The Song of Saint Francis

Transcription

1 The Song of Saint Francis Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church Salter Path, North Carolina March 2015 Thru 3/25 It s a Date! Lenten supper programs 3/10 SFBTS ECW meeting 3/11 Prayer shawl 3/21 ECW Lenten retreat 3/21 Yard Sale 3/25 Prayer shawl 3/29 Palm Sunday 4/2 Maundy Thursday 4/3 Good Friday 4/5 Easter Sunday 4/15 Celtic Eucharist resumes 6/12 Summer concert #1 7/10 Summer concert #2 8/7 Summer concert #3 9/11 Summer concert #4 My house has grown too large since my wife died a year ago, so it is up for sale. I will move over to the beach, closer to my work at St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church, to smaller quarters. This is the time to jettison with abandon. The more I jettison, the larger the house grows. My children have received more furniture, photographs, paintings, and craft supplies than they know what to do with. When we moved into this house nearly seven years ago, our challenge was to find the right spot for all of the things we brought with us from the houses we had lived in before. Now the challenge is different. What few things must stay, and why? As the house is relieved of its clutter, it is becoming more peaceful for me, and reflective of this time of forming a new identity. I am no longer a couple and must figure out what possessions and space best support me now. Few possessions are needed, I am learning, and not much space. Silence is needed in large dollops. The television has been off since November. But I am going broke buying books for my Kindle. The Finding Your Path work of transformation is quiet work. It requires that you be present to yourself, that you listen to the still small voice inside, and that you summon the courage to follow a new path. I am finding that the silence tends to lead to peace. I like this ancient Celtic rune: the running wave to you. the flowing air to you. the quiet earth to you. the shining stars to you. the infinite peace to you. It is good that there is plenty of jettisoning yet to be done. Perhaps when the number of my possessions is just right, and there is space for new life, and silence has become thunderous, I will know the peace that drops slowly into the deep heart's core. I will be following a new path, one that is just right for me. My work is the work of us all. We shall not cease developing and growing in this life. So long as there is breath, there is hope. (Continued on page 2)

2 Page 2 I can never express the full measure of my gratitude to so many of you who have continued to grow, and to find joy and laughter, on the far side of difficult experiences. You are my models, my teachers, and my inspiration. I am thankful to be counted among you. Finding the right path is our theme this Lent. Let us continue to walk together into God. The Top 5 Things to Know about the Lobsterfest by Robin Smith Everett+ Here are the Top Five Things to Know about Lobsterfest Yes, it is indeed time to start planning. When Terry Smith stood up a few weeks ago to announce that planning was underway for Lobsterfest 2015, I could detect some surprise, as if some folks were thinking, Didn t we just finish Lobsterfest 2014?? It may seem that way, but it is definitely time to plan for our biggest fundraiser, and there is a group of folks who are already working on arrangements 4. Lobsterfest is our largest fundraiser. Last year, our Lobsterfest raised over $31,000, profiting the church $12,572. This money helped fund our operating budget, including several areas of ministry that are important to all of us. 3. Lobsterfest is a BIG undertaking. There is much work to be done ahead of time with ticket sales, planning, advertising, preparing sides and desserts, and setting up. There is also a multitude of jobs for the day of the Lobsterfest, including cooking, cutting, ticket management, order fulfillment, material handling, service for those who dine in, and lots of clean up. 2. October is Lobster time. The date will be either October 10 or 24, so please tentatively reserve both dates on your calendar for now, because everyone can contribute to this effort in some way. 1. We need your help! A group of dedicated volunteers has led this effort for many years, and they are ready to share their expertise with the next group of leaders. What can you do to support this fundraiser? Terry Smith will be happy to hear from you, so please respond to him at tmsmith1023@gmail.com to let him know how you can help. If you have ideas about this project, feel free to share those with Terry as well. The Fundraising Tradition at St. Francis by the Sea St. Francis parishioners have a long tradition of sharing time, talent, and funds to address a variety of community needs. These are the many causes that we support annually: February February May June September September October December Ongoing Souper Bowl of Caring Pancake supper Camp Trinity United Thank Offering Parish Teachers African Team Ministries Lobster Fest Project Christmas Cheer/Angel Tree Martha s Mission, Hope Mission, Broad Street Clinic, Boys and Girls Club Thank you for all you do.

3 Page 3 Grace Notes by Linda Laughton, Music Director A couple weeks ago, Mary Hartmann notified me via that she and husband, Mike, would be worshiping at St. Francis on Sunday, March 8 while visiting the beach. Mike and Mary are former St. Francis choristers, now residing near Asheville, NC, who, like many others that come, return again and again. As luck would have it, their schedule allowed them to join the choir for rehearsal the preceding Friday, and Mary asked about the anthem we would be singing. Delighted to know that we would have additional singers in the choir, I checked my schedule and Googled the title of the anthem for that week to find a suitable performance so that Mary and Mike could listen and learn. Interestingly, one of the top videos of the anthem for that Sunday, Teach me Thy Way, O Lord, music by William Fox (d. 1579), arranged by Anthony Greening ( ), is one of our own PODCASTS by the St. Francis choir, so I sent Mary the link. She replied: Wow, that video is beautiful! The choir sounds fantastic! Thank you, Mary! I recall the early days of my music studies when finding a recording of a piece required a trip to the nearest university music library; if the library had a recording, we would go to a listening room and play a reel-to-reel tape on a tape player, or a vinyl record on a phonograph (archaic terms!). Often, recordings were not available and we were left with yet another opportunity to creatively interpret the notation of the printed score. Today, as a valuable learning tool, the internet provides musicians the instant benefit of listening to others' interpretations of a score at any time. Students who read music can learn a piece faster when they first have an idea of what the piece should sound like. But much is lost in understanding if we rely solely on the crutch of rote listening for learning. Happily for choristers at St. Francis, we are using the newly revised Voice for Life training curriculum to keep our notation reading skills sharpened, and to remind us that true understanding comes from carefully looking at a printed piece of music in many different ways. Over the next several weeks, each chorister will cycle through the graded levels thankfully, the revised curriculum uses 8 th notes and quarter notes instead of quavers and crotchets! This is a great time to join the choir and take advantage of the newly revised Voice for Life training. Welcome to our newest choir member, Bill Bechtold, bass, of Emerald Isle. Bill has a chair in the bass section for half of the year as he spends the other half of the year at his home in Cape Cod. Planning for the 2015 Summer Concert Series at St. Francis is well underway. This year's dates are Friday, June 12, Friday July 10, Friday August 7, and Friday, September 11. Please pencil the dates on your calendars so you won't miss these very special art and music pairings in our beautiful gallery and sanctuary. Look for more details on these programs in April and May. Stay tuned! Linda Prayer Shawl...Plus! The Prayer Shawl Ministry will gather on Wednesday, March 11 and 25, at 10:00 in the parish hall. Come and share your talent, whether or not your item is intended for the Prayer Shawl Ministry. All are welcome to join the gathering to knit one and pray too. Yarn is available free of charge. Beginners are always welcome! 1 Tootie Piver 5 Jay Randall 5 Leigh Westbrook 8 Bowen Ellis 10 Sharon Whitehurst 12 Tom Tempel 12 Jean Turner 14 Andrew Burns 17 Pat Shuping March Birthdays 24 Christian Pruitt 26 Graham Pittman 27 Tim Bradford 31 Jean Nelson

