The St. Paul's Epistle
April 16-30, 2005
Contents
Letter from the Curate for Family Ministry
Water for Sudan Update
Church School News
Arbor Society/Joyful Celebration
Stem Cell/Cloning Research: Marvel or
Menace?
Coordinator for Christian Formation for Children, Youth
& Families
"EROI" Organ Recital
Elijah - May 1
Spring Cleanup - May 14
A Covenant Statement of the House of
Bishops
Antiques Show Insert
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's:
With blinding light we have emerged from the darkness of Lent into the clear whiteness of life in the Resurrection. We move through these days of early spring marveling at the longer days and the stronger sunlight. If you are at all like me, I rather imagine that you are spending time doing "walkabouts" through your yards and gardens looking for signs of green poking through the dark ground and rejoicing when another flower or shrub awakens from the long winter's rest. Resurrection and spring, these are times of great joy and refreshment.
We have been engaged, of late, in a long conversation about the sabbatical leaves that both our Rector and Associate Rector will take in the coming year. Fred and Tom will be taking dedicated time away from the parish to renew themselves to experience in the here and now some sense of rebirth. We are people who believe in "rebirth," resurrection, and life from death. We are called as faithful people, as Tom pointed out last month, to spend some time in every week marking the Sabbath. It is in the Sabbath that we are nourished and enabled to continue in the rest of our lives to do the will of God.
How do we Sabbath? Is it simply coming to church on Sunday? Is it reading and studying scripture with family and friends once a week? Do we really approach the blessing of one day of rest in the way God intends for us to do so? When I was growing up my family "sabbathed." We attended church as a family, worshipping together, studying the word of God with fellow Christians and then resting upon our return home. There was no TV watching until after sundown on Sunday (and then it was Walter Cronkite and maybe 60 Minutes). We did not do chores (except make our bed because Mommy said God likes made up beds) and Mommy did not cook. Even though gardening was a great love for all of us we rested from working in the garden beds, simply sitting and enjoying the beauty of them. We spent our day together as a family, resting and renewing; and I remember distinctly how refreshed, centered and connected I felt on Monday morning.
This is the natural rhythm of creation. God created in six days. Daily God would create and then daily God would rest. Finally, at the end of it all, God rested for the seventh day. Fred and Tom and the Episcopal Church share with us an incredible vision, a valuable lesson as to how to live as Christians. I encourage you to embrace this practice of "sabbathing" both on a weekly basis and on a daily basis. Create that space for yourself in which you can return and rest in the Lord. Maybe it is ten minutes at the beginning of the day and ten minutes at the end of the day (more would be nice but we must be realistic). Spend that time doing nothing. Look at your practice on Sunday: do you rush to church and then rush to several other things, hurrying to get done on the first day of this week that which did not fit into last week? We will be here, together you and I, through the Sabbaths of Fred and Tom. Let us make our own Sabbath history and join with them in being refreshed, renewed, nourished and prepared to do the will of God.
Faithfully yours,
The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis
Curate for Family Ministry
Water for Sudan Update
On Mar 28, 2005, at 7:45 PM, Scott Arrington wrote:
Salva called me early this morning and had only a few minutes to talk. He said that Dr. Hamil and his drilling crew are working very hard and had completed two wells in his home village. Complete wells? He said yes, they are pumping water!! They are complete! He said they were moving the rigs today to drill two more in a neighboring community. I asked about his mother and father and he said they are together and they are both well.
He sent his best to all of us and asked that we continue to pray for him and Water for Sudan.
Church School News
The Church School contributed almost $500 to Water for Sudan, Inc. as a result of its Lenten Outreach Project. An additional $250 was donated as a result of Louise Moore and her family's sale of hand-made baby bonnets and decorative glasses. All of us are pleased to know that several wells are currently operative in Salva Dut's village in southern Sudan.
Everyone is invited to a Spring Breakfast in the Parish Hall, on Mothers' Day, May 8, from 8:45 to 9:30. Students in the Church School will be providing invitations, favors, and service for this happy event to honor mothers and others!
Plans are underway for the celebration of Pentecost and Confirmation on Sunday, May 15. The Annual Recognition Service and Parish Picnic are planned for June 5. Thinking ahead to next year, the Church School staff will be asking for input from families at a Forum on May 22 and at Shalom on June 3. Questions and comments are always welcome.
Barbara Warner, Interim Coordinator
The Rev. Leslie St. Louis, Curate for Family Ministry
Arbor Society/Joyful Celebration
St. Paul's is the beneficiary of the gifts of talent, time and financial support from its parishioners. We also benefit from the gifts of those who have gone before us. Commitment to the ministries of this parish and a vision of an ongoing witness to God's love lead many to pledge financial support through bequests. Such gifts, large and small, sustain our ministries and can be an occasion for joy.
