|
April 2003
Vol. 5 No. 4
Archive of Previous Issues
|
The Grapevine is published monthly
(except for a combined July/August issue)
by St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
|
|
|
If you would like to be notified when each issue
of the Grapevine is put online, click here.
|
|
Table of Contents for April 2003 [Vol. 4 No. 7]
Sitting With Holy Saturday
I am writing this article in mid-March before I leave for a week’s study at the College of Preachers. But what is heavy on my heart and mind is will you be reading this under the veil of war? Or will the armed conflict be over by early April? Perhaps a real miracle will happen and tensions will be mitigated through international mediation and American-Anglo pressure. Wherever we are in the reading of this article, I would like to take you to the middle of the month and Holy Saturday.
Looking over this month we complete the final twelve days of Lent, move through Holy week and celebrate 11 days of Eastertide! Where the world will be is unclear, but you and I will enter the tomb on Holy Saturday, April 19. I must admit that I have sat in the tomb and meditated on Holy Saturday a number of times in the past. As a result this day has become very special to me. You can imagine that as an archaeologist (my former vocation), sitting in a cave would not be foreign to me and I am keenly aware of the sense
of what that might be like…dark, musty, earthy smelling. We began in Lent with ashes being imposed on us and the command to remember that we are dust. But this dust is not sterile soil, but humus, fertile ground. And so indeed the earth that the cave is dug out of is rich…organic. The stuff of creation.
Here enters Jesus. Brought tenderly by the women and through the generosity of a man,
Jesus’ broken body is laid to rest (John 19:38-40). Dehumanized by the Roman and temple
authorities, the true human becomes alive in the transition from death to life. Jesus is transformed into the Divine self once again. The human cycle is complete.
On a perhaps lighter note, I wonder at times did Jesus awaken from his mortality and say to God…”Thanks for the experience, Dad?” What was that reunion like, the Divine embrace between God’s self, God’s son, and God’s eternal Spirit? Was God the creator waiting for God the redeemer to lift him up? In my moments of total brokenness I can imagine the joy found in the release and letting God take over. And that is part of the richness of the day. How in our moments of being broken, do we let go and arise to new life in God?
And that brings me back to where we started. It is hard to see or comprehend how the world, national, and local situations, which bring us to death-like states, can be transformed into Easter-like events. Holy Week can provide us with a spiritual discipline to walk with Christ, and like him, bring our cares and the world’s to the cross. Let us pray that God will move our broken world and our lives from death and despair into that rich place of transformation where we can embrace our truly godly selves.
--Julie Wizorek
Holy Week
Palm Sunday: April 13. At the 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. services, the palms will be blessed and distributed after communion. At the 10:30 a.m. service we will gather outside the doors of the church by the St. Patrick’s cross (weather permitting) and process in, just as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. Those who wish, may sit in church and wait for the procession to arrive.
Holy Tuesday: April 15. At 6:00 p.m., “Seder” supper in the Parish Hall. Please sign up.
Holy Wednesday: April 16. At 9:00 a.m. Midweek Eucharist and Healing
Maundy Thursday: April 17. We remember that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and called us all to do the same for one another. Then he instituted the sacrament of Eucharist. He took bread, which he called his Body and wine, which he called his Blood, and told us to do the same in memory of him. We will celebrate the Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. At the latter service, there will be an anthem and it will conclude with the stripping of the altar, reminding us that Jesus was stripped before his crucifixion. The church is stark and bare for Good Friday.
Good Friday: April 18. The Good Friday service is at noon we have invited members of Kenwood Community Church to join us. The church will barren with no adornments and there is no communion on this day.
Holy Saturday: April 19. Would you like to help the Altar Guild decorate the church at 9:00 a.m.?
Easter Day: April 20. The 8:00 a.m. service will begin with the lighting of the Paschal candle and will conclude with the singing of “Jesus Christ is risen today.” The 9:00 a.m. service is shortened and suitable for all ages. It is followed by the Easter Egg Hunt. The10:30 a.m. service will be Holy Baptism and Festival Eucharist with special music. Are there any adults or children who would like to be baptized?
The Flowering Cross. Before the beginning of the 9:00 a.m. service on Easter Day, the children decorate the flowering cross and carry it into the sanctuary. Please bring flowers for them to decorate the cross.
Easter Egg-tivities. The Easter Bunny needs jelly beans and small chocolate Easter candies for the Easter egg hunt. This will take place after the 9:00 a.m. on Easter Day. She says that she has plenty of plastic Easter eggs from last year.
