Trinity Sunday -- June 3, 2012

MAIN ST. PROCESSION AND BBQ HAVE BEEN CANCELED.  5/31/2012 Fr. Jay North+

Trinity Sunday is our Patronal feast day.  We are blessed to have the Holy Trinity as our special patrons.  You can't do better than that!  This year Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost) falls on June 3.

To celebrate we will begin our Sunday Service with a procession down Main St. from Bell's hotel to the church lead by a piper.  The procession will form in the driveway of the hotel at 10:30 am.

(On the evening of June 3, we will close our celebration with BBQ hosted by Jost and Ellen.  We would like to invite as many of our friends as will come.  Please extend an invitation to everyone to come to our celebration party beginning at 6 pm.)  BBQ AND SERVICE CANCELED 5/30/2012  Fr. Jay North+

We will close the day with a sunset service overlooking the mountains.  This is should be a great day!  So plan to attend and invite your friends.

Sermon 7 Easter 2012

7 Easter 12 Readings: http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEaster7_RCL.html

Next week of course is the feast of Pentecost. This last week we celebrated the Ascension. The Ascension has become characterized as a feast day which is not widely marked. Somehow we don't know quite what to make of it these days. Does it make sense that Jesus was taken up into heaven? Why did he end his earthly ministry in this way?

Pentecost and Ascension are closely related. Jesus said, unless I go, I cannot send the Spirit (John 16.7). Why is this the case?

I think it is best explained by seeing Jesus as the New Adam. The New Adam did life right. Jesus did it correctly. The first Adam messed it up. He didn't do it right. He turned away from God. He became distracted by his own dreams and visions of grandeur. As the evil one told him, “You can be like God.” And he actually believed this. He wanted to run things his own way.

The new Adam, Jesus, on the other hand, went about doing things the way God wanted them done. He listened closely to the Father. He constantly relied on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He said, “I dont do anything unless I see the Father doing it.” He could see what the Father was up to. The Father was up to healing. The Father was up to teaching and guiding his children. The Father was up to finding lost sheep and carrying them home. The Father was up to extending his kingdom and his rule. So the new Adam, Jesus, went about doing this – thinking about God first and not about a personal agenda, if he could imagine one. The devil wanted him to.

Update on Irene

Irene has moved to the Atria Crossgates in Albany for continued rehab.  The address is 140 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany, NY 12203.  Phone: 869-0211.

Monica saw her briefly today and we will be looking in on her later this week.

Continued prayers are requested.

Irene at Sunnyview

Irene is in Sunnyview Rehab Center.  She spent a short time at Ellis Hospital.  She is hoping to get out soon.  Please keep her in your prayers.

Sermon 5 Easter 12

5 Easter 12: Readings: http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEaster5_RCL.html

There are a lot of theories and programs about Church growth. This was the topic of our Vestry retreat last Saturday. As I prepared for that day, I was lead to today's Gospel reading: “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

As I was studying and thinking about this, it occurred to me, perhaps obviously to others, that this is God's plan for church growth. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. There maybe a lot of theories and programs for church growth, but this is God's theory. In his case, it is not a theory; it is HIS PLAN. So we should be be paying very close attention if we want our church to grow.

Now this is so obvious on one level that we might miss the deep significance of what Jesus is saying. He is saying that this is how a church grows. This is how you bear fruit. And we know from this discourse of Jesus that the Father is very interested in fruit.

First off, Jesus says, “I am the True Vine.” There might be others vines. We are part of other organizations in our lives. Jesus says, “I am the True Vine.” In other words this is most important vine we will ever be part of. This is vine where we receive our nourishment. This is vine where we will grow into the fulness of God. It will not happen anywhere else. If want to become the best person you can be, the person God created you to be, its gona happen here, as part of the True Vine.

New link to 1811 Days Celebration photos

Photos from our 1811 Days celebration on June 4 and 5 last year are now available to view and download.  To get to the link go to Contributors (on right), click on my name (Jay North) which takes you to my Google Profile and posts.  On mobile view, must navigate to Posts. Scroll down until you see a picture of the Historic Marker. Click on the picture of the Historic Marker to view all photos.