My church's online Sunday worship!

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the time of the shelter-in-place order because of the pandemics, our church, Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, decided to broadcast the Sunday worship online. Although church gathering has been resumed now, the online broadcasting will be continued, so everyone in the world can attend our Sunday workshop! Our worship time is 10~11 AM pacific time every Sunday, and here is the link:
 
FB: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSamSanDiego
 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/goodsamchurchSD
 
 
Let me briefly introduce our church here, because our core beliefs might be a little bit different from the common stereotypes of Christian churches, so no matter what kind of impression you have toward Christianity, you might change your mind after reading my introduction!
 
For the Christian churches, the Bible is undeniably the words from God, the living principle for all Christians, but that does not mean every sentence in the Bible is equally important. Indeed, some Christians think every sentence from the Bible is a matter of utmost importance for us to follow, but being a denomination that has existed for hundreds of years, our church fully knows this is a wrong way to interpret the Bible, because the special interest groups can easily take a part of the Bible verses to serve for their own political goals, and that would completely contradict to the purpose of building the Christian churches.
 
Therefore, our church emphasizes more on understanding the bible comprehensively. For example, if we only see the ears or feet of an elephant, we would think we are seeing completely different things. Only when we integrate all what we have seen from the different perspectives, we are able to tell that it is an elephant!
 
Indeed, if every sentence in the Bible is equally important, how do we explain the contradictions in many of the verses there? Even the laws of natural science have a lot of contradictions. For example, one important concept of Newton’s law is that the mass is always constant, but in the quantum mechanics, the mass can change too! This is because the different conclusions are drawn when we have different perspectives. Mass is constant when we observe everything above the atom’s level, but it is no longer constant when we observe what is below the atom’s level. Although mass can change, the total of mass and energy still remains constant.   
 
If mass-energy equivalence is the core theory of natural science, then what is the core of the Bible and Christian religion? According to the consensus of our church, the answer is in Matthew 22:35-40:
   
Matthew 22:35-40

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
 
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
 

Therefore, we should interpret the Bible based on the aforementioned 2 commandments, because everything hang on them according to Jesus Christ!
 
However, it is not enough to just study the Bible. Our church also emphasizes on following the Bible principles in our daily actions! Therefore, many of our members are very active in volunteer works, helping the most under-served populations in the society, and they all told me the most rewarding part of their work is being able to understand more about the Gospel!
 
Indeed, it is truly important to combine the theory and practice for learning anything. No one would believe anyone who is very good at studying textbooks but has never worked in any laboratory can become a good scientist. If we don’t take real action to care those in need, how can we ever understand what it means  to love your neighbor as yourself? That is why it is stated clearly that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” in James 2:14-26:
 
James 2:14-26
 
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
 

This kind of concept can also be found from this book recommended by or church, The Book of Joy, created by South African Anglican bishop, Desmond Tutu and the 14th Dalai Lama. Bishop Desmond Tutu used to live a very comfortable life in England, but he was willing to move to South Africa to be treated as a second class citizen, because he wanted to fight for the human rights of the people there who were oppressed by the unjust apartheid policy! After South Africa transited into a democracy country, he continued to work on the reconciliation of the nation, helping those hurt by the previous oppressive regime to get their reparation. Lately in order to help reducing the suffering of this world, he is willing to work with his friend who has a completely different religion, the 14th Dalai Lama, to publish this book! I deeply believe Bishop Desmond Tutu is the role modeling of all Christians! because he has shown his faith by action, always giving us the living example of “loving your neighbor as yourself”!
 
Another aspect of understanding Gospel by action is the ability to always keep pace with the times, not becoming an obstacle of social progress. For instance, The Episcopal Church has concluded that homosexuality is no longer a sin, so any LGBTQ person not only can become a church member but also work for the church! I remember when Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was asked about how to deal with the opposition from the more conservative members, she said that she would told them after they have worked with LGBTQ people and got a chance to know more about them, they might just change their mind!    
 
In the Bible, there is also a precedent for the church to change with times and become inclusive toward those who were not acceptable before. In Acts 15:5-9, the Gentiles without circumcision were able to join the church:
 
Acts 15:5-9
 
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
 
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
 
 
No matter if you agree with the point of views above, our church fully welcome you to join us!  Our church never expects anyone to obey whatever the pastor says. Instead, the church sermons and activities will inspire people to think more, and then be able to understand the Christian religion and Gospel with their own way through their bible studying and life experience!
 
Beside the Christian theology, the rich tradition and fantastic music of the Episcopal Church also make the Sunday worship extraordinarily exciting! So please join me for the online worship at 10 AM pacific time every Sunday:
 
FB: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSamSanDiego
 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/goodsamchurchSD

Our presiding reverend, Rev. Janine Schenone, is not only very knowledgeable but also a truly inspirational leader who can enlighten everyone with her words! So every week I am looking forward to hearing her sermon on Sunday!

In the 2 years of my life in San Diego, I went to Good Samaritan Episcopal Church to attend the worship every Sunday morning. Both the people and environment here make me feel very welcomed! Although I had to move to North CA due to my work, I’ve still continued to attend the worship through the internet!

After the Sunday worship, we would go to another building to enjoy the delicious snacks and coffee together!

The church it very close to UTC Mall. It is just a short distance from UCSD and the biotech hub of San Diego.

The forums for the specific social issues are often held after the Sunday worship. In the picture above, there is a discussion about the global warming. These activities inspire us to think seriously about how to dedicate our effort and work with the church to make the world a better place to live!

Doing volunteer work with my church friends. We handed out the free vegetable and fruits to the under-served communities.

Although Bishop Desmond Tutu and Dalai Lama are the leaders of the different religions, they have shared the same compassion for making the world a better place and become very good friends of each other, and even publish The Book of Joy together to help everyone to find true happiness! (The photo is copied from the book)

Our church and the other Episcopal churches in San Diego join Pride Parade together to show our support for LGBTQ! The Episcopal Church has concluded that homosexuality is no longer a sin, so any LGBTQ person not only can become a church member but also work for the church!