The St. Paul's Epistle
April 16, 2007
Contents
Dear Members & Friends of St.
Pauls:
Introducing Dick Stryker
New life out of death: a message for
Easter
Celebrate!
A Message From Our Bishop
Liturgy Notes for Eastertide
SPY Service Project
Episcopal SeniorLife
RAIHN at St. Paul's Church
The Chain of Hope
Protecting the
Environment
The Stanley I. Stuber
Lecture
Antiques Show Update
Come Be Inspired
Abortion, Is there a
compromise?
Church School Schedule for
April
SPY Corner
Saint Paul's Youth Mission Trip
Dear Members & Friends of St. Pauls:
As I announced in March in Church, The Rev. Tom Hanson has joined our clergy staff as an assisting non-stipendiary priest. He will occasionally preach and celebrate the Eucharist, teach an adult formation class and offer his wisdom as a priest of over 35 years. We will have the added bonus of his vast knowledge of baseball. Tom is a thoughtful, prayerful priest with a great sense of humor. We are blessed to have him join our clergy staff.
As was announced in a previous Epistle, I have hired Jonathan Jordan as Office Assistant. This is made possible as a result of Wayne Reinert requesting to reduce his hours and using the financial savings to hire Jonathan. Jonathan will be in the office 27 hours a week filling in as the receptionist, helping to support and guide our office volunteers, as well as be responsible for copying leaflets and the Epistle. You will find him to be an enthusiastic and cheerful young man.
As we welcome Dick Stryker to be our new Finance and Operations Manager, we say a goodbye to Nancy Wood who officially leaves our staff on April 15 to utilize her newly acquired MBA. Nancy has been with us for over two years. As many of you know, she has graciously and cheerfully managed the church office while personally responding to our questions about finances. During the refurbishing of the parish hall, Nancy was an unofficial clerk of the works, helping to support Bob Frank with construction management. Her wonderful laughter and "can do" spirit will be missed by all of us. We wish Nancy the very best for her new career.
Our organist Adam Peithmann was awarded a Fullbright scholarship to study in Germany next year. Congratulations to Adam! He will have his Eastman organ recital at Sacred Heart Cathedral here in Rochester on Thursday, April 26 at 7 p.m. If you can, come on out to hear and support Adam.
Please be sure to mark your calendars for David Fetler's Spring concert on May 6 at 4 p.m. as well as our June 3 celebration to honor David's 53 years as Senior Choir Director.
I am on the Nominating Committee and Judy Wadsworth is on the Transition Committee for the next Bishop of Rochester. It is a privilege for both of us to serve our diocese in this way. May the power of the risen Christ so fill your lives with joy.
Faithfully yours,
~ Fred Reynolds, Rector
Introducing Dick Stryker
Please join me in welcoming Dick Stryker to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, as the new Finance and Operations Manager, replacing Nancy Wood. He started his new position on March 26th.
Dick has lived in the Rochester area all of his life, obtaining a degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Rochester Institute of Technology. He spent 26 years at Bausch & Lomb in accounting, finance and operations roles. His strong belief in God and a desire to work for an organization that serves the community brought him to St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Dick and his wife Sandy live in Scottsville with their two daughters, Abigail (9) and Emily (7). He is actively involved with Union Presbyterian Church in Scottsville, along with the Wheatland Historical Association. He also volunteers preparing income taxes at Rural Opportunities, Inc and provides financial management services to the elderly at Lifespan. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, kayaking and golf.
~ Frederic Reynolds, Rector
New life out of death:
a message for Easter
I write at the close of our recent House of Bishops meeting. On the way from the airport to the meeting, we saw a few wildflowers, of one or two varieties. They stood out from the grass, just beginning to turn to the green lushness of spring. During the week we met in Texas, the trees went from mere hints of green in the topmost branches to having leaves unfolding on all their branches. And on the way back to the airport a week later, the riot of wildflowers was astounding. The new life of resurrection can be just as surreptitious -- we look and things seem quite dead, we look away, and when our focus returns, we discover that God has been at work making all things new. Anyone who has grieved the death of a loved one will recognize the pattern. Those who experience the loss involved in moving away from a beloved community will know it as well. As this Lent draws to a close, take a careful look at your life. Where has God been at work during this fast? What new life can you discern?
