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1 SERVICES SUNDAY 8:00 am Eucharist with hymns 9:00 am Fellowship 9:15 am (until 6/11) Education for Adults, Youth, and Children 10:15 am Summer Sunday School (begins 6/18) 10:30 am Eucharist with hymns 11:45 am Fellowship MONDAY 9:00 am Centering Prayer, Chapel THURSDAY 12:00 pm Eucharist, Chapel SATURDAY 9:00 am Centering Prayer, Chapel CALENDAR JUNE 3 6:00 pm, Guatemala Dinner, Great Hall, (details on page 2) JUNE 4 PENTECOST Bagpipes BBQ Chili Pies 12:00 pm, Picnic, Great Hall/Labyrinth JUNE 11 LAST SUNDAY OF PROGRAM YEAR JUNE 18 12:00 pm, St. Thomas 101, DelBene Family Library (details on page 4) JUNE 24 7:30 pm, Concert: Cascadian Chorale and Sacramento Master Singers, Church (details on page 5) JUNE 25 12:00 pm, Book Chat, DelBene Family Library THE COLLECT June 2017 St. Thomas Episcopal Church P. O. Box 124 Medina, WA FROM THE RECTOR Roads to Reconciliation By The Rev. Lex Breckinridge O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen This is the Thanksgiving for the Diversity of Races and Cultures found in the Book of Common Prayer. It nicely captures the biblical understanding that we are each made in God s image. And if that s the case, which the Bible assures us it is, then the diversity of races and cultures in our world are part of God s vision for humanity, a beautiful multi-colored tapestry in which each color is vital. Remove one thread, and the entire work of art is diminished. At the heart of our calling as individual Christians and as this Christian community of St. Thomas is the work of reconciliation. We are called to be agents of God s healing grace in a world so badly in need of it. This call means that our circle of fellowship and compassion must always be moving outside our boundaries and borders and tribes, which are artificial barriers in any event, to embrace all God s People. Every single one. We have no more important work to do. And there is an amazing payoff! As we widen our circles of fellowship, our own loves will be immeasurably enriched. A monochromatic world is pretty boring at the end of the day. Just because our call to be agents of God s healing grace in this fractured world is a sober and serious one doesn t mean it must be somber one. Humor is also healing! And so it was on a recent Thursday evening when nationally renowned cartoonist, social activist, father, and educator, Keith Knight to joined us for a presentation and panel discussion on racial reconciliation. With laughter and thoughtful discussions, we spent the evening considering how to build loving, inclusive, and resilient communities in a diverse range of social, cultural, and political contexts. Four panelists were with us to respond to Keith and offer their own perspectives: Heidi Kim, Officer for Racial Reconciliation of The Episcopal Church, who lives in Bellevue, The Rev Mercedes Tudy-Hamilton, Senior Pastor of Primm AME Church in Rainier Valley, who has preached at St. Thomas, Dwight Jackson, Services Coordinator at Congregations for the Homeless, who provided a perspective on the racial implications of homelessness, and Cindy Adkins, Medina City Council representative, who spoke about white advantage and how unconscious she, as [continued on page 2}

2 FROM THE RECTOR [continued from page 1] a white person, has often been about its pernicious effects. The panelists shared various resources for further study and discussion. Among those resources are: BOOKS The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander Just Mercy, Brian Stevenson Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, The Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas People s History of the United States, Howard Zinn ONLINE RESOURCES YouTube: Tim Wise Robin DiAngelo: Racial Equity Tools: Articles by people of color: We at St Thomas have a lot of learning and work to do in order to play our part in healing and reconciling relations among and between the various and diverse people of God. And because of the great diversity in which we live here on the Eastside, we are in a unique environment to do this good work. So we must equip ourselves, by prayer, study, and action. One very positive step we can take is to deepen our relationship with our fellow Christians and friends in the Primm AME community. There will be more to follow. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, those who were touched by the fire began to speak in a multiplicity of languages and tongues. They moved outward from their previous tribal boundaries and shared the Good News with the whole world. The same call comes to us here in this place and in this time. May we be agents of this uniting fire on this day and always. Faithfully, Join the St. Thomas community as we celebrate and support our 2017 Youth Mission Team with a dinner party fundraiser as they prepare to serve in Guatemala this August. Enjoy a fantastic Guatemalan-themed meal, learn about the history and culture of Guatemala, hear about the work of Safe Passage, the organization we partner with, and discover how our youth are transformed as they serve Christ in others near and far. Tickets for the evening are $35. Can t join us? Please consider making a donation to our mission team here. Any and every amount is welcome! Reserve your dinner(s) or donate at: 2 THE COLLECT

