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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Beginning Nov. 19 for 4 Sundays in the Parish House! Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and the Bible.
A Christmas Carol has delighted audiences since it publication in 1843 in its book form and through the many movies made from its story. Few people know of Dickens’ connection with religion. A Christmas Carol has many Biblical references, some cleverly hidden within the story. The regeneration of Scrooge mirrors the regeneration of mankind in the Bible. Even with the title, “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens is using the meaning of “carol” familiar to him: a song celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Dickens each chapter of his book a stave, a stanza of a song. We will discuss Chapter 1 of the book on the first Sunday. Where to find it ?
2 The book and audio are available free at Project Gutenberg on the web. It is available in plain text, formatted text, Kindle for book readers (with or with images). It is available in in audio in mp3 format and itunes audiobook
3 If you want a hardcopy, it is available on Amazon. Look for Dover Thrift edition for as little as $3 plus shipping.
Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting
3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.
Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat. After each screen, a Continue button will appear. Click it when you are ready to move on. If you are new to online prayer, the basic timing of the screens will guide you through the experience.
Daily meditations in words and music.
Your daily prayer online, since 1999
"We invite you to make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day, praying here and now, as you visit our website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance."
Saints of the Week, Sept. 3- Sept. 10
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Paul Jones, 1941; also [Albert Schweitzer, Physician, 1965] |
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[Gregorio Aglipay, Priest and Founder of the Philippine Independent Church, 1940] |
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[Elie Naud, Huguenot Witness to the Faith, 1722] |
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Constance, Nun, and her Companions, 1878 |
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Alexander Crummel, 1898 |
September 3, 2017 – Season of Creation 1
The River Reflected
The Week Ahead…
Sept. 6 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study
Sept. 6 – 5:00pm – Village Dinner
Sept. 8 – 7:30am – ECM at Horne’s
Sept. 10 – 10:00am – Godly Play for Adults
Sept. 10 – 10:00am – Children’s Christian Ed with Becky
Sept. 10 – 11:00am – Holy Eucharist, Rite II
RESPONDING TO HURRICANE HARVEY –
Update Sept 9 – We have $700. Let’s get another $300!
Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD) invites you to join us in prayer and support for communities affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Most disasters have three distinct, if sometimes overlapping phases: Rescue, Relief and Recovery. ERD is focusing on Relief.
“During this phase, the local church will be one of the first places people go to seek assistance and shelter. Because they are prepared and experienced in disaster response, we know that our partners in Texas and elsewhere will be active in the Relief phase. “
Your contribution to the Hurricane Harvey Response Fund helps Episcopal Relief & Development support Church and other local partners as they provide critical emergency assistance. Contributions are tax deductible.
A word from The Most Reverend Michael Curry Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
“Long ago the prophet Malachi taught that we are all children of God by virtue of our creation by the same God. “Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?” he asked (2:10). Jesus taught the same thing when he told a story about a Good Samaritan. We are indeed all the children of God. And if we are all God’s children, then we are all brothers and sisters.
“As you know, our brothers and sisters in Texas now need our help. Our support of Episcopal Relief & Development is a tangible, practical, effective and reliable way to do that, not just in the short term, but for the long haul. Thank you for whatever you can do for together we are the human family of God.”
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From Sun., Sept. 3 through Sun., Sept 10, St Peter’s will match parishioner contributions to the ERD up to $1,000 from an anonymous donor. Please put “Flood relief” in the memo of your check. We will send the ERD one check for the total. |
We need these items:
1. For the Village Harvest Sept 20. Kleenex, toilet paper, and paper towels. 
2. For the "Buzzing Bees", ongoing 
a. Granulated sugar, in any amount, so that Andrew Huffman, the beekeeper, can prepare it for the bees for food.
b. Mason jars, preferably pint size 16oz, for the bumper crop of honey that the bees will provide for harvesting next year
Sunday, Sept. 10, Readings and Servers
Two videos for the Season of Creation
They show the presentation during the offertory the gifts we provide in ministry and those for the communion to follow.
1. Offertory – 1/2 minute
2. Communion – about 4 minutes
What is the Season of Creation ?
This is a new church season for us. Usually Pentecost is the longest season from Pentecost Sunday until Advent. Now the Season of Creation, five Sundays, helps to break up the period we spend in Pentecost. Where did this come from ?
Since the 1980’s, the Eastern Orthodox Church has designated this time each year to delve more deeply into our relationships with God and with one another in the context of the magnificent creation in which we live. The Catholic Church also recognizes this season. The Church of England, as well as the Anglicans in Australia and New Zealand observe this season as well. Various churches across the United States also celebrate the Season of Creation. Bishop Shannon has blessed our observance, so that we at St Peter’s can join with Christians all over the world in this celebration.
The central focus of the month is on God–God as Creator. In his letter to the Romans, right up front, Paul makes this statement. “Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things that God has made.” We know a lot about God simply by paying attention to God’s creation. And Jesus, who came that we might have life, and might have it more abundantly, used his own attention to and love of the natural world in his teachings and parables, to help the people around him find the abundant life that can become ours through him. To be with Jesus through scripture and through the bread and wine is also to see and to know God the Creator of heaven and earth.
When we Christians consider all the “works thy hands hath made,” as the old hymn “How Great Thou Art” puts it, how do our relationships with God, with creation, and with one another grow richer and deeper? This question is also a focus of this five week Season of Creation.
The goal in worship then is to deepen our understanding of God as Creator, to celebrate God’s role as Creator, and to examine and deepen and widen our own relationships with God, creation, and with one another. With Bishop Shannon’s permission, we will be using scripture readings in this five week period that have been designed to help us to accomplish these goals. You can find out more about the readings in the article later in this newsletter, “The Readings for The Season of Creation.” At the Eucharist, we will be using the Eucharistic Prayer “We Give Thanks” which highlights the role of God as Creator and Jesus dwelling in nature as one of us to bring us abundant life.
