Welcoming All into God's Peace Together |
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The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
ZOOM Worship Service This Sunday
October 25, 2020 at 12:30 p.m.
NO outdoor worship; ZOOM only
Details Below
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Grace Episcopal Church
5958 Main Street, Trumbull CT 06611
Office Phone
203-268-2809
email:
office@gracetrumbull.org or click button
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The Grace Church Prayerline
Grace Church is happy to pray for you. You can submit your prayer request on line by clicking the button below or mail it to our church office at
Grace Church, 5958 Main Street, Trumbull CT 06611
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Greetings!
Matthew 22:34-46
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."
He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?"
No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
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Sermons and Reflections
This is a sermon on "Descendants" based on this Sunday's Gospel from Matthew. It is written by Canon Anna Sutterisch and is published in "Sermons that Work," on the website of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The reading from Matthew is above. The other readings for this Sunday may be read by clicking the "Readings for This Sunday" blue button at the top of the page.
Descendants, Pentecost 21 (A) - October 25, 2020
October 25, 2020
It’s a question of descendants. What are we leaving for them? Biologically related or not, there is no doubt that the decisions we make in our lifetimes impact not only the human and nonhuman creation around us now, but all those who might come after us. Sometimes, they are good things – being able to leave your children and grandchildren earthly wealth, providing young people education and opportunities you never had, passing on wisdom and experience and lessons hard-learned, knowing that the next generation of family or leadership will benefit from your work and life.
Other times, imagining the world our descendants will inherit is less hopeful: an earth ravaged by our toxic consumption, waste, and policies; institutions marred by racism and classism; in America, dwindling Social Security funds, healthcare systems that are crumbling and crashing, a massive national debt, added to massive student loans… and the list goes on. We might not climb our metaphorical Mt. Nesbo or Pisgah today and be satisfied with the vision of what the next generations might inherit when we are gone.
Perhaps Moses also had some mixed emotions as he surveyed the land his descendants would inherit. He has seen his nation, his family, through so much – liberated from enslavement, wandering through the desert, trying and failing and trying harder to be faithful to the great I AM. Like any community’s leader, Moses has taken the heat, has stumbled and fallen, has made poor decisions, and has tried his very best to discern God’s mission for the people of Israel.
God is well-pleased with Moses. In the end, Moses dies not from old age, and not from sickness. He is not blind and deaf and broken in the ways human bodies grow weary when they have survived so much. No, Moses dies by the command of God, a gift from God to the obedient servant. And, our story of origin specifies, Moses is even buried by God; the progeny of Moses does not carry out the final task as Moses’ soul departs the earth, but the Creator of the universe provides this intimate and loving act to the servant leader.
And thus, the mantle of authority is passed on to Joshua. God blesses Joshua in his new responsibility and is involved in every step of the transition. And that is key: God has been involved in liberating the nation, in leading them home, in disciplining them, and now is intimately involved in the leadership. Before, during, and after the death of Moses, God is with the nation of Israel, and will not abandon them.
Our psalm for today – the only one associated with Moses – reminds us that God is present from one generation to the next, and well beyond and well before. God has given birth to the world, and God’s time is not restricted to a lifespan, only remembered by artifacts, memories, and descendants. The Psalmist uses words and phrases to remind all of us that God’s eternity contrasts with human transience. It is a helpful practice to remember this, the ever-living presence of God, especially when lifespans in our current moment are shortened by illness and violence, and the world seems to crash down in its own fragility. God is beyond the human scope of time, bigger than anything we could ever imagine, and God cares so much about each of us that God will bless, bury, anoint, and love us.
Would that all of our nations were governed by someone who strives as hard as Moses to follow God’s will! But that is exactly our Christian obligation to ourselves and to our descendants: to remember that we are someone’s ancestors – biologically, spiritually, communally – and to base our decisions with that knowledge in mind.
