Benevolence: Perspective & Gratitude
Think back to the last time you helped someone. Our congregation is marked by care for one another in Christ’s name. At times these are simple acts and at other times more complex. Certain needs are brought by members to the All Saints Diaconate. Sixteen men currently serve the body at All Saints as deacons. Our charge is set out in scripture and formalized for the PCA in the Book of Church Order — an office of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus.
These opportunities for service brought before the diaconate cover a broad range – financial needs, emotional support, advice on direction, encouragement and hope. All Saints deacons work in pairs on these opportunities to walk alongside members through certain seasons of life. As deacons, we are indebted to the All Saints staff and congregation who often assist the deacons in care for members and friends facing a trying time. Additionally, care for members has been expertly facilitated through our women’s ministry, who are particularly gifted. One point to note is that when a member works with the deacons there is a high degree of confidentiality maintained.
Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat
In Prague there stands a monument to an odd couple: Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Tycho, the Catholic Dane—by far the more colorful of the two– dabbled in alchemy, wore a prosthetic nose as a result of a wound he received in a duel, and died as a result of a rather infamous drinking binge. In contrast Kepler–the German, Protestant mathematician–was rather dull.
This unlikely pair was brought together by a clash of paradigms. Tycho championed a variation of the old geocentric Ptolemaic view of the universe, while Kepler not only championed the heliocentric Copernican view, he corrected some of its worst errors. Tycho’s strength was in his observations, which he, thankfully, documented quite carefully. But it was Kepler’s mathematical skill and genius at theorizing that enabled him to make sense not only of Tycho’s notes but of the heavens.