THE BETHLEHEM

Hebrew for House of Bread

SEPTEMBER 2013
E-Mail: bsacrament@sbcglobal.net Web site: http://www.bsacramentchurch.org/

Stewardship 2013: Flourish in Faith Dear parishioners, This year has been an extraordinary one with Gods abundant blessings everywhere! In this time of transition and preparation to call a new Rector, thank you for your dedication to our ministries and generous spirit. I am grateful to share this year with you. Over the next few weeks, we will have an opportunity to deepen our faith and commitment to the ministries at Blessed Sacrament Parish. October 6 through All Saints Sunday, a bulletin insert will include a reflection on the weekly Gospel lesson and the theme Flourish in Faith. I invite you to join me in reading these reflections, spending time considering the questions and examining what it truly means to Flourish in Faith. This is a time for reflection on all of life as a gift from God: relationships, family, vocation, environment and material wealth. By returning to God a portion of this abundance, we become more like the generous God in whose image we have been created. How we earn, save, spend and give makes a significant difference in the life of others. Perhaps even more importantly, these activities impact our own spiritual well-being and our ability to flourish in faith. This year the vestry has set a goal of receiving financial commitments from 100% of our membership. These commitments will enable Blessed Sacrament to grow in ministry and to fund a full-time parish rector. Recently we have practiced the faith budget wherein parishioners are asked to give on a regular basis and to respond to needs as they arise. What will be different this year is this: you will receive a pledge card and you will be asked to consider making a weekly/monthly/quarterly pledge to support our parish budget.
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NEXT BETHLEHEM DEADLINE Thursday, September 19, 2013

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.

leadership to guide us to grow and nurture our congregation. I know this may be a new practice for you, but how we use our money, that tangible entity of blessing, is a direct opportunity to express gratitude to God for his boundless generosity. I hope the Flourish in Faith stewardship series will be a blessing to you and your family. We encourage you to take time to pray and listen to God during this pledge season. The Apostle Paul challenged believers to use the spiritual resources available to themlove, the power of the Spirit, and the intellect God gave us. Remember the Holy Spirit is at work quietly among us. Trust God to enable you to Flourish in Faith. Faithfully, Father Brad Karelius Interim Pastor

Continued from page 1 Most Christian congregations in America have offered the discipline of a pledge card commitment for responsible, careful budgeting. On All Saints Sunday, November 3, you are invited to offer up your 2014 pledge card to be blessed during the mass. In the process of prayerfully considering what commitment you will make in 2014, it is important to look at where you are right now: how does your current giving express a percentage of your annual income? The Biblical tithe of 10% of annual income has been the Christian norm for 2,000 years. My wife Janice and I slowly progressed to that goal over a ten-year period. Please take an honest look at where you are in your current giving in relationship to this Biblical standard. If you are currently contributing 2% or 3% of your income to Blessed Sacrament, consider increasing your commitment to 4% or 5%. With a significant and faithful commitment to Gods work through Blessed Sacrament Parish we will be able to fund a full-time rector in 2014, to provide us with the
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Coming Events
Sunday, September 8th: Sunday School Classes begin! Sunday, September 15th: Homecoming Sunday. Ministry opportunities display tables in Parish Hall. Festive Coffee Hour: bring breads, egg dishes, salads to share. Sunday, September 29: Michaelmas Anglican Missal Mass. Sunday, October 6: Commemoration of founding of our parish Sunday, October 20: Begin adult education series at 9am and noon. We will be reading Saint Augustine: A Life (Penguin Lives Biographies) by Garry Wills. Paperback and Kindle editions available from Amazon.com. Sunday, November 3: All Saints Sunday Requiem Mass, reception and blessing of pledge cards for 2014.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School was a great success this summer! This year we had almost 40 kids attend and 75% of them were not members of our parish. We also had 20 Jr. High and High School kids from the Parish volunteering during the week. It was an awesome outreach to our community! Our theme this year was Athens-Paul's Dangerous Journey. Each day the kids met Paul in his house and he shared with them about God's love and his mission to tell all people about Jesus. Dionysus (a character played by Jeff Green) would visit Paul and share his doubts about Jesus. By the end of the week Dionysus became a follower of Jesus too. The kids loved learning about the Bible in such a memorable way. They would also visit the marketplace each day where they would make crafts, eat traditional snacks, and play instruments in Greek fashion. Everyone who worked in the marketplace was in costume and all the kids wore "togas" too. It added to the fun! Ashley Romero did an excellent job leading the kids in music each day. They are still singing some of the songs they learned at VBS in Children's Chapel on Sunday mornings. This year we added an outreach element that worked fantastically. Each day the children brought in a different kind of coin to donate to the children at HIS house. The first day they brought pennies, the next nickles, and so on until we ended with dollars. Our goal was to raise $100 so we could buy summer sandals for all the children (17) living at HIS House. I'm happy to report that
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we exceeded our goal and the kids brought in $185 dollars! On that final day when we announced to the kids how much money was raised they all screamed with joy. It was great to have them involved in outreach in a way they could understand. Marion Heatherington was instrumental in arranging this part of the program and purchasing the sandals for all the children at HIS House. Her service was invaluable and greatly appreciated. Every year we get more kids and reach more families with our VBS program. We couldn't make it happen without the donations and manpower from the church. Thank you so very much to everyone who donated their time and money to VBS this year. It just gets better and better.

