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3207 Montana Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45211
513-661-1154 |
This Sunday at St. James
The Holy Eucharist - Rite I - 8:00 AM
The Holy Eucharist - Rite II - 10 AM
We will commission Lay Ministers at the 10 AM worship service. Please plan on attending!
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Rebuild The Cathedral in Haiti
This initiative is an important effort toward visibly comprehending and demonstrating our communion with our Anglican Brothers and Sisters in Haiti.
Please take some time to read this week's bulletin insert. Read and pray over Bishop Breidenthal's reflection about understanding Jesus' mission for us. He offers some fruitful ideas about better acknowledging our shared humanity as we honor Christ in one another. Take a look here!
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Outreach Need
I have been assisting a neighbor of ours with some special needs. He recently discovered that his apartment, as well as the apartments close to him are infected with bedbugs. Pest exterminators have been to his home and sprayed his personal belongings. I advised him to contact the Board of Health. However, he has discarded his queen-sized box-spring mattress and mattress cover.
Our neighbor lives on disability insurance and does not have disposable income to go and purchase these items. Please contact me if you know of where we might be able to locate these items and/or wish to donate them for someone who is really in need of them.
Thanks!
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A note from Jim+
I get more than a little antsy every time I either read or listen to the Hebrew Bible story of Samuel hearing God's voice in The Temple. Samuel clearly "hears" someone speaking to him. He initially believes that his mentor is speaking to him. Eli wisely determines that his teenaged pupil is actually hearing God's voice. Samuel returns to his mattress
and responds with an open heart and ears when
Yĕhovah summons him again. It's a wonderful story and the passage nonetheless raises all sorts of questions about properly listening for God's presence and direction in our lives.
Samuel was kinda lucky I think. He didn't have to content with getting other teenagers too and from school or band practice or some other activity. He wasn't working 50+ hours a week or figuring our how to pay this month's mortgage. All of that aside... Samuel's confusion in his call process was that he "didn't yet know the Lord nor was the Lord's Word yet revealed to him. (1 Sa. 3: 7). Gosh, I've got that process completely figured out, don't you? How does anyone know whether or not God is speaking to them? Jesus heard God's voice in last Sunday's Gospel. The Prophet Muhammad similarly responded to an overwhelming sense of The Divine (Allah) beckoning him to action. Joseph Smith discerned that God had called him to re-establish The Church of Jesus Christ. Were all of them listening to the same God, their egos, or some other "voice?" Imams, rabbis, priests, pastors, and all sorts of other people in other vocations believe that God is calling them to prophetically live their lives and share their skills in a particular and meaningful manner. How do they and we know?
This may be a rather simplistic answer but Jesus' advice regarding the work of true versus false prophets makes very good sense. When God beckons us to action, are the fruits of our labors and beliefs life-giving and abundant. Does the prophetic nature of our teachings lead us and the people around us toward healing and caring for one another or does it provoke anger and division. I suppose that such decisions depend upon a believing listener's point of view. Religious response and concurrence are hardly consensual, especially when we take our own and other people's context and experiences into account. Another facet of the vocational call process is: do the people around us as well as our faith community have the same sense of purpose as we do?
I commend the people here at St. James who have heard God and decided that this parish is a place where God's love is visible and sharable. Each and every Sunday our bulletin prompts us and our guests to openly experience Jesus Christ's Grace. Our stated goal is to provide a message about the purpose and meaning of life that is both enjoyable and practical. Let's see if we can continue our mutual labors this coming Sunday even as we ponder what it means to state and truly believe in the words: "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening."
Blessings Along The Way,
Jim+
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Vacation, no wait .... Vocation, yeah, no wait, what???
Vocations are just for really religious people, right? NOPE! Check out this video for some really good facts about What if all of us are called by God to accomplish special, miraculous, and meaningful things? It might just be an Epiphany-like moment for you!
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