February 2002 Vol. 4 No. 2 Archive of Previous Issues The Grapevine is published monthly (except for a combined July/August issue) by St. Patrick's Episcopal Church E-mail St. Patricks The Rev. Hugh Stevenson, Rector Editor: Joan Mills, 538-1057

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Table of Contents for February 2002 [Vol. 4 No. 2]

Doxologies Turning Points Coming Shortly Bishop’s Conference Midweek Service Worship Survey Outreach Committee Julie’s Ordination Ecw Luncheon Ash Wednesday Youth Group Ski Weekend Deanery Day Women’s Retreat Boutique Workshops St. Patrick’s Dinner Daughters of the King The Gift of Flowers Foyer Suppers Forward Day by Day Lay Readers Going Public

Lenten Potluck The Anglican Communion Adult Education Offerings Save the Date Trip to England John Bogart Library Ministry in Motion Other Health and Wellness News New Vestry Members Chocolate Sunday “Funnies”

DOXOLOGIES

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…” The words are by Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells in the 17th Century. The tune, “Old 100th” is a 16th century French melody. In our hymnal it is the third verse of hymn 380. Many people know this verse as “The Doxology,” and they have been accustomed to sing it while standing, when the offering of money is brought to the altar.

The word Doxology means “glory.” “Glory be the Father and to Son and to the Holy Spirit…” is a doxology. We say or sing these words at the conclusion of an introit or the invitatory at Morning or Evening Prayer or at the conclusion of a psalm (though not a psalm between the readings in the Eucharist.)

The Lord’s Prayer concludes with a doxology: “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory…”

Eucharistic Prayers end with doxologies. In Rite I, the celebrant says (or sometimes sings) “by whom and with whom in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory be unto thee O Father…”

And of course, the Song of Praise, “Glory to God in the highest” is a doxology.

Thus there are many doxologies, and it is the appropriate response to God to “ascribe to the Lord the honor due his name,” as we say in one of the offertory sentences. (BCP, p. 376).

At some stage, The Doxology crept into the Episcopal Eucharist, although it was never permitted by the rubrics. It seems to me that the problem is that it distorts the shape of the liturgy and confuses what the offertory is all about.

At the Last Supper, Jesus did four things.

1. He took the bread and wine.
2. He gave thanks.
3. He broke the bread. And
4. He shared them with his disciples.

We do the same remembering what He did. The offertory is the first of these actions—it is the placing of the bread and wine on the altar.

At the same time, the congregation is invited to make their offering of money, which among other things pays for the bread and wine. The main emphasis is on the bread and wine; the money and anything else that is to be offered (e.g. food for FISH) is secondary.

We have been doing it the wrong way round. We sit while the bread and wine are offered and then stand and sing a hearty verse while the money is offered. Marion Hatchett, one of the liturgical authorities in the Episcopal Church, puts it this way: “Triumphalist processions and the saying or singing of a presentation sentence are highly inappropriate, for the Great Thanksgiving itself is the verbalization of the offering and the climax toward which the offertory moves.”

The climax of the first part of the Eucharistic prayer is the sanctus, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory, glory be to thee…” (another doxology), which we sing or say together.

The bread and wine will become for us nothing less than the Body and Blood of Christ. One of the Fathers of the early church called the elements “The medicine of immortality.” Confession and absolution are optional because communion is the sign of our forgiveness. The blessing also is optional, because we are blest, when we receive the bread and wine. It is the communion that makes us one with God and with one another. So we need to emphasize the offering of the bread and wine.

Each week I would like the bread and wine, which you have given, to be brought and placed upon the altar by representatives of the congregation, with the offering of money after it has been collected. The congregation will stand and there will be no presentation verse. You will then be standing in preparation for the greeting that begins the Eucharistic Prayer.

What of the Doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow?” Let us sing it from time to time as the Song of Praise at the beginning of the service. It is after all, one of the most familiar songs of praise throughout the Christian church.

--Hugh Stevenson

TURNING POINTS

Blessings on Brett Overshiner and Lorelei Voegels who were baptized on January 13, the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus.

