ST. MICHAEL S EPISCOPAL CHURCH GROSSE POINTE WOODS, MICHIGAN NOVEMBER 2009 UNITED THANK OFFERING INGATHERING NOVEMBER 15, 2009

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1 ST. MICHAEL S EPISCOPAL CHURCH GROSSE POINTE WOODS, MICHIGAN NOVEMBER 2009 You are Invited... On Sunday, November 22, Invitation Sunday, the entire St. Michael's family will be invited to express our gratitude by returning to God a portion of our blessings through our pledges to the mission and ministries of St. Michael's. At both services, pledge cards will be distributed, completed and blessed on the altar. Because our pledges are given out of love for God and gratefulness for the many blessings in our lives, it is appropriate to submit our pledges as an integral part of worship. UNITED THANK OFFERING INGATHERING NOVEMBER 15, 2009 The UTO was started in 1889 by two churchwomen and has grown significantly over the years. More than 7,000 congregations have an ingathering twice a year, in May and November. These offerings are disbursed by a system of grants which are judged to be compelling for human needs and/or expansion of mission and ministry. The Presiding Bishop, The Rev. Dr. KatharineJefferts Schori, continues to call us to a servanthood ministry founded on our thankfulness to God for the blessings that are bestowed on us daily. By using the Blue Box as a receptacle for our prayers and coins, we are joining with all Episcopalians in furthering our mission. The UTO is a separate entity and not included in the National Church budget, or our Diocesan budget. Because of the reduction in the budget of our National Church for World Wide Missions, it is now more important than ever before for the voluntary giving to augment the mission of the church. The UTO ingathering will take place Sunday, Nov. 15. Please pick up one of the Blue Boxes from the Information Center. - Jan Jansen

2 Page 2 The Sword November 2009 Vestry Highlights from October 20, 2009 The Finance Committee submitted the Treasurer s report through September. Income continues to track about 15% under the budget and expenses about 3% over budget. Income will be greater as several members give at the end of the year. We are all aware of the current economic times and the effect they have on some of our parish family. Look over your third quarter statement and I would ask, if you are behind, catch up on your pledge. The complete Treasurer s Report is posted in the Information Center. In response to many requests from members of St. Michael s, an alternative form of giving online has been reviewed by the Finance Committee and presented to and approved by the Vestry. I would like to point out that this would be an alternate method of giving offered in addition to the traditional pledge envelopes presently in use. Detailed information will be provided in the weeks ahead. The Property Committee reported that the new phone and internet system has been installed. A few system issues remain and are being addressed by the provider. The Outreach Committee reported that St. Michael s will again participate in the Church of the Messiah Gift Project, with names being made available in mid November. Watch for details of how you may help in this great project. The Stewardship Committee reported that the Ministry Focused Budget is being distributed to the parish. Invitation Sunday is scheduled for November 22, 2009 with details to be presented in the weeks ahead. The 2010 Nominating Committee has begun the nomination process to present a full slate of committed candidates to fill the four Vestry seats that will be voted on at the parish annual meeting in January. This is a critical part of our responsibility to St Michael s parish family and we hope you say Yes, when approached by members of the committee. See any Vestry member to discuss this further. Respectfully submitted, Dale N. Scrace - Senior Warden Get Connected with ChurchPost Have you gone to - St. Michael s website, to sign up for all the groups that interest you at the church? ChurchPost, the platform which the church uses, is a very secure site. Through the Get Connected Box you can also sign out of groups as you choose. Parish staff and group leaders, who use this platform in sending out , find ChurchPost a very efficient way to keep track of which groups parishioners are interested. Duplicate s can be eliminated through the broad use of ChurchPost. Most helpful is that when you change your address through the Get Connected Box on the parish website, your correct address is automatically updated in all ChurchPost groups in our parish account. Do you have ChurchPost questions? Deborah Cooper at dcooper@stmichaelsgpw.org will be happy to help you. Creative Caring Two opportunities are available for those who knit or crochet. The Cathedral Church of St. Paul hosts a Christmas dinner for its neighbors in need. Each guest is given warm scarves. On our 10:30 service November 22, scarves made by St. Michael s members will be collected. Also, the Church School sponsors a Warm Fuzzy Tree each year whose hats, scarves, mittens and any warm clothing are given to Crossroads clients. Both hand crafted and store bought items are welcome See Rosemary Berger at or Mimi Lambert at if you would like yarn from the Creative Caring stash.

