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Repentance Anyone?
Organizing and sorting things is a good practice, (my desk could benefit from this practice). Organizing and sorting things extends to ideas. Our minds grow as this process invites us to make and multiply connections.
When I read the Scriptures, I organize, sort, and make connections. I am trained to investigate, identify and label the characters. I usually look for people who fall short when it comes to being acceptable. In our reading from Luke this week, the situation confounds my usual approach. Jesus is criticized for welcoming “sinners” and eating with them, and I am looking for the “sinners” who need repentance, who need to fix themselves.
Jesus tells his questioners stories about a lost sheep and a lost coin. They can’t repent or fix themselves, they can only be found. I think, “Where is the repentance, and what does it mean?”
This is my paraphrase. (Helped by Kenneth Bailey, via Dick Jensen, and found on Brian Stoffregen’s blog). The sheep and the coin do nothing to be found. All the action is by the searchers. The first action is noticing that a particular group (flock, coins, family, congregation, or community) is incomplete. The second action is a costly focus on finding what is lost. In this scenario “repentance”for the lost is simply being found and being restored to the group.
However, repentance in this passage means something different for the searchers: It means noticing, finding, and restoring! Watchers and organizers and labelers like me, simply need to notice who is missing and make their restoration our priority.
This turns another of my usual approaches upside down, as Jesus continually does.
Please notice the final action of repentance: The finders engage in joyful celebration! The community is called together and the renewed wholeness is the reason for a party.
There is much more to say, but more importantly, we gather this week to celebrate with one another the ways that God has sought us and found us, and the ways in which we have noticed the missing and followed God’s lead to restore them. Join us.
Fr. Andrew
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Luke 15:1-10
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
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Sneak Preview: Disturber Of the Peace
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 Disturber Of The Peace
at Cinema Diverse
Saturday,
September 21 at 9:30
Camelot Theaters
Come to the Sneak Preview: Disturber Of the Peace, a documentary being filmed about the Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd. There will be an engaging conversation with Canon Boyd, Mark Thompson, his husband, and filmmaker, Andrew Thomas.
Canon Boyd is an Episcopal Priest, author of “Are You Running With Me, Jesus”, and advocate for justice over the last 50 years and more.
Tickets Available here or at the door.
Read more:
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Taize Services begin October 3rd
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 Taize services will be offered at St Paul’s on the first Thursday of the month starting on October 3rd at 7pm. In a quiet, peaceful setting, short songs are repeated again and again with just a few words to express a basic reality of faith. As these words are sung multiple times, our whole being is gradually permeated by this reality. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God and it allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together. All are invited to come and experience this calming, prayerful moment in our hectic, daily lives.
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Get Tested Coachella Valley!
Dear Parishioner:
On Saturday, October 19, Saint Paul in the Desert will be participating in the 26th Desert AIDS Walk to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in our community. We’d love for you to join us that day in spreading the message that AIDS is not over, and that everyone should be tested as part of our ‘Get Tested Coachella Valley’ initiative. Please consider walking with us!
What is ŒGet Tested Coachella Valley‚? It is a 3-year region-wide campaign dedicated to dramatically reducing transmission of HIV . Why ŒGet Tested Coachella Valley?‚
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53.3% of Coachella Valley residents have never been tested for HIV
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately one in five people living with HIV do not know they are infected
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In parts of our valley, the prevalence of HIV is estimated at three times the national average˜putting everyone at greater risk.
An international study, hailed by Science Magazine as the „2011 Breakthrough of the Year,‰ has proven it: If an individual who is HIV positive takes the right medications, he or she is 96% less likely to pass the virus to others.
Follow This Link to visit my team web page and help me in my efforts to support Desert AIDS Project.
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The Screwtape Letters – Theater Presentation
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The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis is produced by Fellowship for the Performing Arts, whose mission is to produce theater from a Christian worldview that engages a diverse audience. The Screwtape Letters is a provocative and wickedly funny theatrical adaptation of the C. S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view. It will run at the Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave @ E Street, San Diego, on Saturday, October 19th at 4pm and 8pm. For tickets visit www.screwtapeonstage.com or call 619.570.1100.
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Boyd Funeral Re-Scheduled
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F. Gillar Boyd, Jr.
3/15/28 -8/4/13
Gillar’s funeral will be on Saturday, October 5th at 10:00 am.
It will be a wonderful celebration of his life.
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SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 12, 2013 – 5:00 PM!
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SAVE THIS VERY IMPORTANT DATE!
You won’t want to miss this wonderful event.
We will kick off St. Paul’s 75th Anniversary
in a grand way!
