tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123828792024-02-08T00:14:23.036-05:00TrinEast<b>Discover, Share, Live God's Love</b>
<br>News and Happenings in Trinity Episcopal Church, Easton, Pennsylvania in the Diocese of Bethlehem.
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234 Spring Garden Street, Easton, PA<br>
(610)253-0792<br>
<a href="http://www.trinityeaston.org">www.trinityeaston.org</a>Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-47702583582729141872013-09-25T21:20:00.000-04:002013-09-28T21:26:40.433-04:00Faithfully shrewd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Praise be to thee, O Lord.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Praise to you, Lord Christ.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is our customary response at the end of the gospel reading. That is what we say..and said this morning.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But THIS morning when the reading of the Gospel ended in your heart you were maybe..probably saying something like
“Huh?” Whaaaa? What WAS that all about?
That was how I felt when I looked over the gospel early last week.
And we are not alone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the 1st disciples on we faithful—saints, scholars have been banging our heads against this parable.
And all agree that, of all the parables, it is the most baffling, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It IS baffling.
But Jesus told it.
So there’s got to be some point here that he wants us come to understand---
--something that will help us follow him and live the Life to which he calls us.
Our Lord never explained this or any other parable.
He just told them…
and let the hearers think through what they mean. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently I came the following words on the wall at LV hospital:
Tell me…and I’ll forget.
Show me…and I’ll remember.
Involve me...and I’ll understand.
In telling parables and not explaining them
Our Lord invites us to become involved, to think them through
so that we will not only remember but understand
in our hearts, our bones, our whole being. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, the accepted wisdom is that, for the most part,
each of our Lord’s parables has one point and one point only.
Many of the parables make the point by giving us an example to follow---
like the good Samaritan who cared for the wounded man on the road
and a bad example to be avoided---
like that of the priest who walked around that same man
and missed that opportunity to show mercy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I think what baffles us here is that there is not one good example to be found
in the entire story.
They are all a bunch of crooks.
The master fires the manager….seemingly on hearsay---
before he even looks at the books. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The manager is clearly dishonest—untrustworthy, undependable
and proves it by cutting deals with the tenants----
cheating his boss out of some of what’s coming to him
in order to obligate the tenants to take care of him when he’s out of a job.
And the tenants go along with it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They’re all a bunch of crooks.
Seemingly, not good example here.
And, we are told, the master COMMENDS the dishonest manager. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That, I think, is where most of us throw up our hands in confusion
and ask, “What is going on here?”
Jesus can’t be condoning his dishonesty.
So, I don’t know. This just doesn’t make sense.”
But, notice: the master does not commend the manager for his dishonesty
---for his IS dishonest—not made of true stuff…
unfaithful, untrustworthy, undependable.
No. But he is commended for his “Shrewdness.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He found creative ways to use all he had and every opportunity
to do what good he could for others.
And he didn't put it off.
And Jesus says that if the children of this age
who live by the ways of the world and for this world
(like the dishonest manager) are shrewd
we, the children of Light should be just as smart and smarter.
And, our Lord concludes,
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves by dishonest wealth
(It is the same word used of the manager.
Not wealth gained by dishonest means but “not honest”
not true and therefore undependable, not lasting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make friends, do good using your life and all you have now
so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Now that may sound like
Wrack up lots of good works and earn points towards getting into heaven.
But, of course, we can’t earn our way into heaven.
It is God’s gift—give to us thru the dying and rising of our Lord.
But, loving, caring, using our lives and all we have to do good for others
changes us—
makes us ready to fit in, to live with God and one another in the kingdom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you see where this is going? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dishonest manager was shrewd.
He was single-minded in thinking up creative ways
to use all he had and every opportunity to good for others.
And he was urgent about it. He didn't put it off.
And Jesus urges us to be shrewd….in living our lives for God?
to live our lives, to use our time, our smarts, all we are, and all we have
in a single-minded service of God and others.
Seeking to be alert, moment by moment, to the presence, the love, the leading of God
alert for every opportunity to show God’s love to others:
a helping hand
perhaps just a smile for someone who looks like they could use one
a sincere thank you to the person who serves you,
a calm wave to the driver who gives gets in your way or gives you a scare. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe being shrewd means always thinking---finding ways to do for others.
Or ways to simplify life, save money, make do or do without
so as have more to give to help those in need.
I knew a lady who,
when she could no longer stand for hours working in the soup kitchen,
began volunteering at the hospital visitors desk.
And when she wasn't doing that she was stuffing envelopes for he church,
knitting caps for cancer patients and sending cards to shut-ins.
She was some shrewd lady. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To do all the good we can for all we can in any way we can.
And not to put it off .
For some things can only be done in the now—in the moment
like that smile for the stranger or that word of thanks to the clerk.
Or being regular in daily prayer or Sunday Eucharist.
You can’t make it up later. For this day will never come again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s now or never.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This day, this opportunity will never come again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are other things occur to us, things we could do for God and for others
(the Holy Spirit suggesting, nudging us on)
--making a phone call, writing a note, visiting a nursing home
sending that email to your rep in congress advocating for the poor,
seeking to mend that long-broken relationship w/ a friend or family member
making that donation you've been meaning to make.
---things we can put off
but at the risk of being too late, the opportunity gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus urges us to godly shrewdness:
To do all the good we can for all we can in any way we can When we can.
There is a lot more that could be said about this Gospel---esp those last verses.
But, if I have any understanding of this godly shrewdness
then, if I have done you any good with this sermon,
I have done you all the good I can in every way I can for now.
So I’ll sum up and be done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be shrewd children of light.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do all the good you can for everyone you can in any way you can.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use your imagination.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And do it when you can.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t put it off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-- A Sermon for Sunday, September 22, 2013 by the Rev. Raymond Harbort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proper 22C</span><br />
<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp20_RCL.html#GOSPEL" style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;">Luke 16:1-13</a>Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-8670588681661674272013-01-29T00:57:00.000-05:002013-01-29T00:57:24.417-05:00A Year in the Life of Trinity, Easton - 2012<object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/4Poqc9YwVzM?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param>
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This is the Rector's report to the Annual Meeting of Trinity Church, Easton, PA by the Rev. Canon Andrew Gerns. The annual meeting was on January 27, 2013.Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-58688399048904012412013-01-26T12:54:00.001-05:002013-01-26T12:55:53.647-05:00The Glory of Jesus, Adult Forum Class, 1/20/13<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Langor Lounge. All are welcome!</span></i></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b><u>The Glory of Jesus</u></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For this class Terry and I joined with the Men's group to do our study. We had an engaging and enjoyable conversation about our lesson. Thanks to Fred, Angelo, and Tim for joining us!</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The reading from Isaiah 62:1-5 provides us with hope, even when it appears all around us we are losing ground or being defeated by life. For the people of Israel it was a difficult period after returning from many years of exile in Babylon. How they must have experienced joy when they were able to return to their homeland, only to realize upon returning how great the task would be to rebuild not just the physical buildings and structures of their society, but also their lives.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The prophet Isaiah sees their disillusionment and wants to encourage them to not give up.... on God, on themselves, on the process of rebuilding their lives, one small brick at a time. He believes God has brought the people back and he is willing to get in there with them, first by encouraging them, but also by not giving up on the promises of God he has in his own heart.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Today we often expect a quick answer, especially as Christians, thinking if God pronounces restoration it should translate immediately into all areas of our lives. When we feel discouraged because years later we still see rubble and destruction within us, or we think our cries for personal change have gone unanswered, we can choose to remember, based on portions like Isaiah 62, that God loves us. The way the prophet illustrates this through his choice of words is beautiful:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Even fully embracing God's love for us and his covenant relationship towards us, it requires time to rebuild. In our world today physical buildings arise more quickly than ever before, but when we have experienced the effects of a hurricane it takes years to recover. As we witnessed in recent experiences with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, the resulting landscape may forever be altered. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tragedy and exile may forever change the landscape of our hearts and souls, but God's love for us remains a constant source of hope. This knowledge encourages us, as it did the people hearing Isaiah's words thousands of years ago, to keep trying, to keep believing, to keep working for God's restoration in ourselves as well as in the lives of others, and in the physical world around us.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The picture of marriage in Isaiah leads us into a discussion of Jesus's first miraculous sign, which happened to take place at a wedding.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I love the first miracle of Jesus for many reasons! As a mother it makes me smile when I think about Jesus and his relationship to his Mom, and how we see in this passage the role Mary played in her Son's life, pushing him, just a bit, to reveal who he truly was. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In John 2:1-11 we are given first the context of the story- there was a wedding; Mary was there, Jesus and his disciples were invited. Obviously we gather that Jesus had already left home and was hanging out with his disciples. He had already been baptized by John the Baptist, spent forty days in the wilderness.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yet with all that serious stuff going on in his life he takes the time with his disciples to attend a wedding, showing He has not distanced himself from the day to day life of the community. And there he is, at that wedding, when his mother approaches to tell him there is a problem......."They have no wine."</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I like the response.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We all laughed in class, imagining the look Mary may have given him in reply, considering our own experiences as children with mothers..... and for me also, my own response to my kids when their reply at my strong suggestion provokes a negative response. Not that Jesus is being negative or disrespectful to his mother- he isn't. But initially he is choosing to question what she is asking him to do. When he states "My hour has not yet come." he is reminding her of his mission and the specific timing he knows God has set for his revealing, his hour actually referring to his passion and crucifxion.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But sometimes, as I have told my own children, mother knows best!</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mary is not hindered by the response. She goes to the servants and tells them, "Do whatever he tells you." This relationship between mother and Son is real, and I believe indicates a mutual respect spiritually. Yes, Jesus is being lead by God as God's son; but Mary, mother of God, sees and knows parts of the divine plan also. This is a wonderful picture of the working together of male and female perspectives to provoke an event, one that will express the nature of God within the community.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It may not seem important to provide wine for a wedding, certainly not enough to warrant Jesus using this opportunity to produce his first miracle. Mary sees differently and Jesus listens, acts accordingly, and produces GOOD wine.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What can we take away from this first miracle for our own lives?</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mostly, we all agreed, it shows God cares about everything in our lives, even those we might perceive as unimportant or insignificant. Terry and I shared a personal story of a wedding- our daughter Amber and her husband John's, in which we first thought we wouldn't have fried chicken because the grocery store misplaced our order, and this was a couple hours before the reception. They agreed to get the chicken done in an hour, all 200 pieces, and because of that the chicken was very fresh..... everyone raved about it later! During the reception we grew concerned there might not be enough for everyone, as some of our young people were loading up as they went through the buffet line....I prayed and hoped there would be, and as it turned out, there were a few pieces left over. I like to believe God saw us through, cared that we wanted to offer the best food and hospitality to our guests we could.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In the same way Mary didn't want the people hosting the wedding in Cana to be embarrassed because they ran out of wine. Water was not drinkable or safe in most instances back in this biblical time period, so wine was the beverage of choice to serve at weddings, making it a very important component to care for the guests.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is great to be reminded of the Lord's care for us in all areas of our lives.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In this week's </span><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Reflection </span></u></b><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">from Living the Good News </span></u></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">this story is translated into something larger to be applied to our view of society:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"></span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“They have no wine.” Mary’s statement encompasses more</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">than the immediate, physical need to keep the wedding</span></div>
<div style="font: 11.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">reception rolling. As Elizabeth Johnson points out in</span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Truly our Sister, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">it is a painful reminder of the scarcity in</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">which Galilean peasants lived under Roman occupation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For once they wanted to escape their grinding poverty</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and celebrate—until the wine ran out. Mary’s initiative</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">prompts a bountiful abundance—simple math suggests</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">120 gallons of the finest vintage!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Furthermore, Mary’s words describe the situation of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">countless people around the world today. “They have</span></div>
<div style="font: 11.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">no wine,” nor health care, safety, food, jobs, freedom,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">education, opportunity, political power.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">She must have spoken with authority: the servants follow</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jesus’ directive on the strength of her words. If we have</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ever stereotyped Mary as silent, passive, or resigned to</span></div>
<div style="font: 11.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the status quo, the story of Cana corrects our image.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Just as she crosses the taboo line into the male section of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the party to address Jesus, so she names our needs and</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">encourages our bold initiatives to change injustice.</span></div>
</span></span></span>Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-40209344040396468082013-01-09T18:16:00.000-05:002013-01-09T18:20:36.664-05:00God's Light for All Nations- Adult Forum Class- 1/6/13<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Langor Lounge. All are welcome!</span></span></i></span></b><br />
<div>
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b></div>
<b><u>God's Light for All Nations</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."(Isaiah 60:1)<br />
<br />
<i>The Message</i> translates the same verse this way:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_m6nLEsXEyU8feRowgbss4sK861CFM0T5p0AhNlhSkaVuiZN7VTDlTSL1-9tQkftzkf5kkRVMQ00l39uYL8gU5cAQtwd1BKB_02sLeOKVWQJnnC1rHxUAWYo2XNb1MOFCkqg/s1600/DSC_3002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_m6nLEsXEyU8feRowgbss4sK861CFM0T5p0AhNlhSkaVuiZN7VTDlTSL1-9tQkftzkf5kkRVMQ00l39uYL8gU5cAQtwd1BKB_02sLeOKVWQJnnC1rHxUAWYo2XNb1MOFCkqg/s400/DSC_3002.JPG" width="265" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="chapter-2"><span class="text Isa-60-1-Isa-60-7" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum mid-line" style="display: inline; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: static; vertical-align: top;"> </sup>“Get out of bed, Jerusalem!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-60-1-Isa-60-7" style="position: relative;">Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-60-1-Isa-60-7" style="position: relative;"><span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">God</span>’s bright glory has risen for you."</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On January 6th we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany, a day which reminds us that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to bring light into a dark world, and also into the darkness of our own hearts and minds.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With the coming of that light, we are to get up, to shine, allowing God's light upon us to dispel the darkness in the world around us.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During class we began a discussion about darkness and sources of light. Terry shared his experience of working in an actual darkroom when serving as photographer in the US Navy. Being in the dark took getting used to, and was even scary at first, although after being in a darkroom for a few moments it was possible to see some traces of light. Most of the job had to be done in the dark or the film would be ruined, the images lost.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of us do not feel comfortable in the dark, especially to work. Today when there are so many sources of light through electricity it can be hard to make out the brilliance of the stars in our sky because light surrounds our towns and cities.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We are accustomed to the light, often take it for granted.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Until, as Mary Ellen shared, we recently experienced Hurricane Sandy, which plunged so many areas here in the northeastern United States into darkness. Many people were forced to bring out candles to provide light in their dark homes. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One candle lit in a dark room creates an amazing amount of illumination. It truly does push back the darkness. What if we add two candles, or three, positioning them at different spots within the room? The light becomes greater, the darkness recedes further.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we are holding a candle and keep it in front of our bodies, the light is blocked on one side; but if we hold it up high above our heads that same light can reach behind and around us. That picture reminds me of the Statue of Liberty and her invitation:</span><br />
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"Give me your tired, your poor, <br />
Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free, <br />
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, <br />
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,<br />
