The Witness. St. Margaret's Episcopal Church. The Gospel Readings for August:

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1 Volume 29, Issue 8 August 2011 St. Margaret's Episcopal Church Dear Friends, I ve spent a lot of time out of the office recently. In July, I took a few days of vacation so Brenda and I could visit Tim in New York City. But I ve also been working on wider-church-business this summer, as well. I was the staff chaplain for a five-day diocesan Cursillo weekend in June, went on one of our convocation mission trips to assist with tornado recovery in Alabama and spent a couple of days at Camp Gravatt with the board of directors discussing long range plans for the conference center. Special points of interest Stewardship Buildings and Grounds Barter Board Cribb s Kitchen Inside this issue: Update on Capital Campaign 2 Outreach 2 St. Margaret s is a member of the Piedmont Convocation, which is part of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, which belongs to the Episcopal Church of the United States. And of course, we are part of a worldwide Christian community. We affirm our connection with that worldwide community in our recitation of the creed in Sunday worship We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church... To be part of this community in words is not enough; it is important that we play an active role in it by supporting things beyond this congregation. By our involvement in the wider church, we represent St. Margaret s to the convocation, to the diocese, to the national church, and beyond. Through me, you are involved in the diocese and beyond. Of course, I also grow from these experiences. Although my purpose in being at the Cursillo was to be a staff member, I experienced renewal in my own ministry from the weekend. The mission trip to Alabama allowed me to share Christ s love with others and reminded me how blessed all of our lives are in Boiling Springs. I have grown as a Christian and as a priest because of these experiences, and they remind me that a priest is ordained not to a single church, but to the church as a whole. We all need to take our faith out into the world. Everywhere you go, you are an ambassador for St. Margaret s Church. You might choose to be involved with Cursillo, diocesan programs, and mission trips. You might be involved closer to home with Mobile Meals or further from home with outreach to Haiti and Malawi. No matter what we choose to do, we grow from experiences in the church beyond the St. Margaret s community. Christian life is lived in the world. Faithfully yours, ECW 3 Adult Outing 4 Baptism Photos 5 Birthdays & Anniversaries 6 The Gospel Readings for August: August 7, 2011 The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 14:22-33 August 14, 2011 The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 15:10-28 August 21, 2011 The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 16:13-20 August 28, 2011 The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Matthew

2 Page 2 Stewardship Update on the Capital Campaign Your Vestry voted to begin a Capital Campaign back in the early part of this year. The Vestry also voted on how much of the proceeds from the highway department s condemnation funds to give to reduce the mortgage. ($45,000) and this has been applied to the mortgage. There was a Capital Campaign committee formed to help with ideas and implementation. This committee was composed of Dewey Michelin, Ricky Gilbert, Bill Keller, and Charlie Hopkins. Please thank them for their efforts. The Vestry also voted and approved that after the mortgage has been paid, we will also raise an additional $20,000 to fund the construction of the pavilion. The goal is for the Capital Campaign to be completed within three years. If we make the regular mortgage payment during this time, we will need to raise a additional amount of $101,241 over the next three years to complete our Capital Campaign goals. The amount needed to accomplish this works out to be about $650 per week or a little over $2,800 per month. The annual amount is $33,747 per year. So far we have raised $7,730 and have an additional $1,120 pledged but not received. The official start of the Capital Campaign was May 22 nd which was two months ago. We have a good start and I would like to thank all who have already contributed and encourage all who have not to consider making a contribution. St Margaret s is blessed able to be moving forward like this in these economic hard times. Thanks to all. Bill McDaniel, Stewardship Chair Junior Warden As we approach our Fall Clean-up date of October 15th, we are still in need of help with mowing the church grounds. There is a sign-up sheet on the Building and Grounds Bulletin Board. If you haven t yet been checked out on our riding mower, please let me know and I will be glad to train you. I want to thank all of you who have helped out this spring and summer already. Also, anyone with concerns regarding any of our buildings and our rather expansive grounds, please bring them to my attention. Bob Dry & Canned Goods Sunday August 7th NEXT DRESS MAKING DAY August 9, 2011 at 6:00 pm We had fun making dresses on July 19 Anyone that want to help cut, sew, iron or just help out, please come and join us. We are taking donations for long sleeve tee shirts to put under the dresses for the winter. Please mark your check for outreach dresses. Please come and join the fun!!!!!!! Betty McAbee August Neighbor-to-Neighbor Team Back to School: Monday August 15th. Rae Schaper Peggy Finley Betty McAbee Caroline Smoogen

