The Magdalene. St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church. October 2013 Volume 35, Issue 10

Transcription

1 October 2013 Volume 35, Issue 10 The Magdalene St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church From the Desk of Fr. Neil The Sacraments as Confirming and Comforting Realities. Holy Communion - Holy Eucharist - The Lord's Supper - terms I will use interchangeably here - is undoubtedly the central act of Christian worship in the Anglican Tradition. I would like to focus here on a certain aspect of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, namely what benefits we receive from eating the Flesh and drinking the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word sacramentum is a term which describes the military oath taken by the legions of Ancient Rome. Its outward sign was then the lifting of the right hand and the given pledge; its inward grace was loyalty. In like manner, we have both the outward signs of bread and wine, and the inward grace the spiritual receiving of the Body and the Blood of Christ. These are important things to remember about the Lord's Supper, however I believe it is just as important to know what is happening in that Holy time of celebrating and taking and eating. It is vital that we understand as best as we can what the Lord's Supper is, but it is equally important to know what that Holy meal means to us.what it does for us and to us. Archbishop Cranmer wrote, it is to be noted, that the true knowledge of these things (the eating and drinking of Christ s Body and Blood) is the true knowledge of Christ; and to teach these things is to teach 1 Rev. Fr. Neil Edlin, Rector Christ; and the believing and feeling of these things is the believing and feeling of Christ in our hearts. 1 So to know the Lord's Supper well is to know Christ. We hear Christ s Words read to us and preached to us. Christ is set forth to us in His Holy Word, so we hear with our ears, and then in the sacrament, Christ s words are confirmed as true, trustworthy and unchanging. The Sacraments are then also exercises which make us more certain of the trustworthiness of God s Word. As we draw near to that most sacred time in our service when we will approach the rail, kneel down or bow and humbly receive Holy Communion, we are to be reminded of just what we are receiving. We are to keep in mind what benefits we receive. We are to keep in mind what confirming and comforting promises we receive. This is not just a time to receive refreshment, though Christ s Body and Blood are spiritually refreshing. The sacraments convey to us much more, and we find much of these things in the text of the Book of Common Prayer. Eating and drinking of the Lord's Body and Blood confirms that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of Christ. As members of Christ, we are partakers of Him in the sacrament. Those who do not belong to Christ do not receive this benefit, though they may eat and drink next to us at the same rail each Sunday. Faith is necessary and must be present in us to receive the benefits of the sacrament. 1 Cranmer, T. A Defense of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body & Blood of our Savior Christ. Wipf & Stock Pub P. 18

2 We are also told in the Prayer Book that our sinful bodies are made clean by His body and our souls are washed through His most precious blood. Here another benefit is conveyed to us. We are washed in the blood of Christ that was shed on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago. His blood continues to cleanse and defend us this very day. We recall this cleansing to mind as we drink of the cup at Holy Communion; that our bodies are cleansed and continue to be cleansed by Him. This Sacrament also conveys to us eternal life. Not only are our sins forgiven by the breaking of Christ s body on the Cross and His blood poured out for us, but our eternal life was secured at that time. Now, as we eat the Body and Blood of Christ, we are reminded that we are indeed to eat and drink to our salvation, for Christ Himself said, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 2 The Jews grumbled when Jesus made these claims. And His reply to their disbelief was, Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 3 Anglican Divine, Cleric and Hymn writer Thomas Ken, ( ) wrote, Glory be to Thee, O adorable Jesus, Who under the outward and visible part, the Bread and Wine, things obvious and easily prepared, both which Thou hast commanded to be received, dost communicate to our souls the mystery of Divine Love, the inward and invisible grace, Thy Own most blessed Body and Blood, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in thy 2 John 6: John 6:43-44 supper, for which all Love, all Glory, be to Thee I believe, O Crucified Lord, that the Bread which we break in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries is the Communication of Thy Body, and the cup of Blessing which we bless, is the Communication of Thy Blood, and that Thou dost as effectually and really convey Thy Body and Blood to our souls by the bread and wine, as Thou didst Thy Holy Spirit by Thy Breath to Thy disciples; for which all Love, all Glory be to Thee. The Post Communion Prayer or Prayer of Thanksgiving on page 83 is an excellent prayer. Composed in 1549 by Bishop Cranmer, it gathers together all the basic and varied meaning of Holy Communion. There is thanksgiving for it. There is grace conveyed by receiving it. There is the benefit of fellowship in receiving it corporately. There is also the promise that by eating this meal in faith we are heirs through hope of God s everlasting kingdom. The sacraments are seals of the promises of God, and signs of His covenant. We, as members of Christ s body are members of a Covenant between God the Father and ourselves, in which Christ is the Mediator. This Covenant was ratified in the blood of Christ, and it is reaffirmed each time we receive Holy Communion. Baptism is a onetime event. Holy Communion is to be received on a regular basis. In both, Christ is given to us. We receive Him initially in baptism. We continue to receive Him and His sustaining grace in communion. Keep in mind next time you approach the rail for Communion, just what benefits and promises you are receiving. Think about the great confirming and comforting aspects of what it means to eat the Flesh of our Lord and to drink His Blood. For in doing so, we are fed, nourished, and preserved unto eternal life. 2

