Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 27th, 2021

 Fourth Sunday after Trinity, June 27th, 2021

Being a Christian is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination.  Come to think of it, being a responsible adult is not an easy thing either.  Having to make decisions that affect your own life.  Having to make decisions that affect others . . . . for example, if you are a parent or the owner of a company.  Having to do things that you would prefer not to do but you realize some things have to be done . . .  cutting the grass comes to mind or paying bills.  Having to juggle various roles all at the same time sometimes is a challenge, isn't it?   . . .   going to work . . . taking care of your home . . .  being a parent . . .  being a child . . . . paying bills . . . doing chores . . .  etc. The point being is that life is busy . . . at least it is for me . . . and life is full of difficulties and challenges . . .  again, at least it is for me.  But as I look around on social media and in the news and listening to people's conversations, it seems that people must have a whole lot of free time that they don't know what to do with.  It used to be that if you held a different belief than me, I might not have agreed with you but it amounted to nothing more than that:  a difference of opinion.  Period.  End of story.  I might not like your choice or I might not like your belief but on the other hand you might not be too fond of something about me either.  But we just left it at that.  And, more importantly, we left it alone.  You had your belief.  I had my belief. Period.  Today, people get into all kinds of arguments and criticisms of one another if they do not agree and support the other person one hundred and twenty percent.

In St. Luke's Gospel, Our Lord said:  " BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."  (St. Luke 6:36)  But then He goes on to say in the following verse:  "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   (v.37)  It is that last part that we should be most concerned with . . . ". .  . forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."   I have long said that we like to be so focused on other people's wrong-doing, if for no other reason, it takes the focus off of our wrong doing.  If I focus on someone else and focus where they are wrong in their life, it means that I have less time to focus on what is wrong in my own life.    A few verses later, Our Lord states in Verse 41:  "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"  Why am I so concerned about the speck that I see in my brother's eye when I am totally oblivious to the plank in my own eye?!?  The bottom line is this:  Don't be too quick to criticize someone else because your backyard probably needs a little sprucing up as well.  You don't have to be in complete agreement with someone in order to be civil and loving to that person.  Our Lord stated that we need to "love one another"  He did not say that we need to "agree with one another."  And finally,  show a little mercy and compassion to those around you.  Do not be so quick to condemn someone who does not agree with you.  That person may not agree with you either on other subjects.  The bottom line is that each one of us needs to be concerned if we agree with God.   I should be LESS concerned about making MY own voice heard  . . . and be MORE concerned about making GOD'S voice heard in my life and the way in which I treat others around me.

Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Third Sunday after Trinity, June 20th, 2021

 Third Sunday after Trinity, June 20th, 2021

From the First Epistle of St. Peter we hear:  ". . . for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (I St. Peter 5:5 ff)  St. Peter more than likely is quoting Scripture here because we also find in Proverbs 3:34:  "Surely He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly."   . .. . giveth grace to he humble . . . giveth grace to the lowly . .  .   Not only did St. Peter learn this truth from Holy Scripture but he learned it even more importantly by witnessing Our Blessed Saviour humble Himself in the service of those around Him.  Additionally, St. Peter saw countless souls  approaching humbly to Our Blessed Saviour.  Of course, Our Blessed Lord came to be with the humble of the world:  the poor and needy;  the sick; the sinners.  This is the reason He came:  to redeem those in need of redemption.  But before we can obtain redemption, we have to acknowledge our need of redemption.  In other words, we have to admit in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds, that we have sinned and are in need of forgiveness.  I would say that it is much like acknowledging that we are sick and going to the doctor in search of healing.  We need to first recognize the fact that we are sick; next, we realize that we can not get well on our own; finally, we go to the doctor seeking medical treatment.  The same is true, spiritually speaking:  we first recognize the fact that we are sinners; we realize that we can not find peace and healing in ourself; we finally humble ourself and ask for God's forgiveness and ask Him to come into our heart.  "When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  (St. Mark 2:17)  Let us pray for humility enough to recognize that we are in need of God in our life and then give our hearts over to Him.

