volume 28 • number 9 - clover sitesstorage.cloversites.com/stdavidsanglicanchurch... ·...

2

Volume 28 • Number 9 October 2014

A s you can see by the cover of

this month’s Newsletter, the

month of October will be for

all of us at St. David’s,

Stewardship Month. This is the month in

which all of us prepare to make our

financial commitment in support of the

ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ

through St. David’s for the following

year, 2015. During this month I and oth-

ers will teach our congregation about the

Christian responsibility of Stewardship

and call all our members, those who

worship with us regularly, and many

other friends outside St. David’s, to help

us support the ministry the Lord has

entrusted to us. We, you and I, are the

stewards of God’s ministry on earth until

Jesus Christ returns. We are the stew-

ards of the Gospel until everyone on

earth has heard it and the responsibility

for Jesus’ Church and the effectiveness

of its ministry has been placed in our

hands and on our shoulders.

During the month of October we will all

receive an individualized Pledge Card.

We will be asked to prayerfully fill it out

making a financial commitment for the

year 2015 and bringing it to church with

you on Sunday, October 26, when we

will all celebrate this year’s Covenant

Sunday. The cards will be brought by

you to the altar and placed there as an

act of Worship to God, our Treasurer will

collect them and it is from your commit-

ment that we will create the ministry

Budget for 2015.

However, as St. Paul tells the Corinthi-

ans in his Second Letter 9:7, the attitude

of giving is as important or perhaps

more important than the actual amount

given. The actual amount given blesses

the local church and this is very im-

portant but the heart and the attitude of

the giver is of great importance to God

Himself. St. Paul had been involved in a

collection of money from all of the

churches in the west to aid the famine

stricken church in Jerusalem. He tells

them, “But this I say: He who sows spar-

ingly will also reap sparingly, and he

who sows bountifully will also reap

bountifully. So let each one give as he

purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or

of necessity; for God loves a cheerful

giver.”

So let us all prepare to Worship our Lord

and God who has not given to us spar-

ingly but rather abundantly by giving to

His ministry with a cheerful and grateful

heart.

by The Rev. Jose Poch

3


T his month, our SAGES will NOT meet. Instead, we will

gather at the Church Stay Picnic on October 19 for Bin-

go!! Come and have fun. For all our active SAGES, we

are asking if you would bring a small gift prize for Bin-

go—no more than a $5 item! Make it fun, make it fabulous and

come and join in after our Service on the lawn!

What are SAGES about? SAGES are all about:

Spiritual Enrichment—What is God telling us or asking of

us as SAGES?

Learning Opportunities—Special websites for new

Knowledge; Field Trips

Socialization—Get to know your fellow SAGES!

Service Opportunities—Where can we bring Christ to oth-

ers.

Providing SAGES Needed Services—from prayer to help-

ing each other when they need us.

Are you a SAGE yet? If not, don’t worry, your time will come! All are invited to join in, anyone reaching 60 is already a mem-

ber! We know who YOU are! We are a growing ministry at St. David’s, now numbering 22 brothers and sisters. Our next meet-

ing is Sunday, November 9 when our guest expert Laurie Leney will be talking and answering your questions on Medicare

Advantage while enrollment is going on!

For more information on how to join the SAGES for all of the above, see Spencer Johnson or email at [email protected]

Happy First Month of FALL from the SAGES!

by Spencer Johnson

From Fr. Jose on Finances

L ast month I felt the emergency

and the necessity to write to all

of our members, worshippers at

St. David’s, and friends outside of St.

David’s about a financial situation we

were experiencing which threatened

our ministry. I rejoice in the Lord

greatly that you have all responded

in such an amazing fashion that the

threat has indeed been averted.

Our actual Pledge deficit at the end

of September is now $4,290. This is

a great improvement from the

$32,791 at the end of August. We

were able to return to savings all of

the moneys we had been forced to

withdraw.

With all of my heart I want to thank

all of you who came to our rescue

and brought their Pledges current. I

also want to thank all of you who

have always kept your Pledge current

throughout the year as well as those

who gave a little extra. I also know

that those of our St. David’s family

who have recently lost their jobs will

once again find employment and will

return to faithful giving that the work

of the Lord continue uninterrupted.

