Third Sunday in Epiphany A 2012 (Mark 1:14-20) The Rev. Leonard Oakes In the name of God, the God of the 49ers and the God of New York Giants. Amen. I thank you all for coming to Chuch today not … Continue reading
Come, see, be renewed, be empowered and be part of a community of Love and Hope
Greetings and welcome to Holy Child and St. Martin Episcopal Church located in beautiful gateway to the Peninsula, the City of Daly City, California. We are a community of warm and loving people from a diverse culture and family backgrounds united with one accord to uphold “One Faith, One Hope, One Baptism, One God and Father of All.”
We uphold the dignity of all human being and the community that surround us. We share our love to everyone by doing the will of God to the least of our brothers and sisters and by reaching out to the needs of the poor, the oppressed, the homeless, the destitute, the lonely and the less fortunate. Like the Holy Child Jesus who embraces us with his cloak of Love, Peace and Joy, so we too must share those blessings to others. Similarly, like St. Martin of tours who covered the needy with his cloak, and San Martin De Porres who worked for the poor and the orphaned, so we also must be reflective to do the same to everyone who needs them.
God continues to bless Holy Child and St. Martin in so many ways. Amidst so many rich gifts and experiences the Lord teaches us today, just as he taught his first disciples, telling all to focus only on the tasks he gives each to do. This sets the stage at the outset of our Health and Wellness Ministry. As Holy Child and St. Martin welcomes all people of different backgrounds, culture and faith, we are humbled by the work of the Holy Spirit and the action of God in the lives of all the faithful.
The year 2012 focuses on cultivating the seeds of faith sown by the very gifts God has given us by reaching out to the community through our Health and Wellness program in giving free monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate, lungs, weight and health education to our community, the uninsured and the less fortunate. We are reminded to be very conscious of the sacrifices of those who have sowed the original seeds of faith in the hearts of the institutions who provide their services to similar people like: Seton Medical Center’s daughters of charity, San Mateo Health Department, Clinic by the Bay, Rota Care, Doelger’s Senior Center, Peninsula Clergy Network and others. Those who come, see and being empowered by our holistic approach through Body, Spirit and Mind are hoped to share the same to those who might need them.
While we recognize the needs of humanity, we are also called to recognize the needs of the rest of God’s creation, by honoring and respecting their presence. We recognize that we are interdependent in the balance ecology of nature and with such, we have a responsibility to take care of each other.
I call upon you all, in the name of God who supplies all our needs, through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to tell others to Come, See and be empowered with the great sign God is doing in our midst here at Holy Child and St. Martin. Let us indeed serve as the Gateway to God’s wonderful Vineyard in this community and the world.
The Rev. Leonard B. Oakes, Vicar
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EXPLORING FILIPINO-AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
Symposium focuses on book by The Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara, Asian missioner of the Episcopal Church.
DALY CITY, Calif. -
“Like Milkfish in Brackish Water ” is the book and the motto of the Filipino American Christianity symposium to be led by Rev. Dr. Winfred Vergara, Missioner for Asiamerica Ministry with The Episcopal Church.
Clergy and lay leaders any religious affiliation serving or interested to learn about Filipino community building are welcome to participate in the event from 12 noon to 12 noon January 27-28 at Holy Child & St. Martin’s Episcopal Church here. The event will feature a presentation and open prayer rally. It will raise discussion about Vergara’s book and how it may help understand the Filipino American ministry. Dinner will be provided. The book’s introduction attempts to explain why the Filipino American Ministry deserve attention:
“Filipinos are some of the earliest, largest, most educated and upwardly mobile immigrant groups to settle in America. There is a special relationship between the Philippines and the United States that dates back at the turn of the 20th century when America, still emerging as the world’s superpower, took Philippines under the shadow of its wings. Filipino American culture is unique in the sense of its interconnectedness. Philippine geography is in the Asia but its base culture and traditions are markedly multicultural, with dominant Spanish and North American influences,” said the introduction.
The ministry is compared to “bangus” or the milkfish, which “survive in fresh water and in salty water but thrives best in brackish water.” “As servant of Christianity, Filam Ministry must learn from the ways of the milkfish. It must learn to take this ministry of “both and,” the gift of prophetic accommodation. Filam clergy and faithful must become a ministers of reconciliation, a ministry bestowed by the Master-Fisherman who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth.”
“Rev. Vergara’s book talks about re-thinking and re-visioning of Filipino ministry in the context of multiethnic, multicultural American Church and Society,” said Rev. Leonard Oakes, pastor of Holy Child & St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. “Participants coming from distant places may be eligible for free hotel accommodations. Meals are free.”
Holy Child & St. Martin’s Episcopal Church is on 777 Southgate Ave, Daly City, CA 94015. For more information,
contact: (650) 991-1560 or email revleonardoakes@gmail.com.
This is an excerpt from Philippines News editorial Cherie M. Querol Moreno
The Episcopal AsiaMerica Ministries
in Partnership with the Episcopal Asian Ministry Council
and the Filipino Convocation
and in collaboration with Holy Child and St. Martin Episcopal Church
welcome you to
A BOOK FORUM & SYMPOSIUM ON FILIPINO AMERICAN MINISTRY
By the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara
Missioner for Asiamerica Ministry
January 27-28, 2012
Holy Child and St. Martin Episcopal Church
777 Southgate Avenue, Daly City, CA 94015
Contact Persons:
The Rev. Bayani Rico, President of EAM Council : Email : rector_ascension@sbcglobal.net
The Rev. Leonard Oakes (650) 534-5831/email: RevLeonardOakes@gmail.com
SCHEDULE:
JANUARY 27:
NOON: Check in
Lunch at 12:00 (for those arriving early at Holy Child and St. Martin Daly City)
1:45 P.M. – Session 1: Vision and Purpose of the Book
and Demographics of Filipino Americans (Introductory chapters)
2:45 P.M. – Break
3:00 P.M. – Session II: Philippine Religious History
4:00 P.M. – Break
4:15 P.M. – Session III: Filipino Culture and American Assimilation Process
5:15 P.M. – Open Forum; Announcement on Worship
5:45 P.M. – Break to prepare for Liturgical Service (Choir rehearsal)
6:15 P.M – Word from Bishop Marc Andrus
6:30 P.M. – Filipino American Eucharist
7:30 P.M. – Dinner & Entertainment
JANUARY 28:
8:00 A.M. – Breakfast
8:45 A.M. – Session IV: How to do a Filipino American Ministry Probe
( ASilicon ValleyExample)
9:45 A.M. – Break
10:00 A.M. – Session V: “Seven Sneezes to Filipino American Revival”
11:00 A.M. – Break
11:15 A.M. – Quo Vadis: Where Do we Go from Here?
12:15 – Lunch and Safe Travel Back Home
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