Today was the Tenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday. The weather was incredibly beautiful with a sunrise temperature of 59°F on Mount Olympus. By the time church was over we were at 73°F. Lovely! At the start of class, we had only 12 people present, but the perfect weather brought out a total of 21 by service start.
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 we moved on to the Book of Daniel, the last of the four major prophets. In the book, Daniel talks of the coming of the Kingdom of God and the Messiah. Daniel was among the young men of the royal court taken to Babylon in the first deportation of 605 BC to be interpreters for the Babylonians. With him were other young men of the royal court, educated and fairly worldly: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - more on these guys next week.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Daniel 2.44
In the book, at least from the Christian point of view, Daniel prophesied of the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom and the Universal Kingship of God. In the words of Dr. Campbell Morgan, “God is overruling the idolatry, blasphemy, self-will, and intolerance of the Gentiles.”
Yet, for many the book would remain a sealed scripture with the meaning right in front of them, yet hidden from view:
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12.4
For besides the near term meaning, the book talks of the coming of an end time, a crisis point, if you will. Not the changing of the world’s mind; but, the foretelling of God’s rule of the world.
Next week Father Acker will cover the foretelling of the Messiah’s arrival and perhaps some of the fire story. Join us!
Dru Arnold read the Epistle, which came from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the Twelfth Chapter beginning at the First Verse. Paul starts off by telling us that no man who “speaketh by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” He goes on to say, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but by the same Spirit.” “…it is the same God which worketh all in all.” Every one is gifted in one manner or another by God, the question really is not do you have a gift from God, but will you use it? Our gifts are so different in their character that we sometimes fail to recognize them for what they are, gifts from God, meant to be used, not ignored.
Concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Today’s Gospel started in the Nineteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Forty-First Verse.
The Gospel tell of Jesus’ time in the temple wherein he sees the people selling their wares having made the temple a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer and cast them out. He also predicts the fall of the temple saying it shall be laid “even with the ground, … they shall not leave one stone upon another,” because the people of the temple had rejected Jesus. The message to those who accept Jesus and his teaching is clear, their temple shall not fall. The message to those who will not hear his message will never be heard, let alone clear, their first indication of a problem will be when their temple falls.
Often people take this Epistle to preclude jumble sales at church. It does not preclude that. It does literally preclude cheating people at those jumble sales!
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple.
Sermon – Christian Marriage
On this fall’s ballot, there is an initiative to restore the institution of marriage to that which the law (until a renegade court put aside the will of the people) has traditionally held it, a union of one man and one woman via a constitutional amendment to the California Constitution. This is more than a Christian issue, it is a societal issue. All of the normal religions understand marriage to be the union of an man and a woman. But, we are not all the religions of the world, we are Christians and Anglican Christians at that.
So, what is the Anglican perspective on marriage?
Our view of marriage, like our view on everything else derives its orientation from the Word of God. God created us; therefore we are made according to God’s plan and purpose. This is not about us, rights (individual or group), it is about God’s plan for us.
But for Adam there was not found an help meet (fit) for him…Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. Gen 1.20,24
God created us to be partial beings, male and female. When we come together, male and female, we become a single entity, that “one flesh.” Marriage follows in form and function, the union between Christ and His Church.
From the Marriage Ceremony (BCP Page 300)
Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church.
There are many purposes to marriage, but the first given by God is the procreation of children, the continuation of the creation:
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.
The state of marriage was “Commended of St. Paul to be honourable among all men” if for no other purpose than that children do better in stable family, a life long relationship of stability and refuge.
If nothing else, your Beadle would refer you to the story of the Ark, “Two by two they came, one male and one female.” Only the dragons came two by two, both male. Count dragons now!
Birthdays and Anniversaries
There were no anniversaries today, but we did celebrate Martha Steven’s 76th birthday today. In response to questions about counting out the birthdays, Martha was quick to point out she was not 39. Your Beadle would note it is a lot better to be 76 and look 39 (like Martha) than to be 39 and look 76 like a lot of other people.
Happy Birthday Martha!
After Church Hospitality
Alice Acker brought the goodies today. There were chocolate cookies, red flame grapes and flat bar-like things that the Deputy Beadle reported as very tasty. Whatever they were, a large quantity of them were gone in short order.
