The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Living Word

17 November 2011

Worship this week:     Sun.                   10:30 a.m.     Morning Prayer

                                    Wed., 16 Nov.     6:05 p.m.     Evening Prayer

                                   

Readings for this Sunday: Ezekiel 34:11-16; Ps 90:1-12; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

Music this week:         Pro.      58,  Lo! He comes with clouds descending

Seq.       7  Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Off.           Lord, whose love through humble service

Rec.   460  Alleluia, sing to Jesus

Please complete the Parish survey by November 18.  It can be found at:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/KY86JLN 

Mark your calendars!  David Johnson, Cannon to the Ordinary, will be here next Sunday, November 27, to preach and celebrate at our 10:30 service. We will have a  luncheon following and he will give us results of the parish survey.  This is the first step in our search process, please make every effort to attend.

Congratulations to Sarah and Aaron Hoffman on the birth of Harper Lenore Hoffman.  Proud grandparents are Karen and Rufus Ward.

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Living Word

10 November 2011

Worship this week:     Sun.                   10:30 a.m.     Morning Prayer

                                    Wed., 16 Nov.     6:00 p.m.     Holy Eucharist and Healing

                                   

Readings for this Sunday:  Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18; Ps 90:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30

Music this week:         Pro.      632,  O Christ, the Word Incarnate

Seq.     574, Before Thy throne, O God

Off.     Anthem:  Venite

Rec.     680,  O God, our help in ages past

Please complete the Parish survey by November 18.  It can be found at:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/KY86JLN 

Operation Christmas Child: Our children and youth will be packing shoeboxes Sunday, Nov. 13.  Please help us fill the boxes by bringing your donations to the church.  If you prefer, a monetary donation of $7 per box for shipping is needed.  See gift suggestions below.  Thanks for helping children around the world get a gift for Christmas.

Gift ideas:  small toys, school supplies, hygiene items, hard candy, socks, caps, hair clips, toy jewelry.  Do not include toy guns, knives, military figures, chocolate or food, liquids or lotions, medications or vitamins, breakable items, aerosol cans.

Men’s Fellowship meet Monday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m., in the Trulove House.  Please call the Church office or Kyle Chandler, III (295-3189) if you plan to attend.

Congratulations to our Jr. and Senior High Honor Roll Students: Elizabeth Claire Tabor, Beth King, Powell Tabor, Murry Falkner, Margaret Hampton Hay, Riley Pierce, John Willis Stevens, Ashley Mooney and Anne Peyton Sugg.

EYC will help pack Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes this Sunday morning.  December 20 our youth will attend church at Resurrection in Starkville.

The Living Word

3 November 2011

A WORD FROM THE WARDEN

The Vestry met with David Johnson, Cannon to the Ordinary, to review plans for our search for a new Rector.  He recommended that we first complete a survey to determine what we want in a new priest and what direction we would like to see our parish take.  With that suggestion in mind, and David’s help, we are organizing a survey parishioners will receive by e-mail.  There will be copies in the office for those of you who prefer working with a printed version.  Please take this time to complete the anonymous survey.  If you are online it will be easy to fill out and submit.  Once submitted, it will go straight to Cannon Johnson, and he will compile the information and present it to the parish on Sunday, November 27, at a meeting after our service.  Please plan to attend this very important business luncheon.

Thank you for your patience during this exciting process, Carolyn Jane

Worship this week:     Sun.                   10:30 a.m.     Morning Prayer

                                      Wed. 9 Nov.        6:05 p.m.     Evening Prayer

                                   

New to the prayer list:   Esther Pippen, Malone family

Readings for this Sunday:  Revelation 7:9-17; Ps 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:;1-12    

Music this week:         Pro.      287,  For all the Saints

Seq.     618, Ye watchers and ye holy ones

Off.     Anthem:  Sing with All the Saints in Glory  

Rec.     293,  I sing a song of the Saints of God

Congratulations to our Elementary Honor Roll Students:  Sydney Pierce, Grayson Easterling, Sarah Jane Hay, and Peyton King.

Don’t forget to turn your clock back one hour Saturday night.  

