St. Andrew s Net for September, 2016

Transcription

1 BLESSINGS AND CELEBRATIONS! We were blessed to have The Rt Rev. Dr. Edward Konieczny, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma and his wife Debbie here with us this last Sunday, August 28th. Bishop Ed celebrated the Holy Eucharist and installed St. Andrew s new Vicar, The Rev. Dr. David Bridges. Bishop Ed also confirmed and received new members for St. Andrew s, Grove; St. John s, Vinita and All Saint s, Miami. The Nave was full and our worship rich and meaningful a wonderful celebration! After the service we gathered in the Parish Hall for a delicious luncheon in celebration of our newly installed Vicar, David and his wife, Marla and to welcome our newly confirmed and received members: Kim Cernas, Daniel Cernas, Jackson Clarkson, Sophie Combs, Matthew Nowlin and Heather White. Thanks be to God for many blessings! Every 10 am ~ HOLY EUCHARIST Important September Happenings 8:30am ~ Morning (Wed with Holy Eucharist) Every Monday ~ 10am ~Serendipity Grp Beginning 9/12 Every Monday ~ 6pm ~! Every Tuesday ~ 6:30pm ~ EfM Every Wednesday ~ 6:30pm ~ Gospel Sunday, Sept 11th ~ 6pm ~Memorial Garden Dedication Wednesday, Sept 14th ~ Noon ~ ECW Third Thursday, Sept 15 ~ 5:30pm ~Vestry Saturday, Sept 17 ~ 8:00am ~ Church Clean-Up!

2 Page 2 Church and Society The Rev. Dr. David Bridges August 30, 2016 The Reel Story.. I have heard it said that the Church is a product of society, and that the Church adapts to the world around it. This was said as if that was the normal flow of the Church. That statement seemed to me like a form of resignation to the idea that the Church will conform to the standards of whatever society it exists in, at any given time. This is dangerous ground. If left to our own devices, humans will always place themselves at the center of the garden and make everything about me. Even the most active, well-studied Christian can fall into the concept of placing themselves in the center of the garden, rather than affirming the centrality of God in everything. In those times we are placing ourselves in the position of humans-as-gods, when we have been commanded to obey God as ruler of everything, including each of us as individuals. St. Paul advised the Romans: I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2, NRSV, Italics mine) Should the Church conform to whatever the current society finds attractive or acceptable? How far should the Church go to become relevant in today s society? Does relevance include conformity? If the Church was intended to be a product of human society, and changeable according to the current societal climate, why did Jesus say that His kingdom is no part of this world? If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19, NRSV) In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world. (John 16:33b, NRSV) My kingdom is not from this world. (John 18:36a, NRSV) In each of these cases, and most instances where the English word world appears in the Greek Scriptures, it is taken from the Greek, kosmos, literally, the world (earth). How can we be no part of a world that we all live in? Bearing in mind the time and place in which these scriptures were written, it has always been difficult to be in the world, but live as if we do not belong to the world. Being a part of the world means being fully invested in the systems and customs of the world, rather than having a deeper focus on our spiritual well-being, and our eternal future. When Jesus was teaching His disciples about the temporary nature of the things of earth, including food, shelter, and clothing, he advised them to notice the flowers and the birds; how they have such beauty, but no worries. Jesus then told them to seek first the kingdom of God, and all of these things [that you need] will be given to you. (Matthew 6:19-34) Back to the idea of the Church conforming to the world. If we let the attitudes and practices of the world become part of our lives (i.e.: profanity, greed, selfishness, etc.), we are not following the law of love as provided by Jesus Christ. Just because the world has little or no problem with these things, the Church, that is the people who are the Body of Christ, must not conform to that model. We are called to be different, not to blend-in. We are called to hold to a higher standard of living, in example of our Lord and Savior. By accepting that call, we can hold our heads up in expectation of the triumphant reign of Christ our Lord, and fear nothing in this world. Thanks be to God. Fr. David+

