When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went away from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyria—he will be their king Because they refused to return to Me. And the sword will whirl against their cities, And will destroy their oracle priests And consume them, because of their counsels. So My people are determined to turn from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me, All My compassions are kindled. I will not carry out My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath. They will walk after the Lord, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will roar, And His sons will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, And like doves from the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is still unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim feeds on wind, And pursues the east wind continually; He multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, And oil is brought to Egypt. The Lord also has a case against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his mature strength he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and implored His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us, And the Lord, the God of armies, The Lord is His name. So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually. A merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances, Loves to exploit. And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No wrongdoing, which would be sin.” But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival. I have also spoken to the prophets, And I provided many visions, And through the prophets I spoke in parables. Is there injustice in Gilead? Certainly they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like stone heaps Beside the furrows of a field.
Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep. But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet he was protected. Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his guilt for bloodshed on him And bring his disgrace back to him.
In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me for three days already and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” And His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” And He *directed the people to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He told the disciples to serve these as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand men were there; and He dismissed them. And immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!” And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
And the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.” And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet comprehend or understand? Do you still have your heart hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
And they *came to Bethsaida. And some people *brought a man who was blind to Jesus and *begged Him to touch him. Taking the man who was blind by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting in his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and *said to Him, “You are the Christ.” And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but on man’s.”
And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. This, moreover, shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: it is his uncleanness whether his body allows its discharge to flow or whether his body obstructs its discharge. Every bed on which the man with the discharge lies becomes unclean, and everything on which he sits becomes unclean. Anyone, moreover, who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; and whoever sits on the thing on which the man with the discharge has been sitting, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Also whoever touches the man with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Every saddle on which the man with the discharge rides becomes unclean. Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Likewise, whomever the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. However, an earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.
‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean. Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young doves, and come before the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest; and the priest shall offer them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord because of his discharge.
‘Now if a man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening. As for any garment or any leather on which there is a seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. If a man sleeps with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
‘When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whoever touches any object on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. If a man actually sleeps with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
‘Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, for all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every object on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young doves, and bring them to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering, and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord because of her impure discharge.’
“And so you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.” This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. The Lord said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the atoning cover. Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be wrapped about the waist with the linen sash and the linen turban wound around his forehead (these are holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Then Aaron shall offer the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. He shall then take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, so that the cloud of incense may cover the atoning cover that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die. Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the atoning cover on the east side; also in front of the atoning cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover and in front of the atoning cover. He shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall do so for the tent of meeting which remains with them in the midst of their impurities. When he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it; he shall take some of the blood from the bull and some of the blood from the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and consecrate it from the impurities of the sons of Israel.
“When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their unlawful acts regarding all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands ready. Then the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to an isolated territory; he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; and afterward he shall come into the camp.
“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work, whether the native, or the stranger who resides among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, so that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute. So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.
On the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, “Take a bull and a ram. There must be nothing wrong with them. The bull will be a sin offering, and the ram will be a burnt offering. Offer these animals to the Lord. Tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering. The calf and the lamb must each be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. Take a bull and a ram for fellowship offerings. Take these animals and a grain offering mixed with oil for an offering to the Lord. Do this because the Lord will appear to you today.’”
So all the people came to the Meeting Tent. They all brought the things that Moses had commanded. All the people stood before the Lord. Moses said, “You must do what the Lord commanded. Then the Glory of the Lord will appear to you.”
Then Moses told Aaron: “Go do what the Lord commanded. Go to the altar and offer sin offerings and burnt offerings. Do what will make you and the people pure. Take the people’s sacrifices and make them pure.”
So Aaron went to the altar. He killed the bull for the sin offering. This sin offering was for himself. Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to Aaron. Aaron put his finger in the blood and put it on the corners of the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. He took the fat, the kidneys, and the fat part of the liver from the sin offering. He burned them on the altar just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then Aaron burned the meat and skin on a fire outside the camp.
Next, Aaron killed the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled the blood around on the altar. Aaron’s sons gave the pieces and head of the burnt offering to Aaron, and he burned them on the altar. He also washed the inner parts and the legs of the burnt offering and burned them on the altar.
Then Aaron brought the people’s offering. He killed the goat of the sin offering that was for the people. He offered the goat for sin, like the earlier sin offering. He brought the burnt offering and offered it, just as the Lord had commanded. He brought the grain offering to the altar. He took a handful of the grain and put it on the altar beside that morning’s daily sacrifice.
Aaron also killed the bull and the ram that were the fellowship offerings from the people. His sons brought the blood to him, and he sprinkled this blood around on the altar. Aaron’s sons also brought him the fat of the bull and the ram. They brought the fat tail, the fat covering the inner parts, the kidneys, and the fat part of the liver. Aaron’s sons put these fat parts on the breasts of the bull and the ram. Aaron burned them on the altar. He lifted the breasts and the gift of the right thigh to show he was offering them before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.
Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. After he finished offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offerings, he came down from the altar.
Moses and Aaron went into the Meeting Tent. They came out and blessed the people. Then the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the Lord and burned the burnt offering and fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted with joy and then bowed to the ground to show their respect.
Then Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu made a mistake. They took their incense dishes and put some fire and incense in them. But they did not use the fire that was on the altar—they took fire from some other place and brought it to the Lord. This was not what he had commanded. So fire came from the Lord and destroyed Nadab and Abihu, and they died there in front of the Lord.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “The Lord says, ‘The priests who come near me must respect me. I must be holy to them and to all the people.’” So Aaron did not say anything about his sons dying.
Aaron’s uncle Uzziel had two sons. They were Mishael and Elzaphan. Moses said to these sons, “Come here and get your cousins’ bodies and carry them away from this holy place and take them outside the camp.”
So Mishael and Elzaphan obeyed Moses. They carried the bodies of Nadab and Abihu outside the camp. Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their special woven shirts.
