Announcements - Church of Our Saviour

This Sunday at Church of Our Saviour

8:00 am - Rite I Eucharist

10:00 am - Community Sunday

This Week

Office Help Needed

Coming Soon

Prepare for Pentecost!

Seeking the Spirit

Beams, Motes, and Lessons
This Week’s Prayers

Ministry & Outreach Opportunities

Marin Action Network
Experience Corps
Toys & Musical Instruments

The Wider Church

Pilgrimage to Holy Land in 2013

Parishioner Classifieds

Sandburg Photos at Open Studios
Handyman Available

Pray

Summer Sunday School Needs You!

Help teach Summer Sunday School! We are now recruiting teachers for Sundays over the summer. The Summer Sunday School program is easy, low-commitment and fun! It is not Godly Play, and no training or prior experience is required. Teaching primarily involves greeting children as they arrive, reading a story to them, and facilitating snack time, duties which are divided between two adults. Summer Sunday School lasts from June 10th through September 9th. If you would like to teach on one of these Sundays, please sign up on the flip chart in Hammond Hall (near the stairs) or contact Willie VanDoren at vandorenw@gmail.com.

Spring Godly Play Meeting

Everyone is welcome to join the Godly Play Ministry at our Spring meeting on Sunday, May 20th, immediately following coffee hour in the Far Godly Play Room from 11:30 am to 1 pm. The focus of this meeting will be on how we ensure consistency across our stories and classrooms and will also include a preview of the 2012-2013 Godly Play school year. It is a great opportunity to hear more about what is happening "behind the scenes" in Godly Play at Church of Our Saviour! Lunch and childcare will be provided. Please RSVP to Rose at office@oursaviourmv.org or (415) 388-1907.

Community Announcements

May 11, 2012

This Week & Coming Up

Office Help Needed

Rose Scarff, our parish administrator, is on vacation from though May 21st. If you have time to volunteer in the church office during that time, answering phones, checking email and snail mail, copying, folding, etc., it would be greatly appreciated. Please sign up on the sheet in the fireside room or contact the office at 388-1907. Thanks.

Readers for Pentecost

We are seeking members who can read a short biblical passage in a language other than English to help with the Pentecost reading from Acts at the 10:00 am service on Sunday, May 27th. If interested, please contact the office, and let us know what language you'd like to read in.

An invitation to Wednesday morning Holy Communion and Bible Study

I enjoy the intimacy of a relatively small group of people meeting together for Communion and Study. As Our Lord said, “Where 2 or 3 are gathered . . .” However, I would like to share these moments with more of our Parishioners. There is plenty of space in the Choir Stalls, and of course, the Nave, if necessary. We are a very congenial group, sometimes verging on hilarity during Bible Study, but I always come away having been refreshed and a little more enlightened. I would love to have you join us at 10:30 any Wednesday.

- Charlaine Shackelford

Though not as much a regular at Bible Study as in years past, I have enjoyed and learned about the Bible and Church and God at this Wednesday gathering in the daytime at Church. It is preceded by Eucharist, and that starts at 10:30 a.m. If you have availability, come and learn about the reading for the coming Sunday and our liturgical readings in general on these weekly Wednesdays. You are most welcome, and certainly encouraged by those of us who are irregular in attendance, and if I may, those who are regular in attendance, too.

- Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB

Coming Up at Church of Our Saviour

Saturday – May 12 – 10 am. – Altar Guild Inventory Meeting

Tuesday – May 15 – 9:30 am – Mt. Carmel Hot Lunch Program

Wednesday – May 16 – 10: 30 am – Holy Communion followed by Bible dialogue

Thursday – May 17 – 7:30 pm – Choir Practice – Sanctuary

Saturday – May 19 – 11:00 am – Memorial Service for Vyvien Gear – Sanctuary

Sunday – May 20 – Blessing of our graduates
11:30 am – Godly Play Leadership Meeting – GP Rooms

Tuesday – May 22 – 1 pm – Youth & Family Ministries meeting – Fireside Room

Wednesday – May 23:
10: 30 am – Holy Communion followed by Bible dialogue
7 pm – Adult Education Meeting – Fireside Room

Thursday – May 24 – 7:30 pm – Choir Practice – Sanctuary

Seeking the Spirit

Beams, Motes, and Lessons

‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.

‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. -- Matthew 7:1-12 NRSV

There are days when the readings for the Daily Office sort of leave me scratching my head and wondering that all that means to me. Then there are days when there is so much that it feels almost impossible to take it all in. This is one of those passages. There are four paragraphs and enough there to keep a mind busy for years contemplating them.

