St. Benedict’s Weekly Prayers: Week of Dec. 29, 2024

/
64978f62-f178-44f7-9e1f-ac3e693070ad.jpg

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Collect:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

References below names "LFF" are celebrations from "Lesser Feasts and Fasts", 2021.  Holy Days are from the Book of Common Prayer Holy Day celebrations.  You can find "Lesser Feasts and Fasts" online at https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/21034

Daily Prayers for those in need or trouble:

Prayers for the Parish
Kathleen, Mary, David, Isabel, Gary, Ildiko, Carolyn, Judy, Patricia, Marji, Britney, Matthew, Don, Nile, Bill ,Chris, Ray, Kay, Holly, Pat,  Marge, Andy, Jacob, Carolyn, Elisabeth 

Kathleen, Mary, David, Isabel, Gary, Ildiko, Carolyn, Judy, Patricia, Marji, Britney, Matthew, Don, Nile, Bill ,Chris, Ray, Kay, Holly, Pat, Marge, Andy, Jacob, Carolyn, Elisabeth
 
Prayers for friends of St. Benedict
Nancy Jo, Adam, Mary, Sharon, Tina and Amanda 
__________________________________________
In the case of a pastoral care emergency please call the Rector directly
360-485-7281

Monday - December 23 - For Parish Members

Bob and Karen
Felicia, Arianna, Zyllah and Serenity
Donald and Jenny

Tuesday - December 24 - For Parish Members
(Christmas Eve)

Donald
Bob
Judy

Wednesday - December 25- For Parish Members

Collum and Martha
Jim and Sharon
Doug and Mary

The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.    ~Amen.

Thursday -December 26 - For Parish Members

Tim and Caroline
Patricia
Joanna

The Feast of Saint Stephen

Friday - December 27 - For Parish Members

Jill
Anne, David and LIsa
Karen 

The Feast of Saint John the Apostle

Saturday -December 28 - We Pray For:

The Holy Innocents
We remember this day, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by the order of King Herod. Receive, we beseech thee, into the arms of thy mercy all innocent victims; and by thy great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish thy rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
   ~ Amen.

Sunday - December 15, 2024 -
Third Sunday of Advent

Holy Eucharist - 8 & 10:30 am

For the members of our parish family that
passed away  this year:

Phillip Rupp
John Libert
Carol Frahm
Fedor Borozna

Give to the departed eternal rest;
Let light perpetual shine upon them.

We pray for the Repose of the Soul of:

Marjorie

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

A Prayer for this Parish

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for St. Benedict's parish family.  Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.  Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
      Amen.

Parish Leaders

The Rev. Dr. Beth Echols, Rector
The Rev. Tony Irving, Deacon
Mr. Tim Madden, Senior Warden
Ms. Jan Akin, Junior Warden
Vestry members
Karen Knudson, Nancy Zabel, Kaye Scott,  Mark Caldwell,
Jeff Zahir, Gerry Apple, Karen Fraser, Norman Gregory, Spencer Daniels, clerk

Part and Presence of Something Bigger

/

The Rev. Beth Echols, Rector

I have been met by many surprises since my first introduction to St. Benedict Episcopal Church.  Many of them have been awesome and beyond measure, some have been challenging and a few remaining perplexing.
 
The most bewildering seems to be the practice of ‘burning pledge cards’.  I have not been able to find the origin of this peculiar ritual though its influence appears enduring and vast.
 
There is a long-standing tradition of ‘pledge’ in the Episcopal Church that has its roots in our Anglican cousins and grounded in our Christian faith.
 
Pledging begins at baptism when sponsors or godparents, along with the Congregation, pledge to raise up this person or child in Christ.  Pledging continues in confirmation and the other sacraments until we release our soul into the loving embrace of God.
 
As of the Vestry meeting on the 18th of December, the Treasurer reported that 31 souls have pledged to the life of the Community.  In these turbulent times pledging may be scary.  This I know from a review of my own finances and yet we are called to a life of faith that is grounded in love more so than Wall Street predictions.
 
The previous bishop of our Diocese, The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickels penned the below prayer for your consideration:
 
Gracious and loving God, giver of all that is good and true and beautiful and life-giving: These cards represent our sweat, they represent our lives, they represent our dreams.
 
The pledges which we make on them are but tokens of the awesome gifts that have been given to us and they are pledged in thanksgiving for all that we have received, for all we have been inspired to be, for all we are challenged to become, in this place.
 
