February Bethlehem Newsletter 2014

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THE BETHLEHEM
Hebrew for “House of Bread”
February 2014
E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: http:/www.bsacramentchurch.org/

A message from our new interim priest, Rev. Christopher Potter.
And [the Lord said to Elijah], “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:11-13

This passage, part of a memory that extends far back into my childhood, has always teased me into prayer. Impressed by the experience of some who tell of God’s voice coming to them and knocking them off their horses or feet or from their senses, this passage validates my experience of God as the still, quiet voice that comes in soft breezes. Mind you, I have been touched and formed by the Word of God especially by the love I feel whenever I approach God. However, my experience is that it is more frequently in the soft, sometimes ineffable whispers of gentle breezes and subtle stirrings of the soul when God’s voice is
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clearest. These Divine encounters happen frequently as I am at the altar, or praying the psalms in community, or listening to music that transports the soul or when working in my garden and cooperating with God’s creativity. Far from perfecting the habit or making it easier for me, these blessed events serve to whet my appetite and to point the way to more! Listening has become, perhaps, a career for me. Both by education and by vocation, I have spent many years as an ‘active listener.’ Some of the people who talk with me have big booming voices while others can only whisper or raise their eyes to communicate their needs or pain. I have learned that everyone has needs and wants as well as a desire to connect to other people. I have also learned that it can be a mistake to take too readily the communication of another at face value. Sometimes people communicate what they think they must while at other times they haven’t the words for what it is deep in their soul. Certainly, sometimes communication means exactly what the person says. What I have seen more often, however, is that there is a struggle going on inside a person and what they say only conveys one facet of their struggle. One of our charges as a parish community at this time of transition is to speak and listen to each other. Perhaps with a critical ear and with none-anxious presence we might listen without judgment and without having to “solve” one another’s problems. I cannot imagine a more positive outcome from these dialogues except in the context of an active and ongoing prayer relationship with God. We pray as a community when we gather at the Lord’s table; we pray also when we begin and end our meetings. I wish to encourage you further to set aside time weekly, daily or even hourly when by yourself you can enter into the presence of the Almighty with prayers of praise and gratitude for what God is doing for us and to plead with the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion and guide as we traverse this path. Don’t discount the voice of God that may come in earthquakes and mighty winds and with fire. Be prepared, though, to hear and attend to the soft still voice of God that comes to us in our private and communal prayers, and that may lie hidden beneath the words we share as we speak with each other.

Peace to you. Christopher+

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Outreach Committee News
2014 Outreach Programs The first Outreach Meeting of 2014 was held on Saturday January 18th in the Blessed Sacrament Chambers at 9:30 am. In it we discussed and confirmed many of the 2014 programs that are listed below. On February 9 the committee members will hand out bread along with information regarding volunteer opportunities in the community. In support of the March program concerning Children, we are convening a presentation concerning Human Trafficking that occurs throughout California and specifically Orange County, which will be held on a Wednesday evening. (Time and date will be announced at a later date.) For our April theme, “Seeds of Hope”, watch for ways you can plant the seed of inspiration within your community and around the world. Month January February March April Theme Understanding Heart to Heart Children Seeds of Hope Thought for the Month
There is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks after God. Romans 3:11 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalms And God said, “Let the earth bring forth…the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth”: and it was so. Genesis 1:11

Many Thanks to all who save their greeting cards and Campbell Soup labels for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, in Boulder City, Nevada, as well as the cancelled postage stamps for the Sisters of the Community of St. Mary’s in Greenwich, NY. Please remember that these are ongoing ministries and we collect and mail them off all year long. As usual anyone having any questions on this or even have other suggestions or ideas regarding any of our Outreach Projects are free to call or email: or Ned Bergert at 714-501-3858--- [email protected] , Marion Hetherington at 714-528-9907--- [email protected] .

Please, also remember, Every Sunday “A Can a Week to Feed God’s Sheep”. (Use the green bags provided by Outreach for transporting your donations. )
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It is the bounden duty and service of the people of this parish, being part of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, to worship God as he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, to become saints, and to make disciples of all people.

