News that is Noteworthy

October 17, 2019
​Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) renew commitment to
“join in the care of creation”[October 17, 2019] On September 24, following an interfaith event in New York, New York, to address climate change, The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) issued a statement outlining the churches’ “call to join in the care of creation.”
 
This joint statement, signed by Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton, and Church of Sweden (Lutheran) Archbishop Antje Jackelén, represents a renewed commitment among the three denominations to work together on the climate change issue. This pledge began in 2013 with the signing of a joint statement at the conclusion of the Sustaining Hope in the Face of Climate Change event in Washington, D.C.
 
The text of the September 24 statement follows:
 
A Call to Join in the Care of Creation From
The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran)

For several years, The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) have responded with increasing urgency to the damages being inflicted on Earth, our common home. The intensity of the challenges becomes ever more apparent, and the link of unprecedented climate change to human action rests now on insurmountable scientific evidence.  In human societies, these climate changes compound social injustices, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable among us with insecurities of food, livelihood and living space. Yet the burdens are not borne by humans alone: acceleration in the disappearance of species of plants and animals underlines the intertwined struggles of all life on Earth, and the destructive exploitation of resources leaves a diminished planet for all time to come.
 
 As we observe the Season of Creation, we renew the call for our churches to work together for the sake of Earth and to build collaborations wherever possible, both with other communities of faith and with diverse agents in our civil society. Now is the time for science, politics, business, culture and religion - everything that is an expression of human dignity - to address together this critical issue for our time. 
 
We claim the deep resources of our Christian faith for this work. We worship a God who created all that exists, who rejoices in its flourishing and blesses its diversity.  We follow Jesus Christ, himself one of us “earth creatures,” who in dying entered deeply into mortal suffering and who in rising gives hope for the renewal and restoration of all God has made. We are inspired by the divine Spirit, intimately present to all creation, who gives us strength, wisdom and perseverance to join in the “here and now” work of God in healing the brokenness of our hurting home.
 
We acknowledge that these central affirmations of our faith have not guided our churches as they should.  We have been slow to recognize the urgency of this crisis, lulled by traditions of honoring human life at the expense of other life and slow fully to integrate creation care into the way of love for God and neighbor. We have turned away from our own roles in environmental degradation, clinging as we could to lifestyles of unsustainable waste and overuse even as others suffer from lack of necessities. Moreover, majority cultures have ignored the insights of Indigenous siblings among us who are too often deeply affected by climate change, even as they bear spiritual practices and wisdom that can help the people of God to walk a more sustainable—and more loving—course.
 
We affirm that, with God’s guidance, we can do better in meeting this critical issue of our time. We acknowledge the dire urgency of this moment not through the lenses of despair, but through lenses of hope and determination.  It is central to our holy calling to treasure the Earth and to care for it as our common home.  This commitment does not compete with but surrounds our work for social justice within human communities.
 
Specifically, we commit ourselves to work together to allow the common commitments and different contexts of our churches to challenge, inspire, complement and strengthen one another’s witness. 
  1. We will advocate for national and international policies and regulations that enable transitions to carbon neutral resilient societies in ways attentive to the many dimensions of climate justice.
  2. We will pursue education and advocacy efforts that attend to the most vulnerable, whose needs must be put ahead of the more privileged.
  3. We will raise awareness in our churches by promoting the use of education, worship and action resources available locally, regionally, nationally and globally.
  4. We will seek deeper understanding, through praying and listening to experiences in our own communities and with others, about ways overconsumption can be addressed and about the diverse impacts of climate change.
  5. We will build multiple collaborations: through support and cooperation with our international communions, through inter-religious dialogue and shared advocacy, through national and international organizations and with all others seeking to address climate change.
 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton
Church of Sweden (Lutheran) Archbishop Antje Jackelén
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry
October 13, 2019
​
From Chris and Noelle:
We went to the corniche in Khobar on Saturday-got to get another glimpse of the Persian Gulf. The kids also got to play on some fun play equipment:) It’s still hot here, but under 100 every day now!
October 14, 2019

1 Corinthians 13:7 [Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
How often do we hear or read that love is blind? Paul’s letter to the Corinthians confirms that love is not blind—love sees everything and loves anyway.I heard a speaker say that we should insert our name where this passage uses the word “love.” Sandra is patient. Sandra is kind...When I try to do this (even as I am writing this), it makes me pause and ask, Am I really kind?

I do not always rejoice in the truth and sometimes, I insist on my own way. I can be irritable and resentful. I joke that I operate from the hermeneutic of suspicion—I do not always believe all things. The good news is that I do not have to overcome these trials on my own. I have a God who loves me where I am, just as I am—and loves me enough not to leave me there.
September 28, 2019
I think probably, of all the things that I have learned about God in my life, the most life-changing is the realization that throughout my life God has been looking for me – and he’s never given up!  I haven’t always known that.  I’ve often felt that it was me seeking God, longing for God.  But I now believe that my seeking after God is actually a response to the God who has been seeking me, from the day I was born.  St. John, in his first letter (Ch  4:19) puts it like this: “We love because God first loved us.”  Theologians call that “prevenient grace.”  I think I prefer “amazing grace.”
God is the shepherd who comes looking for his beloved until he finds them.  God is the father who saw his son, while he was still far off, and filled with compassion, ran up to him, put his arms around him, and kissed him.  “My son was dead, and has come to life: he was lost and has been found.  Come and rejoice with me!”  There is something wonderful – but also frankly sometimes scary – that God comes down to find us.  And God doesn’t wait to be found!  He comes looking for us.
There is a beautiful Christmas antiphon from the Wisdom of Solomon that says, “While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, your almighty Word leapt down from heaven from your royal throne.”  Because God loves us, delights in us, and longs to find us and bring us home.  As Psalm 18 puts it lyrically, “I love you O Lord my strength, my rock, in whom I put my trust.  You brought me out into an open place, you rescued me, because you delighted in me.”  However much we may try to run away from God’s love, escape God’s quick-eyed love, God never gives up.  “I stood there, saved, surprised to be loved,” wrote C. S. Lewis.
To know that God is always drawing near to us, longing to catch our attention, that God is always seeking us, that our movement toward God is always a response to the God who calls first, can transform our prayers.  For a long time, my prayer was about me trying to get God’s attention – saying the right words, getting in the right position, and hoping to get some kind of response from God.  But what if prayer is not our trying to get a conversation going with God, but actually continuing a conversation which God has already begun!  That can be transformative.
In the corner of my cell I have a prayer corner, with an icon, candle and chair.  At one stage in my life I would wonder – how am I going to pray today?  Now, I pause at the threshold, knowing that God is already there, waiting for me, inviting me in – because he delights in me.
The image of Jesus the good shepherd, found all over the catacombs, is one you may like to have in the place where you pray.  As you pray with it, perhaps reflect on your own life.  Have you experienced God coming looking for you?  Or, have you had a time in your life where you were running away from God?  “Leave me alone, God.  What I hear you calling me to do or be, is just too hard, too frightening.  I’m OK just as I am.”
Or maybe at one time in your life you’ve been lost.  You’ve made bad choices, been in a far country like the prodigal son.  Do you know what it is to have been found, rescued?  “I stood there, saved, surprised to be loved.”  If you are feeling rather lost right now, come to Jesus, receive him in bread and wine and ask him to rescue you, and carry you home.
Wherever you are in your life of faith, give thanks.  Give thanks for that love divine which came down to seek us and find us.  Give thanks for that amazing grace, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who has rescued us, and brought us home, where we shall rest secure with God forever.
Amen.
The Lost Sheep -- Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE

September 12, 2019

 "...Jesus’ whole life and ministry shows us that relying on God’s authority—on God’s essential goodness—leads to abundant life. But the powers of this world work tirelessly to undermine this deep truth. To follow Jesus presupposes our willingness to make trouble for the powerful, to be brave enough to take up our own crosses and walk."
​Forward Day By Day
August 30, 2019

Shake off the illusion that you are responsible for meeting the needs of every living creature. Only God knows what each creature truly needs, and will use your help when and as God sees fit. Shake off the need for universal acceptance. Shake off the pain when the Gospel you have to offer is rejected. Shake off the presumption that you have arrived at the correct interpretation of my vast and life-giving Word. Shake off the dust as you rise from the tomb with me. And whatever you do or don’t do with your dusty feet, keep reaching out your hands in Love.
​Br. Keith Nelson, SSJE
August 28, 2019

​ “Lord, help me to make time today to serve you in those who are most in need of encouragement or assistance.”

St. Vincent de Paul
August 26, 2019
Chris sent an update as his school year in Saudi Arabia begins:
"The first day of school was yesterday and what a day it was! Things are so different here. I teach math and science to my 6th grade homeroom and one other 6th grade homeroom. I have 42 students in all. (Last year I had around 145).Today I had two prep periods and tomorrow I have three (we have block scheduling). In addition, our lunch is 68 minutes long. Students and teachers all eat at home. Yesterday I came home for lunch, ate, fed Rose her popsicle for dessert and still had time to help the boys build a fort-amazing!! Properly funded, public education could be more like this! This picture is my Classroom before students came..."
August 12, 2019
From Chris today:
Got to go on a very short hike with Adelade to the top of a jabal, which is just like a small, rocky hill. (Apparently these formations, which are all over, have something to do with the oil underneath)We went this morning while it was still a cool 90. Great view! Even better was the special time with my eldest.

August 12, 2019
It takes courage to name evil and to challenge it.  It takes persistence to stand on the side of justice, especially when that opens us to ridicule, rejection or persecution.  Following Jesus will often bring us into conflict with the pervasive values and the dominant culture of our time.  Here, the gospel stories can provide us with inspiration and direction. Our mission is Jesus’ mission. And Jesus’ mission is God’s mission: to liberate and set free, to heal and deliver, to bless, and to bring life. How does that mission shape our lives? How can we be a force for good in the world, bringing life and light and truth to situations where people are being hurt or oppressed, where power is misused, where the truth is twisted or discounted? Jesus goes before us, providing us with his own example, but also gifting us with his presence and power.  We put our trust in him as we take on the challenge of confronting the evil spirits of our own age
​Jesus, the Exorcist -- Br. David Vryhof, SSJE
August 11, 2019
"The foundational spiritual question is this: Does one’s life give any evidence of an encounter with God? When we’ve experienced union and intimacy with the divine, what is our response? Does the encounter bring about what Paul described as the “fruits” of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22)?"
​R. Rohr
​Rev. Charlotte+ gave the closing prayer at the vigil for the victims who were murdered in El Paso and Dayton.
August 5, 2019
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL AT BROWNFIELD PARK
to mourn the loss of life over the past week
particularly remembering the victims of El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH
8:00 PM tonight, August 5 2019

​
August 4, 2019

Noelle and Theodore at IKEA in Dammam.
August 3, 2019
Noelle and the kids shopping at IKEA in Dammam.