3 Page 3 The United Thank Offering is an Episcopal Church legacy over 120 years old. It has encouraged and inspired us by the worldwide effort it has become and has done good works too numerous to relate in this venue. UTO compels us to collectively relieve many human needs and at the same time, gives us a tangible moment in our busy day to thank God for our many blessings as we place an offering in the little blue box. Become a part of this daily discipline of gratitude. Take a blue box home and place it in a place of prominence. We ll collect them at the end of October while hundreds and thousands of others do the same. It s a good thing.for all of us. God Bless. Connie Saxton, St. Andrew s UTO Coordinator. THE LITTLE BLUE BOX YOUTH SUNDAY SCHOOL! will begin on Sunday, September 11th! Our teachers, Marla Bridges & Christie Hunter, are working on plans for this year and want to invite all St. Andrew s children who are ages 5 year and up, to join them on this journey of discovering and learning what it means to be a part of the Family of God! Our nursery is open for those children younger than 5 years of age. ~ Ms. Marla and Ms. Christie ECW Garage Sale!! Coming up in October Date will be set at the ECW meeting on Sept.14th! Please begin to look through your garage, cabinets, closets etc. for items you don t need any more. We re not ready for you to bring them to the church just yet, but definitely start collecting and gathering items for the sale. Remember..Even though this is an ECW-sponsored fundraiser.everyone in the church is invited and encouraged to help with this project. There is a lot to do and we will need many hands to help make it a success! Watch for more details in the Little Dipper which is in the Sunday bulletin and also in the October newsletter! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Saturday, September 10th 8:00am?? Lunch will be provided Most of the work to be done is outside. It should be a good day weather-wise so put on your work gloves, hat and work shoes & join us as we make our church grounds more beautiful and welcoming! THANKS IN ADVANCE! Averil & Len Steedman, long time members/friends of St. Andrew s, are coming to Grove for a visit! They will be here on Tuesday, September 27th and are holding an Open House at Cedar Oaks Club House from 5-9pm. Plan to stop by and say hello to our dear friends! ECW will kick off September 14th with a salad luncheon! Please bring a salad to share Dessert and drinks will be provided. Mark your calendars now! September 14th at noon! All women of the church are members of Episcopal Church Women or ECW! Here at St. Andrew s, we meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, at noon. We always have a good program, a short business meeting and of course...lunch! At this first meeting there will be a full agenda! We will be talking about the upcoming Garage Sale, i.e. setting the date and getting things rolling with it. We ll be talking about programs for the year ahead, so come ready to share your program idea s! We ll have our proposed budget for presented for approval. And last but not least, we ll look at our organizational structure and see if we want to continue as we did last year or make changes for the upcoming year. Come and be part of our monthly gatherings as we pray, learn, do outreach projects and enjoy good fellowship together as Episcopal Church Women!

4 Page 4 SEPTEMBER WORSHIP SCHEDULE & ASSIGNMENTS SUNDAY 10:00AM September 4 ~ The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 Greeters:...Homer & Judy Kemper Altar Guild:...Sunny Uttley, Sandy Churchwell Lay Readers:...Alan Shelton, John Forrester Crucifer...Heather White Acolytes... Minister:...Carolyn Williams Vestry Counters:...Bud Lawson, Robin White Every Wednesday Evening ~ Gospel Sing 6:30pm 10 Rick & Sandra Oakley 21 Paul & Danielle Allsup 6 Judy Campbell 9 Debbie Potter 13 Daniel Cernas 15 Carol Browning Call the office if your special day is not on this list September 11 ~ The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 51:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10 Greeters:... Jim & Sandy Rodriguez Altar Guild:...Sandy Churchwell, Sunny Uttley Lay Readers...Robin White, Pete Churchwell Crucifer...Sophie Combs Acolytes...Daniel Cernas, Emma Raines Ministers:...Bob & Bobbie Carlson Vestry Counters:...George Kirkpatrick, Roby French September 18 ~ The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 Greeters:...Lou & Darline Campbell Altar Guild:...Shirley Forrester, Carolyn Williams Lay Readers:...Connie Saxton, Jim Rodriguez Crucifer:...Heather White Acolytes:...Paige Allsup, Nicholas Allsup Minister:...Bud Lawson Vestry Counters:...Jim Corbridge, Scott Potter September 25 ~ The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 Greeters:...George Kirkpatrick, Altar Guild:...Shirley Forrester, Carolyn Williams Lay Readers:...Tom White, Tommy Clarkson Crucifer...Jackson Clarkson Acolytes...Anna Clarkson, JP Clarkson Minister:...Pete Churchwell Vestry Counters:...Paul Allsup, Judy Campbell First meeting of the new term for Education for Ministry will be Tues, September 6 at 6 PM. We will meet in the old common room; snacks will be provided. St. Andrew s Coffee Hour snacks are provided by everyone in the church. The first letter of your last name is the key. If your last name begins with A-C you bring one snack to share on the 1st Sunday of each month..d-m on the 2nd Sunday...etc. Here is the breakdown of letters and idea s for what to bring: Note that the weekly division of names has changed due to the loss of families or folks who are inactive at the present time. Coffee Hour Host Schedule: 1st Sunday of the month... A C 2nd Sunday... D M 3rd Sunday... N P 4th Sunday... R Z If there s a 5th Sunday POTLUCK! Bring light snacks i.e. muffins, cookies chips/dips/salsa, fruit, cheese & crackers, nuts, candies or other finger foods. If everyone brings one dish on their Sunday, we ll have plenty of goodies to share!

5 Page 5 September 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3 EFM Education for Ministry SPG Serendipity Group -Alcoholics Anonymous HE -Holy Eucharist ECW Episcopal Church Women CE -Christian Education am HE HE pm Bridges Of Hope Brd Mtg am HE and Healing s 6:00pm Memorial Garden Dedication 12 10am Serendipity Grp 13 1:30pm Investmnt Grp 14 HE 12 Noon ECW 15 5:30pm Vestry :00am Church Clean-Up Day am HE 19 10am Serendipity Grp HE am HE and Healing s 26 10am Serendipity Grp HE C L E R G Y C O N F E R E N C E 29 30

6 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fish for people. Immediately they left their nets and followed him.. Matthew 4:18-20 MISSION STATEMENT Where We are Called by God ~ t o Worship, to Serve, to Learn... In Community... THE RT. REV. EDWARD J. KONIECZNY ~ Bishop of the Diocese of Oklahoma THE REV. DR. DAVID BRIDGES Vicar BOB ALTMILLER Senior Warden FRAN RAHN ~ Parish Secretary SCOTT CROW ~ Organist & Music Director MARIA DIEHL ~ Interim Sexton Office Hours ~ 8AM 5:30PM, M Thurs Office Closed on Friday Office Phone ~ Vicar Phone ~ Church saecgrove@sbcglobal.net Vicar frdavid@standrewsgrove.org Website: As of Sunday, September 11th our Intercessory List will be updated. All names previously on the list will be removed unless you request they be left on. Just give our secretary, Fran, a call or send her an . You are invited to add the names of loved ones who are critically ill. We ask that when they have recovered, please call the office and let Fran know to remove them from the list. is an important part of our life together as the body of Christ. Thank you for sharing in this ministry. MARK YOUR CALENDARS for a DayBreak Fundraiser On November 5th, DayBreak of Grove will be having the 1st Annual Lantern Launch Fundraiser at Wolf Creek Park! Watch for more details in the coming months! DayBreak is a community adult day program for Seniors from 10:00a.m. to 1:30p.m. every Tuesday. Activities include socialization, singing, crafts and light exercises. A nutritious lunch is provided by DOC Senior s. If you are interested in the program for a loved one or if you are interested in volunteering contact Christie Hunter at ST. ANDREW S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 555 EAST 3rd STREET GROVE, OK FOR OUR GUESTS, MEMBERS & FRIENDS