Don t forget to SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD on Saturday night, March 11 for Daylight Savings Time.

Transcription

1 MARCH 2017 The Vine Don t forget to SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD on Saturday night, March 11 for Daylight Savings Time. SCHEDULE Sunday, March 5 The Rev. John Barrington Sunday, March 12 The Rev. Jan Castleberry Sunday, March 19 The Rev. John Barrington Due to Spring Break: NO CHILDREN S SUNDAY SCHOOL ON SUNDAY, MARCH 12 Sunday, March 26 The Rev. Jan Castleberry FIRST SUNDAY RESTAURANT RUN MARCH 5 BJ S BREWHOUSE Wednesday Nights in March PAGE 2 Happenings in 2017 PAGES 3 & 4 Women EDOT (Scholarship) / Birthday Celebrations / Portable Labyrinth PAGES 5 & 6 Church Directory / Feed the Children / Stewardship PAGE 7

2 SPECIAL WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN MARCH AT ST. MICHAEL S Journeys of a Joyful Pilgrim On Wednesdays, March 8, 15, 22 and 29, Fr. Kevin Wittmayer from Trinity will share his experiences from his Pilgrimages to Spain, Greece, and Israel. Fr. Kevin will share pictures from his journeys and his thoughts on the meaning of a Spiritual Pilgrimage. Plan on eating a soup supper at 5:30pm, then stay for a special time of spiritual nourishment beginning at 6:30pm. Lenten Soup Suppers Beginning at 5:30pm every Wednesday during Lent in The Parish Hall. Soup provided by St. Michael members. Sign up in the Narthex on any Sunday if you would like to prepare the Soup Meal. Pick up your Lenten Devotional Materials on Ash Wednesday or the First Sunday in Lent on March 5. Ash Wednesday Service March 1, :30pm in the Sanctuary With Fr. Jim Watson Please join us for a simple soup meal in the Parish Hall Beginning at 5:30pm before the Service. REMINDER: Tuesday, February 28 at 6:30pm, it s Mardi Gras at St. Michael s, the home of the ONE FLOAT PARADE. Plus the Second Annual appearance of the Mardi Gras Camel! Come and join the fun with a Pancake Supper, Pancake Races, King Cake, Music, featuring St. Michael s own Slow Moving, Low Stepping, Brass, Woodwind, Various Instruments, Kazoos and Whistles Marching Band (we never practice beforehand and we only know ONE song, When the Saints Go Marching In ). 2

3 March 2017 CAMP ALLEN MARCH CORNER 2017 is off to a great start at the camp and we are rolling out our Spring sponsored and co-sponsored events with the Abundant Living Conference on March 5-8, This is a three-day annual conference for seniors, their families, and caregivers. Explore aging as a spiritual journey - a time to find deeper meaning and purpose with geriatricians and others. Enjoy nature walks, canoeing, art, song, and more! On March 10-11, 2017, we will host our first ever Family Campout which is a one night family retreat full of piney woods, starry skies, and wilderness fun! Packages include three classic campout meals, outdoor living skills workshop, guided hiking, kayaking, and a nostalgic campfire with skits and s'mores! On May 19-21, 2017, we will have our annual Birds & Blooms Retreat for all nature and bird lovers. Enjoy the wooded property, attend expert led workshops, and hike scenic trails with experienced guides. Featured presentations include: wildlife photography, Audubon presentations, live owl and hawk demonstrations, birding identification, sunrise bird watching, and outdoor painting workshops. 3

4 HAPPENINGS AT CAMP GILMONT DURING FEBRUARY Taizé Worship Training with Dr. Michael On February 10-11, Cyndie Woodbury and Andrew Duncalfe attended a Taizé retreat at Camp Gilmont hosted by Dr. Michael Hawn from the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. Taizé is a semimonastic community in France founded in the 1940s by a Reformed minister who sought to offer Christian reconciliation and hope in the face of the devastation of World War II. Today, pilgrims visit Taizé from all manner of Christian traditions from all over the world to participate in its practice of quiet reflection, prayerful reconciliation, and service to others. The brothers at Taizé developed their own liturgy and music to suit their tradition of daily services, and Dr. Hawn has spent many years teaching this unique style of worship. Over the course of the weekend we worshiped together, shared some delicious meals, discussed the different ways in which song structure influences worship, and heard Dr. Hawn present a primer on "reading" icons from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, but as much as anything we enjoyed the opportunity to truly retreat and enjoy the quiet, beautiful surroundings at Camp Gilmont. We already occasionally incorporate some Taizé music into our worship at St. Michael & All Angels' - songs like Bless The Lord My Soul and Wait For the Lord. Listen out for more to work its way into our services in the future. PICTURE CAPTION: Candles, icons, and Camp Gilmont's "prayer loom" provided a contemplative setting for a Taizé worship service. GILMONT WOMEN S RETREAT ON FEBRUARY 3-5, 2017 OMEN S RETREAT There's a lot of noise out there, and things will get in the way of our being able to hear God's voice if we don't intentionally create a structure for ourselves to receive what He is telling us. So learning to be free to hear God speak, was the focus of the weekend. We spent periods of time in community worship, solitude and yes, sharing our cabin with each other. The breakout sessions gave us opportunities to listen to each other, not to reply so much as to understand. Creating space for God helped me experience that the first duty of love is learning to listen. Susan Kuhlman 4

