THE EPISTLE OF ST. THOMAS

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1 THE EPISTLE OF ST. THOMAS St. Thomas Episcopal Church The Rev. Jeff Douglas October 2017 Diocese of East Carolina The Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving Death Becomes Us I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. - J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb I have given up trying to make sense of the senseless violence that has taken place, once gain in my country. After the murder of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook, CT in 2012 resulting no actions by our leaders to restrict access to guns that are weapons of mass destruction, intended only to kill other human beings, I gave up trying to make sense of it. In fact, if anything, only the opposite has occurred. These weapons are more numerous and available than ever. To paraphrase Jesus, those who live by the gun, will die by the gun. The gun has become an idol in our culture. It has become the face of Death itself. And there are worshippers of the gun, who are enthralled by its power and willingly bow in worship. They have become a death cult reigning death upon us and leaving nothing but sorry, grief and mourning in their wake. This year we have had 273 incidents of shootings with 4 or more victims almost equal to the number of days we have had in 2017 (278). For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 We have the most guns of any society on this planet and contrary to the death cult s propaganda, we are not the safest country in the world by a long shot. Gun murders in this country come at the rate of 3.7 per 100,000. That s nearly 5 ½ times the gun murder rate of Italy, the next Western industrialized country in one survey. In fact, it would take adding up the next 10 Western industrialized countries murder rates (Italy, Luxembourg, Finland, Canada, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Spain & Australia) to equal the gun murder rate of our country. Our worship of violence and death as a society is well embedded. I grew up watching movies that glorified World War II and the gunslingers of the Old West. But these movies also sanitized the violence and its bloody consequences. Beginning in the 1970 s, graphic violence has been the meat and potatoes of our entertainment industry. The naked body is something that still is forbidden to non-adults but our children are exposed to innumerable acts of graphic violence every day in the media they consume: movies, music, TV and games. It grows worse each year. Violence is portrayed as the only viable solution to any problems presented in the media. The good guys, not the bad, initiate most acts of violence in the media we see. Little wonder that in our relations with other countries, our violence is labeled necessary and its unintended victims are called collateral October 2017 Newsletter 1

2 damage, whereas those who oppose us are labeled terrorists, murders and losers when they resort to violence. I doubt the innocent dead and their survivors make such a distinction. "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." Mahatma Gandhi Our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry implores those of us in the Jesus Movement to do what we can to make life on this earth a little more like heaven and a lot less than the hell it tends to be. My friends, we are in hell. Our nation alone, suffers a daily toll from gun violence that unseen in the rest of the industrialized world. Only in true repentance will we turn the life of our nation toward the peace and harmony that God intends for us. We are fighting our old enemy Death. Jesus repeatedly tells his disciples, Fear not! and so we must summon our courage to face our fears and the fears of our brothers and sisters so that together our civilization will remain not merely civil, but even more caring and just. Here are the names of the innocent dead. Let us not let them become statistics. Let us remember them as the mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, spouses, and partners they were who had gifts to give, places of work. The grief of their relatives, friends, and colleagues will last a lifetime. Hannah Ahlers, 34, Mother of 3, Murrieta, Calif. Heather Alvarado, 35, Day Care Owner, Mother of 3, Cedar City, Utah Dorene Anderson, 49, Mother, Anchorage, Alaska Michael Anderson, father of 2 Carrie Barnette, 34, Disney Employee, Riverside, Calif. Jack Beaton, 54, Father, Bakersfield, Calif. (died covering wife s body) Steve Berger, Financial Advisor, Wauwatosa, WI Candice Bowers, Mother of 3, Garden Grove, Calif. Denise Burditus, 50, College Student, Mother of 2, Martinsburg, W.Va. Sandra Casey, 35, Special Ed Teacher, Manhattan Beach, Calif. Andrea Castilla, 28, Make-up artist, Fountain Valley, Calif. Denise Cohen, mother of 2, Carpinteria, Calif. Austin Davis, 29, plumber, Riverside, Calif. (friend of Thomas Day) Thomas Day Jr., 54, Contractor, Father of 4, Corona, Calif. Christiana Duarte, 22, Marketing Dept. of Los Angeles Kings, Redondo Beach, Calif. Stacee Etcheber, 34, Hairdresser, mother of 2, Novato, Calif. Brian Fraser Keri Lynn Galvan, 31, waitress, mother of 3, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Dana Gardner, 52, Deputy Deed Recorder, Grand Terrace, Calif. Angela Gomez 20, Nursing Student, Riverside, California. Charleston Hartfield, 34, LVPD, Henderson, NV Chris Hazencomb, 44, Camarillo, Calif. Jennifer Topaz Irvine, 42, Attorney, San Diego, Calif. Rocio Guillen Jaksha, 40, Mother of 4, Eastvale, Calif. Nicol Kimura, 38, County Tax Office worker, Placentia, Calif. Jessica Klymchuk, 34, Single Mother of 4, Valley View, Alberta, Canada Carly Kreibaum's Florist Shop Owner, Mother of 2, Sutherland, Iowa Rhonda LeRocque, 42, office worker, Mother, Tewksbury, Mass. Victor Link, 55, San Clemente, Calif. Jordan McIldoon, 23, Mechanic in Training, Maple Ridge, Canada October 2017 Newsletter 2

