Aug. 8, 2024 | VOLUME 36, ISSUE 32

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Aug. 11, 2024

Preacher: The Reverend Jennifer Wagner Pavia

Thursday, August 8, 5:00 PM: Backpack Project with Dinner at Alice Short's house. (see story below for details)

Friday, August 30, 1:00 - 6:00 PM: Going-Away Party for Rabbi Michal at Palisades Park. Drop in. (see flyer below for details)

Bible and Breakfast

Tuesdays | 9:30 AM

Luther Hall & Zoom

Midweek Eucharist:

Wednesdays | 7:00 PM

Sanctuary

Adult Forum: Christian Nationalism

Wednesdays | 8:00 PM

Luther Hall & Zoom

ST. BEDE'S BACKPACK ASSEMBLY & DINNER, AUG. 8, 5 P.M.

By Alice Short

Our assembly and dinner are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8, 5 p.m., at 3156 Coolidge Ave.--my house. Please let me know if you can join us? Thank you !

For the last several years, St. Bede’s has partnered with First AME Church on a

back-to-school backpack project for children in foster care, and this summer we

are doing it again!

We plan to fill 45 backpacks (15 for elementary school-age children, 15 for middle

school and 15 for high school), and we’re collecting monetary donations to buy the

supplies that will go in the backpacks.

If you’re writing a check, please make them payable to St. Bede’s with “Backpack

Project” in the memo portion (at the lower left corner of the check.) You can bring

the checks (or cash) to church, mail the checks to church, or send your checks to

Alice Short (3156 Coolidge Ave. Los Angeles 90066). In addition, you can donate

via the St. Bede’s Vanco e-giving and payment process site.

Questions? Please reach out to members of the mission committee.

PARISHIONER VEGGIE GARDENS

A Vegetable Garden of Plentiful Variety

By Carl Townsend

“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:7

However, with a bit of teamwork between God and some diligent gardeners, it is amazing what can happen:

“But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” ~ Matthew 13:23.

This year we decided we need to lighten up our native soil. Despite additions of a couple of years of compost, the soil was overly prone to compaction. So we blended in some moisture-retaining mulch. Now we have a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes! The rest of the tomatoes in the older soil didn’t do nearly as well.

A long-standing success is our hop garden. Carl first planted hops back in 1992 to supplement his beer brewing. After outlasting two prior hop trellises, the hops have been producing abundantly in recent years.

Another perennial favorite is the artichoke plot. Each season in the last couple of years we have had over 30 artichokes.

And of course, as anyone from Bible and Breakfast knows, we have abundant arugula, even growing out of the cracks in our driveway!

This year, we tried some new things. Jennine planted corn. Based on a tip from Nancy Mills, she went out each day to shake the tassels, so that pollen would filter downward to the corn silk. We had a couple dozen fully populated ears.

In addition, we grew some California poppies. Also new was a seed packet from Holy Nativity distributed in memory of Peter Rood, former rector of Holy Nativity. We had to work up the recipe for Collard Greens and Swiss chard based on our success.

Other successful endeavors include onions, lettuce, kale, spinach and carrots. “Yard salad” is one of our favorite summertime meals. Thanks to Mary Stratton, we have also succeeded at cauliflower and broccoli.

The other day we made delicious spaghetti with Bonnie Original tomatoes, topped with cherry tomatoes, and seasoned with Basil, Thyme, and Oregano from our herb pots. Bon Appetite!

But wait . . . There's more! . . .

An Abundance of Plump, Vibrant Red Tomatoes

By Mary Deutsche

Better Boy are my preferred tomato plants. They give moderate to very large tomatoes in abundance. I sucker my plants (prune shoots that grow between the stem and branch). That allows the plant to put more energy into making fruit instead of more branches and leaves. My plants give about 20-25 tomatoes per plant. I deep water them for 5 minutes 3 times per week.

I share most of the tomatoes with neighbors and friends and still have enough to can 15-20 quarts for use in the off season. My garden gives me the pleasure of fresh fruit and the opportunity to share its abundance with others.

Mary shares her homegrown Caprese with the Sisters of Bede at their monthly meeting.

FAREWELL & MAZEL TOV to RABBI MICHAL

St. Bede's parishioners are invited to the above festivities.

