anointed me to bring good news to the poor...to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."'

Luke 4:17-18

With this issue of "The Canterbury Tales", I am bringing a close to the parish ministry that has been my life for the last 46 years. There are many cliche ways of writing about or referring to one's retirement, but what I have witnessed over the years is anything but a cliche, as we have celebrated our experience in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our friend and savior, in our daily lives.

That is the reason why I have selected my favorite text from the gospel according to Luke. The scene is one filled with anticipation, and excite-ment, as Jesus returns to His hometown to much acclaim, as the "local boy who made good!" There were stories of His teachings and healings; people who had felt no great understanding or strength for their faith, who are now suddenly joyous of this opening into a relationship with the God who was the source of all creation. You may have been in a similar situation when you went away from home or your hometown, and when you returned, the stories of your life took on a larger than life image that would draw people to want to hear your every word.

Such was Jesus' plight as He returned home. Folks wanted to be near Him, to hear Him, and to maybe, exult in a miracle or two, just like

Canterbury Tales

Fr. Michael Goldberg

A Word From Our Rector

Continued on next page

June,2020

"...and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has

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"He taught as one who had authority"

Mark 1:22

It was most fitting that the sending of the Spirit and his descent upon us should take place after the depar-ture of Christ our Savior. As long as Christ was with them in the flesh, it must have seemed to believers that they possessed every blessing in him; but when the time came for him to ascend to his heavenly Father, it was necessary for him to be united through his Spirit to those who worshiped him, and to dwell in our hearts through faith. Only by his own presence within us in this way could he give us confidence to cry out: "Abba, Father," make it easy for us to grow in holiness and, through our possession of the all-powerful Spirit, fortify us invincibly against the wiles of the devil and the assaults of human beings.

It can easily be shown from examples both in the Old Testament and the New that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell; he so transforms them that they begin to live a completely new kind of life. Saul was told by the prophet Samuel: "The Spirit of the Lord will take possession of you, and you shall be changed into another person." Saint Paul writes: "As we behold the glory of the Lord who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one de-gree of glory to another."

Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell and alters the whole pat-tern of their lives? With the Spirit within them it is quite natural for people who have been absorbed by the things of this world to become other-worldly in

'" ...And the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us''Continued from page 1

A Word From Our Rector

others had seen and experienced in the surrounding towns around Nazareth. So Jesus entered the lo-cal synagogue, his "home church," if you will, and everyone was watching just to see how He would conduct Himself. You can just see, in your mind's eye, the president of the synagogue welcoming the young rabbi to be seated, and having the scroll of the prophets presented to Him. Jesus found where Isaiah wrote: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,' and then handing the scroll back to the at-tendant, He merely said, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

This was quite a statement for the young rabbi to claim that God's word was actually ful-filled. The people wanted to see a few miracles, maybe even hear some kind of comforting word, which sounded fine for the rest of the day, but would be forgot-ten by work the next day, but to claim God's favor in the midst of those of a poor community, far away from the religious power of Jerusalem, was almost too much for them to bear. Rather than rejoice in this new teaching, the townsfolk simply felt compelled to remind Jesus, just where He came from---"we know your people, boy!"

Upon thinking about this text, and reflecting on its meaning, one could feel that it is rather self-serving both for Jesus, and to a lesser extent, the writer of this meditation. However, it is for us, as it was for Our Lord, to discover how these words become true for us. It is in Jesus' words that we are trying to understand without claiming any special revelation, but rather, to humbly acknowledge the special power that Our Lord

has called us to strive for Him to be in our heart and on our lips. We are here for only one reason: God loves us and He is calling us to love Him in return.

The message from Nazareth, in repeating from the prophet Isaiah, demands a response: the commitment of faith, symbol-ized in the ancient creeds, which make our own lives and the dedication of love, all offered in our prayers as we gather as a people of God in all times and in all places. If we have truly heard the Word, and if we believe the Word, and if we are ready to fol-low the Word, then the offering upon which we then embark will indeed be worship in Spirit and in truth.

