A Day of Firsts

Yes, it was quite the day! I started out at St. Gabriel's in Monterey Park where I preached and celebrated for the first time solely in Mandarin. Thanks to the good work of both Fr. Peter Lo and Fr. Thomas Ni, I was able to have the service (which included confirmations) put into a bilingual booklet with "pinyin" and Chinese characters. I was able to read a good deal of the characters, but having the pinyin there helped me with the service. Comments included, "you speak so clearly", and "I understood everything you said." Whew! It was also Fr. Peter's birthday, so we were able to sing to him and share cake. The food at this event was amazing -- a delicious fish PLUS a whole roasted pig! Wow! The picture above is of the sanctuary before it burned early this summer. We met and celebrated in 1/2 of the parish hall, which actually years ago WAS the church.

Got home in time to put my feet up for about an hour then changed my clothes and went to the Sixth Day Service at St. Stephen's in Whittier. This is a truly innovative service which started with a group of people at the parish looking around to see who was around the church -- located in a residential area, lots of people walk their dogs outside the church. A "doggie water station" and "clean up bags" were installed outside the parish office. Then the brainstorm -- what about a service for people seeking God -- and their pets! Voila! Brilliant -- it is meeting the needs of people in the neighborhood. Two people, not members of the parish, have attended almost every service. There were over a dozen people and their dogs at this service, which started just a few weeks ago. My own Nigel Bruce (yes, really, that's his name) accompanied me. I was given the privilege of celebrating at this event, and Mary Trainor held Nigel for me. A light dinner followed -- people stayed for fellowship. We sang Happy Birthday to Chris Potter! It was truly a magical time. All the dogs got along very well -- Nigel included (you can see Nigel's picture from a few years ago above). Nigel is doing pretty well for 16!

I wonder how many people will start coming to the Sixth Day Service as word continues to get out about it in the neighborhood. I heard one of the women that has been attending this service with her two dogs say as she was leaving, "next week I'm bringing my neighbor -- she wanted to come today but had a prior commitment." THAT'S evangelism!

With Glee

There is a wonderful young lady who acolytes at St. Stephen's in Whittier. Her name is Lauren Potter (and yes, I received her father's permission to print these pictures). You may recognize her. She is one of the many stars that we have here in the diocese of Los Angeles -- not only a star in the sense that she is a star acolyte (pictured above), she has also played a role as a cheerleader with down syndrome on the popular show GLEE. Her father told me she has her own SAG card! I found a wonderful Glee Fan Club article about Lauren that you can read if you'd like: http://www.gleefan.com/lauren-potter/

This very poised young lady waited patiently as her father -- Chris Potter, along with the Rev. Mary Trainor and other members of St. Stephen's spoke with me recently about a new service they want to start -- The Sixth Day. It will begin on Sunday, October 3rd at 5:00. The service itself will last about 1/2 an hour, with a dinner following. The service is for people seeking God -- and their pets, especially their dogs. This service even has its own page on facebook! The service will be offered every Sunday at 5:00.

It was with glee that I drove home from meeting Lauren and hearing about the great work she is doing as an actress AND an acolyte. It is with glee that I look forward to attending this new Sixth Day service at St. Stephen's!

Dogmatics -- and The Sixth Day

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG ENTRY -- YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY.

Visiting with the Deanery 9 Clergy at their monthly clericus today, I met Montera. Montera is a guide dog specially trained as an Eagle Scout project for people who are hearing impaired. She was brought to the clericus meeting by the man she helps, Deacon Steven Sterry from Blessed Sacrament in Placentia.

The Rev. Lisa Golden mentioned to the group that a friend of hers has her dog dress in appropriate liturgical-colored scarves during the year. Steve, as a Deacon, mentioned that as he wears a dalmatic, he is hoping for someone to make a "dogmatic" for Montera. Well, a great deal of laughter ensued, as you can only imagine. Montera had been very attentive to the paten containing the communion wafers earlier in the Eucharist that I celebrated. Steve joked that she cannot receive communion because she had not been trained in the CATechism yet. Okay, that was a bad joke, but it was made. Actually, I thought it was pretty funny!

What IS serious -- and wonderful -- is a NEW service that has been developed by the people and clergy of St. Stephen's in Whittier. This new liturgy is -THE SIXTH DAY: FOOD FOR PETS, FOOD FOR THE SOUL. According to the Facebook group: Bring your pets to this inaugural service of Word, Table, Meal, in the Episcopal tradition. Gather at 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 3rd and on Sundays thereafter with other people who enjoy the presence of companion animals. Help support our mission of providing pet food and other life resources to help keep pets in their homes during this economic crunch.
The Sixth Day:The Beginning
Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 5:00pm
In The Back Room of St. Stephen's, 10925 Valley Home Ave., Whittier.

It is truly an emergent service. It speaks to who is around the parish -- and in the parish. What a wonderful outreach opportunity!!!! And yes, I believe Montera will be present on October 3rd. On October 24th I will be there along with my dog Nigel Bruce (yes really, that's his name) -- our 16 year old corgie/shepherd mix.

I believe that the love of God in Christ is visible in many forms -- and today, laughing with Deacon Steve and Montera, I can't help but think that Jesus would say, Amen, Amen, Amen!