Dispatches From St. Gabriel

St. Gabriel the Archangel’s senior youth group of 8th-12th graders gave a testimonial presentation on Sunday, February 26th on “The Pronoun Project.” Our youth started this work in October of 2022 as part of the People’s Ecochallenge, a nationwide digital platform based in Portland that has groups take on challenges to encourage new habits to build a more sustainable and equitable world. Our sr. youth chose to concentrate on how asking and using someone’s correct pronouns are two of the most basic ways to show people love and respect. But it goes so much deeper than that. They are also providing pronoun stickers and new hand-beaded lanyards for members’ nametags.

Here is what the group wrote together and presented along with youth leaders Abby Mulcahy and Gabbi Boyle, called “Neighbors”:

As Episcopals, we agree to a lot of things in our Baptismal Covenant. We say that we believe in God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and will follow the teachings of the apostles and prophets. We say that we will resist evil and proclaim the good news of the Gospel. But that’s not all. Towards the end of the Baptismal Covenant, we make two big promises.
First, we promise to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. What does that mean? Who counts as our neighbor?
A neighbor isn’t just someone close to us. People all over the world, wherever they may be, are our neighbors. And a neighbor isn’t just someone who looks or talks like us. People of different races and people who speak different languages are our neighbors. And a neighbor isn’t just someone who agrees with us. People with different religious, political, or social beliefs are our neighbors.
As a senior youth group, we know that church is a place for us to show up and be loved as our whole selves. We know that there are not special qualifications for being someone’s neighbor. We are all united in God’s love.

The second big promise we make is to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. What does this mean?
To respect the dignity of every human being, we can start, funny enough, by loving our neighbor. We do not have to agree on everything. We do have to agree that every human being is important. This means that every person should have their needs met and determine their own path in life–and we should be part of making that possible. Every human being deserves the respect that too many of us take for granted.
Now, how do we strive for justice and peace among all people? There are a lot of people out there! This feels impossible. As a senior youth group, we have talked about how we are not called to solve every problem, but that we should be active in our faith. When we recognize that something is wrong or unjust, we have to do something about it. We are called to stand for Christ’s work in all that we do and, importantly, our job is NOT to determine who qualifies for justice and peace.
Some of you out there may be thinking to yourself, ‘what does this have to do with pronouns?’ We’ve been talking about the pronoun project for months now and, for the last few weeks, there have been inserts related to pronouns in the service booklet.
Pronouns are used in everyday speech and writing to take the place of people’s names.

How many times has someone used your name today? How does it feel when you’re called the wrong name? Pronouns are just like names.

We use pronouns a lot without even thinking about it. Asking and using someone’s correct pronouns are two of the most basic ways to show respect.

When people get it right or show that they are trying, it means a lot. If you make a mistake – just apologize and move on – we are all human! With God’s help we can expand our language to grow our community and deepen our faith

Ok but what does this have to do with the Baptismal Covenant? Pronouns are never explicitly mentioned, why should we care?
First, using correct pronouns are part of how we love our neighbor.
Second, using and talking about pronouns in community is how we respect the dignity of every human being.
Third, continuing to learn about and understanding how to use someone’s pronouns correctly is part of how we strive for justice and peace.
It can feel scary to try new things. As a senior youth group, we talked about how hard it can be to be in a situation to correct older adults and authority figures, how this can feel disrespectful. Even bringing up these topics can be hard and intimidating. But our Baptismal Covenant reminds us of our unity in God’s love. The words we use, the way we invite change or invite new neighbors are all part of our promise.

Eco-Social Justice Projects like the Pronoun Project belong in the Episcopal Church because they help highlight opportunities for us to find new ways to live out our Baptismal Covenant. We here at St Gabriel’s are a small community. As a senior youth group, we discuss how our relationships with God are deeply personal but that, in community, we also need to focus on the whole person.
The way I like to think about this is the way I talk to my friends. It’s ok for me to make mistakes because my friends know that I have good intentions and am trying to get it right. It’s not a big thing for them to correct me and move on so I can do better next time. It shows that we all care about each other and our relationship. Our friends are our neighbors, and our neighbors are our friends.
The senior youth group bulletin board has been updated to contain more information about pronouns. When you stop by, please take a sticker to add your pronouns to your nametag. We look forward to getting to know you all a little better.”

On Sundays February 26th- March 26th at 6:30 pm, please join us as St. Gabriel offers Lenten Evensong.

Each week will feature different prayer traditions and live piano instrumental music inspired by the text.

Week 1, February 26th: The text will be from the 1979 BCP and the music will be meditative hymns for Lent from the 1982 Hymnal.

Week 2, March 5th: The text will be from A New Zealand Prayer Book with instrumental music ranging from French composer Léo Delibes to American composer Stephen Sondheim.

Week 3, March 12th: The text will be from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with music by the Ukrainian composer Viktor Kosenko.

Week 4, March 19th: The text for Week 4, Laetare Sunday, will draw from a service for the Mother of Sorrows featuring music ranging from ancient hymns to compositions by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Boris Gounod.

Week 5, March 26th: The text will come from the Book of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals with music from Hillsong Worship.

Meet Our Pianists:

Dan Gaynor (All Sundays except March 26th)
A native of Portland, pianist Dan Gaynor studied at Mt. Hood Community College and Portland State University with teachers including Randy Porter, Dave Barduhn, Darrell Grant and Glen Moore. He played with many musicians including Nancy King, Esperanza Spalding, Chuck Israels, Glen Moore, Bob Mover, Bobby Torres, Dan Faehnle, Marguerite Jeunemann, David Friesen, Kelly Joe Phelps, Alan Jones, Lawrence Williams, Rob Scheps, Robert Moore, John Stowell, Ingrid Jensen, Emily Braden, Ron Steen, Mel Brown, “Sweet Baby” James Benton, Chris Conrade, Dick Berk and many others. Dan is also a versatile vocal accompanist, with a wide knowledge of repertoire and musical styles. He appears on Oasis by David Valdez & Pere Soto, Good Morning Geek by the Portland Jazz Orchestra, and En Route by Ed Bennett. To read an article about Dan, please click here.

Clay Giberson (Sunday, March 26th)
Well-traveled geographically and musically, keyboardist and composer Clay Giberson’s artistic talent and musicianship are coming to the forefront, A Southwest Washington native, he studied in Coral Gables, Florida, University of Miami (B.M. Cum Laude, Studio Music and Jazz) and New York City, New York University (M.M. Magna Cum Laude, Music Technology) where he studied with Jim McNeely, Fred Hersch and Vince Maggio. Clay has released three recordings on the Seattle based Origin Arts record label. He has performed throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the South Pacific and Caribbean and Japan. Having been influenced by all types of music, Clay draws from these idioms in his own compositions and in the interpretation of others. He is currently on the faculty at Clackamas Community College where he teaches electronic music and piano.

Ash Wednesday Worship Services at St. Gabriel the Archangel- The Beginning of Lent

9:30 am Ash Wednesday Rite I Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes
A quiet service without music.
Join us in-person or online via Zoom (call office for link 503-645-0744 or use password on our website’s opening page).

12:00- 5:00 pm Ashes-to-Go
Drive up to the upper parking lot round-about to receive ashes.
You can call the office for an appointment during office hours, call us when you arrive, or just honk! 503-645-0744.

7:30 pm Ash Wednesday Rite II Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes
A quiet service without music.
Join us in-person or online via Zoom (call office for link 503-645-0744 or use password on our website’s opening page).

St. Gabriel’s jr. youth group of 4th-7th graders and their teachers baked, popped, frosted, dipped, rolled, and decorated their hearts out to raise money for something they chose that is dear to their hearts- supporting the planting of native plants. Thanks to the parish’s generous support, they raised $300 on Sunday, January 22nd! The money will go to either buying individual native plants, buying 1-2 larger shrubs or trees, or be donated to an organization that supports native plants- we will let you know what is decided. Visting fill-in priest Canon Linda Potter also joined in the fun. Thanks to everyone, especially Page Clothier, Tom, James and Nicholas Martin, Ann Horton, Polly Bass, the Parker family, everyone who baked and brought items to sell, and all who purchased goodies or even donated money without taking treats!

One of the great joys, and one of the most fulfilling, as members of the Gabriel Center, St. Gabriel the Archangel’s outreach ministry, is sending grants to agencies whose work serves the underserved in our community. This last Christmas season, our committee awarded $1000 grants each to William Temple House, The NAYA Family Center, and the Helping Hands Re-Entry Program. Additionally, PCC Rock Creek Panther Pantry, Westview Cat Cave and Beaverton Clothes for Kids received $500 each.

Some of these bequests were unexpected by the recipients, and others still gratefully received by organizations with which we have continuing relationships. We want to share a few ways the “thanks” has been expressed to the people of St. Gabriel, and some of the impact these donations make.

From Westview High School: “Thank you so very much for your generosity and support of Westview High School’s Free Student Clothing and Household Items Closet, AKA the “Cat Cave”. Your recent donations have made a tangible and lasting positive impact on our homeless and at-risk students…. As of December 6, we had served 130+ Westview students, over more than 400 visits, providing school supplies, clothing and shoes, personal care items, and household supplies, as well as a safe and welcoming space for our students. Without the support of community member such as you, this would not be possible.”

From the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA): “We are grateful for you, for our community of donors and partners, who have continued to support our mission as we navigate the pandemic and its impacts on the health of our community, providing life-affirming and life-changing services…. Our mission is to enhance the diverse strengths of our youth and families in partnership with the community through cultural identity and education. We could not do this without you! Thank you again for standing with NAYA and Portland’s Native American community.”

From William Temple House:
“Thank you for supporting a stronger, healthier community for our area neighbors!
Your gift of $1000.00 to the Nourish Our Neighbors campaign makes it possible for us to continue providing affordable mental health counseling, healthy food, and more to our community to those most affected by mental health challenges, hunger, and houselessness. Your generosity supports these vital services so everyone in our community is full nourished – emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Together, we are building a stronger community through counseling, food, and connection. Thank you for joining us to Nourish Our Neighbors.”

From Portland Community College Foundation:
“Thank you for your recent gift in support of student success at Portland Community College. Your contribution will have a lasting impact on our students and our community.
Your investment…allows our students to pursue their goals and continue on a path towards fulfilling careers. And, because of your support, many of our low-income and first-generation college students believe they can finally realize their dreams of high-quality education. Thank you for making this possible!”
And a resounding THANK YOU!! to the community of St. Gabriel from The Gabriel Center. Your support through your pledges, donations, and gifts make this joyous work possible. Please continue on this path with us, doing the work God has given us to do!