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Further into the reading from Isaiah we realize that if we hold the light of God up for others to see, people will be drawn to that light. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maybe our Epiphany lies in believing in the light, and sharing it boldly. Ann spoke of the headlights on a car, and their illumination of the road ahead. We are all called to shine the light ahead for those who need to see. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Wise Men followed the light of a star to the baby Jesus. In Matthew 2:1-12 they asked Herod, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." They knelt in front of the baby Jesus and presented him with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The birth of Christ even caused the rising of a star in the heavens, one that could be followed. The wise men were "overwhelmed with joy" when they saw Jesus. His light became theirs, and they gladly offered him gifts. They had already made a long journey to "see the true light," and when they left, after being warned by God in a dream, they took a different route.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The light of God often does that..... changes the direction of our lives.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another word for Epiphany is manifestation. As the Apostle Paul shares from our epistle reading in Ephesians 3:1-12, "Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God's light, manifest in each of us, forms a community of light. As we each raise our candles, allowing "the wisdom of God in its rich variety" to shine through us, we join in dispelling the darkness. Each person shines uniquely that light, based on their individual gifts. Together we become brighter. Together we heal. Together we bring peace.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From <i>Living the Good News:</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"The Church, a unique creation, realizes the</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">unthinkable—all people become chosen people. Other</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">religions of the time found room for many different gods,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">but only welcomed adherents who shared the same social,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">political and economic status. Christians were different</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">because they believed in only one God and opened</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">their communities to those of every race, social status,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">economic background or political alliance. God has</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">chosen to make unity for all possible in Christ Jesus."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A beautiful and haunting poem:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>"The Journey of the Magi"</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b><i>by T. S. Eliot</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWYzjffZfXU2msVpzwUkGkScpxKLgrgLniX74vQV7_HBExsQOyrkjXS06MMP4nvsevoHkr53r1QlX7xRthSoG24gWF28BFNrhJTgxQcdqWXola1-qYq_uylzhs9q4WxVmlzhc/s1600/DSC_2988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjWYzjffZfXU2msVpzwUkGkScpxKLgrgLniX74vQV7_HBExsQOyrkjXS06MMP4nvsevoHkr53r1QlX7xRthSoG24gWF28BFNrhJTgxQcdqWXola1-qYq_uylzhs9q4WxVmlzhc/s400/DSC_2988.JPG" width="265" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><i>'A cold coming we had of it,<br />
Just the worst time of the year<br />
For a journey, and such a long journey:<br />
The ways deep and the weather sharp,<br />
The very dead of winter.'<br />
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,<br />
Lying down in the melting snow.<br />
There were times we regretted<br />
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,<br />
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.<br />
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling<br />
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,<br />
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,<br />
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly<br />
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:<br />
A hard time we had of it.<br />
At the end we preferred to travel all night,<br />
Sleeping in snatches,<br />
With the voices singing in our ears, saying<br />
That this was all folly.<br />
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Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,<br />
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;<br />
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,<br />
And three trees on the low sky,<br />
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.<br />
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,<br />
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,<br />
And feet kiking the empty wine-skins.<br />
But there was no information, and so we continued<br />
And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon<br />
Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory.<br />
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All this was a long time ago, I remember,<br />
And I would do it again, but set down<br />
This set down<br />
This: were we led all that way for<br />
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly<br />
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,<br />
But had thought they were different; this Birth was<br />
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.<br />
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,<br />
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,<br />
With an alien people clutching their gods.<br />
I should be glad of another death.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-57509101102770675482012-12-26T13:39:00.001-05:002012-12-26T13:50:15.737-05:00God showing up for us<div>
<i>Here is an excerpt from Bishop Paul V. Marshall's sermon on Sunday, December 23, 2012, the Fourth Sunday in Advent. As part of the annual Episcopal visitation, the parish celebrated Canon Andrew Gerns' thirtieth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. </i></div>
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What makes an invitation inviting? I think it boils down to who sends it, where it is, and what’s it about. All three boxes are checked for me today. Fr. Gerns is a special friend, a thirtieth ordination anniversary is a rare testament to faithfulness, and it is at Trinity Church.</div>
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Start with the “where.” I wonder if you know much your parish contributes to the lives of other Episcopalians in this diocese. In addition to your service to your own community, your feeding and your habitat program, your sisters and brothers here provide diocesan leadership in the Standing Committee, Stewardship, Evangelism, Congregational Renewal, the Daughters of the King, and the Liturgical Commission, just off the top of my head. Two of you are giving many, many hours to the repair and rebuilding of parish life at St. Stephen’s, Whitehall, an enormous task that will take some years. For all of this I am deeply grateful, and I am trying to express that by the most basic thing we can do as humans: showing up for each other. In the long run, of course, what we celebrate at this time of year is God showing up for us, and to that I will return.</div>
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Canon Gerns is quite well, thank you, and is my last surviving friend from back in the day, so I am not going to eulogize him in any embarrassing way, but I still have all the pictures from the 70s, and they can be bought. I can tell you without embarrassing him that that he is a faithful pastor to many, a crafty leader in diocesan matters, a wise adviser, a leader and shaper of thought in the Episcopal Church itself. We are honored as a diocese to have his presence. A recent book on how to do church communications credits him, not quite for inventing the internet, but for being among those who best made that internet serve the Gospel of Christ and keep on doing it....</div>
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...So I dare to suggest that to honor Fr. Gerns by <a href="http://trinityeaston.blogspot.com/2012/12/desks-and-chairs-for-trinity-new-hope.html" target="_blank">giving school furniture for Sudanese</a> who have absolutely nothing, just like the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.trinityeaston.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Citadel-Nov-2012.pdf&sa=U&ei=lkbbUMTEGuTH0QGEnoGABQ&ved=0CB0QFjAJ&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHCWCFNyXiZdbP7Amw8tOnPLCU2EA" target="_blank">completion of your Habitat for Humanity commitment </a>now underway, is to honor a faithful and committed priest. Much more, such acts demonstrate that we get it about his ministry, and are ever expanding the room we make in our hearts for the Christ child who brings us Life Itself.</div>
Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-52535507498597963092012-12-21T08:07:00.000-05:002012-12-26T13:40:12.733-05:00The Good News- Adult Forum Class- 12/16/12<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Langor Lounge. All are welcome!</span></span></i></span></b><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Good News</span></b></u><br />
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Another class beginning with a question.......<br />
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What do you think it means to be a prophet?<br />
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Our Old Testament bible reference comes from the prophet Zephaniah, one of those "minor" prophets whose name gets lost behind the more familiar and major prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel.<br />
Who was he, and why was he considered a prophet?<br />
He was a prophet during the time of King Josiah prior to the fall of Jerusalem, preceding the exile of the Jews to Babylon (640-609BC).<br />
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Like all Old Testament prophets he had a distinct message to deliver.<br />
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Interesting to note his words, his message, was quite encouraging in the reading for today (Zephaniah 3: 14-20) offering hope to God's people who will be facing significant hardship in the years ahead.<br />
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One definition of the word prophet is one who utters divinely inspired revelations. That definition makes us think that a prophet is special, unique, different from most of us ordinary people. In the gospel lesson today we hear from John the Baptist, extreme prophet, living in the wilderness wearing a camel's hair belt and having locusts and wild honey for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Certainly to be admired, but not a person most of us modern day Christians could remotely relate to or strive to be (at least if we were honest!)<br />
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Still, <b>the Good News</b> that Christ brought, the powerful message advent shares through the incarnation, is that Emmanuel- God with us- God in us- means we are all "prophets", and therefore messengers of <b>The</b> <b>Good News</b>. We don't have to be on a mission field in a far off place -or in a pulpit -or fasting day and night- or eating locusts (thank God!!!)<br />
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If we realize we are messengers, then how do we share that message?<br />
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John the Baptist gave some clear guidelines in the gospel lesson from Luke 3:7-18 to help us with that question. After calling the crowds coming to him a "brood of vipers", the people began to get a little nervous, especially when he stated God could take rocks and make them into Abraham's children if he needed to -also adding (ouch!) "every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."<br />
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As a prophet he certainly got their attention, something most prophets were gifted in doing by using some scary ideas- hell fire and judgement. When the people he was challenging asked some viable questions, John responded with the true heart of <b>The Good News.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>""What then should we do?"<br />
He said to them. "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; whoever has food must do likewise.""<br />
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Sharing what we have.... so simple, and yet so profoundly and divinely inspired.<br />
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Referring back to Zephaniah, God encourages through the prophet "And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth." As prophets, messengers, today, we too can save and gather through God's love.<br />
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Anne shared that being a prophet can be as simple as feeling a nudge to call someone, and by doing so responding to God in reaching out to that person. Sharing with someone a smile, a nod of kindness and recognition, could bring light and hope to a person's day. It doesn't have to be extreme or particularly noteworthy, it just needs to come from our heart- God's heart.<br />
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Living <b>The Good News </b>also<b> </b>means letting God "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." The fire part sounds painful but is necessary to burn away our "chaff"(all that stuff inside that keeps us from living up to our full God-given potential), enabling us to become truer to sharing his love.<br />
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We touched briefly on the Epistle reading from Philippians 4:4-7. The word <i>rejoice</i> is also in the passage from Zephaniah, but Paul uses it twice in the first sentence, clearly emphasizing his point.<br />
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"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice." <br />
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In theory, rejoicing and not worrying about anything because we choose to trust God sounds plausible, and all of us could point to instances in our lives where we did feel God's peace in the midst of a troubling situation. But we were also honest in admitting that living up to Paul's exhortation, " Do not worry about anything" is hard, seems almost impossible, until he places the key to this attitude into our hands by telling us:<br />
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"but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, And the <b>peace</b> of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."<br />
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Let us give everything to God...... both our struggles and our joys, and <b>rejoice! </b>as we continue to await the Lord's coming this advent season.<br />
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Here is a thought provoking poem included as part of our study guide:<br />
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"Our Daily Bread" by Cesar Vallejo<br />
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<i>I wish I could beat on all the doors</i><br />
<i>and ask for somebody; and then </i><br />
<i>look at the poor, and, wile they wept softly.</i><br />
<i>give bits of fresh bread to them.....</i><br />
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<i>Every bone in me belongs to others</i><br />
<i>and maybe I robbed them.</i><br />
<i>I came to take something for myself that maybe</i><br />
<i>was meant for some other man;</i><br />
<i>and I start thinking that, if I had not been born,</i><br />
<i>another poor man could have drunk this coffee.....</i><br />
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<i>And in this frigid hour, when the earth</i><br />
<i>has the odor of human dust and is so sad,</i><br />
<i>I wish I could beat on all the doors</i><br />
<i>and beg pardon from someone,</i><br />
<i>and make bits of fresh bread for him</i><br />
<i>here, in the oven of my heart....!</i><br />
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A remarkable quote from <i>Mother Teresa of Calcutta:</i><br />
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<i>"In each of our lives Jesus comes as the bread of life----</i><br />
<i>to be eaten, to be consumed by us.</i><br />
<i>This is how he loves us.</i><br />
<i>Then Jesus comes in our human life as the hungry one, the other,</i><br />
<i>hoping to be fed with the bread of our life.</i><br />
<i>our hearts loving, and our hands serving."</i><br />
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As we approach the fourth Sunday of Advent, let us meditate on allowing the Lord to use us as prophets of <b>The</b> <b>Good News, </b>freely sharing His bread with those in need.<br />
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Our Study for the upcoming 4th Sunday of Advent (December 23, 2012):<br />
<b>Jesus The Teacher</b><br />
Bible verses: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30<br />
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<br />Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-84855469020672873462012-12-16T14:00:00.000-05:002012-12-16T19:07:31.415-05:00Stirring up God's power at the intersection of horror and hope<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white;">S</span><span style="background-color: white;">tir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.</span></i><br />
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A little over eleven years ago, a little boy was watching the television and the only thing on was the blanket coverage of the 9/11 attacks. Over and over again he saw the image of those towers collapsing. Finally, his mother turned off the tv and tried to redirect him. But the enormity had set it and he was trying to find the words. As he was drawing a picture he finally asked “Mom, where was Superman?”<br />
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I remembered this story as I watched the news unfold on Friday of the mass murder of twenty first graders, their teachers as well as the mother of the shooter and the shooter himself. This is not supposed to happen. Schools are not places where violence is supposed to happen. Classrooms should never be places where children die. Teaching is a profession one gives one life to but it is not meant to be a job where one risks giving her life.<br />
We have seen evil come to life. I want God’s power to be stirred up and to make this all better. Already there are people crying out for more laws and others saying things like we should routinely arm teachers. Both reactions get people riled up but they deflect us from what is really important. If the severity of trauma can be measured by the immediacy of the threat, the vulnerability of the victims and the degree of helplessness we feel then we are all at least a little traumatized even though we are far away from the epicenter—that is, if we have any heart at all. And so it is natural to ask “then what can we do?”<br />
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Well, wouldn’t you know? That very question appears in today’s Gospel. John the Baptist is going around Galilee preaching Good News. But it doesn’t sound very good. He is saying that God’s judgment is at hand. He chides the religious leaders for their complacency and tells people they need to get ready for the coming of the Messiah. He says our history and heritage will not help us escape what is coming.<br />
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This has everyone shaken right down to their socks. “What should we do?” the people ask. I mean, if the Chief Priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees can’t pass muster when the Messiah comes then who will?<br />
If you think about it, this question is not so far from our lips either. If a rural-suburban town of middle-class folks far away from the traditional epicenters of crime and violence cannot escape evil incarnate then what can we do?<br />
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St. John Baptist’s advice is surprisingly practical. He tells everyone to bear fruit worthy of repentance. He tells the religious leaders to be faithful and don’t count on their status. He tells workers like tax collectors and soldiers to take only what they are owed—in a day long before unions and civil service. He tells people to be honest, to be good, and to care for one another.<br />
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But if getting ready for the Messiah is the picture of practicality, that doesn’t make it simple. If our faith is going to make a practical difference then we must choose to be intentional about our faith. Being faithful means being attentive to what needs is going on around us. Being attentive means being smart about our choices of not only what we do bur our choices in who we are. This kind of faithful living means being reasonable in our expectations of others and ourselves—cutting each other some slack. John taught that faithful living means taking responsibility for how we live out our faith and that kind of deliberate faithfulness grows out living as if we are in love with the life that God has given us and in love with the God who gives us life.<br />
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We get ready for the Messiah when we choose to live life making space for God. This was the point behind John’s baptism. John didn’t baptize people because it was cool or a fad. He baptized people because they needed to change and that change had to start from within and, at the same time, be obvious to everyone.<br />
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That’s the thing about the sacramental life. It is God at work in us alone and in community. God takes everyday things like water, bread, wine, and even olive oil becoming and they become signs of the things that God is at work in every part of our living. God places us in the midst of imperfect people and changes us together.<br />
As we try to make useful meaning out of random violence, we can learn from John the Baptist who prepares us for the redemption to come. If we dare to look through the lens of this tragedy, we too can find Good News, we will find the ground work of God’s grace and we will know what to do.<br />
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The first thing we can learn is that while this is a national tragedy with national implications, it is also local. Our pain is our pain. It is nothing like the pain that the people of Newtown are right now experiencing and not even close to the pain of the parents whose child was murdered or of the families whose parent or spouse or adult child was killed. Some of you may have some kind of personal connection to the event or else this tragedy may call up for you memories of your own losses. The feelings that go with that are natural and normal. At the same time, let what is yours be yours and what is theirs be theirs. Our pain and sadness allows us to build empathetic and caring bridges of support and that is very important—essential in fact. But on Monday, we will go back to work. They will have to re-knit lives torn open.<br />
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Because what’s theirs is theirs and what’s ours is ours, we have different work to do. For one thing, we can ask questions and frame meaning in a way that the people close to the crisis will not be able to do for maybe a long, long time.<br />
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This is where the issue of judgment comes in. But not in the way you think. We often think of judgment as something God does to a people for wrongs they have done. But we must be very clear here. God did not do this. Beware of platitudes. God did not need these children more than their parents. While we believe that God is caring for the dead and that in Christ they are held in God’s loving embrace, this is not how God recruits angels. Don’t let sentimentality teach people how to hate God for what God does not do.<br />
