18th of November--Father Nissen's sermon

The text for today comes from the reading from the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 3, verses 6 through 13.

St. Paul talks about the value of work. He mentions that some believers in Thessalonica were lazy. They did not have the right balance between work and worship. A thought in all of this: we, too, must balance our work and our family lives. We as Americans work hard; the average American has only 13 days of holidays or paid vacation each year. We still need to take care of ourselves. Some people have taken Paul's injunction to work to degenerate into a duty to work all the time. We must first live faith-filled lives, and then we will have the insight to work even better. We must be open to change to to technology, because God is the God of the future and change.

Father Nissen's sermon, November 4

The gospel text for today is Luke 19 : 1 - 10.

This is the story of the tax collector Zacchaeus, who was saved and came to faith in Jesus. Tax collectors in Jesus' day were not respected or liked b y the Jewish people because they took money to help the Roman government occupation and often took more money for themselves. He was an outcast.

Jesus associated with the outcasts--he went to Zacchaeus' home for dinner--and so should we. Why? Outcasts already know they are lost and need God. The challenge for the community of God's people is to accept the outcast into our church. Also, people who are rejected have a strong need to belong, especially when they are rejected from their communities and families. Many times they have their needs met by unhealthy situations that bring them a little acceptance: abusive relationships, drugs, alcohol.

May we also welcome these people in the church. May we always recognize the value of the soul that God has created, whether in a person cast out by society or in our own selves. May we welcome these outcasts.

All Souls Day

The following text was taken from a book written by Saint Ambrose, bishop, on the death of his brother Satyrus.

It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if he did not want to, but did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided, and he could have found no better means to save us than by dying. Thus his death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of his death; when we pray we preach his death; when we offer sacrifice we proclaim his death. His death is victory; his death is a sacred sign; each year his death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

When we consider our sister in Christ, Wauneta, who is passing from this earthly life to His heavenly kingdom, let us rejoice and sing praises. Remember David's most ardent wish: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for; to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to see how gracious is the Lord.

Updates on Wauneta

"Today is proving to be a good day for Wauneta. The nurse indicated that Wauneta wiggled her toes and squeezed the nurse's hand three times on command around lunchtime," says a web site dedicated to news about Wauneta Vine and to making contact among her family and friends. The "today" mentioned above is Tuesday, October 23.

You can read more of this report by going to www.CaringBridge.org/visit/waunetavine

If I set this up right, you should also be able to go to the Wauneta Vine web site by clicking on a little button on the right side of the page above the schedule of worship services.

Father Nissen's sermon, October 21

The text for today is Luke 18: 1 -8.

This the teaching of the widow and the unjust judge. She had to keep asking this legal official for help, probably to obtain an inheritance that was left for her by her deceased husband. She hit a brick wall. All of us hit brick walls, be they lack of money, education, emotional problems, depression, grief, loss, and so on. We sense that we are weak.

This can be a good thing. On our own we become isolated with little positive perspective. When we call on God we are always directed back to walk with others. The word "ego" can be an acronym for "Edging God Out."

Our weakness can be a blessing. Let us walk and share with others, especially with members of our beloved Episcopal church.

More news about Wauneta Vine

Wauneta Vine successfully underwent a procedure Wednesday, October 17, to repair a aneurysm in her brain. She is in a deep sleep (not a coma) and will remain in the ICU at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. The next several weeks are critical. Please remember Wauneta and her family in your prayers.

Wauneta's Progress

Good News! Early Saturday morning, Wauneta woke up from her coma and was able to recognize the family members in her room. She was able to move all four extremities and was equally strong on both sides. Though Wauneta appears to be out of the woods, the next several weeks will be critical. Please continue to keep Wauneta and her family in your prayers.

Prayers for Wuaneta Vine

Please keep Wuaneta Vine and her family in your prayers. She is being hospitalized in Wichita after suffering a stroke on October 11, 2007.

Father Nissen's sermon, October 7

Reading: Luke chapter 17, verses 5 through 10.

The mustard seed is among the tiniest of all seeds. Jesus said, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

So small acts of faith in all of us can produce large results. This is the power of the small. The words "I'm sorry" are small words, but they are big when said at the right time. To go forward in our lives we need to use the faith we have and know we will be protected and challenged. God is God, and we must connect to the Creator or else we get off course and die inside. Doesn't the song say, "I am dying inside and no one know it but me."