~Kathy Prenger, The Gabriel Center

image from NWPriorityCU

Yes, we had terrible technical difficulties on Sunday, December 18th, but we still did our best to still capture a video version of our children’s Advent play with music “God’s Gift to Us: Immanuel,” and it was wonderful! Thanks to everyone who assisted in presenting this production as a gift to St. Gabriel the Archangel’s congregation.

The play about the prophecies and events leading up to the birth of Christ was adapted by Page Clothier from The Lectionary Story Bible by Ralph Milton. The music was arranged by Jessica Israels.

It can be viewed at link here, with the play starting at the 26 minute point.

At 8:00 am our senior youth ministers Abby Mulcahy and Gabbi Boyle presented a live reading of the play, and that is available at a link here starting at the 12 minute point.

Finally, to view our favorite children’s version of the nativity story “The Story of Christmas” as told by the children of St Paul’s Church, Auckland, New Zealand, click on the YouTube link here.

Enjoy!

Everyone is invited to join us for the first ever performance of our original Advent play “God’s Gift to Us: Immanuel.” The play is about the prophesies of Isaiah that the Messiah is coming in the form of a child, and then the events leading up to (but not including) the birth of Christ. The story leaves us still waiting anxiously for the baby to be born.

The play was written by Page Clothier based on the book The Lectionary Story Bible by Ralph Milton. Page is directing the play with much help from Whitney Joshi, Abby Mulcahy, Gabbi Boyle, Ava Martin, and Aiden McKee. Page created the costumes and props. The music was arranged by music director Jessica Israel and will be performed by Jessica, David Saffert, and members of the choir.

At the 8:00 am service our senior youth leaders Abby Mulcahy and Gabbi Boyle will do a live reading of the play without music, and at the 10:00 am service 20 children and teens will perform the play with music.

This play is a very special presentation and offered as a gift to St. Gabriel’s, and we hope you can join us in-person or over Zoom!
~image frompastorjohnsamecorner
NOTES to performers and parents:
Children participating in the play performance at 10:00 am should come to their regular classrooms at 10:00 am: preschool- 3rd grade classroom #2 and 4th-7th grade classroom #4 (youth room), to get their costumes on and prepare.
Senior youth/teen participants can sit on the purple pew with Abby and Gabbi until performance time (in place of the sermon).
If your child is sick or otherwise unable to attend and play their part, PLEASE contact Page by texting her at 503-720-1254 and letting her know so we can arrange a substitute.
After the performance, children will come back into the sanctuary to sit with their families with a pew project.
Prayers that you stay well, and see you Sunday!

image from abstrancy

Rev. Karen Tiegs’ “Advent for Every Body” Podcast Segment

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland has offered an invitation this Advent to join them as we consider all the ways in which human bodies have and continue to bear God in our world with Advent for Every Body, a daily Advent Calendar podcast. How is our understanding of God deepened and nourished in one another – in bodies that have been held up for generations as inappropriate, shameful, or incomplete?

St. Gabriel the Archangel parishioner Rev. Karen Tiegs spoke about her very personal take on the theme for the podcast for December 5th. Listen to her tender and thought-provoking segment by clicking the link below. “Anyone with cancer knows the challenge of loving our bodies when it seems like our bodies have turned against us.” Please continue to keep Karen+ and her family in your prayers.

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mcuzn-132f108

Other daily Advent podcasts from Trinity can be accessed here.
~images from Trinity

Honoring Our Land

In our Prayers of the People each week, we pray for the Tualatin Kalapuya people, who originally occupied the land in most of the Willamette Valley. Do you ever wonder why?

Land acknowledgments have become more common recently. They serve as a way to honor the ancestors of our land and, in remembering their sacrifices, come to better understand our responsibility to protect it. At Portland State University, where I work, this has been customary at events for several years, and our commencement ceremony has even included a traditional drum performance of an honor song since at least 2017. As someone who identifies as both Anglo-American (my mother is of Irish, English and Welsh descent) and Native (my father is Lumbee, a tribe primarily centered in North Carolina), this has always been special to me to hear. Recently I attended a virtual conference held at North Carolina State University, and the acknowledgment not only included the Lumbee, but was given by a Lumbee. A lot of people in Oregon haven’t even heard of the Lumbee, so this moment filled me with a sense of community I hadn’t expected.

In some ways, saying this prayer is like a moment of silence for someone who has passed, or when we pray for those in need of healing or repose of the soul. For some, they may just be names on paper, but for those who are connected, those prayers bring deep feelings. The Prayers of the People bring us together in community as we focus our thoughts and words on something in common. I hope you will take a moment as we celebrate Native American Heritage month to remember the original custodians of our land and honor their legacy.

~Blessings, Becki Hunt Ingersoll

If you want to learn more about the Tualatin Kalapuya check out this site: https://ndnhistoryresearch.com/tribal-regions/kalapuyan-ethnohistory/
Image from Oregon Encyclopedia

Greetings, Beloved Community.

There are afternoons, like this one, when Ann has gone home and locked me in (to keep me safe or to keep me from getting out – you guess), that I sit at my desk looking out the windows of the corner office and am amazed at the beauty of this place and its surroundings.

This afternoon, as the sun moves over the east side of the church and is lighting up the trees which are turning color, I feel truly blessed that God has called me to St. Gabriel. There are mornings I wake up and think to myself – “This is really what I get to do with my life!” I think I may be waxing poetic because the anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood is about a month away. I will begin my third year as a priest on December 12th. If any of you remember, I was ordained on a Saturday and on Sunday I was the de facto priest-in-charge and Christmas was just around the corner. Dcn. Greg Rainey and I had the great idea to move our all-Zoom services from our homes into the church- which actually did turn out to be a great idea. What I remember is how this community worked to support me in my new ministry and came together to create a new way to worship. It was pretty wonderful.

It is not only the anniversary of my ordination that has got me ruminating and reflecting. We are about to begin a new liturgical year on November 27th. With the first Sunday of Advent we begin Year A 2022 – 2023 which coincides more or less with the end of my first six months as the official priest-in-charge. The year to come will be the first full liturgical year that I will be sitting in the corner office. All of this has got me thinking about what the new year will bring.

We are officially back in business so to speak. Actually, what we’ve done is to begin a new way of being St. Gabriel. Part of that is the result of the times we live in, part is the result of new people having joined our family, and part – perhaps the largest part – is the Holy Spirit powerfully pulling us forward. The coming year is going to offer new opportunities for folks to step into the role of ministry leaders as well as ministry members. The coming year is going to offer new opportunities for adult education and adult spiritual formation. The coming year is going to offer new opportunities for ways to experience worship. And that’s just the stuff we already have planned!

So, as the sun drops further in the afternoon sky, I will end this by inviting you to get ready for the church’s new year. We are going to be celebrating a traditional Advent this year by offering special Taizé Evensong services each of the four Sundays of Advent starting at 5:30 pm. These will be services of light, meditative music, prayer, and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. I hope you will join me and the worship ministry team.

In the peace and love of Christ,
Everett+

Where will you be as polls close for U.S. midterm elections?

Join us online for Election Day Prayers

Tuesday, Nov. 8th, 5:00- 9:00 pm PST

The Episcopal Public Policy Network Facebook page
The Episcopal Church Facebook page

Special guests from around the church will offer 10-15 minutes of reflection and prayer throughout the event. Scheduled guests include the following:

• Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
• House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris
• The Rev. Chuck Robertson, canon for Ministry Beyond The Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Charles Graves IV, missioner for Houston Canterbury
• The Rev. Donna Gleaves, Episcopal Public Policy Network Ambassador, Montana
• Willis H.A. Moore, Episcopal Election Activator, Hawaii
  Learn more

Join us at St. Gabriel the Archangel on Sunday, October 30th at 2:00 pm for a concert featuring Jecca Jazz Ensemble to raise money to help fund medical expenses for Clara Battles, who has been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C; a rare, progressive genetic disorder commonly known as Childhood Alzheimer’s. Admission will be by donation. Spread the word and enjoy an afternoon of jazz for a good cause- our beloved Clara!

On Sunday, October 9th our Jr. and Sr. Youth groups and their families made a visit to our congregants’ local farm as part of their October People’s Ecochallenge goals. The group had lunch together, learned about the farm’s sustainability practices and how climate change has affected it, pet and fed animals, and harvested popcorn cobs. It was a glorious fall day in Oregon, and we are so grateful to our hosts and to God!

By Lexiann Grant For the Episcopal Cafe and Journal

“The discomfiture we feel may be our most accurate human sensation; reminding us we are not quite “at home” here. — C.S. Lewis

In his novel “Anxious People” Scandinavian author Fredrik Backman writes about how life hurts sometimes simply because we don’t feel like we belong in our own “skin,” that it doesn’t feel like it is ours.

We are often so uncomfortable in our own skins that we want to crawl out of them like a shedding snake.
Because we don’t feel we belong. Because we are uncertain about being where we are, or doing what we’re doing.

Because we are not at home within ourselves.

Some of us may point fingers and blame other people, while others chalk it up to fate or the universe. A few may be introspective enough to understand when our choices place us in a specific situation. Regardless we still don’t want to be us, within it.

Whatever our circumstance, we need to realize that either God put us where we are or will use us where and as we are. We are who we’re supposed to be, where we’re needed, like it or not, discomfited or not.

As a guide to those seeking to become comfortable within their own skin without numbing their reality, “The Big Book” of Alcoholic’s Anonymous advises, “…acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find…— some fact of my life — unacceptable to me. I can find no serenity until I accept that person (including myself??), place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment…nothing happens in God’s world by mistake.” *1

Acceptance might seem easier said than done. But Paul in his letter to the Romans suggests how:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him [Christ] who gives me strength.”

So … get comfy in your “skin.” It is not ours anyway; it is on loan from God.
Wear it. Move forward. Do what is in front of you. Turn it over, accept it.
Give thanks for having a life with doubts that provides an opportunity to do God’s work.

*1 excerpt from “The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, pg 417, 4th edition.
Parenthetical inserted text is mine.

