Today was the Sixth Sunday after Trinity Sunday, which was superceded by the Feast of Saint Peter. The weather was beautiful! The day began under clear skies with a sunrise temperature of 65°F; by the time church was over, we were at 82°F. Even though we had many people on travel, attendance was back up with 21 people present for the service.
Andrew Boyd, Jack Arnold and Father Acker provided music for the three gathering songs.
Diocese of the West Synod
Father Acker’s Pre-Service Class - Around the Bible in 140 days by popular demand, was put on hold for a week so that we could hold our parish meeting to provide instruction and a sense of the parish to our delegates to the electronic synod of the Diocese of the West. Because the Diocese of the East was going to block a vote on joining Common Cause, the Diocese of the West made the decision not to participate in the APA Synod. As a cost savings move, Diocese of the West Synod is being held by electronic means. Father and Alice Acker and Greg Chase are our delegates.
As a parish, we told our delegates that we would like Bishop Mott designated as Bishop Co-Adjucator. This means that in the event anything were to restrict Bishop Boyce’s ability to function as our Bishop Ordinary, he would automatically take over. Bishop Mott’s positions are well known to us as he has written many of the diocese position papers. We agreed that the slate of officers and representatives should be agreed to, the one of interest to us in particular is our Senior Warden Ben Lizak is on the Diocese Standing Committee.
Father Acker also reviewed the diocese finances. Bishop Boyce, being paid the same as the Beadle (ZERO), is very cost conscious. The diocesan budget is about 2/3 of our parish budget with most of the costs going to travel. Given the 20 parishes of the diocese, the need to go to Vietnam and GAFCON, this is an amazing feat. Our parish gives thanks for Richard Boyce giving of himself and taking the incredible responsibility of the office of Bishop.
Tim Macauley read the Epistle, which came from the Seventh Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles beginning at the First Verse:
ABOUT that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter there-fore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
Today’s Gospel started in the Sixteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew beginning at the Thirteenth Verse:
WHEN Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Sermon – Secularism or whatever happened to God, Honor Country?
Before we start, we need to understand a couple of words:
Secular - Of or pertaining to this present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly.
[1913 Webster]
Secularism - a doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations
[1913 Webster]
Or, putting it slightly differently, secularism is the promoting of non-religious (secular) ideas or values over religious ways of thought; the idea that government practices and institutions should exist separately from religion. Or, as some have more succintly and accurately put it, “Freedom from Religion.”
The things of this earth have always had a strong pull on us, particularly those who would have power here on earth. Recall the words of today’s Epistle:
About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went ahead and had Peter arrested…Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.
Acts 12.1-2, 4
Herod wanted to curry the favor of the local populace. When he found they were pleased that he had James killed, he thought to kill Peter. Anything for a laugh!
It is not just outright evil that causes an attraction away from God, but the riches of the earth.
... I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:24.
The rich, and almost everyone in this country is rich by the standards of Jesus’s time, have many interests of this world calling on them. Often we find ourselves begging off duty toward God, doing what we know we ought because we “have bought five yoke of oxen, and … must … go to prove them.” How often do we let the things of this world come between us and God?
If we are in fact Jesus’ followers, we need to follow Him in thought, word and deed. In secularism Belief and Behavior are separate, the reference point is fluid, what you feel is what is right. In Christianity, Belief and Behavior are, or should be, one in the same. Our reference point is God. As Rhett Butler said as to what you feel, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
According to a 2004 Opinion Dynamics poll commissioned by Fox News in 2004, 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God. Apparently not all are certain, because only 71% of those survey are "absolutely certain" of their belief in God. Sadly only 62% of Californians say they survey are "absolutely certain" of their belief in God.
Even with those numbers, we are faced with the 80/20 rule. Only 20 percent of those who believe will act on their beliefs. Thus, about 13 percent of Californians go to church on a regular basis, and only about 6.5 percent go every Sunday. But, lest you be too discouraged, that means that on any given Sunday, 2.2 million Californians are in church. Luckily, they aren’t all Anglicans in Alpine. That would certainly skew our regular 21 or so attendance! It would be hard to find snacks for all of them.
We must stand for God and thus against secularism. Right is Right, whether you think so or not. God is God. Whether you believe in Him or not, He is still here. He believes in you, otherwise you would not be here.
