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Season is in High Gear!
Come Worship with us on the Beach! |
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| News from the Anglican Presence on Ft. Myers Beach | February 2012 |
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WELCOME
Welcome to St. Raphael's by the Sea. We are an orthodox Anglican parish in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church of North America. We seek to know Christ and to make Christ known. Our worship services are a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary praise and worship songs. There is no need for prayer books or hymnals as our service is projected on the screen for your convenience. So just relax and worship the Lord with us. There are no strangers here, only friends we haven't yet met. Please stay afterwards for some refreshments and more importantly to make new friends. Looking forward to meeting you..
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 Dear Friends and Family,
We here at St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church continue to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of our commitment "to know Christ and to make Christ known", as a pastor I believe I would be remiss if I kept silent on the new national healthcare mandate concerning sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraceptives. Although pro-choice organizations have for years claimed individuals have a choice in such matters, their support of this mandate, which eliminates any personal choice, is I believe to be hypocritical to say the least. On the other hand, the Roman Catholic Church has taken a courageous stance against this federal mandate that attacks 'the sanctity of life' and the separation of church and state. I say this because 'the sanctity of life' is an important tenet of faith for the Roman Catholic Church and other faith traditions. While religious organizations such as churches, synagogues and mosques have been exempted from this mandate, religious owned organizations such as hospitals, orphanages, schools, etc. have not been exempted. This federal mandate forces religious owned institutions to perform and or pay for procedures that are against their religious beliefs. This means that doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, who believe in the sanctity of life, will have to choose between going against their own consciences or leaving the medical field. Here in Lee County we do not have any Roman Catholic hospitals, so we may believe that we are not directly impacted. However, we cannot afford to be myopic. Religious schools and other religious institutions, besides Roman Catholic hospitals, are being forced to pay for employment insurance that covers procedures and health care that is against the religious beliefs of these religious owned organizations. This federal mandate will also affect individual health insurance under the new national health care system, forcing persons of faith to have to pay for coverage that may be against their personal religious beliefs. As Americans, we need to unite against this federal government assault on our religious freedom. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, religious or not, the time has come to take a stand and join with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. The time to speak out is now, before it is too late. Respectfully, The Rev. Alice Marcrum, Rector St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church Fort Myers Beach, FL
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 Archbishop Duncan Issues Statement
Archbishop Duncan Issues Statement Responding to Recent Attack on Religious Liberty Archbishop Robert Duncan released the following statement in support of the Catholic Church's fight to maintain freedom of conscience in the midst of the U.S. federal government issuing a preventive care mandate in violation of its teaching. "The Anglican Church in North America stands by our Catholic brothers and sisters as followers of Christ in a nation whose Constitution guarantees 'the free exercise' of religion. As Christians, our faith and doctrine are at the very heart of our service to others in our community. Therefore, it is extremely troubling to see our government mandate services contrary to Catholic Church teaching. I call on all members of the Anglican Church to stand by our Catholic brothers and sisters, and pray for our elected officials to have the courage to stand up for religious freedom and overturn this mandate," said Archbishop Duncan |
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It's Just Brick & Mortar; The Church is the People
Text of the sermon given by Rev. Marcrum January 22, 2012
(Click here to view/listen to her deliver the homily)
Last week we looked at three different callings of the Lord. One of them was the calling of the evangelist as we saw when Andrew told Nathaniel they had found the Christ and for Nathaniel to "Come and see". In today's gospel reading from Mark, Jesus tells two fishermen, Simon, whom He later renamed Peter, and his brother Andrew, "'Follow me and I will make you fish for people.'"
Notice, Jesus did not say, "Follow me and I will show you how to make bigger and better boats." Or even, "Follow me and I will show you how to build beautiful synagogues." As the son of Joseph the carpenter, Jesus could probably teach the fishermen how to build either one of these. Yet, that is not what interests Jesus. What interests Jesus is people!
As most of you know, the founders of this parish, St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church, walked away from the building that some had helped to build. Many precious memories were made there. Not only did we leave a beloved building of worship, many left behind their loved ones in the Columbarium of the old church. It was not an easy decision to walk away, but as one of the members expressed, "It is just brick and mortar. It is a just a building."
While the founders of St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church, like many other congregations that left their buildings of worship, chose to walk away from the past; there have been some who chose to stay and fight over their buildings. Even though I empathize with those who want to remain in their building of worship that many have heavily invested in over the years; the following verses came to me when I was praying about the congregations that recently lost their legal battles and had to leave their buildings. The verse is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter two: "No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
When Jesus was calling His disciples, He was doing a new thing. The Holy Spirit was creating the Body of Christ through people NOT buildings. In fact, Jesus taught not only in the synagogues and the Temple, but also in boats, homes and under the open sky in fields, on mountains, on roads and even in the streets of Jerusalem that led Him to the cross. Buildings were not even on Jesus' agenda. In fact, Jesus prophesied the destruction of the beautiful Temple of Jerusalem, which came to pass in 70 AD.
While the destruction of the Temple left the Jews in utter anguish and despair, Jesus' followers, who had been kicked out of the Temple and the synagogues, continued to worship in each others' homes. In Rome, when the Christians were being persecuted, they met secretly in the catacombs with the bones of the dead lining their walls of worship. For the first three hundred years of the Church's history, Christians did not have safe public buildings wherein to worship openly, yet the Church flourished.
I know that some of you have probably been told like I have that we are not a real church, because we do not have our own building. My response was that where two or three are gathered together in the Name of Jesus, the Church is there! I know we are rather unusual in our meeting space, yet God has blessed us here with great favor! We also probably have some of the most comfortable worship seats on Fort Myers Beach.
While some of you want us to start a building fund, my response is we need to use all of our resources to reach others for Christ. That means reaching out and caring for others. Praying for others and doing fund raisers to help those who cannot help themselves. It means reaching people for Christ as first and foremost on our spiritual agenda. It means learning how to fish for people. Not building an edifice out of brick and mortar, but building up the Body of Christ.
I know we are the smallest church on the island, but we are just getting started. Folks on this island were amazed when we made it through our first year. We just finished another record breaking fund-raiser to keep this ministry going. I believe that God who created this parish is not finished with her. We have so many more people to reach for Christ. God is pouring the new wine of the Holy Spirit into the new wine skin of this church. By our very existence we are a testimony to this community that God is alive and doing a new thing right here on Fort Myers Beach. We are like the fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, who left their nets behind, to follow Jesus the Christ and learn how to fish for people. Mark writes, "As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him."
All of these fishermen, Simon, Andrew, James and John did not know what their future with Christ held. Yet, they willingly left behind their old life to begin a new life following Jesus of Nazareth. Because of their decisions, God used them to change the world. From a group of fishermen came the evangelists that would grow the Church. After Christ ascended to the Father God, these men, along with the other Apostles chosen by Christ, would be the Leaders of the early Church that now claims one third of the world's population. They learned well from the Lord on how to fish for people. May we go and do likewise. _____________________ |
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MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:
Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together
An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans
Released January 11, 2012
Dear Friends:
The promotion and protection of marriage-the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife-is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people. The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community. It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies. It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female, and with the essential task of bearing and
nurturing children.
As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities, we join together to affirm that marriage in its true definition must be protected for its own sake and for the good of society. We also recognize the grave consequences of altering this definition. One of these consequences-the interference with the religious freedom of those who continue to affirm the true definition of "marriage"-warrants special attention within our faith communities and throughout society as a whole. For this reason, we come
together with one voice in this letter.......