For my own part, I will celebrate the new life that has been growing hidden in the lives of leaders in this church. We are blessed with leaders, lay and ordained, who are increasingly aware of their God-given ministries to lead this people into fuller participation in God's mission of healing the world. I celebrate the work of God expressed in the gathering of Anglican women at the United Nations in late February and early March, who were able to say to the world that attention to mission is what unites us as a Communion. I celebrate the gathering of people from all across the world in South Africa, at the TEAM (Towards Effective Anglican Mission) conference, to build stronger partnerships for doing that healing work, especially around AIDS and HIV. I celebrate the gracious way in which the bishops of this Church engaged each other in discussing challenging and difficult matters in the meeting just past, and affirmed the focus of this Church on mission. I celebrate the many, many healthy and vital congregations of this Church, engaged in God's mission of healing the world. The Executive Council joined in worship at one, St. Michael and All Angels, in Portland, Oregon, recently, and saw passionate engagement in children's ministry, the work of the Episcopal Relief and Development, abundant outreach in the community, and a lively life of worship.
Among my mail when I returned to the office was a generous check from a congregation in North Carolina. Members there had read about a fire in the Bronx that had killed several members of an immigrant family from Mali, and left others injured and homeless. Somehow the news of their suffering had reached across the mountains and plains to touch the hearts of people of St. James in Wilmington, and they responded. A new heart of flesh is growing in countless places across this Church.
Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
~ Katharine Jefferts Schori
Celebrate!
Recently, I have had the best reasons for celebrating "around the clock."
And believe me, I have celebrated a great deal already. First, in mid-March I traveled to Minnesota and competed in the Twin Cities Chapter of the Regional Competition for Young Organists. The competition was challenging because of the selected repertoire and the number of very worthy competitors. Fortunately, I was chosen to be the first prize winner and will move onto the regional competition in Lincoln, Nebraska (almost my back yard).
Secondly, upon my return from Minnesota, I discovered that my Fulbright application to the Bremen Hochschule was a success. My application represented a combined effort from so many people including my organ teacher, David Higgs, my Fulbright advisors and German teachers, Reinhild Steingroever, Hans Davidsson, and Roger Freitas. My studies will include lessons with one of the most important scholars in North/Central German baroque performance practice, Professor Harald Vogel. I was told to be prepared for cold churches, a lot of traveling, and many exciting experiences.
Since my experience at St. Paul's has been a positive one and one that I will truly miss, I would like to invite you all to Bremen. Just remember to leave all of that American beer at home.
~ Adam Peithmann
A Message From Our Bishop
Friends:
I have returned home from The House of Bishops meeting at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas.
It was one of the best House of Bishops meetings that I can remember. There was more agreement about major and significant things than I have felt for a long time. Such things as agreement that we can disagree and yet be of one heart, and that we have not been diligent to keep our squabbles out of the way of our call to ministry in God's mission. There was considerable truth telling and an emphasis on listening. We have not always risked telling the truth about difficult things, however, that has changed.
Bishop Jefferts Schori encouraged us to take control of our own life as a House of Bishops and we did. Her leadership was welcoming, firm when it needed to be, and filled with humor.
We spent considerable time hearing speakers and having discussions about "God's mission and our ministry" particularly as it relates to The Millennium Development Goals. I am pleased that we have begun work emphasizing the MDGs under the leadership of the Rev. Dahn Gandell, and several of our churches have welcomed Scott Cicora's offer to speak on "Environmental Sustainability."
I am providing the link www.episcopalchurch.org/elife/ to the House of Bishops "Message to God's People" which well describes our six days together.
I am also providing the three statements found at www.episcopalchurch.org/elife/ under Bishops' "Mind of the House" resolutions which reflect the truth telling I spoke of earlier. I am proud and privileged to tell you that I was very involved in the development of the major "Statement to the Executive Council" and the shorter statement urging the Executive Council to "decline to participate in the 'Pastoral Scheme' " suggested by the Primates in Tanzania.
