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3rd Sunday after The Epiphany
Sunday, January 23, 2022
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
Preacher: The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
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Monday, January 24th
Vestry Meeting
7:00 PM | Zoom
Saturday, February 5
Sisters Venue - Downtown Private Art Tour
9:00 AM - 12:00PM *Time Change*
Sunday, February 6
Grass Roots Neighbors Outreach
1:30 PM & 5 PM Service Slots
Holy Nativity Episcopal Church
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Bible and Breakfast
Tuesdays | 9:30 AM
Currently on Zoom Only
Evening Prayer
Wednesday | 7:00 PM
Currently on Zoom Only
Education Forum
Wednesday | 7:45 PM
Currently on Zoom Only
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Dear St. Bede’s Family,
Last Sunday, the Reverend Dr. Akani Fletcher preached an astonishing sermon! Straight-up, powerful sermon worth of our attention, reflection, and discernment.
If you did not witness/watch/hear Rev. Akani’s sermon, you need to! If you did witness/watch/hear the sermon, you need to experience it again! (Click on the link above to watch it)
Rarely am I this forceful with my words to the congregation I serve; however, Rev. Akani’s sermon reflecting on the life, legacy, and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the implication for our current lives is a must-experience, prophetic message. Therefore, I invite you to carve out 20 minutes in your day, find a comfortable and quiet space, and either watch the sermon on St. Bede’s YouTube channel or listen on the Soundwaves at St. Bede’s Podcast.
“I used to wonder how this man ridiculed, beaten, harassed, housebound, jailed, and yet talk about love for every human being,” preached Rev. Akani. “Dr. King demonstrated for me how love consumes hate and how hate consumes haters. It's not always easy to love.”
Rev. Akani is right. It is not always easy to love—even on our best days. Jesus understood this challenge when he told his followers, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
It might not always be easy to love, but it should be [reasonably] easy for us to confront the evils of racism, hatred, and indifference. So, in the coming months, I want to engage the Vestry and then the congregation about what it would look like at St. Bede’s if we actively engaged in the challenging and vital work of anti-racism training and racial reconciliation.
I believe… no… I KNOW there is much work to be done in the Church, the broader community, and the nation around anti-racism training and racial reconciliation. But, I also know this work begins within myself—and I have plenty of work to do in this arena.
Is this something you and the congregation would be interested in exploring?
How could this work at St. Bede’s transform our faith community and our relationships with our neighbors throughout the diverse city of Los Angeles?
I invite you to ponder these questions and ideas, and always, please do not hesitate to connect with me if you have questions, concerns, comments, insights or want more information.
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I close with the prayer we heard on Sunday. It is a prayer that Dr. King wrote.
“Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace; help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all God’s children, Black, White, Red and Yellow, [or, of every race, culture, and background] will rejoice in one common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord and our God. Amen.”
Faithfully in Christ,
The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
Interim Pastor
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There is still space available for
Private Downtown LA Arts District Graffiti/Mural Tour
Saturday, February 5th
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Annette Graw and Daphne Moote are hosting a "Private Art Tour" on Saturday, February 5th, and there are a few remaining spots available. Tour begins at 10:00 AM. If you are meeting at St. Bede's, please arrive at 9:00 AM. If driving separately, please arrive in downtown by 9:50 AM. $25 per person (lunch not included).
The art tour is 100% outdoors, and masks will be worn. Due to a slight change in the schedule (no lunch together after the tour) the hours are slightly modified. The tour will be from 9 AM to 12 PM.
If you are interested in joining the tour or have any questions about the details (parking, etc.), please email Daphne or Annette. To learn more about the tour, please the LA Tours Website.
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The Vestry announced last week that St. Bede's is shifting Sunday worship to a hybrid format until further notice, offering in-person and online at 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
In addition, we have resumed the service of Holy Eucharist, and there is a "drive-thru communion" option for those attending worship online--registration for "drive-thru" is not required but helpful. However, all other meetings and gatherings throughout the week will continue to be online-only! There will be no coffee hour or social gatherings after the 8 AM or 10 AM services. To learn further details, please read the full announcement.
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MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS FROM JANUARY 16, 2022 | |
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“Wade in the Water”
Words: Traditional African-American Spiritual Music: Trad., arr. Carl Haywood
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“'Lift Every Voice and Sing”
Music: J. Rosamond Johnson
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FROM THE EPISCOPAL NEWS
A newsletter serving the Diocese of LA
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Diocese celebrates Dr. King: ‘Dream, dare, do … God has work for us’
By Pat McCaughan
[The Episcopal News – January 19, 2022] The Jan. 15 diocesan celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Common Struggle, Common Hope,” featured calls to action from The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and guest preacher Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson, spirited music, and reflections from Asian Pacific Islander, Latinx, African American, Native American and LGBTQ members of diocesan New Community ministries.
