February 28, The Third Sunday in Lent
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 11:09AM 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
Coffee Hour Needs:
We need people to volunteer for Coffee Hour on the following Sundays:
7:45 Liturgy: February 28
Coffee Hour Sign Up for March and April will be on the Coffee Table this Sunday
Anglican Rosary: Saturday, February 27, 9:00 a.m
The Anglican Rosary devotional group meets Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. in the Church. Everyone is welcome.
Emmaus Road
Emmaus Road resumes it’s reading of Marilynne Robinson’s book, The Giveness of Things, on Monday, February 29. , in the Parish Hall Living Room. Anyone is welcome to join in. The book is readily available at Vroman’s in Pasadena. For Monday February 29, we will read chapter 6, “Decline”
At the Emmaus Road Group last Monday, one participant commented, “We’re having conversations that many people in the congregation would enjoy.” That’s right. Anyone is welcome to come and sit in an contribute. Reading the book is fun, but not absolutely necessary. Everyone’s contribution be they questions or reflections adds to the experience. Please consider joining in.
Community Emergency Response Training
Church of the Angels will be the host for the Community Emergency Response Training, sponsored by the San Rafael Neighborhoods Association and the Pasadena Fire Department. SRNA meets the first Monday of the month in the Parish Hall.
This event will be held in the Parish Hall, Saturday March 12 from 8-12. Any member of the Parish is welcome to attend.
This is a great opportunity that goes along with our ongoing Emergency Preparedness planning. Fr. Bob took the training several years ago as did parishioner Elizabeth Bergholz. It is great fun and get to learn some very helpful skills.
San Rafael Neighborhoods Association
SRNA
sponsors
Disaster Response Skills
and
Building a Neighborhood Response Network
Pasadena Fire Department Training
COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS (CERT-Overview)
Learn what to do to and how to do it when professional “first responders” are unable to respond to you, your family and neighborhood.
(Neighbors and children 12 and older welcomed!)
***********************
Saturday, March 12th
8am-12pm
Church of the Angels
Church Hall
1100 Avenue 64
Pasadena 91105
(Avenue 64 and Church Street, south side)
Street Parking
Please Plan to Arrive Promptly at 8:00 am
Coffee and Pastries Served
Outreach
The Outreach Committee reports that Suubi Children’s Centre elementary building is nearing completion. We are hoping to be able to send money for bookcases in the new classrooms!
If you would like to support this project, you can send your donations to COA and earmark it “Outreach.”
Easter Sign Ups
This Sunday, Lent 3, the sign up sheets for the various Easter Activities will be on the table outside Church. These will be sign ups for:
Church Decorations for Easter
Reflective Dinners in Holy Week
Holy Saturday Preparations
Easter Day, Easter Breakfast
Reflective Dinners in Holy Week
This year we will both keep things the way we normally do them, and change something as well.
What we always do: Meal Teams needed for each evening, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday.
The Meal Time collaborates on preparing a meal with a appetizer, salad, main dish, bread, drinks, and dessert. Many hands make light work!
What we’ll do differently.
Fr. Bob and Kelly Brandt are changing roles this year. This year Fr. Bob will do the readings during dinner and Kelly will read from the Last Supper Discourses from the Gospel of St. John.
Fr. Bob will be reading from Pope Francis’ new book: The Name of God is Mercy.
Sign up for the dinners and to help with the meal. Below is a more detailed descripton
Reflective Dinners in Holy Week:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 6:00 p.m. Parish Hall
The Reflective Dinners in Holy Week are a tradition unique to Church of the Angels. They had their beginning as an outcome of one of my annual 8 day retreats many years ago. In that time I made my annual retreats at the Camaldolese Hermitage south of Big Sur, and my favorite part of the day was at the end of the Evening Prayer Liturgy. We would go from the monastic choir into the Rotunda where they celebrated the Eucharist. We would stand along the outside wall, and then one of the monks would bring out the Sacrament from the Tabernacle and place it on the Altar with a single candle. Then we would all sit or kneel in silence for a half hour. Inside the Rotunda it was absolutely silent. We stayed that way until one of the monks range a Tibetan Singing Bowl, and then we would prostrate ourselves. The bowl would be rung again and we’d stand and a monk would take the Sacrament back to the Tabernacle in an adjoining Chapel.
