The Beacon of St. Alban s Illuminating the Word of God in the World

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1 March 2014 The Beacon of St. Alban s Illuminating the Word of God in the World Jesus said, Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Hear this as an invitation into Lent. This season of forty days leading up to Easter often is observed by taking on disciplines that add even heavier burdens to our lives. Instead, consider how you might focus during Lent on letting go of burdens and receiving the gifts of hope and new life that Jesus offers. What prevents you from resting in the love of God? You re too busy? Why not give up busyness for 10 minutes a day during Lent? You re too tired? Why not give up sleep deprivation for Lent? You don t know how to rest in God s love? Maybe a commitment to go to Bishop Sutton s Quiet Day would help you learn how to open to God in new ways. Does something occur to you that you might abandon or add to your life as a way of letting yourself receive the renewal that Jesus offers? Rather than trying something grand that easily may fail, try something small and easy as a way to begin. God works through even the smallest steps to strengthen us for greater things. For most of us, resentment, grief, and regret are heavy burdens that weigh us down. These reactions to life in an angry world can deflect God s healing power. Jesus invites us to lay these burdens aside: to forgive as he forgives, to love with his love. But how might we do this? During Lent, my sermons on Sundays and presentations on Wednesdays after our potluck suppers will focus on practical ways of relinquishing resentment and finding forgiveness. Inside Wednesdays in Lent.2 Shrove Tues Gypsy Jazz..2 Tabitha s Backpacks...3 Prayer Shawl and Stitching Ministries Fun d Raisers Lenten Boxes...5 Calendar..6-7 News & Happenings....8 St Albans Youth...9 Loan Repayment Fund...10 Tea With the Author...11 Finding God s Peace..11 March 2014 For others who live around us and across the world, the heavy burdens that weigh them down are hunger, having insufficient food for one s children, and the despair of feeling trapped in poverty. We at St. Alban s can serve as the heart and hands of Jesus in bringing relief from these burdens. Through offerings collected in Lenten boxes, we will make it possible for impoverished families to receive chickens or goats through Episcopal Relief and Development s gifts for life program. These animals enable

2 enable families to have food now and also to grow more chickens or goats to sell, escaping from poverty into productivity. They are gifts for life and gifts of hope. W hat gifts of hope and new life is Jesus offering you this Lent? Faithfully, Paula+ Wednesdays in Lent POTLUCK SUPPERS WITH PROGRAM Finding Your Way to Forgiveness 6:00 Supper (Bring food to share) 6:40 Program (with plans underway for a Homework Room) March 12 March 19 March 26 April 2 April 9 Living in God s Unconditional Love The Golden Thread in Your Life Compassion as Tender, Fierce, and Mischievous Forgiving Others Forgiving Yourself Music Notes- Gypsy Jazz with Ultra Faux on Shrove Tuesday! Join us following the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper (served by and benefitting St Albans Youth) at 7 PM in the church for an evening of Gypsy Jazz presented by Ultra Faux, a group from Baltimore. You ll be transported back to Paris in the 1930s when this type of music was popularized by Django Reinhart. Gypsy jazz musicians play acoustic instruments, typically guitars and a bass but accordions and clarinets and other instruments can join in the fun. All proceeds from this concert will benefit the Capitol Loan Repayment fund. 2 This Is the Church For You

3 Tabitha s Backpack/Buddy Bags By Sue Schroen, Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Since its beginning on April 1, 2012, Tabitha s Backpack Mission (TBM) has grown dramatically from five students at one elementary school to 28 students at three elementary schools and the Boys and Girls Club of Freetown, which we serve during the summer months. We now serve Pasadena, Oakwood and Richard Henry Lee Elementary Schools weekly, and anticipate serving Freetown Boys and Girls club again in the summer of In 2012 the TBM supplied 365 backpacks (2190 meals); in 2013 we have supplied roughly 900 backpacks (5400 meals). TBM has been able to accommodate such growth only through the support of the very dedicated volunteers of CELC, as well as the congregation s donations of both money and food. We have been blessed with several grants from Thrivent Financial which have been extremely helpful in allowing TBM to meet the needs of our quickly expanding number of children. St. Alban s Episcopal Church in Glen Burnie supports us regularly with food donations, as well as a dedicated volunteer couple who brings their donated food to Friendship Hall as they pick up backpacks each week and deliver them to Richard Henry Lee Elementary School (which is located a stone s throw from St. Albans). Prayer Shawl and Stitching Ministry The Prayer Shawl and Stitching Ministry meets the 2 nd Wednesday of the month from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the vestry room. Our faithful members continue to knit and crochet giving us a good supply of prayer shawls and lap robes at this time. These shawls and lap robes are made with prayers for healing for anyone needing healing in body, mind, or spirit. If you know of anyone needing the comfort of a prayer shawl or lap robe, please contact Barbara Phillips, Louise Izat, JoAnn Cherrico, or our church office. Also, JoAnn Cherrico has crocheted a number of beautiful white baptismal shawls and blankets which we look forward to seeing being given to the babies who will be baptized at Easter. The stitching part of our ministry are the women who sew the little girl dresses for orphans. To date 49 adorable dresses have been sent to Africa, with almost 10 more ready to go. If you would like to sew one of these dresses, please contact Barbara Phillips for a kit of fabric already cut and ready to sew. March

