St. Matthews Newsletter- March 2004
St Matthews Newsletter - August 2004On August 15, the Church recognizes the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, referred to by some as the Heavenly Birthday of our Lady. Many Anglican traditionalists commemorate this Feast along with Roman Catholics and numerous other churches holding to the traditions of the early undivided Church, including Eastern Orthodox Christians. For some of us this is an unfamiliar observance. Of course, Anglicans are never required to believe anything (as necessary to salvation) that cannot reasonably be proved by Holy Scriptures. Since the Bible contains no record of Mary's death, we have the option of accepting or rejecting the belief that her body did not "return to dust" in the grave, as is the fate of most, if not all, human beings. Whether one wishes to accept this belief or not, it is interesting to note that, according to Scriptures, at least two others before Mary's time went immediately to Heaven without first suffering physical death. These were Enoch (Gen 5:24, Heb. 11.5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Neither the Roman Catholic nor the Eastern Orthodox Churches has ever officially claimed that Mary did not undergo physical death. The Roman Church holds that after her death she was immediately taken up, body and soul, by the power of God (i.e. assumed) into Heaven. Orthodox churches believe likewise but call the event "The Dormition of the Theotokos" - or the Falling Asleep of the (Bearer) Mother of God. As for the place of her death, theologians see two possible locations, Jerusalem or Ephesus. Writings of the early Fathers make it plausible that either of these sites could have been the place of Mary's departure from this world; in actuality, no evidence of her grave or bodily remains has ever been found. It is indeed a pious and not unreasonable belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who willingly became the "handmaid of the Lord" and the mother of the Savior of the world, should be so honored. One may ascribe to the possibility and even the probability of the Assumption of our Lady without being in danger of exalting Mary beyond the point of theological propriety. On August 15th at St. Matthew's the epistle and gospel will be
those appointed in the Anglican Missal for the observance of the
Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. APPRECIATION DAY On Sunday, July 11 St. Matthew's held the first of what is hoped to be many outdoor barbecues for the parish family. This was Appreciation Day for the great participation in the Vacation Raffle sponsored by St. Michael's Men's Club. Over one hundred parishioners and guests enjoyed barbecued pork, potato salad, baked beans and cole slaw, topped off with huge slabs of watermelon. The Men's Club picked up the tab for all expenses so those attending had only to come and enjoy. The big event, of course, was the drawing for the raffle prizes and here's how it went: Grand Prize of a week's vacation in a furnished cabin went to Mitch Farrell from Valrico; second prize of a set of Pulsar wrist watches to Phyllis Tynan of Sun City; third prize wall clock went to Carl O. Swaffer of Ruskin; fourth prize of ten car washes to Joyce Glass of Valrico; and Judy Crosby from Riverview won the fifth prize of a car wash and wax; the latter two prizes being available from Car Wash on the Green ! Since all prizes were donated and all expenses covered by the Men's Club, the entire proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets, $5,250, was placed in the Building Expansion Fund. The Building Fund total as of this date is $72,521 (balance after a disbursement of $487 for preliminary expense in connection with the planned expansion).
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