ALL ANGELS BY THE SEA

WEEKLY TIDINGS

April 13, 2023

SUNDAY SERVICES

8:00 am & 10:00 am

To live-stream - go to AllAngelsLBK.org, click on the "All Angels Enter Here" picture 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, April 16

Scripture Readings for April 16, 2023


Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Psalm 16

1 Peter 1:3-9

John 20:19-31


Click Here for the Readings

The flowers today are given by Ed & Ginny Upshaw, 

in celebration of their 11th Wedding Anniversary.

"In as much as love grows in you, so in you beauty grows.

For love is the beauty of the soul."

St. Augustine

A Prayer for Peace Among the Nations (BCP 816)


Let us pray in this time of conflict for the countries of Russia and the Ukraine,


Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world

into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them

that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become

the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Last Sunday's Service

PRAYERS

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. 

We Pray for our People

Hear the prayers of all who cry out to you for help. Especially we pray for the needs of Downs IV, Holden, Barbara, Anne, Victoria and Anne Louise. For those going through cancer treatments, especially, Margaret, Bill, Downs III, Victoria, Alex, Connie, Douglas, Georgiana, Frank and Gerta. Visit and comfort all who are under the care of skilled nursing, especially Mary Lou, Timothy, Barbara, Kim and Lou (Getz). Be near to all who are in hospice care. 

A BRIDGE BETWEEN ALEX AND DAVE

Podcast: A Bridge Between Alex and Dave


Episode 20: Do Not Doubt, But Believe!

PARISH ACTIVITIES

Spring Fling


Join us for our Spring Fling

April 20th at 5:30

in the Parish Hall


If you are signed up and haven't paid, please put your checks or cash in an envelope on the Gallery Table or bring it to the office by Sunday, April 16th. Let’s celebrate the wonderful season we have had!

From the Manatee County Habitat for Humanity Newsletter


Johntrice's Dedication

On Saturday, March 11th, we dedicated a recycled home in our Washington Park community to Johntrice and her two children, Promise and Rylain. Manatee Habitat staff and donors and over 20 members of Johntrice’s extended family gathered for the beautiful ceremony. We want to thank Manatee Literacy Council for donating books for Johntrice and her family, Leaders Furniture for donating pieces for the home, and All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church for helping to fund the rehab.

April Gallery Artist

Our featured artist for April is Frances Powers. Please stop by and enjoy the work of this talented local artist. Checks should be written to All Angels by the Sea.

Office Volunteers Needed

If you have spare time and want to volunteer to answer the office phone especially Tuesday and Wednesday, we need you! There will be a sign up calendar on the Gallery table. Times needed: approximately 9:30-12:30. Please write your name on the day you can volunteer. 

Choir News

Choir practices are on Thursdays at 10 a.m. 

New members are always welcome.


Join the Handbell Choir. Rehearsals on Thursdays at 11:15 am. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Gallery. Former ringers and new ringers are most welcome. Come and be part of the Music Ministry at All Angels – ALL ARE WELCOME!

Men's and Women's Discussion Groups

I was asked (or tasked) with finding an article that answers this question: Where is God? I currently have 11 tabs open on my browser with articles from the WSJ, The Atlantic, NY Times and the Christian Century answering that question.

Some answers are as follows: God is found in philanthropism, in medical science, in the Eucharist, in Peace, in families, in the heart (and not the mind), in Church, at the gym, in one's own positive mental attitude. 

But for you, I thought we should go a little deeper. 

The primary article is a one-page piece that quotes letters to God from children. (Dear God, Are you real? Some people don’t believe it. If you are real, you’d better do something quick.) The second article, on pages two and three, discusses a God who hides, intentionally, for God's own reasons and purposes.

I look forward to talking to you about this. 

For those in person, I'll have the coffee ready. For those on line, here is the link: https://zoom.us/j/5955701807


God With Us

Coffee Hour Hosts Needed

One of the most important things we do is gather after the service for coffee hour. If you are interested in hosting, the sign up sheet is on the Gallery table. If you would like help, sign up and we will find someone to show you how it is done. 

Online Giving

If you would like to give to the offering plate electronically, you can find the online giving link on our All Angels website by clicking the link below:

AllAngelsLBK.org

REFLECTION

Huckleberry

 

I grew up hiking in the mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest. Two of the best things about hiking involved drinking fresh, quick moving river water on a hot summer day and eating huckleberries. Once, in late August, when snowmelt is the lowest and rivers run slow or become non-existent, we hiked past two watering holes with no luck. We were getting worried we’d have to boil lake water or use horrible iodine tablets to make our water safe to drink. Luckily, around the next bend, we heard a life-giving rushing sound. We dropped our packs, grabbed our empty canteens, and bounded off trail, over rocks and fallen fir trees, in search of that which will hydrate us. When we got there, we stuck our faces right into the cold rushing stream and drank as much as we could. I have experienced no liquid more refreshing or delicious as that.

 

The other thing I would keep an eye out for were huckleberries. In particular, I would search for the Red Huckleberry which grows during the summer months in the Cascade Range between the elevations of 1,000 to 5,000 feet. If you are not familiar with it, like its cousin the blueberry, the wild huckleberry has a sweet ripe flavor, but is accentuated by a tart acidity. Its skin is notably thicker and the seeds give it an almost crunchy texture. Huckleberry enthusiasts describe the flavor as earthy and more intense than a blueberry. It can be used in exchange for blueberries in most recipes but add some huckleberries to a fresh caught salmon filet and you’ll be in Northwest culinary heaven!

 

Wild huckleberries are a beneficial source of nutrients and other health compounds. They are the main source of food for various wildlife including deer, birds, and bears. It is estimated that up to 1/3 of a grizzly bear’s sustenance comes from huckleberries. Humans can benefit from the huckleberry’s abundant antioxidants and anti-aging properties that are said to help prevent inflammation and increase tissue strength. Huckleberries also contain a plant compound named arbutin that helps fight the bacteria that contribute to urinary tract and bladder infections – which is helpful when drinking river water. They also make great face paint and the dye is nearly impossible to get out of clothes (just ask my mom).

 

There is a mystery to the huckleberry’s origin like the paradox of the chicken-and-the-egg. We tried to plant huckleberries around the camp but they all failed. The reason why is simple: the huckleberry seeds must be digested by a deer in order to plant, sprout and grow. The best way to find a huckleberry plant is to ask oneself where a deer would, well, poop in the woods. Find the deer’s toilet and you’ll find huckleberry plants. There is an old allegorical Pacific Northwest Indian tale about a boy who tried to train a deer to scat near where he lived. It didn’t work because deer won’t scat on command. (Similar to the phrase: you can bring a horse to water but can’t make it drink)

 

The other Indian tale – edited for content in a church publication – goes something like this: no matter how bad the day, or how high the dung is piled, eventually there will be some fruit to glean from it. That saying may have something to do with this idiom: one man’s trash is another’s treasure.

 

I have never tasted a berry so delicious as that of a red huckleberry of the Cascades. Does it matter that a deer’s digestive system was paramount in the experience; not to me. I also think that if the red huckleberry existed in the Mediterranean ecosystem of Roman-occupied Palestine in the 1st century, Jesus certainly would have come up with a parable about it. As it stands, however, we can learn from the indigenous peoples of the Northwest that everything in God’s creation is important, even scat from a deer. Just imagine then, how important you and your life is to the Creator God and even in a scat-filled day, God can grow fruit from it. 

 

-Rev. Dave