Then Moses spoke to Aaron and his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. He said, “Don’t show any sadness! Don’t tear your clothes or mess up your hair! If you do anything to show your sadness, you will be killed, and the Lord will show his anger against everyone. But let all the other people of Israel, your relatives, cry for those the Lord destroyed with fire. But you must not even leave the entrance of the Meeting Tent. If you leave, you will die because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar obeyed Moses.
Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons must not drink wine or beer when you come into the Meeting Tent. If you do, you will die. This law continues forever through your generations. You must be able to clearly tell the difference between what is holy and what is not holy, between what is clean and what is unclean. And you must teach the people about all the laws that the Lord gave them through Moses.”
Aaron had two sons who were still alive, Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said to Aaron and his two sons, “When people give sacrifices as a gift to the Lord, some of the grain offering is not burned. Use that grain to make bread without yeast. You priests must eat that bread near the altar because that grain is very holy. The portion of food for you and your sons will come from the special gifts to the Lord, so you must eat that food in a holy place.
“You, your sons, and your daughters may all eat the breast and thigh that were lifted up before the Lord as an offering. But you must eat these in a place that is clean because they come from the fellowship offerings. They are your share of those offerings that the Israelites give to God. The people must bring the gifts of fat from their animals as part of the sacrifice. They must also bring the thigh of the fellowship offering and the breast that is lifted up to show it is offered in front of the Lord. Then it will be your share of the offering. It will belong to you and your children. That part of the sacrifices will be your share forever, just as the Lord said.”
Moses looked for the goat of the sin offering, but it was already burned up. Moses became very angry with Aaron’s other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses said, “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy area! That meat is very holy! God gave it to you to carry away the guilt of the people—to make the people pure before the Lord. That goat’s blood was not brought into the Holy Place. So you should have eaten the meat in the holy area, just as I commanded!”
But Aaron said to Moses, “Look, today they brought their sin offering and burnt offering before the Lord. But you know what happened to me today! Do you think the Lord would be happy if I ate the sin offering today?”
May the Lord answer you on a day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May He send you help from the sanctuary, And support you from Zion! May He remember all your meal offerings And accept your burnt offering! Selah
May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill your whole plan! We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your desires.
Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some praise their chariots and some their horses, But we will praise the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright. Save, Lord; May the King answer us on the day we call.
When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.
Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.” Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself. The chief priests gathered up the money, but said, “It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury, for it is the price of blood.” After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites, and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.”
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?” But he did not answer him one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called [Jesus] Barabbas. So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, [Jesus] Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had handed him over. While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.” The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. The governor said to them in reply, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon; this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink. After they had crucified him, they divided his garments by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And they placed over his head the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you are the Son of God, [and] come down from the cross!” Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The revolutionaries who were crucified with him also kept abusing him in the same way.
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This last imposture would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can.” So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.
This is what the Lord God showed me, and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,
“Lord God, please pardon! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.” The Lord relented of this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farmland. Then I said,
“Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.” The Lord relented of this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.
So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer. The high places of Isaac will become deserted, And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen off the ark with the veil. Then you shall bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps. You shall also set the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the testimony, and set up the curtain for the doorway to the tabernacle. And you shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. Then you shall set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. You shall also set up the courtyard all around and hang up the curtain for the gate of the courtyard. Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furnishings; and it shall be holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. And you shall anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. And you shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve as a priest to Me. You shall also bring his sons and put tunics on them; and you shall anoint them just as you have anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” So Moses did these things; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.
Now in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the tabernacle and laid its bases, and set up its boards, and inserted its bars, and erected its pillars. And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the atoning cover on top of the ark. He then brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the covering, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He also put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. And he set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. And he lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he set up the curtain for the doorway of the tabernacle. And he set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing. From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he erected the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the curtain for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. For throughout their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!
“And if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.
“Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. Then summoning him, his master *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to take a contribution for Me; from everyone whose heart moves him you shall take My contribution. This is the contribution which you are to take from them: gold, silver, and bronze, violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, oil for lighting, balsam oil for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, so you shall construct it.
“Now they shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. You shall also cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet; two rings shall be on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. And you shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.
“And you shall make an atoning cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the atoning cover. Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the atoning cover at its two ends. And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the atoning cover with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the atoning cover. Then you shall put the atoning cover on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the atoning cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about every commandment that I will give you for the sons of Israel.
“You shall also make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long and one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold border around it. And you shall make for it a rim of a hand width around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. You shall also make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four legs. The rings shall be close to the rim, as holders for the poles to carry the table. And you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried. You shall also make its dishes, its pans, its jars, and its libation bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me continually.
“Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand, its base and its shaft, are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms on the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the other branch, a bulb and a flower—the same for six branches going out from the lampstand; and on the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers. A bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. Their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. Its tongs and its trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. See that you make them by the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.


It’s budget season again. Most missions leaders squirm a little at this time of year. Will there be enough money given to continue to support our people on the field? Will I have to have hard conversations with our sent ones about reducing what we give to them? How will I meet the needs of that special project?
The church budget is one of the best ways to reflect the values of a church. A church elder team and finance team should create a budget that reflects the values of the church. Churches have vastly different ways they approach giving to global missions. But they basically fall in the following categories:
- Percentage or set amount of the church’s general budget to Global Missions
- Special Offering for Global Missions
- A combination of these budgets
- The Overflow Budget
1. Giving a Percentage or Set Dollar Amount of the Church Budget to Global Missions
In this approach, at the beginning of their budget year, the church allocates a set dollar amount or a percentage that will go towards global missions. Some churches choose to give a percentage so that the amount that goes to global can be walled off cleanly from the rest of the church’s budget.
It is easy for funds that are going towards global missions to be reallocated to other ministries in hard economic times or when global missions isn’t receiving the attention it deserves. When this percentage is communicated to the congregation, any increase or decrease in percentage is easily noticed. This will help create accountability and some walls for the church budget to reflect the vision of global missions.
Keeping funding allocated towards global missions can also be accomplished by giving a set dollar amount. In setting a nice round number, the church can track a goal year over year for increasing their giving. This also provides the missions leader with a clear dollar amount that doesn’t fluctuate year over year.
It is critical in this method of global missions fund allocation that giving to the churches general fund is regularly mentioned, encouraged, and even inspected.
2. Special Offering for Global Missions
Some churches will do a special offering each year to global missions. The value of this method is that it challenges members to give over and above their tithe. This type of Global Missions giving can often generate more funding for church missions giving in churches where tithing might be weak or not a general practice. Often, this type of giving will capture a portion of givers that may not be as interested in giving to the general fund of the church, but want to give towards missions.
A downside to this method is that it can make the global missions budget fluctuate year over year. Depending on what else is presented that year, what other priorities are in place, and what the economy looks like, the global missions fund can be hard to predict and thus the missions leader is constantly back-tracking on giving in harder economic years.
3. A Combination of the Two
Many churches have taken the road of employing both methods to meet the needs of global missions. Most churches in this scenario will have a set amount or percentage that comes from the general fund to global missions that covers most recurring gifts to partners. Above and beyond this, they will employ the use of special offerings for projects, and new Sent-Ones. This allows for the recurring giving amounts to be budgeted, steady, and expected, but provides the missions leader with some extra money to be used for expanding global missions.
Overall, for most churches, this would be the recommended route to go for simplicity, sustainability, expansion and engaging all members well.
4. The Overflow Budget
My church, Cornerstone Church of Ames, is taking a little spinoff of idea number three, called the “Overflow Budget.” During COVID, many churches had to rethink how they did budgeting. We didn’t know if the pandemic would last three months, a year, or if there would be economic challenges in the years to come. Like most churches, our budget was based on predictive giving models. We came up with a number that we thought our members would give that year and then we built a budget around that. The problem with this was, especially in times of economic downturn, we had proposed a budget that was assuming a future that we didn’t actually know. So in 2008 with the economic downturn, or 2020 with the pandemic, what we thought we would receive was not reflective of what was happening in our world.
So, what we decided to do for our 2020–21 budget was to do 90% of what we received in the prior year’s fiscal giving and set that as our budget for the coming year. Then, whatever was received above and beyond our budget is allocated towards “Overflow Funding.” While still giving a set percentage of our budget to missions, the Overflow funding gave us the opportunity to do special projects and give to new members.
This has given us the chance to encourage our members to give beyond the budget, because they know this money will go towards Missions-related activities. So instead of special offerings, we just encourage our people to give healthily to the church. With the Overflow giving pattern, our people know anything extra that’s given will go towards those who are unreached and in need around the world.
Whichever method you choose, make sure that you communicate clearly with your people how your giving is allocated so they can be excited about what you are doing, together as a church for global missions.
This article originally appeared on The Upstream Collective and is reposted here by permission.


Our liturgical blended service offers a balance of traditional and contemporary music.
All who seek the Lord are welcome at Christ’s table to receive the gift of God’s grace!
A Children’s Message is offered each Sunday
Communion is offered in individual cups each Sunday
online and limited in-person during the coronavirus pandemic.
Worship recorded and streamed live. View on Facebook or YouTube.
Reservations are required. Masks must be worn regardless of vaccination status. Please reserve your space by the Wednesday before Sunday. Please arrive by 9:25am.
Fellowship/Coffee hour - immediately following worship service. Place your donut order when you make your reservation or you might miss out! Disposable cups will be provided for coffee, but you are encouraged to bring your own travel mug. You are also encouraged to bring your own chair.


Catholic Charities - Hope for all Seasons of Life
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF BUFFALO IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE HUMAN SERVICE PROVIDER IN WESTERN NEW YORK, REACHING ALL EIGHT COUNTIES WITH PROFESSIONALLY STAFFED LOCATIONS. FOUNDED IN 1923, CATHOLIC CHARITIES SERVES WESTERN NEW YORKERS WITHOUT REGARD TO AGE, RACE OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION. TODAYS CATHOLIC CHARITIES LEADS THE WAY FOR AN INTEGRATED HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM.
The deacons of the Diocese of Buffalo have served this community for well over 30 years. Their generous mission is to bring the Word of the Gospel alive in service and in liturgy. These men are tireless warriors for the Kingdom of God and we at Catholic Charities applaud their commitment, skill and devotion to the service of Christ and His people.
It is for this reason that I am so grateful for the opportunity to be more closely aligned with the Diaconate Community across Western New York. Through this evolving partnership, we who serve those in need as we would serve Christ Himself can better cooperate in support of each other, and thus be more effective in our ministries in service to the Gospel. I would like to thank Deacon John Leardon, Director of Deacons for the diocese, for his continued efforts to align our missions and grow this wonderful partnership.
CEO, Catholic Charities of Buffalo
Central to the ministry of the deacon is to care for those in need – physically, emotionally and of course, spiritually. The challenges of our time and in our diocese are significant and can, at times, be overwhelming. So, it is very comforting to know that we have a powerful ally in God’s vineyard with our ‘Colleagues in Christ’ at Catholic Charities. Each day, the men and women of Catholic Charities dedicate themselves to comforting, counseling and caring for those whom God sends their way. Their knowledge, expertise and compassion aligns perfectly with the mission of the deacon through his three-fold ministry of Word, Altar and Charity.
Oftentimes, people come to the deacon for guidance and assistance that sits outside his areas of expertise. Through the ConnectLine program, we have the means to connect those in need with those who can best help them. I recognize the commitment from Catholic Charities that harnessed the power of over 500 trained social service professionals and made it available in such a simple and flexible way. I am grateful for the continuing support that the Diaconate Community receives from the leadership at Catholic Charities, especially Mr. Dennis Walczyk, CEO.
Together we are able to blend a variety of ministries, capabilities and skills to fulfill our baptismal commitment to bring Christ and His loving mercy to His people, wherever and whenever they need us. We are pleased to be able to unite with our brothers and sisters at Catholic Charities in their mission to provide ‘hope for all seasons of life’.
