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Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's
Labels For Hillside
Thank You from A Meal & More
Longing for Spring?
Antiques Show Donations
Stage Crew
Linen Shop
Pre-sale Tickets
The Book Nook
Episcopal Relief And Development
SPY Corner
Gallery Showing of the Works of Dr. He Qi
Episcopalians and Islamics; How different are we
really?
After our Annual Meeting, questions arose about who is a member, who can vote, what are the requirements, can I still come to church even if I don't pledge or financially contribute?
The Episcopal Church, and St. Paul's in particular, welcomes everyone who comes through our doors. In this last year (2005) we reached out to our surrounding neighbors through a postcard invitation to join us for Easter and Christmas services. Our Sunday leaflet announces "Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, St. Paul's welcomes you. We especially welcome you to this service, and wish you to know that all who seek God and are drawn to Christ are welcome at God's table for communion." We try to embody the radical hospitality of Christ at all of our worship services. All are graciously welcome!
As you worship with us and choose St. Paul's as your spiritual home, it is appropriate to formally request membership in the church. How does this process work? It starts with either filling out a New Member pew card or a call to the Church Office. If you are Episcopalian, it is a matter of transferring your membership from your previous parish to St. Paul's. If you need assistance with this, just call the Church Office.
If you are new to the Episcopal Church, I urge you to attend the Rector's Inquirer's Class, held each year from January until May on Sunday mornings. This class explores Anglican history, ethics, worship, biblical interpretation, theology, stewardship and mission. I urge you to attend the Advent and Lenten Adult Christian Formation programs. All of them are education opportunities to explore the unique pathway of faith in the Episcopal Church. After all, you will want to know what you will be getting yourself into as an Episcopalian. If you are not baptized, there are six times during the year for this powerful sacrament that officially makes you a member in all of Christ's body, not just in St. Paul's.
If you have been baptized in another church in the name of the Trinity, you don't need to be re-baptized; however, your baptismal date needs to be recorded here at St. Paul's. As you claim St. Paul's as your spiritual home, you are asked to financially contribute to her missions and programs, as well as being invited to use your gifts for ministry through our many ministry opportunities.
To vote at our Annual Meeting in January, these are the legal requirements where the honor system is used: all voters must be baptized, must regularly attend services at St. Paul's over the past year, must be a contributor of record to the parish over the past year, and must be at least 18 years of age. The above conditions apply whether voting in person at the Meeting or voting by Absentee Ballot.
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, St. Paul's welcomes you and invites you to grow deeper in your faith. However, in an era of spiritual globalization and secularism, membership becomes a sign of commitment that you want others to know where you stand and where your soul is being nurtured and formed.
The Episcopal Church is a great church that nurtures and challenges us in heart, mind and soul, to grow into the likeness of Christ. St. Paul's is here for you. Great people journeying together on this wild and wonderful Christian mystery. Come join us!
The Rev. Frederic W. Reynolds
Rector
Thank you, label savers, who contributed 1500 labels to Hillside's Andrews-Trahey School.
Here is the letter of thanks that was sent to St. Paul's:
Thank you for collecting Campbell's Soup Labels for Hillside Children's Center's Andrews-Trahey School. Because of your efforts we collected 23,145 labels during the 2005/2006 school year.
This year we acquired elementary dictionaries, a singing Karaoke machine, science kits, teaching videos, digital camera, US world wall map and stereo headphones. These items would have cost hundreds of dollars, but we were able to obtain them at no cost by redeeming your generously donated labels.
Again, we thank you for your support of the Hillside Children's Center through the Campbell's Label for Education Program. With your continued help we can enrich the learning and living experience for many young people in our care.
Sincerely,
A. Thomas Hildebrandt, President
Containers for labels are located in Wainwright Hall and the Sunday office. Labels from other Campbell companies - Prego, Swanson, Marie's, Pepperidge Farm and V-8 are also redeemable. Keep them coming!
Margaret Kaiser
On behalf of the guests, staff and board members, I want to thank you for your recent holiday donations. Your continuing support of our program is very generous.
We continue to serve the hungry and disadvantaged of our Rochester Community in a caring and warm environment.
With sincere thanks,
Josie Dewey, Board Member
A Meal & More, Inc.
The New Parish Library will bloom this spring and summer. Watch for new growth beginning in May.
