The Canticle

The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

AUG.‐SEPT. 2011

THE CANTICLE St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church 14700 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73134 (405) 751‐7874 http://staugustine. episcopaloklahoma .org/

The Service of Remembrance for the 10th Anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 Pages 4 and 6

Brotherhood of St. Lawrence is smokin’!

Our chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Lawrence went to Tulsa in August to participate in the The third annual Oklahoma Championship Steak Cook‐Off. According the Tulsa World, It “featured seasoned, award‐winning cooking professionals squaring off against plucky upstarts with a dream in a competition that raised money for charity while pleasing taste buds and filling stomachs.

Founding chairman Tripp Haggard said the competition was conceived by the Brotherhood of Saint Lawrence ‐ a men's fellowship group ‐ as a "small‐town type event in the big city."

This photo from an article in the Tulsa World, with a photo of our very own Marc Dillard and Terry Cannon, Chad Yarbrough and George Lauffer! Photo by Michael Wyke, courtesy of the Tulsa World

The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

Children’s Christian Formation A letter from Sabrina Evans, “Folks I am so thrilled that people have stepped up to serve in leadership roles for our Children's Sunday morning formation programs. However, we have something missing ‐ Men! There are no men working in any of the classes (with the exception of Fr. Joseph). We need to show our children that everyone who has ever repeated the Baptismal Covenant truly understand its meaning and steps forward to help. You will not be required to serve every Sunday but I think a male influence in these classes will really make a difference. In the 3 year old ‐ 1st grade room ‐

CHURCH NEWS CANTERBURY FAIRE: come to the Faire on Saturday, Oct. 1. More than 25 artists and crafters will show their wares, delicious food will be sold, and Friar Tuck will make an appearance! There will be fun children’s activities, such as jousting on hobby horses!

STAINED GLASS: A brilliant thank you goes to Claren Denning for creating two colorful stained glass windows for the Children’s Chapel and the Godly playroom. Please stop by and see these beautiful creations.

serve as a door person ‐ training provided. In the 2nd ‐ 5th grade room, serve as teacher with two other adults.

Additionally, we are looking for a few people to serve in Children's Chapel. This will occur about 1 x every 8 weeks.

If you are willing to serve in either of these capacities, please let me know.”

Sabrina Evans Director of Christian Formation Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma 924 N. Robinson Oklahoma City, OK 73102 christianformation@epiok.org

THE AMERICAN FLAG used in Sunday’s Service of Remembrance is on loan to us from the Lauffers. This flag was the first flown in Washington, D.C. above the Capitol building on June 16, 1987 at the request of George and Diana Lauffer.

9/2 Jaimee March 9/3 Kristen Shelton 9/10 Lyla Rousseau 9/12 Evelyn Thrower 9/13 Stacy Holleman 9/17 Rev. Robby Trammell 9/18 Frank Stone 9/20 Ainsley Dean 9/20 Jason Clark 9/22 Manny Duncanson 9/28 Pamela Castor

BIRTHDAYS

ANNIVERSARIES

8/1 Lucy Herndon 8/2 Don Moon 8/14 Hadyn Rodrigues 8/14 Janice Wilson 8/14 Brent Zweifel 8/21 Robert Martin 8/21 Joice Thompson 8/27 Ronald Chamberlain 8/27 Rick Inselman 8/27 Edra Thrower

9/1 Emily Stone

8/12 Margaret & Joel Kahn 8/13 Amy & Kurt Smith

9/1 Nancy & Mike Howard 9/3 Stacy & Bill Holleman 9/10 Peri & Greg Bennett 9/17 Marsha & Mark Tygret

If your birthday or anniversary is not listed here, please let Yvette Walker know.

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The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

VBS 2011: Living like Jesus did Our idea was ambitious and way out of the box. Would people bring a tent and sleep at the church as a part of VBS? It wasn’t until the parish hall was covered with tents of all sorts that we got the answer – yes! 28 children and a dozen more adults can to be a part of St. Augustine’s first VBS Lock‐In. Using the materials from Palestine 30 A.D., activities were designed to help us “Live Like Jesus Did.”

was painting tee shirts using natural fruits and vegetables. We rotated the activities so everyone had a chance to make bread, butter, and paint their shirts.

Each child had a drinking mug to decorate and use to gather water from the community “well” whenever they were thirsty. The Rev. Dana Orwig came and provided her musical talents with Jewish folk music and dance. We We started on Saturday at 1 p.m. added our musical instruments to Tents popping up and children liven up our songs. This was a great dressing in costumes from the Christmas pageant. Then, there were addition and was a favorite of all ages. For supper, we fried the three separate groups doing work – bread, had our fresh butter, boiled one was making bread which we would later fry for part of our supper eggs, honey, cheese, bananas and pineapple, hummus, banana bread, meal; one was making butter using and soups. After supper, the cream and their arms; and the last

CHURCH NEWS

GUILD OF ST. GEORGE

KAIROS COOKIES are wanted

by Chuck Evans for a Kairos weekend on September 28th. If you are interested in making cookies for this event, please contact Sarah Kelley at staugustine@sbcglobal.net or 751‐7874. Sarah has the details for the cookies.

The Guild of St. George was started as an outreach ministry for the Episcopal Churches in the Oklahoma City Region. Because of its downtown location St. Paul's Cathedral has been the location of the Guild for over twenty years.

ART EXHIBIT: Father Joseph is planning to take a group to see the Ancient Bible and Text Exhibit at the Oklahoma City Art Museum. If you are interested in going, please contact Sarah Kelley at 751‐ 7874 or staugustine@sbcglobal.net.

Since opening in April of 1983 the Guild has distributed more than a million dollars in goods and services to needy people. Over ten thousand meals a year are being provided from the Guild's pantry. The Guild is always in need of volunteers as well as financial and material resources.

Each day dozens of bus tokens are distributed, numerous prescriptions and utility bills are paid for, and nearly a hundred bags of groceries

children went out into the yard to play while the adults readied for their next activity. Children had wooden items to make boats and lamb toys, and things to paint, along with jewelry to string. We crushed olives for their oil and made honey and almond perfume from the oil.

Then our resident “rabbi”, Father Joseph, had us gather around the fire pit and told us the story of creation, using his drum for accompaniment. Then, it was time for us to go to our tents and sleep. We rose on Sunday morning around 7 a.m. and breakfast was prepared. It was the same as our supper but tasted just as good. We then went to the early service and worshipped together. – The VBS team are given away to people who need charitable help. Over the course of any given month the Guild spends $6,000 or more to meet the needs of the poor.

Toiletry items such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and toilet tissue are needed at any time.? We encourage people who travel to collect soap and shampoo from their hotel rooms and donate these items.

Guild of St. George Oct.: Cereals of all types

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The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

Service of Remembrance for 9/11 attacks September 11, 2011

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The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

Vacation Bible School.

July 30, 2011

“Jesus loves me this I know, ‘cause The Bible tells me so.”

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The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

9/11 sermon by Rev. Joseph Caldwell Alsay Today is Sept. 11, a date that will be

remembered for generations yet to

come. It is a date that Americans consider one of the most significant in the nation’s history. It is a date that is associated with other epic historic events such as the founding of the United States, the end of the conflict between the North and the South, the bombing of Pearly Harbor, and the end of World War II. It is remembered because it is a date that challenged the freedom of a free people.

On this day, when we remember the carnage wrought by that morning, we can recall with crystal clarity the effects of distilled evil. It is on this day – ten years later – that we bring that collective pain and lay it upon the “altar of anguish.”

The deep wound to the psyche of the United States has not completely healed. We fought back, first against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and then against Saddam Hussein and those who supported him in Iraq. Seal Team Six took out Osama Bin Laden, the man behind the terror. Yet none of these actions has brought healing. The surface is scarred over.

The pain remains.

And it is on this day of all days, “9/11.”

