E-pistle THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF St. Christopher s Episcopal Church SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA November 12, 2015 The Rev. Peter K. Ackerman 703-451-1088, ext. 1 or Email: rector@saintchristophers.net Sunday, November 15 The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 9:15 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Nursery is provided) 11:45 a.m. Fellowship and Refreshments 11:50 a.m. Children s Choir Rehearsal 12:15 p.m. Bell Choir Rehearsal Page 1
Servers Schedule for November 15, 2015 Acolytes Altar Guild Communion Bread Flower Guild Greeters Lay Eucharistic Ministers & Lectors Intercessor Chapel Prayer Team P.A.T. (Pastoral Assistant Team) Minister Ref. & Fellowship 7:30 a.m. Acolyte 10:30 a.m. Crucifer Jessica Manning Server Morgan Price Torchbearer Christian Price Marie Ackerman and Katie Alleman Marian Cole Indra Corea and Rosemary Henry Marguerite Wagner 7:30 a.m. (CB) Pam Branstetter (L) Meredith Maple 10:30 a.m. (PB) Meredith Maple (CB1) Mark Ingebretsen (CB2) Lee Johnson (L1) May Kamalick (L2) Ruth Erbe Richard Downie for Betty Carper Janet Quinn and Sue Fitzgerald Ginny Brown for Janet Quinn Tammy O Neil Page 2
Usher Guild Team 4 Tellers Stan Spence and Kevin Frear Vestry Person of the Angela Bourke Week Lectionary Readings 1 Samuel 1:4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10(The Song of Hannah) Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25 Mark 13:1-8 *** If you cannot serve as scheduled, please be sure to switch with someone else. This Week at St. Christopher s Monday, November 16 10:00 a.m. AA 7:00 p.m. Vestry Meeting Tuesday, November 17 10:00 a.m. AA 2:00 p.m. Book Discussion Group Wednesday, November 18 9:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 7:30 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal Thursday, November 19 10:00 a.m. Women s Bible Study Page 3
Friday, November 20 5:00 p.m. S. Anonymous Meeting Saturday, November 21 5:00 p.m. S. Anonymous Meeting 8:30 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday, November 22 The Twenty- Sixth Sunday after Pentecost; UTO Ingathering 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 9:15 a.m. Sunday School for All Ages 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Nursery is provided) 11:45 a.m. Fellowship and Refreshments 11:50 a.m. Children s Choir Rehearsal 12:15 p.m. Bell Choir Rehearsal Page 4
ANNOUNCEMENTS From the Rector's Desk Near the first of every month Fr. Peter offers a topical reflection for our readers, so look for his next correspondence in upcoming issue here. Vestry Nominations As your rector it is probably not a surprise to hear me asking you to pray, but I ask you to do so with intentionality. This is the time of year where a Nominating Committee is looking for at least four people to run for the four positions on the Vestry which will become available at the election during our Annual Meeting on January 24th next year. Prayer is important, because it is through prayer that we make space for God. In that space we can discern if we are being called, and if not we can discover who God is calling to serve the parish in this capacity overseeing the general life of our parish. We might find God pointing to people who have been connected to St. Christopher s for decades as well as the newcomer. All Confirmed Episcopalians age 16 and above are able to serve the parish. Though the 12 person Vestry, where four people are elected each year for a three year term, very much resembles a Board of Directors, it is also important to remember that these parish members should be looked at through the biblical lens as the model of the Body of Christ. According to authors Dr. Ryan T. Hartwig and Warren Bird in their book Teams That Thrive: Five Disciplines of Collaborative Church Leadership (IVP Books, March 6, 2015) personality traits for vestry members should Page 5
include good models of Christian character as well as people with diverse skills and experience who are adept at solving problems. They should be folks who are motivated and committed to collaboration, who are also aligned to the parish s and wider church s mission, including a hearty assent to the doctrines, worship, and discipline of The Episcopal Church and who are either Confirmed or Received into the church (or willing to be during the next Bishop s visit on January 10th). In advance, I am grateful for the Nominating Committee headed by Vestry person Bill Price, along with current Vestry members Janet Bush and Jessica Manning, as well as former members Chris Erbe and Mike Snyder. Please pray daily for this committee, and pray for those who God knows are called to run and/or serve on our next Vestry, and please pray that God will also guide you to determine the answer to the question: who is God raising up as leaders in our parish? I am grateful for your prayers and serious discernment towards this important ministry. Members elected on January 24, 2016 are invited and encouraged to join with me and the others at the Vestry Retreat on the following weekend (Friday evening 1/29 and Saturday 2/30). Fr. Peter Page 6
ANNUAL GIVING UPDATE As of November 8, 2015 - Commitment Sunday - we had received 68 pledge cards and 68% of our budgetary goal of $386,000.00. As you know, it is never too late to turn in a pledge card, and we look forward to receiving pledges from a great many more of you. The mission and ministry of St. Christopher's is dependent on all of us working together, physically and financially. For the last 60 years, we have succeeded in bearing Christ into the world around us, and we can continue to do so with everyone's participation. Blank pledge packets and cards are on the table to the left as you enter the church building, so please continue to prayerfully consider how your financial gift can allow us to celebrate ministry and mission for the coming year. Thank you to all who have turned in pledge cards. Your generosity is a gift. The Stewardship Committee Soles 4 Souls As the Christ Walk Crew wraps up its fall program, we would like to continue to give thanks for our bodies by engaging in a service project and we need your help! This Sunday, November 15 th will be the last day we are collecting shoes to donate to Soles 4 Souls (www.soles4souls.org). The shoes will be shipped around the world to those who need them most. Please join us by donating your gently used shoes or by making a $2 dollar donation to offset the cost of shipping a pair. Please drop off your shoes in the box in the Fellowship Hall and deliver your monetary donations to Tamara O'Neil or Christina Page 7
Manning. Our goal is to collect 50 pairs of shoes and $100 dollars for the effort. Please contact Tamara O'Neil tamara_oneil@yahoo.com for more information. Bible Study Continues Sunday Mornings at 9:15 a.m., November 15 and 22 This is your friendly reminder that for the better part of November the Adult Education offering on Sunday, beginning at 9:15 a.m. will be a Bible Study led by Fr. Peter and/or our Seminarian, Meredith Maple. Please feel free to join us on Sunday and bring a bible if you have one so that we can enter deeper into whatever text is before us. Some Sundays we might go to a lectionary reading while others the leader may choose another. Please come and deepen your understanding from the collection of book that our Episcopal faith reminds us contains all things necessary for salvation! Book Discussion Group We will meet in the church library at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, to discuss Katherine Boo's much acclaimed "Behind the Beautiful Forevers." Boo is an investigative journalist who spent three and a half years in Annawadi in Mumbai, India. Annawadi is a slum near the Mumbai airport on half an acre of land with 335 huts and 3000 people. This book is a shocking eye-opener. Not easy reading. For more information, contact Christine Meloni. Christopher's Men's Group will hold it's monthly breakfast meeting in the auditorium on Saturday, November 21, Page 8
2015 21, at 8 a.m. All men of St. Christopher's are invited to join us. Questions? Please contact Mike Snyder (mike_snyder24k@yahoo.com) or Bob Hall (bobhall01@gmail.com). On Sunday, November 22, The Rev. Dr. William Bradley Roberts, Professor of Church Music at Virginia Theological Seminary, has gratefully accepted our invitation to join us for worship at 10:30 on November 22, where he will serve as a deacon for the first time. He will be ordained a transitional deacon the day before and will be ordained a priest in the spring. The opportunity to serve as a deacon that day and to hear the choir sing his arrangement of "This Little Light of Mine" will make for a memorable day for him and a special occasion for us at St. Christopher's. United Thank Offering (UTO) Ingathering November 22th The UTO Annual Ingathering will be collected November 22. Bring those blue boxes that you have used to collect your coins in appreciation of those times of thanks that day, or you can write a check that can be put in an UTO envelope that will be in the Sunday service bulletin. Please make checks out to St. Christopher s with a memo for UTO. UTO is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women, and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. Page 9
These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. UTO is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world. Each diocese is allowed one domestic and one overseas grant. To visit the UTO website, click here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/united-thank-offering. To see the 2015 grants, including the grants to the Diocese of Virginia, visit here: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/uto_2015_grants_brochure.pdf. The two grants awarded the Diocese of Virginia are DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA $14,996.16 St. Peter s Episcopal Church Community Kitchen Upgrade, St. Peter s Episcopal Church, Port Royal, VA To upgrade the church s kitchen in order to expand the food ministry. Hot meals will be prepared in the kitchen to be delivered to impoverished parts of the county. The program will also create new bridges from the church into the community a small village in rural Virginia. The community is an economically depressed area of Caroline County. Fresh healthy food is not readily available to many of the residents who lack transportation and live on fixed incomes below the poverty level. Page 10
DIOCESE OF VIRGINIA $46,290.00 Vehicle for the Rt. Rev. Wilson Kamani, Diocese of lbba, South Sudan Companion Diocese of Ibba, South Sudan To purchase a vehicle for use by the bishop of the Diocese of Ibba, South Sudan. The diocese is large and is situated in a rural part of South Sudan. Since the bishop has been without a vehicle he has had to make his visitations by public transportation, by hired vehicle (which is very expensive) or on foot. A vehicle will make his daily life better so he can spend more time with his people and less time getting there to see them. Outreach Committee Updates and ECHO Thanksgiving Baskets The holiday seasons are upon us. At last week s meeting of St. Christopher s Outreach Committee, we discussed a variety of things coming up, including the UTO offering on November 22, collecting food for weekend/holiday backpacks for Crestwood Elementary and the upcoming Bishop Nicholas visit and ECHO toy collection on his feast day of Sunday, December 6. This year the committee suggested we also offer the opportunity to donate cleaned or new coats and jackets, which we have been told by the guidance counselor at Crestwood, are always needed. So, when we start collecting small meals for holiday student backpacks, we ll ask for coats as well. The committee discussed the change in dates for the Hypothermia Prevention Program and the need for chefs. HPP Coordinator Katy Dunlap will be contacting the parish directly about our need. Page 11
Finally, it was suggested I send a note to guilds, committees and members of St. C suggesting various parish groups might consider sending one or more Thanksgiving or Christmas baskets to one of ECHO s clientele. You can either delivery it, donate the food or donate money. More information from ECHO can be found here: http://66.147.242.168/~echoinco/?page_id=2633 If you or your group choose to send one or more baskets, please let me know how many, so I may include that in the annual outreach report to the parish. Remember there are 45 million Americans that receive SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) each year. Holidays are a major cash crunch period for these recipients and many others. The generosity of our parish overwhelms me. Each year we give goods and cash for outreach to the tune of about $100,000 over and above our budgeted items. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving! Richard Sellers, Outreach Committee Chair Advent Prep Sunday, November 29th This year we will be doing something different for our Advent Prep Intergenerational activity. How many of you know what a Jesse Tree is? If you don't know -- please come on the 29th and find out. (Here's a hint -- it has to do with Jesus!!) We will be listening to stories, preparing ornaments, making Advent wreaths for those who do not have one at home, making chains for the children -- all sorts of activities for all ages. There will be snacks and apple cider also. Please bring the entire family so that we can prepare our hearts, our homes, and our church for the Advent season! Page 12
Advent Adult Formation Class November 29, December 6, 13 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them : (John 17:18). We will continue with one Adult Christian Formation Class for Advent. This year Fr. Peter will lead a discussion and deeper study of the new book Sent: Delivering The Gift of Hope at Christmas by Jorge Acevedo. Though we may not cover the whole book, due to only having three, instead of five, Sundays to cover the material, this work will help us discover how, where and why we are sent by God on our own Advent journeys. Reading this book can be an exercise for your daily Advent reflections, which will also enhance our discussions. Please see our Christian Formation Director, Kellee Wattenbarger, in order to purchase one of the books. DISCOVERY TOYS ARE BACK!!! December 6 th will mark a visit from our special guest, Bishop Nicholas of Myra. This year, as we have in the past, we will have a collection of new, unwrapped toys to donate to ECHO. Please bring your toy(s) that day to be displayed in thanks for all the many gifts we have and to brighten the lives of those less fortunate than we. For those who do not choose to go to a toy store at this time of the year, you may make a donation for the purchase of Discovery Toys. If you donate cash, please give it DIRECTLY to me. If you write a check, make it payable to St. Christopher s Episcopal Church and write Discovery Toys on the memo line. The ECHO Gift shop eagerly awaits our donations each year as we tend to bring about four to five thousand dollars worth of toys. Your generosity is GREATLY appreciated. In Thanks, Helen Spence, ECHO Toy Drive Chair Page 13
Preschool Prattle Once again, we d like to thank the Martins Family and Sagres Construction for their generous donation that made our new brick pathway possible! If you haven t come out to take a walk on it, we invite you to do so! We had a wonderful turnout at our Muffins for Military Veteran s Day event. It was nice to have an opportunity to say Thank You to our military families in person. A heartfelt thank you for the kindness of those who baked for the event. On Thursday, November 19th at 6:00pm we invite you to join us for our 9th Annual International Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner. Sign up in the lobby of the Education building to bring an entrée and a side or an entrée and a dessert. For more information, please call Polly at 703-451-1845. Finally, we will be offering Yankee Candles again as a fundraiser. Sales this year are entirely on-line for your convenience. Enter Group # 990012060 and the preschool will benefit from your purchase. All orders will be shipped directly to you! Please see Cathy Branch or Sharon Hall for more information. Peace, Peace, Polly Colwell, Director Page 14