Sunday, January 25, 2009

The Conversion of Saint Paul Superceding the Third Sunday after the Epiphany and our Parish Annual Meeting


Today was would have been the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, but it was superceded by the Conversion of Saint Paul. Sunrise temperature on Mount Olympus was a cool 41°F under cloudy skies. Down the hill at church, the temperature picked up to somewhat warmer 52°F. Clouds or no clouds, we had 21 people present.

Father Acker’s Pre-Service Class - Around the Bible in 370 days by popular demand
Today continued the fifty-three week tour of the Bible, 10 minutes of teaching each Sunday, beginning at 8:30am. As is customary, 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

We have made our way through the Bible to the start of the New Testament. The Book of Matthew is a fairly ordered and systematic. Clearly written from a Jewish perspective, it teaches rather than preaches.

Perhaps the first of the Gospels, certainly likely written before Mark, it leads off the New Testament. It seems to have been written between 62 and 68 AD, clearly before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Matthew was a Jew writing to Jews, those who would now be Palestinians. But he what he wrote is for all of us as both Jews and more particularly Christ were to be a To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, * and to be the glory of thy people Israel.” Matthew wrote of Jesus as the Great Rabbi or Teacher. Mark’s Book is symmetric, covering Jesus’ origin, life, death and resurrection. It is fairly neatly divided up:

• Genealogy & Birth (1 & 2)
• John the Baptist (part 3)
• Jesus’ Baptism & Temptation (3 & 4)
• Public Ministry in Galilee (4 to end 18)
• Galilee to Jerusalem (19 & 20)
• Holy Week (21 to 27)
• Resurrection & appearances (28)

The sections cover Jesus’ significance in context of the past and n context of the new reality. The teachings of the Rabbi Jesus are throughout the book:

• Sermon on the Mount
• Kingdom behavior:
• Character, duty, privileges, destiny
• Mission instruction for Apostles
• Parables about the Kingdom
• Teachings on Discipleship
• Teachings on End Time/Coming Kingdom

Next week, we will start on Mark!

Holly Lizak read the Epistle for today, which came from the Ninth Chapter of Acts of the Apostles beginning at the First Verse:

AND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

The Gospel for today came from the Nineteenth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew beginning at the Twenty-Seventh Verse.

PETER answered and said unto Jesus, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Sermon - The Conversion of Saint Paul
Many lessons can be drawn from the conversion of Paul of Tarsus into Paul the Saint. A great divide stood between Saul and Paul. Today, we are going to talk about how his conversion from Christianity’s greatest persecutor into its leading evangelist reflects God. The lessons to be learned are:

• God comes to where we are
• God comes to meet us
• God comes to be with us

Saul studied under Gamaliel, Great Rabbi, a member of the Sanhedrin, or in effect Supreme Court of the Jews. A defender of The Law, when he heard or perhaps saw Jesus in the temple overthrowing the moneychangers, he clearly concluded: This is a dangerous man. After Jesus’ death the movement spread like wildfire, with his resurrection He was all the more dangerous. Saul and his cohorts saw in Christianity only ruin. They were at risk of losing their temple, their Law, religious freedom and and perhaps their lives.

Saul went to the Sanhedrin for a writ or order to allow him to follow the fleeing Christians to wherever they might go and bring them bound to Jerusalem to follow their Lord to the Cross. He got the order.

On the road to Damascus, Paul was struck down and blinded by a bolt from heaven. He heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?” He replied, “Who are you?” The chilling answer, “I am Jesus, whom you’re persecuting.” Those around him, not blinded, heard all and saw NOTHING!

Saul was taken to Damascus where he stayed blinded for three days. Then God sent Annanias. Not exactly a volunteer. Annanias knew exactly who Saul was and he did not think it a good idea to go to him. Yet he did. Saul had to change direction, reorder his life and make room for reality.

Saul of Tarsus became Paul, the greatest champion of the Lord and most prolific writer of the New Testament.

Birthdays and Anniversaries
There were no reported birthdays or anniversaries today.

After Church Hospitality
Today Holy Lizak brought after church snacks. She brought the Beadle’s two favorites of her snacks, the worlds best black olive egg salad sandwiches and the worlds best carrot cake. Many thanks, Holly!