The Road Ahead

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

27 October 2011

This is the last weekly newsletter I will write at Incarnation, so I want to leave you with a few thoughts about what to watch for on the road ahead:

• The central act of Christian worship is the Holy Eucharist.  Everything else (preaching, music, fellowship) is secondary.  Focus on the real presence of God in your midst.
• Worship = praise = thanksgiving.  Our worship of God adds nothing to Him, but re-binds us in our relationship with Him.
• You will be asked in surveys and in the search process about what is important to you and what should be important for the parish.  In responding, be honest about what you are prepared to invest in (in time, talent and treasure).  Don’t rate an area of ministry as important unless you treat it as important by your actions.
• Do not be passive in your faith.  You are called to add to the life of the Church.  Don’t allow the life of the Church to slip into a “lower gear” in the absence of a pastor.
• In this new season in the life of this parish, pray, and ask yourself what more God is calling you to do.
• If you are a parent, focus especially on keeping your children involved.
• Explore resources and programs available through the diocesan website.
• Explore how this parish can better connect with other area churches, to form a more effective common witness to the Good News of God in Christ Jesus!
• Pray continually.

EYC:  EYC is inviting the members of the Mt. Hermon youth group to join them for the monthly EYC breakfast on Tuesday, 1 November.  Adult help is needed in breakfast preparation, for a group of about 15, total.  This is a trial run, to explore whether EYC can take the lead in organizing community youth prayer breakfasts to occur monthly.  Please help make this a success.  If you can help, call the office.

Fall clean-up:  Fall clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, 29 October, from 8:30 until noon.  There will be indoor and outdoor work crews. 

Stewardship:   The stewardship campaign ends this Sunday.  Please return your card to the parish office.

New to the prayer list:  Catherine Reich, The Rev. Marie Gray, Alex Coggins, Judy Jackson, the repose of the soul of Sgt. Maj. Bob Maddox.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgiving is offered to Joe and Betty Trulove for hosting the going-away party last Sunday, and to all the many parishioners who cooked and otherwise contributed to an event embodying Christian fellowship.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Pro.      379, God is Love, let heaven adore him

Seq.     632, O Christ, the Word Incarnate

Anthem: Give us the Wings of Faith to Rise (Hymnal 253)

Rec.     665, All my hope on God is founded

Com.   314, 343

Please add your voice!  The choir needs another soprano, an alto and a tenor.  All voices are welcome.

A Focus on the Sacred

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

19 October 2011

“[W]orship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Ps. 29.2).  For something to be holy means that it has been set aside for God, just as each one of you at baptism is “... sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever” (BCP 308).  For us to worship God as He calls us to do, we must be aware of the holy, aware of the sacred, in a society in which sacredness is dismissed.  A person of faith is not even speaking the same language anymore with one who has adopted the secular agenda, and so revels in self, but even those of us who claim faith in God must remind ourselves constantly to be aware of and to cultivate the holy.

How can we cultivate what is holy?  We can do so by being very intentional about setting aside time, place, and self for God.  This means that I treat the church nave as more than a meeting place; that I not only say that God is present when we gather in His Name, but that I act this way.  The little instruction in the weekly bulletin, “Before worship speak to God.  During worship listen to God.  After worship speak to each other” reminds us that our first action on entering the nave should be to acknowledge Jesus in the tabernacle, to acknowledge the altar, and then to pray.  By this we are recognizing “this place is set aside for God,” and so we can each better participate in the beauty of holiness.  We don’t need to be reminded by bells or with incense (although there is nothing wrong with using either) when we are intentional about placing ourselves in that “set aside” spiritual state in which we welcome the presence of God.

Be intentional about worship.  Do this throughout the week when you set aside time for prayer.  Do this in how you gather in God’s Name.  Never take a step backward from what God has called you to be in this place, as people gathered into and fed by His Body.  The practice of faith will make us each a better person, but we do not worship in order to become better people.  We worship God because that is His due; it is why we were created, and when we recognize this reality, we recognize that we are “set aside” and may participate in the Beauty which is God because He calls to Himself.  Set aside, indeed!

Proposition 26:  The 8 November general election in Mississippi will include Proposition 26, which would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word “person” or “persons”, as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to include every human being from the moment of fertilization.

How you chose to vote on Proposition 26 is a matter of your own individual conscience and political will, coupled with your own reading of the language of Proposition 26 and how you determine this language to give effect to your conscience and political will.  In making this decision, how you are informed by your faith is relevant, and to this end an outline addressing the issue How is a person defined in Christian Doctrine? is available at the parish (front hall table).

