SPEAKER_03: Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: And blessed be God's family now and forever.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_03: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.
SPEAKER_06: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_06: That we may perfectly love thee and wordily magnify thy holy name.
SPEAKER_06: Through Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_06: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_03: O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity.
SPEAKER_03: Grant us the fullness of your grace that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasures through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
SPEAKER_03: As you're being seated, our children are invited to children's church with Mr.
SPEAKER_04: Alex and reading from Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_04: At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the Garvey that was in the palace of the king of Judah, where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.
SPEAKER_04: Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me.
SPEAKER_04: Hannibal, the son of your uncle Shalom, is going to come to you and say, Buy my field that is an Anatoth, for the right of redemption that I purchased is yours.
SPEAKER_04: Then my cousin Hannibal came to me in the court of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, Buy my field that is an Anatoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours.
SPEAKER_04: Buy it for yourself.
SPEAKER_04: Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord, and I bought the field of Anatoth for my cousin Hannibal, and weighed out the money to him, seven shekels of silver.
SPEAKER_04: I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on the scale.
SPEAKER_04: Then I took the scale deed of purchase containing the terms and conditions and the open copy, and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Nariah, the son of Messiah, in the presence of my cousin Hannibal, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and the presence of all of the Judaians who were sitting in the court of the guard.
SPEAKER_04: In their presence, I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar in order that they may last for a long time.
SPEAKER_04: For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the houses and the fields and the vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
SPEAKER_04: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God the people.
SPEAKER_04: God shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter, and from the deadly vessel.
SPEAKER_04: God's pinions will cover you, and you shall find refuge under the wings of the Lord.
SPEAKER_04: You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.
SPEAKER_06: Of the plague that stalks of the darkness, nor of the sickness that lays waste of midday.
SPEAKER_04: Because they are bound to me in love, and therefore I will deliver them.
SPEAKER_06: I will protect them because they know my name.
SPEAKER_01: But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with it.
SPEAKER_01: But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
SPEAKER_01: For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
SPEAKER_01: And in their eagerness to be rich, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pain.
SPEAKER_01: But as for you, man of God, shut all this.
SPEAKER_01: Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
SPEAKER_01: Fight the good fight of the faith.
SPEAKER_01: Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
SPEAKER_01: In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time.
SPEAKER_01: He who is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_01: It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in an unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.
SPEAKER_01: To him be honor and eternal dominion.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: As for those who in the present age are rich, I commend them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
SPEAKER_01: They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
SPEAKER_01: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
SPEAKER_03: Glory be to thee, Lord Christ.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus said, There was a money bag who was dressed in purple and fine linen, who feasted sumptuously every day.
SPEAKER_03: And at the gate of money bags laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger from what fell from money bags' table.
SPEAKER_03: Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
SPEAKER_03: The poor man Lazarus died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.
SPEAKER_03: The money bags also died and was buried.
SPEAKER_03: In Hades, where he was being tormented, money bags looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.
SPEAKER_03: He called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me.
SPEAKER_03: Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.
SPEAKER_03: But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things.
SPEAKER_03: And Lazarus in like manner evil things.
SPEAKER_03: But now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.
SPEAKER_03: Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.
SPEAKER_03: Moneybeg said, Then Father, I beg you to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.
SPEAKER_03: Abraham replied, Well, they have Moses and the prophets, they should listen to them.
SPEAKER_03: Moneybeg said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.
SPEAKER_03: And Abraham said, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.
SPEAKER_03: The Gospel of the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Please be seated.
SPEAKER_03: We are on the verge of the High Holy Days for our Jewish brothers and sisters, and I want to tell you, some of you might be wondering, I don't think most of you are, why are we talking about this?
SPEAKER_03: Because you were about to hear about the High Holy Days, and the answer is shockingly because anti-Semitism is in the rise in North America, which is baffling to me, except most of us have been fed little bits of antisemitism in our church life.
SPEAKER_03: I want to confront it, not only because it's wrong, but because it's evil.
SPEAKER_03: I want you to hear the difference.
SPEAKER_03: It's worse than wrong, it's evil.
SPEAKER_03: So your priest is going to tell you now a few of those bits that we need to get right, and then I want to tell you affirmatively what's happening during the high holy days so that you can respect and appreciate what our Jewish brothers and sisters are doing.
SPEAKER_03: So, number one, what do you call the first part of the Bible?
SPEAKER_03: I want us to stop that.
SPEAKER_03: It's the Hebrew Bible.
SPEAKER_03: When we call it old, we're saying out with the old and win with the new, and it's wrong.
SPEAKER_03: I was at a sermon just the other day.
SPEAKER_03: The sermon was about the evil legalistic Pharisee that lives inside of us.
SPEAKER_03: Friends, that's the root of antisemitism.
SPEAKER_03: Not only is it wrong, it's evil, and we have to stop it.
SPEAKER_03: Have to.
SPEAKER_03: And this is a good day because tonight is the anniversary of the creation of the world.
SPEAKER_03: You maybe have heard it called Rosh Hashanah, in Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah.
SPEAKER_03: It means head of the year.
SPEAKER_03: It's not just new year, it's the anniversary of the creation of the world.
SPEAKER_03: And there will be this time between Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight, and eight days later, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in which our Jewish brothers and sisters will do just like God did in Genesis.
