September 14, 2023

Dear Ones,

My thanks to everyone who stepped up to help on Sunday while I was out sick. Not COVID—thanks be to God—but a nasty cold. But it was a good reminder that COVID numbers are ticking back up, and I might want to start having a mask with me again. I know several of you have resumed wearing yours in church. I’m not quite ready to ask us all to start wearing them again, but I am grateful to those of you who have made the decision for yourself. I think they are just part of our lives now.

I will try yet again to have our Backpack/Back-to-School Blessing this Sunday! Remember, this is for students of all ages and school staff! Bring your backpack or some other item that you will use on a daily (or near daily) basis that will be a reminder to you that you are beloved child of God, empowered by Christ’s love to be a light to others.

In the meantime….keep the faith,

Nancy+

***

Someone recently asked me about something he noticed in the form of the Nicene Creed included in the Liturgy for the Season of Creation we are using this month. In response, I shared what I wrote a while back:

So what about “and the Son”?!

Many of you have noticed that the version of the Nicene Creed printed in the weekly liturgy booklet is a little different from what we have memorized. “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.” I was amused a couple of weeks ago when one lone voice added in “and the Son” –mine! It has also been a source of great delight to have conversations with some of you about it. More of you know about the historical significance of that one little phrase than I would have guessed!  That tiny little phrase is known as the filioque. It may seem like a little thing now, but it was a source of friction between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) Churches, and is considered one of the “last straws” that led to the Great Schism in the 11th century. If you are interested in the full story, I’m happy to point you to some resources. What’s more important to our discussion is this: in the 90s, The Episcopal Church authorized the removal of the filioque from the Nicene Creed as a symbol of our attempts to be reconciled. All new liturgical materials (such as Enriching Our Worship) eliminated it, but it continues in the printings of The Book of Common Prayer because the change was made since its last ratification. Because we are printing the entire service out, I thought this was a good time to introduce you to the change.

CREATION CARE TIPS

Quick and Easy Climate Care Tips

Today’s climate care tips are some of the easiest to offer – and to follow:

  • Buckle your seatbelt, set your GPS, and tune your radio before you start the ignition.  You won’t save much gas each time you start your car, but over the year it will add up.  Idling a car, truck,  bus (or backhoe) adds unnecessary pollutants and heat to our atmosphere, and with engines 55 years old or younger, it’s not necessary to warm the engine before you drive away.
  • I won’t join the debate about to rinse or not to rinse dishes before they go into the dishwasher, but if you do (I do), try to use cold water and the sprayer.  And if there was a lot of food left on the plate, it should go into the compost.

Simple tips, but hard habits to get into. I’m still working on that.

– Patty

Hurt not the earth–neither the sea–nor the trees. Revelation 7:3

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS

Exodus 14:19-31   *   Psalm 114   *   Romans 14:1-12   *   Matthew 18:21-35

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

Sam Pottle  9/18

CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday:               10:15 AM     Eucharist    In-person & online

                           Backpack Blessing during worship

                                    PLEASE NOTE: BETHEL HOUSE CHURCH WILL NOT MEET THIS MONTH

Wednesday:       9:00 AM       Eucharist/Bible Study

Thursday:           9:00 AM       Christ Church Book Group/Zoom

                           7:15 PM       Zoom Compline

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BACKPACK/BACK-TO-SCHOOL BLESSING We’ll try again this Sunday!

Season of Creation Sept. 3 through Oct. 1.

School Supplies Please leave your donation of school supplies in the box in the Guild Room today.

Isaiah Study group will resume in September. Day/time TBA.

Directory Updates Please provide Linda with any updates to your directory entry by September 22. A new directory will be available on October 1. If you have not filled out a Family Information Sheet, please do so—it  contains information not included in the directory.