St. Patrick s Shamrock

Transcription

1 St. Patrick s Shamrock FALL 2010 A Newsletter of St. Patrick s Episcopal Church 341 Village Blvd. Incline Village, NV Phone: (775) Issue date September 2010 Published Quarterly Issue No. 758 Yours For A Song Was A Success!

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3 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 3 Yours For A Song! Hello one and all, I must say that this was one of the most amazing experiences at St. Patrick s Church yet! What a wonderful evening, thanks to all of you! There were so many people involved I can hardly believe it; everyone was so generous with their time and talents and such generous, wonderful donations too! I hope everyone had as good a time as we did; your support was just the best!! I have to say that we had the MOST amazing crew of women and men getting our event set up at the Chateau; it looked so lovely and so well presented. What a terrific job everyone did!! It was even better than last year I think, if that is possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! And we certainly couldn t have done it without the transport team; thanks for making that go so smoothly; and of course the wheelbarrow was the crowning jewel in the decorations department; nice work, Chuck! And what about those kids and their RAP? Great work on selling those raffle tickets; thanks so much, Judy for organizing them and feeding them. You rock!!! I can t thank Graceann and Bill enough for volunteering their daughter, Marti to sing and entertain us; what a superstar! She was just amazing, and even got us Episcopalians out on the dance floor! Thank you so much to Marti, for doing such a superb job and being such a wonderful singer and entertainer. We deeply appreciate her contributing her time and talent to this important event for our church. Thank you also to David Renaud for his wonderful photography skills! Thanks for making this such a successful event! I don t have the final numbers yet, but it looks like we are at about $22, We will have a final number soon!!!! Love you all! Bless you, Emy Gurowitz and Marilyn Garreffa Co-Chairpersons of Yours For A Song

4 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 4 WISDOM * Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. * Grandchildren are the crown of the aged and the glory of children is their parents.?? Fine speech is not becoming to a fool still less is false speech to a ruler. These are all from Proverbs. In fact, I think I d like to have a nickel for every proverb I ve seen on church signs, neon and otherwise. I think it was Plato who said, To know is to do. Such is the premise of the Book of Proverbs: if you know what the wise thing is to do or say or think, then you ll do or say or think it. There persists a world view in which the righteous are blessed with good health, strong relationships, large families and lots of money. It s also a world view in which the poor are poor because they are lazy, inadequate or stupid. So when Jesus told his disciples that it was harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than a camel to go through the eye of a needle, they were astonished. They responded, Then who can be saved? This world view is the very antithesis of the Good News of Jesus. It s wise living squirming in the presence of creative suffering. Jesus isn t going to make your life easier; he s going to make it more complicated. That s why he tells his disciples that they need to pick up their crosses when they follow him. Proverbs is an interesting collection that tries to persuade its readers that if they pay attention to its pithy little sayings, they ll live long and prosper. But the world of Jesus grace is a far cry indeed from the optimistic world of Proverbs. It is not a meritocracy, where good is rewarded and evil, punished. The truth is, we all get what we don t deserve. The wisdom of Jesus presupposes this.

5 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 5 From the desk of Bishop Dan.. Immigration Things have just gotten busy and intense the last couple of days too much for me to really do more than skim the surface of a few key points. Yesterday was more education on evangelism more experts. Really good stuff. If we want to share the good news with a world that needs it, we have some major retooling to do. Exciting possibilities for those who want to take on this mission. Last night we heard from the Suffragen Bishop for Anglican Communion Relations and also a Bishop from Africa. Very interesting. They stressed that most African Anglicans value their relationship with us. Diocese to diocese, parish to parish, and person to person relations are where the Anglican Communion is communing. They said 90% of the African bishops want to preserve our relationship and some of them act on that at real risk to themselves because of the hostility of their archbishops. It turns out that one African parish is in partnership with the Diocese of New Hampshire (home of Gene Robinson) but it isn t public because that parish would be in major trouble with their archbishop if it were known. While hostility is in the press, partnership is going on behind the scenes. The hostile archbishops are nearing the end of their terms. What we need to do is just be patient and wait. Most African Anglicans disagree with us on matters of women s ordination and gay inclusion. But they want to remain in relationship anyway. Today, we painstakingly worked on the Pastoral Letter on Immigration. It passed unanimously along with an in-depth theological resource document to explain why we take this position as a matter of faith. Another Pastoral Letter on the Environment also passed unanimously. The most agonizing issue was a Resolution calling for the resignation of the Bishop of Pennsylvania who was convicted of conduct unbecoming a bishop by the Ecclesiastical Trial court but his deposition was set aside by the Appeals Court because the case was barred by the Statute of Limitations. The facts surrounding the brining of the case based on events that happened so long back made it a complicated thing. The political situation in Pennsylvania is a tangle. But the strong majority of bishops felt this action was required for the