SPEAKER_03: Take a mess and reorder it so that creation can be and thrive and be beautiful.
SPEAKER_03: And this is how our Jewish brothers and sisters are going to begin the new year.
SPEAKER_03: Creating a new world, a world that is healed.
SPEAKER_03: This day comes seven weeks after.
SPEAKER_03: Did I get this wrong?
SPEAKER_03: I'm not.
SPEAKER_03: Tishba'av.
SPEAKER_03: Tishba'av happened seven weeks ago, and it is the Jewish recognition of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.
SPEAKER_03: Now many of you know the Jerusalem temple was destroyed twice, one in 586 before the Common Era, and a second time by the Romans in the year 70 of our Common Era.
SPEAKER_03: Both destructions happened on Tishba'av, just 646 years apart.
SPEAKER_03: It begins seven weeks ago because we realize not only the impermanence of much of what we do, we also realize as we head into the high holy days that sometimes in order to have new growth, we have to clear away some rubble.
SPEAKER_03: Now, sometimes in the middle of our grief, there are opportunities.
SPEAKER_03: So it's helpful to hear that even though the destruction of the Jerusalem temple both times fundamentally changed Judaism, it was difficult to offer regular sacrifices without the temple, you see.
SPEAKER_03: What the rabbis have said, there was also an opportunity for Judaism to reform.
SPEAKER_03: That is, to move from being a place that is centered in Jerusalem on high holy days to becoming centered every day in the way that we live.
SPEAKER_03: So Tishba'av begins this seven weeks ago.
SPEAKER_03: Hey, God is getting ready to recreate the world through us, and we should be ready.
SPEAKER_03: Tonight, and by the way, our Jewish brothers and sisters begin the day in the evening, right?
SPEAKER_03: Just like in Genesis, evening and a morning.
SPEAKER_03: They begin when three stars are visible in the sky.
SPEAKER_03: In Houston, sometimes you need to rely on the internet, right, because you can't always see them.
SPEAKER_03: So you begin when three stars are available in the sky.
SPEAKER_03: This is when Rosh Hashanah begins this evening.
SPEAKER_03: It is celebrated with things like honey and some sweet foods because we're looking for the sweetness of the year.
SPEAKER_03: But this is also the day in which our Jewish brothers and sisters say, God writes your fate for the coming year.
SPEAKER_03: Your fate is written.
SPEAKER_03: On Yom Kippur, eight days from now, your fate will be sealed.
SPEAKER_03: So if you're ever wondering why do Christian people practice Lent?
SPEAKER_03: It comes from this tradition, but we've forgotten what the tradition was about.
SPEAKER_03: This is a week in which our Jewish brothers and sisters would like to change their fate for the year before it is sealed.
SPEAKER_03: So they pick up the phone, they write letters, they literally get on airplanes to make amends for whatever they need to amend before their fate is sealed.
SPEAKER_03: You see, this is a time.
SPEAKER_03: You can hear it a couple of ways.
SPEAKER_03: You could go it literally and say, this is a time to change God's mind to show that we're different, but you can also hear it a different way, which is quite frankly, we we carry a bunch of trash around with us.
SPEAKER_03: We live in broken relationships and just say that's the cost of doing business.
SPEAKER_03: They don't deserve an apology.
SPEAKER_03: I don't really care.
SPEAKER_03: We can seal that fate every day of our lives unless we're willing to do something about it.
SPEAKER_03: So let me tell you, when we come to Lent and you're thinking about giving up chocolate, I'd like you to give up self-righteousness instead.
SPEAKER_03: I'd like you to live in Rosh Hashanah's tradition of let's get our relationships right before we seal our fate of living with trash another year.
SPEAKER_03: I hope this makes sense.
SPEAKER_03: So today, tonight begins Rosh Hashanah, and then comes the Day of Atonement on Yom Kippur, eight days from now.
SPEAKER_03: And the service begins, every Yom Kippur begins with this tradition that's at least 1,300 years old.
SPEAKER_03: It's called the Kol Nidre.
SPEAKER_03: And I want you to turn to the back of your bulletin so you can see the words of the Kol Nidre.
SPEAKER_03: Now we're super lucky that Stuart Eisen has joined us.
SPEAKER_03: He has played the Kol Nidre over at um at Beth Tikva for a number of years at Yom Kippur, and Stuart has graciously agreed to come so that we can hear the Kol Nidre.
SPEAKER_03: You'll see the words, you won't hear them.
SPEAKER_03: I invite you just to listen with your heart to this, and we'll talk a little bit more about it when you're done.
SPEAKER_03: And it's what begins each young Kapor service in the synagogue, and you see the words here.
SPEAKER_03: And just to give you a little bit of history, right, this came out of the Spanish tradition in Judaism.
SPEAKER_03: There were two major centers, right?
SPEAKER_03: The Spanish center, center of the Sephardic Jews.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you know that there's this language called Yiddish, which is a combination of German and Hebrew, and there's a lesser-known language called Ladino, which is a combination of Spanish and Hebrew.
SPEAKER_03: And many of you know that the Inquisition was rather strong in Spain, even dating from the 6th century.
SPEAKER_03: And so Jewish people were forced to convert to Christianity or die.
SPEAKER_03: This was a vow they made, and you're seeing in this text, God, absolve me from any vow that I've made, render it null and void.