4 FUN d Raisers The Barbeque Dinner and Live Music was a great Success!! I would like to take this opportunity to again thank each of you for your support of our BBQ Pork Dinner. The wonderful dinner and Gypsy Jazz performance by Stan McFarland, Michael Arrington and Tom (friend of Stan s) made for a perfect combination. We served 117 people and at least 100 wondered how soon we would have another. The meat for the BBQ was prepared to perfection by Mark Lewis and Bill Carter thank you both so much!!! To all those who helped serve, clean-up, collect money - thank you - we could not have handled the size of the crowd without all of you. This was the 1st fundraiser with proceeds going to repay the Endowment Capital Improvement Loan and we were able raise $1300 at this event. Peg Davidson Quarter Auction Fundraiser St. Albans will hold a Quarter Auction fundraiser at the Moose Lodge on 1119 Crain Hwy. Glen Burnie Md on Monday March 3, Tickets are $5; this will get you admission to the event as well as 2 paddles for the event. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the event will begin at 7:00p.m. Make sure you mention St Albans if you pay at the door! ~How to Play~ Each item up for bid will be displayed for all guests to see. The auctioneer then gives a brief description, retail value and how many quarters you will need to bid. Guest will give their bid (quarters) and hold up their numbered paddle. If you have more than one paddle, you must place a bid for each one. When all bids are collected, then the auctioneer will draw a numbered chip from the container. If the number on the paddle matches the number on the chip drawn, the guest wins that item. If a matching numbered paddle is not held up, the auctioneer will draw again, until we have a winner. Once we have a winner all chips will be placed back in the container and go to the next item to be auctioned. ~How you can Help~ Donations are needed for the for St. Albans items up for bids, for example, gift cards, gift certificates to local restaurants, theme items such as sports, school, date night, and summertime. Baked goods and volunteers to work the bake table are also needed. Contact Maija Denson (maijadenson@gmail.com) to volunteer or see how you can help! 4 This Is the Church For You

5 Lenten Boxes and Episcopal Relief and Development This Lenten season, the Social Ministries Committee will collaborate with the Sunday School to focus on collecting coins (and checks if you are not a coin person) for Episcopal Relief and Development to buy chickens and goats for families to use for food and income. ERD Lenten boxes will be given out in the beginning of Lent. The season of Lent is a season of reflection. At St. Alban s we reflect on our own blessings and follow Jesus example of compassion for others by collecting coins in Lenten boxes to be used to help others less fortunate than we. In past years, Lenten box offerings were given to the Ark, a daycare center in Baltimore City for homeless children. This year, we are going to do things a little differently. The Social Ministries Committee will send a generous donation to the Ark and send the Lenten box offerings to ERD instead. Did you know ERD Sunday is traditionally the first Sunday in Lent? ERD s mission is to heal a hurting world. One way they accomplish that mission is to help impoverished families meet the daily challenge of feeding their children by giving them farm animals to raise. As little as $25 will buy a share of a flock of chickens, or $135 will buy an entire flock, to provide a family with a daily supply of eggs. In addition, they can raise chickens to sell surplus stock and eggs for income. As little as $80 will buy a family a goat to provide milk, cheese, and manure for organic farming. The program gives each family 2 or 3 goats so they can raise goats to sell the surplus for income. On Ash Wednesday and the first Sunday of Lent, booklets of daily meditations from ERD and Lenten offering boxes will be distributed. As we read our ERD daily mediations and pray about the suffering of others, let us give thanks for the enormous blessings like food and clean water that we take for granted. Express that gratitude by putting coins in your ERD Lenten box: coins that can make a very big difference in the lives of struggling families. Thank you for helping to heal a hurting world. March

