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Saturday, June 22, 1:30 PM: "LEGOs for Grown-ups" SoB venue in the Parish Hall (see flyer & story below)
Sunday, June 23, 1:00 - 3:00 PM: Documentary Screening, 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (see Pride Events flyer below)
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Bible and Breakfast
Tuesdays | 9:30 AM
Luther Hall & Zoom
Midweek Eucharist:
Wednesdays | 7:00 PM
Sanctuary
Adult Forum:
Wednesdays | 8:00 PM
Luther Hall & Zoom
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LEGOs for GROWN-UPS: Additional Room Available | |
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By Kathy Russell
Let’s Lego!
The Lego for Grownups Sisters of Bede venue is coming up on Saturday, June 22. There were some sign-ups at the Party of Parties. I’d like to invite anyone else who loves building with Lego or is curious to join us.
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How does the venue work?
In a couple of weeks, I’ll send an Excel spreadsheet to those who have signed up or expressed an interest. The spreadsheet contains a list of the sets in my collection. The entry for each set includes, among other things, the name of the set, the number of pieces, and a link to a picture of the completed model. This year I have added many sets that I owned but hadn’t added. On the other hand, my grandson Andrew rediscovered Lego and now has all my Star Wars sets on display in his room. I have removed them from the spreadsheet.
Once the spreadsheet is sent, it is time for you to pick the models you want to build. You will select one set that you can build at the venue. You also pick two sets to borrow to build at home. Once I have all of the requests, I will retrieve and verify the pieces in the sets. If there are multiple requests for the same set, it will be decided by first come, first served.
When you arrive at the venue, you will find a display of some of the sets Meg, Andrew, and I have been building recently. Then a build-it-yourself lunch. After lunch, retrieve your venue model and get building.
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If you’d like to participate but can’t make it on June 22, some alternatives:
1. Sign up for the venue. To do this, contact me, Kathy Russell, or Daphne Moote. This lets me know to send you the spreadsheet. When you have selected your sets, I will bring them to church on Sunday. Because the SoB venues raise funds for local and worldwide causes, I ask that you pay for the venue.
2. If you have never built with Lego, but are curious, let’s set up a “mini venue.” Since the choir is not rehearsing after church for the summer, I can bring a simple set to show you the ropes. If you enjoy building, you can “graduate” to the real thing.
If you would like to participate in any way but haven’t yet signed up, please contact me.
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ST. BEDE'S BACKPACK PROJECT RETURNS | |
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By Alice Short
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.
We’d be grateful if you could make your donations by July 26, and we plan to
schedule our “assembly dinner” shortly after that (early August is likely).
Questions? Please reach out to members of the mission committee.
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LITURGY in REMEMBRANCE of VOGUE
January 17, 2013 - May 7, 2024
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Kathy walks the beach at sunset with Vogue and his best friend, Grace
A beautiful memorial service to honor Vogue, verger Kathy Fairchild’s treasured retired racing greyhound, was led by Reverend Jennifer in the St. Bede’s courtyard this past Tuesday afternoon. Kathy was joined by numerous two-legged and four-legged friends as we all said goodbye to Kathy’s beloved companion and friend. Rev. Jennifer blessed Vogue’s ashes, readings from the Bible were shared, prayers were offered, a canticle was recited, hymns were sung and friends with and without dogs shared their experiences with Kathy and Vogue. After the service, Kathy said she realized, “We weren’t only saying goodbye to Vogue, we were thanking God for Vogue’s creation.”
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Let us pray.
This we know: every living thing is Yours and returns to You. As we ponder this mystery, we give You thanks for the life of Vogue and we now commit him into Your loving hands. Gentle God: fragile is Your world, delicate are Your creatures, and costly is Your love which bears and redeems us all.
This poem was written on the back of the service bulletin:
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there—I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints of snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
As you awake with the morning’s hush
I am the swift-up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there—I did not die.