To read the entire letter and view the signatories please click on this link. |
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Join us once again for the Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet The Shrimp Fleet owners have once again invited St. Raphael's by the Sea Anglican Church to host the 2012 Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet. The Blessing will take place on Sunday, March 4, 2012 at the Shrimp Docks at 3:00 PM. The Rt. Rev. Neil Lebhar, Bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese in the Anglican Church of North America, has graciously accepted the invitation to bless the Shrimp Fleet. The date for the Blessing is scheduled by the shrimpers each year in accordance to the first full moon closest to Easter without being during Holy Week. The Blessing of the Fleet is a favorite local celebration that brings visitors from all over. Vendors will have their booths open from noon to 5pm. The popular shrimp eating contest will begin at 1:30pm. Make sure you don't miss this fun tradition that brings folks from all walks of life together. Come and walk the docks with the Bishop!
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 A Mommy Moment
Four-year-old Mitch loved candy almost as much as his mom Ann did. He and Daddy had given her a beautiful heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day.
A few days later Mitch was eyeing it, wishing to have a piece of it. As he reached out to touch one of the big pieces, Ann said to him, "If you touch it, then you have to eat it. Do you understand?"
"Oh, yes," he said, nodding his head. Suddenly his little hand patted the tops of all the pieces of candy. "Now I can eat them all."
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 Our Mission is to Know Christ and to make Christ known to others.
To accomplish that mission, it takes commitment and resources. Please read the next few paragraphs and do what you can to support and further the mission.
Needs of our Church
- PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PLEDGE CARDS ASAP!
- Financial contributions and donations to cover:
- Operating expenses; such as, rent for our worship space, supplies, secretarial assistance and office supplies, outreach, etc.
- Dedicated donations of Altar Guild supplies and support.
- Outreach efforts for our community
- Salary and modest expenses for our pastor
- Prayers and support from our seasonal members to sustain our full time members in their efforts until you all return and physically "pitch in"
- New members to expand our outreach and service in doing the Lord's work in our communities
Our Prayer List: PARISHIONERS: Ruth Abraham AJ Bassett Betty Goodacre Geri Paprocki Roxie Smith Jane Upsal FAMILY OF PARISHIONERS: Frandy Bassett, Gary, Tasha & Courtney Looney Harold Futch, Bonnie Harris Iris Street, Anthony Smith, Mary Sue Webb FRIENDS: Sue Egony, Lily Langster, Allison Watkins Cathryne Anne Kahililani, Andrew Hartfield Jean Matthew, Mary Ellen Smith, Grace Greener Linda Phillips, The Joshua Fund, The Nuns of St. Claire Remember to pray for those who are in the military service:
Rockford , Adam, Louis, David, Caroline, Nick and Jessica
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 Ash Wednesday Service
Saint Raphael's by the Sea will conduct a traditional Ash Wednesday Service/Mass at Noon on February 22, 2011. Once again The Beach Baptist Church has opened their worship space to us so that we can hold this moving service. Please join us and receive the ashes as we begin our Lenten journey to the cross, remembering that we are dust and to dust we will return.. |
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Here Is Your Chance!
Make an On-Line Donation to Support Our Mission!
Donate On-Line to St. Raphael's by the Sea Church
To make it readily accessable and easy for our season members and friends to help support the missions of St. Raphael's by the Sea, we have set-up a means to receive donations via credit cards, debit cards, and direct from your bank accounts! Just click on the link below, enter you information and desired donation, and voila!, the transaction is completed for you direct into St. Raphael's by the Sea checking account. You can even specify how you want the funds used; from paying operating expenses, to flowers, music, Christmas, Easter, etc.
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Live Streaming Video of Each Service!
We went "LIVE" a months ago with our first ever real time, streaming video of the entire service. It went so well, that it is now a permanent feature of our mission; To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known. You can watch the stream every Sunday at 10:00AM ET by starting on our website, www.saintraphaelsbythesea.org and following the link as indicated there. |
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Saint Raphael's by the Sea Church
The Anglican Presence on Fort Myers Beach
Webmaster St. Raphael's by the Sea www.saintraphaelsbythesea.org 239-464-9823 |
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