Lexiann Grant is a retired writer & author, a former chalicer and layreader, but still an Episcopalian who enjoys encountering God in the mountain backcountry.

by Christine Sine- from The Episcopal Journal and Cafe

God has spread out for our delight a banquet that was twenty billion years in the making. A banquet of rivers and lakes, of rain and of sunshine, of rich earth and of amazing flowers, of handsome trees and of dancing fishes, of contemplative animals and of whistling winds, of dry and wet seasons, of cold and hot climates. But it is a banquet that works, this banquet called creation, the human planet. It works for our benefit if we behave toward it as reverent guests. (Matthew Fox Original blessing 112)

I have not been able to get these words out of my head this week. Every time I looked at a cloud formation, gasped in awe at the beauty of Mt Rainier or wandered my garden exclaiming at the beauty of the flowers, I thanked God for this incredible banquet twenty billion years in the making. Then I looked up at the stars, reminded of the incredible NASA photos of the place where stars are birthed. This banquet we call creation is incredible, and we are its guests, invited to admire the mystery of it with all our senses – looking, listening, tasting, smelling, touching – eating and drinking of the wonder around me.

Embracing the wild hospitality of God was my theme over the last few months. It revolutionized how I look at God, the world and our commitment to it. The concept of stewardship, so often used to define our relationship to the rest of creation seems so inadequate. It gives the impression that we are the ones in charge, responsible to look after all else that God created. God is seen as an often strict and critical master. There is no sense of mutuality, no recognition of the need to listen to the creation and consult it in what we do and how we steward.

If however I recognize myself as both a guest in God’s world and a host for God’s world my attitude changes. There is a sense of mutual relationship, of intimacy both with God and creation that is quite profound. I am a guest not a steward. My whole life is a generous gift of God’s lavish bounty. Beauty, abundance, joy, generosity and love, all these I receive from God and much more. All these are gifts to me of hospitality and caring. Gifts that I am responsible to share with all the other guests at the table – not just the human ones but also the animals and plants of God’s good creation.

Last week, in her article God’s Hospitality: Hosting and Guesting, Elaine Breckenridge asked: What does it mean to behave like a revered guest at the banquet God has created for us on our planet? The word “guest” invites me to consciously tread lightly on the Earth. Being a guest on the Earth has a more intimate feel to it than “being a steward of creation” or “reducing my carbon footprint.” It speaks to me of finding ways to reverence the Earth in the same way that indigenous people do.

Fox goes on to explain another stunning aspect of the hospitality of God – in the Eucharist God then becomes the banquet for us. When we share communion together we share the life of Jesus. The bread and the wine given from the earth, made by human hands to be shared with love and generosity are part of the banquet of God’s hospitality, and the sharing of them is an incredible opportunity to thank God for the amazing banquet of our lives. It is also more than that, however. It is a sharing of Christ’s life, and a commitment to live as followers of Jesus. As we share communion together, we are reminded of and celebrate together the life that Jesus shared among his community throughout the centuries and shares with us today. We are reminded and give thanks for Jesus the banquet feast of God who nourishes and sustains us in all that we do.

Last but certainly not least, according to Fox, God does not stop here.

God not only plays the host for us and becomes the banquet for us; God also has become guest for us. This is one of the deep meanings of the incarnation, that God let go of hosting long enough to become guest as well. It is as if the human race could understand the hosting side of hospitality, but the guesting side, was becoming more and more difficult to grasp. Love is not just setting the table and going out food; love is also the receiving end of the banquet. And for this the human race begged an incarnation, a fleshy enactment of the guesting side of God, of holiness and of hospitality. Jesus is an excellent guest, a true revelation of God’s guesting side. (Matthew Fox Original blessing 113)

Jesus is the guest who waits to be invited into our hearts and into our lives, inspiring and transforming us so that we long to become like him sharing our lives and our resources with those at the margins, those who need healing and those who need to see the love and generosity of our incredible God.

There is another dimension to this idea of God as guest I grapple with. It is easy for us to see God as our host, but God as guest is another matter. I am both inspired and stunned by the thought expressed by Richard Middleton in his book A New Heaven and A New Earth that our purpose is to transform the whole earth into a fitting place, a hospitable place, not just for humankind to dwell, but also for God to dwell. Can you imagine it? God longs for a beautiful place where all creation flourishes and enjoys abundant provision, a place in which God, too, feels welcomed and comfortable, able to walk once more in a hospitable relationship with humankind.

What is the appropriate response from deep within the human person to this banquet of blessings spread before us so lavishly? Fox asks, “True holiness, full hospitality, lead to gratitude.” Thankfulness and gratefulness bubble up inside us when we consider the wonder and mystery of a God who is both host and guest in this world. It is a thankfulness that seems to fill the whole universe and reverberate through every part of each ancient yet fresh day creation in which we find ourselves.

Take time today to get out and feast on the incredible banquet God still spreads for us. Feast your eyes on the wonder of cloud formations, listen to the wind whistling in the trees and the melody of birds around you. Stop and inhale the fragrance of the air after rain, run your fingers over the lavender and inhale its wonderful aroma and taste the fruit and herbs around you.

After your walk, sit in a quiet place and contemplate the wonder of a creation banquet feast that was twenty billion years in the making. Is there a response God is asking of you?

Two Weeks of Prayer for the Start of School

(Thanks to Lauren Gaines for writing them, and Ava Martin for offering them to us to share. Image from Romper)

Read aloud together one each morning before school. Children
can read one aloud for the family too!

Guide
Praying God’s word is not complicated. In this guide, I share with
you personalized prayers, but you can do this with any scripture
you read. After you read 2 to 3 verses, pray the words that stick
out to you. Declare the promises over your family.

Here is an
example of how to pray the psalms:
Read Psalm 121:3-4: He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Pray: Thank you, heavenly Father, that you never sleep nor
slumber. You are always watching over my family and me. I
praise you because you are watching over me even when I sleep.
I do not have to be afraid because you will not allow my foot to
move. Thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.
Speak the words that the Spirit leads you to pray. God’s word is
so powerful, and when we speak it out loud, something shifts in
the atmosphere. Now for the two weeks of prayer.

1
Scripture: But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them
ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those
who love your name may rejoice in you. Psalm 5:11 NIV
Prayer: Heavenly Father we thank you today for your protection.
We rejoice because you spread your divine hand over us. Lord,
we ask you to watch over our coming and going this school year.

In your Word, you said you’d rescue us from every trap (Psalm 91
verse 3). We declare that promise over our house and over our
selves today. No evil will touch us. As we come and go this school
year, bring us all home safely each day. Amen.

2
Scripture: As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Proverbs 27:17 NLT
Prayer: Jesus, we thank you for friends! Thank you that you
created us to be in a relationship with you and with each other.
God, I pray we form kind, uplifting relationships this school year.
Friendships that build each other up and sharpen one another.
God, I pray we will be wise when choosing friends. Give us
discernment to find true friends. Friends who will speak life to us.
Give us the ability to say no when necessary and the bravery to
stand up for what is right. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

3
Scripture: Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears
are open for knowledge. Proverbs 18:15 NLT
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you’ve given us
a brain. The ability to think and learn! This year help us develop a
thirst for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. May we hunger
and chase after wisdom. Give us a deep desire to learn. Ready
our hearts to learn this year, at home, school, and church. Open
our ears and eyes to see the things You do, O Lord. We pray our
hearts crave knowledge and seek it out every day. Amen

4
Scripture: Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for
me to follow. Psalms 25:4 NLT

Prayer: Heavenly Father, show us the right path this school year.
May we not be influenced by the unwise, but seek Your higher
purposes in all things. Guide our choices. Order our steps and
make our paths straight. Show us the right path as a family. Lord,
we pray for wisdom from above. Show us where to spend our
time and energy this year. Guide us in everything we do and may
we have open ears to hear your voice. In Jesus’ mighty name we
pray. Amen.

5
Scripture: Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will
be wise the rest of your life. Proverbs 19:20 NLT
Prayer: Dear Jesus, give us hearts to accept instruction. Give us
the desire to learn from the wise and to accept correction. Soften
our hearts so we can gain knowledge from our teachers (and
parents). Teach us as parents how to instill respect and
compassion in our children. May we learn to honor and love
everyone we come in contact with throughout the day. Amen.

6
Scripture: I have told you these things so that you will be filled
with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:11 NLT
Prayer: We rejoice in your name today. Thank you Jesus for
setting us free and for dancing over us at all times. Lord draw us
to you today! As we rejoice in your love, fill us with unspeakable
joy. Overflowing JOY! As we moves throughout our day, may we
find little things to rejoice in. May we delight in learning! Keep our
minds focused on excellent, praiseworthy things. Thank you,
Jesus!

7
Scripture: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly
loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your lovingkindness
toward us. God clothe us with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience this year. May they stand up against the
bullies, speaking with love to each other at all times. Guide us to
encourage kindness and patience. As we plant these seeds, Lord
make them grow!

8
Scripture: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen
you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians
3:16 NIV
Prayer: We thank you for our teachers! We pray you would
strengthen teachers with your power this school year. Give them
guidance on instruction, strength to complete all the tasks, and
energy to joyfully interact with their students. God give our
teachers efficiency as they work. May they find times of rest and if
they do not know you, make yourself known to them this school
year.

9
Scripture: But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the
purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalms 33:11 NIV
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that your plans stand firm forever! God,
we pray you would reveal your wonderful purposes to us. Show
us and our teachers the gifts and talents you have placed inside
us. Fill us with joy as we search these gifts out. Reveal to us the
great things you have planned for our lives. Point us toward the
road you ordained for us. We thank you for your greater
purposes. In Jesus’Name, we pray. Amen.

10
Scripture: Common sense and success belong to me. Insight
and strength are mine. Proverbs 8:14 NLT
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your promises and your
faithfulness. Today we claim your promise that common sense
and success belong to us. Thank you that we are filled with
wisdom and understanding. Throughout the day give us insight
beyond our years. In any situation we face, may we use sound
judgment. We thank you that you have given us a sound mind! In
Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

11
Scripture: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord
smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his
favor and give you his peace.’ Numbers 6:24-26 NLT
Prayer: Lord we thank you that you are the God of peace. We
thank you that even when the earth is trembling we can be still
and know you are God. Nothing can separate us from You. We
know the school year can be a stressful time for us, but we praise
you for giving us peace even in the midst of the storm. As we sit
in your presence and focus our hearts and minds on you, rain
down your perfect peace on our family. We trust that no matter
what, you will guide us, protect us, and be gracious toward us.
Amen

12
Scripture: Being confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are always
right beside us. We praise you because we can rest knowing you
never leave us! Remind us today how you hold our hands. Give
us strength and endurance to run the good race of faith. Your
word says you will carry on the good work you started until the
day of Christ Jesus. Continue touching our hearts. Remind us of
your steadfast love. Hold us up on your wings to keep fighting the
good fight. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

13
Scripture: Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and
there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring
the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that
are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, And I will do all
My pleasure,” Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV
Prayer: Lord, we praise you, you are the alpha and the omega,
the beginning and the end. Give us your might and strength.
Make yourself real in our hearts. Your purposes will be
accomplished no matter what. Reveal to us your heart. Amen.