SPEAKER_03: This is the beginning, and if we say, God, we put our hearts behind junk.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we do it so we can survive, sometimes we do it because we've chosen anger over sorrow.
SPEAKER_03: We've chosen to show our power, not in mercy and pity, as you show yours, God.
SPEAKER_03: We've chosen to show ours in anger and violence.
SPEAKER_03: Render those vows void.
SPEAKER_03: We have done things just to survive.
SPEAKER_03: Do not hold them against us.
SPEAKER_03: And notice you get the assurance at the end of the cold nitrae that God will forgive you.
SPEAKER_03: I hope you heard a little bit of the crescendo and the dissonance that comes as well.
SPEAKER_03: This is part of our life as disciples, right?
SPEAKER_03: I don't know if you've noticed the sinusoidal pattern in your own living.
SPEAKER_03: Our best intentions sometimes come back down.
SPEAKER_03: This is why we return year after year to Rosh Hashanah to recreate ourselves and to recreate the relationships that we have broken.
SPEAKER_03: The rabbis are very clever.
SPEAKER_03: They say, you know, look, you can forgive other people, you don't actually need God's help for that.
SPEAKER_03: No, what we need on Yom Kippur is to forgive ourselves.
SPEAKER_03: And we need God for that because it's outside of us.
SPEAKER_03: We need our higher power to help us be all that God made us to be.
SPEAKER_03: I want to share with you a poem that's loosely about Mary Curie.
SPEAKER_03: Living in the earth deposits of our history.
SPEAKER_03: Today, a bacho divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth one bottle amber, perfect, a hundred-year-old cure for fever or melancholy, a tonic for living on this earth in the winters of this climate.
SPEAKER_03: Today I was reading about Mary Curie.
SPEAKER_03: She must have known she suffered from radiation sickness, her body bombarded for years by the element she had purified.
SPEAKER_03: It seems she denied to the end the source of the cataracts on her eyes, the cracked and separating skin of her finger ends, till she could no longer hold a test tube or a pencil.
SPEAKER_03: She died a famous woman denying her wounds.
SPEAKER_03: Denying her wounds came from the same source as her power.
SPEAKER_03: Yom Kippur is a day in which we say we all have cracks.
SPEAKER_03: It's how the light gets in, and by God, it is how the light will come out of us.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes our power is in our wounds.
SPEAKER_03: Yom Kippur is the assertion that God made us different, and that is not something to be afraid of.
SPEAKER_03: It's something to be celebrated, and often what gets in our way is our fear.
SPEAKER_03: So we say, God, deliver us from our fear so we can be exactly who you've made us to be no more and no less.
SPEAKER_03: It's helpful to hear that when the temple was rebuilt after being destroyed in the year 586, the holy of holies, the space that only the high priest could step in once a year with bells on in case they died, was empty.
SPEAKER_03: And if you read Genesis, there was no ark.
SPEAKER_03: The ark was gone.
SPEAKER_03: Nothing in the room.
SPEAKER_03: If you read Genesis, when God begins creating the world, it's a mess.
SPEAKER_03: Tohu abohu.
SPEAKER_03: It's chaotic.
SPEAKER_03: And I told you this a few weeks ago, according to the Bal Shim Tove, God had to withdraw because the empty holiness could not abide with anything else.
SPEAKER_03: So God made room for creation.
SPEAKER_03: In the middle of holy nothingness, God blew a breath, which, as you know, is no thing.
SPEAKER_03: It is no thing, it has no mass, right?
SPEAKER_03: Part of the rabbinic commentary is that the temple in Jerusalem held space for the holy nothingness.
SPEAKER_03: And curiously enough, at the center of your being is your lungs, which make room for about nothing.
SPEAKER_03: The breath of God.
SPEAKER_03: And we're reminded.
SPEAKER_03: We're reminded Anya and Kippur.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we're afraid of that nothingness to our own peril, and we sometimes try to strive outside of that by doing things like workaholism and perfectionism, because we can't handle the holy emptiness inside of us, and this is a reminder return.
SPEAKER_03: You get to be who you are with God's blessing.
SPEAKER_03: Now, if that isn't lovely, I don't know what it is.
SPEAKER_03: And this is our chance, whether you do this when you hear the shofar.
SPEAKER_03: And Ken, Ken, you've brought the shofar.
SPEAKER_03: Ken bought this shofar when we were in Israel, and you'll hear it blown a hundred times on Yom Kippur.
SPEAKER_03: It's a ram's horn.
SPEAKER_03: And uh Ken can do.
SPEAKER_03: Do you mind to do it, Ken, just so you can so we can hear it?
SPEAKER_03: I blow in and it don't make any noise because I don't know how to do ombashir with my lips.
SPEAKER_03: This is traditionally what a watch person would use.
SPEAKER_03: It's like a bugle call.
SPEAKER_03: Here comes the enemy.
SPEAKER_03: It blows a hundred times on Yel Kippur to say, wake up! The enemy is within.
SPEAKER_03: And we can do something about it.
SPEAKER_03: We can recreate the chaos in our lives so that it looks like the order God has in mind.
SPEAKER_03: Pay attention.
SPEAKER_03: This is what happens when the shofar, the ram's horn, is blown.
