On a Wing and a Prayer

Transcription

1 On a Wing and a Prayer June 2016 Guardian Angels Catholic Community Just. Faithful. Catholic. Join us for Mass every Sunday at 9AM and every Wednesday at 7AM THE ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC COMMUNION -- A Wonderful Way of Being Catholic!

2 Guardian Angels Calendar June 2016 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 5 10TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME MASS 9AM PRESIDER/PREACHER: ED 12 11TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME MASS 9AM PRESIDER/PREACHER: ELAINE 19 12TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME MASS 9AM PRESIDER/PREACHER: SUE DIALOGUE HOMILY PAZ DE CRISTO 4PM BEGINS 6 20 WHITE PRIVILEGE: LET S TALK FREE WEBINAR SERIES JUNE 20TH- 24TH, 10-11AM CLICK ON THE ABOVE LINK AND REGISTER FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR! BARB MOEN AND ANN CONNOLLY ARE BOTH ON THE MIGRANT WALK MAY 30 JUNE 5 PRAY FOR THEM PRISON REFORM STUDY SESSION AT DAYSPRING 6PM MORE INFO 1 MASS 7AM 7 8 MASS 7AM 15 MASS 7AM BELOW MASS 7AM 7PM GUARDIAN ANGELS MEN MEET IN CLASSROOM 2 2 ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM- NEIGHBORHOODS AT RISK 6-8:30PM S. MTN. COMM. COLLEGE MORE INFO BELOW REBBESOUL VUU AT 7:30PM MORE INFO BELOW THE NATIVITY OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME MASS 9AM PRESIDER/PREACHER: SUE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING AFTER MASS TODAY THE OTHER CATHOLICS BOOK DISCUSSION 7PM CHURCH PARLOR 29 SAINTS PETER & PAUL MASS 7AM 30 JULY 1 2

3 June Birthdays, Anniversaries and other important dates to remember: 2 - Ann Connolly Birthday 4 - Frank McPeek Birthday 5 Cynthia and Valeska s Anniversary 6/5/ Barb s son Sam s Birthday 8 - Sheila and Jeff Green Anniversary -6/8/ Becky Keck Birthday 11- James Crowl Birthday 13 - Becky and Jeff Keck Anniversary - 6/13/81 14 Claire Violet s 4 th Birthday 14 - Peter Bennett Birthday 14 Robin Iverson s Birthday 16 - Shannon Dunn Birthday 23 Barb s son Sam died at age 13 on this date 24 9 th Anniversary of Pastor Sue s (and Pastor Kate s St. Teresa) Ordination to the Priesthood 27 - Barb and Doug Moen Anniversary - 6/27/ th Anniversary of Pastor Delores Ordination to the Priesthood (St. Michael s) 29 - Carol and Peter Bennett Anniversary 6/29/ Sheila Green Birthday send your birthdays/anniversaries/other remembrance days to Becky: rgkeck1@yahoo.com

4 Angels at Islam 101 Class at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe Ramadan begins June 6 th and concludes on July 5 th. Ramadan is the most sacred time of year for Muslims. Muslims fast from sunup to sundown every day of Ramadan. They break their fast every evening after sundown with a special meal called an Iftar dinner. Our Muslim friends from the Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue have invited our families to break the fast with a Muslim family on one of the nights during Ramadan. It is part of the tradition to invite others to these dinners. You may be the guest of a Muslim family or if a family is not available the dinner will be at the Dialogue Center in Tempe. If you are interested in breaking bread with a Muslim family during Ramadan, contact Pastor Sue irreverendsue@gmail.com and she will hook you up with the leaders who are organizing the dinners. It would be good if you can give Pastor Sue a couple of options regarding dates. This is a great way for us to promote understanding and develop a deeper relationship with one of our Muslim sisters and brothers.

5 We ll be reading this book together this summer! Several opportunities will be scheduled for us to get together to discuss what we re learning about ourselves and other Independent Catholics. A description of the book from Amazon: Independent Catholics are not formally connected to the pope in Rome. They practice apostolic succession, seven sacraments, and devotion to the saints. But without a pope, they can change quickly and experiment freely, with some affirming communion for the divorced, women's ordination, clerical marriage, and same-sex marriage. From their early modern origins in the Netherlands to their contemporary proliferation in the United States, these "other Catholics" represent an unusually liberal, mobile, and creative version of America's largest religion. In The Other Catholics, Julie Byrne shares the remarkable history and current activity of independent Catholics, who number at least two hundred communities and a million members across the United States. She focuses in particular on the Church of Antioch, one of the first Catholic groups to ordain women in modern times. Through archival documents and interviews, Byrne tells the story of the unforgettable leaders and surprising influence of these understudied churches, which, when included in Catholic history, change the narrative arc and total shape of modern Catholicism. As Pope Francis fights to soften Roman doctrines with a pastoral touch and his fellow Roman bishops push back with equal passion, independent Catholics continue to leap ahead of Roman reform, keeping key Catholic traditions but adding a progressive difference. Prison Reform Study Session June 14 Valley Interfaith Project is offering a study session on Prison Reform in Arizona on Tuesday, June 14, at 6:00 p.m. This session will be hosted by Dayspring United Methodist Church, 1365 E. Elliot Road, Tempe.

6 How I came to Guardian Angels Rudy Armijo-Pack This journey really starts in Marriage Equality has been passed in California and Don & I immediately started making plans to get married in San Diego but just as we filed for our marriage license the courts suspended any additional same sex marriages. We went ahead with our plans and on 11/16/02 Don & I performed our own ceremony with friends atop a mountain in Palm Springs. We decided to wait out the courts in California. Eleven years later we were still waiting. August 2013, Marriage Equality became legal in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. Don & I were legally married on 09/16/13 by Fr. Jim Lehman at Holy Family American National Catholic Church, Las Cruces, NM with my family in attendance. That morning Fr. Jim and his husband referred me to Guardian Angels in Tempe, AZ. I sat on this info for a year. 10/17/14, Marriage Equality is legalized in Arizona. Don & I immediately head to the Mesa Court House where we were legally married curbside in front of the Courthouse by Mary Jacobs, minister with the Disciples of Christ and witnessed by Sue Ringler, pastor with Guardian Angels Catholic Community. In January 2015 Don & I visit my family in New Mexico. In my dreams I had been hearing my mother urging me to make this trip for some time. My mother passed in mid We attend church on January 18 th and I heard/ felt the Holy Spirit for the first time. The readings, the gospel and Fr. Jim s homily all seemed directed straight at me. It was as if I was the only person in attendance. New possibilities were revealed to me that day. After mass Fr. Jim asked me if I had sought out Guardian Angels yet. Again I waited. After being sick with the flu for a couple of weeks I finally decided to check out Guardian Angels. I remember that Sunday, 02/22/15, the first Sunday of Lent, like it was yesterday. I parked and took three deep breaths and finally got out of my car. I sheepishly followed the others not sure of what to expect and there holding the door open for me was Pastor Sue. She looked at me smiled and said, Rudy, I m so glad you are here. She remembered my name! I was dumbstruck. I couldn t believe this was happening. I felt my mother s smile as I entered the sanctuary. It only took 51 years but I now understand that I was led to this place. My life was forever changed on that day What s your story? How did you end up at Guardian Angels? and why did you stay? We would like to print your story in a future newsletter. There are so many awesome, inspiring people who have made their way to Guardian Angels Catholic Community. We all want to get to know each other better and learn about each other s stories. Send your story and other ideas for the Newsletter to Pastor Sue at irreverendsue@gmail.com

7 SSSHHHHHHH Don t tell her!!! Hello Angels, Many of you know that Johanna and her teammate, Aashney, have qualified for this year s National Speech and Debate Tournament. They are busy preparing for the tournament in Utah June We would like to send her off with notes of encouragement from family and friends that she can open during the week. If you would like to give her a note for Nationals, you can bring it to church on June 5 or mail it to our house to arrive by June 10. Johanna Crowl / Nationals 2276 East Winchester Place Chandler, AZ We are going to put all the notes in one, large envelope for her to read on the plane and during the week. The notes can be short - just let her know you are thinking of her and praying for her. Our Angels have been a great source of support and encouragement for Johanna. It means the world to her and to us! Thank you and God bless you all, Sam and Chris We had a beautiful mass and a yummy potluck on May 29 th to celebrate our soon-to-arrive new Angel, baby boy Cook! We blessed Christian, Wayne, Monica and new baby boy Cook!