3 CONFIRMATION On Sunday, October 27 th during the 10:00 am Mass The Most Reverend Mark Haverland, Archbishop will be here to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation and to receive those who desire to join the Anglican Catholic Church. POTLUCK LUNCHEON & CONFIRMATION RECEPTION WITH THE ARCHBISHOP In honor of our Confirmands and in lieu of our Fourth Sunday brunch on October 27 th, we will be holding a potluck luncheon in the parish hall. This will give us a more relaxed setting to visit with the Archbishop and a chance to congratulate our newest members. Details will be in the Sunday bulletins as we get closer. So mark your calendar and we ll see you there. BISHOP S OFFERING It is customary to give a visiting Bishop the open plate offering that was collected during the Masses where he attended. We will continue this tradition when the Archbishop visits on October 27 th. If you would like to donate to the Archbishop, you may place cash or a check into the alms basin. Be sure to write your name on any cash envelope, or designate your check to go to the Bishop s offering. BURGER BASH Thank you to St. Martha s Guild for planning the wonderful Burger Bash held in September. The food was delicious, the fellowship was great and we raised a few more dollars for our PARISH NEWS Missions. PATRIOT DAY MUSIC Voices were raised in song during our Patriot Day Mass. Our talented choir led us in singing the National Anthem along with America. The choir enriched our Communion time with a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful. as well. Thank you to Susan Brown for playing the organ for us, substituting for Michael Le Van. Thank you also to the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts for attnding our mass and acting as our Color Guard during the Patriot Day Mass. And thank you to Michael O Donoghue for coordinating the Boy & Girl Scouts for posting the colors at the beginning of the mass, and then retiring them at the conclusion. LAP BLANKETS BLESSED On Sunday, September 8 th during our Patriot s Day Mass, Father Edlin blessed the latest creations of our Krafty Knitters and Crocheters. The women of this group have been busily creating lap blankets for the veterans being treated at the Veterans Hospital in Long Beach. Fr. Neil also read a letter from the hospital thanking the women for their past support. OUTREACH DINNER 3

