February 7, The Last Sunday after Epiphany

 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 7, 21, & 28

10:15 Liturgy  February 7, 21, 28

Anglican Rosary:  Saturday, February 6,  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 8.  , 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 8,  we will read chapter 4,  “Servanthood.”

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd “Level 4”

Fr. Bob resumes meeting with middle school young people between the services on Sunday.  We’ve concluded our exploration of the Marriage Liturgy as a guide to thinking about the quality of human relationships.  We looked not only at marriage itself, but what the liturgy tells us about friendship as in how to be one and how to choose one. 

 Now we begin to explore what personal qualities we need to develop in order to have the quality relationships we want.  We’ll begin by examining what are called “transcendental precepts,” that is the basic stance toward life that makes virtues and character strengths possible.  There are four:  be attentive, be intelligent, be reasonable, be responsible.  We’ll begin to unpack these on Sunday.

Shrove Tuesday, February 9. 

Once again we will have our Shrove Tuesday Dinner and we hope everyone will participate. 

 All Catholic and some Protestant countries traditionally call the day before Ash Wednesday Fat Tuesday. The name predated the Reformation and referred to the common Christian tradition of eating special rich foods before the fasting season of Lent.

 Most Christian countries observing Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday celebrated with some form of local pancake or flatbread, made from the remaining lard, oil, butter, eggs, flour, corn meal, oats and sugar.

 Shrove Tuesday at Church of the Angels is a fun, fellowship filled event before we start the Lenten Season.   This year we’re in a sense changing locations for our Shrove Tuesday dinner.  For the last several years, while the location of the dinner itself was in the Parish Hall, the food came from “South of the Border,” as we had Mexican Pancakes, build your own Tostadas. 

 This year, while still being in the Parish Hall we move to two places: Northern Europe and New Orleans.   Parishioner Briony James will head up the making of pancakes:  Swedish, Appalachian, and the ordinary variety.  That’s the Northern Europe part.  From New Orleans, she will prepare what she calls, “A Mean Gumbo.”

 So don’t miss it.  Plan to come.  A sign up sheet will be outside Church the next three Sundays. 

 Because of the rain last Sunday, it was not possible to get the sign up sheet around to very many people.   In order for this event to work, we need to know how many people are coming so Briony can get the right amount of food and plan accordingly.

 The Sign Up Sheet will be out on Sunday,  but you can also email the office.   Please let us know.

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

Eric Jones has been at work “Sweating the Small Stuff”

 1. The bird's nest was cleaned out of the window of the tower study room.  I was able to clean it out from the inside by removing two little tacks that hold the glass in place.  It looks like once a long time ago that there was a sort of hinged window that covered the opening, it rusted over and must have been removed.  The nest was not actively being used and probably would never have been used again because there was a bird skeleton lying inside it.

 2.  The conduit with exposed wires in the tower study room had a cover made for it.

 3.  The closet door in the tower study has had the little slide door locks on the fixed portion of the door repaired.  I've been looking for a new doorknob to replace the missing one on the operational side of the closet.

 4. I found a threshold that would cover the opening folding doors in the parish hall and installed it today.

 5.  Planted some new roses by the Church Sign

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Imposition of Ashes

Holy Eucharist

February 10, 2016 

7:00 p.m.

Ash Wednesday is one of the most solemn and significant events of the Church Year.  It marks the beginning of Lent which is the period of preparation for Easter.  The Preface for  the Eucharistic Prayer in Lent puts it this way: 

 You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the Paschal Feast, that fervent in prayers and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace, which you have prepared for those who truly love you. 

 There is a lot here.  The word “cleanse,” is also used in St. John’s Gospel in Jesus’ discourse on the True Vine where it means “pruning”  “Every branch that does not bear fruit he cleanses, or prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  So you have the idea of getting rid of things that get in the way of our flourishing, or, “The glory of God is Man and Woman fully alive.”  It is not a pleasant experience, particularly when the cleansing involves things deeply rooted and long standing.  “Prepare with joy for the Paschal Feast,”  that is get ready and anticipate and begin to live from the joy that comes to us at Easter.  We’re getting ready for something wonderful, the most wonderful thing there is.  “Fervent in Prayer and in Works of Mercy,” tells us that Lent is not just about “giving things up,” it’s about taking things on, good things like expressions of love for God in prayer, and love for one another in actions that are kind and compassionate.  “Renewed by Word and Sacraments,”  that is what they are for, and Lent is a time to focus deeply on that and receive all they offer.  Finally, the “Fullness of Grace,” which is we are made ready to share fully all God wishes to bestow, which is his whole self to us. 

 Lent is not an easy season.  We ponder what it is about us that makes it necessary for Jesus to lose his life and to lose it in the way he does.  It’s not so much about listing our faults as acknowledging our afflictions, those we endure and those we perpetrate in what one writer has called, “the hell of self knowledge.  We can do that and believe it or not do it with joy because the Good News is that words of the imposition of ashes, Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return, are not the last word, but only the first and that Ash Wednesday leads us to Easter and our sharing in Christ’s Risen Life. 

The Call to Lenten Observance

 The Liturgy for Ash Wednesday states:

 I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. 

 In many people’s minds, the word “Lent,” means “giving up something.”  But if you listen carefully to the liturgy, you’ll note that it’s more about increasing, adding to, intensifying one’s Christian practice.   This taking on rather than giving up is in the two fundamental areas of Christian living:  Love of God, and Love of Neighbor.

 Love of God:   We’ll have several things to assist with this once Lent begins.  Once again we will have booklets of Lenten Meditations provided by Episcopal Relief and Development. 

 Also we have something new, a Lenten Poster, that corresponds to the Advent Poster that so many found helpful before Christmas. 

 Love of Neighbor:   We’ll have two opportunities beginning Sunday February 14.

 Hillsides Executive Director Joe Costa, will visit COA at the 10:15 Liturgy and speak of the ministry of Hillsides Home, our next door neighbor.   For decades, COA and Hillsides have collaborated as neighbors under the same umbrella, The Diocese of Los Angeles, sharing equipment and other resources to strengthen each other’s mission.   We welcome Joe’s visit to us.

 Episcopal Relief and Development:   Chris Ortiz, ERD coordinator for COA will have materials and handouts for this very important ministry of the Episcopal Church.

 Episcopal Community Credit Union.   Again Chris will have material on the work of our Diocesan Credit Union that makes loans available to low income people.