ALL ANGELS BY THE SEA
WEEKLY TIDINGS
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The theme for this Sunday's service is teshuva.
Find out what the meaning of this ancient Hebrew word means to us. And bring a friend!
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We Pray for our People
Shed the light of your healing love on all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit. Bring health and hope to all who suffer, especially: Downs IV, Holden, Barbara, Maria Christine, Caitlin, Dennis, Angie, Amy Jo, Carling, Michael, Ian, Joan, Diana, Anne, Alyssa, Joe, Denise, Zachary and Chris.
We pray for those who receive the care of skilled nursing, especially Timothy, Barbara, and Kim. We pray for those going through cancer treatments and those in remission, especially, Margaret, Downs III, Victoria, Alex, Connie, Douglas, Frank, Gerta, Lauren, TJ, Cara, Valerie, Violet, Joan, Nancy, Julie, George, Denise, Mark and John.
We pray for those in Hospice, especially Jeanne and Regina.
| A BRIDGE BETWEEN ALEX AND DAVE |
Podcast: A Bridge Between
Episode 124: Do You Love Me?
Also available on Spotify:
Spotify: A Bridge Between
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Gallery Artist
The Gallery Artist for May is Zerbe Sodervick. Please stop by and enjoy the work of this talented local artist. Checks should be written to All Angels by the Sea.
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Choir News
Chancel Choir rehearsals are on Thursdays at 10 am.
New members are always welcome! Please feel free to join us!
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Combined Discussion Group
Tuesday, May 6th, 10:00am
My daughter and her family are flying in to see us. I am working one day (in addition to Sunday, of course) next week - Tuesday! That means we will have a combined meeting at 10 a.m.
We will be discussing the movie Conclave. That means you have homework. I expect that you will have seen the movie before Tuesday. This is not a documentary but, as you may know, an actual conclave is forming to choose the next pope. It seems timely to talk about this movie.
Here is how you can watch it:
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or you can stream it for $5.99 on YouTube, or Fandango at Home, or on Google Play Movies.
Here is a trailer for the movie
Conclave Trailer
For those in person, I'll have the coffee ready. For those on Zoom, here's the link: https://zoom.us/j/5955701807
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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.
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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
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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.
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If you would like to listen to Fr. Dave read his Reflection,
click the link below:
To Forgive or To Retain
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To Forgive or To Retain
On the first night of Easter Sunday, Jesus stood among his disciples, said, “Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathed the Holy Spirit on them and then said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I find it interesting that what the apostles remembered about that night was as follows: peace; sent; forgive. I’d like to talk with you about that last part – the forgive part.
Over the centuries, the institutional Church has interpreted this to mean that the Church can forgive sins, and the Church can retain sins. I respectfully disagree – with the retaining part. A seminary professor of ethics gave a detailed explanation of who should be absolved of their sins and who should be withheld. His teaching was correct in the sense that sometimes people seek out a priest not to confess but to get permission. The professor was advising us on being able to tell the difference. But, as noted above, I disagree that the institutional Church can decide to retain sins. Why? God does the forgiving. If God wants to forgive (even Hitler) that’s up to God’s grace and love. Also, humans tend to do things that give them, or the institution, power – including deciding who is worthy of forgiveness and who is not. That was not Jesus’s point.
“So I send you” is the key to this passage. Like a parent sending a child to High School, the child can decide what to do and the parent, for the most part, has to watch. Jesus sent the disciples out and said that if you forgive others they are forgiven. But you also have the choice to not forgive. The disciples went out and started living a life of forgiveness. The first people they forgave were the very people who sent Jesus to the cross. They did this out of a sense of forgiveness that Jesus gave them (like the prayer forgive as we have been forgiven). Bear in mind, however, they could have chosen not to forgive but to retain and blame and exclude.
Think of it this way: a comedian said, “Honesty is the best policy; but it’s not the only policy.” The best way to live is to forgive. But it’s not the only way to live. Jesus sends us out too, with the Breath of God and the Holy Spirit, with the hope that we forgive as we have been forgiven. But it’s not the only policy.
- Fr. Dave
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