The gift of this ministry that we have shared over these last twenty years has been simply this: that we have engaged in the purpose of living the love and compassion that are the divine qualities that are revealed and made manifest in the person of Jesus, God's creative Word. The power of this ministry of the baptized is that God's Word does not deal in possibilities, but rather the reality of the living presence of the Creator. Here we are, like our brothers and sisters before us, gathering to hear the Word and then to act on it.

And now our time has come to a close; not an ending but a closing of this chapter of our life together. The privilege of being called to ordained ministry, and then to be called to this con-gregation of Saint Augustine's, as priest and pastor, is the real gift of my life and the life of my family. The sense of a welcoming community of faith, that made a home for both Sharon, me, and our family is the model by

which we can acknowledge the "Spirit of the Lord, which is upon each of us," as we go forward in the name of Jesus. May God continue, to bless us all in this oasis of faith, hope, and love.

M.W.G.+

After Christ had completed his mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers In the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could do only by shar-ing in the Holy Spirit.

outlook, and for cowards to become people of great cour-age. There can be no doubt that this is what happened to the disciples. The strength they received from the Spirit enabled them to hold firmly to the love of Christ, facing the violence of their perse-cutors unafraid. Very true, then, was our Savior's say-

ing that it was to their advantage for him to return to heaven: his return was the time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit.

------------------From a Commentary on John, by Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, 444 A.D

While our parish community has not had the chance to gather for weekly Eucharist, over these last few months, we are most grateful for the Worshiping community, who has continued to pray for the parish through our "phone tree," as well as the presence of the pray-chain always offered by the Daughters of the King. With that being said, we are going back to our practice of our md-week healing liturgy, along with the celebrations of the Holy Eucharist on saint's days, and other commemorations. On Wednesday, June 3rd, we will be observing the feast of the Visitation, that time when the Virgin Mary went to be with her cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. On Thursday, June 11th, we be observing the life and ministry of Saint Barnabas, one of the first philanthropists to the early Church, and model for stewardship. The feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, the "Pillars of the Church," will beoffered in Monday, June 29 th, as we will gather for Eucharist. With service on June 3rd, we will beresuming our weekly healing liturgies, with the recommended social distancing to be in effect, until we hear from the Bishop's office to switch to "Phase II," of parish worship practice.

Episcopal Visitation

On Sunday, June 28, 2020, the Right Reverend Gregory 0. Brewer, Bishop of Central Florida will be making his bi-annual visitation to Saint Augustine's Churd this is contingent on the Covid-19 virus, and its continuing ef-fects on our society.

It has been the practice of the Bishop to be in attendance for the 8:00 service, lead us in the teaching in the Christian Forum that morning, as well as being the celebrant for the Confirmation Eucharist at 10:00 am. This is a re-scheduling of Bishop Brewer's previously canceled visitation, which was supposed to be on the last Sunday of March. Such has been the "new normal" that we have experienced globally, in our nation, in our state, and especially in our houses of worship.

With all this in mind, we are asking that you keep in your prayers those preparing to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church on that day. Please keep in prayer the Confirmation Class of 2020, especially:

Robert Kirby Shirley, IV James A. Bolyard

Vivian L. Bolyard Thomas Joseph Wehrberger

And being received from the Roman Communion

Marta Lara Morris

We ask that you keep this year's Confirmation Class in your prayers as they prepare to receive the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Vacation Bible School News

It is with a note of sadness that we will be canceling our Vacation Bible School for this year. With all the discussion and numerous questions about social distancing, it was felt by the staff of the VBS, in concert with the Vestry that this year's edition of "Rocky Railway: Jesus Power Pulls us Through" wouldn't be able to celebrate in our usual manner, by guaranteeing the young peoples' and staffs safety. It is our hope that looking ahead to Year 2021, we will be back to our full strength.

