The Mustard Seed Newsletter

Transcription

1 Faith s reason for being is to know Christ and to make Christ known The Mustard Seed Newsletter July 2018 Faith Episcopal Church Little Valley Road P. O. Box 1362 Poulsbo, WA (360) Vicar: The Rev. Laura Murray faithepiscopal@outlook.com FaithPoulsboVicar@gmail.com web site:

2 -2- Voice Of The Vicar Dear Friends, You are undoubtedly familiar with the phrase, Be careful what you ask for, for you will surely get it! I have to say truer words have never been spoken. Last month I happened to mention how I dreamed our building would be used as a meeting place for different groups and so far, the calls and requests keep coming. The recent tally is three 12-step groups as well as a men s group are inquiring about scheduling space; simultaneously, our friends with Eastern Star have voted to make Faith their permanent meeting place and have scheduled activities as far out as next year! Lord willing, our presence in this community will continue to draw and inspire folks to not only use our facilities, but also join us as we work to make Faith a place where the love of Christ is made manifest. At this writing, you wouldn t know we are solidly in the summer season, it is cloudy and windy outside, but the solstice on the 21 st confirms that we are indeed. If you are planning any trips for the summer, please do make a point of insuring you remain current on your financial commitments to Faith. Louise Kernaghan, our treasurer, does a remarkable job of stewarding our funds and I know her life is made much easier when we are all up to date on our giving. Beginning the third Sunday in July, we will have one hospitality hour per month in which we discuss the state of the mission. I am hopeful this will be a forum wherein ongoing or upcoming topics can be addressed like re-roofing part of the parish hall as well as a time for you to ask any questions you might have. It feels as if we don t have a lot of opportunity to share the ins and outs of our lives together and I am hoping these few minutes once a month might help in that regard. I promise, it will only take about ten minutes and then we can get right back to enjoying one another s company. Your Bishop s Committee met for a mini-retreat at my house on the 9 th and our time together was very productive. Part of what we worked on was identifying three attainable goals for the upcoming year. To that end, we ve come up with the following: plan one community-wide, family friendly activity per quarter; establish processes for how we manage every aspect of church (from finances to altar guild); and, craft a hard copy, pictorial directory. These three goals touch on who we are, how we function together, and how we plan on being a presence in this community. If any aspect of these goals appeals to you, please let me or one of your Bishop s Committee members know of your interest we would LOVE your help and input! We are planning a family picnic in which everyone in the Faith Community either as a member of the church, a tenant, or someone who meets here regularly can spend some time laughing and feasting and playing together. Right now, we are looking at a day in August so keep your eyes peeled for a date! Thank you for your steadfast dedication to Faith; I am inspired daily by your love and witness. Faithfully yours, Vicar Laura

3 Sharings From The Senior Warden -3- As I sat in church last Sunday and participated with our congregation in welcoming our new parishioners, I reflected how easy it is to either forget or not to know some of the quiet ministries that are practiced at Faith Church. These tiny treasures are so slight that often times they go unnoticed. For example, have you observed the small brown box that joins our Sunday offerings at the altar? That same wooden box usually sits on the table in the narthex close to the suggestion box, the list for Prayers of the People, and the ministry sign up sheets. This petite box reminds me of the offerings the Jewish people made at the temple. Wealthier folks could offer a robust sacrifice of a sheep or goat, but the poor offered inexpensive pigeons what they could afford. Faith s little box sits there to collect the spare change from our week s shopping expeditions our copper crusade. Of course, it doesn t hurt to mingle silver or green stuff inside the box too! To what purpose you may ask? Taken together, each of our small offerings, our pigeons if you will, add up. When enough accumulates, our combined change is sent to Fishline to feed the hungry. I ve always loved the concept of recycling, and the copper crusade is a great way to recycle some of that loose change. Each time you walk through the narthex on the way to the sanctuary, remind yourself to lighten your pockets and purses and transfer the weight of your coins to our little brown box. Not only will your pockets and purses physically lighten, but you ll also have the joy of knowing that your pigeons are being upcycled in God s eyes to help people in need. Let s bless our less fortunate neighbors! Deb Hurd Senior Warden To be a servant means that we place ourselves beneath others in order to help them carry the weight of life, and in so doing we are relieved of our own heavy burden." Prayer Corner Requests ~ John Michael Talbot For the immigrant families separated (parents from children) and suffering at this country s southern borders. Let us pray for compassion, care and a willingness for us to see our living God in others! Pedro stabilization of his health and his complete healing from undetermined specific diagnosis for health issues. Support for his wife, Doreen. Fred for comfort, support and a stabilization of his health issues. Support for his wife, Jean. Judy complete healing following knee replacement surgery. Jeff good response to rehab and healing following a stroke. Sally stabilization of her health and continued healing from recent falls.