We use the faith we have to continue to be transformed. Use your faith to continue to be transformed in turning to Jesus often in the day. Don't doubt yourselves. God is with you.

Saint Of The Day

Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) Discalced Carmelite nun, mystic, Doctor of the Church

Also known as Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, the Saint of the Little Way

Therese of Lisieux was born on January 2, 1873, in Alcon, Normandy, the ninth child of a middle-class French family. She was brought up in the typical atmosphere of an economically comfortable French family desiring piety and separation from the world. At the age of four, Therese's mother died and Therese was raised by her sisters Marie and Pauline. She became especially close to Pauline so when Pauline announced that she intended to become a nun, Therese expressed the same desire. Later when Therese wrote her autobiography on her sick bed, she stated that she not only wanted to become a nun, but more importantly, she wanted to become a saint.

Therese as a child was frequently in frail health and presented a strong desire to suffer for God. She was concerned about the poor and gave alms to them. Therese had a near death experience at the age of ten. In a fit of delirium, she witnessed the statue of the Virgin Mary coming to life and smiling at her. This experience strengthened her resolve to become a nun.

Finally at the age of 15, after pleading her case to Pope Leo XIII in an audience before him, Therese was admitted to the Carmelite convent on April 9, 1888. After entering the order, she suffered spiritual dryness, sought suffering to purify herself, and wished to die young.
Therese experienced pain similar to the transverberation or piercing of the heart suffered by St. Teresa of Avila.

Therese's most long lasting gift to her fellow spiritual sojourners is her autobiography entitled "Novissima Verba, meaning Last Words.

Therese died on September 30, 1897. Her last words were, "My God, I love thee!"

Father Nissen's sermon, Sept 30

America is known for rugged individualism. Yes, we need to be strong and have a sense of purpose in our lives. But this does not make us fully human. Without relationships with others we are stunted.
Read Luke 16:19-31, which tells of the rich man who ended up in Hell and the beggar Lazarus who died and rested in Abraham's arms. This teaching is not so much a story about Heaven and Hell, but a teaching that focuses on our need for one another. The rich guy discovered this after his death that Lazarus could help him.
So the story can teach us that we should not get so wrapped up in ourselves and end up like the rich man. We should be like Lazarus, which means "He whom God helps." the rich man is not given a name because he did not relate well to people and was not, therefore, fully human.
Through Jesus' incarnation and our baptism we are all one with one another. Let us thank God that our beloved Episcopal Church continues to put before us the vision that we can talk, love, and share together.
God bless you.

Saint Of The Day

Cyprian of Carthage (ca. 200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Father of the Church, martyr

Cyprian, born into wealth, sold his property, including his gardens at Carthage, and gave most of his revenues to the poor. He was baptized in 246 and elected Bishop of Carthage in 248. His election coincided with the Decian persecution. The Roman Emperor Decius issued an edict that all bishops be put to death and other believers tortured until they recanted their faith. Cyprian went into hiding but continued to write eulogies for those who were martyred.

During the the persecution, most Christians denied their faith. In 251, after the persecution subsided, Cyprian allowed the apostates back into the Church as long as appropriate penance was performed. Another issue related to those who denied their faith was the question of rebaptism. Cyprian despite admonishment from Rome performed rebaptism.

A new round of persecutions began under Emperor Valerian with Cyprian arrested on August 30, 257. On September 14, Cyprian was tried, sentenced and beheaded. Before dying, he ordered that 25 gold pieces be given to his executioner.

Saint Of The Day

Alexander Crummell, Priest, Missionary, and Educator, 1819-1898.

Alexander Crummell was born in New York City, March 3, 1819. He attended Noyse Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, which was founded by a group of abolitionists from Dartmouth. After the school was dragged off its foundation by ninety oxen and torched, Crummell returned to New York then on to Boston to further his education. At the age of twenty-five, he was ordained a minister.

Crummell quickly discovered that he was not accepted by the white Episcopal clergy, so he moved to England and completed an A.B. degree in theology at Queen's College of Cambridge University in 1853. He spent twenty years performing missionary work and teaching in Liberia. In 1879 he founded St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where he served as its pastor until his retirement in 1894. During that time he led the movement to separate from the white Protestant Episcopal church. He also established the American Negro Academy in Washington D.C.