August 2, 2019

Dr. Diana L. Hayes is an author and professor emerita of systematic theology at Georgetown University. She was the first African American woman to earn a Pontifical Doctorate in Theology. In her book No Crystal Stair: Womanist Spirituality, Hayes writes about the never-ending dance of giving and receiving:
We are not alone in this world, nor have we ever been, no matter how much we may feel otherwise. Many have come before us and will come after us feeling the same way, seeking as we are, searching for the “light.” And it is in coming together—one by one, two by two, and on and on—that we form the converging tributaries that make up the mighty stream of just and righteous people flowing home to God. We are and can be that justice that “rolls down like water,” and that righteousness that “flows like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).
This is our calling as Christian faithful: to recognize the Christ in everyone. And to reach out a hand of hope, to speak a word of love, to sing a song of happiness, to share a tear of joy or pain, to speak a word of praise, to murmur a prayer, to stand together against those forces that would divide us, isolate us, and block our flow toward home.
We must seek to become the righteous of God, recognizing that the path is neither short nor easy, but rock-strewn, obstacle-laden, sometimes even seeming to flow backwards and uphill! But as the prophet Micah proclaims:
You have been told . . . what is good
And what the Lord requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
And to walk humbly with your God. (6:8)
This is the Christian vocation of the laity in the world. Today and every day. It is not an easy vocation for there are temptations to flow in other directions, to leave our own course and follow the so-called “main-stream,” a stream that appears large and exciting but eventually peters out into nothingness. . . .
The black scientist George Washington Carver [1864?–1943] . . . stressed that “how far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.” [1] . . .
The river is still flowing. We can accept the grace to be part of that flow . . . if we truly are to be followers of Christ, imitators of him, then we must leap with faith into that torrent knowing that we are . . . in the bosom of God, our Creator, our Sustainer, our Liberator, our Mother and Father.
(Richard Rohr Meditation: The River Flows)

August 1, 2019
​
“Be very kind to people on your way up, because you’re going to meet these same people on your way down.” There is a word for this, a word on which we should be on good speaking terms. That word is “humility.”     
An excerpt from Br. Almquist's sermon, "The Unexalted Place for Humility"

https://www.ssje.org/2018/09/02/the-unexalted-place-for-humility-br-curtis-almquist/
July 31, 2019
https://cathedral.org/have-we-no-decency-a-response-to-president-trump.html?sfns=mo

The Washington National Cathedral is Episcopalian.

Have We No Decency? A Response to President Trump
Have We No Decency? A Response to President TruThe escalation of racialized rhetoric from the President of the United States has evoked responses from all sides of the political spectrum. On one side, African American leaders have led the way in rightfully expressing outrage. On the other, those aligned with the President seek to downplay the racial overtones of his attacks, or remain silent.
As faith leaders who serve at Washington National Cathedral ¬– the sacred space where America gathers at moments of national significance – we feel compelled to ask: After two years of President Trump’s words and actions, when will Americans have enough?
As Americans, we have had such moments before, and as a people we have acted. Events of the last week call to mind a similarly dark period in our history:
“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
That was U.S. Army attorney Joseph Welch on June 9, 1954, when he confronted Senator Joseph McCarthy before a live television audience, effectively ending McCarthy’s notorious hold on the nation. Until then, under the guise of ridding the country of Communist infiltration, McCarthy had free rein to say and do whatever he wished. With unbridled speech, he stoked the fears of an anxious nation with lies; destroyed the careers of countless Americans; and bullied into submissive silence anyone who dared criticize him.
In retrospect, it’s clear that Welch’s question was directed less toward McCarthy and more to the nation as a whole. Had Americans had enough? Where was our sense of decency?
We have come to accept a level of insult and abuse in political discourse that violates each person’s sacred identity as a child of God. We have come to accept as normal a steady stream of language and accusations coming from the highest office in the land that plays to racist elements in society.
This week, President Trump crossed another threshold. Not only did he insult a leader in the fight for racial justice and equality for all persons; not only did he savage the nations from which immigrants to this country have come; but now he has condemned the residents of an entire American city. Where will he go from here?
Make no mistake about it, words matter. And, Mr. Trump’s words are dangerous.
These words are more than a “dog-whistle.” When such violent dehumanizing words come from the President of the United States, they are a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists who consider people of color a sub-human “infestation” in America. They serve as a call to action from those people to keep America great by ridding it of such infestation. Violent words lead to violent actions.
When does silence become complicity? What will it take for us all to say, with one voice, that we have had enough? The question is less about the president’s sense of decency, but of ours.
As leaders of faith who believe in the sacredness of every single human being, the time for silence is over. We must boldly stand witness against the bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia that is hurled at us, especially when it comes from the highest offices of this nation. We must say that this will not be tolerated. To stay silent in the face of such rhetoric is for us to tacitly condone the violence of these words. We are compelled to take every opportunity to oppose the indecency and dehumanization that is racism, whether it comes to us through words or actions.
There is another moment in our history worth recalling. On January 21, 2017, Washington National Cathedral hosted an interfaith national prayer service, a sacred tradition to honor the peaceful transfer of political power. We prayed for the President and his young Administration to have “wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties that they may serve all people of this nation, and promote the dignity and freedom of every person.”
That remains our prayer today for us all.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral
The Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian of Washington National Cathedral

July 31, 2019

"When Jesus rises up to confront the storm, he offers us an example to imitate. Engage your deepest fears.  Name them, confront them, push back at them. Take up the battle cry: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?…  Though an army should encamp against me, yet my heart shall not be afraid; and though war should rise up against me, yet will I put my trust in him” (Ps. 27:1, 3, 4)
God’s love and God’s truth will always prevail.
The great spiritual leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi, put it this way:  “When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won.  There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall.  Think of it – always.”[i]
Do not be afraid.  Keep your heart and mind stayed on God, and on God’s love and truth.  Live and work as if everything depended on you, but trust and believe as if everything depended on God.  Hearken to the psalmist’s words and bury them in your heart:
“Whenever I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” (Ps. 56:3)

​When Fear is All Around - Br. David Vryhof, SSJE


July 30, 2019
C​hris and Noelle Schulze have given us permission to share the pictures they post of their Arabian adventure. These updates will be shared on Redeemer's website too. Liz and Diane

Here is part of an email Chris sent the other day:
As to school...It has a completely different feel. People seem to be happier and less stressed. Admin (the one I've met and worked with so far) seem great. Very supportive. I guess that is the one word that sums it all up: supportive. The admin and staff are all extremely supportive. They all remember the transition and how much work it is moving. They all also remember how long it takes to settle in, especially since your shipments don't come for weeks and months. So, they've all been totally understanding and supportive. They also recognize the need to take care of personal stuff before school stuff. I haven't felt overwhelmed at school at all. On the contrary, I've had more time in my classroom and time to just talk with other teachers to get a feel for things than I ever expected. It sounds like they have a curriculum we need to follow, but they recognize that the teachers are all professionals and can make changes at their own discretion. Teachers feel trusted here to make decisions. And, teachers not only have small class sizes, but they also have an hour lunch, two preps a day and time after school (usually) to work. Oh, and they don't have to deal with 95% of the behavior 'stuff' we have back home. It feels like a completely different world here. In fact, many of these teachers seem to have tried public school, found it wasn't for them and moved to (and stayed with) international school teaching. I can see why and I haven't even met my students yet!
I'll let Noelle talk about the whole thing with covering up and women here. I can't say much, except how human everyone seems. The Saudis love kids. A mom, whether covered or not, seems to be a mom. The men love commenting on how cute the kids are. It makes you feel really good!
Please say hi to everyone from us! We miss you all and will keep you in our thoughts and prayers."
July 24, 2019

"Our neighbors are a testimony to the vast diversity of God.  To reject this diversity is to reject aspects of the living God in our midst.  We cannot say, “I have no need of you.”  We can only have relationship by actively and intentionally engaging our neighbors, especially the ones who challenge us.  We must have the resolve to engage these neighbors not by reproving them for their wrong thought, but by actively listening to them and searching for the common ground where we can then begin to build a foundation.  Sometimes the only common ground we may be able to find is that place at the altar where we all acknowledge our neediness by putting our hands together and stretching them out to receive sustenance from the one who is the essence of chesed:  our kind, compassionate, merciful God who gave us Jesus his son as the shepherd leading us to the narrow gate that leads to life abundant."

Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE



July 23, 2019
Faith, hope and love.
“Do not fear, only believe,” Jesus says to us.
With God there is always reason to hope.
And “be compassionate, just as your Father in heaven is compassionate.”
These are the things that matter.

​Br. David Vryhof, SSJE



July 10, 2019If you are anxious about the future, you’ve gotten ahead of yourself.  It’s not that we never anticipate the future, never make plans for the future, never have foresight about the future.  Quite to the contrary. (You wouldn’t be here this morning if you hadn’t made some plans to get out of bed this morning.) We certainly anticipate the future, but we’ve gone too far, we’ve crossed a line, when our anticipation of the future has turned into a menagerie of anxiety. That’s where we need hope. Hope is not about seeing the future; hope is about knowing there will be provision for the future just as there has been in the past. Not to worry. Saint Paul writes, “For in hope we are saved,” saved from what we are not yet ready or readied to face in life.[vi] 
Will the future for you be difficult? Probably. Life is difficult. You haven’t gotten this far in life without knowing that life is difficult. And life is also amazing, don’t you know? Saint Paul becomes so sure of this – both about the suffering inherent in life and about God’s amazing provision – that he teems with confidence in the most difficult period of his entire lifetime. He writes: “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
The English word “hope” comes from the same etymological root as “hop.” To hop is a way of springing into the future with energy and confidence, not with fear, but with hope. You’ll be fine. Your life teems with God’s amazing grace. Just look backward and claim the miraculous provision you have experienced. This will continue. There’s hope for you.
Grace is Insidious - Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE

June 28, 2019

Does the heart have a narrow door?
Will it allow in just one more
of every beast and flower and bird
and every song it has ever heard? Just one more child, just one more flower,
one more relinquishing of power
to that sane and sacred foolishness
of living by inclusiveness? Does the heart have a supple, elastic latch
that makes it easy to dispatch
all pettiness and bigotry
and opens it to what makes us free? . . . You who can heal all wounds and hate
make my heart open, free, and great. —Carol Bialock

Researcher Brené Brown knows the importance of vulnerability and open-heartedness. In her book Daring Greatly, she offers a parenting manifesto that can serve as a touchstone when we feel afraid or resist vulnerability. You might read it aloud to a child, someone you love, or yourself:

Above all else, I want you to know that you are loved and lovable. You will learn this from my words and actions—the lessons on love are in how I treat you and how I treat myself.

I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness. You will learn that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy every time you see me practice self-compassion and embrace my own imperfections.

We will practice courage in our family by showing up, letting ourselves be seen, and honoring vulnerability. We will share our stories of struggle and strength. There will always be room in our home for both.

We will teach you compassion by practicing compassion with ourselves first; then with each other. We will set and respect boundaries; we will honor hard work, hope, and perseverance.

Rest and play will be family values, as well as family practices. You will learn accountability and respect by watching me make mistakes and make amends, and by watching how I ask for what I need and talk about how I feel.

I want you to know joy, so together we will practice gratitude. I want you to feel joy, so together we will learn how to be vulnerable. When uncertainty and scarcity visit, you will be able to draw from the spirit that is a part of our everyday life.

Together we will cry and face fear and grief. I will want to take away your pain, but instead I will sit with you and teach you how to feel it. We will laugh and sing and dance and create. We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other. No matter what, you will always belong here.

As you begin your Wholehearted journey, the greatest gift that I can give to you is to live and love with my whole heart and to dare greatly. I will not teach or love or show you anything perfectly, but I will let you see me, and I will always hold sacred the gift of seeing you. Truly, deeply, seeing you.