In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul is trying his hardest to be a good leader, following in the footsteps of his ancestors. A spiritual descendant of Moses and a young Jew, Paul’s main aim as founding father of the community is to enable the Thessalonians to lead a life worthy of God. The passage just after today’s lectionary excerpt states this explicitly: “We dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you, and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” Paul outlines a form of parenting, of Christ-like leadership, that seems impossible in every moment of real life! Reading his missive to the Thessalonians, we can only hope to live with the type of character that Paul claims to be living along with his disciples. According to his letter, Paul’s leadership is pure of trickery and deceit, selfishness and greed, and full instead of honorable suffering, faith in God, gentleness, and care. Don’t you wish you and every Christian you know was able to live and lead like this?
Paul’s expectations may be a little high, but what is worth his words is the way he strives to teach and nurture the young followers of Christ in Thessalonica. He is raising a new generation, he is building his descendants, and therefore the descendants of Christ and of Moses. The way we treat those who are around us and come after us must be the way of God. Perhaps if we can proclaim the gospel in our words and our deeds in our lifetime, we might leave our descendants with something better than we found it.
This, one could say, is exactly what Jesus did – in a big way. Jesus was able to raise up a new generation, a new spiritual community, a new way of living that both learned from his ancestors like Moses and left a transforming power and relationship with God to those who picked up his mantle, like Paul.
Jesus’ way of teaching and living and proclaiming the Good News was nothing like anyone had seen before. It was confusing, did not follow the same line as the ancestors before him had. And, perhaps not living in the way Paul would come to write about, some of the religious leaders were fed up. Our Gospel passage, according to Matthew, comes on the Tuesday before Christ’s execution. Matthew first records three of Jesus’ parables, and then three of the religious leaders’ riddles or trick questions of Jesus. The reading today comes during their last attempt to entrap Jesus in his own words; this is not the type of descendant they had wished for themselves!
According to rabbinic tradition, the accepted number of commandments is 613. 613! These are the laws that the religious leaders are called to follow and enforce. And yet, they ask Jesus which is the greatest, and he tells them, simply, “Love God, love your neighbor.” These two commandments will change the world. In his answer, Jesus follows the rabbinic law, the laws of his ancestors; “You shall love the Lord’’ is part of the Shema, the basic affirmation of Jewish faith. Pirkei Avot, the ethics of the Jewish Fathers, contains a similar axiom: “The world stands on three things: on the Torah, on the service of God, and upon acts of loving-kindness.” The commandments are familiar pieces of Jewish culture, teaching, and religion. But the way Jesus embodies them upends familiar expectations. “Whose son is he?” the religious leaders ask. “If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” “No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” The religious leaders are stumped, and this is the part of the story where they begin to plot ways to remove the threat.
Despite their best attempts, those who feared Jesus’ power were not able to suppress him. By being executed as a political martyr, Jesus demonstrated God’s love in a way that would change his descendants forever. Today we are still calling ourselves followers of Christ. The mantle of Christ’s teachings, life, responsibilities, and authority have been passed from one generation to the next over thousands of years. And in each of these lives, in yours and in mine, as it was for Moses and Joshua, God is present, and God will remain so throughout all times.
Rev. Anna is the Canon for Christian Formation in the Diocese of Ohio, working with children, youth and young adults and serving as the Chaplain at Bellwether Farm Camp. She is passionate about new ways of being and doing church, and sharing the Gospel in a way that is relevant and life-changing to today's people in today's world. Anna is a proud member of the inaugural class of the Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation (2019), and benefited greatly from its low residency program, which allowed her to receive her M.Div. while remaining rooted in her ministry context of Cleveland, Ohio. She lives there with her husband Noah and two beloved cats, Phoebe and Thecla. Prior to seminary, Anna worked at the intersection of faith and politics through the IAF doing interfaith community organizing.
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ZOOM Worship Service
This Sunday, 10/25/2020 at 12:30 p.m.
