The St. Paul's Epistle
October 16, 2006
Contents
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's
The Ghoulies and Goblins are Coming!!!
Water for Sudan Invites You
Nominating Committee Accepting Names
Tour of the Archive and Study Center at George Eastman
House
Iraq... Stay or Go
Five Voices, Five Faiths - Dialogue for the 21st
Century
Water for Sudan - September 2006 Newsletter
Stewardship - A Journey of Giving
Give Back, Give Books
The Bible & The World Lecture
Thank You, Knitters!
St. Paul's Kneeler Christmas Cards
Food, Fellowship and Discipline
St. Paul's Stephen Ministry
Daylight Savings Time Ends!
Lunch Down Under
Formation of a Men's' Group at St. Paul's
SPY CORNER
Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul's
By now most of us have had a personal call from a fellow parishioner about our financial pledging commitment to St. Paul's for 2007. I had wonderful calls with faithful parishioners who committed to increasing their pledge for next year, especially to support the music program. It gladdens my heart to experience the joyous support by seasoned parishioners who continue to be enthusiastic about giving to the mission of the church.
Several people commented on the important mission work supported by St. Paul's: in the local community through our Adopt-A-Kindergarten program; our hosting of homeless families through the Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network; nationally by providing support to the victims of Katrina at Trinity Church in Pass Christian, Mississippi; and in the world through "Hope for Sudan" education support, "Water for Sudan" fresh water wells, and the Nepal Fleece and education program. Other people mentioned how appreciative they are of Adult Christian Formation programs that grapple with our faith and culture through the "Decoding the DaVinci Code" forum and the Al Gore film "An Inconvenient Truth." Still others mentioned the warm welcome they receive at church on Sunday's from our greeters, and the many new inquirers we have had this summer and fall, thanks to our New Member Ministry team.
But the most consistent message I hear about why our parishioners give of their financial gifts is because St. Paul's cares about them - cares about them when they are in ill health, cares about them when they are celebrating a great joyful event, cares about them by helping to deepen and nurture their faith in God through Jesus.
So thanks be to God for St. Paul's. May you give generously to support our many ministries, both to ourselves and to the wider community.
~ The Rev. Frederic W. Reynolds, Rector
The Ghoulies and Goblins are Coming!!!
Some of you may recall that one of the events that Saint Paul's Youth (SPY) shared with the congregation last year was an "All Hallows Eve Party" for our younger members of the congregation. The Spanish Chapel was decorated in festive Halloween style and there were games galore. Well, the event is making its second appearance this year in grander style!
The youth of the parish, pre-school through grade 5, are invited to test drive their costumes by wearing them to church on Sunday, October 29. Our party will follow the 10 o'clock service to make it as easy as possible for many ghoulies, goblins, princesses and paupers to attend. We hope that those of you who no longer have wee ones at home will also come and join the fun.
The revelry will start with a grand parade from the church to the Parish Hall and then to the Spanish Chapel. Come join the fun!!
Remember - Costumes a Must on October 29!
~ The Rev. Leslie St. Louis
Water for Sudan Invites You
Water for Sudan, Inc. invites you to honor Salva Dut and the second successful season of drilling for water in the Sudan on October 16 at 7 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY. There is no admission fee. There will be a reception immediately following in the St. Paul's Parish Hall directly across from George Eastman House.
~ The Rev. Leslie St. Louis
Nominating Committee Accepting Names
The Nominating Committee is accepting names to stand for election to the Vestry. The Vestry election will be held during St. Paul's annual meeting in January 2007. A Vestry candidate must be a baptized and confirmed member of St. Paul's. Please submit your candidate suggestions to a member of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee members are Ann Buerschaper, Bob Frank, Charlotte Kimberly-Haag, Kathy Hiltunen, George Kittredge, Trip Miller, Duane Swanson and Stan Refermat.
Historical note: The term "Vestry" applied to an elected committee of parishioners.