3 The Sword November 2009 Page 3 THANKSGIVING T... Thankfulness, for all the blessings of this life. H Hope, the promise of the future through Jesus Christ. A Abundance of God's Grace, surrounds us in real-time. N Nazarene, the cornerstone of our lives. K Kingdom of God, made real through us. S Salvation, through the One who died to set us free. G Creator God, through whom all things came into being. I Incarnation, Son of God and Son of Man. V Vineyard of Christ, in which we live and labor. I Imago Dei, in whose image we are made. N Newness of Life, given to us in baptism. G God is Love. - Rev. Marianna+ Pastoral Care Wheels Program St. Michael s Pastoral Care Committee offers the Wheels Program for those needing transportation to events at St. Michael s. If you need a ride to come to church services or events, give us a call. We also need volunteers to be occasional drivers for this program. See Judy Sheehy at coffee hour or call Judy at for more information. Youth Groups Meet Both Middle School and High School Youth Groups began their season by gathering on a recent Sunday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00 to prepare children s activities for Friday Night at Mike s Heifer Halloween supper. They created a very inventive haunted house and other Halloween activities for all ages. The next monthly Youth Group meetings will be held Sunday, November 22, at 4:00 and will give students the opportunity to create personalized blocks on the walls in their classrooms. All middle and high school students in the parish are welcome and encouraged to attend these monthly gatherings. Left to right: Mary Bamford, Sally Graham, Pat Dyble, Bob Chandler, and Marge Chandler enjoy themselves at the St. Michael s annual progressive dinner. Hannah, Katie, Riley, Rebecca, "Liam," David and Will created a haunted house for the Friday Night at Mike's Halloween party.

4 Page 4 The Sword November 2009 Did you know? Ginger Morketter recently visited her son, Colin, and his family in Sierra Madre, CA. While she was there having a wonderful time, Ginger also participated in the Four-Mile Rose Bowl Marathon! Wilson Rogers was honored by the Grosse Pointe Men s Club as Gardener of the Year! Exciting news from the Zmyslowski family! Kathy and Dave are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Geoff. Geoff and his fiancé, Brandy, met when they were students at the University of Michigan. Brandy is completing her residency in pathology in Houston and Geoff is an aerospace engineer at General Electric in Grand Rapids. When Rev. Marianna, Laura O'Connor and, of course, Topaz, cleaned out the entryway planters, they were surprised to find that those lovely light green leaves were from potato plants. Their harvest included both red and white potatoes. 28th Annual Golf Outing September 25 was a perfect day for our eight foursomes to be on the golf course. After golf we shared fellowship and tales from the fairways over cocktails and dinner. The evening ended after each player had selected a prize from the gift table. The modified Captain s Choice was a no pressure format for individual contributions of skill, luck and optimism to create team success. Top honors were won by Dale Scrace, Drew McSkimming, Brian Payton and Bob MacKool. Second place went to Don Ludlow, Bob Chandler, Dennis Angell and Sam Fisher. Exceptional skill was demonstrated by Mike Bamford, Bill Meredith, Bev Veit and Drew McSkimming, each won one of four challenges on the course. Event organizers Don & Sarah Ludlow and Karen McCarthy are grateful to the Hole Sponsors and Prize Donors for their contributions. Thanks to their generous participation, we are pleased to report that we gathered about $1000 for St. Michael s. See you next year? -submitted by Karen McCarthy Hole Sponsors Dave & Judy Appleton Shirley Knoll Don Kalso Bob & Jane Bashara Don and Sarah Ludlow Anne and George Grayr Jim Chandler Karen McCarthy Cathy and Bob Waters Grant Gilezan Nancy Renick and Ellen Durand Prize Donors Mike & Mary Bamford Don Kalso Karen McCarthy Fritz Bloy Mary Leech St. Michael s SCRIP Program Bob & Marge Chandler The Little Thrift Shop Carrie Sullivan Anne & George Grayr Don and Sarah Ludlow Sycamore Hills Golf Club Bev and Jim Veit

5 The Sword November 2009 Page 5 TRICK OR TREAT? As the mornings get frosty and the tree leaves start changing color, we are all reminded that autumn is here. And with autumn comes one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. Now, I can just hear some of you say, Wait a minute. This is a church newspaper. What does Halloween have to do with the Church? I guess the way we celebrate Halloween today isn t very religious. Of course, we could make the same observation about some aspects of Christmas, but the date of Halloween, October 31, is based upon a religious feast day. In fact, its name is a conjunction of All Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day. You may ask, how did a day honoring the Saints get converted into an evening of boys and girls, wearing costumes, and begging for candy? Ever since the fifth century, the Church celebrated a day to commemorate the early Christian martyrs, many of whom could not be identified. This day was originally set shortly after Easter, but by middle of the eighth century Rome was usually overrun at that time of year with pilgrims celebrating the Holy Days. With winter ended, food supplies were low and the religious authorities had trouble feeding all the people. Finally, Pope Gregory III solved the problem by transferring the feast day to November 1, when the harvest would be in and the larders full. The association of ghosts and other creepy beings with Halloween began in Ireland. Before the coming of Christianity, the pagan Irish tribes celebrated a holiday they called Samhain, a day of reflection and communication with the other world. They incorporated Samhain with their All Saints Day celebration, while maintaining some of the pagan elements. The Irish started their days at sunset so their festivities began on All Hallows Eve or Halloween. Jack-o-lanterns were originally lamps put before houses to frighten away the wandering spirits and protect the family. Our tradition of Trick or Treat may have come from England where children paraded through the streets on All Hallows Eve dressed as saints, angels, or devils. For this they were rewarded with soul cakes, sweet biscuits. Most children seem to enjoy getting into costume and going to neighboring houses to get their treats. I still remember the excitement of joining the crowd, trying to guess who was in the strange get-ups we encountered, and coming home with a bag overflowing with penny candy. We had to get home before it got really dark because we knew that ghosts, ghouls, and vampires roamed the world during Halloween night. We also knew that they would all be banished by All Saints morning. (I knew that part was true because I never saw a ghost, ghoul, or vampire the next morning.) A very strange thing did happen overnight. It seemed about half of my candy would disappear by the next morning. I think my mother confiscated it and parceled it out to me over the next couple of months. I hope you and your family had a great Halloween. While you remember the costumes and enjoy the treats, remember the meaning November 1. - Jack Renick Faith Community Nursing November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Diabetes mellitus refer to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses glucose (also called blood sugar). Chronic diabetes conditions include type I diabetes and type 2 diabetes. If you have diabetes, no matter which type, it means you have too much glucose in your system. Although the reasons differ, too much glucose can lead to serious health problems. There are 23.6 million Americans with chronic diabetes. Potentially reversible diabetes conditions include prediabetes when your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. There are 57 million Americans with pre diabetes. Take charge of your everyday choices. Eat right and be active. November 8 will be the Blood Pressure clinic. It will be 9:15AM to 10:15AM in the conference room.

6 Page 6 The Sword November 2009 THE SWORD Vol. 56 No. 8 Picture Credits: Deborah Cooper, Joanna Holsinger The Sword is published 11 times a year. Editor: Dianne Pegg Producer: Kathy Zmyslowski Submissions can be sent to the St. Michael s Church office or ed to: communications@stmichaels.org St. Michael s Episcopal Church Sunningdale Park Drive Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Fax: Website: SUNDAY SCHEDULE 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist with church school at 10:15 The Rev. Marianna Gronek Rector Cell: The Rev. Jack G. Trembath Deacon Assistant (part-time) Dale Scrace Senior Warden Grant Gilezan Junior Warden Drew McSkimming Treasurer Bill Ball Secretary Deborah Cooper Church School Director Gavin Craig Music Director Barbara Pappas Youth Choir Mary Gage Parish Secretary marygage@stmichaelsgpw.org Patti Coe Financial Secretary Dennis Angell Sexton IN MEMORIAM The following faithful departed, whose deaths occurred during the month of December in years past, will be remembered at the Requiem on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Mina Anderson Arthur H Bacon F Roger Bacon Lucita H Barlow Marie Beaver George Bellinger Newell J Berger, Sr. Frederic B Besimer Esther Bodycombe Janet E Borthwick Marion Chew Donald C Clogg Ruth Coleman Henry Philip Cope Dorothy Eggleston Mirna Graham Clarence Gunn Waunita Harden Antoinette Haug Roy W Hodges Frederick Hohmeier William Hough Dorothy L. Keller Louis Kraetke, Sr. Irma Kuecken Augustine Kufner Wilmot LeRoy Cecil Ludlow Charles Lurtz Richard Marr Elvira Masi Helen McIntyre Andrew McSkimming,Jr. Grace Newman Ray Nigro Norman C. Perrin Elizabeth Peters Joseph Peters Irene Rafnel Arthur Redebaugh Leonard H Rochte Florence K Rogers Donald Schlemmer Barbara Simonds Marguerite Snider Myrtle Solomon Roscoe Solomon Jill Stedman Helen Taper James Jones Thompson Patricia Brown Tyson Ellis J. Van Slyck Betty Jane Winkler Rest eternal grant them, O Lord; let light perpetual shine upon them. DEATHS Mollie Mackenzie October 10, 2009 BAPTISM Edward Dylan Macaulay October 4, 2009 CALENDAR NOVEMBER 1 Worship, 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. All Saints Day 2 Sword Mailing, 10:45 a.m., Creative Caring every Monday, 7 p.m. 3 YaYA (Youth and Young Adult) Committee, 7 p.m. 4 Book of Acts Study Program, 10-11:30 AM, 7-8:30 p.m., every Wednesday 5 Adult Choir practice, 7 p.m. (every Thursday) 7 Book Study THE SHACK 10 a.m. 8 Worship, 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., Blood Pressure screening 9:15 10:15 a.m. 9 Creative Care every Monday, 7 p.m., 10 ECW (Episcopal Church Women) Fashion Show & Luncheon Evangelism Committee, 7 p.m. 11 Book of Acts Study Program, 10-11:30 a.m., 7-8:30 p.m. 12 Adult Choir practice, 7 p.m. (every Thursday) 14 Monthly Requiem 15 Worship, 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., UTO INGATHERING MUSIC IN THE WOODS, 4 p.m. 16 Outreach, 7 p.m., Creative Care every Monday, 7 p.m., 17 Finance & Property Comm. 6 p.m., VESTRY 7 p.m. 18 Book of Acts Study Program, 10-11:30 a.m., 7-8:30 p.m. 19 Adult Choir practice, 7 p.m. (every Thursday) 20 Friday Night at Mike s, 6:00 p.m. 22 Worship, 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., INVITATION SUNDAY, Messiah bags available Middle & High School Youth Groups, 4 p.m. 24 St. Mary s Guild, noon; St. Elizabeth s Guild, 12:30 p.m. 25 Businessperson s Lunch, THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE, 7 p.m. 26 Happy Thanksgiving 27 Thrift Shop open, Receiving closed 28 Thrift Shop open 29 Worship, 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., Thrift Shop open 30 St.Teresa s Guild, 7:00 p.m. DECEMBER 1 Sword Mailing 10:45 a.m., Creative Caring every Monday, 7 p.m., YAYA (Youth and Young Adult) Committee, 7 p.m. 2 Book of Acts Study Program, 10-11:30 a.m., 7-8:30 p.m.

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8 DO NOT FORWARD Address Service Requested St. Michael s Episcopal Church Sunningdale Park Drive Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Fax: Thrift Shop News The annual Thrift Shop Christmas Boutique will open starting in November. There are always many interesting holiday items in this unique boutique, so be sure to stop by and do some of your Christmas shopping with us. From November 22 nd until December 20 th, the Thrift Shop will be open every Sunday following the 10:30 service. The Sunday shopping hours will provide an excellent opportunity to shop for the recipients of the Messiah bags, which are given each year to those in need in the Church of the Messiah s neighborhood. Also, stop in and browse for winter items, such as hats, boots, sweaters and coats for you and your family. Please Note: The Little Thrift Shop is in desperate need of additional volunteers. As little as an hour a week would be a big help. Please contact Genny Davenport at for In honor of St. Francis, St. Michael's held its annual Blessing of the Animals in early October. Rev. Marianna welcomed and blessed a number of dogs and one cat, Missy Appleton, who remained in the back corner of her crate. The front lawn of the church was alive with the joy of God s Creation. The 30th Annual Blessing of the Animals