The Friday Reflection
June 12, 2020
The Rev. John Shumaker

In Holy Baptism we are born-again of water and the Holy Spirit. God freely gives us that gift of the new birth, and not on any merit of our own. We are Sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as Christ’s own forever. We belong to Jesus.
Our response is to accept the grace that God has given to us, and in turn give ourselves to God as He has freely given Himself to us.
When we love someone, we get involved with them in many ways
….without communication, there is no relationship,
….without relationship, there is no love,
….without love, there is no trust.
As Christians, our relationship with Jesus Christ is the foundation of everything that we are, everything that we do, and everything that we hope to be.
Through the Waters of Regeneration in Holy Baptism, a relationship with God has begun, and it’s up to each one of us to do something about it.
You’ve probably heard someone say from time to time that in the church that it is the job of the ministers to minister, and the congregation to congregate.
….But who are the ministers of the Church?
The Book of Common Prayer teaches us that “the ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.”             (Catechism in The Book of Common Prayer, page 855)
As Christians we are all ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each one of us have our own gifts that God has given to us within the Body of Christ.
Someone once stated that “the mark of a disciple and the marks of a leader are very nearly identical.”
Holy Baptism is the beginning of where we fit in, in our relationship within The Body of Christ…..and it is a daily call to our dying and rising with Christ, and utilizing the gifts that God has given to us.
“The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature in Christ.”   (Ephesians 4:11-23 NRSV)
Peter states “I exhort the presbyters among you to tend the flock of God that is in our charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you do it – not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.” (I Peter 1-3 NRSV)
Discipleship, and leadership, come from the same root:   Jesus Christ, and our daily commitment to Him.

Reopening Protocols for EDSJ
June 12, 2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers of EDSJ,
From the early beginnings of this horrific pandemic, I have been joined by diocesan staff, leaders and clergy colleagues in expressing the ways in which our responses amid this crisis speak of who we are and to WHOM we belong. We have consistently identified that this is yet another opportunity to grow deeper into the Beloved Community we are Called to be… This has been no more evident than the urging to take care of one another (the other) by taking care of ourselves. This other-self care has and continues to involve sheltering-in-place, wearing masks
and gloves and the like. We have been clear that our identity, our very reason to be, requires that we put public health over economics and theological-communal responsibility over individual rights. We have been clear that the need to reflect God in the Way of Love could not be more necessary than in our present contexts and circumstances. And we have been clear the Jesus Movement must inform what we do and how we do it during these days of COVID-19.
As we move closer to reopening, the aforementioned expression of identity and reflection of faith must not diminish. The guidelines before us are practical measures to ensure (to the extent we can) continued safety, health and wellness for all. When reopening occurs, we urge you to adhere to the guidelines and continue to frame them with words of faith, hope and love. We also encourage you to exercise caution, care and patience as we move into becoming church in yet
another way.
I wish to thank the contributors of our Diocesan Guidelines.
Participants on the Working Group were:
Canon Anna Carmichael (Dio Staff)
Ms. Barbara Vassell, Communicable Disease Manager, Stanislaus County Public Health
(Modesto)
Rev’d Luis Rodriguez (Bakersfield)
Rev’d Peter Ackerman (Lodi)
Rev’d Jim McDonald (Fresno)
Bishop David Rice (Dio Staff)
Blessings,
The Rt. Rev. David C. Rice
Where we are now:
EDSJ-Stage 1: Shelter In Place
O Virtual worship services

o Allow for no more than 3 people in the same space for filming of virtual worship; wearing of masks and 6ft of social distancing required

O All meetings/gatherings held virtually
O No in-person pastoral visits
O Limit feeding ministries to those which can follow safe protocols determined by health department.

To see the protocols for reopening, download the document below.
The PowerPoint presentation, as well as all these materials, will be available on the website by the end of day, June 12th.

“Dear God, let us not get so caught up in the fear and the chaos that we ignore the work we must do to meet the need. Turn our hearts toward the work we can do to help those kept in the shadows.  We may not be able to physically witness the situation, however, we can act.” — From Nancy Fitzgerald’s opening article

Check Your Car’s Tire Pressure

Properly inflated tires improve the car’s gas mileage. This will not only decrease your carbon emission but also save you money.

 Friday Reflection
All articles and special news can be submitted to the Diocesan Office at: [email protected]
All submissions are due MONDAY for the following Friday Reflection.
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articles- word document
document to link- PDF
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Events Warranting Your
Participation and Prayers

   Diocesan Events
Mary Devotional, Bilingual
June 12 | 6:30 PM
Deacon Fresh Start
June 15 | 6:30 PM
ZOOM
SJRAISE
June 16 | 6:30 PM
ZOOM
Pride Talk – Diversity of Bishops for a Diverse Church
June 17 | 6:30 PM
Clergy COVID Conference
June 18 | 12:30 PM
ZOOM
Pride Talk – Sexuality and Gender Identity Diversity
June 24 | 6:30 PM
Clergy COVID Conference
June 25 | 12:30 PM
ZOOM
DC/SC Joint Meeting
June 27
ZOOM

Upcoming Event Information

TODAY!
Join Dcn. Nelson for the next devotional. This month will be focused on La Guadalupana: Her Story, Our Prayer. This is a bilingual event, live on Facebook.
Please join us, Friday, June 12th at 6:30 pm.

Northern California Vivian Traylor Chapter of UBE Statement on the Racism in the Church and a Call for Action

The Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), whose members are of African descent, has fought to eradicate racism for over 200 years by encouraging the involvement of Black people in the total life of the Episcopal Church- on every level and in every way – stewardship, evangelism, education, leadership, governance and politics. We have stridently worked to dismantle power structures within the church and in society that have gone askew. Today as members of African descent in the Episcopal Church, we are deeply hurt, gravely offended and morally wounded by the unconscionable acts and senseless and horrific killings in the first half of 2020 of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in addition to the many other Black and Brown people who have been unjustly victimized and murdered by the police; those who are charged with protecting, helping and serving our communities. It has been a collective awakening for us, the Church and society as a whole.

Download the statement from our friends in Northern California here.

Spam Emails!

   
Hi EDSJ!
Deacon Angela here. It looks like many of you have been receiving spam emails that appear to be from us. They are not, and since they don’t come from our email, there is unfortunately little we can do to stop it.
Things to look for in scam emails:
Our emails all end in diosanjoaquin.org. Hacked emails are not from our server.
The Bishops title simply says: Rev. David Rice. This is an incorrect title.
We ask you for gift cards of any sort. We will NEVER do that in an email.
We mention that is discreet. Again, that is a key word that this is likely fake.
We mention that we are in a prayer meeting. Well that doesn’t sounds like our type of language. ��
Watch out, please!
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, 4147 E Dakota AVE, Fresno, CA 93726
Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with
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