Our struggle was to make a statement which self-differentiated ourselves as The Episcopal Church while protecting the polity of our church. This means no outside interference which would violate our Canons or Constitution.
Our worship together was well crafted and you can imagine how great the singing was! The final hymn of our closing Eucharist was "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Though I do not want to minimize in any way the struggles of our people of color in these United States, for whom this hymn is very special, I can say that the words: "… thou who has by thy might led us into the light; keep us forever in the path, we pray" spoke to me as we have come through some divisive, conflicting, threatening times into a new dawn. It feels good to be freer as a church than I can remember in several years.
Now it is onward to discover and rediscover our call to be active participants in God's mission. It is my sense that we are on the way.
In Christ,
~ The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey
VII Bishop of Rochester
Liturgy Notes for Eastertide
The season of Easter, known as the Great Fifty Days, is the oldest season of the liturgical year. The celebration of the resurrection begins with the Great Vigil of Easter - the "Queen of Feasts" - observed on Saturday night; it continues the following morning on Easter Day and concludes with the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost, thus marking the entire fifty days as one "Great Feast." This is expressed symbolically in the presence of the lighted Paschal Candle throughout the fifty days.
Eastertide is the celebration of eternal redemption, and joyous thanksgiving is the order of the day. This is reflected with the return of the "alleluias" in the liturgy, the omission of the Confession of Sin, and our use of Eucharistic Prayer D - "To fulfill your purpose, he gave himself up to death; and rising from the grave, destroyed death, and made the whole creation new".
Finally, in our continuing desire to explore various ways to use our wonderful liturgical space, the opening procession, this year, will begin at the high altar, move through the choir and up the side aisles, and then move up the center aisle. This festive opening, we believe, will match the festive and joyous character of Eastertide.
~ Thomas McCart
SPY Service Project
On Sunday, April 1 SPY members made a visit to the Episcopal Church Home. Working together with residents, they created table decorations for the Easter season and planted summer bulbs.
~ Laura Hayden
Episcopal SeniorLife
Episcopal SeniorLife Communities is asking for your help with our annual golf tournament to be held on Monday, June 11, 2007 at Shadow Lake & Shadow Pines Golf courses. This festive charity event includes fun low-key golf (scramble format), fellowship, lunch, dinner, great prizes, and more for $135.00 per golfer.
We are most grateful and excited to have Dee Alexander of Warm 101.3 and member of St. Luke's, join us again this year as our volunteer MC.
We need golfers, prize donors, and volunteers for the day of the tournament. Please contact Kim Petrucci, at kpetrucci@episcopalseniorlife.org or 546-8439 x3121 to sign up or for more information.
I look forward to working with you. Also, please know that I am more than willing to provide a helping hand to any of you, so don't hesitate to ask.
~ Kim Petrucci
RAIHN at St. Paul's Church
St. Paul's will again be hosting the Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (RAIHN) program for the following weeks: May 13 through May 20, August 19 through August 26 and November 25 through December 2.
If you have never volunteered for this program consider giving it a try. Training for new volunteers will be held on Tuesday, April 17 at Third Presbyterian Church at 7:00 p.m. There is no need to sign up, just show up and sign in at the door.
New volunteers are always welcome to join in supporting the much needed community program. Contact Hank or Kathy Kingston at 385-3187 with any questions.
~ Hank Kingston
The Chain of Hope
Be sure to be here on April 22!! St. Paul's will be hosting some of the Lost Boys of Sudan as we celebrate the success of our Lenten project, "The Chain of Hope." Our service that day will be transformed with drumming and prayers in Dinka. We will present the funds we have raised for the Hope of Sudan as we lift up our ministry with the Sudanese and celebrate the gifts they bring to our lives.
~ Leslie St. Louis
Protecting the Environment
Scott Cicora, local renewable energy professional trained in Nashville along with 1,000 other volunteers by Al Gore to deliver presentations on global warming based on his movie and book, "An Inconvenient Truth", will be speaking May 3 at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall following the ECW luncheon at noon on some of the perils of global warming and offering concrete ways we can confront this climate crisis.
