All Saints’
The Weekly WWW.ALLSAINTSCARMEL.ORG
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 22, 2013
God’s Extraordinary Hospitality of Entrusting Us with True Riches By The Rev. Gwen Buehrens
There is a story about a suburban church that seemed to be in trouble. Attendance was not good. The vestry talked at length about why that might be. So they came up with what seemed a brilliant solution. For the upcoming Sunday they would prepare the church for worship as well as cover activities that had been keeping parishioners away. In one corner they installed a putting green. In another they provided comfortable chairs with enough copies of the Sunday New York Times to go around. Way in the back of the church was an area with a TV all set for the game. “No Excuse Sunday!” said the sign out front. We don’t know how many people came that Sunday. But for many of us. we do know that the music, readings, sermon, prayers and Holy Communion, at their best, can
be very inviting as well. And everyone is invited. The sermon for this Sunday about the Unjust Steward is anything but straightforward. For many, their response is “huh?” Yet if we look closely, there might well be a new slant on what Jesus was telling the crowd. Everyone is invited.
Scripture Lessons Today Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13
Scripture Lessons for Next Week Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Psalm 146 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31
Recommendation:
Daily Office App By Robin Denney
The Daily Office is that traditional and ancient practice of Anglicans, of starting and ending the day in prayer. By following a specific form that includes prayers, psalms, and readings from the bible, you are “gathering” remotely with Anglicans all over the world who share this practice. In the two year reading cycle you will cover most of the bible, and you will read through all of the Psalms several times. You can use your Book of Common Prayer, which has the prayer, the psalms, and a table of the daily reading in the back. Or for you smart phone and tablet users, I recommend the Daily Office App (free from Mission St. Clare on the apple App Store), which puts together everything for you with no flipping of pages and juggling of books! Praying the Daily Office will day by day bring you a sense of peace and connection with God. It is one of the ways that we notice, and care for the true riches that God so graciously entrusts to us.