Richard Rohr Meditations: The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto

June 10, 2019

An extra special Sunday with the baptisms of the Schulze children. 
June 8, 2019
In his book Hope: Moments of inspiration in a challenging world, Tim Costello tells the story of a coalminer that took his son with him into a mine shaft where he worked.  He writes:  The father told his son, ‘Wait here in this lit space, as I need to go along this tunnel.’  While the son was waiting, the light in the mine failed and he was in pitch darkness.  He screamed out for his father.  Down the tunnel he heard his father’s voice tell him to start walking toward him.  The boy cried that he couldn’t see anything.  His father asked him if the light on his helmet was on and the boy replied yes, but he could only see one step ahead.  His father said, “Well take that step.”  This happened over and over again, and the boy followed the soothing advice of his father until he finally reached the safety of his father’s strong arms.[i]
Our faith journey with Jesus is similar.  The disciples did not fully understand what Jesus was teaching them yet Jesus advised them:  Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.’  God is with us on our faith journey and while we may not fully understand all we have to do is follow him by word and example and we will come to know more fully the abundant life God wants to share with us.  Earlier in John’s gospel Jesus says:  ‘My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.’[ii]
​Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE


June 3, 2019
Next week is Pentecost, when we gather to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to become one with the Risen Christ, and who takes us with him through death to life.
So how should we prepare now for that great event? One way, I think, is to get in touch again with the Living Lord, the one who through Jesus has promised to lead us through the experience of death – to raise us from death to life. That should fill us with excitement and joy, like those first disciples in the Temple.
Secondly, you don’t have to wait till you have died to receive the gift of eternal life – it begins now. When we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, we are already, now being transformed, being made alive – already in the process of passing from death to life.
So maybe today we can ask ourselves:
Where are there signs of resurrection in my life right now? What is dying? What needs to die?
How am I being transformed and brought to life by God’s Holy Spirit?
Where, maybe, am I resisting God’s Spirit?
Where do I still cling to the old life, to old habits, which lead to death?
“Behold,” Jesus says, “I came that you may have life – and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Claim that life today! For the message of Ascension is REJOICE!  For the best is yet to come!
Amen."
​Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE

May 24, 2019
​Read Paul’s beautiful prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21:
That is why I kneel before Abba God, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. And I pray that God, out of the riches of divine glory, will strengthen you inwardly with power through the working of the Spirit. May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, will be able to grasp fully the breadth, length, height and depth of Christ’s love and, with all God’s holy ones, experience this love that surpasses all understanding, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. To God—whose power now at work in us can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine—to God be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, world without end! Amen.    R.Rohr Meditations: Living in the Spirit

May 15, 2019
"...In many circumstances of life, we end up sharing life with people we would not have chosen, some of whom we inevitably find quite challenging. The monastic tradition has a name for these sometimes-quite-difficult people: “teachers.” They teach us about ourselves, they expose us to what otherwise we may not see in ourselves or show to others. There’s no better inspiration for our life-long conversion than to be sharing life with someone who gets under our skin. So it was for Pachomius and his monks, and for us all. God will bring teachers into our lives, teachers in many forms." St. Pachomius and Our Own Life's Calling -- Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE
​
May 6, 2019

"The sturdiest tree does not grow in the shade
But it is out in open air that its sturdiness is made.
There is where the tree is firmed and formed to become shelter and shade.
As well, a thing of beauty.
Its roots watered by adversity
Grow wide and deep in the earth where only God can see.
Its trunk thickened to be a means of defense
Was toughened to stand
by battling the elements.
Though adversarial winds may blow
It is but for a time until the winds let go
The trees' branches lengthened and strengthened to outward go and upward grow."
Kathy Hood Culmer, Forward Day by Day


April 21, 2019   --  Happy Easter!Scripture, and the scripture of your life, is full of stories of how God brings healing, wholeness, freedom and life to those who live in hope. Easter is a feast of hope, not because the resurrection is a nice idea for wishful thinkers, but because God’s promise of life and liberty to all who believe is real, and we know it even as Noah, Abraham and Moses knew it. Because like them we know that God will keep the Divine Promise and grant us life, liberty and healing, even as we live in the shadow of death.[15]
This is the promise of Easter. This is the promise of the resurrection. This is the promise of Jesus. This is what is means to be a prisoner, not imprisoned by hope, but a prisoner full of hope, trusting in God’s promise of life, and that knowing God who has spoken the word of life, will do it.
While you, or someone you know, may be in prison, guarded by the doors of violence, or bitterness, of hatred, the promise of Easter, is that the life and love of God, through the resurrection of Jesus, can shatter those chains, and set you free.   Br. James Koester, SSJE
April 20, 2019
On this Holy Saturday, before the joy of Easter morning, befriend and be close to sorrow, whether your own suffering, that of a loved one, or the pain of creation. In this liminal space of waiting and the unknown, as poet David Whyte writes, let “the night put its arm around” you. R.Rohr

Last night they came with news of death,
not knowing what I would say.  
I wanted to say,
“The green wind is running through the fields,
making the grass lie flat.”
I wanted to say,
“The apple blossom flakes like ash,
covering the orchard wall.”
I wanted to say,
“The fish floats belly up in the slow stream,
stepping stones to the dead.”
They asked if I would sleep that night,
I said I did not know.
For this loss I could not speak,
the tongue lay idle in a great darkness,
the heart was strangely open,
the moon had gone,
and it was then
when I said, “He is no longer here,”
that the night put its arm around me
and all the white stars turned bitter with grief.
April 16, 2019
Holy week schedule of services:
Maundy Thursday: 7 pm
Good Friday: 7 pm
Holy Saturday Easter Vigil: 7 pm
Easter Sunday: 9 am
April 11, 2019
"...while the challenges are many, they're not mine to shoulder alone. There will always be enough work for tomorrow, but in the meantime, we can sit with the darkness and the quiet and try, for a moment, to find some peace and strength for what lies ahead--and know that God is always enough."
​Katie Mears
April 2, 2019
"But God reminds us that grace is sufficient to save us, that we need not fear when we fall short -- for it is out of our setbacks that we become fertile ground for transformation. We are works in progress, not works of perfection." Forward Day by Day
March 30, 2019

Cast away the fear and doubt and guilt and shame that have kept you from becoming the child of God that you are.  And come.
Come to be forgiven.  Come to be healed.  Come to be encouraged.  Come to be loved.  Come to be saved.  Come to be fed.  Come.

https://www.ssje.org/2011/12/04/the-good-news-of-repentance-br-david-vryhof/


A few pictures from coffee hour after St. Patrick's day Sunday service.  Thank you Heidi for taking the photos.
March 20, 2019

Fasting, not in the sense of eliminating something or denying yourself of some food, but fasting in the sense of holding firm, of fastening our resolve to a kind of discipline or practice. Fasting: more an affirmation of some principle rather than a renunciation of some desire.   Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE

https://www.ssje.org/2005/02/12/lenten-disipline/
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​Starting March 12, Confession will be heard in the Jackson Chapel Tuesdays from 5:15-6:15 pm.
February 9, 2019
​Please know that while the steps to the church and the ramp in the back are clear of snow the parking lot is packed snow and ice. Sunday service will take place as normally scheduled. Be careful if you are out and about!
February 1, 2019
Happy retirement to Mary Finney! Congratulations on a job well done. Thank you for all of your hard work and the positive impact you have had on our community for so long.
January 31, 2019

Congratulations to Julie Hendren - Umatilla County Volunteer of the Year! Your Redeemer peeps are so proud of you and your important contributions to our community.
January 25, 2019
You know, I often feel that God must love stories, too, and that the Holy One, our Beloved Creator, is most attentive to our stories, and to our collective story. Like any good story, there’s multiple levels of meaning to find, to live through, and to grow with, and when we let God be the author, we can be sure the story brings transformation, healing our separation from God, from ourselves, and from each other. Some days it’s easy to forget that this story is true, that in this life we’ve been given all things are possible with God. We can find those lost coins deep within us and be made whole again, becoming a source of peace and joy for all the other lost sheep out there. And our story as Christians isn’t over as long as there’s one lost coin to find, one lost sheep to welcome back into the fold.
The way of Jesus was never meant to be easy, but that’s our calling, to courageously surrender to God in each moment. And so for the sake of Christ we become the transformation we seek, sharing peace and joy in our communities, and inspiring the world to a new story, the story of God’s beautiful Kingdom.   Br. Nicholas Bartoli, SSJE

January 23, 2019

Gracious God, hear us who come before you with heavy and conflicted hearts. We have come to a position in our country where we seem unable to move ahead in unity and in community. We ask your Divine Assistance. Your Son commanded us to love our enemies, and we view those in opposition to us as enemies. Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge. Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease. Look with pity, O God, upon the people in this land and across our borders who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. You have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect to end this governmental shutdown; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
​Charlotte+

January 6, 2019

Three Kings - Ephiphany Sunday!

December 23, 2018
Greening of the church!
                               The Redeemer crew led  by Chris and Noelle at Suttle Care. Caroled their hearts out yesterday evening.
December 9, 2018

Please consider joining Chris, Noelle and the four little Schultze's on December 16th for an afternoon of caroling at Suttle Care The fun will start at Suttle Care next Sunday the 16th at 4 pm. 
​😇
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November 28, 2018

​The four Sundays before Christmas Day make up the four Sundays of Advent. Advent is the season during which we prepare for the coming of Christ Jesus, both as the baby in the manger and as the triumphant King at the end of time. Come join us as we prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, on Christmas day and for always. Rev. Charlotte+
November 27, 2018

"But one stone cannot make a house, or even a wall.  We must be joined together if our lives are to have meaning."

https://www.ssje.org/2014/05/18/living-stones-br-david-vryhof/
November 20, 2018
​Loving the Presence in the Present
Monday, October 29, 2018
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. [One] experiences [oneself] . . . as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of [one’s] consciousness. . . . Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. --Albert Einstein [1]
We cannot attain the presence of God because we’re already in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. Little do we realize that God’s love is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. As we take another, it means that God is choosing us now and now and now and now. We have nothing to attain or even learn. We do, however, need to unlearn some things.
To become aware of God’s loving presence in our lives, we must accept that human culture is in a mass hypnotic trance. We’re sleepwalkers. All great religious teachers have recognized that we human beings do not naturally see; we have to be taught how to see. Jesus says further, “If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light” (Luke 11:34). Religion is meant to teach us how to see and be present to reality. That’s why the Buddha and Jesus say with one voice, “Be awake.” Jesus talks about “staying watchful” (Matthew 25:13; Luke 12:37; Mark 13: 33-37), and “Buddha” means “I am awake” in Sanskrit.
Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence, living in awareness of the Presence, and even enjoying the Presence. The contemplative is not just aware of God’s Loving Presence, but trusts, allows, and delights in it.
Faith in God is not just faith to believe in spiritual ideas. It’s to have confidence in Love itself. It’s to have confidence in reality itself. At its core, reality is okay. God is in it. God is revealed in all things, even through the tragic and sad, as the revolutionary doctrine of the cross reveals!
All spiritual disciplines have one purpose: to get rid of illusions so we can be more fully present to what is. These disciplines exist so that we can see what is, see who we are, and see what is happening. What is is love, so much so that even the tragic will be used for purposes of transformation into love. It is God, who is love, giving away God every moment as the reality of our life. Who we are is love, because we are created in God’s image. What is happening is God living in us, with us, and through us as our unique manifestation of love. And each one of us is a bit different because the forms of love are infinite.  Richard Rohr
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September 30, 2018

Happy happy birthday to 
Abi -- 10 years old today.
Happy happy birthday to 
​Ben -- 87 years young today.
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September 26, 2018

