Published regularly by the parishioners of St. Paul s Episcopal Church 201 E. Ridge Street * Marquette * Michigan 49855 * (906) 226-2912 March Haiti Mission: A Little Bit Goes a Long Way Heading Last week, I returned from a two-week mission in Haiti working in the very remote (3-4 hour hike up the mountain from the last point one can drive to) and very poor mountain community called Crochu (pronounced in Haitian Creole "KWO-shee) where Sandy and I have focused our efforts the past several years. It was a combined relief and sustainable development mission that was supported by monetary and material donations from the good and generous people at St. Paul's and other congregations in our diocese as well as others in and around Marquette. My Haitian friends and I carried up about a ton of rice, beans and cooking oil on the backs of a dozen mules and delivered them to about 60 of the poorest families in the area who had been hit hardest by the January earthquake. Although there were no deaths in this part of Crochu from the quake, some people from the community, who were living, working, or visiting in Port-au-Prince at the time of the quake, died. Nearly everyone in the country has lost a friend or family member. Many homes in Crochu were damaged or destroyed by the quake. Some people already have rebuilt; others are rebuilding or seeking funds with which to rebuild. Some people who have lost their homes have moved in for the time with friends or family. Others are living in what the Haitians call "ajoupa" -- one-room, A-frame shelters covered by banana or palm leaves or corrugated tin sheets salvaged from the roofs of damaged homes. One family had moved their two beds into their ajoupa, and eight people were living there. The rainy season already has begun here, and the tarps, ponchos and garbage bags that several of you donated are making several families much more comfortable and healthy. In addition, with an eye toward a sustainable and more equitable future that will help keep people in the countryside, we helped Méla (Miss Berline), the young nurse who grew up in the community and whom our congregation and diocese help support through Laurie's Fund, rebuild the small medical clinic she started here last fall and brought her three suitcases full of medical and dental supplies collected by Michelle Lexmond, a surgical physician's assistant from Marquette who has worked at Crochu previously, and by folks at St. Paul's and in the Diocese. We also helped Tazia, my hostess in the community who leads a women's sewing coop that Laurie's Fund also supports, replace one of the two foot-driven sewing machines she lost when the roof of her home's front porch collapsed on them, and brought her and each of the eight young women in the coop cloth and good pairs of scissors. Finally, I visited several communities with Louis-Jacques, my host and field assistant, to assess earthquake damage, provided some funds to help a few people rebuild, and discussed the possibility of creating a women's water cooperative to ease the current burden of a steep, difficult and often dangerous hike down to the only spring in the area. We also made plans to host a medical team from Friends of Haiti in Green Bay in mid- April. As always, our Zanmi Kwochi (Friends of Crochu) program was conscious of the importance of involving the local people, including women and older people, in identifying community needs and how they can best be met. Thanks to all of you, this was an excellent two weeks. Again and again, people who were receiving food or something as big as a tarp or as small as a tube of Ora-Gel (toothaches are common here), gave me the huge smiles for which Haitians are famous and asked me to thank all of you very, very much. They also want to know when you will come to visit them, but that's another story... by Burt Purrington
Come Walk the Ancient Journey by Rïse Thew Forrester In the fourth century, a Christian woman named Egeria traveled and wrote about Christian customs and observances in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor. In her writings are the earliest descriptions of how religious pilgrims to Jerusalem re-enacted the events of Holy Week. These customs over time spread throughout Christian communities, and today we too make the journey of faith in the days of Holy Week. Holy Week and Easter Schedule Palm Sunday ~ March 28 ~ Service at 10:30 a.m. We begin in the Morgan Chapel and hear the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem. The people greeted him by laying a path of palm fronds and proclaiming the glory of God. We enter into the church to a somber overview of the journey ahead: the last supper, the betrayal of friends, the suffering on the cross. Maundy Thursday ~ March 30 ~ Service at 7:00 p.m.. Jesus gathers with his friends, eats a meal with them, and says I no longer call you servants, but I call you friends. He takes the servant role, washing the dusty feet of those who have walked this journey with him. Here at St. Paul s we follow his lead by washing one another s hands, offering this tender service to one another, a reminder that as friends of Jesus we are called to service. Good Friday ~ April 2 ~ Services at 12:00 pm and 7:00 p.m. In the quiet of the Morgan Chapel we honor Jesus faithful love with our own affection, singing and offering prayers for his burial. The cycle Gathered to Celebrate of suffering is ended with the willing acceptance of life and death in the power of love. Sent to Serve Cycle of Suffering is Ended Easter Vigil ~ April 3 ~ Service at 8:30 p.m. The community enters into a darkened church, where we light the new flame of Christ. We pass the light until the church is candlelit. We are a people gathered to hear the ancient stories in drama and song as we celebrate the whole story of God s work among us, crowned in the new life of Jesus resurrection. This liturgy goes well into the night but there is a quiet room for children (bring a sleeping bag and pillow if you like). This year we will have a feast to follow: bring a sweet, fruit, hot cross buns, chocolate your favorite Easter treats! Easter Day ~ April 4 ~ 10:30 a.m. Celebration Easter morning dawns and we begin again of Life Renewed the encounter with the awareness of the risen life of Jesus in our midst, not just on that day long ago, but here and now, in our lives. Baptismal Font ~ Altartable ~ Lectern Easter Season Exploration by Kevin Thew Forrester The beauty of the liturgy lies greatly in its clarity and simplicity of focus. The liturgy offers the assembly three focal points: the water of the baptismal font, the meal of the altartable, and the word of the lectern (sometimes called an ambo). The St. Paul s sanctuary provides a marvelous open space, which enables the assembly to see distinctly each of these visual foci. Currently, however, the baptismal font lies in front of the altartable, which tends to crowd and blur that space. Also, we not only have an eagle lectern, but a wooden pulpit as well (a development stemming largely from the 16 th century), which means we have two places for the word. During the Easter Season the Liturgy Planning Group and the Altar Guild will be inviting us to explore a slightly different configuration of our focal points, and then after the celebration of Pentecost gather to reflect on our experience of the space. During the Easter Season we will move the baptismal font into the space currently occupied by the wooden pulpit and remove and store the pulpit (which simply slides on and off the carpet). The result, when looking toward the front, will be this: the baptismal font and paschal candle on the left; the altartable in the middle; and, the eagle lectern on the right. We will have about seven weeks of the Easter Season to experience ourselves at worship with this arrangement, and then we will return the font before the altar table, replace the pulpit, and have our discussion. If you have any question, please talk with a member of the Liturgy Planning Group (Coralie Hambleton, Pat Micklow, Bob Railey, Tom Ray, Jim Sorenson, Suzanne Sorenson, Rïse Thew Forrester, Kevin Thew Forrester, Vince Reed) and/or the Altar Guild (Barb Carpenter, Cathy Cole, June Davis, Melissa Eiben, Marcia Franz, Cathy Halverson, Karan Hendricks, Kate Kenny, Sandra Purrington, Jacquey Shellenbarger, Ann Smith, and Sonja Soderberg-Wagstaff).
April 2010 Calendar Holy Thursday 1 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Sent to Serve Service Good Friday 2 Good Friday Service 12:00 pm Cycle of Suffering Ceases Service Holy Saturday 3 Easter Vigil 8:30 pm Easter Sunday 4 9:45 am Holy Eucharist: Easter Day Tuesday 6 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Executive Committee Faith Explorations 6:30 pm Wednesday 7 Evening Prayer 5:30 pm Thursday 8 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Sunday 11 9:45 am Holy Eucharist: 2 Easter Tuesday 13 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Finance Committee Secretary s Luncheon 12:00 pm Discernment Process: Gifts Discovery 6:30 pm Wednesday 14 Evening Prayer 5:30 pm Thursday 15 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Vestry Friday 16 Episcopal Ministry Support Team, Chapel Ladies Luncheon 11:30 am Sunday 18 Third Sunday Forum 9:45 am Holy Eucharist: 3 Easter Shalom Service, St. Mark s Tuesday 20 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Faith Explorations 6:30 pm Camp New Day Wednesday 21 Hospitality meeting 11:00 am Evening Prayer 5:30 pm Thursday 22 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Scottish Folk Dancing Friday 23 Youth Group 3:00 pm Sunday 25 Youth Ministry Meeting 9:45 am Holy Eucharist: 4 Easter Youth Sunday All Parish Brunch 12:00 pm Outreach Sunday: Room at the Inn Tuesday 27 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am Wednesday 28 Evening Prayer 5:30 pm Soup Supper Altar Guild hosts 6:00 pm Thursday 29 Mindfulheart Meditation 8:00 am April Birthdays Vince Reed 4 Karl Benstrom 6 Rïse Thew Forrester 6 Peggy Frazier 9 William Ostwald 11 Andrew Goodrich 12 Sonja Soderberg-Wagstaff 12 Jack Bullock 14 Bill Sheehan 15 Don Wussow 15 Marcella Platt 17 Joan Rafferty 18 Joan Petersen 27 Ann Smith 27 Jan Brodersen 29 Jim Sorenson 29 Sunday, April 18, 2010 Shalom Service Speaker: Kevin Thew Forrester St. Mark s Lutheran Church 7pm Citizens for Peace and Justice The Messenger Team Editor Meg Goodrich Copy Editor Jane Ryan Lay-out Jim Edwards Reporter Bob Railey Copier Kathy Lenten Mailers Bertha Loehde Joan Petersen & Geoff Smith
Holocaust Memorial Service by Kevin Thew Forrester The Marquette Interfaith Forum presents the annual Holocaust Memorial Service on Monday, April 12, at 7 p.m. at St. Peter Roman Catholic Cathedral in Marquette. Multiple faith groups will participate and the Marquette Senior High School will provide music. The featured speaker will be Aviva Sandler, a child survivor of the Holocaust, who is currently a Social Worker (MSW) in the Detroit suburbs. Aviva Sandler came to the United States after WWII at age seven. Her parents, both in different concentration camps, and Aviva, a hidden child, were reunited after the liberation by the Allied Forces. Her parents had another child, Rhoda, in 1947. The family settled in Detroit. A brother, Leonard was born in 1956. Aviva attended University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and completed her undergraduate education at Boston University. She, and her husband, Robert, an attorney, have three adult children. Name Tags: A Friendly Reminder, from the Welcomers-Hospitality Committee Many of our visitors and newer members (and even some of our old-timers) have expressed their appreciation for the name tags most of us wear on Sundays and occasionally other times. They say it creates a more relaxed and inviting atmosphere at St. Paul s. In case any of us have gotten out of the habit of wearing them, this is a friendly reminder that the name tags are available (in alphabetical order) in the baskets on the table at the atrium entry. For those who enter by the front door facing Ridge Street and would like to pick up your tag there, please leave your name tag in the basket on the small table beside the inside door and we ll mark it to ensure that it gets left there after each service. Sundays: Date Sunday Preside Preach Deacon April 4 Easter Kevin Kevin Pat April 11 Easter 2 Bob Judd Coralie April 18 Easter 3 Kevin Vince Pat April 25* Easter 4 Bob Youth Min Coralie *Youth Sunday Special: Date Sunday Preside Preach Deacon April 1 Maundy Thursday Kevin Kevin Pat April 2 Good Friday Kevin April 3 Holy Saturday Kevin April 3 Great Vigil Kevin Kevin Coralie Holy Days (combined with Wednesday Evening Prayer): Date Holy Day Preside E.P. Offic. April 28 Mark, Philip, & James Bob Mary S. Vestry Takes First Steps Toward Building Renovations by Dennis West The Vestry has approved the first steps toward a major building campaign in 2010. At the March meeting the Vestry approved a recommendation by the Capital Gifts Campaign Committee to secure bids for improvements to the church building that have been recommended by UP Architects and Engineers. The plan for financing the improvements will be reviewed over the next two Vestry meetings. Vestry Officers Elected Senior Warden Barb Carpenter Junior Warden Jon Webb Clerk June Davis Remaining as Treasurer Tony Pearson Thank you Tom Feller, Jim Jajich, Tony Pearson, Sandy Purrington for your dedication, commitment, and service as members of Vestry for the last three years. Welcome Cathy Halverson, Karan Hendricks, Burt Purrington, Dennis West as new members of Vestry for the next three years
