2007 Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called Rogation Sunday

Today was the Fifth Sunday after Easter. The weather in Alpine was very nice with high thin scattered clouds, although it was overcast down the hill. The nice weather brought out a total of 23 attendees, even though several of our parishioners were on travel.

The entire congregation seemed to be suffering from CRS today. The Beadle forgot and put books on the Lanes’ chairs, the Under Beadle taped the hymn board backwards, we forgot to get the organ for Marianne and Father Acker forgot to close the stage curtains, and that is just what we remembered we forgot.

For this Thirty-Fifth and final initial Confirmation Reception class, Father Acker covered the mechanics of the Confirmation and Reception ceremony. Bishop Boyce was given his apostolic authority through a “Laying on of Hands” much like that he will be doing with us next week. The Bishop who laid hands on him was given his apostolic authority through a “Laying on of Hands” from a Bishop who was given his apostolic authority through a “Laying on of Hands”, so on and so forth directly back to the Apostles, who themselves got their authority from Jesus.

The confirmation and reception portion of the service will take place after the Gospel and should be a few minutes. The laying on of hands will be done individually at the front of the church. The Bishop will be sitting and those to be confirmed will knee before him to allow him to lay hands upon them.

During the ceremony, persons to be confirmed will reaffirm and accept their baptismal vows as full members of the church. The Bishop will accept their confirmation and commission them into the church to perform ministry and witness. It is a dual purpose event. Those received into the church will receive their commission having already confirmed their baptismal vows.

Today was also Rogation Sunday. This Sunday was originally so called because of the words in the Prayer Book gospel for the day: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give to you". (The Latin is 'Rogare' - to ask.) In the strictly biblical context, the chief thing to ask for is the spirit of God to enable us to be true children of God.

In the Western Church, processions to bless the crops and to include "beating the bounds", developed from the o1d Roman rites of "Robigalia" ("robigo": Latin for "rust" or "mould"), when prayers would be offered to the deity for crops to be spared from mildew.

Today the emphasis has shifted. A blessing on growing crops in fields and gardens, and on young lambs and calves remain. In the agricultural cycle, the main themes are seed sowing and the tending of the young plants and animals. This does not pre-suppose that all sowing takes place around Rogation. Sowing is done all the year round, as is the birth and rearing of the young, but it is convenient to fix on one particular festival as the time to remember these before God in a public way.

Rogation takes place in the springtime, when there is a renewing of the earth. In this country, it follows Easter, the season of resurrection. Renewal and resurrection therefore are also underlying themes of this occasion.

Dru Arnold read today’s Epistle, which came from the First Chapter of the Book of Saint James beginning at the Twenty-Second Verse. Saint James tells us “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

St. James reminds us we not only must:
¬ Talk the Talk;
but
¬ Walk the Walk.

We do not gain eternal life and salvation by our good works here on earth, but only by the Grace of God, through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Christ our sins are atoned for that we might go to heaven. True enough, but we demonstrate our attempt to follow his instructions by our works here on earth.

 Today’s Gospel started in the Twenty-Sixth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the Twenty-Third Verse. Jesus said to his disciples, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

He told us not to ask Him to pray to the Father, but rather that we pray directly to the Father, asking for what we will in His name, “for the Father loveth you, because ye have loved me.” This explains why many of our prayers end in, “we ask all this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” or similar words.

Sermon - For the Love of God
“Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be!” And, perhaps it never was.

On this Mother’s Day, it is very easy for us to look back at our mother’s life and think of all the things we like about our mother. We like, it is all about us. Yet motherhood is about self-sacrifice. Putting the child’s welfare above that of the mother.

The love of the mother for her children comes with a price. The price paid is not without return. Most young soldiers who die in battle, die with a call to their mother on their lips.

“Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be!”

A bishop looking back commented: “It used to be that Christmas and the celebration of the birth of the Child Christ also had an implicit celebration of and reverence for Motherhood. Today it’s all about boxes, wrapping paper and expensive gifts, while radicals aggressively seek to destroy the very idea of Christmas itself.”

