The St. Paul's Epistle
February 16, 2007
Contents
Dear Members & Friends of St.
Pauls:
Shrove Tuesday
Ash Wednesday Services
Wednesdays in Lent
The Lenten Series
Linen Shop
Stephern Ministry
Honoring Retiring Vestry
Members
Selecting Liturgical
Options
Learning How To Access
Funding
Antiques Show and Sale
Stewardship Learning
Series
Food for Thought
Confirmation 2007
The Phillips extend their
thanks
What's New in the Kitchen
A Meal & More
A Light in the Forest
Dear Members & Friends of St. Pauls:
With Ash Wednesday just around the corner, when we literally rub our faces with our mortality, I ask myself the yearly question: "Why do we do this?" The answer usually is something about awakening to the truth that I will die and so now is the time to clean up my act. Now is the time for me to start really getting down to forgiving.
I think of forgiveness as being straight forward. I blew it, made a mistake, and now I am sorry. So forgive me. But it's not that easy, and we know it. Our relationships with people are complicated. What we perceive as our good intentions can be experienced by others as our manipulations. How can we say we are sorry when we believe we have nothing to be sorry for?
Or perhaps we forgive others with the warning "never do that again" and leave unspoken "or else". Or else I will punish you by cutting off the relationship.
Or we forgive others to have ourselves feel somehow self-righteous. We are a big enough person to forgive you, even though you don't deserve it.
So what might forgiveness look like that takes into account our emotions, our thoughts and our faith? Our Ash Wednesday service is a mysterious marvel at holding up the spiritual mirror of our humanity. How we have, in spite of our best efforts, not loved, not cared for, not listened, not prayed as we hoped we would. The service tries to help us face into this truth. Not to condemn us, that it is a waste of time, but to crack us open to forgiveness. When we experience in the depths of our hearts and souls the forgiveness of God, then we can be released both from our own sense of unworthiness and from punishing ourselves by our own unwillingness to forgive others. Ash Wednesday is about forgiveness to be free to be better lovers.
Welcome to Lent.
Faithfully yours,
Fred Reynolds, Rector
Shrove Tuesday
Tuesday, February 20
6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall
Come celebrate Mardi Gras with pancakes and fun. Learn about how you can support the Church School Lenten Outreach Project this spring. Please call the Church Office (272-2240) or sign up in the activities book in the Sunday Office.
Ash Wednesday Services
February 21
7:00 a.m. - Holy Eucharist - Chantry
Noon - Holy Eucharist with Healing
6:00 p.m. - Holy Eucharist - Chantry
Wednesdays in Lent
February 28, March 7, 14, 21, & 28
7:00 a.m. - Holy Eucharist - Chantry
7:30 a.m. - Breakfast - Parish Hall Alcove
The Lenten Series
"The Church and the City"
6:00 Eucharist in the Sanctuary
6:30 Soup Supper in the Parish Hall
7-8 Program in the Parish Hall
-
March 1
-
Michael Hopkins, Rector of St. Luke and St. Simon's, calls for an Urban Summit to respond to the needs of the City of Rochester.
-
March 8
-
Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, President of the Rochester Downtown Development Coorporation, supports the collaboration of private and public sector leadership to address issues and opportunities.
-
March 15
-
Robert Duffy, Mayor of Rochester, contends we will achieve our vision for the city only through improving public safety, education and economic development.
-
March 22
-
James Shepard, Deputy Chief of Police, states that the goal for the Police Department is "to make Rochester a safer city, reduce the fear of crime, and work in partnership with you, the community."
-
March 29
-
Jack McKelvey, Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, concludes that it is "in partnership that we have found possibilities… and dreamed dreams. We are making a difference, and there is much more which is left to do."
All are welcome to participate in any or all the events of each evening. If you would like soup, please call the office (271-2240) or sign-up for in the Activities Book in the Sunday Office.
Linen Shop
Can it be that time already?! Please start checking your closets and drawers to find any unused linens or those which have served you well. Some of us are down-sizing and find that our children's tastes are not ours and they do not care to receive the older-style linens. Others love them so we still have customers and you will get a tax deduction. Just bring your packaged linens to the Church Office during the week or leave them on the stage in the Parish Hall on Sundays.
~ Paula Zahniser, Linen Room Coordinator
(One-to-one Ministry by a Trained, Caring Friend)
Some Cornerstones of Stephen Ministry
at St. Paul's
Confidentiality
An absolute essential for building safe, healing, caring relationships is that Stephen Ministers do not ever reveal the identity of the person for whom they are caring nor what that person has told them.
A Ministry of Listening
Listening is one of the most powerful tools a Stephen Minister has, and many hours of training are spent acquiring and practicing good listening skills. Focusing on what a care receiver says, attending to his or her needs and listening to how he or she feels shows the Stephen Minister's care and concern.
Peer Supervision
Stephen Ministers provide the best quality care when they can meet together with their Stephen Leaders on a regular basis, usually twice a month, to support and encourage each other and to receive ongoing education and training.
If you have questions about Stephen Ministry at St. Paul's, please do not hesitate to contact the Stephen Leaders: Judy Carpenter, Sally McGucken, Anne Refermat or Tom McCart. We ask that you keep all of the Stephen Ministers in your prayers: Donna Nash-Bayley, Floyd Bayley, Jim Blake, Joyce Bogdanski, Ann Marie Fabrowicz, Nancy Frank, Kitty MacDowell, Louise Moore, Carol Panzer and Beverly Vaughn.
~ Sally McGucken
Honoring Retiring Vestry Members
On Sunday, January 28, I honored those who have retired from the Vestry as of the new elections. I would like to share those words with the larger community of St. Paul's.
~ Frederic Reynolds, Rector
Larry McKnight, Business Manager
Larry as served as Business Manager for 6 years. He has worked closely with Nancy Wood our Finance and Operations Manager as well as our Treasurer Emily Wood. Larry has considerable financial expertise that has helped shape both short and long term planning for our Vestry. Larry has always led with his faith and the importance of our mission. He has helped guide the Vestry to see money as a tool for ministry.
We give thanks to Larry for his faithful ministry to St. Paul's for his 6 years as our Business Manager.
Gail Pearson, Vestry Member
Gail has served on the Vestry for 3 years. She has been the Vestry liaison to the mission and parish life commissions. Gail has an intuitive gift that helps her hear beneath the spoken word. She understands that whether you're talking about financial numbers with the budget or leaking roofs with property, underneath the nuts and bolts are the people and the community of faith. Gail always could be counted on to remind the Vestry that matters of faith often come through the heart.
We give thanks to Gail for her faithful ministry to St. Paul's for her 3 years on the Vestry.
Mary Critikos, Vestry Member
Mary has served on the Vestry for 6 years. She has been the Vestry liaison to the pastoral care, Christian formation, and Mission commissions. To every task, Mary brings energy and enthusiasm. She has always been willing to roll up her sleeves and get to work to help St. Paul's be a faithful and loving community. Mary has mentioned to me many times how much she cares for and loves St. Paul's because she has experienced the gracious and loving power of God through Christ in the missions and ministry we all do together.
We give thanks to Mary for her faithful ministry to St. Paul's for her 6 years on the Vestry.
Bill Hosley, Vestry Member
Bill has served on the Vestry for 6 years. He has been the Vestry liaison to the property and strategic planning commissions. To every Vestry meeting Bill brought his wisdom and humor. His wisdom brought the continuing need as parish leaders to model reconciliation. His humor brought the recognition not to take ourselves too seriously but instead to embrace our humility. Bill's faithfulness to Jesus helps guide and support his kind and gracious spirit.
We give thanks to Bill for his faithful ministry to St. Paul's for his 6 years on the Vestry.
Selecting Liturgical Options
Prior to every season in the liturgical year (Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, etc.), the clergy gather to discuss the previous year's liturgical choices (which Prayers of the People, Eucharistic Prayer, etc., were used) and what to do this year. Invariably, the conversation includes a theological discussion concerning focus. For example, how do the choices reflect our understanding of the nature of the season? One might be tempted to think that theological understanding of a season doesn't change from year to year, and often that is true (or the change is so slight that it often takes years before one is fully aware of a shift in thinking). However, it does in fact change over time.
This fact has been duly recognized in every Prayer Book of the American Church: "It is a most invaluable part of that blessed liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, that in his worship different forms and usages may without offence be allowed . . .; and therefore, by common consent and authority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged, amended, or otherwise disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the edification of the people, 'according to the various exigency of times and occasions.'" (Preface, 1789) Over time, this has led to revisions of the Prayer Book, most recently 1979, and more recently the introduction of supplemental materials, portions of which have been introduced the past three years at St. Paul's.