H.I.S. House Article XVI Vacations, and Such

How many of you have just had or are about to have a vacation this summer? Vacations are a time to relax, regroup, and perhaps get a different perspective on your life. For some, the daily work routine can become a heavy burden that needs to be removed even if temporarily. For those of us lucky enough to be retired, I have been told that my week is essentially six Saturdays and Sunday. Whatever your situation, a vacation is something to anticipate and plan for. It can be a genuine renewal of body and spirit. But what if you cant afford to take the time off from your job? What if you have just been fortunate enough to find a position and are reluctant to ask for time off? What if you dont

have a job and are constantly searching for any kind of position to bring some income? These are typical situations for residents of HIS House, and perhaps many others as well. We are not in a position to offer vacations to our residents even though they may need that type of relief. What we try to do is continue to provide positive, helpful support and mentoring so that eventually they can reach financial and social independence. What can you do? Become involved in the ministries that HIS House provides by volunteering your time, donating goods, or making monetary gifts that help keep the programs and the shelter operating. Pray for the residents, the staff, and the Board of Directors that we all make the right decisions and take the right actions to continue the successes we have seen and prepare for the challenges that will come. If you can help, please call the shelter at (714) 993-5774 to become a part of the success in someones life. Blessings and Thank You, Allen Sypherd, Past Chair HIS House Board

experiences with members of Blessed Sacrament, so many occasions of sorrow and of joy. These have been the deepest and richest and happiest years of our lives. One could wonder why we would choose to move again. Again, the answer is love. The family we love is moving in different directions. Our older son, Bart, will be moving to Maui in a few years; our younger son, Steve, has already moved to Corsicana, Texas. He takes with him his dear wife, Annie, and our one and only granddaughter, Savannah, whom we want to see grow up. We love all our family and want to be close to part of the family, at least. It is heartbreaking to say goodbye to our good friends at Blessed Sacrament. Many of you have told us that you have connections in Texas and visit in the Dallas area occasionally. Please consider a visit with us. We will be an hour's drive from Dallas and are going to have a nice guest room. If you need to get in touch with us, the office at Blessed Sacrament can help you. We can't say goodbye without saying thank you to Jeff Green. He is doing an outstanding job as Senior Warden. Few of you know the hours of work he does on our behalf. Thank you, Jeff. On a more personal level, we need to thank Jeff for the excellent job he is doing for us, as our Realtor. I hadn't known that Jeff is a "Broker Realtor," who also holds a law degree. He spent ten years working actively in Real Estate and is now helping us through the complications of selling a house in California and buying a house in Texas, which we are learning is full of twists and turns. Jeff is a man of integrity, with a good sense of humor. He is getting us a good price for our house, being careful that things are done correctly. We wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone who wants to buy or sell a house. Another couple that few of you know are Norbert and Maria Klaussner. They have a
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A Letter From Fr. Richard & Marge Avery