There are so many familiar lessons here: as you are judged, so you will be judged; the log in your own eye vs. the speck in your neighbor's; don't throw pearls before swine; ask, seek and knock; do to others as you would have them do to you. These were all precepts I was taught in Sunday School as a child and still haven't been able to master despite hearing them again and again for years. They don't seem difficult, when I read them on the page, but why are they so difficult, even impossible, to live out so much of the time?

Take judging. I have an awareness that I am doing it but control it? That's something else. So why do I do it? Very possibly because it ties in with the next bit about the beam and the mote. In one situation, I feel judged because there are notes all over the databases I work in, pointing out errors that individually wouldn't amount to a hill of beans but collectively feel overwhelming. I judge in return, partly to remind myself that the person leaving the notes is far from perfect themselves. I know I'm wrong, but I seem to do it without really thinking. Why not just be more careful? I do try, but I still make mistakes. I judge the log in their eye because I feel that they don't seem able to see it; I also don't forget I've got a rather large one in my own.

The part about "do unto others" sounds so easy to do. If I want to be treated politely then I need to be polite myself. If I need a hand, I have to not only ask for it but also have to be alert to the potential needs of others that I can fill. If I don't want to be judged --- well, that's harder because it is putting a behavior on someone else that isn't mine to put on them. Perhaps if I look at it a little differently, maybe looking at it as judging others as I would expect God to judge me. Is it fair for me to expect God to use a six-inch ruler when I use a yardstick? If it weren't a challenge, it would be automatic and everybody would be doing it. As it is, it is a challenge I need to take up as I start my day and prepare to go to work to face it head on.

Jesus didn't give these lessons just to hear himself talk. He expected them to make a difference in the lives of those who heard him. Because more than two thousand years have happened between then and now doesn't dilute those lessons or excuse halfhearted hearing and little action. Sunday School lessons have a way of applying to the whole life, not just an hour on Sunday mornings.

I think I need to go back to school. I can recite the lessons but I hope God grades on the curve when I actually get to the test based on those lessons. I pray for the grace to grade others on that same curve I want for myself. I've got some lessons to relearn and homework to do to practice those lessons.

Linda Ryan co-mentors 2 EfM Online groups and keeps the blog Jericho's Daughter

From Episcopal Café.

In our Church of Our Saviour Cycle of Prayer, we pray today for the Mishalko family, Marcia Meyers and the Hofele family, and for the ministry of our Contemplative Prayer Groups, and for those who celebrate their birthdays, especially Madison MacLeod, Eleanor Barber, Bill Thomas, Atherton Phleger, Zilpha Snyder and Dylan Lang. In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for The Anglican Church of Korea, and for the Diocese of Tohoku and the Anglican Church of Japan in their recovery efforts. Please pray for those who are ill and in need of comfort, especially Janet, Dan, Jack, Nick, Ada, Phil, Lisa, Elaine, Eleanor, Beverly, Walter, Jennifer, Harriet, Jamie, Atherton, Ingrid, Nick, Lynn, and Tim; those serving in the military, especially Leif, Steven, Dash, Arthur, Daniel, Justin, Jason, Christopher, Sean, Cameron and George; and those who have died, especially remembering Vyvien Gear, all those suffering from natural disasters around the world, and all victims of famine, terrorism, war, natural disaster, and violence.

Prayers of the People are updated weekly. Names of those desiring prayers may be added to the Sunday prayers or to this bulletin, with their permission, by contacting the church office.

Ministry & Outreach
Opportunities

Marin Action Network Recommends New Project

Each year, the Marin Action Network recommends a new project for Episcopal Charities’ financial and volunteer support. This year, the Network chose Hannah Freedom School, a six-week summer literacy program in Marin City which provides reading instruction, cultural enrichment, arts, sports, field trips, two meals a day, parent education, leadership training, and community service for fifty incoming 2nd through 5th graders. The granting process will begin again in the fall as we seek new projects. To learn more, to volunteer, or to get involved as an Action Network member, visit www.episcopalcharities.org or contact Episcopal Charities’ Program Manager, the Rev. Justin R. Cannon, at jcannon@episcopalcharities.org or 415-869-7810.

Experience Corps Marin Seeking Volunteer Tutors

Experience Corps Marin, one of Episcopal Charities’ partner programs, offers adults 55 and older the opportunity to develop caring relationships with elementary and middle school students in Marin County during and after school. Members tutor one-on-one or in small groups, provide classroom assistance, and help out in after school programs. They support youth in reading and math, creative arts, and often develop programs for children based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences. For more information, or if you are interested in volunteering, contact the Rev. Justin R. Cannon at jcannon@episcopalcharities.org or 415-869-7810.

Toys and Musical Instruments

The parish is seeking contributions of durable toys in good condition appropriate for toddlers and other nursery-aged children.
We are also seeking child-friendly percussion instruments in good working order for children participating in Sunday music.