Remember – SAVE THIS DATE: 10/12/13!!
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“Sundays at 9:15”
In The Library
Marriage Equality: Where the Episcopal Church Stands, hosted by Craig Ewing
9/15 US Supreme Court Decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8
9/22 Bishop Mathes: “Same Sex Blessings and Marriages”
9/29 The Rector’s Reply: “The Blessing Ministry”
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“Tuesdays at 7”
In the Library
American Religious History—A Struggle for Peace & Justice, audio CD by Patrick N. Allitt, hosted by Victoria Hatch and Robert Hettinger
9/17 Natives and New Comers–Similarities/Differences of Religious
Identities
9/24 Puritans–Struggles with Religious & Political Way of Life
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At the
Church of St. Paul
in the Desert
. . . we welcome all worshipers to a place free of violence, bullying, and abuse. Physical, verbal or emotional violence against others or against oneself is not acceptable because of our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Please let Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself be your guide.
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Peace & Justice Ministry:
Thought for the week: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The next meeting will be Thursday, September 12 @ 7 PM in the Library.
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Children’s Sunday School continues through the summer (although not the Godly Play program) with stories, artwork, and music during the 10:30 service.
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Hungry for Italian Food?
Join Desert Blind & Handicapped on September 18th between 5 & 8 PM . The tickets are $25 and include salad, garlic bread, beverage, entree’ and dessert. Tickets available from George Holliday, Bette Knutson or Mike Carson; by calling 760.440.7720 or by visiting the web at www.desertblind.org.
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Holy Communion Service for
Local Care Facilities
Holy Communion will be hosted by the Nursing Home Ministry on the second Wednesday of each month at Windsor Court. The next service will be October 9th at 10:15 am. Father Dick Merrill will preside and welcomes assistance from parishioners.
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Coffee Hour Celebration
Coffee Hour Hosts today after the 8:00 service are Ana Mercado & Kevin Kirkpatrick.
Hosts are needed for many Sundays throughout the rest of 2013. To sign up to host a Coffee Hour, please use the binder on the entrance table in the Parish Hall. If you have questions, call Ray or Cheryl Kelley at 760.778.1725.
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Prayer Shawl Ministry
. . . meets every Wednesday from 10 am – 1 pm in the Parish Hall. This peace-filled stitching circle gives members fulfillment and spiritual sustenance in creating prayer shawls to comfort those in need of prayer. For more details contact Valerie Ferguson at 760.799.5927, Barbara Hawkins Villani at 760.322.3987, or Audrey Spencermorris at 760.835.5506.
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Episcopalians Against
Gun Violence
. . . is an ad-hoc group of bishops, clergy and lay people disseminating information about Episcopalians who are working, collectively and individually, to curb gun violence. For further information, click here.
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Bullying Behavior Not Welcome Here
At St. Paul in the Desert we welcome all worshipers to a place that is free of violence and bullying.
Physical, verbal or emotional violence against others or against oneself is not acceptable.
“It Gets Better” is a series of video messages to encourage Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender youth and let them know that they are loved as they are.
“A Blessing for Those Who Are Bullied” was written by the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, a Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
It is not enough to say “NO” to bullies. It is important to stand up for people and to provide resources for those who have been the targets.
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“A Welcoming, Empowering, Supportive”
Ministry!
Our mission statement calls us to be “a welcoming, empowering and supportive community.” We are currently forming a new ministry at St Pau’s to support that mission. Volunteers are needed from all three services to donate approximately 90 minutes of their time per month. That time is split into 3-30 minute segments: 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the service you attend, once per month, to support the Welcoming Table located in the Narthex and another 30 minutes a month assisting with name badge organization. If you are able to lend a hand, please contact Mike Funke at 760.-409.0986 or mike.funke@yahoo.com!
Help us live our mission statement!
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We Need Volunteers
. . . to assist with Name Badge organization. Please contact Mike Funke at 760-409-0986 or: mike.funke@yahoo.com if you can help.
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Report Misconduct.
Report Misconduct. As part of our ongoing commitment to creating a safe haven for everyone, our diocese trains people in the prevention of misconduct and encourages all to report misconduct. All reported incidents are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly and confidentially. If you believe you have experienced misconduct of any kind, please contact the Rev. Thomas Wilson at twilssdca@gmail.com or 619.518.4713.
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Roy’s Desert Resource Center is an outreach of St. Paul’s that serves the homeless by providing clothing and desserts on Monday evening served by our volunteers. You can help by contributing desserts, donating to our SOS Fund, adding to our donation baskets in the Narthex or joining our volunteers on Monday evening. For more information, call Hap Blaisdell at 760.323.5726.
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