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I was received into the Episcopal Church at Bethesda on Mothers' Day in 1998. This was fitting as I viewed my "church life" to be mainly about raising my own children as Christians. I joyfully watched their church life unfold in ways far richer than I had imagined. Christmas pageants, Boar's Head festivals, youth group with Father Drew, Night of Joy adventures, mission trips to Our Little Roses, weekly worship and education all provided a foundation of Christian community and built a framework of faith for them.
Naturally my own first ministry was teaching church school. Before long I became a Boar's Head committee member, usher, and Vestry member. With all these experiences, I believed I knew what Bethesda was all about.
Serving as Senior Warden has shown me that I had barely scratched the surface of all Bethesda means. Daily, I witness how deeply our clergy care about each one of us, flawed as we are. I rejoice at our diverse faith community whose people gather together to pray, read God's word, and spread Christ's teachings in a myriad of ways. I marvel at a small army of people who diligently practice traditional worship ministries - and at the same time open their hearts to new ways of experiencing the presence of God. I am humbled by the commitment of our outreach leaders and volunteers: serving others and in the process drawing closer to God themselves. I see dedicated leaders thoughtfully plan our direction and raise the funds to support Bethesda's missions.
Every one of us has the responsibility to share our treasure to support these ministries for our faith community of today and for future generations. The more I experience the Spirit moving in all these good and holy works here, the greater my own financial commitment has become. Please join me in answering the call to increase your pledge amount from last year, or to make your first pledge to Bethesda in 2018.
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Annual Meeting, Election of Vestry Members | This Sunday, January 28, 2018 | 9:15 a.m. | Parish Hall
Nominees for Vestry
Raphael (Ralph) Clemente Charles (Chuck) Hagy, Jr.
Connie Purcell Wendy Victor
Annual Parish Picnic | This Sunday, January 28, 2018 |
12:15 a.m. | Parish Hall
$10 Adults; $5 Children under 12 years old;
$25 Family Max.
Pick up a Vestry brochure in the Narthex
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Sunday, January 28 | Presentation & Dedication of Pledge Cards
So many experience the love of God through our reverent worship, beautiful buildings and grounds, and Christian hospitality at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. How would our lives and the life of Palm Beach be different without the presence of Bethesda? The 2018 Annual Campaign, Building for the Future, is our opportunity to support the faith-filled mission of Bethesda. Our financial support empowers life changing ministry. This Sunday, January 28, we will demonstrate our faithfulness to God and to our common life by placing our pledge cards in baskets as we come forward to receive communion. If you have already turned in your pledge card, THANK YOU! You may take a blank card in the pew rack and indicate that and place your card in the basket if you like. It will be a celebration of the reality of God's abundant grace in our lives and the transformative power of Bethesda-by-the-Sea for Palm Beach and the world that is made possible by YOU! Let us all, therefore, offer God praise and thanksgiving, on Sunday, January 28, by our financial commitment for the blessing of this church we all love.
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Preacher (8:00 & 11:00 a.m.):
The Rev. Thomas Morris
- Please note there will NOT be a 9:00 a.m. service -
*8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Presentation & Dedication of Pledge Cards
9:15 a.m. Annual Meeting, Parish Hall
*#11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Presentation & Dedication of Pledge Cards
12:15 p.m. Parish Picnic
PARKING: Persons attending Sunday services will be allowed to park on ALL of Barton Avenue and Pendleton Avenue
without receiving a ticket until 1:30 p.m.
* nursery care for infants through age 2 is
available from 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
# service will be live-streamed here
Click here to view the service leaflet for this Sunday.
Click here to view this week's Bethesda Happenings.
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Wednesday, January 31, 2018
5:45 to 6:30 p.m. |
Community Supper | Parish Hall
The cost is $10 for adults; $5 for children under 12; $25 family max (payable at the door).
This week's menu: vegetable lasagna, garlic bread, caesar salad, mixed vegetables, banana pudding, and vanilla wafers.
Kindly RSVP here
or call Ayana at (561) 655-4554.
*In order to properly plan and prepare the supper, we need your reservations by noon on Monday.
FEATURED CLASSES
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Celtic Prayer | Guild Room
In this third Wednesday evening devoted to the Celtic experience, we will look at Celtic art from 2,000 years ago that survives in illuminations of ancient bibles and in huge stone crosses and deeply influences Christian art to this day. Expect a visual presentation of art from the Book of Kells and from crosses we will see on Iona. We will also examine art from the Lindisfarne Gospels and come to read and understand the significance of Celtic iconography
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Bethesda at Its Best! | Library
Over a series of four weeks, join the clergy and vestry as we discuss the history, mission, and organization of this remarkable parish and how each of these beautiful threads comes together into a diverse and spirit-filled tapestry.
RECURRING CLASSES
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Bible Study | ECW Room
From Genesis to the Revelation, reading the bible together is a meaningful way for us to deepen our faith while strengthening our ties to one another and the church community. Each Wednesday, Father Thomas and other clergy will offer an informal and instructive opportunity to study the Bible with a focus on historical perspective and scripture's meaning for us in the daily living of our lives. So, bring your bibles to the ECW Room--or use one of ours.
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Liturgy Group| Sunday School Hall
For all children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade who are interested in learning more about what we do on Sunday mornings in our worship services, the Wednesday Liturgy Class will teach them more about what we do and why. Over the course of the year we will explore elements of the Holy Eucharist more in-depth with our young people and also train them to become worship leaders for Sunday services. Topics will include communion, acolyting, music, the liturgical calendar, and saints. If you've ever wanted a class to teach your child about what we do in worship, don't miss this wonderful opportunity.
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Bethesda Youth Group | Youth Room
The Bethesda Youth Group will move from our traditional Thursday night meetings to Wednesday nights to join our Middle Way ministries. Come for dinner at 5:45 p.m. and stay for Youth Group until 7:40 p.m. The Bethesda Youth Group is a fellowship group open to all those in 6th through 12th grade. Members also participate in monthly special events including our annual lock-in, service day, and camping trip to Peanut Island.
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Yoga | Parish Hall West
Physical therapist and yoga therapist, Emily Large, invites all adults for an evening of holistic worship through Christian yoga practice. Physical postures, relaxation, breath techniques, and mental focus create a holistic approach for worship as we will reflect on the themes associated with the liturgical calendar. A requested donation of $10 per class (payable at the door).
CLOSING PRAYER
7:45 to 8:00 p.m. | Compline | Church
An ancient, brief, and contemplative liturgy of the Christian tradition, compline offers an opportunity to give God thanks for the day behind us and pray for rest and safety in the night ahead. A fitting end to the day, compline offers a peaceful and meditative sacred time in the middle of our often frenetic weeks, as well as a beautiful conclusion to our Wednesday evenings together.
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This Sunday's Readings in Context
Parishioner Tom O'Brien, a Canon and Examining Chaplain for Scripture of this diocese, writes brief background descriptions of the Sunday readings. We thank Tom for sharing his learning and love of Scripture with us in this way.
The reading
discusses one vision of the Messiah derived from Deuteronomy (the "New Moses") and Paul's nuanced admonition to the Corinthians about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols.
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Deuteronomy is the fifth (and last) book of the Torah and is presented as Moses' final speech to the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land. "Deuteronomy" comes from Greek words that mean "Second Law" and is structured as a "restatement" of the laws found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Parts of it were revised as late as 450 BCE, but the bulk of the book is generally dated to the reign of King Josiah of Judea (640-609 BCE).
In today's reading, Moses tells the Israelites that YHWH will raise up a prophet "like me" [Moses] as requested by the people at Horeb (the Deuteronomists' name for Mount Sinai). Moses "recounts" that YHWH told him that YHWH would put words in the prophet's mouth and the prophet would speak in YHWH's name (v.18).
These verses in Deuteronomy formed the basis for the vision that the Messiah would be a prophet and the "New Moses." This vision was one among many different visions of the Messiah in circulation in the First Century, including the "New David," the suffering servant, the Paschal Lamb, the Son of Man, and the New High Priest.
The Gospel According to Matthew specifically presented Jesus of Nazareth as the New Moses. This Gospel contains stories about Jesus that are not in any other Gospels and are direct parallels to stories about Moses in the Hebrew Bible. For example, by unusual means, Moses and Jesus avoided death at the hands of rulers who tried to kill all the male infants (Pharaoh and Herod). Moses and Jesus both left Egypt for the Promised Land under God's protection. Moses went up on the mountain (Sinai or Horeb) to obtain the Law, and Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount to fulfill the Law.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50's (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community.