Dearest Michal, with love and prayers, Reverend Jennifer and the parishioners of St. Bede's wish you much success, happiness and fulfillment as you embark on your next endeavor. You are truly beloved by your Ahavat Torah congregation and they will miss you terribly. We love you and will sincerely miss you as well !!!

Below is an article about the next leg of Rabbi Michal's journey.

Excerpted from the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

By jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com

Rabbi Michal Morris Kamil is moving to Broomall, Pennsylvania, from Los Angeles this summer. Marc Belitsky, the president of the Congregation Beth El - Ner Tamid (CBENT), said he was delighted to find a synagogue leader like Kamil, with her 30-plus years of educational experience along with her warm demeanor. The 61-year-old rabbi was ordained in 2022 by the Academy for Jewish Religion-California.

Kamil, for her part, said she only got to work with the older generation during her rabbinical school rabbinate at Ahavat Torah in LA. She wanted a chance to work with multiple Jewish generations. She also said she appreciated that CBENT, a Conservative synagogue, was trying to appeal to diverse groups of Jews. “She’s very interested in individuals, what their needs are, what their wants are, how to reach them spiritually,” Belitsky said of Kamil.

“I missed working with multi-generations, especially in those communities that have such a great awareness of wanting to respond to the challenge of being a religious and cultural community in the 21st century,” said Kamil of the synagogue. “CBENT is a wonderful community that is doing just that.”

“We’re growing. The energy’s awesome. People are involved. We’re fiscally stable. We see ourselves as the center of the Jewish community in Delaware County,” Belitsky said.

And into that future walked Kamil.

In the spring, she visited the synagogue for her weekend-long interview. She attended Shabbat services, stayed for lunch and talked with preschool and Hebrew school parents. “And there was an overwhelming excitement about her coming to our program. They just felt that they could really connect to her,” Belitsky said.

Ellen Glassman, the synagogue’s educational director, added that, “She really listened. She listened to what they said, and then she reflected back to them in a way that acknowledged what they said and questioned them further.” That connection was important, according to Glassman.

Kamil worked for more than 30 years in curriculum and development for educational organizations. She worked for schools, synagogues and even Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance organization in Jerusalem.

But she became a rabbi to dig deeper into the spiritual.

“There is such a need today within our communities to provide both the personal and collective support needed in times of change, transition, threat, sorrow,” she said.

REDISCOVER THE ST. BEDE'S BOOK CART

By Melora Sundt

Bring out your (gently) used books!

The St Bede’s Book Cart, located at the north end of Luther Hall, is alive and well! It’s attracting so many readers that we are in need of gently used fiction, particularly mysteries and thrillers.

How does it work? Donated books are lovingly curated by Kathy Russell and Melora Sundt, and rotated onto the shelves. Recently donated books receive a colored sticker, coded to the month in which we acquired the book. Any book remaining after 4 months is pulled off the shelves and donated elsewhere, making room for new books. We review and refresh the cart on the first Sunday of each month.

Mysteries and thrillers are particularly popular, so please check your own bookshelves, and bring your oldies-but-goodies to St. Bede’s. You can leave them on top of the cart or give them to Kathy or Melora when you see us. Please donate only books in good condition and perhaps route those outdated textbooks, old health books, and the dusty, battered volumes to other worthy charities.

As always, there are no prices on the books in the book cart, but we’d appreciate your leaving a donation in the baskets on the cart if you decide to claim something new to read. All proceeds go to the scholarships for NYA.

Thank you!

PRAYER FOR PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND

ST. BEDE'S ONLINE GIVING PORTAL

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. More than 40,000 churches, faith-based groups, nonprofits, schools, and educational organizations trust Vanco to securely complete transactions every day. 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.

EPISOCOPAL NEWS SERVICE

The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, executive director of TryTank Research Institute.

TryTank Research Institute helps create Cathy, a new AI chatbot and Episcopal Church expert

By Kathryn Post

First, there was Xian’er, the cartoon-like, mantra-chanting robot Buddhist monk that China introduced in 2015. Then there was the German “BlessU-2” robot that dispensed blessings using ATM parts, and Pepper, the Japanese robot priest that delivered funeral rites.