Easter Coffee Hours. Refreshments will be served after the 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. services, but not after the 10:30 a.m. service. Would you like to volunteer with others to do the coffee, juice and refreshments? At the same time, could you please check the schedule and see if you can lend a hand on another Sunday?
Easter Flowers if you want to give Easter decorations in memory of or in thanksgiving for a loved one, please sign the Flower Book in the church entrance. Please write in CAPITALS. Make checks out to St. Patrick's, noted "For Easter Flowers."
Easter Parking - if the “front 40” is dry enough, we will use it for overflow parking. Please do not block the entrance leading from the church driveway. Do remember that there IS additional parking at the rear of the church.
Bishop's Conference
At Konocti harbor Resort and Spa. This year’s them: Healthy People, Healthy Congregations, Healthy communities. April 2-4. Registration forms are in the Parish Hall. The purpose of the conference is to nurture individual self-care and awareness, deepen our understanding of Health and Healing Ministries, deepen our understanding of our personal ministry as Christ’s hands in the world, and to inspire people to work together to build caring congregations. Scholarships are available from the clergy.
The Bishop's Hands
On the Day of Pentecost, June 8, our Bishop, Jerry Lamb will be here for his biennial visitation. He will lay his hands on certain people who are presented to him. These include:
- Adults who have never been confirmed
- Adults who were confirmed in the Roman Catholic church, but would now like t9o be received into the Episcopal Church
- Adults who were confirmed in the Episcopal Church, who would like to reaffirm their baptism promise to turn to Christ.
- Teenagers who have been baptized, but not confirmed.
The Prayer Book says that confirmation is “the rite in which express a mature commitment to Christ to receive strength through the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.”
Some of those who have been attending Julie’s class on Anglicanism, on Sunday mornings, may like to receive the Laying on of Hands. I will be meeting with teenagers separately. Some have been thinking about this for a long time. Now is the opportunity. Please let me know.
At the service on Pentecost, Bishop Jerry will invite the candidates to come forward with their families or with particular mentors, friends or sponsors. We will join the Bishop in laying hands on the candidates while he prays over them with these words: “Strengthen your servants with your Holy spirit; empower them for your service; sustain them all the days of their lives.” To which we reply, “Amen!” Hugh Stevenson
Trinity Institute
Shaping Holy Lives: Benedictine Spirituality in the Contemporary World.
April 28-29, 2003 in the Education Center.
Opening Eucharist, at 9:00 a.m., our time. The Archbishop of Canterbury will preach.
St. Benedict’s Rule has been shaping holy lives for over 1500 years. It is also seems uniquely suited for contemporary seekers. Why is that? Is it because our basic spiritual needs never really change? Is it because St. Benedict, a layman, designed his Rule (Regula) with regular people in mind? Is it because it’s all about "living the ordinary life extraordinarily well?" Is it because the issues that Benedict raises radically unmask the superficiality of contemporary culture? Or is it all of the above? What is the real shape of a holy life? And why does the Benedictine Rule speak that eternal language so well?
Featured speakers: Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Joan Chittister, Kathleen Norris and Laurence Freeman.
Study Leave
Thank you very much to the people of St Patrick’s for giving me a month of leave to work at home. I really enjoyed being able to focus on one project day after day, without distractions. It was a joy to have the leisure to sit down and read and write. There is just not time to do this in the normal run of things. I re-read some Old Testament notes that I had taken in college 1965-7 and several books including 2 about Mendelssohn. I typed my paper on Elijah. Some who are attending the study groups have their own copies. There are others in the library. I exercised daily, including walks with Chelsea. We visited friends and sold our house! I visited four churches in our deanery: Grace in St Helena, Incarnation in Santa Rosa, St. Stephens in Sebastopol and St Michael’s in Fort Bragg where we caught up with the Bishop. I was interested to see what other churches are doing in their “Family Services.” I found I knew quite a lot of people in other churches through cursillo. But “East, west, home’s best!” ~Hugh Stevenson
Lenten Appeal
On the table in the Church entrance, there are “Hope Chests” calendars and information about Episcopal Relief and Development (formerly known as the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief). If you would like to make a Lenten offering to ERD, there are envelopes provided. For more information about the Lenten appeal and ERD, please contact Barbara Fry (538-2164). The ingathering will take place on April 27. Please bring your offering on that day. Checks should be made payable to “St Patrick’s,” and noted “For ERD.”
Fish Food
Please remember to bring dried or canned food for F.I.S.H. each week. Please place them in the basket in the church entrance and they will be delivered to the Food Bank. This is particularly important in these uncertain times.