Adult Education:  The 5 p.m. Sunday course will meet this Sunday, 23 October at 4 p.m.  The earlier start time will allow the class session to finish by 5:30, to allow for the 6 p.m. parish dinner scheduled at the Trulove residence.

EYC:  EYC is inviting the members of the Mt. Hermon youth group to join them for the monthly EYC breakfast on Tuesday, 1 November.  Adult help is needed in breakfast preparation, for a gorup of about 15, total.  This is a trial run, to explore whether EYC can take the lead in organizing community youth prayer breakfasts to occur monthly.  Please help make this a success.  If you can help, call the office.

Fall clean-up:  Fall clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, 29 October, from 8:30 until noon.  There will be indoor and outdoor work crews.  Please sign up on the list in the kitchen, so that we will have a headcount.  This will enable best planning for projects.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship:   The stewardship campaign is in full swing.  Whether or not you intend to pledge, please complete a pledge card and return it to your box captain, or to the parish office.

A common issue in stewardship, as people to work toward a tithe, is “Before or after taxes?”  Our best guidance on this issue is found at Mtt. 22.21.  When Jesus says to “Render ... to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” He is separating the issue of taxes from obedience to God.  The answer is, therefore, before taxes.

New to the prayer list:  Joan Ledwith, Norman Armstrong.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgiving is offered Kyle Chandler IV for managing necessary physical plant repairs.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm 1, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      437, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!

Seq.     336, Come with us, O blessed Jesus

Anthem: As we Gather at your Table (WLP 763)

Rec.     551, Rise up, ye saints of God!

Com.   680, 335

The choir is losing a soprano (Elizabeth).  Please add your voice!  The choir needs another soprano, an alto and a tenor.  All voices are welcome.

The Search Process and You

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

13 October 2011

Next Tuesday the Vestry of the parish will meet with The Rev. David Johnson, Canon to the Ordinary of the diocese, to discuss the start of a search process to call a new rector.  When the Vestry meet with Canon Johnson, he will outline the options that are available in a search process.  A full search involves a period of self-study and reflection, resulting in the development of a Parish Profile, which is then used in advertising the position through the Office of Transition Ministry of the Church.  An abbreviated process can involve the bishop and canon identifying and nominating candidates to the parish.  A full process takes not less than a year.  An abbreviated process would still not have a new incumbent in place before mid-summer.  It is not clear whether the bishop will allow an abbreviated process or will require a full process.

Where do you fit in?  The Vestry will appoint a chair for a Search Committee, who will then agree membership of the committee with the Vestry.  The committee is likely to have 5 to 7 members total.  Express your thoughts to members of the Vestry about any issue you see in the state of the parish (e.g., parish health and practices, the type of clergy needed, what you would see changed, what must be emphasized to continue), and if you are interested in serving on a Search Committee make this plain.  Pray about what the parish wants and what the parish needs, reflecting on the history of the parish and what you have considered to be the strengths and weaknesses of prior rectors.  God will raise up to you the pastor whom He intends, but when you are active in the discernment and call process the will of the parish will be made that much clearer.  Be active in the process whether or not you are on a committee or the Vestry, so that by your involvement and prayer this parish may continue to thrive.

Proposition 26:  The 8 November general election in Mississippi will include Proposition 26, which would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word “person” or “persons”, as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to include every human being from the moment of fertilization.

How you chose to vote on Proposition 26 is a matter of your own individual conscience and political will, coupled with your own reading of the language of Proposition 26 and how you determine this language to give effect to your conscience and political will.  In making this decision, how you are informed by your faith is relevant, and to this end an outline addressing the issue How is a person defined in Christian Doctrine? is available at the parish (front hall table).

Adult Education:  The 5 p.m. Sunday course will not be held this week, but will resume next Sunday, 23 October at 4 p.m.  The earlier start time will allow the class session to finish by 5:30, to allow for the 6 p.m. parish dinner scheduled at the Trulove residence.

EYC:  This past Sunday EYC visited Mt. Hermon Missionary Baptist Church for worship.  EYC members report a very welcoming and positive experience, in which there was evidence of the Holy Spirit at work.  EYC will be inviting the members of the Mt. Hermon youth group to join them for the monthly EYC breakfast on Tuesday, 1 November.

