the The Newsletter for Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
January 2015
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A Universal Faith with Specific Application
the
Church Offices Closed: New Years Holiday
Feast of Lights
Sunday Classes Resume
Safe Church Training
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WOSM Luncheaon and Pre-Party Wine Pull
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Church Offices Closed: Martin Luther King Day
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MOSM Breakfast
25
Bishop Visitation and Confirmation Volume 25, No.
Volume 27, No. 1
The Christian faith is about meddling, and muddling, and mixing things together. “The Word became flesh,” is the enduring phrase in the Gospel according to John. We learn in the story of the Magi coming to the manger of Bethlehem -- The Epiphany -- that Christian spirituality is wide and diverse, comprehensive and universal. But we drain it of meaning if we think our spirituality is not grounded in the specific, rooted in the flesh, highly located. When John the Baptist was pressed as to what the coming of Christ would entail, he turned lovingly practical. “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” There are resources to share, time to give, love to dispense. Take the subject of money -- and don’t bail out on me yet. Money, which stands for work and value and power -- is a spiritual concern with a practical application. Money can enable good and justice and healing, but it can also rob us of sleep and distort the sacredness of human life. When we use the word “stewardship,” we evoke the original mandate given all life at Creation. Use what you’re given, and use it wisely to build up God’s world. Be accountable to God, yourself, and the neighbor. And if you’re Christian and you have been “marked as Christ’s own forever,” then you cont. on page 19
The Celebration Worship Returns Sunday, January 4 The Celebration worship service will return Sunday, January 4 at 11:11 in theTheater, succeeding The Banquet contemporary service. Over the past few months, The Banquet tested several formats and those who attended were asked for their feedback. Surveys indicated parishioners preferred a more formal, recognizable liturgy for communion, less amplified sound in the confined Theater space, and the use of more familiar songs. As a result, beginning the first Sunday of the New Year, The Celebration worship service will resume in the Theater, retaining the 11:11 start time, an unplugged, softer band, and with more familiar songs from the original Celebration Mass. The Rite II liturgy will be used for communion. The clergy of Saint Michael have decided to retain “The Banquet” name to use for a future contemporary worship service in a more appropriate space with dedicated personnel.
Christmas at Saint Michael pages 2 - 4