October 1, 17th Sunday after Pentecost

From Chris Askew:  Final Details on:  

Santa Maria Barbecue :

Saturday ! September 30 4:30 p.m.

Parish Hall Lawn.

Coming up Saturday, September 30 is our annual Santa Maria BBQ, for over a decade now one of our most popular and best-attended parish events.   On the Parish Hall lawn we grill tri-tip and chicken over red oak fires using a time-honored Santa Maria recipe, and add a simple salad, barbecue beans and grilled French bread. 

In response to ongoing requests for vegetarian/vegan options, this year I'm adding grilled Portobello mushroom caps (the hamburger-sized ones) with the SMB seasoning.  They're about a buck apiece, so I'll make 20 and see how they go over.   If anybody asks, the beans are now vegetarian (we stopped adding bacon), and the salad is vegan.  Everything we provide is GF, including the chips and salsa, except the French bread. 

You bring drinks and desserts and your family and friends and it all adds up to an all-you-can-eat feast of great food and great fellowship. 

Additional Help:  We could use someone to help decorate the tables.

What to Bring:  We could use more Beer, Wine, and Desserts

So far we have 50 sign-ups, so we'll prepare for 60.

I am excited about all the new blood, especially the families, and the caring and competent individuals who want to be part of keeping the BBQ going  Bodes well.

 I just checked, and the first mention of the Santa Maria BBQ in an LPB was in 2002.  So we've been at for at least a decade and a half.  Not bad. 

Please invite friends to come.  It’s a good way to share our parish community

Coffee Hour:  We're consecrating a ‘new brew’ this Sunday

It’s said Episcopalians firmly believe that coffee hour is the eighth sacrament, but only if the coffee is caffeinated.  Here at Church of the Angels, because we take the coffee hour seriously-- we're improving the coffee we serve on the patio after services.  

This Sunday, join us to welcome the new brew -- a small-batch roasted blend called Rose City from Pasadena’s Jameson Brown Coffee Roasters -- on the patio after each service.  You'll recall that, after the Evensong in May, we held a blind coffee-tasting and Rose City was the clear winner with parishioners.  The blend is described as  “… a classic light/medium roast Brazil and Colombia with a touch of dark-roast Guatemala.  Nutty with a hint of citrus and cocoa.”   Parishioner Bryan Bennett, who previously owned a coffee business, assisted with our coffee-discernment process and the eventual calling of Rose City into service at the parish.

Now you can invite your friends and neighbors to church, sure in the knowledge that the convivial cup of coffee we serve after services is second only to the Holy Eucharist as the preferred ‘cup’ of choice here at Church of the Angels.

The Sign-up sheet for Coffee Hour for September and October will be on the table outside Church this Sunday.  Please sign up and help us create a nice atmosphere of fellowship after the Sunday Liturgies.

Outreach Committee :  COA is building a school library

                                   and we need your help!!!

When:                   Sunday Oct. 15 after the 10:15 service

What to bring:      Your laptop computer (any kind)

What we are going to do:  Everyone with a laptop will take a stack of books and make an excel sheet with the Title, Author and category.  We’ll show you how to set it up and how to find the information.

Why?  Many hands make light work!!!

We will provide a light lunch and expect to be completely finished 2 or 3 hours after starting.

Come and bring your laptop and make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children!

Put on by the OUTREACH COMMITTEE.

Emmaus Road:  Monday October 2, 7:00 p.m.

Emmaus Road continues reading and discussing the book The Road to Character by David Brooks.  In our first meeting we discussed the Introduction and Chapter 1 which laid out the basic premise of the book which is the shift from an “other centered” set of values to our current culture’s focus on what Brooks calls, “The Big Me.” 

This week we consider Dorothy Day

Exploring the Liturgy:  Wednesday October 4,  7:00 p.m.

Fr. Bob’s long promised class on what we do on Sunday morning begins this Wednesday evening in the Parish Hall Living Room.   We plan to go for no more than an hour per meeting so as to not keep everyone up too late (Especially Fr. Early Bird!) 

The purpose is to explore the Sunday Liturgy, to understand how it is structured, what it is saying, and most importantly, to reflect on our experience of it and find words to talk about it like…. 

Mature and full-bodied with layers of dark fruit flavors. Transforms readily into the Real Presence and pairs nicely with communion wafers.

