Getting Back to Church Part 2

Transcription

1 Published Monthly April 2014 Volume 36, Issue 4 The Magdalene From the Desk of Fr. Neil Getting Back to Church Part 2 As a follow-up to my February letter titled Getting Back to Church, I would like to emphasize that this is not just an opinion on my part or anyone who urges their friends and neighbors to come back to Church. In the Scriptures, God s Word to us, which cannot be broken, tells us, either directly or by implication that we are, if we desire to be faithful to Him and faithful Christians in a fuller and more meaningful way, to be in regular and frequent fellowship with others in a Church. The Biblical mandates Christians to belong to a Church. If we want to submit to God and to His Word, then being in fellowship with other Christians is a vital part of that submission. To this end, I would like to draw your attention to a number of passages from Scripture that tell us this very thing. St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church 205 So. Glassell Street Old Town Orange, CA Rev. Fr. Neil Edlin, Rector Sunday Services: 8am Mass 10am Choral Mass & Children s Sunday School Wednesday Service: 9am Office Visitation Hours: 2pm 4pm Monday - Friday 1 The first place I would point to is Matthew 18: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. What we find here is accountability. Something we won t find outside the Church. We might have friends who can be supportive, but Christ, here, is speaking about serious accountability that makes Christians accountable to one another. Also, Christians are to be in submission to Christian authority. There is a process in Scripture for a Christian who has sinned against another Christian to make amends and be brought back into fellowship. We sometimes get out of step with our brothers and sisters. The Church exists in part to bring correction to those who have erred or strayed. Notice at the end, once the Church has exhausted the three options to bring a Christian back into fellowship, he is to be separated from the Church. He may repent and return, but in the mean time, the Church must strive toward peace and brotherly love removing the disruption. Next, read 1 Corinthians 5:12. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

2 This passage from Paul resembles the previous one. It also addresses discipline and it assumes that there is a group of Christians who are bound by a certain set of beliefs and practices and principles. We are also called to make judgments concerning Christian behavior. These first two passages assume that the Christian body is one that is separate from the outside world. They also tell us that the Church exists to make disciples. To become a disciple, we are called to be involved in a range of activities with other Christians in the Church for nurture, instruction, and training in godliness and holiness. These things, again, are not going to be found in any real meaningful way outside the Church. Third, we look to Hebrews 13:17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. This passage also assumes that the Christian is under authority. It does put a heavy burden on those of us who have been called to be shepherds; but nevertheless, the Church must exist under a hierarchy of authority. It requires all Christians, no matter what rank in the Church to be under authority. It also helps to give the Christian guidance and stability, and to know that the Lord has put someone in a position to be accountable for you. Next, Hebrews 10:24-25 says, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. This passage seems to be very clear about Church fellowship and the necessity of gathering together. Christians who don't gather regularly with other Christians become stagnant and can even fall away from the faith. Each local church is a manifestation of the one universal church, and will embody the nature of that church. 1 Regular attendance at Church to hear the Word of God read and preached and to receive the Sacraments is essential for full and complete Christian growth. We are not to neglect gathering together to encourage one another. Why? Because as the writer to the Hebrews says, the Day, (meaning the Day of the Lord's return) is drawing near. Finally but not lastly, there is Ephesians 5:18b-21. be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Paul is calling on Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, to address one another with joyful song and praise and in a common praise to God. This cannot be done outside the Church body. Only when we are in regular fellowship with one another can we exercise our joy toward God and our love for one another in any meaningful way. Therefore Christians must be united. We are to help one another. We are to look after one another. Everyone in the Church possesses certain gifts that they can bring to the table and use to help to build up the body. If you are not attending Church, you may be robbing the body of your gifts. Church attendance is a privilege. It should never be seen as a chore. If you are seeing it as a burden then you have not yet fully understood what God has graciously called 1 Reformation Study Bible. ESV. Ligonier Ministries. Orlando, Florida P