May God bless our work together for His greater honor and glory.
Deacon John Leardon, Director of Deacon PersonnelDiocese of Buffalo
The Catholic Charities of Western New York (CCWNY) ConnectLine program was created by a team from CCWNY and a small group of deacons. The purpose is to provide a fast, efficient and effective way for deacons to get assistance for people in need, that cross their path in ministry.
Please note that if the situation is an emergency, then ConnectLine is not the correct resource. However, if the person’s situation in not dire, and they can wait for 5 days or so, (and is a need – but NOT and emergency), then the ConnectLine team can most likely help. Once the Situation Form is received and reviewed, the triage process begins and the ConnectLine Team looks inside and outside of Catholic Charities to find the best resources to assist in the situation. The person in need will be contacted directly by Catholic Charities. You will be notified that the Situation Form has been received, but you will not know what action was taken due to privacy laws. Catholic Charities will confirm that the person in need has been contacted, but that is all. You can, of course, follow up with the person in need to ensure that they got the support they needed.
The login username and password for ConnectLine Assistance can be found in the Deacon Only section of the BuffaloDeacon website.


It will be a large, diverse, global gathering—some 825 Christian delegates from more than 300 churches—including the Anglican Church of Canada.
Melissa Green, Nicholas Pang, and the Rev. Canon John Alfred Steele are official Canadian Anglican delegates to the tenth World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly Oct. 30 to Nov. 8 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
This assembly, the WCC’s highest governing body, meets every seven years. Working under the theme “God of life, lead us to justice and peace,” the assembly aims to deepen churches’ commitment to visible unity and common witness.
On April 11 and 12, the three Canadian delegates participated in an ecumenical orientation in Toronto, where they learned about the assembly and the WCC, which connects Canadian Anglicans with some 500 million Christians—Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, and others—in more than 110 countries.
“I’m really excited and a little scared. This is big,” said Ms. Green, program director at Sorrento Retreat and Conference Centre in Sorrento, B.C. She expects to be reading a lot about WCC work between now and the assembly.
Each day of the Busan meeting will be grounded in common prayer and Bible study. Delegates review WCC work and have time to meet by regions and confessions. Four days feature “madang” segments for exploring more specific topics in workshops, exhibitions, and side events.
Canon Steele, a priest in Victoria, B.C., said he is looking forward to the assembly receiving a “very exciting” theological document—The Church: Towards a Common Vision. This document reveals what WCC member churches can say together about the church. It is the first of these “convergence” documents since a 1982 agreement on baptism, Eucharist, and ministry.
The Busan assembly will also adopt a unity statement, a tradition at past assemblies.
Canon Steele is the veteran of the delegation. He attended the last WCC Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and has served on the WCC’s central committee since then.
“Unity is important because division among churches detracts from our witness,” he said.
Ms. Green and Mr. Steele were elected by the Council of General Synod and Mr. Pang, an ordinand in the Diocese of Montreal, was chosen later to fulfill balances mandated by the WCC.
In Busan, the Korean Christian context will be an important theme. For two days, delegates will learn more about ecumenical life in Korea, where Christians make up one quarter of the population.
At the ecumenical orientation in Toronto, organizers said that Korean leaders in Busan appear unphased by recent threats of violence from North Korea. Assembly work is proceeding as planned.
In addition to the 825 delegates, the assembly will welcome hundreds of volunteers, workshop leaders, and guests.
Archdeacon Bruce Myers, General Synod’s coordinator for ecumenical relations, will attend as advisor to the delegation. National Indigneous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald will be present as consensus candidate for the WCC North American regional presidency.
Two Canadian Anglicans serve as WCC staff and will attend the assembly: the Rev. Canon Dr. John Gibaut, Director of Faith and Order, and Natasha Klukach, WCC program executive for Church and Ecumenical Relations / North American Regional Relations
The Rev. Canon Dr. Alyson Barnett-Cowan, another Canadian Anglican, will attend as the Anglican Communion’s director for Unity, Faith, and Order.
- Visit the WCC Assembly website
- Check out Pilgrimage to Busan, a six-unit resource for congregations
- Watch On the Road to Busan, a video about WCC assemblies
Interested in keeping up-to-date on news, opinion, events and resources from the Anglican Church of Canada? Sign up for our email alerts .


On behalf of the church community at St John’s we would like to welcome you to our website. St John’s is a friendly Christian community that seeks to enable people of all ages to meet with God through the local church.
Reverend Kirsty Screeton. Vicar of St. John’s and St. Luke’s
16h Sunday after Trinity.
Sermon, Prayers by John S. and Home Service for the 16th Sunday after Trinity can be found on the: Services: Sermon and Prayers page of the Menu.
Dates / Notices:
This Weekend: Sunday 19th September – Harvest Festival & All Age Service. Please do bring items suitable to send to Heywood Food Bank.
Saturday 25th September – Coffee Morning (if you have any items suitable for tombola, please do start bringing them to church).
Please note the Coffee Morning Time is 10.30am NOT 10am start.
Sunday 26th September – 3pm– Churches Together remembrance events
This is a service with the opportunity to come together with people across Heywood to remember the lives lost over the past 18+ months, and those who lives have changed as a result of the pandemic. Please do spread the word, and if anyone could help welcome and be around please let Kirsty know.
From end of September Naomi is willing to prepare Sunday School materials and do the main story input. However, in order for the children to get the most of our Sunday schools Naomi is in need of some help. Help would involve
Sitting in on the main input
Then supporting the older groups in their work. This will be prepared, so just turn up and get involved.
We are looking open to either one person helping each week, or to set up a Rota system. If you would be interested in either of these, please can you let myself or Naomi know asap.
For those who are wanting secondary school forms signed this year, you should have received a copy of my letter from Sunday School leaders. If you have not received one and would like a copy please do get in touch.