As I said, this was my favorite part of the day. During the silence various things would emerge in my mind. At one point many years ago an idea emerged, “What if we combined The Song of Solomon with the Gospel of John during Holy Week? Later the idea of three evenings took shape. I came home and asked Phil Holmes if he would take on the meditations and he did, and so the Reflective Dinners were born.
Standing behind all this is St. John’s account of the Last Supper. It begins with Jesus washing the disciples feet in Chapter 13. Then in Chapter’s 14, 15, and 16, Jesus talks with his disciples about what their life in the world will be on the other side of his Resurrection. The Last Supper concludes with Jesus High Priestly Prayer in Chapter 17 where he prays for his disciples. The key to understanding all this is to realize that Jesus is not speaking to those original disciples only, but that he is talking to disciples in all times and all places until the Parousia. His description of Post Resurrection life to them, has resonance with our lives as disciples now. He gives the clue when he says “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” In other words the truth of Christ and what he means will unfold and deepen over the whole course of our lives and in fact the whole course of human history. So, the Reflective Dinners in Holy Week bring us into this same place where Jesus speaks with us about our lives in him now and always.
To make this happen, we set it up in a special way. We set up the Parish Hall with tables and chairs forming a U and we sit around the outside. The tables have many, many of the IKEA Tea Lights that we use at Pentecost as well as other candles. As we gather, depending on the time of year, the light in the Parish Hall dims with the setting of the sun and the candles glow brighter. A team prepares a simple meal, usually soup or casserole, salad, bread, wine, and a desert. Once the meal has been served, a parishioner reads to us as we eat in silence. Over the years many parishioners have presented Christian authors from across the centuries all talking about the Christian life, what it means, and how it is lived. When finished, usually when we’re about done with the meal, I read one of the Chapters from St. John’s account of the Last Supper, one chapter each evening. At the conclusion of that, I read 1/3 of the High Priestly Prayer. Then we do Eucharist together around the table using bread and wine from the meal. We share the Sacrament among each other. We finish with the Blessing.
After this there is desert and conversation. Then we clean up and prepare for the next evening.
The Reflective Dinners are a wonderful event. Some people come to all three, some make one or two. It doesn’t matter, there is much to be gained either way. Once again this year we look forward to a rich experience during the first three nights in Holy Week. If you’ve never been to a Reflective Dinner, you might want to try it, and see for yourself.
Food For Thought
We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table!”
I suppose we should try to do and be better. But just how good can we be and can we be too good for our own good? Those are the questions posed by the articles on the Food For Thought Table this weekend.
1. From The New York Review of Books, “How Good Can You Be.” This is a review of a book about people so good they adopt over 20 developmentally disabled children, or live on 10% of their income and give the rest away to charity. But exactly how good is this really?
2. From The Harvard Business Review, “ The Limits of Empathy.” How being the helping person, the one born under the astrological sign of “Responsible Person,” risks burnout. For those in management, the leader has to watch out for the possibility that those who do too much good might not be so good for the organization.
3. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Extra copies of last week’s articles, Class Matters, and Death, the Prosperity Gospel, and Me, on the table outside.
Getting Ready for Easter
Below is the schedule for Holy Week and Easter. This is to give you a heads up as to what will be happening.
Liturgies for Holy Week and Easter 2016
March 20 Palm Sunday 7:45 & 10:15 a.m. Liturgy of Palms and Holy Eucharist
March 21 Monday in Holy Week 6:00 p.m.
Reflective Dinner: and Gospel of St. John: Parish Hall
March 22 Tuesday in Holy Week 6:00 p.m.
Reflective Dinner: and Gospel of St. John: Parish Hall
March 23 Wednesday in Holy Week 6:00 p.m.
Reflective Dinner and Gospel of St. John: Parish Hall
March 24 Maundy Thursday 7:00 p.m.
Maundy Thursday Liturgy, Foot washing and Holy Eucharist
March 25 Good Friday 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Good Friday Liturgy Mass of the Pre-Sanctified
March 26 Holy Saturday 8:30 a.m. Altar Guild and Friends Prepare Church for Easter
Other Times Set up Parish Hall, Prepare Easter Breakfast, Prepare Easter Eggs
March 27 Easter Day 5:45 a.m. The Great Vigil of Easter
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Easter Egg, Hunt Parish, Easter Breakfast
10:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist