REACHING FORTH OUR HANDS IN LOVE

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1 Growing as Disciples of Jesus Christ April 2015 Through Worship, Learning, Fellowship and Outreach The Messenger OF TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH REACHING FORTH OUR HANDS IN LOVE Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (Prayer for Mission, BCP p. 101) The Great Commission calls all followers of Jesus to, make disciples of all nations. Every Christian, then, is called to bring those who do not know Jesus to the knowledge and love of Him. In order to do this, we need to understand both the why and the how, the reason for the call and the equipping to do the work. This Easter Season, we will engage in a sermon study series about just that: how to reach forth our hands in love to draw people to Jesus. The prayer above is worth committing to memory. It eloquently and succinctly says it all. Why do we make disciples of all nations? Because Jesus stretched out His arms on the Cross and died for the sins of the world. God s heart is to pursue those lost in darkness and bring them into the light of salvation. Jesus left the Father s side and came to rescue us from sin by dying on the cross for us. And so we go forth to do the same. A disciple is meant to be like the Master, and so the closer we get to Jesus, the more we find ourselves unable to watch the world around us suffer in darkness. Like Jesus, we must do something. But what is it that we do? Again, this prayer for mission is instructive. So clothe us in your Spirit. We do not go in our own power and we do not go alone. We are clothed in the Spirit. We work with divine strength and insight and skills. We go as those who have been bathed in the Spirit s presence, who have sought to draw near to Jesus in prayer, study and worship. Time alone with Jesus always undergirds our going. And as we go, we reach forth our hands in love, Jesus like Jesus did. We live like Jesus. Yes, this does mean speaking a word of witness for Jesus, but above all else, it means living the life Jesus called us to: a life of bold holiness and love. I add the word bold there for a reason. Too often, we try to assuage our guilt by saying that all we need to do is be holy and loving, that we don t need to speak or share. But does love ever hesitate to talk about the beloved? What would we think of a young man who was afraid to talk about his love for his wife? Love proclaims things. Love can t keep silent. Following Jesus, at its core, is about loving Him and living a life that is pleasing to Him, indeed, a life that is like Him. So followers of Jesus live lives of bold holiness and love, lives that look like Jesus. But followers of Jesus are also uniquely made. We each have our own personalities and strengths and areas of growth. Just as there is more than one kind of disciple, so there is more than one way to draw people to Jesus. And just as following Jesus is unique to our individual lives, so drawing people to Jesus uniquely fits who God has made us to be. This Easter Season, starting the week of April 12, we will explore different ways of sharing our faith in Jesus that fit our different personalities and temperaments. There are different styles of sharing Jesus. Some incline to an intellectual style, others a serving style, still others a bold style. God created you, as uniquely you, to reach forth your hands in love in a way that comes naturally to you and that will also draw people to Jesus. As with our other Seasonal Studies, the sermons will lay out the main teachings and weekly small groups will help digest and apply the teachings. We encourage everyone to join a group for this short six week study. Just call the Church Office and we ll tell you how to get involved as together, we reach forth our hands in love. Yours in Christ, Fr. Karl+ 1

2 YOUTH CONFIRMATION CLASS Confirmation is open to students 10th grade or higher Classes held Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:15 at St. John s Lutheran Six Weeks starting Sunday, April 12th Contact Fr. Joe joe@trinitybakersfield.com Trinity Family Ministry Growing Together in Christ Sunday School on the Campus of St. John s Pre-K 8th meet in the Sanctuary and then process to class at the Gloria hymn Youth Group - Sundays: 5:30-7:00 pm 4/5 No YG Happy Easter 4/12 Youth Group 4/19 Youth Group 4/26 Outreach Event Adult Confirmation Class The service of Confirmation will be held on May 31st, the day of the Bishop s visitation. We are holding one class of preparation for this sacrament. Sunday, May 17th from 9:30-10:15 a.m. at St. John s Lutheran Contact Fr. Joe or Fr. Karl An Easter Study and Sermon Series for our Small Groups Beginning the week of April 12th Reaching Forth Our Hands In Love Drawing People To Jesus To join a Small Group contact Garrett Ming gming78@gmail.com Or visit TrinityBakersfield.com The Eucharist and the Gospel Recently I was teaching a First Communion class for some of the children of Trinity. I decided that I would key all of my discussion on the meaning of the Eucharist to the gospel the good news of Jesus Christ, what He has done for us and our salvation. The basic gospel image I set before the kids was that of a gift. Jesus, I said, made a gift of Himself on the cross, and he makes a gift of Himself every time we receive the bread and the wine of Communion. Further, I told the kids to pray this prayer before they receive their First Communion on Easter: Jesus, I give myself to you. Thank You, for giving yourself to me. Thinking back on that time with the kids, I was struck by how far I often wander from the simple gospel message proclaimed to us week after week in the celebration of the Eucharist. How easy it is to let the time of Communion go by, lost in distraction. But the simple fact of the givenness, the Gift of Jesus Himself in bread and wine this should stagger us every time. Finally, I told the children to receive the bread in a particular way. I told them to make a cross with their hands (right hand over left hand.) Their hands would be the throne where they would receive the King. Would you receive the King on your throne this week? Fr. Joe 2