Vestry (noun) - "A room in or attached to a church in which the vestments, vessels and other requisites for Divine worship are kept and in which the clergy vest. From the fact that it was here that the parishioners formerly met to transact the business of the parish, the word came to be used both of the body of parishioners and of the actual meeting." (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church)
~ Stan Refermat for the Nominating Committee
Tour of the Archive and Study Center
at George Eastman House
Kathy Connor, George Eastman House Curator, will be offering a tour of the Study Center's archives at the George Eastman Archive & Study Center, 900 East Avenue, November 2 at 1:00 p.m. following the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) luncheon in the Parish Hall at noon.
The Study Center's archives house George Eastman's furniture, paintings (not at the Memorial Art Gallery), personal papers and records in a climate-controlled environment. We will require a confirmed number of attendees for this tour, so you are requested to call the Church office for a reservation. Access to the Archives is by stairs off the second floor or by a single-chair rail lift. Without membership the cost is $5.50 per person.
In addition, if you plan on attending the luncheon at noon with ECW in the Parish Hall, please confirm your luncheon reservation by calling the Church office at 271-2240 by Monday, October 30.
Please join us in what promises to be an enlightening program.
~ Mary Critikos
Iraq… Stay or Go
The Christian Dialogue Committee will ask the question, "Should we stay or go?" We will bring opinions from national and international figures. We would like you to bring your coffee, your opinions and a couple of friends to the Vestry Room on October 22 at 11:30 a.m.
Five Voices, Five Faiths -
Dialogue for the 21st Century
The Reverend Frederic Reynolds, Rector, invites you to discuss with him today's issues for people of five major faiths. Meet with him in the Cadigan Room from 9-9:40 a.m. on Sundays, November 5, 12, 19 and December 3 and 10. To join the group, call the Church Office at 271-2240. The book Five Voices, Five Faiths is available at the Good Book Store.
Water for Sudan
September 2006 Newsletter
Water for Sudan had an extremely productive 2006 drilling season.
Possibly the most thrilling news of all is this: Water for Sudan purchased its own drilling rig. It was ordered in February, built in March and shipped to arrive in Kenya in mid-June. Salva drove the rig to our storage facility in Sudan in late June, just before the rains came. This is very exciting! With our own rig we can drill more wells more quickly each season and thereby help more people. We are not at the mercy of a contractor's schedule and the other vagaries of East African life. We can also reduce our cost from more than $10,000 per well to about $5,000 per well.
Meanwhile Salva and his team went into Sudan in late January, 2006. They chose several appropriate sites for the season's wells, trained villagers in the use of these wells and built storage facilities for our equipment. They also laid important groundwork for additional drilling in future seasons.
After resolving difficulties with our drilling contractor and coping with a transportation accident and its related health issues, Salva and his team began drilling wells in early May, 2006. Due to the onset of the rainy season and other unavoidable delays we were only able to drill two wells this year.
- The first well was drilled in northern Tonj County in the village of Aliek. This well was dedicated to the Bachs' of Rochester, NY, who generously donated the money for its drilling. The community leaders of Aliek decided to locate the well inside the village's school courtyard. The entire community has access to it but it is meant specifically to help the children of the community, the ones who will be most able to improve the community's future. We believe that the well serves more than 6,000 people from the immediate and surrounding areas. This well is about ninety-five miles from the wells we dug last year.
- A second well was drilled in northern Tonj County as well, in a village called Makol. This well was dedicated to the Jones' of Virginia, who generously donated the money for its drilling. The well is serving about 3,000 people. It is about fifty miles from the first well.
Salva is excited to go back to Sudan this Fall and drill!
Your continued support of this very worthwhile project is most appreciated. Donations are welcome and can be sent to:
Water for Sudan, Inc.
60 Valewood Run
Penfield, NY 14526
Thank you very much, and God bless.
Sincerely,
~ Salva Dut & Christopher Moore
Visit our updated web site at: www.waterforsudan.org
Stewardship - A Journey of Giving
October is the month the Stewardship Campaign is in full swing. There is a team of volunteers that will be contacting some parishioners to understand their views on St. Paul's and their experiences with the church. We hope that if called upon you will find time to meet with and share some stories or comments on what you feel is important about your journey of faith. I know that no matter what your point of view is, it is valued and St. Paul's wants to know about it.
Many of us make gifts of time and talent throughout the year. Even so, pledging a financial amount is how St. Paul's is able to create a budget for the coming year. Money is the third ingredient when added to gifts of time and talent that enables everything to happen through St. Paul's that touches so many lives everyday in so many places.
If you have pledged to St. Paul's in the past, we want to thank you for your generosity and hope that you will consider increasing your pledge this year. There is always so much more that can be done, but its always about resources. If you have not pledged in the past, we ask you to prayerfully consider pledging this year. One of our goals is for 100% participation. The amount is not as important as taking the first steps on your journey of giving. Participation by everyone will help us reach our financial goals and enable St. Paul's to not only maintain its established programs and ministries, but to take another step towards enhancement and growth.
~ Paul Berezney and Angie Jones for the Stewardship Committee
Give Back, Give Books
The Rochester Education Foundation has launched the Give Back, Give Books Project. This asks the community to donate 10,000 or more new books to Rochester City School students to take home or to be given to city school libraries. Many city school students do not have books at home. The average fiction book in city school libraries is about 20 years old.
Studies show that literature and recreational reading improve reading and comprehension skills.
The St. Paul's Community is invited to participate in a book drive to help in this endeavor. Between now and October 29, 2006, please purchase new children's books and drop them off in the church office or at the display in the Parish Hall. If you choose to support the drive with a cash donation, please make checks out to St. Paul's with "Give Back, Give Books" on the memo line. Your gift of books or money will make a great difference in the lives of these children. For example:
your gift of $25 can purchase 5 paperbacks; $30 can purchase 2 new hardcover books; $50 can purchase 10 paperback books; $150 can purchase an entire set of classroom paperbacks; $500 can purchase a set of fiction books for the library; $1000 can purchase books for an entire grade. All contributions are tax deductible, and we will provide book donors' forms upon request. For more information and for book suggestions, check out the REF web site at www.givebackbooks.org.
Thanks for your assistance with this important project!
~ Merideth Smith
The Bible & The World Lecture
Sunday, November 5
4 p.m. Choral Evensong; 5 p.m. Lecture
"Genesis I in an Age of Science"
Marti Steussy, MacAllister-Petticrew Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana.
~ Thomas McCart
Thank You, Knitters!
Twenty-eight beautiful hand knit scarves and caps were recently mailed to the Seamen's Institute of New York City. These will be included in Christmas packages given out by the Seamen's Institute to seamen around the world. Thank you to our knitters, including Gloria Weller, Caroline Lee, Ginny Carpenter, Sue Fuller, Jane Kitchen and Mabel Coleman. If you would be interested in joining this ECW knitting project, please call either Marylu Andrews at 425-1517, or Mary Jane McKnight at 248-0393, for yarn and directions.
~ Mary Jane McKnight
St. Paul's Kneeler Christmas Cards
Order beautiful Christmas cards with images from our St. Paul's kneelers and support St. Paul's Youth (SPY) fund raising for their up-coming mission trip to Navajoland.
Orders must be placed by November 15. Cards can be ordered in any quantity and are available for $1.00 per card. (Note the number on each card.) Please send your order form and check made payable to St. Paul's Episcopal Church to Laura Hayden, 129 Brookside Drive, Rochester, NY 14618. Contact Laura Hayden at 383-8808 if you have any questions.
Food, Fellowship and Discipline
St. Paul's Daycare and St. Paul's Church are joining forces to bring Dr. Becky Bailey's video and discussion series on Conscious Discipline to the community. For those of you wondering what Conscious Discipline is, Carla Hannaford describes it as follows:
"Conscious Discipline is a must for every teacher, administrator, parent and surprisingly, every human relationship. It directly, practically, and humanely addresses issues of trust, developing choices in self and others, empathy, and seizing moments of conflict as opportunities to teach and learn. Becky has provided us with common sense tools that facilitate rather than break the human spirit for growth and learning for a lifetime."
