THE GABRIEL
Parish Newsletter for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church July 26, 2021
Calendar Reminders
July 26 6:00 pm NA Meeting, Parish Hall
July 28 6;30 pm Bible Study in Bsmt Meeting Room
July 31 9:30-11:30 am AA Meeting
Aug 1 10:15 am Holy Eucharist, with Rev. John Allen. On Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsJeff/live_ videos/
Aug 1 6:30 pm Prayer Circle, ZOOM (Note date change this month only)
Collect for 10th Sunday after Pentecost (August 1st)
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lessons: Exodus 16:2-4,9-15; Psalm 78:23-29; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35
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OUR PARISH PRAYERS:
Today, we pray for our church: for Michael, our presiding bishop, for Jennifer our bishop, and for the people of our companion diocese of Brasilia, and their bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mauricio Andrade; and in the diocesan cycle of prayer we pray for St. Stephen’s, Elwood--Ms. Gloria Mays, Senior Warden.
In faith and hope
We pray to you O God.
We pray for those in need of food, shelter, clothing, and of God’s healing touch, especially for those who have asked us to remember them in prayer: Virginia, Beverly, Juanita, Gwen, Mary Sue, Delani, Nan, David & Michele, Patricia, Sonny, John, Fred, Laura and Michael. Comforter of the suffering, warm our hearts and hands to loving service.
We pray to you O God.
For all who fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ, that our divisions may cease, and that all may be one as you and the Father are one, we pray to you, O Lord. Make us one in heart and mind to serve you with joy forever. Amen.
REJOICE ALWAYS, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, GIVE THANKS IN ALL
CIRCUMSTANCES,
FOR THAT IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU!
FROM THE GABRIEL TEAM:
NEXT SUNDAY (July 25th): Holy Eucharist will be l celebrated by Rev. John Allen. Also, don’t forget—the little red wagon is waiting to be filled with food donations for the Center for Lay Ministries!
ONLINE MORNING PRAYER SERVICES: The next service will begin Sunday, July 25th at 10:15 am. It will be live and in person at St. Paul’s, and on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsJeff/live_videos/
Please join us, during or after the service, and tell others about the service. Also check YouTube for videos of past services: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCynD2CNlCMbJ5YOb1Euce5Q.
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MANY THANKS for your continued faithful responses to the need for funds. Please bear in mind that with our return to in-person services, costs begin to escalate and your contributions are still needed.
PARISH OFFICE HOURS : MTWF 10:00-4:30 and Thurs 10:00 to 1:00 pm.
If you have something you’d like to add to the next newsletter (including a brief update on what you and/or your family have been doing since last we met together), please email the team at stpaulsjeff@gmail.com by Sunday afternoon. Please put “newsletter” in the subject line.
The Editor’s Desk
Yesterday’s Morning Prayer Service, led by Luke Stifler with the support of Kate, Sam and Luke, was a special blessing. In fact, every Sunday brings its own blessing to me, as I see new faces in the congregation each service, and get to see and appreciate the presence of our regular members. We have so much to offer as a loving and accepting body of Christ, and when everyone is gone and the church is quiet, God’s peace just settles over me like a warm blanket and I am so very blessed to be here. We are so privileged to serve a loving God, and to share that love with others from every walk of life. May God continue to bless St. Paul’s!
Episcopalian’s “Three-Legged Stool” (from the Sr. Warden)
Reason
Each one of us, with God’s help, makes a decision about how we use tradition and Scripture in our lives. A personal relationship with God allows us to realize and celebrate our lives to the fullest. The gift of reason, as a complement to Scripture and tradition, leads us to seek answers to our own questions and to grow spiritually. Being active in a community of faith strengthens us to carry our faith into the world. Weaving Scripture, tradition and reason together, we strengthen our faith and grow as children of God.
--Quoted from Connections.org
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God’s Jigsaw Puzzle Needs Every Piece
My teenage daughter, Molly, loves jigsaw puzzles. But I don’t care for them. They require patience, something I have in short supply.
And patience for what? Re-creating a picture that consists of far more nonessential than essential pieces. More parts of Mona Lisa’s background, for instance, than her enigmatic smile.
But it’s more than puzzles. For decades, this is how I approached people in my life without the mark of anything particularly interesting about them. I was impatient with life’s background pieces.
Winston Churchill had achieved much when he observed “we are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm.” My luminous self-regard was considerably less warranted. Then one day, I had a radical thought while watching Molly labor over a puzzle.
Perhaps it was because she was working on an image of the azalea-shrouded 13th green at Augusta National Golf Club, beauty I could readily appreciate. Here was my epiphany: Life is a jigsaw puzzle, and I’m looking at its pieces entirely wrong.
By Mike Kerrigan
From the Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2021
........Courtesy of Phyllis Nelson
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