St. Paul's Church has received a generous gift, designated to fund the Arbor Society's "Joyful Celebration." All Parishioners (members and non-members) are invited to join us at the Chatterbox Club on Thursday, May 5 at 6:00 p.m. for a buffet supper. A cash bar will be available. Gwen Cheney will be our guest speaker on "Endowment and Stained Glass Windows." If you are not a member of the Arbor Society, please consider leaving a gift to St. Paul's in your future plans.
Reservations for the Celebration are required. Please RSVP by Monday, May 2 to the Parish Office by calling 271-2240.
Joan and Dave Flint
Stem Cell/Cloning Research:
Marvel or Menace?
This forum, offered as part of an ongoing series by the committee for Christian Dialogue on Contemporary Issues, will be an opportunity for us to explore the potential benefits of this burgeoning area of scientific research, while honoring that our Christian faith must play a vital role in decisions that could have profound impact on human life. Please join us on Sunday, April 24 following the 10:00 a.m. service as we continue in our effort to help educate ourselves on the factual background of controversial issues, even as we provide a safe and caring atmosphere in which we may discuss our own personal experiences and insights.
Coordinator of Christian Formation
for Children, Youth & Families
We are pleased to announce that Barbara Warner, who has been serving as our Interim Coordinator, will be continuing in this ministry in the future. The Search Advisory Committee interviewed three very capable candidates, and made its recommendation to the Rector last weekend. Congratulations, Barbara!
"EROI" Organ Recital
On Friday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., St. Paul's will host an organ recital featuring students from the Eastman School of Music. The recitalists will include Matthew Brown (Assistant Organist, Third Presbyterian Church), Rudolph De-Vos (Organist, St. Anne Catholic Church), and our own Tim Pyper. This Eastman-Rochester Organ Initiative ("EROI") concert is free, but voluntary donations will be accepted in aid of student educational travel. This supports opportunities such as the one Tim Pyper had in January to study on historic organs in Sweden. Come and hear some of Rochester's finest organists play one of the city's finest organs - right here in our own sanctuary!
Elijah - May 1
St. Paul's Choir and guest singers will present Mendelssohn's great oratorio Elijah on Sunday, May 1 at 4:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Paul's. Derrick Smith will sing the role of Elijah. Among the other soloists will be Nancy Curtis and Holly Bewlay, sopranos; Pamela Terry, alto; guest tenor Grudy Bailey and baritone Christopher Moore. Come and bring your family and friends to hear this work.
Note: The concert has been postponed to October 2.
Spring Cleanup - May 14
Please join us on Saturday, May 14 from 9:00 a.m. until noon to spruce up the grounds around the church. Good fellowship and a picnic lunch will be enjoyed by all. In addition, the church will make a glorious entrance into Spring. Please contact Tom Lincoln at 271-2240 or Jack Pearson at 244-5086 for more information or to sign up.
A Covenant Statement of the
House of Bishops
House of Bishops' Spring Meeting
March 15, 2005
We have received the Windsor Report as a helpful contribution to our relationships with Anglican brothers and sisters across the world. We recognize its recommendations as coming from a broadly representative commission inclusive of bishops, clergy, and laity and as an attempt to speak as equals to equals. We experience it as being in the best tradition of autonomy within communion and as helpful in our efforts to live into communion. Likewise, we appreciate receiving the communiqué from the February meeting of the Primates and take seriously the perspectives and convictions stated therein.
It is our heartfelt desire to be responsive and attentive to the conversation we have already begun and to which we are being called and as a body offer the following points.
1. We reaffirm our commitment to the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 and each of its individual points. We reaffirm our earnest desire to serve Christ in communion with the other provinces of the Anglican family. We reaffirm our continuing commitment to remain in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and to participate fully in the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference, and the Primates' Meeting, and we earnestly reaffirm our desire to participate in the individual relationships, partnerships, and ministries that we share with other Anglicans, which provide substance to our experience of what it is to be in communion.
2. We express our own deep regret for the pain that others have experienced with respect to our actions at the General Convention of 2003 and we offer our sincerest apology and repentance for having breached our bonds of affection by any failure to consult adequately with our Anglican partners before taking those actions.
3. The Windsor Report has invited the Episcopal Church "to effect a moratorium on the election and consent to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate who is living in a same gender union until some new consensus in the Anglican Communion emerges" (Windsor Report, para. 134). Our polity, as affirmed both in the Windsor Report and the Primates' Communiqué, does not give us the authority to impose on the dioceses of our church moratoria based on matters of suitability beyond the well-articulated criteria of our canons and ordinal. Nevertheless, this extraordinary moment in our common life offers the opportunity for extraordinary action. In order to make the fullest possible response to the larger communion and to re-claim and strengthen our common bonds of affection, this House of Bishops takes the following provisional measure to contribute to a time for healing and for the educational process called for in the Windsor Report. Those of us having jurisdiction pledge to withhold consent to the consecration of any person elected to the episcopate after the date hereof until the General Convention of 2006, and we encourage the dioceses of our church to delay episcopal elections accordingly. We believe that Christian community requires us to share the burdens of such forbearance; thus it must pertain to all elections of bishops in the Episcopal Church. We recognize that this will cause hardship in some dioceses, and we commit to making ourselves available to those dioceses needing episcopal ministry.
