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The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Sunday, March 27, 2022
SCRIPTURE READINGS
Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
Preacher: The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
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Saturday, March 26
Vestry Retreat
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Alice Short's Residence
Tuesday, March 29
Lenten Education Series:
Learning to Walk in the Dark
7:00 PM
Luther Hall & Zoom
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Bible and Breakfast
Tuesdays | 9:30 AM
Luther Hall & Zoom
Midweek Eucharist
Tuesdays | 6:00 PM
Sanctuary & Watch Online
Lenten Education Series (3/8 - 4/12)
Tuesdays | 7:00 PM
Luther Hall & Zoom
Evening Prayer
Wednesday | 7:00 PM
Zoom Only
Wednesday Education Forum
Not meeting during Lent. Join us for Tuesday's Lenten Education Series.
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WHERE IS GOD IN ALL OF THIS? | |
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The poet David Whyte recently wrote on his Facebook page, “Heartbreak is unpreventable; the natural outcome of caring for people and things over which we have no control, of holding in our affections those who inevitably move beyond our line of sight.” Throughout our lives, we experience heartbreak, sometimes very near to us and other times for those distant from us.
My heart has constantly broken from the scenes unfolding in Ukraine this past month. My heart breaks for the people of Ukraine. My heart breaks for the people of Russia. My heart breaks for the children of the world. My heart breaks for the human family.
Heartbreak might be unpreventable, but it still hurts, especially when the unpreventable merges with the unpredictable. When this happens, we ask, “where is God in all of this?”
As I shared in my sermon last Sunday, I do not believe in a God sitting in heaven pulling an endless supply of earthly strings. God longs to be our loving partner, not our puppet master.
The words I quoted this past Sunday from Harold S. Kushner’s book When Bad Things Happen to Good People are a wonderful summation of God’s role amid the unpreventable and unpredictable times.
“God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal, living in a world of inflexible natural laws. The painful things that happen to us are not punishments for our misbehavior, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God's part. Because the tragedy is not God's will, we need not feel hurt or betrayed by God when disaster strikes. We can turn to Him for help in overcoming it, precisely because we can tell ourselves that God is as outraged by it as we are.”
We weep. We mourn. We wonder what is next.We ask where is God in all of this.
We do all these things we are not alone. God weeps with us. God mourns with us. God wonders with us.
Most importantly, when our hearts break, God’s heart breaks.
Faithfully,
The Reverend Ryan D. Newman
Interim Pastor
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There's still time to share your vision for the future of St. Bede's with the Rector Search Committee!
You may access the form with the link below to share a brief statement of your priorities for the St. Bede's community as we turn our vision forward. Fill out the form and press submit! It is that easy. The Committee would appreciate your input by this Sunday (March 27)!
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COFFEE HOURS
Beginning in April, you will also have the opportunity at the Coffee Hour after the 10:00 AM Sunday service to meet informally with representatives from the Search Committee to hear more about the process and progress and share any additional thoughts and ideas.
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VIDEO DESIGNER NEEDED
As part of our parish profile, we plan to include a 3-minute marketing video to highlight our community and what it has to offer. If you or someone you know can contribute to our effort, please email the search committee.
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The Sisters of Bede will sponsor an Easter Brunch
after the 10:00 AM service on Easter Day, April 17.
Tickets will not be sold in advance. A suggested donation of $10 per person will be taken at the door.
To help in planning for food, the Sisters encourage attendees to sign up in advance via their online sign-up.
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Saturday, April 2 at 10:00 AM
The service celebrating the life of Jeannette Young is scheduled for Saturday, April 2nd at 10:00 AM. The Rev. Ryan Newman will officiate and The Rev. Jim Newman will preach. The St. Bede's Choir under the direction of Frank Basile will offer music. All are welcome to attend.
Please continue to keep Jeannette's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.
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FROM THE ST. BEDE'S MISSION COMMITTEE
As we ponder our next outreach effort, there’s one that feels very urgent: aid for the Ukrainian people.
Episcopal Relief and Development offers an opportunity to give and has a direct link to Ukraine aid on the website.
| If you would prefer to donate through the church, you can write a check to St. Bede’s with the words “Episcopal Relief and Development/Ukraine Crisis Response” in the memo field. (And thank you to Betsy Hiteshew for proposing this!) | |
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God of peace and justice,
we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion
to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
– Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, Church of England
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LENT, HOLY WEEK, AND EASTER SCHEDULE | |
FROM THE EPISCOPAL NEWS
A newsletter serving the Diocese of LA
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Priest, rabbi to lead discussions of women clergy in Episcopal, Jewish traditions
Join the Rev. Canon Susan Russell (Diocese of Los Angeles canon for Engagement Across Difference and clergy staff, All Saints Church, Pasadena) and Rabbi Heather Miller (Keeping It Sacred) to discuss women clergy in their respective religious traditions, Jewish and Episcopalian, at 5 p.m. on Mondays, April 11, 18 and 25.