Crummell devoted his life to writing and instruction. He believed Africa's situation could be improved by the people receiving a classic Western education. He is quoted as saying, "If Africa is ever regenerated the influences and agencies to this end must come from external sources. Civilization....never springs up, spontaneously, in any new land. It must be transplanted."

Father Nissen's sermon, Sept 9

• In 1956 the movie Friendly Persuasion received six Academy Award nominations. It is a story of a family of Quakers during the civil war who oppose violence and stay true to their beliefs. As the Cold War ended, President Ronald Reagan gave Premier Mikhail Gorbachev a video of Friendly Persuasion.
• Read the letter of Philemon this week. St. Paul befriends a runaway slave, Onesimus, who then helps St. Paul in his church activities. He writes this letter asking the slave's master to take him back "on the basis of love" and using friendly persuasion.
  
• St. Paul says good things about the slave Onesimus. May we say good things about each other so we can keep the avenues open for communication and find God will for our lives. St. Paul reminds us that we are all on in Christ. This is "friendly persuasion."
  

Saint Of The Day

Aidan of Lindisfarne (d. 651) Bishop and monastic founder

Little is known about Aidan's early life. He is of Irish origin, and it is only through the favorable writings of the Venerable Bede that we know his story at all. In 635 Aidan a monk at St. Columba's Monastery on the island of Iona walked to Northumbria in Britian to serve as bishop at the request of St. King Oswald of Northumbria. Aidan founded Lindisfarne monastery which is viewed as his greatest achievement.

Aidan, accompanied by King Oswald serving as his translator, would walk all over Northumbria gaining converts and serving the poor. He freed the Anglo-slave boys and educated them for the church. Aidan lived a life of poverty and detachment from worldly pleasures. He died in 651 and was buried in the Lindisfarne cemetery.

Beheading Of John The Baptist, Martyr

August 29, 2007

"After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am unworthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:7-8).

In the verse above, John the Baptist denied that he was the Messiah prophesied to come. Instead, John served as the forerunner of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. John suffered imprisonment and eventually gave his life for Christ. His persecutors did not demand that John deny Christ, but only that he keep silent and not speak the truth. John shed his blood for the truth by preaching the truth. Christ proclaimed, " I am the truth." John surely died for Christ. Today we celebrate the martyrdom of John the Baptist.

Saint Of The Day

August 28, 2007

St. Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was restless and searched for the truth until his conversion to Christianity at Milan and baptized by Ambrose. He returned to his homeland and living a life in which he rejected worldly pleasures he was elected bishop of Hippo. He lead his flock for thirty-four years and during that time wrote careful essays and books in defense of the Christian Faith. He died in 430.

September, 2007, Worship Services

In September we are again off our normal schedule. Here is our schedule for the month (as I understand it on September 3). It is subject to change.

• September 2: Morning Prayer.
• September 9: Holy Communion.
• September 16: Morning Prayer.
• September 23: Morning Prayer.
  
• September 30: Holy Communion.
  

August worship services

Here are the Sunday morning worship services at St. Andrew's for August, 2007. All of the services begin at 10:00 am.

• August 5: Morning Prayer
• August 12: Holy Communion: While anticipating Jesus' return, we should neither become so preoccupied with his return that we neglect the day-to-day kingdom work nor become complacent about his return. Our goal is this: while we are waiting, keep on serving. --Father Peter Nissen
  
• August 19: Morning Prayer
• August 26: Holy Communion: Luke 13:10 - 17 talks about the healing of a woman who was bent over "double" with a back problem. Jesus calls us to empathy and caring for others who are different than we are. We can start by trying to understand others but it always must move to extending a helping hand, a kind word of encouragement or empathy to others, spending some time with a troubled or angry person. This can help a person who is "bent over double" stand up again, feel joy and hope again, and maybe join you for church. Have a great day. --Father Peter Nissen
  

Bishop Jefferts Schori visits St. Andrew's Church

Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, visited St. Andrew's Church on Tuesday, June 18, 2007. Here is a link to an account of her visit to St. Andrew's and to the Diocese of Western Kansas from Episcopal Life Online: "On the Road in Western Kansas with the Presiding Bishop."

The picture above is courtesy of Episcopal Life Online and photographer Dick Schori.