SPEAKER_03: And there's also this tradition in Judaism: there's an otherworldly sound to the shofar.
SPEAKER_03: It's not just like a trumpet.
SPEAKER_03: Everyone is unique and different because it comes from an animal, right?
SPEAKER_03: This is an actual sheep's horn.
SPEAKER_03: They say that that otherworldly quality is actually building a bridge to the other world, a bridge that God desperately hopes will walk across this Yom Kippur, so that God can not just atone but be at one.
SPEAKER_03: Do you hear the difference between atone and at one with exactly who God made us to be?
SPEAKER_03: Now, the readings we hear today, just very, very briefly.
SPEAKER_03: We read them, so I want to talk about them.
SPEAKER_03: We get to hear a couple of ways this looks.
SPEAKER_03: Jeremiah is completely enshrouded in the city of Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_03: The writing's on the wall, the city's gonna fall, and he does this thing that is not a good investment.
SPEAKER_03: He buys land.
SPEAKER_03: There's getting ready to be nothing, and he throws good money after bad.
SPEAKER_03: He does it at God's suggestion.
SPEAKER_03: God says there will be restoration.
SPEAKER_03: This thing which might seem offensively gracious of Jeremiah is what we're called to do on Rosh Hashanah.
SPEAKER_03: To reorder the chaos of our world so there will be a future.
SPEAKER_03: It's practicing cognitive dissonance.
SPEAKER_03: I don't know if this is going to make a difference, and I put my hope and future here anyway, because with God this can work.
SPEAKER_03: This is what we hear in Jeremiah.
SPEAKER_03: So sometimes you think this small thing is too small to make a difference, and Jeremiah reminds us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, these things never die.
SPEAKER_03: They are successful in God because they happen in God, not outside.
SPEAKER_03: We get to hear, curiously enough, this story from Paul, who is saying, I think this is really interesting, not that money is evil, but the love of money is the root of evil.
SPEAKER_03: Notice he says, it's okay if you've got means.
SPEAKER_03: Just remember, there is one heart in the world, and it's the human heart.
SPEAKER_03: And yours is no better than anyone else's.
SPEAKER_03: And so Paul reminds us whether you have money or not, spend your poverty or your wealth in creating joy.
SPEAKER_03: This is what Paul says: creating joy for others because they're a part in the world.
SPEAKER_03: And also remember to live the life that would live in you.
SPEAKER_03: This is the call of the shofar.
SPEAKER_03: Pay attention.
SPEAKER_03: Are you living life with a capital L, whether you find yourself resource rich or resource poor?
SPEAKER_03: The parable is a lovely parable.
SPEAKER_03: I heard you heard me change it on purpose.
SPEAKER_03: I may as well have said Scrooge McDuck.
SPEAKER_03: The word in Greek is deeds, and it means money bags, and he's not a one percenter, he's a 0.1%er, because he wears purple.
SPEAKER_03: Purple means he's like a baron.
SPEAKER_03: In the ancient world, you couldn't buy it.
SPEAKER_03: You had to be born into it, and he's got money.
SPEAKER_03: And notice what he has failed to recognize on Rosh Hashanah.
SPEAKER_03: He thinks Lazarus is his to command.
SPEAKER_03: It's an interesting story because the rich guy doesn't even have a name.
SPEAKER_03: The poor guy's got a name.
SPEAKER_03: And Moneybag says to Abraham, tell Lazarus to come wait on me.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see this?
SPEAKER_03: His fate is sealed because he didn't change the fate he wrote.
SPEAKER_03: He has sealed his fate in living in isolation from other humans.
SPEAKER_03: Beings with which he shares the one heart and the one breath that is from God.
SPEAKER_03: He says, Abraham, send my servant to my brothers.
SPEAKER_03: Do you see that?
SPEAKER_03: It's Rosh Hashanah, and he's treating a human being as an object instead of a subject.
SPEAKER_03: And that is the root of evil.
SPEAKER_03: Not wrongdoing, it's the root of evil.
SPEAKER_03: And this guy doesn't get it even after he's dead and sees Abraham holding on to Lazarus.
SPEAKER_03: He still doesn't get it.
SPEAKER_03: Why should we wait till we're dead to get it?
SPEAKER_03: That's why we have Rosh Hashanah, and that's why we have Yom Kippur.
SPEAKER_03: And Abraham says something truly befuddling.
SPEAKER_03: If they don't believe what they already have, they won't believe even if there's a miracle.
SPEAKER_03: And sure, I would like to say, I would believe.
SPEAKER_03: If someone came back from the dead, I'd believe, except I did get a math degree.
SPEAKER_03: And many of you know how many times you need an example to comply with your rule for the rule to hold.
SPEAKER_03: It is infinite.
SPEAKER_03: How many counterexamples disprove a rule?
SPEAKER_03: One.
SPEAKER_03: So I'd like to believe if God showed up in power, I'd never have a doubt in the rest of my life, and that isn't how math or anything else human works.
SPEAKER_03: No.
SPEAKER_03: It's our faith and our trust in God's goodness that brings us back.
SPEAKER_03: What greater miracle is there, quite honestly, than the fact that God loves you just like you are.
SPEAKER_03: And it is out of God's love that God doesn't want you to stay where you are.
SPEAKER_03: Because God knows you can enjoy the one precious and wild life you've been given more than you do.