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No. We are looking at the fruits of the kind of world we have made and we are staring into the heart of human sin. We are being forced to look at the consequences of creating (but not talking about) a culture that enshrines violence and makes it easier to buy a gun than to rent an apartment. What happened Friday exposes the consequences of our choice as a people to make the right to bear arms at least as important as the right to health and education. This tragedy lays an axe to the tree of our assumptions that easy answers couched in simplistic media-ready ideologies will do a better job of solving our problems than the hard work of living in community.<br />
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But if the consequences of our choices convict us, signs of redemption are also near. If you look closely, God started signaling the solution even before we comprehended the horror of what was going on.<br />
One man chose to do evil. That much is clear. But notice that when the chips were down hundreds of people chose to do the good. One man did unimaginable evil. Many others performed compassionate acts of humanity—even bravery—beyond our imagining.<br />
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This is where we find God in the midst of horror: the teachers, principal and the therapist who put themselves between a gunman and children; in the people who rushed to the firehouse to find and care for their kids; in the first responders who came in droves to secure the school and care for the injured; in the police and the caring professionals who were paired up with families whose children died and shepherded them through those terrible hours. People who filled churches, synagogues and parks to keep vigil, write names, sing pray, and just hold and hug each other were at once tangible signs of good overcoming evil and the presence of God bringing life out of chaos. In the days to come, every funeral, each flower given, every casserole delivered, each child baby sat, every hug given and even the space given to allow for private grief will make real the ways that God pushes back darkness and reveal light. Much of what we will see will be very sad, beyond heartbreaking. God will be present to that heartbreak often in ways small, tender, and spontaneous.<br />
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Watch. God’s power is already stirred up. Good started defeating evil just when it looked as if evil won the day. We Christians believe that in Christ’s life, death and resurrection God has defeated sin, death and evil once and for all. Yes, after the empty tomb of Easter, evil still breaks out and still deals death in horrid ways, but everything evil does is now a rear guard action against God who has already reconciled creation and defeated sin. As we move towards Christmas, our job will be to hold that truth both close to our hearts and up for the world to see. It will also be on us to surround the people of Newtown…and all the people we know who have suffered a loss anywhere by death, or who are facing a dread illness, or who are the victims of injustice or who are poor and outcast… and hold these people in love, prayer and practical compassion.<br />
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John the Baptist to the people he was getting people ready for Jesus to repent…that we can choose. We can intentionally make room for God and that will change us and it will change the world for good.<br />
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Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-34309713550384667712012-12-08T11:43:00.003-05:002012-12-08T11:43:26.725-05:00Desks and Chairs for Trinity New Hope Primary School <strong><em>Celebrating thirty years of ordained ministry.</em></strong><br />
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Thirty years ago, on December 18th, I was ordained a priest at St. Paul's Church in Willimantic, Connecticut. Thirty years is a long time. It is a time I cherish-filled with challenge, growth and many, many blessings. But how best to celebrate? <br />
Instead of a cake or a knick-knack or book or a plaque, I would love to fill our adopted school, Trinity-New Hope Primary School in Sodogo, Kajo-Keji, South Sudan, with desks and chairs! <br />
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We pray for our sisters and brothers in Sodogo every day. Our relationship with the people of Sodogo has changed us. But there's more to be done. "Our" school needs desks! <br />
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So, from now through December 31, 2012, I am inviting you to contribute to my campaign to provide desks to Sodogo Primary School. $60 provides one desk and one chair, $1200 fills a classroom, $9200 furnishes the school. Any amount is welcome. <br />
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As for me, I will give thanks to God for all the blessings I've received in His service by furnishing a classroom. I hope you will join me in doing what you can to help "our adopted kids" to have a desk and a chair in their very own classroom. <br />
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Send a check payable to Trinity Episcopal Church, writing "Desks" on the memo line. You can also donate online by going to http://www.diobeth.org/Sharing_New_Hope/Donation_Link/ and then click on the line "Father Andrew Gerns' 30th Ordination Anniversary." <br />
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Before the New Hope Campaign, the kids of Sodogo went to school under a tree. After Trinity's Capital Campaign-where we both built our own classroom and kitchen and helped the people of the Diocese of Bethlehem build a school-the kids of Sodogo now go to school in real classrooms! I am very proud of our parish for how you did the unimaginable--tithing our capital campaign to build a school! <br />
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Please join in the celebration!<br />
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Thank you and God bless you! <br />
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Andrew+ <br />
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<strong>A Note from Bishop Anthony Poggo </strong><br />
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Dear Father Andrew, <br />
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Congratulation that you will be marking 30 years of ordination.<br />
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It is good to read that you have dedicated any gifts towards on this occasion towards Trinity Primary School in Sodogo. This is very much appreciated. I am sure that the good Lord will bless your efforts in the campaign to raise funds towards the needed desks and other needed in the school.<br />
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Thanks +Anthony<br />
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From <a href="http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=f5wwuvbab&v=001cQDW1aEI0uV8Kn-NxqCOvRfIYvH36srIcxTEzOD5oMXSZHoVr3vIUfT2I8S1Dz88MvFPKu9bl45lL6faapnllNvDT0sBE9Yz8dydFNDnRojkAsmZH5RJN_LKJNtkz6GF8A0dQ16unCIZEBZ1OQahYQ%3D%3D#article2" target="_blank">Glad Tidings</a>, the e-newsletter of Trinity, Easton.<br />
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Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-45015989335500873162012-12-07T07:27:00.002-05:002012-12-21T07:57:54.849-05:00Adult Forum Class, 12/2/2012<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Langor Lounge. All are welcome!</span></span></i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b>
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b>
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u>The Need for Patience and Faithfulness</u></span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">It was appropriate we started our class with this question:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">What does the word advent mean? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunday marked the beginning of the advent season, a time of waiting and preparation for the <i>coming, or arrival </i>of Jesus. I especially like the description of this advent season as a time of waiting expectantly, much as any woman who has ever carried a child does throughout the nine months of the baby's gestation in the womb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">For us as Christians, this celebration of waiting and hoping is not just in remembrance of Christ's first coming which has already taken place, but </span>in the continued hope and expectation he will come again.<br />
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Not everyone grows up celebrating advent or Christmas. Those of us who did have some fond memories or traditions we especially enjoyed, or helped us to look ahead to Christmas day. I recall a special advent banner I received as a gift when I was a child that had a piece of delicious toffee candy tied for each of the days of advent. My sister and I loved eating those candies day by day, knowing each one we enjoyed meant we were one day closer to Christmas- and of course, presents!<br />
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The Old Testament lesson in Jeremiah 33:14-16 speaks hope to God's people, encouraging them he will make things right, execute justice on their behalf by "causing a righteous branch to spring up for David." Jesus "shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."<br />
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A leader who acts justly is one who observes and executes fair judgement for those who serve under him. He/She leads by example by treating people with kindness and respect, never copping the attitude "do as I say but not as I do." He/She realizes he/she must listen closely before making crucial decisions, especially when faced with situations involving disputes, where he/she tries to be objective and fair to both sides. <br />
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Jesus exemplified these leadership traits as he lived his earthly life. In Luke 21:25-36, he is giving his disciples warning signs, indicators to help keep them alert and open to his coming back. It would be impossible for us to live in our modern world without the use of signs, especially ones directing traffic. The way we know in advance certain severe weather patterns are approaching(such as the recent hurricane Sandy) is by various signs, or readings which give meteorologists an indication what is happening in the atmosphere, enabling us to be more prepared.<br />
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Some of what the Lord talks about in this passage is a bit overwhelming to hear and understand- signs in the sun, moon, and stars; people fainting for fear; powers of the heavens shaking. We are also pointed by parable to a tree, the fig tree. The "righteous branch" uses a real tree to share a way for us to know his second coming is approaching soon, by noticing the signs as we would be able to watch a tree sprout leaves and tell the season.<br />
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Since Jesus went up in the clouds to heaven his followers have assumed their generation would see his physical and visible return. He noted "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory." It is inferred that his second coming will be dramatic and visible.<br />
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A good leader helps his followers to be prepared and ready, especially in the event of impending crisis. This world seems to always be in a state of crisis, and he encourages us to remain prepared to deal with our present day struggles by stating "Be on guard that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life." Boldly he reminds us to "Be alert at all times, praying..."<br />
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<i>"Though the Lord has established</i></div>
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<i>the signs of the coming,</i></div>
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<i>the time of their fulfillment</i></div>
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<i>has not always been plainly revealed.</i></div>
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<i>These signs have come and gone</i></div>
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<i>with a multiplicity of change.</i></div>
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<i>More than that, they are still present!</i></div>
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<i>The final coming is like the first."</i></div>
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<i> -Ephrem of Syria </i></div>
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Maybe paying attention to the signs means simply looking and listening for Christ not only during the advent season, but during all seasons. And maybe the best signs he gives us are those which are subtle, less dramatic and visible, within ourselves as well as in the lives of people around us..... Love, Joy, and Peace. It is important to recognize the signs, even the more noticeable ones, so we remember to allow the Christ child as well as the soon coming King to rule and reign in our hearts, spreading hope to the world.<br />
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At the beginning of advent may we make room for God in whatever way he comes to us.<br />
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<b>Reflection </b><i>from Living the Good News</i><br />
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<i>Many people know the regret that follows overeating<br />or drinking too much. We feel stuffed or headachy,<br />unwilling to move, and worst of all, angry at ourselves.<br />Why didn’t we stop when we saw the danger signals?<br /> </i><br />
<i>Unless this stupid behavior is constantly repeated, it<br />is relatively harmless. After enough stomach aches or<br />hangovers, we learn our limits. But when Jesus applies<br />this metaphor to all of life, it becomes more significant.<br />Do we really want to reach the end of our days angry at<br />ourselves because we’ve missed the most important parts?<br />How tragic it would be to face the sad truth: “You missed<br />your chance. You could’ve been so much more.”<br /> </i><br />
<i>God’s coming should represent our ransom, our fortunate<br />delivery, and a glorious manifestation of God’s power. If,<br />however, we are not prepared because we are wasting our<br />time on less important matters, it will spring on us like a<br />trap. Now we have the opportunity to choose: how shall<br />we live?<br /> </i><br />
<i>If such decisions paralyze, we might pray psalm 25,<br />asking God to show us the paths we should follow and<br />guide us with prodigious care. In learning of God’s<br />kindness, we then become God’s friends, eagerly anticipating<br />the myriad ways God comes each day </i><br />
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Second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 2012<br />
Title: <b>Promise of Salvation</b><br />
Bible verses: Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68- 79; Philippians 1;3- 11; Luke 3:1- 6<b> </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u></u></span></span></i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u></u></span></span></i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u></u></span></span></i></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; line-height: 15.1px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span></span></i></span></b>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 16px;"><i><u><br /></u></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 16px;"><i><u><br /></u></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-21909845386093810472012-12-01T09:19:00.000-05:002012-12-01T09:19:01.218-05:00Adult Forum Class, 11/25/12<div>
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.100000381469727px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Langor Lounge. All are welcome!</span></span></i></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Paradoxical King</u></span></span><br />
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Our class began with a very thought provoking question:</div>
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What is truth?</div>
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The gospel lesson comes from John 18:33-37, a conversation between Pilate and Jesus that begins with Pilate asking the Lord a direct question, "Are you the King of the Jews?"</div>
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Jesus responds with a question, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"</div>
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We spoke about how often it appears the Lord does this...... responds to a question with a question. Only every question he asks is meant to provoke personal insight, not for Jesus but for the person he asks, in this case Pilate, a judge, someone who literally holds Jesus' life in his hands.</div>
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Pilate immediately avoids responsibility by asking another question, "I am not a Jew, am I?" He is cleverly trying to avoid seeing the truth standing in front of him in the person of Christ. He is not a jew, recognizes he is not part of this group. But his questions will soon lead him to hearing the truth, a powerful truth meant to liberate anyone willing to listen and believe, regardless of nationality.<br />
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Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." <br />
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Pilate's idea of a king, as well as ours, is different than God's revelation of his son as King. Jesus is truly a <b>paradoxical king</b>, who came to serve, not to be served. He did not choose to use his power to rule with an iron fist, but chose instead to open both his hands to be nailed to a cross, lifting them up to redeem all people.<br />
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Truth is actually the reality of God whom Jesus is bearing witness to in his life, death, and resurrection. It is not a clear definition we would like to promote through our interpretation of the bible.<br />
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I mentioned in class that we could have a group of people in a conference room from different denominations but who all believe the bible to be the "inerrant" word of God, yet there would still be disagreements between those people as to what the "truth" is based on their view of the scriptures. We each have our own ideas of truth, and often they don't line up, even within ourselves, if we examine them closely.<br />
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Truth is something bigger than our own logic. It has to be found in a person who is both fully human and fully divine.The truth is Christ himself, the example he gave us in how he lived his earthly life, how he treated people.<br />
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So often it is the fundamental interpretation of the bible that leads to injustice and exclusion. But is this God's truth? What is Christ teaching us?<br />
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He is teaching us to serve and to love, to share hope with everyone we meet, as he chose to do with Pilate in his final conversation before his crucifixion.<br />
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"You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."<br />
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Both the Old Testament reading (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) and the Epistle reading (Revelation 1:4b-8) share visions of heaven, of God, particularly of Christ as King. In the passage from Daniel the prophet describes the throne room of the Almighty, emphasizing fire. When we discussed this in class we all agreed it made us think of judgement, especially considering the verse which states "The court sat in judgement, and the books were opened." Hell..... fire...... judgement.....images most of us grow up believing go together, striking fear in our hearts. <br />
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Ironically that fearful fire is emanating from God's throne itself, but Daniel's vision doesn't end with the focus on the judgement aspect of his vision.....thank God!<br />
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"As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven." Jesus. Our mediator, our priest, " the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth."<br />
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The <b>paradoxical king</b> "who <b>loves</b> us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever."<br />
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Jesus Christ our King who translated fiery judgement into mercy and grace, enabling us now to be his representatives, his priests, witnesses of his truth and his kingdom to the world.<br />
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The <b>Reflection</b>, from <i>Living the Good News:</i><br />
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Jesus, who has such keen insight and clear consciousness<br />of this world, always sees that reality in light of<br />a larger vision. That viewpoint penetrated the way he<br />saw the crowd who heard the Beatitudes. He looked at<br />people who were sickly, ignorant, grieving, probably<br />smelly and diseased, and told them they would inherit<br />the earth, leap for joy, come into the kingdom. That<br />vision does not fail him when he stands before Pilate,<br />on trial for his life.<br /><br />
He is never triumphalist; indeed, it is Pilate—not<br />himself— who calls him king. Instead, he humbly takes<br />on the death of all mortal humans.<br /><br />
None of us are likely to face inquisition by a Roman<br />ruler. What, then, can we learn from this stark scene?<br />Jesus is the person we want to become. He shows<br />us here how to embrace our humanity with all its<br />limitations. If we forget his humanity, then we risk<br />forgetting our own. But he also shares his vision of<br />ultimate blessing. As the narrator Lily says in The Secret<br />Life of Bees: “there is nothing but mystery in the world;<br />how it hides behind the fabric of our poor browbeat<br />days, shining brightly and we don’t even know it.”<br />
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Join us December 2nd, the first Sunday in Advent, for our study titled:<br />
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<b>The Need for Patience and Faithfulness</b> <br />
Advent requires patience and faithfulness as we prepare<br />for God’s coming.<br />
Bible verses for our study: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-10; 1Thessalonians 3: 9-13; Luke 21: 25-36</div>
</span>Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-298277065162288642012-11-25T13:00:00.000-05:002012-11-25T13:00:02.152-05:00King of the hill<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDYmf7x_B4vJT0SdYuzXj4HAWCmphPtHWVojmFUWc1LFB6aEx5oyUw6VH5wybDSZhD0YG3rXYAcOaZ8MSszLlds5w9N7YJnV49h4mOaA0lwMK5UaqeTy8BCllAXO4iKkfLPnRjg/s1600/KingOfTheHill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDYmf7x_B4vJT0SdYuzXj4HAWCmphPtHWVojmFUWc1LFB6aEx5oyUw6VH5wybDSZhD0YG3rXYAcOaZ8MSszLlds5w9N7YJnV49h4mOaA0lwMK5UaqeTy8BCllAXO4iKkfLPnRjg/s200/KingOfTheHill.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<b>A sermon for the Last Sunday in Pentecost – Year B</b><br />
