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The Messenger May 2013

OF ST PAUL’S ANGLICAN PARISH

The Ascension and Pentecost

This month, we conclude our look at the teaching tool of the Church Year with a look at the Feasts of

the Ascension and Pentecost, and the long season of “ordinary time” that follows. As the Season of

Easter carries on, the Paschal Candle continues to burn in all of our services, calling our attention to

the reality of the Resurrection. The sanctuary continues to be adorned with white, the color of cele-

bration.

The Bible tells us that forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus Ascended to heaven. “He [Jesus] said to them:

‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive

power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud

hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:7-9) On Thursday, May 9th, the Church commemorates the Feast of the

Ascension. The Ascension, though, is not so much about Jesus disappearing from the disciples’ sight as it is

about His return to the Father’s side where He is seated to rule over the universe. The Ascension is about

Jesus’ ascension to the throne of heaven.

The Ascension also draws our attention to the fact that the Feast of Pentecost is coming shortly. When Jesus

ascended to the Father, He instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming gift of the Holy

Spirit, the gift that would allow Jesus’ people to live as His witnesses in the world. The Feast of Pentecost,

often called the birthday of the Church, reminds us that the Old Testament promise of the Holy Spirit being

poured out on all flesh has come to pass. The color of the sanctuary changes to red for the tongues of fire

that rested on the disciples. People are encouraged to wear red that day!

But we need to move beyond the memory of that day into the critical importance of what it means for our

lives today. As we said in last month’s article about Easter and the Resurrection, we are called to live trans-

formed lives in the power of the Resurrection. Resurrection power is made real in our lives by the indwell-

ing of the Holy Spirit. In many ways, we could say that the point of Easter was Pentecost. Jesus didn’t just

die on the Cross so that we could be saved when we die; He died and rose in order to pour out the Holy Spirit

upon the Church so that we would be able to finally live into everything He would have us be and accom-

plish everything He has given us to do. Eucharistic Prayer D puts it this way:

“To fulfill your purpose he gave himself up to death; and, rising from the grave, destroyed death, and made

the whole creation new. And, that we might live no longer for ourselves, but for him who died and rose for

us, he sent the Holy Spirit, his own first gift for those who believe, to complete his work in the world, and to

bring to fulfillment the sanctification of all.” BCP, p. 374

The Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us in order to empower us to live for Jesus, to finish His Mission,

and to be made holy. This is the importance of Pentecost!

It should come as no surprise, then, that the longest season of the Church Year follows this important Feast.

Everything has been leading to this point. The promise of Advent, the gift of Christmas, the manifestation of

Epiphany, the preparation of Lent, the glory of Holy Week and Easter – all to give us what we need to live

for Jesus, finish His Mission, and be made holy. The rest of the Church Year continued on page 2...

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Sunday School (10AM)

Parent Connection aims to assist you

in building upon what your children

are learning in Sunday school. It is

available on our website under Grow-

ing in Christ.

5/26 Year-end Celebration at Pioneer Village

Youth Group (Sundays: 5:30-7:00 p.m.)

5/5 Teaching—What is a Disciple?

5/12 NO YG—Mother’s Day

5/19 Serving at Parish BBQ

5/26 Teaching—The Assurance of a Disciple

Contact Fr. Mark with ?’s at mark@stpaulsbakersfield.org

SUNDAY SCHOOL

End of Year Celebration at

Pioneer Village

Sunday May 26th at 10am

Come worship in the historic St. John’s Chapel, followed

by a picnic, fellowship, and time to explore the park.

YOUTH GROUP Year End Trip to MAGIC MOUNTAIN

Friday, May 31st 9am - 7:30pm

Cost $45 Covers admission,

transportation,& lunch

To Serve you is Perfect Freedom

This phrase comes from the Collect for Peace out of

our Morning Prayer service. It seems rather odd, from

a cultural standpoint that is, to say that service brings

freedom and peace. And yet like the Good News of the

cross of Christ, serving God and others reflects His

wisdom rather than the world’s (Mark 10:45; 1 Cor.

1:18-25). This is because when we pour out ourselves

in love and service we are nourished by God’s grace.

This school year we have been discussing God’s

grace—an unearned gift given by God—and the means

through which He dispenses it into our lives. We have

reflected upon the means of grace found in the Word

and Gospel Sacraments, prayer, community, and now

we conclude with service. In many ways loving ser-

vice flows naturally from being nourished by God’s

grace (1 John 3:16-17). In gratitude for the love and

grace of God, we move outward to share it through

serving others.

God is clear that He expects us to care for those in our

midst, especially the folks we tend to want to overlook.

Jesus even goes so far as to say that if we do not try to

care for those who are on the margins of our society, it

is questionable whether we really are united to Him

(Matt. 25:31-46). This is not to say that we must serve

the marginalized in order to be right with God. That

would eliminate the grace of Christ that binds us as the

Church.

The point Jesus wants us to grasp is that He is present

amongst the downtrodden. Through faith we have

been united to Christ and His Spirit now dwells in us

(Gal. 4:4-7). Thus the new life naturally moves to-

ward serving Christ in our neighbors. All of God’s

grace that we receive is designed to equip, motivate,

and move us outward in grateful, loving service. And

in turn, “service is a means of grace whereby God

grows our faith, extends our love, and brings us joy

and peace” (B.H. Cosby).

We have many opportunities as a church family to

reach out in loving service to our neighbors, such as

Flood, the Mission of Kern County, and Senior Sack.

We also have the opportunity to share the source of our

gratitude that spurs our service, and that is our hope in

Christ. Please pray about joining the My Hope project.

It is designed to give you a simple, nonthreatening way

to share the love of Christ with people in your own

home.

In Christ’s Love & Service, Mark +

...continued from page 1

continues in the color of green, the color of growth, as we

live out the Mission of making disciples of all nations.

The Church Year teaches us as it brings us, again and

again, into the full sweep of God’s story of salvation. But

it also teaches us the important balance between peni-

tence, celebration, and work. Indeed, we spend the ma-

jority of our time working for the spread of the Kingdom,

seeking to be faithful servants of our Resurrected Lord

Jesus, so that, as we celebrate on the last Sunday of the

Church Year in the Feast of Christ the King, we may be

found ready when He comes again.

Yours in Christ, Fr. Karl+

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Andrew Chaffee

Aria Poon

Kresten Carroll

Chris Hoss

Jim Darling

Jeff Roberts

Milton Pope

Elsie Bergman

Bettie Clark

Jack Salter

Benita Chase

Sharon Spear

Joseph Dunwoody

May Birthdays In The Parish Family

Congratulations to…

… Dick Giles & Anne Arnold, who were mar-

ried on April 10th.

… Bryan Williams & Karen Elizes, who were

married on April 27th.

… Chad & Kristin Savage, who gave birth to

Luke Everett, on April 19th.

… Jerry Hoos, who became on Great Grand-

mother for the 4th time on April 18th.

Sympathy to…

… Hugh Smith on the death of his father last

month.

Roxanne Starbuck

Aubrey Young

Bob Trainor

Maxine Chesney

Stephanie Faulk

Shelby Nommensen

Bentley Willis

Steven Brown

Mira Landucci

Destiny Studer

Ken Pitchford

Mike Chase

Patty Page

Thomas Smith

Julia Zervis

KERN DEANERY

GATHERING An opportunity for worship

and fellowship

Morning of Saturday, May 11th

Anglicans from across the county are

invited to join together in a time of

corporate worship and fellowship.

More details coming soon. Mark your

calendars now!

Share your Life, Open your Home,

Share your Hope in Christ

Training on Saturday, May 11th at 8am

Dear Members,

Thank you to all who provided meals to the Fair

Family Memorial. Our family at All Saints’ Church

suffered a deep blow when Jared Fair passed..

Though only a young man of 13, Jared daily demon-

strated God’s love and helped everyone he knew,

feel it. His smile was infectious and his heart was

great. He will be missed in our church family.

All Saints’ rarely has receptions as large as Ja-

red’s. Approximately 500 friends attended the me-

morial to remember him. Earlier that week, when I

call St. Paul’s for help with donations for the recep-

tion meal, it seemed we began with on “2 fish and 5

loaves”. I was happily shocked with the response

that came. We had enough food to feed all the at-

tendees and then send some home with the Fair

Family to feed them and their guests. Because of

the charity of St. Paul’s, I am truly honored to say

that I am an Anglican.

I pray that this will be the beginning of many

more All Saints’ and St. Paul’s Family unions.

Thank you, again, for all of your help and all of

your love. May each and all be abundantly blessed

through the Grace of our Lord land Savior.

Sincerely,

Cyndi Ozuna-Bomar

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ACW RUMMAGE SALE

Saturday May 4, 2012

You have the opportunity to support and participate in this project. The sale enables the Anglican Church

Women to help fund their on-going programs for St Paul’s Parish.

You may not bring your donations to the church at this time. As the time draws near, you may bring your

items on Sundays only.

People wishing to help out with this worthy cause, or who if you have any questions, may contact Lynne

Hall at 834-2877.

at

Jastro Park

May 19, 2013

11:30 to 3 p.m.

TICKETS

$5 for food tickets

Our annual Church BBQ will, once again, be at Jas-

tro Park. This year, we will begin at 11:30 a.m.

There will be no 1928 service that day.

Many hands are needed to make this a joyful success.

A sign-up sheet is available if you would like to lend

a helping hand. All are invited!

ST. PAUL’S ACW (Anglican Church Women)

Guest Speaker

All women are invited to the May ACW

meeting on Thursday, May 17th, at 5:30 p.m.

Vicki Moore will be our speaker. Please join us

for this interesting evening.

Desserts Needed

All women or men are encouraged to bake

some home-made goodies for our BBQ, which is

on May 19th. Many desserts are needed, so please

help support our BBQ by making pies, cakes,

brownies, cookies, etc. If you have any questions,

please call Debbie Gibson.

We reached 6,252 hours of love & service

to our community.

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Our Clergy The Rev. Karl E. Dietze, Rector

The Rev. Mark Hall, Assistant

The Rev. John M. Wilcox, Retired

The Rev. John LaMar, Deacon

Our Staff Sue Wagner, Director of Music

Tara Michaels, Office Manager

Kendi Miller, Bookkeeper

Sheri Sorkhi, MOM’s Preschool Director

2216 17th Street

Bakersfield, CA 93301

661.861.6020 Office

661.861.6026 Fax

stpauls@stpaulsbakersfield.org

www.stpaulsbakersfield.org

check us out on Facebook!

WORSHIP

SERVICES

Sunday

Rite I - 8 a.m.

Rite II - 10 a.m.

Sunday School at 10 a.m.

1928 Service - 12 noon

Thursday

Healing Eucharist 10 a.m. in the Chapel

May 2013

St. Paul's Anglican Parish

2216 17th Street

Bakersfield CA 93301

The Messenger