MESSAGE FROM OUR VICAR
(Adapted from the February 2018 Good News Letter)
The Hebrew scripture reading for this week is Jeremiah 1:4-10: The word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you, were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the
nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
This reading reminds me very much of how I see St. Bede
as a church right now. There are amazing adventures in
store for us. As we begin our second year together, I invite
us to discern God’s call on us as a community. This
discernment is both exciting and possibly unnerving. As I
have told some of you already, it feels like St Bede is on
the edge of somehow unfolding God’s grace, poised as we
are as a healthy church in this community of Forest Grove.
Still discernment is unnerving because new life also means
that we must allow the old St Bede’s to die. With every gift
of a new member or even a new vicar, the old way we have
been dies, and a new church community is born. It helps to
acknowledge that a growing church includes the pain of
loss as well as the joy of new life. This is the pattern of our
paschal-mystery-shaped life together. Life, death,
resurrection. Life, death, resurrection. As Christians we are
in many ways as St. Paul has said, “sorrowful yet always
rejoicing,” (2 Cor 6:10).
It may be tempting to shy away from discerning this call and the gifts we have been given. We may want to say like Jeremiah “I am only a boy,” “I am only one person,” “We are only a small church in a small town.” We may be tempted to downplay everything we are to avoid the gut-wrenching, amazing, frightening, and joyous commission that we have been given. Like Jeremiah, God speaks to us to steady and keep us on course. This is our God who will be with us to deliver us and authorizes us to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world, in whatever form that may be. The Holy and Undivided Trinity has our backs. With God “all things are possible,” (Mat 19:23-30)
Here are some ways we are engaging in discernment and changing accordingly even now:
As your vicar I am meeting with fellow Forest Grove pastors prayerfully to discern the roles of Forest Grove churches and how we can serve Forest Grove together
After conversations about how best to facilitate office work with our church secretaries, we have decided to change office hours to Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1-3 p.m.
The BAC is doing a mutual ministry review with the help of diocesan facilitator, the Rev’d Caroline Litzenberger, on February 16 to give us a snapshot of where we have excelled and have room for growth. This will give us a starting place to continue discerning where we may next be called.
By March I hope to put together a team of folks willing to meet for prayer and discernment into the Future at St. Bede. What do we hope to become in 5, 10, or 20 years? What are the legacies that we are called to leave our community? (If folks feel led to be part of this, please come see me.)
Look for a Forest Grove Faith Community walk on Palm Sunday patterned after the Palm Sunday walk in Jerusalem. More information will come later. Also, if you have ideas, or would like to help organize this, feel free to contact me.
This is an exciting time at St. Bede and feels very alive. I thank God for being called here and look forward to many more years serving in ministry with all of you.
Yours in Christ,
Marlene+
Members of the Saint Bede community prepare to welcome the Light of the World on Christmas Eve
Christmas Tea, Advent Week Four, and Greening of the Church for Christmas
ADULT EDUCATION AND FORMATION
Epiphany Season: Immigration
Beginning this Sunday February
3rd and throughout the remaining
five Sundays in Epiphany we will
use a new study format put out by
the Episcopal Migration Ministries,
established in the late 1930’s and
post WWII. We will look closely at
the Liturgical Lessons for each Sunday and how they might help us respond to the critical immigration concerns across the world today. Thousands of men, women and children are forced to leave their homelands and seek safe havens and a new life among other nations. Scripture has much to say about mass migrations, hospitality to strangers and in the case of the Jewish nation, how not to assimilate with the cultures of foreign people.
Lenten Season: The Prophets
During Lent, beginning Sunday Mornings March 3rd through Palm Sunday April 14, we will have a scripture based discussion on The Prophets.
Join us at 9am in the Fellowship Hall for the Adult Forums each Sunday.
Wednesday Soup Supper
Soup Suppers will take place on Wednesday evenings March 13th through April 17th from 6pm to 8pm in the Parish Hall. These will be led by Marlene+ invited guests, refreshing us on issues surrounding our preparedness for our own physical dying and the dying needs and concerns of those we love.
We hope to welcome as many as can make it, even
those coming whenever they can, for a very special
fellowship experience.
LIGHT
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate,
Adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence,
and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love, 1963
If I say,
“Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,”
Darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day;
Darkness and light to you are both alike.
BCP, Evening Prayer II. 116
L I G H T
We strive to know Christ more deeply and bring others to his redeeming grace.
CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS
FEBRUARY 2018
2 Brotherhood of St Andrew, 8am, Fellowship Hall
3 Morning Prayer, 8:30am, Chapel
Godly Play. 9am, Upstairs Classroom
Adult Forum, 9am, Fellowship Hall
Holy Eucharist, 10am, Sanctuary
4 Bible Study. 2:30pm, Library
5 Game Night, 6:30pm, Fellowship Hall
6 Holy Eucharist 10am, Chapel
7 Evening Prayer, 5pm, Chapel, followed by
Pub Fellowship at Old Town Vault
9 CANCELED - Stitchery, 9am, Fellowship Hall
10 Morning Prayer, 8:30am, Chapel
Godly Play. 9am, Upstairs Classroom
Adult Forum, 9am, Fellowship Hall
Holy Eucharist, 10am, Sanctuary
11 Bible Study, 2:30pm, Library
13 Morning Prayer, 10am, Chapel
14 Evening Prayer, 5pm, Chapel, followed by
Pub Fellowship at Old Town Vault
16 Brotherhood of St Andrew, 8am, Fellowship Hall
17 Morning Prayer, 8:30am, Chapel
Godly Play. 9am, Upstairs Classroom
Adult Forum, 9am, Fellowship Hall
Holy Eucharist, 10am, Sanctuary
18 Bible Study, 2:30pm, Library
Dairy Creek Community Food Web
Board meeting, 6pm, Fellowship Hall
20 Holy Eucharist. 10am, Chapel
21 Evening Prayer, 5pm, Chapel, followed by
Pub Fellowship at Old Town Vault
24 Morning Prayer, 8:30am, Chapel
Godly Play. 9am, Upstairs Classroom
Adult Forum, 9am, Fellowship Hall
Holy Eucharist, 10am, Sanctuary
25 Bible Study, 2:30pm, Library
26 Community Hands Up Food Pantry,
All Saints Church, Hillsboro
27 Morning Prayer, 10am, Chapel
28 Evening Prayer, 5pm, Chapel, followed by
Pub Fellowship at Old Town Vault
F e b r u a r y
ST. BEDE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1609 Elm St. Forest Grove, OR
St. Bede Episcopal Church ©