Deepest Sympathy to Bob Neyhart on the death of his wife, Betty, on January 1.

Thanks to Sally Wagner for singing the prelude on January 6, songs by Alec Rowley.
Also Barbara Fry who has passed on the Outreach Committee to Paul Offill.
Rosie Speight is chairing the Boutique Workshops, which began on January 25.
Sharon Traeger looked after the parish office while Robin was away.

Welcome to Jean Elliott who has arrived in Oakmont from Rye Beach, New Hampshire;
Don Read, who has returned to Oakmont from Washington; and Judy Kimsey, also of Oakmont.

COMING SHORTLY

BISHOP’S CONFERENCE

The Bishop expects all the clergy of the Diocese to convene in Sacramento, February 4-6. The speaker will be Rusty Kimsey who was Bishop of Eastern Oregon.

MIDWEEK SERVICE

In place of the usual Wednesday Eucharist on February 6 at 9:00 a.m. two of our newly trained and licensed Lay Readers will read Morning Prayer and Healing.

WORSHIP SURVEY

If you have comments to make about our worship at St. Patrick’s please send them in to the parish office as soon as possible. The Worship Committee is meeting at 4:00 p.m. on February 6th to review your comments.

OUTREACH COMMITTEE

The next meeting will be on Thursday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m. in the Common Room. The committee will decide on the first quarter’s disbursements. Do you have recommendations? See Paul Offill.

JULIE’S ORDINATION

Don’t forget: Saturday, February 9, at 1:00 p.m. Richard Shimpfky, Bishop of El Camino Diocese will ordain Julie as a priest in the Episcopal Church. There will be visitors from Julie’s previous parishes and from other congregations in our diocese.

ECW LUNCHEON

Tuesday, February 12 is the date of the next ECW luncheon – for all women of St. Patrick’s.

The time is 11:00 a.m.

Our speaker will be Millie Gilson, Executive Director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). Millie Gilson founded the Sonoma CASA Program five years ago and served as Executive Director for the Contra Costa CASA program for thirteen years. She also served on the Governor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and the Child Justice Task Force of the Office of Criminal Justice Planing. For further information call Nancy Dill- 537-9534

ASH WEDNESDAY

There will be two services on February 13: 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. with the Imposition of Ashes for those who wish, followed by the Eucharist. “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent.” (Prayer Book p. 265)

Note:  Please bring your cross from last year to church before February 10, so that it may be burnt to make ash for Ash Wednesday.

YOUTH GROUP SKI WEEKEND

Members of the Youth Group will be staying at a cabin in Incline Village and skiing during the weekend of February 15-17 at Mount Rose. Please pray for the safety of all the participants! Last year there were a couple of accidents.

DEANERY DAY

We will host a Lay Ministry Day at St. Patrick’s on February 23, 10:00-3:00 p.m. for all members of our Deanery. A number of workshops will be offered. It is hoped that all Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Visitors will attend “in-service training” provided by the diocese. This is a great opportunity for us, since the workshops will be held on our own turf. All members of the parish are invited. Lunch will be provided by our own ECW.

WOMEN’S RETREAT

All places have been taken and the program is in hand for the Women’s Retreat, March 1-3, at Bishop’s Ranch. Please pray for the participants.

BOUTIQUE WORKSHOPS

Everyone is invited to the Boutique Workshops on the second and fourth Fridays of each month (in February the 8th and the 22nd) from 9:00 a.m. until noon in the Common Room. Co-chairs, Rosie Speight and Phyllis Cressy, and their committee have planned some wonderful items for you to stitch, stuff, cut or paint. No experience is required! Also, they welcome new ideas for projects. If you have needles and scissors, please bring them – and ideas. Best of all, bring yourself! Refreshments are served at 10:00 a.m.

If you are planning to make something outside the worships, please let Rosie (538-3885) know what you are making, or if you are not able to attend the workshops but are able to work at home, please call Rosie for supplies and instructions.