Please drop off contributions at the office.

The Wider Church

Adventure in the High Sierra with the Second Winders!

Backpack into the Silver Divide from July 28th to August 5th. Red One will pack from Lake Edison up to Graveyard Lakes and on; Red Two will horse-pack in to set up a base camp at the Devil’s Bathtub. Carrying personal gear, group kit and food is a challenge, but layover days allow short hikes up granite peaks to incredible vistas, dips in mountain lakes, and flower sketching. Visit the website at www.secondwinders.org for hike descriptions, contacts, registration form and last year’s photos.

Second Winders are adult newcomers, experienced hikers and seniors sponsored by the Diocese of El Camino and must be 18 or older for insurance purposes. Cost for food, group supplies and leadership is $140 per person; packhorses on the first day add about $70. Registration deadline is May 1st. Please contact Bob Wrucke (650) 851-8435 or Jim Miller (650) 954-5170 if you have questions.

A Pilgrimage to The Holy land: April 2013

Ready to make some long-term travel plans? If so, you are cordially invited to consider joining Jim Rawls on a fully-escorted, small-group pilgrimage to the Holy Land, April 8-19, 2013. Jim’s co-leaders will be The Rt. Rev. Barry Beisner, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California, and his wife, The Rev. L. Ann Hallisey, Dean of Students at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley.

Our itinerary is in the early stages of development, but most likely will include three nights at the Tabgha Pilgrim House on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, two nights in the Christian-run Orient Palace on Manger Square in Bethlehem, and four nights in the Knights Palace within the Old City walls of Jerusalem. The pilgrimage centers on the life of Jesus, following his footsteps through the ancient sites of his native land.

We’ll begin in Nazareth, the place of the Annunciation and the boyhood home of Jesus. Other highlights (among many!) may include Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, marking the traditional site of the birth of Christ; the Shepherds’ Fields where the angels announced the birth and said “Fear not!”; the Mount of Beatitudes and the excavations at Capernaum; Jericho, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world; the Dead Sea, with an opportunity to float thereupon; Bethany, the home of Jesus’ friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; Jacob’s Well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman; Ein Karem, the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist; the Pools of Bethesda where stories of miraculous healings abound; the Mount of Olives, traditional starting place of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem; the Garden of Gethsemane where our Lord prayed mightily on the night before his death; Temple Mount (if permitted), sacred to all three of the world’s Abrahamic faiths; the High Priest’s Palace where Jesus was held captive before his crucifixion; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, enshrining Golgotha and the tomb of Christ. Please note that this tentative itinerary is subject to change as we continue to explore our options and consider changing local conditions.

Bishop Barry and The Rev. Ann, both veteran leaders of prior pilgrimages to the Holy Land, will offer us the opportunity to renew our baptismal vows at Caesarea Philippi, share in worship with our sister and brother Christians at St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem, celebrate the Eucharist on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, sing the Magnificat in the place where Mary first uttered those words of praise, and walk the Way of the Cross through the narrow streets of the Via Dolorosa. In addition, we’ll consider prayerfully the ongoing ministry of reconciliation in this conflicted land. We’ll be hosted by Arab Christians throughout, visit the International Center of Bethlehem and the Church of All Nations in Gethsemane, and learn about the work of Sabeel, an ecumenical movement founded by an Anglican priest dedicated to resolving disputes in the Holy Land through peaceful means and theological dialogue. Simply put, this will be the trip of a lifetime. It’s the ultimate pilgrimage; the classic journey outward and inward upon which all our other Christian pilgrimages are based.

To learn more, please contact Jim at JamesJabus@hotmail.com and we’ll mail to you a color brochure with all the details of our day-by-day itinerary once it has been finalized. Please also visit www.OnPilgrimage.com for additional information (including price) as it becomes available.

Please note: To reserve your place, simply ask to have your name added to our priority list of potential registrants. No obligation whatsoever.

Parishioner Classifieds

Robert Skip Sandburg Photography

Robert Skip Sandburg, Ann Fricker’s husband, will be presenting “Antarctica 2012” as part of Marin Arts Council Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday, May 12th and 13th, from 11 am to 6 pm. His studio is located at 320 Eldridge Avenue, Mill Valley. Parking on Eldridge is limited, due to canyon fire access, and there are 70+ steps from the street to the house. If you park on West Blithedale, it is a 10 minute walk.

For more information call 415-383-5236 or visit his website: www.robertsandbergphoto.com

Send in your work, service, or spirituality-related classifieds for the parish. Postings will be retained for one month, after which you may refresh them for re-posting.

All announcements for the parish e-blast and Sunday bulletins should be sent to the office by noon on Wednesday each week.

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour
(415) 388-1907
office@oursaviourmv.org