Hi All from Fiona:
Here is the zoom link. We will be doing a zoom service only this Sunday. There will not be an outdoor service.
Topic: Grace Episcopal Church Morning Prayer Service and Coffee Hour
Time: Oct 25, 2020 12:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 853 3852 0805
One tap mobile
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Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
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Meeting ID: 853 3852 0805
Peace and Blessings
Fiona
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To Parishioners and Friends of Grace
Please mail your pledges and contributions to Grace Church, 5958 Main Street, Trumbull, CT 06611.
If you prefer to pay via PayPal, the link is on the Grace Website. Additional donations to Grace may also be made via the Grace Website or by check.
Your pledges and contributions are being processed, recorded and deposited and are much appreciated. The bills still roll in and Grace needs to stay current with our salaries and services! Thank you.
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Grace is the Cereal Church
Cereal and other food items are needed for the Bridgeport Food Pantries. If you want to bring milk for donation, please look for the no refrigeration required, shelf stable milk in the supermarket juice/beverage aisle or the coffee aisle. Either shelf stable almond milk or dairy milk is appreciated.
During the current period of "Church in Deployment" (no worship services at Grace), please continue to drop off your contributions and they will be delivered to the Food Pantries. Thank you!
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The Latest News
from ENS
By Egan Millard
Demographic data like this has never been collected by the Church Pension Group before, and it could help the church assess how well its clergy reflect both its membership and the wider communities it serves.
The Church Pension Group, the financial services organization that also serves as the recorder of ordinations for The Episcopal Church, is encouraging all active and retired clergy to log on to their profile on CPG’s website and add their race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation. Demographic information like this has never been collected by CPG before, though CPG does analyze clergy compensation by gender, and those reports have consistently shown a pay gap between male and female clergy. (Other gender expressions have not yet been included.)
The new data could reveal whether similar pay gaps – including disparities in deployment and stipendiary status – exist along other demographic lines, as well as the prevalence of various demographic groups within the clergy.
“There’s an image of who and what The Episcopal Church is that may not conform to the actual reality of who and what we are today,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in a statement to CPG. “Having data helps to inform us in terms of both who we are and who we want to be. Data has a way of dispelling myths.”
To read the rest of the article, click the blue button below
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2019 parochial reports show continued decline and a ‘dire’ future for The Episcopal Church
Giving increases, but membership and attendance trends are unsustainable
By Egan Millard
Posted Oct 16, 2020
[Episcopal News Service] With every release of parochial report data – the statistics on attendance, membership and finances that every parish in The Episcopal Church must submit yearly – a picture of the denomination’s future comes gradually into focus. It’s not a holistic depiction of the church’s health or success, and it comes with many caveats – it’s difficult to infer much from one set of data, and some statistics conflict with each other. But the release of the 2019 data makes the picture clearer than ever: Even before COVID-19, The Episcopal Church’s days were numbered.
“The overall picture is dire – not one of decline as much as demise within the next generation unless trends change significantly,” said the Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an expert in denominational decline and renewal. An Episcopal priest, Zscheile is vice president of innovation and associate professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“At this rate, there will be no one in worship by around 2050 in the entire denomination,” Zscheile told Episcopal News Service.
The decline is, of course, nothing new. The Episcopal Church has seen declining membership, to varying degrees, since the 1960s, when it counted 3.4 million members. As of 2019, it had about 1.8 million. Membership is down 17.4% over the last 10 years.
To read the rest of the article, click the button
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Local News
From the Trumbull Patch
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CT Coronavirus: Cases and Deaths Climb, Hospitalizations Drop
Coronavirus cases and deaths are on the rise in Connecticut, even as hospitalizations dropped slightly.
Oct 22, 2020 6:57 am ET; Updated Oct 22, 2020 8:46 am ET
CONNECTICUT — Patients hospitalized with the coronavirus dropped by four in the last 24 hours in the latest data provided by the state Department of Public Health. A total of 213 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19.