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
3 August 2008 Senior Warden’s Breakfast
10 August 2008 Greg Chase
17 August 2008 Dru Arnold
24 August 2008 Holly Lizak
31 August 2008 Martha Stevens
7 September 2008 Stephanie Boyd
14 August 2008 Jan Macauley
21 August 2008 Alice Acker
New Nametags
We had two new nametags today:
Gras Grasmuck Beth Grasmuck
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, and then only Father Acker will know to pray for them.
Travel
Aaron, Traci and Warren are on travel this week.
Repose of Soul
Maggie Stewart (age ~1) passed away on 5 July 2008 from complications of a heart valve procedure after four days of valiant struggle. Of your Christian charity, please pray for the repose of her soul and healing for her parents Mollie and John and the remainder of her family here on earth.
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 (Alzheimer’s), 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 (back), Jack (toe infection)
Joshua Hamilton fell out of a car on Sunday morning. He sustained a closed head injury and potential spinal cord injuries. Joshua has undergone two surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain. He is currently in an induced coma. He had a coughing reaction, which is positive, but will be kept in the coma for at least 72 hours. He has undergone surgery at Sharp Hospital.
Joshua is the older brother of James Hamilton, one of our Free Teen Guitar Class kids. He is married with a wife and two children.
Please pray for Joshua’s complete and rapid recovery, pray also for his family who are exceedingly worried.
George, husband of LaVonda and friend of Susanne Barrett, whose bladder cancer has returned. They live in northern Georgia. Please pray for their children, Megan and George Jr., as they adjust to the news. Surgery will be occurring as soon as a few more tests are run. George has also been in excruciating back pain for the past month which may or may not be related to the return of the cancer. Of your Christian charity, please pray for George, LaVonda, Megan, and George Jr.
Glenn Finch – is awake and walking. Please keep praying for complete healing and for his family who have been consistently at his side. Also, pray for the doctors and nurses that attend to him. The family asks for your prayers for his healing and their strength. They are grateful for such loving, caring friends.
Evelyn Hunt is just not feeling right. She has generalized shaking, pressure in her head, blurred vision, nausea and fatigue. Although she has undergone many tests, they have not been able to determine the cause of the problem. She goes back to the doctor on Tuesday for more results. Please pray for a determination of the cause of her problems, a cure and a cessation of the symptoms.
Lona Walsh is in significant discomfort, but it looks like it is not Lupus. She had an MRI last week with the hope of finding something that will help her. It looks like she needs shoulder surgery on both sides, not great news, but much better than Lupus. She hopes for more information shortly, in the mean time, she asks that you continue your prayers for healing.
Duncan Bridewell and his brother John Bridewell were in an aircraft accident in the Utah wilderness and were trapped in the aircraft over night . Duncan has a collapsed lung, ankle injuries plus the usual "I just got beat up" stuff. John has a broken leg, arm, plus the beat up thing. Please pray a prayer of thanksgiving for their survival and pray for their rapid and complete recovery.
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.
Caroline (age 10, leukemia recurrence) Day +1 Those beautiful, life-giving cells started to go in at 6:05pm and finished at about 10:35pm. The nurse said, "Now she has a second birthday to celebrate!" Just before the cells arrived at our room, Jeff was saying that to bring in the cells they should do what they used to do at Farell's restaurant/ice cream parlor when we were kids and it was someone's birthday. The servers would come running through the restaurant with all sorts of noise making devices and carrying a giant tub of ice cream. Oddly, right at 6:00pm the fire alarm started to go off and we joked that it was because the cells were about to be hung. There were two bags of cells and it once again struck me how generous the donor was to give of himself so unselfishly. They pre-medicated Caroline with all sorts of meds to avoid an allergic reaction or rejection and she handled the process extremely well. The benadryl they gave her put her to sleep within ten minutes and she continued asleep the whole time. Jeff and I sat by her watching for anything and everything. She did wake up around 10pm and she said she felt a little "funny," but she really couldn't describe what she was experiencing. Her blood pressure went up for a couple of hours, but by midnight was making a significant descent.