4 On Friday, September 13 th, St. Martha s Guild hosted Carnivale Estivo, a fund raising evening to benefit our Outreach Mission to the ACC Church in Pakistan. Because of the generosity of those who attended and those who gave even though they were unable to attend, almost $1,600 was raised! Thank you to Gary Canavello for sharing his lovely voice during the evening. And thank you to Michael Le Van for enriching the evening with his musical talent. Thank you to Father Neil and Sharon for opening their home for this worthwhile cause. It was said that everyone was very generous, the entertainment was awesome, and the ambiance of the evening was perfect. SEPTEMBER NEW2YOU SALE Thank you to everyone who donated items, helped price, move items, and stayed to clean up. With all of your help, we raised $1,200! Remember, these Guild sponsored sales are how we raise money to support our Missions outside the US. Everyone s help is needed. Upcoming Events SUPPER CLUB Each month, a parishioner is invited to plan a night out on the town for their fellow churchgoers. This is a great way to get to know your church family in a casual atmosphere. Please contact Barbara Taylor for more information. Next Supper Club outing will be hosted by Richard Hickey on October 8 th at 7:00pm. Destination to be announced. Thank you to Lou and Karen Carlson for planning our August dinner at Fitness Pizza and Grill. PROVINCIAL SYNOD The XX Provincial Synod of the Anglican Catholic Church will be held October 24 and 25 th at St. Matthew s Church, Newport Beach. The Provincial Synod is the Biennial Meeting for the ACC and includes business and clerical meetings. Delegates are selected from the churches and will be in session for the majority of the time. A banquet will take place on Thursday evening October 24 th for $70 per person. Contact Fr. Neil for more information. CONSECRATION OF BISHOP On Saturday, October 26 th, Father Stephen Scarlett will be consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of the Holy Trinity. The service will be held at St. Matthew s Church in Newport Beach. Further details will be made available as soon as we know. Please watch the Sunday bulletins for more information. BIRDS-ON-A-WIRE LUNCH GROUP If you are interested in a time of fellowship and lively conversation, bring a sack lunch and join us in the Parish Hall the first Sunday of the month after the 10:00am mass. There is no schedule of planned topics to be discussed, nor is there a book to be studied, just plenty of spirited discussions and lots of fellowship. For more information, please see Father Neil. Our next gathering will be on Sunday 10/6 4

5 THANKSGIVING / ADVENT OUTREACH Our Outreach Program this year supports one of our ACC Missions in the Middle East. Your donations will purchase food, or purchase goats or chickens which will supply milk and eggs to our needy Christian brethren. Beginning on November 3 rd until December 22 nd, you will be asked to take a tag off the Giving Tree in the narthex and place your donation inside the large fishbowl. Cash (remember to put your name on the tag) or checks are accepted. (Please make checks out to St. Mary Magdalene.) All of the donations will be put together, designated for food or animals and sent to the Anglican Catholic Church for distribution to the church in Pakistan. RALPHS CARDS It s time once again to renew our Ralphs Cards. Pick up one of the flyers in the Narthex, have the cashier scan the barcode, and begin shopping. This links your card with the church. A portion of your shopping dollars will be given back to St. Mary Magdalene by Ralphs Markets. Scanbar letters are available in the narthex. Please consider registering to help our church. SHOP ONLINE? Now is your chance to shop til you drop, and have a percentage of your purchases help our church. Similar to our Ralphs program, GoodShop and GoodSearch reward SMM friends by making a money gift to us based on the amount of purchases you do. From your internet explorer, enter then Church of St Mary Magdalene (Orange, CA) as the organization you shop for. Make your purchases through this website and you will be helping your church. Do a lot of web searches, use as your preferred internet search engine and enter Church of St Mary Magdalene (Orange, CA) as the organization you are sponsoring. A donation to our church is made each time you search the internet! How easy is that? RAZZLE DAZZLE BOUTIQUE Need a place to take the girls shopping? St. Martha s Guild is planning a wonderful marketplace boutique to be held on Saturday, November 2 nd from 9am to 2pm. We are selecting crafters/vendors now to participate in this indoor/outdoor event. If you are an artisan or have a home based business and would like to participate, please contact Phillipa for a vendor application. We do not accept catalog sales vendors. Our Razzle Dazzle Boutique will cameo jewelry, gifts, antiques, hand made clothing, accessories, yard décor, delectable foods and packaged fresh baked goods in an accessible indoor and outdoor setting. Razzle Dazzle Boutique will be a perfect time to shop for Holiday gifts, basket and stocking stuffers or just wonderful table accents for your Thanksgiving dinner. The Guild is counting on you to make this Boutique a grand success. Please mark your calendars and plan to shop at Razzle Dazzle then do lunch at the Blue Frog, Kimmie s or one of our terrific Old Town Orange restaurants. 5