Mr. Cicora will be introduced by our Bishop's wife, Linda McKelvey. This a message of hope and concern affecting us all. Each of us is encouraged to ask questions (politics aside, please) affecting one of the greatest moral issues of our time, namely the ability of our planet to support human life for generations to come.
Won't you please join us with your questions and concerns both at the spiritual and at the earthly levels.
As always, if you plan on Luncheon at noon with ECW, please confirm your reservation through the Church office at 271-2240 by Monday, April 30.
~ Mary Critikos
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
The Stanley I. Stuber Lecture
Guest Lecturer:
The Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the USA
April 18, 2007
7:30 p.m.
"Two Competing Christian Theologies:
One Founded on Love and One Founded on Fear."
This lecture will focus on the State of the World, the
State of our Nation, and the State of the Contemporary
Christian Church.
April 19, 2007
9:30 a.m.
"God's Challenge for Deep-Water Citizenship."
Dr. Edgar will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
last book title:
"Where Do We Go From Here?"
Free and Open to the Public
Samuel Colgate Chapel
1100 South Goodman Street
Rochester, New York 14620
(585) 340-9588
www.crcds.edu
Antiques Show Update
Antiques Show Pre-Show Special
For sale: HP Pavilion Computer, 500 MHz processor, 18 GByte Hard drive, Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, 3.5" floppy drive, CD drive, 14" monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, HP 610 ink jet printer. This is a good, basic computer for someone who doesn't need anything fancy. Please call me at 218-4236 if you are interested. Delivery is available.
~ Chris Curtis
Decorator Fabrics And Trims
There are many new fabrics for you to check out at the Decorator Fabrics and Trims shop at the Antiques Show. Last year we were able to display only a portion of what we had, but it will all be out for your perusal at this year's show. These beautiful fabrics and trims are from the estate of Mrs. Elizabeth Holahan who was a prestigious decorator and notable preservationist in the Rochester area. The collection includes decorative fabrics of cotton, chintz, damask and silk in beautiful colors and unique prints as well as upholstery fabrics. There are so many uses for these fabrics and trims. Some suggestions might be to upholster a seat cushion or footstool, sew decorative pillows, eyeglass cases, phone cases, aprons, or maybe a tote bag that you could decorate with our beautiful trims. Please stop by our shop to see what we have to offer.
~ Sharron Isaacson
Old Curiosity Shop - 2007 Antique Show
Your antiques, collectibles, and other gently used items will help make the 'Old Curiosity Shop' a success. You can drop off these items in the Parish Hall alcove anytime. We will be glad to help you carry items in, just give us a call.
Home 'Pick Up' arrangements may be arranged by calling Louise Creatura at 265-9596.
People interested in helping with the set up for the 'Old Curiosity Shop' or wanting to volunteer their time to work during the Antique Show should call Hank or Kathy Kingston at 385-3187.
~ Kathy Kingston
Come Be Inspired
Living the Gospel: Greater Mission in Province II and Beyond will take place April 19-21 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Albany, NY. "Come and see and rejoice!" says the Rev. Petero Sabune of the upcoming convocation.
The Rev. Petero Sabune, who served on the convocation's design team along with Martha Gardner, says the Convocation is very different from typical vestry meetings and conventions. He says it isn't about resolutions and legislation; it's about celebrating and rejoicing. It's about inspiration. "It's exciting to be an Episcopalian today and to be living the Gospel every day," says Sabune.
That's what the Province II convocation is about - living life as an emissary of Jesus Christ in a world, whose soul is scarred by poverty, hunger, intolerance, conflict and oppression, and rejoicing in the myriad of ways we can make a positive difference in the world.
With 30 years of experience and inexhaustible enthusiasm for mission, Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies, will serve as the Convocation's featured speaker. She will be joined by Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Jim Lemler, Director of Mission for the Episcopal Church (TEC); Margaret Larom, Director, Anglican and Global Relations for TEC; Hellen Wangusa, Anglican Observer to the United Nations; and the Bishops of Province II.
Explore existing mission opportunities worldwide and in your own backyard. Experience the incredible energy of a U2charist. Formulate an action plan, so that what happens in Albany doesn't stay in Albany!