6 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 6 From the desk of Bishop Dan.continued... good of the church and to make clear that we have zero tolerance for some kinds of misconduct. It had to do with the bishop s failure to respond adequately to a report of sexual abuse by a youth minister when the bishop was a parish priest. The youth minister was his brother. Our resolution has no legal force. It just says what we think. We had no authority to do anything more. We have had two more Bible Studies, two more Eucharists, several Morning and Evening Prayer services and Compline. It has been good to worship together and to explore the Bible together. Tonight we closed with a formal dinner. The graduates of the College for Bishops were recognized and given paper weights to evidence our accomplishment. Now that I have my paper weight I suppose that must mean I now know what I am doing. But some of the old hands say episcopacy is a mystery. One never figures it out. That feels right. We are now using our physical address for all mail correspondence! St. Patrick s Episcopal Church 341 Village Blvd. Incline Village, NV 89451

7 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 7 Missing Money!! We are missing some serious money at St. Patrick s, and only you can help find it. We are enrolled in several programs that could be yielding the parish a stream of revenue, but most of you are not involved, despite your needing to do very little but shop, something that you are already doing. And none of them cost you anything except a little time up front. No cost to you; bucks for St. Patrick s; how sweet is that! Raley s: If you don t have a Raley s Quality of Life Card, stop by the office to pick up one and have Jessica help you register it. Then just hand it to the Raley s clerk (or scan it on the new self-check stations) before you pay. That s it; St. Pat s gets money. escrip: This is a set and forget program where you register your credit cards and store cards (e.g. Safeway) once and then just use them as you usually do for shopping, travel, whatever. When you use a registered card at a participating merchant, St. Pat s gets a percentage. You don t have to remember which merchants participate it s all automated. And it is probably more secure than using a card at a restaurant. Go to for all the details. escrip Online Mall: Even if you don t have your cards registered with escrip yet, you can earn St. Pat s a percentage of your purchases by shopping at their online mall, where you will find a lot of familiar names, probably ones where you already do your online shopping or travel arrangement. Quick and easy: click on the icon on our home page, select St. Patrick s, and then click Shop Now. Amazon.com: Who doesn t shop Amazon.com? Thought so. You might be using their front door by typing amazon.com in the address field of your Web browser. Stop that!! Instead click the Shop Amazon.com link on our home page to use the St. Patrick s side door. When you enter the site thru our special door, St. Pat s gets paid. Once you are on our Amazon page, you can select some of the great books featured there or just open the door by clicking the designated image or special links. Recycling: Printer cartridges, cell phones, labtops, ipods, and the like: what to do with them when replaced? Bring them to church. That s right: we get redemption money for recycling items that shouldn t go into the trash anyway. There is a receptacle for the cartridges and one for those electronic devices; just drop them in. See how easy it can be to get those budget numbers in the Sunday bulletin to be closer together. Join these programs now to help our bottom line; every bit counts. Call me if you have any questions, need some help, or run into any problems. Karen Barney

8 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 8 KNITTERS GUILD OF INCLINE VILLAGE NEWS Do you love to knit or crochet? Come join the Knitters Guild, which meets every Wednesday From 1 3 p.m. in the church library! Attendance this summer has been great, and the Guild has welcomed several new members. The BIG news for this Shamrock is to tell you about a very special meeting that was held on September 15th. It was a celebration of the Knitters Guild s 8th (!) year of making warm clothing and blankets for families in North Tahoe and for patients and newborn babies at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Jim Beebe was out of town, but wrote a warm greeting to the guild. An excerpt of his note is shown here: This is by far the longest standing outreach effort hosted by this parish. What makes you unique is that you are marshalling folks from all over the community in a joint effort to reduce the suffering of families in the Tahoe Basin. I m proud of you and hope the Knitters Guild continues to prosper. Dave Musattii was also in attendance and spoke to the group, thanking the members for all the good work they do. He mentioned what an important part of the church s outreach program the guild has been for so many years. Thank you for those kind words, Dave! On behalf of the guild, I thanked the church for providing a meeting room and space to store supplies so that the guild can continue its good work. Refreshments were enjoyed and the camaraderie continued as new rosters were distributed and updated scrapbooks were perused. We welcome anyone who loves to knit or crochet, and we can help you if your skills need refreshing. Please call Peggy Harrison at for further information.

9 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 9 The completed projects ready for distribution were displayed on the library tables and everyone was amazed at what is, once again, available for donation so that families will have warm clothing this Fall and Winter. Over 225 hats, scarves, sweaters, mittens, blankets, chemo caps and booties were on display and can be seen in the picture below taken at the meeting. With those additions, the guild s total of donated items so far this year exceeds 400! As I have mentioned in previous Shamrock articles, the Knitters Guild is happy to support the fundraising efforts of other local groups and, of course, St. Patrick s by donating items for their functions. Judy Sarris, a new member of the guild, made a lovely white shawl that was given to the Tahoe Women s Club for the silent auction at their recent luncheon. The club gives scholarships to young people in Incline Village,. Also, Linda Brooke, Mariel Thomsen and I made 3 baby layettes for the Yours 4 A Song evening. Those items raised $ for our church s outreach program! On the next page is a poem I wrote and read to the guild members at our special 8th anniversary meeting, here it is, and I hope it makes you smile:

10 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 10 Ode to the Knitters Guild By Peggy Harrison Today we gather to celebrate The Knitters Guild s year number 8! Time flies when you re having fun, they say, I d sure like to vouch for that, if I may. Each week we gather at St. Patrick s Church And on the library chairs we perch. Yarns and patterns and needles soon appear They come handy while we re here. We share ideas, chat and laugh as we sit; The minutes fly by while we crochet and knit. We know that the warm things we make Will be given so people won t shiver and shake. Hats and scarves and sweaters and mittens Are as welcome as cute little kittens We create blankets and lap robes, too; Surely our members are a productive crew! Babies, though, we don t forget: Blankets, Booties, sweater and hat make a set. Although we have a lot of supplies, This shouldn't come as a surprise: Not a single thing goes to waste And we make things in very good taste! We know there are people fighting cancer; For that dread disease we ve no answer; So when some people lose their hair, Our chemo caps show them that we care. The Knitting Club at the school went fine; We loved seeing the kids faces shine As they learned a new skill, And we hope they always will Enjoy making things for themselves and others Including, of course, their sisters and brothers! We look forward to another year Of fun, friendships and good cheer; And helping others I do not doubt, Cause that s what the guild is all about!

11 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 11 Reports from St. Patrick s Outreach Team The St Patrick s Outreach committee is happy to announce that the congregation has sponsored 63 children for a full year of fluoride supplement. This response has exceeded our goal of covering 50 children. Prescriptions will be given out at the next dental screening in November at the Nevada Health Center in the Centerpointe Building, Incline Village. NHC was very happy to receive a large check from St Patrick s on September 2nd. Thank you all for your participation!! Project Mana maintains an Emergency Fund for Local families in distress. These are people who have been evaluated by a family advocate at Parasol and whose needs go beyond the services of Project Mana, Children s Cabinet and/or Tahoe Women s Services. This week, St. Patrick s has donated $500 to this fund. Your outreach committee feels this is a wise use for the treasure of our congregation. Following are programs currently underway at St. Patrick s, and all still need donor and volunteer support. How might YOU best serve the needs of others? Please reach out with your time and/or dollars and help St. Patrick s make a difference in someone s life. Questions on or ideas for outreach projects may be directed to committee members: Connie Skidmore, Cherry Barney, Marilyn Johnston or Linda Brown.

12 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 12 On-Going Outreach Programs Local Community outreach Tahoe Women s Services - If you would like to volunteer in the Safe House, a refuge for those who have been threatened with abuse in their homes, in TWS s office, or with the support programs for children whose lives are effected by violence. Contact: Hayley Project MANA - A hunger relief agency in Incline Village, Project MANA needs drivers to deliver groceries to shut-ins in the Incline and Kings Beach area (FACE Project). Contact: Karli or karlie@projectmana.org Speaking English Lessons - If you are interested in helping a non-native English speaker improve his/her English skills, please consider offering your time, which is approximately one or two hours per week at a time convenient for you. No Spanish speaking or specific training is required. Classes are held at the church.. Contact: Cindy Boudett or Cherry Barney Dollars and Sense ( as of September 30, 2010 ) Income: Year-to-Date: $203,353 Expenses: Year-to-Date: $211,206 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMINDERS: Current Photo Directories are $5.00. Check yours to make sure you have the newest copy! New members, please fill out the contact information card at the front of the church, and provide your family photo to be included in our directory! The Altar Flower donation is now only $40.00! Please sign up on the chart in the Narthex for a date and make sure to put flower fund in the memo line on your checks.

13 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 13 On-Going Outreach Programs National/Global outreach United Thank Offering - This once-a-year in-gathering of monetary donations is in October- November. This is an Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion project that provides $3 million in grant monies annually. Contact: Connie Skidmore Hoste Hainse - In the Sarlahi District of Nepal, donations buy school supplies for underprivileged girls and boys in four schools. The goal is to eliminate child labor through education. $170 puts a child through one year of school. Contact: Cherry Barney Heifer Project - A youth directed program to raise money to buy and donate animals that can provide an on-going source of food and eventually income for hungry people. Goats for milk and chickens for eggs represent two of the many animals to donate that can help people in poor countries get better nutrition. Contact: Marilyn Johnston Operation Shoebox - This youth directed program gathers gift and toilet articles for shoe boxes that are distributed to children throughout the U.S. who would not receive Christmas gifts otherwise. Donations of small gifts and toilet articles to fill each box are needed. Contact: Caroline Cutler Operation Shoebox for the Troops - A simple, but effective program that gathers small toilet items, like small containers of shampoo and toothpaste, that provides an on-going resource for our troops serving abroad. There is a container in the church foyer where you may donate these much needed items year round. Contact: Karen Colbert Haiti - The Vestry has pledged to match donations up to $15,000 for relief efforts in Haiti. To date, $7,500 has been raised and matched; $7,500 has been sent to Food for the Poor and $7,500 to Doctors without Borders. We still need YOU to help St. Patrick s raise another $7,500. Contact: Connie Skidmore

14 St. Patrick s Shamrock Page 14 Staff & Ministry Group Chairs The Rev. Dr. James R. Beebe Operation Christmas Child Each year the youth of St. Patrick s enjoy spending an evening getting into the spirit of Christmas by filling shoeboxes with gifts for the poor. All of St. Patrick s may participate in Operation Christmas Child by giving us your empty shoe boxes and/ or by filling the shoeboxes with school supplies, toiletry items such as a bar of soap, wash cloth, toothbrush toothpaste. We welcome socks, books, crayons, coloring books, small toys (non-violent, please) to send to children all over the world. No liquids may be accepted, yet hard candy can be mailed. The youth are happy to fill the boxes for you if you would like to donate the items. We also need $7.00 per box to pay for shipping if a donation of money is easier for you. Please look for the Samaritan Purse Operation Christmas Child envelopes this fall and present the donations to the St. Patrick s office by November 13, You may visit for more information. Rector The Rev. Dr. David J. Mussatti Priest The Rev. Jim Kelly Priest Gary Thomsen** Senior Warden Sally Hammel** Junior Warden Stephanie Tall, Connie Skidmore, Peggy Harrison Shamrock Connie Skidmore Outreach Chair Marsha Tejeda** Clerk of the Vestry Deb Beebe, Caroline Cutler Lainie Vreeland Art Committee Karen Barney Webmaster Eric Strotz** Folk Mass Group Caroline Cutler Youth Ministry Coordinator Bob Skidmore Columbarium Peggy Harrison Knitters Guild of Incline Village Jack Barney Ushers/Greeters Coordinator Lainie Vreeland Library

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