The St. Paul's Epistle
January 1-15, 2006
Contents
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's
Confirmands Needed
St. Paul's Greeters
Shalom January Fellowship
With Thanks from SPY
ECW
SPY Corner
Stephen Ministry Update
Parish Hall Open for Business
A New Look for St. Paul's
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's:
"The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him." (Luke 2:40)
And so we approach the Twelfth Day of Christmas, also known as the Epiphany of our Lord. This is a very old festival in the church year, in fact in Asia Minor and in Egypt it was already being celebrated in the 2nd century. The word Epiphany is Greek and in its verb form the word is Epiphainien, meaning to show forth or display. When it is used in passive voice it means to come into the light, to come suddenly into view, to appear.
We have traveled from Advent through Christmas and now we move into Epiphany. It is both Christ and us who have Advented, Christmased and now we will Epiphainien. Christ has indeed approached us, come to us and we to him, we have followed the Holy family as they have fled into Egypt and now we come to celebrate this manifestation of Christ. We celebrate in particular the manifestation in this human child of his deep divinity. It shines forth like a light and "all flesh sees it together." Even the Gentiles saw the light of Christ and recognized Emmanuel, - God with us. The Magi were the first of the Gentiles to come into the light and now grant us the assurance that Jesus, wholly human and wholly divine; God among us in this place and at this time, has come.
We need no longer pray, Jesus come. He has come, He is here, the child, the Christ has come to us, he is in us, we are his Nazareth. The light of Christ has appeared and we now carry that light with us wherever we go. Within each of us the Word of God has been delivered and we now become the manifestation, indeed the incarnation of Christ into the world today. We, like Mary, have been specially and specifically chosen by God and again like Mary so long ago, the favor of God is upon us. We may rejoice and be glad in this.
Rejoice, be glad, be filled with the glory of the Lord. These are messages that the heralding angels gave to Mary and Joseph; Zechariah and Elizabeth as they made the first journey from advent to Epiphany and they are the messages that the heralds give to us. Live, it calls to us, live in the joy that is manifested by the light of Christ. Not a mere happiness that is transitory but the deep comforting well of joy that comes when Christ erupts amidst the suffering and pain and stays. Joy knows suffering and yet does not despair, joy sees the suffering and stays, standing in full view, joy moves us forward in courage to comfort and heal and shine.
The Christ child has come! Jesus has erupted into the world with light brighter than all the stars of creation. Where will that light pierce you in the days and weeks to come? Each of us is being called to carry the light to a world that is battered and broken and beautiful and boundless. To be made whole by the light that shines eternally and to bring wholeness to those who reside in darkness. Where will the light of Christ pierce you?
In the Light of Christ,
The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis,
Youth and Family Ministry
Confirmands Needed
Teens who are interested in Confirmation this Pentecost, the first Sunday in June, please contact the Rev. Leslie St. Louis or Barbara Warner.
St. Paul's Greeters
Our Greeters core has expanded to 70 people, thanks to the recruitment efforts of the New Member Ministry Commission this fall. Each Sunday at 10 a.m. we will have an official Greeter at the Main Door, the Porte Cochere Door, the Westminster Door and the Vick Park B Parish Hall Door. In addition, there will be a Greeter in the Chantry for the 8 a.m. service. The Greeter's role is, as always, to be cheerful, friendly and visible and to assist people as needed. After the service we are available to assist the Clergy, answering questions or giving directions to the Coffee Hour to visitors. Visitors are encouraged to fill out a Visitor Card. We also have developed a Visitor's Packet of information to share.
Greeting visitors to St. Paul's is not, however, just the job of the St. Paul's Greeters. We hope all parishioners will consider themselves greeters: introducing themselves to those they do not know; helping people to be a part of the service by assisting them to navigate through the Book of Common Prayer and the Service Sheet. When I asked one St. Paul's member to join the Greeters group, she responded: "Why, that's what I try to do every Sunday!" We hope that is what we all do every Sunday.
The official launching of our program will be in January. We have scheduled two orientation meetings for all St. Paul's Greeters. The first meeting will be Tuesday, January 17, 4 - 5:30 p.m. The second will be Thursday, January 19, 7 - 8:30 p.m. If you are a greeter, we hope that you can attend one of these sessions.
You will recognize us by our handsome new Greeter badges. But, please do not hesitate to be an unofficial St. Paul's greeter yourself. We would welcome more St. Paul's Greeters. To become a part of the group, contact Sally McGucken at 381-4213.
Shalom January Fellowship
Shalom, St. Paul's group for young families, will hold its first fellowship gathering of 2006 at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 6. Following a family-style pizza dinner in the Parish Hall, the Rev. Leslie St. Louis will lead adults and youth in an Instructed Eucharist in the Sanctuary. Child care will be provided for infants and pre-schoolers. Please come join us! For more information about Shalom, see our page on St. Paul's web site at www.stpaulsec.org/shalom.html, or contact Shalom coordinators Nancy Curtis or
Angie Jones.
With Thanks from SPY
We are very grateful to you for supporting our efforts this year. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to fill six Thanksgiving food baskets for clients in the Southeast Ecumenical Ministry Food Cupboard. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we delivered these baskets personally, as well as some others provided by SEM. This experience helped us to understand more about the needs of this community.
We also offer our thanks for your support of our fund raising efforts. Through our sales of wrapping paper and note cards we have raised several thousand dollars toward our July mission trip to Dungannon, Virginia with the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. We will be continuing our fund raising efforts throughout the year. Be on the lookout for a new collection of note cards this Spring.
We wish you a happy New Year!
St. Paul's Youth
ECW
On Thursday, January 5, the President of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, Kate Bennett, will talk about the "Legacy and Leadership of Rachel Carlson." A business meeting at 11:00 a.m. will be followed by a luncheon at 12:00. The program will start at approximately 12:45. Reservations for lunch are requested. Please call 271-2240.
On Thursday, January 19, Fred Reynolds will talk to the ECW about his sabbatical trip. There will be no business meeting that day but at noon we will gather for a "brown bag" lunch and fellowship. Dessert and coffee will be served. The program will begin at 12:45.
Remember that everyone is welcome.
SPY Corner
January 8, 3 - 5 p.m.
We will meet in Parish Hall for some hot chocolate and a snack. Come ready to play and hang out together. Bring your favorite board game. We will share plans for the new year, have a scavenger hunt and play sardines!
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden by January 6 (383-8808 or lhayden@rochester.rr.com)
Stephen Ministry Update
Our training is 1/3 of the way completed. With lively discussions and shared prayers our participants engage in learning and role-playing the situations they will encounter as future Stephen Ministers. St. John Church of Rochester is the host site for an ecumenical Ministry Training experience this year.Please keep all the participants in your prayers.
Leaders
Assumption - Sandy Burke, Amy Fernaays
Faith Lutheran - Linda Brown, Nancy Hammond
Macedon Center - South Perinton (UMCC) - Fay Jefferson, Mary
Rublee
Resurrection - Diane Gribben
St. John of Rochester - Barbara Hesenius, Marilyn Muench, Carol
Maddamma, Rich Morales, Rosmary Taub
St. Paul's Episcopal - Judy Carpenter, Anne Refermat
Trainees
Mary Kewley, Marilyn Thaler, Fred Mason, Kathy Mason, Vincent Palese, Darrell Rublee, Deborah Nardi, Constance Bickford, Sheila Brady, Ken Cooke, Miriam Decastro, Michelle Hunzek, Carol Stahl, Darlene Stubbe, Bill Volkman, Donna Nash-Bayley, Floyd Bayley, Louise Moore and Carol Panzer
Parish Hall Open for Business!
The newly renovated Parish Hall, stage, kitchen and bathrooms are open for business and are being heavily used. The official grand opening was December 2nd with Bishop Jack McKelvey leading the dedication. Prior to the dedication the facility was already in use. Fred Reynolds held the first of the Advent Series in the new space November 30th. ECW met in the Parish Hall December 1st with members of the Rochester City Ballet performing selections from the Nutcracker on the expanded stage. On the evening of December 1st, AA had their holiday party with upwards of 200 people attending.
That is four large events in three days, all with food provided from a kitchen with some of its equipment still on backorder. A lot of people pulled together to make these events possible and a great success.
There are still a few items that need to be completed and, if you look closely, you will see something different every time you are there. We are in the final phase of the process where we make a list of any little, or not so little, thing that needs to be fixed and the contractor completes the project.
Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding during the renovation. Hopefully, you will agree that the end result was worth the wait.
Bob Frank
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Our vision and values are incorporated into the design and message of our new look.
Our Vision: We pray that all who enter St. Paul's experience God's
presence in this community of faith, a community that through Christ
strives to be loving, joyous, inclusive, transforming and filled with
God's Grace.
Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, St. Paul's welcomes
you.
Our name, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, is an integral part of the design. The new logo is instantly recognizable as ours.
Our message, "People on a Journey," recognizes that everyone's journey is unique and personal, and that St. Paul's welcomes you wherever you may be on your journey.
The path represents the depth and fluidity of our individual faith journeys. The curved lines further emphasize the warmth and welcoming of St. Paul's. The contemporary look represents our positive energy and vision.
The cross at the center of the path tells people that we are Christ-centered, a community of faith.
The colors of the logo were inspired by the Episcopal Church shield colors of blue, red and white, and the shades were modified so they are easier to read.
"Loving, joyous, inclusive" are words that say what we strive for and tell people what they can expect when they visit St. Paul's. They will be used on our letterhead, and whenever space allows.
Our new image is instantly recognizable at a glance. We feel it captures the essence of St. Paul's. You will see it on everything St. Paul's puts out, from letterhead, to new brochures and mailings, to the Epistle, and our website.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the following Communications Commission members past and present, and clergy, who very generously gave of their time and talent in the development of our new look. Each person's unique contribution was essential to the completed work.
| Scott Arrington | Jean French |
| Paul Berezney | Nancy Grear |
| Gail Bush | Tom McCart |
| Spencer Cook | Wayne Reinert |
| Paul Donnelly | Fred Reynolds |
We are especially appreciative to the Vestry and clergy for their generous support.
Mary DeFranco, Chair
Communications Commission