RECTOR SEARCH UPDATE…..from Senior Warden, Jeff Green
With the departure of Father Brad as our Interim Priest, and with the arrival of Father Christopher as our new Interim Priest, Canon Satorius has suggested that we pause to reflect upon this “transition within a transition” and absorb the lessons we are learning from the interim process. Also, amid concerns that we may be approaching our rector search more as a “corporate recruitment process” rather than a prayerful discernment lead by the Holy Spirit, it was proposed at the annual meeting that we reflect upon our church and how we can prepare to receive the Rector we know God has already chosen for us. It was proposed that we reaffirm the mission and vision of the church and evaluate our stewardship of finances, church property, volunteers & employees, clergy and inter community relations. It is felt that, until the Holy Spirit leads us through these issues we may not be in a position to recognize the Rector God has chosen. At the same time, Canon Satorius is planning another visit to Blessed Sacrament in the near future to train the Vestry and parishioners augmenting the Vestry in the Rector search process. Also, our portfolio has been published on the Blessed Sacrament website and Facebook page and candidates interested in becoming Rector of Blessed Sacrament Church are encouraged to visit the website and follow the instructions for submitting their resume.

Be joyful always; pray continually; Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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The Charles Williams Reading Group announces:
. . . a serious but gentle
course in serious Christian apologetics. Huh? Apologetics! which may be defined as the rational basis of the Christian Faith – or why Christian doctrine just makes sense, philosophically, religiously, anthropologically, and (yep!) in daily life, including at 3 am when you just can’t get back to sleep . . . . Beginning the second meeting of February, (Wednesday, the 19th) we will begin a consideration of MSgr. Ronald Knox’s collected Oxford ‘conferences’ in the volume titled The Hidden Stream. Fr. Knox was a contemporary of Mr. Williams, Mr. Lewis, MSgr. Sayers and so on and so on, as well as Chaplain to the Roman Catholic students at Oxford from 1926 to 1939. The ‘conferences’ were composed to demonstrate the reasonability of Christian Faith. Our group meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesday about 7:15 pm, at the home of Teri and Eliot Harry, which is located about a mile north of the Blessed Sacrament Church. We are really looking forward to the series, and especially to welcoming any new members! Copies of the book are readily available on Amazon and/or Ebay, both in reprint and the occasional original. Please contact either Eliot at [email protected] or Emily Evans at [email protected] or call 714.525.1066 if you are interested, or have questions.

SAVE THE DATE
The 16th annual silent auction fundraiser, sponsored by our Children’s Learning Center is fast approaching! So Save the Date! FIESTA TIME on Saturday, March 15, 2014 5:30 p.m. Yorba Linda Community Center
Listen to live mariachi music, enjoy some delicious food and bid on a wide variety of items in our silent and live auctions. We are now in the process of gathering gift items, services and entertainment opportunities that we will be auctioning off throughout the evening’s festivities. Do you have, or have access to anything that might add to our auction list of items? If you are willing to be a sponsor for our event and so help offset our expenses please fill out and submit the form that is inserted in this News-letter. This annual fundraiser has always been so successful because of the participation of so many of our church and school families. Anybody wishing to help with the preparations or actual event may contact the C.L.C. at 714 528-3070. Tickets go on sale the beginning of this month so please invite your friends and get ready for a fantastic evening! .

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ANNUAL MEETING UPDATE…...Jeff Green, Senior Warden, reporting.

The 57th Annual Meeting of the Blessed Sacrament Church was held on Sunday January 19, 2014. Father Christopher gave the invocation and was welcomed as our new Interim Priest. Elections for new Vestry members were not held as Bishop Bruno has asked that the current Vestry members remain in place until a new Rector is called. Nevertheless, Brondt Kamffer and Craig Holoboski were elected as our parishioner representatives to the 2014 Diocese of Los Angeles Convention and Ashley Romero was elected as our deanery representative. The retirement of Dave Juergens as Treasurer was announced and thanks was given for his 16 years of guidance and service to Blessed Sacrament Church. Paula Larsen will also be moving on from the position of Business Manager and thanks was given for her skillful management of church finances over the past 1 ½ years. Robert Bell has graciously agreed to take over as Treasurer (pending ratification by the Vestry) and Amber Moore has assumed the position of Business Manager (Amber is currently the part time bookkeeper for several other Episcopal churches, has auditing experience and comes highly recommended). Reports were also received from the various guilds and ministries and the proposed 2014 budget was presented. Attendance and offering statistics are printed on page 7 of this newsletter.

NEXT BETHLEHEM DEADLINE Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Consider A Mustard Seed If you have Faith the size of a Mustard seed……….. …..nothing shall be impossible for you.

Matthew xvii:20

FR. CHRISTOPHER POTTER, INTERIM PRIEST JEFF GREEN, SENIOR WARDEN BRIAN NICK, JUNIOR WARDEN MARCY RATCLIFF, OFFICE MANAGER MARION & THEO HETHERINGTON, EDITORS [email protected]

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Financial Charts for 2013
Parish members contributing based on 74 outstanding pledge envelopes
2013 SUMMARY OF ATTENDANCE & GIVING Average Sunday Attendance - 8:00 Average Sunday Attendance - 10:15 Average Sunday Attendance TOTAL Average Number of Contributions (Sunday) Average Sunday Contributions TOTAL ($) Actual Cumulative Contributions % Parish Members Participating (74 envelopes) Average Sunday Contribution (per envelope) Median Sunday Contribution (per envelope) Average Weekly Variance From Budget ($4238) Actual Cumulative Shortfall/Gain From Budget 1st Qtr 2013 26 66 92 30 $3,696.84 $48,058.91 40% $115.50 $42.50 ($541.16) ($7,035.09) 2nd Qtr 2013 28 62 90 30 $4,009.48 $52,123.18 41% $127.44 $38.00 ($228.52) ($2,970.82) 3rd Qtr 2013 24 61 85 26 $4,053.64 $52,697.27 35% $152.46 $40.38 ($184.36) ($2,396.73) 4th Qtr 2013 21 64 85 25 $3,376.94 $47,277.20 33% $121.71 $51.79 ($861.06) ($12,054.80) 2013 TOTAL 25 63 88 28 $3,776.54 $200,156.56 37% $128.22 $42.88 ($393.84) (20219.44)*

* This number has been adjusted positively by $4238 to account for Christmas offerings
YEARLY SUMMARY OF ATTENDANCE & GIVING Average Sunday Attendance - 8:00 Average Sunday Attendance - 10:15 Average Sunday Attendance TOTAL Average Number of Contributions (Sunday) Average Sunday Contributions TOTAL ($) Actual Cumulative Contributions % Parish Members Participating (74 envelopes) Average Sunday Contribution (per envelope) Median Sunday Contribution (per envelope) Average Weekly Variance From Budget ($4238) Actual Cumulative Shortfall/Gain From Budget

2010 39 92 128 39 $ 5,227.00 $ 271,794.00 N/A $ 134.00 $ 62.00 $ (273.20) ($14,206.33)

2011 37 93 130 38 $ 5,706.00 $ 296,719.00 27% $ 146.00 $ 69.00 $ (173.87) $ (4,860.14)

2012 33 91 124 36 $ 6,362.08 $ 337,190.41 27% $ 183.24 $ 49.45 $ 102.08 $ 5,410.88

2013 25 63 88 28 $3,776.54 $200,156.56 37% $128.22 $42.88 ($393.84) ($20,219.44)

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Beyond the Parish….. HOSPICE CARE OF CALIFORNIA “HEALING BROKEN HEARTS”

Long time member Dixie Shaw was wondering if you were aware of the Bereavement/Grief Support Group that is located here in Placentia. The group meets every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at: 377 E. Chapman Avenue, Suite 280, Placentia. Support is offered in 9 week sessions, so if you would like to register for a future session and/or need further information please call: 714-577-9656 or 800-889-3227 and ask for Barbara Amavisca, Bereavement Coordinator or Forrie.

Important News for Amazon Shoppers
Did you know that if you purchase anything from the Amazon Website you can also provide additional support to Blessed Sacrament by accessing it through Smile.Amazon.com?


Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.  AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service.  Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com. Just be sure that you identify Episcopal Church of the Blessed Sacrament in

Placentia, California as your Designated Charity.
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BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH WOULD LIKE TO THANK THESE BUSINESSES FOR MAKING OUR NEWSLETTER POSSIBLE

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714-777-2692
For information, please call (951) 776-0601

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT 1314 North Angelina Drive Placentia, California 92870-3442

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

THE BETHLEHEM
Phone: (714) 528-2995 Fax (714) 528-2997 E-Mail: [email protected] Web-site http://www.bsacramentchurch.org/

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