Lakeside Presbyterian
Sunday, September 9, Dr. Wayne Cook’s sermon considers the fleeting nature of our world’s possessions. Many other things pass away: relationships, memories.
But it may surprise you that some things fade in heaven also. John wrote in the book of Revelation of the things that were, the things that are, and the things that are to come. The last chapters are clearly about heaven and, interestingly, they focus upon things that are not there.
Outreach News: September 9 is “Second Sunday Celebration.” All are invited to luncheon immediately after the 10 a.m. service. Blood glucose checks open to all are held Sunday, September 16, after the service. A men’s breakfast is held Wednesday, September 19, 9 a.m., at the church, with information and a discussion. Ladies luncheon is Wednesday, September 26, 1 p.m., location TBD. Movie Night is Thursday, September 27, 6 p.m., movie TBD. Popcorn included in the (free) price of admission.
Interested in volunteering? Contact LPC’s office/administrator at (376) 106-0853.
Lakeside Presbyterian Church, San Jorge 250, Riberas del Pilar. English services, Sunday, 10 a.m., Spanish services, 9 a.m. Sunday School for Adults, 8:30 a.m. in the Library. Fridays, Bible Study at 9:45 a.m. in the Library.
Christ Church Lakeside
Christ Church Lakeside, a mission of the Diocese of the West in the Anglican Church of Mexico, will observe the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday, September 9, with the Holy Eucharist at the new time of 11 a.m. in the La Huerta Eventos Center. Fr. Jim Powers will preside and give a message “Listen Then Talk” based on Mark 7:24-37.
The Lunch Bunch will meet at 12:45 p.m. and dine at Roberto’s restaurant, Carretera 35, Ajijic, (376) 766-1616.
The Bible Study meets Tuesday, September 11, 1 p.m., in the home of Elizabeth Carroll, at Galeana 35 in Ajijic. All are welcome to learn about and discuss the inspired contents of the Bible.
Tuesday, September 4, a food distribution event will take place in Ajijic. Contact John Jones at 331-838-5192 for more information.
The Lakeside Singers, a Christ Church outreach ministry, will conduct a sing-along at Casa Nostra, Santa Margarita 8, Riberas del Pilar, Wednesday, September 5, 4:30 p.m. Those who want to eat out after singing will decide the location.
Little Chapel by the Lake
“I can remember as a child falling asleep on the big bench seat of our family’s old Buick after a late night car ride home,” says Pastor Jim Andrew. “I don’t remember falling asleep. I remember waking up in my own bed the next morning and puzzling out how I got there. Dad must’ve carried me here while I was sleeping.
“Countless times I’ve carried our own kids, sound asleep and limp in my arms to their beds. Scripture paints a very similar picture about death. ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord ... In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you that you may be there also.’ It’s a vivid picture of a believer’s death. One day, our Heavenly Father will carry us in His arms, limp and worn out, and put us to bed in our real home. Our eternal home. He’ll tuck us in. Kiss us goodnight. The morning comes and we awake in a new and bright and wondrous eternity not remembering being carried there.
“We’ll talk about the staggeringly hopeful truth about death, Sunday, September 9, 11 a.m. Join us for a friendly family comida directly following the morning service.”
The Little Chapel by the Lake is at Chapala-Ajijic Highway 10 in Chula Vista opposite Mirasol. Information: Belva, (376) 766-2538.
Little Chapel will present a sing-along Wednesday, September 12, 4 p.m. at Casa Anastasia assisted living care center, next to Mascara’s Clinic in Riberas del Pilar. Carpool from the Little Chapel at 3:30 p.m. Afterward, at 5:30 p.m., join us for the video “Creation Proclaims, Flight and Spike,” the second in the video series of two, presented at the Little Chapel.
Unitarian Universalists
At the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday, September 9, the topic is “Pouring Ourselves Out Into the World.”
Why do we come together as a religious community? One certain answer is that we are able to do more together than individually; we are like water, in that the smallest droplets may merge into great rivers that can move mountains into the sea.
Water communion is a ritual celebrated in most Unitarian Universalist congregations, a celebration of our coming together, like streams that merge together into great rivers flowing into the sea. As we come together at the beginning of another year at LCUUF, we reflect on our relationship with each other and with the world. Rev. Matt will do our Water Communion service. Cate Howell will be the service leader.
The Unitarians meet Sundays, 10:30 a.m., at Hidalgo 261, on the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar, opposite the Catholic Church.
San Andrés Mass
“Today we celebrate our ‘unbounded admiration’ for the Lord who makes no distinctions between classes of people but make the poor rich in faith, the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Fr. Basil G. Royston, D. Min., will offer the homily “The Lord who does all things well” at San Andrés Catholic Church’s service in English, Sunday, September 9, 9 a.m.
After Mass, the San Andrés English-speaking congregation will have a “Second Sunday White Envelope Offering” for the Outreach Projects of their congregation.
San Andrés is at the corner of Ramon Corona and Parroquia, one block from the Ajijic main plaza.
Abundant Life
Why go to church? Why read the Bible? What is the point anyway? If you have ever asked yourself these questions it’s time to get your answers. Sunday, September 9, Pastor Gary explains the purposes that God has for these things. You will discover that as you live up to your God-given potential you will be filled with more joy and love than you even thought possible. Life has meaning. Come and discover yours.
Abundant Life Church’s worship service in English is held Sundays, 10 a.m., and Bible Study Wednesdays, 3 p.m. Spanish-language services are Sunday at noon. Spanish Bible studies are Wednesday, 6:45 p.m. A children’s ministry is held Saturday, noon, and bilingual youth meet Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Communion is celebrated the first Sunday of each month.