St. Paul s Legacy Conversations (Interview Project): Tradition, Scripture, Reason & Experience by Bryan Spencer What better way to explore, appreciate and celebrate our individual sacred journeys than by sharing our stories? The stories we live out today are connected to those of ancient desert wanderers through the elemental experience of the characters: hopes as wild and free as Lake Superior rivers, grief deep as midwinter darkness, love as freely given as light holding us like a tree rooted into rocky shores. We can find the imagery of our existence together as one body reiterated in envisioning ourselves as the leaves and branches of one tree. So much of what a tree is, was, and will become germinates from the salient beginnings of a tiny seed. But even a tree with the tenacity to thrive on the shores of the great Lake is also shaped by its exposure to the elements. As Episcopalians, we are invited and challenged to arrive at personal beliefs through prayerful study of both scripture and church traditions. This tree that is St. Paul s has roots in the historical faith we confess, shaped by scripture as it paints a picture of the human spiritual landscape. It has grown from the seed of an idea in Marquette Harbor, immersed in the right mix of time and light. Tradition is our collective experience as Christians via the ministry begun by the disciples. This component of our heritage embraces the dynamics of doing God s work in the ways revealed to us through our individual nature and personal experience. This means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with the world God so loves. We share the rights and responsibilities to do so. Our daily living experience forms our questions and nurtures our quest for a closer relationship with the divine. It is through practicing we come to know the truth of things as they exist for us. As leaves on the tree, we function to catch the light to gather energy and provide nutrients for the life and growth of the tree. We do not choose to do this because it is easy. We can only learn to love by loving; kindness through being kind; to be humble in humility. But we can learn about the ways others exemplify these virtues in their lives, which in turn inspires us to find truth in the mysteries. Branches and roots, each in their season, sustain the other. It is a simple yet profound interdependence. The Hospitality Committee has launched an interview project which seeks to further weave the paths and voices of long-time members of St. Paul s into the legacy of our parish. St. Paul s Legacy Conversations is an ambitious initiative begun to honor what is written upon the hearts of our companions and mentors. Conversations are underway as we make our way through a page-long list of names, one at a time, and chat about gratitude for our church and loved ones, our superior geography, history and the future as we see it - as told through the experience of these treasured storytellers among us. We intend to highlight their stories not so we can follow unquestioningly in their footsteps; not so we should live in the shadows of those we hold in high regard. Neither are we expecting the perfect offering; indeed, sometimes the light gets in through the cracks in the story. We are forging this project from the idea that it is important but fun, informal and profound, while allowing each conversation to express the unique spirit of its host. Telling about what they have done and what they have to say about it sustains and inspires us to explore our faith and carry it into practice as a tool to build upon the foundations of our ministries as bestowed to us. In the coming months, The Messenger will include excerpts from the Legacy Conversations as a way to feature our excitement through the progression of this engaging and enriching project. The final product will present the stories as an intimate look at our common participation in God s mission, and the way we live together. We are the tree and the mountain it grows from. We are the clouds and the soil. We have what we have because of what came before us. The legacy continues because of our individual commitments to share our living stories together.
April Ladies Luncheon The Ladies Luncheon will be held at Coco's Restaurant on Friday, April 16 at 11:30 a.m. Please contact Iris Erickson (226-3260 or rahrah41@yahoo.com) by Thursday at noon for a reservation. Come and enjoy lunch by beautiful Lake Superior and visit with friends. All are welcome. At the Center of Our Being Thomas Merton At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal... This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God written in us... It is like a pure diamond blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it, we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely. Source: A Merton Reader COMPLAINT Hafiz Complaint Is only possible While living in the suburbs Of God. Source: The Gift Published regularly by the parishioners of St. Paul s Episcopal Church 201 E Ridge Street * Marquette * Michigan 49855 * (906) 226-2912 Non-profit U.S. Postage Paid Permit #32 Marquette Michigan Return Service Requested The deadline for the May/June Messenger is Friday, Aprl 23.