The Messenger

September 1st, 2024

Welcoming, Worshipping, Working for God’s Kingdom

 Dear Friends,
Looking over the years past, you might expect that the September issue of The Messenger will feature a message from me regarding our annual Stewardship Effort. And you would be right!
With summer drawing to a close and autumn about to begin, we find our thoughts turning from the year that is soon to be ending and toward the one that will soon begin. In the church, almost inevitably it sometimes seems, “fall” and “year’s end” serve to remind us of one thing, and that thing is “stewardship.”Indeed, your Vestry and I will soon be turning our attention toward the new year, and with it the new budget we will soon be drafting. However, I think that this is also a good
time to take a moment and consider the importance ofsometimes-ominous word,
“stewardship.” It is perhaps only natural that we tend to think of stewardship in terms of money, or more specifically, how much money. we may feel called to give next year, but that is certainly not all that it entails. Stewardship is about so much more than just giving our money. We might look at stewardship as our personal response to God’s generosity in the way we share all of our
resources, TIME and TALENT, as well as TREASURE. Stewardship reflects our commitment to making God’s love known through the realities of human life and for use of all that God has given us. It is also our service to God’s world and our care of creation. As parish members, you are encouraged to make an annual stewardship pledge but it is also important to remember that this pledge involves so much MORE than just money. It also represents our specific Christian
commitment to “work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.” (BCP p. 856) In the weeks and months to come, you can expect to see new and (I hope) helpful and (I really hope) interesting stewardship information coming your way. This year, our annual Stewardship Effort will begin on Sunday, October 27, which is the Sunday we celebrate the feast of our Patron Saint, the Archangel Raphael. In the meantime, please know that each of you has my deepest thanks for all that you have done, all that you do, and all that you will continue to do, as we continue to moven forward celebrating our life together here at St. Raphael's.

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us
all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may
honor you with our substance, and remembering
the account which we must one day give, may be
faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Grant, O heavenly Father, that thy love may be
so shed abroad in our hearts that we may count
nothing too small to do for thee, nothing too
much to give, and nothing too hard to endure:
for his sake who labored and strove and gave
himself for us, thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Make us ever eager, O Lord, to share the good
things that thou dost give us. Grant us such a
measure of thy Spirit that we may find more joy
in giving than in getting. Make us ready to give
cheerfully without grudging, secretly without
praise, and in sincerity without looking for
gratitude. For Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

O Heavenly Father, who by thy Son Jesus Christ
hast taught us that all our possessions are a trust
from thee: Help us to be faithful stewards of our
time, our talents, and our wealth, and gladly to
consecrate to thy service all that thou hast given
us; and may we have grace, O Lord, to give
ourselves to thee as those who have been bought
with a price; through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen
Be well,
Be safe,
Be thankful,
for we have been richly blessed.
Father Tom+

Our Outreach in September
Dolly Parton
Imagination Library
&
Each One Bring One (EOBO)
Focus on Cumberland
County Animal Safety
(FOCCAS) -Pet food &
Supplies

THE MEN’S BREAKFAST
The Men’s Group will have their monthly breakfast at a different location in September. We will meet for breakfast on September 4, at 8:00am at Shoney’s Restaurant located at 4148 Highway 127 North. Come join us for a hot breakfast and some good company.  After breakfast if your able to help with trail maintenance, bring amweed trimmer.
~Jeff Moler
Jr. Warden

From the Rectory
Recently, we sent Ella, the youngest grand, a Taylor Swift tee-shirt. That girl is a hard-core Swiftie! And what's not to love? Ms. Swift has an incredible work ethic, an empowering repertoire,
and a cute little boyfriend. There are certainly worse role models our precious Ella might admire.
This week, we got a fun picture of Ella wearing her “Little Swiftie” shirt, and it made me stop for
a second and ponder — all of us respond in some type of way to various public figures: we are fans, we are supporters, we are followers. Then, there are “influencers” and to be honest, I don't have a clue what they're about: are they chosen by popular vote? Are they simply self-appointed and hoping to “fake it till they make it. Or are they glorified employees who receive products or services in lieu of wages with the understanding they are to positively spotlight and/or promote said products and services via social media? But I digress…
I recently googled ticket prices for a country singer I have followed since the early 80s. The
“cheap seats” for the venue I had in mind were in excess of $300! I don't have a clue what Taylor Swift tickets are going for, so Ella might have to be content with her tee because Neenah isn't
shelling out a car payment for one night’s entertainment for one adorable almost six-year old granddaughter, not to mention her accompanying adults! Do I even want to imagine how much folks pay for seats to a Titans or Predators game? Even tickets to the playhouse or local concerts are considerably more than minimum wage. Anyway, people are clamoring to buy these exorbitantly priced tickets, in some cases lining up for hours or hovering over their computers waiting for the moment they go on sale because they sell out so quickly. Don't get me wrong! I
don't have anything against attending a professional sporting event or an awesome
concert. I might even have spent a few bucks at the Schermerhorn, but that's a tale for another
day.  We get super excited to see our favorite performers, teams, or candidates in person: we mark our calendars, make arrangements for travel, lodging, and pet-sitting. For weeks or even months in advance, we're nearly giddy with anticipation! Granted, these are, in fact, special events. But when the average, ordinary, routine weekend rolls around, we have a millionn excuses not to attend worship (which is free!) — it's hot, it's raining, it's Super Bowl Sunday, my
church shirt needs to be ironed, etc. Where are the influencers for
Jesus?
From the Gospel of John
(NRSVUE) we read: 6:67 So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 6:69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Have we come to believe and KNOW? I think we have. But can anyone who doesn't know us
recognize our belief and knowledge? They know how we feel about the Vols, or for whom we're
planning to vote, or what breed our dog is, but
can they truly see whether we have a relationship
with God?nAll those centuries ago, there were followers and there were disbelievers.
Today, there are still followers and disbelievers, but sometimes it's
difficult to tell the difference. Think about that for a minute: you don't have to wear a Jesus shirt
proclaiming you're a fan, but when a stranger encounters you, do they KNOW you're a
Christian? Did you treat your server shabbily? Did you grumble at the cashier at Kroger? Did you
say, “some people are so entitled” when you thought their behavior was inappropriate? It's
possible I said that about a lady I saw the othe day — I don't know her life, so who am I to  judge? Anyone who overheard me might conclude I'm not a Christian and I certainly don want to be judged by some high-falutin’ nobody in the corner booth. But I think we're all guilty, at one time or another, of thoughts or deeds not conforming to the image of Christ-likeness we
hope to project.  My favorite Bible verse is Joshua 24:15 (King James Version)
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the
Lord, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers
served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.
We have opportunities every day to act as
influencers — the question is whether we're
clearly on Team Jesus or does our example
amount to a shout-out for Satan?
From the Rectory
Sylvia

The Amazing Opportunity
Imagine you received an invitation to meet your nation’s leader so you could make a personal request. Providing no laws were broken, the nation’s leader would then do everything
possible to make sure your request was granted. What an opportunity! What would you ask? Your request could have a great impact on so many lives. Truth is God is far more powerful than any president or prime minister – more powerful, in fact, than any king or queen throughout history
– He is the Creator of the universe. Every living thing depends on Him. The laws of science, time
and space are subject to Him. He has unlimite power with all the riches of the universe at His finger tips. We are so insignificant compared to God; it’s hard to fathom why He would even
take notice of us. But to the contrary, God has given us the amazing opportunity to go boldly into His ‘Office of Grace’ to obtain mercy and
help in time of need. Even so, there is a problem. As with every good ruler, God is restricted by His own laws. He  created mankind with free will – we are free to succeed and free to fail – we are free to use God’s power and free to use our own. We should remember this next time we point our finger accusingly at God and say: ‘Why did You let this happen?’
God will reply sadly: ‘I did not desire for that to happen, but no one asked Me to help. If I had
acted without being invited, I would have broken the Laws of Free will.’ Then, God will
point a finger at us and say: ‘My office is open 24 hours a day. Why didn’t YOU take the time to
come and ask?’
We Christians, have been given an amazing opportunity, if more of us took the time to seek
God and ask Him to work His will in various circumstances, what a different world this would be.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Beautification of the Church at the hands of Julieanne Jaeger
As I approached the church today I was awestruck again at the lovely colors and combinations of flowers that grace our church garden.
Julia Jaeger never fails to brighten my day and yours too with the lovely inviting display of
flower  that she painstakingly plants each summer around the church. The blooms start small and then seem to grow overnight and add the hum of bumble bees and butterflies to the mix to create a stunning environment for us.
Psst. Plants are definitely a Julie thing!
She appears occasionally to weed the not so healthy ones out and provide loving care and
nourishment for the health of the plants. As she herself is a ray of sunshine to see at church, so are her plants.
The happiness I already felt today was just enhanced by her beautiful arrangement. So Thank
you Julianne for all your efforts to make a visit to church all the more memorable and inviting!
Sincerely,

Vandy Fink,

Your Parish Secretary,