Chronicles of Canterbury
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Chronicles of Canterbury november 2018
From the Rector
Pledging Is Not a Burden, but a Delight
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ollowing Jesus requires that we trust, listen, talk, join, imitate and serve the Lord. Stewardship is an essential Christian discipline which touches on all of these faithful actions. At In the past decade, we’ve St. Michael’s, we are trying added people — 635 to be the kinds of disciples registered communicants Jesus has called us to be, as — and our transept living members of the Body space and a world class of Christ. organ. Despite what many individuals in this country may privately believe, the Bible and the Church have always taught that one cannot truly consider oneself a “Christian,” let alone a real disciple of Jesus, without joining the communion of the faithful in the Body of Christ – which is the Church. In our classes this fall, Robert and I talked about Paul’s theology of faith and grace and how both are God’s gift for individuals to become part of Christ’s mystical body. To be sure, the gifts of God are for the people of God as a WHOLE ... not to private individuals.
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n joining the Body of Christ, because it is a body and not merely an ideological movement, we are called to give bodily not just mentally. That means time, talent, skill, and yes, treasure. We are to offer “ourselves, our souls and bodies” to God in thankful sacrifice. This bodily giving is what stewardship is about. It’s about dedicating all that we have and all that we are to Christ’s Body. We are again at the time of the year when we are asking every member of the parish to make a commitment, a vow, a pledge to the Body of Christ here at St. Michael’s. It is not supposed to be a burden, but a delight, and yet it is also supposed to be significant. In the past decade, the Lord has really grown this church. We’ve added people — 635 registered communicants — and we’ve added our transept space and a world-class organ. We’ve updated the kitchen and renovated our sacristy and rest rooms. See RECTOR on page 3
The Gift of a Church Community what’s inside 2 Claim Your Life 4 OWLS for October
“C
harlotte, wake up. Something is happening,” I heard Rob say through the fog of sleep. I sat up in our hotel room bed in time to see the second plane fly into the tower.
5 Why Do I Love SMEC? It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. 6 10 Run for Vestry
Everyone remembers where they 8 For All the Saints: Watts were and what they were doing that horrible morning. Rob and I were 9 Gifts of Grace Nov. 11 in Las Vegas for a conference. I had 10 Briefly tagged along for fun. Rob’s dad was caring for our boys at home. The 11 Lifelong Disciple twins were 9 and Sam was 6. 12 Afternoon Tea
Remember the fear and chaos flowing across our nation? Your tears as you watched in horror people falling to their deaths? The impossibility of buildings collapsing? Wanting to gather your family close. “Let’s roll.” The certainty that life as we had known it was irrevocably changed.
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Now imagine you are across the country in a city that promotes fantasy not reality, without your children, not knowing how, or if, you will make it home. Irrationally cabbing to the airport the next day for your previously scheduled flight to find the airport barricaded. Hotel guests renting cars, and groups of strangers renting RVs to travel cross country. A man collapsing of an apparent heart attack as you re-enter the hotel. Rebooking flights not once, but countless times, unsuccessfully, because crews were scared to fly, or they’d timed out. I wish I had a dollar for every boarding pass we tore up. We watched the horror unfold on the bar TV because we were too stunned to do anything, and we became increasingly frustrated as all options out fizzled. See ANNUAL FUND on page 6