St Edmund's Episcopal Church San Marino

STEDY, January 30, 2019

This month I read a book to the nursery school called “You Are Special”, a sweet little book about tiny wooden people made by a woodcarver named Eli. In the story these wooden people spend their days putting stickers on each other, stars for being pretty, smart or athletic and dots for being silly, making a mistake or getting hurt. The story focuses on one person whose struggles have snowballed leaving him so covered with dots he doesn’t want to leave his house. Eventually he is told to go see Eli, the woodcarver who made him. When he arrives at Eli’s house, he is embarrassed to be covered in so many dots. Eli tells him that he doesn’t care what the other wooden people think, they have no right to judge. He tells him to come see him every day so he can be reminded that what Eli thinks is more important than the dots and stars. He knows that if this little wooden man spends time with him, he will feel better about himself and the other wooden people.
As I was reading to the kids I began thinking about prayer. Why do we pray? Usually we pray for things, we are told to prayer for things – even Jesus when he taught us to prayer taught us to pray for bread, forgiveness and the ability to forgive others. Is that all prayer is about? Is that all worship is about? If that is the case doesn’t that make God seem like some sort of cosmic cash machine? Some genie who, when appeased, shoots out blessings like a slot machine, buzzing and dinging as we jump up and down clapping? It’s easy to think of God in this way, someone we only go to when we need something, someone we easily take for granted because for so many of us, God has always been there. When we pray, do we ever do so to simply be with God, to hang out like we do with any friend. What kind of influence would that have upon our lives?
We are about to start a new month – a short month at that. This is a perfect for us to take on a spiritual challenge and that it to simply be with God, to sit with God and not speak – at least not ask for stuff. Some things to consider going into this month would be how do we feel about God? How do we feel about our relationship with God? What are the biggest concerns we have? What are the things that are most important to us? It might be interesting to journal answers to some of these questions and then spend time every day, every other day, maybe even every week with God and then see if there are any changes to these responses. In my book for the kids, Eli wanted the people he made come see him, he knew that they would be filled with more love for themselves and others. Perhaps the same can be true for us.
~ This Sunday ~
This week we will be looking at the Lord’s Prayer,
prayer and asking the following questions:
How do we feel about God?
How do we feel about our relationship with God?
What are the biggest concerns we have?
What are the things that are most important to us?

~ Upcoming Events ~

February 3
Team 1 Acolyting

SCOUT SUNDAY
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and Scout Leaders are invited to vest in Uniform for Scout Sunday, this coming Sunday at St. Edmund’s Church.

Family Worship
10 am | Chapel

Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms

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Partnership for Awareness

Wednesday, February 6
7 pm | Valentine Little Theater
UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World
Dr. Michele Borba explains what parents and educators MUST do to combat the growing empathy crisis among children today-including a 9-step empathy-building program with tips to guide kids from birth through college, and beyond.
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February 10
Team 2 Acolyting

Family Worship
10 am |Chapel

Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms

Youth Group
Either after church for lunch or later for dinner – TBD

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February 17
Team 3 Acolyting

Sunday School
10 am | Sunday School Classrooms

Heather and Antonio will be out of town, if you are free and willing to help teach, please speak to them and they will provide the materials you need.

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Stuck in the Middle: The Sandwich Generation
Presented by Dr. Donna Benton
Wednesday, February 20th
7 PM | Valentine Little Theater

Many middle-aged Americans find themselves as part of the “Sandwich Generation”- those responsible for taking care of their children and aging parents at the same time. Dr. Donna Benton, the Director of USC’s Family Caregiver Support Center/Los Angeles Caregiving Resource Center, will discuss issues surrounding the “Sandwich Generation” and offer practical solutions and support for those stuck in the middle of juggling kids, careers, and aging parents.

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February 23
29th Annual Rotary International
District 5300
Peace Conference
Saturday, February 23, 2019
University of La Verne
Ann and Steve Morgan Auditorium
Founders Hall
1950 3rd St, La Verne, CA 91750 Map
Conference: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Conference Flyer Here

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Sunday, February 24
Team 4 Acolyting

Family Worship
10 am |Chapel

Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms

Please feel free to contact Heather if you have questions.