Sadly, there was not as much sitting around, as we were getting ready for the Annual Meeting, but there was the same amount of eating going on. Poor Ben did not get to take home any of the sandwiches.

Command Master Brewer Macauley was on brew duty today and produced wonderful coffee, Father Acker made his signature low carb lemonade.

After church goodies providers as currently signed up:

Date Name
1 February 2009 Dru Arnold, Alice Acker and Jan Macauley
8 February 2009 Betsy and Marianne Lane
15 February 2009 Greg and Diane Chase
22 February 2009 Dru Arnold
1 March 2009 Jan Macauley

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 yellow (maybe green or orange, if you get an old one) 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
Chris, Stephanie, Alex and Andrew are on travel this week.

Healing
Betty, Salvador (cancer), Betty, Marge, Uni, Karl, Christian, Marie, Wanda, Lois, Jennette (Alzheimer’s), Gary, Delores, Anna, Ruth, Connie, Tom, Crystal, Thomas, Hadley, Diane, Norm, Gregory, Nancy, Leucrecia (cancer), Michele, Marybeth (broken foot, stroke), Bill (infection), Teiko, Ernie, Ray, Betty, Hazel, Bruce (heart attack), Susanne, Paul (stroke), Ralph+ (eyes hip), Allison (kidney), Bill (ETOH poisoning and gout), Kai, Jay, Tim, Diane, Amy (Thyroid cancer), Lise (peritoneal cancer), Joy, Evelyn, Kenny (ear surgery), Debbie, Joanna (stroke) [granddaughter of Father Holland a diocesan priest], Al (Ashley’s dad: surgery) Cyndi (successful knee replacement surgery), Scott (endocarditis and cow valve), June (cancer surgery), Al, Susan, Jeff, David (leg injury), Judy, who suffers from mental illness, is undergoing tests for cancer, Jon, Jeffrey, Joy (cancer), Marie, Joe (broken neck), Loretta (cancer), Sue (surgery recovery), Greg, June (cancer), David (leg sprain), Cheri, David, Keith (ruptured disk), Ben

Jim R will be having surgery to relieve his chronic back pain.

Kathryn’s ear surgery was successful. She has regained some limited hearing. She can communicate on the phone and expecting continued improvements during the six month healing process.

Chaplain Larry Witherspoon had a stroke on Tuesday evening, 16 December 2008. He underwent surgery at Kaiser Hospital, in Fontana. He was released on Wednesday 14 January 09.  He is talking and is able to carry a conversation almost normally, just in a very soft voice.  He has made incredible progress.  He has lost a few pounds, but looks great. Please continue to pray for him, his wife Sheila and his family.

Joanne has had a significant increase her shoulder pain from an injury last year. She is looking for medical assessment and guidance.

Carol DeBolt, mother of Judy, a 3rd grade teacher at Greg Chase’s school.  Carol was complaining of hip pain over the Christmas period.  After numerous tests it was determined that she has breast and bone cancers, both are at stage 4 and have metastasized. She just finished surgery on her hip where the femur was been replaced with a steel rod.  She now has to go through 4 months of PT in order to learn how to walk again. Carol needs your prayers for her and her family to deal with not only the pain and difficulty of her present physical condition, but also the uncertainty of her life. Please pray for Carol’s peace of mind and trust in God, as well as a remission of her cancers and a physical recovery.

Rachel works with Greg as a teacher's aide in the special education department and is going to night school to get her degree to allow her to be a fully credentialed teacher. She recently went to the ophthalmologist for a second opinion and found she has a melanoma in one eye.  The melanoma is inside her eye and required nuclear surgery. She had her first eye surgery several days ago and the surgery went better than expected.  Her second (and final) surgery is scheduled for later on this week. Please pray for her to understand God is there throughout all this; He does not test us; we are imperfect beings, including our bodies; all things are possible through Him; He always answers our prayers, though sometimes we don’t want to hear the answer and other times do not understand the answer. Pray for Rachel’s peace of mind and trust in God, as well as a good outcome for the surgery.

Sue Anne Adkins mother of Greg’s co-worker Vicki Jones has Stage Three lung cancer. She is doing well in her treatment, but is in need of your prayers. Please pray for her to accept God’s help through the pain, discomfort and bewilderment of treatment. Pray the doctors, nurses and technicians who treat her will pay attention and do their best. Please pray Sue Anne and her family will pull with together with God in all this and accept the help He will give them.

Tina Walden is having back pain and asks that you pray for her back to feel better.

Lauralee underwent a lumpectomy on Friday after Thanksgiving and into targeted radiation therapy for 10 days. Please give thanks for the successful treatment to date and for complete remission of the cancer. Pray also Lauralee will maintain her great attitude and trust in God.

Joy has non-operable abdominal cancer. She is home, but near the end of her time here on earth. Please pray for her as she prepares to depart this world for home that she might be confident in the love of God and her Lord Jesus Christ and thus make the transition in peace. She has asked in particular that you pray for peace in her life and for her family. Please pray that she will grow closer to God and to her family during the time she has left here on earth and that her family will do likewise. Pray that her family who will remain here on earth might be able to put their cares and worries aside for the moment and focus on God’s love for their mother; as well as her love for them. May they concentrate on the unity and not on the temporary separation.

Mary Parker is home and walking all around the house, as far as her 50 foot oxygen lead will let her.  She made it to the table for Christmas dinner!  She does physical therapy every day and is eating very well!   She is enjoying reading books and the newspaper again!

She is improving on a daily basis! Her recovery is truly a God given miracle. Please give thanks for her great recovery and continue to pray for her progress.

Joe Huber was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo radiation seed implants within the next two weeks. Please pray for peace of mind for him and his family and that they might put their trust in God and increase their faith.

Binnie was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Please pray for peace of mind for him and his family and that they might put their trust in God and increase their faith.

Rod Cook has a reoccurrence of lung cancer. Prognosis is not promising. Please pray for either a miraculous recovery or a maximization of his time remaining here on earth. Pray also for his daughter Lori that she might accept God’s will and enjoy whatever time she has with her father here on earth. In particular please pray for peace of mind for both Rod and Lori that they might put their trust in God and increase their faith.

Vince (12 yrs) who has bone cancer (a teammate of Andrew B) had what appears to be successful surgery to remove the tumor and replace his knee joint on 28 November 2008. Please pray for his healing and non-recurrence of the cancer, as well as that he and his family might put their trust in God and accept His comfort and encouragement in this difficult time.

Joshua Hamilton is still in a coma after a severe head trauma in July. He has gotten past the MRSA and other infections. He is in skilled nursing in El Cajon with some response to physical therapy and they are working toward independent breathing. Please continue to pray for his wife, Tulani, and two children, Isaiah & Keanu, and of course his mom, Jo Ann, and his James brother who was in our FTGC, asking for God’s presence and comfort.

Glenn Finch gives thanks for near total recovery from the brain injury sustained in his cycling accident. He asks your continued prayer for the aortal aneurysm discovered during his treatment for the brain injury. Please pray for Glenn’s continued healing and trust in God.

Evelyn Hunt has pain in her jaw, face, & neck. The doctors haven’t been able to diagnose the cause. She has been very limited in getting out, but continued to do her walking in the house. Most importantly, pray for her to keep a good attitude and maintain a trust in God, so she will not worry.

Miney Farrell has had pain and weakness in her leg that has been limiting her activity.

Lorraine Winkles is still dealing with shingles (now over 30 months). The level of discomfort varies but the condition is persisting. She is in amazing spirits and sends her love to all.

Lona Walsh is in significant discomfort, but it looks like it is not Lupus. She asks that you continue your prayers for healing.

Kay Denton (Mrs. Kay) is still home and still doing wonderfully well! Mrs. Kay asks that everyone who is praying for her know how grateful she is for their prayers. As always, she retains her trust in the Lord and her positive attitude.

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.

Caroline (age 11, leukemia recurrence) is home in Escondido after her bone marrow transplant in July. Please continue in prayer that her leukemia will not reoccur; after transplant, the chance of recurrence is 40%. Please keep praying for this sweet girl to make a full recovery and live a long life, devoted to God.  She and her family are Catholic Christians.

