Saturday, July 2, 2011

LITURGY OF THE WORD AND WEEKLY READINGS









Sunday, July 31, 2011: Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
First Reading: (Genesis 32:22-31)
Psalm 17:1-17, 16, Page 600, BCP
Epistle: Paul's Letter (Romans 9:1-5)
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (14:13-21)
Suggested Readings For The Week
Monday Acts 18:1-11; Tuesday Acts 18:12-28; Wednesday Acts 19:1-10; Thursday Acts 19:11-20;
Friday Mark 9:14-29; Saturday 2 Corinthians 4:1-6.

Sunday, July 24, 2011: Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
First Reading: (Genesis 29:15-28)
Psalm 105:1-11,45b, Page 738, BCP
Epistle: Paul's Letter (Romans 8:26-39)
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (13:31-33, 44-52)
Suggested Readings For The Week
Monday Mark 1:14-20; Tuesday Acts 16:6-15; Wednesday Acts 16:16-24; Thursday Acts 16:25-40; Friday Acts
Friday Acts 17:1-15; Saturday Acts 17:16-34.

Sunday, July 17, 2011: Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
First Reading: (Genesis 28:10-19a)
Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23, Page 794, BCP
Epistle: Paul's Letter (Romans 8:12-25)
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (13:24-30, 36-43)
Suggested Readings For The Week
Monday Acts 13:44-52; Tuesday Acts 14:1-18; Wednesday Acts 14:19-28; Thursday
Acts 15:1-11; Friday Mark 15:47-16:7); Saturday Acts 15:22-35.

Sunday, July 10, 2011: Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
First Reading: (Genesis 25:19-34)
Psalm 119:105-112, Page 722, BCP
Epistle: Paul's Letter (Romans 8:1-11)
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (13:1-9,18-23)
Suggested Readings For The Week
Monday Acts 11:19-30; Tuesday Acts 12:1-17; Wednesday Acts 12:18-25; Thursday Acts 13:1-12; Friday Acts 13:13-25; Saturday Acts 13:26-43.

Sunday, July 3, 2011: Third Sunday After Pentecost
First Reading: (Genesis 24:34-38, 42-29)
Psalm 45:11-18, Page 648, BCP
Epistle: Paul's Letter (Romans 7:15-25a)
The Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (11:16-19, 25-30)
Suggested Readings For The Week
Monday James 5:7-10; Tuesday Acts 9:32-43; Wednesday Acts 10:1-16;
Thursday Acts 10:17-33; Friday Acts 10:34-48; Saturday Acts 11:1-18.
NEWS AND EVENTS















Farewell Brunch
The Rector, Vestry and members of Saint Monica's Church said farewell to Dr. and Mrs. Eddie Davis with a brunch that was held on Sunday, July 10, 2011 after the 10:30 a.m. service.

From Dr. and Mrs. Eddie Davis
Thank you so much for the wonderful tribute, delicious brunch and generous gift you gave us on Sunday, July 10th. St. Monica's family will always have a special place in the hearts of the Davis family. You all will always be welcome in our home.

From The Desk of the Rector
Many thanks to everyone who contributed to a lovely few hours as we said farewell to Dr. and Mrs. Davis. They joined us for their final Prayer meeting on Sunday. Thank you again Doctor and Mrs. Davis. It is always good to let members know how much we appreciated their ministries among and with us. I am hoping that we will do the same thing at least twice a year. When we work out the details we will let you know.

Our young people will lead us in worship on July at 10:30 a.m. They will do the entire Liturgy of the word which will include choosing of hymns, liturgical dance, ushering, etc. We are praying that we can do this at least every fifth Sunday.

The Vestry now has its own projector. We will continue to use our PowerPoint presentation. It is obvious that we need others to be trained and be willing to help Bates Lyons who has done a marvelous job. The PowerPoint presentation saves us from having to print the service and lessons. We hope you appreciate the effort being made by the vestry as we seek to use wisely the finances you give on a weekly basis for the operation of our parish.

The Annual Parish Picnic
Come one! Come all! To our Annual Saint Monica's Parish Picnic. The Picnic will be Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 2 p.m. on the church grounds. There will be lots of fun, fellowship, food, refreshments and games. Please see Mrs. Nora Brown or any member of the Stewardship Committee for more information.

Jason Harvey
Please include Jason Harvey in your prayers as he travels to Australia from July 12-29, 2011. He will be a People-to-People Student Ambassador. Jason is one of 40 high school students from New England. Ambassadors will develop the following insight: 1) Marine biology and its application to Australian sea life; 2) History of Australia's first European settlements, zoology, geology and botany; 3) World heritage sites; 4) Australian government, multiculturalism and much more.

The Harvest Committee Presents
The Harvest Committee presents a fundraising trip to the Sights and Sound Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 19 and 20, 2011. The fees are $290.00 per adult and $240.00 per child. Cost includes transportation, hotel fees and taxes, one breakfast and dinner, and ticket admission to the play Joseph. For more information please see Olive James.

Birthday and Anniversaries in July
Happy Birthday to: Cindy Jones 3rd; Michael Rose 4th; Winsome Barnaby 5th; Marie Harvey 6th; Leslyn Clark 10th; Coleen Wilson 11th; Vickena Webb 15th; Gloria Marsele and Benoni Asamoah 16th; Cisalle Harrell 20th; Shirley Freeman and Courtney Haughton 22nd; Hazel Weather 31st.

Happy Anniversary to: Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Aimey 5th; Mr. and Mrs. Denzil Samuda 6th; Mr. and Mrs. Bob Nelson 7th.

Condolences
We extend our sincere Christian sympathy to the family of Samuel Ulette. May he rest in peace.

The family of Samuel Ulett would like to thank our church family at St. Monica's for their kindness, prayers and visits during Samuel's illness and his passing. We also want to thank the members of the church for their participation in the service and assistance with the repast. May God's richest blessings be with you always.



ITEMS OF INTEREST







I Wonder
This is an occasional column that answers interesting questions.

Every week the Bulletin has Suggested Readings for the Week.
I wonder where they come from and why they were selected?

"As the church evolved over the centuries, and especially in the monastic orders who kept the hours of prayer throughout the day, a 'schedule ' of these readings was developed to encourage communities to read the entire spectrum of books of Scripture, not just their favorite few, and to emphasize the unity of the Christian church as the faithful from many diverse places and communities gathered to reads the same lessons on the same day."

"In the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer we have readings for daily prayer arranged in a Daily Office Lectionary (BCP 933-1001). While the lectionary is designed to be used primarily in the context of the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer found in the Prayer Book, the readings can also be followed on their own or in the context of other forms of daily prayer, such as the various monastic offices or books of hours that are in print today."[1]

[1] Vicki K. Black and Peter W. Wenner. Welcome to the Bible (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing 2007), pp. 97, 98.

The Suggested Readings for the Week are taken from the Daily Office Lectionary.

Clergy
The Rev. Charles Davidson

Vestry Members
Carol Anderson, Cyrus Aimey (Junior Warden), Veronica Airey-Wilson, Joyce Asiedu, Walter Benjamin (Senior Warden, Nora Brown, Terry Brown (Treasurer), Marie Brown-Harvey (Secretary),Evelyn Green, Shannon Holder, Bates Lyons, Joe Noel, Peter Marsele Terrie Thomas, Herbert Bowen (Hon)

Music
Rochelle Holder - Youth Choir
Nathaniel Baker - Music Director/Organist

Rector Emeritus
Canon Cyril Burke

Email
monicahartford@gmail.com

THE BOOK CORNER

The Fixer
by Bernard Malamud

When I went to start Malamud's The Fixer I expected that I would find a work of great brilliance. Being that it was the first book ever to win both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, only done once since, I expected unusually inspiring proses. I was not disappointed. Malamud's depiction of a man, in prison, in terrible conditions, virtually concentration camp scenarios, of a man accused of a crime he did not commit, due to anti-semitism in Russia during the period 1904 through 1907 or thereabouts.

Malamud not only gives us the full impact and feeling of the isolation, desolation and frustration of a prisoner in terrible conditions, waiting just for a 'letter of indictment', not even knowing whether he would be accused of the terrible rumor that abound. Malamud takes us through periods of hope for the prisoner, and then dashes those hopes. He takes us through the feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and the struggle that such a combination creates with the concept of suicide.

Written without any fanciness in terms of high language, but using only words that one could understand with a 9th grade education, Malamud constructs what is a classic novel of a Kafka story and the intensity of Blindness by Saramago (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1998). For serious thinkers of the human mind and the places it takes one in conditions of great extremity, this book is a must read. To get closed to the real feelings of prison hopelessness combined with intense anti-semitism, read Malamud's book and then come to a new understanding of the human condition and its obscurity as an individual in a world turned against one.
Review by Jon Linden