Tea Towels are the most popular item sold. There are 250 of them to be hemmed and mitered, bleached and pressed and then appliquéd or embroidered. If you want to take part in one or all of the steps please call Joan Ingold (539-7831).

ST. PATRICK’S DINNER

Margaret Merchat is coordinating the next St. Patrick’s Dinner. Please mark your calendar for Saturday, March 16. Excellent corned beef and cabbage will be served!

DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

“When you are quiet and still, I can speak to your heart.” M. Kempe

You are invited by The Daughters of the King to a Lenten Vigil. This Vigil will take place on March 28th, as a continuation of the Maundy Thursday service. That night, long ago, He asked His disciples “Could you not watch one hour?” Mark 14:37. This vigil is a Yes to his question, now in this present day.

“We are not forced to take wings to find him, but have only to seek solitude and look within ourselves.” St. Teresa of Avila

THE GIFT OF FLOWERS

Would you like to give the flowers for the altar on a Sunday in 2002? (In Lent and Advent, we use “greens” instead). Please sign up in the Flower Guild book in the Church entrance. Please make your check payable to St. Patrick’s and noted for “Altar Flowers.” The cost is about $20. Would you like to give them in memory of or to honor a loved one (whose name we will then include in the Prayers of the People)?

FOYER SUPPERS

Are there any more takers for the foyer program? You gather with others once a quarter for a meal and fellowship in one another’s houses. It is a great way for members of the congregation to get to know one another in an informal setting.

FORWARD DAY BY DAY

We have purchased 80 copies of the latest Bible study notes and have placed them in the tract rack in the Church entrance. Please help yourself. There should be enough for those who want one.

LAY READERS GOING PUBLIC

It’s true! You will be seeing Lay Readers in action before long. Now, just what is a Lay Reader anyway?

For one thing, a Lay Reader is not the same as a Lector as I used to think. According to the Canon, a Lay Reader is someone who leads public worship, who is licensed under the authority of the Bishop, and who is under the direction of the Rector. A group of people at St.  Patrick’s have been receiving instruction from Hugh and has been licensed by the Bishop to lead the appropriate services (such as Morning and Evening Prayer, Compline, etc.) Our first effort will be a service of Healing and Morning Prayer on Wednesday, February 6, at 9:00 a.m. Please join us as we launch this ministry. For information please call:

--Matt Forester
996-6435

Lenten potluck

On Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in Lent, let us gather in the parish hall for a potluck supper of soup, bread and cheese and fruit. Choir members can come early for their 7:00 p.m. rehearsal. There will be a Lent study group in the Education Center at 7:00 p.m. We need to be out by 7:00 p.m. when AA arrives.

The Anglican Communion

At 7:00 p.m. after the Lenten supper (Potluck), there will be a study group about the Anglican Communion.

1. The Church in China and Florence Lei Tim Oi, the first Anglican woman priest.
2. The Church in the Caribbean and the ministry of Food for the Poor in Haiti.
3. The Church in Africa.
4. The Church in South America. And
5. The Church of England.

There will be a sign up sheet for this course. We will conclude with Compline at 8:30 p.m.

ADULT EDUCATION OFFERINGS

Take a chants! On the first three Sundays of February, we will continue to study the words and chants for the psalms. On February 3, Psalm 37 and plainchant; on February 10, Psalm 99 and Anglican chant; and on February 17 (the first Sunday of Lent), Psalm 51and a metrical version of the psalm.

Julian of Norwich. On Wednesday mornings in Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 13, at 9:45 a.m. after the Midweek Eucharist and Healing, Julie Wizorek will lead a course on her name sake, the 14th century mystic, Julian of Norwich. Please sign up in the Parish Hall.

SAVE THE DATE:

You are cordially invited to attend St. Patrick’s Will Awareness Program on Tuesday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall, for an informational discussion on the issues of wills, taxes and estate planning. The speaker will be Jeanne Levin, Santa Rosa attorney. Bring your questions. Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited. Please sign up in the Parish hall now.

Presented at no charge by the Endowment Committee.

Trip to England

A number of people expressed interest in a visit to Celtic sites in Northumbria, the North of England. We now have information about a number of alternatives.

