Spirit of the Eagle – October 2015

Spiritual Tidbits for October from Father Tim

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face, wrote the famous Anglican priest and poet John Donne in his collection The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose around the year 1600. One can easily deduce that the fall season was Donne’s favorite time of year. When the fall color erupts all around us we should recall the words of the Psalmist; “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory, Amen and Amen.” Psalm 72:19. This is a great month for recollection, remembering family gatherings and picnics in the past, hay rides, carving pumpkins, bonfires, and haunted houses. I also have fond youthful memories of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, as well as Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, and the Hundred Acre Woods. And of course another favorite, the one I still watch annually with my wife and daughters, the animated Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, and the dreadful Headless Horseman, along with the voice of Bing Crosby. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes 3:1 writes, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. I hope and pray this October brings you even more memories to cherish, and family gatherings to warm your heart. ~Father Tim

October Spirituality Class

Please join me on the 18th of October after the Mass as we begin an in depth study of The Revelation of St. John The Divine. Many people today regard Revelation as the hardest book in the New Testament. It is full of strange, lurid and sometimes bizarre and violent imagery. As a result, many people who are quite at home in the Gospels, Acts and Paul find themselves tiptoeing around Revelation with a sense that they don’t really belong there. But they do! In fact, Revelation offers one of the clearest and sharpest visions of God’s ultimate purpose for the whole creation, and of the way in which the powerful forces of evil, at work in a thousand ways, can be and are being overthrown through the victory of Jesus the Messiah and the consequent costly victory of his followers. Please come and bring a friend!

The Gospel describes how Jesus was in a certain place praying when the apostles came to Him and said: “Master, teach us to pray, as John taught His disciples to pray.” If only we would take that request to heart and make it our own, it would be enough. Night and day, in the church before the Blessed Sacrament, on the roads and in our workplace, sitting, standing or sleeping, the plea should be in the depths of our being and become our longing desire: Master, teach us to pray…

The reply that Jesus gives is more than a prayer. It is the gift of His own Father to be our Father: the Church teaches us to have recourse to that Father with the confidence of a child. There is a story of a boy trapped in a burning house and standing terrified at the window.

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His father is standing beneath and calling: “Jump, son.” The lad hesitates, crying, “Daddy, the smoke is blinding my eyes. I can’t see.” “That’s all right, I can see you,” the father answers back. The boy sets his fear aside and leaps through the smoke into the arms of his father on the ground.

We thank the Father in heaven that His eyes are upon us. This is what helps us make that leap of faith, that surrender of all that we are and all that we have into the caring arms of the Lord. Even if we sometimes doubt and fail to see the hand of God, we are assured that He sees us. In Deuteronomy 33:27, He gives us the assurance that “the eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” ~Fr. Gabriel Harty, Heaven Sent

Children’s Ministry

The Children’s Ministry will be the first Sunday, the 4th of October this month after the Mass. It is designed for age 2 through 12 years. Please make every effort to bring all related children in your family for this once a month fun and educational class. The children will participate, enjoy, and learn the foundation and building blocks of the Christian faith through bible stories and created crafts. Savannah will bring the crafts and refreshments are provided.

I believe there is no Liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety than the Common Prayer of the Church of England. ~ John Wesley

Psalms Festival 2015

A fun time was had by all as St. John’s operated a Football Toss Game booth at the Psalms Festival 2015 event which was held at Gil Lynn Park on September 19. It was a great day filled with Christian fun and fellowship, all for the kids of Dayton and surrounding areas.

It was also a great way to promote St. John’s within our community. It was lots of fun watching Fr. Butler, Janet, Rick and Eileen interact with the kids, and one boy even said to me, “Your preacher is pretty cool”. But it was even more amusing watching Savannah do her “Happy Dance” every time one of the kids hit the smallest target hole.

Thanks to the Butlers for making the long trek to help Rick, Eileen and myself at this event. A big thank you goes to our Vestry as well, for approving $100 to allow us to participate.  ~Mike Lenz

ST. JOHN’S HOLIDAY OUTREACH

The holidays are quickly approaching and St. John’s will once again assist local families for Thanksgiving and Christmas with its annual Holiday Outreach program. Eight families will be assisted for both holidays through the Dayton Resource Center. For Thanksgiving, we will be providing a Thanksgiving meal along with an assortment of non-perishable items. For Christmas, we will be providing a Christmas meal, non-perishable items and gifts for the children through our Giving Tree.

The Thanksgiving delivery will be conducted on Sunday, November 22, 2015. We are in need of food item and cash donations to make this outreach as successful as in the past and continue our ‘reputation’ of stewardship within the community. If you would like to make a monetary donation by check, please make the check payable to “St. John’s ACC” with a designation in the memo portion of “ACM Outreach”. The donation will be processed through the general fund and directed to the ACM group. Thank you for your participation and generosity to this worthy cause.

Congratulations to Devan Smith

Devan Smith was promoted to Captain on May 1, 2014 while deployed to UAE. Upon return, she attended Captains Career Course in South Carolina from March – August. Devan graduated CCC on August 21, 2015 where she was on the Commandant’s List (for grades) and received the Regimental Award (for great things in the AG field) and Leadership Award (voted on by peers). She is now stationed at Ft. Hood, TX working for the III Corps where she is awaiting her assignment.

 

October Birthdays & Anniversaries

Roger Blackburn – Birthday – October 1
Bettielu Conaway – Birthday – October 12
Joyce Murray – Birthday – October 14
Elsie Fowler – Birthday – October 16
Virginia Jackson – Birthday – October 16
Katie Craft – Birthday – October 17
Liz Robbins – Birthday – October 19
Juanita & Steve Marvin – Anniversary – October 23
Joan Blade – Birthday – October 25
Eileen & Rick Hanson – Anniversary – October 31

Congratulations to Katie Craft

2015 Bellevue High School Homecoming Queen