Volume 10 - Number 2 February from the Rector. The Rev. Donald Lowery. The General Ordination Exam

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1 The Bell Tower The Church of the Holy Innocents Newsletter Volume 10 - Number 2 February 2014 Inside this Issue From the Rector The General Ordination... From the Rector...cont. Parish News... Youth Group Healing & Communion... Ash Wednesday Tabitha Guild ECW Treasurer s Report Vestry News... February Schedule of Events Just for Kids Never Ending Gift God s Love February Birthdays and Anniversaries Remember in Your Prayers Unified Serving Schedule Spotlight on... The Church of the Holy Innocents 210 South Chestnut Street Henderson, North Carolina Telephone: hinnocents@centurylink.net Church Web Site Address: Visit us on Facebook from the Rector The General Ordination Exam Every year, during January, all Senior Seminarians for the Episcopal Church who are in the ordination track must take a comprehensive exam called The General Ordination Exam. It is administered by the General Board of Examining Chaplains of the Episcopal Church at all Episcopal Seminaries and other sites as needed. I include other sites as needed because not all candidates for ordination attend Episcopal Seminaries. With the permission of the local bishop, a person seeking ordination in our church may attend a non-episcopal divinity school. For example, there are Episcopal students at Duke Divinity School organized as the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies within the larger divinity school. No matter where or how a student prepares, all must take this exam unless excused by their bishop. The exam is spread across an entire week, with Wednesday off to rest and recover from emotional shell shock. The exams are graded on a pass fail basis by a team of readers recruited by the General Board of Examining Chaplains. Some are parish priest, some are theologically sophisticated lay folks, some are seminary professors and some are bishops. All are expected to be people well experienced in the life of the church as well as in the faith we profess. The team gathers at Kanuga Episcopal Conference center near Hendersonville in February, also for a week, to do this work. This will be the third year I have been asked to serve as one of the readers. My first year, a parishioner died while I was driving to Kanuga. I turned back to attend to that very real pastoral need. Last year I was able to attend the conference and grade papers. It was hard work, but I must confess, I enjoyed it very much. I love an academic task and I was immersed in theology and its related disciplines as deeply as I have been since seminary. The reading teams were also excellent and I shared the task with many dear old friends. I will drive to Kanuga on February 3 and drive back to Henderson on February 7, I write about this not only so you will know where I am and what I am up to, but also to solicit your prayers. This is important work. It directly impacts the lives of Senior Seminarians as they make final preparations for graduation and ordination. Those who do poorly, while rarely bumped at this late juncture in their training, are required to do remedial work prior to ordination. I had one classmate whose diocese required him to take the General Ordination Exam three From the Rector cont. pg. 2

2 FEBRUARY 2014 times before he finally passed all sections. The irony is that 27 years out, I can attest that though he struggled with the test, he has proven to be the best of the Virginia Seminary Class of 1987 as pastor, preacher and teacher. Pray for us and for the Senior Seminarians. Prayer is requested those of us who read, that we will be attentive and prayerful, remembering that we hold a precious treasure in our hands, that is, the dreams and aspirations of those who feel called to ordained ministry in our church. Pray for the students whose work we grade, that whatever the results, they may find themselves surrounded by the love of the God who called them and sustains in the journey to ordination. Parish News We will meet at 5:00 p.m. on all the Sundays of February. We gather at the Hughes House, do a bit of supper and then whatever activity seems good to us. After consulting with the people who regularly attend the monthly healing service and the Wednesday 5:30 Communion services, I have decided to combine the two for the next several months. We will see how this works. If things go smoothly, we will continue to do them together, if not, we will separate them again. This means on the first Wednesday of the month, our healing service will be held at 5:30 and combined with the normal Wednesday night Communion. PLEASE NOTE THIS DATE CHANGE. In February, we will not have a service on February 5, because I will be at Kanuga as part of the team grading the General Ordination Exam. Our first combined service will on February 12 at 5:30 in the Church. The subsequent Wednesdays of the month will be communion services, again, at 5:30 in the church.. Tabitha Guild Janet White, Betsy Catlett & Margaret Williamson Please plan to join us at 10 a.m. in the Ladies Parlor on Tuesday, February 11th and Tuesday, February 25th. We keep hoping that others will join us at our Tabitha Guild meetings! We enjoy getting together to knit and chat and we think you would, too. If you know of someone who would benefit from receiving a prayer shawl, please let us know. Thanks! Betsy Seifert, President The ECW met on January 28 at 10:00 a.m. in the Ladies Parlor. Thirteen members were present. Twanna Jones, Executive Director of ACTS (pictured below), spoke to us about their multiple community programs such as Soup Kitchen, Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, Summer Feeding Program for children, and domestic violence resources. We thanked her for sharing her time and information with us! 2 Lent is late this year, so Ash Wednesday will be on March 5, There will be Holy Communion with the Imposition of Ashes at noon and 7:00 p.m. The next ECW meeting will be on the 4th Tuesday of February (the 25th) at 10:00 a.m. Parish news continued p. 3

3 THE BELL TOWER Treasurer s Report Bob Nelson, Treasurer 3

4 FEBRUARY 2014 VESTRY News Vestry Retreat 4 On January 24 and 25 we had an adventuresome Vestry Retreat. We gathered at Ashland Plantation, hosted by Anne Almand. Just as we gathered, a transformer blew out so we began our work in the dark. Anne gathered as many candles as possible in the ballroom and we did our work as our colonial ancestors would have done. We not only worked by candle light, but had our supper that way as well. I must confess, it was fun even as we did a lot of hard work. Saturday morning the power was back on and we resumed our work. Whether by candle light or with electricity, we worked hard making plans for 2014 and beyond. We explored everything from strategies for strengthening our finances to how to have both more and interesting fellowship events for parishioners and friends. We have a wonderful vestry. They love Holy Innocents and are willing to work hard for our congregational life. In the days, weeks and months ahead, some of you may be asked to assist various projects around the parish. Please consider these requests prayerfully and say yes. Together, we can make our wonderful parish even stronger and more inviting as we do the work God has called all of us to do in Henderson and Vance County. The 2014 Vestry Officers and Committees are as follows: Tom Church, Sr.Warden Craig Clodfelter, Jr. Warden Anne Almand, Vestry Clerk Finance/Stewardship: Bill Stark, Ruth Hartness Pastoral Care/Parish Life: Kathy Taylor Worship/Christian Formation: Alton Stainback, Anne Almand Outreach: Lisa Miravalle Church Usage SCHEDULE ~Lower Hall~ MONDAY AA 5:30 to 6:30 Cub Scout Pack 7:00 to 8:00 ( w/ Tommy) TUESDAY AA 5:30 to 6:30 NA 7:00 to 8:00 WEDNESDAY NA 7:00 to 8:00 FRIDAY AA 5:30 to 6:30 NA SATURDAY Noon Note from the Editor... Marsha Nelson March Newsletter deadline FEBRUARY 20 th Please submit any newsletter items either to the church office or them to MJNELSON@nc.rr.com Printed copies of the newsletter are located in the Bell Tower for you if you have problems with access. There is a link to both current and past issues of our newsletter on the church website at February 2014 Schedule of Events Choir Weekly Practice Schedule Hand Bell Choir Wed, at 6:00 PM Parish Choir Mon. at 6:00 PM DAILY MORNING PRAYER Monday Thursday (weekly) 7:30 AM, Hughes House Sunday February 2 8:00 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:35 AM, Adult Learning Group 9:45 AM, Children s Sunday School 10:30 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite II 12:30 PM, La Misa Servicio Sunday February 9 8:00 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:35 AM, Adult Learning Group 9:45 AM, Children s Sunday School 10:30 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite II 12:30 PM, La Misa Servicio Tuesday February 11 10:00 AM, Tabitha Guild (Ladies Parlor) Wednesday February 12 3:00 PM, Nursing Home Ministry 5:30 PM, Combination Healing & Holy Communion Service Sunday February 16 8:00 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:35 AM, Adult Learning Group 9:45 AM, Children s Sunday School 10:30 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite II 12:30 PM, La Misa Servicio Wednesday February 19 5:30 PM, Holy Communion Sunday February 23 8:00 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:35 AM, Adult Learning Group 9:45 AM, Children s Sunday School 10:30 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite II 12:30 PM, La Misa Servicio Tuesday February 25 10:00 AM, ECW (Ladies Parlor) Tabitha Guild Wednesday February 26 3:00 PM, Nursing Home Ministry 5:30 PM, Holy Communion All services are conducted in the Church, unless otherwise noted.

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6 FEBRUARY 2014 Birthdays Bo Cheatham... 2/03 Tim Seitzer, Sr... 2/04 Richard Davis, V... 2/04 Penny Wiggins... 2/06 Berkeley Ellis. 2/08 Barbara Foster... 2/12 Nicholas Long, III... 2/12 Lucy Gray... 2/15 Margaret Stephens...2/16 Gail Houle... 2/17 Hazel Peck... 2/18 Ginger Dow... 2/20 Ashley Stewardson... 2/20 Shelby Van Venrooy... 2/20 Uriah Ford... 2/21 Christopher Catlett...2/23 Jerry Cottrell... 2/25 Remember In Your Prayers Pray for Healing and Comfort: Cynthia Shaw, Helen Church Miles, Trayce Wheless, Barbara Collins, Staci Barnett, Harry Collins, Hazel Peck, MaryAnn Hill, Barbara Madigan, Melody Shearin, Virginia Frank, Carol Theodorou, Sam Parsons, Colt Moss, Lena Hogge, Bessie Edwards, Charlotte Sweeney, Mimi Adams, Carolyn Lowery, Belinda Catlett, Mary Shearin, Meghan Bunn, Randy Palamar, Marion Devoe, Rebecca Aiken, Dr. Beverly Tucker, Vivie Drake, John Amos, Joy Suther, Marie Tunstall, Peggy Polak, Pete Brake, Nancy Phillips, Jeff Turton, Marilyn Williams, EmilyWilliams, Kimberly Hartness, and Kevin Bell. Mariana & Richard Davis... 2/03 Amy & Harrel Johnson 2/16 Anniversaries Special Dates African-American History Month February, 2014 Boy Scout Sunday February 2, 2014 Valentine s Day February 14, 2014 President s Day February 17, 2014 February Unified Serving Schedule Feb Acolytes Crucifer Lay Reader / Chalice Bearer Ushers Altar Guild Flowers Vestry Greeter 2 Mary Beth Parish Sarah Rose Parish William Parish 8:00am - Lucy Gray 10:30am - Nancy Whitt Pat Olmert Maurice Floyd D. Boyd Kimball Shirley Young Jo & Wallace Cawthorne Barbara & John Foster Margaret & Bolton Jones Anne Almand 9 Liz Presho Amber Presho Chris Nelson 8:00am - Steve Flannagan 10:30am - Ruth Hartness Pat Olmert Maurice Floyd D. Boyd Kimball Mariana Davis Kathy Walters Tom Church 16 Genie Parish Anne Presho Matthew Williamson 8:00am - Bob Nelson 10:30am - Tom Church Pat Olmert Maurice Floyd D. Boyd Kimball Mariana Davis Bo Cheatham Porter Shaw 23 Uriah Ford Lehman Ford 8:00am - Hut Wester 10:30am - Nick Long Pat Olmert Maurice Floyd D. Boyd Kimball Anora Rainey Anora Rainey Kathy Taylor Coffee will be available in the Great Hall after the 10:30 am service 6

7 THE BELL TOWER Photos by M. Nelson 7

8 PHONE: THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS 210 South Chestnut Street Henderson, NC The Church of the Holy Innocents All are welcome to join us as we joyfully greet each person present at our worship. May our love and respect for one another be steady and true as we strive to follow Christ our Lord.