your vestry wants to hear from you! the · pdf file · 2017-12-05advent &...
TRANSCRIPT
Emmanuel
Church Staff
The Rev’d Canon Dr. Mark Gatza,
Rector
Ellen Patton, Administrator
Brent Pertusio, Organist & Choirmaster
Heather Costantino, Christian Education
Coordinator
James Kennard, Sexton
Church Phone
410 838-7699
Church Cell Phone for
Pastoral Emergencies
443 752-0573
www.emmanuelbelair.org
Services:
Sundays—8 AM, 10 AM & Noon
Tuesdays — 10 AM
Your Vestry Wants To Hear From You!
Here is a list of your vestry to contact with any concerns!
Rector --Mark Gatza: [email protected]
Senior Warden — Dottie Ward: [email protected]
Junior Warden — Linden White: [email protected]
Treasurer -- Steve Bareford: [email protected]
Registrar -- Judy Hathaway: [email protected]
Judy Isom: [email protected]
Joan Kime: [email protected]
Andrea Lake: [email protected]
Heather Costantino: [email protected]
Frances Mason: [email protected]
Susan Maule: [email protected]
Ingrid Riseley: [email protected]
Peter Schlehr: [email protected]
Peggy Lauterbach: TBD
Upcoming Events at Claggett
January 12-14, 2018 WOMEN’S RETREAT A bible
-based retreat where women of different faiths and
generations join together to study and discuss
scripture related to the topic of resilient spirituali-
ty .
February 2-4, 2018 MEN’S RETREAT
Sharing the Light of Christ, Opportunities from
Abundance ; Keynote Speak-
er: The Rt. Rev. Robert W.
Ihloff, retired Bishop of
Maryland.
Sunday,
December 24,
2017
Since the fourth Sunday of Advent this year falls on Christmas Eve, we will have a 10:00 AM service in the Maryan Room. Please note that this is not an early Christmas Eve service, but continues the theme of the Advent Season.
A children’s program will be available, held in the Sunday School Classroom above the parish hall.
Pledge Sunday: December 10, 2017
If you haven’t already submitted your pledge
cards, please plan to do so by this date. All the
submitted pledges will be gathered together and
blessed as we begin the final preparations of our
2018 Budget.
150th Anniversary Plans
The Committee Planning the 150th Anniversary Celebrations for Emmanuel Church will meet on Saturday, 9 December 2017 at 11:00 AM in the Harward Parlor. Anyone interested in knowing about or helping with these plans is welcome to attend.
The Trumpet
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
303 North Main Street
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
5 December 2017 — 19 December 2018
Collect for the Feast of St. Lucy (304)
Loving God, for the salvation of all you gave Jesus Christ as light to a world in darkness: Illumine us, with your daughter Lucy, with the light of Christ, that by the merits of his pas-sion we may be led to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (December 13)
Upcoming Sunday Scripture Lessons
10 December — Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8
17 December — Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John1:6-8, 19-28
Advent & Christmas at Emmanuel 2017 Sunday, 10 December: The Second Sunday of Advent — Regular Sunday Services at 8:00 AM, 10:00
AM and 12:00 Noon. Those wishing to go to Washington Cathedral for the Advent service of Lessons & Carols meet in the parking lot at the Rectory at 1:15 PM.
This is also “Pledge Sunday,” where final pledges will be collected and all of them will be blessed at the altar.
Sunday, 17 December: The Third Sunday of Advent — Regular Sunday Service at 8:00 AM and 12:00 Noon. Emmanuel’s Christmas Pageant at 10:00 AM. Please see Heather Costantino if you would like to have a costumed part in the tableau. A list to sign up to do one of the readings is posted on the Bulletin Board in the Slype Hallway.
Sunday Morning, 24 December 2017: The Fourth Sunday of Ad-vent — 10:00 AM Service for Advent 4, held in the Parish Hall
Sunday Evening, 24 December 2017: Christmas Eve Services
5:00 PM (Third Saturday Band and Handbells)
7:30 PM (Choir & Organ)
11:00 PM (Choir & Organ)
Monday, 25 December 2017
Christmas Day service at 10:00 AM, featuring an original Christmas Morning Story by the Rector
Sunday, 31 December 2017
One Service at 10:00 AM
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Regular Sunday Schedule resumes.
The Eyewitness Accounts The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new church year for us. We begin to read from
a different Gospel than we have been hearing for the last six months. We start over the cycle of les-
sons and celebrations that take us from the birth of Jesus through his death, resurrection and the
sending of the Holy Spirit. We put away the bright green and gold vestments and paraments (that
seem a little tiresome by the time November roles around) and move through the seasonal colors of
Advent violet, Christmas gold, blue for Epiphany and brown for Lent. (Emmanuel’s liturgical color scheme is a little
different than you will find in most churches.) Even the prayers we read together around the altar change as our focus
changes. Unlike the Chinese practice of naming years after the signs of their zodiac — 2017 is the year of the Rooster —
the Church uses the most prosaic possible identifications: we have left behind Year A and have now entered Year B! A
year from now we will all be anxious to get into the swing of Year C. And so it will repeat.