Dear Friends and Family at Blessed Sacrament Church, Fifteen years ago we moved to Placentia to be close to a church we loved. Over these years we have grown to love this parish more and more. We have had so many warm and loving

housecleaning business and have kept our house shiny and clean, coming every two weeks to do battle with the dust. This couple does a good job; they are reliable and have proved their honesty and integrity: we let them keep our house key. When we leave, they will be able to take on another customer or two. Please call them in the evening at 714-985-9348. We started to write a list of other special friends we wanted to thank, but quickly saw that the task was impossible. We tried looking through a parish directory and recalled many, many smiling faces at Mass, hugs and kisses from friends, willing hands of those who came to our help when we needed it. We thought of those whose kind notes and letters lifted our spirits, whose gifts on holidays or birthdays or anniversaries, made life more cheerful. We want to thank the many kind and loving people of Blessed Sacrament, all of them. In the months and years to come, Blessed Sacrament will have a new Rector and, perhaps, other clergy and their families for you to love. We pray that Blessed Sacrament will continue to be the very special church that it is. We give thanks for the 15 years we were blessed by living and serving among you. In the love of Christ, Fr. Richard and Marge Avery

resumes from the 6-8 candidates for Rector, proposed by Canon Satorius and Bishop Bruno, and start the evaluation and discernment process. It is anticipated that we can distribute the portfolio and start receiving resumes by the end of September or beginning of October. We will not be utilizing a full rector search committee, but will augment the Vestry with five parishioners who will concentrate on rector search activities.

FINANCIAL UPDATE
The Vestry and the Budget & Finance Committee are entering into discussions with Bishop Bruce whereby Bishop Bruce will offer us guidance in the areas of finance and stewardship. Prior to entering the clergy, Bishop Bruce had a very successful career in banking and financial management. In the meantime we are embarking on a new stewardship program and are investigating methods to cut costs and possible fundraising opportunities. We are now generating income from the rental of the rectory and were looking at ways to reduce landscaping and maintenance costs.

RECTOR SEARCH UPDATE

The majority of the work on the Parish Portfolio had been completed and the draft has been sent to the graphic artist to be put into final presentation format. Once the Parish Portfolio is finished it will be sent to Canon Satorius for final approval before posting on our website and elsewhere. At that point we can begin to receive
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JUNIOR WARDENS PROJECT LIST

We have instituted a maintenance request and completion process. Maintenance request forms are available in the back of the church and in the church office hallway. If you discover a maintenance or safety issue, please complete a form and submit it to the Office Manager, Marcy Ratcliff. Currently we have several minor carpentry and plumbing repairs that need attention and we are investigating the possibility

of changing many of our doorknobs and locks. If anyone has experience in these areas and would like to help out please contact Jeff Green, Brian Nick or Devin Fryling.

