Rector s Voice Dear Parish Family: Advent/ Christmas 2016-2017 During this time of the year, I invite you to join me in living a secret life. What am I talking about? We are surrounded by Christmas in our culture earlier and earlier every year. Christmas movies began several days before Halloween! Many of the activities at this time of the year are wonderful and we can participate in them. St. Paul s Tower Herald A Quarterly Newsletter of St. Paul s Episcopal Church Worcester Parish Berlin, MD But at the same, the Church calls us to a secret life. This is the observance of the Season of Advent. So often, it seems as if this means a scrooge-like attitude. But it does not need to be so. We can prepare our souls for the great feast of Christmas in tandem with decorating, and shopping, and the like. What this secret life is all about it taking time to be quiet and to examine our relationship with Jesus. We can confess that which turns us away from a fuller relationship with Him and resolve to lead a better life. During Advent, we often use symbols of an Advent Wreath and an Advent Calendar to mark the time of our preparations. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will find information on a reverse Advent Calendar in which you place food for those in need into a basket one item each day of Advent. This year, I would encourage you to try this (as I am) and on the Fourth Sunday of Advent to bring your reverse Advent Calendar in to be blessed just like we do with the items we collect in the baskets in the Narthex. Please take time during this busy time of year to lead a secret life -- to be quite and prepare the way of the Lord! In Christ, (The Rev d) Michael D. Moyer OGS Rector
Stewardship Cards Last year, only ten people presented Stewardship Cards. This year, thirty people brought their signs of commitment to our Parish Family. This represents $52,000 towards our budget, and is 50% of the offerings we received in 2015. It also represents 26% of our expenses. In addition to the gift of treasure, those who participated indicated ways in which they will commit their time and abilities to the Parish in so many meaningful ways. The time we give to the Lord and one another only strengthens our relationships, and thus we build up the Body of Christ. Thank you letters have been sent to those who participated in this year s program. We hope that we can continue to increase involvement each year. For those of you who may have not turned in your cards, you can still bring them to Church or mail them into the office. Church Mouse The Church Mouse will be open the Friday evening after Thanksgiving. This is the annual tree lighting night and w very festive time in Berlin. We will also remain open on the F r i d a y s i n December before Christmas until at least 6 pm and perhaps later if needed. On Saturday, December 24th, we will open for awhile and once again stay open as long as we have customers. Usually we close about 2 pm on Christmas Eve. We will not open on Monday, December 26th. We will accept Christmas themed donations only until T h u r s d a y, December 15th. Please do not bring them in after that date, as we have no way to store them and we must take the time to dispose of them. Also, we have to ask that you bring in donations by 1 pm and if donating a large amount please call Helen first (443-995-3122), and make arrangements to bring them to her house., which is right in town only a few blocks from the store. We are limited in space to sort and price items at the shop. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year. Thank you for making 2016 a great year. Outreach Commission By now you may have heard the usual Fall Spaghetti Dinner will not be held, due to lack of persons able to help. It is hoped to resume this at a later date. Thank you Barry for always organizing and the other gentlemen of the Parish for making this a huge success in the past! During the months of October and November, we made donations to Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Cricket Center, Operation We Care, G.O.L.D for Thanksgiving. In addition we purchased items for Toys for Tots. These will be placed in the donation box at Raynes Reef, for pick up by the U.S. Marine Corp. One of our very first outreach projects was this, and we enjoy keeping the tradition up. Mike Queen and his staff at Raynes always looks forward to our visit. Page 2
Our December plans include Christmas presents for 2 families and 4 seniors, the NOEL Project via our friends at St. Paul s by the Sea, Believe in Tomorrow House by the Sea. In addition, we will donate to the BLESS OUR CHILDREN Foundation run by the owner of WBOC TV in Salisbury. The TV station underwrites any administrative costs of this program so 100% of all donations go to the project. As a result of the donation, our name is read at least twice a day on WBOC and last year resulted in new customers from the Salisbury area visiting us. NOTE: For those on Comcast Cable WBOC is Channel 6 and 806. The names of donors are usually read during the news casts. We from time to time have helped Veterans via the VA Office that serves this area. We have helped with deposits for room rents, etc. These requests come from the VA and are carefully vetted by them. An Old Fashioned 18 th Century Christmas Eve Service Lessons and Carols 3:00 p.m. Service Officiates: Father Moyer and Deacon Barry Neville Historic St. Martin s Church 11413 Worcester Highway Showell, MD Signs of the Times? For decades, I have been an avid reader of the Sunday New York Times, a habit cultivated years ago when I was an undergraduate. It is part of my Sunday routine, and I often come away with much to ponder. I clipped two items from the T Magazine that I have revisited and considered. The Times magazine section has a feature that asks the readership to weigh in on a question. One question was, Do you believe in God? The responses were 36% Yes ; 39% No ; 25% Not sure. Several months later, another question was posed: Do you pray? The responses were 17% Frequently ; 33% Occasionally ; 50% Never. I am not quite sure what to make of these questions and results. We at St. Paul s wonder how we can attract people and provide for their spiritual needs. When I consider the responses, one of my first thoughts is, How blessed I am to be part of a spiritual community that one, prays, and two, shares a belief in God. Then I am hit with the realization that we live among a good number of people who either do not believe in God or are not sure if they do. We also live among people who never or only occasionally pray. Perhaps you share my astonishment at the responses to these two questions. Perhaps you feel, as I do, an appreciation for the weekly opportunity to be involved in a spiritual community at St. Paul s. I am quite certain that if our congregation had the opportunity to respond to these two questions, the results would be far different. I am thankful for this. Submitted by Donna Main Page 3
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What a wonderful way to observe advent and also help those people who need our love and support. Directions: Each day add an item to the box and then donate to a food bank or family in need! Page 8
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St. Paul s Tower Herald St. Paul s Episcopal Church 3 Church Street P.O. Box 429 Berlin, Maryland 21811 Office: 410-641-4066 Fax: 410 641-1960 Address Label Here Mission Statement Our Mission is to offer and nourish a relationship with God in Jesus Christ, our Lord, through worship, outreach, fellowship, and study. Vestry and Officers Senior Warden: Ray Coates, Jr., Junior Warden: Bob Abel, Treasurer: Susan Wellman, Registrar: Carol Vaughan 2014-2017 2015-2018 2015-2019. Mary Moore Donna Main Connie Duke Mona Smith Wanda Conley Sara Thompson Skip Smith Bob Vaughan Gail Whaley