Why do we teach our dogs to shake hands?

Do you know the story of St. Francis and the wolf of Gubbio?

O Lord, give  us humility to thank you for the creation of animals, who can show affection which sometimes puts us to shame.  Enlarge our respect for these your creatures, of whom we are the guardian ans stewards.  Give us a sense of responsibility toward all your creation, for Jesus' sake.
- A prayer from Robert Runcie, 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury

As the story goes, a wolf was terrorizing the people of Gubbio.  "St. Francis had pity on the people and decided to go out and meet the wolf. He was warned by the people, but he insisted that God would take care of him. A brave friar and several peasants accompanied Francis outside the city gate. But soon the peasants lost heart and said they would go no farther.

Francis and his companion began to walk on. Suddenly the wolf, jaws agape, charged out of the woods at the couple. Francis made the Sign of the Cross toward it. The power of God caused the wolf to slow down and to close its mouth.
Then Francis called out to the creature: “Come to me, Brother Wolf. In the name of Christ, I order you not to hurt anyone.” At that moment the wolf lowered its head and lay down at St. Francis’ feet, meek as a lamb.
St. Francis explained to the wolf that he had been terrorizing the people, killing not only animals, but humans who are made in the image of God. “Brother Wolf,” said Francis, “I want to make peace between you and the people of Gubbio. They will harm you no more and you must no longer harm them. All past crimes are to be forgiven.”
The wolf showed its assent by moving its body and nodding its head. Then to the absolute surprise of the gathering crowd, Francis asked the wolf to make a pledge. As St. Francis extended his hand to receive the pledge, so the wolf extended its front paw and placed it into the saint’s hand.

 

 Then Francis commanded the wolf to follow him into town to make a peace pact with the townspeople. The wolf meekly followed St. Francis.

By the time they got to the town square, everyone was there to witness the miracle. With the wolf at his side, Francis gave the town a sermon on the wondrous and fearful love of God, calling them to repent from all their sins. Then he offered the townspeople peace, on behalf of the wolf. The townspeople promised in a loud voice to feed the wolf. Then Francis asked the wolf if he would live in peace under those terms. He bowed his head and twisted his body in a way that convinced everyone he accepted the pact. Then once again the wolf placed its paw in Francis’ hand as a sign of the pact."
Retold by Sharon Callahan.

I invite you this Sunday to join us in The Blessing of the Animals at 6:00 in Cart Courtyard.  All animals will be blessed and Eucharist will follow. 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

I realize Matthew 10:29-31 is not the Gospel reading for Sunday, but it is for Wednesday night and I did not want you to miss out on this special lesson.   Dr. Seuess' Horton Hears a Who holds a message that runs a beautiful parallel with Jesus' lesson of preparing for persecution.  "A person's a person, no matter how small."  "And even the hairs of your head are all numbered." (Mt. 10:30).  What precious lessons to teach.  No matter our size, age, upbringing, color, mistakes, or any multitude of things cannot shake God's love for us.  We are precious in His sight and worthy of His love and nothing can take His Spirit from us. All it takes is a YOPP! or a prayer.  So don't be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows.

Psalm 91:1-6 echoes this:  Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Here are some quotes from Horton Hears a Who:
"there's a tiny person on that speck that needs my help!"
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant . An elephant is faithful 100%."
"have you forgotten what we've discussed?.  Oh no, I'm an elephant and elephants never forget."
I hear a lot of Jesus echoed in these quotes.  I invite you to join us Wednesday Night as we dig deeper into what Horton did to save the people of "Whoville" and what Jesus did to save us.
Just in case you cannot join us, I am attaching the video.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=youtube+horton+hears+a+who&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003
Take some time to realize how precious and worthy of God's attention you are.

Have you picked a pumpkin?

On October 9th we will join together at the State Farmer's Market to pick pumpkins and then discover how the pumpkin is transformed into a jack o' lantern.  This is a precious story also of how we are transformed through Christ into Christians to shine His light.  I am attaching a full calendar for the upcoming months and I hope you and your family will be able to join us for times of worship, times of fun fellowship but mostly a time to experience God, be transformed and to make Christ known in this world!

Fall Fun at Trinity!

First Friday Movie Night— Meet us in the Workshop for supper and then join us in the Edward Room for a fun flick! Movie Night is held at 6-8 pm every first Friday of the month.

Sunday School: — We will begin our journey with Moses through Exodus for the first 6 weeks and then follow the 10 Commandments for 5 weeks; followed by a study of the Advent candles for 3 weeks.  Be sure to grab a brochure.

September 14: Wednesday Night Suppers begin— Join us at 5:45pm in the Sterling Room for supper and then to hear the Gospel According to Dr. Seuss.

September 14: A Woman’s Heart Bible Study — Bi-weekly Bible study will begin September 14th in the Edward Room 9:30-11:30. Childcare will be available.

 3rd Friday Parent’s Night —  Come join us 6-9pm for an evening of fellowship.  Locations TBD.  Please let me know if you would be interested in hosting this event.  bbabson@ trinitysc.org.  We will meet this month at the Kvam’s 1219 Pinemont Drive.

October 2^nd Blessing of the Animals – 6:00pm Cart Courtyard.  We will bless all animals and id tags.  It’s going to be a howling, meowing fun celebration of St. Francis! 

October 9: Family Pumpkin’ Pickin’ and Carving— Come pick a pumpkin 4-6 pm at the State Farmer’s Market.  Then join us for a special pumpkin carving story and supper at the Babson’s home.

 

October 15: The Bazaar!  10:00-2:00 pm You can’t miss the Children’s Carnival!

October 17: Fall Scavenger Hunt at Carolina Children’s Garden 11 am -1 pm.  Bring a bag lunch and come explore all 12 gardens and see how many items you can find on the scavenger hunt…be on the lookout for Pooh and Peter the Rabbit!

November 13: Christmas Present Project; 4-6pm at the Mad Platter—  Bring the whole family and create a special ornament or keepsake for Christmas 2016.

 November 27: Lessons and Carols/ Advent Festival/ Wreath making/ Chili cook-off. 4-6 pm beginning in the Cathedral followed by activities in Satterlee Hall.

December 20: Christmas Pageant

Rehearsal. 10 am -12 pm

Cathedral followed by lunch and arts and crafts in Satterlee Hall.

To have and to hold.....

It's wedding week for my family.  My precious nephew will marry this precious little girl Saturday.

I tease my children that I pray for whoever they will marry to forgive me for what I did not  teach them. ...but I do pray for their future husband and wife daily.  As I watch Charlie and Katherine walk down the isle of Trinity Saturday, I will remember funny stories about how Charlie would not go anywhere without his butter; an argument over a chainsaw verses a lawn mower; how John and I kept him one weekend and he NEVER slept and we swore we would NEVER have children!  Most of all I will take in every second and pray for their happiness, peace, and the legacy of their love for each other for years to come.  I invite you right now to stop and pray for your children, grandchildren and their future families and all of the blessings of this life!

I ask your prayers especially for Charlie and Katherine.