4 (Prayer Corner continued) -4- Rachel healing, safety and stabilization with her recent mental illness diagnosis. Support for her mother, father and brother and her grandparents. Mary for her continued healing and excellent response to her treatment. For safety and enjoyment of time spent in leisure for all those individuals traveling this summer. For victims of gun violence. Thanksgivings Congratulations to all graduates of high schools and colleges and to the families that support them. Jack Mace (Father of Kevin Mace) A happy 70 th birthday! Happy Birthday America! A Thought Shared from Ruth Montgomery Be a light unto the world, and hurt it not. Seek to build not destroy. Bring My people home. How? By your shining example. Seek only Godliness. Speak only in truthfulness. Act only in love. Live the Law of Love now and forever more. Give everything require nothing. Avoid the mundane. Do not accept the unacceptable. Teach all who seek to learn of Me. Make every moment of your life an outpouring of love. Use every moment to think the highest thought, say the highest word, do the highest deed. In this, glorify your Holy Self, and thus too, glorify Me. Bring peace to the Earth by bringing peace to all those whose lives you touch. Be peace. Feel and express in every moment your Divine Connection with the All, and with every person, place, and thing. Embrace every circumstance, own every fault, share every joy, contemplate every mystery, walk in everyone's shoes, forgive every offense (including your own), heal every heart, honor every person s truth, adore every person s God, protect every person s rights, preserve every person s dignity, promote every person s interests, provide every person s needs, presume every person s holiness, present every person s greatest gifts, produce every person s blessing, pronounce every person s future secure in the assured love of God. Be a living, breathing example of the Highest Truth that resides within you. Speak humbly of yourself, lest someone mistake your Highest Truth for boast. Speak softly, lest someone think you are merely calling for attention. Speak gently, that all might know of Love. Speak openly, lest someone think you have something to hide. Speak candidly, so you cannot be mistaken. Speak often, so that your word may truly go forth. Speak respectfully, that no one be dishonored. Speak lovingly, that every syllable may heal. Speak of Me with every utterance. Make of your life a gift. Remember always, you are the gift! Be a gift to everyone who enters your life, and to everyone whose life you enter. Be careful not to enter another s life if you cannot be a gift. (You can always be a gift, because you always are the gift yet sometimes you don t let yourself know that.) When someone enters your life unexpectedly, look for the gift that person has come to receive from you I HAVE SENT YOU NOTHING BUT ANGELS. ~ Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God: An Uncommon Dialogue

5 -5- Words From The Editor As I sat at the computer, I wasn t sure the words would come. I first prayed knowing She would offer me the thoughts I am led to share with you. It isn t that I am a theologian or mystic or religious writer. There is no magic in what I do. I am like you-- a searcher, a pilgrim. I simply pray in silence. The Holy Spirit does move in mysterious ways and there are times when I feel Her presence stronger than others. She allows me to welcome Her as I sit in total silence in front of the computer screen or during a centering prayer group once a week. She reassures me when I do dishes at my kitchen sink or, I am working in the garden removing the countless weeds that entangle themselves with our flowering plants or vegetables attempting to grow toward the sun. I often feel the Spirit s presence with the humming of the little hummingbirds and witnessing the butterflies chasing one another to the next flowering blossom. It is standing awaiting my turn to receive the Holy bread and wine that I feel Her. It is the quiet and simple times that I feel and somehow know I am feeling Holy presence. Come Holy Spirit and sit with me. There are moments in my life when I immediately find myself turning to the Holy Spirit. On Sunday (Father s Day) in church during the Eucharist service --four separate times sirens wailed from the highway. It was an audible sign each time that the First Responders were enroute on an emergency call. Someone was in need. I simply allowed my mind to drift off and found myself praying and asking for the presence of the Holy Spirit be with those men and women on their way to respond on this warm and special Father s Day, and for those individuals crying out for help as they waited for their help to arrive. Life moves forward quickly, and we are thrust forward into the next increment of time. Do we even take a moment of silence to acknowledge and give thanks to all parts of the Trinity and the importance of their roll in this our shared lives together? I pray so. Give thanks and offer that small moment of silence in gratitude for all that we have been given to share with one another. Then like me, you might want to watch for a butterfly or hummingbird! They are here to be noticed as part of God s wonderful living creation! Blessings and peace, Connie Aurand Deadline for submissions for inclusion to newsletter is the 25 th of the month. Location of newsletter and monthly sign-up sheet on website: 1. The Mustard Seed: 2. Monthly Sign-up Sheet: