing Fr. James Martin’s book Between Heaven and Mirth.  This week look at chapters 7 & 8.  After this we will look a portions of a new class from The Teaching Company’s Great Courses.  Reading Biblical Literature From Genesis to Revelation.   The Great Courses are lectures on a wide range of subjects given by outstanding, award winning college professors.  The lectures are a half hour in length.   We will jump around the course on the Bible and viewing specific topics in order of interest rather than chronology.  The lectures we’ll view will be:  November:  Creation, Chaos, and Genesis,   Revelation:  Vision of a New Creation,  Jewish Identity and Rebuilding After Exile.  In December we’ll view  Dynamics of Forgiveness,   Early Church in Acts,  Paul’s Calling,  Gender Roles and Slavery.  Everyone is welcome to participate.  Come to any or all.