The Parish Library Committee
The St. Paul's Antiques Show & Sale is now accepting donations for this year's show, April 27-29. Please drop off all of your items, except jewelry, on the table opposite the kitchen in the Parish Hall. Please do not take your items to Wainwright Hall, as this makes extra work for the church staff. Jewelry donations should be left at the reception desk in Wainwright Hall. Thank you for your support!
For the second year, the Antiques Show will feature a Silent Auction. We have a number of things already donated for this cause including antiques, decorating services, singing lessons, calligraphy envelopes, restaurant gift certificates, Geva tickets and much more!! We are looking not only for items, but also services. Are you an expert gardener? Perhaps you could help someone start a garden or plant bulbs? Do you own or have access to a summer home or vacation cottage? Can you donate a week or a weekend? If you have anything you would like to donate for this year's Silent Auction, please contact Mary Ellen West (442-9632) or Stephanie Booth (473-0666).
Your help is needed. The Antiques Show is recruiting a volunteer "stage crew" to help with the setup and restoration of the spaces used by the dealers (for example moving books, furniture, vacuuming, etc.). Setup can begin April 17 and restoration begins at the conclusion of the show. Dates and times are flexible. Many hands make light work. Please contact Griffin Jones at 442-8177 or Tom Milliman at 352-4057 if interested in helping.
The Linen Shop of the upcoming Annual Antiques Show is looking for all kinds of linens, vintage clothing, quilts, fancy hats, scarves and all kinds of items to sell. Please drop off your items on the table opposite the kitchen in the Parish Hall or call us for pickup.
We are holding two ironing parties to spruce everything up for the sale. Bring your own iron and ironing board to the Parish Hall on March 25 and/or April 8 between 9 and 1 and we know you will have fun. We also need people to staff the shop.
Call Jane Reynolds (473-7811) or Chris Fitzstevens(473-6679) and either of them would be happy to hear from you. Help us make the Linen Shop a great success!
Antiques Show pre-sale tickets are now available in the Church Office. Tickets will also be on sale Sunday mornings April 2, 9 and 23. Pre-sale price: $3.00 each; 4 tickets for $10.00; $4.00 at the door.
The Book Nook of the St. Paul's Antiques Show would like to help you recycle books and other media that you no longer need. Please leave donated media on the designated tables in the Parish Hall. We are happy to pick up your donations.
St. Paul's Antiques Show and Sale will feature both an Antiquarian book dealer and the Book Nook. The sale is coordinated with our core mission of Christian Education and the ministry of the word. Nearly all hardcover books, videos, CDs and DVDs are $1.00 and paperbacks, magazines and audio cassettes are $.50.
Please consider helping to sort and sell. It is fun! Call Linda or David White (482-2616) for more information or to arrange a pick up.
A few years ago, when I was asked if I would take the job of parish representative for Episcopal Relief and Development, I must confess that I knew practically nothing about ERD. Quite truthfully, I accepted because I had a hard time saying "No" and because I thought it was a way I could serve the church that wouldn't involve even a hint of public speaking! But I soon realized that the job was God's gift to me, not the other way around.
The burning question of my life for the past 15 years has been how to truly serve God, to walk in Jesus' footsteps and embody His light and love in this world. How can I do this in absolute truth, without simply playing a role that I believe is expected of me? The prayer that puts words to my heart's desire is the one attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
What I see now is that Episcopal Relief and Development actually helps me to live into these lofty words. As I struggle daily to apply them to my own small life, I know that my involvement in ERD makes me a part of something much bigger. ERD brings the needs of the world to my attention, shaking me out of my self-absorption and complacency, and actually offers a tangible way to help. My little efforts are part of a ripple effect that carries consolation, hope, understanding and love to the whole world.
When I first learned the Prayer of St. Francis, I wanted to keep it with me at all times. I made myself a beaded bracelet with a certain stone to represent each verse. To support ERD and hopefully spread St. Francis' influence, bracelets like mine will be available during coffee hour hosted by ERD on Sunday, March 19. The proceeds will be donated entirely to ERD on the following Sunday, March 26, during our annual ingathering. To learn more about ERD, the Episcopal Church's "compassionate response of the Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world" visit the ERD web site, and stop by during coffee hour on the 19th.
God's peace to all,
Linda Workman, ERD Parish Representative
An Interfaith Dialogue at the Islamic Center
for SPY Members and their Parents
On Sunday, March 19 SPY members and their parents are invited to participate in an interfaith dialogue at the Islamic Center of Rochester. We will meet for lunch at 12:00 noon in the Parish Hall. During the lunch hour Rev. Leslie St. Louis will lead us in discussion to prepare for our visit. Please encourage other members of the parish to join us at 1:00 p.m. at the Islamic Center for the program. Pick up time will be at 2:30 p.m. at the Islamic Center, 727 Westfall Road.
