September 10, 14th Sunday after Pentecost
Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 10:07AM Episcopal Relief and Development: Aid for Houston
Episcopal Relief and Development is an agency of the Episcopal Church in the United States whose mission is to assist people in need around the world. It works through local social service groups throughout the Anglican Communion, as well as other service agencies like Church World Service.
Episcopal Relief and Development also has division that is dedicated to disaster relief and recovery. Fr. Michael Bamberger, Rector of a nearby parish, Ascension Sierra Madre, and a good friend of Fr. Bob, is one of the disaster relief coordinators for Episcopal Relief and Development and on behalf of ERD travels to disaster areas in the United States to assist Episcopal congregation in their recovery process.
Episcopal Relief and Development is asking for donations to assist the recovery of the City of Houston devastated by the recent floods. The Diocese of Los Angeles is asking parishioners to make donations that their parish can forward to the Diocese and then on to ERD.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK AN ENVELOPE LAST SUNDAY
This Sunday There will be MORE special envelopes on the table in the Narthex for those who would like to contribute. Make your check to Church of the Angels. We will put it in the Outreach Fund and forward it to the Diocese.
Coffee Hour
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.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Begins: Sunday September 10: 10:15 Liturgy
All the Atriums will be up and running;
Level 1: Age 3-6: Georgie McAdams
Level 2: Age 6-9: Any Riker, Emily Woolery
Level 3: Age 9-12: Tracy Gaestel.
Celebrating, Supporting, Appreciating Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
For Tales of Anglicanism at the 10:15 Liturgy, Melissa Stanley, who has grown up in the parish, went all the way through Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Rite 13, and The Young Person's Guide to Love and Wealth Management, and who will be married in February 2018, will speak to the congregation of her experience of growing up in the parish and how the parish has supported her growth to adulthood. We'll get the view from the one who has been here and see what the future can hold for our children as they grow up at Church of the Angels.
We'll also recognize and honor our catechists for the work they do.
Level 4: Fr. Bob's meeting with High Schoolers between the services.
Begins again Sunday September 10
"Level 4" is our term for those who've aged out of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Fr. Bob meets with them in his office between the services for a more in depth look at the Bible and Christianity as a whole. Last year we explored the Late History of Israel from Samuel to the Exile. Prior to that we explored Virtues and Character Strengths that we need to develop in ourselves and are the qualities we look for in other people. At the end of of the Spring we moved to the Early History and explored the book of Genesis.
What's up next? We'll review Virtues and Character Strengths again. We'll pick up the story of the Early History, this time exploring the Exodus, Wilderness, Wanderings, and the Settlement of Palestine.
The method is to look at the stories in the Doubleday Children's Bible. This gives us the overall sense of the story. Fr. Bob fills in with real Bible giving more detail and raising questions. Asking questions is the goal of our discussion. Fr. Bob always opens the meeting by asking, "Who this week asked a question no one could answer." As the discussion unfolds, Fr. Bob will bring in materials from any of the atriums that are pertinent to the discussion, and a have them relate this new material to what they learned when they were younger. In addition, we connect the Bible stories with contemporary events as well, seeking to make connections and see that the Scripture though old, remains ever relevant.
Parents and Children’s BBQ: Sunday, September 10, 4:30 p.m.
We were sorry not to do our traditional beginning of summer barbecue for all of you last June due to Tracy's surgery. We missed doing it, and Tracy told me you missed having it. Tracy is recovering well and is back to work. So we will do the Parent and Children BBQ on Sunday September 10 4:30 p.m. at the Rectory. We'll do our standard fare and have all of you help by bringing things to fill out the meal. I'll give more info as we get closer
Emmaus Road: Monday September 11, 7:00 p.m.
Emmaus Road resumes its reading group on Monday September 11.
We will begin the book The Road to Character by David Brooks. Here is a description.
With the wisdom, humor, curiosity, and sharp insights that have brought millions of readers to his New York Times column and his previous bestsellers, David Brooks has consistently illuminated our daily lives in surprising and original ways. In The Social Animal, he explored the neuroscience of human connection and how we can flourish together. Now, in The Road to Character, he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST • “I wrote this book not sure I could follow the road to character, but I wanted at least to know what the road looks like and how other people have trodden it.”—David Brooks
The book is widely available. We invite anyone interested, whether you’ve been to Emmaus Road or not, to join us in reading and discussing a very timely book.