Join us as we gather together as God's family to:  hear the Word of God; listen as God speaks to each one of us in our hearts; worship God in song and in word; listen to the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer; and, finally, receive Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion so that we can be nourished for the journey we call life.  Take one hour out of your busy schedule to worship God, to honour God, to acknowledge the need for God in your life.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church worships every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM at the Chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Second Sunday after Trinity, June 13th, 2021

 Second Sunday after Trinity, June 13th, 2021

In the Fourteenth Chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, we hear Our Blessed Lord speaking while at the home of one of the chief Pharisees.  And as St. Luke tells us in the first verse of this chapter "that they watched Him."   In other words, the Pharisees and others who did not like Him were waiting to use this opportunity for Him to say something wrong or do something wrong.  So while there Our Lord told the story of the man who made a wonderful feast and had invited many to this great meal.  And when the time was ready the man let everyone know.  But then the excuses came pouring in and each one of his guests which he had invited began making excuses as to why they could not attend.  The first one said that he had to check on a piece of ground which he purchased.  Then the next invitee stated that he had to check on the oxen which he had bought.  And then the final excuse stated that he had just been married and could not attend.  At this point, as Our Lord continues telling the story, the man because very upset at hearing all of the excuses and told his servants to go out into the streets of the city and "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind"  (St. Luke 14:21)   In other words, bring in people who will come to the feast.  The man wanted his feast to be full with people who would come.   The man even said as much in verse 23:  "that my house may be filled" 

It seems to me that God wants His "house" to be filled as well.  He has invited each one of us to His supper and wants us to attend.  And yet how often do we come up with excuses?  How often do we respond in the negative to the God's request?  And so often we come up with "good" excuses, don't we?  We are busy with work.  We are busy with home.  Things are going on with the kids.  We have to go shopping.  We have this project or that project which we have to work on.  But God does not want our excuses.  God wants each and everyone of us to accept His invitation.  He wants us to join Him at His great supper.  Don't make excuses.  Life is too short.  We never know if the next day is promised to us.  So accept the invitation today!  Allow God into your life.   

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 10:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

   Join us as we take time to listen to the Word of God; to hear what God is saying to each one of us.  Worship God is traditional worship.  Receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Feast of Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 6th, 2021

 Feast of Corpus Christi (Transferred), June 6th, 2021

It has been a long, strange journey.  It started some fifteen months ago and I thought it would never end, quite frankly.  But it is finally over.  We are allowed to finally gather together as God's family and celebrate Mass together in the little chapel we have called home for almost ten years.  And I would dare say that it is fitting that we are allowed to gather together this week because this week the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi.  This is the feast where we remember specifically the great gift of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ.  And we will celebrate this great Feast when we gather together on Sunday, June 6th!  We will stop to think how blessed we are to be able to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour when we gather together as God's family at Mass.  Take some time out of your busy schedule and pull your Bible out and read the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel.  Take some time to read this wonderful chapter.  In this chapter we will read Our Lord say:  "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him" (St. John, Chapter 6)  Read the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel and you will soon discover that this truly is a love story written to us.  This is because it is the testimony of how much Our Blessed Saviour truly loves us.  We know this because we hear in this chapter how Our Blessed Saviour gives to each one of us His Most Precious Body and Blood.  We know this because He gives of  Himself as nourishment for our souls.  We know this because Our Blessed Saviour did not simply give us a mere token of His love.  He did not just give us a remembrance of His feelings for us.  He did not simply give us a trinket to remind us that He loves us.  No, He gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive in this world.  He gave of Himself.  He gave to us His Most Precious Body and Blood.   This is why we should gather together as God's family and attend Mass faithfully.  This is why we should never take this gift for granted.  This is why we should never take this opportunity for granted ever again, quite frankly.  

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 10:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  

NOTE:  Keep in mind that we must enter in the main entrance of the lobby and sign in before we go to the chapel.  

   Join us as we take time to listen to the Word of God; to hear what God is saying to each one of us.  Worship God is traditional worship.  Receive His Most Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.

Please Join Us on June 6th, 2021

 Make your plans to join St Margaret on June 6th, 2021

On Sunday, June 6th, 2021, St. Margaret will finally be able to meet again.  It has seemed like an eternity since we were last allowed to meet.  Some fifteen months has passed since we were last allowed to gather as a family.  And it is especially fitting that Sunday, June 6th, 2021 we will be celebrating the (transferred) Feast of Corpus Christi.  We will meet at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Please remember we will need to check in at the front desk as we enter.  So after you sign in, please go over to the Chapel and join us for our 10:30 am Mass.  Come gather in person with God's family.  Hear the Word of God preached from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Celebrate Corpus Christi by receiving the Body of Christ at Communion time.  And give thanks for all the blessings God has given you during your lifetime.    Again, please make your plans to join us on Sunday, June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am as we finally meet once again.  

