The St. Paul's Epistle
June 16-30, 2005
Contents
Letter from the Rector
Summer Choir
Tom Lincoln
Our Graduating Senior
Come With Us
The Circus is Coming to Town
Youth Worship on Summer Sundays
Youth Event at Disney World
Episcopal Night
Ice Cream Social
SEM in the Summer
Home Communion Sets
Parish Hall Renovation Update
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's:
Hospitality. Not only being welcoming and gracious, but living into the radical hospitality of Jesus Christ - this is one of the central callings of our faith.
With declining membership among all the main line churches, there is a renewed emphasis on evangelism, on inviting a neighbor to church, on reaching out to a stranger. With the leadership of George Kittredge as chair of the St. Paul's Welcoming/Evangelism Committee, we are engaging in a comprehensive mission of hospitality. We have many programs and opportunities to engage seekers: from youth and adult Christian Formation courses and hands-on mission programs, to a renovated Parish Hall, kitchen and library to be completed in early September.
Radical hospitality actually comes down to you and me as we live into our faith of an incredible God who loves us to our very core. It starts at Sunday worship as we invite all seekers of Christ to the table for communion. It is a radical inclusiveness inviting ALL, without exception. It is an invitation to receive healing, love and forgiveness that we ourselves know and can embody to others. It is that deep and profound sense of joy we experience knowing that we are a child of God.
This summer as you visit other churches that embody radical hospitality, please share your experiences with the clergy and with George Kittredge when you return.
God is continually calling us into a faith of inclusiveness and hospitality. The Episcopal Church and St. Paul's, in particular, welcomes this call.
Faithfully yours,
The Rev. Frederic Reynolds
Rector
Summer Choir
If you enjoy singing, join the Summer Choir. There is no midweek rehearsal. Just come on Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m. to the Vestry Room. This opportunity is open to high school age and up.
Tom Lincoln
We have been blessed these past 5 years with the graciousness, care and respect of Tom Lincoln as our Head Sexton. Tom officially retired on May 20, to the joy of being a grandfather and to be able to take time to smell the roses of life. We wish him the very best, but he will be deeply missed by all of us.
Please come and celebrate Tom's ministry to St. Paul's at the 10:00 a.m. service on June 19, followed by a reception in his honor. If you would like to contribute toward a cash gift, please make your check payable to St. Paul's Episcopal Church and indicate Tom Lincoln Gift in the memo line.
Our Graduating Senior
Brendon Stimson has been an active member of St. Paul's for the past 10 years. He has actively participated in the Alleluia Choir and the Youth Choir and has served as an acolyte. One of his fondest memories is giving the sermon last June at the Youth recognition service. Brendon has had a passion for music for many years and St. Paul's has encouraged him to pursue his passion. He has been active in the community as a member of STAGES, an organization that performs to raise money for local charities. As a student at West Irondequoit High School he has performed in numerous drama, comedy, and musical theatre performances. His most recent performance as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast earned him a nomination for best actor through the Rochester Broadway Theatre League's Stars of Tomorrow Program. Brendon has been preparing for a career in musical theatre over the past few years through ballet, tap, and voice lessons outside of the school day and has managed to remain on the honor roll at school. He is planning to pursue a BFA in Musical Theatre and will be attending the University at Buffalo in the Fall. He would like to thank his Church family and his mom, dad, Paul and Ryan for all their support.
Come With Us
We have had some big "goings on" at St Paul's in recent weeks with Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. In just one short week we moved from a statement of belief in God to being commissioned by God to do God's work in the world.
Our pilgrimage as Christians brings with it responsibilities. We are responsible for seeing that others are brought into the faith and to seeing that their formation is done in accord with the teaching of Christ. When I was hired a year ago the charge that was given to me was that St. Paul's wanted "stellar" programming for its youth. This is a charge and a challenge that I take seriously. On May 22 Barb and I offered a forum for parents to discuss their thoughts on the church school; not one person came. Some days later Louise and I had a SPY advisor's meeting to discuss next year's events; one person came. Laura reports to me that the Wednesday night choir rehearsal has dwindled down to four children. This leaves me very sad. Stellar Christian formation programs for our youth cannot be run by three or four people. We all have been commissioned by God to build the kingdom and have been invited into this rewarding work.
