May's Bishop's Forum

Our monthly Bishop's Forum returns on the first Sunday of May.  

The gathering takes place between the morning masses, from 9:15 am - 9:45 am, on the terrace of the Church.  The topic is the symbolism of the Church.  

Mark you calendars now, as we will be gathering for the forums on the first Sunday of each month.

Mothers Day is coming soon...

May will be a full month, to be sure - the resurrected Christ is proclaimed, flowers begin to blossom, and we honour our mothers on a special day - Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10. 

We'll also be replenishing the hanging flower baskets on the terrace and portico overhang, and we'll have that done by Mother's Day.  And the glory of those baskets is this -  they last all Summer long! 

If you'd like to secure one of the baskets in thanksgiving for or in memory of your mother, be sure to reserve one soon, as there's only six available.  Telephone the church or talk with Pat Campbell on Sunday, and we'll "mark down" your reservation!  

A fitting memorialization, to be sure!!! 

A "Mystery Worshipper"

On Good Friday we had a special visitor with us -  a writer for the UK website "Ship of Fools - a magazine of Christian Unrest."  

The website is really quite good, insightful and interesting. 

One of their columns is called the  "Mystery Worshipper," and contains articles on various churches of all denominations worldwide.  

The Mystery Worshippers are their volunteers who visit churches, leaving a calling card in the collection plate and posting a first-timers impression of services on Ship of Fools.  

You guessed it - our visitor was a Mystery Worshipper, and has posted his article on Ship of Fools.  It's a delightful account of his impressions, and they  are, for the most part, fabulous.  

His name?  Amanda B. Reckondwythe.  Read the name aloud and slowly, and enjoy his article, found here !  

And yes, he took the above picture during his visit - great photographer, too, eh!

Heresy & Goofiness

"Heresy & Goofiness" posts will be put up from time to time.  What's contained in the posts may be heretical,  peculiar, "out of the box" or just plain goofy. You decide!

 This is an advertisement for the Roman Catholic Church of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island that ran during Holy Week.   Indeed.

Fabricating Jesus

There's always been folk who like to "rework" the story of Our Lord.  In fact, one such  "scholar" (from the Jesus Seminar) will be visiting a Sedona church in the near future. 

I was speaking to a priest friend the other day regarding the Jesus Seminar group and he mused, "...they are certainly an odd bunch.  I call them the fundamentalists of the Left.  Just as the fundamentalists on the right hang their hat and their faith on the fact that everything in the Bible is historically accurate, this bunch claims that nothing of the Bible is historically accurate except the few verses that support their way of thinking."

The following is a video of an evangelical author from Varsity Press speaking of his new book regarding such scholarly goofinesses, and the "whys" of such fabrications.  His insights are clear, and point to some very practical and temporally based reasons for their manipulations.

Brothers receive God & Country Award

Adam and Kevin de Szendeffy (shown with the Bishop in a Palm Sunday, 2008, picture) received the God and Country Award during the Passion Sunday Mass at Saint Luke's Church on March 29, 2009.

After having worked on the project for almost a year, the two received their certificates of completion and a blessing from Bishop McMannes, who had been their counselor during the work.  

The certificate describes their experience and calling, declaring in part that they "are to be congratulated for taking steps toward understanding God's call to live a life of love and service..."

Well done, Kevin and Adam!  You make your parents - Carol Lynn and Rod - exceptionally happy and proud, to say the least!  

Isaiah's proclamation is yours... Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine!"

First Rose of the Year Blossoms Magnificently!

Well, the first rose of the year blossomed today - on the Saturday before Passion Sunday.  It's of the "Stapleton" bush, and one of the original 50 bushes planted at the church some 15 or so years ago.  Interestingly, it's a hardy bush with deep roots, given by someone who was part of the parish but a short time, and who left before "personally blossoming." 

The rose reminds us in a vivid way of the closeness not only of Spring, but also of Easter, and we thank God for being so "nature-ally" loving to all His creatures!

Wonder of wonders, which will be the second bush to bloom?  Time will tell.