fourth of july kabobs
St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Carson City
News and Inspirations

 

775-882-1534     www.stpeterscarsoncity.org   314 N. Division St., Carson City, Nevada 
June 30, 2016
In This Issue
Many Thanks
An Oppty for Service
Ice Cream Social
Women's Retreat
Love Letter from the Divine
Male Spirituality
Lighter Side
Upcoming
 Lectionary Readings
Info Links
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From the Rector



Dear people of St Peter's,

     Many thanks to Tom Streenan our Senior Warden and The Rev Christy Ramsey our webmaster for arranging audio copies of our Sunday sermons to be added to our St. Peter's website.    You can access them from this e-blast in the INFO LINKS column just to the left of this column; or you can go to our website www.stpeterscarsoncity.org, click on the WORSHIP tab and double-click on the Sermons option.

      Saturday July 9th is the second Saturday men's breakfast.  We'll be hosting a camp cookout on the north lawn, great fun for all the guys.  Bring your favorite camp chair and your appetite.  8am.

         July 15th & 16th is the annual Men's Retreat at men's retreat Galilee.  Cost is $72 to stay overnight, including Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast & lunch.  This year the plan is to kayak out on the lake for morning prayer and, following a nap, take a hike up the Tahoe Rim Trail, with early evening prayer on the trail.  All men of the parish are invited.  See me if you need scholarship for the retreat.

Blessings in the long hot days of summer!
Jeff    
       

Gratitude
   

   Many thanks to the Men of St. Peter's for graciously moving their monthly breakfast meeting on July 9th out under the trees, so the Women of St. Peter's could use the parish hall for a Crafting Day in preparation for the Holiday Bazaar on November 12th. 


An Opportunity for Service
Are you a "Dog person"? 
 
One of our parishioners is in need of a person to "babysit" her two dogs while she travels to Canada to care for her Mother who is very ill.  As you can see from their picture, Bella and her daughter Babybell are well-loved, well-behaved and well-trained.  They are small Terriers who weigh about 16 pounds each.  They are mainly indoor dogs and are kennel-trained.

Ideally, we are looking for someone who has a fenced yard and can take these two dogs into your home for two weeks.   The dates are not certain yet, but they are looking at the last two weeks of July.  There is a small stipend available for their care.

If you might be able to provide temporary care for Bella and Babybell, please call Carmen at 443-4747.

Join Us!
ice cream social
Mark Your Calendars! 
 
Back by popular demand, the St. Peter's Ice Cream Social will be held from 1 to 4pm on the afternoon of Saturday, July 30.  Much fun and several surprises are being planned for this annual event.   Feel free to invite your friends! 

Annual Women's Retreat at Tahoe: Circles of Community
Ladies: Give yourself a peaceful respite over Labor Day weekend
September 2 - 5 at Camp Galilee, Lake Tahoe 
 
Somewhere there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats.  Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power.

"Within the struggle, joy, pain, and delight that attend our life, there is an invisible circle of grace that enfolds and encompasses us in every moment.  Blessings help us to perceive this circle of grace, to find our place of belonging within it, and to receive the strength the circle holds for us." --Jan Richardson

Come and join other women at Camp Galilee to experience together the blessings of Circles in Community. It's time to register.   Click here for the brochure with more details.

A Moment to Ponder.......

 
What was self-evident to the Founders of our nation must become sacred to us, and that is simply:  We have not only been endowed by our creator with Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, but that the spiritual ground of that endowment is Love.
                                                       ~~Rob Lehman, The Fetzer Institute   

Writing as a Spiritual Practice
The Heart of Our Story.... Learning who we are and why we are here
 
Writing can be a powerful and transformative spiritual practice -- through which we can cultivate an expansive mind, open heart, authentic relationships, liberated creativity and a freer soul.  This space is going to give examples of PROMPTS that are intended to give you a launching pad for some writing.  Please approach this as a spiritual practice and invite the Holy into your writing time.  Here are some suggestions to begin with:
 
HOW:  If you'd like to engage in a bit of self-discovery,
consider setting a timer for 15 minutes and  begin with one of the PROMPTs below (or other topic that calls to you).  Then just write whatever comes to mind until the buzzer goes off.  (Don't edit it, don't correct your spelling or worry about punctuation.  This is NOT that kind of writing.  The only person who's going to look at it when you are done, is you.  And if you want to keep going, reset the timer for additional time.)   Later, feel free to dive into the other PROMPT if it begins to call to you.  

PROMPTS for this time:

I didn't notice it at the time, but now I realize that ___________________ was a time/event that was filled with God's Grace.  I realize that because ____________________________.

The Fourth of July is meaningful to me because  ___________________.
 
 
Practicing the Presence of Spirit--
Even on a Busy Day
  graphic of seeing with love
Seed Thought:
Many people who return from near-death experiences have a renewed appreciation for how precious a human lifetime is.  They echo the teaching of Eastern philosophies, which say that human life is the greatest gift because it is the gateway to enlightenment.  The Tibetan Buddhists say that if the Universe were as big as the ocean, and if there were a single wooden ring floating on surface of that ocean, and a single turtle swimming around, the chance of getting a human birth would be the same as the turtle surfacing with his head in the wooden ring.

Prayer/Practice:
Gracious God, please awaken deep thanksgiving in my heart for the gift of my life.  Please help me quit taking this gift for granted.  Help me remember that my soul is being continuously enriched by the experiences of my life and that bidden or not bidden You are with me.  Amen.

