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The First Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 6, 2022
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
Preacher: Canon Annette Graw
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Saturday, March 5
Sister Venue - Really Good Dinner
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
St. Bede's Garden
Sunday, March 6
Story Day with The Rev. Quijada-Discavage
11:30 AM
Luther Hall and Zoom
Monday, March 7
Sisters of Bede Meeting
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Tuesday, March 8
Lenten Education Series:
Learning to Walk in the Dark
7:00 PM
Luther Hall & Zoom
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Bible and Breakfast
Tuesdays | 9:30 AM
Luther Hall & Zoom
Midweek Eucharist
Tuesdays | 6:00 PM
Sanctuary & Watch Online
Lenten Education Series (3/8 - 4/12)
Tuesdays | 7:00 PM
Luther Hall & Zoom
Evening Prayer
Wednesday | 7:00 PM
Zoom Only
Wednesday Education Forum
Not meeting in Lent. Join us for Tuesday's Lenten Education Series.
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Over the past month, Los Angeles County has witnessed a significant decline in COVID-19 cases. In addition, the hospitalization rate has decreased considerably. Therefore, starting Sunday, March 6th, St. Bede’s will resume “in-person” meetings. As much as our technical capabilities allow, meetings and worship services will be offered in-person and online.
Masks are still required indoors for all gatherings at St. Bede’s. In partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Vestry continues to monitor the “testing positivity rate” in Los Angeles County. If the current positivity rate falls below the pre-Omicron surge positivity rate for a consecutive 14 days, St. Bede’s Vestry will look to remove the indoor mask requirement.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Faithfully,
The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
Interim Pastor
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St. Bede’s Modified Story Day
with The Rev. Canon Tom Quijada-Discavage
Sunday, March 6th - 11:30 AM
In-Person and via Zoom
What is Story Day?
Story/History Day is an important step as a parish makes the organic journey through a time of transition between ordained leadership. Story Day (full or modified) centers on the recounting of parish history and each person’s participation and experience of that history. The time together shares the retelling of the faith community's presence in the larger community in which it is located. By "telling the story" the parish reconnects to its identity both through remembering as well as giving hope and vision for the future.
The event also offers the opportunity for the parish to acknowledge the important bonds needed in the challenging time of transition. As many parishioners as possible are encouraged to attend and everyone is encouraged to express his or her opinions and insights. By a healthy attendance at story/history day a broader perspective is possible, and larger participation allows everyone to feel that they are part of the process and integral to the parish. Furthermore, it can foster a positive sense of community that is larger than just the ordained leadership. For many congregations, the story/history day provides a good foundation for producing a worthwhile parish profile.
The story/history day event is facilitated by a representative of the Office of Formation and Transition Ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles. The facilitator is trained and experienced in transitional ministry.
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A little about Canon Tom
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, he studied business management at Canisius College in the Buffalo area and began working as an assistant to the vice president and inside sales manager for a pneumatics and hydraulics company
After earning an M.Div in 1988 at Christ the King Seminary in Aurora, New York, he was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church in April 1989 and served in a variety of rural and suburban parishes until 1994.
Quijada-Discavage was received as an Episcopal priest in May 2002. Before moving to Los Angeles in October 2003, he served as interim rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Albion, New York.
He has also served several Southland congregations including as rector of St. Barnabas, Eagle Rock (2004 – 2008); vicar for administration and chief of staff, St. James in the City (2008 – 2013); and later as interim rector and priest-in-charge at St. James’ from 2013 – 2015
Tom came to the diocese at the beginning of 2016, working in the Office of Formation and Transition Ministry and was name Canon in 2021.
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MEET THE SEARCH COMMITTEE | |
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Last Sunday, St. Bede's commissioned the Rector Search Committee during the Annual Meeting. The Committee will be overseeing the process to call St. Bede's Fourth Rector. Ultimately, the Rector Search Committee will recommend the Vestry, and the Vestry will select and issue the call to St. Bede's next rector.
Below are the members of the Committee.
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TOM ELLIOTT
Tom Elliott is a cradle Episcopalian and preacher’s kid. He grew up in the Diocese of Olympia (Western Washington) and Diocese of Northern California. He has been a member of St. Bede’s since 2003 and has previously served on the vestry and as a delegate to Diocesan Convention for the parish. He lives in North Hollywood with his wife Melanie and son MJ. He looks forward to maintaining the close-knit community of St. Bede’s as we gain the new perspective of our next rector!
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AKANI FLETCHER
Akani was raised in southern and northern California. He served a four-year enlistment in the Marine Corps, including a combat tour in Viet Nam. He earned an Interdisciplinary B.A. and M.Div. in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Seaver College of Pepperdine University. He also holds a M.A. in Clinical Psychology, M. Ed. in Education Administration, and Doctor of Ministry. He is an ordained minister in The Church of God in Christ and a Licensed Preacher in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Among his extensive roles, Akani has been a congregational pastor, headmaster, private practice as a therapist/consultant in Family and Corporate Mediation. Akani is married and the proud father of three incredible sons.