To those who have not yet brought

their Pledges current I would ask

that you join the rest of us and try

your very best. As St. Paul says when

he writes to the Corinthians: “And in

this I give advice: It is to your ad-

vantage not only to be doing what

you began and were desiring to do a

year ago; but now you also must

complete the doing of it; that as there

was a readiness to desire it, so there

also may be a completion out of what

you have.” (2 Cor 8:10-12).

Thank you so much everyone!

mailto:[email protected]

4


M ark Your Calendars! On Sunday,

October 26 at 10:30 a.m. (only one ser-

vice this day) we will be celebrating our

Covenant Sunday. It has been a couple of years since

we last celebrated this annual event at St. David’s. On

Covenant Sunday we recommit ourselves to the Lord as

individuals and as a church. We demonstrate that re-

commitment by making a financial pledge in support of

the Lord’s ministry among us for the following year and

we take our annual family picture as a memorial of all

those who have supported our ministry.

Please make plans to be with us on October 26. May

the Lord bless us all as His Church!

M ARK YOUR CALENDARS! Sunday,

October 19 after Church Services, instead

of going to a park for our annual church

picnic, we are going to have our picnic on

church grounds.

We are planning a great celebration with a chili cook-off and

lots of games for all ages, including a bounce house, piñata,

freeze dance, water balloon, egg run, bingo and charades. We

also ask everyone who purchased a St. David’s t-shirt to wear

it to the picnic – we want to take a group picture that day. To

help us in our preparations, if you’ll be participating in the

chili cook-off or bringing a side dish, please be sure to sign-

up on Sunday.

Plan on joining us for this Family Party. Invite others! Come

and celebrate!

A s we continue our teachings on the Person

and Works of the Holy Spirit each first and

third Sunday of the month after services

(1:00 – 2:30 p.m.), we are excited by what we

have all been learning. We seek to equip all our mem-

bers in the knowledge and works of the Spirit of the Liv-

ing God.

During the month of October our focus will be as fol-

lows:

October 5

“Physical Healing”

October 26

“Inner Healing”

All are welcome to attend.

5


I t is with great pleasure and excitement that we

welcome among us Chris Garcia-Morett as

our new leading Worship Leader. Chris was

hired effective September 16 and his first Sunday as

our Worship Leader was on September 21. Please

take time to get to know Chris and welcome him

among us. Also be patient with Chris as he learns

our ways of doing things.

It is also a great blessing for us to announce that our

ever-faithful sister Cindy Drennan will continue

to serve at St. David’s as the Assistant Worship

Leader. She will be joining Chris twice a month.

Please rejoice with us over Chris and Cindy!

October 2014 Saturday, Oct. 4 – Lay Leaders Class

Sunday, Oct. 5 – “Come With Your Fire”

Saturday, Oct. 11 – Women of Light

Saturday, Oct. 18 – Men’s Breakfast

Sunday, Oct. 19 – Parish “Stay” Picnic

Friday, Oct. 24 & Sat., October 25 –

Marriage Seminar

Sunday, Oct. 26 – Covenant Sunday;

“Come With Your Fire”

November 2014

Saturday, Nov. 1 – Lay Leaders Class;

Baptism Class

Sunday, Nov. 2 – “Come With Your

Fire”; Holy Baptism

Sunday, Nov. 9 – SAGES Meeting

Saturday, Nov. 15 – Men’s Breakfast;

Women of Light

Sunday, Nov. 16 – “Come With Your

Fire”

Thursday, Nov. 27 – Thanksgiving Ser-

vice

December 2014

Saturday, Dec. 6 – Lay Leaders Class;

Marriage Ministry Event

Sunday, Dec. 7 – “Come With Your Fire”

Sunday, Dec. 14 – SAGES Meeting;

St. David’s Cursillo Ultreya

Saturday, Dec. 20 – Men’s Breakfast;

Women of Light

Sunday, Dec. 21 – “Come With Your

Fire”

Wednesday, Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve

Service

O n Sunday,

November

2 at the

10:30 a.m. service

we will be celebrating

the Sacrament of Ho-

ly Baptism. There will

be a baptism class on

Saturday, Novem-

ber 1 from 9:00

a.m. to Noon. The

class will be held at

our offices in Sher-

man Oaks located at

15335 Morrison St.,

Suite 202. Parents and Godparents of small children and any adults wanting to be

baptized are asked to attend this essential meeting.

