Indoor Worship and Holy Communion

Holy Communion will be available at both the 8:00 am and 10:00 service.
Seating is available on a first come first serve basis.

If you attend in-person, please note:
Masks are required indoors - please wear the mask over your mouth and nose. 
The service will be about 45 minutes.
After the service, feel free to stick around outside and welcome those you have not seen in a while.  

Drive-in Church - drive up, tune your radio to 107.5 FM
Walk-up Church - bring a chair/bike/beach blanket, stay six feet from your neighbor in our garden and grassy area, and listen to the service live.
Live-stream - go to AllAngelsLBK.org, click on the listen live button, and you will be routed to our YouTube channel. 
Zoom - go to https://zoom.us/j/5955701807 and watch and listen live. Be sure to stick around after the service for our coffee hour chat-with-your-neighbor time. 

The bulletin can be found on the All Angels Website: AllAngelsLBK.org
or at the following link: Bulletin for Sunday, October 18
Creating a Sacred Space
While Worshipping God On-Line

All Angels' 10 am service will begin with the lighting of the altar candles. If you are participating at home, you are invited to light a candle with us to create a sacred space of worship at home. 
All Angels in the News Again

All Angels was in the news again!

Veteran's Day Event

The Rotary of LBK is hosting a pandemic- sensitive “drive-by” veteran recognition on Veteran’s Day, November 11, at 1100 in front of Temple Beth Israel. And, the Rotary is conducting a fundraising campaign in support of these three local non-profits who help veterans: Turning Points Yellow Ribbon Project, the Fisher House Foundation, and SRQ Vets. There is a matching gift up to $10,000. To join the “Support those who Served” campaign visit the Rotary’s website, www.longboatkeyrotary.org, or send a check to Rotary LBK Charitable Fund, P.O. Box 8351, Longboat Key, FL 34228.  
Online Giving
All Angels now has an electronic offertory plate! You can find the online giving link on our All Angels website by clicking the link below:
Discussion Group Readings

This was certainly an interesting week of discussions. One thread that came up in each group, including the book study, was altruism. Can one give without getting back? Although there is no clear answer to that, I have an interesting article about effective altruism. It is written in a way that will both inspire and irritate the reader. I'm not sure if that is a good thing, but, it should make for an interesting discussion. 
Blessings to you,
- Dave

Here is the website address for the discussion group: 
Book Study

On Wednesdays at 10 am, we will be studying the book

The weekly class will be available on Zoom:

St. Benedict's Toolbox will cover chapter 9 for the next two weeks. Handouts will be available on Monday. 

The video of the fourth class can be found below:
Centering Prayer
Centering Prayer invites you to pray with them, every day,
at 8 am, wherever you are. When you enter into prayer at 8 am (Eastern), you will know that others are praying at the same time. 
Prayers for our People

We pray for: Downs IV, Holden, Nikolai and Brian. Grant healing and recovery for all who have gone through surgery especially Jim Thomas who received a new hip. Give peace and strength for those going through cancer treatments, especially John, Victoria, Andres, Ginny, Alex and Colleen. Visit and comfort all who are under the care of skilled nursing, especially Bob,
Ruth, Timothy, Don, Barbara and Mike. Be near to all who are in hospice care.
Gallery Artist

The artist for October is Linda Loen. Please stop by and enjoy the work of this talented artist.  

All checks should be written to "All Angels by the Sea."
All previous services, discussion group readings and Bible study classes may be found on our website:
Reflection
Practicing Presence

Back in Jesus’ day, it was believed there were three planes of existence, heaven, earth, and under-earth. Like dinners plates stacked, the planes touched but there was no interaction between them. One of the early symbols of Jesus is the V shape – he was from heaven, lived on earth, went to under-earth, then back to earth, then returned to heaven. The belief came to be that through Christ, we can enter the “plate” of heaven. But, more than that, the spiritual focus of the early Church was belief that there are no plates, just the constant, daily presence of heaven/God because the Holy Spirit. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can experience heaven in the here and now.
 
Experiencing heaven on earth gave rise to the notion of “thin places” where the plate of heaven feels closer to the plate of earth. Sometimes those thin places are church; most often, however, they are in nature. The downside to the thin-place theology is that if we feel closer to God in some places, then we don’t know of God’s presence in all places. St. Benedict believed that to be untrue; he believed we are always in a thin place with God because of the Holy Spirit. What we need to do is first recognize or believe that the presence of God is with us at all times.
 
Benedict wrote that the chief thing that separates us from the presence of God is the thought that we are separated from God. To practice the presence of God is to first let go of the thought that we are separated and then to trust that God is indeed present in all of life around us. The second step in practicing the presence of God is to accept the fact that we can find God’s presence in the ordinary stuff of life – in the beauty of the day, in the voice of a family member, a smile from a stranger, kindness from a neighbor, or in an opportunity that beckons us. The third part of the practice is to accept that practicing the presence of God happens gradually over time.
 
One person told me that she was wondering what the presence of God was doing while she was watching news on the television. It was a particularly depressing and disturbing news cycle. Fully embracing the belief that the presence of God is with her at all times, she said out loud, “Where is your presence in this!?” The immediate feeling she got back was, “Turn it off.” Feeling a bit shocked, she immediately turned off the TV. In the silence that followed, she heard the sound of the breeze coming in through her sliding door. She got up and looked outside. Unfolding in front of her was the setting sun over the gulf – the yellow hues of the sun reflecting off turquoise water framed in by red clouds and white sand. She gripped the slider door, acknowledged God in the beauty of nature, and whispered “thank you.” The thought that crossed her mind was this, “Hey, you are the one who turned off the TV.”
 
-Fr. Dave