8 As some of you may have heard many children and adults are not getting vaccines at the rate needed to help protect the community. Recently the medical community has been warning those with newborns and infants that those in contact with the child really should be up to date with their vaccines especially the Tdap that includes the Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Vaccine. Soon we will have new born baby boy Cook with us and we re asking that all the Angels take the initiative to check your vaccination status and get those you need to help us protect our newest little Angel! If you need more information on this please feel free to contact Pastor Sue. Thanks! Pleas from the Pantry (Please and THANK YOU!!) Our little Guardian Angels/Community Christian Church Pantry provides between sack lunches for our homeless friends each and every week. We are currently in need of the following items: 1. Tuna ( either little boxes of tuna salad to pouches of tuna) 2. Granola bars (the soft bars are easier for some of our friends to eat) 3. Cheese crackers/peanut butter crackers 4. Single-serving peanut butter (we REALLY need these!) 5. Fruit cups, applesauce cups, pudding cups 6. Plastic spoons or forks 7. Small containers of juice 8. Bottled water (we really go through these as temperatures heat up) Also, Keeley makes up grooming kits and can always use travel-size containers of shampoo, and oral-care items. Each lunch bag includes either tuna or Vienna sausages, peanut butter, crackers, one or two granola bars, fruit/applesauce/pudding and any other treats we may have. Right now we have individually-wrapped cookies, so each bag gets a cookie. Every bag is a little different, and we are always trying to make them as healthy as we can (plus add a special little treat, just for fun!) so please keep that in mind. Thank you all so much for your generosity! Every item in our pantry is donated and our Pantry wouldn't exist without you! Thanks again! Doug, Keeley, and Kay RebbeSoul ( in Concert: Sat, June 11 at 7:30pm in the Valley Unitarian Universalist Sanctuary, 6400 W Del Rio, Chandler 85226, sponsored by Congregation NefeshSoul. RebbeSoul is an internationally-recognized Jewish singer/songwriter/performer who blends world music with Jewish themes. With eight CDs and over three decades of performing in Israel and the US, RebbeSoul will offer a musical experience that you will never forget. $10.00 tickets at the door (cash or check only - no credit cards.) Cheesecake reception following the concert. RebbeSoul is a terrific, international musician.

9 Men s Ministry The men s group has really enjoyed getting together so they thought they d keep doing it! They will meet at the church again on Wednesday June 22 at 7PM in Classroom 2. For more info or if you have questions, please contact Pastor Ed (ewalsh1991@gmail.com). On Pentecost we celebrated Pastor Ed s 25 th Anniversary as a Priest. Enjoy the pictures.

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11 Our Violet took her mommies to Disney World! Don t forget to share your vacation pictures with us so we can put them in future Newsletters! Real Presence by Rory Cooney Over the years, as a student of liturgy and Catholic thought, I have come across a few metaphors that help to demystify the idea of "real presence," that is, that Christ can be really present to us in the appearance of bread and wine. Now, there's a sense in which we just feel that Christ, as God, can do anything he wants to do. Bart Simpson wonders, Can God make a burrito so hot that he can't eat it? Our thoughts about God go off the rails (and greater minds than Bart's have posed similar ones) because of the way we think of power. Suffice it to say that the Christian definition of power, the notion that flows from the gospel of Christ, is that power is shared life, flowing from kenotic love and the invitation to follow and be disciple, and demonstrated by service to others, especially those who cannot (like the poor) or will not (like enemies) reciprocate. So, in the hope that writing these down will help both of us, here are the insights to which I've been made aware over the years. They're not my own, but I've internalized them. Maybe they will work for you, too. 1. Transubstantiation: Food transformed by presence. Consider a scenario like this one. In a certain family, a brother and a sister have grown up very close. After college, the brother goes into the armed forces. The sister gets engaged to be married, but it so happens that her brother, whom she loves very much, cannot get leave, let's say he is, in fact, overseas and involved in war. The wedding goes on, but the brother is missed. When, at the festivities of the reception, he is remembered by his sister, some tears are shed, and when the cake is cut, she instructs her friends to carefully wrap one of the first pieces, and they take it to the family home, and put it in the freezer. Months later, the brother returns, and when the family gathers for a thanksgiving reunion, his sister has removed the wedding cake and prepared it for him, and she gives it to him after his dinner, with a word of affection, telling him that everyone at the reception had remembered him on the day of her wedding. I suspect that her brother ate the best cake of his life at that moment! Would any of us, in such a circumstance, think that we had eaten "just cake"? Is it only flour, sugar, butter, and baking powder that he's ingesting? Of course not! He's eating a day and a time, memory, laughter, tears, love, the hope of the human race. He's consuming and becoming a part of, as it becomes a part of him, everyone who gathered around that cake on his sister's wedding day. I would say, if human presence can thus transform food so completely, how much more can divine presence transform it? We might say the wedding cake was changed in its meaning, but it has not been changed completely. Divine presence, however, must be able to utterly transform a thing, make it a new creation! It might still appear to be food, but it has been changed by divine presence into something utterly other. 2. This is my body, this is my blood. Sometimes we think of these words in the consecration, echoing the words of the last supper, as magical, that by saying these words Jesus changed the supper food into his own life. The incantation hocus pocus actually reinforces that claim, as those words are a corruption of the Latin hoc est enim corpus meum, the words "for this is my body" in Latin, spoken in the mass. To any student of eucharistic theology, the story of the eucharist is not confined to the last supper; its origins are in the table ministry of the messiah as well as in the post-resurrection narratives,