Right is Right
What you think or feel is irrelevant.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
We had no birthdays or anniversaries today.
After Church Hospitality
Stephanie Boyd brought today’s goodies. There was quite a variety: snow peas and carrots with really great dill dip, grapes, butterscotch oatmeal cookies, which were superb and very nice looking muffin like things which the Deputy Beadle consumed in mass quantities.
The Command Master Chief Brewer himself handled coffee making on behalf of Tim’s House of Coffee and Father Acker was up early to make his special low carb lemonade. Thanks to both.
After church goodies providers as currently signed up:
Date Name
29 June 2008 Stephanie Boyd
6 July 2008 Holly Lizak
13 July 2008 Mike and Annie Springer
20 July 2008 Dru Arnold
27 July 2008 Alice Acker
3 August 2008 Opportunity Available
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.
Who can be on the list? Do I have to be a member of the Blessed Trinity Church to be prayed for? No! The only qualification to be on the list is that you want our prayer team to pray for you. We are Christians and are happy to pray for you, no matter who you are. If you want help from God, you are our kind of people.
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.
Traci and Warren are on travel this week.
Don, Sandy and Nick are on travel this week.
Healing
Betty, Annie (diabetes), Salvador (cancer), Betty, Marge, Uni, Bethany (collision), Greg (shoulder surgery), Karl, Kathy, Christian, Marie, Wanda, James (diabetes), Frank+ (brain tumor), Sarah, Tina, Mark, Lois, Jennette (altzhimers), Gary, Delores, Anna, Ruth, Theresa, Don (post surgery), Melanie, Connie, Tom, Crystal, Thomas, Hadley, Diane, Norm, Gregory, Terri, Mary, Edward, Bert, Carmen, Yolanda, Jodi, Ken, Sheila, Nancy, Leucrecia (cancer), Michele, Marybeth (broken foot, stroke), Bill (infection), Teiko, Ernie, Ray, Tamara, Betty, Hazel, Richard, Bruce (heart attack), Susanne, Paul (stroke), Ralph+ (eyes hip), Allison (kidney), Bill (ETOH poisoning), Fran (cataracts), Joy, Kai, Jay, Tim, Sandy
Evelyn Hunt is just not feeling right. She has generalized shaking, pressure in her head, blurred vision, nausea and fatigue. They have not been able to determine the cause of the problem. Please pray for a determination of the cause of her problems, a cure and a cessation of the symptoms.
Fran's cousin Carl is in the Kingman, Arizona hospital with pancreatitis. He was in the ICU, but is doing much better now. His sister Sue and her husband Sam are with him. Please pray for Carl's quick and complete recovery.
Mary Parker was in the hospital with ahttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.italic.gifn infection. She was released to her home on Monday, 26 May 2008, Memorial Day. Please pray a prayer of thanksgiving and continue to pray for her full recovery and that she might be able to stay home.
Kay Denton (Mrs. Kay) – is home from the hospital now, though she continues to have with heart, kidney and lung difficulties with fluid buildup on the lungs and what may be a form of septic arthritis. She is doing much better. Every so often she has a flare-up of the severe shoulder pain, accompanied by chills and shivering- but the last time it happened was much relieved by Cortisone injections. Also, please pray for her to maintain her positive attitude. As always, she retains her trust in the Lord, she thankful to get her positive attitude back. 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. Mrs. Kay sent the Prayer Team a card and asks that everyone who is praying for her know how grateful she is for their prayers.
Joy – She has a reoccurrence of abdominal cancer, which is non-operable. She is currently undergoing radiation treatment. She and her family ask your prayers for the treatment to do good and for her to tolerate it better. More importantly, she asks God’s help to deal with the pain and discomfort while keeping a positive attitude during what is a very trying time.
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.
Baby Marie, daughter of Bill and Andrea Baker of St. Andrew’s in Jacksonville, Oregon. Marie was born prematurely with immature lungs. She is now 2lbs. 2 oz.