We are planning. We believe that there is marvelous work to be done here. We believe that, working together with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, amazing things will happen and the kingdom will come near. I am inviting each of you to a period of discernment, to prayerfully discern where your commitment to God and to the work of God's kingdom is to be fulfilled. I hope that it is in one of the valuable ministries we have at St. Paul's. We need youth advisors, we need teachers and we need mentors. Primarily we need those who are committed to the journey and the work God has given us to do. I look forward to continuing the work and the journey with each of you.
Peace,
Rev. Leslie M. St. Louis
The Circus is Coming to Town
Everyone aged three to twelve is invited to join the fun at Davey and Goliath's Circus Spectacular: a Gospel Adventure Vacation Bible School. Listen to stories about Jesus, make cool crafts, learn catchy circus tunes, play zany games, and make new friends. Join the fun Monday-Friday, June 27- July 1 from 9 until noon (snack provided) at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, 597 East Avenue. The cost is $20 per family. For more information and to register call Incarnate Word Office at 244-6065.
Youth Worship on Summer Sundays
Starting Sunday, June 12, young people will worship with their families at the 10 o'clock service. The nursery will be open for infants and toddlers. For children in pre-kindergarten through Grade 3, there will be a program in the day care wing, next to the nursery. Classes will resume on September 11.
Youth Event at Disney World
Plan ahead. The Episcopal Church Ministries with Young People's cluster along with the Presbyterian Church USA and the Cooperative Baptist Church are sponsoring a youth event over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend January 13-16, 2006 at Disney World, called Faith in 3-D. If interested contact Mother Leslie for details.
Episcopal Night
Episcopal Night at Frontier Field is Friday, July 22. The game starts at 7:05. The cost is $7.
Ice Cream Social
Come to the ice cream social on July 3 and celebrate Independence Day at St. Paul's. After the 10:00 a.m. service we will dish up the ice cream in Paul's Cross and you choose the toppings.
In case of inclement weather this celebration will be postponed until the next Sunday, July 10 as we will not have a Parish Hall to use for backup.
SEM in the Summer
Our lives tend to slow down during the Summer but the needs of the clients served by SEM do not. Their needs remain and, indeed, are increased because some of us are away during these next few months and donations are reduced. Whenever possible, please bring laundry soap, dish detergent, toilet tissue, personal soap, toothpaste and brushes, canned stew, soup, crackers, canned vegetables and jelly. They always need paper grocery bags in which to pack the clients' food. Let us all try to remember to bring something each week that we are here.
Home Communion Sets
St. Paul's Church has two new Home Communion sets. These sets commemorate the 25th anniversaries of the ordinations of Rector Fred Reynolds and Associate Tom McCart, both celebrated last June.
These sets will make home communion more widely available. Not only will the clergy distribute Holy Communion to those who cannot attend services but several parishioners will be recruited, trained, and commissioned to take communion to those who are home bound, temporarily or long term.
Parish Hall Renovation Update
The transformation of the Parish Hall into a beautiful facility has begun. The kitchen, library and Parish Hall have been emptied with the help of several hard-working volunteers.
The work for the Parish Hall Renovation project has been awarded to Martini Construction, Inc. Martini has completed several large church and corporate construction projects. While you may not have heard the sounds of demolition equipment, work has started by ordering supplies, building safety barriers, and removing large appliances from the kitchen.
In order to keep the work site safe for everyone, access to the shaded areas in the map below is restricted. The Parish Hall, Kitchen, restrooms outside of the Parish Hall, and the Cadigan Room will not be available during the renovation project.
Entrances in the sanctuary and the Westminster Entrance will be open for Sunday worship services. The Back Door (Dance Studio Entrance) will be used for meetings held in the Vestry Room. Meetings that were originally scheduled for the Cadigan Room have been moved to other meeting rooms. A calendar of meeting schedules will be posted at the Westminster Road entrance and the Vestry Room entrance.
