St. Philip s Newsletter February 2012 Pastor s Letter Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. Mark 1:17 Dear People of St. Philip s, Jesus call to his closest friends was to drop their ordinary work in the case of Andrew, Peter, James and John, as fishermen to follow him. Jesus simply invited, and, by the power of his holy presence, they obeyed. Men who worked hard, throwing the net wide to catch fish for food, suddenly found themselves wandering the countryside fishing for people. Throwing the net wide, they invited strangers, men, women and children, to come listen to Jesus words of comfort, hope and healing. St. Philip s Church has been throwing the net wide for years. People of all kinds have been invited to come follow Jesus here. During the past year we have seen many people of various ages and life circumstances come, and remain, calling St. Philip s their spiritual home. We rejoice in our continued growth, both in numbers and in spiritual depth. While on our Winter Retreat on the shores of Lake Tahoe, our little band of sledders, hikers, and skiers gathered in the evening for song and worship, where we reflected upon the Gospel of Mark s story of Jesus calling fishermen to change their lives and become fishers of people. * Now, the Biblical imagery of fishermen who go out each day with a large net, scooping up ALL THE FISH in the sea, and then drop their nets to REACH OUT TO ALL THE PEOPLE of the land, is not necessarily an image that works in 21 st C. American culture. But for me, the image of gathering each unique species of fish, small, large, colorful and plain, transfers well to the idea that God intends us to cast our nets wide to gather ALL THE PEOPLE whom we encounter, small, large, colorful and plain, and invite them to learn of the love God gives them. To do so, we start with an awareness of who we are. What unique qualities did God endow us with, and what do we have to offer as we share our unique experience of our relationship with God/Jesus that we can tell others so that they, too, may begin a relationship with God/Jesus? Of course we don t want to sound like we are boasting for the sake of our own ego, but there is no shame in boasting of the love of God that we have found in fellowship with Christ and each other here at St. Philip s. We risk others thinking we are foolish for our faith, but as St. Paul wrote: We are fools for Christ s sake (1 Cor. 4:10) 2011 saw many come, many stayed, a few enjoyed being here to the fullest for a time, and may have even had their lives transformed as they swam alongside the fish of St. Philip s.but God has called them elsewhere, including one
special lady, Pat Nicholas, who passed away just before Christmas. We live in a transient world, so we must love all who come our way to the fullest we are able. As we begin 2012 we will welcome Deacon Bob Williams, who will serve one Sunday a month in our Sunday worship services and reach out to those who are not able to attend worship through pastoral visits. Additionally he will be working with our Job Assistance Team to develop further support to those who seek work in the community of Scotts Valley. Deacon Bob will help us throw the net wide as he helps us network with the broader Episcopal community to serve those in need. As St. Philip s expands its staff we look forward to being able to better serve all who come within the embrace of Christ s love in our midst, while maintaining pastoral care and concern for those who are already here. You are invited to participate as fully as you like in casting out your net to scoop up your family, friends and neighbors, perhaps even strangers at the market, park, soccer field, concert or wherever you are, to bring them into fellowship with our little congregation. Faithfully, your fool for Christ Vicar, Pastor Mary (and her amazing husband, Jim) *Please take a look at the display of fish in the foyer created at our Winter Retreat. If you created one and would like to take yours home, please do, if you were not there and would like to create one now, please do. See if you can find mine I m not the biggest fish in the sea! Important Dates--Mark Your Calendars!! Sunday, February 12 Ash Wednesday, February 22 following 10am service noon and 7pm Annual Meeting: potluck lunch, presentation of candidates for Bishop s Committee and delegates to convention, budget review. Imposition of Ashes services in the Sanctuary Wednesdays Soup Supper & Lenten Program from February 29 6:15pm Soup-supper and fellowship, in Parish Hall through March 28 6:45pm Clean up and music moment, in Parish Hall 7-7:45pm Adult and youth program Saturday, February 25 9:30-11:30am Free Tax Preparation Workshop hosted by Redwood Ramblers Toastmasters, in Parish Hall ANNUAL MEETING: Fellowship, Elections, Meet Our Deacon Please plan to attend our Annual Meeting, Sunday February 12, following the 10:00 service. Sharing a simple potluck meal we will begin our business quickly, starting with the election of new Bishop Committee members and Delegates to Diocesan Convention. Two excellent candidates for Bishop s Committee are Victoria Dobson and Jean Sargent. We have room for one more nominee (we have 3 open positions). We would love to have another person come forth to round out our excellent leadership team. This is a year to celebrate our growth and give thanks to God and one another that through the faithfulness of many we are developing a strong, independent community worthy of moving from mission to parish. We welcome your input and support in this effort as we move toward our 25 th Anniversary as a congregation in Scotts Valley. Also at the annual meeting, you will meet Deacon Bob Williams, who is coming to St. Philip s after 40 years serving at St. Thomas, Sunnyvale, and then Trinity Cathedral, San Jose. Deacon Bob and his wife, Pat, helped to develop a diocesan-wide network of churches best practices by visiting all the congregations of the Diocese of El Camino Real noting various ministries unique to each location. They compiled a document sharing these best practices, among them was the Job Assistance Ministry of St. Philip s. In addition to liturgical support and pastoral care, Deacon Bob will help us enhance this ministry to reach out to people seeking work. All are invited!
