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Building the Church for Generations to Come
Faith starts in your heart - but if you plant it in the world around you...a miracle occurs. It grows and grows. It becomes the cedar of Lebanon that builds our Church. What you see today is the growing faith of generations who came before. Are you planting the seeds that will outlive you?
As time goes by, our role in life changes. This is also true of our role in the Church. Younger people look to us for guidance and earned wisdom. As our journey progresses, we deepen our relationship with God, and we expect more of ourselves. We are called to be leaders in our Church.
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n retirement, many of us find time to slow down and recognize God's gifts and influence on our path in life. We truly appreciate how far we have come, the relationships we enjoy with those most important to us, the blessings of our work. The hand of God has guided us through it all and we reflect in gratitude. Others, realizing somewhat belatedly that they have not been as conscious of God's daily presence may wish to recognize this in a meaningful way. It is here we find the call of stewardship, the call to return to the Lord with increase. It begins with one simple acknowledgment: "Yes, Lord, I am grateful."
Stewardship is what we do, all of the time, with everything God has given us. As good stewards, it is our responsibility to plan for the just and equable distribution of our estate. Members of Bethesda's Heritage Society have made provision for the church in their estate plans, ensuring that there will be funding for future ministries in years to come.
For more information on the Heritage Society, please contact Turia Roebuck- Hayden at 561-655-4554 ext. 110,
Turia@bbts.org
Turia Roebuck-Hayden
Outreach and Development Coordinator
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SUNDAY, JULY 8, 2018
Preacher (8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.): The Rev. Margaret E. McGhee
*8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
8:45 a.m. Coffee Hour, Parish Hall
9:00 a.m.
Summer Choir, Choir Room
*#10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist
11:15 a.m. Coffee Hour, Parish Hall
Sea Sunday
Parish Hall
Join us in Parish Hall during Fellowship Time to learn about our Port Project and how Deacon Clay serves those seafarers who visit the Port of Palm Beach
PARKING: Persons attending Sunday services will be allowed to park on
ALL of Barton Avenue and the south side of Pendleton Avenue
without receiving a ticket until 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
* nursery care for infants through age 2 is
available from 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Click here to view the service leaflet for this Sunday.
Click here to view this week's Bethesda Happenings.
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Message from the Bishop
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in time of trouble.
Those who know your Name will put their trust in you,
for you never forsake those who seek you, O Lord. (Ps. 9:9-10)
No one who has been a witness to the events in our nation over the past several weeks can be unmoved by what has been taking place. The present situation with respect to all that is happening to those who are detained at our borders is deeply disturbing. It is not clear, for example, that children are not being used as pawns in a political game that is going terribly wrong. In an attempt to enforce bad laws in a bad immigration system in desperate need of reform, rather than doing the hard work of real change in immigration policies, we are inflicting wound upon wound.
For some time the harshest consequences of our current political dysfunction have been being borne by children and young people. Whether they are our children in our schools where there has been such devastating gun violence, or young people affected by DACA, or children who have been separated from their parents at the border, the cost of our present policies - or lack of them - on children and young people are intolerable. It is not good enough to say, for example, that because parents may or may not have entered the country illegally the forced removal of their children is the consequence. In no other arena do we demand such a price from children.
We remember that in the moral tradition people have a right to migrate to survive and live lives of human dignity. This has always been so, and in order to ensure the dignity of the human person, migration may be an ethical urgency. We also understand in the moral tradition that a state has the right and the duty to regulate its borders efficiently, it must do so not simply with justice, but with mercy. We have it in ourselves to be a compassionate nation, and as Archbishop Wenski often says, we shall not make America great by making America mean.
We remember too that it is never legitimate to use human beings - young or old - in any kind of political brinkmanship or legal maneuvering. The human person is never a means to an end, and the Biblical identity of the human person as one who is made in the image and likeness of God means necessarily that in dealing with human beings we are dealing with those who have been invested by God with an inalienable identity. In law this translates to the principle that no one may be stripped of fundamental human rights, whatever the circumstances.
And we remember that the State (as well as the human family) has a fundamental responsibility to safeguard children and young people. In the normal course of events, this responsibility overrides almost every other consideration. Such safeguarding involves not just positive actions, but the avoidance of negative ones. While it may be true that in individual cases, such as those that involve abuse, the State must separate children from parents, there can be no justification for the mass separation of children from parents as a matter of policy, and there is no question that such actions have devastating consequences on the lives of young people whose futures as fully functioning adults and citizens is thereby deeply compromised.
While the policy of automatic forced separation of children from their parents at the border has now been reversed, there remain the thousands of children who have already been separated from their parents, some of whom are being detained here in South Florida. It is unclear yet what is to happen to them, and when, or indeed whether at all, they will be reunited with their families. This is a profoundly disturbing situation that must be remedied immediately.
Whatever goals our politicians have in mind, the price that is being paid in human lives is too high, and we find ourselves in the ignominious position as a nation of adding to human suffering, rather than alleviating it. Our nation has always placed the relief of human suffering at the heart of our self-understanding. We have offered the very blood of our citizens so that others may be spared further suffering at the hands of others. The cost that is being demanded of us in the present moment is not blood, but mercy, and a commitment to lay aside partisanship for a better future not just for those who seek to come to this country, but for all who call this country home.
We have squandered such moments in the past. May we not squander this moment, for God's sake and our own.
With every blessing.
+Peter
28 June 2018
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Youth mission trip to Honduras
The youth mission team had their first full work day in Honduras. After taking a bus tour of San Pedro Sula and shopping in a local market, we launched into several work projects including painting, crafts with the girls at Our Little Roses, and even installing a clean water system in the dining area of the home. We have more work in the days ahead and more things to see in Honduras. Please continue to pray for our youth as they witness to God's love in the lives of the children they work with. To see more
click here
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Save the Date!
Bethesda's Celtic Pilgrimage
May 3 to May 15, 2019
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This Sunday's Lectionary 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
the Call of Ezekiel and the reference in it to Ezekiel as "ben adam" (literally "son of the earthling") and variously translated in the Bible as "Mortal," "a human being" and "Son of Man." It also discusses Paul's recounting of his mystical experience.
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Ezekiel is one of the three "Major" Prophets - so called because of the length of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a Zadokite priest (descended from the High Priest Zadok in the time of David and Solomon) and was among the first group of persons deported by the Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem in 597 BCE. His name means "God strengthens."
The Book of Ezekiel is in three parts: (1) Chapters 1 to 24 are prophesies of doom against Jerusalem before the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE; (2) Chapters 25 to 32 are prophesies against foreign nations; and (3) Chapters 33 to 48 are prophesies of hope for the Judeans written during the Babylonian Exile (586-539 BCE).
Similar to other prophets, Ezekiel "prophesies" by speaking for God. Prophesy in the Hebrew Scriptures is not about telling the future. A prophet is one who speaks for YHWH.
Today's reading is part of the "Call of Ezekiel" and follows the nearly psychedelic visions of God described in Chapter 1.
In verse 1, Ezekiel says that God addressed him as "O mortal" - the translation used 93 times in the Book of Ezekiel for the Hebrew words "ben adam." "Ben adam" literally means "son of the earthling/human." "Adam" was the "name" of the person who was fashioned from fertile earth (in Hebrew, "adamah") by YHWH in Genesis.
"Ben adam" is elsewhere translated in Scripture as "Son of Man" or "human being" in Daniel 7:13, and Son of Man is a frequent title given to Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels.
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
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.
Based on internal references in the two remaining letters to the Corinthians, scholars agree that Paul likely wrote at least four letters to the Corinthians. The so-called Second Letter to the Corinthians is composed of fragments of these letters.
In today's reading, Paul describes his own mystical experience of God as validation of his own spiritual authority. His experience is an ecstatic one ("whether in the body or out of the body I do not know"). In verse 7, Paul then spoke of a "thorn" with which he was afflicted, the nature of which is not known. Rather than asserting the Hellenistic ideal of sufficiency to overcome hardships, Paul accepted hardships as coming from God who will also give grace that is sufficient (v.9).
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Middle Way resumes on Wednesday, September 19.
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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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Invitation for Altar Flowers
We invite you to make a contribution in memory of (deceased), in honor of (living), or in thanksgiving for (celebration) your loved ones. Your contribution provides for flowers, plants, and altar adornments necessary for worship services throughout the year.
Suggested contribution is $100 per name
to be printed in the service leaflet for a desired Sunday.
In order for names to be printed in the Sunday service leaflet, they must be received two weeks prior to the desired Sunday--
click here.
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Father James'
Sabbatical Blog
You can follow Father James on his
sabbatical
journey.
Subscribe to his Reflections posts for email updates.
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Have someone you would like us to pray for?
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Nautical Knitters
Saturdays | 10:30 a.m. | Library
Nautical Knitters are a group of knitters who provide handmade watch caps and scarves for the Port Ministry. These necessities are then blessed and given to mariners at the Port of Palm Beach. All-including beginners-are welcome to attend this fun and free activity.
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Save Your Samples
As you travel, remember to save the small soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, etc. found in your hotel room. Last year we made 300 gift bags for seafarers who were at sea on Christmas Day. Let's do the same this year.
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There's no need to be a professional singer; all you need is a pleasant voice and some basic music-reading ability. Rehearsals begin in the Choir Room promptly at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings as the choir prepares music for the 10:00 a.m. service. This choir continues through the second Sunday of September. Please join us when you can!
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St. George's Sandwich Making
Fridays | 8:00 a.m. | Kitchen | Every Friday people of all ages meet in the kitchen to make sandwiches for the St. George's Community Center in Riviera Beach. The Center serves over 1,900 meals a week. This is a fun opportunity to help feed those in need in our community while getting to know fellow parishioners.
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SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, December 15
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's very own Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation, The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, will be at Bethesda in December. More details to follow.
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We pray for...
Adrienne, Alan, Angela, Austin Bob, Bonnie, Brenda, Carlin, Chris, Danny, Donna, Dorothy, Ellen, Ernie, Evan, Flonell, Georgia, Gisela, Glenn, Holly, Hunter, Jack, Jo, Joe, John, Judy, Kelley, Luca, Marijane, Mary, Mary Ann, Matthew, Michael, Pat, Peggy, Regine, Ricky, Robert, Ron, Sebastian, Sean, Shannon, Sharon, Shawn, Stephen, Sylvia, Taryn, Thomas, Tim, Tom, Tommy, Trish, Ward,
and those serving our country...Alex, Benjamin, Christian, Clara, Eric, Harold, Herbert, John, Lorne, Luster, Michael, Sean, and Tommy.
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Memorial Day through Labor Day,
our office hours will be
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Thursday, and
9:00 a.m. to noon on Fridays
(church and grounds will remain open
until 5:00 p.m.).
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The Church Mouse
Summer Hours
The Church Mouse is now closed for the summer. However,
we are open for donations throughout the summer, 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.
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