6 March 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 8:00 am Holy Communion 10:30 am Holy Communion m Quarter Auction pm Pancake Supper 7-8 pm Gypsy Jazz Concert 7:30 pm Food Addiction 5 Ash Wednesday 7:00 pm Holy Communion 6 6:30 pm Handbells 7:30 pm Choir 7 7:30 pm Alanon 7:30 pm Alateen 8 9 am-3:30 pm Resting in God at St. Margarets 6-10 pm Bishop s Bash Youth Event St. John s Ellicott City 9 Episcopal Relief and Dev 8:00 am Holy Communion 10:30 am Holy Communion Paula s 1 year anniversary! :15 pm Yoga For Everyone 7:30 pm Food Addiction :000 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner and Compline 13 6:30 pm Handbells 7:30 pm Choir 14 7:30 pm Alanon 7:30 pm Alateen :00 am Holy Communion 10:30 am Holy Communion :00 pm Social Ministries 7:15 pm Yoga For Everyone 7:30 pm Ladies Guild 19 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner and Compline 7:00 pm Vestry Meeting 20 12:30 Lunch Bunch at Brian Boru s 6:30 pm Handbells 7:30 pm Choir 21 7:30 pm Alanon 7:30 pm Alateen :00 am Holy Communion 10:30 am Holy Communion :15 pm Yoga for Everyone 7:30 pm Food Addiction 26 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner and Compline 27 6:30 pm Handbells 7:30 pm Choir 28 7:30 pm Alanon 7:30 pm Alateen :00 am Holy Communion 10:30 am Holy Communion 31 6 This Is the Church For You March

7 Have Lunch with the Lunch Bunch! The Lunch Bunch is meeting at Brian Boru s in Severna Park at 12:30 on March 20th. Good Food and good fun and conversation! All are invited! March Birthdays Renee Weaver 3/04 Rich Bumgarner 3/09 Stephen Maceiko 3/14 George Smith 3/17 Margaret Hodor 3/18 Sharon Amrhein 3/20 Mark Cook 3/20 Cynthia Johns 3/21 Resting in God: The Art of Being Our bishop will present a day-long retreat on March 8, the first Saturday of Lent, at St. Margaret's Church in Annapolis. Bishop Sutton calls the retreat "Resting in God: The Art of Being." In this Lenten Quiet Day you will reflect on the nature of prayer as relationship with God, and explore the levels of relationship into which you can grow. You will learn and practice centering prayer as a way of contemplation-being guided by the Spirit beyond thoughts, words and emotions. Registration and coffee will begin at 9 am, and the retreat will end at 3:30 pm. Registration fee is $15, including lunch; scholarships are available. This event is cosponsored by Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, and co-hosted by St. Philip's, Annapolis. The address for St. Margaret's is 1601 Pleasant Plains Road, Annapolis. Interested? Contact the church office and a group may carpool together. Or register online at stmargarets.diomd.org. Please send your submissions for the April Beacon by March 29 to lynnmcfarland@gmail.com, or place them in the newsletter editor bin in the vestry room. 8 This Is the Church For You

8 In February the Youth Group members played a part in a couple of important events in the life of St. Alban's. On the 8th Bonnie and Bill Carter were joined by Victoria Murphy and Billy Seifert in helping out with the first annual St. Alban's Gypsy Jazz and Pulled Pork Bar -B-Que Event. Bonnie worked with Victoria and Billy serving the food while Bill worked back in the kitchen with "Chef Mark". We learned that Victoria prefers the Sweet Memphis style sauce and that Billy thought he didn't like pork BBQ but ended up asking his grandmother if they could buy any of leftover meat. Unfortunately there was less than enough for two sandwiches after everyone was served. On the 22nd Amelia Gish, Victoria Murphy, Bonnie and Bill participated in the Safeguarding God's Children workshop. This program provides some essential but startling insights into child abuse. It's not the most fun way to spend a day but it's important. Bonnie and Bill attended the workshop as part of our responsibility as Youth Group Adult Advisors and Amelia and Victoria attended as part of their responsibility as Sunday School Teachers. We are a blessed church to have young people who are involved in teaching the younger ones in Sunday School that dedicated their time on a Saturday to fulfill this responsibility. On the 23rd the Youth Group met during the 10:30 service and discussed upcoming plans. Those include serving at the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner, helping Kevin Gish sort a couple of thousand comic books and an overnight the weekend before Holy Week. Reverend Paula will be joining us for the overnight that will be in the church the night of April 11th. Thanks to all who were very flexible with the service on February 16. No heat in the church meant the service was held in the parish hall and the 10:30 service saw the choir singing all the hymns without any accompaniment! Flexibility was the name of the game that day! Thanks to Stan McFarland for leading the service and coming up with a sermon at the last minute! March