Plan now to be a part of these three days of inspiration, practical advice, fellowship and celebration that will equip you to effect significant good in your community and the world.
"Something special happens when we come together," says Sabune. Come be a part of this confluence of human energies and the Holy Spirit.
Download the convocation brochure and registration form at www.province2.org and reserve your room at Albany Crowne Plaza Hotel by calling 518-462-6611.
Abortion, Is there a compromise?
The Christian Dialogue Committee will hold its next Forum on May 6 at 11:30 a.m. in the Vestry Room facilitated by Linda Workman. Please bring a cup of coffee, a friend and your opinion
Church School Schedule for April
April 22 - Celebrating our Links
with the Young Men of Sudan
Students sit together with classes for worship.
April 29 - Sunday
Classes meet to paint pots for the
May 13 Spring Breakfast.
The Rev. Leslie St. Louis meets with the group.
SPY Corner
Hike at Mendon Ponds Park
On Sunday, April 22 we will meet at Mendon Ponds Park at 1:00 p.m. for a hike. Please dress for the weather and wear hiking boots or other suitable footwear. We will meet at the intersection of Douglas Road and Pond Road. Pick up will be at the same location at 3:00 p.m.
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden
by April 20
(383-8808 or lhayden@rochester.rr.com)
St. Joseph's House
SPY will be preparing and serving the mid-day meal at St. Joseph's House on Saturday, May 5. We will meet in the Parish Hall at 8:45 a.m. for breakfast and then leave for St. Joseph's House at 9:30. Pick up will be at St. Joseph's House, 402 South Avenue, at 1:00 p.m.
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden
by May 3
(383-8808 or lhayden@rochester.rr.com)
Saint Paul's Youth Mission Trip
The Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis
Photos by Laura Hayden and Louise Moore
During February Break 2007, St. Paul's Youth Group took Right! A group of thirteen kids and five adults, led by the Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis, headed west from St. Paul's in close to white out conditions, driving first to Buffalo and then flying to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The first stop on our journey was a combined youth event at St. Chad's Episcopal Church in Albuquerque. Youth from several churches in the Diocese of the Rio Grande as well as the new diocesan Youth Missioner came together to break open a piñata (whacked apart by our own Maeve Doyle) play jeopardy, and laugh and tell stories of our journeys in faith. Our host the Rev. Brian Winters indicated that the visit of a successful and growing youth group was an answer to many prayers in the diocese as youth involvement is at an all time low.
After church the next morning, where Rev. Leslie unexpectedly celebrated the Eucharist, we headed west yet again, climbing onto the high plateaus of the southwestern plains for the spectacular drive to Bluff Utah and the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is located in one of the most remote parts of the United States. Much of this area mapped only in the last 40-50 years. Many of the Native Americans who live here have no electricity, no running water and no phone services, things that we here in Rochester New York take for granted. Unemployment runs about 40%, alcoholism and drug addiction abounds, it is a place in desperate need of God's abundant grace. That grace comes in the form of St Christopher's Episcopal Mission. Our host Father Ian Corbett became our loving and constant companion, learning our names in what seemed to be an instant and engaging our journey, from whatever comer it came.
Our time in Bluff was both spectacular and sacred. Our first work day took us to a remote part of the reservation where one group moved a lambing pen at the home of an elderly Navajo weaver and another group helped a recently widowed woman with the care and tending of her livestock. Our second workday took us into the school system where the kids divided into groups and worked with Navajo children from kindergarten through grade 5. Tutoring them, teaching them and companionmg them, if even for the shortest of time.
On our final day we met with one of the tribe's shaman or medicine men, we sat crossed legged in his hogan and listened to the wisdom of the people who live close to creation. After this gifted time Father Ian took us on a drive overlooking Monument valley, there in view of the splendors of creation the wonder of our involvement in the world began to trickle in. This was an amazing trip in so many ways. I encourage you to talk to those who went to find out what it meant to them and what their fondest memories are. For me the gift of watching our incredible youth coalesce into one mind and one body and experiencing them change a little bit of the world was beyond words.