As many call it, a date that challenged the grace of forgiveness that we who claim to be Christians have been told by our Lord Jesus Christ to offer, even to our enemies we hear in our appointed readings of Scripture, a mixed message.

In fact, the three lectiornary passages assigned for today, taken from the end of the book of Genesis, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Roman Christians, and from Matthew’s retelling of Jesus’ parable to his disciples, present us with profound lessons on tolerance and forgiveness.

Jesus in today’s Gospel answered Peter’s question, “How often should I forgive?” with “Not seven times, but I tell you seventy‐seven times.”

what has been done. It means taking what happened seriously and not minimizing it; drawing out the sting in the memory that threatens to poison our entire existence. It involves trying to understand the In talking about righting wrongs, Paul in his perpetrators and so have empathy, to try to letter to the church in Rome, echoes Jesus stand in their shoes and appreciate the sort when he says, “We will all stand before the of pressures and influences that might have judgment seat of God.” He adds a quote conditioned them.” from Isaiah, the prophet, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and Forgiveness does not have to mean every tongue shall give praise to God. So forgetting, and reconciliation is not always then, each of us will be accountable to possible. Forgiveness means trusting God.” judgment to God, and this is only possible by the grace that comes from God alone.

In the very last chapter of Genesis we read Archbishop Tutu writes, “Forgiving means the finale of the Joseph story. God takes abandoning your right to pay back the evil and turns it into good in order to perpetrators in his own coin, but it is a loss achieve God’s purpose of salvation. Life that liberates the victim.” itself is sometimes too easy! And forgiveness is not an easy gift to give! Yet, Today, we are bound to wonder how for our own health, it is a necessity. different world history would be if all persons and nations thought this way.

Not to forgive means holding onto the hate. Not to forgive is like someone Alexander Pope once said, “To err is drinking poison in the hope that the other human, to forgive, divine.” person will die.

God became human in Jesus of Nazareth.

Truth be told, forgiveness is much more He lived among us, not just teaching about beneficial to the one who forgives than to love, but more importantly, showing us the the one who is forgiven. All of us know love of God. Jesus chose to show power that this is not just theory but understand through his powerlessness on the cross. its truth from experience letting go of Jesus continually gave the example of feelings of revenge and retribution, is a turning the other cheek, of offering mercy, potent healing act. It has nothing to do love and forgiveness. God came in Jesus with sentiment; it is a powerful act of will. and offered us the redemptive power of his blood. He also gave us a pattern for how Yet, as nations, we have failed miserably. humans can live godly lives.

As communities, we have not learned to forgive. Archbishop Desmond Tutu knows Jesus’ example was vital, as men and about forgiveness through the daring act women do not naturally let go of past of helping lead south Africa through truth hurts. We have to learn grace and and reconciliation after the end of forgiveness.

Apartheid, said: “To forgive is a process Until we find in ourselves the capacity to that does not exclude hate and anger. forgive, we continue to be linked to the These emotions are all part of being cause of our anger and our unforgiving human.” Tutu continues, “You should never hate yourself for hating others who emotions. Only as we forgive are we able to do terrible things; the depth of your live is move on and become the more Christlike person that God has called us to be. shown by the extent of your anger.”

“Forgiveness does not mean condoning

St. Augustine of Canterbury, Sept. 11, 2011

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The Canticle

Aug.‐Sept. 2011

From the internet: Church bulletin bloopers!

They're Back! Those wonderful Church Bulletins!

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services. Thanks to Carol Shanahan: The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

deterioration of some older ones.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered..

The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.'

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.' entertainment and gracious hostility.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM ‐ prayer and to get rid of those things not worth keeping around medication to follow. the house. Bring your husbands.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love.

Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

Don't let worry kill you off ‐ let the Church help.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM . All ladies are invited to lunch in the For those of you who have children and don't know Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done. it, we have a nursery downstairs.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

They need all the help they can get.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door.

The eighth‐graders will be presenting Shakespeare's A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM . The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy. church hall. Music will follow..

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance. practice.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge ‐ Up Yours.

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