Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Please see the note below from Terri regarding at last week-end's Cursillo in Phoenix. May God continue to richly Bless Terri!
- Bishop Kirk Smith has designated March 25 as Chapel Rock Sunday throughout the Diocese. On next Sunday, he is asking each church and individual members to support the Chapel Rock Campership Fund for the benefit of our campers. The camp is fun, Christ-centered, and allows kids to practice drawing close to God through the beauty and power of our Episcopal Church traditions. Envelopes will be in the pews.
- Don't forget this Sunday, March 18th, there is a Social Action Committee meeting after the 10:15am Mass. Just get a cup of coffee and join us in the Womble Library. All are Welcome!
Peace and stay happy!
Nancy
A Note from Terri Smith:
What is a Cursillo? – a three-day period of spiritual renewal stressing
the dynamic,
communitarian and personal aspects of the Christian faith.
My thoughts were tumbling
around my head from all that I encountered, felt and saw this past weekend at the Cursillo. I’ve
been attempting to put into words all that
I had experienced so that I
could share with you.
What exactly did I experience?? A
series of events
including times of reflection,
perseverance, healing and Palanca’s.
For those who shared that with me, prayed
over me and loved me thru this
time…….my heart is filled. Your
Palanca’s
strengthened me when I needed it most.
If, in the future, someone approaches and asks you if you would like to attend a
Cursillo, I hope you will answer YES.
My walk is closer and stronger, calmer and deeper.
This will not be forgotten.
De Colores!!!
In Him,
Terri
Special Message from Bishop Smith
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Many seasons overlap during this time of year. We are in the middle of the Lenten season, and the bees are already swarming desert willow flowers in this early spring. This is also the season when the taxman knocks at our doors. We rarely think that tax season has much in common with Lent and Spring beyond a coincidence of dates on the calendar. However, in Arizona, tax season gives us an opportunity to do Christ's work and to create a springtime rebirth and renewal in our communities. Yes, we can do the work that Christ calls us to do when we file our taxes.
If you owe taxes in Arizona, the State gives you a credit that you can give to schools, and I am writing today to ask that you invest your tax credit dollars in the Arizona Episcopal Schools Foundation. It's very simple: you fill out a short form that tells the State that you wish to give your tax money to Arizona Episcopal Schools, and the State takes the money off of your tax bill. This is not a donation: it is money that you already owe the State that the government will do with as it pleases, unless you tell them otherwise. This costs you nothing, because the State will require that you pay the money in taxes no matter what you do. By investing your tax credits in Episcopal schools, you provide scholarships to young people who are being raised in the Episcopal tradition to extend our work of stewardship into the next generation. I have agreed to serve as an honorary board member of the Arizona Episcopal Schools Foundation, and I will soon be forming a diocesan committee on corporate tax credit giving.
Jesus teaches us to be wise stewards of the resources God has given us, and he also teaches us to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. The Arizona tax credit allows us to invest our resources wisely, to be good stewards, while at the same time taking a little bit of what is Caesar's and giving it to God. When you invest tax credit dollars in Episcopal schools, you multiply the silver that God has given you by using it to transform the lives of children. The Lenten season reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus, and springtime reminds us that new life rises from death in a natural cycle. Now, let us allow tax season to remind us that we can create the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth through thoughtful stewardship of our earthly resources. You have until April 15th to invest your 2011 Arizona tax dollars in the future of a young Episcopal scholar.
Faithfully,
+Kirk
The Rt. Rev. Kirk Stevan Smith, Ph.D., D.D.
V Bishop of Arizona
