Liturgy Lesson for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity: Spiritual Attitude Check
July 31, 2011
We approach the Holy Table—after hearing the Word proclaimed, asking for mercy in the Kyrie, declaring our Faith in the Creed and even confessing/being absolved —with the Prayer of Humble Access, our admission of unworthiness of the privilege God affords us by His Sacrament—where we partake of His life-giving nature in the Real Presence. Since it prepares us to receive that infusion of life He promised us in it, our prayerbook very appropriately makes this the last thing we do before actually receiving the Lord’s Presence in the consecrated elements. It calls us to examen—asking God the Holy Ghost to show us the places in our lives where we need His help to change, in order to avoid eating or drinking unworthily at the Lord’s Table. This is an important concept, because Scripture teaches if we have unresolved sin (or its attendant attitudes, such as bitterness or unforgiveness) in our hearts, we are more liable to incur God’s judgment from Communion than His blessings—not a pleasant prospect. After this last spiritual “attitude check” then, we rightly approach by reverently and humbly kneeling (making ourselves small before God), taking the bread in palms open and lifted high to His ministry and grace, and not manipulated with closed fingers. Likewise, we take the cup firmly, with both hands, embracing Christ’s nature to replace our own, praying silently the devotion St. John Baptist gave us, “More of Him…Less of me.” No wonder we usually follow with the ancient Gloria in Excelsis (High Gloria) —we’ve received our magnificent Lord entirely by His Grace and not by our own merits—joining in the ancient angelic praise—“Glory be to God on high”— recharged by the Holy Ghost via the Sacrament!
How We Select Our Vestry
July 29, 2011
Anglican Answers
Question: How are members of the vestry selected? What do they do?
Answer: Father Chip has compiled a detailed answer to these questions—download How We Select Our Vestry for the complete answer.
Outreach Project: School Supplies for Larkspur Elementary School
July 27, 2011
Keli Hausman, Larkspur Elementary School’s Family Specialist, has requested help from All Saints with providing school supplies to their nearby school. Their students are always in need throughout the year. She advised that their biggest need item is pencils. The second is pocket folders with brads, and the third is composition books.
You can download a school supply list for other school supply needs.
The children and families of Larkspur Elementary are one of our many continuing outreach efforts. Based on this call to action, we will be having an All Saints’ School Supply Drive for them beginning this Sunday, July 31 through Sunday, August 21.
If you are called to support this outreach effort, please place your donated school supplies in the Christian Assistance Ministry (CAM) bin located in Ballard Hall. Your prayers for this outreach effort are appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Wimp at outreach@allsaintsanglican.net.
“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” -Romans 12:13
Liturgy Lesson for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity: St. James
July 24, 2011
Tomorrow, we commemorate St. James, a fisherman, the son of Zebedee, who with his brother of John, being called in their hearts by the Lord, left their family business to follow Jesus—after Jesus miraculously filled their previously empty nets with fish, in a place where the seasoned fishermen most likely doubted fish were. In fact, the successive calls were: (1) to friendly acquaintance (John 1:37); (2) to intimacy (Matt 4:18); (3) to permanent discipleship (Luke 5:11); (4) [toward the close of the first year of our Lord's ministry] to apostleship (Matt 10:1); (5) to renewed self-dedication, even unto death (John 21:15-22). This gives us a powerful lesson from our liturgical calendar. St. James, who was a pragmatic “man’s man,” allowed the Lord to so transform his life that he became a man of faith so fiery the Lord called him and his brother, St. John, the “Sons of Thunder.” It was not a precipitous change, however; the men allowed the Lord to gradually change their hearts from a shallow, soulish interest, to being drawn close to the Lord to a point where they wanted to change their habits and attitudes in learning and training to giving up their lives for Jesus. Like the Church year, and the Mass itself, their lives are a model of our lives in the Lord—being drawn to Him at first by our emotions, allowing Him to be close to us in our hearts, becoming more willing to be changed elementally by Him, and finally giving up our lives—saving them in the end because we have lost them for Him!
Happy 400th Birthday, King James Bible
July 19, 2011
The King James Version of the Bible, also known as the Authorized Version, was first published in 1611. In spite of the availability of many modern translations the KJV is still popular 400 hundreds years later.
Learn more about the King James Bible:
- Timeline of the Bible
- A Brief History of the King James Bible
- Authorized King James Bible
- Digitized KJV of 1611
Locally, the San Antonio Public Library has a special display of the 1611 King James Bible.
Enjoy a poetic tribute to the King James Version on its 400th birthday in this video:
Liturgy Lesson for the Fourth Sunday in Trinity: the Church Year in the Eucharist
July 17, 2011
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 (Prayers for Christ 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!
The Highest Form of Worship
July 12, 2011
“The rabbis thought that study, and not prayer, was the highest form of worship. They pointed out that when we pray, we speak to God, but that when we study the Scriptures, God speaks to us. Of course they weren’t advocating a coldly intellectual approach to Scripture, but the kind of study that is motivated by a deep reverence or God’s Word.” Ann Spangler, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
Liturgy Lesson for the Third Sunday after Trinity: Rubrics and Repentance
July 10, 2011
In the Book of Common Prayer, there are italic directions, called “rubrics” (reds) because of their original red lettering. They hold the force of canon law, and 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 intend 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!
VBS Will Soon Be Here—Register Now!
July 9, 2011
Vacation Bible School will be here soon!
When: July 18-22, 2011 from 6-8:15pm
Who: Kids from 3-12 yr (Nursery provided under 3 yr)
What: Dinner is provided each night (yeah Moms!) AND
Moms get their own dinner and fun (see “Women’s Ministry Event”)
To register your child for Vacation Bible School, complete the registration form, print a copy for yourself, and hit the submit button. A popup box will ask if you use a desktop email program (such as Outlook) or Internet email program (such as gmail or yahoo). Be sure to allow popups from this site if you have a popup blocker activated. Select the appropriate type of mail and click OK. Your email program will open with a message addressed to vbs@allsaintsanglican.net—send the message to complete the registration.
If you encounter any problems sending the message, you can send the copy of the form you saved on your computer to vbs@allsaintsanglican.net.
If you have questions, email vbs@allsaintsanglican.net
Book Review: Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
July 9, 2011
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler
Available in the All Saints Bookstore
Reviewed by Lillie Ammann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Bible says, and our priest often reminds the congregation, that we Gentile Christians are grafted into Israel’s tree. This book gave me a better understanding of the Jewishness of Jesus and of the meaning of being a disciple. The word disciple means “learner,” but it’s more like “apprentice” than “student.” Although Jesus was unique as the Son of God—the Messiah, traveling rabbis were common in the days Jesus lived on earth. Like other rabbis of His day, He traveled with his disciples and stayed in the homes of people who wanted to hear Him teach. His disciples lived with Him and learned not only from what He said but what He did and from how He lived His life. By having a better understanding of the culture and lifestyle of His time, we can be better disciples.
View all my reviews
