Saints Alive! ...by Fr. Todd Dill

Transcription

1 CALENDAR a.m./ p.m. Friday, May 20 6:15 Couples Night Out -Copelands Saturday, May 21 8:30 Men s Bible Study-Bethany 9:30 Baptismal Instruction-Nave 10:00 LEM Instruction-Nave Sunday, May 22 Annual Parish Picnic today! Summer Schedule begins today! (see back page for times) SS Rotation Model Display-cottages 2:00 Meeting for Parents of Youth Monday, May 23 7:00 GRGC Board Mtg-Choir rm 7:30 Brotherhood of St. Andrewcottage Tuesday, May 24 7:00 Vestry Meeting-Erdmanczyk s 7:00 Honduras Team-Bethany Wednesday, May 25 10:00 H.E./Healing service 10:30 Women s Book Study-PH Saturday, May 28 8:30 Men s Bible Study-Bethany 10:30 EYC to Renaissance Festival Sunday, May 29 SS Rotation Model Display-cottages 4:30 EYC Monday, May 30 Church Office closed for Memorial Day holiday Wednesday, June 1 10:00 H.E./Healing service Thursday, June 2 7:00 Roswell Historical Society Mtg in PH Friday, June 3 Parish Retreat at Kanuga W hat s Inside Pg. 2 School Supplies collection Pg. 3 Parish Cook-Out Pg. 3 Rome Braves Baseball Pg. 4 Nursery News Pg. 5 Outreach News Pg. 6 Teacher Openings Pg. 6 Storytelling Tent Open! Pg. 7 Stained Glass Window The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of St. David s Episcopal Church May 18, 2005 Saints Alive!...by Fr. Todd Dill Over the past several months, many of you may have noticed that St. David s has held several evening Eucharistic services that are not part of our regular worship schedule. Recent celebrations have included The Holy Innocents, The Epiphany of Our Lord, The Presentation of Our Lord, and on May 5 th we celebrated The Feast of the Ascension. These are just some of the examples of what the Church calls Feast Days. Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs, and saints, by special services and rest from work. These feasts offer the Christian community an opportunity to celebrate important events in the life of Christ, the history of our church, or the saints of our tradition and the contributions that they made to further the message of the Gospel. The Church, since ancient times, has a rich tradition of marking these dates by coming together and worshipping as a Christian community. It is our chance to celebrate the events of our faith and the lives of men and women whose commitment to Christ has served as an example of true discipleship to those around them, and in some instances has cost them their lives. Holy Days in 2005 to be celebrated by St. David s. Services begin at 7:00 p.m. May 31 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary June 29 St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles July 25 St. James, Apostle August 6 The Transfiguration August 15 St. Mary, the Virgin September 14 Holy Cross Day September 21 St. Matthew, Evangelist October 18 St. Luke, Evangelist October 24 St. James of Jerusalem November 2 Commemoration of All Faithful Departed December 28 Holy Innocents continuted on page 2

2 Saints Alive!.continued from page 1 As stated in the book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, What we celebrate in the lives of the saints is the presence of Christ expressing itself in and through particular lives lived in the midst of specific historical circumstances. In the saints we are not dealing primarily with absolutes of perfection but human lives, in all their diversity, open to the motions of the Holy Spirit. These are not women and men who were unblemished, but were individuals who struggled, just as we do, to be faithful followers of Christ and to bring His message into a broken world. At St. David s, you will see an increase in the number of these services that we celebrate, because it is an appropriate and good thing that we come together and remember these important moments in the history of our church. We are not only connected together as a community of faith with those who sit in the pews with us on Sunday mornings, but also with those who have professed the Christian faith throughout the history of this world. We hope that you will take some of these opportunities to worship with us, and experience the powerful and rich heritage that is part of the Christian tradition. Fr. Todd+ The Illumination Newsletter of St. David s Episcopal Church Rector The Rev. Fr. Paul S. Winton psw@stdavidchurch.org Newsletter Editor Linda Thomas linda@stdavidchurch.org 1015 Old Roswell Rd. Roswell, GA (office) (fax) Church Office: 9:00am - 5:00pm Church office office@stdavidchurch.org Church Web Site: St. David s Preschool Peggy Fallon, Director Preschool Fax: preschool@stdavidchurch.org In the event of a Pastoral Emergency after hours, call: School Supplies Collection...for Mission Trip to Ecuador Hi! My name is Evan Bodine and I am a junior at Milton HS and a parishioner here at St. David s. This summer I am participating in a mission trip to Ecuador with the Diocese of Atlanta. Our team is composed of 18 youth and adults who will be abroad for 10 days making bricks for houses and leveling foundations for future homes in the village of San Alfonzo. We will be making a home stay, getting a glimpse of South American culture, and trekking through the Amazon for a day. We will also be visiting and spending time at an elementary school. We are donating school supplies for the children. We are taking up a collection of markers, pens, pencils, paper (lined and drawing), crayons and the like basic school supplies. If you would like to help in this effort, it would be great if you could donate school supplies for the children. I will have a box marked School supplies for Ecuador in the church hallway. If I can get everything by Sunday, June 5, I can pack them up and take them on my trip. Thank you very much for your support. I am excited to have this opportunity. Questions? Contact me at