Sermon August 18, 2012 presented by the Rev. Brad Karelius

As we affirm our belief that the scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit, it can be easy to forget that these scriptures came out of the lived experience of the community of faith. One of the basic elements of our belief in Gods revelation is that it happens within human experience. So todays Gospel is a very good example. Jesus predicts that one of the consequences of believing in him is that divisions will follow. We can tell from the whole text of Lukes Gospel that these divisions were certainly part of the earliest Christian community, which wrote this book and that their faith in Christ led them to confront some very tough issues, like: How Gentiles inherit the promises made to the Jews. Why the rich members of the community had a special responsibility to the poor. The centrality of forgiveness in the Christian life. What the leadership role women should have in the earliest church. We know that fights over these issues and faith in Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah divided families and villages, cities, nations and a religious tradition. This Gospel is both a stark reminder of the costs involved in following Jesus and a comfort to us in the church today. Sometimes we can turn the Christian community into a feel-good society. If Christians at home, at work, in society and on the international stage just go along with what is trendy or current because we are frightened of
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conflict or because we want to be seen a part of the crowd, then we are not worthy of Christ. Sometimes when we hear Jesus use the metaphor of a blazing fire, we can see it as a negative, violent image. But I am not sure that is the only interpretation. Fire is sometimes necessary and good to clear out the layers of undergrowth, built up over time, that smother the soil of the forest and prevent new growth. Fire is a beacon that gives guidance and attracts attention. A blazing fire can attract everyone to its light, warmth, and power. Think of the holy fire we kindle to begin the Easter Eve Mass. So maybe this Gospel is a call to purge the weight of old growth that can stop fresh thinking. Maybe it gives guidance to us in the justice we are meant to live and the attention we must call to the needs of all Gods children. And maybe it is a reminder that the life of our Christian community is meant to be attractive through its gentle power and warmth. If the price we pay for witnessing to any of these values is that we divide the crowd, then so be it. What is comforting about this Gospel is that it recognizes conflict as a necessary part of the Christian life. There are some who want to pretend that the followers of Jesus should never disagree with one another or with those outside the church. Conflict in itself, Jesus teaches us today, is an element in our commitment to the kingdom of God. What marks the way we should disagree with one another inside and outside the church, however, is that the disagreement is conducted with charity, dignity, careful listening and compassion. Christians always look to put the best possible interpretation on the opinions of those with whom we disagree and to be reconciled to those we have hurt, to heal divisions where we can. Conflicts are not new to our parish family. There have been conflicts over physical issues of our buildings, conflicts over finances and other decisions, conflicts with the Diocese and larger church, and personal conflicts with the rector or vestry. Some of those conflicts

have resulted in parishioners leaving the congregation or leaving the Episcopal Church altogether. I believe there are some special gospel imperatives laid before us when we are at a place of emotional differences with each other or the larger church: We always ask the Lord to be present with us and to enlighten our hearts. Listening to the Holy Spirit in a time of conflict is different from trying to find scriptures or other evidence to support our minds that are already made up. We always approach the Other as a respected brother/sister in Christ. The Evil One wants us to demonized the Other (no pun intended), to make an It out of one who should be a Thou. As you have read through the responses in the parish profile, you may see that our parish has more diversity of opinions and beliefs than you thought. I am a big believer in the power of the dialectic to be a tool of the Holy Spirit. We speak honestly about our values and beliefs with each other. When we encounter someone who differs from us, this is helpful if there is conflict: Listen, dont interrupt. Give the person some space to speak. Listen, dont let your mind race to formulate your rebuttal. Listen. Say back to the person what you hear them saying. Use their words, not your editorial interpretations. The person will affirm that you are hearing them or not. Hearing someone doesnt mean you agree with them. Speak from your heart. May this Eucharist give us the courage to divide the crowd for the right reasons. May we be a blazing fire that casts light on darkness where people are exploited and injustice smothers the growth Christ wants to see in the
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human family. No one promises us that the Christian faith was ever going to be a picnic. Amen

FR. BRAD KARELIUS, INTERIM PRIEST JEFF GREEN, SENIOR WARDEN BRIAN NICK, JUNIOR WARDEN MARCY RATCLIFF, OFFICE MANAGER MARION & THEO HETHERINGTON, REPORTERS JAY DUFFIELD, EDITOR jayd@roadrunner.com

VBS Photo Memories

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

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THE BETHLEHEM
Phone: (714) 528-2995 Fax: (714) 528-2997 E-Mail: bsacrament@sbcglobal.net Web site: http://www.bsacramentchurch.org/