--Mary Frye (written in 1932)
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Wooden box holding Vogue's blessed ashes | |
Kathy gives dogs treats after the service | |
"AMERICAN MARIACHI" FEATURES YAYA VASQUEZ-LOPEZ | |
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Tia Carmen (Yaya) in haunting ethereal lighting
By Carl Townsend
On Sunday, June 9th, several of the St. Bede’s faithful went to see the closing presentation of “American Mariachi” by Jose Luis Valenzuela of the Latino Theater Co, hosted at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Our very own Yaya Vasquez-Lopez, better known to us as our tenor section lead of the choir, played the part of Tia Carmen, with a hauntingly beautiful, ethereal violin solo to start the play. This quickly transitioned into traditional Mariachi sounds, and set the basis for the play.
The plot focused on a Latina who had to care for her ailing mother, while her father was off playing Mariachi gigs. Upon noting that her mother perked up with a 33RPM single record, she decided that she needed to start her own Mariachi group composed entirely of women. This, of course, creates friction with the members and tradition of the male-dominated Mariachi group. Yaya’s solos knitted the scenes tighter. After some slow awkward starts, the Latina Mariachi group eventually gels together. In a touching conclusion, the individual members of the male Mariachis reconcile with the members of the Latina group.
The overall production was a seamless blend of stage drama blended with masterful Mariachi music. Well done, Yaya, and best of luck on your next endeavor!
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Both Mariachi groups blend together in the finale | |
JOURNEY to the HOLY LAND: A Review | |
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Display of souvenirs brought back by Susan from the Holy Land
By Rea Crane
A lovely evening was had by all at Susan Holder’s Sisters of Bede venue, Journey to the Holy Land, which was co-hosted by Samira Tamer and Lana Spraker. Susan presented a slide show of her 3-week trip that included a Christian pilgrimage in Israel and the West Bank, followed by brief visits to Madaba and Petra in Jordan. Her presentation featured beautiful photos along with a very interesting narrative, both of which captured the essence of the places she visited.
When we arrived, we were offered Samira’s homemade Hummus along with pita bread, a
crudite platter and a wide array of beverages. We enjoyed these treats while seeing and hearing about the many precious souvenirs Susan brought into the church to display. Later we sat at beautifully decorated tables with many middle eastern artifacts and enjoyed a meal of Jerusalem Salad, Roasted Vegetables with Tahini Sauce, Potato Kugel, and Kofta meat patties.
Following dinner Susan lead us on a pictorial version of her pilgrimage which was sponsored by St. George’s College in Jerusalem where they lodged. She discussed many of the places she visited, including such highlights as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (rebuilt in 1048 by Crusaders), the Garden of Gethsemane, a Palestinian refugee camp, the West Bank Barrier, Vad Vashem (Holocaust Museum), Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, Jordan River (where they renewed their baptismal vows), Qumran Caves (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found), Church of the Beatitudes, Basilica of the Annunciation and Church of the Transfiguration. During this captivating slide show, Susan wove together historical and current perspectives, religious significance, and intriguing commentary, bringing the subject matter to life and leaving the guests informed and inspired. We then partook of Samira’s middle Eastern coffee, Halva from Israel as well as home grown Baklava and Chocolate Babka.
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Lana & Samira assure food is ready for dinner | |
Susan points out sites on map of Israel & Jordan | |
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BOOK REVIEW: BIBLE and SWORD
After attending the Journey to the Holy Land venue, Tana responded to Susan with the following words, which included a book review that was deemed worth sharing.
By Tana Raikes
Thank you, Susan, for putting together such a wonderful event for the Sisters. I am so impressed by your research and clear description of your experiences in The Holy Land! Very interesting and so glad you were able to go on this journey that obviously meant so much to you.
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Coincidentally I have been reading the historian Barbara Tuchman's wonderful book "Bible and Sword" about the relationship of the Jews to their ancient homeland from early times to the present, the diaspora, the Crusades, and the later efforts (mostly British-inspired) to encourage the return of the Jews to their homeland.
The enthusiasm in Britain was driven primarily by passionate interest in the Bible following the Reformation when the Holy Book became widely available in the English language and the Puritans rebelled against the established church.
Enthusiasm for the return of the Jews to their homeland, of course, was supported also for political reasons during the heyday of British imperial ambitions: the need for easy access through the Middle East to India as paramount. The British had confidence in the capabilities of the Jewish diaspora in Europe to bring back prosperity to the land of Palestine (which had greatly degenerated during the long rule by the Ottoman Empire) and to flourish and repopulate their homeland. They would also foster trade with the East, especially India, under some kind of benevolent arrangement with the British. It was also expected that a Jewish population resettled in their biblical lands would ultimately prove a stabilizing force in the Middle East. (A bit ironic viewed through current lenses!)
However, at least initially, the Jewish diaspora were not at all interested in leaving the niches they had struggled to carve out for themselves in Christian Europe. It took the terrible pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe and the eventual rise of Hitler to fully convince them of their need for their own nation.
I was fascinated by this long history. If you haven't already read her, Barbara Tuchman is a wonderful writer; the depth of her research is astonishing, and she is fun to read.
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PRAYER FOR PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND | |
ST. BEDE'S ONLINE GIVING PORTAL | |
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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.
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Trooper Jackie Quinn, representing “Buffalo Soldiers” of the 9th and 10th Cavalry, carries the General Order No. 3 during a march reenactment in celebration of Juneteenth in Galveston, Texas, June 19, 2023. Photo: Adrees Latif/REUTERS
Churches, dioceses to host variety of Juneteenth celebrations
By Melodie Woerman
Activities marking Juneteenth – June 19 – are set to take place in churches and dioceses across The Episcopal Church, ranging from a block party with a genealogy theme to concerts to potlucks.
Juneteenth commemorates the date in 1865 that federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure that all enslaved people in the state were freed. This came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, but the order couldn’t be enforced everywhere until after the end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865.
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, became a national holiday on June 17, 2021, making it the first new national holiday adopted since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983. While Texas and more than two dozen other states already observed Juneteenth as a state holiday, interest in a federal holiday was renewed in the summer of 2020, during months of racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and a number of other Black people.
In a reflection on The Episcopal Church’s website, Lindsey Delks, a domestic policy advisor in The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations, writes about his experience of Juneteenth growing up in the deep South with grandparents who had been active in the Civil Rights Movement. He says, “It is always hard to celebrate holidays dedicated to Black people, especially in the United States. The feeling of wanting to appreciate where you’ve come from is constantly overshadowed by the sinking feeling that you’ve never moved far enough.”
READ MORE HERE
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FROM THE EPISCOPAL NEWS
A newsletter serving the diocese of Los Angeles
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In the L.A. Pride parade staging area on Highland Avenue, members of the diocesan contingent gather before embarking on the one-mile route that turned east on Hollywood Boulevard. Photos: Bob Williams
Forward strides affirmed at L.A. Pride parade
By Bob Williams
Next steps for the Bishop’s Commission on LGBTQ+ Ministry were in focus as 100 Southland Episcopalians marched in the 54th annual L.A. Pride parade June 9 in Hollywood.
“The prophets among us who have been struggling for justice for a half-century say that we’ve made a lot of progress with a lot of work left to do,” Bishop John Harvey Taylor noted in a reflection recapping his observations while riding in a red Mustang convertible as the diocesan contingent trekked the mile-long route lined by an estimated 100,000 parade-goers. Under the theme “Power in Pride,” the parade featured some 165 entries.
“The hope I lean on is that people are ready to do the work, and all we have to do is call them into it,” said Thomas Diaz, the commission’s incoming chair, who is staff director of connection and care at All Saints, Pasadena, and a diocesan deputy to General Convention June 22-28 in Louisville, Ky.
Diaz sees three priorities emerging for the commission – bringing resources to local congregations, providing leads for LGBTQIA+ people experiencing housing insecurity, and convening project working groups around interest areas – all while building on the commission’s achievements since it was established in 1991 by Bishop Fred Borsch.
READ MORE HERE
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