May they be the first fruits of all we have and now what we have left over, so that we may live out as best as possible how you give to us.  May we see them as offering to you, sacred, hold, yet earthly, filled with possibilities.
 
May be hold this image in our hearts and our minds so as we watch our offerings each week come to your table; we can see our very selves being part of this offering.  It is us on the table, living sacrifice to you.    ~ Amen

Three Wooden Crosses

/

The second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace, saw the blessing of the three new crosses that adorn the front of our building.
 
The summer shampoo of the building revealed the need to repair or replace the crosses.  After much discussion the decision was made to replace the blue crosses.  Parishioners have shared their memories.
 
Lucy Reuter wrote, Jake Good, a charter member, who died many yrs. ago is smiling. He used to climb the ladder to make sure the crosses were painted. He was a WW 2 vet in the Army Air Corps, and then Air Force, very tall and had a lot of back trouble from crouching in the back of the plane. He and his wife Dorothy were the salt of the earth. It is their son Donny whose ashes are under the altar.
 
Nancy Zabel remembered that Don Laford provided a touch up to the crosses that endured more years.
 
Norman and Clarice Gregory along with Jim Lochner and others who provided support crafted new crosses and mounted them Sunday afternoon just as the sun was appearing following a rainy Pacific Northwest Day.

Social Justice/Outreach Meetings: Dec. 15 & Jan. 5

/

—Kathy Baros Friedt

Increased Involvement in Social Justice/Outreach?

I am following up on our open invitation to those in St Benedict Episcopal Church to join me for a couple of meetings to engage in conversation about SBEC’s commitment to supporting organizations involved in social justice and broadening our outreach. We are hoping more will be interested in joining this ministry. I am making myself available on Dec. 15 and Jan. 5, 9:30, between services for an informal opportunity to what your participation might look like.

Give this some thought. Kathy Baros Friedt, Social Justice/Outreach Ministry.  kbfriedt@comcast.net

Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on the U.S. Presidential Election

/
 
 

"Dear People of God in The Episcopal Church,
Early this morning, we learned that President Trump has been elected to another term as president of the United States. I pray that he will govern wisely and justly."

This is the beginning of a wonderful letter written to us by our Bishop.  Here is a link to read it in it's entirety:

    https://mailchi.mp/episcopalchurch/presiding-bishop-sean-rowe-shares-staff-updates-in-letter-to-church-leaders-el-obispo-primado-sean-rowe-comparte-actualizaciones-del-personal-en-13959?e=79c7d6339f

Pear Blossom Place

/

The 2024-2025 Winter will probably be a cold one. Pear
Blossom Place will be helping the homeless individuals by
providing a warm shelter when the weather outside becomes
very cold.

Pear Blossom Place is located in Olympia behind the Casa Mia.
Homeless families with children live at Pear Blossom Place
throughout the year. Plus, this very accommodating place will
provide room on the first floor for single individuals who are
homeless during times when the weather gets severe. Pear
Blossom Place needs the following items for these homeless
individuals: Pillows, Blankets, Single bed sheets, Bath towels
Each Sunday after the second service, I will deliver these items to
the Pear Blossom Place. The administrative team and staff at
Pear Blossom Place are very grateful of all the items that our
congregation have provided them in the past.

If you have any questions concerning this project you may text ,
call or email me.   360-480-5330; geraldappl@yahoo.com.
For more information, please check out their website:
https://fscss.org/services/pear-blossom-place/

Calendars for the Mission to the Seafarers

/

—Ralph Provencal

I am collecting 2025 calendars for the Mission to Seafarers in Seattle.  They are proviced to seafarers as a means of keeping track of the calendar days, events and to brighten up the on-board quarters.  All types of calendars are useful except extra large wall calendars, desk calendars and loose leaf calendars.
I will be collecting through February 15, 2025.
There is a collection box on the counter in the entry hallway.  
Please ask your neighbors, friends and any businesses you normally patronize if they would like to donate a calendar.
If you have any questions you can contact me at 360-701-1898 or rdprovencal@mail.com

The Eucharist at Panorama: Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m.

/

We are reinstituting the weekly Eucharist at Panorama.  The Service will be led primarily by The Rev. Kathy Prehm on Wednesdays at 4 pm.
 
It has always been the custom of the Church to gather to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in Community.  There are times when we find our ability to travel in the usual ways to be restricted.  It is our hope that this Wednesday afternoon gathering will allow folks who might not otherwise be able to join in the Body of Christ that is St. Benedict Episcopal Church in the Parish of Lacey.
 
We are grateful for this opportunity to worship and hope that you will spread the word and join us.