~  PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS  ~ 
Foothills Pregnancy Care Center, The Golden Corner Food Bank, Our Daily Rest and The Helping Hands Store and Home.  
 Collection baskets are in the narthex and the Parish hall.      

Greetings and warm welcome to all. Please join the 8:00'ers as they go out to breakfast after the early service or stay for coffee, refreshments and fellowship immediately following the 10:30 liturgy in the parish hall.

This Thursday, October 20th , please attend our Spaghetti Dinner  Benefit for the Helping Hands Home New Building Project.

Please remember to turn in your pledge cards today or mail them in this week. Mark your calendar and plan to attend the Loyalty Luncheon on Sunday November 6th All Saints Day.  All food will be provided by the Stewardship Committee and Senior Warden, Sid Bryson.  There will be one service at 10:30 am.
All Saints Sunday, November 6th we will pray for those who have gone before us. If you wish to openly express and include those names of your loved ones during the liturgy, please print their name on the sheet provided on the church bulletin board or contact the church office prior to November 1st.

I want to continue to share with you the third installment of a series of writings called “Feasting on Gratitude” published by the Episcopal Church on stewardship. The reflection is simple, but I believe profound in Its message to all of us.

Blessings to you all!               
Deedie+

 

Feasting on Gratitude
Stewardship Reflection Series
Proper 24A v Matthew 22:15-22

Give therefore the emperor the things that are the emperors and to God the things that are of God...

Anger, fear, resentment, envy, guilt, worry. Many of us have these strong feelings about money and frequently don’t talk about it at all. Jesus spoke about money all the time, asking us to examine its power so we can give our faith and our lives over to God. When I was asked to write about the story of Jesus and the coin, I decided to bring it to Transmission, my Manhattan house-church community of people in their 20s and 30s. We gathered in a small uptown apartment, ate dinner, sang “Be Thou My Vision,” and began exploring Matthew 22:15-22 with our hands at three stations. People circled the word or phrase that jumped out at them on a printout of this passage. I brought a pile of coins from around the world with the instructions: “Touch the coins. Pick them up. What images do they have? What value do they communicate? What do these coins evoke for you?” On another table, there was a bowl of uncooked rice, each grain representing $100, which we placed in piles representing how much we pledge and give away annually, have in savings, owe to credit cards, spend on monthly rent, and on entertainment and socializing.
Next, a woman read the Matthew passage out loud. I reflected on how this text resonates with my own life. I do not resent paying taxes to Caesar and would gladly pay more for free healthcare and other public services. My work with Faith House Manhattan, a startup interfaith community, means I give much of my time to God, but sometimes I feel like I have traded financial security for the freedom to do innovative, grassroots ministry. I wrestle with the specter of scarcity, even though we always manage to pay our rent, bills, and give money to God. I am still learning to trust in God’s abundance. A man read the passage again and each person shared. A public school teacher shared that many of her children in the Bronx are orphans because their parents got sick without healthcare and died. A young professional said he grew to resent obligatory giving to church as a teenager and now gives away almost nothing. He wonders how to overcome his resentment and give again. An artist, who tithed from his first allowance as a child through college, said he now struggles to give ten percent, but hopes to again someday. We each prayed for the person to our left as a deep acknowledgment that each of us had been heard. The evening ended with song and laughter. Our time together -- reflecting on Jesus’ words about money, sharing, and listening to each other-- took the edge off and helped us leave wanting to give God “the things that are God’s.”

Bowie Snodgrass
Churchplanter, Transmission
Executive Director, Faith House Manhattan
The Episcopal Diocese of New York
Copyright © 2011 The Episcopal Church

 

Reflection Questions
1. Why is it difficult to talk about money? What makes it easier?

2. How do you experience right relationship with money?

3. How does your faith community support one another’s efforts to find the freedom to be faithful in giving?

 ~ Ascension’s Mission Statement ~

“DISCIPLES OF CHRIST CALLED TO SERVE NEIGHBORS NEAR AND FAR”