3 you to do. It is a precious gift to belong to Lenten PARISH NEWS the church so let us keep the faith! Friday, April 18 th Good Friday 12 noon Good Friday Liturgy Holy Communion 7:00pm Stations of the Cross Saturday, April 19 th Easter Eve 6:30pm Vigil Service Friday, April 4 th 6:30pm Schedule Soup Supper Stations of the Cross Friday, April 11 th 6:30 pm Fish Fry Evening Prayer Holy Week Schedule Sunday, April 13 th - Palm Sunday 8:00am Mass 10:00am Palm Procession Passion Gospel Wednesday, April 16 th 9:00am Mass & Healing Service Thursday, April 17 th Maundy Thursday 7:00pm Holy Communion Stripping of the Altar Sunday, April 20 th Easter Sunday 8:00am Holy Communion 10:00am Solemn High Mass w/choral Music LENTEN SOUP SUPPER Join us each Friday evening in Lent for a meatless Soup Supper at 6:30pm. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Narthex so that we know how much soup to make. MAUNDY THURSDAY Maundy Thursday is April 17 th. We begin the evening with a beautiful service at 7:00pm reminding us of the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the eating of Bread and drinking of Wine as Holy Communion. At the end of the Mass, the Tabernacle is emptied and the Sacrament is moved to the Altar of Repose at the back of the church. Next, the Altar is stripped and washed in remembrance of Jesus washing his disciples feet. During this service, the Congregation recites Psalm 22. Finally, we exit the church in silence, kneeling momentarily to pray in front of the Altar of Repose. GOOD FRIDAY 3

4 A Good Friday service will be held at noon on Friday, April 18 th. During the traditional noon service, the Ancient Propers will be read, the Veneration of the Cross will be held, and the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified will be celebrated. For those who are unable to attend during the afternoon, Stations of the Cross will be held at 7:00pm. THANK YOU IDA Thank you, Ida von Mizener for playing the organ during our Stations of the Cross service in Lent. Your playing added richness to our singing of Hymn #76. At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful mother weeping, Where he hung, the dying Lord: For her soul of joy bereaved, LENTEN OUTREACH St. Martha s Guild is coordinating our Lenten Outreach program this year. They have chosen an outreach to provide Water for Life. Mark 9:41 says For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. So this year, St. Martha s Guild is collecting donations to send to the ACC Pakistan Mission and locally to Mary s Kitchen for water. After prayerful consideration, place your donation, and a note letting us know where you would like your gift to be used, into an envelope and put it in the fishbowl in the narthex. Cash (remember to put your name on the note) or checks are accepted. (Please make checks out to St. Mary Magdalene.) Please be generous. Our little church can make a BIG difference in the lives of others. EASTER EVE On Saturday, April 19 th, Father Neil will conduct an Easter Vigil service at 6:30pm. This ancient service marks the end of the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and leads into the celebration of Christ s Resurrection. During the service Christians re-affirm the commitment of their Baptismal Vows and the Paschal Candle is lit for the first time. Please plan on attending and marking the end of your Lenten disciplines and the beginning of a glorious Easter! EASTER SUNDAY BRING A FRIEND Sunday, April 20 th is Easter, and Father Neil will celebrate two Masses. A Prayer Book Mass will be held at 8:00am. A sung, Anglican Missal Mass will be celebrated at 10:00am. Bring your family and friends. Let s fill the church and proclaim together Jesus Christ is Risen Today! ENRICHED EASTER MASS If you plan to attend Easter Mass, please consider attending our 10am Service. The choir is planning to enhance our usual music program with special Easter music surrounding the service. 4

