SA
LL
I
N
’
TS
A
Centennial
SC
IS
H
E PI O
PA
L
PA
R
Carmel-by-the-Sea
All Saints’ Episcopal Parish Ninth & Dolores, Carmel-by-the-Sea
ourRector’s Message
Patter
From that first rush of a mighty wind and the descending tongues of fire, the disciples understood that their experience of God was a continuation of the resurrection. Jesus had explained in advance that his ascension was to be a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. But the experience itself left little doubt, because the Holy Spirit pulsed with the same resurrection life.
the
That new life continues unabated to this day. Some of the manifestations of God in those early days seem incredible, and perhaps there was some exaggerating as the stories were told and retold. Nevertheless, the reality of God is as real today as before, and the vitality of the Holy Spirit is as lively now as then.
June 2012 Disciples Glorifying Christ & Serving Others www.allsaintscarmel.org
in our lives, and we can begin by considering generosity. The giving of the Holy Spirit makes the generosity of God abundantly clear. For what is the Holy Spirit but the immeasurable outpouring of the infinite and the eternal? The image Paul uses in Romans 5:5 pictures “God’s love being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” I imagine someone tipping a bottomless container and pouring out a waterfall, a vast, endless quantity of fresh and life-giving water. If the Holy Spirit were a bodily being, our hearts would instantly overflow and we would quickly drown, but the Spirit is immaterial and thus all the more unrestrained and powerful. God gives without stint, and our response in receiving such abundant life is to do as God does: to give. The way of the cross is the way of life, and it turns out that the outpouring of the Spirit signals our way of life to be one of exuberant self-giving. Our response to God’s Pentecostal generosity is to give generously.
So we are challenged to recognize and claim this disconcerting and yet electrifying presence of the risen Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. How is it that the Spirit of God animates the collective Body of Christ, which is the Church? What does it mean that our hearts dance with the flames of the Spirit? The season of Pentecost is a good time to discern We participate in God’s generosity what difference the Holy Spirit makes Continued on page 2
Contents our Rector’s
Message..................2
our Worship...............................4 our Community.........................5 our Discipleship.........................6 our Stewardship........................7
our Outreach...........................10 our Volunteer the Business
Schedule ..........12
of The Vestry ......13
our Upcoming
Events...............13
our Mission
and Vision...........16