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Weekend DevotionMark 14:3-6 Dear Church family, For our morning prayer and Scripture time together, Cathy and I currently use a book of devotions based on the Daily Office, an ancient practice that uses daily prayers to mark the times of the day. For Anglicans, this generally comes in the form of the two main offices of Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer. The Daily Office is a format used to encourage contemplative spirituality. Before and after our readings, study, and prayer, we keep silence in The Almighty's presence. To keep our minds focused during the silence, we may use a word or a phrase, such as God is good, Gos is love, Jesus loves me, Love God and love others, love my enemies... This way we rest in God's presence in the truth of His word, doing God's best to avoid the bothersome worries that can so easily invade our headspace. Below is this morning's devotional from the book we've been using (citation below). Have a preacful weekend. We'll be away in San Diego through Monday to visit Araceli and celebrate family weekend at SDSU - Go Aztecs! I'll be back in the office on Tuesday, October 8. Blessings in Gods presence, Pastor Ted Devotional: Silence and Stillness before God: (2 minutes) Scripture Reading: While he [Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. - Mark 14:3–6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” Devotional: Pedro Arrupe (1907–1991) left medical school and a promising career to join the Jesuits in 1927, but in 1945 his medical training was put to use when he led the first rescue team into Hiroshima, Japan, after the atomic bomb was dropped on that city. He offers us insight into the power of the love of Jesus to transform all we do: Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. The woman who anointed Jesus with the alabaster jar of perfume was not preoccupied with what others thought of her. Christ’s love and forgiveness had, in Arrupe’s words, already “decided everything.” Her heart brimmed over with thankfulness to Jesus for his love and mercy. She understood that her significance came from her relationship to Jesus, not from the approval of others. This gave her confidence to be herself, regardless of what others might think about her. Question to Consider: In your own life, how might it be true that falling in love with Jesus and staying in love with Jesus will decide everything? How could it change you, as well as your relationships? Prayer: I arise today through the strength of heaven; Light of sun, radiance of moon, Splendor of fire, speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, depth of sea, Stability of earth, firmness of rock. I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me . . . God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me . . . I summon today all these powers between me and evil, Against every cruel, merciless power that may oppose my body and soul. —Attributed to Saint Patrick, 500 AD Conclude with Silence: (2 minutes) Source: Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey to Deeply Change Your Relationships (p. 43). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. For more infomation visit: https://www.amazon.com/Emotionally-Healthy-Relationships-Day-Journey/dp/0310349591
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This Month@CLPOur Monthly Newsletter For more infomation visit:
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Worship this SundayTwo services: 8:30 and 10 am For more infomation visit:
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"Holy Communion"
Communion on the first Sunday of each month is a holy moment of worship. At the 8:30 am service, we will re-institute the traditional method of all receiving bread, pausing and eating together, then all receiving the cup, pausing, and drinking together. At the 10 am service, we’ll offer “come forward communion” in which all who are able may come forward to receive the bread and cup; pastors and deacons will discreetly serve those who are unable to come forward. Communion at CLP continues to be alcohol-free, with gluten-free wafers available in addition to bread.
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CLP NurseryBirth to 4 years - Sunday, September 15, 2024 Nursery is available for children from newborns to 4 years old at all worship services. Check-in is in the breezeway between classrooms 4 and 5. |
Join us for CLP Kids (8:30 and 10:00) and CLP Kids' Choir (9:30-10:00)
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Brenda Houlihan's OrdinationSunday, October 13, at 2 pm We invite you to come together in recognition and celebration of Brenda Houlihan’s call and commitment to serve Christ and His Church. As a congregation that has been a central part of Brenda's journey, it is a special privilege to witness and support this sacred calling that God has placed on her life. Ephesians 3:7 says, “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power.” Indeed, Brenda’s journey has been marked by God’s grace and the power of His Spirit working in and through her as she responds to His call. The call to pastoral ministry is sacred and profound. It is a commitment not only to lead and teach but also to shepherd, nurture, and care for God’s people. Brenda has demonstrated an unwavering heart for Christ, and her dedication to the church has been evident in countless ways. As we celebrate this milestone, we also affirm our own role as a church family—walking alongside her, lifting her up in prayer, and supporting her in the work that lies ahead. We hope you will join us for this special moment of recognition and blessing, as we give thanks to God for Brenda’s obedience to His call and for the continued ministry she will offer in service to His Kingdom. A note from Pastor Ted: This past week, we had a Zoom meeting in which an Ordination Council examinted Brenda. The Council, which met for quite some time Wednesday afternoon, unanimously affirmed Brenda's approved Brenda to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament In her ordination exam, I was impressed by the levels of detail, complexity, and integration in her theological thinking. She imaginatively preaches and defends the Gospel, lives out of the vital reality of her conversion, and loves people our of the overflow of the Holy Spirit in her heart. The questions were challenging; they are listed below. Feel free to stop Brenda on campus and ask her any or all of the questions. Just kidding! Or not.... In Christ, Pastor Ted The Ordination Council members are: Rev. Ted Brandt, Sr. Pastor at The Church at Litchfield Park; Rev. Kris Mc Coy, Associate Pastor at The Church at Litchfield Park; Rev. Rock Freemont, Spiritual Director at United Church of Christ and Representative of the International Community Council of Churches; Rev. Jerry Cooper, Sr. Pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church; Judy Mercy, CLP Layperson; Jim and Nancy Montgomery, CLP Laypersons. Ordination Questions:
For more infomation visit: http://clp.church/events/brenda-houlihans-ordination-ceremony/2024-10-13
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Together We Give, Together We GrowStewardship Campaign 2024-2025 Click to watch an engaging and personal stewardship testimony by our own David Bennett. For more infomation visit:
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The Table@CLP, our Dinner ChurchAll are welcome at the table! Click here to watch Pastor Kris singing Tom Petty's Free Fallin' at The Table@CLP. Pictured are four generations of Jesus'followers at The Table@CLP. For more infomation visit:
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Worship@CLP
For more infomation visit: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5kw4zVxyGJIKrbfqOxW6Q5?si=cec98e94095b476d
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Support the CLP mission......to love and serve all people in Christ! For more infomation visit:
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Handbell Choirs in Worship ServcesSunday, October 13, 2024 Join us on the second Sunday of each month as the handbell choirs under the direction of Marilyn Chandler ring out the praises of our Lord and King, Jesus. For more infomation visit: http://clp.church/events/handbell-choirs-in-worship-servces--254/2024-10-13
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The Church at Litchfield ParkWe strive to love and serve all people in Christ! SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES
300 North Old Litchfield Road For more infomation visit:
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