Trumpet 8 October 2013 - Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Your Vestry Wants To Hear From You!

Emmanuel Church Staff

The Trumpet

Here is a list of your vestry to contact with any needs, ideas, or criticisms!

The Rev’d Canon Dr. Mark Gatza,

Emmanuel Episcopal Church 303 North Main Street Bel Air, Maryland 21014 www.emmanuelbelair.org

Rector --Mark Gatza: [email protected] Senior Warden — Dottie Ward: [email protected] Treasurer -- Steve Bareford: [email protected] Registrar -- Liz Glass: [email protected]

Rector Brent Pertusio, Organist & Choirmaster Heather Costantino, Sunday School Resource Coordinator James Kennard, Sexton

Eric Betts: [email protected] JoAnne Bogusko: [email protected]

Church Phone

Joan Kime: [email protected] Debbie Bissoondial: [email protected] Diane Simmons: [email protected] Charles Brooks: [email protected]

410 838-7699

Upcoming Scripture Lessons

Church Cell Phone for Pastoral Emergencies

29 September—Amos 5:1, 4-7; Psalm 146; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

443 752-0573

6 October– Habakkuk 1:1-4; Psalm 37; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17 5-10

www.emmanuelbelair.org

St. Michael and All Angels

Sandy Cormack: [email protected] Bette Ann Mobley: [email protected] Karen Brahos: [email protected]

8 October 2013

Paul Rogers: [email protected] Shannon Rogers: [email protected] Ted Roux: [email protected]

Michael and All Angels, 29 September On the Feast of Michael and all Angels, popularly called Michaelmas, we give thanks for the many ways in which God’s loving care watches over us, both directly and indirectly, and we are reminded that the richness and variety of God’s creation far exceeds our knowledge of it. The Holy scriptures often speak of created intelligences other than humans who worship God in heaven and act as His messengers and agents on earth. By the time of Christ, Jewish popular belief included many specifics about angels with names for many of them. There were thought to be four archangels, named Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Michael is said to be the captain of the heavenly armies; he is generally pictured in full armor, carrying a lance and with his foot on the neck of a dragon. Gabriel is thought of as the special bearer of messages from God to men; he announced the forthcoming births of John the Baptist and of our Lord to Zachariah and the Virgin Mary respectively. Raphael is mentioned in the Apocrypha and Uriel is mentioned in 4 Esdras. In remembering the Holy Angels we are reminded that God often prefers to do good through His willing servants, enabling those who accepted His love to show their love for one another.

Third Saturday Band The Third Saturday Band will be with us for the 10:00 Service on Sunday, 29 September. Listen for them also the following week when they will be part of our Outreach Fair, in the Maryan Room between our Sunday services.

Everlasting God, who have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, for ever and ever. Amen.

New Prayerbooks! Thanks to the many gifts, large and small, that were offered last month, we were able to order new prayerbooks for both All Saints Chapel and the sanctuary of Emmanuel Church. We will also be able to replace our well-worn Altar Book. The first order has arrived and the books have been placed in the pew racks in the church. On the back table, you will find book plates in three designs. If you made a donation to help us purchase Prayerbooks, please feel free to fill one out with a suitable Thanksgiving or Memorial inscription — or whatever else you think would be appropriate for someone to read on opening one. Our used books are now looking for good homes. Please feel free to take one with you and enjoy exploring the riches therein.

Continuing Education … is an important part of staying whole and healthy as the Rector of a congregation. Canon Gatza will be attending the Celebration of Biblical Preaching conference at Luther Seminary the second week of October, as well as the Diocesan Clergy Conference the week following. The church answering machine will have contact information in case of a pastoral emergency.