3 Calla Medig, 28, Waitress, Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Kelsey Brianne Meadows, 28, Teacher, California Sonny Melton, 29, Nurse, Big Sandy, Tenn. Patricia Mestas, 67, Menifee, Calif. Lisa Romero-Muniz, 48, High School Secretary, Gallup, N.M. Adrian Murfitt, 35, Commercial Fisherman, Anchorage, Alaska Rachael Parker, 33, Police Technician, Manhattan Beach, Calif. Jenny Parks, 35, Kindergarten Teacher, Palmdale, Calif. Carrie Parsons, recruiter, Seattle, WA Lisa Patterson, Mother of 3, Lomita, Calif. John Phippen, 56, Owner of home remodeling company, father of 6, Santa Clarita, CA. Melissa Ramirez, 26, Los Angeles, CA Jordyn Rivera, 21, College Student, San Bernadino, Calif. Cameron Robinson, 28, Legal Records Specialist, St. George, Utah Quinton Robbins, 20, College Student, Henderson, Nev. Christopher Roybal, 28, Navy vet, Gym Manager, Corona, Calif. Brett Schwanbeck, 61, retired truck driver, father of 3, grandfather of 5, Bullhead City, AZ. Bailey Schweitzer, 20, Receptionist, Bakersfield, Calif. Laura Shipp, 50, mother, dispatcher, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Erick Silva, 21, Security Officer, Las Vegas, NV Susan Smith, 53, Elementary School Office worker, Simi Valley, Calif. Tara Roe Smith, Educational Assistant, Alberta, Canada. Brennan Lee Stewart, 30, Singer/Songwriter, Las Vegas, NV Derrick Bo Taylor, 56, California Dept. of Corrections, CA Kurt von Tillow, father of 1, grandfather of 2, Cameron Park, CA Neysa Tonks, 46, Tech company employee, mother of 3, Las Vegas Michelle Vo, 32, insurance professional, Los Angeles, Calif. Bill Wolfe, Jr., Wrestling Coach, father, Shippensburg, PA Almighty and merciful God, we ask that you receive into your tender and loving care all those who were killed in the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Receive the souls of the dead into your loving arms. Comfort those who mourn. Be with the medical personnel who have been entrusted with the care of the injured. Give strength and perseverance to those who work to end gun violence in our land. Help us all to work through our grief, anger and sadness we share until that day when we see each other only as brothers and sisters, in one human family, created in your image and beloved by you. We pray this in the name of the one who suffered and died to show us a better way to live and who suffers with us even now, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. October 2017 Newsletter 3

4 St. Thomas Episcopal Church Vestry Meeting, 19 September 2017 Minutes The Vestry, Rector, and Treasurer of St. Thomas Episcopal Church met on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 6:00 PM in the Rector s Office. Present: Claudia Griffin (Sr. Warden), Buddy Jones, David Simons, Charles Sawyer, Brenda Hewitt (Clerk), Ernie Carter (Treasurer), and Jeff Douglas (Rector). The minutes were accepted as read and approved. Treasurer s Report. Vestry approved the Treasurer s Report. Audit: Vestry approved with adjustments favorable to our Parish. Disaster Plan: Acquire a generator for Parish Hall or for entire church. Prices are needed for both possibilities. Member Canvass: Letters and pledge cards need to be distributed. On Sunday November 12, the Vestry plans to host a catered luncheon to support stewardship. RSVP required. Strategic Ministry Review will be conducted in early The Rector, Wardens together with Buddy Jones and David Simons will put this together. Outreach: Soup Kitchens at St. Thomas are scheduled for September 21 and 28. Worship: With Christmas Eve being on a Sunday this year, Lessons and Carols will be combined with the Christmas Eve service and will begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by the Christmas Eve Eucharist. Other areas of concern: - Prayer list should be adjusted monthly. - Would like organist to be robed and to include more organ in the service. - Service should be punctual. - Search for organist for Lessons and Carols Buildings & Grounds: Front steps need cleaning. However, the landscape is fine. Also, new chairs are being ordered to replace worn ones. Lobster Feast: Tickets have been distributed. SELL, SELL, SELL! ECW: ECW is forming a hospitality committee. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Hewitt, Clerk October 2017 Newsletter 4

5 Many of the scriptures for this month deal with God s mercy and grace, and admonish us to tell of the times we and our ancestors have experienced both. One man demonstrated his awareness of God s mercy and grace when he was asked how he was. His response was, Better than I deserve. Then he would say something like If I got what I deserved, I would be in a world of hurt. The focus for 2018 United Thank Offering grants is The Jesus Movement: Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care. What does the Jesus movement mean; in our lives and in the world. How do we reconcile with each other? Do we ask the master for forgiveness and then refuse to do the same for our friends and neighbors? How do we provide Creation Care? Do we shy away from eco-justice; from conversations around climate and faith? Get out of your comfort zone and become evangelists, reconcilers, and honor the face of God in creation. The time is now to act as true Episcopalians, and join others to make a difference in this world. October 2017 Newsletter 5

6 OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS 4 Jack Vaughan 7 Sarah Davis 7 Steed Johnson 7 Jim Sullins 8 Joe T. Jenkins 10 Getzen Hewitt 11 Thomas Aycock 13 Kevin Wiggins 14 Betsy Overton 15 Ben Newbern 16 Jason Harrell 17 Michael Shields 17 Barbara Outland 20 Loftin Johnson 21 W.J. Bubba Peele 24 Colin Jones 27 Michael Hewitt 31 Edward Liverman O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor; we pray, on your servants, Jack, Sarah, Steed, Jim, Joe, Getzen, Thomas, Kevin, Betsy, Ben, Jason, Michael S., Barbara, Loftin, Bubba, Colin, Michael H., Edward, as they begin another year. Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace, and strengthen their trust in your goodness all the days of their lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES 15 Overton and Betty Suiter 17 Steve Kelly and Libby Jones 30 Tom and Margaret Newbern O God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church: Send therefore your blessing upon Overton and Betty, Steve and Libby, Tom and Margaret, that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. October 2017 Newsletter 6

7 Acolytes St. Thomas Episcopal Church Schedules for October Charles Sawyer 8 Jerrie Taylor and Cecelia Jones 15 Bill Blanchard 22 Hugh Davis and Alexis Urquhart-Harrell 29 Gretchen Simons and Mac Griffin Altar Flowers 1 Mr. and Mrs. Overton Suiter 8 Mr. Joe Henry Jenkins 15 Dr. and Mrs. Charles Pierce 22 OPEN DATE 29 Flower Guild Altar Guild Ernie Carter and Ann Hughes Food Pantry (Note-Wednesdays) 4 Dicky Hoggard 11 Jim Shotwell 18 Peggy Vann 25 Bubba Peele Lay Readers 1 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist Claudia Griffin 4 6:00 PM Evening Prayer Claudia Griffin 8 8:00 AM Morning Prayer OPEN 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist Colin Jones 11 6:00 PM Evening Prayer Colin Jones 15 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist John Davis 18 6:00 PM Evening Prayer John Davis 22 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist Sarah Davis 25 6:00 PM Evening Prayer Sarah Davis 29 10:30 AM Holy Eucharist Hugh Davis Ushers Charles Sawyer and David Simons Yard Work 1 Julian Taylor and Jamie Johnson 8 Julian Taylor and Jamie Johnson 15 Colin Jones and David & Julie Shields 22 Colin Jones and David & Julie Shields 29 Dicky Hoggard and Johnny Griffin October 2017 Newsletter 7

8 St. Thomas Episcopal Church P. O. Box 263 Ahoskie, NC October 2017 Newsletter 8