A memorial service for Theodore Allen Elmer will be held Saturday, December 17th, beginning at eleven o’clock in the morning at Church of the Messiah. Allen went to be with The Lord on December 8th, and a full obituary may be found on-line by clicking HERE. Following the service a reception will be held at the home of Earl & Cathie Shimp (for a map and directions, click HERE). Please join with Allen’s family and friends as we worship the Lord together and honor God for all of the blessings he gave to Allen throughout his life.
Rest eternal grant to Allen, O Lord: And let light perpetual shine upon him.
May his soul, and the souls of the the faithful departed, Through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Christmas is almost upon us and we are so excited to once again celebrate the birth of our Messiah and Lord throughout the season. Please join us on any or all of our Christmas services and events that we have scheduled throughout the season.
Christmas Eve, December 24th, at 7 pm We will have our family service with a special activities and worship for the children as well as Christmas carols by candlelight. This is a wonderful Church of the Messiah tradition. Everyone is welcome and it is sure to be a fantastic time for all.
Christmas Day, December 25th, at 10 am We will absolutely gather Sunday morning and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior on the Lord’s Day. Christmas Day services are also a tradition at Church of the Messiah and have been for many years. The service is a slightly abbreviated service as we are all aware and mindful of family obligations on this day.
The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, January 1st, at 10 am In Jewish tradition, children were named eight days after they were born so the “Eighth Day of Christmas” is a special holiday which we get to observe this year because it too falls on a Sunday. Join us on the first day of the week and the first day of the year as we hear what God calls us and how we are called to live in 2017.
The Epiphany, January 4th, at 6 pm Our Wednesday night services resume with the observance of the Epiphany on Wednesday, January 4th. The soup supper will begins at six o’clock and lasts until 6:45 and our Epiphany service begins at seven o’clock. All throughout Advent we are collecting diapers (size 4 and 5) and formula (any type) for Emergency Pregnancy Services of Jacksonville so that, just like the Wise Men, blessed the Baby Jesus, we can bless our local pro-life crisis pregnancy center. This will be an amazing night to be sure.
Christmas & Epiphany Fellowship Dinner, January 6th, at 6 pm We will be celebrating the close of the holiday season with a fellowship dinner at Blackfinn Ameripub in the St. John’s Town Center. The cost will be approximately $25 per guest to be paid to Church of the Messiah in advance. More information will be available shortly. This will be an adults only event.
All of the Priests’ Testimonies Are Now Available On-Line
Over the last month, four of the priests at Church of the Messiah had a chance to present their testimonies to the congregation. The testimonies were recorded and are now available on-line. Click the links below to listen to Church of the Messiah’s clergy tell their story.
We have received word that Virginia Sharpe departed this life and went to be with the Lord Monday morning, November 1st. There will be a funeral for Virginia this Saturday, November 5th, beginning at three o’clock at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in DeLand (Click HERE for a map and directions). We will update this post with further information if it becomes available. We ask your prayers for Fr. Bill, the Sharpe family, and for all of our beloved brothers and sisters at Chapel of Divine Mercy in this difficult time.
Rest eternal grant to Virginia, O Lord: And let light perpetual shine upon her.
May her soul, and the souls of the the faithful departed, Through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
This evening is Church of the Messiah’s All Saints’ Eve Festival! Be sure to invite your friends and neighbors to a safe night of family-friendly fun for all with loads of games, candy, free food, candy, bounce houses, candy, and even cotton candy if you haven’t gotten enough candy! It’s going to be a blast for everyone. Volunteers should plan on arriving around 6 o’clock and parking in the Fr. Caroline Presbyterian parking lot. The party will wrap up at 8:30 and we should be done by 9 o’clock, but, of course, the more volunteers we have, the quicker we can be finished. Get your best costume on, head to Church this evening, bring your friends and neighbors, and get ready to have a great time. We will see you here!
The Patriarch Sends His All Saint’s Offering Letter
Every year on the Sunday closest to All Saints’ Day (November 1st), every church in the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church takes up an offering to support their primate’s office in various efforts. In the North American Charismatic Episcopal Church, the House of Bishops decided that all of the money raised on All Saints’ Day would go to support international missionary work in Africa. While a portion of the funds collected goes immediately to charitable relief, a large majority goes to the establishment of micro-businesses so that local churches can become self-sufficient. The profits from these micro-businesses have aided local diocese in water treatment for potable water, theological education of local clergy, and even construction of local places of worship. You can see how recent All Saints’ Day collections have been distributed by clicking HERE and HERE.
The Patriarch’s letter reads, in part,
I have been in ministry long enough to have heard just about every excuse for not giving or not taking up an offering. But those excuses are based on a faulty premise which is “when I get some extra money, I will give.” Though that sounds good it is not in accordance with Biblical teaching. Stewardship is not about giving in the future it is what we are doing with what we have right now. It is in giving, that we receive. In fact, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And, if we give it will be given unto us.
