Dear People of St. Alban s Dear Friends,

Transcription

1 serving God by serving others F E B R U A R Y Dear People of St. Alban s Dear Friends, Inside Introducing Rev. Pan... 2 Caring Ministries... 3 Rev. Cindy Memorial... 3 HOPE... 4 Ladies Guild... 4 Glen Burnie Reading Camp... 4 Communications Ministries... 4 Building & Grounds Ministries... 5 Strategic Planning... 5 Lenten Boxes... 5 Financial Ministries... 5 Upcoming Events at St. Albans... 6 Calendar... 7 A couple weeks ago we held our Annual Meeng which was a review of the past year. New Vestry members were voted in and Ministry Areas were presented with contact informaon for each ministry. Each of the leaders have wrien a brief explanaon of what their Ministry entails. It is the hope of your Vestry and Ministry leaders that one of these areas will spark your interest. Maybe you would start thinking about being one of our ushers or offer to make a casserole that will be given to someone in the congregaon who could use the help. Do you have an idea of something that could be put in a welcome package? Many of the needs in the Ministry areas are a one me or a short term commitment. So oen we don t want to volunteer thinking it will be long term and very me consuming. This is not the always case. So how about taking another look at the different Ministries this me asking what can I do to help? I menoned the new Vestry, here is the list of members. Please contact any of them if you have any quesons or concerns. Senior Warden, Peg Davidson Junior Warden, Bob Hendrix Treasurer, Bob Lumbert Registrar, Maija Denson Rich Bumgarner Kevin Gish Sue Glantz Mike Jones Dan Mizerak Mary Moran Caitlin Murphy Addionally, aached there is a photo and brief biography of Pan Conrad, our future Priest-in-Charge. Just as Cindy+, Paula+ and those before them have each brought us to a beer place, I have every confidence that Pan will do the same for the people of St. Albans. Pan first day at St. Alban s will be June 14 th. Unl that me we will connue with our regular Sunday 8 and 10:30 Eucharist Services with Rev. Jim Holmes officiang. (Going Forward...Connued on page 2) February

2 (Connued from page 1) On Saturday, March 4 th we would like to have a covered dish dinner. This is not a fundraiser. It is a me for our congregaon to get together and enjoy our fellowship. We have been through much these past couple of months and what a beer way to heal than sharing food and fellowship. More informaon will follow. Together, as the resilient, loving and dedicated members of St. Albans, we will connue to support each other and carry on as Christ would have us do. God s blessings to all, Peg Davidson Introducing the Rev. Pamela Conrad, Ph.D. Our New Priest-in-Charge Pan has followed quite a circuitous path in her faith journey, and her highest priority in life is to love. Pan has followed quite a circuitous path in her faith journey, and her highest priority in life is to love and serve the God who loves us all. She is very excited to be a part of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement! Aer exploring the extreme environments of the Earth from pole to pole, high altude deserts to the very boom of the Pacific Ocean, Pan realized that the breadth and depth of Creaon doesn't begin to match awesomeness of its Creator. So she began an exploraon of a different nature, deepening her Chrisan walk, and learning more about theology, our Holy Scriptures, social jusce ministry, and our faith history and polity. That sneaky Holy Spirit prompted Pan to discern whether or not she might be called to ordained ministry, and that discernment came to its conclusion when she was ordained to the transional diaconate in the Diocese of Maryland earlier in January. Throughout her me in discernment and then as a postulant seminarian at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge MA, Pan also worked full me as a planetary scienst and astrobiologist at NASA as one of the leaders of the Curiosity Rover's mission to Mars. In just a few weeks, Pan's formal career as a space explorer will come to a close, as she takes up full-me exploraon of the community of believers in the Episcopal Church! She is so excited about being called to serve at St. Alban's Parish, that she can't wait to finish her final semester at seminary so she can spend all her me with you! Pan is a nave Marylander from Montgomery County, where her parents sll reside. Aer 11 years in California, she returned to Maryland and has lived in Annapolis since Her formal educaon includes Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music, a Master's degree in geology, a Ph.D. in mineral physics and the Master of Divinity degree that will be conferred on May 18th (not that she's counng the days)! She actually aended the Training for a Safe Church here at St Albans. Building community in the Body of Christ is Pan's consuming passion, however she sll thinks God's Creaon is prey awesome to behold. If you ask, she'll be happy to whip out her telescope and show you the moons of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn! Or maybe take you on a field trip to explore the history of this wonderful planet that God has made? Pan and elderly dog Comet will be up in Boston unl mid-may while she finishes up her seminary training. In the meanwhile, spouse Nina Barra, is holding down the fort at their home in Annapolis with the two cats, Natasha and Boris. Pan s first day with us will be June 18 th. Unl then we will have the Rev. Jim Holmes as our supply. Our schedule will connue as it has, 8am Eucharist Rite I and 10:30 Rite II 2 Serving God by Serving Others

