Spirit of St. Matthew s

Transcription

1 S T. M A T T H E W S E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own, have we given thee I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Forgiveness 1 Congratulations! 2 Spirit of St. Matthew s O C T O B E R Forgiveness Earlier this September, our gospel readings centered on the importance of forgiveness for us individually as well as for our parish community. It is sometimes hard to forgive, especially if we have been deeply hurt emotionally and/or physically. Perhaps we think it is too easy to say, I forgive you after all we have been through. However, Jesus counsels us that this is the only way to wholeness and emotional/spiritual well-being. As I was browsing through some articles, I found one that was thought provoking. Jimmy Carter ran for president of the United States against Ronald Regan in According to David Wallis in the New York Times Magazine, prior to a televised debate between the two candidates, columnist George Will came upon Carter s debate notes and sneaked them to the Regan camp. Many pundits felt that Regan won that debate, and went on to win the election. Carter did not forget what George Will had done to him. In a 1997 interview with Wallis, Carter said: Schedule of 3 Events Pasta Dinner 4 Flyer From the 5 Mail Box Parish News 6 Birthdays & Anniversaries 7 I was teaching forgiveness one day in Sunday School, and I tried to go through my memory about people for whom I had a resentment. George Will was one of those people, so I wrote him a note. I asked myself, what do we have in common, and I had known that he had written a book about baseball, which I had refused to read. I went to a bookstore and found a remaindered copy. Paid a dollar for it. So I wrote him a note and told him the facts: that I had a feeling of resentment toward him, that I had found the book delightful and I hoped that we would be permanently reconciled. He wrote me back a nice, humorous note. He said his only regret was that I didn t pay full price for his book. Anyone can hold a grudge. It takes character to initiate reconciliation. This article is from the book, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers from Craig Brian Larson and Leadership Journal.

2 P A G E 2 Congratulations! The Coohill brothers serving together with Deacon Jacques Girard. Liam has begun his studies at New York University. Ryan has stepped up and now serves as subdeacon. Deacon Jacques blessed them in their new ventures. We all feel great pride as we watch these boys grow up, and can only imagine how proud his parents, Laura and Ed Coohill feel today. Congratulations go to Jim and Judy Albro as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on August 26. Jim hosted a surprise party for Judy on their special day. Then the following day they renewed their vows with a service and blessing conducted by Rev. Marge Lindstrom. May many more happy years be ahead of you, Judy and Jim. S P I R I T O F S T. M A T T H E W S

3 More Congratulations! Schedule of Events P A G E 3 Sunday, Oct 1 - Pentecost 17 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Wed, Oct 4 - ECW Brown Bag Lunch 12 Noon Hards Room Saturday, Oct 7 - Town Wide Garage Sale 9-5 pm Sunday Oct 8 - Pentecost 18 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Blessing of the Animals, Drive thru 12-1, Columbus Day Pasta Dinner 4-7 pm Tuesday, Oct 10 - Vestry Meeting 7 pm All Welcome Wednesday, Oct 11 - St. Paul s Shelter Dinner Leave 5 pm Pictured above is Jen Sternbach at a recent presentation at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists National Pharmacy Preceptors Conference in Washington DC. The conference is the only national conference focused on education and networking for pharmacy preceptors and residency program directors. Jen presented the leadership program that she and her two colleagues developed to help train residents at the RWJBarnabas Health System in the skills they would need to be a leader both today and throughout their career. Jen has recently had a job promotion, and has moved to the corporate office as the Corporate Clinical Coordinator for Corporate Pharmacy. In this role, she will help to organize and coordinate the clinical pharmacy activities across all thirteen facilities that are a part of the RWJBarnabas Health system. Sunday, Oct 15 - Pentecost 19 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Fall UTO Ingathering Sunday, Oct 22 - Pentecost 20 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Sunday, Oct 29 - Pentecost 21 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Church School Halloween Party and Parade Wednesday, Nov 1 - All Saints Day - ECW Brown Bag Lunch 12 Noon Hards Room Sunday, Nov 5 - Pentecost 22 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Tuesday, Nov 7 - Vestry Meeting 7 pm All Welcome Sunday, Nov 12 - Pentecost 23 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Saturday, Nov 18 - Fish & Chips Dinner pm Sunday, Nov 19 - Pentecost 24 - Holy Eucharist 10 am Sunday, Nov 26 - Last Sunday after Pentecost/Christ the King - Holy Eucharist 10 am Sunday, Dec 3 - First Sunday of Advent - Holy Eucharist 10 am Wed, Dec 6 - ECW Brown Bag Lunch 12 Noon Hards Room Sunday, Dec 10 - Advent 2 - Holy Eucharist 10 am S P I R I T O F S T. M A T T H E W S

4 P A G E 4 Columbus Day Pasta Dinner Sunday, October 8, pm ST. MATTHEW S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 167 Spring Valley Road Paramus, NJ Tickets & info: lindalop@yahoo.com Donation: $15.00 Proceeds to benefit the families who lost everything from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida. SPAGHETTI! MEATBALLS! SAUSAGE! LASAGNE! BREAD! SALAD! DESSERTS & BEVERAGES *Gluten Free Pasta Available on request Come join us!!!