Baptism is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace,” an act

of obedience, a public statement of faith. At St. David’s the sacrament is offered to

anyone interested in making this commitment to the Lord. Parents and godpar-

ents make this pledge for small children.

If you or someone you know wants to be baptized, please speak to Fr. Jose by call-

ing the church office at 818.789.8633.

6



A t the end of this month of October, on October 31, to be pre-cise, our streets will

be filled with children knocking on doors asking for treats or offering tricks. Some of us do not appreci-ate the door knocking and would prefer to be left alone to our favor-ite television shows. We may even go to the extent of turning all the lights of our houses off to appear that we are not home. On the other hand, those of us with children or grandchildren may be pressured into Halloween celebrations, pic-ture taking and even accompany-ing them from door to door. The Church has always had difficulty with this secular celebration. Some churches see it as completely evil while others may see it as an op-portunity to share the Gospel with children and may conduct parties or so called Trunk or Treat cele-brations at church. The attempt of course is twofold, to share the Gospel and to keep the children safe. Here is some information about Halloween that may be useful for all parents to consider (from the website http://www.allaboutgod.com/history-of-halloween-christian-perspective-faq.htm):

What is the History of Halloween: A Christian Perspective

When we consider the history of Halloween, it may seem as if the modern holiday has gotten out of hand. After all, doesn’t Halloween glorify evil? Is it right to send our children out as devils and vampires? Should we emphasize the saints, whose nearly forgotten feast day is the reason for Halloween? Hal-low is the same word for “holy” that we find in the Lord’s Prayer, and e’en is a contraction of “evening.” The word Hal-loween itself is a shortened form of “All Hallows Eve,” the day before All Saints’ Day (November 1). This holiday, properly understood and celebrated with all of its fun trappings, can be a way for us to deepen our understanding of faith.

Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic tribes of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany. On October 31, the tribes would celebrate the festival of Samhain. During this festival, Celts believed the souls of the dead -- including ghosts, gob-lins, and witches -- returned to mingle with the living. In or-der to scare away the evil spirits, people would wear masks and light bonfires.

When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the Samhain festival, such as making centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. The Romans also bobbed for apples and drank cider -- traditions which may sound familiar to you. But where does the Christian aspect of the holiday come into play? In 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy evening.” Even-tually the name was shortened to the current Halloween.

The purpose of these feasts is to remember those who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as saints or not. It is a celebration of the “communion of saints,” which reminds us that the church is not bound by space or time.

History of Halloween – The Customs

Many of the customs we now associate with Halloween are also derived from ancient celebrations. For example, the cur-rent custom of going door-to-door to collect treats actually started in Ireland hundreds of years ago. Groups of farmers would go door-to-door collecting food and materials for a vil-lage feast and bonfire. Those who gave were promised pros-perity; those who did not received threats of bad luck. When an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants came to the United States in the 1800s, the custom of trick-or-treating came with them.


Please see Halloween on page 7

http://www.allaboutgod.com/history-of-halloween-christian-perspective-faq.htm



7


by Luisa S. Johnson

O ur Youth ministry has been very ably lead for

several years by Esther Dharmaraj and we re-

joice with the ministry that she has had among

us and the blessings that she and Brainerd

brought to our youth. With Esther now focusing her atten-

tion on other areas of her life, we are in need of seeking a

new Youth Leader to continue serving, equipping and

growing our youth as well as those about to join the group.

This is a volunteer position at this time and we are seeking

someone committed to the ministry of Jesus Christ among

our youth, a member of St. David’s with a youthful disposi-

tion and the ability to teach and equip, someone committed

to this ministry and someone who can relate to young peo-

ple.

If this is a ministry to which you feel called, please speak to

Fr. Jose at your earliest convenience, we want to get started

with this new season of ministry to and with our youth as

soon as possible.

Does your family carve a pumpkin to place on your porch for Halloween? If so, then you can once again thank the Irish for the tradition. Actually, the custom began with a turnip. People would hollow out the turnips and place lighted candles inside to scare off the evil spirits. When the Irish came to America, they discovered the pumpkin as a larger substitute for the turnip. And so, we now carve pumpkins instead of turnips for Halloween.

