Acts 2:38-41
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
No matter what we were doing, my one friend always found a reason why we had to make a stop at his house. We either had to gather there, end there or get dinner to go and eat it there. It was odd, partly because his house was way up on a tiny side street in Altadena and never convenient even if we were just in Pasadena. He was also a massive slob (a.k.a. hoarder) so eating at a table covered in junk mail, newspapers, empty take out containers and old dog collars wasn’t exactly pleasant. I was far from alone in my desire to skip these visit as all his other friends would complain loudly when it was brought up, yet when he received pushback, he would almost verge on a tantrum. I realized early on in our friendship it wasn’t optional, he had to go home even if it was only for a few minutes. Despite how unpleasant we all found his house to be, for him it was a place of safety and recharging. As a deep introvert who drains quickly in the outside world, I could understand where he was coming from. I also wanted to help ease whatever anxiety he had, however it got old pretty quickly and soon I found myself no longer defending him against his friends who kept asking “dude, what’s your deal?”
Sometimes I think of this friend when I look at church announcements. Most have lots of wonderful programs offered but they are always at locations like “Fellowship Center”, “Education Building” or “Sanctuary”. When committees brainstorm these events, many of which are planned to bring people into the church, invariably they require people to come to us, to come to our home which we think is comfortable, but can be out of the way and is so cluttered with our beliefs and culture that it is unhospitable to others. It’s interesting to note that the original Church wasn’t called “church” but rather “ecclesia” which means “called out” or “sent out”. The word “apostles” similarly means “sent out”. In the next few weeks in Sunday school we will be learning more about these first churches and how they were able to gather thousands of new people to the faith. We also work on ways we can follow our spiritual ancestors by shifting the Church insistence that everyone needs to come to our house and instead go out and bring Christ to places where people are, the places that they find comfortable and safe.
~ New Email Address ~
We are working to update and streamline the email addresses for everyone in the office.
Please note that Heather’s email is now
youth@saintedmunds.org and
Antonio’s is
sundayschool@saintedmunds.org
~ Scenes from Easter ~
Thank you to everyone for donating eggs and helping decorate.
We had a wonderful celebration!
~ Upcoming Events ~
Sunday, April 8
Team 2 Acolyting
Children’s Liturgy
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Vicki, Antonio & Heather
Youth Group
5 – 7 pm | Youth Room
~
Sunday, April 15
Team 3 Acolyting
Children’s Liturgy
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Antonio & Heather
~
Sunday, April 22
Team 4 Acolyting
Children’s Liturgy
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Rebecca, Antonio & Heather
~
Sunday, April 29
Celebration of Father George
Team 5 Acolyting
Children’s Liturgy
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Please feel free to contact Heather if you have questions.
