St. Paul s Epistle. A Introduction to Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher.

Transcription

1 2017 St. Paul s Epistle A Introduction to Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher. When you walk with the Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher into a place of worship, you notice her hand going toward her head as she makes the sign of the cross, a spiritual practice in many liturgical churches. If there is baptismal water or some sort of font nearby, Zaher dips her fingers in it before she makes the sign, reminding herself of the physical sign of the inward spiritual reality of baptism, of one s identity being in Christ. Most of the time it is automatic, Zaher explains, Then, out-of-the blue, the symbolism catches me offguard. My identity as a person in Christ, as one who has been marked as Christ s own forever as our prayer book says, hits me like one of my favorite lines from a movie I ve seen a dozen times. All of a sudden I m remembering significant moments of faith, moments where I ve sensed a call from God or been challenged. I can not help but wonder - what s next? What s next for the Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher? On December 1, 2017 she begins her new role as the Rector for St. Paul s Episcopal Church in Evansville. Most of Zaher s life has been working with young people professionally as a youth minister and as a teacher. She s a champion for young people and believes they are an integral part of the church today. She also worked with the emerging church movement for years, creating a print publication with grant monies from The Episcopal Evangelism Society and hosting consultations to encourage women leaders. She taught at Hillsboro High School, a title one school, where she fell in love with the International Baccalaureate curriculum as she taught Theory of Knowledge and worked with such an amazingly diverse student body. Most recently, she served as the Assistant to the Rector of Church of the Advent in Nashville, TN. She currently participates in Luther Seminary s Missional Leadership Cohort, a continuing education experience with eleven other Episcopal priests. She looks forward to see how this next step will draw on her previous experience, learn from the new people she meets, and see how she will serve God, God s church, and the world. Holly Rankin Zaher graduated with a BS in Mathematics and a minor in Education from Augusta University in Augusta, GA (1994) and then went straight to study youth ministry at Trinity School for Ministry (1997). She used her MAME (Master of Arts in Mission and Evangelism with a Youth Ministry concentration) to do youth ministry at Fox Chapel Episcopal Church in the Pittsburgh area, Christ Episcopal Church in the Dallas area, Episcopal Church of the Advent in Tallahassee, FL and St. George's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. She also taught youth ministry on a seminary level and surrendered her MAME for an MDiv. in She worked as a consultant for individual churches and also on the diocesan level, for a youth ministry non-profit, for a church

2 (Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher, continued) plant, as a director of online education for a seminary, as a speaker, as a published writer, and as a public school teacher. The Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher lives with her amazingly supportive husband Jim of fifteen years and their three kids: Ellie (13), Ben (10), and Basil (8). They love discovering cool things to do out and about. Ellie dances and loves creating things. Ben sings to his latest musical obsession and enjoys playing basketball. Basil s pockets bulge with YuGiOh cards ready for the next battle and loves goofing around with friends. Jim, a huge football fan, is perhaps most excited to be moving out of SEC land, regularly competes with Holly for the largest library book stack. Holly fiber crafts, explores the intersection of theology and pop culture, and loves to try new things. Team Zaher, as they refer to themselves, is ready for their next adventure - the one leading them to Evansville and St. Paul s. December Birthdays: 01 Bill Beard 02 Tom Ossenberg 02 Amanda Jones 05 Jay Willis 06 Clarence Smith 06 Susan Huck 06 - Andrew Flitner 09 Andy Hardgrave 10 Rev. Roger Walker 10 Brian Kimberling 10 Holland Morris 11 Tess Grimm 14 Linda Berry 14 Ryan Pelky 17 Bill Keeney 17 Sylvia Olson-Autry 17 Carol Christman 18 Mason Mileham 20 Natalie Olson-Autry 22 Dan Howell 22 Trevor Smith 23 Bill Hafer 23 Landon Black 29 John Moran 29 Abigail Mullins 30 Carla Ewing 30 - Michael Grimes December Anniversaries: 07 Keith and Libby Wyatt 20 James and Stacy Godbold 21 Lee and Nancy McClellan 23 Dan and Patti Herrin 26 Fr. Jim and Susanne Hempstead 28 Jay and Elizabeth Hiett 29 Russ and Sue Seiler 31 Jack and Barbara Weatherholt 31 Dan and Sarah Paige