New cases are still on the rise, however. There were 416 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours, increasing Connecticut's total to 64,871 since the pandemic began. Eight more patients have died, bringing the death toll in the state to 4,567. An additional 15,846 residents were tested in the past day.
Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, said her agency is not surprised by the uptick. Computer models have long predicted a second wave of the virus and Gifford said the state is prepared.
To read the rest of the article, including the count by town, click the blue button below.
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CT Coronavirus Updates: State To Ease Travel Advisory Criteria
Under the current guidelines, and with the rise in infection rates, CT was in danger of ending up on its own list, Gov. Ned Lamont said.
Oct 19, 2020 5:40 pm ET; Updated Oct 19, 2020 6:00 pm ET
CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont has announced that changes to the state's criteria for putting other states on its coronavirus travel advisory list are imminent.
The new rules would be less stringent than the present guidelines, which are shared by neighboring states New York and New Jersey.
Currently, states are put on the advisory list if they have a daily positive coronavirus test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.
During a news conference Monday, Lamont suggested states would need to meet both criteria, not just one, and the positivity rate would be lowered to 5 percent. That change would make qualifying for the travel advisory list more difficult.
Lamont suggested the new guideline would bring the current (still unreleased) list of affected states and territories down from over 40 to about 33, "which is more manageable."
At the rates of testing and infection under the current criteria, Connecticut was in danger of running afoul of its own travel advisory.
"The [current] threshold was so broad, it was becoming unenforceable," the governor said. "We are a tiny bit over that 10 per 100,000 metrics." That number is "skewed," Lamont said, by the large amount of testing Connecticut does compared to other states.
The state had just tested its 2 millionth resident, according to the governor.
Although the infection rates have gone up statewide in the past few months, the climb has mirrored that of the country as a whole, Lamont said. Overall, the state's infection rate of 1.6 percent is still among the very lowest in the U.S.
The change is being finalized among the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, according to Lamont.
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2020 Leaf Pick-Up Program Announced
Public Works crews plan to begin picking up leaves Nov. 9.
Oct 9, 2020 11:17 am ET
Press release from the Town of Trumbull:
The Trumbull Public Works Department has announced the 2020/21 Leaf Pick-Up Program is expected to begin on November 9, 2020 (weather permitting).
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Local News from The Trumbull/Monroe Voice
COVID-19: New Guidelines On 'Close Contact,' Time It Takes To Get Infected, Issued By CDC
10/21/2020 7:00 p.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new info on just how little time it takes for a person to get infected by COVID-19.
A study has found that even brief exposures within 6 feet in a 24-hour period may increase the risk of COVID transmission, which could change the way businesses and schools are operating amid the pandemic.
The new guidance, released by the CDC on Wednesday, Oct. 21, is expected to have the biggest impact on workplaces, schools, and other group settings, including family gatherings, where people are in contact with others.
Under previous CDC advisories, “close contact” was defined as someone who spent 15 consecutive minutes or more within 6 feet of an infected individual.
The new advisory now defines close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected individual for a total of 15 minutes or more over a period of 24 hours, with those minutes not necessarily consecutive.
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AA Meetings Resume at Grace
AA groups have resumed meetings at Grace. Instead of meeting in the Lewis Hall Meeting Room for now, groups are meeting in the larger Undercroft Parish Hall. For now this space allows for socially distanced meetings. The space was cleaned and AA will provide cleaning going forward. One restroom will be used by AA and the other will be closed during meetings. For details on available meetings, and restarting meeting, please go to grace-eye-opener.org
or click the button.
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Dear Friends of C.A.R.E.S.,
We hope this communication finds you and your family safe and healthy. In light of the unprecedented gathering restrictions, and in response to our participants' request to continue meetings, C.A.R.E.S. is offering a new way for our C.A.R.E.S. family and friends to meet.
If new to a C.A.R.E.S. Hope & Support Group, please call or reply to this email and we will send you more information.