6 CRAFTY KNITTERS & CROCHETERS Our Crafty Knitters/Crocheters group meets each 3 rd Sunday of the month. This is also a great group to join if you want to learn how to knit or crochet. Mark your calendar and attend our next gathering on Sunday, October 20 th following the 10:00am Mass and each 3 rd Sunday after that. Bring a sack lunch and join us as we learn to knit and crochet. If you have any questions, please give Robin Morsk a call. COFFEE JAM - OPEN MIC NIGHT Our ever popular Coffee Jam & Open Mic Night will be held on Friday, October 25 th from 7-9pm. Coffee Jam - Open Mic Nights, hosted by Andrew Mauzey, have been a GREAT success! Held the last Friday of the month, musicians, poets, college students and friends gather for an evening of music, coffee and fun. Musicians take turns entertaining everyone with their renditions of popular songs and original works. Others recite poetry or entertain the audience with comedy. Pass the word to your college aged friends and family, and let them know of this wonderful event. Cecily Gates has volunteered to be the go-to person if you would like to donate coffee or snacks for the Coffee Jam. Please let her know if you are interested in helping. BIBLE STUDY Our Wednesday evening Bible Study is looking at the Book of Romans. The Bible Study meets in the Parish Hall on Wednesdays from 6:30pm 8:00pm. (The Bible Study will not be held on vestry meeting night October 9 th.) THANKSGIVING DAY MASS Mark your calendar now so you don t miss our beautiful Thanksgiving Day Mass at 9:00am on Thursday, November 28 th. WEDNESDAY MASS & HEALING SERVICE Father Neil celebrates a Mass and Healing Service each week on Wednesday morning at 9:00am. This is a wonderful way to add a mid-week Mass to your schedule. The Healing Service takes place at the end of the Mass with those wanting to participate approaching the altar rail for the Anointing of the Sick. PENITENCE, PRAYER, PRAISE, PROCLAMATION: THE NATURE OF WORSHIP Elsewhere in this Series, it has been noted that Anglicanism is known for the orderly and structured form of its worship. That structure is based, as all Christian worship should be, on four main elements. These are penitence, prayer, praise and proclamation. In some combination, all four of these elements are found in all three of the great worship services of Anglicanism, namely, the Holy Communion, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. They are also found to some degree in the Ministration of Holy Baptism, the Order for Confirmation, and the Solemnization of Holy Matrimony. Other services and devotions, such as, for example, the Litany, concentrate on one or the other of these elements, but complete worship contains all four. 6

