The Sunday after Ascension Day

Today was the Sunday after Ascension Day.  After last week’s moderate Santa Ana, we were back weather that is fairly normal for this time of year. The sunrise temperature on Mount Olympus was 42°F, by the time church ended the mercury had climbed to 76°F. With several of our members on travel or working, but with the Free Teen Guitar Class playing, we ended up with 31 people present for the service.

Free Teen Guitar Class - FTGC
Today was the first Sunday of the month, the Sunday that Father Acker’s Free Teen Guitar Class provides all the music. The FTGC had great participation, with one brand new member, Manuel Pineda making his first appearance. With him were his parents, Brenda and Shane. For the first time ever, the music started on time and also for the first time ever, we ran out of music stands. The kids did a really great job on a wide variety of songs.

The FTGC has their first Summer in the Park Concert coming up Sunday 29 June 2008 at the Alpine Community Park. It is going to be a great time, make sure you block out that late afternoon. The concerts typically start about 1700 (5:00 pm) and the FTGC is the warm-up band, so they lead off. For more information, see the FTGC website, www.freeteenguitarclass.com.

Father Acker’s Pre-Service Class - Around the Bible in 140 days by popular demand
Today continued the twenty week tour of the Bible, 10 minutes of teaching each Sunday, beginning at 8:30am.  The class started with one of the Collects for the Day, applicable to the subject at hand, in this case the Second Sunday in Advent:

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.          
Second Sunday of Advent BCPp92

Today was a short review of the Bible to date. We have made our way through the Bible from Genesis (the beginning) to the Book of Esther, from the Creation to the Return from Exile in a linear narrative:

Books of Moses (Torah)
Genesis—In the beginning
Exodus—Out of Egypt
Leviticus—Tabernacle
Numbers—In the wilderness
Deuteronomy—Retelling the story of the Hebrews as they come to the Promised Land

Time of the Judges
Joshua—taking the Land
Judges—settle the Land
Ruth—the kinsman redeemer

Time of the Kings
1 Samuel—Tall Saul; rise of David
2 Samuel—King David
1 Kings—King Solomon
2 Kings—39 kings Israel (N) & Judah (S)
Chronicles—View from the Altar

Return from Exile
Ezra—rebuild the Temple
Nehemiah—rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
Esther—those remaining behind

The Bible is a story of Geography, History, it is a unified literary work, but most of all it is the Word of God.

What does it all mean in 25 words or less?

If you obey God, you will be blessed; if you don’t, you won’t.

And if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you… (Deut 28.15)

Next week: It’s not so simple; bad things happen to good people.

Emilie Springer read this morning’s Epistle, which written in the Fourth Chapter of the First Epistle of Saint Peter beginning at the Seventh Verse. James tells us we are the pinnacle of God’s creation, destined to be the steward of His world, thus we should be considerate of what we do and let ourselves become open to His Word:

THE end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This was Emilie’s first time as the reader and she did a great job! Father Acker offered her a simplified translation, but she allowed as how she would prefer to read the Authorized Version. And read it she did, perfectly your Beadle might add. Great job, Emilie!

Today’s Gospel was written in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the Twenty-Sixth:

WHEN the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the syna-gogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.

Sermon – Jerusalem Quadrilateral - 4 measures for Christian living
In June 2008, that would be next month, over 300 Anglican Bishops will be meeting in Jerusalem to discuss the future of the Anglican Church worldwide. There is a problem, the majority of the monetary value of the “Anglican Church” is in four countries, the United States, England, Canada and Australia. These four countries are deviating from the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. They prefer to follow the Gospel of Good Taste and Accommodation rather than the Gospel of our Lord. Inspired by the call to Jersusalem, Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone has called for us to renew our commitment to what he calls the Jerusalem Quadrilateral:

• Apostolic Teaching;
• Fellowship;
• Holy Communion;
• Prayers

Apostolic Teaching
Are you learning?
Bible Reading
Spiritual Study, working with others to enhance your common understanding of scripture.

