November 16, 2023 | VOLUME 35, ISSUE 43

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Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

November 19, 2023

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Zephaniah 1:7,12-18

Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Matthew 25:14-30

Preacher: The Reverend Jennifer Wagner Pavia

Monday, November 20, 7:00 PM: Vestry meeting

Sunday, November 26, after each service: Advent Wreath Making in Parish Hall

Saturday, December 2, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM: JoyCatchers Christmas tree assembly for veterans in Parish Hall

Sunday, December 3, 10:00 AM: Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols with St. Bede's Choir & Soloists in Sanctuary

Friday, December 8, 6:00 PM: Sisters of Bede Christmas Party at Mohler residence

Bible and Breakfast

Tuesdays | 9:30 AM

Luther Hall & Zoom

Dinner Church with Eucharist

Wednesdays | 6:30 PM

Luther Hall

May your hearts be filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving and throughout the coming year!

This year our annual Sisters of Bede Christmas Party will take place on Friday, December 8, starting at 6:00 PM at the Mohler residence--7826 W. 79th Street, Playa del Rey, CA 90293. All who identify as women are invited. With a yummy potluck dinner, a delightful gift exchange (where participation is voluntary) and warm, caring fellowship, the event is always festive, elegant and a blast!!! We truly hope you will join us. You can RSVP here.

(1) Verger Kathy Fairchild at last year's JoyCatchers tree trim event. (2) Men enjoy this event as well as women. (3) Sampling of trees to be given to veterans.

The Holy Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ according to Matthew (25:34-46; NRSV):

"Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

If you would like to be one of God’s people who contribute to the “least of these” this year, please consider joining the JoyCatchers on December 2 (anytime between 9:00 AM & 3:00 PM) in the St. Bede’s Parish Hall. For the past three years this organization has gathered at St. Bede’s to sponsor a holiday tree trim, where tabletop size trees are individually decorated by volunteers. Both the trees and a substantial variety of decoration materials are supplied by the organization. Volunteers decorate the trees any way they choose; you may decorate some trees with red, white and blue for veterans, others with blue, white and silver for our Jewish brothers and sisters, others with black, red and green for those who celebrate Kwanzaa, or other ways as you are inspired. The decorated trees are then given as gifts to seniors, veterans, people in hospice, adults experiencing Alzheimer’s or cancer and individuals in transitional housing, assisted living or board & care homes. As stated on the JoyCatchers website, “A JoyCatchers tree is much more than a tree. It is a means to ‘catch the joy’ of the holiday season and share it with those who may be alone, lonely, or ill during a season when much of society is in an exuberant, celebratory mode. What we make with our hands, we give with our hearts.”

FOOD, FAITH, FELLOWSHIP

On Wednesday, October 11, Reverend Jennifer hosted our first Dinner Church at St. Bede’s. It was a unique and lovely worship experience that combined a simple communion service, meaningful conversation, and spiritual reflection with a shared meal. The gathering felt like a loving family where some people shared about personal struggles where they ended up encountering the presence of God. The response was one of empathy, wonderment and support.

Our Dinner Church is open to all (including friends and dogs, as you see in the photo above) and offers a chance to closely connect with others and be spiritually fed while enjoying a tasty meal. Some people brought comfort food to share but this is not at all required. The only requirement is to come hungry for food, faith, and fellowship! Dinner Church will be taking place on Wednesday evenings at St. Bede’s through November 22, and we hope you will be inspired to join us! 

The St. Bede's Mission Committee would like to announce its fall/holiday project--and it's all about shoes! We will be collecting new and gently-used shoes -- and cash to acquire more shoes. Our advisors at the Salvation Army, where we will donate the shoes (their Santa Monica site sponsors a monthly service day, much like Neighbors 4 Neighbors used to do), have the following asks/advice:

The greatest need is for adult shoes. (Another notable need is for long/big sizes for men.) 

The shoes can be sneakers, hiking boots, and walking shoes-- as long as they are "comfortable for everyday wear." 

We will have a box in the Narthex to collect the shoes for folks who want to shop in stores --or shop their closet.

Please stay tuned for more details! Questions? Please ask any member of the Mission Committee.

Visit the St. Bede's website and at the top of every page, look for the "Donate" button. When you click on the "Donate" button, you will be transported to St. Bede's Vanco eGiving and Payment Process Site.

Vanco is an industry leader in online payments. More than 40,000 churches, faith-based groups, nonprofits, schools, and educational organizations trust Vanco to securely complete transactions every day. Vanco complies with PCI Level 1 standards, the highest security standard in the payment processing industry.

You are invited to set up one-time or recurring gifts using credit, debit, or bank transfer on Vanco's secure payment processing platform. Giving online through the Vanco site saves time and the hassle of remembering to bring your offering. In addition, you decrease the expense incurred by St. Bede’s from handling and processing checks and cash.

Presiding over the 2023 meeting of Diocesan Convention, Bishop John Harvey Taylor is flanked by Canon Steven Nishibayashi, secretary of convention; Canon Melissa McCarthy, canon to the ordinary; and Canon Richard Zevnik, chancellor. Photos: Janet Kawamoto

Convention ‘Love in Action’ theme applies to climate change, affordable housing, social justice, finance, building beloved community

By Pat McCaughan

Bishop John Harvey Taylor’s vision of love in action includes tackling climate change, developing affordable housing, securing economic justice and building beloved community via showing up to “the precious and unique miracle of other people” locally, regionally, and internationally.