Below Septembers Monthly Reflection
Quiz Night –St Luke’s have set the date for this year’s quiz night – 23rd October
Please see a link to a new monthly prayer lead from Bishop Mark Davies for the diocese. All the details are on the link – Diocese of Manchester Monthly diocesan prayer with Bishop Mark (anglican.org)
September Reflection – Saint John Bunyan
Writing this on the 30th August, I was reminded about today’s Saints John Bunyan, a
Spiritual Writer born in 1628 and died on this day in 1688 aged 59. For many the
name may not mean anything on its own but if I was to tell you he is the author of
Pilgrims Progress, this may ring a bell. So, having not reflected on a Saint for a few
months now – why do we remember Bunyan in the church? – Here some highlights
taken from the Church of England Saints on Earth book.
John Bunyan was born in Elstow, near Bedford. He served an apprenticeship at his
father’s trade, and during the Civil War served for a time in the Parliamentary army.
In about 1648 he married Margaret Bentley, and as a result of her Christian witness
he attempted to reform his life. After several years of striving to reform and
despairing of his efforts he came to both a living faith and an assurance of salvation.
He joined the Independent congregation in Bedford and later began a preaching
ministry there. After his wife’s death, Bunyan remarried and became a popular
preacher, speaking to larger audiences and at the same time coming into conflict
with the local clergy who resented uneducated and unordained preachers. After the
Restoration of Charles the 2nd in 1660, the Church of England reasserted its
authority and action was taken against unlicensed preachers. Bunyan, who refused
to stop his preaching ministry, spent most of the next twelve years in Bedford jail.
With little to read other than the Bible and John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Bunyan
began to write religious tracts and pamphlets and, most importantly, his spiritual
autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666).
Bunyan was released in 1672, but by 1675 he was back in prison serving a six month sentence for unlicensed preaching. It was during this time that time he
probably wrote a large part of his major work, The Pilgrim’s Progress, a metaphorical
text of the pilgrimage of a soul in search of salvation, which was published in 1678.
The instant popularity of Pilgrim’s Progress can be deduced from the fact that ten
editions were printed during the remaining ten years of Bunyan’s life. It eventually
became the most widely read book in the English language after the Bible and it
greatly influenced later English writers. Noted for its simple, biblical style, The
Pilgrim’s Progress is now generally considered one of the finest tales in all of English
literature – not just among spiritual writings – and has been translated into many
So what can we learn today from John Bunyan? I am going to hold my hands up,
sounding very knowledgably, I think, up to now, how I felt on Saturday when I first
looked up the service plan for today was very different. I had heard of Pilgrims
Progress but I have never heard of Bunyan or even read the Pilgrims Progress Tale.
As I dug into the history of this spiritual writer and read part of his tale (rest of the
book is on order) I felt upset wondering why I had not come across this man and his
writings before. You can tell from Bunyan’s life story that he is a man who has gone
through the strains, obstacles and questions of life in search for something better.
And even when he found and came to faith, these obstacles and challenges became
harder. What he lived and experienced, what he hoped for, for himself and for others
going forward, is what’s reflected in Pilgrims Progress Tale.
Without giving too much away, for those who, like me who are yet to discover the
whole story, here is a short insight. Wrote as a dream and metaphorically, there is
the main character called Christian, who with his companions, first Faithful then
Hopeful, journeys from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City. They, encounter
en route many obstacles and hazards which include the Slough of Despond, the Hill
Difficulty, Doubting Castle, By-Path Meadow and Vanity Fair. It’s a story of a man
who is carrying a lot of sinful burden and it is released by finding faith and learning
that Jesus’ died for our sins, but the journey doesn’t stop there. With new hope,
newly clothed and full of God’s Spirit Christian continues the journey in the search of
the heavenly city. It’s a story that is so true of any faith journey, as you journey with
Christian you can recognise the ups and down of most faith journeys, but as you
read and apply your own similar experiences, it’s a story that becomes real.
Bunyan teaches us that journeying a faithful life is not easy but what is rewarded at
the end if we keep on the right path is that heavenly City, God’s eternal kingdom.
Just like we continue to reflect on in our readings during this ordinary time, we are
encouraged to embrace our faith journeys, to stay alive in our searching for growth
and understanding and on our journey, we are to remain focussed on the promise
that all who follow Christ have – a place in the heavenly city. Cause if we have this,
any obstacle in our way can be overcome.
My prayer for each of you, is that you can take something from Bunyan’s work that
encourages you in your faith and encourages you that even when things get tough
there is a point to continue – God is present always, God is alive and encourages you
to be and grown, and with God’s help anything is possible. Amen
Rev’d Kirsty can be contacted on 01706 416 279, via email ‘firstname.lastname@example.org’ or via our Contact page.
If you wish to book or discuss a baptism, wedding or any pastoral matter, please contact our Minister Rev Kirsty Screeton on the vicarage telephone number 01706 416279, or via our Contact page.
If we can be of any help during this time of uncertainty please do get in touch.
If you want to contact us, please click here.
Mission Purpose Statement:
We are called by God to know Jesus through worship and discipleship. We seek to share the love of Jesus in our local community through welcome and outreach.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. John chapter 3 verse 16.
For a link to a location map, please click here – the church is on the junction of Manchester Road and Middleton Road.


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Fri, Dec 24|
Fairview Presbyterian Church
Hear the story of Jesus’ birth and the proclamation of hope to a troubled world.
Doors open at 6:30pm. Come in from the cold and warm to the message of hope. Vaccination required.See other events
Time & Location
Dec 24, 2021, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Fairview Presbyterian Church, Fairview Presbyterian Church, Fir Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
About The Event
Our Christmas Eve service at Fairview is a time for readings and carrols with a short message of the birth of Christ, God with us, and the proclamation of hope to a troubled world. Let us gather and sing together and hear the story of Jesus’ birth.
The service will be held in-person and online.