C.A.R.E.S.
VIRTUAL HOPE & SUPPORT GROUP
MONDAYS
7:00 - 9:00 PM
* All meetings are free of charge
Please contact us using the info below for assistance of any kind.
855-406-0246
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Caroline House
Virtual Fundraiser
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A word from the brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist
On the brink of a national election in which hope and fear run so tremblingly deep and the order of the world feels so trenchantly locked in conflict, the cosmic unity of love feels like an unreasonable and scandalous hope. But as we each live and dance, pray and vote ever further into a reality beyond “they” and “us,” we are, in T. S. Eliot’s words, “folded in a single party.” Our prayer becomes the one word We, and in that prayer—and perhaps that prayer alone—we will be raised up, ripened, and restored.
-Br. Keith Nelson, SSJE, Society of Saint John the Evangelist
For more information on the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, please visit their web site at: http://ssje.org/ or click the button below.
SSJE is a monastic community of The Episcopal Church & The Anglican Church of Canada
Brother, Give Us A Word is a daily devotion
The Society of Saint John the Evangelist is an independent, 501(c) (3) non-profit tax exempt U.S. corporation.
© 2015 The Society of Saint John the Evangelist, All Rights Reserved
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The Episcopal Church in Connecticut
Participating in God's Mission
ECCT Annual Convention Recap
The 236th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut was an online success; three days participating in World Cafe topics, a full business day, and a worship service. Click on the blue button below for a complete recap, including the worship service at the Hartford Cathedral last Sunday.
All Saints Day Special Prayers for ECCT Victims of Covid-19
This All Saints Day, we would like to lift up all who have died in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut due to COVID-19. We invite you to share the names of those from across ECCT, and/or the name of their relatives, who have died due to the virus.
The Cathedral for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and our Cathedral Dean, the Very Rev. Lina Howell, will coordinate this pastoral outreach. Please send the names of those who have died from COVID-19 to our ECCT Cathedral at allsaints@cccathedral.org or click the blue AllSaints buttom below. We will work with Dean Lina and our ECCT Canon for Mission Communications and Media, Jasree Peralta, to offer a video liturgical resource remembering those we love who have died from COVID-19. The video may be used in your parish services on All Saints Day.
Please send the names no later than October 25th. Thank you and God bless you.
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas
Bishop Diocesan
The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens
Bishop Suffragan
Discerning my path: a new course offering
Discerning My Path is a course ECCT is developing in collaboration with other dioceses in Province I and Bexley Seabury Seminary. This course invites participants into a time of deep listening, practice of ancient and modern spiritual disciplines, and offering and receiving insight regarding individual gifts and passions — all within a brave/safe circle of trust. In addition to monthly online meetings in small groups, participants will engage spiritual reading, videos and articles on discernment, spiritual practices, and the ministry of the baptized. Our journey together will be enriched with activities for self-reflection, guided conversations with others, and exploration of our own contexts. Small groups meet monthly online at a time they schedule. Individual reading and reflection takes 2-3 hours per week. If you have been wondering what is next for you in your journey with God, this course is for you.
This opportunity is open to all the baptized in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Scholarships and grants are available. For more information, click on the blue button below to contact Marcus Halley via email.
Would you like to learn more about the Episcopal Church in Connecticut? Visit the Episcopal Diocese website at www.episcopalct.org OR CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW
to read blogs, view photos, enjoy poetry and learn more about upcoming events in the Episcopal Church in our state. It is always an interesting site to check out when you are browsing on-line.
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Camp Washington - Life changing events for adults and children |
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If you are someone who has always wanted to try your hand at reading scripture in church, or someone who is already a Lector and interested in honing your skills, or if you have considered leading Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer or Compline- come join us for a lively, informative, day-long workshop at beautiful Camp Washington. Click button below to register.
For Information on Camp Washington, See ECCT website for details or www.campwashington.org.
Camp Washington
(860) 567- 9623
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