Inch by Inch... "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow perhaps it all will."1 I recently read about a woman who planted some 50,000 daffodil bulbs in her back yard one at a time over a period of nearly fifty years! "Year after year, she kept planting bulbs until she had created five acres of ineffable magnificence, beauty and inspiration. After seeing the spectacular garden one woman remarked, 'It makes me sad in a way. What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal 35 or 40 years ago and had worked on it one bulb at a time through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!' Her daughter responded, 'Start tomorrow.' The mother said, 'I'll start today.'" It's amazing what can be accomplished by doing just a little every day, day after day. You've probably heard the old saying that says, "Inch by inch anything's a cinch but yard by yard it's miles too hard." When I first wanted to write a book, it seemed like an overwhelming task. However, a friend suggested I considered writing just one page at a time. "I can handle that," I said to myself and that's what I did 205 times. Not many people are going to plant five acres of daffodils and not everybody is going to write a book. However, the important thing is to invest your life in a worthwhile cause that will achieve at least three things: (1) it will have eternal value, (2) it will benefit others, and (3) it will give you a deep sense of satisfaction in that you will not have lived in vain but have achieved something worthwhile with your life. It doesn't have to be profound or earth shattering just significant. And that you can start today one "bulb," one "page," one kind word of encouragement, one act of kindness at a time every day for the rest of your life. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a noble cause for which to live not so big that it will cause me to be proud not so small that it will never be a challenge but big enough to make me stretch and grow and give my life significance. And most of all grant that it will be a blessing to others and bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, Amen." (This story was sent from Anita Dilts father and is well known as "The Daffodil Principle". "The Daffodil Garden" is in the San Bernardino mountains and was planted by Gene Bauer on the hills behind her home. For 40 years until 2009 at age 82, she and her husband opened their home for tours in the spring. ) 1. Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6 (TLB)(NLT).
Christmas Pageant This year s pageant featured a clever new script from Myrna and Sam. The kids are alone at church without any adults. When electrical power goes out in a storm, the kids must find the power within themselves to create the pageant all on their own. A rousing success!
Christmas Eve
Snow Retreat Fellowship and Fun at Lake Tahoe
Epiphany Thank you! Jane, for shopping for office supplies & answering phones Bruce, for cleaning those nasty spots off the SPOS carpet Fran, for accuracy in proofreading & updating the prayer list Linda, for taking on whatever is needed Janice, for organizing the supply closet & asking for more Valerie, for the homeopathic meds Bob, for leaflet production, computer stuff, and taking on the phone company Some very cute magi want to give the Baby Jesus gifts Gratitudes! Elizabeth Applause for our Staff Photographer Please join me in an enthusiastic expression of gratitude to Steve Allen, our most excellent newsletter photographer. At least 90% of the photos seen in the newsletter are taken by Steve and I can honestly say I wouldn t want to edit the newsletter without his invaluable talents. I have been told that for many people, the photographs are the highlight of the newsletter and it is easy to see why. Through Steve s photos we can feel the joy, friendship, good works, creativity, bustle, spirituality, and love abounding in life at St. Philip s. Year in and year out Steve manages to take beautiful photos of nearly every important event at St. Philip s. That is a LOT of photos! I ve also noticed that there is never anything blocking the view in Steve s photos (wonder why that is?) The only negative to Steve s taking most of our photos is that I cannot locate a photo of Steve himself to accompany this article. So as you smile at the newsletter photos of adorable children, beautiful celebrations, festive fundraisers, and warm fellowship moments, please know that those smiles are brought to you courtesy of the tireless dedication of St. Philip s Newsletter staff photographer, Steve Allen. Thank you, Steve!