AUGUST 2016 As a teacher, I always think of August as the New Year, perhaps even more so than January 1 st. There is the anticipation of new beginnings new classes, new friends, new students... Some children are looking forward to going to school for the first time. Others may be changing schools, or moving to a new town. Our seniors are looking forward to finally being finished, and our college-bound students are nervously venturing out into an unknown world, on their own, without the loving supervision of their parents. There is no small amount of anxiety and fear for the unknown. Like so many students, St. David s is on the verge of a new beginning. As the search for our new rector draws to an end, we as a parish are poised with great expectancy to welcome and embrace our new spiritual leader. It feels almost like Advent! Yes, there is that anxious feeling in the pits of our stomachs, facing the unknown, but I am confident that we are in God s hands, and that His guidance and love have been present for the whole journey. We will call the just right person to be our rector. And soon. As we prepare, remember all the amazing things that have happened this past 20 months. I recall saying at the beginning of the process that we needed to take the time to get to know ourselves without Rick, and to figure out just who we wanted to become. I think we have accomplished both tasks. We are a strong, vibrant, and caring parish, with much to offer and a willingness to jump in and do what needs to be done. Any priest will be fortunate to become a part of our family. Happy New Year. With love in Christ, Daryl Wilkinson Senior Warden 1
HOLY EUCHARIST WITH BLESSING OF ICONS, on Monday, August 1, at 5:00 p.m. You are invited to a celebration of Holy Eucharist with a Blessing of the Icons that have been written at St David's during the month of July. The final step in making an icon is to have it blessed in church. Please come, participate in this lovely service and see what has been going on Monday afternoons in July. RECTOR SEARCH UPDATE by Susan Huggins Believe it or not, we are coming down to the home stretch with our search for a new rector. By the time you read this, we will be completing the candidate visits with the Vestry and the Vestry could be close to issuing a call to one of our final candidates. SUNDAY CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTS A casual chance to visit on Sunday mornings in Sanders Hall after the early service. Please drop in to break the fast. SPOTLIGHT ON ST. DAVID S NEW COLUMN BEGINNING NEXT MONTH In the September edition of the Wild Onion we will begin a monthly column celebrating accomplishments, big or small, of members of our parish family. Please contact the parish office to nominate someone for this column and the Communications specialists will contact them for an interview. We hope that you will be hearing from Daryl Wilkinson, our Senior Warden, in the early weeks of August with the announcement that one of those final candidates has accepted the call. This is a very exciting time for our parish as we prepare to welcome our new rector. What we continue to ask each of you is to keep Vestry members in your prayers as they discern who that person will be. Your prayers certainly sustained the Search Committee through its process and we know your prayers will give that same support to the Vestry as it makes this very important decision for our parish. The Search Committee is very excited that any of the final candidates can be very successful at St. David s. We are also still extremely optimistic that we will have a new rector on board for Rally Day in September. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact any member of the Search Committee. Susan Huggins, Search Committee Chair Michael Cass Laura Duke Bill Gish Allison Grimenstein Judy Grace Greg McNair Mary Jo Murphy Evan Sanders SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 11:45 a.m. SANDERS HALL Missed your Saint David s family during summer travels? Want to catch up before the busy fall begins? Please plan to join us after the 10:30 service for an Ice Cream Social! You are welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy prior to having ice cream, if you wish. 2
SUPPLY PRIESTS IN AUGUST St. David s has been blessed by the presence of different priests this last year, helping us experience a variety of styles of worship and preaching. Please join us in welcoming the priests listed below who will serve in August. August 7: the Rev. Ann Van Dervoort The Rev. Ann Van Dervoort was the rector s full time assistant at St. Paul's, Franklin, from 1998 until 2012 when she retired. After taking about a year off, she returned to St. Paul's part-time. She has served on the Standing Committee, is on the Franklin Advisory Board for Insight Counseling Centers, and is a loyal supporter of Thistle Farms, PFLAG, and the Women clergy of the Diocese of Tennessee, helping to bring them together, regularly, since 1998, when there were few women clergy. She is a former nurse and a graduate of Stephen's College, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and one "Episcopal Year" at the Seminary of the Southwest. August 14: the Rev. Dr. Donna Scott The Rev. Dr. Donna Scott began her ministry at St. David s as an intern while studying at Vanderbilt Divinity School. After completing her Anglican studies at the School of Theology at Sewanee, she was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. She started Stillpoint School for Spiritual Direction and Contemplative Prayer, and taught ministry and spirituality as adjunct faculty for several years at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She was an active parishioner at St. David s, serving on the Christian Education Committee, the Vestry, and the Search Committee, before her ordination to the diaconate in 1985, which was held at St. David s. She has served as priest associate for pastoral counseling at St. Ann s, priest associate for Spiritual Formation at St. Paul s, Franklin (part-time), and at Church of the Advent for many years as resident clinical pastoral therapist and then as spiritual director, as well as assisting various clergy in the sacramental ministry and teaching. She currently leads a lectio divina study group for parishioners at Church of the Advent. August 21: the Rev. Canon Anne Stevenson The Rev. Canon Anne Stevenson was the first woman ordained for the Diocese of Mississippi, also raising her three children and studying at the University of Louvain, Belgium. She spent 22 years as a priest at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, where she served as Associate Rector, Canon Precentor, and twice as Interim Dean. Throughout her ministry, Anne became regionally and nationally respected as a mentor for EFM, helping to rewrite the curriculum over the years. Anne helped bring Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to life in churches where she served. Internationally, she is a member of the Venerable Order of St. John, and was President of the International Society of the Cross of Nails, a global ministry of reconciliation. August 28: the Rev. Dr. Molly Dale Smith The Rev. Dr. Molly Dale Smith, Priest Associate at St. David's since 2009, is a teacher and consultant to clergy and congregations in the areas of change/transition and congregational development. Transitional Ministry has been a major focus of her ministry since 1998. She has served churches in the Dioceses of West Missouri, Newark, New Jersey, Florida, New York, and Tennessee. CHILDREN S LAPTOP DESKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE DURING CHURCH SERVICES Laptop art desks for children to use during church services are stored in the cabinet in the Henderson Room (behind the door). Some art supplies are also in the cabinet but you could bring your own if you prefer. Children are invited to make use of the desks and to return them to the cabinet after church. If you see visitors who have children with them, please invite them to borrow a lap desk during church. 3
St. David s Summer Stories Continues! by Jennifer Sanders, Children s Ministries Director Our summer story program focuses on one of the Scriptures for the day, related especially for children during a portion of the 10:30 a.m. service. During the reading of the Psalm of the day, children who wish to participate in Summer Stories join the adult leaders at the front of the church and follow the cross to Sanders Hall. Children return to their families in the nave during the Peace. The components of the program include a story, song, craft, and most importantly lots of FUN! All children are welcome to participate in Summer Stories; we hope you can join the remaining two Sundays, August 7 and August 14. July 10, acolyting without electricity or ac was fun! ACOLYTE TRAINING Each Sunday morning in August at 9:15, we will be offer training for any young person in grades 4 through 12 who might interested in becoming an Acolyte and serving in this important role in our Liturgy. Please attend even if you are not sure you want to be an acolyte to see if this is a ministry you might be interested in. It is not necessary to attend all training sessions, however, more than one would be helpful. All current Acolytes are asked to join in one or more of the sessions to help train new acolytes and to have a little refresher course. Any questions please call or email me. Thanks. Scott Rayhab, Acolyte Master 615-429-3947 or srayhab@gmail.com. CHOIR NEWS: The Adult Choir returns to weekly rehearsals on August 31 and the Children s Choirs begin weekly rehearsals on September 18. If you like to sing and would like to join the choir, please contact the church office. Children's Choirs are for singers from kindergarten - sixth grade, meeting for rehearsal and dinner on Sunday evenings from 4:45 p.m. to 6:10 p.m., September through Youth Sunday. The Adult Choir rehearses on Wednesdays from 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., and sings for the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service and other special services, Rally Day through Pentecost. CHILDREN S AND YOUTH MINISTRIES The Children s and Youth Ministries are happy to announce some restructuring beginning on Rally Day, September 11. Responding to waning interest in the Godly Play curriculum from the oldest GP ers and an upcoming gap in the Youth Ministry curriculum, we are creating a new class for our 4 th and 5 th grade students. This new class will fall under the Youth Ministry umbrella and will be led by Mary Leigh Rayhab. The new Christian Formation class structure for young people is as follows: 3 year olds-kindergarten: Godly Play 1 1 st -3 rd graders: Godly Play 2 4 th -5 th graders: Grape Gang 6 th -8 th graders: God Talks! 9 th -12 th graders: Rite 13 Beginning at 9:15 on Sunday mornings, Godly Play will gather in the Ann Walling Children s Chapel; God Talks! and the Grape Gang will gather in the Youth Room; and Rite 13 will meet in the newly created library space (the rectors former office). We look forward to answering any questions you might have about the new groups or about the St. David s Children s and Youth Ministries. Peace, Jennifer Sanders, Coordinator of Godly Play and Children s Ministries Sommer Pearson, Interim Youth Director Mary Leigh Rayhab, Youth Committee Chairwoman 4
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS August 1 Holy Eucharist/Blessing of Icons August 7 Ice Cream Social August 7 & 14 St. David s Summer Stories August 13 Youth Ministries Game Night August 19-21 Laymens Conference September 11 RALLY DAY Christian Formation Classes begin Sounds game, July 22 YOUTH MINISTRY by Sommer Pearson, Interim Youth Director On July 22nd the youth enjoyed an outing to First Tennessee Park to see the Nashville Sounds. Despite thunderstorms, Pokemon, and team delays we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who brought friends. The Youth Committee continues to plan social events to help grow and strengthen our youth community. On Saturday, August 13, we will host a kickoff event for the coming church year. We'll have an Olympic game night and supper for all youth families. Emails will be sent with menu specifics and times. It is important that all families with children from 4th grade-12th grade attend. In addition to having a blast, we will discuss the new Grape Gang class, the structure for events, rules, and the calendar for the year. As always, please don't hesitate to contact me or any member of the youth leadership team with questions at sommerpearson@gmail.com. The Episcopal School of Nashville is hosting an Open House, Sunday afternoon, August 14, 4:30-6:30 pm. Come see the new buildings, tour the classrooms, and meet the faculty. The school is located at 413 Woodland Street on the campus of St. Ann's Episcopal Church. The 70 th Annual Conference of the Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee August 19-21, 2016 by Norman Gillis Every year since 1947, laymen of the Episcopal Churches in Tennessee have gathered at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, TN. Originally just one grouping or Diocese, the men of Tennessee have maintained their bonds despite the division of the diocese Tennessee into three dioceses in 1982. The Annual Conference of Tennessee Churchmen is the oldest gathering of lay people in the Episcopal Church. For more information or to register please visit www.tnchurchmen.org. Sounds game, July 22 5
6
7