The St. Paul's Epistle
July, 2003
Contents
Letter From the Rector
Guidelines for Parish Life Events
Welcome Christian Lane, Interim Organist
Dear Friends of A Meal and More, Inc.
Sabbatical Leave
Winetasting at Keuka Lake
St. Paul's Outreach At Work
The Fetler Family Band
SEM News
Van Needed
From School #9
CURATE MISSING!! WHERE IS HE???
Join us for St. Paul's Day At Seabreeze Amusement
Park
Needed: Physics/Biology tutor
Ground Zero Exhibit
Dear Friends and Members of St. Paul's,
After eleven and a half years of faithful, dedicated, compassionate ministry as St. Paul's Mission and Volunteer Coordinator, Nancy Frank is retiring as of June 25. Because of Nancy's powerful faith and dedication, she has grown St. Paul's outreach program to become our own "inreach" program. What do I mean by that?
St. Paul's has always been generous with her financial resources, dedicating 25% of her yearly budget to mission work outside her doors. What Nancy Frank has helped St. Paul's do is to be the hands, feet and heart with these financial resources, to people of all shapes and sizes. From the Adopt-a-Kindergarten program at Martin Luther King, Jr. School #9 to the Rochester Interfaith Hospitality Network, Nancy has helped St. Paul's engage in mission up close and personal. Her compassion and love for the Sudanese people has had her travel several times to the war-torn Sudan and the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya to bring our financial gifts and return with powerful stories of courage and faith. We, as a parish, have opened our hearts and homes to the "Walking Boys," because of Nancy's ministry.
Then there are the many individual people and families that Nancy has helped get back on their feet with an opportunity for a second chance. From late night phone calls of confused refugees, to car rides, groceries, mortgage payments, painting walls and scrubbing kitchens, Nancy has been there, to support, encourage, help, cajole and care!
Nancy's ministry has stretched far and wide, so that if by chance you happen to be in Kenya, and you drive through the entrance of Berea Theological School, get out of your car by the main entrance and walk across the central quad, you will come to "Nancy's House," dedicated to Nancy Frank and her ministry to Sudanese seminary students.
Although Nancy will become a full-time parishioner, I will miss her as a dedicated staff member and colleague who always widened my vision about Christ's mission to the people outside St. Paul's.
God bless you, Nancy for having outreach become "inreach!"
Faithfully yours,
The Rev. Frederic Reynolds, Rector
Guidelines for Parish Life Events
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Welcome Christian Lane, Interim Organist
Christian Lane will be joining us this year as St. Paul's Interim
Organist. Chris is a senior at the Eastman School of Music, where he
pursues both a Bachelor of Music in Performance and the Sacred Music
Diploma, and is a student of David Higgs. A native of Maryland, Chris
began his music study at the age of five. In the past three years,
Chris has earned first prize in four major organ competitions: the 2002
Arthur Poister National Organ Competition, the 2002 Augustana
Arts/Reuter National Undergraduate Organ Competition, the 2001 AGO
Region III Competition for Young Organists, and the 2000 Albert
Schweitzer National Organ Competition/USA. Chris comes to us from
Bethany Presbyterian Church, Rochester, where he has served as Interim
Director of Music Ministry. Previously, he was the Assistant Organist
at Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester.
Dear Friends of A Meal and More, Inc.
We want to thank you for your continued service to our program. Your efforts have helped us to provide nutritious meals in a safe and caring environment.
As you may know, much of our food comes from FoodLink. We are finding out that we must cut back some of our purchases from them. As a result, we need your help in providing several nonperishable items. Those items are regular coffee and paper goods; for example: paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper. We would appreciate any help that you can give us with these commodities. Please bring them to Christ Church when you come to serve or at other times when it would be convenient for you.
Again, we want to thank you for all of the work that you do for us. We are proud of the efforts of all our helpers in serving the needs of many of the hungry in the Rochester community.
With sincere thanks,
Josie Dewey, Board Member, A Meal and More, Inc.
Sabbatical Leave
When I was called to be your rector eight years ago, the Vestry granted me a four-month sabbatical after four years of ministry. Because of our capital campaign, the building project and staff turnover, I chose not to take my sabbatical. However, with the hiring of the Rev. Tom McCart and his twenty-five years of parish ministry, I now feel confident to take the four months of my sabbatical during 2003-2004.
I plan to use the first part of September to study with the Rev. Peter Steinke in Austin, Texas. Peter is one of the top Church Systems theorists in the country. During the second half of September, I plan to catch up on a stack of books, including Bishop Spong's "Liberating the Gospel," and Roberta Gilbert's "Extraordinary Relationships." I will be back to St. Paul's on Oct. 1.
Sabbatical comes from the root word, Sabbath: a period set aside to be with God for rest and renewal. For our Jewish brothers and sisters, this is Saturday; and for Christians, Sunday.
I am thankful to you and the Vestry for providing me with the opportunity for sabbatical. I am grateful to Tom and Ed, our clergy, knowing that I won't have to worry about things being done here at St. Paul's. You have a great Vestry, who are skilled, committed, faithful people. The time will fly by, I am sure.
Faithfully yours,
Fred Reynolds, Rector
Winetasting at Keuka Lake
We are extending an invitation to join us at Garrett Memorial Chapel on Sunday, August 17, 2003. We have been working very closely with John Bero and his firm to make necessary repairs to the chapel and we are having a wine-tasting/fundraiser to help pay for the work.
Garrett Chapel is an Episcopal church located on Keuka Lake some 65 miles southeast of Rochester. We are pleased to have eight wineries coming to the site; we will also have guided tours of the chapel. The hours are from 1 to 5 p.m. The price of the ticket is $25 per person. Reservation forms are available in the church office.
Jack and Gail Pearson, Trustees
St. Paul's Outreach At Work
Latvian Church Assisted
The Soviet Union occupied the three Baltic States south of Finland,
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, for 50 years following World War II.
During the Soviet occupation many thousands of Christians were
persecuted, families broken up and sent to Siberia in cattle trains,
and churches confiscated. Many died because of the harsh conditions or
were killed. This was the fate of my Uncle Robert, who was a Baptist
minister, and his family. My father, Rev. William Fetler, was the
pastor and founder of the Baptist Missionary Church in Riga, Latvia.
Under the Soviets, the church was turned into army barracks and the
sanctuary into a basketball court. The surviving parishioners went
underground and met secretly in homes.
When Latvian independence finally returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, my father's church was left in a dire and dilapidated condition, all furnishings gone and damage to the walls and ceilings. Originally it was a large and vibrant parish with numerous musical groups and a 125-voice choir. This is where I had my first musical exposure and even was encouraged to conduct the Family Band at the age of six. In the past ten years, now a smaller but determined congregation has been working very hard, with assistance from Christians in Canada and the United States to rebuild. They currently have services in both Latvian and Russian, and are active in helping the poor and homeless with soup kitchens.
Last September, together with some of my brothers and sisters, I was able to attend the 75th Anniversary Service of this church. I would like to express my deep thanks as well as the appreciation of my family, the pastor and congregation of the Baptist Missionary Church in Riga, Latvia, for the assistance that St. Paul's has given this church through your Antique Show Committee's contribution of $1,000. These funds were used towards the purchase of much needed chairs for their sanctuary. St. Paul's mission of outreach is touching people's lives, near and far, including Latvia, for which we can say "Thanks be to God."
David Fetler
The Fetler Family Band
SEM News
Southeast Ecumenical Ministry began in 1969 as a coalition of churches that came together to help people in the southeast area of Rochester with food assistance and transportation.
However in 2001, SEM recognized that these services had a limited effect on clients' larger underlying needs. In response, SEM created additional components to our programs and started a new program called (CHAPP) Community Health And Pharmacy Partnership.
CHAPP is designed to help low-income clients begin to break the cycle of poverty that is so detrimental to health and wellness. We began by identifying several serious trends among pantry and program participants that impacted their level of health: many neighbors lack insurance, and are in poverty due to their crippling medical bills; many retired senior workers lack decent pensions and often have minimal or no insurance; and many neighbors never had any insurance coverage causing their overall level of health care to suffer.
It can never be stressed enough that hunger is a symptom of a larger problem. Simply handing out food will never be a sufficient action to address debilitating poverty, unaffordable healthcare, malnutrition, food insecurity, mental illness, domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse, unaffordable housing, unemployment, and other factors facing our neighbors who experience hunger not only in the southeast area of Rochester but throughout the county.
SEM believes that to fight hunger in our community we need to work together. With the decline of resources and agencies duplicating services, SEM developed a more effective and efficient way to get food to people in need. One of the ways we accomplish this is by providing food to over 45 agencies in the Greater Rochester Area through their Case Managers or Social Workers. Someone needing food is a symptom of a larger problem. SEM partnering, collaborating or whatever other buzzword you may like, is working with these local agencies and has developed a method in assisting their clients. We are finding out what the root causes are and why they need food assistance and taking the steps necessary to help them really become self-sufficient.
Southeast Ecumenical Ministry programs has put theory into practice by embodying a holistic model of human service delivery that responds to staggering statistics with a realistic, coordinated effort to foster dignity and independence and provide transportation, nourishment and pharmacy relief to neighbors in southeast Rochester and Monroe County. If you would like to learn more about all of SEM's programs, you may call 271-5350.
Laurie J. Jenkins
SEM, Executive Director
Van Needed
(SEM) Southeast Ecumenical Ministry is in need of a van for its food and transportation ministry. If you or someone you know would like to donate a van to our organization, please call Laurie J. Jenkins at 271-5350. I thank you in advance for your kind and generous help to our ministry.
The need for health kits continues throughout the year. Please leave contributions in the Church World Service box in the church office in Wainwright Hall. Materials needed are: hand towels, washcloths, bath soap bars, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Band-Aids, and metal nail files. All items are appreciated.
Margie Kaiser
From School #9
CURATE MISSING!! WHERE IS HE???
These past few Sundays, you might have looked around and asked yourself, "Where's Ed?" You would be right, I am not here many Sundays during the months of July and August. I am on vacation for two of those Sundays, so what am I doing the rest of the summer? Summer is an opportunity for me to engage in important Diocesan ministry. The Diocese of Rochester has many small congregations, mostly in the Southern Tier, who have difficulty finding "supply" clergy during the summer, when their Rectors go on vacation. When I was a parishioner at Christ Church in Hornell, often times the Rector could only leave for vacation during the week because there was no priest available to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Now that I am ordained, I feel that it is not only my duty but also my calling to help those communities in this Diocese that raised me up. To that end, I will be in the following parishes on these dates in July and August: July 6th Christ Church, Corning. July 13 and August 17th St. Paul's Montour Falls (Episcopal Churches of Schuyler County). Please always remember that I will be in the office from 9:00 until 5:00 during the week, and that you can always reach me at home, 473-0457.St. Paul's is blessed with having a multiple clergy staff (something which is unusual in the Episcopal Church), and this is one way we can share our blessings with the greater community. We are all members of one body, so we will be together, just not in the same place.
Thank you for supporting me in this important Diocesan ministry.
The Rev. Edward W. Hunt, Curate for Family Ministry
Join us for St. Paul's Day At
Seabreeze Amusement Park
Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 9, when Shalom and SPY will team up to present St. Paul's Day at Seabreeze amusement park. Everyone is welcome! You can purchase discount tickets for $13.50 through July 31 in the church office. Children two and under are free! The ticket price includes a full day of rides and water slides, plus access to a picnic pavilion. (Note that the ticket does not include food or beverage.) See Ed Hunt, Nancy Curtis, Suzanne Brown, or Charlotte Kimberly-Haag for more information.
Nancy Curtis
Needed: Physics/Biology tutor.
A young Sudanese student is in need of assistance this summer. Please consider sharing your gifts. Call Anna Maria DeLuccio at 582-2648.
Ground Zero Exhibit
Out of the Dust
I visited New York City in June for the first time since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Feeling the need to pay my respects, I went to Ground Zero and was touched by the sight of the cross rising from destruction. By now the area is cleaned up and, for anyone who had never seen the towers, hardly different from any other construction site. But the whole story is told one block away in St. Paul's Chapel, in an exhibit that is so moving and inspiring that I wish everyone could see it. If you have a chance to visit in person, please do so, but if not, it is possible to see some of the exhibit on the St. Paul's Chapel web site. There is an online interactive exhibit which chronicles the amazing events at St. Paul's Chapel following September 11. You can visit the web site at http://www.saintpaulschapel.org/. God's peace to all - Linda Workman