The three sessions, held in honor of the 50th ordination anniversary of Rabbi Sally J. Priesand (June 3) will cover where women clergy have been, where they are and where they are going. This program will be held via Zoom and is free, though donations to Keeping It Sacred or All Saints Church are welcome. Register here.
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House of Bishops condemns war in Ukraine, anti-transgender legislation at first in-person gathering since COVID-19 pandemic
The House of Bishops voted unanimously to issue statements condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and political actions targeting transgender people at its March 15-21 meeting.
The House met in person for the first time since September 2019, with 133 bishops and bishops-elect present, at Camp Allen, a retreat center near Navasota, Texas, owned by the Diocese of Texas.
The Ukraine statement – written by the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, with input from other bishops – denounced the “utter depravity” of the Russian military’s assault on the former Soviet republic in moral and political terms.
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Some dioceses ease restrictions on wine from common cup amid declining COVID-19 rates
The common cup is back – at least in some dioceses of The Episcopal Church.
It’s another sign of the growing eagerness across the church to return to pre-pandemic liturgical practices after two years of disruptions. After a fall and winter surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta and omicron variants, dioceses and congregations are planning for a post-pandemic future that includes resumption of Communion wine from a cup shared by all communicants.
For most of the pandemic, New York was among the dioceses that had only allowed administering the sacrament “in one kind,” the bread. On March 14, Bishop Andrew Dietsche announced an update: “I am happy to authorize, effective immediately, the return to Communion in both kinds, and to permit, and encourage, the restoration of the Common Cup in the worship of our churches,” he said in a message to the diocese.
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Absalom Jones Center’s ‘Women of Distinction’ honorees bring grace, grit to the church
For the Rev. Nancy Frausto’s students at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin a trip to the Texas-Mexico border is a standard part of the curriculum. “We go, so they can learn about border ministry and immigrants firsthand,” said Frausto, 37, the seminary’s director of Latinx Studies.
Born in Mexico, Frausto crossed the border with her parents at 7 and grew up in Los Angeles. She is the first and only Episcopal priest to have benefited from the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Her ministry and student instruction focus on pastoral care and healing racial trauma.
“Part of my healing has been to come to terms with trauma and not be held captive by it,” Frausto told Episcopal News Service. “It is important to acknowledge trauma, whether you’re a first- or fourth-generation Latino in this country. It’s okay to let go and heal without feeling guilt for the sacrifice that was made by our parents. This is a message of hope.”
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Study: More congregations are reopening but attendance remains flat
Across the country, religious congregations have reopened, or reopened with some health restrictions still in place, after two long pandemic years, according to a new Pew Research survey.
But there has been little or no rise in the number of people attending in-person religious services over the past six months, while the number of those watching services online has also remained steady.
The survey of 10,441 U.S. adults taken March 7-13 showed that only 27% of respondents said they attended services in person this month (compared to 67% who typically do). Back in September, when the coronavirus was still surging and hospitals were reaching capacity numbers, the percentage of those attending in-person religious services was 26%.
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Report calls church to address harms of white supremacy, colonial and imperial legacies; create $2 million healing coalition
The Episcopal Church would form a new Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice and allocate an estimated $2 million a year for the coalition to coordinate and expand churchwide racial healing efforts, under a newly released proposal to be considered in July by the 80th General Convention.
The proposal was unveiled on March 23 in a report produced by the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning and Healing. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, created the working group last year to sharpen the church’s focus on confronting its past complicity with racist systems and the lingering legacy of white supremacy embedded in institutions like the church. The coalition also is seen as a remedy to the church’s uneven track record of prioritizing racial reconciliation, at the churchwide level and across its more than 100 dioceses.
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PREVIOUSLY SHARED...WORTH REPEATING | |
St. Bede’s has resumed “in-person” meetings. As much as our technical capabilities allow, meetings and worship services will be offered in-person and online. Masks are still required indoors for all gatherings at St. Bede’s. In partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Vestry continues to monitor the “testing positivity rate” in Los Angeles County. If the current positivity rate falls below the pre-Omicron surge positivity rate for a consecutive 14 days, St. Bede’s Vestry will look to remove the indoor mask requirement. | | | | |
