| Greetings! This is our first attempt at a periodic newsletter. Please let us know which parts you like, which parts you might like to see changed, and anything additional you would like us to include. Thanks for your support. Today is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad & rejoice in it! |
| Love the Lord your God |
 The story in today's gospel about the prodigal son is a familiar story to most of us here. We have been told about how the forgiveness of the father towards to the prodigal son is an example of God's forgiveness to the wayward sinner. This is an important lesson to learn, but today I want us to look at the whole picture of family relations in this story. I believe the older son is often overlooked or even ignored. This is sad, because as a church we can learn much from the relationship of the older son with his father and his brother.
In this well known parable told by Jesus, we have three players. First there is the father, who has two sons and a fairly nice estate with servants. As the story unfolds the father is seen as filled with compassion towards both his sons, even though they both mistreat him. The unconditional love of the father towards his sons who do not love him is beyond the comprehension of Jesus' first - century listeners...................
To read the rest, link to our Website;
|
| Bishop Lipscomb Responds |
Thoughts on the primates' Communique
By The Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb
As published in the March/April 2007 issue of The Southern Cross  My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus:
Words can not express my gratitude to the clergy and people of the diocese who continue to pray for my recovery. I am now able to be in the office one day a week and continue my responsibilities as Bishop of Southwest Florida as I am able. You strengthen me by the many expressions of concern that I have received. Many of you have sent visible symbols of your thoughts and prayers for which I am most grateful.
To read the rest of the response, link to the Diocese webpage:
|
| Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet |
The Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet was started back in 1952 by having our Bishop come down to Fort Myers Beach on a Sunday and bless all the boats and their crews. This has continued as an annual event and is looked forward to by the congregation, the public and especially the fishermen.
The ladies of the church started selling a shrimp salad sandwich in a roll in 1952 because there were no restaurants around the area - hence "Shrimp Rolls." The sale is a money-making event for the church. Members and their friends fill the parish hall to cook, clean and prepare the shrimp that weekend.
Our new Bishop Dabney Smith celebrated with us this year and blessed the fleet. Link to our website to view the pictures of the event:
http://www.saint-raphaels.org/events.html
|