3 Summer Happenings for FAMILY MINISTRIES As the summer months continue to quickly approach us, I wanted to let you know about some exciting events that are being sponsored by Family Ministries: Parish Cook Out On Wednesday, June 8, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the St. David s Men s Club has offered to prepare a good old-fashioned Cook Out for the members of the parish. All that s required from you is to show up and enjoy the food and fellowship. This event will offer the parish a chance to get together and enjoy a wonderful evening around the grill without the stress of preparing the food! Bring games for the kids, blankets to sit on, or lawn chairs to lounge in! A Day with the Rome Braves For Sunday, June 12 th, we have purchased 60 tickets for the Rome Braves game. The Rome Braves are the Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, and they have a wonderful new stadium in which to play their games. The Fr. Todd Dill, Ass t. to the Rector for Family Ministries tickets are on the way, and we will begin to sell them for $5 apiece once we have them in hand. Allen Pearson has agreed to be in the hallways on Sunday mornings and will have the tickets for purchase. On game day, we can attend the 10:30 a.m. service and then caravan up to Rome for the 2:00 p.m. game. It will be a great baseball experience without the Major League price, so make sure that you get your tickets. They are sure to sell fast! Play Ball! Fr. Todd+ Allen Pearson at the grill This will be a great opportunity to take a break from the hectic schedules of life and relax outside together. In the event of inclement weather, we ll move inside to the parish hall. In either case, we ask that you call the church reservation number by Saturday, June 4, at , ext. 126, and inform us if you will be attending. This will allow us to have plenty of food for everyone who is there. If this turns out to be a popular event, we may even try it again, so be sure to sign up and enjoy this evening together. We hope to see you there! DIRECTIONS TO THE STADIUM FROM ATLANTA, GEORGIA Take I-75 North to exit 290 (Rome/Canton). Take a left off the exit, follow Highway 411 (Hwy 20) to Rome. At the intersection of Highway 411 and Highway 1 (Veterans Memorial Highway) take a right (there will be signs pointing to Berry College, as well). The stadium will be on the right at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Highway and Riverside Parkway. The Rome Braves website: 3

4 New Nursery Policy for Wednesday Night RSVP s We happily offer nursery coverage for infants through PreK-aged children during St. David s Wednesday evening programs. Each week, we hire two adult caregivers to ensure adequate coverage in the nursery. On evenings when we do not have any nursery-aged children, these caregivers stay until roughly fifteen minutes after the program starts (to allow for latecomers), and then lock up the nursery. We desire to be better stewards of our nursery budget and our caregivers time. Therefore, beginning with the next Wednesday night series, if we do not have any RSVP s for nursery by Tuesday morning at 10:00 am, we will cancel nursery coverage for that week. So, please be diligent about calling with your nursery reservation each week , x130! love with our littlest members, and to offer their parents an opportunity to worship in peace. Please contact Betsy Candler Landers at x118 (betsy@stdavidchurch.org) if you feel called to this ministry. Please specify which service you prefer to work (9:00 or 10:30). New Rooms for Summer Effective Sunday, May 22 (the first day of the summer schedule), children ages two through four will have the following classroom assignments: Betsy Candler Landers, Ass t. to the Rector for Infants & Toddlers For the 9:00 and 10:30 services: Two year olds (two by 8/31/05) - St. Matthew room Three year olds (three by 8/31/05) - St. John room PreK (four by 8/31/05) - St. Elizabeth room Parents of children these ages should refer to the mailing they recently received regarding nursery rotation for additional information. Nursery Help Needed! We are blessed by the ministry of many adult volunteers who faithfully keep the infant and toddler nursery on a rotating basis. However, we are in need of additional volunteers to serve on the regular rotation this summer for the 9:00 and 10:30 Sunday services. This ministry is a wonderful way to share Christ s 4