SPEAKER_03: And that's God's goal on Yom Kippur.
SPEAKER_03: To deal with all of the baggage we've been carding around so we don't feel our fate in less than God intends another year.
SPEAKER_03: So whether you follow the chauffeur or not, I hope you'll be attuned to these high holy days.
SPEAKER_03: And if there are areas in your life that could use some reordering, if there are areas that are chaotic, keep in mind what Albert Einstein said.
SPEAKER_03: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.
SPEAKER_03: Unseal that fate.
SPEAKER_03: Be reconciled and help heal the world.
SPEAKER_06: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is named and safety.
SPEAKER_06: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the eternal Father.
SPEAKER_06: He became from heaven, of the Holy Spirit, He became from the purpose of heaven, and all the heaven.
SPEAKER_06: On the third day he rose again in the words of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_06: He ascended in the heaven and seed at the right hand of the Father.
SPEAKER_06: He will come again in the Lord to judge the living and the dead, and in the kingdom of the heaven of the end.
SPEAKER_06: We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeded from the Father and the Son.
SPEAKER_06: With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified.
SPEAKER_06: He has spoken through the prophets.
SPEAKER_06: We believe in one holy Catholic and left of the Church.
SPEAKER_06: We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_06: We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
SPEAKER_06: Amen.
SPEAKER_02: We thank you, O God, for your universal church and its mission, and for calling us to serve you and among your people.
SPEAKER_02: Continue, we pray, to equip us with all we need to tell others of you and glorify your name in all we do.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: We pray for the leaders of all nations that they may seek to do your will for the welfare of the people they lead and serve.
SPEAKER_02: We pray for those holding public office in our nation, that they may be guided by your gifts of wisdom and charity.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: We thank you, Creator God, for the beauty, majesty, and abundance of your creation, especially for its manifestation here around Clear Lake.
SPEAKER_02: Keep us mindful of the holiness and fragility of our earthly home and all creatures who dwell therein, that we may rejoice in being stewards and peacemakers.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: O God, giver of all things, we thank you for the abundance of grace poured out upon us.
SPEAKER_02: May we with grateful hearts show compassion through our thoughts, words, and deeds for those who are hungry, homeless, neglected, abused, exploited, or in any other need.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: Lord Jesus, healer of bodies and spirits, may your healing hand touch all who suffer in mind, body, or soul.
SPEAKER_02: May those who attend to them use their God-given skill, wisdom, and compassion to restore them.
SPEAKER_02: We pray especially for Chris, Sue, Kevin, Jan, Miriam, Celia, Derek, John, and Nick.
SPEAKER_02: Silently or aloud.
SPEAKER_02: Trusting that you are able to do more than we ask or imagine.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, in your confession, we give you thanks, Lord Jesus, for graciously restoring those who have battled and survived serious illnesses and near-death situations, that by your help and the help of those sent to them, they may continue to serve you in this life according to your will.
SPEAKER_02: We are especially grateful for those of you who have served in the military.
SPEAKER_02: And we ask the congregation to name Thanksgiving silently or aloud at this time.
SPEAKER_02: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: We thank you, loving God, for the fellowship and relationships we enjoy in this gathering, and pray that we may continue to grow in love and support for each other.
SPEAKER_02: Make your presence known, we pray, with those who grieve for broken relationships and struggle to mend walls created through conflict, disagreement, and mistrust, that they may seek and find forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: Living God, we remember our loved ones and colleagues who no longer journey with us in this life.
SPEAKER_02: Have compassion on all who mourn, and may the souls of the departed share in your eternal kingdom, especially Elizabeth II.
SPEAKER_06: Lord, in your compassion, hear our prayer.
SPEAKER_02: Rejoicing in the fellowship of all your saints, let us commend ourselves, one another, and all our life to Christ our God.
SPEAKER_07: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor.
SPEAKER_03: Almighty and most merciful Father, we have spirit.
SPEAKER_07: We have to come in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: Pardon, Lord, we beseech you the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your kindness, as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now.
SPEAKER_03: And it is stated, as the Lord said, I have pardoned in accordance with your words, so blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion, and we all join together.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: And now may the peace of the Lord be always with you.
SPEAKER_06: And also with you.
SPEAKER_03: So these little cards that say welcome.
SPEAKER_03: And we'd be tremendously grateful if you'd fill one out so we have a record of your visit.
SPEAKER_03: And thank you for worshiping with us today.
SPEAKER_03: One of the ways we like to show our heartfelt gratitude is with applause.
SPEAKER_03: This is cultural.
SPEAKER_03: And I can't tell you how much it means that Stuart has shared not only his gifts, but has come to a faith tradition that is not his own to do it.
SPEAKER_03: So thank you, Stuart, for being with us.
SPEAKER_03: Great.
SPEAKER_03: A few announcements to call to your attention.
SPEAKER_03: You might have seen some people out there camping.
SPEAKER_03: We were hosting a training for scout leaders.
SPEAKER_03: There were 35 that we hosted, which means we can kind of do some metrics like at least 350 scouts will be touched, usually 10 per leader, by the training we offered here.
SPEAKER_03: We do this annually as a hub for scouting in the diocese.
SPEAKER_03: And so this is because of you.
