Articles

What is a super blue moon?
A super blue moon is simultaneously a full moon, blue moon, and a super moon.

When – The full moon’s peak will occur on Monday afternoon, according to NASA, at 2:26 p.m. EDT It will appear for three days, from Sunday morning until early Wednesday morning.

1 Full moon – A full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Earth, Sun, and Moon are in a line, with the Earth in the middle and the Sun fully illuminating the side of the Moon that faces Earth. This makes the Moon appear as a complete circle in the sky, and is often considered the most striking of the lunar phases because the Moon reflects the most sunlight towards Earth during this time.

2 Blue moon -A blue moon is not about the color of the moon, but instead the frequency of the full moon. There are two definitions of a blue moon—the first describes when there are two full moons in a single month. Since the moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, and our average calendar month is 30-31 days, it is incredibly rare to have two full moons in one single month, but it is possible, happening every two to three years, according to NASA. Around 3% of full moons are blue moons.

There are also seasonal blue moons, in which a calendar season contains four full moons instead of the usual three, and the blue moon is the third of the four full moons. August’s full moon is of this variety. The next seasonal blue moon is expected in May 2027.

3. Super moon -The super moon part refers to the moon’s orbit, which brings it slightly closer to Earth this month, making it appear bigger and brighter. This occurs since the moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical instead of just a circle, and thus there are times when the moon is further and closer to our planet.

During the moon’s closest approach to Earth, it can appear approximately 14% larger and shine 30% brighter than when at its farthest point in the orbit. This will be the first of four consecutive super moons this year, and it is less rare than the blue moon, occurring three or four times a year.

4. August’s full moon is often called the Sturgeon moon, dubbed by the Algonquin Native American tribe living in the Great Lakes area and throughout what is now known as the northeastern United States. They named the full moon after sturgeons—a type of large fish—which were most plentiful in the lakes during the month of August.

According to NASA, the combination of the super moon and the blue moon is rare, and the time between their occurrences is quite “irregular” and could be as much as 20 years, with 10 years between the average.

Though we had a super blue moon somewhat recently, in August 2023, NASA predicts the next super blue moons will occur in January and March 2037

Ten articles you may (or may not) find interesting…

1. A small N.C. church reaches out in big ways

They are bigger than us – 70 members but not that much bigger. The major difference is their town is bigger:

• “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the parish hall bustles with up to a dozen children and a handful of adult church volunteers, who help them with their homework in math and English.
• “Soon, the church will plow a 10,000-square-foot plot of land in the rear of the sanctuary to prepare the soil for next spring’s planting season.
• “Now, Advent is beginning, and the church will adopt several needy families and shower them with gifts on Christmas.
• ‘North of town, a retired telephone marketer and church member has been baking cakes for every foster child in the county for the past 10 years.”

---

2. Woman reads to dogs, returning the love

“There are small ways to make a difference and this lady from the North Shore in Pittsburgh is the perfect example… The dogs won’t understand what she’s reading, but hearing a calm human voice has proven to comfort shelter animals before. This is a nice reminder that there are other ways besides adoption to support animals who have forgotten what it means to be loved.  “

There is a related article here about children reading to cats.

Read more

We celebrate her saint day on August 15, the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. The day represents God’s redeeming work in all of the world.

Mary lived circa 18 BCE- 41 CE. She was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, the daughter of Joachim and Anne and the wife of Joseph, the carpenter. Little is known of her life except when it relates to Jesus life. She remained faithful to him through his death (when his disciples denied, betrayed, and fled), and even after his death, continued life in ministry with the apostles.

The New Testament records many incidents from the life of the Virgin which shows her to be present at most of the chief events of her Son’s life:

• her betrothal to Joseph [Luke 1:27]
• the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel that she was to bear the Messiah [Luke 1:26-38]
• her Visitation to Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist [Luke 1:39-56]
• the Nativity of our Lord [Luke 2:20]
• the visits of the shepherds [Luke 2:8-20] and the magi [Matthew 2:1-12]
• the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple at the age of forty days [Luke 2:22, 2:41]
• the flight into Egypt, the Passover visit to the Temple when Jesus was twelve, [Matthew 1:16,18-25; 2; Luke 1:26-56; 2];
• the wedding at Cana in Galilee [John 2:1-11]
• and the performance of her Son’s first miracle at her intercession [John 2:1-11],
• the occasions when observers said, “How can this man be special? We know his family!” [Matthew 13:54-56, Mark 6:1-3, Luke 4:22; also John 6:42],
• an occasion when she came with others to see him while he was preaching [Matthew 12:46-50,Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21],
• her presence at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus commends her to the care of the Beloved Disciple [John 19:25-27],
• her presence with the apostles in the upper room after the Ascension, waiting for the promised Spirit [Acts 1:14].   

