The
Gryphon’s Roar
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The
Gryphon’s Roar
"St. Mark's Newsletter"
| The Gryphon’s Roar | St. Mark's Newsletter |
| A message from the Rev. Battle Beasley |  |
| What is the Significance of Red Doors |
 |
| DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER |  |
| People and Places | 
|
| The Practice of Prayer | |
The Gryphon's Roar
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Dear
People of God,
Happy Season of Epiphany, the season of the manifestation of Christ on Earth. We as Christians are called to be seeking the manifestation of Christ in all people and equally called to participate in making Christ manifest thru our lives.
There are of course very obvious ways in which we work at both these things, such as our worship, private prayers, giving of our time and treasure to the work of the church, especially our outreach ministry. These activities I hope lead us into a deeper awareness of Christ in our own lives. I believe as our own awareness of Christ in us grows we become more attuned to recognizing the Christ that dwells others.
As is so often the case when we are seeking God’s face I believe we find God not in the grand or seemingly important people, places, things, events of our lives but rather most often in the out of the way place, the difficult person, the commonplace things, the most ordinary of events of our lives.
I
pray you well in your seeking and in your witness to the Light that has come
into the world. May this joyous season fill your hearts with Grace of Christ
presence made known in your lives that those who do not yet know the One who
Loves them may come to recognize Christ’ love in your lives.
Battle +
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What
is the Significance of Red Doors on Episcopal Churches?
“In the earlier days of the church it was understood that a soldier could not pursue an enemy that had entered
through the red doors of a church. The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all people who
entered. To all concerned the red on the doors signified the blood of Christ that had been shed so that all who
come to him could be saved. Anyone who passed through those doors was safe as long as they stayed behind
them.
Over time, Christian people began to see the red doors of the church as symbolizing not only physical refuge
and safety, but spiritual refuge as well. The blood of Jesus, and of the Church’s martyrs, that the red doors of
the church symbolized, would protect you from evil, both physical and spiritual. The red doors spoke to the
world of holy ground that existed inside those doors, space that had been purged and made clean by God’s
Holy Spirit. Today people choose to paint their church doors red for many of the same reasons that churches
did centuries ago”
(This information was gathered from the web page of The Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre, Minnesota www.motherflash.com/goodsamaritan)
DIOCESAN
CYCLE OF PRAYER
Each month we will be publishing the Calendar of
Prayer for the Diocese of Tennessee. It
begins on the first Sunday of Advent, 2002 and runs through Year B of the
Eucharistic Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer.
EPIPHANY IV – Presentation of our Lord in the Temple–
2/2/03
St. Timothy’s Church, Erin
EPIPHANY V – February 9, 2003
St. Agnes Church, Cowan
EPIPHANY VI – February 16, 2003
Church of the Messiah, Pulaski
EPIPHANY VII – February 23, 2003
St. Matthias’ Church, Nashville
LAST EPIPHANY – March 2, 2003
Church of the Redeemer, Shelbyville
THE
PRACTICE OF PRAYER
TODAY
The desire to pray is within us all, but the practice of beginning each day with prayer often becomes another item on the agenda, an item which becomes easier and easier to postpone as the duties of the day command our presence and attention.
Like all good habits, the practice of prayer requires a commitment. Wiill you commit the first ten minutes of tomorrow to be with God in prayer?
Begin right now by asking God to help you remember your desire to begin tomorrow with Him:
“Lord, I want to meet with You first thing in the morning for at least ten minutes. Tomorrow, when the alarm clock rings, I have an appointment with You.”
Remember the promise revealed through His word:
“His
mercies are renewed each morning, so great is His faithfulness…Good is the
Lord to one who waits for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-25
We wish to extend a sincere “THANK YOU” to everyone who contributed to the success of the
Lasagna Dinner. After all expenses were paid, we raised $981.00. Thank you to all who bought and
sold tickets, and attended the dinner with family and friends. Thank you to the cooks, the waiters
and waitresses, the kitchen workers, the greeters, the cashiers, the dishwashers, and those who
helped set up for the dinner and clean up afterwards. In other words, thank you to our St. Mark’s
family.
Elizabeth Gregory, Pauline Hall, Susie McEwen, Pat Worsley
ST.
LUKE’S COMMINITY HOUSE
Below is part of a letter from St. Luke’s Community House thanking St. Mark’s for their donation.
Dear Battle:
The Board of Directs thanks you for the donation you made in 2002 in the amount of $235. Your thoughtfulness is very appreciated.
St. Luke’s is always working to improve our service to this community and to respond to the expressed needs of the residents. As a result, we have opened an additional three-year-old classroom. We have also hired a part-time social worker to give more support to our increasing senior population. We are currently designing tow new programs: computer training for adults and a reading program for children and their parents. We will keep you informed on how the programs impact the neighborhood.
Thank you again for partnering with St. Luke’s in serving low income families and seniors. Together we are changing lives.
Gratefully,
Carol Lynn McCarty
Development Director
2020 is a movement in the Episcopal Church toward embracing fully the stated mission of the
church: "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ" (BCP p.855) and
toward accepting the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make all nations my disciples" (Mt.
28:19). The goal that General Convention adopted in July 2000 that would hold the Church
accountable to the movement is that by 2020 the Episcopal Church will have restored and
discipled twice as many people as we can
claim today.
For more information visit www.episcopalchurch.org
and click on 2020.
This site contains the official actions and documents of the movement. The site will report on the
Presiding Bishop's staff's efforts to support and encourage the movement. Much of the 2020
movement is in the hands of others: dioceses who will start new congregations, dioceses who
will partner with their existing congregations to become more healthy and vital, congregations
that will direct their ministries outward in a unified way, and individuals (the basic missional unit)
praying, giving, and reaching out to those around them with the life giving Gospel. Expect to see
the collection of data and progress reports
related to the goals of 2020.