Fall clean-up:  Fall clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, 29 October, from 8:30 until noon.  There will be indoor and outdoor work crews.  Please sign up on the list in the kitchen, so that we will have a headcount.  This will enable best planning for projects.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship:   The stewardship campaign is in full swing.  Whether or not you intend to pledge, please complete a pledge card and return it to your box captain, or to the parish office.

Please remember that even thought the parish will be without full-time clergy for much of 2012, this does not mean a reduction in budget.  Recruiting costs, moving costs, supply clergy costs, and insurance costs for new clergy, all add up to an amount resulting in a 2012 budget that is essentially even with that for 2011.

New to the prayer list:  Parker, Gayle Carlisle.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgiving is offered to Christy White for organizing the EYC visit to Mt. Hermon M.B. Church.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm96.1-9, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      391, Before the Lord’s eternal throne

Grad.   594, God of grace and God of glory

Anthem: As the Grains of Wheat (WOV 705)

Rec.     544, Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Why we Pay Attention

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

6 October 2011

Today is the feast of Bl. William Tyndale (d. 1536), the first translator of the Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek.  Tyndale translated all of the New Testament, and fifteen books of the Old Testament.  He was executed for the “heresy” of making Scripture available to the people in their own tongue, his dying words being, “O, Lord, open thou the eyes of the king of England.”

Tyndale’s martydom calls to mind the issue of how we view the Bible.  Why do we care about whether the Bible is true or not?  It is because only truth can have final authority to determine belief and behavior, and Scripture cannot have such authority further than it is true. A factually and theologically untrustworthy Bible could still impress us as a presentation of religious experience and expertise, but if we cannot affirm its truthfulness we cannot claim that it is God's testimony and teaching, given to control our convictions and conduct.

Jesus Christ and his apostles held and taught that the Jewish scriptures (our Old Testament) were God's witness to himself in the form of human witness to him.  Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, viewed these scriptures as his Father's Word.   So, too, it is clear that the apostles saw the scriptures as the God-given verbal embodiment of teaching from the Holy Spirit. This brings us to the real issue:

Either Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Eternal Son of God, or He was a fraud and/or a lunatic.

a)  If Jesus was and is the Eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh, then we must pay the closest attention to what He had to say and to what He did, and to the scriptures that He considered to be the authoritative revelation of the Creator’s unique utterance of His will for us.

b)  If Jesus was a fraud and/or a lunatic then it is irrational to pay attention to anything that He had to say and teach.  Nonbelievers may argue that it is possible to look to Jesus as an important moral teacher; that one can follow the ethical teaching of Jesus without believing Him to be Lord, judging all biblical stories of miracles and other signs (and statements) of divinity as interpolation.  The problem with this argument becomes evident once we look more closely at the ethical teachings that are “retained”.  These precepts (e.g., having mercy upon and providing for the destitute, treating one’s neighbor as one’s self, etc.) are not part of any natural human order.  Atheists may argue that if we can just get the “poison” of religion out of society, then we’ll be OK; that we will be tolerant and peaceful.  All evidence from history is to the contrary.  To the limited extent that we both preach and practice that peace is an imperative, or that not persecuting the stranger is; to the extent we do provide for the unfortunates of the world, these sentiments and practices are cultural inheritances from Judaism and Christianity.  The teachings of Jesus brought about a revolution in human thought, a revolution away from the universal acceptance of life being defined as a zero sum game in which, for example, care of the poor would have been considered irrational.  Faith matters.

Adult Education:  The 5 p.m. Sunday course in scripture resumes this week.  Supper is pot-luck.

Fall clean-up:  Fall clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, 29 October, from 0830 until noon.  There will be indorr and outdoor work crews.  Please sign up on the list in the kitchen, so that we will have a headcount.  This will enable best planning for projects.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship:   The stewardship campaign is in full swing.  Whether or not you intend to pledge, please complete a pledge card and return it to your box camptain, or to the parish office.

New to the prayer list:  Joan Whetstone and Dale Bowen.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are offered to Bert Falkner for preparing a delicious breakfast for the EYC on this past Tuesday.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm23, recited

Pro.      7, Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Seq.     174, At the Lamb’s high feast we sing

Anthem: Glory to God (WOV 788)[children’s choir]

Rec.     556, Rejoice, ye pure in heart

                        Com.   487, 646

Sharing in Blessings

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

29 September 2011

In Act 1, scene 4 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet the following exchange takes place between the minor characters, Horatio and Marcellus (lines 87-91):

Horatio                  He waxes desperate with imagination.

Marcellus              Let’s follow.  ‘Tis not fit to obey him.

Horatio                  Have after.  To what issue will this come?

Marcellus              Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Horatio                  Heaven will direct it.

This exchange occurs when the characters have seen the young Hamlet run off after the ghost of his father, and debate whether they should stay where they are–as he has ordered–or follow.  Notice that Marcellus says that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, rather than in Denmark.  The fish is rotten from the head down.  The king is corrupt, and therein lies the problem.

In our Old Testament lesson this week (Isa. 5.1-7) we encounter rot of another sort in “The Song of the Vineyard”.  The prophet sings of a vineyard planted with care by the Lord which, despite this care, has yielded “wild” grapes.  Actually, in Hebrew the word here translated as “wild” means “rotten”.  It derives from the verb root “to stink”.  In other words, something stinks.  But the rot is not here head down.  The Lord of the vineyard here, and the landowner in Jesus’ parable of the vineyard and the wicked tenants, are righteous.  It is those who inhabit the vineyard who are rotten.  The wickedness is in each case a bottom-up phenomenon, a wickedness which results from the willful violation of the top-down design intended.

We cannot complain of rot within this parish, as much as we might complain of rot in the world at large.  But what the Song of the Vineyard reminds us of is that God has entrusted us with His world.  “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thin own have we given thee.”  When we remember that we are but stewards, and that the blessings we enjoy are to be shared, then stewardship becomes straightforward, because we keep in mind that the head of the Church is righteous, and invites us into His own righteousness.

Adult Education:  The 5 p.m. session on Scripture will not meet this Sunday, 2 October, due to a conflict, but will resume as scheduled on 9 October.

EYC Breakfast:  The first EYC monthly breakfast meets this Tuesday, 4 October, at 7:15, at the Trulove House.  Bert and Sharon Falkner are graciously hosting.  We will provide a full breakfast.  If you are interested in hosting a breakfast (the next one will be on 1 November, All Saints’ Day, no less), please contact Debbie.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship:   The stewardship campaign is in full swing.  Whether or not you intend to pledge, please complete a pledge card and return it to your box camptain, or to the parish office.

New to the prayer list:  Brenda Holcombe, Beverly, Will.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are due to Michelle Easterling and Carolyn Jane Hay for hosting the stewardship luncheon, and for then truning around the same day to provide food at the evening adult education class!.

Eucharistic Visitors:  Kathy Dyess, Thomas Easterling, Keith Mooney, and Ron Powell have been licensed by Bishop Gray as Eucharistic Visitors.  This means that in addition to Deacon Patricia and Rufus Wrad (licensed as a Worship Leader), they four visitors can take communiion to any home or hospital-bound person in the absence of a priest.  When a supply priest is present at Incarnation, he or she will consecrate extra Holy Eucharist to be kept in the tabernacle.

Upcoming conferences:  The conference schedule for The Center for Formation and Ministry at The Gray Center can be accessed at http://cffm.dioms.org  .  The schedule includes a 7 to 9 October retreat for men, led by The Rev. Patrick Gahan, “Does God really have a dream for you ... or is destiny overrated?”  This conference centers on the role of men in the Church, in an era when women comprise the majority in most parishes.  Cost is $150, including meals and lodging.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm 80.7-14, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      518, Christ is made the sure foundation

Seq.     495, Hail, thou once-despisèd Jesus

Anthem:  To Mock your Reign, O Dearest Lord (Hymnal 170)

Rec.     372, Praise to the living God!

Com.   458, 474

Giving and an Active Faith

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

22 September 2011

This Sunday we kick off the 2012 stewardship campaign.  We will abbreviate the process this year, to have all pledges received by Sunday, 30 October.  The budgeting process is running in parallel, to allow for a good appreciation of the financial picture before Fr. Karl leaves.  The most likely scenario for calling a new rector does not involve having a priest in residence before mid-summer 2012.  In the interim the plan is to have Holy Eucharist twice a month, using supply clergy, with Morning Prayer being offered during the other Sundays of each month.