Now a new generation of religious AI is emerging with the advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT — some with mixed success. The latest AI chatbot geared for spiritual seekers is AskCathy, co-launched in June by a research institute and ministry organization and aiming to roll out soon on Episcopal church websites. Cathy draws on the latest version of ChatGPT and is equipped to prioritize Episcopal resources.

“This is not a substitute for a priest,” said the Rev. Tay Moss, director of one of Cathy’s architects, the Innovative Ministry Center, an organization based at the Toronto United Church Council that develops digital resources for communities of faith. “She comes alongside you in your search queries and helps you discover material. But she is not the end-all be-all of authority. She can’t tell you how to believe or what to believe.”

The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, the executive director of TryTank Research Institute at Virginia Theological Seminary and Cathy’s other principal developer, said all the institute’s projects attempt to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, and Cathy is no different. He told Religion News Service the idea for Cathy materialized after brainstorming how to address young people’s spiritual needs. What if a chatbot could meet people asking life’s biggest questions with care, insight and careful research?

“The goal is not that they will end up at their nearby Episcopal church on Sunday. The goal is that it will spark in them this knowledge that God is always with us, that God never leaves us,” Lebrija said. “This can be a tool that gives us a glimpse and little direction that we can then follow on our own.”

Philippe Petit to perform at New York’s St. John the Divine on 50th anniversary of wire-walk between Twin Towers

By Shireen Korkzan

Fifty years ago, on the morning of Aug. 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French highwire artist, made history when he wire-walked on a 131-foot cable, 1,350 feet above the ground between the World Trade Centers’ Twin Towers in New York City.

The illicit walk took 45 minutes and Petit, who turns 75 next week, was arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, but today his act is remembered fondly, including as part of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s historical exhibition.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Petit’s Twin Towers’ walk, Petit will stage “Towering!!” at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on Aug. 7 and 8 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. He will wire-walk – also known as tightrope walking – across the cathedral’s nave, this time joined by fellow performance artists, including musicians, actors and dancers. They will perform a series of 19 short scenes conceived and directed by Petit.

Grammy Award-winning musician Sting, a friend of Petit, will perform original music for the event. A short film by James Marsh, who directed “Man on Wire,” the Academy Award-winning documentary about Petit’s Twin Towers’ wire-walk, will be screened.

Petit and St. John the Divine have had a longstanding relationship. In 1980, Petit was arrested again for wire-walking across the cathedral’s 601-foot-long nave, 20 feet above the ground. As police were taking him away in handcuffs, the cathedral’s dean at the time, the Very Rev. James Parks Morton, requested Petit’s release and shortly after named him artist-in-residence, a title Petit still holds.

Petit’s relationship with the cathedral also is personal. The ashes of his daughter, Cordia Gypsy, who died in 1992 at 13 of a cerebral brain hemorrhage, are interred in the cathedral’s columbarium. Morton led her funeral service.

FROM THE EPISCOPAL NEWS

A newsletter serving the diocese of Los Angeles

Bishop Naudel Alves Gomes, with acolytes and a lay minister, prepares for a Sunday service at St. Simon’s Church, San Fernando, where he is bishop-in-charge. Photo: John Taylor

Bishop Naudal Gomes sees opportunity and challenge as convener of Latino/Hispanic clergy group

By Janet Kawamoto

Latino/Hispanic ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles is “at a time of new beginnings,” says the Rt. Rev. Naudal Alves Gomes, former archbishop and primate of Brazil, who recently was named by Bishop John Harvey Taylor as bishop missioner for ministry in Spanish.

Gomes now convenes the working group of Latino and Latina clergy from congregations that carry out ministry in the Spanish language. As convener he succeeds the Rev. Antonio Gallardo, Ph.D., who became rector of St. Luke’s Church, Long Beach, last year.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Bishop John, who has called me into this new ministry,” Gomes told The Episcopal News in remarks written in Spanish and translated by the Rev. Norma Guerra. “His leadership and concern for the life and mission of the church encourages us all.” Gomes also thanked Gallardo for “gathering and encouraging us, so that in dialogue and sharing we could follow our ministerial call in the communities that we have been called to serve.”

Gomes plans to extend the clergy cohort’s relationships with other church leaders on the diocesan and wider church levels. “The first steps to take in order to accomplish the task that I have been given is to start a dialogue with our colleagues, partners in mission, so that together we may decide the best roads to follow in order to strengthen and develop our ministries.”