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BOND HARPER
Bond has been a member at St. Bede’s for 4 years. She spends her weekdays as a Senior Geospatial Consultant at Arup, her evenings with her husband David and cantankerous old cat Brandon, and her weekends (ideally) hiking, sailing, and as a docent for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. She is looking forward to seeing St. Bede’s grow in depth (deepened spiritual lives and Bible knowledge for existing parishioners) and breadth (outreach to the community and new parishioners).
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TRAVIS HOLLOWAY
Travis is a fifth-year Ph.D. Candidate in UCLA’s Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, working on developing novel microfluidic technologies to produce Positron Emission Tomography (PET) agents. Travis moved from Pullman, Washington, with his husband Tyler Laferriere, where they attended St. James Episcopal Church; and where Travis was baptized. Moving to Los Angeles, Travis joined the St. Bede’s family and looks forward to helping lay new roots for the church by serving on the search committee for a new rector.
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LIZ MOHLER
Liz is an ICF accredited Executive/Career coach. She is a frequent guest speaker and facilitator currently working for women in leadership positions for CHIEF. Past Vestry member and member of St. Bede’s for over 25 years. Originally from Madison, WI, her parents (Jane and Stan) were snowbird visitors, and her son Nick just moved to Melbourne, Australia, and Nate is an NFT artist working in LA. Dan continues to play and coach lacrosse and provide sales consulting. Her Master’s degree is from the University of Arizona, and her undergrad is from the University of Wisconsin in Psychology and Education. Liz taught at Pepperdine University in the Graduate School of Psychology and Education and consults at the Business schools of USC, LMU, and UCLA. Liz facilitated the Speakers Academy for the National Speakers Association and is on the Board of the Westchester Mental Health Guild, which supports the services of the Airport Marina Counseling Service. She is past Director of Professional Development for Meeting Professionals International and International Coaching Federation LA Board member.
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ALICE SHORT
Alice has been a member of St. Bede’s—where is a member of the mission committee and has served on the vestry-- for about 25 years. Our congregation’s enthusiastic embrace of cooking and eating – in non-pandemic times—is one of the great joys in her life. She currently works as an editor at the L.A. Times, where she has held a number of jobs over several years (so many she no longer will acknowledge her start date). She lives with her husband, Steve Vielhaber, in Mar Vista, and stalks her two adult children, Greg and Madeline, on FaceTime (sometimes they answer).
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To reach the entire search committee, please email rectorsearch@stbedesla.org.
Pastor Ryan is serving as the Committee's Chaplain and a consultant.
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Prayer for the Search Process
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and guide the hearts and minds of those who will discern and call St. Bede’s fourth rector. Watch over our parish family and send forth your Holy Spirit to direct the work of the search committee, the vestry, and the whole community of St. Bede’s. With one heart and mind, may we welcome a faithful pastor and servant of God who will shepherd your people, equip us for our ministries, and empower us to be the hands of Christ to a world in need of love and grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The first Sunday of each month is the St. Joseph Center Ingathering. We invite you to participate this Sunday, March 6th.
We at St. Bede’s have recently connected with St. Joseph Center to determine how we may best align our monthly food donations with their current needs. Their Food Pantry Project Manager was thrilled to hear from us, and she offered this guidance.
90-95% of their clientele are housed individuals, so they have access to kitchen facilities. At present, they are in desperate need of these items:
- Bulk beans: pinto and black
- Oats (for oatmeal)
- Cat/dog food: dry preferred; canned also appreciated
- Baby diapers size 6
- Adult men’s Depends size Large
- Baby wipes
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Each day in Lent, Pastor Ryan will be offering a brief written Lenten reflection inspired by an accompanying visual image. His daily reflections are shared on St. Bede's Facebook page.
We invite you to comment on the reflections on our Facebook page. Also, please share the reflections on your own Facebook page.
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This Saturday, March 5th, is the next Sisters' Venue, "Really Good Dinner," hosted by Dean and Barbara Pace. The location has been changed to St. Bede's Garden. There are still a few spaces available. Please contact Dean Pace or Daphne Moote if you are interested in attending this really good dinner and fellowship opportunity. | |
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Tuesday Evenings in Lent
Learning to Walk in the Dark
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Throughout our liturgy in the Episcopal Church, we use the language of “light” and “darkness.” This imagery finds its roots in the Bible and dates before our modern industrial era when nighttime truly meant darkness. Often in our society, pain, sadness, adversity, and tragedy are described as darkness—the absence of light and/or goodness, which can be troublesome and a disservice.
How does the “dark” shape, inform, and provoke our journey?
The Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, theologian, professor, and one of America’s most renowned Christian preachers. Reverend Taylor’s book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, will be the foundation of our Lenten Study at St. Bedes’ Episcopal Church. We will gather in-person and online Tuesdays in Lent, March 8, 15, 22, 29, and April 5, 12. Before the Study, at 6:00 PM in the Sanctuary, a celebration of Holy Eucharist will be offered.