Fellowship
Time w/ Family
Time w/ Friends
Time spent living and sharing the Christian life giving others and receiving from others symbiotic assistance

Holy Communion
Communion
Common-Union
Bringing others to the service so they might benefit

Prayers
Asking & Offering

We are back to the same thing as last week and the week before. God asks you to do things to make the world a better place and you in it. Do you remember the lesson of the Bible from Genesis to date?

If you obey God, you will be blessed; if you don’t, you won’t.

Birthdays and Anniversaries
There were no reported anniversaries today. Birthdays, on the other hand, we had. Today we celebrated Alex Springer’s 15th birthday with him. Congratulations, Alex!

After Church Hospitality
The FTGC kids were in luck, Jan Macauley and Stephanie Boyd teamed up for snacks today. There were deviled eggs, shrimp mints, fresh pineapple spears, three kinds of cookies and a large bowl of mixed nuts. Great snacks!

Command Master Chief Brewer Macauley made great coffee. Father Acker managed to get up early enough to make his famous low carb lemonade.

New Nametags
We had no new nametags today.

People in our Prayers - http://www.blessedtrinityprayerteam.blogspot.com/
Prayer is an extremely important activity.
It is not that God knows not our needs, for He surely does.  Yet, Jesus commanded us to ask God for those same needs.  In addition to the obvious of asking God for help, offering thanksgiving and the like, prayer helps us focus our thoughts on how we might do God's work.

The Prayer Team of the Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity was established to help our members and fellow Christians pray for those in need and to give thanks as well for the blessings we have been granted.

What is the commitment from the prayer team?
Each member of the team will pray for the desired outcome at last once per day.

How do I get myself or someone else on the prayer list?
You can email one of the prayer team leaders: Greg - gnchase@cox.net or Dru - dru@descansorodents.com, or call the church office at (619) 722-1772 or fill out a prayer card at church.

What should I ask for?
Depends on what you want.  Some people merely want God to be asked to heal their ills and be mentioned by their first name, others want a specific outcome and / or have more of their personal information known to the team.  Ask for what you want.  It is your desire and need for prayer the team is attempting to meet.  For typical examples, see the list below.

Updating the Team
If you are on our prayer list, or if you have submitted a person that you have asked us to pray for, please update one of the team members or Father Acker in person, by telephone or email.  It helps to be able to pray specifically for these individuals including their specific needs; plus if they get better, it is nice to give thanks!

Please note that on the green or orange cards at church, you can ask that those to be prayed for have their names disseminated to the "prayer team".  Those names will be said in church and appear here.  Or, you can ask that their names and purpose be kept confidential, then only Father Acker will know to pray for them.

Travel
Ken is on travel this week.
Holly is on travel returning from Texas later today.
Ben and Holly will be on travel later this week.
Aaron, Tracie and Warren are on travel this week.


Healing

 Annie (diabetes), Salvador (cancer), Betty, Uni, Bethany (collision), Greg (shoulder surgery), Fran (eye sight), Kathy, Christian, Marie, Wanda, James (diabetes), Paul (stroke), Frank (knee surgery), Rita, Frank+ (brain tumor), Ralph+ (hip surgery), Sarah, Tina, Mark, Lois, Jennette (Altz), Gary, Delores, Anna, Ruth, Theresa, Don (post surgery), Richard, Stephen, Veronica, Jeff, Diane, Norm, Gregory, Betty, Terri, Mary, Edward, Bert, Carmen, Yolanda, Jodi, Ken, Sheila, Nancy (surgery), Michele, Marybeth (broken foot, stroke), Bill (infection), Teiko, Ernie, Ray, Tamara, Betty, Hazel, Richard, Kay,  Connie, Tom, Crystal, Thomas, Hadley, Bruce (heart), Susanne, Caroline (10yrs; leukemia), John, Nicholas, Jerry, Karl, Bill (ETOH poisoning)

Mary Parker has congestive heart failure. She and her family ask that you pray for no further deterioration of her heart muscles and that medication and diet will allow her to lead a productive, long, active and enjoyable life here on earth to His honor and glory. They also ask help and guidance for them all.