9 Loan Repayment Fund It all started in October 2008 when we borrowed $115, from our Endowment Fund to cover the cost of putting a new roof on our buildings. This is the origin of what was known as the Roof Fund. As other deferred maintenance projects became urgent, we needed to borrow more money: the Roof Fund began to be called the Accumulated Maintenance Fund, then the Capital Improvement Loan Repayment Fund. Perhaps it would be simplest to call it the Endowment Repayment Fund. Added projects included water proofing the church school and choir rooms, renovating the rectory, replacing a furnace and air conditioning units in the church building, and cladding wood that is rotting on the church exterior and around windows. The total we have borrowed from our Endowment Fund is $205,539. As of January, we had $120,832 left to pay. In the past we made full payments on the loan to the Endowment Fund every month. Unfortunately, during the last year the amount of money collected towards repaying the loan was not sufficient to cover the monthly payments. In order to continue making full payments on the loan, we began drawing money from the General Fund. The General Fund is the fund that is used to pay all of our routine bills and does not include any money that is given for a specific use. This approach could not be sustained. Consequently, your Vestry decided that when the money received is not sufficient to make a complete payment to the Endowment Repayment Fund, only a partial payment would be made. It was also decided that the interest on the loan always would be paid, even if money had to be drawn from the General Fund. In summary, we formally loaned ourselves money from the Endowment Fund to pay for necessary repairs, but when insufficient money comes in to make our payments, we have to borrow from the General Fund at least to pay the interest owed on the loan from the Endowment. Yet another decision concerned how to handle money that was donated as a memorial towards the Endowment Repayment Fund. Your Vestry made the decision that any contributions made to this Fund as a memorial gift will be applied only to the principal of the loan. This means that the memorial gift will be added to the payment after the interest has been covered. So that we may honor those individuals for whom a memorial contribution has been made, we will go through the records and create a list of their names. In the future, whenever a memorial contribution is made in the name of anyone not on the list, that name will be added. The Vestry will determine how to honor everyone on this memorial list. Since January, fundraising efforts have resulted in $1300 from the Pulled Pork Dinner and approximately $600 from Yoga. With a Quarter Auction and Jazz Concert coming up on March 3 and 4, there will be more to report next month. Assistant Treasurer Jim Koblinsky 10 This Is the Church For You

10 Tea and Book Signing at the Cathedral T. Felder Dorn, author of Challenges on the Emmaus Road: Episcopal Bishops Confront Slavery, Civil War and Emancipation. will speak, answer questions and sign books. March 9, 2014 at 4 PM Cathedral of the Incarnation, Baltimore Free Dr. Felder Dorn's book delves into the ways Episcopal bishops, North and South, confronted and responded to the issues and events of the turbulent nineteenth century. Dr. Dorn will speak specifically about our own Bishop William R. Whittingham, and will entertain questions and comments. The book will be sold at St. Bede's Books at the discounted price of $37.50, plus tax, and will be available for sale and signing at the event. Sunday March 9, 4pm, Peabody Room at the Diocesan Center.. Interested in carpooling? Phone the church office. At Claggett: Finding God s Peace Wednesday, March 12 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. $40 (optional Tuesday overnight in private room with breakfast for additional $60) Leader: The Rev. Loree Penner, St. Thomas' Church,Towson "Finding God's PEACE" Reviving the ancient Christian tradition of quarterly Ember Days, these day retreats offer time, silence, beauty and Sabbath rest for the weary. Come to the Claggett Center to be in the presence of GOD seeking His PEACE, listening to inspiring meditations and choosing to be quiet, walk the labyrinth, read in a comforatble chair, take a walk on the grounds, meditate in the silo chapel or reflect with friends. Register online at Thanks to the Ladies Guild Thanks to the Ladies Guild for generously contributing $5000 to the Endowment Repayment Fund. This gift will pay to clad the deteriorating wood on the front and back peaks of the windows including our beautiful stained glass. March

11 The Beacon of St. Alban s St. Alban s Episcopal Church 105 1st Ave SW Glen Burnie, MD Phone: , Fax: stalbans.church@verizon.net RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Sunday Worship Services 8:00 am - Holy Communion, Rite I (no music) 10:30 am - Holy Communion, Rite II (with music) Sunday School, K-8 and Nursery Church Office Hours Monday-Friday 9am-12 pm Priest In Charge Rev. Dr. Paula Datsko Barker 12 This Is the Church For You