<i><a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Pentecost/BProp29_RCL.html" target="_blank">Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Revelation 1:4b-8, John 18:33-37</a></i><br />
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Do kids play ‘king of the hill’ anymore? Do you know what I am talking about? It is a game where a kid will try to get to the top of a small hill, or on a pile of other kids, and stay on top while the other kids try to push him (I always remember boys doing this…) off. The kid on top proclaims “I am king of the hill!” and then the others try to push him off. The game can get pretty rough and most schools and camps ban it from being played. So I wonder if kids even know about it?<br />
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Well, they may have taken it out of the playground, but people still play some form of ‘king of the hill’ all the time. The playground game can be pretty good metaphor for life in the business world. All you really need is for one person to decide that they want to be the next king of the hill and then get everyone else involved in pushing the one at the top of whatever heap is being sought after to do the shoving and kicking and pulling. In some workplaces I have seen, the game of king of the hill is more fun, more time-consuming, and more important, than building, selling or providing whatever widget needs to be built or sold, or whatever service needs to be delivered.<br />
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Of course, it doesn’t just happen in business. It happens in politics. It can happen in homes. And it can even happen (dare I say it?) in churches.<br />
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When the game of king of the hill becomes too important, we are forgetting who is really in charge.<br />
Today we celebrate the end of the Church year and we summarize everything that has happened all year long in this way: Jesus reigns over all creation as King of kings and Lord of lords. But today he doesn’t much look like it.<br />
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In the Gospel we see Jesus arrested, humiliated, and standing before a real ruler. Not a king, mind you, but a Roman Governor…who represented Caesar who rules ¼ to 1/3 the known world. Pilate asks this pathetic-looking wandering rabbi “Are you the King of the Jews?”<br />
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For Pilate a Messiah is nothing more than a political wannabe. He is asking Jesus “Do you think you are king of the hill?”<br />
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Jesus replies that this is precisely why he came into the world—so that people would know him as king and follow him as Lord and believe that he is the Messiah. So Jesus answers, yes, I am a king, just not in the way you think.<br />
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Jesus’ kingship, his power, is expressed in very differently than the way we use power. His Lordship will be expressed not from a throne or a big desk of power but from a cross of shame. It will be through this cross that Jesus will heal the rift between God and humanity, rescue us from sin and the power of death, and return us to a whole, healthy relationship to God. All we have to do is believe that he is the Christ, and follow him.<br />
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In our baptisms, we took on Christ. We said we believe in Jesus, and accept him as the savior, the Messiah, the Christ. We promised to follow Jesus as our Lord over our lives. We said, in effect, that we would put aside King of the Hill thinking.<br />
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I don’t know about you, but this is more easily said than done. What we do instead is to ask Jesus to be on our side as we try to climb, push, pull, claw, our way to the top of whatever heap we want to stand on. The tension between following Jesus as Lord and our desire to be king of the hill runs deep. Allow me to tell you the story of where I first consciously confronted this tension.<br />
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I grew up in a parish church that was originally built by a the wife wealthy industrialist for his workers. The Church of the Good Shepherd in Hartford was built in memory of Samuel Colt of six-gun fame. His factory still sports a blue onion dome that Colt was given by the Czar in gratitude for a big order of guns. His wife built my home church so that management, managers, workers and their families could worship, yes, but also improve themselves which is why the parish hall was a community center with a ballroom, a gym, a bowling alley, parlors, and classrooms. All good things. As 19th century industrialists went, I guess Colt was pretty enlightened about caring for his workers.<br />
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While this is more egalitarian than some places where the workers went to the Baptist Church, the managers to the Methodist and the owners to the Episcopal Church, ut also was built to remind the workers who made their houses, their school and their church possible. At the rear of the church a big stained glass window showed Moses leading his people through the Read Sea. You know what? Moses had a remarkable resemblance to Samuel Colt! My home parish was built to reinforce our usual idea of kingship. Samuel Colt was king of the hill. And you had better be grateful.<br />
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Now in fact I am very grateful to my home parish because by the time I got there, it was a very different place. The parish welcomed and reached out to the neighborhood with food, education and tutoring, youth programs, parenting classes, arts and music programs and AA meetings. It was a diverse community. I did not know it then, but that place formed me as a Christian. Despite the stained glass windows, they taught a different kind of power: the power of Christ in community to proclaim and make alive the Gospel.<br />
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This transformation happened all across the Episcopal Church--and perhaps across all mainline churches--over the last few generations. We are an off-shoot of a state-church, where a Monarch is the head of the Church, and we used to be known as the "church of the owners." But look around: We have become something quite extraordinary: we a church that is at once episcopal and democratic. We are a church where we promise through our baptismal covenant to “seek and serve Christ in all people, loving our neighbor as ourselves,” and “to respect the dignity of every human being.” We know that Christ’s reign is a dominion where all people and all their questions are welcome, where truth is proclaimed and compassion is lived.<br />
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And what happened in my home parish also happened here in Easton. This parish used to be the home of the industrialists and the wealthy elite of our city. The beauty all around us is their legacy. And yet today we are a diverse community reflecting every walk of life and whose ministry is focused both on our community and our formation as Christ’s people.<br />
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The Christmas season may have started in the stores Thursday or Friday evening but it is not even Advent yet. So on this last week of the Church’s year, let’s reflect on what it all means…the “why” God is doing what God has done. Diana Butler Bass writes the theme of Christ’s Sovereignty we hear today helps us think about Christ's birth in a different way as we move from ordinary time to Advent and then Christmas. She writes:<br />
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“While the world might think Christmas is about WHAT happened (Jesus was born) or HOW it happened (Mary, a stable, angels, shepherds), this Sunday insists that the most significant question is WHY Jesus was born. The answer to that question is encapsulated in the dramatic confrontation between Pilate and Jesus (John 18:33-37), as Jesus witnesses to the what is really means to be ‘king.’”</blockquote>
Jesus’ confrontation with Pilate shows us that what is important is not who is in political power, about who is ‘king of the hill,’ but who it is we follow. The importance of Jesus’ reign is that we are all drawn into a deep, transforming relationship with God which heals us inside, heals our relationships and heals creation.<br />
The images of hundreds and thousands of saints gathered around the throne that we heard today in Daniel and in the Revelation of John is a picture of Jesus’ reign drawing people to him from every nation and people into a new kind of community: a community of service to God and to each other.<br />
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The image of God’s reign then is no longer “king of the hill” but a much more dynamic, lively image. It is like a cross between an open air market, a rock concert and a worship service where everybody is welcome. Where people of every kind gather around Christ and in their words, their actions, their relationships and their creativity proclaim him as Lord and in so doing, they—we—take part in the renewal of all creation.Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-11062412303202754642012-11-24T10:57:00.000-05:002012-11-24T10:57:48.591-05:00The Examen and the Ten Commandments<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Here are some notes from</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i><a href="http://www.trinityeaston.org/?page_id=364" style="color: #336699;">Father Andrew's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Bible Study </a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">for Wednesday, November 14, 2012.</span><br />
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First take a look at this clip:</blockquote>
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Big Rich Texas Tip: Stylish Adult Baptism<br />
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Our study began with a look at Mark 10: 17-31, the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. The video above prompted the first question by Father Andy:</div>
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How does the stylish baptism described above remind us of the rich man in Mark's gospel?</div>
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It's obvious from the video when lines like "how to throw an elegant baptism" and "it is preferable to use a beautiful swimming pool" are used, the emphasis is on the appearance, not the substance or purpose of the sacrament of baptism. In the same sense further questions from the gospel story help us to look more closely at what Jesus is trying to teach the young man he was addressing, his disciples, and us today.</div>
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What is the rich man seeking from Jesus?..........."What must I do to inherit<u> eternal life</u>?"(vs 17)</div>
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What does Jesus want the rich man to do?.........."Go sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me."(vs 21)</div>
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What is the difference between "eternal life" and "follow me?"........... The rich man wants a guarantee into heaven, believes he has it in obeying the commandments, specifically the six Jesus chose to quote: "You know the commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother."(vs 18)</div>
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It was no coincidence Jesus only chose the last six commandments listed in verse 18 instead of the first four. He was making an important point. The first four are what the entire law flows from, these are the commandments which are the foundation of how and why we can live out the rest. The rich young ruler was missing something, something really big- Jesus was attempting to get him to see, to challenge him to go back to the beginning, instead of focusing on the end.</div>
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Much like the video above, where the focus is on the presentation and appearance instead on what is really important.</div>
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"Come, follow me." Jesus is attempting to get his attention, trying to show him the way.</div>
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The first four commandments:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I- To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">II- To put nothing in the place of God</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">III-To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">IV- And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.</span></div>
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Had the young man placed his wealth, his status, above God? Is that why Jesus asked him to sell all that he had? Probably. God looks at the heart..... cuts to the quick....... gets to the bottom of our attitudes and actions.</div>
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"Jesus looked at him and loved him."(vs 21) What was it God loved about him? </div>
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As a conclusion to our study about the Ten Commandments and how to apply them in our lives, Father Andy shared two different approaches for a practice called the Examen. </div>
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<b>The Examen and the Ten Commandments</b></div>
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The <i>examen</i>, or examination, of conscience is an ancient practice in the church. Many Roman Catholics were taught to prepare for confession by “examining” one’s conscience. St. Ignatius, in <i>The Spiritual Exercises</i>, suggests one form of the <i>examen: </i> to examine one's life in terms of the Ten Commandments to see how daily behavior stacked up against those biblical and ancient criteria. St. Ignatius includes it as one of the exercises </div>
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<span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">The following approach is suggested by Dennis Hamm, SJ:</span></div>
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<b>A Method: Five Steps.</b></div>
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I. <i>Pray for light</i>. Since we are not simply daydreaming or reminiscing but rather looking for some sense of how the Spirit of God is leading us, it only makes sense to pray for some illumination. The goal is not simply memory but graced understanding. That's a gift from God devoutly to be begged. "Lord, help me understand this blooming, buzzing confusion."</div>
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2. <i>Review the day in thanksgiving</i>. Note how different this is from looking immediately for your sins. Nobody likes to poke around in the memory bank to uncover smallness, weakness, lack of generosity. But everybody likes to fondle beautiful gifts, and that is precisely what the past twenty-four hours contain—gifts of existence, work, relationships, food, challenges. Gratitude is the foundation of our whole relationship with God. So use whatever cues help you to walk through the day from the moment of awakening—even the dreams you recall upon awakening. Walk through the past twenty-four hours, from hour to hour, from place to place, task to task, person to person, thanking the Lord for every gift you encounter.</div>
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3. <i>Review the feelings that surface in the replay of the day. Our feelings, positive and negative, the painful and the pleasing, are clear signals of where the action was during the day</i>. Simply pay attention to any and all of those feelings as they surface, the whole range: delight, boredom, fear, anticipation, resentment, anger, peace, contentment, impatience, desire, hope, regret, shame, uncertainty, compassion, disgust, gratitude, pride, rage, doubt, confidence, admiration, shyness—whatever was there. Some of us may be hesitant to focus on feelings in this over-psychologized age, but I believe that these feelings are the liveliest index to what is happening in our lives. This leads us to the fourth moment.</div>
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4. <i>Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it</i>. That is, choose the remembered feeling that most caught your attention. The feeling is a sign that something important was going on. Now simply express spontaneously the prayer that surfaces as you attend to the source of the feeling—praise, petition, contrition, cry for help or healing, whatever.</div>
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5. <i>Look toward tomorrow</i>. Using your appointment calendar if that helps, face your immediate future. What feelings surface as you look at the tasks, meetings and appointments that face you? Fear? Delighted anticipation? Self-doubt? Temptation to procrastinate? Zestful planning? Regret? Weakness? Whatever it is, turn it into prayer—for help, for healing, whatever comes spontaneously. To round off the examen, say the Lord's Prayer.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font: 11.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;"> </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Here is another approach, suggested by a Lutheran, Pastor Duncan Harrell:</span></div>
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1. Invite God to search the depths of your heart as you meditate on the Ten Commandments found in <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Exodus 20:1–20</span>. Ask him for insight into how the truth in Scripture and your own experience have intersected.</div>
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2. You may wish to hold up other Scriptures as a mirror for your soul. Some suggestions include the wisdom literature of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the Psalms, the Beatitudes (<span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Matt 5:1–12</span>), Paul’s New Life in Christ ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Col 3</span>), or the Well-Pleasing Service ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Heb 13</span>).</div>
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3. Read slowly, pausing at each sentence or verse to listen for anything that stands out. Perhaps there is an area of your life that you would like God to examine—your use of time, your relationship with your coworkers, the books you read, etc. Perhaps you will invite him to look through a particular period, your day or your week. Think through your thoughts, feelings, and actions in the context of the passage. How did they draw you to God? To self? How were they like or unlike the picture of God that the reading paints? How has God been at work? What seemingly ordinary things might God have been using for his own purposes? How did you respond?</div>
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4. If you find your mind wandering or trying to dredge up remorse without conviction ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Matt 6:7–8</span>), perhaps it is time to move on to the next sentence or verse. (Suggestions for dealing with distractions can be found under (<span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;"><i>Lectio Divina/</i>Practice/4</span>.)</div>
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5. When something not quite right comes to light, avoid the urge to defend yourself. Instead take responsibility for what is wrong and ask God to purify you. On the other hand, avoid the urge to punish yourself. Trust that you will receive God’s mercy ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Eph 2:4–5</span>).</div>
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6. God’s Spirit encourages as much as he convicts. As you practice the prayer of examen, do not forget to sit still for his smile. When something is shown to you that falls in line with the commands, do not diminish it. Thank God for this evidence of his work through you and for allowing you to participate in his plan ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">Jer 9:23–24</span>).</div>
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7. If it is difficult to hear his voice pointing out matters for celebration or confession in your life because your own inner voice drowns him out, begin by listening for <i>his </i>characteristics or actions instead of your own. What does God reveal about himself as you read through the Commandments?</div>
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8. Write down your confession to God, both the truth about yourself and the truth about him. Make sure to note the whole truth: his holiness, which cannot be trespassed against, as well as his love that redeems you with mercy. If you have felt a nudge concerning an action you might take, a word you might offer, or a new perspective you might adopt, write that down, too. When you are done meditating through the passage, read what you have written. Thank him for his work. Offer all that you have discovered about yourself to all that you know to be true of God. The goal is not to journey into yourself and stay there, but to journey through yourself to the heart of God.<sup>2</sup> Yield to his righteousness and mercy and wait.</div>
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9. Finally, do not forget that when you leave the mirror, you can leave with confidence and peace that he has shown you all you need concern yourself with today ( <span style="color: blue; font: 12.0px Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;">1 Cor 2:10 )</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Considering the serious nature of this study, thought it might be good to end with a funny video!</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/umRRCkspaQU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><i><a href="http://www.trinityeaston.org/?page_id=364" style="color: #336699;">Father Andrew's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Bible Study </a> will resume in January with a look at the parables of Jesus!</i></span></div>