Esther de Waal and Marcus Losack are leading a pilgrimage to England and Scotland, May 16-29, visiting Whithorn (holy sites of St Ninian), Lindisfarne, Durham and Iona. The land cost is $2200.00.

A seminar in Durham, staying in the Castle on “The Roots of Celtic Faith in Northern Britain.” There will be a number of outstanding speakers and day trips to Lindisfarne, Jarrow and Bede’s World. July 22-30. The cost of $1269 includes room, meals, sightseeing and lecture program.

Colette Vacations offer Royal Britain, 12 days and 20 meals, including airfares from San Francisco in September for $2679. London, Bath, Stratford, York, Hadrian’s Wall, Edinburgh, Inverness and Skye. At an extra cost you can add on Iona.

What do you think? Are you interested? Lets gather in the Common Room on Sunday February 10 at 11:30 a.m.

JOHN BOGART LIBRARY

This month we added three new books to our shelves:

1) Why Religion Matters by Houston Smith traces the three major historical periods that have brought us to the current spiritual crisis of what he considers the suffocation of human spirit in our world dominated by materialism, consumerism, educational elitism, and government and legal systems without morality.  Smith offers an alternate society in which religion once again becomes the moral compass by which we much steer our lives. (Gift of Harry Morse).

2) Healing Body and Soul. The Meaning of Illness in the New Testament and in Psychotherapy by John A. Sanford. This book discusses the meaning of illness in the Gospels and helps us come to terms with important aspects of the meaning of illness, both for spiritual satisfaction and for help with recovery.

3) The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare that was reviewed by Matt Atkin in the last Grapevine. You will find a copy on the shelf with the new books. (Gift of Nina Pohl)

--Ronnie Leonard

Ministry in Motion

In these days of negative travel news, the St. Patrick’s Health and Wellness committee is

glad to bring good tidings to homebound parishioners. After several months of dis-cussion, research, and heavenly appeals, our prayers have been answered. Through a generous arrangement with Marla Hastings and the Executive Board of Friends House in Santa Rosa, the vestry has approved a plan to begin using the FH Adult Day vans to transport people who depend on wheelchairs or other mechanical contraptions to a 10 o’clock church service on Sunday mornings. Some of these giddy-up-and-goers have missed attending church and church-related events for years because they had no way to get there. The van service will be offered one Sunday each month to start until we see how many people are interested and depending on how many drivers are willing to be trained to do the job. Eventually, we hope to be able to take people to medical appointments during the week (between 10 and 2 only) who are disabled and have to depend on others to transport them. We are currently planning to provide the transport service for the first time on Sunday, February 10, which will be Julie Wizorek’s first Sunday to celebrate following her ordination to the priesthood. It will be a joyous occasion that we hope many of our beloved, but, often absent friends, will be able to attend. Bob Fry and Bob Carpenter, two of St. Patrick’s devoted members—with, I might add, exemplary DMV driving records—have volunteered as our first driver team and have completed a three-and-a-half hour training course with a qualified driver at Friends House.  So we’re ready to go!

Now, it’s up to you. Please call the Church office if you are mobility challenged and would like to join us on February 10 for the ten o’clock Eucharist. We will call you and make arrangements for you to be picked up and returned home after the service. A caretaker, of course, is invited to accompany you in the van. Nina Pohl

Other Health and Wellness News

We are putting out a call to find volunteers to be Coordinators for one month between now and January 2003. The coordinator takes calls from temporarily disabled parishioners who need rides to medical-related appointments during the day, Monday through Friday. We also provide emergency meals or other assistance if requested. The Coordinator keeps a file of people who have volunteered to drive or perform other needed services and simply calls him or her, who then contacts the person requesting the service to make the arrangements.

The files are passed on each month to the next coordinator and the service continues uninterrupted. There are no monthly meetings to attend. Please call Nina Pohl (539-2090) if you would like to volunteer as a coordinator. The coordinators for January are Fran and Larry Gent and for February Nina Pohl.