Harriet Isom and Rev. Charlotte+ won the fund raising quilt raffle to help offset medical bills for a local family.​
September 25, 2018
​
“Imagine the poorest person you know,” Gandhi said, “then ask yourself, ‘Will your next action make a difference for her?’”

https://www.ssje.org/2012/09/09/gods-poor-br-david-vryhof/
September 19, 2018

The EO published a brief article in Wednesday's paper regarding the showing of the documentary, "101 Seconds." This film, "portrays the debate concerning gun violence in Oregon following the Clackamas Town Center shooting in 2012." It will be shown at BMCC this Saturday, 3 - 7 pm. It is a free event.
State of Safety is the group sponsoring this event. Information about this organization can be found at www.stateofsafety.org or by doing a search on Facebook.
September 5, 2018
August 25, 2018
Jesus comes to us as we are, walking with us amid questions about death and darkness, loss and limits, questions about pain and wounds, fear and imperfection, questions about what just happened and how will we continue, questions about childhood and parenting, health and disease, work and money, growing up and growing together. In these very real questions of life, Jesus comes near and walks with us.
Two friends go walking. A stranger draws near and then lead the conversation, teaches them. The friends convince the stranger to stay with them as their guest. At table together, as bread is broken, we see the great reversal revealed. The stranger is Jesus. The guest is actually the host.
In death’s shadow when God seems most distant, our deepest, perhaps unspoken desire is Jesus’ companionship. In the words of the traditional spiritual we will sing this morning: I want Jesus to walk with me. When we go on long walks and when we stand still looking sad, in our pilgrim journeys and when the shades of life are falling, our soul cries out: I want Jesus to walk with me. In our sorrows and when our hearts are aching, we plea: I want Jesus to walk with me.
Jesus answers us by reversing the question. Jesus says: Walk with me. I’m already here. Jesus is in strangers on the road, in new neighbors and colleagues, in people who show up in our lives, and in guests we invite to supper. Jesus is with us on the road. By welcoming strangers, we find our souls gently kindled into flame, our hearts burning again with life.   Br. Luke Ditewig,  SSJE

August 20, 2018
The Good Samaritan and the Other Good People – Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE
https://www.ssje.org/2013/07/14/the-good-samaritan-and-the-other-good-people-br-curtis-almquist/

August 15, 2018
Episcopalians rally around ‘Way of Love’ framework for living into Jesus movementhttps://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/08/15/episcopalians-rally-around-way-of-love-framework-for-living-into-jesus-movement/
August 11, 2018
How then shall we live – Br. James Koester"As Anglicans we often claim that praying shapes believing: we can show people what we believe, by how we pray. But it is just as true that believing shapes living: we can show people what we believe, by how we live....
Can the same be said for you? Can it be said that your believing shape your living? If someone looked at the way you lived your life, would they be able to say what you believed? Would they see in you a city built on a hill that cannot be hid, or a lamp placed on a lampstand giving light to all those in the house? Would they see in you life, the light of faith and know that because of it, you are the light of the world?
How we choose to live our lives is no happenstance thing. It’s not about the ways the planets line up, or about the hand we’re dealt, or the luck of the draw. How we choose to live our life is rooted in the good treasure that has been entrusted to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us [2 Timothy 1:14] and how we know that treasure to be true." SSJE Br Koester
July 31, 2018
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/07/31/presiding-bishop-michael-curry-resting-after-surgery/
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry resting after surgeryPosted 5 hours ago
​[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is resting comfortably following surgery on Tuesday, July 31.  According to the presiding bishop’s family and his medical team, the surgery went well, as had been expected. Bishop Curry is resting, and a full recovery continues to be anticipated.
On July 25 Curry shared news that he had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would be having surgery to remove the prostate gland.
Curry and his family are touched by the outpouring of prayers and well wishes. In their thankfulness, they ask for privacy during his recovery.
Further information will continue to be released by the presiding bishop’s office, as needed.

July 29, 2018
​"In a moment, we’ll gather around the altar and pray the ‘Great Thanksgiving.’  Bring something from your journey to share with Jesus, whether it be a joy, a desire, a need, or something that is burdening you that you need to leave behind.  Then stretch out your hands and receive a piece of bread and a sip of wine, and a moment of stillness; sustenance for the next leg of the journey.  Jesus is our good shepherd, full of compassion and a he will supply our need."   SSJE   Br. Jim Woodrum
July 25, 2018
​Good Afternoon,
 
The Commission on Celebrating Diversity wanted to let you know of a public conversation happening in La Grande on August 1st at 7:00PM at 112 Depot Street. They would like to encourage you to attend if you are able and to please share the information with your congregations.
 
The title of the discussion is called Race & Place : Racism and Resilience in Oregon’s Past and Future.  For more information please click the link below.
 
https://www.facebook.com/events/837655693288890/
 
Blessings,
 
Lisa Boquist
Diocesan Administrator/Executive Assistant to the Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon
541-568-4514
PO Box 236
Cove, OR  97824
July 1, 2018
​Coffee hour festivities!
July 3, 2018
The link below will take you to an informative article regarding General Convention which starts on July 5th.
​
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/07/02/episcopalians-preparing-for-79th-general-convention-in-austin-can-expect-a-real-texas-welcome/


May 28, 2018

Sarah Hardin is posting all Sunday sermons on Redeemer's Facebook page and on Redeemer's YouTube channel. Below is the link to the YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6s-69vdBRUsAuQ3J6okWQ?view_as=subscriber

Easter at Redeemer. Thanks Kathleen for the pictures.
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February 12, 2018
​The new updated-to-reflect-reality schedule of Lenten Services. Please disregard the earlier post.

​
Scout Sunday!
February 3, 2018
Practice: Loving KindnessWe all need to practice being kind, particularly to ourselves. Only when we first reconnect with the infinite love—our original and inherent blessing—that is our ground of being can we extend that love to others through nonviolent actions. When we remember that we are love, we can truly wish even our enemies well. The Buddhist practice of metta, loving kindness, is a wonderful way to grow compassion for yourself and for others.
Begin by sitting in silence and finding the place of loving kindness within you. Then speak the following statements aloud:
May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger. May I be safe and protected.
May I be free of mental suffering or distress.
May I be happy.
May I be free of physical pain and suffering.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease. [1] 
Repeat these affirmations as many times as you wish. When you are ready, replace the “I” in each statement with someone else’s name. You might begin with a beloved, then move in widening circles to send love toward a friend, an acquaintance, someone who has hurt you, and finally the whole universe.
January 9, 2018
"You cannot know God the way you know anything else; you only know God or the soul of anything subject to subject, center to center, by a process of “mirroring” where like knows like and love knows love—“deep calling unto deep” (Psalm 42:7). The Divine Spirit planted deep inside each of us yearns for and responds to God—and vice versa (see James 4:5). The contemplative is deeply attuned and surrendered to this process.
We are not so much human beings trying to become spiritual. We’re already inherently spiritual beings and our job is learning how to be good humans! I believe that’s why Jesus came as a human being: not to teach us how to go to heaven, but to teach us how to be a fully alive human being here on this earth."  Richard Rohr

Christmas 2017
December 17, 2017
Greening of the church. Many hands make light work!

December 6, 2017
​Christian groups raise alarm over Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
Posted 5 hours ago
By David Paulsen

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church is joining a global chorus of Christian voices speaking against President Donald Trump’s announcement Dec. 6 that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing longstanding U.S. policy toward the city.
“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Trump said at the White House in remarks that lasted just over 10 minutes. “This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do.”
Leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem, including the Anglican primate, released a letter to Trump on Dec. 6 before his announcement warning that the decision “will yield increased hatred, conflict, violence and suffering in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, moving us farther from the goal of unity and deeper toward destructive division.”
The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations followed up with a statement Dec. 6 backing the Christian church leaders in Jerusalem and opposing Trump’s vow to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
“This decision could have profound ramifications on the peace process and the future of a two-state solution, and it could have a negative impact throughout the region and with key U.S. allies,” the Office of Government Relations said. “The Episcopal Church Office is joining with Churches for Middle East Peace and many other organizations in opposing any effort to move the Embassy.”
Trump, in changing U.S. policy on Jerusalem, was taking a step toward fulfilling a campaign pledge. Moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has strong support among American evangelicals and pro-Israel Jews.
“The Israeli government, its parliament, courts, and prime minister, have been located in Jerusalem since just after the birth of the state,” Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an organization that represents 16 national Jewish agencies in the U.S., said in a statement applauding Trump’s decision. “We agree with the president that Israel, like all countries, has the right to determine the location of its capital.”
The Episcopal Church’s stance on the issue was set by General Convention in a 1985 resolution, in which the church “expresses its opposition to the movement of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, except within the context of a broad resolution of Middle East problems, with the status of Jerusalem having been determined by negotiation and not by unilateral action by any one community, religion, race or nation.”
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby tweeted that keeping the status quo on Jerusalem “is one of the few stable elements of hope for peace and reconciliation.”
Also earlier in the day, Pope Francis, in his weekly general audience at the Vatican, called Jerusalem “a unique city, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the Holy Places for the respective religions are venerated, and it has a special vocation to peace.” He raised concerns that changing the city’s status quo could lead to greater conflict.The status quo of the City of Jerusalem is one of the few stable elements of hope for peace and reconciliation for Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Holy Lands. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
World Council of Churches, too, expressed “grave concern” over Trump’s move.
“Such a step breaks with the longstanding international consensus, and almost seven decades of established American policy, that the status of Jerusalem remains to be settled,” said the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, World Council of Churches’ general secretary. “It also preempts a negotiated resolution of this most difficult issue in any final peace agreement, which must be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians themselves.”
Episcopal Public Policy Network issued a policy alert in February opposing relocation of the embassy. At that time, the Office of Government Relations advocated the church’s position to members of Congress in partnership with Churches for Middle East Peace, an ecumenical coalition of 27 American denominations that includes the Episcopal Church.
On Dec. 5, Churches for Middle East Peace repeated its objection to changing U.S. policy toward Jerusalem.
“Rather than being a broker for peace, the U.S. will be undermining trust and making the resumption of meaningful negotiations and achieving a viable solution all the more difficult, if not impossible,” said the Rev. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace.
Trump, in his remarks Dec. 6, affirmed the United States’ commitment to helping facilitate Middle East peace and to a two-state solution that has the support of both sides. But he defended his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by saying past policy has not gotten the Israelis and Palestinians any closer to a lasting peace.
“We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past,” he said. “Old challenges demand new approaches. My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Trump cited a law Congress passed in 1995 calling for the U.S. embassy to be moved to Jerusalem. Every president since Bill Clinton has waived that requirement six months at a time, citing security concerns, and Trump initially followed suit in February. Now, by recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, the president is putting embassy relocation plans in motion.
For decades, the United Nations has insisted on Jerusalem’s unique status as an “international city” despite Israel declaring it as the nation’s capital in 1980. Because of that history, 86 countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv, and none now has an embassy in Jerusalem, according to CNN. While most of the Israeli government is based in West Jerusalem, East Jerusalem is considered by much of the world to be an occupied territory, which the Palestinians hope will someday become the capital of a Palestinian state.
The city is considered a sacred place for Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, which Trump alluded to in his remarks on Dec. 6. “Jerusalem is today and must remain a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the Stations of the Cross and where Muslims worship at al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The mosque is at a site known by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, and it was the focus of renewed tensions earlier this year between Israelis and Palestinians after a deadly July 14 shooting between Arab-Israeli gunman and Israeli policemen prompted the mosque’s closure.
It was the first time the mosque had been closed for Friday prayers in 17 years. Protests escalated when the mosque was reopened with new metal detectors, but the scanners were removed days later.
– David Paulsen is an editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
An Addition to the December 2017 Newsletter - Junior Warden Report

​From our hardworking Junior Warden, Diane Groff, comes the following:

Junior Warden's Report 

The last month was very busy. A huge thank you goes out to Michael Greear for taking the two closets in the basement AA room down to stone and support beams only. There was a great deal of water damage and mold. The rock foundation in that area is in full view and it is obvious that the church's foundation will need to be assessed by a professional. The mortar is crumbling so the foundation will need attention in the future. The good news is that there has been no new water pooling in the AA room or closet. Hopefully, caring for the gutters and grading the flower beds has helped.