3 PLAN AHEAD MARK YOUR CALENDARS FLOOD MINISTRIES UPDATE The Bakersfield City Council met on Wednesday, March 25, and approved the parcel map which allows us to finish escrow. The parcel should be recorded within three to four days following the approval, after which we will formalize the last details necessary to close escrow. When that happens, we will be the owners of the site! Keep your eyes open for the sign on our property and for a service to bless the land! The Architectural Committee has been working with Klassen in Design Development. We have completed the kitchen with the consultation of Skip Layton, audio-visual plans for the Parish Hall with West-Tek, and parking lot driveway. We are currently working with our mechanical consultant on heating and cooling needs, our landscape consultant (Rios Designs) to design the interior landscaping, and our civil engineer (Ruettgers and Schuler) to develop draining and grading. We are on track to finish Design Development by early May, at which point Construction Documents will be prepared, submitted to the city for approval, and then taken to bid for construction. Our next FLOOD drive will be on Saturday, May 30th at 1:30, at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. We will be once again collecting bag-loads of groceries. It will be announced when bags can be picked up. Each bag will have a list of what is needed to be purchased by you. CHURCH BBQ Save the date now - our church BBQ will be held on Sunday, May 31st, right after our 10:30 worship service. All members and friends are invited. More details will be in our next Messenger. COOK BOOKS If anyone would like to buy a Trinity cook book, we have several in our office. You may come by and purchase one for $10. They would make an ideal gift for Mother s Day! HOLY BAPTISM The next date for Baptism will be on Pentecost which is on Sunday, May 24th. If you or your child are ready to be baptized, please call the church office to make arrangements. TRINITY STATS Attendance March March March March March Giving Year-to-Date February Actual Budget Actual Budget Income $42,874 $47,691 $105,918 $95,385 Expense $36,523 $46,783 $82,711 $93,566 3

4 In The Parish Family APRIL BIRTHDAYS Congratulations to Tom & Susan DeNatale on the birth of their first grandchild. Carmen Alpha was born on March 4th to happy parents Erin & Joe Benson. Andrew Hollman for winning 1st place in Engineering and Applied Mathematics for 5th grade at the Kern County Science Fair. Katie Sawyer Chris Miller Anna Mullins Jeanie De Dios Dick Rutherford Amanda Gauthier-Parker Luke Savage Hezekiah Bergman Sally Bylin Robin Starr Fr. Karl Dietze Keith Flaming Alyssa Longbottom In Sympathy to Bob & Carolyn Hall on the death of her father, Carl Kroll. Thank you... to my dear church family for all of the sweet cards, dear phone calls, and especially for the sincere prayers during my husband, Jim s, ill ness. He is doing much better, but still going through tests to find a reason of his symptoms. Keep those prayers coming! Love, JoEllen Holt EASTER AT TRINITY CHURCH HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE Maundy Thursday - April 2nd Holy Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar at 7 p.m. Good Friday - April 3rd Good Friday Service at 12:30 p.m. Easter Day - April 5th Holy Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. (only one service) Children s Easter Egg Hunt during Sunday School Gloria Ah Mya Bob Hall Phil Lamirand Hannah Dietze Jack Salter Franklin Gauthier-Parker Tom Holson Roger De Dios Kaye Camp If we have omitted your birthday, please call the office ( ), and give Tara the date. GUEST WHO DINNERS SENIOR SINGLES We will not be gathering in April, but please mark your calendars for May 3rd. All single people, who are seniors, are invited to join our group for lunch at the Double Tree. We will be going right after the 10:30 service. If you have any questions, please call Janet Poteete at All are invited to attend our Guest Who? Dinners on Saturday, April 25th, at 6 p.m. Meals will be served in the homes of some of our church members, which makes this a wonderful way to get to know each other. A few days before the dinner, you will learn where you will be eating, and what other guests will be joining you. Tickets are $10. Child Care will be provided for a small charge. 4

5 Trinity Anglican Church 5100 California Avenue Suite 108 Bakersfield CA April 2015 WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Morning at St. John s Lutheran Church 8 a.m. Holy Communion (1928 Prayer Book) 10:30 a.m. Holy Communion (Rite II) Thursday Morning 10 a.m. Healing Service 5100 California Avenue Suite 108 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Young Kevin Ray John Cronen Anne Giles Marilyn Brown Ron Christolear Lynne Hall Guy Lingo Steve McCalley Jeff Mendoza Chad Savage Olga See Mark Smith Sr. Warden Jr. Warden Treasurer Clerk 5100 California Avenue #108 Bakersfield CA Office Fax office@trinitybakersfield.com OUR CLERGY The Rev. Karl E. Dietze, Rector The Rev. Joseph Lawrence, Assistant The Rev. John M. Wilcox, Retired The Rev. John LaMar, Deacon OUR STAFF Sue Wagner, Director of Music Tara Michaels, Office Manager Kendi Miller, Bookkeeper The Messenger 5