New Vestry Members

The following were elected as vestry members at the Annual Meeting on January 20, 2002.

Barbara Fry has been a member of St. Patrick’s since October, 1999. She has served on vestries in Beirut where she was in the Foreign Service and St. Paul’s, Lubbock, Texas. Her last job was with the United States Information Service in Teheran. She grew up in New England and was a cradle Episcopalian. She married Harry in Sheffield, England. She has been the chair of the Outreach Committee.

Kate Aldrich has been associated with St. Patrick’s since the late ‘80s. Her family is long-time Episcopalian. She was brought up in Geneva, New York, where she attended college. She also has an MSc from UCSF in nursing. She is a nurse practitioner at Memorial Hospital, with a specialty in Cardiac Care. Kate is married to Rick Lind and their son is Ben.

George Thoresen was brought up in Los Angeles. He has been attending St. Patrick’s, Kenwood regularly since the mid ‘90s and occasionally before then when he was still a member of St. Patrick’s, Incline Village, where he was confirmed. After 15 years in international banking with Bank of America, he works as a business manager especially with real estate investments and is trustee for a number of estates.

Chuck Chapman grew up in Wisconsin and supports the Packers, when he is not supporting the ‘49ers. He was a partner in an accounting and consulting firm and is now involved in real estate development. He and Anne were married at St. Luke’s, San Francisco where he served on the vestry; next, he was a member of St. Andrew’s, Saratoga, before joining St. Bede’s, Menlo Park where he was Senior Warden. He moved to Santa Rosa in the late ‘90s. He and Anne have three grown children.

Chocolate

I don’t know about you, but I love Chocolate!  During the holiday season a diet specialist remarked on a morning program that some chocolate every day is good for us.  Wow, that is good news! Of course the qualifier some puts the sweet treat in perspective.  As I approach ordination it is probably not surprising that I have been thinking about God, about God and me, and about God and community. What popped up in one of my reflections was Chocolate!

Chocolate?!  Yes, my relationship with God is like my love for chocolate.  My life has been one of almost daily doses of chocolate.  The sweet candy is comforting.  The caffeine and sugar in chocolate give me a nice lift at times. Sometimes I come crashing down by too much sweetness. I seek chocolate out in times of stress and as part of celebration.  I love hot chocolate on cold winter nights. The cup heats my hands and in sipping the hot chocolate my whole body is comforted and warmed.  Then there are all the varieties of chocolate that I have the pleasure to discover…white, mint, milk, dark, with raisins or nuts, over strawberries and so on.

Somewhere along the way I was introduced to Belgian chocolate. This higher grade of chocolate is discernible from the everyday diet of chocolate.  You can taste the cream, sugar, pure chocolate and other ingredients that are frequently missed in the common inexpensive variety. I find that I do not rush through Belgian chocolate, as my taste buds want to savor the pure richness that is missed in the mass produced chocolate. I want to linger with the taste. I also tend not to over eat this type of chocolate.

God is like chocolate…comforting, sweet, soothing, exhilarating. I do come crashing down when I have been on a high too long because life is found in the middle. Knowing and experiencing God includes highs and lows and middle places.  Increasingly the Spirit invites me or I open up to knowing or experiencing God as Belgian chocolate.  I can taste, feel, see, hear God in more subtle ways and appreciate God’s work in my life, in the lives of others and in this community. While I might pop several M & Ms in my mouth I always stop and savor Belgian chocolate. So too with God. I may go several days, a week or more on the surface with God, but there are times I find God deeply within me or about me. Something or someone or even myself has helped me discover God at a new level.  My heart and soul are touched in a way that I know God’s love.

You may find God in other ways than chocolate. Choose your metaphor to find a connection and language to better know and experience God.  That is the fun and pleasure of a religious life, finding our connections with the Divine. I am sure God has metaphors for us.  Somehow I think God must also experience me as chocolate and increasingly as Belgian chocolate.

--Julie Wizorek

Sunday “funnies”

All the way home in the back seat of the car the boy was quiet. His father asked him three times what was wrong.

Finally the boy  replied, “That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.”