4 Page 4 My Path Toward the Diaconate (Part 1) by Carol Eaton Several people have asked me when I heard the call to the diaconate. Probably ministry had been in my mind since I was a little girl. I would set up an altar in my bedroom that included candles which my parents felt were best left unlit. However, at the same time I wanted to be a teacher and that was the career path I followed until my children were born. Over the years I attended many different Episcopal churches due to my husband s career moves to various cities. Like most newcomers I would search for the nearest Episcopal Church and become involved teaching Sunday School, being on Vestry, participating as a lay reader and chalice bearer, and other church activities. It was in the Diocese of Western North Carolina and my involvement in Towel Ministry that I began to think about diaconal ministry when my husband answered a call to come to St. Peter s in Swansboro. So for several years I put aside my thoughts toward the diaconate. However, the diaconal pull continued to grow in my heart and mind. I talked to former Archdeacon Joy Dosher and Archdeacon John Gaskill who with other priests encouraged me to begin the process. First, I needed my priest s approval, which happened to be my husband, and then to form a discernment committee. Since my situation being the wife of a priest and attending his church, my discernment group in 2010 consisted of St. Peter s members and St. Francis s members including Marilyn Smetana and Betsy Randall. With their approval and St. Peter s and St. Francis vestries approval, Father Thomas and I met with former Bishop Daniel. After my approval by Bishop Daniel, I was required to have a complete medical and psychiatric exam and then be presented to the Commission on Ministry in November, 2010, for an interview. After Bishop Daniel received a positive letter from the COM, I was admitted for Postulancy in December During this time there was no Diaconal School in this diocese. While a group of priests and deacons led by Archdeacon Gaskill developed the school, I became involved with St. Anne s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville during the next year. This gave me additional time to contemplate such an important decision and participate fully in a different church than my own. (Part 2 to be continued next month) March 3/1 3/8 3/15 3/22 Youth Sunday Vestry Stover Morris Jay Randall Heather Pace Robin Smith Lector Dan Riddle Mary Kurek Prayers Romaine Riddle Mary Anne Ragland TedGoetzinger Chalice Altar Guild Jolene McCann Marilyn Smetana Bobbie Hill Phyllis Makuck Marilyn & Andy Smetana Mary Anne Ragland Meg Bradford Mary Anne Ragland Bob Gallo Marian Goetzinger Bobbie Hill Crucifer Tim Bradford Larry Castle Bible Bearer Torch Bearers Tim Bradford Lay Ministry Schedule Martha Edwards Tim Bradford Sound System John Clarke Stover Morris John Marriott John Clarke Nursery Bobbie Hill Beth Beswick Jeannie Baxter Sue Ingram Marian Goetzinger Marian Goetzinger Marian Goetzinger Marian Goetzinger 3/29 Donna Standley Meg Bradford Marilyn Smetana Bob Gallo Jolene McCann Meg Bradford Bobbie Hill Tim Bradford Terry Griffin Larry Castle Ed Dombrofski Sam Baxter Marian Goetzinger Assistant Mary Kurek Rita Roberts Mary Kurek Amy Hahn Mary Kurek Coffee Hour Frances & Graham Pittman Judi Matzke Virginia Maxwell Carol & Don McVitty Marion & Stover Morris

5 Page 5 Lay Ministry Schedule Opportunities remain to serve next month. Please see the sign-up sheet at the Parish Office window. April 4/2 7:00 Maundy Thursday 4/3 Noon Good Friday 4/5 9:00 Easter 4/5 11:00 Easter Vestry Stover Morris Tom Tempel Larry Castle Lector Carol McVitty Libba Shelton Bill Bottlinger Prayers Jean Turner Ted Goetzinger Carol McVitty Chalice Altar Guild Jean Turner Jolene McCann Crucifer Jim Turner Bible Bearer Torch Bearers Sound System Nursery Assistant Coffee Hour If you are unable to fulfill an assignment, please let us know the name of your replacement. April 4/12 4/19 4/26 Youth Sunday Vestry Terry Griffin Harold O Briant Jay Randall Lector Prayers Marilyn Smetana Mary Anne Ragland Chalice Altar Guild Marilyn & Andy Smetana Mary Anne Ragland Marian Goetzinger Endowment Fund Match $14,449 as of March 1! $10,551 to go! Crucifer Bible Bearer Torch Bearers Sound System Nursery Marian Goetzinger Marian Goetzinger Marian Goetzinger Assistant Coffee Hour Betsy & Jay Randall Trish & Jess Randall Ellen & John Marriott

6 Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church PO Box 7 Salter Path, NC Save the dates! First Class Mail Buy a commemorative brick! More info at or contact the church. Easter Service Schedule March 29 Palm Sunday 10:00 am April 2 Maundy Thursday 7:00 pm April 3 Good Friday 12:00 noon April 5 Easter Sunday 9:00 and 11:00 am April 15 Celtic Eucharist resumes 12:00 noon Adult Forum at 9:00 am; Sunday Service and Children s Class for ages 4 and up at 10:00 am Wednesday Celtic Eucharist at 12:00 noon Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church is a parish in the Diocese of East Carolina The Right Reverend Peter Lee, Bishop The Rev. Everett Thomas, Ph.D. Phone: (252) stfrancisbts@gmail.com Sharon Watling Parish Administrator Phone: (252) stfrancisbts@gmail.com Linda Laughton Music Director Vestry Class of 2015 Terry Griffin Robin Smith Tom Tempel Vestry Class of 2016 Stover Morris, Senior Warden Heather Pace Jay Randall Vestry Class of 2017 Larry Castle, Junior Warden Harold O Briant Donna Standley Frances Pittman Treasurer Sharon Watling Clerk of the Vestry David Shapiro Sexton The Song of Saint Francis is a monthly publication of Saint Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church. North side of NC 58 between Mile Marker 10 and 10½ PO Box Salter Path Road, Salter Path, North Carolina (252) All rights reserved stfrancisbts@gmail.com