The Mustard Seed Newsletter

Transcription

1 Faith s reason for being is to know Christ and to make Christ known The Mustard Seed Newsletter May 2018 Faith Episcopal Church Little Valley Road P. O. Box 1362 Poulsbo, WA (360) Vicar: The Rev. Laura Murray faithepiscopal@outlook.com FaithPoulsboVicar@gmail.com web site:

2 -2- Voice Of The Vicar A Letter in Two Parts Part I I am beginning this letter a few hours before the Celebration of New and Mutual Ministry. Right now, before Bishop Rickel s arrival, before I ve dressed for the occasion, or readied the church, or put out the bulletins, or greeted friends and family, I am already thankful beyond words. I m grateful to musician extraordinaire, Joe Pettit, whose offer to play for the service means I will at last get to hear our beautiful little organ s voice. I m grateful to Tom at Central Market who so graciously donated treats for our reception afterward. I m grateful for the clergy and friends who will join us tonight as well as those who are holding us in prayer. I am grateful to my friend Steph who, when I said I had to attend a meeting at the diocese today, said, can t you do a video call or something? I can, and I am about to! I am grateful for the time spent with family and friends in Texas last week, for those who knew me back when and who have supported and loved me along this path to Faith. I am grateful to my husband, Michael, and to our girls whose unflagging love and encouragement carried me through years of discernment, seminary, curacy, and searching, finally to find, and be found by, Faith. Above all, I am grateful to the people of Faith with whom I am beyond privileged to minister. Part II The music woke me at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 AM. Mind you, it wasn t the music of noisy neighbors or late night partiers; it was the lingering music, the remnants, if you will, from last night still echoing through my heart and mind. What a glorious celebration! From my perspective on the dais, I was able to see face after face of those with whom, over the years, I ve worshiped, ministered, laughed, cried, and hashed out differences. How wonderful that we were joined by so many eager to share in our celebration; how exciting to have so many seats filled and voices raised in song! It was a brilliant evening and I am humbled and honored to be at Faith and to serve with you. And, I am inspired as well. Bishop Rickel s words to us last night challenged us to be outward looking; to extend the eternal celebration of a life in Christ to those in the greater community. Yes, we will continue to make our church the best it can be; we will gather together as a community to learn and worship, and, we will continue to open our hearts and our doors. The Spirit is blowing through Faith Episcopal Church and we are regularly presented with opportunities to affect the larger community. We have no idea what may come from a group meeting in our facility, or a relationship with an ecumenical partner the Spirit is wild and full of possibilities beyond our ken what we do know, what has been proven time and again, is that when we respond as people in Faith, God takes even our willingness and creates something beyond our wild imaginings. The possibilities are endless, my friends, and I am grateful to have you as my partners in ministry. Thank you, certainly for all the work you put in to making last night a success, but more than that, for being willing to be used for God s purposes here in this place and time. I am gratefully yours, Vicar Laura

3 From The Senior Warden -3- Things are hopping! No, not the Easter Bunny, but at Faith Church. Just take a look at the Events Calendar for May, which you can find on our website at under the category Worship & Events. Mark your calendar for our upcoming parish picnic and service to be held at Raab Park, Poulsbo on May 20 th. A second calendar hangs in the conference room of our parish hall. People notice, and at least seven people have downloaded directions to our church. Folks trying to find an Episcopal Church in Poulsbo are using our website as a tool to help them discover us. Please thank George Daniels next time you see him for his work in maintaining and getting this ministry up and running. Celebrate our new nursery! Carpeting was installed, now let the decorating begin! Jackson Foster s wonderful mural greets youngsters and their parents into a safe and happy environment. Additionally, a parishioner generously donated to the Sylvia Palmer Children s Fund to help our nursery become a reality. Many donated time and talent. Thank you! In March, some members of our congregation completed Safeguarding God s Children, which is the certification needed to staff the nursery. According to diocesan guidelines, two people with the certification must be in the nursery when caring for children other than their own. Several of our members were certified in the past, but every five years that certification expires. Interested parishioners are invited to participate in the next Safeguarding workshop on May 12 th from 9:00 to noon at St. Bede s in Port Orchard. To attend, please contact St. Bede s at or them at bedeschurch@gmail.com. If families with children visit our church and want nursery care, staffing will then be available. Diane Foster has kindly stepped forward to coordinate fundraisers for our church. She needs volunteers to bring the possible into reality. There are all kinds of projects ahead, and this will help us do those things not covered in our ordinary budget. If you can help with this very important ministry, please let Diane know that you are willing to work with her. Thank you, Diane! Finally, a special official welcome to our newly installed Vicar, the Reverend Laura Murray. The planning and care that she put into every facet of our celebration on April 25th of New and Mutual Ministry shouted to the heavens the beginning of a most special and loving relationship with Faith Church. You made our hearts sing and our voices lift up with songs of joy. Thank you! Blessings to all, Deb Hurd Sr. Warden Prayer Corner Requests Gary continued healing following his surgery. John Henry for additional time with his loved ones as he transitions to that eternal peace. Nnetté continued stabilization of her health with proper diagnosis and medication. Kris continued positive healing results from recent surgery.

4 (Prayer Corner continued) -4- Elizabeth continued positive healing from pneumonia and the effects from the flu. Neil successful pacemaker surgery, April 27 th at the UW Medical Center and subsequent healing Neil and Deb safe travel to Hawaii and return. Neil stabilization of his overall health with correct diagnosis and treatment. Skip complete healing following his surgery and support for his wife, Paula. Melody and Nancy daughters of Fran Larrabee of Redeemer Methodist Church. Complete and successful healing following recent surgeries. Stacy continued good results of her treatment and complete healing. Mary continued and complete healing as her treatment progresses. Michelle treatment and healing for re-occurrence of cancer. Thanksgivings Mark and Sean for the blessing of their engagement and upcoming wedding. Jim Aurand safe return from his trip to Alabama Grayson Mace for successful healing. George Daniels for his ongoing work on Faith s website. For the members of Faith who have provided landscaping upkeep to the church grounds. Jackson Foster for the design and work on the church nursery mural. For those helping with the nursery project at Faith. Tom Hall and Central Market for their generous and lavish donation of food trays for the installation of Faith s new vicar. For all who contributed in making the installation ceremony of our new vicar an evening we will all remember at Faith! Passings Bailey beloved dog and member of the Aurand family. Words From The Editor Life on this earth is indeed finite. Every created living thing has a beginning and an end. I was reminded of this on April 16 th, when I had to take our beloved Cairn Terrier in to our special vet and have him euthanized. Now, I realize there may be individuals that read this article and say, why all the dramatic commentary--this was a dog for heavens sake. That is very true; however, this was not just a dog-- Bailey was a precious loved member of the Aurand family for almost 16 years. Bailey exuded joy and happiness and contentment, and provided unconditional love to each member of our family almost daily with which many human beings I dare say would be unable to proclaim. However, on April 16 th, Bailey had reached the end, and was expressing to me with his eyes and little body that he no longer could foster and release the joy he so willingly shared with us humans. His physical body was tired of the daily fight, and he no longer had the strength or desire to go on long walks let alone walk up and down three stairs. He was ready to go to that heavenly paradise we all seek. It was an opportunity for me, although my

5 (Words From The Editor continued) -5- heart was breaking, to offer this final gift of compassion and unconditional love-- of letting him go. There is One that waited with open arms who loved Bailey even more than us and that is God. Our family will desperately miss this little guy, but I know the members of our family would never change this period of our shared lives together --to have him as a member of our family and celebrate every single day we shared together. He was a gift from God on loan to us as his good stewards for this period of time, and now he was being returned to that same loving God for all eternity. That is the gratefulness from my heart I want to offer and set free. This life we have all been given is gift. We can choose to be grateful for it, to share in the mystery of the many chapters of life both good and sometimes not so good, to share our talents and gifts with one another, to seek out new friends, to be a brother or sister in Christ to another, to nurture and love a special pet, to let our hearts be opened widely to the possibilities of love--even if sometimes they feel as if they could break from the actions taken. Maybe there will come a time in the future for Jim and I to open ourselves to having another dog in our lives. Right now, for myself, I need time-- to allow myself the time to feel the depth of this loss of Bailey, to feel the pain of having to say that final earthly goodbye while knowing I will see him again. I also remember God remains present even when one s heart is heavy with deep sadness as though it has been broken in two-- God is good! God continues His outpouring of love on us! God is in all things! God has promised and given us this planet we share with all forms of life, including all human life and our family pets. Sometimes, I find myself forgetting that I am not the Creator, I am not a fixer, but simply a benefactor of God s steadfast and abundant love and grace, a pilgrim on a journey meant to share that love of Christ with others unconditionally, even when it is sometimes imperfect in its delivery, but always with unbridled enthusiasm and open heart. I am also reminded that we are Easter people, a people of resurrection, born again and again, made new in Christ, God s beloved Son. And so, I offer my thanks for the lessons taught me by little Bailey for the many years he shared his love and devotion unconditionally with every member of our family. Thank you most loving and merciful God! Thank you for welcoming Bailey home! Blessings and peace, Connie Aurand Deadline for next newsletter is May 25, Please refer to Faith s website for past and present newsletters, monthly readings, calendar of events and the sign-up sheet.

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