5 From the Mail Box Letter from Rev. Jim Gill, former Rector P A G E 5 Dear Friends, Thanks, again, for forwarding The Spirit of St. Matthew's issue. If my memory serves (it's 88 years old), I once served the parish. There are still a few family names that ring a bell for me. Please relay my prayers and good wishes to the whole crew. Although I grew up in New Jersey (Hillside, near Elizabeth and Newark) where we speak Standard American English, I have become used to the strange pronunciations of Maineiacs, like "Bah Hahbah" for Bar Harbor. Glad to report good health. I am surrounded by my three children, Laura, Chris and Jamie. Chris has children and grands. Jamie is single. He lives in an apartment at the other end of my place. Laura and her son, CJ, occupy the middle section where Kay and I used to live. Chris, husband Ray and adult son, Ben, live nearby.. Kay died in I am getting what Jim Pike, Dean of New York Cathedral of St. John the Divine referred to eons ago, as "a pew's eye view of things" as I attend St.Andrew's Parish which worships in the Winthrop Center Friends (Quaker) building down the road a bit. There are advantages in not owning a building for worship. Once in a while, like two Sundays later this month, I will be leading worship at St. Paul's Church. in Brunswick, Maine, a half-hour drive from here. With love, Fr. Jim S P I R I T O F S T. M A T T H E W S

6 P A G E 6 ECW NEWS - The Fall UTO Ingathering will take place on October 15, Please continue to fill your blue boxes. Acolytes are Needed! As our young acolytes grow up, they take on more responsibilities and find themselves unable to continue their ministry as acolytes. It is a fun way to participate in our worship service. Speak with Rev. Marge or any vestry member to volunteer. The Fall Town Wide Garage Sale will take place on Saturday, October 7th. Please get your registrations in to have your garage sales and encourage your neighbors to do the same. St. Matthew s will not be having our own garage sale on this date. Our annual Columbus Day Pasta Dinner will be Sunday, October 8th. Jim and Judy Albro prepare this dinner but help is needed to clean up afterwards. Please give a half hour to help with this outreach event. See Linda LoPresti for tickets or call All tickets are $15 with proceeds going to benefit the many families affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Take a flyer found at the back of the church, and post it somewhere in your neighborhood. Work will begin shortly to replace the windows and add siding to the back of the church and parsonage. This work will be done by Jamar Construction. George has begun the process of applying for a loan from the diocese at 5% interest. Parish Hall Rentals have been going very well. The USA Sports group will be returning this year. The Armenian dance group wants to rent an additional night. The rent was increased on the residence. These rentals are very important to keep our operating budget healthy. Thank you George Hahn for doing an excellent job with this. The Celebration of St. Francis will be Sunday, October 8th. The Holy Eucharist at 10 am will include the Blessing of the Animals. All pets, living and stuffed, are welcome to come for the blessing. Deacon Jacques will also conduct the Drive Thru Blessing of the Animals from 12 to 1 pm. Our next Fish & Chips Dinner takes place on Saturday, November 18. Food is prepared by Tastefully British. This is our most popular dinner so please try to sell a few extra tickets and encourage your friends to attend. Ticket prices are $17 for adults, $10 for kids 10 years old and under and will be available shortly. Consider including St. Matthew s Church in your estate planning. Even a small bequest is a way to help keep our worship community alive and growing. S P I R I T O F S T. M A T T H E W S

7 P A G E 7 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS 2~Jerry Herrick 3~Joseph Scerbo 6~Rosalind Reid-Lloyd 8~Kim Tomasulo 9~Allison Kulesza 9~Francesca Lama 13~James Albro 16~Dean Chebba 16~Shawn Herrick 16~Janice Walker 22~Sarah Knapp 24~Janet Lightbody 27~Maria Lama 29~Laura Coohill 29~Ryan Slone SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES 19~Katie & Dan Slone OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS 3~Kitty Kempton 3~Anthony Perrone 4~Skip Cherven 7~Scott Cherven 11~Patti Godleski 11~Jennifer Tuzik 14~Linda Cherven 17~Becky Joosten Catanzaro 18~Linda LoPresti 20~Kathleen Dean 20~Norma Sontag 22~Cathy Stephens 25~Paul Baccala 25~Chris Chubb 26~Kristin Pinkerton 27~Edward Roskowinski 27~Jennifer Sternbach 28~Hunter Sternbach 30~Serafina Tomasulo 31~Vivian Mark OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES 17~Jerry & Janet Herrick 20~Jean & Joe Scerbo 25~Mary & Bob Pinkerton 25~Jennnifer and David Sternbach S P I R I T O F S T. M A T T H E W S

8 Phone: Fax: Priest in Charge: The Rev. Marge Lindstrom Deacon: The Rev. Jacques Girard Music Director: Claire Bachner Parish Administrator: Janice Walker Webmaster: Linda LoPresti Web Editor: Shawn Herrick We, the Congregation of St. Matthew s, seek to know the gifts that Christ has given us, to use them as Christ would have us, in a ministry of love and encouragement to each other and the community, with God s help. St. Matthew s Episcopal Church 167 Spring Valley Rd. Paramus, NJ 07652