14
Scripture: Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be
discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help
you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10
NLT
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you are holding us up right now in
your victorious hand. Lord help us live victorious lives. May our
hearts not be discouraged by any setbacks this year. For we
know Our God has overcome every sickness and disease. We
claim the abundant life you promise for our families. May we
experience your mighty power this year. In Jesus’ Name, we pray.
Amen.

Guests, Not Hosts
based on this Sunday’s gospel reading, Luke 14: 1, 7-14

In the beginning,
our very first story about ourselves ends
with the reminder we were born hungry,
body and soul:

On the day before God rested, at the dawn
of time, God granted the newborn humanity
every herb and fruit tree for our food,
sprung from the same soil
as we were. God invites us all
to a seat at the wedding table of creation-
creation we are bound to
creation we are bound to care for,
into which we ourselves are woven
as a part of the whole. There is
one table, and it is the altar
and sacred precincts
of life itself, insisting on our unity
in shared need for nourishment.

And so it is that we are reminded
in our body’s hunger, and by our food,
from the juiciest boredom-plucked berry
and truffles worth their weight in gold,
to bologna with spelled-out first and second names,
that all the sustenance we receive
is provided from this fragile planet
by God’s tender loving-kindness.

And so it is the soul’s hunger
draws us around God’s holy table
for a foretaste of heaven,
bearing our offerings from God’s creation
formed by human hands, yes,
but sacrament at the invocation
of the finger of God in our midst.
It’s a wonder
our hair doesn’t stand on end.

We are fed
not through our words
but by holy gift
that calls us into God’s own unity.

You can have communion,
or you can have competition,
but not both.
We share with each other
what is not ours to give
or take away.

There can be no jostling or jockeying
for the best place at this table, just rejoicing
that all are invited,
that there is room to spare,
that we are guests, not hosts.

~By Leslie Scoopmire
Reprinted from The Episcopal Cafe, Aug, 24, 2022
image from ocatm.org

[To view as a video, please go here.]

I’m in Canterbury, England, at the Lambeth Conference of bishops. It’s August the
second. I don’t have a script in front of me, but I did want to talk with you—just briefly,
especially for our LGBTQ family. I know that there is legitimately some anxiety and
concern about the conversations and the direction that might emerge from this Lambeth
Conference, specifically regarding same-sex marriage.
I want you to know, though, that at the end of this day, when we did discuss same-sex
marriage and marriage in general, in the context of talking about human dignity, and the
ministry of reconciliation in Christ, I left that conversation hopeful. I left it hopeful, not
because we all came to agreement across all of our differences. No, no, we didn’t even try
to do that. I left hopeful not because I convinced anybody of where I stand, or that they
convinced me of where they stand. I left hopeful because this group of bishops today
seem to be able to recognize and affirm our love and respect for each other as brothers
and sisters in Christ in the body of Jesus Christ. And that we could find a way to honor
and respect our differences. If we love each other, and love our Lord. That, my friends, is
a sign of hope. That is a sign of hope. That makes room and space for all of us to be in
the course of our conversations.

There was a document that we reflected on—we didn’t take any votes; we didn’t try to do
that—it was called a call on human dignity. And in this call on human dignity, the
premise that was behind the document was that we have all been created in the image and
likeness of God. And that that image of God confers a dignity and a worth on every
human being. My daddy used to say nobody got any more of that image than anybody
else. We all got it equally which means we are equal before God, and we should be equal
before the law.

We began our discussions around human sexuality and around marriage. With that in
mind, and in the document that we were reflecting on, that document said that we in the
Anglican Communion live with a plurality of views on marriage. That there is what
might be called a traditional view of marriage between a man and a woman, and that
view is held probably by the majority, certainly, of Anglican churches around the world
and probably Anglicans—but that there is another view equally to be respected: a view
that includes and embraces same-sex couples who seek the blessing of God on their
loving relationships, their commitments and their families.

My friends, I’ve been a bishop 22 years. I’ve been a priest over 40 years. And I have to
tell you that as far as I know that is the first time a document in the Anglican Communion
has recognized that there is a plurality of view on marriage. And that these are
perspectives that reflect deep theological and biblical work and reflection. That they
reflect and respect the context in which we live and seek to address the pastoral needs of
our people, of all the children of God—that’s why I say today is a hopeful day.
There is work to do, but hope can help us run the race that is set before us. As the prophet
Isaiah said, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount
up on wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.”
This group of bishops today are finding a way to walk together as a church.
And the words that have echoed in our ears over and over again have been the words of
Jesus: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Not that you agree. But
that you love one another. And so we are still walking together. And in our church, we
are making “plenty good room” for all of God’s children.

God love you. God bless you. And may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.
# # #
For more info contact:
Amanda Skofstad
Public Affairs Officer, The Episcopal Church
askofstad@episcopalchurch.org

BY MARY FRANCES SCHJONBERG

[Episcopal News Service – Baltimore, Maryland] The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church is one for the history books, and not just for the decisions made but also for how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the church conducted its business.

The July 8-11 gathering – postponed a year because of COVID-19 and shortened from eight days – conducted what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry had referred to during the planning process as “matters essential for the governance and good order of the church.” Still, 412 resolutions were filed for consideration.

Legislative committees acted online most of the resolutions before gathering in Baltimore. That cleared the way for the House of Bishops and House of Deputies to devote the in-person gathering only to legislative floor sessions. They passed most of the resolutions in batches through consent calendars. Bishops and deputies had floor debates only on more controversial measures or on actions that they wanted to raise to greater prominence.

Among those essential actions, the bishops and deputies passed a $100.5 million budget for the next biennium (the 81st General Convention is scheduled for the summer of 2024), approved the first reading of a constitutional change to clearly define the Book of Common Prayer, continued the church’s commitment to reckoning with it history of racism, elected Julia Ayala Harris to succeed the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings as House of Deputies president and the Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton as vice president, and agreed to the reunification of two dioceses in Texas.

To read the full article, please go here.

Dear Beloved Community:
Acknowledging the peoples and the nations who were the historic stewards of the land that churches stand on has become an important part of the Episcopal Church’s reckoning with the role it has played in their genocide and intergenerational trauma. Many parishes have begun to include a “Land Acknowledgement” statement alongside their Mission Statement; we felt it was important to add an acknowledgement to our weekly Prayers of People. So, starting this Sunday, and every Sunday thereafter, at both the 8:00 am and 10:00 am services, you will hear the following addition to the Prayers of the People: “We acknowledge the Chinook, Kalapuya, and Atfalati peoples, the traditional custodians of the land on which we now worship and we ask your blessing on their continuing contributions to the life of this region.” We are a people for whom prayer is of the utmost importance and making this acknowledgement a part of our weekly prayers as a people reflects, I believe, the seriousness of our intention.

In the peace and love of Christ,

Everett+

We are happy to announce that at our Pentecost services on Sunday, June 5th, our Sr. Warden Rod MacDow and the Missioner for Thriving Congregations Christopher Craun announced that the search committee and vestry made the decision to welcome our interim priest-in-charge Rev. Everett Charters as our permanent priest! As a fairly new priest, Everett+ will retain the title of “priest-in-charge for two years, after which his title can be changed to rector. Cheers rang out after the announcement at both services, as many congregants got exactly what they were praying for. We look forward to many years of Everett+ leading us, loving us, and forging forward into a renewed post-Covid reawakening at St. Gabriel’s!

The Sound Out of the Ground

Cain murdered and buried his brother

No one knew Abel’s blood had been shed

Out of the ground came a mournful sound

Abel’s blood cried out in his stead

Our precious children of Newtown

Ask us all for this one sacrifice

Grieve our demise with your eyes on the prize

Save the children, our blood paid the price

Young brother and sister died asking

Must we fall so that others seem tall

When we all see, we are one family

Life will be so much better for all

What is that sound coming out from the ground

It’s the blood of God’s fallen children

The blood in our veins should be crying

With their blood that’s still crying today

Rise above fear, speak out loud and clear

For our children, put weapons away

What is the sound coming out of the ground

​​​​​​​ It’s the blood of God’s fallen children

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​What is their crying trying to say

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ What is their crying trying to say

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ We’ve got to stop this senseless killing

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ —James A. Forbes Jr.

~Everett+
image from Washington Monthly

Dear Beloved Community –

I’ve been thinking about public witness. At this week’s 9:30 Wednesday Eucharist, several folks witnessed or testified to times in their lives when they felt the very real presence of God working in their lives. I use the words witnessed and testified intentionally because they conjure up images of tent revivals, I actually said that it was like we were having a mini-revival. Words like a revival, witnessing, and testifying are not ones we are used to hearing very often in an Episcopal church but our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and his Evangelism Team have been organizing “Episcopal Revivals” across the country. So, they are words we should be hearing and talking about.

It was a Holy Spirit moment to be graced with hearing people I have come to know and love share their faith in this way on Wednesday. It was truly powerful. I wish more of you could have been there to experience it and perhaps to share your testimony. I also realize that the Wednesday Eucharist is attended by a group of “regulars” who have come to know, trust, and pray for the healing of each other. It is, even on Zoom, an intimate and safe space. This is what has got me thinking. What other ways can we create intimate, safe spaces for ourselves? This is not a question I want to try and answer by myself. I’m hoping that perhaps some of you who are reading this might hear the Holy Spirit calling you to work with me to think creatively about how it might happen. I see part of my job as your priest to toss out these spiritually baited fish hooks to see who strikes which I guess sort of makes me a fisher of people. So, consider this baited hook tossed into the waters of St. Gabriel. Can I get a witness?

In the peace and love of Christ,
Everett+

Notes From a Vestry Member….

Personal Growth

I have often looked at weekends as time to recharge and take a break from doing work. It has been easy to sit back in church and let others acolyte, do readings, host coffee hours, usher…you get the idea.

My attitude about this changed during Holy week when I realized that we need more people to actively participate because there were so many services, multiple readings, etc.  So, I decided to face my fear about not knowing how to pronounce all those people and cities mentioned in some readings and decided to volunteer to be a reader. However, I will start easing into it by reading the Prayers of the People.  I tend to over think things so for me, starting something requires more thought than continuing to do it.

For some of you, standing in front of people might be intimidating, so with the advent of hybrid services we all have the luxury of reading in front of our laptops. Though it might not seem like it is a big help, I was told that it will be very appreciated by existing readers to lighten their load – kind of like “many hands make for light work.”