We are most grateful to our staff at Saint Augustine's Church for their hard work in keeping the parish office a responsive and caring part of the ministry and mission of Christ's Church. Our thanks are offered to our receptionist, Dana Clearwater, in taking and distributing the many messages and phone calls, not to mention her help in assisting in the mailings that still went out on time; the Rector's Secretary, Ronda Grayson, for her good work in maintain-ing the bulletins, and newsletters, and numerous other odd jobs that occurred in the office; our thanks, also, to Barbara Maher, our bookkeeper in making sure that the offerings were counted, logged in correctly, and deposited in a timely fashion; to our sexton, Gary Attanasio, in keeping the building clean, sanitized, and ready for the

few meetings that were needed, especially during the videoing of the Sunday services. We are most thankful for the continuing good labors of our organist/choirmaster, Jason Hobratschk, who not only conducted, played, and celebrated his music ministry for us all, but who also was in charge of the video work in presenting a beautifully orchestrated liturgy for us on YouTube and on our website, week after week. Our added blessing has been our Assistant, Pastor Denise Hudspeth, whose good humor and medical knowledge, coupled with her strong pastoral care, has made these last ten weeks, understandable as we have tried to make sense of this pandemic.

We are in debt to each of these folks who have manifested the very best in ministry. May continue to bless us as we journey together in the faith.

The First Sunday after Pentecost:Trinity Sunday

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Canterbury Episcopal ChurchVero Beach, Florida 32968

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The Visitation

10:00 am Holy Eucharist 5:30 pm Holy Eucharist

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Saint John the Baptist

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June BirthdaysJune Anniversaries3rd David & Marianne Rowan 3rd Sally & Doug Munson8th Doug & Valerie Anderson 9th Jim & Sherry Urner 10th Frank & Carolyn Volpini 11th Kirt & Jussara Schuldt12th Doug Bowman & Donna Iannotti12th Tom & Pam White15th Russell & Vicki Brown 15th Dereck & Andrea Adelph Prince 16th Norm & Ann Baker17th Tom & Peg Lippart18th Rick & Faith Schreiner 20th Harlan & Shirley Goodell 24th Bill & Andrea Adamany 28th Ken & Julia McPartlin

14th Pauline Anderson14th Jessica Kelley14th Matthew Goldberg15th Michael Breglia15th Maureen Moody15th Gerry McHugh 17th Bruce Whitcomb17th David Altman18th Nancy Hernandez 21st Ann Golden22nd Patricia Kroepke23rd Edmund Geeen 26th Betty Hare27th Tim Longden28th Tiina Blanchard29th Al Smukala30th Frank Volpini

1st Mary Ann Wise1st Deborah Tarter1st Cristine Vaccaro1st Richard Horton2nd Catherine Rowan4th Gerda Stines4th Charlie Kirk4th Doug Munson5th Dayna R. Bennett7th Tiffany Terril8th Zane Kelly10th Tom White11th Michele Condron11th Gretchen Nosevich13th Christina Norman13th Ginger Vidiri

Worship at Saint Augustine's

With the implementation of "Phase I," in Bishop Brewer's attempt to re-open the churches of the Diocese, we will be celebrating the Holy Eucharist four times on a weekend for the foreseeable future.

Our services will be on Saturday evening at 5:30 and Sunday mornings at 8:00, 9:15, and 11:00, all in the parish church. You will notice that we have canceled the 10:00 service, and split it into 9:15 and 11:00, to permit more people to attend. The one requirement is that folks need to call the office and register for the service of their choice, because we are limited to 60 people per eucharist. Those attending services are also required to wear a mask. In order to resume social distancing, ushers will direct seating for services, and families will be allowed to sit together.

We will also be distributing communion in a slightly different way. We will give the communion AFTER the liturgy is over. As the congregation leaves the church, starting with the rear pews first, the clergy will give out communion in the narthex. This will prevent bunching up in the church and in the narthex. Bulletins may be left in the recycling bin in the narthex, as parishioners exit. There will be no coffee hour or Forum. So the Parish Hall and the library will be closed, during this first phase of the re-opening process. We will be live-streaming the 9:15 Choral Eucharist, for those who feel uncomfortable attending public worship.

We thank all those who will be involved in making this new way of doing things become more "normal" for us all.

