Keep Your Cool

You may already be thinking about the fall, but the summer isn’t over yet. We can probably expect a few more weeks of scorching heat, so here’s what you need to know. The CDC reports that there are nearly 400 heat-related deaths in the United States every year. It can be hard to beat the heat, but here are a few tips to help you keep your cool:

·    If you must work outside, try to do so during the early morning when it is coolest

·    Take frequent rest and water breaks in a cool area, drinking enough water so you never become thirsty (about 8 ounces or 1 cup every 15-20 minutes)

·    Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, breathable clothing such as cotton and avoid non-breathing synthetic clothing

·    Avoid alcohol and drinks that have large amounts of caffeine or sugar

Although we should all take precautions to stay cool during the summer, certain people are particularly susceptible to heat-related illnesses: infants and children less than 4 years old, adults over 65 years old, anyone who is overweight, anyone with a chronic disease such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and people taking certain medications (check with your doctor or pharmacist).  

 The two major types of heat-related illness are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion occurs when the body has lost significant amounts of water and salt through excessive sweating.

Some warning signs you might see include:

·         Heavy sweating

·         Extreme weakness or fatigue

·         Dizziness

·         Confusion

·         Nausea

·         Headache

·         Either paleness or flushing

·         Muscle cramps

·         Fast, shallow breathing

·         Elevated body temperature

If you should see this happening to someone, you should move them to a cool area, bring them plenty of cool water to drink, and encourage them to take a cool shower or bath.

Heat stroke is much more serious. It happens when the normal sweating mechanism fails and the body can no longer keep itself cool. When this occurs, body temperature becomes dangerously high within 10 to 15 minutes. Some warning signs you might see include:

·         Hot, dry skin or profuse sweating

·         Chills

·         Throbbing headache

·         Nausea

·         A rapid pulse

·         A very high body temperature (above 103°f)

·         Dizziness

·         Confusion

·         Slurred speech

·         Hallucinations

·         Unconsciousness

If you should see this happening to someone, you should immediately call 911 and get help. You need to move the person to a cooler area and cool them rapidly using whatever means you can. If you’re out in the yard, you can spray them with cool water from a garden hose. If you move inside, you can immerse them in a tub of cool water. If possible, you should monitor their body temperature and continue cooling efforts until their temperature drops below 101-102°F or until emergency medical personnel arrive. Do not give the person fluids to drink unless directed to do so by emergency medical personnel.

Your mission is to use this information to care for our church family, your own neighborhood, and the surrounding community. Know the warning signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and share this information with others. Keep an eye on your neighbors, especially those who spend a lot of time gardening or mowing their lawn. Encourage children to drink lots of water and to take frequent breaks when they play outside. This is especially important if you are responsible for organizing or coaching any outdoor sports teams. Athletes and coaches are both susceptible to the heat and should take proper precautions to ensure everyone’s safety and health. Never leave children or pets alone in the car, even with the windows cracked, because temperatures can increase by 20°F in as little as 10 minutes. If any service workers come to your home (landscapers, roofers, pest control workers, etc), show them your hospitality. Offer them a cool drink and an opportunity to come inside when they take their breaks. Have compassion on the homeless, who often suffer in the extreme heat without any refuge or relief. Consider keeping a case of bottled water in your car so you can provide them with something to drink.

For more information, visit the CDC's web page of Frequently Asked Questions about extreme heat.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Your Life, Your Health

We are beginning a new health ministry at Christ Church. The mission of this ministry is to serve the Body of Christ by promoting the health, wellness, and wholeness of this congregation and the surrounding community. As a living witness to the healing power of God’s grace, this ministry promotes an holistic approach to health in several ways: by facilitating discussions of physical, emotional, and spiritual health issues; by increasing self-knowledge through educational sessions related to health and wellness; by empowering people to take control of their own health; and by fostering a health-conscious community. This ministry is focused on both health and healing, combining the ancient traditions of our Christian community with the knowledge and tools of modern healthcare.

There has been a longstanding, national conversation about the state of our current healthcare system, which primarily focuses on treating specific diseases and not on promoting general health. This approach to health care is fragmented, incomplete, and enormously expensive. The Church, however, is guided by Christ’s message of healing, wholeness, and community. When He sent the first disciples out in pairs, He instructed them to, “cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Luke 10:9). As Christians, we are called to care for one another but we are also charged with the good stewardship of our own physical health. This health ministry does not seek to replace existing health services, but rather to work with community partners and resources to empower and educate, to advocate for health, and to care for people in need.