Besides Jesus himself, only two humans are mentioned by name in the Creeds. One is Pontius Pilate, Roman procurator of Judea from 26 to 36 AD and the other is Mary. There are more feast days in The Episcopal Church honoring Mary than anyone else.

There have been many appearances of Mary over the centuries. Tradition says that in 39 CE, the Virgin Mary appeared in a vision to Saint James the Great in Zaragoza, Spain. Over the centuries, there have been dozens of additional reports of appearances of the Virgin Mary in different times and places. Two of the most influential visions of the Virgin Mary are the Virgin of Walsingham and the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Her story was carried by National Geographic in December, 2015 –”How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman”

Her message to us was simple – “Listen to Him. Listen to my Son. Do what He tells you.” 

Local schools begin on Aug 12, 2024

School supplies are thought of a pencils, pens, paper and the like but prayers and blessings should be part of the supplies as well. From BuildFaith:

“Blessings and prayers are practices that help ground and guide us. Prayer reminds us that our community extends beyond what we see in front of us, connecting us to something bigger than ourselves. Blessing reminds us of God’s love in our lives. During times of transition and change, establishing a pattern of prayer and blessing can offer space to express worries and joys, hopes and dreams, and a time to both accept God’s love and peace, and extend it to someone else.”

Here are two prayers from Buildfaith:

A Prayer for the New School Year

“God of all wisdom, we praise you for gifting us with curiosity and learning. Give to all students, teachers, and caregivers a clear sense of your love. May they feel your presence throughout this school year. Guide their choices, their quest for knowledge, and their relationships. Use their successes and failures as opportunities to grow in understanding of who you would have them to be. Continue to shape them, that they may walk in the way of Christ, grow strong in Spirit’s love for all people, and know the complete joy of life in you. In the name of Christ our Great Teacher, we pray. Amen.” Linda Witte Henke, adapted, “From the Vine,” in Marking Time: Christian Rituals for All Our Days, Moorehouse Publishing 2001, p. 63.

A Prayer for Parents

“Loving God, We confess some days the worries of parenthood are as abundant as the joys. Guide us through the valleys, so we may be present for our children in their valleys, until we are all brought again to the the mountaintop. We ask you to bless our children with hearts of compassion and courage, and keep them safe from harm. Fill them with the knowledge that they are loved and beloved. And may we always remember to pray: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.” Meg Bucher, adapted, www.sunnyand80.org; Reinhold Niebuhr, “The Serenity Prayer”

A downloadable resource

The Transfiguration is a transformation and emphasizes that the mission of  Jesus in the way of the cross. We celebrate this event on Aug. 6

Collect ” O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.” Amen.

From Luke – “Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

In his book, God Has A Dream: A Vision of Home for Our Time, Desmond Tutu tells about a transfiguration experience that he will never forget. It occurred when apartheid was still in full swing. Tutu and other church leaders were preparing for a meeting with the prime minister of South Africa to discuss the troubles that were destroying their nation. They met at a theological college that had closed down because of the white government’s racist policies. During a break from the proceedings, Tutu walked into the college’s garden for some quiet time. In the midst of the garden was a huge wooden cross. As Tutu looked at the barren cross, he realized that it was winter, a time when the grass was pale and dry, a time when almost no one could imagine that in a few short weeks it would be lush, green, and beautiful again. In a few short weeks, the grass and all the surrounding world would be transfigured.  

As the archbishop sat there and pondered that, he obtained a new insight into the power of transfiguration, of God’s ability to transform our world. Tutu concluded that transfiguration means that no one and no situation is “untransfigurable.” The time will eventually come when the whole world will be released from its current bondage and brought to share in the glorious liberty that God intends.

---

When is it?

August 2-4, 2024. The 3-day sales tax holiday starts the first Friday in August at 12:01 am and ends the following Sunday at 11:59 pm.

What items are eligible?

School supplies, clothing, and footwear
Qualified school supplies – $20 or less per item
Qualified clothing and footwear – $100 or less per item
Hurricane and emergency preparedness products
Portable generators – $1,000 or less per item
Gas-powered chainsaws – $350 or less per item
Chainsaw accessories – $60 or less per item
Other specified hurricane preparedness items – $60 or less per item
Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products
Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use – $2,500 or less per item

Guidelines

Video

“We often think that God only acts in grand, majestic ways, but the reality is that God first acts amidst the ordinary, routine events of our lives. Unless we are watching, we miss encounters with angels; unless we are watching, we miss the ways in which God is changing our lives; unless we are watching, we miss the ways in which God is changing the world.” – Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE)