All Saints Clean-Up Day: October 23
September 29, 2010
The vestry has selected Saturday, October 23, as All Saints Clean Up Day.
Volunteers are needed to clean:
- The church proper
- The classrooms and attached storage room
- Ballard Hall
- Restrooms
- Choir Room
- Prayer Room
- Sacristy
- Elisha House
- The grounds
Everyone should bring their own cleaning supplies: pails, spray cleaners, rags, etc. Those working in the yard should bring tools: saws, mowers, rakes, etc.
Intercessory Prayer Training Coming Soon
September 28, 2010
Intercessory prayer training is being scheduled. Anyone interested should contact the office by the middle of November.
The four-hour training is based on the book, The Sword of the Spirit, The Word of God: A Handbook for Praying God’s Word by Joy Lamb, which will be available for purchase.
Everyone is welcome to participate in the training: members of the intercessory prayer team, people interested in becoming part of the intercessory prayer team, those desiring to know more about what the intercessory prayer team does, and anyone who wants to enrich their personal prayer life.
Even if you have attended the training in the past, you can deepen your prayer life by participating again.
Call the parish office at 210-344-1920 or e-mail admin@allsaintsanglican.net to express your interest.
Liturgy Lesson for St. Michael and All Angels: Spiritual Battles
September 26, 2010
We celebrate St. Michael the Archangel, along with all God’s angels today, not for their own sake, but for the ministry among us for God. Created on a higher order than unresurrected man, these celestial beings have intelligence and will and are personal, immortal creatures. Although the word angel means messenger, they have a variety of Biblical roles and ranks: angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, thrones, choirs, dominions, principalities, and powers. Interestingly, Scripture never describes winged angels visiting humans. In fact, in several passages, people visited by angels don’t even realize they aren’t ordinary men until it is revealed. St. Michael, one of Scripture’s seven archangels, is mentioned twice in Daniel—as Chosen People’s helper, once in Jude—disputing with Satan over Moses’ body, and once in Revelation—defeating the Dragon, Satan. A Heavenly warrior, he has been seen of as a protector of individual Christians against the Devil, especially at the hour of death, when his ministry is associated with conveying the Faithful Departed to God. His feast originated in the sixth century and was known in England, as “Michaelmas,” for “Michael’s Mass,” in honor of the day’s festive Eucharist. St. Michael, (whose name means Who is like God? in Hebrew) is the armored commander of the angelic host who will engage and conquer Satan and his demon armies and is considered the Church’s defender, and is, then, represented in art more often than any other angel. He is an excellent reminder of St. Paul’s reminders in Ephesians 6 and 2 Corinthians 10 that our battles in this life are spiritual and not fleshly—and that our God is the Lord of Victory for all who wear His mark.
CAM Urgent Needs
September 25, 2010
CAM urgently pop-top cans of food for sack lunches for the homeless. Deliver your donations to the bin in Ballard Hall.
CAM Volunteer Project Day, Saturday, October 9
September 24, 2010
All Saints will be having a volunteer project day at the Christian Assistance Ministry’s downtown location (110 McCullough, San Antonio, TX 78215) on Saturday, Oct 9, 2010 from 9:00 am-12:30 pm. We will be sorting clothing for their clients, producing lunches and grocery sacks, along with building hygiene kits.
A sign up sheet for anyone interested in participating will be in Ballard Hall. Contact Bill Wimp, cam@allsaintsanglican.net, with questions.
Jesus said unto them,” The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest.” ~ Luke 10:2
Liturgy Lesson for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity: Cliff’s Notes of Christianity
September 19, 2010
The Apostle’s Creed is our most ancient summary of the Faith, frequently linked to the Apostles themselves. In this “Cliff’s Notes” of Christianity, there has always been questions about the statement “He descended into Hell,” referring to Christ’s entry to the nether regions after His death on the Cross. To some, the descent into hell represents the physical agony of death upon the Cross. To others, the word hell means Hades or Sheol, the collective abode of the dead, divided into Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom—the state of God-fearing souls—and Gehenna, the state of ungodly souls. Thus the descent into hell suggests the Son conveyed the sins of the world to hell; or preached the Good News of deliverance to the godly dead such as Lazarus the beggar and the repentant thief. A third-century Syrian Creed speaks of Jesus, “…crucified under Pontius Pilate and departed in peace, in order to preach to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints concerning the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead.” Still others believe the descent provides God’s justice by providing an opportunity for all mankind—in eternity as well as in time—to hear the message of redemption from the Word Himself. Whatever interpretation we accept, we should study the Scripture this teaching derives from closely. Some of the standard texts are Job 38:17, Psalm 68:18-22; Matthew 12:38-41; Acts 2:22-32; Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:7-10, 1 Peter 3:18-20, and 1 Peter 4:6. However we approach it, we must remember the outcome—Christ came forth, leading captivity itself captive, and holding the keys of Death and Hell. He is our victory and life—and will never leave us!