It is vitally important that you not assume any material decrease in budget needs for 2012.  Even assuming that a priest is in residence for only half a year, significant costs will arise.  Moving Fr. Karls’ family 5 years ago cost over $11,000.  We were fortunate that year to receive a $6,000 cost contribution from the diocesan budget (money which had been budgeted to move graduating seminarians), but no such funds are included in the 2012 diocesan budget.  In addition, we have had the benefit of Fr. Karl’s family health care costs being covered under a spousal plan.  We cannot assume this for a new priest, and the yearly cost for a family plan is now over $20,200.  There will be some recruiting costs, and the diocesan minimum compensation package has been raised.  The net result of these 2012 costs is to make the budget demand unchanged, in a year when we will lose 2 pledges due to moves.  Continued giving at at least a 2011 level is needed.

Giving in support of the ministry of the Church is not optional.  We cannot be consumers only.  Our Lord enjoins us to an active faith, and this activity is expressed partly in the giving of time, talent, and treasure.  Remember, Jesus does not say that our treasure will be where our heart is; He says that our heart will be where our treasure is (Mtt. 6.21).  In other words, we must choose where we invest value, and we are called to invest value in the mission of the Church.

The biblical standard for giving is the tithe.  Whether you choose to calculate this on a gross or net basis is your decision, although recall that when Jesus enjoins that we are to “render unto Caesar the things that are Casear’s” (Mtt. 22.21) He is talking about taxes, and He makes clear that this reckoning is separate from rendering unto God the things that are God’s.

Finally, however you calculate your support, consider that our campaigns have focused on current needs, but you can plan your giving for future needs by naming the parish in your will or in a charitable remainder trust.  Building an endowment remains a long-range goal for the parish.

Adult Education:  The History of Christian Art course is offered at 9:15 on Sunday mornings by Kathy Dyess.  Beginning this Sunday, 18 September, we will offer a 5 p.m. course, An Introduction to Holy Scripture.  This will be a six-week course designed to familiarize the student with the study of the Bible in a systematic fashion.  Each class will begin with a light supper and will last for 90 minutes.

The 5 p.m. class (with pot luck supper) will include child care. 

EYC Breakfast:  Beginning on October 4, EYC will hold an extra monthly meeting, as a brekfast and devotional meeting.  The meetings will take place at 7:15 a.m., to last until 7:55, and will include food, fellowship and prayer.  The model of this ministry is the weekly prayer breakfasts of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  The breakfast (which will be at the fellowship hall) will allow EYC members an additonal opportunity to build community together.  (That’s the “C” in EYC.)

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship Sunday luncheon:  The stewardship campaign kicks-off this year on Sunday, 25 September.  The luncheon is pot-luck. 

New to the prayer list:  Parker, Perry.

Civic Prayer:  Members of Gospel Lighthouse Pentecostal Church meet every Monday at 9 a.m., at the gazebo in Sally Kate Winters Park to pray for the city and for city leaders.  All are welcome to join in this civic prayer.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgiving is offered to Susan Chandler for organizing a very successful meeting of and supper for the Altar Guild.

Upcoming conferences:  The conference schedule for The Center for Formation and Ministry at The Gray Center can be accessed at http://cffm.dioms.org  .  The schedule includes a 7 to 9 October retreat for men, led by The Rev. Patrick Gahan, “Does God really have a dream for you ... or is destiny overrated?”  This conference centers on the role of men in the Church, in an era when women comprise the majority in most parishes.  Cost is $150, including meals and lodging.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm 25.1-8, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      492, Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness

Seq.     439, What wondrous love is this

Off.     Anthem:  O God Beyond all Praising (WOV no. 797)

Rec.     477, All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine

Com.   339, 305

Hospitality and Evangelism

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

15 September 2011

The word “evangelism” is heard by many Episcopalians in a way that causes unease.  Mental pictures arise of standing on a street corner and haranguing passers-by.  In reality, however, evangelism involves no more (and no less) than presenting the Good News of God in Jesus Christ, which we have each promised to do in our baptismal covenant.  This can be done in words, but is often better done in action.

