Dear Friends of Emmanuel,

The cooler weather has arrived.  The smell of Autumn is in the air and children are getting ready for school.  Who of us thought that we would still be struggling with the COVID pandemic at this time?  And yet here we are.  I’d like to relate our present situation in the pandemic with the lessons assigned from our lectionary this week.

In the Old Testament we read the story of Jonah [Jonah 3:10-4:11] who got angry with God when God changed his mind and did not destroy the city of Nineveh. Jonah is frustrated and angry. Then God demonstrates to Jonah by taunting him by providing the shelter of a fig tree that God then destroys leaving Jonah suffering in the searing heat of the day.  Jonah is so discouraged that he said, “please take my life from me.”  This anthropomorphic God, a God that has human characteristics responds, to Jonah’s complaint, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” A simple thing that is not significant? Certainly, the great city of Nineveh is more worthy of concern than a fickle bush.

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Emmanuel Newsletter 09192020 Final

Dear Friends of Emmanuel,

I hope that you were able to take advantage of a beautiful long weekend, Labor Day.  I was indeed fortunate that the weather held so that my travel to upstate New York went well.  Thank you all for your prayers.

The Gospel of Matthew 18: 21-35 for this week is a challenging one.  Peter asked Jesus; how many times am I to forgive someone who offends me? Seven times? Jesus replies; no, seventy-seven times! And then Jesus tells a parable. It is the story of a slave of the King who is forgiven his debt after begging for forgiveness. The same slave goes to those who owe him and does not offer the forgiveness he himself received! When Peter asks Jesus, “are we to forgive as many as seven times”? He has already gone way beyond what was accepted practice.  In Rabbinic code of the day, one is to forgive until the fourth time.  After the fourth time they should not forgive. The context, then, for Jesus’ response: “no, we should forgive seventy-seven times” is a hyperbolic exaggeration to indicate – always. (continue reading…) https://emmanuelwr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/online-communion-sept-13.pdf

Newsletter Sunday, August 9, 2020

Dear Friends of Emmanuel,

Rev. Joyce is taking a much-deserved vacation and will be back with us in two weeks, Saturday, August 22.

We will, however, be having a Morning Prayer service live at our regular time, 3:00 pm, Saturday, August 8 via Zoom, with a scripture dialogue discussing the readings for this week:

                                     Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
                                     Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
                                     Romans 10:5-15
                                     Matthew 14:22-33

We will learn more about Jacob’s family. The Gospel story recounts Jesus’ walk on water and faith. A virtual Coffee Hour follows immediately after the service.

Click below for more:

https://emmanuelwr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Emmanuel-Newsletter-08092020.pdf

Dear Friends of Emmanuel,

In Genesis this week, we read the story about Jacob struggling in the night with the angel.  And the angel says to him, you shall be called Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.  At this point we struggle to find our footing.  Many of us have been thrown off balance because of circumstances not under our control.  God asks us not to avoid the struggle but to overcome it.  To become striven means to work through the unfortunate events of our lives knowing that we are held in the arms of the God who loves us.

(Click below for more)

https://emmanuelwr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Emmanuel-Newsletter-0802020-Final.pdf

https://episcopalchurch.org/habits-of-grace?wchannelid=u3mbmc7c0r