During the demolition, David Nelson and Liz Cahill helped me separate, sort and haul off decades of "stuff" that had been collected in the basement. Liz and I hauled 2140 pounds of demolition debris and "stuff" to PSS transfer station. This does not included the metal, paper, glass and cardboard that was recycled at no charge.

The two major projects happening in December are the removal of the elm and walnut tree on the Dorian side of the church and the installation of the new flooring in Rhodes hall. Even though we are all sad for the squirrels, the health of the trees are jeopardizing the safety of the church and people passing under so after hearing from three local tree service companies the finance committee recommended to Vestry that the trees be removed. Vestry approved the removal and agreed on hiring Columbia Tree Care Services. The contract has been signed and the trees should be removed by the end of December. Vestry also considered bids from local floor companies and decided on a premium vinyl plank floor for Rhodes hall. The space has been measured and the final contract with Pendleton Floors is being negotiated. This project should get off the ground soon.


If you have any questions or concerns, please ask. There have been major expenditures but all the decisions are made with the safety and health of the congregation and the continued longevity of our beautiful church and grounds.

Diane
December 5, 2017
The 47th Annual Diocesan Convention has started!

​http://trinitybend.org/saturday-october-7-its-time-for-our-highway-clean-up/
Sunday, October 1, 2017
The Annual Visitation of our Bishop,
the Right Reverend Patrick Bell
Because this our chance to spend significant time with +Pat and because he wants to meet, greet and talk with as many of you as possible, please be sure to make plans to attend the Sunday service at 9 a.m. It will be Holy Eurcharist, Rite II with Bishop Pat as the Presider and Preacher.
Immediately following the service, we will have a BBQ and Potluck Coffee Hour in the Parish Hall. As we have done in the past, Redeemer will supply the meat (including veggie burgers). You, however, need to furnish the rest of the food: salads, veggies, dessert and chips. It would be most helpful if someone would sign up to bring Ice Tea and/or Lemonade.
Remember to bring enough to share!
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02 Sep 2017

​She's baaaack........welcome back AnnMarie!

July 24, 2017
Rev. Charlotte is at Ascension helping with camp. She sent a few pictures with more to come. :)
1. Cove chapel in the morning
2. Cooperative construction of our human, Peyton
3. All the ingredients for making marblized cards

​


July 21, 2017
Powerful Words – Br. David Vryhof
​​James 3:1-12
Listen again to the words of our epistle lesson from The Letter of James as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message:
“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it!


“It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.  By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke…”


Words are powerful, aren’t they?  By speaking a word, God brought the universe into existence, and we who are made in the image of God have a similar power – the power to use words to create or to destroy, to bless or to curse, to heal or to hurt.  Words matter.  Right speech matters.
This morning I’d like to reflect with you on the power of our words.  Being mindful of how we speak is a value we Christians share with those who follow the Buddhist tradition.  For Buddhists, right speech is the third of eight factors in the Noble Eightfold Path.  According to Buddhist thought,




“Right speech, explained in negative terms, means avoiding four types of harmful speech:
lies (words spoken with the intent of misrepresenting the truth);
divisive speech (words spoken with the intent of creating rifts between people);
harsh speech (words spoken with the intent of hurting another person’s feelings);
and idle chatter (words spoken with no purposeful intent at all).”
Notice the focus here on the intention of the speaker.  What we intend by our words can be more important than the words themselves.  The same words can be used to bless or to curse, to deceive or to enlighten.
Most of us can recall times in our lives when we’ve been lied to or spoken about or shouted at by another person.  That one person’s words, spoken with anger or bitterness or ill intent, have marked us forever.  They cannot be withdrawn or erased.  We carry them with us. They are like scars that will never go away.  We can recall not only the words, but the feelings they evoked in us, in an instant.
Words have the power to hurt, but they also have the power to heal.  Did you catch the beautiful phrase in the reading from Isaiah?
“The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.”
If you can recall words that hurt you, you can probably also recall words that sustained you, encouraged you, lifted you up.  Words have power, power to create and power to destroy, power to bless and power to curse, power to heal and power to hurt.
“Right speech (explained in positive terms) means speaking in ways that are trustworthy, harmonious, comforting and worth taking to heart.  When [we] make a practice of these positive forms of right speech, [our] words become a gift to others.” (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
You already know this, don’t you?  I’m telling you nothing new.  You know that words can be harmful or helpful, that they can tear us down or build us up.  You’ve experienced this in the words others have spoken to you – and you’ve observed the powerful effect your words can have on others.  You are not surprised that the Scriptures call us to speak in ways that are life-giving, not death-dealing. “Let your speech always be gracious,” says St. Paul (Col. 4:6).
But you may also know the challenge of trying to put this knowledge into practice.
“This is scary,” writes Peterson, again paraphrasing the letter of James, “You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue – it’s never been done.  The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.  With our tongue we bless God our Father; with the same tongue we curse the very men and women he made in his image.  Curses and blessings come out of the same mouth!”
So, what can help us?  What sort of practice will transform our speech and make our words a gift and a blessing to others?  What can we do?
First, we can pay attention to what we say and to the effect our words have on others. There is nothing more important than awareness.  Conversion begins with awareness.  Buddhist teachers point out that there are five keys to right speech:
“It is spoken at the right time.  It is spoken in truth.  It is spoken affectionately.  It is spoken beneficially.  It is spoken with a mind of good-will.” [AN 5.198]
Attending to our speech, we can ask ourselves:  
  1. Am I speaking these words at the right time, or not?
  2. Am I speaking of facts, or not?  Is what I am saying truthful?
  3. Am I speaking gently or harshly?
  4. Am I speaking profitable words, or not?
  5. Am I speaking with a kind heart, or am I inwardly malicious?
We can pay attention then to what we are saying and the tone in which we are saying it, and when we find ourselves resorting to negative patterns of speech, we can say to ourselves, “Stop!”  We can continually ask ourselves, “Is what I am about to say true? Is it necessary? Is it helpful?”
But in order to be truly converted we must go beyond the words we say to the deeper levels of our hearts.  There we must examine our intentions. Why am I tempted to speak in a hurtful way to this person?  Where are these critical words coming from?  What insight can I gain by examining my thoughts?  How can I begin to change the way I think about this person or this situation?  What is God’s invitation to me now?
This descent into the heart is crucial because unless our hearts are converted we will never have much success transforming our words and our conversation.  Jesus said, “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
We cannot speak peaceful words if there is no peace in our hearts.  We cannot offer life-giving words unless the Divine life is within us, ready to be offered to others.  We cannot speak with compassion and love unless these virtues are actually growing in our own hearts.  Our words reveal what is in our hearts.
“A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it?  Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they?  Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?” (from the Letter of James, as paraphrased in by Eugene Peterson in The Message).
We need pure hearts in order to utter pure words.  Which is why we will be working on this for the rest of our lives.  Purifying our hearts is a continuous process which involves opening our hearts to God day by day so that they can be transformed by Divine Love.  We cannot do this on our own, which is why we so need God’s help.  Only God’s power working within us can bring about deep and lasting change.
Ask God to help you every day, every moment of the day.  Keep watch on your tongue.  Remember that what you say powerfully shapes your life and the lives of those around you. Let your words be carriers of God’s grace and blessing.


July 20, 2017
Beautiful outside service celebrating the first annual Feast of Christ the Redeemer and fun potluck afterwards. Thanks Kathleen for the pictures!

​
COME CELEBRATE WITH US! Our very first FEAST OF CHRIST THE REDEEMER 
Sunday, July 16, 2017
FESTIVITIES TO INCLUDE:
 Outdoor Eucharist on the 2nd Street lawn> service begins at 10 am
Potluck BBQ in Crysler Hall immediately following the service  Bring your favorite dish with enough to share – salads (green and other sorts), chips, desserts, whatever you wish 
 Redeemer will supply the meat and veggie burgers
The Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer is found only in the special calendar of some dioceses and religious orders, and is celebrated with proper Holy Eucharist (Mass) either on the third Sunday of July or on 23 October. The Vestry of the Church of the Redeemer, after consulting with Bishop Patrick Bell, voted to celebrate the Feast on the third Sunday in July as our Patronal Feast (the feast of the patron saint or title of a church, school, religious order, or other organization) The focus of the Eucharist on this day is on joy and gratitude for the ineffable graces and benefits of our Redemption through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Christ.
July 8, 2017
Our very own Chris Schulze is traveling in Germany tracing the path of Martin Luther. He has sent some pictures and descriptions of his journey for us to enjoy.  

​June 27, 2017
This brings to mind Rilke’s beautiful poem:
God speaks to each of us as [God] makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand. [1]
Truly compassionate, effective action means looking hard at both sides of life, and that look will drive you back to a God-centered, always daring, contemplative place—which in turn will drive you forward with a passion to do something about all of this pain according to your own gift. If your spiritual practice doesn’t lead you to some acts of concrete caring or service, then you have every reason not to trust it.
St. John Cassian (c. 360-435) called this pax perniciosa or “dangerous peace.” [2] We might also call it the Pax Romana, maintained by force and injustice, instead of the Pax Christi, which comes from love, operates in love, and leads to a love that flows toward the world. Love’s core characteristic is flow—always flowing outward!

 Gateway to Silence:
Be still and still moving
​R.Rohr
June 24, 2017

​. . . The present moment may be asking us, now and always, to embrace the power and wisdom of the margins—or, as writer-activist Teresa Pasquale Mateus says, to “center the margins.” For white people coming from privileged backgrounds, this may mean non-defensive, open-hearted listening to the marginalized life experiences of black and brown Americans. Once hearts are cracked open, for example, to hear the horror of African American experiences, first of slavery and lynching, and now of incarceration, the war on drugs, and gun violence, it becomes a transformative human response to affirm with weeping, prayer, solidarity, and action that black lives matter. Once hearts are cracked open to hear and honor immigrant and refugee stories, our hearts become broken at America’s long legacy of turning away or disenfranchising those who differ from the white mold. And, once hearts are broken, it ceases to become an ideology for people of privilege to stand with the marginalized. Solidarity with the different is transformed into simply a natural human response of compassion, reflecting our inherent, yet fragmented, oneness.
 
