South Vineland Times, Sesonal Highlights 10 December AD 2006

"Whomever you might be and wherever you might find yourself on the journey of The Faith, You are welcome to share with us in the richness of God's Grace"

From Our Vicar Father Albert has been homilising on the Lord’s blessings and our Christian responsibilities throughout this Season. He has concentrated on Welsh spirituality and holy sites, ancient British philosophy and some of the lesser discussed Saints of Britain, following his return from an the region. Our Vicar will be worshipping with us the 2nd Sunday in each month throughout the coming seasons as been our usual custom.

Our friend Burke has begun a new Homily series for Morning Prayer centred around the book; Your God is Too Small by J. B. Phillips. Mr. Peirce began the series on Sunday last and will continue through Epiphanytide. He will be sharing experiential anecdotes and lessons learnt from his lifetime of achievement in the fields of Christian Charity, international affairs, agriculture and popular literature. He will also be sharing from the philosophy of the Order of St. Luke the Physician.

From Our Bishop (Bp. & Mrs. Councell have returned from visitations to London and Rome with the Compass Rose Society. Photo: Bishop George presents Lord Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury with a Rowan University shirt, Alma Mater to some of our own Parishioners.)“Right Onward” The personal motto of the Rt. Revd. George Washington Doane, 2nd Bishop of NJ (episcopate AD1832-AD1859), has been adopted by our Visioning Committee as the name for the process by which we will discern God’s vision for the future of our Diocese. I am so humbled and so delighted to see the hard work and dedication of the members of the Visioning Committee. I ask that every congregation pray for and participate in this discernment process. We need to listen to Our Lord and to one another and seek to know and follow God’s will and God’s way for New Jersey. May Our Lord continue to bless and uphold us in the ministries to which He calls us. Right Onward ! +George From Our Archbishop of Canterbury ...When people talk about whether we should “become a secular society”, I wonder if they realise that they are in effect echoing the idea that the basic and natural form of political organisation is a central authority that “franchises” associations, and grants or withholds their right to exist publicly and legally within the State. Up to now, we have in practice taken for granted that the State is not the source of morality and legitimacy ... it does not impose legal and civil disabilities... Moving towards the latter would change our political culture more radically than we imagine So the ideal of a society where no visible public signs of religion would be seen — no crosses around necks, no sidelocks, turbans or veils — is a politically dangerous one. It assumes that what comes first in society is the central political “licensing authority”, which has all the resource it needs to create a workable public morality.

“The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have the proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in the right for anybody except the state.” -President Harry S. Truman.

Our Diocese and the ECUSA have joined the United Nations in working toward a series of social initiatives styled the Millenium Development Goals which they hope to arrive at by 2015. As Episcopalians we are committed to these goals, while some have raised concerns about definition. Please consider these goals and how we at the Parochial level might help in achieving them in the Will of God, as part of our mission of Christian charity. 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger , 2: Achieve universal primary education, 3: Promote gender equality and empower women, 4: Reduce child mortality, 5: Improve maternal health, 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, 7: Ensure environmental sustainability, 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development. Bp. Griswold, Our Primate writes: The Millennium Development Goals represent a recognition by the nations of the world that none of this has to be so. It does not need to be this way. The people of the world -- rich and poor, weak and powerful -- share a common humanity and possess destinies that are fundamentally intertwined. By claiming that unity as a focal point for action, and by challenging nations to build partnerships rooted in that unity, the Millennium Development Goals provide a pathway to a world free from poverty that kills. The resources, strategies, and knowledge exist, if only the moral will can be called forth. As we rededicate ourselves today to common mission for the sake of the world, may this be our prayer: "O Lord, Make us One."

Our mission here at Christ Church is “Traditional Christian Worship and Service”. We might say that ‘worship’ happens inside and ‘service’ happens outside. The two are invariably linked through the carrying out of the duties learnt in the teachings of the Church. This Adventide we are fulfilling Christ’s call to charity by collecting canned goods to the benefit of the Cumberland County Hunger Appeal. Canned goods shall be accepted at our Parochial Sharing Station, next to the information table in the northwest of the nave. Donations may also be placed on the Parish steps at any time. The Community at large is invited to join us in this undertaking to offer sustenance to those whom God has called us to care for, we are our brothers keepers and some of our brothers are in want this winter. Throughout this Charitable Mission let us recall the words of Christ, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me”.

A Special Meeting of the Vestry with Senior Warden’s Questions was held 26 November, in the Tower Room, to receive outstanding committee reports. The Visionary Cmte. Reported on the events of their 13 November Visionary Council at Trinity, Center City, special thanks were expressed to Nancy, Tom and Ken for their leadership. Reports were also received from the 8 November Session of Our Woodbury Convocation by Delegate Ryan and from the Millenium Development Goals Cmte. by Co-Chairs Ken and Burke. Reports were followed by discussions and fellowship in the Parish Coffee Hour. An open Vestry meeting will be held on the first Sunday in Christmas to fill elections for Deputies to Convention which are due to our Diocese by 7 January AD 2007 . 10 December AD 2006

Quote for the Season of Christmastide: “Expect Great Things From God, Attempt Great Things For God” Bishop George

Wardenry Report: A Restoration of the Parish Office and Library is currently underway with a special dedication planned for Whitsuntide. The room, northeast of our Estey Reed Organ, has been cleared and cleaned and a computer has been installed. Further cleaning and furbishment is required and the Wardenry shall be continuing the project through this season. The Milner Collection has already been moved into the room which in addition to being our access to the cellars will serve as an office, library and classroom.