When we take up the Mission Offering we are opening ourselves up to participation in something so much bigger than our local concerns or even our personal concerns. We are able to sow seed into the advancement of God’s Kingdom around the world. We are impacting the lives of thousands.
I know each of us wants to give. Walk by faith. Give from the heart. Give in response to the Lord Holy Spirit asking us to give. We can expect great things to happen.
You can read his message in its entirety by clicking HERE.
At Church of the Messiah, we will do our part and take up the All Saints’ Day Offering this year on November 6th, however you can begin donating right away. You may put an offering in the basket on Sunday marked “All Saints’ Offering” or you may give using any of our electronic methods by clicking HERE and selection “All Saints’ Offering from the drop-down menu.
Thank you for heeding the call and supporting this effort to reach out to our international brothers and sisters. May God richly bless you.
This Wednesday night, October 26th, Church of the Messiah will begin its new teaching series called “The Testimony of the Priests”. This series will provide each of the active pastors of the parish with an opportunity to share their own personal testimony with the congregation. While each of the priests at Church of the Messiah has been with the parish for over a decade, they have never had an opportunity to share their own story of how God moved in their lives. Over the next four week, each of the clergy will have an opportunity to do so and satisfy 1 Peter 3:15 where the Apostle calls us to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” This will both help the congregation get to know their pastors better and encourage all of us by sharing stories of how God has moved in the lives of our own people.
“The Testimony of the Priests” is part of Church of the Messiah’s regular Wednesday Night Worship Service. The evening begins with a soup supper at 6:00-6:45 and the service itself begins at seven o’clock. In order for everyone to be home at a reasonable hour in order to prepare for work and school the next day, the service ends by 8:30 each night. Childcare is provided during the service portion of the evening. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce new people to our parish by introducing them to our clergy in an open worship setting. Everyone is welcome and we would love for you to join us.
The History of the Biblical Church Series Available On-Line
On Wednesday, October 19th, Fr. Looker concluded the five-week teaching series The History of the Biblical Church. Now the entire series along with the PowerPoint presentation used during the teachings are available on-line. During the Bible Study, Fr. Looker took context clues given by St. Paul in his various Epistles to expand the picture given by St. Luke in The Acts of the Apostles. By comparing details in St. Paul’s writings with St. Luke’s story, the congregation was able to hear a much more full and and vivid story of the history of the earliest Church, the Church during the times of the apostles, evangelists, and disciples, than they had ever seen before. This was a very enriching teaching series and now it is available for download. You can download the PowerPoints and listen along with the teachings or just listen to the teachings by themselves. A new series begins Wednesday, October 26th, at seven o’clock.
At Church on Sunday morning many people asked about taking up an offering to aid victims of Hurricane Matthew. Fr. Looker intentionally delayed such a collection in anticipation of receiving word from Bishop Simpson on how the Diocese of Florida as a whole would respond to the catastrophe. Today we heard from Bp. Simpson. We already knew that the Bahamas were particularly hard hit, but we have learned that the home of one of our own clergy, Deacon Hermes Laing II, was practically destroyed and that they have lost most of their belongings. Bp. Simpson is creating Hurricane Relief Fund to assist the people of the Bahamas, Haiti, and Cuba in rebuilding their lives and homes. If you would like to donate to the Hurricane Relief Fund, you may do so in two ways: you may put a check in the offering basket earmarked “Hurricane Relief” or you can visit our donate page, choose “Other” from the drop-down menu and enter “Hurricane Relief.” All donations are tax-deductible and will be sent to the Cathedral and distributed to those in the affected area. Thank you for your generosity.
Church of the Messiah Will Have Service on Sunday; Fusion Cancelled Tonight
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, it appears we have much to be thankful for. Saturday morning, Fr. Looker contacted most members of the parish who had not evacuated and most had a similar report. The majority of the parish had only minimal damage to their home, with a few limbs and trees coming down during the storm. While many are without power, most were prepared for that beforehand. Church of the Messiah’s building sustained no apparent damage and still has power, so services will continue as planned Sunday morning at 10 o’clock. Fusion, as previously announced, has been cancelled and will hold its next service on November 12th. While the people of Church of the Messiah seem to have been spared much of the full force of Hurricane Matthew, please remember that there are many who felt the effects much more severely than we did and many who are still being affected by this storm. Please continue to pray for those in the path of this catastrophic storm.
SJL 
A memorial service for Theodore Allen Elmer will be held Saturday, December 17th, beginning at eleven o’clock in the morning at Church of the Messiah. Allen went to be with The Lord on December 8th, and a full obituary may be found on-line by clicking HERE. Following the service a reception will be held at the home of Earl & Cathie Shimp (for a map and directions, click HERE). Please join with Allen’s family and friends as we worship the Lord together and honor God for all of the blessings he gave to Allen throughout his life.