The Gospel lessons for Year B come mostly from Mark, but with significant additions from John — respectively,
the first and last Gospels written. To be sure, since Mark’s is the shortest Gospel, adding passages from John gets us
through the year with a substantial lesson each Sunday. But they share a common feature that is good to keep in mind
as we hear them week by week: both are presented as eyewitness accounts. This is not true of Matthew or Luke, who
wrote their Gospels with very particular community concerns at heart. Though
Matthew is often identified with the tax collector of that name in the Gospels, his
writing is shaped by the conflicts he experienced in his local synagogue as people
struggled to decide whether Jesus was the long-expected messiah. The quality of
Luke’s Greek language skills and his focus on issues important to the wider Greco
-Roman community (notably money and property), plus his self-identification as a
companion of St. Paul say a lot about why he wrote what he did.
At the end of the passion narrative in John’s Gospel (which we read every
year on Good Friday) there is a parenthetical remark: “He who saw this has testi-
fied that that you may also believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he
tells the truth.” [John 19:35] Through written in the third person, it is evidently a
signal that John was there to see these things unfold. Earlier in the account, it is an
unnamed disciple, one who was “known to the high priest,” who gains entry for
himself and St. Peter into the courtyard where the first investigation of Jesus takes
place and therefore reports exchanges that are not included in other texts. Though
there is a fair amount of scholarly debate on the identity of this person or persons,
it has always sounded to me — as I have read them aloud in the context of wor-
ship — that they both connect to the “beloved disciple,” who reclined next to Jesus
at the last supper, and who stood with Mary at the foot of the cross as Jesus died.
This young man lived an extraordinarily long life, finishing his days on the Island of Patmos off Asia Minor.
The evidence from the Gospel of Mark that its author was an eyewitness comes in two forms. First, the utter frank-
ness with which the author criticizes the disciples and their failure to see and understand what Jesus is really saying
and doing is remarkable. Given the high price that most of them eventually paid as martyrs, you’d think it would be
okay to tone it down a bit. But Mark’s picture is stark compared to other accounts. And then there is the odd verse
tucked into his account of the passion of Jesus: “A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen
cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” [Mark 14:51-52] Again, scholars disa-
gree, but many believe this to be a self-reference by the author to show that he was there. After all, there isn’t much oth-
er reason to make note of one missed capture! I love the painting shown above because it looks as if St. Mark were star-
ing off into space, remembering all the things he heard and saw.
All four of our Gospels were shaped by historical, political, community, and theological interests. And church
writers and preachers continue to use the stories about Jesus to address particular points and concerns wherever and
whenever their ministries occur. It is easy to let the cart get in front of the horse when looking for how the Gospel can
be applied to the world around us. So it is especially good to know — and to this preacher, comforting — that in these
two cases, their accounts were first rooted in what they witnessed with their own eyes.
Totidem Verbis Mark Gatza+
St. Mark
Painting by Andrea Mantegna, 1450
Save the Dates!
Quick Notes on Things of Interest coming up at Emmanuel Church
Parents Night Out Sunday, 10 December 2017, 4:00—7:00 PM — MARK YOUR CALENDARS, PARENTS!!!!!!
The Sunday School program and the Youth Group, together, are offering a Parents’ Night Out on Sunday December 10, 2017. Adult and teenager babysitters will be available on Sunday December 10, 2017 to watch children from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m. Heather Costantino will be present along with some members of our Youth Group.
As of this writing we only have one family signed up. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, we must have you signed up so we can be sure to have the appropriate ratio of children and caretakers to keep our children safe. Please connect with Heather Costantino at 410 838-7699, with any questions you may have.
Christmas Pageant Sunday, 17 December 2017, at 10:00 AM — more than just a Nativity play, Emmanuel’s pageant puts the birth of Jesus in its context at the ultimate expression of God’s saving love through history. There are readings and roles to play for adults as well as children. Costumes supplied!
Christian Education Acts 29 (We are the Next Chapter)
The Christian Education program is very excited to announce the formation of a “junior” Youth Group, called Acts 29. This Youth Group is for children in grades 6, 7, and 8. Activities will be a combination of social gatherings and service projects.
The first gathering of Acts 29 is scheduled for Sunday December 17, 2017, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. We will gather in the Parish Hall, make Christmas ornaments for the church Christmas Tree and decorate the church Christmas Tree. Holiday snacks will be available. Please note change in time!!!
Children are welcome to invite friends to join them for this event, even if they do not attend Emmanuel, Bel Air.
Please be sure to sign up for this event. A sign up sheet is available on the Bulletin Board in the slype.
Outreach Opportunities for All Join Deacon Joan on Saturday, Dec. 9th from 1-2:30 pm for a light lunch and discussion about the many Outreach Ministries at Emmanuel. If you have time, help us make some sandwiches for the pantry or fill Manna Bags. We will also have cards for writing thinking about you cards for Christmas that can be shared with a resident in Senior Housing. It is an opportunity for fellowship and to learn about some of the wonderful ministries we have here at Emmanuel. All are welcome—feel free to bring a friend. Some of our best outreach can be done by just inviting another to do it with you.
Please don’t forget our homeless neighbors who depend on the baskets in our church and
the cooler on the rectory porch. Pop-top canned goods and water are most needed.