Hosted in-person by Christ the Good Shepherd Church and livestreamed via Facebook and YouTube, the service began with videotaped greetings from diocesan Program Group on Black Ministries co-chairs Canon Susan Edwards Acton and the Rev. John Limo and acknowledgement that the land on which the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is located belonged to the Tongva people.
Calls to Action
Curry, in a Jan. 6 videotaped message from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the one-year anniversary of the capitol riots, cited “forces intentionally seeking and working to divide us. Left unchecked, unaddressed and unhealed, this can lead to the decline and deconstruction of our nation.”
The promise of the United States “as the multiracial, multiethnic, pluralistic democracy that was envisioned ... becomes a real and greater possibility if enough of us will summon the spiritual courage necessary to attain it,” Curry said. “It is not an exaggeration to say that we are living in a moral moment of spiritual peril and promise. Such a moment demands moral vision that sees beyond mere self-interest and beholds the common good – a spiritual strength, stronger than any sword.”
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As COVID-19 rages into its third year, Diocese of Chicago launches mini-sabbatical program to address clergy burnout
The Diocese of Chicago is launching a mini-sabbatical program for its clergy and lay employees, encouraging them to take a week of paid time off to rest in an effort to address pandemic-related exhaustion and prevent burnout. Recognizing that priests, deacons and church workers have borne the heavy emotional loads of others throughout the pandemic, a mini-sabbatical might give them time to care for themselves, said Assisting Bishop Chilton Knudsen, who devised the plan.
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Presiding bishop speaks at annual MLK Day event in Atlanta
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was the keynote speaker Jan. 17 at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance organized by the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Beloved Community Commemorative Service was livestreamed, and video of the event can be viewed on the King Center’s YouTube channel.
Curry was among a limited number of participants speaking at the event in person. Others included Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
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Remembering an Episcopalian as a ‘symbol of voting rights,’ while working to preserve those rights
As hopes of passing federal voting rights legislation become increasingly dim, a historic Episcopal parish points to a long-ago member as a symbol of the struggle.
Thomas Mundy Peterson was 36 years old on March 31, 1870, when he became the first African American to vote in a U.S. election under the provisions of the 15th Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging of the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
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Charles V. Willie, first African American House of Deputies vice president, dies at 94
Charles Vert Willie, a sociologist and desegregation leader who served as the first African American vice president of The Episcopal Church House of Deputies and preached the sermon at the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, died Jan. 11 at age 94.
House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings remembered Willie as “a giant in The Episcopal Church’s long and incomplete journey toward justice,” in a statement posted on the House of Deputies‘ website on Jan. 14.
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PREVIOUSLY SHARED...WORTH REPEATING | |
The Annual Meeting of the Congregation scheduled for Sunday, January 23, 2022, has been postponed. Our goal is to host this meeting in a hybrid format before the end of February. Hopefully, delaying the meeting into February will allow for greater in-person attendance and enable us to gather socially after the meeting. The Quill will provide updates on the Annual Meeting schedule. | |
2022 Flowers and Sanctuary: CandleThe beautiful floral arrangements in the Church and maintaining the Sanctuary light shining are funded through the generous donations of the congregation. Flowers are typically given in thanksgiving for a person(s) or blessing in life, in memory of departed loved ones, or simply to rejoice in the Glory of God! We invite you to enhance the beauty of our magnificent sanctuary by donating to support this ministry in 2022. The suggested donation for flowers is $30 and for keeping the Sanctuary light shining is $10. To donate, please either fill out the online form or utilize the donations envelopes available in the narthex on the credenza. Payments can be made either online or by check. Checks can be delivered on Sundays or mailed to the Church office. Please put “2022 Flower/Light Donation” in the check memo line. | |
Online Giving: Are you planning to attend worship online and want an easy way to make a pledge payment? Do you want to ditch the checkbook and set up reoccurring payments? Are you looking for a convenient way to make a one-time special gift to St. Bede's? Did you know you can make donations online to St. Bede's, securely and easily? 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. 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. | |
Digital Service Program Initiative: The initiative encourages congregation members to download the Sunday service program onto their mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Kindle, etc.) to minimize our overall environmental footprint. Our initial goal by Holy Week 2022 is to reduce our weekly printing output by 15%. Each week in The Quill, there is a link to the Service Program page on St. Bede’s Website. Programs are uploaded by Saturday evening and often earlier. A link to the page can also be found under the “Worship and Education” tab on St. Bede’s Website. | | | | |
