Mother Dina+...The most wasted of days is one without laughter. e.e.cummings You must do the things...

The Guardian November 2020

Clergy Corner: The Lightkeepers

As we enter these days of waning light and look forward to the coming of the Light of the World, here is a poem that offers me purpose and guidance. I hope you hear it, too.

The Lightkeepers

You are not the Light. You are not the Path. You are not the Destination.

You? You lift up the Lantern. You are the Keepers of the Light.

You stand in the darkness of the road and hold high the lantern, which holds the Light, that is not you.

All who wander in the night, who stumble by the Gate, see the Light pooled at your feet, and catch a glimpse of the gate, the path, the destination that leads to home

You are the Keepers of the Light. Through this long night, may you faithfully hold up the lamp.

You hold a lonely post against all of this oppressive Dark, but you join a constellation of Light-bearers that came before you, and those who are to come.

You are entrusted to the mundane work of keeping the wicks trimmed, and the incandescent joy of seeing the lamp burn bright.

Many will stumble on past. They see the Light, but do not turn in. Many will see the light you wave and weave their way home.

Hold your post. Hold it well. Keep on signaling in the dark:

This is the Way! The Truth! The Life!

You are not the Light. You are not the Path. You are not the Destination. You illuminate the Gate.

You are the Keepers of the Light.

© Christine Parton Burkett, 2016

Mother Dina+

The Guardian November 2020 2

Tuesday Meditation Service ~ November 10th

Our Candlelight & Meditation service for November is

scheduled for Tuesday the 10th at 7:30pm. Our theme for this

month calls us to the peace and joy we know in our life in

Christ.

“Life in Christ”

This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page.

Plan to tune in!

November Calendar

St. Michael’s Children’s Center is open under strict guidelines set by the CDC and Los Angeles County Health Department. No one is allowed to enter the school except for students and staff.

The church calendar continues to be quite limited. We are offering only the following activities on cam-pus—Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month at 10am and Bible study on Tuesdays at 2pm. Our online services continue through the week and on Sundays.

Sunday, November 1 10am All Saints’ Day open air Eucharist and Baptism & C.A.S.E. ingathering —south of the school bldg.— Remember standard time returns today! This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page for those who choose not to attend in person.

Saturday, November 7 Bishop’s (virtual) Gala at 6pm—and it’s free! with Presiding Bishop Curry as the keynote speaker The Gala will be livestreamed on the diocesan Facebook page

Tuesday, November 10 Candlelight & Meditation service at 7:30pm This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page

Tuesday, November 24 So. Bay Interfaith (virtual) Service of Thanksgiving at 7:30pm This service will be livestreamed on Temple Menorah’s Facebook page

Continuing Events

Sundays 10am Sunday services online on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/stmichaelselsegundo/

Tuesdays 2pm Bible study Location subject to change. Come and look for us!

Monday-Thursday Regular weekday online services https://www.facebook.com/stmichaelselsegundo/

Monday—8am Morning Devotions Tuesday—12noon Noonday Prayer Wednesday—5pm Vespers Thursday—8pm Compline


Voices from the Vestry: Some Thoughts to Ponder

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

Believe you can and you're halfway there. Theodore Roosevelt

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean

Spread love everywhere you go. Mother Teresa

Don't wait. The time will never be just right. Napoleon Hill

Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive. Hafez

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome. William James

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Albert Einstein

Nothing is impossible. The word itself says "I'm possible!" Audrey Hepburn

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. C.S. Lewis

Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. Maya Angelou

You do not find the happy life. You make it. Camilla Eyring Kimball

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory. Dr. Seuss

The most wasted of days is one without laughter. e.e.cummings

You must do the things you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way. Martin Luther King Jr.

Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful. Hazrat Inayat Khan

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. John Barrymore

We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. Joseph Campbell

It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot

Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. Michael Altshuler

Each person must live their life as a model for others. Rosa Parks

Submitted by Julie Bergeron

For all the saints!

