St. Paul s Epistle AUGUST 2009

Transcription

1 St. Paul s Epistle AUGUST 2009 July 20, 2009 Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's, Greetings from Minnesota, the land of my birth. I flew here a few days ago to spend some time with my family who have travelled from points far and near. In a day when those close to our hearts can be far away geographically, these gatherings provide an important means for reacquaintance and nurture. The sermon I heard yesterday morning included a theme about finding renewal and relaxation in our lives. That's what I'm attempting to do while away from Vergennes, so I thank you for this time. In two days, the Church celebrates one of the major Holy Days, that of Saint Mary Magdalene. It's personally a significant day in that I was ordained as priest 20 years ago July 22. The psalm appointed for this day is Psalm 42 where we hear, "As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God." I really believe it is this longing after God, this thirst or hunger, that primarily motivates one to be part of the Church, the community that embodies the living Christ. Ecclesiastical life may not always mean relaxation, but it is certainly a source of renewal. Under Rebecca Chauvin's leadership, a committee has been meeting to insure the continuation, renewal, and vigor of St. Paul's Sunday School program. An entire cadre of teachers is willing to contribute time and talent toward helping to develop the faith of our younger members. Sunday School is slated to begin again on September 13. Following a long search, John Stroup has now become Treasurer of the parish. By Vestry action his term began on July 1. John along with George Chauvin and Sarah Cowan serve as the Audit Committee and has offered hours and hours of their time toward completing this task. To enable the audit, Laurie Earle spent weeks arranging files. My gracious thanks to all these persons. There are two occasions coming up in August to which I'd especially like to alert or remind you of: (1) The farewell party for our deacon, Lucy Pellegrini, on Sunday, August 16; and (2) Holy Eucharist celebrated outdoors and parish picnic on Sunday, August 23. Details around these events are to be found elsewhere in this issue of the Epistle. With prayers toward your renewal and relaxation... Your Rector, Alan +

2 HOLY DAYS August 6, The Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ; August 15, St. Mary the Virgin; August 24, St Bartholomew the Apostle; August 29, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist OTHER DAYS OF NOTE August 1, Joseph of Arimathea; August 11, Claire, Abbess at Assisi; August 13, Jeremy Taylor, Bishop; August 20, Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux; August 28. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. members of the flower guild would be grateful. Give Lenore Morse ( ) a call and she can alert the appropriate person for a given Sunday who will then call you to arrange pickup/delivery. We welcome into the household of faith Benjamin Hale, son of Chris and Sarah Hale, who was baptized on Sunday July 12 th. August 16, The Parish bids farewell to Lucy Pellegrini. There will be a reception in the Opera House following the 10 o clock service. Information updates will be in Sunday bulletins. VESTRY INFORMATION: At its June meeting, the Vestry unanimously elected John Stroup to serve as Treasurer of the Parish. We are very grateful to John for taking on this task. August 23, Parish Picnic at the Alleman s. The 10 o clock service will be held at their home, followed by a pot-luck lunch. A sign-up sheet is in the narthex. Driving directions will be provided. A word of caution: parking space is limited, so please try to work out car-pooling arrangements. In addition to a pot, you might want to bring a folding chair. We expect a nice day, but at this writing the picnic goes on, rain or shine! Questions? Call Carol at The family of St. Paul s extends their sympathy to those who are mourning the death of Albert DeVine. He is certainly missed greatly by us all. For the many years of his life he was an important part of the life of St. Paul s and its parishioners. Call on Albert and he would be there. Do you remember seeing him taking a short nap in the semi on the bags of cocoa mulch? THANK YOU to all who are contributing flowers from your gardens for the altar during the summer. If anyone has blooms to spare,

3 AUGUST 2009 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Choir will resume in September 2 9 Pentecost Eucharist 8am & 10am 9 10 Pentecost 3 Concert on the green 7pm pm Advanced Directives, Parish Hall Final Book Group 12-1 Bring brown bag lunch am Caregivers, Parish Hall 15 Eucharist 8am & 10am Outreach meeting after the 10am service Pentecost Eucharist 8am & 10am, Reception for Lucy at Opera House 2 nd Monday group 7-8+pm Concert on the green 7pm 17 Concert on the green 7pm 18 Vestry7pm EPISTLE DEADLINE Pentecost Eucharist 8am 10am service & Parish Picnic at Alleman s Concert on the green 7pm Pentecost August 31 Eucharist 8am & 10am

4 If you can not serve on the day shown please arrange to switch Sundays with someone. Thank you. SUNDAY CHART Date August 2 Pentecost 9 Flower Guild Mary Gordon Sunday School Nan Guilmette &Sarah Stroup Coffee Hour Judy Woods Lector Chalice Jeanne Wisner Carol Knauss Welcome Comm. Lenore Morse & Cricket Laidman Acolyte Hailey White Readings 2 Samuel 11: 26-12: 13a Psalm 51: 1-13 Ephesians 4: 1-16 John 6: August 9 Pentecost 10 Bootsie Morris Family Service Mary Cassidy Bob Laidman Nate Merrill Margaret & Steve Lowe Hailey White 2 Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, Psalm 130 Ephesians 4: : 2 John 6: 35, August 16 Pentecost 11 Anne Sevee Margaret Lowe & Madeleine Calise Reception for Lucy at Opera House Nan Guilmette Tim Earle Mary Gordon & Lee Martel Hailey White 1 Kings 2: 10-12; 3: 3-14 Psalm 111 Ephesians 5: John 6: August 23 Pentecost 12 Carol Knauss Pam Macauley& Natalie Veid Madelaine Calise &Karen White Steve Lowe Tim Earle Mary Gordon & Steve Lowe Hailey White 1 Kings 8: 1,6,10-11, 22-30, Psalm 84 Ephesians 6: John 6: August 30 Pentecost 13 Diane Merrill Rebecca Chauvin & Lenore Morse Margaret Lowe Tim Earle Carol Knauss Cricket Laidman & Margaret Lowe Hailey White Song of Solomon 2: 8-13 Psalm 45: 1-2, 7-10 James 1: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

5 Vergennes Community Food Shelf Behind the Congregational Church Hours: Tues. & Thurs. 2-4pm 2 Saturday: 8-10am 8 I simply can not imagine having to tell a hungry child that there was no food in the house. The food shelf tries to ensure that that scenario will NEVER happen to those in our community. Thank you for your contributions of canned and packaged goods, toiletries, fresh produce and money. Every little bit helps to make someone s life a little better. Questions? Speak with Judy or Lee M. BIRTHDAYS August 2 Tyler Vincelette August 3 Brett Wood Cathy Shahan August 8 Polly Vincelette Claire Clay August 14 Mary Cassidy Marlaine Tierney August 15 Ben Bristow Richard Keenan August 18 Martha E. Orvis August 24 Chris Cassidy August 25 Marion Davis August 28 Clarinda McAllister August 31 Judi Honeywood A note to anyone using the microphone: Please make sure that you speak directly into the microphone, adjusting it up or down as needed. A distance of 4 to 5 inches away from you seems to work well. OUTREACH AT ST. PAUL S, VERGENNES PART 2 Migrant Workers Dinners: Lunchtime meal provided for migrant workers after they gather once a month for Mass at St. Bernadette s Catholic Church in Bridport. After the meal, there is a program, often sponsored by the Open Door Clinic, and supported by bilingual med students, to educate workers about issues such as immunizations and use of over the counter medications. St. Paul s has provided the meals on several occasions, and sends any leftovers home with the workers. Emergency Fuel Fund: A fund established by the fuel companies to supplement the fuel needs of those struggling to pay their fuel bills. St. Paul s gives $.10 for every gallon that is used at the church to the local dealers for their fund. Outreach Allocations from Pledges: Money is allocated in the region of 6% of our pledges each year, to send to various agencies. Those receiving money include Womensafe, Vergennes Food Shelf, Catholic Relief Organizations, Central Asia Institute, John Graham Shelter, and Camp Agape. Vergennes Community Food Shelf: Collects and distributes food to area residents. The Congregation brings non-perishable food items each Sunday. Members volunteer. Pantry Express: Congregation collected money to pay for the cost of shipping for one truckload. Truck from the Vt. Food Bank loaded with 4000 pounds of food for immediate distribution. Church members help unload and distribute.

6 So, if you are not building an ark or putting life jackets on your plants to keep them from drowning, how are you being a steward of God s creation this summer? On July 12, at the baptism of Benjamin Hale, we re-affirmed our promise to respect the dignity of every human being. If we believe that the earth is the Lord s, as we read in Psalm 24, then how does that understanding guide and drive our decisions and choices when thinking about justice and the environment? Are you part of Grow a Row? That s the statewide initiative to help provide produce for local food shelves. If you bring your bounty to church, Judy and Lee will make sure that it gets to the Food Shelf. Baseball bat size zucchini may be okay for bread, but those who have only a hot plate or a campfire or microwave, might find a giant squash unmanageable. Consider baking the bread, and bring it for the freezer at church. Are you shopping at Farmer s Markets? Vergennes, Shelburne, Bristol, Middlebury, Brandon. communities have them on different days of the week. Many offer organic produce, with the added benefit of contributing to the local economy. Try being a localvore for the summer. You can do that while still being a carnivore! Anything raised in Vermont and sold in Vermont without being shipped out of state for processing, results in less pollution from both the processing and fuel consumption for transportation. We ve had an abundance of water here in the past 2 months, while other parts of this country and nations of the world continue years of drought. In the past, we have had water shortages, inconvenient and damaging, but hardly life-threatening. Water is not an unlimited resource, regardless of what we pretend. You can conserve. Use leftover water from boiling vegetables or washing fruit (dunk rather than spray) to water your hanging baskets. Don t run the water while you wash your hands, brush your teeth, or put your contacts in. Buy an Energy Saver appliance. Put a timer on the shower (or in an old house, flush the toilet to get the water hog out of the tub). Just because we pay for it, doesn t mean we can use what we want, rather than just what we truly need. In Anaheim, at General Convention, Bishop Steven Charlton said that our children will live in a world in which wars over water will make ours over oil pale in comparison." What an unacceptable thought! God entrusted this world to us. The so-called developed nations and churches of the world have the capacity to lead the environmental march toward sustainability for generations to come. It is caring for the community of the world. We are all neighbors. But even more to the point, this is God s world, and all that is therein. What does that mean to each of us, today, and to our children, tomorrow? Announcements Tuesday, August 4, 7:00pm Advance Directives. Come with questions. Wrestle with them. Come for the first time, or the fourth. Let s see if we can get 5 parishioners registered on the Vermont Advance Directive Registry. Friday, August 7, 12:00-1:00pm Final session on A Wing and a Prayer. Even if you have not attended previous sessions, come and listen and bring a brown bag. Saturday, August 8, 9:00-10:15am Caregivers Group. Join us for lively, supportive discussion about the everyday challenges of caring for others. All welcome! Sunday, August 9, After 10:00am service, Outreach Committee meeting. All are welcome. Check the ongoing list of Outreach Projects and involvement at St. Paul s listed in this Epistle and the previous one.

7 Monday, August 10, 7:00-8:15pm Come and see! 2 nd Monday The Rev. Bill Davidson will be officially welcomed at a celebration of a new ministry on Saturday, September 29, late afternoon, at St. Paul s, Wells. More information as it becomes available. Information about the Parishioners pantry/meals for Healing Bridges One of the ministries of Bridges, the Lay Pastoral Ministry group, is to provide sustenance for members of the parish who are in crisis or unable to shop regularly and prepare their own meals. The Parishioners Pantry is actually the freezer in the parish hall kitchen, where we store one or two servings of soups and casseroles in easily handled containers. These are usually handed out at Coffee Hour. Previously under the watchful eye of Cricket who started it as the Soup Ministry, many parishioners have both stocked and been beneficiaries of this Ministry. Meals for Healing involves responding to the immediate, acute needs of our parish at the time of a lost or crisis. There is a list that is used to contact parishioners who have offered to make a meal or part of one, and get it into the home of those in need. Marcie Merryman-Means is the coordinator of the Meals, and will also start to oversee the freezer. If you would like to be on her list, please sign up on the list at church. Ryley Olsen. Future altar girl? To believe is to know that each day is a new beginning. It is to trust and to know that dreams do come true and miracles do happen. To believe is to see angels dancing among the clouds and to know the wonder of a stardust sky and the wisdom of the man in the moon. To believe is to find the strength and courage that lives within us when it is time to pick up the pieces and begin again. psb Congratulations to the Calises on the birth of granddaughter Olivia Kolle Calise, born July 1, 2009 and what a cutie she is! We are glad that Pat Barrows is back at the helm of the Epistle. Submission/information may be directed to her at pbarrows@pshift.com and/or to Judy at jerm@gmavt.net.

8 A great afternoon was had by all who attended the picnic at Basin Harbor after church on June 28 for families and volunteers involved in the Sunday school program at St. Paul's! It was a beautiful summer afternoon that included swimming in the lake, playing on the beach, eating and fellowship among families.