Marie's lungs cannot function on their own. She has been on a high-frequency ventilator for some time. Over long periods of use, the ventilator itself can cause lung damage. Thus, a dilemma. That combined with having two lung viruses has put her in a position of relying only on a Miracle. Nothing more can be done medically for Marie. It is up to her and God's will. She is comfortable and doing extremely well in every other way. She is no longer on IVs for food, blood sugars are normal, no signs of jaundice. On one side there are high hopes; on the other side how much time is there for her here on earth?
Please pray that Marie will gain the function of her lungs and stay with us. Also, pray for the Baker family that they might maintain their trust in God and have strength throughout this ordeal.
Guidance
Lloyd & Jennifer, Bob to be guided to a church
Ashley, Breyana, Vie, Asha, Cory, Heather, Holly, Ken, Maruja, Stella, Shelly, Jerry, Martha, Matt, Marci, Nicholas, Carmen, Mary, John, William, Joe, Alexander, Jonathan, Phil, Sandy, Larraine, Brad, Brian, Cindi, Uni, Jennifer, Greg, Ed, Ruthie, Margie, Phyllis, Walter, Doris-June, Rick, Carol, Susan, Curtis, Stephen, Donny, Chris, Eric (job), Andrew, Keith (job decision), Jeff, Penny, Sara, Mark, Alexandra
Economic Guidance and Assistance
St. Andrew’s Academy (Lake Almanor, CA) Father Brian Foos (headmaster) – Please pray for help and guidance for the school which is under severe pressure from economic down turn. You can pray and turn your heart towards this problem. If you can do something concrete to help them, contact Father Acker.
Homebound/Aged and Infirm
Mary, Donna, Betty, Noko, Adelaide, Evelyn, Lorraine, Ellie, Walter (skilled nursing)
Armed Forces & Contractors
Tillman, Patrick, Justin, Tim, Evan, Jim, RJ, Matt, Phillip, Tim, Oscar, Julian, Joe (USAF - Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait)
Needs Employment
Stephen Pappin is looking for a job in the electronic power supply field and asks you pray for him to be guided to an opening where he can fit in, do well and help them prosper.
Thanksgiving
Greg Chase gives thanks for recovery from his back pain.
Caroline (age 10, leukemia recurrence) was sent home from Children's Hospital over the weekend as her immune system finally reached an acceptable range, enabling her to go home just in time for Father's Day. If she remains fever-free during the next few weeks, she will enter City of Hope in Los Angeles on 30 June and will receive a bone marrow transplant within ten days.
Please pray for Caroline to remain well, to receive the transplant with no further delays, and for the transplant to be a success so that she may enjoy a long life of loving and serving God and His people. Pray for her family, too, as they relocate to Los Angeles for the next 6-12 months during Caroline's stay at City of Hope.
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.
St. Andrew’s Academy
Our diocese is the sponsor of St. Andrew’s Academy (Lake Almanor, CA), the Headmaster Father Brian Foos left a successful aerospace career to become a priest and establish the school. The school, a K-12 operation with about three dozen students, runs on a shoestring budget, about $150,000.00 per year for the entire thing. The product is superior, the students rank in the high nineties percentile of graduating seniors. These kids are our future. They are the future of the church and the school needs to keep turning them out, not away. The economic downturn is crippling them. They have a budget shortfall of about $30,000.00.
As many of you know, the diocese’s 18 parishes had talked about contributing the money previously set aside to fund attendance at the APA Synod, which we will not be attending, and the annual diocesan meeting which has been converted into an electronic meeting, to help Bishop Boyce with the cost of attending GAFCON in Jerusalem.
Bishop Boyce feels strongly enough about the importance of St. Andrew’s academy that he has asked that those funds be donated to the school instead. Bishop Boyce is willing to spend his own money to go to GAFCON.
There are 18 parishes in the diocese. There is a $30,000.00 shortfall. If each parish carried its share, that would be $1,666.67 per parish. We are the smallest parish in the diocese. We made the commitment to send the school $2,000.00 and send Bishop Boyce the $1,500.00 we had budgeted for Synod travel to him to help cover his expenses at GAFCON.
Each member of the congregation was asked to donate what they could. No one should donate more than they can comfortably afford. Remember the “Widow’s Mite.” Give what you can, that is all. No more. If you cannot afford more than a single penny that you picked up in the parking lot. That is more than enough.
In the end, our parish came up with $2,113.00 to donate to St. Andrews Academy. The check will be going out as soon as Greg Chase can write it. We looked at the problem, came up with a plan, set a goal and exceeded the goal. Congratulations to the congregation.
If the tiny little parish with the big name of Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity can do their share, how about the rest of you?
Free Teen Guitar Class – Concert in the Park series
The local community center sponsors a Concert in the Park series each summer. For the third year in a row, the Free Teen Guitar Class played as the warm-up band for the opening concert. Most of the concerts are wel known second tier bands who do an absolutely wonderful job, but your Beadle has never heard of them. Today was different, today the FTGC played warm-up for Marine Corps San Diego Band. What an honor!
Not only did the FTGC get to play the number one slot, but SGT Aaron Morgan, a Marine Band drummer, with three tours in Iraq and a Purple Heart, asked if he could play with them. So, for the first time ever, the FTGC had their own drummer! The drums added a lot to the group! Thanks Aaron!
During the Marine Band performance, a select group came out into the infield to play jazz!
Playing today were Ashley Turner, Ryan Howell, Kurtis Walden, Andrew Boyd, Jack Arnold and Father Ironhand. The kids all did great.
We should have a video available soon, for you die hard fans. In the meantime, there are photographs on the band’s website:
http://www.freeteenguitarclass.com/20080629ftgc/index.html
Towards the end of their performance, the USMC Band played a medley of the service songs, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. As each service’s anthem was played, they asked those who had served to please stand. Looking around the audience, there were a lot of people standing. When we looked at the band, we saw those who had stepped up to take our place and were satisfied the country is in good hands. Every Marine a rifleman, even the piccolo player! Don’t kid yourself, these kids are good. Very good. No better friend (or band), no more feared enemy. Semper Fi
Keeping Up to Date with the Parish and the World
In an effort to keep us in touch with each other and the Christian and non-Christian world, Father is posting updates at the Thursday Evening News, oddly enough on Thursdays. This is a nice mid-week update for us, drop in and take a look. It is also linked to from the various Beadle’s Blogs.
http://thursdayeveningnews.blogspot.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
6 July 2008 Jan Macauley
13 July 2008 Hap Arnold
20 July 2008 Jack Arnold
27 July 2008 Dru Arnold
3 August 2008 Stephanie Boyd
10 August 2008 Ben Lizak
17 August 2008 Tim Macauley
24 August 2008 Holly Lizak
31 August 2008 Alice Acker
Parish Youth Camping Trip
The parish is planning a youth camping trip for summer. We have a tentative date of 15, 16 and 17 August 2008, that is Friday, Saturday and Sunday probably at Rathaus in Descanso. We will try to set the date in stone next Sunday.
We will meet at the Alpine Community Center parking lot on Friday morning, then take transport to a local camp area, which has not yet been solidified. We will drop our gear at the camp, then head out on a hike to lunch. After lunch, we will hike towards a pickup point, where we will join our transport back to the camp. The kids will finish setting up camp and cook dinner. After dinner, there will be some traditional camp activities and then to bed. Up early on Saturday morning, breakfast and off on another interesting hike to lunch. Again, back to camp in time to make dinner, more traditional camp activities and then to bed. Sunday morning will bring early rising for our Sunday service, breakfast and breaking camp. We expect to be back to the Alpine Community Center parking lot by about 1400 (2:00 pm) on Sunday, so everyone can go home and get some rest!
If you are interested, contact one of our hand picked volunteer Camp Masters:
Don Patton dpatton@cox.net
Mike Springer mspringer8@cox.net
Right now we are in the initial planning stage. Once we know who wants to go, we may open up the signup to other Anglican parishes.
The near future, as well as Next Sunday
Friday is the Fourth of July! That means in addition to celebrating the birth of our country, our parish participates in the Crown Hills Fourth of July Parade! We will meet at the Community Center Parking Lot at 0915L (9:15 am) to decorate the vehicles. Bring friends and family. This is your chance to ride on a real Fire Truck, Military Jeep or Troop Transport. Fun for kids of all ages!
Next Sunday is the Seventh Sunday after Trinity. Come next Sunday and see if Father Acker finally tells us what the Green Season means.
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? Will he preach on the Gospel or something all together different? 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