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The story is told of a group of soldiers who had been out in the field for a couple of weeks when their sergeant announced, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. First of all, the good news: Today we’re going to change our underwear. Now the bad news: Smith, you change with Jones. Andrews, you change with Murphy…”
Sueanne hates for me to use that story! But it makes the point that change isn’t always a pleasant thing and we often don’t like the concept of change. And even if we may like changes in some areas of our lives, there are some other areas where change is rather frightening and intimidating.
And there are some people who like change more than others. I remember when we lived in Boone and the news came that a Walmart was about to open. There were some people who thought that change was the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to Boone. There were others who thought that building a Walmart was the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen to that community. But, in the end, whether people wanted the change or not, Walmart was built. And that serves as a reminder to all of us that whether you like it or not, some change is inevitable.
And that’s true in the church as well. There are some churches that are open to change, and there are other churches that are very resistant to change. How many times have you ever heard someone say, “That’s not the way we’ve always done it!” And, the truth is, some churches have been doing things exactly the same way for 70 or 80 years.
I can understand the resistance to change because any change that involves the church is scary to some of us. We don’t like things in the church to change. In fact, we may be somewhat uncomfortable if someone changes the order of the worship service. Some churches just about fall apart when they change preachers, or when they build a new church building.
And we’re especially concerned about all the changes that could come about as a result of church growth. The idea of new people and new problems is threatening to some of us.
I heard about a preacher, Thom Rainer, who was preaching for a church that was growing. His ministry was successful. But, one Sunday, there was a woman in his congregation, a long-term member of that church, who told him that God had spoken to her, and made it very clear that he was supposed to leave the church.
Rainer’s first thought was to wonder why God had told her and not him. It seemed like direct communication would have been far more efficient.
His second thought was expressed in a simple one-word question, “Why?”
She said, “Because all of these new Christians are messing up our church.”
And I think that reaction shows why we are so resistant to change. Because when you’ve got what you consider to be a good thing going, any change will be viewed as a threat. A lot of Christians have the feeling – “I think things are fine just the way they are, and I don’t want anything to change.” And the result is that we become more interested in simply maintaining the status quo, keeping things the way they’ve always been.
And it’s tempting for us to do that. Because any kind of change means that somebody is going to get upset. And unfortunately, some of us are so afraid of conflict and criticism that we feel like it’s easier to do nothing at all than to risk listening to the complaints of other people. And so, we end up living our lives not with the goal of doing great things, not with a desire to pursue great dreams, but with the single-minded obsession to not make waves, not to step on toes, not to rock the boat.
But as much as that may be true of us, it was never true of Jesus. Much of his ministry was surrounded by controversy. Jesus was someone who did make waves, he did step on toes, and he did rock the boat.
We continue this morning in our study of the gospel of Mark, and as we come to chapter 2, we find a transition in Jesus’ ministry. In chapter one, Mark showed us just how popular Jesus was. In chapter 2, Mark is going to show us that Jesus was also the center of a lot of conflict.
And while the crowds continued to flock to Jesus, there was a smaller, more powerful group that aligned itself against Jesus and the work he came to do. They were the religious leaders, the men who looked with suspicion at this preacher who didn’t do things the same way that all the other preachers did them.
And while Jesus wasn’t someone to pick a fight, he wasn’t afraid of the people who wanted to fight with him. And so, he stood toe to toe with them, fighting for what was right, fighting for people who were lost and needed to be saved, fighting for a proper view of religion.
And I think it’s important to recognize that the reason all this conflict came about was because of change. Mark stresses the point that Christ did not come to continue the status quo. He didn’t come to encourage the Jews to keep on doing things the way they had always done them. Rather, Jesus came as an agent of change, perhaps the most radical change agent the world has ever known. He swept aside everything the Jews were doing as they went through the motions of religion, and Jesus brought a new and fresh concept of religion.
But it wasn’t just religion that Jesus came to change. He also came to change people. Jesus’ message in the gospel of Mark is summed up with the word repentance and to do that a person must be willing to change his life. And it wasn’t just people back in the first century either. Jesus came to change you and me. He came to change our priorities. He came to change the way we look at God. He came to change the way we practice religion. He came to change the way we look at people and the way we look at the material things of the world around us. Jesus came to change things.
It’s not surprising that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t appreciate his emphasis on change. The scribes, the Pharisees, and the chief priests, they didn’t like change any more than we do. In fact, they were very resistant to any change. And so, it’s not surprising when we find that the religious people who didn’t want to change and Jesus Christ who insisted that things must change came into sharp conflict with each other.
As we read through chapter 2, I want us to honestly think about this question, “Are we prepared to accept the change that Christ calls for in our lives?” Because if our response to that question is to say, “I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be changed in my life. I don’t think there’s anything we need to change in the church.”, then we might as well go ahead and stand off to the side with the scribes and the Pharisees because that kind of answer will put us at odds with Jesus.
In Mark chapter 2, Jesus is still just as popular as he was back in chapter 1. You will recall from last week’s study that the people were amazed at what Jesus did, they were amazed at what he said and how he said it. And, as news about Jesus spread throughout Galilee, crowds flocked to see him.
And so, in chapter 2, verse 2, Jesus was preaching and “many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door.” In verse 13, “all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.”
But then Mark introduces another piece of his portrait of Jesus. Jesus starts to become the center of controversy and conflict. He makes waves. He steps on toes. He does things that “religious people” aren’t supposed to do. And when the religious professionals arrive on the scene in Mark 2:6, they aren’t as easily impressed as the crowds. They considered themselves to be more attuned to the so–called “important religious issues”.
And so, between Mark 2:1 and Mark 3:6, Mark records five stories of conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, conflict which escalates to the point that Jesus is going to become angry and the Pharisees are going to begin plotting how they can get rid of Jesus.
But I think the most important part of this section is found in Mark 2:21-22. In these two verses, Jesus tells us why this conflict with the religious leaders was taking place. And he tells us that it all had to do with their attitude toward change.
This morning, I want to look briefly at the three conflicts that lead up to that point and then we’ll spend a little bit of time looking at those two verses and making some application into our own lives.