All Saints’ Day on November 1st commemorates all the saints, known and unknown. It is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year—so it’s a big deal!

While many saints have a particular feast day, those whose sainthood is known only to God have no particular feast day—and so on All Saints’ Day we remember all the saints of the church. In addition, in the New Testament all the followers of Jesus are called “saints” and so this day remembers all those who have died in the faith of Christ.

All Saints’ Day is one of the four occasions of the church year that is especially suitable for baptism. In baptism we welcome a new member of the church—a new saint! This All Saints’ Day we are happy to welcome Jeremy Iniobong Okon into the family of Christ. I hope you will join us!


December newsletter articles are due November 25th. Please send articles to [email protected]

Come, ye thankful people

Thanksgiving Day is a major holy day of the church year as well as a national holiday and day of thanks. The custom of Thanksgiving Day is based on the celebration of three days of prayer and feasting by the Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists in 1621. There was also a Thanksgiving celebration with prayer by members of the Berkeley plantation, near what is now Charles City, Virginia, in 1619. The first national Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in 1789.

In some ways, it may be harder for us to give thanks this year. Many have lost and suffered much. But as our forebears showed, it is good and right to give God thanks in all times and circumstances. God is good.

We are all invited to give thanks with the larger faith community at the South Bay Interfaith (virtual) Service of Thanksgiving. I hope you’ll join in!

Join us online ~ Register at tinyurl.com/SBThanksgiving2020 For more information visit www.facebook.com/southbayinterfaith

or email [email protected]

Eucharist Schedule

Al fresco Eucharist on the bike yard (south of the school) at 10am on first Sundays

November 1st – All Saints’ Day

December 6th – Second Sunday of Advent

January 3rd – Second Sunday of Christmas

On the days that we gather together, we will also collect for our monthly C.A.S.E. ingathering. See the article on page 5 for items that are especially needed to stock the C.A.S.E. food pantry.

Note: Dates may change based on changing circumstance.


All are invited!

The Bishop’s Gala ~ a major fundraising event for the ministries of the diocese ~

will be held (virtually) on Saturday, November 7 at 6pm – online.

Presiding Bishop Curry is the keynote speaker (you know you want to hear him!)

and this virtual event is free! Register to attend here

https://aesbid.co/ELP/BISHOPS20/Tickets

And make a donation if you can toward diocesan ministries. Thanks!

Good News!

Our diocese has awarded a “One Body, One Spirit” emergency grant to St. Michael’s to help us fund a fire alarm in Yeaton Hall so that it can be used as a classroom for St. Michael’s Children’s Center. The open classroom setting in the school building has greatly reduced the number of students we can serve during the pandemic. The vestry approved the use of Yeaton Hall to provide an additional classroom, but the fire alarm system is necessary to meet licensing requirements. Using Yeaton Hall as a classroom will allow us to serve up to 12 additional students—doubling the number of pre-school students we are currently able to serve.

Along with the parents ~ who will get much needed child care and the students ~ who will have a fun, safe and educational place to come each day and the teachers ~ who are able to keep the jobs they love teaching our students we are grateful!

Please note that when the Children’s Center classroom opens in Yeaton Hall, it will be off limits for other use during school hours—7am to 6pm Monday through Friday.

Standard Time Returns

Yes. We are still doing it. The clocks change back to Standard Time on Sunday, November 1.

Be sure to change your clock—or let Siri do it for you—so that you arrive on time for our All Saints’ Day service.

C.A.S.E. Ingathering November 1st

Cereals Sugar Oatmeal (boxes and packets) Bottles of juice Ketchup Mayonnaise Cooking oil Flour Cleaning supplies (for surfaces, disinfecting) Disinfecting wipes Dish soap Laundry detergent Toothpaste


FAMILY PROMISE

Our next host week is coming up Dec 6 – 12! Our host week commitment during the pandemic is to provide money so that our families can shop for their own groceries and cook their own meals. The easiest way to donate is at familypromiseosb.org online. Please choose a one time donation and fill in the comment box that you’re donating for St. Michael’s and our upcoming host week Dec 6 -12. Currently we have 4 families and are looking for $100 per family. Sending in grocery and gas gift cards are great too. Please send an email to [email protected] with the following information: First and Last Name Congregation Name Amount Donated/Gift Card Donated

8th Annual Empty Bowls virtual event was October 10th, 2020 and we raised $98,561.50!!! This was our biggest fundraiser of the year and the money raised is desperately needed for our operation. We count on this fundraiser for a major portion of our budget. Thank you everyone who bought tickets, bid on auction items and donated so that we can continue our work with homeless families with children and more!

We are currently serving 4 homeless families with children Family #1 Fernando, Lorelle, Aaliyah, Ayven Family #2 Esther (Mom), Aiden Family #3 Ching (Dad), Mika (Mom), William, Faith Family #4 Miriam (Mom), Christopher, Diego, Genesis, Sebastian, Sofia, Alexa

Volunteer Opportunities Write notes and letters to our families and kids and send them to 2930 El Dorado St., Torrance, CA 90503 Donate snack bags for our children. Come over for outdoor, social-distanced yard work at our Transitional Housing location. There are after school opportunities to share arts and crafts, outdoor activities, science, baking/cooking with the kids on Mon, Wed or Fri afternoons from 2pm-3:30pm. If interested please email [email protected]

Our 2021 Host Weeks – Please save these dates! First quarter: February 28 – March 6 Second quarter: June 6 – 12 Third quarter: October 10—16 Fourth quarter: December 12 –18

All nonprofits you care about will need financial support to get through this crisis and continue their important work. If you are in a financial position to do so, please give. Mail a check to Family Promise of the South Bay, 2930 El Dorado St, Torrance, CA 90503 Give online www.familypromiseosb.org I miss all of you very much! I hope you are well and staying safe.

With love, Jeanie Powell [email protected], 310-462-9904

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Take a close look! Where are we? And who are we missing?

There is still time (and room) for our Sunday schoolers to send in a self portrait. Send them to:

Florine Guy 12627 Eucalyptus Ave #124 Hawthorne, CA 90250

about:blank


Our outreach spotlight for Advent is

C.A.S.E.

You can provide food for our neighbors.

Our Advent outreach this year is for our local neighbors. The

Community Alliance to Support and Empower—C.A.S.E.—

provides food and financial assistance for needy families in El

Segundo. We want to help stock the pantry for the new year!

We have taken the idea of an Advent Calendar and turned it on its

head. Instead of taking something out of your Advent Calendar

this year as you count the days to Christmas, we are inviting you

to put something in. And we’ve even provided you with a helpful

list!

Boxes will be distributed at our November 1st al fresco Eucharist.

But any box will do! Use the list here to plan your donations and

fill a box with good food for our neighbors. If you’d rather donate

money to help out please, make sure you note that it is a donation

for C.A.S.E.

We will collect the filled boxes at our January First Sunday al

fresco service on January 3rd.

It is our right and responsibility as Christians and as American citizens to vote.

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges:

Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials and representatives;

that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected

and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.


The Reverend Dina Ferguson, D. Min. Rector

Parish Office: 310-322-2589 Web site: www.stmichaels-elsegundo.org Email: [email protected]

St. Michael’s Children’s Center Ms. Lauren Cherrington

School Office: 310-322-7522

Worship Schedule Sunday 8:00am Rite I Said Service Sunday 10:00am Rite II with Music and Childcare Sunday School: 1st, 2nd & 3rd Sundays

St. Michael the Archangel Episcopal Church 361 Richmond Street El Segundo, CA 90245

TO:

November 2020

Mission Statement for St. Michael’s Church

Growing in God’s Love. Working in God’s Spirit.

THE

GUARDIAN

St. Michael the Archangel Episcopal Church El Segundo

Mother Dina+...The most wasted of days is one without laughter. e.e.cummings You must do the things...

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