I invite you to join this new conversation by sending me your health questions and concerns, and by participating in our upcoming discussions of how we can achieve wholeness of body and spirit together. The direction this ministry takes will be shaped by the needs, interests, and concerns of this congregation.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

A Christ-Centered, Yogic Lifestyle

Rather than give myself a lengthy list of resolutions to attempt to follow, I've decided to recommit myself to more fully living out my rule of life. I've been faithful to certain elements, and have struggled with others. So this year I'm going to continue my efforts at living a Christ-centered, yogic lifestyle. Happy Near Year and namaste!

Love God

Pray daily.

Pray the rosary regularly.

Participate in corporate worship.

Observe the sacraments. In particular, participate in the Eucharist.

Honor the liturgical cycle of the church calendar.

Study the Scriptures.

Love Others

Act always out of love.

Always consider others' feelings before acting or speaking.

Speak gently and do not spread gossip.

Never refuse a request for help.

Love Yourself

Keep a positive attitude.

Maintain healthy relationships with others.

Maintain a healthy environment.

Set priorities and personal limits.

Get adequate rest.

Make healthy food choices.

Exercise regularly.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Sacrifice

"If we have never experience what it is to give sacrificially, we may approach it like our first dive from the high diving board, a major moment at the time but really ordinary after that, a new and richer way to approach life."

-Br. Eldridge Pendleton, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Joy

"Joy is a mystery. It's as mysterious as our suffering. And, I think, it's as boundless as our suffering. Somehow, in God's economy, the one is creating the space for the other."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Judgment

"For to be judged by Jesus is to stand before Jesus naked, just as I am, and to allow him to look at us with love, and love us into repentance for our sins, and to receive his loving words of forgiveness--and then to be set free, and even know taste the first fruits of eternal life."

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Good News

"The people of God have always known days of laughter--and days of tears. And we will, too. That may not sound like good news, but let me assure you, it is. It is good news because God is up to something. It is good news because God means us nothing but our good."

Br. Kevin Hackett, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Watch

"Some of us Christians are too eager to find in current events evidence that will tell us when and how the world will end and the Son of Man will return. Others of us have lost our hope in God's promise and come to believe only in ourselves and in our human institutions. The Gospel challenges us all. "Watch, be alert, keep awake," it warns us. Christ will surely come."

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Fear

"Do not be afraid. The Gospel challenges us to take a new path and to begin today."

-Br. Eldridge Pendleton, The Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Hope

"Hope is unruly. Hope floats, when it shouldn't. Hope, simply defined, is the capacity to imagine a future. Like memory--which I would define as the ability to rightly recall the past--hope is an essential element of what it means to be fully human and fully alive. Without hope, we die."

-Br. Kevin Hackett, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Triumph

"We feel so ineffective in a system where money buys power. What can we do in the midst of this great travesty? Perhaps we just need more faith in the triumph of small things, the little that we can do."

-Br. Mark Brown, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Journey

"The spiritual journey is a journey towards God in which we discover that we are beloved children of God and in which we learn to live our lives grounded in that reality. The Scriptures are given to instruct and guide us along this path."

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Yes

"When we say 'yes' to God, our 'yes' echoes that of Mary's and 'the Word [becomes] flesh and [lives] among us' here and now and we, like Mary, become God bearers and our eternal destiny is fulfilled for all time."

-Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Conversion

"It is the source of our greatness and our dignity as children of God, that God won't let us be comfortable with the familiar, the materialistic.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Prayer

"The real quest for our prayer is to learn to pray our lives. It's to practice the presence of God in every moment, every place that we move, every person whom we touch, every word that we speak or hear."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Growth

"We often refer to God's presence in our hearts: in a sense, the Divine Presence is the heart of our heart, the core of our core. For the Christian, the Divine Presence is something that grows within us, like the Christ child in the Virgin's womb, we might say. Or, as Paul puts it, it is not our own life that we live, but Christ's life in us."

-Br. Mark Brown, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Faith

"Faith gives us the power to see life very clearly, to admit that sometimes it seems all wrong and still to know that, somehow, it is all right?

-Br. David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Patience

"Take time each day to gaze. Sit on your porch. Take time to savor what is now in your life, today. Pray and practice today the living and enjoying of your life in every way you can, especially given what you cannot change."

-Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Advent is Here!

That's right, Advent ... NOT Christmas. Don't know what Advent is? Well you're in luck! There just happens to be this handy dandy little video you can watch to clear things up for you (hooray!). You can find the original YouTube video here. Enjoy! 

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.

Advent

"Today is a new beginning, as we gather to wait and watch for the coming of the Lord in the person of the Babe of Bethlehem, just as parents wait for the birth of their child. Like them we wait with eager longing, mixed, I'm sure with fear and dread, as to what this child will mean for them and their lives."

-Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.