We’ve had a sign- up sheet out for several weeks, but any and all are welcome.  Each session is self-contained so people can come in any time.  In our first meeting this week, we’ll learn how to describe the entire Christian faith in just ten words! 

Food For Thought

This coming Saturday marks the end of the Jewish High Holy Days with the Feast of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.   For Food For Thought this weekend we have a fabulous article from The Wall Street Journal, by Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and a recipient of the Templeton Prize.   The title of the article is The Challenge of Jewish Repentance.  Rabbi Sacks takes us into the depths of Jewish reflection on “God’s faith in us even when we lose faith in ourselves, that even in a secular age, God is still there, open to us whenever we are willing to open ourselves to him, and how in this yearly observance in the company of others publically willing to confess their faults, lifted by the words and music of ancient prayers, we know that God forgives every failure we acknowledge as a failure.”  It has a lot in common with our observance of Ash Wednesday.

For Christians though, we don’t stop here.  In the reading from Hebrews that we hear on Good Friday, the author writes about how “in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.”  He then goes on to talk about the offering Christ made for sin once and for all.  So tacked on to the article from Rabbi Sacks is the reading from Hebrews on Good Friday.  You will be able to see the immense value of all that God did in Jewish history that prepared for what God would do in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. 

Building and Grounds:  A Mighty Wind

Users of the parish hall living room will notice recently-installed ceiling fans and light fixtures.  Our Emmaus Road reading group inaugurated the fans two weeks ago and they've brought blessed relief to the many groups that use the room for meetings, and even a note of thanks from the Women's AA group that meets there.  Sensitive to making the best of our assets, we've moved one the old light fixtures to the main entryway off the parking lot, where it will continue to serve in a new location.  (The other fixture had an electrical short, so was retired.)  We might imagine the advent of these ceiling fans appears to be almost Biblical, judging by Acts 2:2:  "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a mighty wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting."

Hillsides:  The Big Dig Continues

Fr. Bob, Victoria Wilson and Bill Woods met with Hillsides last Thursday to discuss Hillsides' fire valve that is currently on COA property.  Executive Director Joe Costa acknowledged that the valve should be moved onto Hillsides property.  They are working with the City to find a location that meets code on Hillsides land.  They committed to following up to find a solution and to keeping us informed as they do.  It was a positive meeting and we believe they are working in good faith to solve the issue.

Additionally, their contractor is now providing us with weekly email updates on the construction schedule so that we can be informed and plan accordingly.

Music with the Angels:  Jouyssance Concert: Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 4 p.m.

Palestrina: Master of All

Praised and imitated by his contemporaries and revered throughout the centuries, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina crafted some of the greatest a capella music of all time. Jouyssance devotes an entire concert to this contrapuntal master, presenting not only his most beloved motets, but also the sumptuous Missa L'homme armé à 5.  Although he is long associated with the Catholic Church, Palestrina had a rarely seen secular side, which Jouyssance will explore with a selection of his madrigals.

About Jouyssance

Jouyssance holds many of its rehearsals on Sunday afternoons in Church of the Angels Parish Hall

Jouyssance performs an annual series of three concert programs in West LA and Pasadena, and are regularly featured as performers at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Orange County. The group honors the tradition of historically informed performance practice, seeking to re-create the music as it might have sounded at the time it was written. Performances occasionally include historically informed accompaniment on period instruments.

The Ensemble's repertoire includes music from the 9th through the early 17th centuries, often featuring such major figures as Machaut, Dufay, Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, and Monteverdi. Concerts showcase music not only from every corner of Europe, but also from non-Western traditions from around the globe, such as Canadian First Nations, Mexico and Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru, the Ukraine, Ethiopia, Byzantium, India, China, and the Philippines.

Jouyssance aims to educate audiences in ways that engage and inspire. During concerts, Dr. Baker generally speaks about the repertoire to the audience, often peppering her comments with humorous, informative anecdotes that help bring the music and its composers to life. Program notes for each concert include texts and translations that are also made available on our website.

Nicole Baker, Artistic Director

Teacher, conductor and singer Nicole Baker has served on the music history and voice faculties of California State University, Fullerton, since 1997. A graduate of Wellesley College, Dr. Baker earned her MFA in vocal performance and her Ph.D. in music history from UCLA. She has conducted choruses for 25 years throughout Southern California, including ensembles at California State University, Northridge, and has led Jouyssance since 1999. She also serves as Music Director at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Pasadena.

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