April 24, The Fifth Sunday of Easter

 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

Anglican Rosary:  Saturday, March 23,  9:00 a.m

The Anglican Rosary devotional group meets Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. in the Church.  Everyone is welcome.

Coffee Hour Sign Up

The Sign up Sheet for Coffee hour for May and June will be outside the Church on Sunday.  At this point all the Sundays are open for volunteers.  You can sign up at Church or email in to the Office.

For the Rest of April  Volunteer needed:   April 24  7:45 & 10:15 

Emmaus Road

Emmaus Road resumes it’s reading of  Marilynne Robinson’s book, The Giveness of Things, on Monday, April 25.  , in the Parish Hall Living Room.  Anyone is welcome to join in.  The book is readily available at Vroman’s in Pasadena.  For Monday April 25  we will read chapter 11, “ Theology”   . 

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd:  “Level 4”

Since Autumn last year the Level 4 Group has met with Fr. Bob in his office between the 7:45 and 10:15 Liturgy.   We’ve been going through the Old Testament, the late history of Israel beginning with Samuel.  So we got the familiar stories of Saul and David and Goliath, etc.   We got to David’s son Solomon who was wise enough to figure out which woman the baby belonged to, and he was rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, and not only that, but he had 800 wives and 300 girlfriends!  We got to the Song of Songs which is attributed to Solomon, which on one level sounds like erotic love poetry, but has for centuries and centuries been understood to describe the love between God and Israel, Christ and his Church, and the Trinity and the individual Christian soul. 

 We used this as a place to detour and consider the quality of human relationships.  We looked at the Marriage Liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer to consider the human qualities and actions needed not only in a spouse, but actually in a friend.  We explored the qualities we might seek in another person, and the qualities another person might seek in us. 

 From there we explored a list of character strengths and virtues from a book by the same name.  We looked at the general qualities of Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence.  Under Wisdom and Knowledge were Open-mindedness, critical thinking.  Courage dealt with perseverance and integrity.  Humanity looked at generosity, compassion, and social intelligence.  Justice explored fairness and leadership.  Temperance included forgiveness and mercy, prudence, and self regulation and control. 

 Finally under Transcendence were strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning.  We found the answer to why we go to Church. 

 We go to Church in order to have coherent beliefs about the higher purpose of the universe; knowing where one fits within that larger scheme; having beliefs about the meaning of life that shape conduct and provide comfort. 

 Or as we say in our Parish Vision Statement:  To live the Christian life in depth and experience joy in doing so.

 As part of our conversation each week, I ask the participants several questions.  “Who asked a question this week that people couldn’t answer?  Did you experience anything that was unfair?  Did you have to stand up for something?  Did you make good choices, or did you find that you said or did something you might later regret?   These questions come out of the character strengths. 

 Where do we go from here?  We’re going to resume our journey through the late history of Israel, and continue to ask questions as we go.   We finished our conversation on character strengths and virtues by asking if these are things that just come naturally, or do we need to practice them?  And the they understood, yes you have to practice them until they become second nature.  And even after that, you have to keep on practicing them. 

 We looked at a comment from the late pianist Vladimir Horowitz on the need to practice playing scales every day.  “If don’t practice one day you know it.  If you don’t practice two days, the critics know it.  If you don’t practice three days, the audience knows it.” 

Das Boot:  From Eric Jones

Working on “The Boat” that is Church of the Angels

Hey Father Bob,

 I've been meaning to send you some updates about progress at the church, but I've gotten busy with other demands and have fallen behind.  Anyway, here's the progress from the last week or two.

 I've vacuumed the walls and floors if the clock room.  The floors are still really dirty and will have to be hand scrubbed with water, but at least there will be less dirt to pick up and no dust to get into the air and into the clock mechanism.  One of the lancet windows in the room looks like it was broken awhile back and is letting in outside dust and smog.  As soon as I can, I'll cut a new piece of glass to replace it.

Just above the clock room in the tower, birds have been finding their way in and sometimes seem unable to find their way out.  I caught the last one flying around up there.  There were about 8 holes that the birds were entering around the edges that must have seemed too small to bother with, but apparently, they were big enough for the songbirds.  I took some block foam and wedged it into the holes which should permanently keep them out.

Down in the church, in the chapel above the crypt, the window sill has undergone a lot of wear and tear.  I put some stain on the make the rings recede and then a layer of shellac.  The shellac will be soft-ish for a week or so and when it's fully set, I'll apply a coat of wax.  Historic finishes like these really dislike water and will probably continue to get damaged, but the nice thing about them is that there are often repair solutions.

In the parish hall, I've attached the grandfather clock to the wall with a set of "L" brackets.  It allows the screw to be taken out and the clock moved if necessary, but will hold it firm to the wall in the event of an earthquake and keep it from falling over.

Lastly, I found the picture that used to be over the mantle was looking for a home.  In order to keep it from getting broken, I attached a hook to the picture rail above the desk and put it up on some new wire.  If it was destined to go somewhere else, it is no problem to move it.  Just let me know and I can do it.

Support for Hillsides Home  We’re in this together

Hillsides director of Volunteers asked if she might use the Parish Hall for a meeting of Hillsides Women’s Volunteer Group Wednesday April 27.  As always, we are glad to make our facilities available to further the work of Hillsides and so we welcome them.  It is a small part of our ongoing support for Hillsides as well as just being neighborly.   In turn, Hillsides loaned us the use of tables and chairs for the Easter Breakfast.  

Things That Are Coming Up

 A Gathering for people preparing for marriage

We have a lot of people preparing for marriage.   Fr. Bob, Rebecca and Bill Woods will host a barbecue/potluck at the Parish Hall on Sunday May 22 at 4:30 p.m.  This will give couples preparing for marriage to meet each other so they know someone when they come to Church on Sunday.  They can also pick Rebecca’s brain.  They can also pick Fr. Bob’s brain, but he’ll only refer them to Rebecca!   Finally, Bill and Rebecca will discuss finances as in how to both organize them (Bill) and probably most important, talk about them with your spouse, (Rebecca)   More as we get closer to the event.

A Parish Lunch on Estate Planning and Legacy Giving

This will take place after the 10:15 Liturgy on Sunday June 5  Ellen Farewell, an estate planning attorney, and member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glendale will talk about how you prepare a will and make a legacy gift to your church or other organizations in order that you may continue to support them beyond your lifetime. 

A Barbecue for Parents and Children

We do this at the beginning and the end of the summer.  Parents and children gather at the Rectory for a barbecue and lots of fun.   Sunday June 12:  4:30 p.m.  More as we get closer.

Food For Thought

On the Food for Thought Table this Sunday a Blue Article and a Red Article.   The Red Article comes from the newest issue of Philosophy Now,  “On the Philosophy of Conservatism.”   This is a short one page article where the author distinguishes between conservatism and progressivism on the basis of how people think of the possibilities and limitations of human perfectibility.

 The Blue Article is from the newest issue of Harpers, and is titled, “Habits of Highly Cynical People.”   The “content” is certainly liberal in terms of climate change and economic inequality, but what is more important than that for Christian purposes is the personal stance toward hope and the efforts one makes in a world that remains imperfect.   The underlying theme is the “perfect is the enemy of the good.”   As we read Acts of the Apostles on Sunday in the Easter Season, imagine what would have happened to the Christian movement if disciples had the attitudes the author of this article criticizes.