wfn.org | [ELD] New Oregon bishop, new congregations highlight weekend's diocesan conventions

[<mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

>Episcopal Life Daily
>November 25, 2009

Episcopal Life Online is available at  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.

Editor's note: Episcopal Life Daily will observe the Thanksgiving
holiday, with regular service resuming on Monday, November 30.

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* DIOCESAN DIGEST - New Oregon bishop, new congregations highlight
weekend's diocesan conventions
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - NEWARK: Fire guts Midland Park parish hall
* CALENDAR - Upcoming special events and services
* SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving Day - Year B
* SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - November 29, 2009 - First Sunday of Advent -  Year C
* DAYBOOK - November 26: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - Speaking to the Soul - Daily Reflections for the Christian  Year

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

New Oregon bishop, new congregations highlight weekend's diocesan  conventions

>By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] The election of a bishop in the Diocese of
Oregon highlighted the six diocesan conventions that took place around
the Episcopal Church the weekend of Nov. 19-22.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_117372_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

>NEWARK: Fire guts Midland Park parish hall

>By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] Fire gutted the parish hall of one of two
diocesan congregations that are scheduled to merge in January.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_117374_ENG_HTM.htm

More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>CALENDAR

A round-up of upcoming special events, services, concerts and diocesan
conventions taking place throughout the Episcopal Church is available
at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/calendar.htm

>_____________________

>SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS

>November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving Day - Year B

(RCL) Joel 2:21-27; Psalm 126; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33

>By the Rev. Steve Kelsey

[Sermons That Work] Before it was a noun, "thanksgiving" was a verb.
The difference matters.

>A desert father once said:

"If you have a chest full of oranges, and leave it for a long time,
the fruit will rot inside of it.
It is the same with the thoughts in our heart.
If we do not carry them out by physical action,
after a while they will spoil and turn bad."

Living thankfully is not essentially about feeling thankful, or even
being thankful. To live thankfully is to act differently day by day
because we are compelled by the Spirit to participate in the generous
life of God-with-us, constantly practicing thanks-giving.

Full reflection:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_116709_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

November 29, 2009 - First Sunday of Advent - Year C

(RCL) Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke  21:25-36

>By John E. Colón

Choose: God or idol? Given our druthers, what do we ultimately choose:
God the Creator or those earthly things that command our attention,
our concern, and too often, our devoted fascination? What is the real
choice here? Can we exercise a balance of the temporal with the
divine? In other words, can we have both?

At core, Christians believe that God is loving and merciful. In the
scripture appointed for this first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of
the Church's liturgical calendar, we again hear of the loving and
merciful Creator described as a God of hope and expectation; a God of
promise and fulfillment. These dual themes of hope and promise are
fulfilled, historically and prophetically, in the birth of Jesus of
Nazareth.

Full reflection:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_116888_ENG_HTM.htm

More Spiritual Reflections:  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On November 26, 2009...

* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm

* Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm

* Today in History: On November 26, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
U.S. President and Episcopalian, signed a bill establishing the fourth
Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"Speaking to the Soul - Daily Reflections for the Christian Year" from
Church Publishing, Inc., by Vicki K. Black, 334 pages, paperback, c.
2009, $24

[Church Publishing, Inc.] The flourishing website known as the
Episcopal Café (www.episcopalcafe.org) produced by the Diocese of
Washington attracts several thousand visitors a day. Its popular
column "Speaking to the Soul," which contains a concise,
well-developed spiritual reflection for every day of the year, draws
from many different sources, including scripture, church history,
saints' biographies, books of prayers, liturgies, and ancient and
contemporary theologians and spiritual writers.

This daily reader grew out of that column. It follows the Episcopal
Church's liturgical seasons and includes observation of major feast
days as well as saints' days.

The reading for a particular saint's day might be taken from the
saint's writings, prayers, or biography, or might develop a theme such
as martyrdom or growth in the spirit. Other readings focus on
particular emphases of the seasons (the Incarnation during Advent and
Christmas; spiritual disciplines during Lent); or speak more generally
to the Christian life (prayer, discipleship, ministry, the sacraments,
conflict and reconciliation, and so on).

Readings are taken from every century of the church's life, with
particular attention to how the writings and experiences of earlier
Christians can shed light on the difficulties, joys, and concerns of
the church today. Excerpts are long enough to give a satisfying and
complete context of the writer's intended meaning.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit
your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org