We hope you will join us for this thought-provoking Lenten series. Session agendas and resources will be available on the St. Bede’s Learning to Walk in the Dark webpage.
Registration is required, please use the link below.
Barbara Brown Taylor’s book Learning to Walk in the Dark explores our uneasy contemporary relationship with darkness. Darkness, Taylor writes, is “shorthand for anything that scares me.” The absence of God or the loss of a loved one or a life-threatening illness—the dark can scare us. Taylor shows us how to embrace spiritual darkness as a place where healing and growth occur. If we can learn to embrace the journey through darkness, then we will emerge stronger on the other side.
“Taylor challenges our negative associations with darkness and our attraction to light in this thought-provoking new book. She draws on her own experiences—from exploring caves and experimenting with blindness, to her questioning of her own religious training and faith—to explore what might be gained by embracing darkness.” (Spirituality & Health)
Copies of the Learning to Walk in the Dark will be available starting next Sunday, February 27 in the Narthex ($15 Suggested Donation for a copy of the book). The book is currently free on Kindle if you are an Amazon Prime Member. To register for the Lenten Study, please click on the link below or register when you pick up your copy of the book.
May our journey into the darkness lead to a glorious new light of insight and hope.
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LENT, HOLY WEEK, AND EASTER SCHEDULE | |
To download the schedule, click on the image below. | |
FROM THE EPISCOPAL NEWS
A newsletter serving the Diocese of LA
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UBE invites creative tributes to Absalom Jones, first Black Episcopal priest
By Pat McCaughan
[The Episcopal News – March 2, 2022] As the Rev. Jamesetta Hammons quilts the image of Absalom Jones, The Episcopal Church’s first Black priest, she wrestles with the way his ministry has shaped her own, more than two centuries after his death.
“As a deacon, I’m called to be with everybody, no matter their station in life, or their race, or color,” recalled Hammons, who has served at St. Barnabas, Pasadena, and as a chaplain at the King Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. “It reminds me of the work that he [Jones] did as he went about his healing ministry during a pandemic, with so many sick and in need of healing.”
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Episcopal leaders pray for Ukraine as Russian forces bring death, destruction to country
Episcopal churches in Europe and the United States are expressing solidarity with and praying for the people of Ukraine as Russian forces continue an invasion that has killed at least 136 civilians, has devastated Ukraine’s two largest cities and threatens to topple the country’s freely elected government.
“The Episcopal Church has been in Europe for more than two hundred years,” Bishop Mark Edington of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, said in a video message released Feb. 25. “Our churches have seen Europe’s wars unfold. They’ve lived and endured in the midst of the destruction and depravity that war brings.”
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Return of ‘Ashes to Go’ for Ash Wednesday highlights renewed Lenten practices as COVID-19 wanes
On March 11, the world will mark two years since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. But first, this week, there are ashes to impose.
Episcopalians on Ash Wednesday are taking advantage of waning case counts, hospitalizations and deaths in the United States to begin renewing some Lenten practices from before the pandemic. One of the most visible of those practices is Ashes to Go, in which clergy members post themselves on sidewalks, at train stations and in other public spaces to impose ashes on passersby.
Signifying mortality and repentance, ashes are a visible sign to the world on Ash Wednesday that a Christian is preparing for the season of Lent.
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Black leaders assess church’s efforts to battle racism during CPG webinar for Black History Month
A panel of several prominent Black leaders in The Episcopal Church discussed the state of the church’s racial reconciliation efforts and its justice and equity advocacy during an hourlong Church Pension Group webinar held on Feb. 28, the last day of Black History Month.
Nearly 500 people attended the session live on Zoom, and it now is available as a video on demand on CPG’s Facebook page and on YouTube. The panelists frequently cited Becoming Beloved Community, the church’s cornerstone initiative for encouraging dioceses and congregations to take up the work of racial healing. It is named for the concept of Beloved Community that was popularized by Martin Luther King Jr. to represent a society lifted up in racial harmony.
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PREVIOUSLY SHARED...WORTH REPEATING | |
Lenten Madness: With the Season of Lent comes the quest for the “Golden Halo,” the most coveted Lenten honor in the “Episco-techno-cyber-geek world.” Lent Madness begins Thursday, March 3rd when Stephen faces off against Wenceslaus. “Lent Madness began in 2010 as the brainchild of the Rev. Tim Schenck. In seeking a fun, engaging way for people to learn about the men and women comprising the Church’s Calendar of Saints, Tim came up with this unique Lenten devotion. Combining his love of sports with his passion for the lives of the saints.” (Lent Madness website) The format is straightforward: 32 saints are placed into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. Each pairing remains open for a set period of time and Who will win the Golden Halo?people vote for their favorite saint. 16 saints make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen; eight advance to the Round of the Elate Eight; four make it to the Faithful Four; two to the Championship; and the winner is awarded the coveted Golden Halo.” (Lent Madness website) Log onto the Lent Madness website, follow the action, and vote for your favorite saints. | | | | |