The Joy of Service: Ask or Give a Favor to “do good unto … them of the household of faith”
September 13, 2010
Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians (chapter 6, verse 10), “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
To make that job easier, we now have a bulletin board in Ballard Hall where we can match the “opportunities” with those who can do the needed “good.”
- If you would like to ask a favor of your church family, simply fill out a “Wish Slip” and post it on the board. Someone who can help out will remove the “Wish Slip” and contact you regarding the favor.
- Want an opportunity to help? Simply check out the posted “Wish Slips” to find something you’d like to help with. Then contact the person needing the favor to work out the details.
Just look for the bulletin board marked “The Joy of Service” in Ballard Hall.
Liturgy Lesson for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity: The Chasuble as a Silent Sermon
September 12, 2010
As with nearly all of our ancient Faith practice, we’re formed by the things we see. Those visual clues—the silent sermons—in the liturgy, the altar, its adornments, the sacred vessels, and the vestments assist us in growing our Faith and relationship to our Lord. Not surprisingly, then, there is a silent sermon with donning the chasuble, as well. The most conspicuous garment worn by the priest during Mass is the chasuble, or outer vestment, from the Latin casuala, meaning “small house.” The beauty and dignity of this most visible Eucharistic vestment is essential in a properly ordered liturgy. When a new priest receives the chasuble at his ordination, the bishop exclaims to him, “Receive the sacerdotal (sacred and priestly) garment, for the Lord is powerful to increase in you charity (love) and perfection (holiness, completion).” The chasuble literally and symbolically overlays all the other vestments—as all other virtues begin with and rely on the supreme virtue of charity—God’s unchanging love that can make us all complete in Him. The celebrant dons this last and most comprehensive vestment to signal the holiest work at the altar is about to begin. In ancient times, it heralded the end of the Mass of the Catechumens—also called the ante-communion—that part of the service those being trained for confirmation (catechumens) were allowed to worship in. When the chasuble was donned, it silently instructed the catechumens to depart while calling those who had been confirmed—the faithful—to prepare for the Canon (standard) of the Mass—the consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord to be distributed to His people. The silent sermon here reminds us all we are allowed to the Holy Table only by God’s Grace and partake of it unworthily at great peril. It tasks us to examen, confession, and submission to our Lord before celebrating His one sacrifice and taking His nature for ours. It also reminds us of our baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire—and our immersion by that inward and spiritual grace in the Lord Himself. Once the Canon of the Mass ends and we have taken upon us Christ’s nature through the Sacraments, the celebrant removes the chasuble as the signal that we are now ready to be sent into the World to carry God’s Grace and to demonstrate our lives in Him to the World. Removing the outer garment preaches to us that we are open to the world’s inspection and are ready to work in the fields for the Kingdom. The ancient Church underscored this in the dismissal when they used the Latin “Ite, missa est,” meaning “Go, you are sent,” referring to our work continuing the work of the Apostles—carrying the Good News to the World around us!
Remembering 9/11
September 6, 2010
NEXT SATURDAY is 9/11
We will combine the Litany with Morning Prayer beginning at 8 AM.
The Intercessors will host an hour of prayer at Noon to pray for the survivors and those who died on September 11th, peace in the world, God’s will upon world leaders, and grace and protection upon our military members and their families. Everyone is encouraged to come and pray for our country.
Salt & Light and Beth Moore courses will be conducted at their normal times and the Daughters of the King will meet at 11AM.
Liturgy Lesson for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity: Offices of Instructions
September 5, 2010
The Offices of Instruction, found in our prayer book on pp 283-295 and 571-576 are there to teach candidates for Baptism and Confirmation the most basic aspects of the Christian life. They are also there to remind us all of the need to renew and edify ourselves in the Christian life through a method called “catechism,” a term taken from the Greek katecheo, meaning to sound towards, sound down upon, resound, to charm with resounding sound, to fascinate; to teach orally, to instruct; to inform by word of mouth; to be orally informed. Taken in context with how it’s used, it paints a picture of how the Church has always trained its members—by oral instruction. The interactive method here emphasizes the need for both initial and continuing Christian development. No wonder St Paul, writing to St. Timothy, taught him to “study to show thyself approved.” The word “study” means to exert one’s self, endeavor, give diligence and is taken from a root word that means to “foot,” or place ourselves at the teacher’s feet. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 amplifies it: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. The love of the Lord and His Word in our hearts implies fascination with and discussion of His commandments to us via Scripture. Unfortunately, some think we have all we need when we’ve grasped the rudiments found in the Offices. Not so. The truth is the catechism is the first in a lifelong corporate learning process needed to grow in the Lord—and something we offer to all our members in Sunday School, Koinonia, Bible Study, and other ministries. If you’re not part of the corporate learning process—pray about joining!
