Vacation Bible School – Day 1
July 21, 2009
Take a look at the theme, memory verse, and “live it” statement from VBS today along with some great photos.
VBS runs every evening this week from 6 PM to 8 PM.
Contact Jennifer and Rob Goodman at vbs@allsaintsanglican.net for more information.
Tonight Is The Night Vacation Bible School Begins
July 20, 2009
Vacation Bible School begins today!
Wild Wood Forest:
Discover the Untamed Nature of God.
July 20-24th, 6-8 PM
Register Monday evening, 5:45-6:00 PM
Contact Rob and Jennifer Goodman (youth@allsaintsanglican.net) with questions.
Luke 18:16-17 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Download/print PDF file with daily schedule and lessons.
Liturgy Lesson for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity: Rubrics (Reds)
July 18, 2009
In the Book of Common Prayer, there are italic directions, called rubrics (reds) because of their original red lettering. Holding the force of canon law, officiants in any services must comply with them as a means to do things “decently and in order,” as Scripture commands. At the end of the Holy Communion service are general rubrics, intended to govern the administration of the entire service. These instruct the celebrant to refuse the Holy Communion to anyone openly living an evil (unrepentant) life or who have wronged their neighbors by word or deed. It also directs the priest to deny communion to anyone he perceives to have unresolved malice or hatred against their brothers or sisters in Christ. In this, the clergy actually protects those living this kind of life, because they have not repented from sinning and are in danger of partaking in the Lord’s Supper unworthily–that is to say, with unresolved, purposeful sin in their lives-which calls the Lord’s condemnation down on them. This calls the great question, then to us all-have we truly turned from our sins? Are we, as we say in the words of invitation, truly and earnestly repenting from our sins and in love and charity with our neighbors, and intending to lead a new life by following God’s commandments and walking from that point on in His holy ways? If we can answer “yes,” then we can go to the Lord’s Table to receive Communion, allowing the joy of the Lord to quiet our hearts and strengthen us, but if not, we need to do authentic “heart business” with our Heavenly Father, seeking the answer to that question, as the Holy Ghost shows us our hearts! This is the way we have His peace and governance in our world-with a heart broken and ready for His indwelling!
Reminder: Vacation Bible School Next Week
July 17, 2009
VBS REMINDER
Wild Wood Forest:
Discover the Untamed Nature of God.
July 20-24th, 6-8 PM
Register this Sunday before and after worship or Monday evening, 5:45-6:00 PM
Daily Schedule
5:50-6:00 Arrival
6:00-6:15 Opening Assembly
6:15-6:45 “Lite” Dinner and Drama
6:45-7:40 Games and Science Lab Stations
7:45-8:00 Closing Activities
Daily Lessons
Day #1 A Wild Battle- Gideon’s Fight (Judges 7:1-8, 16-22)
Day #2 A Wild Stand- the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:1-29)
Day #3 A Wild Rescue- Paul and Silas’ Night in Prison (Acts 16:16-34)
Day #4 A Wild Encounter- Elijah Meets God in a Whisper (1 Kings 19:9-18)
Day #5 A Wild Love- The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 2:1-12)
We are accepting preschool aged children on up. We also have jobs for teens and adults who remember what it is like to have a child’s heart towards God!
Contact Rob and Jennifer Goodman (youth@allsaintsanglican.net) with questions.
Luke 18:16-17 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Download/print PDF file
Easy Time or Narrow Gate
July 16, 2009
Bible Reading: Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.. –St John 4:34
Bonus Readings: –St John 17:4, 7-8, 12
Summer. When I was a boy here in south Texas, it was my favorite season. I loved the lack of schedule … the time to spend swimming, and with my friends. Watermelon. The sound of the cicadas in the trees. Barbeques. The Fourth of July. Easy time spent slowly … usually on what suited me. But even then, I knew—that wasn’t my assignment in life. Even in vacation time, my real job was growing.
In parish life, summer can be a time of vacations. Parish ministry never slacks … although sometimes attendance and giving does. Whereas God loves us to enjoy our time, the fact is that he wants us back to our jobs of growing. That means we have to persist in growth, even in vacation.
Once, while Francis of Assisi was hoeing his garden, he was asked, “What would you do if you were suddenly told you’d die at sunset today?” He replied, “I’d finish hoeing my garden.” Our perseverance doesn’t change God—it changes us. If we’re willing to continue—even when we feel like coasting—we’ll learn lessons of compassion, understanding, and dependability. We’ll grow.
Jesus is our ultimate example of not coasting. Even as a child of 12, He reminded His distraught parents, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49, NIV). Later, during His public ministry, He told His disciples, “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God … and from finishing his work.”
Even when Jesus was dying, He rejected the challenge of the crowd: “Save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:30). It is so human to let go and quit when under fire or just distracted by life. However, it is divine to hang in there. At the end of His ordeal, Jesus said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).
Many people are letting go, giving in, and quitting or just coasting. How sad to someday realize that we didn’t finish our assignment because we were taking the easy way. Jesus didn’t call us to the easy way—He called us through the Narrow Gate—a place characterized by pressure and velocity.
So, let’s enjoy our easy summer, but not forget our real job—growing.
Contemplative Prayer: “Holy Spirit, on which long-term assignment do I need to firm up my grip?
Think about it: The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.—DAVID ARNOFF (broadcaster)
All love in the Beloved,
Chip+
Most Popular Scripture Searches
July 13, 2009
Bible Gateway has compiled a list of the most popular Bible verses based on a sample of recent searches.
This list isn’t actually based on a straight popularity count; simply tallying the most-read verses results in a top 100 list that consists almost entirely of John 3:16 and verses from 1 Corinthians 13, Genesis 1, Romans 8, and Psalm 23. Our list instead considers instances in which BibleGateway.com users looked at three or fewer verses at one time.
If you’re curious to know what the least popular Bible passage is, it’s 1 Chronicles 23-27, which details the organization of the priests and officials under King David.
You’ll find the complete list, starting with John 3:16, at Bible Gateway.
Liturgy Lesson for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity: Healthy Spiritual Life Cycle
July 10, 2009
When we worship in our Holy Communion service, we actually model the cycle of a healthy spiritual life—and the liturgical Calendar as well. In each mass, we will find a little bit of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and even Trinity! If Advent is all about the Lord’s coming (and His Second Coming), just consider the first prayer, the Collect for Purity—we are asking the Holy Ghost to look into and prepare our hearts—much like St. John Baptist saying, “Prepare ye the Way of the Lord,”—and praying for the Second Coming in the Our Father: “…thy Kingdom come” (Maranatha!). Aside from the proper preface for Christmas that celebrates the Lord’s birth, we proclaim it in the ancient words of the Nicene Creed and declare it with the words of God’s angels on that night in Bethlehem, when we sing the High Gloria—Gloria in Excelsis. Epiphany is in the inclusivity for all mankind in the prayers for Christ’s Church, the confession and absolution, and when we commemorate the Body and Blood shed for all in the Consecration. There is ample Lent—the Collect for Purity (first one in the service), the Kyrie Eleison (Lord Have Mercy), and the Prayer of Humble Access—making us a people of open and contrite hearts when approaching the awesome and powerful Sacrament of Holy Communion. Of course, there is Easter—in the prayers for the faithful departed (Prayer for Christ’s Church), the confession and absolution, and the Consecration (All Glory be to Thee…), all of which come to us by the Resurrection. We invoke the Holy Ghost in the Epiclesis (Greek:“Calling near”) following the Consecration (And we most humbly beseech…) and in the preface for Whitsunday. Finally, we have Trinity—growth time—when we ask the Lord to fill us with His Nature in the Sacraments and continue to grow us in His Grace and blessing in the Consecration and Blessing. Lord, use this service to show us your cycle of grace and growth in our lives—more of you, less of us, as we look forward to your Return in Glory!
Maison Pratt Baptism
July 8, 2009
Father Chip recently baptized Maison, the newest member of the All Saints family, and the daughter of Jim and Emily Pratt and sister of Austin.
What is All Saints’ Position on Women’s Ordination?
July 6, 2009
Anglican Answers
Q: It appears that All Saints in a Spirit filled church with many vibrant ministries. What is this church’s belief on women’s ordination?
A: All Saints is a deeply traditional, yet also completely Biblically-governed and powerfully Spirit-led congregation, practicing the Faith “once delivered” to the saints in the venerable Anglican way. Since we take a conservative approach to Scripture, we make it our number one priority to do exactly as it says. Our view on the ordination of our ladies is a prime example of that outlook.
Female ordination has been a divisive issue across Christianity in general, and particularly in the Anglican communion. In fact, I have even heard a number of bishops, including our present archbishop, refer to the differing opinions on that as the “two integrities,” indicating both have honorable, heartfelt differences on the issue. We share that outlook. Since everyone has to be somewhere, however, we are on the more conservative side of this issue.
Since we have always been concerned with continuing the unbroken practice of the Church since the Apostles themselves, then, we take the position that, whereas there are undeniably good, godly women called to minister in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the issue of Apostolic leadership for them via Holy Orders is far less clear—and, in fact, is actually not well supported in the Canon of Scripture.
This is not to say those who differ with us are in heresy—however, the more conservative viewpoint at All Saints is that these godly women are more properly called to the ancient order of deaconess, rather than the Apostolic Orders of Deacons, Priests and Bishops. As deaconesses, they serve in a number of traditionally ministerial roles, such as teaching, caring for the sick and needy, and prayer, but not as clergy in sacramental, parochial leadership or liturgical settings. The bottom line: there are no female clergy at All Saints.
Of course, there’s a huge amount of discussion on this issue, in a number of venues—ranging from pure emotional arguments, to very scholarly, exegetical Bible study, but the telling truth for us is that references requiring all three of the Biblical leadership posts—deacons, priests and bishops—to be “husband[s] of one wife.” Add the fact that none of our Lord’s apostles were female, even though there were most certainly godly, intelligent women called to His service among the disciples, and we’re convinced that All Saints is on solid and reliable ground limiting ordained ministry to men only. If we’re wrong (and I honestly don’t think we are), then we have remained on the more conservative ground and not moved into a Scripturally-questionable area. In short, it’s more solid ground for us.
This in no way implies condemnation to those Anglican congregations that employ females in clergy roles—but is our faithfulness to our heartfelt convictions—our “integrity” as our bishops like to say. We love them—they love us—and we agree to disagree and let the Lord sort it all out at His perfect time. The Word tells us that Christians are distinguished by the love they have one for another—and so we ask the Holy Spirit to always lead us by that love!
This is the overriding manner in which we do business at All Saints—remaining as close to the guidance we get from Scripture as we can, while also ensuring we are as open to a personal Pentecost as possible. Add our reformed catholic practice, and you can get a good picture of the stability these seemingly opposing influences can provide—the perfect spiritual gyroscope—a true “Three Streams” parish. We love how the Lord works among us!
Commemorate the Day with Solemn Acts of Devotion
July 4, 2009
As John Adams suggested, let us commemorate the Day of Deliverance with solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.
O ETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