Trinity Sunday, May 30th, 2021

 Trinity Sunday, May 30th, 2021

 The Gospel appointed for Trinity Sunday comes to us from the Third Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In this chapter we find ourselves witness to the discussion between Nicodemus and Our Blessed Saviour.  In this conversation, Our Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must be born again.  Nicodemus is confused by this expression and asks how can someone be born again.  Our Lord explains:  "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "  Of course, Our Lord was differentiating between physical birth and spiritual birth.  One can not be physically born a second time.  It only happens the one time and cannot be repeated.  But in a spiritual sense, yes, we can certainly be born again when we give our lives over to God and dedicate our lives to him.

Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again.  But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider.  Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives.  For example,  we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home.  When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation.  We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities,  etc.  We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time:  worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc.  The list goes on and on.  As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.

But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak.  In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home.  It doesn't work that way.  A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . .   a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . .  or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic.  You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church.  They act very Christian when they go to church.  They dress up.  And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung.  And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon.  But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives.  Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week ..  ..  365 days a year.  This proves to be very difficult sometimes.  But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . .  7 days a week .. .  365 days a year . . .  when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk.  As Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must be born again . . .

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 30th, 2021 but mark your calendars because we will meet NEXT SUNDAY, June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am!!!

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, May 23rd, 2021

 Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday, May 23rd, 2021

I am sure that you have been somewhere and you heard something that caught your attention.  For example, if you were home and you heard a crashing noise from another room and you discover the cat has knocked over a picture frame.  Or if you hear a noise from outside and you discover that someone has pulled into your driveway.  Since owning a dog, I have discovered that dogs seem to hear "strange" noises that they are not familiar with.  But each one of us can think of an example of hearing some sort of "noise" that caught our attention and set us on edge.  We read in the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles when the Holy Ghost came upon the Apostles while they were gathered together.  We hear "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, . . . ."  When I read this, I wonder what exactly does a "sound from heaven" sound like?  Here, it sounds like a "rushing mighty wind."  If that is the case, then yes, that would certainly catch my attention.  And yet is that how a "sound from heaven" always sounds like?  I would imagine God speaks to us  . . . .  tries to catch our attention . . . .  tries to get us to listen  . . . in many varied ways.  Of course, a mighty, rushing wind from Heaven would more than likely catch our attention.  But what if God whispers softly in our ears?  Would we be able to hear that?  You know sometimes my wife tries to tell me something from another room or if I am outside and she is in the house.  So the distance doesn't necessarily help me hear her and what she is saying to me.  But when you factor in things such as a television blaring.  Or a stereo booming.  Or a lawnmower cutting grass.  Well, you might as well forget about it.  I can't hear what she is saying at all.  Sometimes that is how it is with us and God.  God may be speaking to us but we may not be able to hear Him because televisions . . .  and stereos . . .  . and lawnmowers  . . . .  in other words, things of the world . . . .  are all blaring away, keeping us from hearing what God is telling us.  We need to pay attention  for what God. is telling us  We need to attune our ears to hear what God is trying to tell us.  God doesn't always send down a "mighty rushing wind from heaven" to grab our attention.  God tries to grab our attention by other ways as well.  And if we aren't paying attention, we run the risk of missing out.  Listen for God.  Set time aside for prayer.  Tune out the radios, and the televisions, and the lawnmowers of the world and spend time listening to God and what He has to say to you.

PLEASE NOTE:  St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 23rd, 2021 but mark your calendar because we will meet on June 6th, 2021.

St. Margaret Church is still being affected, as is the whole world, by the Coronavirus outbreak.  Specifically, our church is not allowed to meet as we would like due to CDC and State recommendations.  But despite these recommendations, our members still continue to pray to Our Heavenly Father.  Our members still continue to reach out to their neighbors and loved ones.  Our members still continue to be the face and hands and instruments of the Lord throughout these troubling times.  Additionally, Fr. Todd also continues to post his sermons and reflections online.  So, please continue to pray for St. Margaret Church and all the Christian Churches throughout the world that we may continue to stay close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.   

Again, St. Margaret Church WILL meet as God's Family on June 6th, 2021! Mass time will change slightly because we will begin Mass at 10:30 am instead of 9:30 am. So, again, please mark your calendars . . . . . June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am, St. Margaret Church will celebrate Mass at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis!