Dear Parish Family:

It has been a while since our last newsletter. Edna Dejong has retired from putting together The Log,  but we are grateful to her for all her years of service. The commute from Fullerton was becoming increasingly difficult for Edna, and so she discerned it was time to stop. Edna has also transferred her membership to St. Andrew’s Church in Fullerton, she will be missed, but she made the right decision for herself -- it is an easy commute. For the immediate future we will not be publishing as many issues of The Log  as in the past, in part to cut back on the use of paper, learning to be a better steward of our resources, but also to realistically examine whether there is genuine need for a monthly newsletter or not. Trees have to be chopped down to supply the endless desire for paper in our day, and most of it ends up in the garbage, along with the endless junk mail we all get on a daily basis. What is your opinion? Feel free to call me and let me know. In the end, it will be up to you the reader, to decide how often you receive The Log, and what kinds of things you would like to see in it.

We are now coming to the end of our summer, and some exciting things have been baking in the oven. On Pentecost Sunday we closed the church and we all went to St. Olaf Lutheran Church, here in Garden Grove, for their Eucharistic. I was the preacher and celebrant that day and it was a blessing for both our congregations to come together in what was a historic moment for both of us. We gathered to celebrate our new communion with the Lutherans, and our tie with St. Olaf Lutheran Church, is growing deeper. We are exploring the possibility of a joint youth program. On all Saints Sunday the Lutherans will be closing their church and coming to worship here. On that occasion pastor Dennis Laherty will be our celebrant and preacher. He will be the first Lutheran pastor to both celebrate the Eucharist and preach the gospel here at St. Anselm of Canterbury. Mother Cándida also celebrated and preached for St. Olaf this summer, while Pastor Laherty was on vacation. We look forward to continued work with our friends over at St. Olaf, and the continued blessing of the Pentecost Spirit in our respective churches.

Another exciting event in the life of the parish has been the formation of a Simplicity Circle meeting monthly in the homes of parishioners. Marge England has been spear heading this and already it has impacted on people’s lives. I’ve heard countless testimonials about how simplifying works, and many folks are doing away with accumulated clutter, and thinking twice before buying new consumer items. One of our sessions involved the making of products from furniture polish to window cleaners that are environmentally safe and cheap. Did you know that flat club soda cleans glass better than Windex? "Try it, you’ll like it," and it is way cheaper, non-toxic. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday October 3^{rd, 7:00} PM, at the home of Ron and Penny Linfesty.

Our parish retreat back in June turned out to be a profound event in the lives of those who attended. Our focus was on Jesus and the Tao. For the benefit of those who could not attend, I will be presenting the workshops from the retreat as an adult education program here at St. Anselm’s. If you have any interest or curiosity about Taoism or the Tao (the Way, pronounced "dao") please attend. This ancient Chinese philosophy has greatly influenced Buddhism, and the parallels between the teachings of Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, and Jesus are amazing. The Tao is life transforming, could it be that Christ is the eternal Tao? (John 1:1) come and get surprised. Check our calendar of events for date, time, and location.

On another note, we are looking to start new multi-cultural ministries here at St. Anselm of Canterbury. We may have an Episcopal Korean preaching station meeting here at the parish as early as October. The Vestry has been in dialogue about this, and I along with Mo. Cándida and Bishop Jon Bruno and the leadership of the Korean congregation at St. Francis Norwalk, have been talking. If the Koreans from Norwalk come here, it will be with the intent of exploring the kind of relationship where they would become members of the parish after a year to eighteen months of discernment. In effect St. Anselm of Canterbury would have its own Korean ministry. If after this time the interested parties discern this is not what God is calling us to, then the Episcopal Koreans will move to a new location. It is important to note that we will not be going into another long-term tenant arrangement like the one we have with Church of the Redeemer. We’re also looking to start a Latino ministry, perhaps as early as Advent. If all this happens, our Sunday schedule will look something like this: English Eucharist 9:30 AM; Korean Eucharist 11:15 AM; Spanish Eucharist 1:00 PM (the current Korean Presbyterian group meeting here will move to a 3:30 PM slot on Sunday). Please keep all of these things in your prayers, these are major changes and it will be a challenge to make it succeed. It seems that now is the time that God is calling us to take a step forward in the area of multicultural ministries. We have the potential of becoming the most multicultural Episcopal Church in the entire country, not bad for Orange County. J

In closing, I would also like to share that Cándida and I have been talking about ways in which we as a parish can be of greater support to campus ministry. We are dreaming of a time in which students would come here to St. Anselm of Canterbury on Sunday evenings for Sung Evensong and Vespers. The Cathedral in Seattle packs them in on Sunday evening for evensong. Why this particular service has enormous appeal to college students is not clear to me, but it is something we should not ignore, especially since Cándida is the chaplain at UCI and the potential is there for something wonderful. Let’s dream big, it doesn’t cost us anything, and guidance from the Holy Spirit is free.

Wishing you God’s peace, the "shelama" of Rabbi Jesus, I remain…

Faithfully Yours,

The Rev. Wilfredo Benítez

Rector