12 taken in the context of the Last Supper, with all its overtones of Sabbath and Passover. It is a complex, richly layered origin. But even this is not incomprehensible to us as human beings. Again, I think that it's our duty to take faith out of the realm of magic and put it into the realm of experience, so that it can be truly human. Food doesn't fall out of heaven into our cupboards and refrigerators, at least it hasn't since the time of manna. Even with the advent of "Peapod" and similar internet services where we can press a few buttons and a few hours later a man appears on our doorstep with groceries, we know that there's more exchanged than hope and electrons. The food in our homes, the food that sustains us and our families, the food that makes our living possible and sustains us in our work and play, all this has to be paid for. Money is required. Some has to come from us, and go to someone else. This part is obvious. But what is that money, really? For most of us, money is life-time. We only get so much of it, only so many years. Only so many weeks in those years, days in those weeks, hours in those days. Money comes from trading our time for it. We work at our jobs, we get money to buy groceries. We buy food with our lives. We can't trade it back in, either. You can't buy back the forty hours you traded for your paycheck, it's gone. What we have is a symbol of life spent. So we take that paycheck, and we go buy groceries. And we bring them home, fire up the stove and oven, and start preparing a meal. We gather our kids, our families, our friends, whomever. We take the food we've bought and prepared, we arrange it as festively as we can, or informally, on the table. We say a blessing. We pass it around. Can you see how, as your mother, or sister, or son or daughter or friend, asks for the bread, you could be thinking as you pass it with love, "this is my body, this is my blood"? You've spent your life for it. All that's left is your intention. Can we learn to intentionally give our lives in our work, in all we do, as an act of love for others, so that even the act of sharing our tables becomes a eucharistic act that can be connected to the great eucharistic act of Christ? Life lived in love, given away, even in and maybe especially in the simple, intentional act of sharing a meal with others is an icon of divine life. Sharing food at table is sharing life. 3. Real Presence of Whom? We Proclaim the Death of the Lord. It's really a discussion for another time, another book, in fact, but it needs to be said here too. Since we are talking about being invited to a table to dine with the Lord, we need to ask, "Whose "real presence" are we consuming? In the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, the "Lord and Giver of life," enters into the gifts of bread and wine to transform them into the presence of Christ, so that the body of Christ, the gathered assembly, can be nourished for the mission of God upon which it was sent by baptism and confirmation. "Receive the Holy Spirit," Jesus said, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." What is that mission? It is the mission of the moshiach (messiah, anointed one), or as the Greeks called him, Christos, the Christ. There is one Spirit. The same Spirit that anointed Jesus anoints us for the same mission, to announce the gospel to the poor, liberty to captives, joy to those in sorrow. "Turn away from sin (the empire built by violence and greed) and believe in the good news." That good news is the real presence, in Christ, and now in us, of the empire/reign of God, to be built by self-sacrificing love for the peace and equal good of all people. What's the catch? Well, the empire of sin isn't going away easily. It had no trouble disposing of Jesus by the machinery of capital punishment for treason: the cross. But God raised Jesus from death, never to die again, to bear witness forever to the triumph, however slow to appear, however fragile its peaceful, relentless strategy may be, of abundant life. "When we eat this bread and drink this cup," said St. Paul, writing about the meal that is the sign of the new creation, the sign of Christ's risen, living body, the church, "we proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes." All who follow the master in holding up the absolute equality of the daughters and sons of Abba, who announce that God is for everyone, regardless of their past, their parentage, nationality, or even creed, are destined for the cross. There is no other path to the resurrection. Holy food for holy people. The Holy Spirit makes the Eucharist for us, so that we can be made more fully, week by week, Sunday by Sunday, into the likeness of Christ. So St. Augustine, in one of his sermons, told his people in the city of Hippo: If you therefore are Christ s body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord s table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! Be a member of Christ s body then, so that your Amen may ring true! Be what you see; receive what you are! To demystify doesn't suggest that the mystery is taken away, only that what appears magical before enters the realm of mystery for us now. Mystery does not suggest unintelligibility. It suggests the impossibility of definition. It suggests a reality that defies circumlocution. Once we can connect with what happens around our tables and in our own lives, how food shared is life shared, we can see more clearly why Jesus used food in the first place and commanded us to remember him, and dwell on the mystery from a place of ownership and belonging. It is our own mystery that we receive! Knowing this, we can listen for that echo in our own life, day by day, of the promise he has made to be with us always. Trusting that promise, we live to keep the same promise to each other.