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden by March 16 (383-8808 or by email.)
Lock-In & Serve at St. Joseph's House
Lock-In & Serve at St. Joseph's House On Friday, March 31 gather in the Parish Hall at 8:00 p.m. where we will enjoy an evening of fellowship with movies, snacks and games. Please bring your sleeping bag, a pillow and a snack to share. On Saturday morning, we will head to St. Joseph's House where we will prepare and serve lunch. Pick up time will be at 1:00 p.m. at St. Joseph's House, 402 South Avenue.
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden by March 27 (383-8808 or by email.)
March 19, 2006
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
25 Westminster Road
Rochester New York
585-271-2240
St. Paul's Episcopal Church is pleased to sponsor a showing of "China's most internationally sought after contemporary Christian artist," according to Far Eastern Economic Review. Dr. He Qi's brilliant, colorful and highly contemporary paintings emerge unmistakably from ongoing Chinese contexts.
We continue to endeavor to experience Christ in differing contexts and to engage in the larger conversation of how does Christianity fit in a post-modern world. Experiencing Christ through art is one of the initiatives of the Episcopal Church nationally; art is being utilized as a medium to better understand Christ not only in our culture but in other cultures as well and to help individuals to begin to see how others experience Christ. This showing not only opens up our experience of Christ but also allows us to experience Chinese Christian art and thereby get a glimpse of the Chinese cultural views of the Biblical stories.
Dr. He Qi is a professor at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and a tutor for master candidate students in the Philosophy Department of Nanjing University. He has been committed to the artistic creation of modern Chinese Christian Art since 1983. He utilizes art as a tool for evangelization, hoping to change the "foreign image" of Christianity in China by using artistic language and at the same time to supplement Chinese Art the way Buddhist art did in ancient times. He has blended Chinese folk customs and traditional Chinese painting techniques with the western art of the Middle and Modern Ages and has created an artistic style of color-on-paper painting.
Dr. He Qi's work has been featured recently the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Upper Room and Augsberg Fortress Press. Dr. He Qi's work is, at times, auctioned to support charitable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and other such organizations. Rochester is one of the few stops for this gallery of work in the United States and St. Paul's Episcopal Church is pleased to share this work with the community. Please join us for a gallery opening and showing on March 19, 2006.
If you have questions about this showing please contact The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis at 271-2240.
The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis
In a recent article in the Democrat and Chronicle Muhammad Shafiq, executive director/Imam of the Islamic Center of Rochester and executive director of the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Nazareth College pointed out that the Quran "speaks of suppressing anger, respectful tolerance and forgiveness and doing well to those who do you wrong." This philosophy is very similar to the teaching we as Christians find in the Bible, particularly in the Gospel which recount the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
There has been much in the news of late as regards the cartoons which were published in European newspapers depicting Muhammad. Depictions of Muhammad are particularly offensive to those in the Islamic faith. You may recall that many places in the Christian scriptures we see individuals ask to see the face of God but nowhere are we told that actually happens; in fact the closest we come to an image of God in scripture is in the Exodus story of the Old Testament. I can't imagine how I would feel if someone "cartooned" the God I know and love and respect.
There is good news in this; however, the good news is that this event has opened up a new and deeper dialogue between those of the Christian faith and those of the Islamic faith. Surveys done in the late 90's documented Islam as the fastest growing faith in the United States; figures then indicated that there were some 5 million Muslim living in the U.S. If we look at worldwide statistics the numbers are even more impressive. The truth is Christians are becoming the minority in the world not the majority, and how we interact with and understand those of differing faiths is of crucial importance. Again Muhammad Shafiq indicates, "we need to develop sensitivity for each other's faiths." The first step in this process is education and dialogue.
The Saint Paul's Youth are please to invite the parish to an event designed to be a step in this direction. On Sunday March 19th from 1pm until 2:30 p.m., we will be taking a "St. Paul's field trip," to the Islamic Center. There, members of the Islamic community will host us with time for listening, contemplation and discussion. It is the hope of all the members of St. Paul's that many of you will join us and our Islamic brothers and sisters as we take this important step in our faith and worldly formation. Please contact The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis, 271-2240, Laura Hayden 383-8808 or Louise Moore 377-8239 for more information.