3 FROM THE ASSOCIATE RECTOR Summer Day By The Rev. Karen Haig THE SUMMER DAY Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver I heard Mary Oliver read this poem many years ago at Seattle s Town Hall. I will never forget that experience. Sitting in a room with her, listening to her read and tell out tiny bits of her life was an experience of being in that liminal space where chronos time ceases to exist and Kairos time is all there is. I think that is the magic of The Summer Day. It s a poem to remind us of the sacredness of absolutely everything, if only we will pay attention. If only we will take the time. Have YOU ever fed sugar to a grasshopper, looked into her eyes and wondered what sort of a Creator would have created her? I haven t but I once stood utterly still, with seed in my outstretched hand until the birds who had been watching finally came to eat. I don t know how long it was that I waited, and it didn t matter anyway. That s what happens when we re truly present time disappears itself and we too find that we are idle and blessed. As we enter into the summer season, when days are a little slower and longer and there is perhaps a bit of leisure in our lives, I hope you will allow yourself a good dose of idleness. Oh I know that is antithetical to our do more, get more world, I know that being idle more often sounds like a criticism than a blessing, but it is a blessing to you, to those around you, to the world. When we stop the chatter, stop the busy-ness, stop the doing, we have the space that we need just to be. And it s only when we do that, that we can be truly present to the holiness of everything around us. The world is precious and beautiful. So are you. So slow down, pay attention, be where you are and nowhere else. You ll be amazed by what you experience. Wishing you all the blessings of summer, JUNE

4 ST. THOMAS 101 As Reverend Karen noted in her May 21 sermon, The Gospel comes alive in context and community and so do we! We have developed, and will try out through at least December, St. Thomas 101 as an avenue for all interested to learn about the broad array of ways to connect to the St. Thomas community. The no-rsvp-required presentation illuminates four paths for connection: worship, faith formation, service, and fellowship. St. Thomas 101 differs from and complements the three-part Newcomers Series offered by Father Steve in the past. Specifically, St. Thomas 101 is only one session; is presented from a parishioner perspective and thus does not delve into theological matters; provides an overview of the wide variety of ways to connect to the parish community as well as suggestions for how to get started; and offers a point-of-contact if desired for introductions to ministry leaders and/or ongoing navigation support. St. Thomas 101 is likely most helpful for seekers and newcomers to the parish, but because our circumstances and life contexts continually change it is also appropriate for those who have been attending for some time and may be looking for a new way to enrich their lives. We will offer St. Thomas 101 on the third Sunday of every month from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Del Bene Family Library in the Ebsworth Life Center. No RSVP required. Contact: Lorraine McReynolds, lsmcreynolds@gmail.com or ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS By Lisalynn Reed Ever since Palm Sunday in Godly Play, we keep encountering lessons with circles. The circle of Holy Eucharist circles in the Good Shepherd & World Communion and the circle of Jesus life his birth, his work, his death, and his resurrection our salvation and the promise of eternal life in Him. The kids children are learning through these circles that endings are not only endings, they are also beginnings. One thing ends, another begins; this is life. We are approaching the end of our program year, but and the beginning of our summer program is right behind it! With that in mind I have two invitations: At the 10:30 am service on Sunday, June 11, everyone at St. Thomas is invited to recognize and thank the Godly Play and Kids Club volunteers who served so faithfully throughout our program year. These special people help with the faith formation of our younger kids children September to June let s tell them what a gift and blessing they are! All kids children age 4 through entering 5 th grade are invited to participate in our Summer Program. We will meet in the Kids Club room on Sunday mornings from 10:15 to 11:15 am beginning June 18 and running through September 3. We will have Bible stories, art, crafts, cooking, games, music this is the place to be this summer at St. Thomas! 4 THE COLLECT