Spend a few minutes centering yourself by focusing on your breathing.  Then contemplate the absolutely awesome and extraordinary fact that you exist. 
   
[Adapted from p. 165, of Pocketful of Miracles, by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.]   

A Love Letter from the Divine.....
good_morning.jpg 

     You pray for guidance and then doubt that I answer your prayers.  I am always listening, always ready to guide you when you will be led.  My voice speaks in a thousand forms.  I may guide you through people or events.  I may guide you through a quiet inner knowing.  When you ask to be led, I hear your prayer and I send messengers.  Be alert to my guiding hand.  It is gentle and always present. You are never lost to me.  I am always in conscious contact with your spirit. 
     Pray to me for guidance and then trust your inner promptings.  I speak to you through intuition: the hunch, the inkling, the urge.  I guide you lightly, and I always leave your own will intact.  You are free to ask for guidance or not.  You are free to follow my guidance or not.  Your freedom is important to me.  I do not coerce you to my ways.
     The world can be a loud and busy place.  Seek quiet and calm and you will more easily find me, although I am always there amid the tumult and the hubbub as well.  To find me, you need only to seek me.  The smallest prayer is enough for me to hear.  If you pray constantly, we can enjoy a conversation.  It is my pleasure to speak to you.
    
[This is an excerpt from Answered Prayers, Love Letters from the Divine, by Julia Cameron, p. 75.]
 

A Moment of Zen


Male Spirituality --- Encouraging an Inner Life 
mens rites of passage 
This is a series of articles aimed specifically for the Men of St. Peter's.  The material is taken from the written works of Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who is renowned for his retreats and lectures on male spirituality.  This is not intended to be a "daily devotional."  It is meant to be more confrontational.  It is truthful and brave; and invites you to be the same.   
 
White Man's Burden       
     The challenge for all "white" and advantaged men is to be willing to go back down to the bottom and try to stand in another man's shoes.  We can change the system of white privilege only from within, because we hold most of the cards in the game.  It's up to us to let go of the power, prestige, and perks that a self-serving system has granted too easily.
     In remembering all the hardworking people in this world who struggle to have what we're given, let's not fall for the illusion that we deserve our wealth because we worked harder.  We now live in an artificial system in which you don't even have to do any socially significant work to succeed; your money makes money for you by simply rearranging papers and deposits.
     The poor world needs liberation from the outer social structures that hold it back, and the overdeveloped world needs liberation from the inner illusions that keep it from seeing the larger truth and the common good.
        
---How have I benefited from an unjust system?  
 
[Adapted from p. 165 of On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men, by Fr. Richard Rohr]

Do You Shop on Amazon.Com???   

You can painlessly benefit St. Peter's when you shop Amazon.com.  Until we figure out a more generic way to connect this e-mail to Amazon's site, we'll be using a featured book link.  Click on  the "Shop Now" link and it will take you to the book's information, but you don't have to buy it.  From there, you can then go wherever else you want on Amazon and your purchase will benefit St. Peter's (with no extra cost to you). 

   Our featured book this edition remains relevant and powerful even though it was first published in 1940.  At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine, finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, author Carson McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers  
Paperback  
 
List Price: $14.99
Our Price: $10.79

 
 
 On the Lighter Side

(Thanks to Isobel for sharing this cartoon with us!)
 

Ongoing Fellowship Activities

Please Join Us (in the Parish Hall unless* otherwise indicated) 1st Monday at 5:30pm--
Women Together Against Cancer 
Every Tuesday from 6 to 7:30pm -- Centering Prayer
               *(meets in The Rectory, next door to the church) 
 
Every Wednesday from 6 to 8pm -- Circles of Support Community
 
1st and 3rd Thursdays at 5:30pm -- Caregivers' Exchange Group
      (information and fellowship for anyone who's a caregiver)

1st Saturday at 9:30am -- Prayer Shawl Knitters 
           *(meets at a private residence, for info contact Pat F-P or Karen L-F) 

1st Saturday from Noon to 5:00pm -- Wine Walk
             (our sanctuary and parish hall are open for hospitality) 

2nd Wednesday from 11:00am to noon -- St. Peter's Ladies' Group                                      (all St. Peter's women are cordially invited)

2nd Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00pm -- Mary~Martha Guild   
                    (all St. Peter's women are cordially invited)

 2nd Saturday from 8:00 to 9:30am -- Men's Breakfast
            (all St. Peter's men are cordially invited)

4th Friday from 5:45 to 8:30pm --  Sophia's Salon Reading Group
       *(meets at a private residence, for info contact the Rev. Kim)


St. P's Gratitude Garden: In full bloom.
  (Our contact is Rory Hogen.) 


Schedule of Worship Services
Watercolor painting of St.P's altar by pat f-p
St. Peter's Altar ~~ by Pat Frederick-Perona

Sundays    

8 am:  Holy Communion: Rite II  
10 am: Contemporary Worship Service 
                       and Sunday School with Summer Child Care (in the Rectory)  
    
Wednesdays
10 am: Healing Service and Holy Communion

We at St. Peter's are a lively spiritual fellowship blessed with the rich heritage of community involvement.  We are open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly.  We hope you find us to be intellectually and spiritually stimulating.  

The Rev. Kim Morgan, Associate Priest and E-news Editor