NATIVITY SCENE FROM ELETHA S DESK

Transcription

1 C h u r c h o f t h e N a t i v i t y WORSHIP SERVICES Saturdays 5:00 PM Holy Eucharist NATIVITY SCENE Sundays 7:45 AM Holy Eucharist V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 M a r c h / A p r i l :00 AM Adult Education 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist with Sunday School and Nursery Care FROM ELETHA S DESK Lent is about Jesus journey to the cross. However, it is also about the disciples whose lives were changed by a simple invitation, Follow me. I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : From Eletha s Desk Praying with Icons Annual Meeting Report Words from Naomi Quiet Day Lenten Healing Service The Trinity Invitation Saying Goodbye Gifts Exchanges Meal Packing , For each disciple, the day of their calling must have been memorable, perhaps because they did something so radical, so unlike what they had ever done before. They were adults who took their responsibilities seriously. One had no choice back then. There was no infrastructure unemployment benefits, disability benefits, food stamps, heating assistance, etc. - that would carry them over. If disability struck, the only vocation available was to become a beggar, a beggar who always had to rely on the generosity of others. Thus something very powerful must have happened to them. Can you imagine? It was a simple invitation that said, Follow me, that changed their lives drastically! They left their fishing nets, their families, their family trade, and their friends who probably thought they had lost their minds. But they hadn t lost their minds; they just lost their hearts and spirit and surrendered themselves to God s desire. They followed, they listened, they learned and they watched as Jesus brought healing to the bodies, minds, and spirits to those who wanted to catch a glimpse of God. They learned about the true nature of God, God s desire for human beings (to love one another) and God s ever inexhaustible source of love, mercy and forgiveness. Then that fateful day came when they lost the one that they had grown to love, grown to trust, and grown to rely on. In their scattered hiding places, stricken with grief and disillusionment, a consuming question must have found its way into one of the darkest moments in their lives, What now? Their willingness to change their lives with Jesus invitation was their own decision, but evil in the hearts of some human beings brought a change not of their own making. This change resulted in a loss, a terrible loss that left their lives feeling empty. What now? Even if they turned back to what was, their lives would (Continued on Page 2)

2 P a g e 2 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 (Continued from Page 1) never be the same. It is hard to see a future when in deep grief. Change not of our own making, not of our own desire, can take a terrible toll on the human spirit. Loss, especially the loss of a loved one, always brings about changes in our lives, changes that can challenge our faith, our trust and/or sense of wholeness. When day had turned to night, the darkness of the nightmare of the day reflected the darkness that set deep within their hearts. Some of us have been there, done that, but the gift that is ours is that our faith tells us that the one we love is safe in the presence of God, and what remains is what we will take with us at the time when our destiny is fulfilled and that is love. We, unlike the disciples, in the first couple of nights of the loss, know that the resurrection happened. He rose from the dead and we with him. But death where is thy sting? It is with the living, those left behind to find once again a sense of wholeness. Time will allow our wholeness to embrace, encircle, and encompass that piece of us that can never be filled by any other human being. It is in knowing that the Resurrection happened that we are able to face the challenging changes that loss brings with hope and trust in God s ever unchangeable and unconditional love. Yes, Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed and so shall we and all who we deeply love. As said in the burial liturgy, Life has changed not ended and it is all because God loves us so much that he sent his only begotten Son, who then sent his disciples to share the Good News with us. Thanks be to God! So WHAT NOW? Knowing what you know, what you believe, as you look upon the cross this Easter, ask yourself, HOW RADICAL CAN I BE FOR GOD? AMEN A PRAYER FOR THE TIME OF TRANSITION Almighty God, Creator of all we are, all we have and all we can be: We thank you for the many ways you have protected and inspired us throughout Nativity s history. Open our hearts and minds to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that, working together, we will use our gifts to further your mission during this time of transition; in the name of your son Jesus Christ. Amen.

3 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 P a g e 3 PRAYING WITH ICONS Praying with Icons was the topic of the January Quiet Day. In today s world of technology, we use icons frequently. We click on an image, and it opens up to something we want to connect with. In the Quiet Day, we looked at religious icons, particularly orthodox icons, as a way of opening us up to prayer. Icons tell stories, like scripture, and a spiritual truth is conveyed through the image. They become holy doors through which we are invited to enter into prayer and growth in our understanding and experience of God. The history of icons is particularly significant as the early iconographers gave us images of the saints, and these images remain with us today. As we look at the images and the scriptures represented in the icons, we are invited into the scene, the image, and the truth of what is being conveyed. During the time of quiet, we were encouraged to ponder the icons, and to stop, look, and listen. Stop What catches your attention? Place yourself in the scene or context. Stay there. Look What do you see? Is there a story being told? What is happening? What does it feel like? Be aware of your senses. What emotions are you feeling? Who or what are you drawn to? Listen What might God be saying to you? What might be His invitation to you to hear or experience? What of God s truth is being revealed to you? An interesting example of icons that some of you may have noticed is a very large icon seen briefly in the nave, but is usually seen in Eletha s office. This is called Pantocrator, Ruler of all. In this image of Jesus, we note that His hand is in a gesture of a blessing, and He is holding a book of scripture, representing the Gospel. When looking at the face of Jesus, we see that each side of his face has a subtly difference expression. One side is more stern, representing judgment; while the other side of the face is softer, representing mercy. Both judgment and mercy are seen in the face of Jesus. e are blessed to have a number of icons available to us, particularly with the beautiful Russian Icon Museum so close to us. I encourage you to be open to something that may be new to you, and to perhaps explore new ways to learning of God and experiencing His presence through icons. Sally Kazarian, Refuge Ministry

4 P a g e 4 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY, NORTHBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS MINUTES OF THE FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 21, 2016 The meeting was called to order by Bruce Reilly, Senior Warden, at 12:15 pm. Bruce opened with our transition prayer. A short silence was held to remember past members who had passed in previous years. A quorum was declared with 59 members in attendance. It was moved, seconded and passed unanimously that all written reports in the Annual Report be accepted as presented without ministry comments. Minutes of the 2015 Annual Meeting were moved, seconded and accepted unanimously by the membership. The 2015 Financial Report was presented by our treasurer, Henry Terwedow. The report was moved, seconded and unanimously accepted by the membership. FINANCIAL REPORT: The 2016 Financial Report, previously approved by the vestry, was presented to the parish. Because there is an addition of $19,000 in this budget to cover the cost of the new rector s search and the ancillary funds needed to move and install a new rector, a group of parishioners have proposed fundraising events: The first fundraiser is schedules for March 19. The Assabet Valley Chamber Singers will present a concert. Coffee and desserts will be served More suggested fundraisers will be forthcoming If fundraisers are not successful, a mini-campaign to raise funds will be held There being no further questions or comments from the floor, a motion was made, seconded and accepted to approve the coming budget. Motion passed. Bruce Reilly, our Senior Warden, described our vestry nomination process. The following officers have agreed to return for another year of service: Senior Warden: Bruce Reilly (one year) Junior Warden: Sue Roche (one year) Treasurer: Henry Terwedow (one year) Clerk: Lois Macek (one year) It was moved, seconded and passed that the nominations be closed. The Clerk was instructed to cast one vote for the slate of nominees for the Executive Committee Vestry members: Karen Emery (3 years) Tony Rea (3 years) Nancy Kimball (2 years) Peg Walcott (2 years) Marjorie Carlson (1 year) Sheryl Brower (1 year) It was moved, seconded and passed that the nominations be closed. The Clerk was instructed to cast one vote for the slate of all nominees.

5 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 P a g e 5 Other elections for CY 2016: Convention Delegate At Large: Convention Delegate Vestry: Convention Delegate At Large: Convention Delegate Youth: Alternate Convention Delegate: Alternate Convention Youth Delegate: Joan Gilchrist Nancy Kimball Glen Campbell open Bette Ann Whynot open It was moved, seconded and passed that the nominations be closed. The Clerk was instructed to cast one vote for the slate of nominees for the Convention Delegates Maureen Desilets said she would look into the matter of a youth delegate for the convention as well as an alternate. SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE: Mary Frances Rozak, chair of the committee, spoke to the congregation, updating parishioners in general on the process of the search and how it was proceeding. First, she thanked the Profile Committee on the long, hard work they expended on preparing the profile and its reflection of who and what Nativity is. It is to be noted that the Profile Committee was also honored for their service at the 10:00 am service this morning prior to the annual meeting. This committee has now disbanded. Mary Frances added that the profile has now been put on a national database, as well as the Nativity website. Canon Rich Simpson will be attending a national transition meeting in March and will present our profile at that time. The committee, which has been meeting periodically since July, is now meeting weekly. Jim Baker has spent time developing possible questions to be asked of a potential rector. The Holy Cow survey that the Profile Committee used to develop our profile will also be used by the Search Committee to vet potential candidates. We are looking for a rector to move us forward and build our community. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The following acknowledgements for retiring vestry members were made: Glen Campbell and all the other hats he continues to wear Janet Wilcox and all her ministries Paul Gill for his sustained devotion to Small Groups With no further business the meeting was adjourned with prayer at 1:10 pm. Respectfully submitted, Lois F Macek Clerk of the Vestry

6 P a g e 6 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 WORDS FROM NAOMI DESILETS As I ring in the New Year I look back on how God has worked in my life this past year and look ahead with eager anticipation for all that He has planned for me in This fall I entered into my second year at UMass Amherst after switching my major from Environmental Science to Sustainable Food and Farming with a minor in Sociology the previous semester. I began to reflect on how I was to use my degree to glorify God and how I could apply what I was learning at university to missions. One of the biggest changes this year was becoming a growth group/bible study leader. When first asked at the beginning of the semester I struggled back and forth on whether I should accept. I wanted to make sure I was saying Yes for the right reasons. Was God calling me to step up or was my ego being flattered by others viewing me as a good and knowledgeable Christian? Facilitating discussion however helped me to learn more from my peers than the other way around and it was an emotional semester supporting each other throughout the trials of the life and school. There is something raw and vulnerable about praying for each other that just brings people closer. Setting aside time to prepare kept me accountable to spending time with God s Word and I saw that I wasn t just throwing out the phrase I ll pray for you willy-nilly anymore but was spending time praying for the wonderful women that have become my sisters in Christ. I began to see that my friendships that were Christ-centered were deeper and more meaningful, while I still have friends who are not Christian my conversations were them seemed to pale in comparison. For the first time I have a community of believers who are keeping me accountable as we live and worship together. This year I had the privilege to attend Urbana 15, a missions conference held in St. Louis, Missouri every three years. For five days I had the opportunity to experience multi-cultural worship, hear from people who have dedicated their life s work to Christ, attend seminars, and network with ministry organizations. Although the cost was a hurdle I felt this was where I needed to be. Urbana helped me to reflect on how I am living out my faith. While at Urbana I decided to apply for a summer job with Youthworks, an organization that organizes mission trips and Christ-centered programs for youth and families across the United States. I am looking forward to seeing how God will continue to use me this semester at UMass and hopefully this summer wherever He plans to send me. I left Urbana with some great nuggets of truth, some truths that I knew but didn t really know. I realized that while I said I trusted the Lord I hadn t surrendered all of my worries to Him. Some things were small enough that I could trust Him with them, but the big ones like how I was going to manage to pay for school where too big for Him to take and I was holding onto to them with a tight fist. I was driving myself crazy with worry and letting it consume me and I had had enough. I found myself with the same hesitations when looking at jobs and missions. Thoughts like, Okay God, send me where You will, but only to a place where I can make a decent living, and where I won t be overwhelmed or persecuted, oh and don t forget God I get sunburns really bad so if You wouldn t mind only call me to a place where it isn t too hot. Who am I to be telling God what to do and putting limits to His great and mighty power? If I know that He has overcome sin and death why do I think He can t overcome something as small as a price tag or the climate? I am excited to see how I can continue to grow and serve the Lord on campus, trusting in His provision and selfless love. A Thought about Stewardship Stewardship is the act of organizing your life so that God can spend you. Lynn A. Miller, author

7 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 P a g e 7 The Gift of Waiting During our Transition: Quiet Day Meditation At our February Quiet Day, we contemplated waiting, noting that human beings, particularly for those of us living in an addictive, overbooked, quickaholic culture, hate to wait. We spend much of life not living in the moment but looking ahead for something to change. Have you ever noticed how often we pray to avoid waiting, for instant and miraculous healing? Such healing can occur, yet productive waiting demands surrender and passivity, a willingness to abide in the situation for a while. God places high value on waiting as one of His greatest tools. The Bible is full of people having to wait for God s direction or action, while He says: Not now. Trust Me: Jacob s 7 plus 7 years waiting to marry Rachel, the 40 years in which Moses followers made a circuitous trip that could have been accomplished in weeks, the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity. God had plans for those long periods of waiting, always placing greater value on the transformative possibilities of waiting than upon reaching human goals. If we align ourselves with God s intention, we look not upon our goal but instead upon what we can become as we wait. Our faith so values waiting that we devote two liturgical seasons to it: Advent, when we await the incarnation, God with us, and Lent when we await His triumph and His offer of new life. We are called to repentance and transformation during these seasons. Transformation can be painful because it requires abandoning behaviors, masks and myths that served us well but no longer work. Letting go of familiar and trusted tools is confusing and frightening. Yet when God wants to change us, He creates a temporary darkness in which we wait, and, hopefully, transform. These periods of painful waiting are consistent with God s creative pattern: the caterpillar who through the process of metamorphosis, ultimately becomes a butterfly, the bulbs we planted in the fall now lying dormant in the earth, hibernation, change within a tiny seed. All of these transformative God-created processes involve a cycle of creative waiting and new birth. God is not in a rush. He takes the time it takes. This is how God works, in the physical world and with us as spiritual beings. When we surrender to waiting and become willing for God to move in His own way, in His own time, we move from waiting for God to act, to simply waiting for God to be God.to do whatever He wills in us. Such freedom! Jesus went through cycles of transformative waiting. He spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness, preparing for his earthly ministry, a night of anguish in the garden becoming ready to submit to the cross, and several hours on the cross when darkness covered the sun as he made his goodbyes to his life as a human. And there was the tomb, which became the womb from which he rose in victory. This is God s plan, as demonstrated in scripture, creation and in the life of Jesus. Seen in this way, those periods of waiting are invitations for us to be transformed into people who are ready for the next stage in life. Waiting is a gift if we let it be. At Nativity we can receive that gift as we wait for a new priest. We have been offered a time in which to look carefully at ourselves as individuals and as a congregation, accepting God s help to transform. Rightfully understood, this can be a season not of darkness and dislocation but of freedom, hope and new birth Lisa Phelps

8 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 LENTEN HEALING SERVICE P a g e 8 The Nave was bathed in candle light as it was prepared for the Lenten Healing Service on March 2. The soft meditative music was played on the guitar and sung by Nicole Garcia with selection from Taize. Rev. Eletha led a time of prayer and scripture reading followed by prayers and anointing for healing at the altar rail. The Eucharist was then celebrated. The service was quite, gentle and inspirational with the congregation leaving in silence as the candles were extinguished. The next Healing Service will be held on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 PM. THE TRINITY'S INVITATION by Lori Blackwell Child are you listening for me? Be still and hear my call I have a glorious plan for you Though I can promise you ll stumble and fall I ll be right here to steady you Not once - but every time And though the path gets bumpy Remember It s not just yours - It s mine I ll walk with you each tender step Through troubles I m at your side You ll make an awful lot of mistakes It s not an easy ride But you do not travel alone my child Father, Son, and Spirit - Three

9 Page 9 VOLUME 57, ISSUE 2 SAYING GOODBYE TO FR. MICHAEL On February 28th our parish got together after the 10:00 service to have a farewell party for our beloved Fr. Michael Cheney. The theme was Chinese. Chinese food was ordered for over 100 parishioners. Along with other dishes. It was a feast we will remember for some time. Friends came as far as New Mexico to surprise Fr. Mike! The hall was filled with over 150 people. Amanda Panikian was our mistess of ceremony.amanda had the room in stitches as she played word games to compliment our honoree. Erica Swift, the artist she is, designed a special cake for the occasion. Roses for Dana and chocolates for the kids ended the time with a money purse for Fr. Michael donated by our loving parishioners. Fr. Michael gave his little flock at Nativity a inspiring fair well blessing, and our response was a standing ovation and cheers. Sue roche The above picture is the two cakes designed by Erika Swift. NATIVITY SCENE

10 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 P a g e 10 GIFTS EXCHANGED (Editor s Notes) Glen Campbell found this article interesting and wanted to share it with the parish. We hope you find it enjoyable reating. Is there something about music that resists being bought and sold? This seems like a naïve question. The buying and selling of music and musicians is woven into our whole way of life. Every professional musician, or anyone who plays for social or religious occasions, expects to be paid. Salary disputes are legion, and the funding of symphony orchestras is no picnic in the park. Church directors and staff must be paid, musical scores purchased, recordings made, and a huge publishing industry offers countless products. No one can escape the economics of music making. When we occasionally see handwritten music, we know we are among amateurs unless it is a Bach manuscript for sale! I recently came across a forgotten treasure. There, under a stack of magazines, was a box containing my father s arrangements of Christmas carols and a set of his 6-by-9-inch blue jazz fake books all the musical notation in his own hand. Those sheets and little books of copied music were far more than things to be quantified or sold for a price. They were signs of an exchange between two living subjects. Suddenly, I was taken back to playing piano in his band years ago, often using his carefully written signatures. For a moment, it was as if he was right there looking over my shoulder at the piano; and I was returning his work to him in some important way a gift returned even though so many years had passed since his death. This got me pondering how music can resist the forces of commercialization. Despite the fact that we can t go home to a time when music and musicians were not bought and sold in a cultural economy (was there ever such a time?), here was evidence of something intrinsic about the art of shared music. He had given me a gift as my teacher, and as a loved human being with whom I had played music. I think of an old-fashioned Sunday school orchestra and later a weekend dance band. Why is this so priceless? Sentiment and emotional attachment are obviously involved. Yet, something else was present a deep connection mediated by the notation sounded again. There is something about performing and listening that is akin to a full gift exchange: When we give and respond to a giver, when we play for others and they attend to the performance, we receive just as in listening to and playing Bach s Musical Offering. We are given ourselves back. These occasions are filled with generosity and mutuality. To give and to receive in musical sharing awakens a social world of gratuitous relationships going beyond counting the cost. In a complicated world of economic and social/cultural arrangements, we often long for relationships with objects in the world and with other human beings where there are no strings attached. Breaking through the restrictions of what costs what, or what commercial value can be assigned, we discover a space of grace gratuity. In other words, freedom for joy and beauty and human creativity just because it is, not because of what it s worth. The 18 th -century New England theologian Jonathan Edwards called this a consent to being. Music, well offered and responded to, opens such a consent. This exchange of gifts, human to human, is at the heart of this. Of course, hearing a great symphony orchestra requires an economy behind the performance. Sustaining a good choir or a chamber group, much less maintaining an organ, is also a matter of money and public value. But the living musical exchange is more a sacrament than a commercial transaction.

11 P a g e 11 V O L U M E 5 7, I S S U E 2 All this is a thinly disguised argument in favor of quality amateur (for the love of it) music-making. Yet, it also applies to all the ways music resists the restrictions and external valuations of professionalism and economic structures. I can certainly purchase finely edited versions of the music in those ink-blotted scores I found tucked away; but nothing can replace the gift exchange they represent: a mystery hidden from the jaded eyes of the world. As when friends converse without pretense or competition, music can still be the occasion of a deeper communion: the sacrament of sound giving us life beyond buying and selling. DON E. SALIERS, Chaplain, American Guild of Organists Copyright 2016, by the American Guild of Organists. Reproduced by permission of The American Organist Magazine. MEAL PACKAGING IN WESTBOROUGH THE OUTREACH MINISTRY participated on February 6, 2016 in a meal packing event at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 183 West Main St, Westborough MA from 1pm to 3pm volunteers were requested, and many of our teens with some adults responded. Last year s event packaged just over 43,404 meals that were distributed to local food pantries in the Worcester area, and a similar number were packed this year. Janet Wilcox, the past liaison on the Vestry for Outreach, extended her thank you to all who participated.

12 THE NATIVITY SCENE MARCH/APRIL NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO.52 NORTHBORO, MA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY 45 Howard Street Northborough, MA (fax) We have been called together by God to be and to make faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ Check out our weekly News and Notes listing of announcements and events. MARCH 12 Quiet Day 19 AVM Concert and Dessert 20 Psalm Sunday 26 Egg Hunt at 4:30 26 Easter Family Service 27 Easter Sunday APRIL 9 Quiet Day 12 Vestry TBA Town Meeting