Gateway to Silence:
I am that which I am seeking.
R. Rohr
Bishop Bell ....... Padre on wheels!
http://ssje.org/ssje/2005/12/09/the-gift-of-joy/

The Gift of Joy – Br. Curtis AlmquistPosted on December 9, 2005 by Br. Curtis AlmquistRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your
gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not
worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4-7
This morning I made a quick scan of the front section of The Boston Globe and New York Times, and there’s a topic that gets no press. Not this morning. Probably not most mornings. That missing topic is “joy.” A good many of the other “spiritual gifts” get press on a fairly regular basis. Most every day there’s talk about love and peace, patience, discipline or self-control, hope and faith, healing and reconciliation… but when was the last time you had some conver­sation or read some newsworthy article about joy? My sense is that the theme of joy is something of a rare commodity. To have joy or – as we would say in slang – to do joy, is to rejoice. In our lesson just read, St. Paul commends us to “rejoice in the Lord always,” In case you didn’t hear him or didn’t believe him, he repeats himself: “again I say, Rejoice.” There’s something here that’s new and fresh to draw out of the treasury God’s provision: the gift of joy, to know the capacity to rejoice in life.
To rejoice is to have a deep sense of delight. The Greek word literally means “for the heart, in its deepest place of passion and feelings, to be well.” For the heart to feel very well. That’s what it is to have joy: to rejoice the heart. And why might it be – if you agree with me that this can be something of a rare commodity, an untapped spiritual gift – why is that so about this thing called joy? Why so rare? Well, several things have occurred to me.
Firstly, joy takes time. Joy is not fast food. Joy comes, I would say, as a by-product of living a savored life, of having time and taking time to “smell the flowers,” as we used to say. Joy needs time. There is this old monastic insight about living a joy-filled life. Take time, take at least some time each day, to do one thing at-a-time. Take time, take at least some time each day, if you are walking, just to walk. Take time, take at least some time, if you are looking to just look. If you are listening, just to listen. If you are sipping iced tea or watering the plants or petting the dog, to do just that. Do one thing at-a-time, and do that as often as you can. Take the time to let the fragrances and aromas of life penetrate to the deepest part of your being, where they can be savored.iI think we call this “being there.” I don’t think it has so much to do with the pace of life as much as it does with the intentionality with which we live our life. It’s to presume that each moment is pregnant with God’s real presence and provision and promise. Look for it; wait for it; savor it. Don’t just visit life; life needs time to be lived abundantly.
Secondly, it seems to me that joy requires acceptance. Joy requires our saying “yes” to life, to the life we’ve been given, to the hand we’ve been dealt. Probably many of us have woken up one day to discover that the script we’ve been handed in the play of life is not the part we thought we were trying out for. It seems to me that joy requires a deep willingness to accept how little of our life is actually within our own control. It’s an acknowledgment and an acceptance that God will be God: that it is God’s world on God’s time and that we are God’s creatures and that God is at work according to God’s good pleasure.iiJoy requires our saying yes to life – the life we live as individuals, as members of a family, as members of a parish, as members of various professional or volunteer circles. Joy presumes our living with an intentionality to accept the good gifts of life that actually are there, not to live life in a state of rejection or resentment for what is not there or no longer there. Life brings arrivals and changes and departures, and that’s life – the changes and chances of life.iii
To rejoice is to say yes to what is there. I would say that without that quality of acceptance of what is there, those unmet desires of the future will never become present, can never become present. Without that quality of acceptance and thankfulness, those unmet desires will always be elusive. In God’s good plan, there is a reason why today is not tomorrow. In some deep sense we need the provisions of today to prepare us to receive the promises of tomorrow. It seems to me that joy requires a posture of acceptance, of saying “yes” to life: not the life we could have had or feel we should have had, but of saying “yes” to God for the life that God has given us… which is the only place where there is life for us.
Thirdly, it seems to me that joy requires desire. I was talking with someone not long ago on this topic of joy. There was absolutely no joy in their life, they were saying. Well I asked them whether they wanted to know joy? – Well, they had never thought of it quite that way… about wanting to know joy. Do you want to be joyful? Joy is a gift, it’s a spiritual gift. And, generally speaking, if you want to receive a gift, don’t keep your hands in your pockets. Joy is a gift from God, and if you want to receive that gift, open your heart and open your hands to receive it. Ask God for the gift of joy. (I think it’s what we might call an “under-utilized petition.”) If you want the gift of joy, ask God for the gift.
And then, lastly, it seems to me that joy requires endurance. Particularly in the New Test­ament, so much of the writing about joy is in the context of suffering. Why is it that we hear so much about “the joy of the cross of Christ”?ivWhy is it with the annunciation to Mary and to Elizabeth, they first know fear and then they know joy? It’s the same with Joseph: first fear, then joy. And it’s the same with the shepherds: first fear, then joy. And much later, it’s the same with the women at the tomb joy comes out of fear, of all things?! Why is it that Jesus says in the beatitudes you are set up to be blessed when “people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and defame you on Jesus’ account? Rejoice in that day,” he says, “and leap for joy”?vHow curious. Why is it that Jesus says in John’s Gospel, “Very truly I tell you… you will have pain… but your pain will turn into joy”?viHow is it that St. Paul could write from prison to the Philippians, as he was about to be executed, commending us to “rejoice always ”?vii
That’s because there is some paradox here about joy. (Our English word “paradox” comes from the Greek, paradoxa: para = other; doxa = glory, “other glory”, i.e., God’s glory being manifest in a way other than we would have imagined.) It seems that there is some direct relationship between the depth of suffering and the height of joy. That the extent to which we have known suffering, so we can know joy. It doesn’t mean that we should go looking for suffering; there’s surely enough of it to go around without looking for it. Suffering has a way of finding us. (I think that has something to do with the cross of Christ….) Nor does it mean to deny suffering. It seems that there is some direct relationship between the depth of suffering and the height of joy. (It’s not a de jure principle: first you get suffering and then you get joy… like first you eat your vegetables and then you get dessert. No, it’s not a de jure principle. Rather I sense it’s simply de facto. It’s de facto: this seems to simply be the way it is. There is some­thing about our suffering in life – what we would not have chosen but cannot avoid – there is something about our suffering, when we say “yes” to God, when we show ourselves ready to bear our suffering before God, that opens the door for transformation, for consecration. The Psalmist writes, “Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.”viiiThere is something about facing the dark night that allows us to see the dawning of joy.
Back in my high school years I set off to be a competitive swimmer. Several weeks into my first season I was a broken man. I think every muscle in my body hurt. My neck hurt. My shoulders hurt. My arms hurt. My back hurt. My thighs hurt. My calves hurt. I was at my end and I was sure that I would fail and never make the team. And I remember, in my youthful deso­lation, pouring out my heart to one of the wise old men on the swim team – I think he was 18 years old. And I told him of the absolute despair of my heart and the pain of my body. I remem­ber that he listened patiently, and then he asked, “Do your feet hurt.” “What!?” I asked. He said again, “Do your feet hurt?” “Well,” I said, “no, at least my feet don’t hurt.” He said, “They will!” He said, “You’re getting in shape!” This is what it takes.” Well, I was in ecstasy. Every­thing still hurt in my body, but my heart soared to the heavens. I was right where I belonged. My suffering was not for naught. That this slight, momentary affliction was preparing me for something more and something wonderful.ixAnd I made it! I was suddenly full of ecstatic joy!
Joy is a mystery. It’s as mysterious as our suffering. And, I think, it’s as boundless as our suffering. Somehow, in God’s economy, the one is creating the space for the other. Do you recall Jesus’ parting prayer for us (for you!) in John’s Gospel: “Holy Father, protect them… that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. …Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.”x
Go ahead: “ do joy.” (Try it, you’ll like it!) And if you can’t do it, ask God for it. (It’s a gift God’s Spirit is waiting to give out.) And if you still cannot rejoice, if you can’t reach to receive the joy that is there waiting for you, ask for some help. Joy will not spare you of suffering, nor did it Jesus. We are not spared the cross; we’re shared the cross… but also the joy that follows. Joy will give you a place in your heart to be well, to be passionately alive, even amidst the changes and chances and sufferings of your life. If you know something already about suffering – and I would imagine that all of you, in your life and ministry, are very acquainted with suffering – then you are at least half-way there. You’re “set-ups” to unwrap the gift of joy. Truly. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace….”xi

Altar of Repose
Picture
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/04/03/presiding-bishop-michael-currys-easter-message-2017/
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Easter message 2017​
It’s taken me some years to realize it, but Jesus didn’t just happen to be in Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. He wasn’t on vacation. He wasn’t just hanging out in town. Jesus was in Jerusalem on purpose. He arrived in Jerusalem about the time of the Passover when pilgrims were in the city. When people’s hopes and expectations for the dawn of freedom that Moses had promised in the first Passover might suddenly be realized for them in their time.
Jesus arranged his entrance into Jerusalem to send a message. He entered the city, having come in on one side of the city, the scholars tell us, at just about the same time that Pontius Pilate made his entrance on the exact opposite side of the city. Pilate, coming forth on a warhorse. Pilate, with soldiers around him. Pilate, with the insignias of Rome’s Empire. Pilate, representing the Caesars who claimed to be son of god. Pilate, who had conquered through Rome the people of Jerusalem. Pilate, representing the Empire that had taken away their freedom. Pilate, who represented the Empire that would maintain the colonial status of the Jewish people by brute force and violence.
 Jesus entered the city on the other side, not on a warhorse, but on a donkey, recalling the words of Zechariah:
Behold your King comes to you
Triumphant and victorious is He
Humble and riding on a donkey
Jesus entered the city at the same time as Pilate to show them, and to show us, that God has another way. That violence is not the way. That hatred is not the way. That brute force and brutality are not the way.
Jesus came to show us there is another way. The way of unselfish, sacrificial love. That’s why he entered Jerusalem. That’s why he went to the cross. It was the power of that love poured out from the throne of God, that even after the horror of the crucifixion would raise him from death to life.
 God came among us in the person of Jesus to start a movement. A movement to change the face of the earth. A movement to change us who dwell upon the earth. A movement to change the creation from the nightmare that is often made of it into the dream that God intends for it.
He didn’t just happen to be in Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday. He went to Jerusalem for a reason. To send a message. That not even the titanic powers of death can stop the love of God.  On that Easter morning, he rose from the dead, and proclaimed love wins.
 So you have a blessed Easter. Go forth to be people of the Resurrection. Follow in the way of Jesus. Don’t be ashamed to love. Don’t be ashamed to follow Jesus.
Have a blessed Easter.  And bless the world.  Amen.
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