I encourage us all to check our comfort level and find something you enjoy doing or might enjoy doing.  The beauty of this is that it is not a long-term commitment so if we try something and want to try something different next week, that’s fine.  We never know what new things we do will speak to us and how we will personally and spiritually gain from the experience.

~George Kyler   image from gregburdine

Read about what happened when a church decided to practice anti-racism during Lent by giving up music composed by White musicians. Instead of hearing familiar pieces by European composers, they explained their “intent was to lay aside our usual frames of reference and open ourselves to hearing the Gospel message through the voices of Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color.” As the pastor of that church said, “If you haven’t sung ‘Amen Siakudumisa’ by Stephen Cuthbert Molefe, do yourself a favor and sing it immediately!”

~Article from A Public Witness online blog, article by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood

~Image of Rev. John Edgerton from same blog

~Hymn from YouTube by Chorale Universitaire de Rouen

“We have stunned the world out of wonder” says Robert MacFarlane in his fascinating book Landmarks. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0241967872/

MacFarlane goes on the suggest that “once a landscape goes undescribed and therefore unregarded it becomes vulnerable to unwise use or improper action.” I think the same is true of animals and even something as small as the microbial bacteria in the soil. Not just a landscape or an animal I speculate as I think of the 1 million species that might become extinct [https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/06/world/one-million-species-threatened-extinction-humans-scn-intl/index.html] as a result of human action and the millions of faceless refugees and houseless people that live around us but that we rarely notice. “Language is fundamental to the possibility of re-wonderment for language does not just register experience, it produces it” MacFarlane says.

I love that Easter and Earth Day fall at the same time of the year. On Earth Day this year (Friday), why not consider celebrating God’s good creation with a walk on which you try to name each plant and tree that you pass – not with the generic name of its species but with specific names that describe its beauty and its glory? The lilac bush outside my window could become the fragrant purple flowered bush that fills my heart with delight. What if I try to find out the name of the man who sits on the corner each day begging for money and address him with a name that gives him dignity and respect? If I can’t find out his name I can give him one – the man with rugged face and far away eyes who speaks a language I do not understand.

The way we name things matters. “A desert wasteland” does not need to be respected. An undulating dune landscape hiding the wildflower seeds of future glorious blooming does. With a wave of our hands and the words of our mouth, we have re-enchanted this landscape, re-invested it with wonder and expectation.

I think this is what happened when Adam named the animals in Genesis. Each naming I suspect was an occasion of awe and wonder. I cannot imagine that he just gave them a generic “horse”, “dog” “antelope” kind of name without forethought or consideration for what the animal was. My impression is that he sat and pondered each one. Looking closely, maybe examining the creature, seeing how it was created and then naming it. The more intimately he knew the animal the more certain he was of what to call it.

The origin of many of the names by which we now know our animals has been lost but they still have meaning for us. Gazelle immediately conjures up an image of a swift, fast running antelope. Elephant is a large mammal with a long nose and beautiful curving tusks. Unfortunately there are many other created creatures we rarely name. Some of them we know better as cars that speed along our highways like cheetah, jaguar and impala or that trample its beauty with off road driving like rams and broncos. I was very concerned as I read MacFarlane’s book to hear that in the latest version of the Oxford Junior Dictionary there was a culling of words concerning nature. Words like dandelion, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, and leopard have been repealed with blog, voice-mail, cut-and-paste instead.

How many creatures no longer register on our consciousness because we have no name for them or else have given them a name with negative connotations – like dandelions – weeds to one person but the most nutritious plants in the garden to another?

I love my friend Lilly Lewin’s suggestion that we should take a a wonder vacation, not to get away from wonder but to reintroduce it into our lives. To re-wonder our world we need to rediscover that this is a place of mystery and that means slowing down and taking time to notice. Re-wonderment means noticing not just the flower, but the unique and beautiful arrangement of each petal, the stamens at its center beckoning insects to its feast.. Re-wonderment means stopping to inhale the fragrance, the heady aroma, more exotic than any perfume, that often only lasts for a few short days before it fades.

I call my daily walks awe and wonder walks. They have opened my eyes to new depths of the beauty and my growing passion to become a better steward of God’s good creation. Awe does beget awe. Wonder inspires wonder, and in the process, there is that sense that we once more walk in the garden with God.

I challenge you to pause for at least 1/2 an hour today, and go on your own awe and wonder walk. Re-expose yourself to the wonder of God’s world and the delight God intends you to find in interacting with it.

Walk around your neighborhood. What catches your attention? It could be something as seemingly insignificant as an ant crossing the pavement. Where did it come from? Where is it going? What is its purpose? What would you name it? What do you learn about yourself and about God as you watch it. In what ways does it open you up to the awe and wonder of our world?
~Christine Sine from The Episcopal Cafe online blog

Dear Beloved Community:

This week, I want to share with you some thoughts on Holy Week.
April 10 – Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday)

This Sunday begins the holiest time of year for Christians. Holy Week, as a series of special and unique services, dates back to the late 3rd and 4th centuries. Palm Sunday, or more correctly, Passion Sunday begins with the Liturgy of the Palms where we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with shouts of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest” and then quickly moves into the telling of the Passion, this year as found in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus is first brought before Pilate and at the finish will die crying in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” It can produce a kind of spiritual whiplash. Tradition tells us that the reason for the blending of the two was because few people attended Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or the Great Vigil of Easter services, so our spiritual ancestors made sure we would hear most of the story of Jesus’ last days in one sitting. If you would like to know more about Palm Sunday, click on this link below to watch a video made by Trinity Wall Street:

Please click here> Holy Week Explained: Palm Sunday.

April 13 – Holy Wednesday/Tenebrae Service

It isn’t a tradition to hold a Tenebrae service here at St. Gabriel, but I hope it is something many of you will attend. Tenebrae is a Latin word that means “darkness” or “shadows” and one of the more dramatic aspects of the service is that it begins with 15 candles being lit and then slowly being extinguished throughout the service until only one is left burning and the church is left in near darkness. This is to symbolize the apparent victory of evil until at the very end of the service a loud noise is heard symbolizing the earthquake at the time of the resurrection. In between all of this, there is the reading of Psalms, Canticles, and Scripture. It is a truly meditative experience. Trinity Wall Street has produced a video describing the service. It can be found here:

Please click here>Tenebrae Explained: Holy Week in the Shadows

April 14 – Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday begins what is known as the Paschal Triduum, the three great days of Easter. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter is thought of as all one service which is why we leave the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services in silence.

On Maundy Thursday we recall the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples, his washing of their feet, and his proclamation of the new commandment which is where the service gets its name from. Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which means “commandment.”

In John’s gospel, Jesus says, “you also ought to wash one another’s feet,” which we will do. Rather than have me as your priest wash everyone’s feet, we will be washing each other’s feet. I think this is because I, like all of you, are a disciple of Jesus and so I should not assume Jesus’s role (not because I don’t want to be washing a lot of people’s feet!). Here is Trinity Wall Street’s video:

Please click here>Holy Week Explained: Maundy Thursday

April 15 – Good Friday

On Good Friday, we once again experience the Passion of Jesus, this time from the Gospel of John. The altar will be bare, having been stripped the night before. We will pray the Solemn Collects which are divided into five sections that address the five major areas of life that intercessory prayer is designed to address: prayers are said seeking God’s aid for the Christian church, for all the nations of the world, for those sick and in need, for any not yet reached by the missionary efforts of the Church, and for the people who are praying, that they may act holily and live eternally. We will also take time to Venerate the Cross which is offered as a time to use our replica of the Cross as a way to focus our prayer and meditation on Jesus’ Passion. Here is Trinity Wall Street’s video:

Please click here>Holy Week Explained: Good Friday

I hope that many of you will take advantage of the opportunity to attend some if not all of these sacred services. Look for a post later in the week for the meaning of the Great Vigil of Easter and Easter Sunday.

In the peace and love of Christ,

Everett+

P.S. Don’t forget to be working on your Easter bonnets – everyone! You can use a baseball cap, a beanie, or a cowboy hat if the word bonnet is bothering you. Heck, you can even wear bunny ears!

Palm Sunday Community Egg Hunt

Sunday, April 10th at 3:00 pm SHARP

The hunt for prize-filled eggs happens outside (if conditions permit)
Dress for the weather with shoes or boots that can get dirty
Bring your own basket or borrow one of ours
Hunt is free and open to all kids through 5th grade-

Invite friends, neighbors, and family!

Afterwards we will hear a Holy Week story from Everett+
and award special prizes

St. Gabriel Episcopal Church 17435 NW West Union Rd. Portland, OR 97229

Put on by St. Gabriel’s Youth Group
image from villagerealtyobx

A Message from Everett+

“I believe [this] states perfectly what we should be trying to become.

Please click here to view: https://youtu.be/MhOZv5i7CHY

Spencer LaJoye “Plowshare Prayer”

Plowshare Prayer

Dear blessed creator, dear mother, dear savior Dear father, dear brother, dear holy other

Dear sibling, dear baby, dear patiently waiting Dear sad and confused, dear stuck and abused

Dear end-of-your-rope, dear worn out and broke, Dear go-it-alone, dear running from home

Dear righteously angry, forsaken by family Dear jaded and quiet, dear tough and defiant

I pray that I’m heard And I pray that this works

I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword against you

and your heart, against you and your word I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts

that it might break you open, it might help you grow

I pray that your body gets all that it needs and if you don’t want healing,

I just pray for peace I pray that your burden gets lighter each day

I pray the mean voice in your head goes away I pray that you honor the grief as it comes

I pray you can feel all the life in your lungs I pray that if you go all day being brave

that you can go home, go to bed feeling safe I pray you’re forgiven, I pray you forgive

I pray you set boundaries and openly live I pray that you feel you are worth never leaving

I pray that you know I will always believe you I pray that you’re heard

and I pray that this works

Amen on behalf of the last and the least, on behalf of the anxious, depressed, and unseen

Amen for the workers, the hungry, the houseless Amen for the lonely and recently spouseless

Amen for the queers and their closeted peers Amen for the bullied who hold in their tears

Amen for the mothers of little Black sons Amen for the kids who grow up scared of guns

Amen for the addicts, the ashamed and hungover Amen for the calloused, the wizened, the sober

Amen for the ones who want life to be over Amen for the leaders who lose their composure

Amen for the parents who just lost their baby Amen for the chronically ill and disabled

Amen for the children down at the border Amen for the victims of our law and order

I pray that you’re heard and I pray that this works

I pray if a prayer has been used as a sword against you and your heart,

against you and your word, I pray that this prayer is a plowshare, of sorts

Welcome to Lent 2022

In a short time, on Wednesday, March 2nd, we will hear the following words in the “Proper Liturgy for Ash Wednesday” from the Book of Common Prayer:

“Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a
season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.” (BCP, 264 – 265)

The passage above from the BCP with its “notorious sins” and “separation from the body of the fellowship of the Church” can feel ominous and foreboding. Conversely, the ideas of fasting and self-denial (“This year I am giving up chocolate for Lent”) can almost sound like New Year’s resolutions to diet and exercise which by February are often forgotten.