Last Sunday we experienced evangelism at work.  The parish picnic and open-house included no less than 11 adult guests and 6 or 7 children.  The event included our guests getting to know us a bit as individuals, getting to know how we come together as a group, and learning more about the spiritual life of the Church in this place.

Evangelism is not about getting new members (although a couple of adults asked me about our worship times).  It’s about winning souls for God; about allowing people to experience how God reaches out to them through our invitation, hospitality and testimony.  If somebody does not have a church home, and because of our example is prompted to explore, and then becomes better connected to God through worship at any church, our evangelism has been effective.  We may (rightly) believe that we have unique strengths to offer as a church, but it must remain paramount that the person evangelized has some experience of God that calls him or her to seek the full experience of God, and if God leads them to another worshipping community, then His will be done!

Notice that evangelism was not difficult or threatening.  It involved inviting people to come share with us.  We can do this at all times; to invite people to worship with us, to visit with us, to ask questions.  Just think, if anyone asks you what you do at church, you can tell them you are an “evangelical minister”.

Altar Guild meeting:  Altar Guild will meet on Tuesday, 20 September at 6 p.m. for a light supper to include refresher training and a question-and-answer session.

Adult Education:  The History of Christian Art course is offered at 9:15 on Sunday mornings by Kathy Dyess.  Beginning this Sunday, 18 September, we will offer a 5 p.m. course, An Introduction to Holy Scripture.  This will be a six-week course designed to familiarize the student with the study of the Bible in a systematic fashion.  Each class will begin with a light supper and will last for 90 minutes.

The first class will include a course overview, and a review of the study materials.  This session will be led by Dr. Will Hay.  The subsequent classes will include in-depth discussion, and will be facilitated by Fr. Karl.

Please indicate your intention to attend, so we can prepare the necessary copies of the curriculum.  Supper is pot-luck.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship Sunday luncheon:  The stewardship campaign kicks-off this year on Sunday, 25 September.  This is a week later than described in your parish directory.  The campaign is compressed this year, to end on All Saints’ Sunday, 6 November.  In considering your giving, please keep the following steps in mind:

1. Pray:  Our Lord invites us to pray and to keep on praying.
2. Focus:  We are each called to the work of the kingdom of God.  We are each called to be messengers of the Gospel in what we do as well as in what we say.
3. Give thanks:  Recognize that God has blessed and does bless us.  His will for us is blessing.  Give thanks every time and for all that you receive.  Even if you earned it, the talents and abilities that allow for earning are gifts of God.
4. Recognize abundance:  Jesus fed thousands from five loaves and two fish.  God’s blessings provide abundance even in times and places of scarcity.
5. Cultivate holy habits:  Habits of holiness are more important than meeting our budget!  One of these habits is the sharing in blessing, the giving of self.  The biblical standard of giving is the tithe.  If you cannot  tithe, consider how you can take the next “step up” from the level at which you currently give.
6. Testify by example:  Your pledge is confidential, but in pledging you provide an example to yourself, and an example in your family, about what you invest value in.  To “invest value in” is the meaning of the old Anglo-Saxon phrase weorth scipe, which we render as “worship”.  In giving, we invest value in the kingdom, in God’s purpose.  Giving is an act of worship.

New to the prayer list:  Wayne Mathis.

Civic Prayer:  Members of Gospel Lighthouse Pentecostal Church meet every Monday at 9 a.m., at the gazebo in Sally Kate Winters Park to pray for the city and for city leaders.  All are welcome to join in this civic prayer.

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings are due to all who helped make the parish picnic and open house such a success on Sunday, 11 September.  Many, many helped.  Particular mention is offered to Shurley Sugg for organizing the event, and for Bill Sugg and Matt Molina for organizing the grilling.