4. In response to the invitation in the Windsor Report that we effect a moratorium on public rites of blessing for same sex unions, it is important that we clarify that the Episcopal Church has not authorized any such liturgies, nor has General Convention requested the development of such rites. The Primates, in their communiqué "assure homosexual people that they are children of God, loved and valued by him, and deserving of the best we can give of pastoral care and friendship" (Primates' Communiqué, para. 6). Some in our church hold such "pastoral care" to include the blessing of same sex relationships. Others hold that it does not. Nevertheless, we pledge not to authorize any public rites for the blessing of same sex unions, and we will not bless any such unions, at least until the General Convention of 2006.
5. We pledge ourselves not to cross diocesan boundaries to provide episcopal ministry in violation of our own canons and we will hold ourselves accordingly accountable. We will also hold bishops and clergy canonically resident in other provinces likewise accountable. We request that our Anglican partners "effect a moratorium on any further interventions" (Windsor Report, para. 155; see also 1988 Lambeth Conference Resolution 72 and 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution III.2) and work with us to find more creative solutions, such as the initiation of companion diocese relationships, to help us meet the legitimate needs of our own people and still maintain our integrity.
6. As a body, we recognize the intentionality and seriousness of the Primates' invitation to the Episcopal Church to refrain voluntarily from having its delegates participate in the Anglican Consultative Council meetings until the Lambeth Conference of 2008. Although we lack the authority in our polity to make such a decision, we defer to the Anglican Consultative Council and the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church to deliberate seriously on that issue.
The bonds of affection are not ends in themselves but foundations for mission. Therefore, we re-commit ourselves to work together throughout the communion to eradicate HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and to address the other efforts mentioned by the Primates' Communiqué (para. 20). We dedicate ourselves to full and open dialogue in every available venue through invitations for mutual visitation, intentional exploration of the theological perspectives and spiritual gifts that our diverse cultures offer, and collaborative partnerships for the purpose of shared mission in Christ.
St. Paul's 56th Annual
ANTIQUES
Show & Sale
Friday, April 22 11 - 7
&
Saturday, April 23 10 - 4
New in 2005
Last year, we had some very cold and windy weather during the Antiques Show, and it was very uncomfortable for cashiers, patrons and dealers near the Vick Park B door. While the door will be open for the Preview Party on Thursday, April 21, we will not be using that door on Friday or Saturday. Please use the new Westminster entrance off the driveway for entry to and exit from the Show. We will put up signs directing the public to the one entrance. Your cooperation is appreciated as we try this new format for 2005.
The Bakery Needs Bakers!
Do you make cookies, cakes or breads? How about jelly, pickles, candy or sticky buns? Pies? Yeast rolls? Scones? June Hasty, 288-9131, and Molly Coulter, 586-7751, are waiting to hear from you.
The Bakery has always been a popular place, and they often sell out before the end of the Sale. Please help June and Molly fill the East Room with delectable delights this year. Call now!
Donations Welcome
Donations are still welcome of all sorts of gently-used items for this year’s Show. Old Curiosities, linens, jewelry and books are all needed. Please leave linens and jewelry at the Church Office, and books and Old Curiosities at the church. Help is available to assist in the carrying your donations into either building.
The Place To Be
Have you been called yet to help staff an area for the Antiques Show? If not, don’t wait another minute. Call Liz Cook, 442-0492, or Linda White, 482-2616. The Antiques Show is a perfect way to meet people;
It is THE PLACE TO BE - April twenty-one to April twenty-three!
Tax Deduction Form
To get a tax deduction for your Antiques Show donations, bring or send an itemized list of your contributions to Lisa in the church office. She will generate an IRS-acceptable letter and mail it to you. Be sure your name and address are on the list but do not place a value on the items. The value you decide on is between you and the IRS.
New This Year!
A silent auction will be held in Room B, marked on your program map. Antiques donated by some of the dealers as well as other items, will be shown in an enticing variety of styles and price ranges. You are encouraged to submit a private bid on any or all items as often as you wish throughout the Show. Winners will be notified by telephone on Monday, April 25, 2005.
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS
Do you have piles, or shelves, or boxes of books cluttering up closets, tables, attics or basements? The Book Nook needs your donations of used books of all kinds. Please bring them to the Parish Hall stage on Sundays or the Church Office during the week, and we will find new owners for all of your gently read paperbacks and hardcover books.