Lent is an importance season in the life of the church and isn’t meant to be taken lightly but we should not forget the joy for which we are preparing, the “reason for the season” if you will.

One of the Proper Prefaces for the season of Lent captures this:

“You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you.”
(BCP, 379)

We are called to prepare with joy for the Paschal feast! Cleansing our hearts through a variety of practices: intentional prayer, works of mercy, reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. These are all ways we are called to observe Lent. So, I would suggest, if I may, that this Lent we worry less about giving things up and more about adding things to our lives to enrich and deepen our connection to our faith. Let these 40 days of Lent be a time to experiment with opening up more space in your daily life for expressions of your faith, knowing that the space you have opened will be filled with the glory of our risen Savior at the Paschal feast.

A blessed Lent to you all.

Everett+

Worship at St. Gabriel for Ash Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022

9:30 am Rite I Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes in-person and online via Zoom

11:00 am- 12:00 pm “Ashes to Go” Drive-Through upper parking lot at church- call 503-645-0744 to let us know you are here or make a reservation

5:30- 6:30 pm “Ashes to Go” Drive-Through upper parking lot at church- no reservation needed

7:30 pm Ash Wednesday Liturgy without Holy Communion in-person and online via Zoom

Lenten image from media.istockphoto.com

Notes from Canon Linda from St. Gabriel’s Annual Parish Meeting Report
January 30, 2022

Beloved of God, members of St. Gabriel the Archangel church,

I am offering to you this reflection as your Interim Rector. It is unlike any report that I have ever delivered to a congregation. The idea came to me as I was reviewing this past year with you and realizing how many of you I have not even met face to face. I submit to you the life of this parish as exhibited through the headlines in the weekly Messenger. This report is not in chronological order, it will not cluster ministry activities together, nor is it comprehensive (as I am sure that there are items that could be added to this montage). It is a window in time of the life of one unique congregation and I want to center this window in the verses from Jeremiah that we used for the 2021 Stewardship Campaign:

“For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” Jeremiah 29:11

WINDOWS INTO THE LIFE OF ST GABRIEL
St Gabriel’s Mutual Ministry Review Gathering – where we have been, where we are and where we are going
Outdoor Eucharist- July 4th – attend in person or online – shared lunch to follow
The Four Quests of Jesus by Bishop Steven Charleston – summer book study on Native American traditions
Outreach Field Trip to Beaverton Resource Center
Profile Booklet approved by Vestry
Reopening Guidelines for in- person worship
St Gabriel’s website is fresh, new and ONLINE
St Gabriel’s Choir Has a New Storage Closet!
Our Playground is Ready for Play!
Service of Lament to Remember the Victims of Indian Boarding Schools
We Had LIVE MUSIC in the Sanctuary
Highlights from the 133rd Episcopal Diocese of Oregon Convention
Search Committee is Making Progress
“Clothes for Kids” Needs Donations of New Socks and Underwear
Our “Friendship Circle” for 55+ Starts this Thursday – Let’s Have Fun Together
FORWARD DAY BY DAY – devotional booklets available
St Gabriel College Student Starts GoFundMe for Afghan Refugees
Meet St. Gabriel’s New Youth Minister!
A Message from Bishop Akiyama – Making Community and Connection Through Cooperation
Deacon Greg Rainey is Headed for a New Deaconate Position
Drive-Through Eucharist this Sunday
Outreach Shopping Field Trip Planned for 4th – 7th Graders
DO NOT MISS Our St Francis Services, Sunday, October 3 – Our Own St. Francis and the Wolf
The Gospel for Kids for Sunday – Did Jesus Make Mistakes?
All Saints Welcomed Back on All Saints Sunday – Soup for the Saints Smashing Success
Ways to Help Our Hungry Neighbor

I invite you to look through these WINDOWS – how have you been part of what you see? What do you hope to SEE in the future? What WINDOWS will you help to create in this New Year. Encourage, love and pray for one another as you share the GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST’S LOVE within the church and out into the community.

With confidence in the ministry of God’s future of hope,
Canon Linda

St. Gabriel’s continued our great tradition of having our children’s play not on Christmas Eve, but on the next Sunday- this year January 2nd. Our play was “A Gift from St. Francis” about the first creche with live animals in 1228 based on the children’s book by Joanna Cole. We had live music and children, youth, adults, and dogs in the cast! Deacon Greg and Father Everett reprised their St. Francis and The Wolf roles from St. Francis Day, and Canon Linda played our dove. We had great narrators, actors, and musicians. Thank you to everyone who participated- it was absolutely wonderful!

To view the play on YouTube, please go here and start at 20:46.

Actors getting ready to enter the sanctuary

St. Francis surprised by The Wolf

The entire creche scene

A donkey, a dove and St. Francis

Our musicians Abby and Michael

The congregation puts pieces of straw in Jesus’ manger

St. Gabriel’s Christmastide Play

“A Gift from St. Francis”

The story of the first creche in Italy in 1223

Sunday, January 2nd, 2022

8:00 am live reading

10:00 am full performance,
with live music, kids, youth, adults, and DOGS in the cast!

All are welcome- please join us!

If your child would like to be part of the play but missed the rehearsals, please see or contact Page and they can still be a sheep, even the morning of the play! page@stgabrielpdx.org

NOTE: If you have an allergy to dogs, you might consider attending the 8:00 am reading or attending the 10:00 am service online on Zoom

NOTE: Due to concern over the spread of the Omicron Covid variant, we will not be able to gather for food and fellowship after the service as previously planned to celebrate the ministry at St. Gabriel, but please wish him well!

Dear Friends,

By now, most of you have heard that Bishop Akiyama has made my next assignment. This prompts me to offer you a few thoughts that have come to me in prayer and reflection.

First, thank you all for making my assignment to St. Gabriel the Archangel such a substantive and joyful ministry! So many of you were there from the beginning for my ordination, and you welcomed me the moment I walked through the doors. A foundational aspect of my ministry as a deacon is to support everyone in their own ministries and together, despite many challenges, we have felt and lived God’s love in our community. I am grateful to have served with every one of you during my time at St. Gabriel. I also deeply appreciate the support and wisdom of the fellow clergy with whom I have worked here, including the deacons on whose shoulders I stand, Katherine, Tom, and Roger, as well as priests Canon Linda, Father Everett, and Mother LouAnn.

During the isolation in which we’ve lived for much of that time, we’ve had to learn how to be Church over Zoom. Thankfully, this has kept us connected while physically apart for safety but it is not the same thing as worshiping and fellowshipping in person. Yet, for all its constraints of microphones accidentally left on or muted, time lags, and dropped connections, I am so grateful that, although apart, we can still interact. This is a marked contrast from most of the services I have participated in with other congregations, which have been one-way broadcasts. I’ll take our quirky two-way internet interaction over that approach every time! This community has shown resilience and commitment to serving God and each other despite all of these challenges, remembering that, with God, all things are possible.

Deacons serve where our bishop assigns us, although each bishop has their own preferences about assignments. When I was sent to you, the thinking regarding first deacon assignments was that they would often be one year in length. Additionally, deacons often are expected to depart in connection with the departure of the rector. A year ago, with all of our changes, the then-archdeacon and I agreed that I’d stay at St Gabriel for a second year. Although well past that mark, Canon Linda and I agreed that we wanted me to stay through Christmas Day. So, I will preach on December 26th at our single 9 am service and I will wrap up my ministry with you by reprising my blessing of the animals role as St Francis for our Christmastide play. You’ll have to come to see if Fr. Everett again appears as the wolf!

I hope that you have found my ministry among you to be fruitful. If so, feel free to encourage your new rector to request a new deacon!

For me, leaving the many relationships we’ve built in my time with you makes leaving difficult. And the departure of clergy can feel somewhat abrupt, potentially making this leavetaking feel more difficult. For my part, this feels a bit like getting ready to go to sea: I feel a mixture of pain at leaving people I love, joy at what we have done together, and excitement at what is yet to be revealed. And, although I am going to a new congregation, I can’t wait to see what else is revealed among God’s beloved people of St. Gabriel!

In God’s Love,
Deacon Greg

We are continuing to observe Extended Advent at St. Gabriel’s, and Sunday December 12th is the beginning of Extended Advent Week 6. Here is our Advent Family Activity Calendar, our prayers for families, and our traditional prayers for the sixth week of Extended Advent.

Family Advent Activity Calendar for December 12-18, 2021

Sun. Dec. 12th Today is the 6th Sun. of Advent. Gather with your family around the Advent wreath and light 5 purple candles and the pink one. Afterwards, cut a star out of white, yellow, or gold paper and hang it somewhere to remember the Star of Bethlehem.
Mon. Dec. 13th Have you thought of how you could thank your teachers this holiday season? A handwritten letter of appreciation would be the best gift you could give.
Tues. Dec. 14th Another secret elf good deed day! Pick another person in your family and do something nice for them without them knowing who did it. Jesus will bless your kindness.
Wed. Dec. 15th Have you eaten a candy cane yet? Some say the shape is to remind us of Joseph’s or the shepherds’ crooks they carried in the fields or on journeys but hold the candy cane by the stem hanging down and it forms a letter. What important word starts with that letter that is important in Advent and always?
Thu. Dec. 16th Bundle up and take a walk tonight with your grownups and look at the festive lights decorating your neighborhood. When you look at the lights, remember that Jesus is the light of the world.
Fri. Dec. 17th What is your favorite Christmas carol? Practice it so you remember the words. Suggest a sing-along with your family. (Ephesians 5:19)
Sat. Dec. 18th Tonight there is a full moon- go outside and look at it. Do you think it will ever snow?

Extended Advent Prayers for Families with Children:
6th Sunday of Advent – The Morning Star   12/12/21

(Light 5 purple candles and the pink candle)

We are in the time

when our nights are growing longer,

and our days are getting short.

Yes, it can seem cold and dark.

But–when we light the candles 

nestled in the green branches,

we see light shining through the darkness

and we remember what God promised us: 

Jesus is coming!

Dear God,  

When I see the stars in the sky,

and the deep blue ocean, 

and the tall, green trees,

and bees in the flowers,

I know you gave us a gift

and you need us to care for it. 

Show me how.  