3 Volume 29, Issue 8 Page 5 Jacob Anthony Gay.Baptism.Katie Anita Keller The collective community of St. Margaret s is a loving, generous and supportive group. We, care and pray for one another and offer assistance when we can. And, as we continue to worship together and provide opportunities for spiritual growth, we are also to help nurture our basic needs particularly in times of difficulty or stress. There are many in our own church family who are experiencing some misfortune or simply need a helping hand. So that e may continue to reach out to everyone, even those close at home, I am proposing the creation of a Barter Board that would remain in the connector with monthly updates. I envision the board with 3 distinct sections: Help Wanted, Services Offered, Barter Bids which would allow for 2 parties to privately exchange services when needed. In order to avoid any confusion, this board will not include any For Sale items, but will allow for our congregation to identify and/or assist other members when possible. I am certain that our youth will also willingly and realistically address some of our own needs in service to others as well. I am excited about the prospect of this informational forum and value your feedback and suggestions. In order to have this board operational by September, I will begin to collect any relevant input as soon as possible. You may me at: dar-5@hotmail.com, phone me: , or provide me with written information on Sundays. Please be sure to include the following: board heading (i.e. Help Wanted ), your precise needs or provisions, contact person s name and phone number. Together, we can continue to address some of our own in-house requests or services and thereby create an even more cohesive family. Thank you for your support and suggestions. In God s Love, Deena Regoni Brasser

4 St. Margaret's Episcopal Church «Mailing label» «Address1» «City State» «Zip code» St. Margaret s Episcopal Church P.O. Box Highway Nine Boiling Springs, SC Phone: Fax: stmargarets@birch.net Web: The mission of St. Margaret s Church is to joyfully and without hesitation celebrate and embrace God s Love through worship, fellowship, service and sacrifice. The deadline for the next newsletter is: August 25 th The deadline for the weekly bulletin: Wednesday Happy Birthday 8/02 Sharon Landon 8/03 Laurie Schell 8/04 Ron Bullock 8/05 Bob Todd 8/06 Adrienne Lanier 8/07 Caroline Smoogen 8/08 Jim McAbee Lauren O Brien 8/13 Bill Keller 8/17 Valerie Starr 8/25 Hank Resch III 8/28 Keira Baird 8/29 Elliot Keller 8/30 Dewey Michelin 8/12 Joe & Bonnie Webnar 8/14 Scott & Cindy Collins 8/21 Bill and Kelly McDaniels 8/31 Paul & Melissa Woolen Don t Forget! St. Margaret s Episcopal Church 1st Place Christmas Quilt 2nd Place $ Wal Mart Gift Card 3rd Place $ Ingles Gift Card 4th Place $ Bi-Lo Gift Card $1.00 or 6 for $5.00 Drawing to be held November 12, 2011 Do not have to be present to win!

5 Page 3 ECW THE BAPTIST WHITE LIE CAKE Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events: Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp. When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom. Alice was horrified - she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back. The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa, but having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home. The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!" Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself.." Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good. God is good all the time. Raffle tickets are available please pick up a pack and start selling. The date of Christmas bazaar is Nov. 12. We will be raffling a Christmas quilt, and $100 gift cards to Ingles, Bi-Lo and Wal-Mart. As you gather items for yard sale, please remember to segregate by category, i.e. Kitchen, toys, books, etc. If you should happen upon a treasure that would be better suited for our trifle & treasure sale during the bazaar, please mark it & be sure to include a suggested price. You can start bringing yard sale items after Aug. 1. Upcoming dates: Aug. 14 ECW meeting Sept. 17 Yard Sale Oct. 1 Fall In the Park Oct.7-9 Snail s Pace Retreat - openings still available Oct. 22 Kristie & Dean s wedding Nov. 12 Christmas Bazaar With gratitude for all you do to support our ministry, Kristie

6 Page 4 Liturgy April Alexander The altar guild has a few faithful people who regularly give their time to set up and take down the altar each Sunday morning. However it has dwindled down to being just the same people time and time again. Adult Outing SMEC ADULTS (21 YEARS & OLDER) Come join us for a night of fun & fellowship! August 6, 6:00pm meet at Cribb s Kitchen on Main We really do need more people for this important ministry and it is far easier than it looks. Just ask anybody who has been serving on the altar guild. Anyone interested in setting up the altar, stay tuned. There will be training in September. Please consider offering your talent to this important part of Sunday morning. Thanks, Will 226 B West Main Street Spartanburg, SC (864) Dishes range $8.00 to $28.00 (Restaurant is non-smoking) Sign-up sheet in the church connector. Any questions please call Cindy Collins at (864) Thanks for all the donated school supplies to the Harvest Family Ministries and for each volunteer helping with the Back to School Celebration and Wellness Fair!