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Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-5603753989302235642012-11-16T19:32:00.002-05:002012-11-16T19:40:38.771-05:00Adult Forum Class 11/11/12<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Charney Room. All are welcome!</span></span></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Joy</span></b></u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">of Generosity</span></b></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two widows, from two very different places in the bible......</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These women were the primary topic of our discussion during our study of 1 Kings 17:8-16 and Mark 12:38-44. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two simple, unnamed, women, referred to only as "widows"; both left behind by the untimely deaths of their husbands, both obviously living in poverty, both struggling to survive each day on their own. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The widow of Zarephath is out gathering sticks when the prophet Elijah approaches her. He has just spent time by the brook being fed by ravens until the brook dries up, a direct result of the drought God has pronounced through him to get the attention of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. The prophet is in need of food and water to continue God's work so God leads him explicitly to the widow.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." (1 Kings 17:9)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The widow has already heard from God- she is not just picking up sticks- she is waiting for God, expecting God to show up. It isn't just Elijah who is hearing clear instructions from the Lord, she is too, and I can imagine as she is finding those sticks she is anticipating something, not quite sure what or how, but knowing in her heart out of her own desperate need God must show up.... or she and her son will die.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God answers in a prolific way, through his most powerful messenger of that day- Elijah. It is Elijah who starts the conversation with the widow, who initiates the beginning of a wonderful relationship which will bring life and hope to both of them.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the start Elijah treats the widow with respect. The same man who called down fire from heaven doesn't approach the widow by treating her as a slave, he doesn't command her, but instead asks "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" (vs 10)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She willingly obliges. I imagine there might be a sense of hope already springing forth in her heart when she first hears his voice. Again, she is waiting. And once she turns to retrieve the water she hears his voice again:</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"And bring me, please, a piece of bread."(vs 11)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does she know who this man is? Does she recognize him as the prophet Elijah? Immediately she shares her situation with him, and at first it sounds like a way to avoid responding to his request, but actually she is allowing a stranger to know her desperate situation.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"As surely as the Lord your God lives I don't have any bread- only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it- and die." (vs 12)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The prophet assures her she doesn't need to be afraid. God sees her need, just as he knows Elijah's need too. Together God uses them to accomplish his plan. The widow agrees to make some bread for Elijah, and as a result she continues to experience God's miraculous provision, saving her life and the life of her son. Elijah not only finds food and water but also something he has sorely lacked, companionship, through both the widow and her son.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From this widow we look at the story of another widow in Mark 12:38-44, one we don't learn much about except this- she caught the attention of Jesus. She is described as "poor" twice in these verses, once by Jesus himself. He is sitting and watching the crowd filing through the Temple, placing their offerings into the treasury when she comes in to make her seemingly small and insignificant offering.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except it isn't small by God's standards- in fact, it is the most generous offering Jesus observes. So noteworthy he calls his disciples over and states "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything- all she had to live on."</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two very small copper coins..... the equivalent of a fraction of a penny by today's standards..... </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> she had to live on. That is what she chose to give, because in her heart she knew her survival thus far, and her future, depended solely on her trust in God, on giving everything to God. Her need, both physically and spiritually, compelled her to risk all to see God.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God does see her plight through his son and her story lives on- for even those who are not religious have heard the story of the widow's mite.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don't know what happened to this woman after she left the Temple, but my guess is she received all that she needed to live each day for the remainder of her life. Maybe like the widow of Zarephath she found her supplies miraculously replenishing themselves each day. Her generous heart enabled her to see and experience God. We can all be grateful for her humble example and what it can teach us today.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That same God who made provision for the prophet and these two widows sees our needs today. Are we ready, in faith, to offer everything to God, to be generous with our lives, sharing even the little we have with others God sends our way?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">JOY </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of generosity will certainly fill our hearts if we do. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reflection </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from Living The Good News</span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two parts of today’s gospel are linked by the word </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">widow </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(12:40, 42). We can only speculate on what motivated her to give “all she had to live on.” But since one valid way to respond to scripture is through the imagination, let’s imagine this woman. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps, if you get her talking about her late husband, her eyes glow and her face lights up. Perhaps hers was a rare but precious love story, and she genuinely misses him. He may remain with her in spirit, more present in death than he was in life. She talks with him at his tomb about the day’s events; she listens intently for his response. When she remembers their married life together, a sense of blessing far outweighs a sense of loss. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She has learned, over the years, to live from a deep pool of gratitude and trust. It wasn’t easy, but as her loves for her husband and for God flowed together, she understood that she already possessed the great treasure. Compared with her deep inner peace, two copper coins seemed like little. And so, wealthy with intangible riches, she approached the temple treasury. She smiled to herself as the money clinked quietly into the box.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will not be having class this coming Sunday, November 18, 2012, due to Consecration Sunday.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please join us the following Sunday, November 26th.</span></span></div>
Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-1793425390043678492012-11-07T13:11:00.000-05:002012-11-07T13:11:41.485-05:00Adult Forum Class, 11/4/12<i>Adult Forum class is hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield at 9:15am Sunday mornings in The Charney Room. All are welcome!</i><br />
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Most of our discussion on Sunday revolved around the account in John, chapter 11, of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.<br />
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Terry threw out an interesting question as part of our study- How did Lazarus feel about being brought back? Who would want to return to earth after experiencing heaven for four days?<br />
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We all agreed it must have been difficult to come back, at least from our perspective.<br />
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"So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." (vs. 3)<br />
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Obviously Lazarus was ill leading up to his death and had suffered. (Another reason why coming back may not have been appealing). </div>
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However Jesus delayed his return, apparently on purpose for two additional days, even though<br />
"Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."(vs. 6)<br />
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When Jesus called him back, Lazarus smelled and had "his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face."(vs. 44) So at the voice of God, like it or not, he walked out of his tomb, probably stumbling, certainly blindfolded, no doubt wondering where he was. Jesus tells the people watching"Take off the grave clothes and let him go."(vs. 44)<br />
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Unfortunately we don't know what Lazarus saw or experienced during those four days in the grave, or how they affected his life afterwards, but his experience reminded me of a recent story in the news told by Eben Alexander, a widely respected Harvard neurosurgeon who spent seven days in a coma and believed he saw heaven. You can see an interview with him at: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/heaven-existance-real-doctor-details-proof-afterlife-death-17560783">http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/heaven-existance-real-doctor-details-proof-afterlife-death-17560783</a>.</div>
Dr. Alexander's book, <i>Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, </i>is his full story.<br />
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No doubt Lazarus's story would be a best seller today!<br />
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The miraculous sign Jesus performed by resurrecting Lazarus would persuade many people to put their faith in God - but also lead to his arrest and crucifixion.<br />
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There are times in all our lives, like Martha, we may say to God "Lord, if you had been here........"<br />
For Martha, Jesus's absence meant her brother's death. His delay put her brother in a tomb for four days. She was grief stricken and overwhelmed, but she knew the Lord held the hope she needed.<br />
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"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"(vs.25)<br />
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Martha makes a bold statement back to Jesus- before her brother is raised from the dead, while she is brokenhearted, before she witnesses the miracle.<br />
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"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world."(vs. 27)<br />
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Hearts that recognize God and put their faith in God eventually see his resurrecting power. Maybe not by receiving the answer we had prayed for (such as a dead body being revived) but by using our testimony of God's strength and hope, comfort and grace in the midst of our tragedies to be a beacon of hope and light to others.<br />
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As we pray for the people affected by Hurricane Sandy, and read the remarkable stories of how people are rallying to bring tangible help to those in need, it shows us even in darkness, God's resurrecting power shines through people.<br />
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<br />Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-11896534934233859492012-11-05T11:00:00.000-05:002012-11-24T11:04:02.070-05:00Sunday after All Saints, 2012<br />
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Who’s on your top ten list of Saints? Let’s name a few of our favorites: There is Nicholas, who is jolly, Christmassy and brings treats. There is Anthony, who specializes in helping us find things (and people) who get lost. There is Christopher, who protects us from harm. Have a lost cause? There’s a saint for that: Jude. For romantics and chocolate lovers there's Valentine. Don’t forget Patrick, missionary, Irishman and football mascot.<br />
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It is my sacred duty to dispel a myth or two: Despite the 12,700 references on Google, there is no Saint Arbucks, patron Saint of Coffee. Sorry.<br />
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When we talk about saints, we could talk about what makes a saint, well, famous. What gets a college or city or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSN-751">submarine </a>named after one? We could talk about their sacrifices, their perfection, their witness, and their selfless deeds.<br />
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But how about today we instead hold up the “rank and file,” the ones who brought Jesus to others one relationship at a time. The saints, who exhibited Christ even when they didn’t feel like it, know it nor understand it. Most of these saints don’t have a name or a date, but I think you may know one or two.<br />
Christianity is passed along by word of mouth, through example and through relationship. No one ever comes to faith entirely by themselves. We are all brought to and sustained in our faith, because someone or some people, brought us and nurtured us. These people were God’s ambassadors of reconciliation—showing off Jesus—and inviting you along.<br />
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Saints are by definition imperfect. No one is totally pure and no one is above corruption in thought, word and deed. No one has ever completely put aside any one or all of the seven deadly sins. If you talk to a person whom you or I might consider saintly, they would be startled and think you were making a mountain out a molehill.<br />
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I never met a firefighter who was a hero. Not one. When you tell them they are heroic, they will tell you that they were just doing their job. Most saints are just the same way.<br />
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In the early Church, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=219208174">“saint” was the term used</a> to describe all followers of Jesus. All of us who live attempting to imitate Christ get the title “saint.” The first step to sainthood is to decide to follow Jesus. The entry point is baptism.<br />
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At the same time, saints are made not just born(-again!). Ask Saint Paul about the saints with whom he dealt through his pastoral correspondences we call Epistles. The saints in Corinth were willful and quarrelsome and others were sexually irresponsible. There were saints in Philippi who used their position in church for purely selfish ends. Even big-shots like Peter and Barnabas could act like hypocrites. And Paul himself admitted to the saints in Rome that even he did not understand his own actions—he did things he did not want to do, the very things he hated.<br />
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Sainthood should not be confused with being “nice.” Even Mother Teresa was known not to be nice all the time. But let's give her a break. If you’re focused on caring for the poorest of the poor you might end up ruffling a few feathers.<br />
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Living into our saintliness is not about niceness but about newness.<br />
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<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/HolyDays/AllSaints_B_RCL.html#GOSPEL">In today’s Gospel</a>, we hear the story of a man who is brought back to life from death. Lazarus is resuscitated by Jesus, and that is a miraculous thing. We think of this as the ultimate of Jesus’ miracles…the one with the most “Wow!” But there is something else going on. The raising of Lazarus comes smack dab in the middle of John’s Gospel. Everything up until now in John has been about Jesus’ teaching and his encounters which show him to be God’s Son—the Word—from now on everything heads towards the cross where Jesus’ glory will be revealed and to the resurrection. Raising Lazarus is the pivot point of the Gospel. I suggest that what we see in this miracle is not just the raising of a dead person, what we see here is a type, a model, of baptism.<br />
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Paul describes the baptismal ritual of the early church <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=219208305">when he asks in Romans</a> “do you not know that when you were baptized you were buried with Christ in a death like his…?” I think that John’s community would have recognized Lazarus as one of us: a person buried with Christ in a death like his and raised to life to live a life like his. Of course, Lazarus will die again…he gets to do that twice. But so do we. Even as we have been raised to newness of life, we will also still age and die. All saints, like you and me and Lazarus are raised into newness of life.<br />
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Every single saint takes part in God’s new creation, where God transforms a broken, angry, destructive world into a world of peace, reconciliation and wholeness. That is at the heart of the language in both Isaiah and Revelation this morning.<br />
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We saint can make that choice everyday as we choose to focus just a bit more on what God would have us be. Frederick Buechner wrote:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As we move around this world and as we act with kindness perhaps, or with indifference or with hostility toward the people we meet, we are setting the great spider web atremble. The life I touch for good or ill will touch and other life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what place my touch will be felt.</blockquote>
You are here because some place, somewhere, a saint touched you. Somewhere, some place you have touched another human being with grace. Somewhere someone cut you a break, told you the truth in love, or cared for you in a moment of crisis. Somewhere someone showed you what it was like to be touched by God. Having been touched by the holy, when you said “I want to do that, too” you took another step towards saintliness.<br />
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Saintliness is about newness--choosing to live this one day in one new way--choosing compassion over selfishness, mercy over revenge, kindness over disregard. I was impressed to read and see stories of runners who came to New York expecting to run in a Marathon but who instead chose to put on work boots and gloves to go help where they were needed this morning…some of them before the race itself was called off. These people remind us that we are all running a race; not for glory but of faithfulness. Choosing just for this moment to serve God in the people God gives us and to look for Christ in the people we are given will change us. <br />
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As Saints go, you may think we have a ways to go. Well, don’t we all? We may at time feel uncertain, overworked, we can be short-sighted, fearful, tired or hypocritical, that’s for sure.<br />
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It’s true. We are not perfect, we saints; we are everyday discovering newness.<br />
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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-75052918863655949352012-11-02T17:26:00.000-04:002012-11-02T17:26:15.576-04:00"You shall not steal" and "You shall not covet"<div style="text-align: center;">
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Here are some notes from <i><a href="http://www.trinityeaston.org/?page_id=364">Father Andrew's Illustrated, Simplified and Painless Bible Study </a></i>for Wednesday, October 31.<br />
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Since September our study has focused on the “Ten Commandments” as:</div>
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<b>Law as guidance</b> vs <b>Law as legal code.......</b><br />
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To give a good illustration:<br />
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Using a compass and a sense of direction to navigate our own path vs. using a GPS and following the instructions precisely as they are given.<br />
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During the class on Wednesday, October 31st the following bible portions were read and compared to begin our study.<br />
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<b>Exodus 20:15</b><br />
"You shall not steal."<br />
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<b>Deuteronomy 5:19</b><br />
"Neither shall you steal."<br />
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<b>Deuteronomy 27:17</b><br />
"Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbor’s boundary marker.” All the people shall say, “Amen!”<br />
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<b>Exodus 20:17</b><br />
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet<br />
your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or<br />
anything that belongs to your neighbor.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Deuteronomy 5:21</b><br />
21 Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife. Neither shall you<br />
desire your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or<br />
ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.<br />
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Sometimes we romanticize theft. Think of films and stories where we romanticize "crooks." How might we justify theft? When might it seem permissible?<br />
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How about "coveting?" Think about how our desire for things drives much of our consumer culture.<br />
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But what does wanting something we don't have do to us?<br />
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First, a movie clip. This one is from "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DLvIFRNbqOs?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br />
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and this one from "The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King."<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GhF060VmS1g?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 23.981483459472656px;">If you've read the story or seen the films, remember what happened to Gollum. </span></div>
Gollum was a Hobbitt who had possesion of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Ring" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="One Ring">One Ring</a> and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat"
His life was extended to a virtual immortality because of his possession of the Ring, which he frequently referred to as "my precious" and "my birthday present". At the same time, the Ring--and his pursuit of it--destroyed Gollum spiritually and psychologically.
In the book "The Hobbit,"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilbo_Baggins" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Bilbo Baggins">Bilbo Baggins</a> took the Ring from Gollum during the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddle_Game" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Riddle Game">Riddle Game</a>. Gollum pursued it for the rest of his life.
In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gollum accompanies Frodo and Sam, alternately protecting the ring and seeking to steal it as Frodo quests to destroy the ring forever.
During his centuries under the Ring's influence, Gollum came to love and hate the Ring, just as he loved and hated himself. Throughout the story, Gollum was torn between his lust for the Ring and his desire to be free of it.