Amid applause, and shouts of “yeah” and “Amen,” Taylor on Nov. 10 welcomed hundreds of online and in-person delegates, visitors, guests, and exhibitors to the Riverside Convention Center for the 128th annual meeting of the diocese, themed “Love in Action for Healing, Housing and Hope.” Guests included Robert Ross, M.D., president of the California Endowment, as the Margaret Parker lecturer (see related story) and Lucy Jones, Ph.D., founder of the Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, who was guest preacher at the Nov. 11 Eucharist.

In an era plagued by what he called a “global epidemic of sleeping sickness,” Taylor recalled sharing “incarnational connection” with parishioners during his official visitations to many of the diocese’s culturally diverse congregations – and invited Episcopalians to do likewise. “I do it almost every week – jump in, the holy water’s fine!”

For example, he noted a series of 2023 worship services hosted by the Program Group on Black Ministries and the Union of Black Episcopalians, including Presiding Bishop Michael Curry preaching at the Martin Luther King celebration at Christ the Good Shepherd Church. A 2024 series is also planned, and “when we’re invited to come to church in Leimert Park, or at St. Barnabas in Pasadena, or at Church of the Advent on West Adams in Los Angeles, that invitation is to all of us, not just those who already go to church there!” (A video report on Black ministries is here.)

READ MORE HERE

Be awake in the light of Christ, Bishop Taylor tells Diocesan Convention

By Pat McCaughan

Bishop John Harvey Taylor on Nov. 10 declared that Episcopalians in the Diocese of Los Angeles “are woke and proud of it,” in an address to hundreds of lay and clergy delegates, guests, and visitors to the diocese’s 128th annual meeting, themed “Love in Action for Healing, Housing and Hope,” at the Riverside Convention Center.

“Sleepers awake – if we’re not asleep in darkness – if we’re awake in the light of Christ and striving to be mediators of Christ’s love, justice, and righteousness – then yes, that means we’re ‘woke’, said Taylor, reclaiming the social justice origins of the term, more recently used pejoratively by anti-progressive politicians.

“Being woke can take many forms – whether we’re woke to the condition of people different from us – or the danger posed by climate change to the Creation that people of all conditions share,” added Taylor, amid applause, cheers, and shouts of “yeah” by convention attendees.

Taylor’s address also incorporated reflections of his planned 2026 retirement, wars in Israel-Palestine, Ukraine, Maghreb, and Sudan; affordable housing; reconciliation; savoring relationships; supporting ministries for the LGBTQ+, multicultural and people of African descent communities; support for transgender rights, especially for children and young people; and reconciliation, specifically congratulating St. James’, Newport Beach’s admission as a parish congregation.

READ MORE HERE

After working at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, for 20 years, Aleeta Bureau decided to formally join the church as a parishioner. She became the church’s 10,000th member during a worship service on Nov. 12, 2023. Photo: Chuck Nguyen

St. Martin’s, largest Episcopal church by membership, welcomes 10,000th parishioner

By Shireen Korkzan

Aleeta Bureau has worked at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, for the past 20 years. Raised Baptist and married to a Buddhist, she converted to Catholicism in 2006, three years after she started working at St. Martin’s.

No one at St. Martin’s ever pressured Bureau into formally joining the church as a parishioner, and she never considered it because she was content with her Catholic faith. Everything changed, however, when her daughter died in 2021.

“When I lost my daughter, my priorities began to shift,” Bureau told Episcopal News Service. “I was just standing at work one day this year, and I got a little knock on my head: ‘What are you doing? You’re not going to church faithfully like you used to do. You’re not happy. Where are you happy?’ And I love working here. So, why not explore membership?”

Bureau submitted the paperwork to join, and on Nov. 12, she and 49 other new members were welcomed into the parish at the 11:15 a.m. Sunday service. Little did she know at the time, she would be recognized as St. Martin’s official 10,000th member.

“I felt this overwhelming joy, that after working here for 20 years my heart and God have finally led me to my final church home. And it was joyful,” she said.

She and the other new members were celebrated at the service with applause, confetti and encouraging remarks from the Rev. Russ Levenson, St. Martin’s rector. Texas Bishop Andrew Doyle also sent his regards.

READ MORE HERE

Ryan Kusumoto, who chairs the group developing the structure for the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice, speaks during a Zoom meeting with Executive Council’s Committee on Mission Within The Episcopal Church.

Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice moves closer to launch as independent nonprofit

By David Paulsen

A group of Episcopal clergy and lay leaders assigned to develop the structure for the new Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice are progressing toward incorporating the coalition as a nonprofit, possibly by early next year, group leaders said Nov. 13 in an online meeting.

Ryan Kusumoto, a lay deputy from Hawaii, serves as chair of the constituting group, which also includes a diverse mix of other Episcopal leaders. He was joined on Zoom by former Connecticut Bishop Ian Douglas to present the group’s update to Executive Council’s Committee on Mission Within The Episcopal Church.

Kusumoto and Douglas began the session by reviewing the resolution that the 80th General Convention passed in 2022 calling for creation of the coalition. The coalition had been proposed months earlier in a wide-ranging report produced by the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing that pressed the church to confront its past complicity with racist systems and the lingering legacy of colonialism and white supremacy embedded in the church and other American institutions.

The coalition’s goal “is not to supplant or replace the work of the church,” Douglas emphasized. “This is alongside … the work under the auspices of the Executive Council and the staff of the Church Center.”

The coalition was envisioned as a voluntary network of dioceses, parishes, church institutions and individuals dedicated to improving the church’s uneven track record of prioritizing racial reconciliation and healing, at the denominational level and across its more than 100 dioceses.

READ MORE HERE

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