We have shared this information in informal discussions at St. Paul's over the past year. First, parents learn that they are not alone! Second, families and teachers are finding that their interactions with children become more informed and positive. The most valuable piece of this program is that it helps us - the adult - learn the sources of unwanted behaviors in children, thus, gaining insight in how to change the behavior.
We will be offering the series to the entire St. Paul's community over the next several months. Dates are detailed below. Child care and light refreshments will be offered at the sessions. We have found that the first session is best at 2 hours in length. The sessions thereafter will be 1 ½ hours in length. We will respond to your feedback as to how to proceed as we go along. This is an opportunity for honest sharing among parents as well as a time for you to build friendships.
Because we are providing child care and food, it is necessary that you sign up at least two days in advance of the sessions. You can do so by signing up on the sheet posted on the door to the Daycare Center or you may call Mary Swayze at 244-4527. When you call we need to know how many children will need care.
Session 1: Brain Smart Discipline
Tuesday, October 17, 5:30-7:30 - or -Saturday, October 21, 10:00-12:00
At the end of these sessions, we will decide as a group what day and time will work best for the participants and set up the remaining seven sessions. We will have one series that will meet twice monthly and finish before spring. The other series will run one time each month.
St. Paul's Stephen Ministry
(One-to-one Ministry by a Trained, Caring Friend)
Stephen Ministers provide one-to-one comfort, encouragement and support to parishioners experiencing a challenging time in their lives. Some care giver - care receiver relationships may be long-term, while others may be of a much shorter duration. Stephen Ministers are committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship. Only the care-receiver may disclose his/her relationship to others. If you would like to receive a Stephen Minister, call The Reverend Tom McCart.
Stephen Ministers receive 50 hours of training that addresses:
- Listening and feelings
- Relationship building
- Confidentiality
- Crisis theory and intervention
- Use of prayer and the Bible
If you have questions about Stephen Ministry, you may speak to any of our Stephen Ministers or Stephen Leaders. You can identify them in church by their blue name tags. Our Stephen Ministers are Donna Nash-Bayley, Floyd Bayley, Joyce Bogdanski, Ann Marie Fabrowicz, Nancy Frank, Kitty MacDowell, Louise Moore, Carol Panzer and Beverly Vaughan. St. Paul's Stephen Leaders are Judy Carpenter, Sally McGucken and Anne Refermat.
~ Anne Refermat
Remember to set your clock back one hour Saturday night, October 28 so you don't miss church!
Lunch Down Under
In case you haven't noticed, things are really hopping in the youth programs. St. Paul's Youth (SPY) is off to a big start, the church school is full and the youth choirs are revving up for another year. It has become obvious that each of these programs "feeds" off the other. With this in mind, Laura Dunbar, our youth choir director, came up with a plan. Feed them and they will come!
Lunch will be available for our youth in the Spanish Chapel on Sunday after church. Come and hang out with your friends, play some games and eat. Then stay for the choir rehearsal and SPY. See you there!!
~ The Rev. Leslie St. Louis
Formation of a Men's' Group at St. Paul's
On Saturday morning, October 21, an informal meeting will be held in the Parish Hall from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. for people interested in forming a Men's Group. The purpose of this initial meeting is to discuss interest areas for men in our church, to explore ideas, to select topics, and to establish basic directions for future meetings. (Fellowship, job networking, group support, service projects, outside speakers, etc.) Plan to join in this exploratory discussion and enjoy a cup of coffee and a bagel. Come to hear what interests other men and share your own ideas. Please contact Hank Kingston at 385-3187, Dick Yalmokas at 381-8221, or call the Church Office at 271-2240.
SPY CORNER
All Saints' Party - October 29, 11:30 - 2 :00
Come to church in costume on Sunday, October 29 as we host the preschool through fifth grade kids at the 2nd Annual SPY All Saints' Party. Let's make this years' event bigger and better than ever! We need face painters and pumpkin painters as well as help with arts and crafts and games. We will decorate the Spanish Chapel the morning of the party during Sunday School.
Please RSVP to Laura Hayden by Thursday,
October 26(383-8808
or lhayden@rochester.rr.com)