THE MEANING OF THE EMPTY TOMB

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. Luke 24:12

As we began our celebration of the season of Easter, we celebrated the empty tomb and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On Easter Sunday, I suggest-ed that we imagine Peter stooping to look into the empty tomb as we read First Peter 1. While Peter did not fully understand the meaning of the resurrection as he beheld the empty tomb, it would not take long for the meaning to unfold. So what do we learn about the meaning of the empty tomb from the first chapter of Peter’s first letter? I would suggest four broad categories.

We have been “ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). In other words, we have been forgiven and made right with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Eve-rything that needed to be done to rescue us has been done and there is nothing more that needs to be done for us to be in a right relationship with God. There is nothing we can do that Jesus didn’t take care of on the cross!

We therefore have “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter

1:3). Because Jesus died and rose again, death is defeated and our eternal future is secure! This means that we have hope in this life because our future is secure and because death no longer has the last word. We have the hope of eternal life!

The new life of holiness is available now. We no longer have to “conform to the passions of [our]

former ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14). Because Jesus lives and has poured out His Holy Spirit upon us, we are being changed from the inside out to become like Him: holy. Our lives are meant to be marked externally by increasing obedience and righteousness of conduct, as well as internally by purity of heart, peace, and joy.

The life of the Kingdom of God is breaking into our midst through the Church as we “love one an-

other sincerely from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22). As we are individually transformed from the in-side out, we will manifest the rule of God’s Kingdom in our midst as we give ourselves to one an-other in the same kind of love we see in Jesus. In other words, we manifest the truth that Jesus lives as we live in loving fellowship within the family of the Church.

I cannot help but believe that as Peter wrote these lofty and beautiful words, he could still see the empty tomb in his memory. That Easter Day, as Peter knew that everything had changed – including us! May our lives manifest the meaning of the empty tomb!

Yours in Christ,

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The Messenger MAY 2019

Growing as Disciples of Jesus Christ through Worship, Learning, Fellowship and Outreach

Sunday june 9

After the 10am service

On the church campus

tickets go on sale May 19

In The Parish Family In Sympathy to…

Darren Bogie and his family on the recent death of his mother.

Congratulations to…

Deacon John and Linda LaMar on the arrival of their new grandson, Josiah Finn, who was born on April 10th, to parents, Jacob and Marie LaMar.

Our high school graduates:

Elizabeth Bomar, Andrew Chaffee, Matthew Dietze, Chris Hoss, Mira Landucci and Franklin Gauthier-Parker.

They will be honored at the 10am service on May 19

$5 Adults $2.50 Kids (3-10) Under 3 free

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YOUTH GROUP HIGHTLIGHTS

Our Youth will meet in May on the 5th & 19th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The last meting will be a party on May 19th and then we take off for the summer. We will have several events through the summer-- at least one event per month be-fore we come back in September.

The group’s annual trip to Mexico will be from July 14th-19th.

TRINITY STATS

Attendance

April 7th 145 April 21st 402 April 14th 175 April 28th 204

Financial

March 2019 Month Year-to-date Operating Income $47,122 $185,428 Normal Operating Expense $36,112 $116,798 Building Debt Payment $12,719 $38,157

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Trinity Preschool has been extra busy with so many fun things going on! Our Easter parties were a success! Thank you to all the parents who donated the yummy treats, eggs, goodies and more! Also thank you to our church members for all the fun Easter donations! Our preschoolers really enjoyed all the festivities!

Officer McGruff the Crime Dog came to visit us! The preschooler’s lit up listening to the educational music show about NOT TALKING TO STRANGERS! Each student got police stickers and declared mini officers of the day! How fun! Thank you to all of our police officers for everything they do!

WE LOVE SPRING! Ms. Gabby’s class adopted baby caterpillars and really enjoyed seeing God’s beautiful creations grow into Butterflies! Ms Maria’s and Ms. Erika’s Class will soon be getting ready for graduation. It is amazing how quickly this school year has flown by. If you are interested in coming to our graduation, we would love to see you there. SAVE THE DATE! May 22nd at 12:30. Our Preschool will be graduating over 30 kids. It is sad to see them go, but so excited for their new journey. It has been a true blessing to witness these precious preschoolers’ graduation day! NEW NEWS! TRINITY WILL BE OPENING UP SUMMER SCHOOL FOR SCHOOL AGE STU-DENTS! Starting this summer, we will be providing care for school age children 6yrs-11yrs. We are SUPER ex-cited to see what this new SUMMER brings for Trinity! Thank you for your continuous prayers for our wonderful Preschool! Jennifer Coburn - Director

We are enrolling for summer and fall of this year. Do you know of anymore preschoolers who may be interested in attending our wonderful school? If so, have them call our office at 661-282-5252!

Total Pledged: $1,832,926.00 Total Collected (3/31/19): $889,402.76

The wall framing is almost completed and the roof trusses will be installed shortly. Once that is com-pleted, interior electrical and plumbing work will begin.

OUR CLERGY

The Very Rev. Dr. Karl E. Dietze, Rector

The Rev. John M. Wilcox, Retired

The Rev. John LaMar, Deacon

The Rev. Ron Christolear, Deacon

11300 Campus Park Dr.

Bakersfield CA 93311

661-665-7713

office@trinitybakersfield.com

www.trinitybakersfield.com

WORSHIP SERVICES

Sunday Morning

8 a.m. Holy Communion

10 a.m. Holy Communion

Thursday Morning

10 a.m. Healing Service

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Paul Wagner Senior Warden

Larry Bright Junior Warden

Kaye Camp Clerk

Jerry Starr

Lynne Hall

Will Adams

Liz Kinney

Chris Thomas

Angelo Haddad

Chris Miller

Garrett Ming

Mary Jo Sawyer

Ed Taylor Treasurer

MAY BIRTHDAYS

Our Vision is to Be Followers of Jesus in the Anglican tradition, connected through discipleship groups, with every member engaged in traditional Worship, in-depth Bible Study, Parish Ministry, and local and global Mission Outreach.

Leonie Gauthier-Parker Ann Lingo Lauren Savage Ken Bomar Benita Chase Cyndi Bomar Roxanne Starbuck Grace Franco

Andrew Chaffee Ed Taylor Christopher Hoss Stana Bright Lisa Thomas Susan Karnes Milton Pope Chris Webber

Maxine Chesney Stephanie Faulk Steven Brown Ed Camp Mira Landucci Michael Chase Thomas Smith Elijah Gatza Kevin Hughes

Join us as we come together on the campus of All Saints’

Anglican Church to reach out to our city with the love of

Christ.

For more information, visit our website.

Click Here To Register