St. Thomas' Weekly News Page

Sunday
July 15, 2001

Sermon: "The God of Summer"
June 24, 2001

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A Timely Message from our Rector,

The Rev. William D. Oldland

For many years I thought of Pentecost as being the miracle of tongues. We are all familiar with the story. The disciples were in an upper room. They were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come to them as Jesus promised. They were waiting expectantly, but they really did not know what was going to happen when the Holy Spirit arrived. Jesus said they would receive power and that they would be witnesses. He did not say what kind of power or how they were going to be witnesses.

Then the day arrives. The Holy Spirit comes to them with a sound of wind and with tongues of flame over their heads. The immediate result is the ability to speak in different languages. All of these disciples are speaking in a variety of languages. What is the point? The point resides out in the street. Out in the street of Jerusalem people were gathering. These people spoke a variety of languages. The disciples were given the ability to speak the languages of the people gathered. They were given the power to tell the people around them the wonderful news about Jesus Christ. The power they were given was the power to proclaim the Gospel.

As disciples of Christ we too are given the power to proclaim the Gospel. MORE...

Something to ponder, shared by Lape Smith:

The fruits of prayer:

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea. Only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert island.

The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. To find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have receive any of my blessings.

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of others praying for us.

	News from the Episcopal Church, USA
June 29, 2001 Episcopal Church encourages compromise on public funding of 'faith-based' social services (ENS) The Episcopal Church today called on Congress and the Bush administration to seek out compromise in the current debate over faith-based initiatives. According to a statement, the church supports the "longstanding practice of receiving public funding for faith-based social services so long as such programs do not discriminate or proselytize as part of receiving services." While concerned with the current "charitable choice" provisions of H.R. 7, the statement said the church is "encouraged" by the administration's willingness to address constitutional and discrimination concerns raised by the faith community. MORE...
To keep abreast of the most recent news from the Episcopal Church, USA, here is a direct link to the main page of Episcopal News Service. Congratulations!... Congratulations to Lisa & Craig Bennett on the birth of twins - a son and a daughter - on April 23rd! Carson Leigh was born at 10:08 a.m. and weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz. Coleman Craig was born at 10:09 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. Proud grandparents are D.C. & Marilyn Burton and Dot & George Trent.

Pictures! The Rev. William D. Oldland's Ordination to the Priesthood June 9, 2001 Also read the text of the Rev. Fred Warnecke's sermon preached at the Ordination. Thoughts on Stewardship by Tom Balsley ^{"We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us; prophecy in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."} ^{Romans 12:6-8} This month we have much for which to be thankful. We are all looking forward to the celebration of Bill Oldland’s ordination. On June 9, Bill will move from deacon status to priest in the Episcopal Church. As happy as we are that Bill has reached this milestone in his spiritual journey, we need to keep in mind that this must be a shared ministry. It is important that we take an active part in the life of our church, our community and beyond. We cannot depend on Bill to do everything himself, to be everywhere at once, and to be all things to all people. Bill wants and needs our involvement. He wants us to be energized by God’s spirit so that together, we can help make a difference in the lives of those around us. In thinking about a “shared ministry,” there are several examples that come to my mind. MORE...

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost - July 15, 2001

                 8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I
               11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II
               12:15 p.m. Lemonade on the Lawn
                 8:00 p.m. AA Meeting /Alanon Meeting