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What is the connection between "theft" and "covet" in these scenes?<br />
What does wanting a thing, making it the most important thing?<br />
What happens to one spiritually when a thing that is not yours becomes the primary focus of your being?<br />
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Let's look at "Theft" and "Coveting" in the Commandments:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What does “theft” mean?</i></span><br />
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Theft means to take property that belongs to another or to the public. It encompasses<br />
fraud, usury, extortion, and dishonest trading.<br />
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The Hebrew word used for “steal” is the one used of the kidnapping of Joseph in<br />
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=218880747">Genesis 40:15</a><br />
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Theft was not just a law it was a tort: to steal means that the their must compensate the owner for<br />
what was stolen.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double. A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. <i>Exodus 22:1– 3</i></blockquote>
Stealing includes the following: prompting another to steal, receiving stolen goods, creating confusion to overcharge or underpay, using false weights and measures, and deceiving others with artificial or imitation goods.<br />
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Hear this, you who trample upon the needy,<br />
and bring the poor of the land to an end,<br />
saying, "When will the new moon be over,<br />
that we may sell grain?<br />
And the sabbath,<br />
that we may offer wheat for sale,<br />
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great,<br />
and deal deceitfully with false balances,<br />
that we may buy the poor for silver<br />
and the needy for a pair of sandals,<br />
and sell the refuse of the wheat?"<br />
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob,<br />
"Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.<br />
Shall not the land tremble on this account,<br />
and every one mourn who dwells in it?" <i>Amos 8.4-8</i></blockquote>
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If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be<br />
to him as a creditor, and you shall not exact interest from him. Exodus 22.25<br />
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“Theft” or “kidnapping” is related to “coveting” in the last (two) commandments.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The connection between “theft” and “coveting”</i></span><br />
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Why does desire for someone else’s stuff (or someone else’s wife) end the<br />
commandments?<br />
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From John Wesley: (<a href="http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.ii.iii.xxi.ii.html">Wesley’s Notes on the Bible</a>):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Thou shalt not covet - The foregoing commands implicitly forbid all desire of doing that which will be an injury to our neighbour, this forbids all inordinate desire of having that which will be a gratification to ourselves. O that such a man's house were mine! such a man's wife mine! such a man's estate mine!<br />
This is certainly the language of discontent at our own lot, and envy at our neighbour's, and these are the sins principally forbidden here. God give us all to see our face in the glass of this law, and to lay our hearts under the government of it!</blockquote>
From an article by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells, <a href="http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2053">The Christian Century, March 15, 2000 p. 301</a>, that explains the significance of the Ten commandments as a tool to provoke us to worship God, finding true freedom individually and as a community when we do.<br />
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“…to be holy, to belong to God and to mediate his being to the world, is to be free. It is not the esoteric longing of a few; it is what everyone wants. There is only one way to be free, and that is to be a people who belong to God. In the language of the Reformation, justification -- the liberation by God of his people so they may be free in his sight -- belongs with sanctification -- the way God makes his people holy. Liberation and law are the way God claims his people as his own. At this point God commands. How shall we be holy? How shall we belong to God? How can we keep our freedom? This is how. Worship God, resisting the alternatives, and be a people at peace with one another.<br />
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“What are the alternatives to worshiping God? There are four, according to the commandments. One is to worship a different God. This is given no elaboration, because it needs none: God has brought Israel out of slavery. What use would Israel have for any other god? A second is to make an idol. This is to worship something smaller than God, something God has made. It is to confuse the creation with the<br />
creator, to serve that which cannot liberate -- in other words, to return to slavery. A third is to trivialize God by forgetting that his name is holy, by using his name to advance our own purposes rather than his. If we frequently call on him when we don’t want him, we must accept that he won’t be there to answer when we really do.<br />
“The fourth is to make gods of ourselves. This is the underlying warning of the commandments concerning the sabbath and parents. Temptations to break the sabbath are understandable: we are needed, we are vital, we have made commitments and need this extra time to fulfill them, we don’t want to let people down, there is so much good that can be done. The temptation to break the sabbath is the temptation to do extra good. Why is extra good necessary? Because salvation is just out of reach and we are striving for it? Because we are surrounded by suffering and evil, and God can’t or won’t intervene, so we must? The sabbath is a great test of our faith in God. If we look to him, he will look after what he has given to us.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Honoring one’s parents is about acknowledging contingency. The decisive choices in our lives -- that we should exist and should be children of God -- were made before we were born. Whatever our feelings about our parents, our practice toward them must be one of gratitude, reflecting the fact that without them there would be no us. Our respect for them is a practical demonstration of our thankfulness to God.<br />
“The commands to respect life, marriage, property and truth underline that freedom means being a people before God. We cannot be holy on our own; we need others. Unless they respect these boundaries, no people can live in peace.”</blockquote>
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<b><i>Please join us next Wednesday, November 7th, as we discuss the Commandment "You shall not be a false witness." </i></b><br />
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<br />Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-16261402476596789112012-10-24T09:39:00.001-04:002012-10-24T09:39:51.157-04:00Adult Forum Class, October 21, 2012<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">About Adult Forum</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Please join us Sunday mornings at 9:15am in the Charney Room, hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield. </i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><i>Check here each week to receive a brief synopsis on what we taught the previous Sunday, as well as what we will be working on the following Sunday. We are using a study guide called </i><u>Living The Good News</u><i>, a lectionary based program. For those who are not familiar with the term lectionary, it is the book of appointed bible portions to be read during our church services throughout the year, which includes an Old Testament Lesson, The Psalm, The Epistle, and The Gospel Lesson.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br />
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<i>There is beauty in how these sections of scripture are chosen. We are privileged to focus on them in our class as well as during our church service, and Father Gern's sermon further adds to what we are sharing during class time.</i></div>
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<i>In a small group setting we also get to know one another more intimately, building friendships and our sense of community, so vital to continuing Christ's work individually as well as collectively. </i></div>
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<i>We are truly excited to be leading this class. Already we are learning so much ourselves!</i></div>
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<i><b><u>The Call to Discipleship</u></b></i></div>
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No portion in the Old Testament better describes Jesus as the suffering servant than Isaiah 53:4-12. It is painful to read parts of these verses, especially when we realize it was our transgressions, our punishment, that was inflicted upon him in such a brutal way. The picture Isaiah paints of Jesus uses intense words to provoke very real images:</div>
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"But he was <b>wounded</b> for our transgressions, <b>crushed</b> for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his <b>bruises</b> we are healed."</div>
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In Hebrews 5:8-9 it says "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him"</div>
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Throughout the Bible this theme of suffering and servanthood translated to healing and hope reveals God's purpose and plan, even in the dark and difficult parts of our own lives. Jesus showed us in his own willingness to serve that tragedy can and will be translated into a pathway of life to others if we continue to trust him.</div>
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What does it mean to heed his call to discipleship? To be servants?</div>
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James and John were well known to be Jesus's disciples, part of his inner circle, familiar names to those of us who have been in church most of our lives. In the gospel reading from Mark 10:35-45 they ask Jesus an interesting question, one most of us find rather bold and offensive. One point we discussed in class was how easily they appeared to approach the Lord:</div>
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"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." (Mark 10:35)</div>
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Their question implies a close, familial, relationship. Jesus was easily approached because he presented himself as a servant. Even his reply is somewhat surprising. "What is it you want me to do for you?"</div>
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What a servant's heart our Lord has! He doesn't rebuke them for coming to him, in fact, he even encourages them to be specific. After they tell him they want privileged spots next to him when he comes into his kingdom, Jesus corrects them and uses the moment to hit home a deeper truth. Another opportunity for God to help us all to see the real message of the gospel, the true call to discipleship.</div>
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To be willing, like our savior, to serve. </div>
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Leadership through kindness, compassion, humility. Leadership that chooses love and understanding. Leadership that is willing to bear the burdens of those who follow.</div>
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Leadership expressed in becoming slaves to all.</div>
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"But whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but <b>to serve</b>, and <b>to give his life a ransom for many.</b>"</div>
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May God grant us through the power of His Spirit the grace to follow His call to discipleship. Amen.</div>
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<b>Reflection </b><i>from Living the Good News</i></div>
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Anyone beginning a career in management or seeking authority should find in today’s readings some nuggets for understanding a leadership role. First, forget the perks. Those with their sights set on the luxury condo, the flashy car or the followers’ adulation might as well quit right now. </div>
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Scripture sets forth entirely different grounds than society’s for leaders. Jesus is the Master because he shares in human weakness and temptation. What we might find our least praiseworthy qualities, he embraces. Furthermore, his followers are distinguished not by anything they have achieved, but by their fidelity to sharing human suffering. If they come into any reward, it is God’s gift, nothing they have earned. </div>
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For example, imagine an awards banquet. Where might we find Christ: with the honoree at the head table, basking in glory and applause, or the server clearing plates and pouring coffee quietly, trying not to interrupt the speeches? We can only imagine the sorrow in the heart of Christ as he sees some religious leaders today making a mockery of his vision. When they follow culture’s dictates rather than the demands of the gospel, they must sorely disappoint him. Sadly he repeats, “It cannot be like that with you.” </div>
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<b>Next week, October 28th:</b></div>
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Title: <b>Rewards of Faith</b></div>
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<b>Bible Readings: </b>Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23- 28; Mark 10:46-52</div>
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Please join us!</div>
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Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-89194175278061359652012-10-17T10:14:00.000-04:002012-10-17T10:14:28.369-04:00Adult Forum Class, October 14, 2012<i>About Adult Forum</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Please join us Sunday mornings at 9:15am in the Charney Room, hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield. </i><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><i>Check here each week to receive a brief synopsis on what we taught the previous Sunday, as well as what we will be working on the following Sunday. We are using a study guide called </i><u>Living The Good News</u><i>, a lectionary based program. For those who are not familiar with the term lectionary, it is the book of appointed bible portions to be read during our church services throughout the year, which includes an Old Testament Lesson, The Psalm, The Epistle, and The Gospel Lesson.</i></span><br />
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<i>There is beauty in how these sections of scripture are chosen. We are privileged to focus on them in our class as well as during our church service, and Father Gern's sermon further adds to what we are sharing during class time.</i></div>
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<i>In a small group setting we also get to know one another more intimately, building friendships and our sense of community, so vital to continuing Christ's work individually as well as collectively. </i></div>
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<i>We are truly excited to be leading this class. Already we are learning so much ourselves!</i></div>
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<i><u><br /></u></i></div>
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<i><b><u>God of Impossibilities</u></b></i><br />
<i><b><u><br /></u></b></i>
Our discussion began with the book of Amos, a part of the bible most of us are unfamiliar with, one of those minor prophets most of us skip over. The reading came from Amos 5:6-7, 10-15, and the first sentence grabbed our attention:<br />
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"Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it."<br />
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Strong words of command, followed by equally strong words expressing the consequences if that command is not obeyed. A little overwhelming, but once we began looking at the remaining verses the picture broadened as we discovered the essence of what God, through Amos, wanted to share with us through this teaching.<br />
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Amos was attempting to expose oppression within his society, calling to task people who were "afflicting the righteous, taking bribes, and pushing aside the needy in the gate." Although there are not literal gates people pass in and out of in our society today, it is easy to find oppression in our outlook as a community, as well as within ourselves.<br />
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How can we better notice and help the needy and vulnerable in our world today? How can we establish justice for all people? It's fairly simple:<br />
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"Seek <b>good...... </b>love <b>good"</b>(Amos 5:14,15).......for <b>all people- </b>and God will be gracious to us.<br />
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In the gospel reading from Mark 10:17-31 we looked at the story of the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus and asks "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" The Lord's answer is straightforward and challenging "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."<br />
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Most of us have probably wondered- how would we honestly handle such a directive from God?<br />
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Before Jesus said this, the gospel reveals his heart towards this young man, his heart towards all of us.<br />
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"Jesus, looking at him, <b>loved him." </b>It was not with a spirit of judgement Jesus gave this man a personal challenge, it was out of love. God sees the potential within us to become, to follow Christ out of our old familiarity into newer paths of freedom. Only the love of God can expose that, bring it to light. His love compels us to change, to want change, even if at first like that rich young ruler we walk away grieving.<br />
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The fact the young man went to Jesus, sought him out, shows he was looking for an answer beyond what he had already accomplished, including obeying the commandments from his childhood. He was looking for change, but maybe not completely ready to embrace it. Jesus definitely planted a seed in his heart.<br />
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We don't hear the rest of his story, but God's word is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."(Hebrews 4:12) No doubt his meeting with the living word, Jesus, forever changed his life, his perspective. God was also emphasizing through this story his desire, as we discussed from the book of Amos, for us to use our resources to help those less fortunate.<br />
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Jesus was trying to show this young man how his wealth could be translated to treasure in heaven. Condemning wealth can be typical in some religious circles. But can't this too be part of how God equips his people to do the work of the kingdom here on earth?<br />
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Whatever God calls or expects from us we can rest in knowing that Christ understands fully our weaknesses, and actually sympathizes with them! (Hebrews 4:15) He knew the rich young ruler would walk away.... he knows we will fall short often in our journey. But <b>He loves us.</b> No matter what. And in Hebrews 4:16 we are encouraged "Let us therefore approach the throne of <b>grace</b> with boldness. so that we may receive <b>mercy</b> and find <b>grace</b> to help in time of need.<br />
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Grace. Mercy. Amen.<br />
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The <b>Reflection</b>, from <i>Living the Good News</i><br />
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The genius of the gospel is often its unanswered questions. At one level, we don’t know what eventually happened to the young man. At another level, the gospel raises questions to answer in our own lives. </div>
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In her book <i>Kitchen Table Wisdom, </i>Dr. Rachel Remen distinguishes between spores and seeds. The first hunkers down and walls off the life force when times are harsh. It is a survival mechanism. Many years later when conditions improve, a spore might unfold into a plant. So people may wall off parts of themselves that aren’t encouraged in childhood. They do not grow but simply survive. </div>
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Some even forget that this is a temporary mode, not a way of life. “What you needed to do to survive may be very different from what you need to do to live.” Reclaiming all the parts of ourselves, even those we may have judged shortcomings, is the first step back to being a fruitful seed. </div>
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When Jesus looks at the rich man, what is contained in that look? If it is an invitation to fuller life, then it is even more poignant when he refuses. Only we can answer the question of what will help us live rather than merely survive. We might ask the rich young man for help. </div>
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<b>Next week, October 21st:</b></div>
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Title: <b>The Call to Discipleship</b></div>
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<b>Bible readings: </b>Isaiah 53:4-12; Psalm 91:9-16; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark:35-45</div>
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Come join us!</div>
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Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-58085845889035436212012-10-10T11:53:00.002-04:002012-10-10T11:57:57.762-04:00Adult Forum Class, October 7, 2012<br />
<i>About Adult Forum:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Please join us Sunday mornings at 9:15am in the Charney Room, hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield. </i><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"><i>Check here each week to receive a brief synopsis on what we taught the previous Sunday, as well as what we will be working on the following Sunday. We are using a study guide called </i><u>Living The Good News</u><i>, a lectionary based program. For those who are not familiar with the term lectionary, it is the book of appointed bible portions to be read during our church services throughout the year, which includes an Old Testament Lesson, The Psalm, The Epistle, and The Gospel Lesson.</i></span><br />
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<i>There is beauty in how these sections of scripture are chosen. We are privileged to focus on them in our class as well as during our church service, and Father Gern's sermon further adds to what we are sharing during class time.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;">
<i>In a small group setting we also get to know one another more intimately, building friendships and our sense of community, so vital to continuing Christ's work individually as well as collectively. </i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;">
<i>We are truly excited to be leading this class. Already we are learning so much ourselves!</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;">
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<b><u>God's Plan for Companionship </u></b><br />
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How would you define the term partnership? As we discussed at the beginning of class it ideally involves two or more people who are equally contributing, pulling their own weight, in any given relationship, project, or business. All of us have experienced the reality of having a partner, or partners, who didn't meet our expectations. Remember those forced group projects in high school where one person did all the work, but everyone else received the credit? Maybe that one person was you.<br />
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The best way to engage with a partner is to share responsibility, each person not necessarily contributing the same, but being willing to invest themselves fully in whatever ideas or skills they bring to the relationship best.<br />
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In Genesis 2:18-24, we read about God's original design for partnership through Adam and Eve. In these verses we see God has created all kinds of animal companions for Adam, but recognizes "for the man there was not found a helper as his partner."<br />
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The word for "man" in the original Hebrew is a collective term, not representative of an individual person, so it actually includes both male and female. When God causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep (an unconscious state when God speaks to someone through an unexpected message or vision) he brings forth Eve- from Adam's rib he creates her. All other beings thus far God created out of the earth, but Eve came from Adam, and Adam declares "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of man this one was taken."<br />
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They are "part" of one another, and together they represent a more complete picture of God and his design for companionship. We are not meant to be alone, we are meant to be part of a community in which we share freely our gifts with one another. Equally amazing is God considers us to be his partners, working with the Holy Spirit to fulfill God's purposes on earth.<br />
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Eve is considered Adam's helper, a term many would assume means she had a lesser status, but that would be incorrect. The Hebrew word for helper, or enabler, is also used of God's Spirit in the bible. To quote directly from <i>Living the Good News, </i>"While the word helper today has connotations of assistant or subordinate, the Hebrew word is also used of God's Spirit and depicts the woman as an enabler, one who completes and facilitates the smooth functioning of the human community and is a partner in all the work the community is called to do. The recognition of woman as "bone of my bones<br />
and flesh of my flesh" affirms a relationship of kinship and quality."<br />
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In the gospel reading from Mark 10:2-16 Jesus goes back to the original purpose of partnership as given in the story of creation. That phrase "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" is one we have all heard at weddings, yet the truth is, marriages do not always last. Looking at Christ's stern words regarding divorce it feels too rigid, especially for those who have experienced divorce in their lives. Does Jesus really mean anyone who divorces and goes on to have another relationship is<br />
committing adultery?<br />
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At the time Jesus spoke these words marriage was very different from what we perceive today. Marriage was arranged by families in biblical times, so people didn't marry for love or emotional connection, but instead to increase a family's wealth or status. Women were considered property and had no voice whatsoever in marriage or divorce. It was customary for men, if they were unhappy for any given reason with their wife, or especially if she could not produce children (which was of<br />
course assumed to always be the female's fault) to dismiss her, moving on himself to another relationship but leaving her unable to do so.<br />
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Jesus makes the statement "whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." He's turning the tables again, rooting for the underdog. The man is being held equally accountable, and in fact Jesus knows the incidence of a woman filing for divorce rarely happened. How could it? Women had no legal voice.<br />
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Unequal partnerships never work well. As we try to define marriage and all important relationships today, let us recall what a healthy partnership should be, always rooted in mutual respect and equality.<br />
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In Mark 2:13-16 "people" (parents, particularly mothers) were bringing their children to Jesus "that he might touch them." The disciples were trying to make them go away; after all, children were regarded even lower in society than women. The Lord is about to teach us all an important lesson as he "takes them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them."<br />
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"Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."<br />
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Father Andy shared in his sermon that becoming like a child means to become a blank slate.<br />
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How we need to be open, in our hearts and minds, to all God's possibilities and to all<br />
God's people.<br />
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The <b>Reflection,</b> from<i> <u>Living the Good News</u></i><br />
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Where in today’s society do we find the kind of healthy interdependence Jesus describes? There may be different configurations, but the same love. A priest presiding at a wedding makes a habit of inviting the couple to turn around and face the assembly. There, they see many different faces of love looking back: married people, single people, gay and lesbian people, divorced and remarried people, widowed people, partners, a whole variety of faces.<br />
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The faces and descriptors may have changed, but human beings are still as dependent on each other as they were in the Genesis story Jesus cites. They still yearn to belong to each other with the kind of fidelity Jesus describes. Resilient, they learn from their mistakes and try to move on when love has died. </div>
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Furthermore, they honor the ideal Jesus holds up: the protection of the small and vulnerable. And if two dads adopt two hard-to-place children, is it our place to judge them?<i> <b>The gospel moves us into mystery, where familiar mental constructs and labels lose their rigidity. Instead, we can celebrate the marvelous world of love in which we are blessed to live. </b></i></div>
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<b>Next week, October 14th:</b><br />
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Title: <b>God of Impossibilities</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Bible readings: </b>Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Psalm 90:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31<br />
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Come join us!<br />
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<br />Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-50524109908445695012012-10-02T12:02:00.001-04:002012-10-02T12:02:34.698-04:00Adult Forum Class<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJe7QVG6CgTrdyr12MEXaI2uopDCK1eBRZ2jLYTSlFygdU-Y1tVrvjubmhH3sfbV8jpwnrfNpSm5X90v_2JdTKFiHdGcV9gqYAEMrRsoDY1sUDaalcrdZVH5Lc7SqLWZKz2f2k/s1600/Crosses001-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJe7QVG6CgTrdyr12MEXaI2uopDCK1eBRZ2jLYTSlFygdU-Y1tVrvjubmhH3sfbV8jpwnrfNpSm5X90v_2JdTKFiHdGcV9gqYAEMrRsoDY1sUDaalcrdZVH5Lc7SqLWZKz2f2k/s200/Crosses001-1.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please join us for</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; font-style: italic;">Adult Forum Class</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-style: italic;">Sundays, 9:15am</span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;">Trinity Easton</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Charney Room</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hosted by Terry and Danese Grandfield</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you will join us to discuss, question, and find ways to apply the bible in our daily lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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Check here each week to receive a brief synopsis on what we taught the previous Sunday, as well as what we will be working on the following Sunday. We are using a study guide called <i>Living The Good News,</i> a lectionary based program. For those who are not familiar with the term lectionary, it is the book of appointed bible portions to be read during our church services throughout the year, which includes an Old Testament Lesson, The Psalm, The Epistle, and The Gospel Lesson.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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There is beauty in how these sections of scripture are chosen. We are privileged to focus on them in our class as well as during our church service, and Father Gern's sermon further adds to what we are sharing during class time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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In a small group setting we also get to know one another more intimately, building friendships and our sense of community, so vital to continuing Christ's work individually as well as collectively. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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We are truly excited to be leading this class. Already we are learning so much ourselves!</div>
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<b><i>Sunday, September 30th, 2012:</i></b></div>
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Title: <b><i>The Gifts of God's People</i></b></div>
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Scriptures:</div>
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Numbers 11: 4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19: 7-14; James 5: 13-20; Mark 9: 38-50</div>
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During Father Andy's sermon he said Jesus likes to let people in through the back door..... in other words, Jesus often chooses to use people we do not expect. In the reading from Numbers, Joshua is complaining about two men who are not in "the tent" yet are prophesying back in the camp. Moses puts him in his place by responding "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!"</div>
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How many times have each of us judged wrongly, like Joshua, because of jealousy? How many times have we excluded or ignored someone because they are not part of our group?</div>
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In the reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus confronts a similar situation when his disciple John tells the Lord he tried to stop a man who was casting out demons in Jesus' name, because, after all, "he is not following us"...... he is not part of our group. Jesus responds "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us."<br />
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Why do we as believers try to limit and define who we think God can use? Throughout the bible and our lives as believers we have seen God use some very "unlikely" characters to profess his good news. We should try to remember daily that God chooses, not us!<br />
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In the book of James we receive instruction regarding prayer, how it builds our personal relationship with God and intensifies our relationships with one another when we pray together. "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."<br />
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From the enrichment section of our study guide, two parts that really spoke to our hearts:<br />
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<b>“Little Elegy” by Betsy Sholl </b></div>
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<i>A moment of silence at Soup Kitchen </i></div>
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<i>for our saint of the quick grip, faking </i></div>
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<i>a side stitch to hide the bottle under his coat, </i></div>
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<i>for his taped shoes and worm-eaten watch cap, </i></div>
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<i>that clarifying fish pier scent, raw-grained </i></div>
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<i>and terrifying smell of the skids, </i></div>
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<i>how little it takes to wake up over a grate, </i></div>
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<i>half-dissolved in shadow and mist — </i></div>
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<i>half-dissolved, but still blissed out, bantering </i></div>
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<i>with buddies, flailing on icy streets, </i></div>
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<i>then catching hold of a lamppost and nodding </i></div>
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<i>to it, to the sky, the glittery walk, </i></div>
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<i>to a passing taillight, an old belief, </i></div>
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<i>foolish or fearless, that everything’s sacred, </i></div>
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<i>and now he’s gone. </i></div>
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<b>Reflection from "<i>Living the Good News"</i></b></div>
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“Unlimited possibilities” is a phrase that might express the theme of today’s readings. Moses has the breadth of vision to say, “Would that all God’s people were prophets!” He cannot bring himself to refuse anyone’s gifts or deride any good that people might do—even if they’re not perfect. His tone echoes the inscription over a welcoming gate at the entrance to a Rumi shrine in Turkey: “Come, come, whoever you are...come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times... Ours is not a caravan of despair.” </div>
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Jesus’ vision is even broader, including even a glass of water given in his name. He sees the holiness in all human deeds, whether or not they occur in church, whether or not they are labeled “religious.” </div>
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If we returned to our roots and took Moses and Jesus seriously, what a difference it might make. We might end the arbitrary distinctions between “secular” and “sacred,” instead seeing all of life as holy and whole. We might better answer the criticism of young people that the churches are so bent on internal bickering that they have neglected the needs of the larger world. We might forget our silly distinctions between “religious” and “lay” and get on with the important business of bringing water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, attention to the lonely. We might realize with the poet Betsy Sholl that “everything’s sacred.” </div>
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<b>Next Sunday, October 6th, 2012</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Title: <b><i>God's Plan for Companionship</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Scriptures:<br />
Genesis 2: 18-24; Psalm 8; Hebrews 1: 1-4, 2: 5-12; Mark 10: 2-16<br />
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Hope you can join us!<br />
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Danesejoanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283307765816875764noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-20004811054550802552012-09-28T12:43:00.002-04:002012-09-28T12:44:50.925-04:00For Sr. Patricia-Michael, we give thanks to you, O God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hMDCufNjyEocbAOpQvbgbETOd0Pp5CWdKGBP4DHSez847FJfZw9AwfI1EdGcdoPzEz4FXZA3PzXWQ9b9Zhl2IeXOhvRI3j7Ikb5kLROelQHewM5FGJIKqd5RmR3UefhJ3xZ_1Q/s1600/Sr+Patricia-Michael.+and+St.+Michael+icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hMDCufNjyEocbAOpQvbgbETOd0Pp5CWdKGBP4DHSez847FJfZw9AwfI1EdGcdoPzEz4FXZA3PzXWQ9b9Zhl2IeXOhvRI3j7Ikb5kLROelQHewM5FGJIKqd5RmR3UefhJ3xZ_1Q/s640/Sr+Patricia-Michael.+and+St.+Michael+icon.jpg" width="449" /></a></div>
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Sr. Patricia-Michael Hauze, our parish administrator, will celebrate the second anniversary of her final vows as a Solitary on The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2012.<br />
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We pray and give thanks for her ministry as our administrator, as a spiritual director and for her prayerful presence among us.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">O Lord Jesus Christ, you became poor for our sake, that we </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">might be made rich through your poverty: Guide and sanctify, </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">we pray, those whom you call to follow you under the vows </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">of poverty, chastity, and obedience, <i>especially Sister Patricia-Michael, Solitary, </i>that by <i>her </i>prayer and </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">service <i>she </i>may enrich your Church, and by <i>her </i>life and </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">worship may glorify your Name; for you reign with the Father </span><span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. </span><i style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style';">Amen.</i>Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-20169422727354589352012-08-22T20:07:00.000-04:002012-08-22T20:14:37.494-04:00Father Andrew's illustrated, simplified and painless Bible Study*<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Father Andrew’s illustrated, simplified, and painless Bible Study*</span></div>
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RETURNS TO TRINITY CHURCH SEPTEMBER 12!</div>
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<i>Do you suffer from Spiritual doldrums?</i></div>
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Does your faith feel run down?</div>
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<i>Do you experience the common hang-ups due to excessive doses of harsh or dull religion?</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Then this new-fangled Bible Study group could be just</div>
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what the doctor ordered!</div>
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THE BIBLE WITHOUT TEARS!</div>
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<i>This is not “the Bible for dummies.” </i></div>
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<i>But it is for people who feel sometimes dumb around the Bible.</i></div>
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IF YOU…<br />
• … feel you ought to read the Bible but whenever you try, you fall asleep.<br />
• … know the Church thinks the Bible is important but for the life of you can’t figure out why.<br />
• … can’t imagine what people two- (or four-) thousand years ago have to say to people today.<br />
• … feel that you need to run & hide (or check your wallet) whenever someone starts quoting the Bible.<br />
• … have questions, and want answers …but not in the way you’d expect!<br />
• … have been given lots of answers, but no one ever listened to your questions.<br />
• … really want to know what Jesus did and taught and want to follow his example.<br />
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…then <b>Father Andrew’s illustrated, simplified and painless Bible Study*</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
is for you!</div>
<br />
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<b><u>2012-13 Edition</u></b></div>
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Wednesday evenings from 7:00 – 8:15 p.m. in the Langner Lounge</div>
Fall 2012: <b>“The Grace in the Law –or– Why what you think you know about the Ten Commandments is wrong”</b><br />
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September 12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; November 7 & 14</div>
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Epiphany, 2013: <b>“’The Kingdom of God is like this, you see…:’ a look at the parables of Jesus.”</b><br />
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January 9, 16, 23, 30; February 6, 2013</div>
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Eastertide, 2013: <b>“A Tale of Two Cities: Looking for meaning in the Book of Revelation.”</b><br />
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April 10, 17, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 2013</div>
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<b><i>It’s illustrated! It’s simplified! It’s painless!*</i></b></div>
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And it is open to everyone in the parish and the community! </div>
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Please sign up in the rear of the church or call the parish office.</div>
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Come to one session, come to many, come to them all!</div>
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<i>* with apologies to <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEAQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DFgM_ZcuTIJg&ei=yHU1UJGyNPLG6AG1zoHYCA&usg=AFQjCNEianL70PvoqVA0zo0ipS1W6y_C3Q&sig2=NSlcwMjM8edBO5szrX2kUA">Marshall Efron</a></i></div>
Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-58223676651587404402012-02-23T18:59:00.002-05:002012-02-23T20:33:25.854-05:00New Bulletin Format Starting First Sunday in Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.cpg.org/global/online-resources/cartoons/"><img border="0" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WYSKLGN4R8pdkHTCHGVpt4nFAKID83g4HI6SYY0N7YA0Ifa1vtjydDP8F8THvdKMOasEYb2O5Cxnz0rDBdkCuDj2Hb_Tbo98ISYyrxA9UJeqHHbwcs_3UMrLY9x4OP9loldi_g/s640/Sidebotham+on+Prayer+Book+Juggling.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
This coming Sunday a new bulletin format will be coming to Trinity, Easton.<br />
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Before now, the bulletin contained outlines for the services on Saturday evening, Sunday at 8 a.m. and Wednesday at 12:10 and the 10:30 service had the entire service printed out in full.<br />
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Now all four liturgies will be in outline form. For 10:30 service music (like the Gloria...Glory to God...and the Sanctus...the Holy, Holy, Holy) and prayers not found in the Prayer Book will be included.<br />
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This means that folks at 10:30 may have to learn how to juggle.<br />
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We have always intended the bulletin to be kind of like a magazine, with all the information you need to focus on the important part, which is the worship. We also mean it to be the chief communications tool in the parish, through not the only one by any means! Moist of the elements that you have gotten used to will stay the same, but a few things will change.<br />
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We won't do away with bulletin with complete services entirely. When we have special services and big events, we will use the long format. So at Christmas and Easter, Holy Week, special services like Baptisms, Confirmations as well as weddings and funerals will all have the complete service printed in it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.trinityeaston.org/wp-content/uploads/1LentB_022612-GreatLit.pdf">Here is a link to a draft of this Sunday's bulletin in PDF format</a>.<br />
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Here is an outline of the Trinity Sunday bulletin:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>The Cover:</b> Pretty much the same although the picture will emphasize some aspect of Trinity's life and ministry and change a little less often.</li>
<li><b>Welcome Page:</b> The inside front cover still has our welcome message and everything you need to know to navigate the service, where to find restrooms, things for children to do and the list of ministry assistants for the day. </li>
<li><b>Lessons and Prayers:</b> This next section contains things that are common to all our Sunday liturgies, namely the Lessons and Prayers. This starts on Page 2. </li>
<ul>
<li>The Great Litany (page 2). On the First Sunday in Lent we pray this great prayer, the first English liturgy of the English Reformation, originally penned by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. This version is printed in the bulletin because it is not the version found in the Prayer Book, but is the version found in an official supplemental liturgical text of the Episcopal Church called <i>Enriching Our Worship.</i> This version is both contemporary in style and gender inclusive. Because we are using something not found in the Book of Common Prayer, it is printed in full here.</li>
<li>The Collects for the Day (page 5): The collects gather the prayers of the faithful according to a theme for the Sunday. Both Rite II and Rite I (8 am) collects are found here.</li>
<li>The Lessons (Page 5): The Sunday readings from the Bible are here. We follow the Revised Common Lectionary, now the official lectionary of the Episcopal Church. The Psalm comes from the Book of Common Prayer. We reprint it here instead of naming a page number in the Prayer Book, as we do on Wednesdays.</li>
<li>Sending Out Lay Eucharistic Visitors: This ritual is found in <i>The Book of Occasional Services</i>. In the past we put in the 10:30 section of the bulletin, even though it might be used at 5 p.m. or at 8 a.m. Because we only use it when needed and that could be at any of the weekend liturgies, we put it here.</li>
<li>Blessing and Dismissal: Again, this also used to be found in the 10:30 section, but these are used in all three liturgies so it is found here.</li>
<li>Next Week's Lessons: The continues to reside at the end of the readings section.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>The Prayers of the People:</b> This would normally be found here, between the Lessons and Liturgies, but on this Sunday, the Great Litany serves as the Prayers of the People.</li>
<li><b>Saturday, 5 p.m.:</b> The outline for this service is found next. The format has not changed. The pages refer to the Book of Common Prayer or to the Bulletin. The bulletin pages are always italicized. </li>
<li><b>Sunday, 8 a.m.:</b>
The outline for this service is found next. The format has not changed. The pages refer to the Book of Common Prayer or to the Bulletin. The bulletin pages are always italicized. Please note the parts that are have an asterisk, this tells you where the people are to stand. </li>
<li><b>Sunday, 10:30 a.m.:</b> This is the part of the bulletin that has changed the most. </li>
<ul>
<li>As with 8 a.m. the asterisk indicates where the assembly stands. </li>
<li>The Hymns may be found in the blue Hymnal 1982</li>
<li>The page numbers refer to the Book of Common Prayer, which are usually red but a few are black. (There are only a few of these scattered about. If you should find yourself using a black BCP, we should give you a prize but, alas, we don't. Sorry.)</li>
<li>Notice that any service music, such as for the Psalm, the <i>Sursum Corda </i>("The Lord be with you."), another other music are printed in the bulletin. Most of these are in the Hymnal but they come and go so fast, we thought it easier to simply print them out for you.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>The Prayer List:</b> <i>In Our Prayers This Week</i> comes next and it is the same as before. Please use it in your devotions every week.</li>
<li><b>The Wednesday Holy Eucharist:</b> This is unchanged and still includes a description of the feast or saint that we celebrate that day.</li>
<li><b>Calendar and Announcements:</b> Here is a guide to what is going at Trinity in the coming week and more. This section remains the same. Please take home your bulletin and use this as a guide for your participation in the parish.</li>
<li><b>The Back Cover:</b> "<i>One Step More"</i> continues on the back cover with a short description of the Sunday's lessons, a short Stewardship reflection based on the Sunday's lessons.