Upcoming conferences:  The conference schedule for The Center for Formation and Ministry at The Gray Center can be accessed at http://cffm.dioms.org  .  The schedule includes a 16 and 17 September conference offered by Sewanee on An Anglican Perspective on C. S. Lewis.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm145.1-8, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      414, God, my King, thy might confessing

Seq.     617, Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round

Off.     Anthem:  A Repeating Alleluia (St. James Press)

Rec.     541, Come, labor on

Com.   694, 314

Love as a Verb

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation

West Point, Mississippi

The Incarnate Word

8 September 2011

The welcome change in weather this week reminds us that life involves continual change, with the exception that–however various life and its challenges may be–God’s love remains the same.  But, let us recall that God’s love is not a feeling.  When John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4.8), and that “God so loved the world that he gave his only son ...” (John 3.16), he is telling us that love is not about how we feel but about what we do.  In all changes in our lives, God always reaches out to us, calls us to Himself, sends His Spirit to comfort and guide us, and sends His Son to abide with us when we gather in His Name.  God’s love is active, it is His being in action, and we are called to mirror and extend this love by acting to care for one another.  We can only do this by remaining grounded in God’s own love.  This is why Jesus sums up the law as involving our complete love of God first, that only then can we love our neighbor as ourselves.

In a busy season of the Church, in a time of change in the parish, focusing most on the “vertical,” on the transcendent presence of God, will allow us to better focus and act on all that we are called to do for each other and for our neighbor.  In all the things that we are called to do in a busy season, let us “keep the main thing the main thing” and focus on worship.  Remember, when we pray the Sanctus and sing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” we are welcoming Jesus into our midst.  Welcome Jesus into your own life by gathering in the worship of God.

Kick-off barbeque and Open House:  Don’t forget to join us on Sunday, 11 September, at 5 p.m. for a parish barbeque.  The Men’s Fellowship will manage grilling.  ECW are managing vegetables, side dishes and desserts.  Shurley Sugg is coördinating planning.

Invite your friends to join us.  We will have an open house, with information available about church programming.

Please sign up to bring a side dish or dessert. (Debbie has the list.)  The meats offered will include chicken and beef kebobs.  Please come to the parish kitchen at 3:30 p.m. to help in preparing the meats for grilling, and to help with set-up.

Fall programs:  Fall programs kick-off on Sunday, 11 September.  This includes EYC, Sunday School and Adult Education.  EYCS details will be provided in a separate communication.  Sunday School will include the existing age group programs.

Adult Education programs will be offered on both Sunday mornings and evenings.  Course offerings will last 6 weeks, and will rotate from morning to evening, with new courses added first in the morning cycle.  Morning classes will last from 9:45 until 10:00.  Evening classes will begin with a light supper at 5 p.m., and will conclude by 6:30 p.m.

The first offerings will be:  Morning, A Survey of Christian Art (K. Dyess); Evening, A Critical Survey of Holy Scripture (K. Schaffenburg).  The second offering (beginning 23 October) will add The Acts of the Apostles (K. Schaffenburg, curriculum developed by N. T. Wright), with the art course rotating to the evening time slot.

Coffee hour sign-ups:  We need people to sign up to host coffee hour.  Snacks can be very simple.  Please sign up on the sheet in the kitchen.

Stewardship Sunday luncheon:  The stewardship campaign kicks-off this year on Sunday, 25 September.  This is a week later than described in your parish directory.  The campaign is compressed this year, to end on All Saints’ Sunday, 6 November. 

We sometimes get embarassed to talk about money, but giving is a part of our spiritual life; it is an essential part of Christian living, and we ignore it at our peril (Mtt. 25).  The Church has work to do, and the Church cannot do this work without her members giving.  How you measure your gift can be determined with reference to the biblical standard of the tithe, or you can look at what you are doing now and decide to take the “next step upward”.  The point is that if you give only out of abundance your gift is less an offering and more a luxury.  When giving has an impact on other choices in expenditures–when I have to say “no” to something else that I want to acquire or do–then my gift becomes an offering to God.

New to the prayer list:  Those who suffer from hunger in West Point and Clay County.  (Yes, this is a problem locally.)

Thanksgivings:  Thanksgivings to Christy White, and the Falkner, Hay and Stevens families for organizing the Prairie Arts Festival parking at the parish.

Upcoming conferences:  The conference schedule for The Center for Formation and Ministry at The Gray Center can be accessed at http://cffm.dioms.org  .  The schedule includes a 16 and 17 September conference offered by Sewanee on An Anglican Perspective on C. S. Lewis.

Music this week:  The choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

Psalm103.1-13, A Hymn Tune Psalter

Pro.      390, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation

Seq.     677, God moves in a mysterious way

Off.     Anthem: Ubi Caritas et Amor (WLP no. 831)

Rec.     347, Go forth for God, go to the world in peace

Com.   593, 581