All Angels Sunday

This is All Angels Sunday. We will hear about angels in the Bible and in our daily life. You are invited to wear blue - even on-line!
Attendance at both services is climbing. Please be aware that greeting one another should happen in the fountain courtyard before church and not in the church. The chairs have six feet of room which makes for easy movement to greet one another; however, please bear in mind that we have folks who prefer to enter the church and pray quietly. 

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, September 27
A Message from Episcopal Relief and Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that there is no "us" and "them" — there is only "us." For those of us who have remained healthy and safe during the crisis, this is an opportunity to care for our neighbors who have been less fortunate.

While the pandemic claims our attention both in the US and abroad, we find ourselves nearing the height of the Atlantic hurricane season. Already, we’ve seen the Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Laura, and we’ve also witnessed the tragic wildfires as they rage in California. The weeks and months ahead hold a great deal of uncertainty, and they ask one thing of us: Be ready.

So that we can continue to provide relief in communities across the country - and be ready to act in the weeks ahead - I ask you to make a donation to Episcopal Relief & Development's Disaster Fund.
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:
Men's and Women's Discussion Groups
The Men's and Women's Discussion Groups are now
on-line. If you are interested in joining, please email
Discussion Group Readings

In today's news there are protests in the street - in fact, I received a text from Bradenton Christian School that they are rerouting school busses to avoid a protest in downtown Bradenton that may affect the bridges - the pandemic has taken over 200,000 lives, there is talk of a potential unpeaceful transfer of power, Supreme Court nominees, voter fraud, corporate espionage; so much to talk about. But, I'd like us to go into a different direction that may change the way we see higher education. Maybe it's a way of diverting our minds, or it'll give us a break from what we are reading, but I think it will prompt good discussions. One question is how does the potential shift in higher education change the way nonprofits are run? 
May the peace of God rest on our hearts and in our communities,
- Dave

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

On Wednesdays at 10 am, we will be studying the book St. Benedict's Toolbox

The weekly class will be available on Zoom. The video of the first session 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

On our prayer list is Andres who is undergoing cancer treatment. Here is his business website that details his battle with cancer and what he is doing now.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy Name. Graciously answer the prayers of everyone who calls upon you for help, especially: Downs IV, Holden, Heidi, Cynthia, Brian, Nikolai, and Anne.
Grant healing and recovery for all who have gone through surgery, especially Carlos, Carol, Virginia, Pearl, Susan, and Tom.
Give peace and strength for those going through cancer treatments, especially John, Victoria, Andres, Alex, Ginny 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, especially Ward. 
Thank You of the Week

Thank you to Carol Doenecke for coordinating with the artists who place their work in our Gallery. 
Gallery Artist

The artist for September 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."
From the Mailbox

I am receiving letters and cards from parishioners and have decided to share them on Sunday. The segment starts at the 35 minute mark on this video. Be sure to watch this week and see who has written to All Angels. 
All previous services, discussion group readings and Bible study classes may be found on our website:
Reflection
Praying the Psalms

I’ve been asked who is writing the prayers of the people for Sunday – it’s me. Several events have converged to make this happen. In order to limit exposure and spreading of the virus, we have not rotated our Sunday servers. Our prayer leaders, Rev. Maggie, 10 am, and Alison Jones, 8 am, have been leading us in in prayer for long enough that I have become familiar with how they pray out loud. This has allowed me to shape the prayers with their voice in mind. Because of the upside-down-ness of 2020, prayers are both paramount and a source of great comfort. Doing the same-ol’-same-ol’ prayers didn’t seem to fit the urgency and uniqueness our time. Thankfully the prayer book allows for, and in many ways encourages, prayers to be written and said during the peak of the liturgy of the word.

The Lutheran Coalition for Renewal provides scripture-based prayers each week that follow the lectionary readings. I use them as a resource. The last few weeks, however, I have taken it one step further; we are now praying the psalms. Elijah’s Bible class at Bradenton Christian School is studying the psalms which includes having students write their own. The 5th grade materials show the five categories of psalms. In seminary, we learned the seven psalmic categories in four forms. Yet, at 8 pm, on the night before the assignment was due, both child and parent were tired. I said, “Look, this is how I see the psalms – they say either ‘thanks’, ‘wow’, or ‘help’. Which prayer do you want to write today?” His answer: “Thanks.” That event was the inspiration for praying the psalms with our Sunday prayers.

There are lots of books on how to pray the psalms. Here’s the Marshall version – read a line of the psalm and then say to God what it means to you, right here, right now. For example, Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” says to me right now that God is guiding me. As such, my prayer is, “Thank you Lord, I have no want nor worry because you are my shepherd.” If you were to literally open the Bible to the Book of Psalms – it is easy to find because it is right in the middle of the book – read any line, think about what it means to you right now, and say that to God, then you are praying the psalms.

Last week, we had this prayer:
One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your power.
Make the Church a place where all may find shelter in Jesus’ widespread arms; grow in faith and joy, and labor fruitfully to his glory and for the benefit of others.
I wrote it because when I read Psalm 145, verse 4 – one generation shall praise your works to another – I thought of the Church.

This Sunday’s psalm, 103, has to do with angels. As such, each prayer begins with a verse from the psalm and has something to pray about with angels in our midst. In that sense, the voice of Alison and Rev. Maggie will carry the voice of the angels to our ears and from our hearts to God on the wings of angels. 

-Fr. Dave