We’ll discuss the Introduction and Chapter 1
Food For Thought: Affirming, Asserting the Middle
Episcopalians often use a phrase, The Via Media to describe themselves. Originally it referred to the Church of England in the 16th Century that positioned itself in the middle between two very militant extremes: the Roman Catholic Church, and John Calvin’s Reformed Church centered in Geneva Switzerland. Anglicans saw themselves as the bridge between these two both holding on to what was essential to Catholicism, and the necessary reforms of that time.
It takes a great deal of courage and sense to occupy this position because it is always threatened by “No good deed goes unpunished,” and “If you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.”
In the present time, this courageous and sensible middle appears to be shrinking due to pressures of all sorts from all sides. The articles for Food For Thought this week do two things. They feed directly into the new book being read by the Emmaus Road Group, on the subject of character, and they affirm the commitment to having an open mind and being able to see all sides of an issue.
From The New York Times, two articles by David Brooks. “What Moderates Believe,” and “How to Roll Back Fanaticism.” Both show that the commitment to the middle is anything but squishy indecision or lack of commitment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/opinion/trump-moderates-bipartisanship-truth.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/opinion/fanaticism-white-nationalists-charlottesville.html
From The Christian Century, two short pieces. From the Publisher, “Shaping a Conscience,” about what it takes to develop a conscience and the consequences of not doing so. The other article is “Realism Without Despair,” which is about thought of Reinhold Niebuhr, an American theologian of the 20th Century who calls for “an honest engagement with the world that begins with acknowledging that the world is complicated, broken place, and we’re all complicit in that brokenness”
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/conscience-means-knowing-together
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/niebuhr-left-righ
The articles will be on the Table outside Church on Sunday.
The Big Dig: What’s happening at Hillsides
For the whole summer the both the landscape and the inaction over at Hillsides could remind one of trench warfare on the Western Front, or the Phony War of 1939-1940. Hillsides was stalled due to an error in the soils report required to plan the shoring of the excavation for the new building. All of it had to be redesigned and pass several inspections. By now, the foundation of the building should have been laid, but due to the heavy rains, and the design problems, everything has been delayed. They now tell us that the excavation will begin Tuesday after Labor Day. It will take about a month to both dig and carry away the dirt. Also at some point the driveway between the Church Street entrance and the Parish Hall will be dug up to lay in utility pipes. This was also supposed to have been done over the summer before school started. We’ll keep you posted on their progress and how it will affect our life and work. We are grateful to Victoria Wilson who is acting as liaison between the Parish and Hillsides Construction Representative and keeping the lines of communication open.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: New Level 1 Course
Having had a good time with a group reading The Religious Potential of the Child over the summer, we are pushing on, going deeper in an actual course on CGS Level 1 which is atrium for children ages 3-6. Georgie McAdams, Tracy Gaestel, and Fr. Bob are teaming up to do an in-house course which will meet 1 Saturday a month beginning on September 16. We have four people who’ve signed up and we’d love to have more. Speak to Georgie, Tracy, or Fr. Bob for more information.
What are we doing on Sunday Morning: Exploring the Liturgy
Two Sundays ago at Tales of Anglicanism, Fr. Bob commented on how the Sunday Liturgy is so densely packed and goes by so fast, that we might, in fact we do, miss all the richness that presents itself. Fr. Bob would like to offer a class to enable us to slow down and explore the Liturgy at a relaxed pace so to understand it more deeply and to enrich our experience of participating in it. Depending on people’s interest and availability the class will be either Tuesday or Wednesday evenings in the Parish Hall Living Room and we’ll keep it to an hour.
The Sign Up Sheet will be on the table outside Church.
.
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. 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.
Still Looking For Help:
People to Bring Drinks, Appetizers, and Desserts!
None of this happens without the many helping hands each year who do everything from purchasing to grilling, setup to cleanup. No experience necessary! If you'd like to be part of this year's happy crew, say so on the sign-up sheet after church, or contact coordinator Chris Askew directly at
626 200-5209 or, christopher.askew@gmail.com.
What we need
Sign ups
Beer Wine:
Dessert
Set Up
Prepare Food Really Need help!
Clean Up Really, Really, Really need help!
Annual Parish Retreat: Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning, October 13, 14, & 15. Camp 1000 Pines in Crestline.
Mark the date on your calendar. We've got a good set of speakers, Rick Fraser and Charity Perry, both who attend the Emmaus Road Group. Rick is a Ph.d psychologist and Charity is a Ph.d sociologist at Cal State LA. Both have extensive experience in family matters. We haven't settled on a topic yet, but it will be good I assure you.
So put it on your calendar now. Don't worry, there is no eclipse that weekend, so there should be no scheduling conflict.