We are waiting. Amen.

WAYS TO HELP Our Earth: 

• Keep doing all the things you already do like recycling, avoiding one-use serving ware and food storage, driving less/walking more, planting low watering plants in your yard, conserving water and electricity, and so on. 
• Consider moving from meat and dairy-based foods to plant-based foods 3-5 days a week.
• As an adult avoid buying cheap clothing and fast fashion and try to invest in higher quality pieces.  Pass on outgrown children’s clothing to another family and accept the same for your child.
• Take care with the use of fire in the forest and grasslands.
• Read out loud and discuss a Bible passage about caring for the earth every day this week as a family:
  • Genesis 1:26; Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:25; Genesis 8:22; Revelation 7:1-17; Psalm 63:1-11; Isaiah 45:18. Prayer in BCP page 827.

Extended Advent Traditional Prayers:

6th Sunday of Advent – The Morning Star   12/12/21

(Light 5 purple candles and the pink candle)

Leader: As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs–light and green branches– and remember God’s promise to our world: Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come. Listen to the words of Malachi the prophet:

 “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.  But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.  You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.  And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.”        (Malachi 4:1-3)

Candle is lit while All sing: 

O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadow put to flight. Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader: Let us pray.

 All:  Lord Jesus Christ, in your resurrection you appeared as the Morning Star that knows no setting: Dawn upon the darkness of the human heart so that the deathly orders of this world may be overcome and your whole creation made new; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 WAYS TO HELP Our Earth: 

• Keep doing all the things you already do like recycling, avoiding one-use serving ware and food storage, driving less/walking more, planting low watering plants in your yard, conserving water and electricity, and so on. 
• Consider moving from meat and dairy-based foods to plant-based foods 3-5 days a week.
• Avoid buying cheap clothing and fast fashion and try to invest in higher quality pieces or shop in thrift stores. Pass on outgrown children’s clothing to another family and accept the same for your child.
• Take care with the use of fire in the forest and grasslands.
• Read out loud and discuss a Bible passage about caring for the earth every day this week as a family:

Genesis 1:26; Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:25; Genesis 8:22; Revelation 7:1-17; Psalm 63:1-11; Isaiah 45:18. Prayer in BCP page 827.

image from farm4.staticflickr.com

We are continuing to observe Extended Advent at St. Gabriel’s, and Sunday December 5th is the beginning of Extended Advent Week 5. Here is our Advent Family Activity Calendar, our prayers for families, and our traditional prayers for the fifth week of Extended Advent.

Family Advent Activity Calendar for December 5-12, 2021

Sun. Dec. 5th   Today is the 5th Sun. of Advent. Gather with your family around the Advent wreath and light 5 purple candles and say the prayers for week 5. Make sure Jesus has the key to unlock your heart and fill it with love!

Mon. Dec. 6th Today is St. Nicholas Day. Did you know Santa Claus was a saint? He was the Bishop of Myra in the year 342 and is the patron saint of children. Remember him by making a gift for someone you love today. 

Tues. Dec. 7th Are you remembering to move the Wise Ones closer to your Nativity set every day? They have such a long way to go yet! Do you remember the 3 gifts they were carrying to baby Jesus?

Wed. Dec. 8th Secret elf good deed day! Secretly choose a family member to do something nice for. Don’t tell- for now it’s just between you and God. 

Thu. Dec. 9th Look up a world map on the computer or atlas. Ask your grownup to show you a place where there is war or suffering. ray for their safety, comfort, and peace on earth. 

Fri. Dec. 10th Ask a grownup to help you make each of you a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and a candy cane stirrer. Yum! 

Sat. Dec. 11th Spread a blanket next to your Christmas tree and have a picnic dinner next to it. After dinner turn off all the lights except for on the tree and have each family member read John 8:12 with a flashlight.  

Advent Prayers for Families with Children

5th Sunday of Advent – Key of David   

(Light 5 purple candles.)

We are in the time

when our nights are growing longer,

and our days are getting short.

Yes, it can seem cold and dark.

But–when we light the candles 

nestled in the green branches,

we see light shining through the darkness

and we remember what God promised us: 

Jesus is coming! 

God, help us to remember

that for a medical emergency, 

or a job loss, or just bad luck, 

we could be in other people’s shoes.  

God, please unlock my heart

and come to the aid of those who need me. 

We are waiting. Amen.

WAYS TO HELP The Homeless and the Hungry: 

• • Support needy families in the Beaverton School District through The Gabriel Center by donating clothing anytime; and instant food, laundry detergent pods, school supplies, or whatever is requested each month.  
  • Drop off non-perishable food to an Oregon Food Bank partner Rock Creek Church by Westview High School at 4470 NW 185TH Ave. Portland, OR 97229 in their drop-off box.

• Keep supplies like clean socks, water bottles, non-perishable snacks, and warm gloves in your car to give to people on highway ramps and in parking lot entries.re

• Support eviction moratoriums during the pandemic.

• Prayer in BCP for the Poor and Neglected on page 826.

Advent Prayers for Adults: 5th Sunday of Advent– Key of David

(Light 5 purple candles)

Leader: As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs–light and green branches–and remember God’s promise to our world: Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come. Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” (Isaiah 22:21b-23)

Candle is lit while All sing:
O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader: Let us pray.

All: Gracious God, your Son Jesus Christ opened wide the gate of heaven, making plain the way that leads to eternal joy: Grant that we who have been buried with Christ in baptism and raised to new life may strive courageously for the freedom and peace of the world; through your Son, Jesus Christ,
teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader: Let us pray.

All: Eternal God, your Word of wisdom goes forth and does not return empty: Grant us such knowledge and love of you that we may perceive your presence in all creation and every creature; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, now and forever. Amen.

A Sermon by Rev. Everett Charters
from November 21, 2021

I come to this sermon painfully aware how much I don’t know about the events we are lamenting tonight.

How much I don’t know about the children, the families, the communities, the nations that were victims of this attempted genocide by our government and our society.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines genocide as:
an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed
with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
These acts fall into five categories:
Killing members of the group
Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
Deliberately inflicting on the group condition of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
Forcibly transferring children of that group to another group

That definition chills my soul and to think this is what occurred in this country to Native peoples.

Notice I said Native people, not Native Americans or American Indians.

The majority of words used in the English language to refer to Native peoples have been weaponized.

Indian or worse American Indian is such destructive nomenclature – beginning with the fact that it is nomenclature – the devising or choosing of names for things or for someone – does anyone believe that Native peoples decided to call themselves American Indians?

No, that was something Europeans decided to call them.

To say Native American implies that there was an America before the first Europeans arrived here. There wasn’t.

In our Scripture, to name something is to have dominion over it – remember Genesis 1:26, God gave Adam dominion over and Genesis 2:19 & 20, where Adam was given the power to name everything.

Naming and dominion.

Is it really our God given right to name things? To name people?

Perhaps the most harmful words spoken with regards to the victims of the boarding schools were “Kill the Indian, save the man.” Words written by Brigadier General Richard Henry Pratt, who opened the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1879, the first government-run boarding school for Native children in the United States and the model upon which the boarding school system would be based.

The reason we called this a service in remembrance of the victims of the Indian Boarding Schools is because that is what they were called by those established them and we used that language because a key part of our lament is recognizing how language was weaponized and used as a tool of genocide.

Native children were punished, even beaten, when they tried to speak their language at the Boarding Schools. As a result, that language was often forgotten, so that when the children finally, were allowed to return home, they often could not speak or understand the language of their families anymore.

Imagine not understanding when your mother or father said, “I love you.” “I’ve missed you.” “Welcome home.”

This is just a part of what we, as white people, carried with us, when we walked into tonight’s service or at any time we attempt to enter into the culture of any of the myriad of tribal communities that are a part of the 574 federally recognized Native nations.

Even that is a term of conquest.

Federally recognized – the federal government decides who is a Native person – a predominantly white federal government.

This is why I know how much I don’t know about the lives of the peoples we are lamenting tonight.

So, what do I know?

I do know that I, that we, try to live each day of our lives as disciples of Jesus.

I know that our Baptismal Covenant is the guide we use to try to live that life.

I know that that Covenant compels us to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

I know that there is one Body and one Spirit; that there is one hope in God’s call to us; that there is One Lord, One Faith, one Baptism, One God and Father of all.

And I know that the fullness of God’s love, and of God’s grace is something beyond humanity’s ability to comprehend and that that love has and continues to reconcile all things that it would otherwise be impossible to.

This is a difficult thing we are doing – listening to and learning the stories of children who were taken away from their families by people who looked like most of us.

There is no way, we alone, can make amends for what has been done to generations of Native peoples.

It is simply beyond our ability to do because we have learned that the wound is too deep.

We are powerless and yet, with God’s help we must still try.

So, we lament.

Lamenting, as we are doing tonight, is a part of learning the truth and about being honest with one another about what has been done.

But lamenting is not static, lamenting is dynamic which means it moves and changes.

Tonight, when we lament, we start in a place of sorrow, of guilt, of misunderstanding, of ignorance.

We lament what we don’t know. And we lament what we have learned.

And then we can begin to move towards another place where we lament for forgiveness but without the expectation of being forgiven.

And we lament not only with words but with actions.

We lament so that we can listen without prejudice to the truth in the lamenting of those who have been harmed. Then, we lament for reconciliation. We lament for what we do not deserve. We lament for the patience to wait with openness. We lament without expectation but we also lament with trust. Trust that our God is a loving God. Trust that Jesus through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension both reconciled and made reconciliation possible.

The Black Lives Matter movement and the work of anti-racism has introduced into our awareness the idea of the ally.

An ally doesn’t lead, an ally supports using their power and their influence in the way that they are told to best use it to fight against racism.

Native peoples don’t need us to tell them how to heal from inter-generational trauma.

They don’t need us to identify their problems for them.

In fact, they don’t need us to tell them anything about their experiences or their needs.

What we can offer, the way we can participate in reconciliation, is to be the ally.

Put our white privilege to work to support the self-identified needs and desires of Native peoples.

In a documentary on the inter-generational trauma of the boarding schools and the enforced removal of Native children from their families, Daniel Nelson Fox, a member of the Wikwemikong First Nation – who was himself taken from his family – talks about the resilience of Native peoples.

After more than 400 years of suffering repeated attempts of genocide, Native peoples, he says, are still here and will always be here.

Native peoples don’t need us to save them.

They aren’t asking us to save them.

They are asking, as so many peoples who have suffered at the hands of white supremacy have, for us to use the power and the privilege we hold as a result of their suffering to dismantle the systems, laws, and institutions that were created for the express purpose of securing white domination over Native peoples. And we don’t have to figure out how to do that.

What we need to do is listen…with humility and then act. We ask, “What needs to change?” and we are told, “This is what needs to change,”

So, we lower our heads, pray to God for strength, and get to work.

This is how we live out our baptismal covenant.

This is how we show we are disciples of Jesus.

This is how we turn lamentation into reconciliation.

See the entire service from Sunday, November 21, 2021 on YouTube here.

Painting by Bobby Von Martin, Choctaw Nation

We are continuing to observe Extended Advent at St. Gabriel’s, and Sunday November 28th is the beginning of Extended Advent Week 4. Here is our Advent Family Activity Calendar, our prayers for families, and our traditional prayers for the fourth week of Extended Advent.

Family Advent Activity Calendar for Nov. 28- Dec. 4, 2021

Sun. Nov. 28th Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent. Gather around your Advent wreath- you may need to replace some of the greens with fresh ones. Light 4 purple candles and say the prayers for week 4. Think how excited Mary and Joseph were with their baby only a month away!                                                                        Mon. Nov. 29th Hanukkah starts today for our Jewish friends. Hear and see the story by watching a video on YouTube here: http://bitly.ws/geNK.
Tues. Nov. 30th Jesus, help remind me each day that of all the wonderful gifts of Advent, you are the best one.
Wed. Dec. 1st For many families, this is the day to start decorating the house for the holidays. What is your favorite decoration? Ask if you can find a special place for it.
Thu. Dec. 2nd Say this prayer: Dear God, sometimes I get caught up in the excitement of the season. Give me strength to resist thinking only about gifts I want and think more about the gift of Jesus being born. Amen.
Fri. Dec. 3rd Make sure you have an angel decoration on your tree in honor of St. Gabriel. If you don’t have one, make one and hang it. Read what St. Gabriel said to Mary in Luke 1:26-38.
Sat. Dec. 4th This would be a good day to bake some holiday cookies! Which is your favorite? Bake them and drop some off to an elderly neighbor.

Advent Prayers for Families with Children

4th Sunday of Advent– Root of Jesse 11/28/21
(Light 4 purple candles)

We are in the time
when our nights are growing longer,
and our days are getting short.
Yes, it can seem cold and dark.
But–when we light the candles
nestled in the green branches,
we see light through the darkness
and we remember what God promised us:
Jesus is coming!

Dear God,
Some of us are weary of online learning.
Many of us miss our friends and being in school.
Help us find ways to learn while being safe.
Protect our teachers and school staff.
Let some of us learn online if we feel safer that way.
Show us, Jesus, the greatest teacher of all, the way.
We are waiting. Amen.

WAYS TO HELP Children at School:
Get your child vaccinated if they are eligible, and encourage others to do so as well.
Teach your child how to wear a mask safely and provide them with several clean ones each day when they attend school. Model mask-wearing yourself.
Continue to encourage hand washing with soap.
Pack small hand sanitizers in your child’s backpack for when hand washing with soap isn’t available.
Keep your child home if they feel or seem sick.
Ahead of the sniffles, know where you can get your child a PCR or diagnostic Covid test quickly. Check with your pediatrician to see if they have them available.
Prayer in BCP for the care of children on page 829.

Advent Prayers for Adults

4th Sunday of Advent–Root of Jesse 11/28/21

(Light 4 purple candles)

Leader: As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs–light and green branches–and remember God’s promise to our world: Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come. Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth….The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them….They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1-4a, 6, 9-10)

Candle is lit while All sing:
O come, thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, free them from Satan’s tyranny that trust thy might power to save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!
11

Leader: Let us pray.

All: Almighty God, you brought forth a royal branch from the ancient stock of Jesse’s line: Grant that we who have been grafted into this heritage may bear fruit worthy of Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.

WAYS TO HELP Children at School:

• If you have children who are eligible, get them vaccinated, and encourage others to do so as well.
• Teach your child how to wear a mask safely and provide them with several clean ones each day when they attend school. Model mask-wearing yourself.
• Pack small hand sanitizers in your child’s backpack for when hand washing with soap isn’t available.
  Keep your child home if they feel or seem sick.
• Ahead of the sniffles, know where you and your child can get your child a PCR or diagnostic Covid test quickly. Check with your physician or pediatrician to see if they have them available.
• Prayer in BCP for the care of children on page 829.

Please join us for a Thanksgiving Eve Service

with Special Music

Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 pm

St. Gabriel the Archangel Episcopal Church

17435 NW West Union Rd. Portland, Or 97229

The service with be both in-person and online live via Zoom.

To get the Zoom link, please call our office at 503-645-0744

Our music will feature vocalists
Jessica Israels, Cecily Kiester, Les Green, and Erik Hundtoft.
Margot Hanson on flute and David Saffert on piano.

image from http://images.unsplash.com; images below from Jessica Israels

We are continuing to observe Extended Advent at St. Gabriel’s, and today is the start of Extended Advent Week 3. Here is our Advent Family Activity Calendar, our prayers for families, and our traditional prayers for the third week of Extended Advent that begins Sunday, November 21, 2021.

Family Advent Activity Calendar for Nov. 21-27, 2021

Sun. Nov. 21st Today is the 3rd Sun. of Advent. Gather your family around the Advent wreath and light 3 purple candles and say the prayer for the 3rd week. Pray for peace in the world.
Mon. Nov. 22nd As days get colder, birds start having a harder time finding fresh water. Commit to putting a pie tin of fresh water out on a table on your patio or porch occasionally during the cold months where birds can find it. Be like St. Francis and care for the birds!
Tues. Nov. 23rd Before we lived in the Bethany area, there were indigenous people called the Chinook (among others) who lived here. Go to http://bitly.ws/geNC to find out more about how they lived and read their creation story.                                                                                                                                                            Wed. Nov. 24th Go out in your yard, public wetlands, or grocery store and see what you can use to make a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table- branches with berries, cattails, grass stalks, dried or fresh flowers. Carve out a pumpkin, add water, and make a harvest arrangement.
Thu. Nov. 25th Either before or after you eat Thanksgiving dinner, go around the table and each person mention something they are thankful for this holiday. Sing the Doxology together!
Fri. Nov. 26th Some people use this day for shopping. Instead, think of some things you could make gifts from that would use things from nature or from recycled materials. Go to Pinterest for some great ideas and get busy!
Sat. Nov. 27th Have you set up your Nativity set yet? Take the Wise Ones and place them far from the manger. Move them a little closer every day. Hide baby Jesus until Dec. 24th.

Extended Advent Prayers for Families with Children

3rd Sunday of Advent– Ruler of Nations   11/21/21

(Light 3 purple candles)

We are in the time

when our nights are growing longer,

and our days are getting short.

Yes, it can seem cold and dark.

But–when we light the candles 

nestled in the green branches,

we see light shining through the darkness

and we remember what God promised us: 

Jesus is coming! 

God, we are all immigrants.  

We came to where we are now

and hoped we would be taken in.

We were.

Give us the grace to do the same for others. 

We are waiting. Amen. 

WAYS TO HELP Refugees: 

• Go to Episcopalmigrationministries.org/afghan-allies, the settlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church to find out how to help including volunteering and donating money. 
• Look for a group at St. Gabriel that is forming as of this writing to help Afghan refugee families settle in Portland and support them. 
• Support DACA legislation.
• Read out loud and discuss a Bible passage on accepting immigrants every day this week as a family:
  • 1 Chronicles 16:19-22; Deuteronomy 19:34 and 27:19; Psalm 146:9; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Romans 13:8; Colossians 3:11; Hebrews 13:1-3. 
• Read books to your children about the immigrant experience like:
  • What Is a Refugee? by Elisa Gravel
  • Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña
  • The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee

Traditional Extended Advent Prayers

Prayers written by Carol A. Doran, DMA, Rev. Elise Feyerherm, PhD, and The Very Rev’d William H. Petersen, PhD, DD

3rd Sunday of Advent– Ruler of Nations   11/21/21

(Light 3 purple candles)

Leader: As our nights grow longer and our days grow short, we look on these earthly signs–light and green branches– and remember God’s promise to our world: Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come. Listen to these words from the Revelation to John:

 “And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.  And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed.’”       (Revelation 15:2-4)

Candle is lit while All sing:

O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of Peace. Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Leader: Let us pray.

All:  God of power and love, you raised Jesus from death to life, resplendent in glory to rule over all creation. Free the world to rejoice in his peace, to glory in his justice, and to live in his love. Unite all humankind in Jesus Christ your Son, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.  

WAYS TO HELP Refugees: 

• Go to episcopalmigrationministries.org/afghan-allies, the settlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church to find out how to help including volunteering and donating money. 
• Look for a group at St. Gabriel that is forming as of this writing to help Afghan refugee families settle in Portland and support them. 
• Support DACA legislation.
• Read out loud and discuss a Bible passage on accepting immigrants every day this week as a family:

1 Chronicles 16:19-22; Deuteronomy 19:34 and 27:19; Psalm 146:9; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Romans 13:8; Colossians 3:11; Hebrews 13:1-3. 

• Read books about the immigrant experience like:
  • Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
  • The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America edited by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman
• Read books to your children about the immigrant experience like:

What Is a Refugee? by Elisa Gravel

Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña

The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee

                     An Evensong Service of Lament:
Remembering the Victims of the Indian Boarding Schools

The people of St. Gabriel Episcopal Church invite you to join with us in an Evensong Service of Lament Remembering the Victims of the Indian Boarding Schools. Through words and music, sounds and silence, we will grieve the Native children, families, and communities who were victims of the boarding schools, acknowledge the ongoing intergenerational trauma and commit ourselves to the work of truth and reconciliation with the Indigenous communities in the church.

Sunday, November 21, 2021 5:00 pm

St. Gabriel the Archangel Episcopal Church
17435 N.W. West Union Road
Portland, Oregon

This service will be in-person as well as on YouTube live.
https://youtu.be/8fm3DWUzQIc

“We are grieved by recent discoveries of mass graves of Indigenous children on the grounds of former boarding schools, where Indigenous children experienced forced removal from their homes, assimilation and abuse. These acts of cultural genocide sought to erase these children’s identities as God’s beloved children.” 

-from the “Statement on Indigenous boarding schools by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies, Gay Clark Jennings, July 12, 2021

This evening donations will be accepted to support Indigi-Aid, a partnership between the Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan and scores of many Episcopal communities to raise money for food, basic need items, and medical supplies to aid our Indigenous communities across the Episcopal Church who have been ravaged by the Coronavirus inflicting severe health causalities.

Painting by Bobby Von Martin, Choctaw Nation