SPEAKER_03: You share your space to enrich the lives of people you'll never even meet.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for doing that.
SPEAKER_03: Last night was another one of those things if you were here.
SPEAKER_03: I can tell you I rarely get to sit in the back of the church.
SPEAKER_03: And uh boy, it was definitely the best loot concert I'm going to this year if you went.
SPEAKER_03: But you know what I'm reminded of is one of our core values is beauty.
SPEAKER_03: It's one of our core values.
SPEAKER_03: And sitting back there and hearing the acoustics and watching the hands of the players and the deep resonance, what a beautiful place we have and a beautiful place we share.
SPEAKER_03: So thank you for being a part of that.
SPEAKER_03: If you're interested, we did record it, and I can share that with you through email.
SPEAKER_03: It's not for public consumption, but I can share the recording with you if you missed it or would like to return to it.
SPEAKER_03: Just send me an email and I'll share Ron's concert with you.
SPEAKER_03: We've got a couple of things going on this week that I want to call your attention to.
SPEAKER_03: Saturday's the Trifecta.
SPEAKER_03: So number one, we host a race every year for the running community.
SPEAKER_03: It's called, sure enough, the St.
SPEAKER_03: Thomas 5K.
SPEAKER_03: There's also a kids 1K.
SPEAKER_03: The 1K starts at 7, the 5K starts at 7.15.
SPEAKER_03: From the parking lot, we run 5K through the neighborhood.
SPEAKER_03: It's really lovely.
SPEAKER_03: It's a nice route and it's cooling off enough where in the morning it's not so bad.
SPEAKER_03: If you're interested, you can find the sign-up on our website.
SPEAKER_03: There's probably 300 runners going to be here.
SPEAKER_03: That's typically what we have.
SPEAKER_03: And it's just lovely to support our community with our facilities.
SPEAKER_03: So this is happening.
SPEAKER_03: The next thing happening on Saturday is at 7.45.
SPEAKER_03: And yes, if you're quick, run that race and run right over here to the food distribution in the circle driveway.
SPEAKER_03: So at 7.45, we'll do that.
SPEAKER_03: Not the normal place.
SPEAKER_03: We've got to leave the parking lot open for the runners.
SPEAKER_03: So we'll be here on San Sebastian from 7.45 until about 9:30-10 at the latest.
SPEAKER_03: And then the pumpkin truck is coming.
SPEAKER_03: So many of you know that we sell pumpkins, and that supports scouting programs for the year.
SPEAKER_03: We usually make$7,000 or$8,000 doing this, and that supports not only our Cubs, but our scout troops as well.
SPEAKER_03: And this year their goal is to get an actual trailer that they can take adventuring.
SPEAKER_03: So you can unload pumpkins at 11, takes a lot of hands to make some light work, or you can come pumpkin shopping.
SPEAKER_03: And what's great about it is we don't pay for the pumpkins up front.
SPEAKER_03: It's the honor system.
SPEAKER_03: We send a percentage of what we sell.
SPEAKER_03: And the pumpkins are grown by Navajo farmers and they're food grade organics.
SPEAKER_03: So I call that a win-win-win.
SPEAKER_03: And that starts this coming Saturday.
SPEAKER_03: Next Sunday is the feast of St.
SPEAKER_03: Francis.
SPEAKER_03: We're celebrating it a little bit early.
SPEAKER_03: So the readings will look a little bit different.
SPEAKER_03: It's also a baptism Sunday.
SPEAKER_03: So if you're interested in baptism, let's talk.
SPEAKER_03: The other thing we do on St.
SPEAKER_03: Francis' anniversary is we bless our animal companions.
SPEAKER_03: So that's going to happen at 5 p.m.
SPEAKER_03: right over here in the park.
SPEAKER_03: Not our park, the one adjacent to us, because it's a community blessing, and that white gazebo.
SPEAKER_03: If you're worried that your pet is not well behaved, bring a photo or a stuffed animal.
SPEAKER_03: But I've done horses and sheep before.
SPEAKER_03: It's kind of lovely.
SPEAKER_03: It's about 15 minutes.
SPEAKER_03: So we we come over 15 minutes to bless our pets.
SPEAKER_03: You can also join our day school on St.
SPEAKER_03: Francis Day, October the 4th, at 8:15 on the playground, when our kids and families bring their pets as well.
SPEAKER_03: So 8 15 till about 8 25, and you have to take your pet home, and so do they.
SPEAKER_03: So those are pet blessing opportunities this year.
SPEAKER_03: Couple other things going on.
SPEAKER_03: This morning we're handing out pledge cards.
SPEAKER_03: Now, if you're new to pledging, this is a way that we try to make an appropriate budget for the year, not only financially, but based on the ministries we're going to support.
SPEAKER_03: And I'm going to ask you to be thoughtful and prayerful when you fill this out, because we want to ask God's blessing on whatever we pledge, whether it's time with the altar guild or money we contribute to running or both.
SPEAKER_03: So to me, it's really important that you pledge so that we can ask God's blessing on your time.
SPEAKER_03: That's going to happen.
SPEAKER_03: That blessing is going to happen right before Thanksgiving on a Sunday we call Christ the King or Restorative Justice Sunday.
SPEAKER_03: But we send out these cards today.
SPEAKER_03: We're handing them out today.
SPEAKER_03: If we miss you, we'll mail it to you so you have it.
SPEAKER_03: We don't have your name on a card.
SPEAKER_03: I've got extras.
SPEAKER_03: So I'm happy to hand those out.
SPEAKER_03: Don't let that be the problem.
SPEAKER_03: Let me get a card to you.
SPEAKER_03: But it helps us be responsible stewards, and this is why we do this.
SPEAKER_03: And Kathy Delgado is going to share with you now why she pledges her time in ministry through the Altar Guild.
SPEAKER_00: I'm Kathy Delgado, and after I heard Ellen talk last week, the spirit moved me to talk about why I work in Alder Guild.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm here to tell you that in three years in Alter Guild, I have never once cleaned a linen.
SPEAKER_00: So, yes, linens are involved, and they're beautiful to see up close, but if linens are not your thing, don't let that stop you.
SPEAKER_00: Alter Guild is so much more.
SPEAKER_00: It's decorating and entertaining.
SPEAKER_00: I love is we're setting the Lord's table and preparing the meal for the Sunday service.
SPEAKER_00: My friend Chris Leedy loves Altar Guild because she loves being more deeply involved in the holy sacred mysteries of a Eucharist.
SPEAKER_00: My friend Laura Studd loves Altar Guild because she loves the changing of the church seasons and listening to what the Spirit is telling us.
SPEAKER_00: Being an Altar Guild means being part of a team.
SPEAKER_00: The commitment is one hour a month, usually on a Saturday, and then there's cleanup time after the service.
SPEAKER_00: At holiday seasons, everybody pitches in.
SPEAKER_00: We have checklists, diagrams, and photos.
SPEAKER_00: So that helps us remember everything.
SPEAKER_00: And Alter Guild is not just for women.
SPEAKER_00: We have some men on the teams and a couple of husband-wife teams, too.
SPEAKER_00: In the 90s, I tried Alter Guild.
SPEAKER_00: It was very formal and very hierarchical, and I lasted all of three months.
SPEAKER_00: But I am so glad I joined Altar Guild now because we have fun.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone is eager to help.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone is eager to learn, and we're eager to have you join us.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we forget that ministries are the way in which we share our gifts and talents with the world, and that there's a lot of joy in that.
SPEAKER_03: And so to come in and have a well-prepared table.
SPEAKER_03: This is the goal of the altar guild, so that you feel welcomed, along with anybody else who comes to the doors.
SPEAKER_03: And thank you.
SPEAKER_03: And on that note, I want you to know that starting next week, we are going to offer two chalices.
SPEAKER_03: Now, this is a little controversial, so I want to explain this to you.
SPEAKER_03: Our vestry has been very, very slow in doing this and opening the chalice for drinking.
SPEAKER_03: This will happen next week.
SPEAKER_03: There will be one chalice for dipping and you will not drink from that chalice.
SPEAKER_03: There will be one chalice for drinking and you will not dip in that chalice.
SPEAKER_03: So you choose your own adventure according to what feels good for you.
SPEAKER_03: The research is well, there's not a lot, there's not a longitudinal study.
SPEAKER_03: There's not.
SPEAKER_03: But there has never been a public outbreak of disease tracked to the Eucharist.
SPEAKER_03: This is part of the Altar Guild's ministry.
SPEAKER_03: I'm going to tell you about it very, very briefly.
SPEAKER_03: It's why we use a silver chalice and not a clay one.
SPEAKER_03: Silver is antimicrobial.
SPEAKER_03: It's why we use port wine instead of regular wine because it's fortified and the higher alcohol concentration does a little something.
SPEAKER_03: It's why we use purificators because the friction helps the silver, but it also removes a vector, which is lipstick, from the cup.
SPEAKER_03: Not everybody feels comfortable drinking from the cup, and you don't have to.
SPEAKER_03: There's dipping, that will still be there.
SPEAKER_03: We will never offer drinking unless there's an intention station.
SPEAKER_03: You do what you want with this.
SPEAKER_03: But I will tell you, your hand is the dirtiest part of your body.
SPEAKER_03: And I get to see hands go in that cup every Sunday.
SPEAKER_03: So you choose your own adventure, but we will start opening this next week with more instructions on how you can do it.
SPEAKER_03: And you know what I love about the prayer book?
SPEAKER_03: This is how we talk about holy mysteries.
SPEAKER_03: Prayer book says the intention to receive the Eucharist is as good as receiving the Eucharist.
SPEAKER_03: Now that's a holy mystery, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03: Lovely.
SPEAKER_03: And that's always there.
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
SPEAKER_03: Two last things to tell you today.
SPEAKER_03: One is that we're having a newcomer's lunch right after the service.
SPEAKER_03: You might say, I've been going here two years.
SPEAKER_03: Well, this would be the first.
SPEAKER_03: Newcomer of lunch since you've been here because COVID didn't let us do it.
SPEAKER_03: So you might also say, I've never been to one of those and I want to go.
SPEAKER_03: Come on, we got plenty.
SPEAKER_03: So just come on into Christ Hall after the service if you're interested.
SPEAKER_03: You'll get to meet some uh other people who come to 8 o'clock or 10:30.
SPEAKER_03: Uh, we're gonna talk a little bit more about St.
SPEAKER_03: Thomas, and that's today in the Christ Hall, and you're cordially invited.