Message from your Vestry

Much is happening within St. Augustine of Canterbury despite the challenges presented by the Corvid-19 Pan-demic.

Thanks to the quick actions on the part of our outgoing Treasury and Junior Warden, Steve Connell, we have applied for and have received a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Federal Economic Impact Program ( EIP). These funds ensure the continued employment of our Church administrative staff during the Pandemic and relieve much of the financial hardships. If we keep our staff fully employed, without layoffs through July 1st, we may apply for a grant through the program relieving us of the requirement to repay the full loan amount.

During Canon Holcombe's meeting with the Vestry, he stressed the importance of a fully functional and cur-rent website. In today's technical environment, candidates for Rector of our Church will use the site to gain insight into the mission, demographics, activities, church organizations and the wonderful area we call home. In keeping with this, we have researched various developers to re-design our website to improve access by our Parishioners, update features, and improve the overall functionality of the website. The Vestry voted to have the new site developed by ekklesia360, a company specializing in developing web sites for Christian organizations. They have extensive experience with Episcopal Churches across the country. As we move forward we will con-tinue to inform you of progress in developing the web site. We hope to have the web site online by mid-July.

We continue to seek candidates to serve on the Parish Selection Committee. We would like to have seven (7) candidates selected from our Parishioners. The committee is selected by the Vestry and will include two (2) members from the Vestry for a total committee of nine (9) members. To date, we have received the names of four Parishioners interested in serving. The committee is critical in our search for the Rector to lead our Parish into the next phase of our faith journey. Please consider serving on the committee. Let anyone on the Vestry or the Parish Secretary know of your availability. We hope to complete selection of the committee by the end of June. The work of the committee would not commence until July following Father Michael's retirement.

We are planning to begin live streaming the Sunday Eucharist commencing on Sunday, May 31st during the 9:15 service. We hope that this will allow our Parishioners who still feel uncomfortable with joining our regular Service, the opportunity to worship with us. This is our first attempt, and while we are planning for everything to go smoothly, please be patient as we develop our skills.

Chuck Covarrubias Senior WardenPrayer Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is an ancient pattern found in many cultures around the world. Labyrinths are used as a way to quiet the mind, find balance, and encourage meditation, insight and celebration. The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds to the center. You may wish to use your finger or a pencil to trace the path to the center. There are many ways to describe a labyrinth. It is a path of prayer, a moving meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul. May you be nourished.

To the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury in Vero Beach, FL

Greetings in the name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the wonderful box of love. Eri and I are humbled, overwhelmed, and above all overjoyed by your love made palpable in our home through each word inscribed in each card. With each card, I was reminded of a different part of my time spent with all of you in the Treasure Coast. From July 1, 2013 until March 31, 2017, I had the honor of sharing the most frivolous moments of laughter, the deepest moments of fear and pain, the most elating times of joy and singing, the most gener-ous servings of food and friendship, and the truest bond of love in the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

I have heard that your beloved rector will be retiring this Summer. It was truly an honor for me to learn from someone for whom the cure of souls is simply the way of life. I am bound by love to pray for the search that is now underway. I pray first that those involved may have the spiritual insight and understanding, to see past the words to the heart. I pray that whomever is chosen will not know of interest groups or target audiences or white collars or blue collars, but rather more simply the tenderness of each soul entrusted him, being a visible reminder that your true pastor is always Jesus Christ himself.

Japan continues to be, as ever, a land filled with beautiful idolatry and centered around an innocuous looking emperor. Our work here is very clear and necessary. I am more than blessed to engage in this work together with Eri, and with your support and love.

Many blessings,

The Reverend Berek Q. SmithChaplain, Rikkyo Niiza Junior & Senior High School

Over the years, our parish has been very generous in their support of the Daughters of the King. Our Outreach Projecy last year, Bibles For Malawi, was wildly success-ful. We appreciate love you have shown. This year, the group we are assisting is Estah Outreach Ministries. (EOM.) Estah is an organization out of Orlando,that serves all of Central Florida. It is a registered 501c3 organization. They go into the community and meet the needs of people, whether that be the working poor, the homeless, or women in domestic violence shelters. They provide food, clothes, diapers, sanitary products, shoes, and household items just to name a few. EOM provide guidance to young ladies in order to prepare them for adulthood. EOM's guidance instills the importance of knowing their bodies and therefore, respecting their bodies.