“What do we choose today? An extra child or an extra home or trailer?”

Jesus commanded us to follow Him, He who put our lives before His. Who on this earth does this more consistently than mothers?

Saint James tells us in today’s Epistle, “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” Who on this earth does this more consistently than mothers?

As Christians we need to uphold and recognize the example of sacrifice both in motherhood, but that we might understand the sacrifice made by God on our behalf in Jesus’ death for our sin.

Teaching Christian understanding of motherhood also requires that we make a concerted effort to promote responsible fatherhood and fidelity in marriage. To teach that sexuality is a sacred trust, not a hedonistic pleasure, and that failure has cascading consequences which affect many lives.

But we should remember the self-sacrifices and see God’s hand in our mothers.
 
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Today we had no reported birthdays or anniversaries.

After Church Hospitality
Patti Jones brought the goodies today, of which there are no photographs, but fond memories. Deviled eggs and cinnamon cake lead the Beadle’s favorites. There were also reported to be savory tarts, other cakes and grapes. But, your Beadle was stuck on the deviled eggs and cinnamon cake. Coffee was brewed and dispensed by barrista Don Patton for Tim’s House of Coffee, as Command Master Chief Brewer Macauley was again on travel. For some reason, although Don is not a coffee drinker, his coffee is always superb. Father Acker made his customary low carb lemonade, which was much appreciated by your Beadle.

Travel
Betsy and Marianne are on travel the next two weeks.
Ben and Holly and their daughter Ashley are on travel.
The Command Master Chief Brewer and Jan are on travel.
Muriel is on travel.
Donna and Hamish are on travel.

Sick or in need of healing
Betty Cooke
Muriel Pappin

Lona Walsh (Wanda Michaelis' mother) surgery has been put off.

Miney Farrell is doing well. She asks your prayers for Bertha Rose’s balance problems which are compounded by her blindness.

Barbara Emrich was enjoying the warm day on Friday of this last week and hearing about the Easter service.

Evelyn Hunt is recovering from being in the hospital for severe back pain. She is at home, but not able to drive to see Gene who said, “No use complaining.”

Lorraine Winkles thinks she is having some improvement. She’s been down with this very painful version of chicken pox since Christmas.

Donna Dingwall is doing quite a bit better. She had a great time on the cruise with her family. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Back Door Lending Library
The Back Door Lending Library is happy to announce the availability of Amazing Grace books of several flavors, in addition, there are still several sets of the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, as well as some background books on the series. There are plenty of sets, so don’t be shy.

There are also Annotated Holy Communion Books. These books have the Prayer Book Holy Communion service on the left page and an explanation on the right page. They are a great way to learn about the service. Pick one up when you come in and use it for the service, if you like.

The Lending Library is a resource you need to use. Most of the books are short, understandable, but very powerful. Also, if you have any books you would like share, please bring them in.

Personal 1928 Books of Common Prayer
While not strictly part of the Front Door Lending Library, we have some personal 1928 Prayer Books. A church in Florida disposed of a nice quantity of personal hardback 1928 BCPs in excellent to new condition, which we were lucky enough to acquire. There are some on the Front Table. We have plenty, although we only put out a half dozen at a time. They are yours to take home as your very own. The only thing the parish asks is that if you ever go to the dark side, please return it. Otherwise, it is yours forever.

Question that only you can ask
What would you like to know about our history, what we believe, what we do or how we operate? Father Acker is looking for material for the Catechism class and the Beadle is looking for Thought for the Day material. Help us help you. Please send your question to the Beadle so we all can get an answer. Just because you don’t know the answer to your question doesn’t mean you are the only one who doesn’t know. But, if you don’t ask, no one will know.

Bumper or Window Stickers
The church’s stickers are finally in. You can get them from the front door table or the Lending Library table, or ask Father Acker or the Beadle. If you are a long distance reader, you can request one from Father Acker or the Beadle.

Church Patches
The parish patches are in. They are embroidered, four inch and round. They are available either Velcro backed or plain. The plain are designed to be sewn on, the Velcro backed are designed to be stuck to furry Velcro patches sewn to the garment or whatever.

Opportunity to help the parish
The Vestry identified items that the parish now needs that were not in this year’s budget:

Trailer – Our parish’s worldly possessions, while small by church standards, are getting pretty big by Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla and Scion Xa standards and that is how they get to church. Plus, the constant double loading and unloading is taking a toll on the equipment. The church would like to buy a single axle 6X12 covered utility trailer with a side door and a V nose, along the lines of a Wells Cargo, to use a brand name you may be familiar with. We are looking for people to donate towards that end. If you would like to donate, you can write a check, or just add a bit to your normal contribution and put a note in the memo area.

Signs – Our Sunday morning signs have become quite worn. We are looking to get a set of new signs to match our bumper sticker and advertisements in the Alpine Sun, with snap on lower panels for times and special announcements. We are looking for people to donate towards that end. If you would like to donate, you can write a check, or just add a bit to your normal contribution and put a note in the memo area.

Advertisement – If you pick up the Alpine Sun, you will find a half page advertisement; at the suggestion and with the financial support of Muriel Pappin and a few others, we have committed to two months advertising to see if it has any positive effect. The advertisement follows the general layout of our bumper sticker and patches for “brand recognition.” If you would like to donate, you can write a check, or just add a bit to your normal contribution and put a note in the memo area.

Coming Up Next Week – Bishops Visit and Second Annual Beadle’s Party
Bishop and Mrs. Boyce will be with us on 20 May 2007 for both Confirmation and Reception. Afterwards, they will be joining us for the Second Annual Beadle’s Barbeque at the Arnolds’. Confirmation is a very significant milestone in our spiritual lives, as is the Reception into the Church, for those confirmed. We are expecting a big turnout as those who are confirmed bring family and friends.

As those who attended the First Annual Beadle’s Barbeque can attest to, the Beadle’s Barbeque is not an event to be missed.

A Beadle’s Party (in this case really a Chuck Wagon BBQ, less the “Crusty Chuck Wagon Cook”) is traditionally held to allow church members to better get to know one another to help us work together to spread the Word of our Lord. These are very informal events, but always a lot of fun. All members are not only invited, but really encouraged, to come. Please bring your families and guests who might be interested in getting to know our Church.

The new T-Shirts will be the UOD (Uniform of the Day) for the Bishop’s service on 20 May 2007, as well as for the Beadle’s Party.

We would like you to join us after Church, but if you are going to miss Church for one reason or another, we would still like you to join us!

2007 T-Shirts
This year’s T-Shirts are in. We started handing them out today. As you can see, they have the quote from John Newton on the back. In addition to the church’s traditional green, there were two other colors. If you wanted one of the other colors, you should have gotten to church early on Sunday. Now there is just green and a couple of pink (salmon for Ben) shirts available.



The T-Shirts will be the UOD (Uniform of the Day) for the Bishop’s service on 20 May 2007, as well as for the Beadle’s Party.

Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the first Sunday after the Ascension. The pre-service class and sermon are up for grabs with the Bishop in town. Who knows where it will lead? The short answer is to confirmation, reception and a great party. But, unless you come to the service, you will have to wait until you read the Beadle’s Report to find out.

The new T-Shirts will be the UOD (Uniform of the Day) for the Bishop’s service on 20 May 2007, as well as for the Beadle’s Party.

This will be a great Sunday, do not miss it.

See you next week on Sunday!

Father Acker posts a .pdf version of the current Beadle’s Report on the church website:

http://alpineanglican.com/BeadleReports.htm

An alternative version of the Beadle’s Report without photographs is available at:

http://web.mac.com/thebeadle/iWeb/BeadleBlog/Blog/Blog.html

All back issues of the Beadle’s Reports are available on request from:

thebeadle@mac.com