We hope "<i>One Step More</i>" helps you take the extra step to be faith follower of Jesus Christ in the coming week. </li>
<li><i><b><a href="http://www.agnusday.org/">Agnus Day</a>,</b> </i>the Sunday cartoon based on the week's scripture remains on the Back Cover. Each week, two sheep from Jesus' flock, go to coffee hour after Church. Rick, the one with the black nose, and Ted discuss one of the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. We don't know what you talk about in Coffee Hour, but we do know that Sunday just would not be Sunday without Rick and Ted. (<i>See the bottom the page on this blog.)</i></li>
</ul>
So that's it. We know that for you 10:30 worshipers this change may feel a little off-putting at first.<br />
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We know you only have two hands, and like Episcopalians everywhere we are asking you to hold three things. Here some things you can do to make your life a little easier.<br />
<ul>
<li>You can go to an 8 o'clocker and ask for a lesson on book and hymnal juggling. </li>
<li>You can share. Right away you have doubled your hand count.</li>
<li>Mark your book before the service. Long time Episcopalians used to do two rituals before church....kneel in silent prayer when the first come in to church...and mark their prayer book and hymnal. </li>
<li>Look around. If you see someone struggling to keep up, offer to share or hand them your prayer book open to the right page. Let them know that they are not alone and that help is always there!</li>
<li>Read what you need, say the rest...many of us have learned the parts of the service by heart. Look up! Sing and speak aloud! </li>
<li>Use the Hymn Board. Those numbers in front of church indicate the hymn numbers and the Psalm. </li>
<li>Relax. We will give you a little time to find where you are. We will announce some pages but only when we need to, not for every item in the liturgy. </li>
<li>Relax. And let God into your heart.</li>
</ul>
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So why are we doing this? Partly it is to save trees. Our old bulletin would crack 28 or 32 pages sometimes. That's 7 or 8 sheets of paper per bulletin per week. This new version comes in at 20. Not only do we kill fewer trees (even though we use recycled paper), it also saves money.<br />
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But there is another reason. We were finding that people were becoming less and less conversant with our Book of Common Prayer. The Prayer Book contains what Episcopalians believe. We pray what we believe and do what we pray. Becoming practically connected with our Prayer Book tradition will build us up as Christians and as a Church.<br />
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If you have any questions, talk to me, Dale Grandfield or one of the members of the Worship Committee.<br />
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<i>--Father Andrew</i><br />
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<i>Cartoon by the Rev. Jay Sidebottham, copyright 2009, Church Pension Fund.</i></div>
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<br />Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-79077566115186597852012-01-26T15:44:00.000-05:002012-01-26T15:44:13.878-05:00Newsletter and bulletin changes coming soon<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpXmboCxUFdgvWq4BnBf3z0mhG-YJHQRr2yhCDbHxuwB0rlDKK5Nx6MvGr9eip05xP7T-gmacJgK8EbFoQNOmw_GynavPUn94RJAGCysxYElXh_DZ2hCsuXGNNp356aRG2c6bsg/s1600/paper+boy+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpXmboCxUFdgvWq4BnBf3z0mhG-YJHQRr2yhCDbHxuwB0rlDKK5Nx6MvGr9eip05xP7T-gmacJgK8EbFoQNOmw_GynavPUn94RJAGCysxYElXh_DZ2hCsuXGNNp356aRG2c6bsg/s320/paper+boy+image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Bi-monthly Citadel</b><br />
Starting in March, the Citadel becomes bi-monthly. We will publish 6 issues per year of the print edition: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October, and November-December. This is also the last issue that is going out to everyone on the “big” Citadel list. <br />
In this issue you will find a post-card. We are asking each household to fill this out and send it back or put it in the offering plate. We are asking for your preference:<br />
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<ol>
<li>I want the bi-monthly print Citadel mailed to me.
</li>
<li>I will pick up the bi-monthly print Citadel at the back of the church on the Mission Table.</li>
<li>I will read version of the bi-monthly print Citadel on the parish web-site when it is posted.</li>
</ol>
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It is very important that when you complete the post card that you fill out your name, address and your e-mail address. We need your e-mail address even if you choose to get a print edition mailed to your home.<br />
We will also set up a similar survey on our web-site using a web-based tool called Survey Monkey.<br />
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<b>Deadlines for Citadel and other media and mailings</b>.<br />
2012 Print Citadel Deadlines are as follows:<br />
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<ul>
<li>February 19 for March/April</li>
<li>April 22 for May/June</li>
<li>June 17 for July/August</li>
<li>August 19 for September/October</li>
<li>October 21 for November/December</li>
<li>December 16 for January/February.</li>
</ul>
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Wednesday noon is the deadline for the weekly e-Citadel and the bulletin.<br />
Facebook, Twitter, Blog and web-site news goes up as often as needed up to once a day.<br />
Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, All Saints, Stewardship and special event mailers or post cards as well as quarterly financial statements will still go out via US Mail. Statements will go on the Mission Table for two Sundays before to be picked up in Church before being mailed.<br />
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<b>Why the change?</b><br />
There are three things that are driving the change: cost of postage, cost of copying and effectiveness.<br />
On January 22nd, postal rates went up again. The cost of mailing is driving us out of the mass-mailing business. We just aren’t big enough. While bulk rate does save money over first class, the savings are decreasing while the work we have to do increases. For example, we have to “test” our mailing list for errors using special software and then print the labels so that a bar code appears. Doing this saves us money per piece than if we just pre-sort and let the post office check for errors or bar-code. The more work we do to prepare a mailing, the less it costs per piece. But that cost per newsletter does not include the cost of the software…about $100/year. If an address is wrong or if a person’s forwarding address expires, we have to pay the post office for returning it to us—at first class rates. Finally, the cost of the permit is also fixed and we pay that every year as well.<br />
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We can send 75-100 first class pieces to the homebound, shut-in and those who do not have a computer for less than the cost of 325 to every household in the church and every friend or former member outside the parish.<br />
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The second cost is copying. We use up a lot of dead trees running things off in the copier and the cost to do that has gone up, too. A complete copy of the print newsletter can be viewed on line as a PDF file, is searchable and doesn’t require printing. The same is true with the parish calendar. We could handle the ministry assistant schedule the same way.<br />
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What balances the second issue is effectiveness. We don’t know who opens or reads the print Citadel but we do know how often the electronic versions are opened. No less than 65% of you who receive the e-Citadel every week by e-mail open it (and that number is higher if you open it without the images or as a text file which we can’t count). We also know that the PDF version of the print Citadel that we post on the web-site is viewed and opened about 500 times by about 350 unique visitors. While we can’t count how many people open the print Citadel that comes by mail versus those who throw it right into recycling, the number indicates that people are used to opening and reading the newsletter on line. We see fewer people use the on-line calendar but we think it is because fewer people know that tool is there.<br />
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In other words, we have now reached a point where enough of you use the internet and e-mail that those forms of parish news are reaching you. Not as many people in the parish use our Facebook page, Twitter feed and parish blog, but these have a decent reach outside the parish and can become normal for people in the congregation.<br />
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<b>Help!</b><br />
We need to have more information, and here is how you can help. Fill out the postcard and mail it in or go on line and use the on-line survey that will appear in the e-Citadel staring on February 3. This will determine how we make this change, if at all.<br />
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<b>Another change in print media: A Simpler Bulletin</b><br />
The Worship Committee and the office staff are working on a simplified bulletin. We hope to roll out the new design in Lent for your feedback. Our basic plan is to stop printing hymns (except for hymns that don’t appear in the Hymnal 1982 and service music) in the bulletin. We will also print less of the text of the liturgy and point to the prayer book more. On seasons when we use alternative Eucharistic Prayers from <i>Enriching Our Worship</i>, we will print booklets for the pews. Look for more about this at church in weeks to come.<br />
On Sundays where the liturgy is very different or where we expect a large number of visitors, like weddings, funerals and major feasts, then we’ll print the service in the bulletin entirely.<br />
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<b>Why?</b><br />
Cost and effectiveness. Again, we want to kill fewer trees. Even if one bulletin per household goes home for the week, we end up recycling most of the bulletins we print. We can’t change that, but we can print fewer pages that go to the recycler.<br />
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We also want people to become at home with the Prayer Book or simply to look up from the bulletin and see what’s going on, and hopefully feel more apart of the liturgy.Again, we will survey people’s experience in a variety of ways including an on-line survey using Survey Monkey.<br />
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<b>Questions, ideas, concerns?</b><br />
Please speak to Father Gerns, call the parish office or e-mail us at parish@trinityeaston.org.<br />Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12382879.post-20142643668694683582012-01-06T15:10:00.004-05:002012-01-14T18:46:44.650-05:00An Evening with C.S. Lewis, Friday, March 2, 2012<br />
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<a href="http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5i0qdt3bfb64081&llr=f5wwuvbab" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuW48_P-xTM9GmPuOgY2EN-0ZzjTW5exAkrBR4wAxJ4XHmyQ2BF93ZmMQTMACpREl0IgCFn_V_8FkU36eip6qzS3Hn9dIJlRFLF0Gs2kwCuA3gIUDn8Xe4-De1wWgrJBoc0yKXQ/s320/Evening+-+Poster-Flier+-+11+-+300R.jpg" width="236" /></a>Trinity Episcopal Church in Easton Pennsylvania to host British actor David Payne and his recreation of <i>An Evening with C.S. Lewis</i>, March 2, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. Trinity Church is located in downtown Easton on 234 Spring Garden Street between Second and Third Streets. Tickets are $20.00. Students with id may buy tickets for $15 and groups of 8 or more may buy tickets at $15 per person. Tickets are available <a href="http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5i0qdt3bfb64081&llr=f5wwuvbab">here</a>.</div>
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<i>An Evening with C S Lewis</i> takes you into the unique world of a British author, C.S. Lewis. Lewis’ writings spanned a broad range of subjects and continue to be popular.. He is best known as for his classic children’s series- The Chronicles of Narnia. His academic books still remain essential reading for students of English literature and he is known as one of the 20th century’s foremost Christian writers.<br />
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<i>An Evening with C S Lewis</i> recreates an informal talk to a group of American writers who are visiting England in 1963.. They have come to Lewis’ home, just outside of Oxford, and are eagerly anticipating hearing the man who has become a legend in his own lifetime. They are not disappointed. Despite his failing health, Lewis is in great form. His audience is spellbound as, with a display of oratory and humor that made him one of England’s most famous public speakers, he recounts the significant events and the people that shaped his life.
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<a href="http://www.davidpaynedrama.com/">David Payne</a> is a British actor who has gained a considerable reputation for his portrayals of the famous author C.S. Lewis. He has played Lewis in a number of productions of <i>Shadowlands</i>, in his self-penned <i>Weep for Joy</i> and in numerous presentations of his much acclaimed one-man show, <i>An Evening with C.S. Lewis</i>. Trinity Church is located in downtown Easton on 234 Spring Garden Street between Second and Third Streets. For more information call Peg Gerns at 610-657-3657 or <a href="http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5i0qdt3bfb64081&llr=f5wwuvbab">go here to purchase tickets</a>.<br />
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<br />Andrew Gernshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10915827125794387657noreply@blogger.com0