3 St. Alban s NEW Caring Ministries - Joan Rumenap Within the next few months, the Caring Ministries Program, led by Joan Rumenap is looking to start up the following acvies and can use your help: Develop a casserole schedule where church members are asked to make 1 casserole/year. Casseroles will be frozen and kept in the church freezer downstairs and delivered as needed. To start successfully, we will start with the Ladies Guild to make this request, then roll it out to the enre church during both services. We'll have easy recipes similar to the ones made for Our Daily Bread or if someone has a favorite, that s fine too. Connue with our gi card requests for people who don t like to cook or are unable. To get others involved with our sending of cards, we are looking for volunteers to assist with this. The Caring Ministries will supply the cards and stamps. We would also like the Sunday School to get involved with this, who doesn t love geng hand-made cards made by children. There are now 4 people who have been trained as Lay Eucharisc Visitors Peg Davidson, Carol DeGarmo, Ann Marshall and Joan Rumenap. Carol and Joan will be taking the lead on this with Ann and Peg being back-up. On at least a monthly basis, communion will be taken to those who are unable to aend church. As we get more comfortable in our role, and based on the needs of our parishioners, we will increase our visits. We are also requesng a male parishioner to be part of our vising group. To make sure we don t miss people who aren t aending on a regular basis, Charlene will print out a list of church members and I ll develop a spreadsheet that will be easy for the ushers to check off on a weekly basis. The spreadsheet will be reviewed on a regular basis so we don t miss someone thinking they came to a different service. Similar to our lunch bunch, we would like to see if there is any interest in starng up a Hollywood Group where once/month during the day a group will go to the movies. This group can be very flexible, if there s a movie that peaks an interest we ll go if no interest we ll plan for another me. Joan knows there are many people in our church that would like to go to the movies but don t want to go by themselves. She s buying the first bucket of popcorn! The following message was published in the memorial bullen at Rev. Cindy s service. We are reprinng it here for members of St. Alban s who were unable to aend the service. To the congregaon of Saint Alban s Episcopal Church, I thank you for giving Cindy+ the perfect place to use her gis and talents as a healer, a teacher, a preacher and a cheerleader. As a former beauty queen (and perpetual princess) she loved to shine and she shone with the Light of Christ in your parish. She absolutely adored you and was devastated when she had to rere. It was a difficult decision although the right one. You gave her so much joy and the affirmaon she needed that she was truly a valued priest in this diocese. I love you too and thank you for making my wife a beer priest, a beer friend, and even a beer Cindy+ Please send your submissions for the March Beacon by February 20 to newsleer@saintalbanschurch.org February