5 PARISH LIFE JOIN US AT THE SYMPHONY Bring more music into your life by attending Seattle Symphony concerts on Friday afternoons. Subscriptions are available now to hear five fabulous programs beginning on October 27. Complimentary luxury bus travel to Benaroya Hall is included and leaves Sacred Heart Church on Clyde Hill at 10:00 am. Lunch is available for purchase or you can bring your own. If you wish to attend, a lecture is presented at 11:00 am, and the concert begins at 12 noon. Transportation home directly follows the concert. There is excellent seating everywhere. Do consider joining St. Thomas members and friends to hear this beautiful music. October 27 Vivaldi s The Four Seasons and Avison s Concerto Grosso December 1 Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninov and Symphony in D Minor by Franck February 2 March 9 Rachmaninov s Symphony No. 3 and Elgar s Violin Concerto The Fair Melusine Overture by Mendelssohn, Haydn s Symphony No. 49 and Schubert s Symphony No. 8 March 30 Beethoven s Emperor Piano Concerto No. 5 and Symphony No. 2 by Sibelius Contact: Jean Haehl at jhaehl@comcast.net or or BELOVED Saturday, June 24, :30 pm Two exceptional choral groups, Cascadian Chorale and the Sacramento Master Singers invite the public to experience a lifetime of love in the span of just one concert! Falling in love, promising an eternity of love, or dealing with love s loss has inspired some of the best choral music ever written. Musical selections will explore the excitement, joys, thrills, heartbreaks, and disappointments of love, including the dramatic And So I Go On for double choir by Jake Runestad. The Three Shakespeare Songs of Ralph Vaughan Williams plumb the depths of the human soul. Alice Parker s Johnny I hardly knew ye mimics war instruments to tell a tragic tale, and the Four Lewis Carroll Songs by Karen P. Thomas brim over with whimsy. Tickets in advance: $17 Adult, $12 Seniors, Children free with paying adult. Purchase tickets through Brown Paper Tickets or at the Cascadian Chorale website: Tickets will also be available at the door. JUNE

6 ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH Vestry Anne Corley, Senior Warden Michael Greenberg, Junior Warden Fred Barkman, Treasurer Andrea Sato-Borgmann, Chancellor Pat Hughes, Clerk Anne Bentley Bill Cahill Jim Hughes Yvonne Lamey Molly McConkey Lorraine McReynolds Mark Nelson David Paranchych Kathy Smith Fred Williams Staff The Right Rev. Greg Rickel, Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia The Rev. Lex Breckinridge, Rector The Rev. Stephen W. Best, Associate for Couples & Family Life The Rev. Karen Haig, Associate Rector Doug Cleveland, Director of Music & Liturgical Arts Tim Blok, Director of Youth Choirs Brian Gregory, Associate for Youth Ministries Lisalynn Reed, Godly Play Coordinator Kathleen Higgins, Kids Club Coordinator Rachel Best & Maria Pineda, Childcare Providers Carey Sheffield, Director, Community Connections Doug Anderson, Day Porter Greg Murray, Chief Operating Officer Laura Gregg, Executive Assistant to the Rector The Collect Anne Corley, Assistant Editor Laura Gregg, Layout and Production Editor Deadline: For the July issue, June 12. Please submit copy to stthomasmedina.org or leave in the mailslot marked Collect at the church. All articles will be edited. Questions? Please call Laura at CHESTER CREEK (where answers may be found) I plod, walking my dog on the trail next to the creek, Burdened with pain due to the move from my lake home. Where to go from here into the unknown future with no course presenting itself? I pass solid white Birch who have no such concern relaxed because when it is time for change the wind will just drop them in place with no necessary journey. Why cannot my course have the same clear end? At last I reach the bench next the creek. Here I notice the happy chuckling of the creek as it rushes past. I feel at once that there is nothing anxious in their journey, just the pleasure of being what each drop is A drop on its way to somewhere never before seen filled with the joy of discovery. What will be around the next bend? a pool? Another sharp bend? Perhaps a steep fall, hundreds of feet onto spattering rocks and then onward! They will not be stopped by the unknown, but cherish the trip full of new knowledge as they head for the ocean, unknown source of all I feel their lack of fear and reassess my own. Nancy Elliott Sydnam, MD, sister of Ann Boynton 6 THE COLLECT

7 JUNE ST. THOMAS SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY :00a Altar Guild 4 PENTECOST 8:00a Holy Eucharist 9:15a Education for All 10:30a Holy Eucharist 12:00p Pentecost Picnic 11 8:00a Holy Eucharist 9:15a Education for All 10:30a Holy Eucharist 5 6:30p Finance Comm :45a Bible Study 7:30p Boy Scouts 13 10:45a Bible Study :00o Guatemala Dinner 10 9:00a Altar Guild 17 9:00a Altar Guild 18 8:00a Holy Eucharist 10:15a Sunday School 10:30a Holy Eucharist 12:00p St. Thomas :00a Holy Eucharist 10:15a Sunday School 10:30a Holy Eucharist 12:00p Book Chat :30p Boy Scouts 20 6:30p Vestry 7:30p Boy Scouts :00a Sandwich Makers :00a Altar Guild 7:30p Cascadian Chorale Concert 7:30p Boy Scouts These are just some of the events happening on the St. Thomas campus this month. To schedule meetings or other activities, please call or the church office office@stthomasmedina.org Church Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm JUNE

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