SPEAKER_03: The last thing you'll notice out there on the little tables are these kind of bookmarky things that announce that we're gonna do a Thanksgiving drive for McWurder.
SPEAKER_03: Now, many folks asked me why aren't we doing school supplies this year?
SPEAKER_03: They said they don't want that from us.
SPEAKER_03: They want to make sure we hit 50 Thanksgiving bags.
SPEAKER_03: Well, we'd better hit a hundred.
SPEAKER_03: Uh so look, there's a hundred of those out there.
SPEAKER_03: It's a shopping list, and what it allows us to do is to give a Thanksgiving dinner to somebody who otherwise is not gonna have one.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's the bottom line.
SPEAKER_03: 90% of the families at McWorder are on a free lunch program.
SPEAKER_03: You heard that right.
SPEAKER_03: Not the reduced lunch, but the free lunch.
SPEAKER_03: So I would like to offend their number of 50.
SPEAKER_03: I would.
SPEAKER_03: I would like to do that.
SPEAKER_03: And that's due November the 10th.
SPEAKER_03: I like us to do it ourselves so that when we're shopping, we're thinking of someone we've never ever met who will not thank us.
SPEAKER_03: I don't like to pool funds, I like us to do the shopping because we're tan we're tangentially involved, touching a sacrament, which is a meal and a celebration for our family.
SPEAKER_03: So if that calls to you, you'll find them on a table.
SPEAKER_03: Continue to walk in love.
SPEAKER_03: As Christ first loved us and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God.
SPEAKER_03: This is the table not of the church, but of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: It is made ready for those who love him and those who want to love him more.
SPEAKER_03: So come.
SPEAKER_03: You who have much faith and you who have little, you who have been here often, and you who have not been for a long time or ever before.
SPEAKER_03: You who have tried to follow and you who have failed, come.
SPEAKER_03: Not because the church invites you, it is Christ.
SPEAKER_03: And he invites you to meet him here.
SPEAKER_03: And our service continues on page 340 of your red prayer book.
SPEAKER_03: Page 340.
SPEAKER_03: The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_03: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
SPEAKER_07: It is me thy so to do.
SPEAKER_03: It is very meet, right, and our bound in duty.
SPEAKER_03: We should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father Almighty, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who on the first day of the week overcame death in the grave, and by his glorious resurrection open to us the way of everlasting life.
SPEAKER_03: And therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and singing.
SPEAKER_03: For that thou didst create heaven and earth, and didst make us in thine own image.
SPEAKER_03: And of thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to take our nature upon him, and to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption.
SPEAKER_03: He made there a full and perfect sacrifice for the whole world, and did institute, and in his holy gospel command us to continue, in perpetual memory of that, his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.
SPEAKER_03: For in the night in which he was betrayed, Jesus took bread.
SPEAKER_03: And when he given thanks to thee, he broke it, gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat.
SPEAKER_03: This is my body which is given for you.
SPEAKER_03: Do this in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_03: Likewise, after supper, Jesus took the cup of wine.
SPEAKER_03: And when he given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink this all of you.
SPEAKER_03: This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for all for the remission of sin.
SPEAKER_03: Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me.
SPEAKER_03: Wherefore, O Lord and Heavenly Father, we thy people do celebrate and make with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy son hath commanded us to make, having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, and looking for his coming again with power and great glory.
SPEAKER_03: And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us, and with thy word and Holy Spirit to bless and sanctify these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be unto us the body and blood of thy dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness to accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, whereby we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and our bodies.
SPEAKER_03: Grant, we beseech thee that all who partake of this holy communion may worthily receive the most precious body and blood of thy Son, Jesus Christ, and be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction.
SPEAKER_03: And also that we in all thy whole church may be made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom and with whom and in whom.
SPEAKER_03: In the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_06: And now as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to pray, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_06: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
SPEAKER_06: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
SPEAKER_06: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
SPEAKER_06: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
SPEAKER_06: Therefore, let us eat the feast.
SPEAKER_03: These are the gifts of God for you, the family of God.
SPEAKER_03: Feed on them in your hearts by faith and with thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_03: Renewed by this bread from the heavenly table, we beseech you, Lord, that being the food of charity, it may confirm our hearts and stir us to serve you and our neighbor through Christ our Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: One announcement I forgot.
SPEAKER_03: In two weeks from today, we're going to have an informational meeting after the service for our next parish pilgrimage.
SPEAKER_03: Many of you know that we took pilgrimages to Israel and to Jordan last in 2021.
SPEAKER_03: We had to skip because of the pandemic, but I'm grateful to announce that Garmin will be helping us take a pilgrimage to South Africa next summer.
SPEAKER_03: And we'll have an informational meeting about what that looks like, how it's different from a regular trip, and what's involved in a parish pilgrimage to South Africa.
SPEAKER_03: So that'll be after this service on October the 9th.
SPEAKER_03: The holiest day of the year is about to begin.
SPEAKER_03: Let us use it well.
SPEAKER_03: May it be for each one of us a day of renewal.
SPEAKER_03: May it help us overcome what is evil in us and strengthen what is good.
SPEAKER_03: May it bring us closer to our real selves and make us more loyal to our people and our traditions.
SPEAKER_03: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be amongst you this day and remain with you always.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.