Guidance
Tom, Mary, Lloyd & Jennifer, Bob to be guided to a church
Ashley, Breyana, Vie, Asha, Cory, Heather, Holly, Ken, Maruja, William, Joe, Alexander, Jonathan, Phil, Sandy, Larraine, Brad, Brian, Uni, Jennifer, Greg, Margie, Phyllis, Walter, Rick, Carol, Susan, Curtis, Stephen, Donny, Chris, Eric (job), Andrew, Keith (job decision), Sara, Mark, Alexandra, Nelson, Perlita, Lewis, Sam, Susie, Jack (test), Alfred, Marie, Dru, Jack, Hap, Estelle, Tina, William

Sarah is still struggling with custody arrangements for her children and would appreciate our continued prayers. Sara asks you pray God’s will for these children will be realized and they will be put in the best custody situation possible. Please pray for God’s guidance in the lives of the ex-husband, John and Sara and that they might hear Him.

Paul S suffers from severe schizophrenia remains stable with his medication, but needs God’s guidance. He gives thanks for improvement in his housing situation.

Hap asks you to pray that he might be able to trust God will help him make the right decisions at the right time and not to worry uselessly.

Guidance and Protection
Christina, Sarah

Economic Guidance and Assistance
Keith is entering the handyman field.  Please pray for God's leading him to work or work to him.  Pray for Susanne as she tutors and teaches online classes while home schooling their four kids, that she may remain strong and able to do all she needs to do to teach their kids and help with finances despite her physical condition (rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.).  Pray for them also to not fear for the future, but to trust in the Lord. 

Mark’s business is very very slow, he asks that God point him to new markets and give him guidance in following God’s will that his business might survive and his employees not lose their livelihood.

Please give thanks for Kevin in the UK who has found a job. While not what he was looking for, he is grateful for work. Please continue to pray that he will find a position that will maintain his family and where he can use his talents to make a positive impact on the world. Please pray also for his family, in particular his wife Beverley, that they might open their hearts and minds to God’s guidance.

To Find Employment
Stephen to find a job that will allow him to use his skill and talent to make his new employer more successful.

Michael and Lita both to find a job that will allow them to use their skill and talent to make their new employer more successful.

Eric, Keith, Kevin and Eric each to find a job that will allow them to use their skill and talent to make their new employer more successful.

Matt and Tracey very good friends of the Hubers. Matt is looking for a new job and they have two young children. Please pray that they are able to find employment soon.

Sonny and Carol have lost their business, their home is in foreclosure. Please pray that they might find an opportunity for gainful employment where they can use their talents to make a positive impact on the world.

Saint Andrew’s Academy is looking for a staff teacher.

Homebound/Aged and Infirm
Mary, Donna, Betty, Noko, Adelaide, Evelyn, Lorraine, Ellie

Armed Forces & Contractors
Tillman, Justin, Evan, RJ, Matt, Phillip, Julian, Joe (USAF - Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait), John Kelly (USN - USS Ronald Reagan), Evan (USMC – Afghanistan), Eric (USN – Afghanistan)

Persecuted
Around the world, Christians are under attack, not only in the Muslim world, but from Hindus and others in India. Also, they are under continual attack in the western world as it becomes more and more actively atheist or pro-devil buddy. Please pray for God’s guidance and protection for all persecuted Christians and those around them.

Thanksgiving
George, a friend of Susanne Barrett who lives in northern Georgia, experienced a recurrence of bladder cancer earlier this year and we've been praying for him since then.  Recent tests have shown everything is perfectly clean. George and his family ask you to join them in prayers of grateful thanksgiving.

Free Teen Guitar Class
Please join us in praying that the Free Teen Guitar Class will be an opportunity for God to work in the lives of the kids and their families. Help us to let the love of our Lord shine through us into their lives, putting Him first, so that He might enter in to their hearts and lives.

Thought for the Day
Before you write anyone off based on what they have done in the past, think of Saul of Tarsus. What an evil fellow. Yet, in a twinkle of the eye, he became Paul. More than that, through the grace of God, he repented and went forth in the Name of God and Christ working through the Holy Ghost. If you listen to God, He will help you do amazing things. Yet, if he had not listened, there would have only be Saul.

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

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 you want to write something, please forward your item to the Beadle (with a note as to whether or not you would like editing help) to: thebeadle@mac.com.

Free Teen Guitar Class (FTGC – www.freeteenguitarclass.com)
There is a new Class Schedule in effect:

FTGC New Class Schedule:

Advanced 2:30-3:20pm
    
Continuing 3:20-4:00pm (Beginners shift to Intermediate having learned all 6 strings and get to move on to chords)

       Beginning 4:00-4:50pm (A new class & those redoing the material; it’s okay to do both Intermediate and Beginner classes)

For anyone wanting to start again this is the time!

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

1 February 2009 Don Patton
8 February 2009 Stephanie Boyd
15 February 2009 Tim Macauley
22 February 2009 Jack Arnold

Annual Parish Meeting
The annual parish meeting opened with a prayer and review of our Mission Statement:

Following Anglican tradition, we will grow closer to God and spread the good news of His Son Jesus Christ, our Savior, locally and throughout the world by prayer, word and deed.

Minutes
The minutes from the 2008 meeting were briefly reviewed and accepted subject to correction.

Budget
The budget recommended by the Budget Committee was approved, it forecasts spending $45,000.00, with revenues expected of $35,600.00. This is a $9,400.00 deficit. Approval was contingent on the Vestry maintaining a close eye on the actual numbers. At the April Vestry Meeting, if there is actually a shortfall the Vestry was directed to balance the budget by cutting expenses as needed. It was noted that 85 percent of the budgeted expenses are contained within the priest’s salary (extremely small as it is) outside ministry and Deacon Training.

Vestry Membership
The Vestry is our church Board of Directors. Aaron Huber had been appointed by the Vestry to fill the one month remaining on the open seat. The congregation elected him by universal acclamation on recommendation of the Vestry to be an elected member of the Vestry. As the result of a one time suspension of the bylaws on this point, all Vestry members terms were extended by one year. The current Vestry is as follows:

Ben Lizak Senior Warden
Hap Arnold Junior Warden
Jan Macauley Clerk
Greg Chase Treasurer
Don Patton Member
Aaron Huber Member
Jack Arnold Scribe

Our parish and the Greater Anglican Communion
We belong to the Diocese of the West of the Reformed Episcopal Church and are part of the process of forming the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Our parish and/or rector belong to the Western Anglicans and Forward in Faith, NA. We have sister REC parishes around the country. We are a traditional and orthodox parish, as is the Diocese of the West. For the most part, so is the Reformed Episcopal Church. Some of the other groups we are attempting to make common cause with to form the Anglican Church in North America are traditional and orthodox. Others are not. We are not going to go down hill, we hope to bring them up the hill. It was brought up that the “Standard Prayer Book of the ACNA” is held to be the 1662 BCP, an English Book., and perhaps earlier versions.

All in all, we believe that Bishop Boyce is on the right track. Our support for him was reaffirmed by universal acclamation.

Beadle’s Comment on the BCP issue
The Beadle is not at all interested in the 1662 BCP. He feels the 1928 BCP comes far closer to theological, historical and traditional perfection and is a major improvement to the 1662, which itself was contradictory to some earlier practices. In addition, the model of the Anglican Church is a National Church. He understands temporarily associating churches from both Canada and Mexico into the newly forming church, but would expect that is only temporary. The churches in both Canada and Mexico should have their own national church. Both Bishop Cranmer and Henry the Eighth were very clear on that when they backed the formation of the Church of England. The 1928 BCP is an American National Book of Common Prayer. The Beadle believes backers of the 1662 adoption are the same people who would not admit they erred by adopting the use of the heretical 1979 Said to Be BCP. The Beadle views the 1662 BCP as an interesting historical document and is fine going to services using it in England. He will not participate in any way shape or form in adopting it or using it in this country. That is all.

The near future, as well as Next Sunday

Sunday
Next Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany and the Sunday before Ground Hog Day. It is also the first Sunday of the Month: thus Free Teen Guitar Class Sunday. We expect to have ten guitarists playing on Sunday, a new high! Try to get to church early to help set up.

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/BeadleBlog/Blog/Blog.html

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

thebeadle@mac.com

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