Although Halloween has become mostly a secular holiday, we need to remind our families of its Christian roots. Talk about ways that you can safely celebrate both the secular and Christian aspects of the holiday. One way might be through the costumes that your children choose. Talk about Halloween when you were a child. Did you have a favorite costume or enjoy a custom that your family celebrated.

Of course we must also be very aware that this originally Christian celebration, now almost entirely a secular celebration, has de-

teriorated in many ways, becoming an occasion for evil and occultic practices where animals are killed and many evil acts are

done some for fun but others as practices of the dark side. Be aware, instruct your children, keep them safe, and above all bring

them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Instruct them on the faith and on the meaning of holiness from where the word “saint” comes

from.

M ark your Calendars and Sign Up TODAY!

St. David’s will be offering a very special

Marriage Conference on Friday, October 24,

6:00 – 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 25,

9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The Conference will be held at the

home of Fr. Jose and Maly Poch in North Hollywood.

Please be sure to register as soon as possible to make sure

we have room for everyone wanting to come in addition to

the resources we will need to order. You can register by

calling Fr. Jose at 818.789.8633, emailing him

[email protected] or signing up after church

services on Sunday.

The Conference will be focused on “communication.”

Most marriages and couples struggle greatly in this area

and poor communication skills lead to marital unhappiness,

conflict, depression and the feeling that our marriages are

not worth our efforts and sacrifices. Join us, invite others,

and let us grow together as Christian husbands and wives.

As Christian couples we are living witnesses to a lost and

selfish culture around us of the transformational work of

Jesus Christ in all who come to Him in faith. Halloween (continued from page 6)


8


O ur Lord, Jesus Christ loves us with an uncondi-

tional, everlasting love. Can we do less? He is

our “First Love” and His Spirit transforms us into

His likeness, step by step, day by day. Recently, I

was impressed by something Mark Haines wrote (2012) about

the abiding love we should have for our spouse. Recognizing

that Jesus is our example of the Bridegroom and we are His

Bride, it can be loving and life-giving to speak these words to

our marriage partner. Remember the vows we took on our

wedding day? Consider this excerpt:

“I Always Will”

(Today), “Tomorrow and every day God gives us, I will choose

you to be my spouse.

I will continue living with you according to God’s holy Word.

Every day we share by God’s grace, I promise to always love you,

to always comfort you,

to always honor and keep you.

As long as I have breath, I will stand by you

for better or worse,

in sickness and in health.

I will always renounce all others

and always give myself to only you, so long as we both shall live.”

These powerful words are not just meant to be spoken, they

are meant to be lived.

Please consider the importance of this kind of communication

and the power of words “made flesh”. In this vein, please

come join us for “Couple Talk – A Marriage Conference.”

Please find more details in the accompanying article found on

page 7.

By the way, our Couples’ Bowling Date Night was a great suc-

cess. Thanks to all those who participated. I hope you had as

much fun as we did. We also had a wonderful meal at the

Cheesecake Factory afterwards. It was very special to be able

to visit and get to know each other better.

One last thing! Remember to save the date of Saturday,

December 6 for another great opportunity to hear a nationally

renowned speaker inspire us to focus on building up our mar-

riages. More information to follow. Enrich and bless each

other today!

by Luisa S. Johnson

“Love one another, even as I have loved you.” - John 13:34

9


S eptember 11th changed the world.

Since then, Islam has made head-

lines every week. Muslim immigra-

tion is on the rise. Classmates, co-workers

and our neighbors are from Muslim back-

grounds. OASIS 2014 is designed to equip

you as a follower of Christ and provide

resources to help you respond to Muslims

in America. Gather with us to hear what

God is doing among Muslims. Join the

movement to respond biblically to Islam

in America at OASIS 2014 at Clairemont

Covenant Church in San Diego. Go to

crescentproject.org/oasis for more

information!

J oin us on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 –

9:00 p.m. at our Church Offices in Sherman

Oaks for our weekly Bible Study. In September

we began to study the New Testament Letter of Jude

(one chapter). This will be followed by a study of

St. Paul’s two Letters to the Thessalonians and when

these two letters are concluded we will begin a study of

the Gospel of Luke.

We currently have about a dozen persons in this study

group, there is room for as many others as would like

to join us. Sign up as soon as possible by calling Fr.

Jose at 818.789.8633 or emailing him at rec-

[email protected]. Study God’s Word, this is a

mark of authentic Christian Discipleship.

https://www.crescentproject.org/oasis



10


St. David’s Cursillo Community

D uring the month of September this year’s Cursillo

weekends were held. Several of our members served

as part of the teams at both the Men’s and Women’s

weekends. We also rejoice with Colleen Disney who attended

Cursillo as a Candidate. The purpose of the Cursillo move-

ment is to encourage Christians to a deeper relationship with

God and to help them understand their individual calling to

be Christian leaders.

Cursillo is more than a retreat weekend; it is a life changing

and transforming Short Course in Christianity. Cursillo (a

Spanish word meaning “Short Course”) is a three-day em-

powering retreat (Thursday evening through Sunday after-

noon) for Christians who want and need encouragement to

live as followers of Jesus Christ in the environment in which

the Lord has placed them.

If you feel God is calling you to attend next year’s Cursillo

weekend or if you have questions, please contact Fr. Jose or

Jim Coburn. ULTREYA!

4th Day Reunion / Ultreya Saturday October 25, 2014

Re-ignite the Cursillo flame

All Cursillistas are invited

to attend our Community 4th Day

Reunion / Day of Deeper Understanding followed

by a

Potluck Lunch and Ultreya.

8:15am Coffee followed by Worship

8:45am - Noon Rollos, Table Discussion and

more Worship

Noon Potluck Lunch

(please bring something to share)

1:00pm Ultreya

ADDRESS: Presbyterian Church of The Master

26051 Marguerite Pkwy, Mission Viejo, CA 92692

http://www.mypcom.com/worship/

http://www.mypcom.com/worship/

11


E arly in the ministry of Jesus Christ, and as

our Lord looked around Him, He recognized

the necessity of laborers to be sent to God’s

vineyard. This is how Matthew relates the

moment: “Then Jesus went about all the cities and vil-

lages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gos-

pel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and eve-

ry disease among the people. But when He saw the mul-

titudes, He was moved with compassion for them, be-

cause they were weary and scattered, like sheep having

no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest

truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore

pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into

His harvest.’”

We are told that Jesus “saw the multitude.” He was very much aware of those around Him and of their needs, “they were weary

and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” “Weary” speaks about their physical and emotional condition, tired, stressed,

worried, harassed, and frazzled. “Scattered” speaks about their sense of mental and physical lostness, without direction, focus or

hope, lonely and dispersed. He then gives us a mental picture, “like sheep having no shepherd.” The picture is of people in need

without anyone to help guide them or point the way to the One who can bring order out of their scatteredness and peace out of

their weariness.

How do you see the masses around you today, your immediate family, co-workers, friends, neighbors, and those whom you meet

in your daily life at shops or the supermarket? Are you aware of the needs of these people? Are their needs similar to those of the

people of Jesus’ time? Are these some of your own needs? Who is the harvest around you today? Do you realize that today also

“The harvest truly is plentiful,” and it is near you and around you? Do you realize that if the harvest is not reaped it will be lost

forever and you will have been responsible for that loss?

What made the difference between seeing and acting was compassion. Jesus was “moved with compassion.” He loved them pas-

sionately enough to not willingly lose any one of them. Do you truly and sacrificially love passionately those you see lost around

you? This may make the difference between someone coming to faith in Jesus Christ and someone being lost forever. Estimates

are that only 10% of Christians witness regularly and almost 50% of Christians have never introduced a soul to Jesus Christ. The

harvest is plentiful around us with people from all walks of life and nationalities and religions or lack thereof in our immediate

surroundings. “The laborers” are still few but it is you whom He calls to send to the harvest.

Please consider your part in the Lord’s harvest of souls and dare to share the Gospel with one other person this week and every

week after that. Make it your aim to be a faithful laborer for Christ and for His Kingdom. SHARE THE GOSPEL!


12

St. David’s Anglican Church PO Box 5599

Sherman Oaks, CA 91413

www.stdavidsanglican.org

volume 28 • number 9 - clover sitesstorage.cloversites.com/stdavidsanglicanchurch... ·...

Documents