Kay Denton (Mrs. Kay) – Hospitalized with heart, kidney and lung difficulties with fluid buildup on the lungs and what may be a form of septic arthritis. Please pray for the fluid to dissipate and for her heart to regain regularity. Also, please pray for her to regain her positive attitude. As always, she retains her trust in the Lord, she is just a bit down on things of this earth. Pray also for Mrs. Kay’s family and her close friend Len who are under great stress that they might also keep their trust in the Lord.

Nicole Ethridge - age 27, mother of two - Has a form of liver disease which is causing her liver to shut down. She is near dialysis and would like you to pray for her disease to go into remission so that she can keep off dialysis and avoid a liver transplant. She asks that you pray for her continued faith and good spirits, as well as strength to take care of her children.

Angelina Torres - hospitalized with a heart condition, please pray for her recovery and return home.


Greg Chase – fell in a gopher hole at school and may have separated a rib, he has much difficulty getting around and prays for a quick recovery. He also asks for forgiveness for making light of the get well card he got by mistake earlier this year.


Guidance

Lloyd & Jennifer, Bob to be guided to church
Ashley, Stella, Shelly, Jerry, Martha, Matt, Marci, Nicholas, Carmen, Mary, John, William, Joe, Alexander, Jonathan, Mark, Phil, Sandy, Larraine, Brad, Brian, Cindi, Uni, Jennifer, Greg, Ed, Ruthie, Margie, Phyllis, Walter, Fran, Doris-June, Rick, Carol, Susan, Curtis, Stephen, Donny, Chris, Andrew, Eric (job), Breyana, Vie, Asha, Cory, Heather, Holly, Ken, Maruja, Keith (job decision), Jeff, Penny, Sara, Mark


Homebound/Aged and Infirm
Mary (flu), Donna, Betty, Noko, Adelaide, Evelyn, Lorraine, Ellie, Walter (skilled nursing)

Armed Forces & Contractors
Tillman, Patrick, Justin, Tim, Evan, Jim, JR, Phillip, Tim, Oscar, Julian

Thanksgiving
Fran gives thanksgiving that her eye problems are now down to only relatively mild cataracts and those appear to be operable.
Completion of military service Jason & Matt

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.

Christian Fellowship
It is an oft practiced custom that after church, and after snacks of course, some of our members get together to talk and eat. This is right in line with Father Acker’s sermon today. Spend time with fellow Christians and have a great time. Many times some of us stop at Janet’s or Salsa or the like. Today, the Ackers, Pattons and Arnolds planned ahead and had a picnic in the mountains after church.

A great time was had by all and each of us had a better understanding of the other by the time we got back. We also had a better understanding of why we should have brought jackets! Turned out it was a bit cool!

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 continuing education 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.

I’d like to get a different point across or announce something
If you have a different point of view, I would be happy to give you room to get your point across.  While this publication is my perspective on events, I recognize not everyone may agree and that some people would like to express their own opinion.

If want to write an article or make an announcement, please forward your item to the Beadle (with a note as to whether or not you would like editing help) to the following address:  thebeadle@mac.com.

Epistle Readers
We post the list of Epistle Readers in the Beadle’s Report each week so you can either plan your attendance or your pre-reading as the spirit so moves you.

Date Reader

11 May 2008 Alex Springer
18 May 2008 Jack Arnold
25 May 2008 Jan Macauley

The near future, as well as Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday. What does this mean? Come next Sunday and find out.

What about the pre-service class, will Father Acker lose his place or will he pick up where he left off? What about the sermon?  Are we still working on duty or what about the Holy Ghost? Unless you come to the service, you will have to wait until you read the Beadle’s Report to find out.

See you next week on Sunday!

Alternate Sources of The Beadle’s Report
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 a single photograph and simple text is available at:
http://thebeadle.blogspot.com/

or with one photograph per issue and colorful text 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