3 anytime you shop at Schnucks. You can even use them in the self checkout lines. Don't have a card? It is easy to pick one up. Just follow these instructions from the Schnucks website. St. Paul s Search Committee The parish wants you to know that we appreciate the countless hours of meetings, reviewing applications, watching videos, conducting interviews, showing candidates around Evansville and all the process that you have gone through to choose the right priest for St. Paul s! If we at times seemed impatient, please know that we did not mean you to take it personally, but we were anxious to get a new priest and move forward. Our sincere thanks to Sam Vowells, Randy Conner, Maury Leinenbach, Susan Huck, Parri Black, Sharon Graham and Lisa Watson. Lisa Jones and Carla Ewing had to drop out before the final outcome, but still contributed to the process. Thank you to each of you for investing yourself for the sake of St. Paul s future. 1. Stop in at Schnucks and pick up a My Schnucks Card. 2. Register your card online at escrip.com/schnucks or by calling Show your card each time you check out. New Prayers for Healing the past month: Rev. Don Jones, Tom Ossenberg, Carolyn Begley, and Jerry McCandless Prayers for those who have died: Taylor Altheide, Steve Brackman and Robert Schermack The Holidays are just around the corner! Let St. Paul's help you with your holiday shopping lists. Stop by the table in Webb Hall and pick up gift cards for your family, friends, teachers and co-workers. Not only will you avoid the crowds, but you will help St. Paul's with your purchases. And if you prefer to give gifts rather than cards, remember that you can get a Walmart or Kohl's card and use it to purchase your gifts. Another way to help St. Paul's during the holidays is to remember to use your Schnucks script card Share on the Second (for St. Paul s Food Pantry) This month we have helped 345 people by providing basic staples and a few extras! With some regular gifts to the Food Pantry and monies from Community and World Missions, we are able to keep the pantry well stocked. Please bring any of the staple items for the pantry on the December 10 th collection. Currently, our most needed items are green beans and ravioli.

4 Meet and Greet Be sure and come meet our new priest, Rev. Holly Rankin Zaher and her family on Sunday, December 3 rd. Between the services (9:00-10:20) you will have an opportunity to talk with Rev. Holly, her husband Jim, and children Ellie, Ben and Basil. Holy Communion will be as usual at 8 and 10:30 a.m. There will be refreshments and a chance to visit with the Zaher family and each other. Time to Decorate On Sunday December 17 th, following the 10:30 service, we will dress up St. Paul s for Christmas. Please stay for a soup luncheon and to help decorate the church. It is a good way to get to know your fellow parishioners and help beautify the church. The church looks so beautiful when we are all finished!jj Christmas Eve Reception St. Paul s tradition is to have a celebration service on Christmas Eve with beautiful music by the choir, candlelight communion and a reception. This year Anne Geissinger has agreed to spearhead the reception. She needs you to help by bringing finger foods to share and coming to spend this time with your church family.

5 Sister Joanna's Table As we come to the end of the year I want to take time to thank the teams from St. John the Baptist (both a & b groups), St. Peter s UMC, Eastminster Presbyterian, St. Wendel s Catholic, St. Paul s Episcopal, Trinity UMC, St. Ben s Catholic, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for all their time and devotion to serving Sister Joanna s Table. You have served close to 8000 meals and provided love and care to our guests unselfishly. Additionally, I want to thank Denise and Evan for their help as stewards each week. They went far beyond their job description to see that everything went smoothly and the crises were solved. Our guests have asked me to relay their thanks to all who made this ministry possible. And thanks to Sister Joanna whose vision 35 years ago began this mission. Blessed holidays! Nancy Keeney Choir News Tis the season to be joyful! Cold winds blow as schedules become even more stressful than before. Yet, in the dark streets of Bethlehem long ago, the most wondrous gift ever given awaits us. How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav n, No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. Words: Bishop Phillips Brooks ( ) Music: Forest Green, English melody; arr. R. Vaughan Williams ( ) O Little Town of Bethlehem is one of the pieces Margaret and the choir will perform in the Candlelight Concert at 9 pm, Christmas Eve. It, like so many of our favorite Christmas Carols, celebrates the workings of the Holy Spirit that Christmas Eve Night. Everything positive and lasting about Christmas is the Holy Spirit s work alone, and the Spirit works silently. In Acts 17: 25, Paul states that God gives to all life and breath and all things. Please join us as we celebrate His greatest gift of all; Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Neil Jones, Choral Director

6 Christmas at St. Paul s Sunday morning, December 24 th 9:00 a.m. - A combined service with Communion 5:00 p.m. - Early Christmas Eve Service (especially planned for families with young children) 9:00 p.m. Festival Holy Eucharist (the traditional Christmas Eve service) The musical presentation begins at 9:00 p.m. and the service at 9:30 p.m. Monday, Christmas Day 11:00 a.m. Christmas Day Service (this is a quiet service without music) Thank you to all who donated to our corn muffin mix collection effort. We, once again, exceeded our goal of 500 boxes! With your help, St. Paul's delivered over 700 boxes to the Rescue Mission for use in their Thanksgiving food distribution program. After delivering to the Rescue Mission, we had a surplus of over 100 boxes that will be offered to Sister Joanna's Table and the St. Paul's food pantry. Thank you for helping us feed the hungry and for making the Thanksgiving holiday brighter for so many people.

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8 St. Paul s Episcopal Church Non Profit Org 301 S.E. First Street US Postage Paid Evansville, IN Permit # 1258 Return service requested Evansville, IN December, 2017 It is interesting to note that while throughout his adult life Jesus always taught us to give and to serve, he first came into this world as one who needed assistance. It was no accident that he was born without a place to lay his head. In coming to our world in this way Jesus shows us there is no shame in being poor.