Your chapter of the Daughters of the King is asking for your support and prayer. There will be an information board and donation box in Parish Hall through the month of June. Your support will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

for His sake,The Saint Michael the Archangel Chapter of the Daughters of the King

Greetings, Dear Friends at St. Augustine’s!

I’m just checking in to say hello again! Good news is upon us! By the time you read this, we will have experienced the first phase of re-opening our Church for worship again. Being able to pray in the house of the Lord will be such a gift. I can’t wait to receive the Holy Eucharist! I know we won’t be able to do share warm greetings, but this is a start. Just seeing each other and waving from afar will be ok with me! Once again, I would like to say thank you to Fr. Michael, Pastor Denise, Jason and the other folks who have given their time and talent to keep us close to our Church by bringing a Mass to us every weekend.

Yes, we still do have a host of events to feed our soul and our appetites planned for this year when it is safe to congregate again. Let’s continue to pray for the Lord’s guidance through these challenging days. For now, I ask that we say a prayer of thanks for all who have suffered through these difficult days and for being kept from harm’s way ourselves.

Wishing you God’s blessings, Carol Paris, ECW President

A note of thanks – and a request from the Receptionist

Times are definitely changing as we journey into a new era of church attendance and worship! I would like to thank everyone for their patience during this trying time as we all navigate this “new normal” of churchgoing. Services will look a little different. We will have more opportunities to worship, with new worship times and an added service on Sunday morning. One of the things that will be necessary in this new era is access to virtual worship and important church announcements. To that end, we need everyone’s current information, especially current phone numbers and email addresses to keep everyone abreast of what’s happening.

For those folks who choosing to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will now be livestreaming the 9:15 service. A link to the service recording will still be made available so you may view the service at your convenience. Please be aware that all general parish wide emails including those with a service link or specific church information will appear as being sent from an email address labeled as “Media”. If you are not currently receiving the email link to the recorded service or general church information emails, please email Dana at dclearwater@staugustinevero.com so that your current email address may be added to the list. If we already have your correct email address but you have not received the emails, please check your spam folder and look for the emails labeled “Media” (media@staugustinevero.com).

Special thanks to those who participated in our telephone tree! We have many kind responses from those appreciative of having been contacted. If you did not receive a call, an email, or a phone message from one of our telephone tree volunteers, that means that we do not have your correct phone number or email address on file. Please call the church office at 772-770-3494 with your correct phone number or email Dana at the email address above. We want to stay in touch with you, and having a means to contact you is very important to us! Thanks again so much for all your help.

Title: The Canterbury TalesIssue Date: June 1, 2020Frequency: Published MonthlyOrganization: St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church 475 43rd Avenue Vero Beach, FL 32968

Issue No. 249 Volume 6

Church Staff

Office Hours: 9 am-12 Noon The Vestry

The Rev. Michael Goldberg, RectorSenior Warden, Chuck Covarrubias

Junior Warden, Steve Connell

Nancy Hernandez — Tony Tulumello Clarence Clarke — Sharon Rayner —

Pat Waskow — Cris Vaccaro — Guy McKenzie

Father Michael W. Goldberg, Rector Pastor Denise W. Hudspeth, Assistant

Organist & Choirmaster – Dr. Jason HobratschkYouth Advisor – Heather Bennett

Church School Superintendent – Burke Michael Neely Treasurer - Tim Longden (Interim)

Bookkeeper - Barbara Maher Rector’s Secretary - Ronda Grayson-Seymour

Receptionist - Dana ClearwaterSexton - Gary Attanasio

Schedule of Masses

Wed. Healing Service 10:00 AMSat. Holy Eucharist 5:30 PMSun. Holy Eucharist 8:00 AMSun. Choral Eucharist 9:15 AMSun. Choral Eucharist 11:00 AM

The Parish of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church

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