The church is at Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec 140, San Antonio Tlayacapan, a block from Super Lake. Information: 331-417-7038.
Lake Chapala Baptist
We can be thankful that God has mercy on morally bankrupt sinners. Mercy makes reference to a person’s condition, their miserable, pitiful condition. The Bible contains stories of people in that condition, especially in the four gospels. People just like me. People just like you. And that’s precisely the condition of anyone separated from God. We need mercy. We need someone to show us compassion in our desperate, sinful condition. One of the foundation stones of the gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s mercy. Divine mercy is God not giving us the just penalty our sins deserve. God’s mercy is shown toward people in a spiritually lost condition. People who are dead in trespasses and sins. The sinner headed for hell, unable to do any good thing at all and unable to change the course of his life by himself. In that lost condition we needed mercy, God’s gentle, compassionate, patient concern for us.
Lake Chapala Baptist Church is at Santa Margarita 147, Riberas del Pilar. Sunday worship is at 11 a.m.
Jewish Congregation
Shabbat Torah services are held the first and third Saturday of the month, 10 a.m., and Shabbat evening services and potluck every second and fourth Friday, 6 p.m., at the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation.
The synagogue is at Santa Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar (mountain side of the Carretera, diagonally across from Mom’s Restaurant). Contact (376) 766-2668 or lakechapalajewishcongregation.com.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
The Rev. Liza Spangler will preside and preach on Sunday, September 9.
St. Andrew’s service of Holy Eucharist begins Sunday, 10 a.m., and bilingual Sunday School starts at 9:45 a.m. Coffee hour, a time of fellowship and welcome, follows the service.
Every Sunday, Operation Feed, the program supported by St. Andrew’s, welcomes donations of non-perishable food items. Boxed milk and empty cardboard egg cartons are especially welcome, in addition to rice, beans, pasta, lentils, garbanzos, oats, oil and salt. The parish distributes the donations to Lakeside’s neediest families.
Decluttering? Clearing out your closet? Don’t forget our own resale shop, Todo Bueno. Every donation or consignment you make benefits the Outreach Ministry of St. Andrew’s and enables the parish to financially support a number of charities around Lakeside.
Todo Bueno is located on the highway, just west of S&S Auto in Riberas de Pilar, and is open from 10 am to 3 pm, Monday through Saturday.
St. Andrew’s is at Calle San Lucas 19, a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
The Lord’s Church
In “The Careless Society,” author John McKnight wrote: “First, there must be a relentless focus upon initiatives that regenerate income and work. This regeneration will require reallocating many resources ... enhancing local activities. Second, there must be a new commitment to enhancing the powers of local associations, churches, and neighborhood organizations as the principal agents of support and problem solving.”
Says Pastor Ken: “McKnight was specifically addressing the problem of increasing rates of incarceration, but his point cuts across the spectrum of social problems. In that book, which was required reading, he warns against a paternalistic approach to public charity, which fails to lift people out of their circumstances and I would say only makes them ever more dependent on – and in a sense resentful of – those who provide the charity. It’s true that God calls us to be charitable and giving. It’s also true that well-intentioned, careless giving does as much harm as good. What is God saying to TLC about our local missions and outreach ministries? And how does that approach point people to God, who alone holds the ultimate solutions?”
Sunday, September 9, the message at The Lord’s Church will be “Teach a Man to Fish,” drawn from 2 Thessalonians 3, Matthew 25, and related passages.
The Lord’s Church meets at Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec 131 in San Antonio Tlayacapan. Sundays, 10 a.m. Enjoy praise music by Redeemed, followed at 11 a.m. by TLC’s “Extraordinary Service,” including worship, praise, communion and this week’s conversation.
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Meditation Circle
The Chapala Meditation Circle of Self Realization Fellowship holds meditation services Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi,” founded Self Realization Fellowship in 1920 to make available the universal teachings of Kriya Yoga, a sacred spiritual science originating millennia ago in India. These teachings embody a complete philosophy and way of life for achieving all-round success and wellbeing, as well as methods of meditation for achieving life’s ultimate goal – union of the soul with God.
Information about the meditation service: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 333-598-7577. The Web site for Self Realization Fellowship is yogananda-srf.org.
Home Church Int’l
Putting on our thinking caps usually presents the use of imagination. For instance, if you are in a cavern and the lantern goes off, darkness surrounds. Thus, we might conclude darkness is the absence of light. Let’s create a scenario where one is standing out on a salt flat. As night falls, he turns on a penlight and lays it flat on the salt. Except for this light, it is pitch dark. Walking away, he still sees the light from many yards away. However, as he continues, the light becomes fainter until a point is reached where it is not discernible.
Human experience presents a similar conclusion.It has something to do with one’s values. Jesus taught that “For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and will not come out into the Light but shrinks from it lest his works be exposed and be reproved.” Without the Light, people stumble and lose their way. Pastors Paul and Susana Allen urge all who claim to be Christians to seek Jesus, the Light and avoid darkness at all costs. Information: 332-242-8648, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Riberas Meditation
Mindfulness Meditation: Two periods of quiet meditation and a guided Mindfulness Meditation video are offered Tuesdays 3-4:15 p.m. This is for anyone who wants to practice Mindfulness Meditation, beginner to advanced.
Ramana Maharshi Satsang: Listen to current-day teachers of non-duality, then a period to practice self-inquiry, Wednesdays, 3-4:30 p.m.
No cost. Free books provided for both groups. Hosted by Richard Clarke and Carol Johnson. San Luis 73, Riberas del Pilar. Call (376) 765-6976. Space is limited, so call first to confirm and to get directions.