“Good Lord deliver us.” A week ago now we heard the news of yet another mass shooting, this one just about a mile and a half from our nation’s capital. Maybe it’s just me, but something about the media coverage of the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard felt different. There seemed to be fewer expressions of shock and horror, replaced by what seems by now to be routine reports of what we know about shooter, the victims and the circumstances that put them together in that place. It felt a step closer to complacency than the similar stories we have heard from Newtown, CT, or Aurora, CO, in the past year. That feeling was reinforced just a couple of days later when we heard that an apparently gang-related drive-by shooting in Chicago left many more injured, including a three-year old child. Just the Friday before the first incident happened, a panel of commentators from Slate Magazine (www.slate.com) pondered this question: Is there any kind of mass shooting that would be so horrific that Congress would consider changing our gun laws in a significant way? Their answer: no. And sure enough, despite two shootings in the same week, no politician or political commentator made any kind of serious call for the reform of gun sales. As a clergyman in America, I abide by a set of rules that proscribes my ability to advocate for particular political positions from my pulpit – and, in fact, my understanding of that policy is probably narrower and more conservative than it needs to be. After Newtown, several clergy in Harford County added lines to our Prayers of the People asking for “an end to gun violence in this country.” After hearing that read for several weeks, most of us have revised it to pray for “an end to senseless violence,” to avoid straying across the line into political discourse. (“Props” to Joan Kime who raised the question about “sensible violence” at our last Vestry meeting.) Rules notwithstanding, I have had deep feelings about the violence itself and what I perceive to be the factors that facilitate it. So it concerns me that, this week, I have considerably less emotion arising from this shooting than I did nine months ago. Perhaps it is all becoming routine, even to me. There is one increasingly clear fact that is emerging from the pattern of mass shootings we are enduring: it can happen anywhere to anyone. Harford County, Maryland, is no safer than Fairfield County, Connecticut. Though we recite it only once a year on the first Sunday of Lent, there is a line from The Great Litany that rings out in this context: “From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion; from violence, battle, and murder; and from dying suddenly and unprepared, Good Lord, deliver us.” As Christians we believe that God loves us and wants the best for us. But God does not micro-manage the world we live in, so violence, disease, famine and disaster all threaten us. It is our responsibility to be prepared for whatever life has in store for us – to be ready to face a personal tragedy ourselves or concerning someone we love. The key component in this preparation is our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is our assurance that we too will be raised up after death. That faith is nurtured by the time we take to pray, to gather for worship, and to study the scriptures that show us what that faith looks like. Since high school, I have recited a prayer each night that helps me to be prepared for the “changes and chances” of the day to come. Forty days after he was born, Jesus was brought to the Temple for a dedication ceremony. Luke 2 tells us that he was seen by Simeon, who recognized him immediately as the messiah — fulfilling a promise that God had made to this righteous man. Spontaneously, he spoke these words: “Lord, you now have set your servant free, to go in peace as you have promised. For these eyes of mine have seen the savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” As I recite these verses, I think to myself about all the places I have seen God in the day that has passed, and there has never been a day when I have come up short! That becomes a comfort to me, that whatever the next day brings, I know that God will be there with me. And because of that, I am ready to handle whatever joy or tragedy comes my way. This personal “practice” is hardly an original idea. The service of Compline in our Prayerbook (p. 127) includes the Song of Simeon, harkening back centuries when it was recited every night in monastic communities. Now that we have a surplus of used Prayerbooks (see page 1!) let me recommend that you take one home and incorporate Compline in your evening routine. If you are at all like me, I know that it will help you wake up each morning prepared for what is to come.

Totidem Verbis

Mark Gatza+

Come to the Table! At Emmanuel we enjoy our fellowship with a side of dining. Please take a look at the upcoming breakfast menus and make plans to attend our Italian Night on October 20, 2013.

Breakfast Menus

orange juice, syrup, real cream, assorted jams and jellies, sweet creamery butter, and napkins for your dining safety. Menus are designed to be nearly lactose free.

29 September, 2013

6 October 2013

Sarah’s Eggs

Sarah’s Eggs

Blueberry Pancakes

Paper thin Crepes

Heather’s Crisp Bacon

Strawberries and Whipped Cream The cost is $5.00 per person or $10.00 per family. Assorted breakfast Meats Sleep later, Toast Points save time; Cheesy Grits dine with us at Emmanuel. Roasted Potatoes

Assorted breakfast Meats English Muffins Hash Browns

Always available are fresh fruit, something sweet, coffee/decaf,

We Have Something for You

Come join us for Italian Night one of the tastiest fellowship events of the year! Menu Starters: Assorted antipasti, mixed greens salad, balsamic vinaigrette, fresh garlic bread. Main: Stuffed shells, marinara sauce, mixed seasonal vegetables, Mike’s famous meatballs, sweet Italian sausages Intermission: A Capella Concert featuring The Bay Country Gentlemen Dessert: Homemade Tiramisu, homemade ice cream Beer, wine iced tea, lemonade

Adult Bible Study Adult Bible Study will begin on Friday, October 4, 2013. Our study will be the Book of Isaiah. Gathering in the Rectory at 9:30 a.m. we finish promptly at 11:00 a.m. Discussion is designed to allow participants to come and go; feel free to attend one, some or all of the sessions. Keep reading The Trumpet to find out our next study topic.

Outreach Fair The third Outreach Fair will take place on Sunday, October 6, 2013. Booths showcasing our outreach efforts will be available for exploration between the services ( eight and ten o’clock, ten o’clock and noon). Please stop by to check out all that takes place at Emmanuel. You may find a group to join or support.