Which now of these three, thinkest thou , was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10:36-37
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Fr. Scott's sermon focused on the Gospel Lesson which included the parable of the Good Samaritan as found in Luke. However, he focused on the complexity of first century Judaism including the heirarchy of people interpreting the Old Testament laws and the different factions they fell into. The people interpreting the laws were Priests, Levites, scribes, lawyers, and rabbis. The factions were primarily the Saducees (emphasized temple worship & sacrifices) and the Pharisees (emphasized personal holiness and strict interpretations of the law). Prior to the Good Samaritan parable, Jesus is speaking to a mixed crowd including highly educated people. The lawyer questioning Jesus is trying to trap him with questions that will define Jesus as belonging to one of the factions. Fr. Scott then discusses how the answers Jesus gave are the perfect answers. He also reminds us that the answer to one of the lawyer's questions, The Summary of the Law, is the lens through which we must judge all our actions.
Please find the complete sermon and service on our YouTube channel:
Thank you Fr. Scott for the informative and thoughtful sermon!
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During Christian Education, Sue and Scott spoke about the Mission Conference they attended last weekend. The conference was sponsored by the ACNA church in Chattanooga. Topics included the History of Heresy in America, Critical Theory (including race & class), & Justice in the Christian Tradition. Thank you both the very interesting report!
Next week bring your Bible and join us as we continue reading and studying 1 Peter.
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After services, we feasted on the all the delicious food brought for our monthly pot luck luncheon!
Sidney, Adrienne's sister, was visiting for the first time since Ambrose was born! It was great to see her again and have her join us for services!
Thank you to everyone for all the amazing food and the joyful company!
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Ming forwarded this youtube link to his recital:
Ming, thank you so much for sharing your amazing talents with us. May God continue to bless you in all your endeavors!
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This past Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks.
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
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Bishop Jones posted the following prayer after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful are in joy and felicity: We praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course and kept the faith; and committing our Queen, Elizabeth, to thy gracious keeping, we pray that we with her, and with all those that are departed In the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, In thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The Mission Committee has scheduled a maintenance day to complete some yard work around the church for Saturday, Sept. 17 @ 9:00 am. The work includes preparing a path from the lower lot staircase to the front porch, trimming bushes, picking up trash around the property, pulling weeds, and generally sprucing up the yard.
Please join us as we keep the church looking nice! Please bring your garden tools (shovels, hedge trimmers, clippers, weed wackers, rakes, etc...).
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On Thursday, September 29 we will celebrate the Feast Day of St. Michael & All Angels. Fr. Scott will lead a Holy Communion Service starting at 6 pm.
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Blessing of the Animals
We are sponsoring a Blessing of the Animals celebration on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. Fr. Scott will bless pets between 4 and 6 pm on Oct. 4 at the church. We want to reach out to all local pet owners for this event. Teresa has created flyers and is mailing them to local veterinarian offices and shelters. We are also planning to announce in the Kingsport Times and possibly other local magazines.
Fr. Scott prepared the following message for the flyers:
Gen 9:9-10 says “And I (God) establish my covenant with you… and from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.” God deeply cares about all His creation, from the house fly to the human, all are worthy of His love. We participate in His love though our own care of animals that have found their way into our lives. St. Francis of Assisi, during his life, proclaimed the love of God to all, even to the animals around him. On his feast day, we especially remember and dedicate our furry, feathery, finned, and any other companions to God.
The rest of the flyer has the following information:
As part of remembering this special man, our priest,Fr. Scott Greene, is offering special blessings for all pets brought to the church. In addition to the blessing, a small treat will be given to each blessed pet. For everyone’s safety, we ask that all pets are properly restrained. In the event of inclement weather, this event will be rescheduled.
Please let Fr. Scott or Teresa know if you have ideas for more outreach for this event!
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Armed Intruder Training
". . . Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses." Nehemiah 4 :14
The Mission Committee also agreed to sponsor a 'Law Enforcement Response to Shootings in Public'. Mike and Teresa are arranging a free public seminar at St. Peters about how to respond in a random shooting situation. Teresa has arranged for the Sullivan County Sheriff, Jeff Cassidy to come to St. Peter's on Tuesday, Oct 11 at 6:30 pm. Teresa is also creating flyers for this event and mailing them to local churches.
Please let Fr. Scott or Teresa know if you have ideas for more outreach for this event!
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Sue continues to lead our weekly online prayer group on Discord. Thank you so much Sue for taking the time each week to lead our prayers! If you have a special prayer request but cannot join us, please send your request to Sue. Please contact Rosalind if you would like to join us on Discord.
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Our Annual Congregational Meeting is coming up at the beginning of Advent. An operating budget must be submitted and approved for the next church year. In order to establish a budget we must ask for pledges. Please prayerfully consider and submit your pledge by September 30. Daryl will have blank pledge sheets in Narthex. As in the past, we ask only for anonymous pledges dropped in the offertory plate or sent in the mail to the church. The pledge slips will be tallied and then destroyed as we do not track pledges.
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