In today's reading, it is difficult to know exactly when Paul is quoting Hellenistic/Corinthian "knowledge" and whether he is quoting it approvingly or not. (Quotation marks were unknown in the First Century; the early predecessors to quotation marks were not used until the 3rd or 4th Century CE. Quotation marks as we know them were developed in the 17th Century.)
In Corinth, sacrificing meat to idols was a normal part of the social fabric. Paul walked a fine line: he did not forbid Corinthians from eating this meat, but he cautioned Jesus Followers that if they ate meat sacrificed to idols, this might harm those who did not fully understand that "no idol in the world really exists" (v.4) and for whom eating meat sacrificed to idols was a "stumbling block" (v.9). Paul admonished that wounding the conscience of one who is weak in this matter would be a sin against the Christ (v.12).
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141 South County Road · Palm Beach, FL 33480
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Bethesda's Mission is to experience the clear and strong presence of God and to understand and spread Christ's teachings through collective worship, learning, and service.
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United Thank Offering InGathering (UTO)
Pick up a blue envelope Sunday, February 4
The United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church. Founded and administered by Episcopal Church Women (ECW) since 1889, UTO continues to address both domestic and international needs through the promotion, collection, and distribution of monies through grants. The blue envelopes are in the pews. Checks should be made out to Bethesda-by-the-Sea with UTO on the memo line. Each year, 100% of the collected offering is granted! May we give prayerfully, joyfully, and generously in the blue envelopes Sunday,
February 4.
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Music at Bethesda
Sunday, February 4 |
3:30 p.m.
| Church
Harold Pysher, organist at The Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, will play a recital at 3:30 p.m., and Evensong with The Bethesda Choir follows at 4:00 p.m. A free-will offering will be received, and a reception will follow in the Parish Hall. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
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Three Events, One Cause:
Eat a meal - Make a meal - Share a meal
Click here for more information and get involved today!
Palm Beach Empty Bowls:
Do you have a favorite charity? As a way to say thank you, how about sending the staff delicious soup from Palm Beach Empty Bowls? So far, the staff at Take Stock in Children and Family Promise of Northern PBC are being treated to lunch by kind supporters, some anonymously. Join the movement, treat someone special and pay it forward!
(
order take out here
)
Palm Beach Unites: Come participate in one of three 60 minute shifts at the Palm Beach Day Academy and be a part of packaging 150,000 healthy meals for those in need.
Share What you Can: Our food drive here at Bethesda benefits C.R.O.S. Ministries Food Pantries, ensuring that families have access to healthy nutritious food. Together we give thanks and "Share What You Can" with those in need.
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St. Mary's Guild
Valentine Bridge Luncheon
Friday, February 9 |
11:30 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m.|
Parish Hall
Contact Pamela Loening at
(561) 376-5991 or
$30.00 per person (includes free valet parking)
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Women at the Well Winter Bible Study
Wednesdays
9:00 a.m. | Parish Hall
This year we will be studying the Old Testament Book of Ruth. It is the story of God's grace and love in difficult times. Ruth's story happens in a period of disobedience, idolatry, and violence in the world. It is also a story of romance, redemption, and hope. Please join us for this women's six week study, lead by The Rev. Cecie Titcomb, Ellen Kaufmann, Georgie Skover, and Vivian Chen. For more information and sign up please call Ayana at the church office at (561) 655-4554.
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Mardi Gras Party
Tuesday, February 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Garth
Our Annual Bethesda Mardi Gras Party benefits the Youth Mission Group's fundraising efforts. This year we will feature a chili cook-off with prizes. Bring your appetite and a guest and support our young people as they seek to raise funds for their mission trips this summer.
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We pray for...
Amelia, Angela, Betsy, Billy, Bob, Catharine, Charles, Chris, Daniel, Dorothy, Ellen, Fred, Garcia Family, Gary, Gisela, Grier, Henry, Holly, Jack, Jane, Jennifer, Jim, Joann, John, Kaki, Katie, Kim, Leslie, Lillian, Lory, Mary, Matthew, Michael, Michelle, Nolan Family, Pamela, Pat, Patrick, Peggy, Penny, Pesetsky Family, Ralph, Rebecca, Regine, Richard, Ricky, Robbie, Robert, Saraine, Scott, Sharon, Stephen, Stephanie, Sylvia, Tami, Taryn, Teresa, Theresa, Thomas, Tom, Ward, and those serving our country...Benjamin, Christian, Clara, Eric, Harold, Herbert, John, Lorne, Michael, Sean, and Tommy.
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The Bethesda Fall Catalog is available...
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