While it is true that it sometimes has taken decades to amend texts to reflect a different theological understanding, the choice of which texts to use can also reflect a change in thinking (and the current Prayer Book is the most flexible book with regard to options that the church has ever had). In our conversations regarding the upcoming season of Lent, I raised a question about the priority of grace as a result of two books read during my sabbatical: James Alison's On Being Liked and Brian McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy. Last year, as we've done before, we opened the liturgy with the Penitential Rite, including the Decalogue (an option). In doing this, the focus seemed to be on the Law rather than grace. A central theme in Lent, I believe, is the new way of living, the way God intended from the beginning of creation, that Jesus reveals through his death and resurrection - a life free from the fear of death. That way of living is grounded in grace, not the Law, because you and I will never be able to fulfill the requirements of the Law, except by the grace of God. The result of our conversation is the decision to begin the liturgy in Lent with the Penitential Rite, but without the Decalogue.
~ Thomas McCart
Learning How To Access Funding
Paul Mastrodonato, President of Nonprofit Works (standing) met on January 20 with several leaders of mission outreach activities at S. Paul's to share strategies for seeking grants. Shown with him are Liz Cook, Kathy Kingston (back to camera), Carol Panzer, Mary Swayze, and Margaret Mandrycky. St. Paul's supports a number of mission outreach efforts with human and financial resources, but additional financial resources allow these initiatives to flourish. To learn more about the mission outreach programs at St. Paul's or how you can get involved, contact Judy Wadsworth, Mission Outreach Administrative Coordinator, at judithw@frontiernet.net.
The 58th St. Paul's Antiques Show and Sale
April 26-28
The Antiques Show is both an important church community-building activity, as well as a means to raise money to improve the church and fund deserving outreach programs. In the past eleven years alone, the Antiques Show has raised over $212,000 that has been used to enhance both St. Paul's and the outside community.
The 2006 Antiques Show & Sale raised over $24,000, 33% more than any of the past seven shows. The 2007 is shaping up to be just as successful and the Antiques Show Committee is committed to raising $25,000. The net proceeds from this year's show will be distributed in the following manner:
| Episcopal Church Women | $6,400 | Water for Sudan | $1,000 | |
| Hope for Sudan | 5,250 | Marion Institute | 1,000 | |
| SPY mission trips | 3,000 | Church Office | 900 | |
| Daycare scholarships | 2,000 | Church School needs | 900 | |
| Stewardship Committee | 2,000 | School #9 | 650 | |
| Paul's Place | 1,400 | Parish Library needs | 500 |
-
Volunteer for your favorite activities at the show. Please take the initiative to contact one of the following show chairpersons and let them know you can help:
Old Curiosity Shop - Jack Pearson, Hank & Kathy Kingston
Linens, Fabrics, and Decorator Trim - Paula Zahniser & Anna Marie DeLuccio
Jewelry - Linda Butwid
Baked Goods - Molly Coulter & Carol Miller
Book Nook - Linda & David White
Preview Party - Gail Pearson & Joan Flint
Set Up & Take Down - Griffin Jones & Mike Scott
Cashiers - Liz Cook - Sign up to work the show at the March 4th extended coffee hour sponsored by the Antiques Show & Sale committee.
- Donate items for sale in the Old Curiosity Shop, Linen Room, Jewelry Room, Book Nook, and Baked Goods Room. You can drop off items in the Parish Hall starting in March. If you have a significant number of items to donate, please call Chris Curtis at 218-4236 to arrange for a pickup at your home.
- Donate a special item or service to the Silent Auction. The Silent Auction is a great way to take your nicer-than-average, unneeded possessions and turn them into money to support the many needs of the church. Please contact Mary Ellen West or Gary Haag with your ideas.
- Most importantly tell your friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, strangers on the street, and anyone else you meet about the show. Word of mouth advertising is the single most effective means of advertising the show, and it's FREE!
Please do what you can to support your church's Antiques Show & Sale.
~ Chris Curtis, Chairperson, 58th Antique Show & Sale
Stewardship Learning Series
Everyone is invited to a five-part Learning Series entitled "Living with Money". The series is planned for the five Sundays in Lent in the Cadigan Room from 11:30-12:30.
Five learning sessions will include a Bible reading followed by discussion, and four sessions will include a short video. Please mark your calendars for this exciting learning event. There was a great turn out last year, and we hope some will repeat the series along with some new faces. A sign-up sheet will be available.
February 25 - "What is Money?" - Defines money and asks why money is such a taboo subject in our culture.
March 3 - "Know Your Money Life" - Explores the various "money styles" each of us may have experienced and how money impacts us at the deepest personal level.
March 11 - "Making Peace with Money" - What does the Bible say about money? Looks at the God of abundance and how our personal spiritual values are expressed in our attitudes towards and use of money.
March 18 - "Balancing Life's Ledger" - How do we get a better grip on our personal relationship with money? What does God really require of us, and what does the church want and need from us financially?
March 25 - "Our Experience" - What have we heard during this series, what is important to us and where do we go from here?
"Therapeutic to the soul, Living with Money offers the comfort of sound and sustaining guidance to all who wrestle with the proper use of human resources"
-- Phyllis Tickle, Publishers Weekly
~ The Stewardship Committee
Food for Thought
There is an old Hassidic saying: "Everyone must have two pockets into which he or she may reach from time to time. In the one pocket it shall be written: 'For my sake were the heavens and the earth created.' And in the other, 'I am but dust and ashes.'"
Support for the Journey
Confirmation 2007
At a festive dinner in the Parish Hall on Saturday, February 3, potential confirmands with their families had the opportunity to meet their sponsors.
This spring with the support of sponsors, teachers, and families, members of the confirmation class will continue to learn about the Episcopal Church and St. Paul's in the context of Christianity and world religions. They will learn about themselves and their relationship with God. As they study prayer, creeds, and scripture; meet with the clergy; participate in worship and discuss their faith stories, they will discern whether they are ready to take on for themselves the vows that someone else most likely made for them at their baptism.
Please support the young people and their sponsors as they seek to learn and grow. Pray for them in the words of the Confirmation service:
"Give (each of them) an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works." (Book of Common Prayer, page 308)
|
Potential Confirmands |
Sponsors |
| Seyefe Brouk | Spencer Cook |
| Emily Doyle | Susan Dow |
| Rob Hayden | Ted Curtis |
| James Hiltunen | Griffin Jones |
| Wendy Manly | Jean French |
| Caroline Marini | Sally McGucken |
| Parker Moore | Dean Arvan |
| Corinne O'Neil | Carol Panzer |
| Chris Swanson | Paul Rudy |
The group will have brunch with Bishop Jack McKelvey on May 12 and participate in Confirmation at the ten o'clock service on Pentecost, May 27.
~ Barbara Warner
The Phillips extend their thanks
Bob and Dorothy Phillips would like to thank the congregation for their prayers on behalf of the Phillips' grandchildren. You prayed for grandson Matthew (Matt) while he was in the Persian Gulf as a member of the Army National Guard. When he had been there nearly a year he was injured. He had a severely dislocated elbow and a badly broken wrist. He returned home via Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he spent several weeks. Matt has now finished college and has a fine job in Rochester.
Matt's younger sister Kathryn (Kate) is currently in the Peace Corps. She is on the prayer list where she will remain until she finishes her two year assignment. Kate graduated from college in May of 2006 and soon after began her Peace Corps assignment in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. She stayed there for two and a half months while she learned the language (Malagasy - Bara dialect) and the customs. Kate was one of 30 volunteers who would teach English to both children and adults.
After her initial training, Kate was sent to the small village of Betroka. She lives alone in a small 3-room house on the school grounds. The house has electricity but no plumbing, telephone or email access. Once a month Kate travels to a larger village called Fianar where there is a bank, larger stores, and a Peace Corps Office. She has a bicycle but travels via the taxi brousse for longer distances.
Kate expects to come home for a visit this summer before returning for the remainder of her assignment. She has become much attached to some of her students but finds challenges in some of the customs. It has been a very rewarding experience for all of the Phillips. We are learning so much that is new. We are grateful for your prayers and support.
~ Dorothy & Bob Phillips
What's New in the Kitchen
The kitchen has recently been re-organized, and I have labeled each drawer and cupboard with its contents. Casseroles are all stored together, as are bowls, measuring cups, etc. Dish towels and aprons are easier to access, and there is a hamper next to the freezer for soiled linens. Please help me keep the kitchen clean and neat by returning all items to their labeled places.
Two of the large lace tablecloths are missing. Would the person who took them home to launder please return them soon, and in the future please tell me or one of the sextons if you are taking anything home to wash.
~ Gail Bush
A Meal & More
Through the kindness and generosity of the people of St. Paul's, we were able to send $260 to A Meal & More to buy turkeys and roasts for the holiday meals. What was not spent for these items will be added to their food budget for 2007
~ Gail Pearson
A Light in the Forest
As an atheist was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. As he turned to look he saw a 7-foot grizzly charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path and looked over his shoulder to see that the bear was closing in on him. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him! At that instant the atheist cried out, "Oh my God!"
Time Stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. "You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. Am I to count you as a believer?"
The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps You could make the bear a Christian?"
"Very Well," said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:
"Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord."