"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:40
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Fr. Scott's sermon this Sunday spoke about both the beginning of our Holy Communion service and the Gospel reading. Our Anglican heritage has given us a very carefully crafted beginning to our service. We start at the Altar with the Collect of Purity, the summary of the law (or the recitation of the Ten Commandments one time per month), and the Kyrie Eleison. These opening prayers and statements are meant to prepare our hearts for worship by asking God to cleanse our hearts, to remind us of how we have failed, and to have mercy on us. The Collect for Purity and the recitation of the summary of the law or the Ten Commandments are an Anglican distinctive - our reformers thought it necessary and good to include these at the beginning of the service. But if our Lord has given us a summary of the Law in two commandments, why do we say the Ten Commandments at all? Isn't all that Old Law stuff while we now live in the New Testament era?
In the Gospel lesson, the Pharisees want to trap our Lord by asking him which is the greatest commandment in the law. However, our Lord both summarized the Ten Commandments with two sentences and raises the standard above the original Ten. Notice the Summary of the Law is harder to keep then the Ten Commandments, if read literally as the Pharisees did.
So why do we remember the Ten Commandments if we have a better formulation in the summary? As with all summations, something is lost in the generalizing and we become numb to the particulars of our calling to a holy life. When understood in light of the summary, the Ten Commandments are a source for examining our lives and making changes where needed. This Sunday we heard both the Ten Commandments and the Summary of the Law, both of which are vital for our progressing as Christians. We are called to hold to them both as we try to serve God in response to His outpouring of Grace to us. In spite of our inability to keep these commandments, He still loves us.
Please find Fr. Scott's complete sermon at the 22:45 minute mark at the following link:
Thank you Fr. Scott, for your informative and meaningful sermon.
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This Sunday during Christian Education, Sue and Scott reported on the Always Forward conference they attended in Greensboro, NC. The conference, sponsored by the ACNA, focused on Anglican outreach and posited that Anglicans are uniquely positioned to speak to the world today. They shared two acronyms from the program:
FRANC - Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbors, & Colleagues
BLESS - Begin with prayer, Listen, Eat, Service (ask for help) & Share
the ministry of Jesus.
Thank you Sue & Scott for attending the conference, sharing your new knowledge, and helping us find ways to put it into practice!
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After services, we had a light lunch provided by Lynn, Diane, and Rosalind. Thank you for the wonderful food!
Thank you to everyone for the wonderful company!
Next Sunday after services we will have a Pot Luck Lunch - please bring a dish to share!
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That time of year is coming around again! The Annual Church Meeting is coming up on Nov. 21 which includes approval of our new budget and new Mission Committee (Vestry) Members!
Below is my letter as Sr. Warden to the congregation:
Dear St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church Family and Friends,
God has generously poured out his blessings on St. Peter’s this past year! Looking back on the year, I give great thanks to God for so many blessings including:
- Fr. Scott and his beautiful family brought new life to the church and we are so thankful to have them with us! With Fr. Scott as our Vicar, we celebrated Holy Communion weekly, experienced the full set of Holy Week Services ending with a beautiful Easter Service, celebrated St. Peter’s Feast Day for the first time this past summer, learned about church history in Christian Education, and many other wonderful things!
- Scott became an aspirant to the Diaconate.
- Mike, our Junior Warden, completed many jobs including a new sign on Ft. Henry Drive, a new sacristy sink, stairs from the lower parking area, and an A/C system in Fr. Scott’s office.
- Sue grew her online prayer group outreach to include home visits.
- Bishop Grundorf visited us in February and baptized Fr. Scott’s youngest daughter, Audree.
- The many new faces in our pews!
Also, we worked on yard maintenance, created a multipurpose room, created cleaning and after service food teams, hosted a beautiful Lessons & Carols service, participated in the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child program, supported the "Go Gray in May Campaign" sponsored by the National Brain Tumor Society, collected socks for Shades of Grace, attended the outdoor drama LIBERTY, and celebrated birthdays & anniversaries, in addition to many answered prayers. We are truly blessed with so many talented and generous members.
Thank you so much to everyone for all your hard work, generosity, and support!
Our Annual Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, November 21 after services. As a congregation we need to elect two new members to the Mission Committee. Please prayerfully consider running for one of these positions. Please let Fr. Scott or me know if you are interested. Our future is bright but we need new insight and ideas as we grow!
Also at the Congregational Meeting we must submit and approve an operating budget for the next church year. In order to establish a budget we must ask for pledges. Please prayerfully consider and submit your pledge by October 31. 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.
God Bless You All,
Rosalind Cantrall, Sr. Warden
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It is also time to catch up on our yard maintenance after this long and beautiful summer. We have scheduled a Fall Yard Work Day to complete some yard work around the church for Saturday, Oct. 16 @ 9:00. The work includes trimming bushes, picking up trash around the property, pulling weeds, removing some iris & day lilies, 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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