My hope for this Season is that we can grow in our love of God as Creator, and also in our love of creation itself, and to consider why, as Christians, the natural world and our relationship with it matters deeply in the working out of our lives as the beloved children of God on this earth.
Lectionary, Sept. 10, 2017, Season of Creation 2
I.Theme – Man’s relationship with God and to the world
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The lectionary readings are here
The reading from Job continues to speak of God as the transcendent and powerful Creator. And yet, the psalmist knows that this transcendent God searches and knows us, and is always and intimately with us, in every moment of our lives. After all, God knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. And yet, as Paul points out to the Romans, human beings go astray, by claiming to be wiser than God and by worshiping their own idols. Jesus reminds us in the gospel reading that as his followers we are to be salt and light to the world, so that others may see our good works and give glory to God.
Read more about the lectionary for Sept 10
Misuse of God’s Creation? Climate Change: The Evidence
Summary -There have been several climate impacts over the last few years. The most prevalent is rising temperatures which led to the faster melting of glaciers which affects land and habitats causing migration of people. Food supplies are affected as areas can’t depend on the new pattern of melting glaciers. At the same time changing precipitation patterns have affected foot supply as has increasing demand. This points to crises points in the next century.
1. Rising Temperatures
The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest on record, according to NASA. [i]
1998, 2005, 2009, and 2010 ranked as the warmest years on record. 2010 reached record high average temperatures despite the fact that Northern Europe and Central and Eastern Australia were cooler than average.[ii]
Since the industrial revolution, global average temperature has increased by 0.8°C (1.4°F).
The main reasons for the warming are the burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) and deforestation, which are adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
IPCC projections for the end of this century range from an increase of 1.8 to 6°C (3.2 to 10.8°F) depending on various emissions scenarios
2. Rising temperatures causes rise of sea levels though warming of water and melting of glaciers. There are two major reasons why sea levels have been rising: When water warms up, its volume increases. This is called thermal expansion. The melting of glaciers and of the polar ice caps adds huge amounts of freshwater to the oceans.
Due to warmer temperatures, mountain glaciers all over the world are receding. The dramatic worldwide shrinking of the glaciers is one of the most visible evidences of global warming. Glaciers act as a kind of global fever thermometer. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, lost one third of its ice within 12 years. About 82% of its icecap surveyed in 1912 is now gone. In the Alps, the glaciers lost about 1/3 of their area and half of their volume between 1850 and 1975. Since then much more has melted. Switzerland went so far as to cover one of its most rapidly melting glaciers to slow down the loss. In the United States, the glaciers in “Glacier National Park” are retreating so quickly it has been estimated that they will vanish entirely by the year 2030.
Melting glaciers pose multiple dangers: Initially, the increasing amount of meltwater can have a positive effect for hydropower. At the same time, emerging glacial lakes have the potential of sudden drainage that could cause devastating floods. In the long term, severe water shortages can be expected when there will be no or only very little ice left to melt in the summer. The time frame for this to happen varies greatly depending on the geographic location; it may be a matter of just a few years, decades, or, in the case of the Himalayas, several centuries.
The rising of sea levels will result in land and habitat loss in many countries. Bangladesh may lose almost 20% of its land area. Hundreds of coastal communities, Small Island states in the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Caribbean would be inundated, forcing their population to relocate. Experts with the United Nations University estimate that rising sea levels and environmental deterioration have already displaced about 50 million people. The greatest cost of rising sea levels will not be measurable.
It is the inevitable disruption of communities and cultures that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
However, in the more distant future, that is later on this century and beyond, hundreds of millions of people will become displaced if sea levels will rise a few meters. Many important, historical cities around the world like Venice, New Orleans, and Amsterdam will be lost to the ocean. Many of the largest cities in the world will sooner or later share the same fate, including Shanghai, Manhattan, Alexandria, and Dhaka.
Most worrisome is that the polar ice caps began melting as well. The accelerating speed of their melting even surprised scientists who predicted the thawing. From 1979 to 2005, Arctic sea ice has shrunk roughly 250 million acres an area the size of New York, Georgia, and Texas combined. Between 1953 and 2006, the area covered by sea ice in September shrunk by 7.8 percent per decade, more than three times as fast as the average rate simulated by climate models. Researchers were further stunned in the summer of 2007 when Arctic sea ice extent plummeted to the lowest level ever measured, more than 20 percent below the 2005 record. This decline is rapidly changing the geopolitics of the Arctic region, opening the Northwest Passage for the first time in recorded history and triggering a scramble among governments to claim large swaths of the potentially resource-rich Arctic sea floor. Many now believe the summer Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by 2030, decades earlier than previously thought possible.” The Greenland ice sheet is also melting. It holds enough water to raise sea levels worldwide by 23 feet.
Why are the polar ice caps melting so fast? A major reason is the albedo (reflectivity) effect: Snow and ice are best reflectors of solar radiation. They reflect about 70% of the sun’s radiation (and absorb 30%). Water on the other hand is a poor reflector. It reflects only 6% of the sun’s radiation and absorbs most of the heat (94%). The intense thawing of ice and snow creates more water surfaces. The warming of the water contributes to the regional rise in temperature, which again causes more ice to melt. This ice – albedo feedback is believed to be the major reason why the Arctic is warming so rapidly. [xvi] In addition, the melt water from the surface penetrates into the depths of the ice sheets. The process lubricates the ice sheets and accelerates their movement towards the sea.
Read more about climate change…