5 Our special thanks to these talented musicians for making this day an uplifting and beautiful musical celebration of our Lord s Resurrection. See you there! EASTER EGG / SCAVENGER HUNT St. Martha s Guild is planning an Easter egg hunt and a Scavenger hunt for all the children under 13yrs old following the 10:00am Mass on Easter Sunday. Please let Sharon know if you will be bringing guests with children to church on Easter so we can make sure there is a basket for everyone. ALL MEN S FELLOWSHIP GROUP Join the men of St. Mary Magdalene Parish for a time of conversation and, of course, food in the narthex. Next Meeting April 13 th CONFIRMATION On Sunday, May 4 th, The Right Reverend Stephen Scarlett will visit St. Mary Magdalene to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation during the 10:00am Mass. Patty O Donoghue, Monica Garibay and Yesenia Garibay will be confirmed. A potluck reception will follow the Mass to honor the confirmands and to welcome Bishop Scarlett to our parish. CRAFT GUILD Our Krafty Knitters group has expanded to include craft projects. They have changed their name to the Craft Guild, but continue to work on projects to help the community. The Craft Guild is working on some great projects this year. The knitters are making scarves for Operation Gratitude. Operation Gratitude is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that annually send 100,000 care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individually named U.S. Service members, their children left behind, Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors and their Care Givers. Our crafters are also making gnomes and other items to sell at the next Craft Faire. And, they are developing a project for Mary s Kitchen which involves making sleeping mats for the homeless. Everyone, from experienced knitters to newcomers, is welcome. Come and join us for an afternoon of great fun and lots of conversation. If you have any questions, please give Robin Morsk a call. Next Craft Guild April 20 th WOMEN S DEVOTIONAL The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene has formed a women s prayer group. The women meet on the first Sunday of the month for a time of inspiration and prayer. Karen Carlson is leading the devotionals. If you have any questions, please ask Karen or Father. The devotional is held upstairs in the nursery on the first Sunday of each month from 9:30 9:50am. Next Women s Devotional April 6 th YOU SHOP, AMAZON GIVES Every time you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase 5

6 price from your eligible purchases to St. Mary Magdalene Church, at no cost to you! You ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com. To shop simply go to smile.amazon.com from your computer or mobile device. You can use your same Amazon.com account. Your shopping cart, Wish List, registries and other account settings are also the same. There is still time to purchase your Easter Holiday goodies and help your church while you shop. VESTRY MEETING Vestry meetings are open to the congregation and are held at 7:15pm the second Wednesday night of the month. Next Vestry Meeting Wednesday, April 9 th HEARING THE WORD Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. - Luke 11:28 We all know that we should read the Bible more often and most of us have a desire to do so. However, some estimate that only about 10% of Christians have ever read the entire Bible. Why? Christians love to read. Biographies, devotionals, and commentaries on the Bible sell in the millions and the Bible is the number one seller of all time. What gives? While it has often been touted that the Bible is easy to read and simple to understand, it s not (Nehemiah 8:7). Granted, some parts of the Bible are easy to read, some parts are easily understandable, and the overall message is perspicuous (clear). But, many parts are quite a bit more challenging. Biblical scholar James Jordan in his lecture series How to Read the Bible, remarks that genealogies and such are boring to read, but fascinating to study. 2 Theologian and Pastor R.C. Sproul notes that most people fail to read the entire Bible because they get bogged down in Leviticus and Numbers. 3 He additionally observes that the majority of people who read the first five books of the Old Testament will make it through the whole Bible. 4 So, on our first read through the entire Bible are we to stop, and become experts in the ceremonial rituals in Leviticus and master the nuances and implications of the genealogies in Numbers? Probably not. The best advice we could give is to hear the Bible first, in total, via audio CD or mp3, without pausing or rewinding to endeavor to perfectly understand a passage. Why hear the Word? Jordan notes, in jest, that the Bible never commands us to read it, but the Bible does command us to hear it. 5 The original audience would have primarily heard it, not read it. Reading it is important, but it often forgoes the opportunity to multitask; listening while you re walking, driving, eating, or working out. Deuteronomy 11 reads, Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. In just thirty minutes a day, one can listen to the entire Bible in about four months! Most of us can t read quite so quickly. 2 James Jordan, How to Read the Bible. 3 R.C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, Ibid. 5 James Jordan, How to Read the Bible. 6

7 Why not pause it? Our goal of the first read should be immersion and acquaintance. Postponing engagement with perplexing passages can release pressure and intimidation. An important hermeneutic (interpretational principle) is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Without having a broad and general understanding of the Bible it is challenging to understand the narrow and specific portions of Scripture. By becoming immersed in the Bible, many difficulties will resolve themselves. Resisting the urge to pause and resolve difficulties will result in a more efficient and productive way of becoming Biblically informed. Save the difficulties for later! Finally, it has been advised by multiple sources that it is best to pick one translation of the Scripture and stick to it. This facilitates memorization, familiarity, cohesiveness, web searches etc. In our opinion The KJV by Alexander Scourby is the preferred audio recording of the Bible. Other prominent recordings include Max McClean (KJV, NIV, ESV) and Stephen Johnston (KJV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, NIV). These recordings can be obtained from Amazon.com or Christianbook.com from as low as $12. Submitted by Hilary and Kelly McMahon who are working on their Masters in Christian Apologetics at Biola University EVERYONE IS A GREETER Although our parish has ushers who also act as greeters, it is the job of all members of the church to greet not only one another, but newcomers as well. regarding a number of matters. He emphasizes in these final greetings that they are to rejoice in their salvation. They are to comfort one another. They are to agree with one another. He even has them greeting one another with a holy kiss. His emphasis is on personal, intimate fellowship and a show how we are to care for one another. I want to encourage everyone to read those passages and then in the coming Sundays make these scriptures part of your weekly practice at our church as well. We are all to greet one another, and we are also to greet newcomers and visitors. If you are a long time member, you know quite well that we are a very loving parish, but don t let that fact stop you from greeting others. Get out of your comfort zone. Look for people you have never greeted before, and especially be on the look out for new faces and greet them and make them feel welcome. 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 reconnect and renewal your faith if you are not a regular church attendee. 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. In the final chapters of a number of his letters, (Romans 16, 1 Cor. 16, 2 Cor. 13, etc) the Apostle Paul gives vital instructions to the saints in these various churches 7

8 FOURTH SUNDAY BRUNCH Every Fourth Sunday, our church family has brunch together at 11:45am. This is a great way to get to know other church members. Everyone always has a wonderful time visiting with each other and of course partaking of the delicious food! Join us on April 27 th for our next Fourth Sunday Brunch. ST. MARTHA S WOMEN S GUILD St. Martha s Women s Guild meets on the 2 nd Sunday of the month after the 10:00am Mass. All women of the parish are members and are encouraged to attend. Next Guild Meeting April 13 th 8

9 DATES TO REMEMBER APRIL S M T W T F S Mass & Healing Service 9:00am Wednesdays 4 Soup Supper / Stations of the Cross 6:30pm 6 Women s Devotional 9:30am 9 Vestry Meeting 7:15pm 11 Fish Fry / Evening Prayer 6:30pm 13 Palm Sunday 13 St. Martha s Guild/Men s Group 17 Maundy Thursday 7:00pm 18 Good Friday 12:00 & 7:00pm 20 Easter 8:00am & 10:00am Easter Recital 9:30am 20 Craft Guild 27 Fourth Sunday Brunch MAY S M T W T F S Mass & Healing Service 9:00am Wednesdays 4 Women s Devotional 9:30am 11 St. Martha s Guild/Men s Group 13 Supper Club 14 Vestry Meeting 7:15pm 18 Craft Guild 25 Chili Cook-off 29 Ascension Day Mass 7:00pm COFFEE HOUR TREATS Apr 6 Smurthwaite 13 Tucker, J 20 Guild 27 Tucker, P May 4 Von Mizener, M 11 Guild 18 Von Mizener, D 25 Wicketts Please plan on setting out treats at 8:30am and cleaning up after the 11:15 social time. Be sure to switch with someone else if you are unable to take your Sunday. Don t forget you re in charge of cleanup as well as treats! ALTAR FLOWERS / SANCTUARY LIGHT Altar Flowers Sanctuary Light Apr 6 Lent 13 Lent Osborn / Younis 20 Congregation / Gates Bell 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. Our suggested donation is $30 for flowers & $12 for the light, but feel free to give what you are able. Mark flowers / candles on your check and place it in the offering basket during Mass. Visitors are always welcome. Join us! 9