5 March 2017 Cyndie Woodbury and Liz Garrison Northeast Convocation Coordinators Episcopal Church Women EDOT Here s a little love coming your way from the Episcopal Church Women s outreach Chair, Leiselle Sadler. Please take a look at the letter below regarding SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING available to anyone meeting the requirements. Who in your pews could benefit from a little love and financial support from ECW? Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2017 and are available online at epicenter.org. Leiselle Sadler ECW Outreach Chair / Vera Gang Scott Scholarship Fund Episcopal Diocese of Texas edot.ecw.outreach@gmail.com This Fund was started in 1972 by the ECW Board of the Diocese of Texas with a gift-her life s savings-from Vera Gang Scott. In the 1920 s, Ms. Scott received aid for her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the women of Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston. She kept careful track of all the money she received. After starting work as a social worker, she repaid every cent, and that money became the seed for the Vera Gang Scott Scholarship Fund. Ms. Scott s dream was to help others just as she had been helped. Although she lived in many states, Ms. Scott always considered herself a Texan. She led an active life as an educator and continued to be involved in service to others. Vera Gang Scott was very proud that a school was named after her in Colorado Springs. The scholarship eligibility requirements are: A female communicant in good standing Acceptance or enrollment in an academic institution of college rank Pursuing professional certification or a degree from an accredited institution Ability to show real financial need To apply for this scholarship, a downloadable application is available on the Diocese of Texas website under ECW Funds/Vera Gang Scott Scholarship Fund, or a copy of the application included with this letter can be ed to Leiselle Sadler at edot.ecw.outreach@gmail.com or mailed to 9594 Doliver Dr., Houston, TX Attn: Leiselle Sadler. All applications for 2017 scholarship awards must be received by March 31, Recipients will need to provide their student ID # and mailing address of the academic institution as soon as possible after the award is presented, for timely payment towards tuition. Donations to this fund are greatly appreciated. If anyone in your parish would like to make a contribution, a check can be made out to Episcopal Church Women Diocese of Texas with Vera Gang Scott Scholarship on the memo line. All Contributions should be mailed directly to Leiselle Sadler. For more information, please free to contact me at Many blessings, Leiselle Sadler Let us know if we can be of service. Join our Facebook group, Piney Woods ECW, to see what is new and to share your own events with your sisters in neighboring churches. We re in the process of scheduling the Spring Gathering which we ll hold in 3 locations so it s easy to attend, regardless of where you are in the Convocation. Saint Luke s in Lindale will host in April, Saint John s in Carthage will host in May. We re looking for one more location, central in the Convocation, to volunteer. No work on your part except to open the parish hall doors. Let us know if you re interested in showing your lovely home church to the rest of us. God s peace, Cyndie and Liz convo.noeast@gmail.com 5

6 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS Happy 4th Birthday to our Norah! We are so proud of the little person she is becoming! She is so sweet and kind and has a servant s heart! In lieu of Birthday gifts, we opted to have people donate to Asbury House & to St. Michael's. On Thursday, February 16 th, a small group gathered at Mama Moose s to celebrate the birthday of our sweet friend, Wanda Ellis. Those attending were Susan Kuhlman, Becky Supercinski, Ruby Hahne, Margie and Lorraine Litterski and Mary Lynn Dawes. Wanda was celebrating her 89 th birthday, which makes her the person in our church who has been blessed with more years than anyone else! Congratulations, Wanda!! We pray you will have many more to celebrate with all of us! On Monday Feb 13th, the children of Asbury House presented Norah with a beautiful painting they made to remind her of her generosity. She played with the students and got to participate in classroom activities. We now have friends for life and they have been in close contact with us to continue volunteering. They even asked Jordan to sit on their board next year! Thank you for the Birthday blessings and sharing God's love with our little family. Check out the portable Labyrinth from Good Shepherd in Kingswood, Texas. It was used at The Daughters of the Kings Spring Assembly, hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church in Tyler, Texas on February 17 & 18 6

7 March 2017 JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN MINISTRY On March 7 th we are feeding the children Beef Stroganoff, English Peas, and Toast; Cookies (TBA). We need help serving, if you would like to serve the children by preparing plates for runners please arrive at 5:30 pm to get everything in place including ice and drinks. Would like to donate Ingredients for March 7 th dinner, Items needed as follow: Egg Noodles, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Meatballs, Lemonade Mix, Dessert (enough for 75 Kids). Signup sheet in the Church Narthex Contact Bruce Williams at Thanks be to God, We are formulating a Stewardship Committee to help with the ongoing Stewardship Activities. We have creative ideas for the Fall Campaign, but need help bringing them to life. We really want your input. PLEASE CONTACT: Paige Lindsey Thank you! Stewardship Committee Bruce Allen Williams New Pictorial Directory for Easter 2017 Please help us update our information and pictures so we can publish an up to date, current directory. Every Sunday during Lent, Bill Keese will be in the Entryway to take you and/or your family s picture. We will also have a clipboard for you to verify or update your contact information. We plan on publishing a new Pictorial Directory for Easter. 7

8 St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Longview, TX Reel Rd. The love of Christ urges us on. We ve already got everything we need. Bishop Michael Curry 03/02 Laura Brown 03/02 Judy Burlison 03/06 Lori Dickson 03/10 Erin Jackson 03/13 Susan Kuhlman 03/14 Allyssa Roberts 03/19 Elisabeth Adonyi 03/24 Norman White 03/27 Lorraine Litterski 8