While a woman has been the head of the entire Anglican Communion since 1952 when Elisabeth Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ascended the throne; for the first time in history a female primate, Our own PB Katharine Jefferts Schori(left), represents one of the 39 provinces of the Worldwide Anglican Communion of 80 millions of Christians. Bp. Katharine leads our two million member Episcopal Church, USA which presently has women in its top three positions the Presiding Bishop who acts as Chief Executive Officer, Bonnie Anderson(centre); Speaker of the House Of Deputies and Ambassador Linda Watt(right), Chief Operating Officer. Despite comparisons to the modern United Kingdom, with HM The Queen and Ldy. Thatcher, the tradition of female leadership for our people includes other female monarchs and stretches all the way back to the New Testament when women were both among Christ’s first followers and were the first Apostles to proclaim His Gospel (St. John 20:1-2) Providential Eye on Christian Stewardship Our Parish has completed an intensive panel study of the UN Millenium Goals and how we might best act to fulfill them. The preservation of our Houses and Grounds helps us to meet these goals. Are the un-necessary luxuries with which we sometimes reward ourselves absolute necessities in every instance. God charges us to be good and faithful stewards.

Providential Eye on Health: From the December 2006 ‘Episcopal Life’ by The Revd. Jean Denton, RN

Is there a via media in the weighty matter of obesity ? We American Christians are an overweight society. Riding (rarely walking) down Main St. USA, the epidemic is obvious. Causes include fast “super sized” foods, a recumbent lifestyle, overwhelming daily stress, and spiritual and emotional emptiness, to name a few. The results are multiple: high blood pressure, increased arthritis pain, more diabetes-even as malnutrition plagues our sisters and brothers in sub-Saharan Africa. Is it a sin to be fat? Our catechism tells us that sin is seeking “our own will instead of the will of God,” resulting in distorted relationships “with God, with other people and with all creation.” Part of God’s will for us is that we have faith in God’s abundant care for us. Yet we are too busy to spend time with God and be fed with nourishment that our deepest selves require. We are too busy to move our bodies, too busy to sit quietly in meditation and too busy to find out what’s really eating us and taking that to God in prayer. We unconsciously seek to comfort ourselves with sweets rather than let God soothe the hurting places in our souls. That self-centeredness is sin. We turn a deaf ear to God speaking through our bodies. We don’t hear “Slow down” or “That’s enough food” or “Please stretch.” Our lack of attention leads us to abuse and neglect our bodies. We excuse this exploitation, convincing ourselves that bodies are our private possessions (which, of course, they are not, being simply on loan to us from God, who has asked us to steward them wisely). That unconsciousness is sin. We don’t thank God for the wonder of our bodies, nor do we love and celebrate the amazing part of creation that is intimately us. Instead, we measure the body’s worth by the bathroom scale or our body mass index, and we take part in prejudice and size-ism. We fail to be amazed by our extraordinary bodies, whatever their size or condition or limits. That ingratitude is sin. Sin distorts our relationships with food, with ourselves, with our hungry neighbors and with God. The answer to setting those relationships right is not a new diet or losing weight. The answer is in chewing on our relationship with our bodies and letting God meet our real hunger.

Poll Corner: Evolution and Creation, from the Gallup Corporation, cited by “Dr. Dino ”Hovind in a debate in Florida, 2004. The survey found 9% believe Darwinian Evolution and 90% to believe in Biblical Creation.

UN MDGs Unintended Consequences: From the December 2006 ‘Episcopal Life’ by D. Haller If and when (the West) can control (disease), our population will grow. But the populations of Africa and Asia certainly will expand to a greater extent. And the unintended consequences of that are more severe poverty. As the populations of the developing countries increases, the Western nations subsidized farmers will see greater market potential for sales. The developing countries will not be able to compete, because the cost of exporting would be undercut by Western nations’ subsidized farming. An example of this situation appeared several weeks ago in Wall Street Journal in an article about an African country wanting to grow high grade cotton. Someone from the Cotton Producers Association said that they would never allow that to happen. Too many U.S. Cotton growers would be hurt. The World Trade Organisation has been trying for years to get the Western nations to reduce the subsidies with no luck. With increased market possibilities, no subsidies would be cut. And the Millenium Development Goals would become another monument to Western Greed.

South Vineland Times is published by the Wardenry of Christ Church, S. Vineland, 2875 SE Blvd. Vineland NJ 08360, US. Comments and Submissions should be submitted to The South Vineland Times at the above address, attention: editor Sunday Services: 9AM Morning Prayer, Communion 2nd Sunday.

Seasonal Highlights are here presented for the informing and edification of friends everywhere.

South Vineland Times is available only at the community desk, in the northeast of the nave at Christ Episcopal Church, South Vineland NJ, US. All are welcome. One of our New Year's resolutions for AD 2006 was to accomodate our friends and loved ones who wished to read The South Vineland Times with some medium for wider distribution. As you may be justified in perceiving we have kept this resolution with little time to spare.

On the behalf of the editorial board of The South Vineland Times, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

St. Matthew 1:21

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