4 Guest Speaker: Leo Zerhusen of HOPE Leo Zerhusen of HOPE Tuesday, February 21 st at 7:00 Social Ministries and the Guild have collaborated to invite our next guest speaker to St. Alban s this month. Leo Zerhusen of HOPE organizaon will speak at the next Guild meeng. ALL PARISHIONERS ARE INVITED! The HOPE organizaon has a vital ministry to families in Anne Arundel County, transioning families experiencing homelessness into rental apartments and houses. Also, HOPE travels twice a year to help disadvantaged families in Appalachia. In our own county, families living in shelters or in their cars need basics to set up a home; basics like furniture, household items, pots and pans, and cleaning products when they move into a home. It has been five years since Leo Zerhusen has been a guest speaker at St. Alban s. We support HOPE every year with a financial donaon. Come hear him update us on all the wonderful things HOPE does to help families in our county and how else we might help. St. Alban s Ladies Guild - Mary Moran The Guild will connue to provide funeral luncheons on a requested basis as we have done in the past. And our flea markets are also planned to take place in May and September. Our tradional Turkey Dinner and Fall Bazaar is currently scheduled for Saturday, the eleventh of November. Please give some thought to what you might want to contribute to this wonderful event. We invite all the ladies of the church (automacally members of the Guild) to come out and get involved in some of these acvies. Yes, it's somemes hard work but a joy to be part of these affairs. The Ladies' Guild wants to take this opportunity to thank all of the ladies who make our events possible. You are a real treasure and very much a blessing to our church. Glen Burnie Reading Camp: July 17-21, 2017 February is the month we start geng ready for this summer s reading camp. We are developing and sending out camper applicaons, introductory leers and a brochure, making arrangements for field trips, lining up guest speakers, planning our fundraising (don t forget the Quarter Aucon May 1 st ), and looking for volunteers of teachers, counselors, nurses, pleasure readers, administrave assistance, the food prep team, and chaperones for field trips. If you are interested in helping to plan this year s camp, please contact Maija Denson or Louise Izat. Won t you put Monday Friday, July 17 21, on your calendar and consider giving a few hours, a half day, or an enre day to help St. Alban s hold our third successful Glen Burnie Reading Camp? It is not only worthwhile to help children improve their reading skills, but it is really fun! Communicaons Ministries Over the next few months the communicaon ministry will focus on the re-design and use of the new website. This will include creang new pages for the website that will assist in day to day church operaons. As the Church now has acve Paypal and EBAY accounts processes will be established and put in place to ulize these tools. Paypal, which can not only be used for digital donaons will also allow parishioners to pay weekly pledges when not able to be at church. Ebay use will allow the church to sell items to a global audience on a connual basis not just at flea markets or special events. Addionally working with welcoming ministries adversing within and around the Glen Burnie community digitally and locally will be invesgated and implemented to promote the church and its events. 4 Serving God by Serving Others

5 Building and Grounds Ministries - Bob Hendrix The Facilies Commiee and the Vestry are looking forward to 2017 as we connue to improve the ulity of our buildings and grounds. We will be circulang a survey to solicit your thoughts and visions on St Albans facility needs for the future. The survey will be asking quesons such as: 1. How can we adapt our facilies to beer serve the needs of our ministries. 2. How can we improve signage to beer welcome and guide newcomers. 3. Do we need audio and visual security monitoring of our entrances. 4. Do we need to improve user-friendly aspects of our church including handicap access. 5. How can we increase rental income from our facilies. The results of the survey will be combined with the Strategic Planning Commiee's look at how St Alban's can play a broader role in sasfying community needs. n improvement under consideraon is renovaon of the downstairs youth chapel. This large space is unusable in its present condion. Renovaon would re-enable its original use as the youth chapel while also serving as a mul-purpose space for Reading Camp and other acvies. Another improvement is installing an elevator for handicap access to our downstairs areas. Another is detailing a plan for water conservaon modificaons as part of reducing polluon of our streams and the Chesapeake Bay. We will be invesgang grants from the State of Maryland that could provide financial support for both of these improvements. Your inputs will be welcomed!! Strategic Planning - Bill Davidson The Strategic Planning Commiee (SPC) was formed in April 2016 to help idenfy and arculate a strategic direcon for the future of St Alban s Church. During the year the team reviewed previous planning efforts, researched strategic planning efforts by other religious organizaon, and visited an number of Episcopal churches in the area. Based on the results of these acvies, the team developed a Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Core Values, and three major goals which were approved by the Vestry. The Commiee is currently developing Acon Plans to implement the three approved goals and is developing goals for Outreach and Caring Ministries for inclusion in our plan. The Commiee s target is to present a completed 3 year Strategic Plan to the Vestry in April Lenten Boxes TO BE DETERMINDED BY ASH WEDNESDAY: What do you think is the best use of our Lenten offerings this year? Should we buy more goats, chickens, or piglets from Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) for families? Or should we buy a well, or a poron of a well, through ERD to provide the precious resource of water to families who have to walk miles for drinking water? What do you think? If you have any ideas about what to do with our Lenten offerings, please speak to a member of Social Ministries (Octavia Carter, JoAnn Cherrico, Louise Izat, or Mary Moran). We welcome your ideas. Financial Ministries - Bob Lumbert St. Alban s finished 2016 with an operang budget surplus. The Finance Commiee will be monitoring our income and expenses carefully during the new year to ensure we again keep within our means. The Endowment Commiee contributed $7,500 to the 2016 St. Alban s operang budget and social outreach projects, and plans to do the same this year. Last year church members gis and fund raisers reduced the church s loan payable to the Endowment by $12,400. Year-end loan balance was $82,044, and the Endowment commiee looks forward to further reducon this year. February

6 What s Happening at St. Alban s FEBRUARY 15 12:30 pm Lunch Bunch Seaside Restaurant 16 6:00 pm Tentave Rejoice Fellowship Cmte Mtg - Vestry Room 6:30 pm Purple Heart - Fellowship Hall 6:30 pm Bell pracce 7:30 pm Choir pracce 20 Office Closed Presidents Day 21 7:00 pm Ladies Guild & Social Ministries guest Speaker Leo from HOPE - Vestry Room 23 6:30 pm Bell pracce 7:30 pm Choir pracce pm Pancake Supper - Fellowship Hall MARCH 01 6:00 pm Bell pracce 6:30 pm Choir Warm up 7:00 pm Ash Wednesday Service pm Congregaon Fellowship Dinner 08 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner & Compline Fellowship Hall 09 1:00 pm Prayer Shawl/Sewing Ministry - Vestry Room 6:30 pm Bell pracce 7:30 pm Choir pracce 12 Daylight Savings Time 15 7:00 pm Vestry - Vestry Room 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner & Compline Fellowship Hall 16 6:30 pm Bell pracce 7:30 pm Choir pracce 6:00 pm Purple Heart - Fellowship Hall pm Purple Heart - Fellowship Hall 21 7:00 pm Ladies Guild - Vestry Room 22 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner & Compline- Fellowship Hall 23 6:30 pm Bell pracce 7:30 pm Choir pracce 29 6:00 pm Lenten Dinner & Compline- Fellowship Hall 30 6:30 pm Bell pracce 6 Serving God by Serving Others

7 February am Holy 10:30 am Holy 12 8 am Holy 10:30 am Holy 19 8 am Holy 10:30 am Holy 26 8 am Holy 10:30 am Holy Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Presidents Day Office Closed pm Social Min & Ladies Guild guest Leo from HOPE 5-7pm Pancake Supper February pm Vestry Mtg 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Voice 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Voice :30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Voice 6:30 pm Bell Choir 7:30 pm Voice Alcoholics Anonymous & Al-Anon meets every Mon at 8pm & Fri at 7:30pm Food Addictions meets each Tues at 7 pm Purple Heart meets on the 3rd Thu at 6:30 pm Al-Anon meets each Fri at 7 pm

8 The Beacon of St. Alban s St. Alban s Episcopal Church 105 1st Ave SW Glen Burnie, MD Phone: office@saintalbanschurch.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Sunday Worship Services 8:00 am - Holy, Rite I (no music) 10:30 am - Holy, Rite II (with music) Sunday School, K-8 and Nursery Church Office Hours Monday-Friday 9am-12 pm Music Director: Paula Maust, M.M. Office Administrator: Char McFayden 8 Serving God by Serving Others