March 7, 2017
​Confessions heard every Tuesday 5:15-6:15 pm in Jackson Chapel during Lent
March 5, 2017
What a start to our 40 cans for 40 days first Sunday of Lent! One hundred fifty-three food items were donated and will be taken to Helping Hand food bank. The shopping cart, filled to overflowing, was brought to the alter as part of the Offertory.
Curry, Jennings take lead in Supreme Court brief on transgender-bathroom policyEpiscopal presiding officers say church supports transgender equality because of Christian faithBy Mary Frances Schjonberg | March 2, 2017 24 Comments |[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings are the lead signers on an amicus brief filed March 2 by 1,800 clergy and religious leaders in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving transgender-bathroom use policies.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, shown here at the Executive Council’s October 2016 meeting, say they anchored their decision to be the lead signers on a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief in the theological understanding that all people are created in the image of God and thus entitled to equal protection under the law. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service
The “friend of the court” brief comes in the case of G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, which the American Civil Liberties Union and its Virginia chapter filed on behalf of Gavin Grimm and his mother, Deirdre Grimm, in June 2015.
The signers urge the high court to see that the ability to live in a country that guarantees transgender equality is a religious freedom issue. They said their faith communities have approached issues related to gender identity in different ways, but are “united in believing that the fundamental human dignity shared by all persons requires treating transgender students like Respondent Gavin Grimm in a manner consistent with their gender identity.”
The signers urged the court to address the civil rights of transgender persons according to religiously neutral constitutional principles of equal protection under the law. Doing so, they said, “will not impinge upon religious belief, doctrine, or practice” and instead will adhere to the Constitution’s prohibition against favoring one religious viewpoint over any others.
Curry anchored his support of the brief in Genesis 1:26-27, which declares that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God.
“This divine decree proclaims the inherent sacredness, dignity, worth, and equality of every human person, by virtue of their creation imago Dei,” he said. “The way of love for God and our neighbor that Jesus taught is the way to honor the sacredness, dignity and worth and equality of each person. For this reason, we work for the equality and dignity of transgender people, who, like the rest of us, are created in God’s image and likeness.”
Jennings said Jesus tells his followers to love God and love their neighbor as themselves. “And, he tells us not to be afraid. The Episcopal Church affirms the victory of love over fear by supporting local, state and federal laws that prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression,” she said.
That support dates at least to General Convention’s 2009 meeting, when bishops and deputies passed Resolution D012 opposing laws that discriminate against people based on their gender identity. It was in that vein that the Church’s Executive Council said in June 2016 that it opposed North Carolina’s “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act,” as well as “all legislation, rhetoric and policy rooted in the fear-based argument that protecting transgender people’s civil rights in the form of equal access to public accommodation puts other groups at risk.”
Jennings noted that the last resolve of council’s resolution (AN014 on page 8 here) encourages Episcopalians to work against legislation that discriminates against transgender people and for legislation that prevents such discrimination, and to communicate the church’s position to courts, policymakers and others across the United States.
“For the two of us to sign this amicus brief, that’s not a leap at all,” Jennings said. “We’ve already said as a church that’s what you do.”
The outline of the case
The case took shape in 2014 after Grimm and his mother told school administrators of his male gender identity at the beginning of his sophomore year. With their permission, he used the boys’ restroom for almost two months without any incident, according to the original complaint. However, some parents and other Gloucester County residents objected, prompting the school board to adopt a policy that limited students’ bathroom use to the one of “the corresponding biological genders” or “an alternative appropriate private facility.”
The complaint said the policy stigmatizes Grimm, who is now 18 and will graduate this year. He is the only student in the high school using the private bathroom and this practice marks him as different, isolates him and exposes him to “serious psychological harm,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit argues the bathroom policy is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, and violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools.
ACLU attorneys asked the district state court for preliminary injunction in time for Gavin to be able to use the same restroom as other boys when classes resumed for the 2015-16 school year. The district court denied the request and dismissed the Title IX claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned the lower court in August.
The Gloucester County School Board successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling is on hold, pending the higher court’s ruling.
The case was complicated on Feb. 22 when President Donald Trump revoked the Obama administration’s interpretation that Title IX required schools to “treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity.” The next day the Supreme Court asked the main parties for their views on how the case should proceed. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals relied heavily on that guidance in its ruling.
Attorneys for Grimm on March 1 urged the justices to proceed with the current schedule for March 28 oral argument. The school board suggested putting off the case at least until April to allow the federal government to weigh in, SCOTUSblog reported.
Religious freedom for all
Religious freedom is a main concern in the amicus brief. Permitting religiously based anti-transgender types of laws would enshrine religious beliefs in the country’s law and implicitly favor religious viewpoints that reject the existence of transgender persons over those who embrace such persons’ existence and dignity, the signers said.
“The First Amendment forbids both forms of religious favoritism,” they said.
“Here, a public school student who happens to be a transgender boy seeks no more than to use the same toilet facilities as every other boy in his school,” they said at the conclusion of the brief. “Forcing him instead to use stigmatizing separate facilities humiliates him for no apparent reason other than to appease religious views denying the existence of his gender identity.”
The signers said that causing Grimm such harm is inconsistent with their belief “as a matter of law, religious faith, and fundamental decency – that transgender students should be treated with equal dignity and respect.”
Jennings said the opposing claims of religious freedom were at the heart of hers and the presiding bishop’s interest in joining the brief. “We oppose all legislation that seeks to deny the God-given dignity, legal equality, and civil rights of transgender people,” she said. “We support transgender equality not in spite of our Christian faith, but because of it.”
Jennings said the brief very clearly says that religious freedom belongs to all Americans, not just one group’s theology.
Curry and Jennings have acted on Executive Council’s admonition to confront discriminatory laws before. Shortly after council acted in June, Curry and Jennings wrote to the Episcopal Church explaining their opposition to the North Carolina bill and saying that they had written to the state’s governor and members of the state’s General Assembly, calling on them to repeal the bill.
Last month, they wrote to the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives to praise his opposition to a “bathroom bill” in that state.
This is the second time in two years that Jennings has taken the lead in filing amici briefs with the Supreme Court. In April 2015, she was a lead signer on an amicus brief filed by nearly 2,000 individual lay and ordained religious leaders in the Supreme Court case on same-sex marriage known as Obergefell v. Hodges and Consolidated Cases.
More information about the Gloucester County School Board suit, including legal filings, is here.
– The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is senior editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service.
World Day of Prayer

FRIDAY, MARCH 3 1:00 PM
HOSTED BY THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
215 N MAIN ST., PENDLETON OR

​This Friday is the World Day of Prayer, a day dedicated to prayer by and for women around the world. This year's service was written by the women of the Philippines, and will be held at First Christian Church at 1:00pm.
​

19 things to give up for Lent that aren't chocolate
Monsignor Keith Derouen, Ponder These Things Published 2:06 p.m. CT Feb. 16, 2017 | Updated 10:15 a.m. CT Feb. 24, 2017
Two years ago someone sent me 19 suggestions regarding Lenten penances. With Lent right around the corner, I thought I would offer them again to you readers....
I published them again in our Queen of Angels Church bulletin, but someone from Lawtell suggested I put the list of 19 things in the paper. So here they are:
19 things you might consider giving up this Lent and beyond:
1. Fear: God is on my side. In Him I am more than a conqueror. (See Romans 98)
2. The need to please everyone: I can’t please everyone anyway. There is only one I need to strive to please.
3. Envy: I am blessed. My value is not found in my possessions, but in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
4. Impatience: God’s timing is the perfect timing.
5. Sense of entitlement: The world does not owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I live in humility and grace.
6. Bitterness and Resentment: The only person I am hurting by holding onto these is myself.
7. Blame: I am not going to pass the buck. I will take responsibility for my actions.
8. Gossip and Negativity: I will put the best construction on everything when it comes to other people. I will also minimize my contact with people who are negative and toxic and bring other people down.
9. Comparison: I have my own unique contribution to make and there is no one else like me.
10. Fear of failure: You don’t succeed without experiencing failure. Just make sure you fall forward.
11. A spirit of poverty: Believe with God that there is always more than enough and never a lack.
12. Feelings of unworthiness: You are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator. (see Psalm 139)
13. Doubt: Believe God has a plan for you that is beyond anything you could imagine. The future is brighter than you could ever realize.
14. Self-pity: God comforts us in our sorrow so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
15. Retirement: As long as you are still breathing, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose to influence others for Christ. That does not come to an end until the day we die.
16. Excuses: A wise man once said, if you need an excuse, any excuse will do.
17. Lack of counsel: Wise decisions are rarely made in a vacuum.
18. Pride: Blessed are the humble.
19. Worry: God is in control and worrying will not help.
http://www.lentmadness.org/
​About Lent Madness
Lent Madness began in 2010 as the brainchild of the Rev. Tim Schenck. In seeking a fun, engaging way for people to learn about the men and women comprising the Church’s Calendar of Saints, Tim came up with this unique Lenten devotion. Combining his love of sports with his passion for the lives of the saints, Lent Madness was born on his blog “Clergy Family Confidential” which has subsequently moved locations and become “Clergy Confidential.”
The format is straightforward: 32 saints are placed into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. Each pairing remains open for a set period of time and people vote for their favorite saint. 16 saints make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen; eight advance to the Round of the Elate Eight; four make it to the Faithful Four; two to the Championship; and the winner is awarded the coveted Golden Halo. The first round consists of basic biographical information about each of the 32 saints. Things get a bit more interesting in the subsequent rounds as we offer quotes and quirks, explore legends, and even move ino the area of saintly kitsch. If you’re not sure about terminology, check out our glossary. It’s free!

Bracket 2017
Check out the 2017 bracket, and then come here every day of Lent to keep up with your favorite saint. Clicking on the bracket will bring up a larger, printable, more readable one, or you can download a PDF version. You also can buy your very own Giant Bracket Poster from Forward Movement! Get one for everyone in your church and everyone on your street!

February 9, 2017
Countering Religious Extremism: A Conversation with Michael B. Curry
http://www.cfr.org/radicalization-and-extremism/countering-religious-extremism-conversation-michael-b-curry/p38729
February 8, 2017
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​As some of you may know, Patrick Cahill is now at Marine boot camp in San Diego. He can now receive letters. The Marines will not allow care packages (no food, candy etc.....they are feeding him three squares a day) :) Letters will find Patrick at the following address: RTC Patrick Cahill , 3rd BN Kilo Co PLT 3221, 38990 Midway Ave., San Diego, CA 92140-3221
29 January 2017
​Redeemer's annual meeting --  well done everyone!
​Presiding Bishop: “I ask President Trump to continue the powerful work of our refugee resettlement program without interruption’
| January 25, 2017
|[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has released the following statement.

Mark 12:31: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Leviticus 19:34: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”
Numbers 15:15:  One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 10:19: “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
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On Saturday, the Washington National Cathedral hosted the National Prayer Service for the President, Vice-President, their families, and those who will be taking on the grave responsibility nominated to cabinet posts. Religious leaders from many traditions joined their voices in prayer and song, and while we shared our most sacred scriptures, we prayed for wisdom for all those who serve our nation. I affirm those prayers,and ask that our leaders listen to the powerful call to serve those who are most vulnerable in continuing to welcome refugees from around the world.
As Christians, we are asked to pray: for our leaders, for our loved ones, for our enemies, and for those who are suffering. Our work does not end with prayer: we also offer assistance to those who are fleeing persecution. We find homes for those who have been forced out of their homes. We feed those who are hungry. The refugees who enter the United States do so after experiencing violence and persecution undeserved of any human being, and they come to the U.S. with hopes to build new lives.
Refugee resettlement is a form of ministry, and one that we, and many other churches and faith-based organizations, cherish. The work of Episcopal Migration Ministries is God’s work, and we show the face of God through the care and compassion in that work. I ask President Trump to continue the powerful work of our refugee resettlement program without interruption, recognizing the long wait and screening process that means refugees wait months and sometimes years to enter the country. We ask that we continue to accept as many refugees as we have in the past, recognizing the need is greater than ever. We ask that refugees from all countries receive consideration to come to the U.S. and not to ban those who come from countries most in need of our assistance.
Our Book of Common Prayer asks for God to “look with compassion on the whole human family;” to “break down the walls that separate us and unite us in bonds of love.” On Saturday, we prayed for God our Father to look with compassion upon the widowed and orphans, outcasts and refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger. We pray to love one another as God loves us. I echo that prayer now and ask that we may work together to build a more grace and compassion-filled world.
  ​Join us for your Annual Meeting --  January 29, 2017! The meeting will begin immediately after church services.              ​
REMEMBER TO SIGN UP FOR THE POTLUCK WE HAVE DURING THE MEETING!
 
Unity prayers to recall the Reformation and celebrate reconciliation

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated worldwide from 18-25 January, will be hosted this year by the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland / ACK). As 2017 marks the commemoration of the Reformation, the week of prayer will reflect on the legacy of the Reformation and the current spirit of reconciliation in Christ.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated worldwide, traditionally from 18-25 January in the northern hemisphere – between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul – or at Pentecost (a symbolic date for unity) in the global south. During the week, Christians come together, in special ecumenical celebrations and services, recalling Jesus’s prayer that “they may all be one so that the world may believe” (John 17:21) and experience in praxis unity in diversity.
This year one of the many ecumenical prayer services taking place worldwide for the Week of Prayer will be held in Wittenberg, Germany – a town with a history and heritage identified with Martin Luther and the Reformation. It was there that Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses denouncing church corruption to the side door of the Castle Church, which still stands not only as a place of worship but as a memorial of Reformation.
“For Christians in Germany and all over the world, the theme Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us (2 Corinthians 5:14-20) can be considered both a calling and an opportunity for reconciliation”, the Revd Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of Faith and Order, said, “a chance to break historical walls that separate churches and congregations from each other, during times that require healing and recovering hope”.
For Worship and Background material for the 2017 Week of Payer for Christian Unity, go to http://tinyurl.com/zk96nay. For the link to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on FaceBook, go to http://tinyurl.com/gv88oze.
From the Bishop                                                                                        January 18, 2017

Grace and peace to you in this Epiphany season, and in the early days of a new year.
 
You will be receiving this edition of Connections during a time when TinaMarie and I are attending the College of Bishops meeting in Richmond, Virginia. This is the orientation for new Bishops and spouses which we were scheduled to attend last year, but that one was cancelled due to winter storms plaguing the East. We in the Northwest region are knowing something of that disruption this year, are we not? With that in mind, let us continue to hold one another in prayer as we face significant threat of harm to persons and places from snow, cold, and floods. We definitely will need to stand together as we live through this record breaking season.
 
I want to say more about standing together as it relates to the national scene. And how that relates as well to our common prayers.
 
A phenomenon is occurring within our Episcopal church, and I suspect by extension to many other religious traditions, the likes of which I do not remember happening before. There is significant push back in some quarters against including prayers for the incoming President within the weekly Prayers of the People. While I can appreciate the significant concerns some may have about comments and positions taken by the President-Elect, I am firmly convinced that my responsibility, and that of the larger faith community, is to pray for him and all people in leadership of this nation, and all people in leadership positions.
 
I remember back a number of years during the time I served a Parish in Idaho situated close to the border with Washington State that I added within our prayers intercessions for both state governors, for we had Parishioners from both states. One of our members approached me, irate that we would pray for a governor of "that other party" with whom this person had great disagreement. I responded that, while I recognized the deep passions we all may exhibit when it comes to politics, our prayers are non-partisan. I experienced this from another prejudicial position when one of our lay readers, entrenched in a traditional view of the church, refused to offer within our weekly gathering prayers for the Presiding Bishop of our church, because at that time the position was occupied by a woman. That was not a practice I would condone nor allow to continue, for our prayers must extend beyond all personal biases.
 
And so I bring this to you, with the hope we might stand united in our practice and be of one mind: if we are to practice the kind of hospitality of spirit that Jesus displayed, and if we are to be true to the radical nature of a Christ filled life, we will pray for all of our local, state, and national leaders with a fervor that seeks the common good and hopes for the best in all. Genuine, spirit-led prayer does not compromise our personal beliefs, but in truth validates them. No matter for whom those prayers are offered.
 
My love to you all, as I hold you deeply in my prayers.
 
+ Pat

Statement of Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Curry regarding prayers for the President
January 12, 2017
The following is a statement from Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael B. Curry.
This past week, Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States, in the tradition of Presidents dating back to George Washington, gave his farewell address to the nation. Next week Donald J. Trump, in the same tradition of this country, will take the oath of office and be inaugurated as the 45th President.  
We recognize that this election has been contentious, and the Episcopal Church, like our nation, has expressed a diversity of views, some of which have been born in deep pain.
There has been much discussion, and some controversy, about the appropriateness of the Washington National Cathedral hosting the Inaugural Prayer Service this year, and of church choirs singing at inaugural events.
Underneath the variety of questions and concerns are some basic Christian questions about prayer: when I pray for our leaders, why am I doing so?  Should I pray for a leader I disagree with? When I pray what do I think I am accomplishing? 
On one level these questions seem inconsequential and innocuous. But real prayer is not innocuous. It is powerful. That question can become poignant and even painful as it is for many in this moment, given that some of the values that many of us heard expressed over the past year have seemed to be in contradiction to deeply-held Christian convictions of love, compassion, and human dignity.
So, should we pray for the President?
We can and, indeed, I believe we must pray for all who lead in our civic order, nationally and internationally. I pray for the President in part because Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord.  If Jesus is my Lord and the model and guide for my life, his way must be my way, however difficult. And the way prayer for others is a part of how I follow the way of Jesus.
This practice of praying for leaders is deep in our biblical and Anglican/Episcopalian traditions. Psalm 72 prays that the ancient Israelite king might rule in the ways of God’s justice, defending “the cause of the poor,” bringing “deliverance to the needy.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 encourages followers of Jesus to pray earnestly for those in leadership, that they may lead in ways that serve the common good.  Even in the most extreme case, Jesus himself said, while dying on the cross, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing,” was praying for Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Rome who ordered his execution, and for all who were complicit in it.
In this spirit, the Prayer Books of the Anglican/Episcopal way have always included prayer for those “who bear the authority of government,” praying in a variety of ways that they may lead in the ways of God’s wisdom, justice and truth. When we pray for Donald, Barack, George, Bill, George, or Jimmy, Presidents of the United States, we pray for their well-being, for they too are children of God, but we also pray for their leadership in our society and world. We pray that they will lead in the ways of justice and truth. We pray that their leadership will truly serve not partisan interest but the common good. When we pray for them, we are actually praying for our nation, for our world, indeed we are praying for ourselves. 
Prayer is not a simplistic cheer or declaration of support. Prayers of lament cry out in pain and cry for justice. Prayer can celebrate. Prayer can also ask God to intervene and change the course of history, to change someone's mind, or his or her heart.  When we pray for our enemies, we may find that we are simultaneously emboldened to stand for justice while we are also less able to demonize another human being.
Real prayer is both contemplative and active. It involves a contemplative conversation with and listening to God, and an active following of the way of Jesus, serving and witnessing in the world in his Name. For those who follow the way of Jesus, the active side of our life of prayer seeks to live out and help our society live out what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” So we work for a good and just, humane and loving society. We participate as followers of Jesus in the life of our government and society, caring for each other and others, and working for policies and laws that reflect the values and teachings of Jesus to “love your neighbor,” to “do unto others as you who have them do unto you,” to fashion a civic order that reflects the goodness, the justice, the compassion that we see in the face of Jesus, that we know to reflect the very heart and dream of God for all of God’s children and God’s creation.
I grew up in a historically black congregation in the Episcopal Church. We prayed for leaders who were often lukewarm or even opposed to our very civil rights. We got on our knees in church and prayed for them, and then we got up off our knees and we Marched on Washington. Following the way of Jesus, we prayed and protested at the same time. We prayed for our leaders who were fighting for our civil rights, we prayed for those with whom we disagreed, and we even prayed for those who hated us. And we did so following the Jesus, whose way is the way of unselfish, sacrificial love. And that way is the way that can set us all free.
As we celebrate the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we may find guidance in his words, spoken during one of the most painful and difficult struggles in the Civil Rights Movement. He asked that all participants live by a set of principles. The first principle read: “As you prepare to march, meditate on the life and teachings of Jesus.”
Should we pray for the President?
Yes!

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
​Greening of the Church
Dear Ones:
Help the Church prepare for the Birth of Jesus
 This Sunday, December 18, is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It’s also the last Sunday before Christmas. This is our opportunity to have the
church looking its festive best for Christmas Eve and the Birth of the Christ Child.
 After the 9:00 am church service on the 18th we will help the Altar Guild put up our decorations. As with most things, many hands make light work, and your hands will help. We even have jobs for little ones.
 Refreshments will be provided, so come out and help decorate God’s house!
​Redeemer's first annual Thanksgiving celebration feast.  November 24, 2016
​Please make plans to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24th from 3 - 5 pm. If you plan to attend, please call Shirley Moll 276-3663 or David Silva 276-6370 so we have an accurate count for food prep. ​
Picture
The newest little saint was baptized at Redeemer this morning. November 6, 2016

Rev. Charlotte and a few members of Redeemer are attending this week's Diocesan Convention at Ascension School in Cove. The picture on the far right is of Bobby Fossek, who conducted a workshop on diversity. He shared how he uses his heritage from the confederated Tribes to return native plants to the region to restore soul and waterways. 
 
A few pictures from the potluck and Bishop Bell's visit. Thank you Kathy McCoy for taking the pictures. It was a festive weekend! To see the entire photo album, go to Church of Redeemer Facebook page.  

September 24, 25, 2016
From Friday's East Oregonian newspaper (September 16, 2016)
September 15, 2016
Church of the Redeemer stepped up to feed the hungry during Round Up on Thursday. The sack lunches made at the church were taken to Stillman Park and distributed to those in need.

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September 13, 2016
Don't forget about the parish potluck on September 24th at 5:30 pm! Come enjoy good food and good company.  
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September 7, 2016
Immediately following  church services on Sunday, September 11, 2016, there will be a Liturgical Committee meeting to plan for Bishop Bell's visit.
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​Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Election Message 
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/presiding-bishop-michael-curry-election-message/
​
 August 22, 2016 / Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Election Message
This November we will gather together as a nation to vote not only to elect a new president but to elect governmental leaders on a variety of levels.
We are blessed.  We are blessed as a nation to be able to do so as citizens of this country.  This is a right, an obligation, and a duty.  And indeed the right and the privilege to be able to vote is something that was won through an American revolution.  Something that was won even more through civil rights and women’s suffrage.  A right and a privilege that was won for all.  So I encourage you to please go and vote.  Vote your conscience.  Vote your perspective.  But vote.
But it’s not just simply a civil obligation and duty.  Voting and participation in our government is a way of participating in our common life.  And that is a Christian obligation.  Indeed, we who follow in the Way of Jesus of Nazareth are summoned to participate actively as reflections of our faith in the civil process.
In the thirteenth chapter of Romans, sometimes a chapter that is debated among scholars and among Christians, St. Paul reminds us that we have a duty and an obligation to participate in the process of government, “For that is how our common life is ordered and structured.”  And at one point he actually says, “For the same reason,” going on, he’s expanding, he says, “For the same reason you also pay taxes for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with everything.”  That’s probably very true.  “Pay to all them that is due them.  Taxes to whom taxes are due.  Revenue to whom revenue is due.  Respect to whom respect is due.  Honor to whom honor is due.”  Now he’s talking about the role of government as helping to order our common life.  But here’s what I want you to really hear.  He continues and says:
“So owe no-one anything except to love one another.  For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments ‘You shall not commit adultery’, ‘You shall not murder’, ‘You shall not steal’, ‘You shall not covet’, any other commandment, they are all summed up in this word:  ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’.  Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
For St. Paul, the way of love, the love of neighbor, is the fulfilling not only of the moral law of God, but the way to fulfill the civil law.
Go and vote.  Vote your conscience.  Your conscience informed by what it means to love your neighbor.  To participate in the process of seeking the common good.  To participate in the process of making this a better world.  However you vote, go and vote.  And do that as a follower of Jesus.
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church