In each of these three stories, Jesus is going to do something that causes the Pharisees to criticize him. Now, the specific thing that Jesus does to irritate them is different every time. But the reason for the conflict is always the same. Jesus was teaching something that was different, something that demanded the Pharisees change their way of looking at things. And it was the Pharisees’ resistance to change that led to their conflict with Jesus.
1. Jesus heals a paralytic — conflict over forgiveness
In Mark 2, beginning in verse 1, Jesus is preaching in a house that is absolutely packed with people. Four men bring a paralytic to be healed and they have to let him down through the roof. We pick up in verse 5:
“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
“And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
“And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!’” (Mark 2:5-12).
Here’s Jesus teaching in this house in Capernaum when four men dig a hole in the roof and lower a paralyzed man into the room. Jesus was impressed by their faith, and then he said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” But the Jewish leaders were there, and they didn’t like what Jesus said. They were outraged and accused Jesus of blasphemy. “How can you claim to forgive sins when only God can do that?” And, as we saw in our Bible class this morning, they were correct in that statement.
But Jesus went on to say, basically, “Anybody can claim to forgive sins, and it’s difficult for them to prove whether or not they can actually do that. So, let me show you the power that I have. And he then heals the paralyzed man so that he can walk.
Mark tells us that everyone was amazed. Well, everyone except maybe the Pharisees. They weren’t amazed, they were just upset. Jesus was obviously a blasphemer. It didn’t matter that he healed, or that he taught with authority, or even that he raised the dead. “No one can forgive sins except God alone! So, who in the world do you think you are?”
B. Jesus eats with Levi — conflict over sinners
Verses 13-17 tell us about the calling of Levi (or Matthew) to follow Jesus. Levi showed his appreciation by throwing a feast in Christ’s honor. And who came to this meal? He invited all of his tax collector buddies. And Jesus was suddenly surrounded by “sinners”.
When the Pharisees become aware of who Jesus was eating with, they were quick to criticize him. As they practiced their religion, a good Jew would show how holy he was by cutting off any social ties with sinful people. They wouldn’t touch a sinner with disposable gloves. They couldn’t understand how anyone who claimed to be holy could associate with people like Levi and his friends.
But Jesus said that his way of doing things was different. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17). In other words, Jesus came to call sinners, and so it only makes sense that he would spend time with sinners. As Jesus put it, “Doctors spend all their time with sick people, so preachers ought to spend their time with sinners.”
The Pharisees must have been absolutely furious at that response.
C. Jesus refuses to fast — conflict over tradition
In verses 18-20, Mark tells us about a conflict that came about over a matter of tradition. In verse 18, “Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.’” (Mark 2:18-20)
This third conflict is founded, like so many of the other conflicts we read about in the gospels, in the attitude of the Pharisees toward their traditions. Fasting wasn’t mentioned all that much in the Old Testament, but the Pharisees really stressed this practice as a means of showing other people just how holy you are. That’s why you’ve got the Pharisee in Luke 18 praying, “God I thank you that….I fast twice in the week.” (Luke 18:11-12).
But Jesus didn’t fast twice a week. And he didn’t teach his disciples to fast twice a week. In fact, it doesn’t look like they fasted at all. What kind of a Jewish teacher does he think he is? Every good Jew knows just how important fasting is! But Jesus explained that there was a time for fasting, but not while he was around. Jesus tried to show these people that they had to redefine their view of what it is that makes a person righteous. He was saying, “You can’t measure piety simply by the keeping of traditions or how much ‘religious stuff’ someone does.”
That made the Pharisees pretty angry with Jesus, and before long, they will get even angrier. Because what Jesus was teaching was flying in the face of everything they held dear in their religion. Everybody knows that all religious people fast. And all religious people are careful about who they associate with. Nobody goes around claiming to forgive sins.
And that’s when Jesus told his audience a parable. It’s a parable about something that’s old and something that’s new:
“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins — and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” (Mark 2:21-22).
Jesus says that you would never put a new patch on an old garment. If you did that, the very next time the garment was washed, the patch would shrink (because it’s new cloth). But the garment wouldn’t shrink (because it’s old). The result is that the patch would pull away from the garment and tear it. And then you would need a new patch all over again.
And then Jesus says that you would never pour new wine into old wineskins. Wineskins in that day were made by killing and skinning a goat and basically turning it inside out and removing the carcass. After curing the skin, you had a useful sack into which you could pour liquid. The liquid that was poured into new skins was new wine. As the wine fermented, it would expand and the skin would stretch.
But old skins wouldn’t stretch anymore. Old skins could be used for water or milk, but if you put new wine into old skins, it would cause them to stretch so far that they would burst. So, you always were careful to put new wine into new skins.
As he did with all his parables, Jesus used a familiar occurrence in everyday life, at least for his audience (I don’t imagine that many of you have skinned any goats lately). But he did it to teach a spiritual lesson.
Jesus’ point was that there some things that are unwilling or unable to change. They hold their shape no matter what. They would rather die than change. Other things are willing to change. They’re alive, because by their very nature, they are changeable, flexible, and growing.
And anytime you have something that is changing and you bring it in contact with something that refuses to change, the inevitable result is tension.
Now it’s obvious here in these parables that the old garment and the old wineskins represent the Pharisees. Their primary concern was to protect the status quo. They wanted everything to stay the same, they wanted to continue to see things the way they had always seen them, they wanted to continue with “religious business” as usual. They were comfortable and wanted to be left alone. They didn’t want anything new. The old was good enough for them.
But Jesus was the new fabric, the new wine. His message was full of change. He came to call people back to God, to convince people to repent. He taught a new message. He taught a lifestyle that emphasized the heart more than the actions. He made people uncomfortable, challenged the status quo, and demanded that people change. And everywhere Jesus went, he was looking for new wineskins that he could pour this message into.
I think Jesus was saying through these parables that he was basically dismissing the religious leaders as the targets of his ministry. Those leaders weren’t willing to change their way of doing things. So, Jesus had to find a new audience. He would start over with new garments and new skins. His focus would be on people who were willing to change and grow.
I understand that there is a sense in which we need to view Christianity in terms of something that doesn’t change. As Paul says in Galatians chapter 1, we are not free to change the message of the gospel, or we will find ourselves accursed. But we sometimes confuse the gospel message with our traditions, and when we do that, we want to try to define faithfulness in terms of resisting change.
But we need to remember that the message of the unchanging gospel constantly challenges us to grow and to expand and to change. The message of Jesus Christ will always be “new wine.” And so, we need to try to be pliable skins that are able and willing to change when that gospel is poured into us.
I think this parable has application both to us as individuals and to the church as a whole.
To those who are not yet Christians, this parable is a reminder that Jesus is looking for people who are willing to change. Jesus offers forgiveness to all, but only to those who are willing to repent, those who are willing to change the direction of their lives. When Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you”, he also said, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). Christ came to give you something better, but to receive it you have to be willing to give up what you already have.
Even to those of us who are Christians, the new wine of the gospel demands constant change. That means that we can never allow ourselves to think that we have already arrived spiritually. We can never get to the point where we think that we have all the answers and so we can stop asking questions. The Christian life means constant growth and constant study.
To the church as a whole, the new wine of the gospel means that we will continue to seek to find new ways to glorify God and reach people. We cannot keep our eyes fixed on the traditional forms of the past. We cannot assume that because something worked 50 years ago that it will always work. And we will not assume that just because we have never done something a particular way in the past that we should never do it that way in the future.
Faithfulness means that we never confuse the message with the method. We can never change the message, but we must constantly change our methods. The gospel can never change. We don’t dare change the old, old story. But the ways that we tell that story to people and the ways we minister that story to people must change.
I said earlier that this lesson is designed to cause us to consider the question, “Are we prepared to accept the change that Christ calls for in our lives?” The gospel is itself an invitation to change. Are we willing to be changed by the gospel? Are we willing to be molded and shaped into something that is different, and better, than what we are right now? Because Jesus came to make changes.


Connect Groups are what we used to call Home Groups. You might have heard them referred to as cell groups or Bible study groups in other churches.
At CTL we firmly believe that church is so much more than the Sunday morning meeting. Connect Groups are essential in the life of the church. We encourage everyone to join one of our Connect Groups, because these small groups are a great opportunity for people to get together during the week, to build relationships, to pray together, to support, to encourage and disciple one another. Connect Groups also offer the opportunity to dig deeper into the Bible, to ask questions and to share thoughts about the previous Sunday’s sermon.
There is a strong Biblical basis for our Connect Groups. In the early church, it was common for people to meet together in homes for teaching, worship, prayer and fellowship. As a church, CTL seeks to keep as close to the New Testament model of church as possible, which is why Connect Groups are so important to us.
The Book of Acts contains numerous references to groups of people meeting together – see, for example, Acts 2:46; 12:12; 20:8 and 20:20. There are similar references in Romans 16:4-5; 1 Corinthians 16:9; and Colossians 4:5.
To give you a feel of what a Connect Group looks like, this is what happens at a typical evening may be like this:
after the start time, the group exchanges news from the past week, over a cuppa. Then there may be an opening prayer, possibly including worship. After that, the group spends 35-40 minutes studying the Bible, asking questions, sharing thoughts, and discussing the points and questions that might have arisen from the previous week’s sermon. Then there will a time of response, and some concluding prayer- how long this lasts depends on what prayer requests people have, and is always guided by the Holy Spirit.
Over the summer break our Connect Group programme rests. Watch this space for more details of when Connect Groups will resume in the autumn term.


Sunday, July 14, 2019 11:00 am University Worship Location: Duke Chapel Bruce Puckett The sermon is from the Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of Duke University Chapel. All are welcome. Parking is available in the Bryan Center garage (125 Science Drive). Please call 919-681-9488 or email firstname.lastname@example.org for more information. 07.14.19 Bulletin 07.14.19 Sermon: Rev. Bruce Puckett - "Turn, Then, and Live"


The Seventh-day Adventist Church strongly believes in religious freedom for all people. A person’s conscience should dictate his or her choice to worship, or not to worship, and not the government.
“It is our duty to do all in our power to avert the threatened danger. We should endeavor to disarm prejudice by placing ourselves in a proper light before the people. We should bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience.” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, page 452)


Obituary of John Schwan
FAIRPORT – Feb. 24, 2018 John Schwan (86) passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family. He was the son of the late John and Lillian (Ryan) Schwan of Thorndyke Rd., Rochester, NY. He is predeceased by his son Thomas John Schwan and his sister Mary Schwan.
He is survived by his loving wife, Janet (Langevin) Schwan; two brother-in-laws, Armand Langevin (Betty) and Raymond Langevin (Arlene); six children: James (former daughter-in-law, Cindy), Michael (Julie), David (MaryJane), Joanne (Thomas), Richard (Stacey), Kathy (Marty); ten grandchildren: Diane LaVon Schwan (Matthew), Thomas (Kristyl), Philip (Emily), Paul, Rebecca, Brenna, Jack, Maya, Aubrey, Macie; one great grandchild Leo Wicks.
John was a graduate of Aquinas Institute and Niagara University. He also spent 18 months in Germany as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps. He retired from Kodak Wage and Data Administration after 30 years in the Payroll Department. John enjoyed volunteering for Meals on Wheels and Unity Hospital in Greece NY. John, and his wife Janet, also operated Children’s Corner Daycare & Nursery School.
Calling hours will be held on Thursday March 1, 2018 from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM at Falvo Funeral Home, 1295 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road, Webster, NY. Mass services will be held Friday March 2, 2018 at 11:00 AM at St. Louis Catholic Church, 64 South Main Street, Pittsford, NY. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Advent House, 1010 Moseley Road, Fairport, NY 14450.