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Dearly Beloved in Christ,
In today's gospel from Luke (24:36-48) we get another perspective on the disciples' reaction to their encounter with the risen Lord. After appearing to two dejected disciples on the road to Emmaus out of Jerusalem, opening up the Scriptures to them, and finally being recognized by them as he broke bread in their home, Jesus appears to the disciples in the Upper Room.
Once again we find the disciples fearful, "they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost." But Jesus puts them at ease, "touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." And then, just so that they are assured that he is not a figment of their imagination or a merely spiritual, incorporeal being, he asks them for food. This resurrected body is a physical human body not bound by time and space, but one that still enjoys food!
Their fear, doubting and unbelief is finally overcome after Jesus "opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures," so that they could understand everything that he had told them while he was still with them that "everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
Having grappled with what it means to encounter a Risen Lord they became his witnesses not just to the fact of the resurrected Lord but to what a resurrected Lord meant in their lives, and the lives of those who believed in Him and were baptized into His death and resurrection.
A bodily resurrected Lord means that not only had Jesus passed through death into a new human existence, but we who have been baptized into his death have also been baptized into his resurrected life. In other words all that the Lord accomplished on the cross is ours NOW. We won’t have resurrected bodies until he returns, but we have his resurrected life dwelling within us! Do you believe? Do you believe that you are God’s children now? Do you believe that your sins are forgiven? Do you believe that faith in his name still has the power to bring healing into this world? If you believe then like those first disciples you are witnesses of these things, and as such have been commanded by the Lord to share that testimony into a world that needs the hope that only resurrected life brings.
In the peace, grace and hope of our Risen Lord,
Rev'd Sarah+
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GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY - APRIL 22
Next Sunday is our patronal feast day and also my last Sunday. I hope you will be able to come and celebrate all that our Good Shepherd, Jesus, has done in our midst over the last 8 1/2 years. Rev'd Sarah+
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VESTRY NOTES
REV'D SARAH'S LAST SUNDAY - APRIL 22
The Vestry wants to make sure everyone knows we will be hosting a farewell luncheon for Rev’d Sarah in the Parish Hall following her last service on April, 22nd.
Also, we are creating a Memory Book for Rev’d Sarah on Shutterfly and desperately need you to share your photos to make the book even more special. Over the years I know we all have photos of Rev’d Sarah, so please sort through them and share them with us. Email photos to Catherine@thedaveyfamily.net along with any explanation about the photo.
FR. CAMERON CALLED AS THE NEXT RECTOR
Rev. Sarah announced her retirement to the Vestry at our February meeting and to the congregation the following Sunday. After expressing our shock and surprise, as did the rest of you when you learned the news, we learned that our next step was to meet with the Canon of the Ordinary, The Reverend Canon Tim Nunez, who would explain the church’s process of finding a new Rector.
We met with Father Tim on February 27th. He went over the process of forming a Search Committee and creating a Parish Profile and he gave us a couple of options that would allow us to keep Father Cameron in a temporary capacity while we completed the search process. We told him we would like to keep Father Cameron as the permanent Rector. It is very unusual for that to occur so he asked us if we would follow a discernment process both for the parish and for Father Cameron. At his suggestion we met with Father Cameron to discuss the vision God had given him for the future of the parish.
We polled the congregation, and many of you wrote letters to us expressing your support for Father Cameron, and there was a strong feeling that God had placed him with us for just this purpose. So, after our meeting with Father Cameron we had a unanimous vote to proceed. I wrote, on behalf of the Vestry, to the Bishop and Father Tim the next day with our decision and the steps we had taken to get there and the Bishop approved it THE SAME DAY!
All of the papers have now been signed and consequently Father Cameron MacMillan will officially become Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Maitland on May 1, 2018.
Rev. Sarah will be sorely missed but the Vestry is excited to begin this new chapter in the life of Good Shepherd with Father Cameron’s leadership.
Susie Pelham, Senior Warden, on behalf of the Vestry.
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CHRISTIAN FORMATION CLASSES WILL RESUME ON MAY 6
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NOONDAY PRAYER SCHEDULE
Noonday Prayer will be offered in the Prayer Room on Wednesdays only. The Noonday Prayer Service booklet will be available in the narthex of Church and Chapel for people to take with them to pray the service at work or at home on other days during the week.
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ROOM CHANGE: YOUNG ADULTS NOW MEETING IN UPPER ROOM. MEN'S BIBLE STUDY NOW MEETING IN FR. CAMERON'S OFFICE
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Clergy
The Rt. Rev’d Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop of Central Florida
The Rt. Rev’d William Folwell, The Rt. Rev’d John Howe, and the Rt. Rev’d Hugo Pina-Lopez, retired Bishops
The Rev’d Sarah L. Bronos, Rector
The Rev’d Cameron MacMillan, Curate
The Rev’d Dick Costin, Deacon
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer
St. Francis of Assisi Church, Lake Placid
Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Wales
The Nation and Those in Authority
The President, Governors, Representatives, Congressmen and women, and the Mayors of Oviedo and St. Cloud
Prayers for Healing and Other Needs
Marie, Raewyn, Terri, Ava, Edword, Rennie, Jean, Lola, Courtney, Bobbi, Debra, Yula, Hannah, Tee, Karen, Michele, Darryl, Lillian, Pete, Michael, Mary, Liz, Scott, Jennifer, Tom, Nikki, George, Joan, Jose, Charlotte, Sammi
Military Personnel and Families
Kate Pierce, Brigit Kincaid, and Dennis Glasgow
Our College and Seminarian Students
Karissa Ashcraft, Laura Harris, Stephen Gant, Donny Lisle, Ray Lisle, Debora Lisle, Abbei Moye, Kyra Ashcraft, Rose Thatcher, Nicole Folsom, Jim Louttit, Gordon Sims
Our Diocesan Missionary
The Reverend Stephen and Mary Dass, and the street children of Brazil
Birthdays
Olivia Davey
Praise/Thanksgiving
Sammi: The shrinkage of her tumor by 68%
If you have any prayer requests please visit our website and complete the Prayer Request Form.
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