7 Penitence: The Christian approaches the worship of God with regret for his errors and disobedience and a conscious desire to amend his ways. This is an age in which "anything goes" and people do not like to admit the possibility of anything so disagreeable as even minor sin. But Christians know that there is sin in every life and that the worst thing they can do is to deny it. "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance," said the Lord Jesus. And so we begin Morning and Evening Prayer with a General Confession. And before we dare approach the Holy Table in Communion, we also join in a General Confession. Only as we inwardly cleanse ourselves by penitence are we prepared to worship God. Prayer: Along with penitence, is the establishment of communication with God. Worship is not a one-way broadcast but a two-way communication. Prayer may of course be silent and wholly private between the worshipper and God. Or it may be corporate prayer, said or sung by the worshippers together, or may be the collected prayers of the people, gathered up and offered by the Minister in the form of a "Collect." Prayer is an opening of our hearts to God, a bearing of our souls and inmost thoughts, a conscious acknowledgement that from God "no secrets are hid." Prayer may be for us or for others. It may seek God's mercy and protection or invoke His all-knowing will for us and the world. It may include penitence and it may include praise and thanksgiving. Whatever it says, it is our manner of reaching out to establish contact with God, of admitting that we are finite and He is infinite; that we are creatures and He the Creator and that we live only in, by and through Him. Praise: God sent us here; He will take us back. He is the author and Creator of all that is. "We are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand," as the Venite puts it. He is all-wise, all-seeing, allpowerful. He is the source of all that we have, therefore, it is natural to praise Him, to extol Him, to pour out our respect and thanks and awe in praise. This may take the form of a song, such as the Venite, the Benedictus, the Jubilate Deo and other canticles. It may be expressed by a hymn or by a loud Amen or Alleluia. It may be expressed by the Sursum Corda, and the Sanctus, "Holy, Holy, Holy," or the Gloria in excelsis, in the Holy Eucharist. It may be expressed in prayer. But it should come from a heart full of reverence and love and thanks. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Proclamation: Christian worship is also marked by proclaiming salvation for all mankind in no other name under heaven but the Name of Jesus Christ. Proclamation is done by a number of different means. It is done by selected Scripture readings the Lessons in the Daily Offices, the Epistle and Gospel in the Holy Communion. It is also done through the singing of hymns, which carry some part of the message from God to us. It is very directly accomplished through the sermon preached by the Minister, for this should expound the Gospel and the moral and religious and supernatural teachings of our faith. By proclamation, by teaching, by learning, we understand God's purposes better and draw closer to Him. These, then, are the four component elements of worship: penitence, prayer, praise and proclamation. All four are present in any full and complete service of corporate worship and all four should be present in some measure or form in our private worship. Worship is the individual's approach to God, God's response to him, and the resulting mystical union of man with God. 7

8 DATES TO REMEMBER OCTOBER S M T W T F S Mass & Healing Service 9:00am Wednesdays Bible Study Wednesdays 6:30pm 6 Birds on a Wire Lunch Group 8 Supper Club 7:00pm 9 Vestry Meeting 7:15pm 13 St. Martha s Guild/Men s Group 20 Crafty Knitters / Men s Group 25 Coffee Jam 27 Confirmation 10:00am with Reception & Potluck lunch with the Archbishop NOVEMBER S M T W T F S Mass & Healing Service 9:00am Wednesdays Bible Study Wednesdays 6:30pm 2 NEW2YOU / Holiday Boutique 3 Birds on a Wire Lunch Group Outreach Giving Tree begins 10 St. Martha s Guild/Men s Group 13 Vestry Meeting 7:15 17 Crafty Knitters / Men s Group 24 Fourth Sunday Brunch 28 Thanksgiving Day Mass 9:00am COFFEE HOUR TREATS Oct 6 Rogers 13 Luckey 20 Lee 27 Church Nov 3 Le Van 10 Mauzey 17 McMahon 24 Menees Our Coffee Hour Treats program is an All Members contributory activity. Everyone is placed on the Roster alphabetically. When it is your turn all you do is bring treats of any kind you wish. Plan on having treats at the church by 8:30am. If you are an 8o clocker, please contact Sharon to arrange for a clean up buddy. If you are a 10 o clocker, plan on cleaning up after social time. Be sure to switch with someone else if you are unable to take your Sunday and let Sharon know. ALTAR FLOWERS / SANCTUARY LIGHT Altar Flowers Sanctuary Light Oct 6 Pence, T 13 Pence, T 20 Rosendranz 27 If you are interested in giving one of these for a future Sunday, please sign up in the Flower and Candle binder in the narthex of the church. The suggested donation for flowers is $30.00 and Sanctuary Light is $12.00, but feel free to give what you are able. Mark flowers/candles on your check and place it in the offering basket during Mass. VESTRY MEETING Vestry meetings are open to the congregation and are usually held at 7:15pm the second Wednesday night of the month. Next Vestry Meeting Wednesday, October 9 th 8