May 4, 2017


Our final Evensong and Recital of the season is this Sunday, May 7. The 3:30 p.m. recital will be performed by The Rev. Karl Van Richards, a wonderful pianist. He will play the "'Pathetique' Sonata" by Beethoven and two works by Chopin, "Nocturne in C-sharp minor" and "Scherzo in B minor."  Karl is Director of Music and an Associate Minister at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Miami. Evensong follows at 4:00 p.m., with the Bethesda Choir singing music by Erik Routley, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Samuel Sebastian Wesley. A reception follows Evensong.
 
Although many of you see announcements about upcoming music events in Bethesda Happenings or in our Sunday leaflets, we maintain a music email list--separate from the main Bethesda-by-the-Sea list--to remind people of our concerts and choral services. If you are not currently receiving these emails, you can easily add your address to our list by clicking here. When you have completed the form, click on SUBSCRIBE TO LIST, and you're now on our list.  Your email address will be used only for music communications from Bethesda-by-the-Sea.
 
We're grateful that so many of you have supported our ongoing First-Sunday series with your regular attendance. Our concerts and choral services will resume in October, and we look forward to having you back with us then!
 
Hal Pysher
Associate for Music and Liturgy
Message from the Senior Warden

Dear Bethesda Friends,

Easter Greetings to you all! This year's Holy Week offerings and Easter Day services continue to resonate with me, as I hope they do with you, through the season of Easter. I give thanks to Father James and Bethesda's clergy, staff, and lay volunteers whose efforts helped us prepare for and fully celebrate Christ's glorious resurrection.
 
Since I have been named Senior Warden, many parishioners have stopped me to ask what the Vestry actually does. In response, the Senior Warden's message after each Vestry meeting will endeavor ... to read more  click here .

Blessings and love,
Beth Cole
Senior Warden

SUNDAY, May 7, 2017
Preacher: The Rev. Burl Salmon

*8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
8:45 a.m. Coffee Hour, Parish Hall
*9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
9:00 a.m. Children's Worship, Sunday School Hall
10:00 a.m. Sunday School Classes, Garth
10:00 a.m. Town Hall Meetings, Parish Hall
*#11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
12:15 p.m. Town Hall Meetings, Parish Hall
3:30 p.m. Recital
4:00 p.m. Evensong
5:00 p.m. Reception

PARKING: Persons attending Sunday services will be allowed to park on ALL of Barton Avenue and Pendleton Avenue
without receiving a ticket until 6:30 p.m.

* nursery care for infants through age 3 is
available from 7:45 a.m. to 12:15 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. 
This Sunday's Offerings
Join us for 
Town Hall Meetings
about 
Sunday Mornings at Bethesda
Members of the Vestry, staff, and other ministry leaders will gather again for Part 2 of our discussion and help us continue to engage in reflection and discussion about what Sunday mornings (and other times of the week) need to be for a church like Bethesda in the 21st century, in a culture that is less and less supportive of organized religion, in a setting with more and more other activities and events taking place on Sundays. 

PART 2, Sunday, May 7 choose the one following the service you plan to attend:
  • Sunday, May 7, 10:15 a.m. (light breakfast served)
  • Sunday, May 7, 12:15 p.m. (light lunch served)
Attend online this Sunday at 12:15 p.m.:
CLICK HERE to attend this meeting online. Enter your name and email then click the orange "ENTER" button. You will be connected then placed in a "waiting room" until the webinar begins. We encourage you to participate by using the online tools. 
OR
  • Thursday, May 11, 6:30 p.m. (light dinner served)

Final Evensong & Recital of the Season | 3:30 p.m. | Church
The Rev. Karl Van Richards, pianist and Associate Minister and Director of Music at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Miami, 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.

 Final Middle Way of the Season
Wednesday, May 10 | 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

6:00 to 6:30 p.m. (serving starts at 5:45 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 we will serve chicken and/or vegetable stir-fry, sauteed vegetables, white rice, and chocolate cake with buttercream frosting K indly  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. 
Living the Questions  | Guild Room
Living the Questions (LTQ) is a series of informative videos in which leading scholars and theologians explore Christian beliefs and practices. Using videos produced by LTQ, Father Burl and Tom O'Brien will lead an interactive conversation with participants about the issues raised in the video presentations. This week we will discuss questions of the rapture as presented in Living the Questions.

Palm Beach History-The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach  | Library
In these final three meetings of The Middle Way this spring, staff of The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach will join us for a conversation about the three Bethesdas and our parish's role in the larger community of Island of Palm Beach. A fitting close to the first year of The Middle Way, these evenings together will focus on our parish's past, its buildings, and the people who provided a legacy for future generations as we continue to grow into who God calls us to be in the twenty-first century.  

RECURRING CLASSES 
6:30 to 7:40 p.m.
Cantate Choir | Choir Room
This intergenerational choir is open to adults of all ages and to youth as young as third grade. Contact  cantate@bbts.org  for more information. 

