News & Readings May 6-13

News & Announcements

Sunday	6-May	Early Service – 7:45am
		Celebration Service – 9:00am
		Traditional Service – 11:00am
Tuesday	8-May	Daughters of the King meeting - 7:30pm
Wednesday	9-May	Bible Study – 4-5pm, Mid Week Eucharist 5-6pm
		Choir Practice – 6:30pm
Thursday	10-May	Choir practice- 7:00pm
Saturday	12-May	Celtic Service – 6pm
Sunday	13-May	Early Service – 7:45am
		Celebration Service – 9:00am
		Traditional Service – 11:00am

The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God by Cal & Shirley Warfield in loving memory of their son Calvin Warfield III’s birthday and in loving memory of Rea Epps.

Christ Episcopal Church will host another evening

Celtic worship service

on Saturday, May 12, beginning at 6pm You are invited for an evening of quiet reflective music and creative liturgy in the intimate candlelit church. Special musical guests will participate, and there will be familiar hymnody for all to sing. Laying on of hands in healing will be available at the conclusion of the service

Scholarships

The Elise Holladay and Ridley Foundation

Additional information and applications are available from Gary/Office. Forms must be filled out with transcripts and letters of reference by April 30 & June 30 2012 for the coming year. 

The Isle of Wight Community Comes Together at St. Luke’s

June 16-17 Heritage Day at St. Luke’s – June 16 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Main Street Baptist Gospel Choir Concert at St. Luke’s – June 17 at 3:00 pm

Come to St. Luke’s and experience it’s early history and that of the broader community of Isle of Wight.  Christ Episcopal Church will highlight our own historical path that led us from St. Luke’s to the old rectangular building we now call our church.  Volunteers are needed to introduce others to our place of Worship.  A great time to invite new members to our church.

Box lunches will be for sale at noon for $8.00.

Reading May 6 9am

Reader:  A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (8:26-40)Philip converts and baptizes a servant of the queen of Ethiopia. The salvation offered through the gospel of Christ is freely available to all people.

Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church

People: Open our ears to hear your Word

Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza." He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot." Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

He answered, "How can I without some help?" and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:

As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he's been taken from the earth?

The eunuch said, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?" Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.

As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.

Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea

Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church

People: Open our ears to hear your Word

Readings May 6 7.45 & 11am

+The First Lesson: Philip converts and baptizes a servant of the queen of Ethiopia. The salvation offered through the gospel of Christ is freely available to all people.

A Reading from Acts [8:26-40]

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

"Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth."

The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Reader: The Word of the Lord                                                                                           People: Thanks be to God

Psalm 22:24-30  Page 612, BCP

My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *
"May your heart live for ever!"

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

For kingship belongs to the LORD; *
he rules over the nations.

To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.

My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.

They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.

+The Second Lesson: Through Jesus we learn of the love of God. Those who seek to abide in the Lord must emulate his forbearance and forgiveness.

A Reading from I John [4:7-21]

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Reader: The Word of the Lord                                                                                           

People: Thanks be to God