4 October 2007

 

Beyond Birds

 

St. Francis, the son of a prosperous merchant of Assisi, was born in this pilgrimage town in 1182.  His early youth was spent in harmless revelry and fruitless attempts to win military glory in the Crusades.  After his return from war, our Lord Jesus used various encounters with beggars and lepers to prick his conscience, and he responded by embracing a life devoted to “Lady Poverty.”  Standing completely naked before the Bishop, Francis totally renounced all his material possessions, and devoted himself to serving the poor.  Pope Innocent the Third confirmed Francis’ simple rule for the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans) in 1210.  St. Clare, a contemporary of Francis, began a complementary sisterhood (the Poor Clares). 

 

In popular culture Francis is best known for his oneness with nature, thereby remaining in most people’s minds as the perfect subject for garden statuary.  For those willing to go beyond birds, he offers so much more.

 

The radical change in Francis’ life came only after he surrendered to God’s call for him to “rebuild my church.”  At first, Francis thought that meant literally to reconstruct an abandoned church building on the outskirts of town.  After the reconstruction was completed, and after more prayer and reflection (often while living in caves as a hermit), he left that building behind, realizing that God’s desire was for Francis to “rebuild” the bodies, minds and spirits of the people of God, equipping them to be more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  Every initiative of Francis came from seeking and serving the will of Jesus.  So completely was he united to Jesus Christ that shortly before his death, on Holy Cross Day (September 14), he mystically received the marks of the Lord’s wounds, the stigmata, in his own hands, feet and side.  The reality of Francis, with no buildings, no possessions, bloody wounds and serving every human being he encountered as if s/he were Jesus, literally transformed the western Christian world overnight.

 

Every once in a while I am asked by someone, “Do you have a church yet?”  By that question, of course, they are inquiring about potential land purchase and construction timetables for a building rather than a spiritual diagnosis of the community we call Beloved.  You don’t have to look far to see that there is no shortage of beautiful buildings in South Charlotte.  But beautiful buildings don’t have the power to transform lives.  Only Jesus does.  “Do we have a church yet?” can only be ultimately measured by our willingness to give up our personal and corporate plans for glory.  Like Francis, God is calling us to surrender our lives in humble service to the Lord of life.  Are we ready to bear the marks of Jesus for our community?    

 

J. Derek Harbin, priest    

 

 

Around Beloved…Congratulations to Caroline and Scott McCloud on the birth of their daughter on Wednesday afternoon.  Gianna Benfield McCloud entered God’s world weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces and is 20 ½ inches long.  Mother, daughter, and Beloved Band bass player father are all doing well! 

 

What a wonderful Parish Picnic we enjoyed together last Sunday afternoon!  Thanks to Michele Nichols, Janie Wooten, Mary Reid, Jennifer Sanders, Nancy Montagnino, Barbara Jackson, Michele Dezzutto, Matt LeBlanc, Catherine LeBlanc, Linda Mellon and Fred Mellon and to all who cooked and played and ate and celebrated with one another.  If you couldn’t be with us, don’t miss next year!    

  

Calling all women who worship at Beloved to an evening of food and fun!  The next Women's Fellowship gathering will be on Wednesday, October 10^th from 7-9 pm at the home of Toni Reif.  Janis Conlon is this month's food coordinator.  She will be contacting those with the last name beginning with J-N to contribute to the meal. For directions or more information, click here.     

 

 

In our ongoing effort to achieve financial independence, Church of the Beloved will be one of the non-profit organizations participating in the fourth annual Simon Evening of Giving at SouthPark Mall on Sunday, November 18^th.  For every $10 ticket to this event we sell, our church keeps $7.  The remaining $3 will go to the Simon Youth Foundation, which provides support and resources for at-risk children.  Packets containing tickets and additional details for this event continue to be available to COB participants after worship or by clicking here.

 

 

On Wednesday, September 26^th, Christians around the country gathered at their school flagpoles to pray for their classmates and teachers.  While Donna Elyea, Mitchell Harbin and Fr. Derek prayed with students, parents and staff members of Community House Middle School, Beloved’s Joseph Nichols was one of the prayer leaders for the pole event at Weddington Middle School in Union County.  Here is the prayer Joseph wrote and offered that morning:

 

Most merciful Father, I pray for my fellow students as well as my safety and comfort and our learning environment. Please watch over us and protect us through your teachings and your very presence in our lives. I ask you to enter our hearts and enter our minds as we go along on our ways to learn for the future. I also pray for the faculty and staff of our school that they may be controlled by your ways to teach us everything we need and help us on our road to success. I ask you these things and in Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

 

 

The CROP Walk is coming!  If you’d like to walk with the Beloved group after church on October 14, please pick up a walker packet in the hospitality area on Sunday.  Please solicit sponsorship from your friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers to help alleviate world hunger.  Members of Beloved who are not walking, please make every effort to sponsor at least one person who will walk on your behalf.  Collection of financial commitments will be on Sunday, October 21.  Please make arrangements to honor your commitment if you won’t be in church that Sunday.

 

 

All Saints Sunday (November 4) will be here in a little less than a month’s time.  During this service, we remember those who have died and gone to God’s heavenly feast since last year’s All Saints celebration.  At Church of the Beloved, we parade into worship with banners bearing our loved ones’ names, reminding us that they are “Christ’s Own Forever.”  The church provides the banner, while family members prepare the letters of their beloved one’s name to go on the banner.  If you have had a relative die this year, please contact the Development Office by October 25 so that you can learn how to prepare your banner for this special day.  Instructions will be sent via email following the October 25^th deadline.

 

 

Christian Formation for all ages will follow worship this Sunday.

 

 

Beloved eNews publishes each Thursday.  News and calendar information should be submitted via email by the Monday preceding the publication date.

 

September 30…Attendance: 136; Worship Offering: 9/23 ($4,026), 9/30 ($5,001).  Income needed for ministry each week: $5,500 (fully funded) à $4,400 (requiring other funding sources i.e. fundraising events).  The financial goal of Church of the Beloved is to reach self-sufficiency (i.e. pay all expenses without income from outside sources) by 12/31/2008.

 

Scripture Readings for October 7…2 Timothy 1:1-14 & Luke 17:5-10

 

Serving at God’s Altar on October 7…Complete setup/complete teardown: New Angel Army Team #4; Acolytes: Victoria Floyd, Brian Sanniota, Jack Sanniota, Katie Sanniota; Offering Basket Passers: Holly Burnett, Grace Miller, Timothy Mooney, Isaac Neel; Presenters: Fred Mellon & Nancy Weiler; Altar Bread Baker: Catherine Atwood; Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Brian McCarthy & Dick Reif; PowerPoint: Kevin Krantz & Joseph Nichols; Reader: Tori Leinenkugel

 

 

In our Prayers…click here

Upcoming Calendar…click here