7:45 to 8:00 p.m. 
Compline | Church
A fitting end to our Wednesday evenings, compline offers a peaceful and meditative sacred time in the middle of our often frenetic weeks.
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.

Acts 2:42-47
The book, "The Acts of the Apostles," was written by the author of the Gospel According to Luke around 85 to 90 CE. 
 
Today's reading is a description of the early Jesus Follower community (they were not called "Christians" until 85 CE or so). It follows the long speech given by Peter after the Pentecost Event and shows that Jesus Followers saw their religious practices as a part of Judaism. Verse 46 states: "They spent much time together in the temple." The Temple was active until its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE in response to the Jewish/Zealot Revolt in 66.
 
The Jesus Followers' devotion to "the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (v. 42) is imported word for word into the Baptismal Covenant used by The Episcopal Church. In Acts, "the breaking of bread" refers both to common meals and to the Lord's Supper. 
 
Common ownership of goods was understood by the Jesus Follower community as consistent with Jesus' teachings, such as those found in Chapter 12 of the Gospel according to Luke.  Common ownership was also practiced in the Essene community at Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found), a religious community that had subtle (but discernible) influences on the Jesus Follower Movement in the First Century. 
 
1 Peter 2:19-25
In the First Century, it was not uncommon to write something in another person's name so that the writing would have extra "authority" - particularly when the writer believed he knew what the "authority" (in this case, Peter) would have said.
 
The First Letter of Peter was likely written in the last quarter of the First Century, long after Peter's death. It was written in sophisticated Greek and resembles the form of Paul's letters.  Its focus is not on the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth, but on the Resurrection and the affirmation that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.
 
Today's reading holds up Jesus the Christ as an example to Jesus Followers of one who endured unjust suffering, based largely on the model of the "Suffering Servant" described in Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12. 
141 South County Road · Palm Beach, FL 33480
(561) 655-4554 ·  www.bbts.org
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.
ECW Spring Annual Meeting
Friday, May 12
2:30 p.m. | Parish Hall
Celebrate "A Love of Art," with fellowship, wine, cheese, and all the trimmings at this year's Spring Annual Meeting with author, Deborah C. Pollack. Her fascinating book, Palm Beach Visual Arts, showcases the beauty of our town. All our Parish women and their guests are welcome, and we hope our men will attend, as well. Come join the fun at our end of the year extravaganza! A $20 suggested donation is payable at the door. RSVP to ecw@bbts.org
Trivia Night
Friday, May 26
7:00 p.m. | Parish Hall
The Bethesda Pilgrimage Group will be hosting a Trivia Night fundraiser. Get a team of eight people together or come on your own and we'll pair you up with a team. It's going to be a night of fun trivia, silent auctions, and more. All profits from the event will go to help the Bethesda Pilgrimage Group with costs for their summer trip. For more information, contact Greg Knight at (561) 655-4555 x114 or e-mail him at knight@bbts.org.
SAVE THE DATES:
June 26 through June 30
This year at Bethesda-by-the-Sea's Vacation Bible School your children will learn about how we are called to love and serve our neighbors in the world.

This will be an arts-based camp complete with different workshops that engage them in making their own artwork and project, learning songs and hymns, engaging in creative drama and movement, playing games, and even having a hand in making their own snacks. 
 
Can't wait to see you there!  Join us at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church on June 26 through June 30 from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  Vacation Bible School is open to all children age 3-9.

Click here to register now! 

For more information, contact Greg Knight at (561) 655-4555 x114 or email him at knight@bbts.org
There will be a $50 registration fee per child for the week.
The Church Mouse
Needs Your Help!
The Church Mouse is in need of your gently-used donations such as crystal, glassware, kitchen items, decorative ceramic, pottery, and art, men and women's clothing, shoes, handbags, scarves, hats, gloves, and belts. 
We are always open for donations at the "Donor Door" located on the south side of the building, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Scheduled donation pickups occur year round and can be arranged by calling us at (561) 659-2154.

Spring Catalog
We pray for...  
Andy, Angela, Bianca, Bill, Bob, Cellie, Charlene, Claudia, Dalia, David, Doug, Ed, Ellen, Eric, Evan, Evans, Geraldine, Holly, Horta, Jackson, Jane, Jennifer, Jerry, Jethro, Joaquin, John, Judith, Joy, Kathy, KJ, Karen, Katarina, Kehs Family, Kimberly, Lada, Laniyah, Lawrence Family, Leigh, Leslie, Lila Ann, Linda, Liv, Mary, Matthew, McLeary Family, Meek Family, Michael, Mimi, Miryam, Nancy, Oba, Pamela, Pat, Patti, Peggy, Penny, Pineiro Family, Ralph, Rebecca, Richard, Ricky, Rita, Robbie, Rosellen, Saliyah, Shirley, Stephen, Sylvia, Taryn, Taylor, Thomas, Toinette, Ward, Weiss Family,  and those serving our country... Benjamin, Clara, Erik, Harold, Herbert, John, Mantis, Michael, and Tommy.
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