5 Outreach News The Homestretch Team owes many thanks to a number of people who answered pleas for help to make St. David's new Homestretch family welcome and comfortable. Thanks to Julie Fazlollah, Ward Green, Mary Pat Carter, and Patrick Cathcart, who have volunteered to be the family's budget advisors and mentors. These four have put in a great deal of time and caring during the transition and will continue to do so for the months to come. Thanks also to Cathy Sonfield for her donation of new pillows, to Meg and Ward Green for towels and bedding, and to Susan Watts and Steve Granade for VCR and DVD players. Sue Howden and Susan Wynn stocked the family's kitchen with food more than once, and Sue Howden deserves praise and thanks for sewing new chair covers and for her generous donation of time and advice on many occasions. Two other Homestretch families have also benefited from generous donations from St. David's parishioners. Carin Goodrich donated a car, which has made one family's life so much easier, and Laura Dover donated a washing machine and dryer for use in one of the new units. If you have items that might be useful for the Homestretch program, please call Sue Chan, Homestretch does not have any storage facilities so it is not always possible to take the offerings, but we'll always try to place things where they are needed. My Call by Wheeler Conkling, commissioned Missionary from St. David s to Honduras During the weeks preceding St. David s Mission Teams second trip to Honduras in February, I was struggling with the question of how I should spend the next era of my life. A year had passed since I d lost my wife of 62 years and my five children were beginning to urge me to resume more normal-like activities. I knew I wanted to find a service-oriented solution. Thus, I contacted the Peace Corps, Americorps, and followed up a lead with the International Rescue Committee. However, I wasn t finding anything that seemed to fit. Belatedly, I decided to do what I should have done in the first place: seek divine guidance through prayer and meditation. As one can guess, as soon as I stopped trying to be in control, and instead turned it over to God, the fog began to clear. I was hearing: Why consider possibilities you know little about when one you know quite a lot about from first hand experience is staring you in the face; i.e., the inspiring ministry of the LAMB Institute in Honduras? They needed another person who could communicate in English with those in the States seeking information about LAMB. Furthermore, teams from churches, service clubs, medical groups, high school and college students, etc., offering to contribute their time need servicing. (A potential source of future contributors.) So, my job would be volunteer coordinator and development officer. In summary, thanks entirely to guidance from the Almighty, I m moving to Honduras in early June. PRAISE BE TO GOD! Volunteer(s) are needed at the North Fulton Communities Charities Food Bank, especially on Friday afternoons, but anytime would be welcome. NFCC is one of the prime charities supported by St. David s Outreach budget. However, in contrast to many area churches with a number of volunteers, the only volunteer representing St. David s is no longer able to serve. Anyone willing to help with this important humanitarian effort is asked to please call Ms. Susan Lenio at

6 Parish Life Blood Drive with Life South on Sunday, May 29, at St. David s. Look for more posted information to come. Next Vestry meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m., at the home of Tom Erdmanczyk. Flower Ambassadors Needed: Please consider becoming a Flower Ambassador. Minister to your fellow parishioners by delivering the altar flowers to them after the 12:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish (summer schedule). You are scheduled only once every six weeks. Call Suzanne Mullis if you are interested at Congratulations for New Babies...to David and Aimee Briglio on the birth of a daughter, Celia Rose, born on May 7, 2005, weighing 7lb 11oz, 20½ in long....to Doug and Dana Sullenberger on the birth of a son, Jackson Egan, born on April 17, 2005, weighing 7lb 12oz, 21 in. long. Teacher Openings Several openings are still available on a teaching team for next year, Sunday School, ages 2 through 5 th grades. This week I may be contacting you to invite you to consider joining a team. Please prayerfully consider this as a ministry to the children. The overwhelming comment I have at the close of a teaching year is that the adult teachers found teaching the children to be a wonderful way to continuing their own spiritual formation. Many, many thanks to those of you who have already contacted me or signed on to teach. We are going to have a great year!! Invitation from St. David s Children s Program The Children s Storytelling Tent opened on Pentecost! All parishioners are invited to visit Grace Cottage the next two Sundays, May 22 and May 29, to see our beautiful new Storytelling Tent. The tent project was completed for use in the upcoming year as we kick off our pilot program Rotation Model Workshop Joy and Wonder! for the 4 th and 5 th grades. On May 15, Pentecost Day, children and some adults gathered in the tent and had some fun with the Creation Story. Words like cool and awesome were exclaimed by many and a great time was had by all! Thanks be to God for the wonderful volunteers who helped create our new Storytelling Tent. I d like to extend a huge thank you to Glenn Ridge, our master tent constructor, and to Sara Marton, our tireless tent draper. Each of these parishioners gave many hours of time and talent last week as this project neared completion. Assisting the tent team, thanks also go to Angi Meyer, Judy Beecham, Roger Mathis, Madeline Nix, Becky Sullivan, Betsy Candler Landers and Linda Thomas. Additional thanks to the Beecham Family, the Meyer Family and to Geoff Hammett for your incredible donations to decorate our tent interior! Many, many hours of storytelling lie ahead! 6

7 The Stained Glass Windows of St. David s, Part 2 Gene Jeffords, the first verger at St. David s, held open the door at the back of the nave for me early one Sunday morning many years ago, and he watched with delight my reaction as I stared in wonder at the newly-installed rose window, the first of the 25 stained glass windows to be completed. For many years thereafter the ritual would be repeated: another stained glass window would have been installed during the week, and Gene would take pleasure in being the one to show it to me as I arrived for church on Sunday. You can tell that my delight in these windows is rooted in a deep affection for this dear departed friend and faithful servant of Jesus. A couple of Sundays ago, having led the Gospel procession to the middle of the nave as the serving verger, I listened to the opening words of the Gospel lesson (John 15:1-8) being read by the priest: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Standing in the main aisle behind the crucifer and facing the altar as I was, I had only to lift my eyes to see these words of Jesus depicted graphically in the rose window. The vine winds around with its grape-laden branches, snaking out to each of the shields that remind us of the disciples. As my eyes traced the 12 branches, my ears listened to the final verse being read: This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. The 12 shields incorporate symbols that call to mind each of the disciples. Beginning at the 12:30 position with the keys of St. Peter and proceeding clockwise, we encounter the symbols of all 11 disciples mentioned in Acts 1:13 who, after returning from experiencing Jesus ascension from the Mount of Olives, went back to their meeting room in Jerusalem: Those present were Peter, James, John and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Don t confuse Judas son of James with that other Judas (Iscariot). Sometimes this son of James is known as Jude, and he s called Thaddeus by other gospel writers. At the 11:30 position the twelfth symbol is for the replacement disciple Matthias, whose election (to take the place of Judas Iscariot) is recorded at the end of the first chapter of Acts. These twelve disciples were called by Jesus to bear much fruit, and nearly all of them died horrible deaths as a result of doing so. To help you (and your children) to associate each of the 12 shields depicted in the rose window with their respective disciples, pick up one of the reference sheets available on the table under the cross in the small hallway behind the nave. Have you noticed that these symbols of the 12 disciples are reproduced faithfully in the needlepoint of the kneeling cushions at the altar rail? And for many years, Christmas tree ornaments carrying the symbols of the rose window have been sold to support the maintenance of our pipe organ (next year, the ornament will bear the shield for St. Jude). I am the true vine, Jesus said. And in the stained glass of the rose window, the vine originates from the center of the window, where the Lamb of God ( Agnus Dei ) lies with the Banner of Victory, a powerful symbol of Jesus. In the 5th chapter of the Book of Revelation, the Lamb is called worthy to receive power, wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessings, and able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Looking at all this imagery while reciting the Nicene Creed, it reminds me of the dual nature of Jesus: he is both the Lamb and the Shepherd; he is both God and man. The seals on the book remind me of the words spoken as the priest makes the sign of the cross upon the forehead of the newlybaptized using oil of chrism: You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ s own for ever. The rose window was given in memory of Dr. Lawrence D. Mosher, a Roswell veterinarian and a founding member of this parish who died in In the official register of the parish, Dr. Mosher is listed as among those first members of St. David s when it was created in September of I see it as an appropriate reminder of his legacy, for he was one of those productive branches of the Vine who God transplanted from St. James parish in Marietta to create the new parish of St. David s. May we all strive to bear much fruit to the glory of our heavenly Father. ~ Bruce Thomas 7

8 St. David's Episcopal Church 1015 Old Roswell Rd., Roswell, GA Vol. 30, No. 15 NONPROFIT ORG. U. S. Postage Paid PRSRT STD Permit No. 40 Roswell, GA Return Service Requested Postmaster: Important dated Church Material; please do not hold. Summer Worship begins May 22 7:45 a.m. H.E. Rite I 9:00 a.m. Family service, Rite II No Sunday School 10:30 a.m. H.E. Rite II 12:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish 5:00 p.m. Chapel Service Lectionary for May 22 Genesis 1:1 2:3; 2 Corinthians 13:11-14; Matthew 28:16-20; Psalm 150 Lectionary for May 29 Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28; Romans 3:21-25a,28; Matthew 7:21-27; Psalm 31:1-5,19-24 From the Rector Photo of Fr. Paul courtesy of Marjorie Stephenson Outreach..the Next Generation St. David s has a long-standing and rich history of Outreach to those in need. Under the direction of Donna Nolfa, Jill Sutton, Wheeler Conkling, our former Rector, Fr. Hendree Harrison, and others, St. David s has served countless thousands thru the years and gave birth to many of the well-established outreach ministries in the community. Most recently, our Outreach emphasis has focused on women and children in need a focus we expect to sharpen in the months and years ahead. It is also my hope that we will focus on fewer ministries and take a leadership role in the community with those ministries. It is with great delight that I share with you that Mr. Scott Bast (pictured at right), parishioner and former vestry member, has agreed to serve as Chair of the Outreach Committee. In the months ahead, Scott will be sharing news and information about our outreach efforts for the year ahead. Please pray for Scott, for our outreach ministries, and for those we serve in the Name of Christ Jesus. 8