Once the second bag was placed, I started to pray. I thought of Jesus' baptism and how we are reborn through Christ. I know that this refers to a spiritual rebirth, but in many ways Caroline's bone marrow transplant is also a rebirth, a combination of the spiritual and physical. The donor's generous spirit is what Christ wants between all of us and it is that spirit that has allowed Caroline a chance for physical well-being.
Everyone's prayers, love and support are such a constant reminder of God's love for us. Thank you for your continued prayers for Caroline. We now wait for 2-3 weeks until the cells engraft and pray for no more leukemia and controllable graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). May it be God's will that Caroline live a long and healthy life to serve Him.
We continue our prayers for Caroline's body to take the cells well, that every single leukemia cell is history, and for no or mild GVHD. I admire this wonderful family's love for each other, others, and God. Their faith, hope, and positive attitude are truly inspirational, gifts from God during this difficult time. We send you all much love and many prayers, Carmen, Jeff, and family! Thanks for supporting this dear family and for continuing in prayer for them.
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, Nelson
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)
Thanksgiving
SCAIR Center in Alpine, who provides assistance to the local community, with emphasis on the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians is thankful for receiving three new grants for their pre- Head Start programs. They do good work in the community and also allow us to use their facility for meetings and education. Please join us in a prayer of thanksgiving.
CMS Jim Rodgers has been released to home from the hospital. Jim had a stroke on 7 June 2008. He has lost control of his right side and had much difficulty in thought processes. He was able to go home after a few days, but ended up back in the hospital with acute renal failure due to dehydration and an infection. All that go under control and he is doing much better. He is happy to be home. He and his family asks you pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the good start on his recovery and continue to pray for his complete recovery. Thank you from the family.
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), a K-12 operation with about three dozen students. 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. Our parish came up with $2,113.00 to donate to St. Andrews Academy.
If you have not contributed and would like to, send a check to our church treasurer, made payable to the church, marked for St. Andrews. If you need the address, email thebeadle@mac.com.
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/
Pine Valley Parade – 28 July 2007
For those of you not familiar with the Pine Valley Parade, it is put on by Corrine Lewis and is the BIG EVENT in the East County. This year not only were we there, but so was the world famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile! And two of the nicest kids ever as Wienermobile drivers.
For photographs look here:
http://www.freeteenguitarclass.com/pvp2008/index.html
This was our third year of parade participation. Our fire truck led our contingent driving in Division One, the non-governmental fire trucks, one of five!
The first year we had one vehicle, the GTB. Last year we had four. This year we were there in force, with five, pretty miraculous considering the 0730 start time:
Vehicle Driver Remarks
M601 Troop Transport Ben Lizak Crew – Jodi Howell
Free Teen Guitar Class transport, Father Acker, Ryan Howell and Jack Arnold
M151A2 Jeep Tim Macauley Crew – Jan Macauley and Stephanie Boyd
M38A1 Jeep Don Patton Open Parade Seats
GPW Jeep Mike Tombleson Open Parade Seats
F850 Fire Truck Hap Arnold Crew – Sandy Patton
Nick Patton, Mike Tombleson, Cole, James, Jonathon Barrett, Benjamin Barrett
Our vehicles were provided by the Arnold Wheeled Vehicle Museum in Descanso, California. The drivers were all hand picked parade veterans or at least are now!
After we got the vehicles put back in their buildings, the real fun began. As a follow-on to the Descanso Parade’s picnic, we had another. Tim Macauley brought and cooked bacon wrapped steaks and chicken, as well as hot dogs. The Lizaks brought potato salad and cole slaw. The Howells brought chips and dip. The Pattons brought ranch beans that tasted almost like chile. Stephanie Boyd brought fruit salad and Mike and Mike Tombleson stayed up all night making lime jello salad. Alice Acker sent cookies. In addition, there was draft beer and ice cream novelties for desert. What more could you ask for and eat?
For photographs look here:
http://www.freeteenguitarclass.com/pvp2008/index.html
We all felt a bit guilty having so much fun together. After all, each and every one of you were invited and so few came. We had a really fun time and hope more people will join us for the fun next year.
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
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
The near future, as well as Next Sunday
Next Sunday is the Eleventh 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
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