Offering for Middle East
A few days ago, we received the mailing from the National Church regarding the traditional Good Friday offering that is taken on behalf of the Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The article reports that this offering has been taken every year since 1922, and that last year over $300,000 was raised for the continued work of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Jerusalem and throughout the Middle East.
The Presiding Bishop requests us to hold this offering up on Good Friday, as a way of assisting brothers and sisters in Jerusalem and the Middle East. This Good Friday offering becomes even more important as we see the increase of tension throughout the Middle East, our movement towards armed intervention in Iraq and the rise of terrorism on all parts within that region of the world. Bishop Griswold points out that the Good Friday offering is a way to make sure that the Anglican Church throughout the Middle East will be able to stand as a witness to the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord, and be a beacon of peace and stability in a region that knows war, terrorism and conflict.
Bishop Lamb adds: “Please do all that you can to support this Good Friday offering for the help of our church in the Middle East.”
Sonoma Health Workers
The Ensign Group has taken over a number of the Nursing Homes in our community. The health care workers are mainly Latino. Nursing assistants earn $9.75, and housekeepers $6.75 per hour, which is not enough to find a place to live in Sonoma County because of the lack of affordable housing. They do not get medical benefits. They decided to unionize. But Ensign held mandatory anti-union meetings up to three times a day.
In May, the Health care workers voted 38-22 to form a Union. Ensign refused to recognize the formation of the union or to bargain with the workers. Their issues are: better wages and benefits and more staffing.
Why does this matter to us? We care about what happens in Nursing Homes. A number of our members have been residents there. It is my observation that conditions have deteriorated in other homes in Santa Rosa, Summerfield and Park View Gardens (which used to be Montgomery Nursing Home). One day you or I may be a resident there.
This is also a justice issue. In our Baptismal Covenant, we say we will “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” (BCP, p. 305)
Ensign blocked the unionization of the workers. They appealed to the San Francisco office of the National Labor Relations Board who, found in the workers’ favor (that Ensign uses unfair labor practices). In August, Ensign appealed to the National Board in DC, whose wheels turn very slowly. They claimed that the involvement of the clergy, community and union created a “coercive environment.” Thus Ensign can stall the process for years.
We supported a march from Santa Rosa to Sonoma in March.
Camp Noel Porter
It’s time to sign up for summer camp. See fliers in the Parish Hall, or on line at . Counselor training for young people 15 ½ and older begins on June 15. The cost is $230 for the week. Regular camps start June 22 and cost $240. there are “Early bird specials” before May 6. St Patrick’s offers “camperships” to parish members who request them. You have to get the approval of your clergy or Senior Warden, so please get your application to Julie or me to sign off as soon as possible.
Hugh Stevenson
Acolylte Festival
I would like to thank the ECW for their generous offering to our Acolyte Program. We had 5 acolytes attend, the festival: Carol & Ian Papworth, Max Goerl, Heather Flournoy & Ashley Bowman, (Eddie Gibb had the Chicken Pox), along with Rev. Julie, Paula Cook, Sandra Bowman, and myself. The festival was hosted by the Diocese of Northern California and was held at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento.
The Diocese had prepared an engaging forum for the children that included a Vestment, Church Calendar, and Instructed Eucharist workshop; they also had an opportunity to meet with Bishop Lamb himself. The afternoon ended with the Acolyte’s procession into Trinity Cathedral for an Evensong.
It was a wonderful day for all. Thank you again for making the day possible.
Robin Goerl
Jazz Choir Performs
The Maria Carillo Jazz Choir will perform at St. Patrick’s on Saturday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m. The 11-person group will play at Carnegie Hall, New York the following weekend. Lincoln McLain is a member of the choir. Admission is free but donations are enthusiastically received. There will also be a raffle to raise fund to support the tour.
February Vestry
- The vestry approved recommendations from the Finance Committee: the 2003 budget was revised, operating fund reserves are to be invested in short term bonds, $5000 was restored to the outreach budget from non-designated memorials.
- Policy statements for the Endowment committee were approved.
- Julie reported that Cliff Kent took the memorial service for Allan Chambliss. In preparation for the Three Services Schedule, Oakmont Gardens and Friends House have been notified (they bring people to church in their buses). Julie met with Ann Peters and Judy Buff to talk about music for the 9:00 a.m. service. There will be coffee after the 8:00 a.m. and the 10:30 services.
- Kate Aldrich reported that plans are coming along for the St. Patrick’s Dinner. There will be Gaelic dancers. Letters of agreement for parish staff were revised and approved. George Thoresen accepted the vestry’s invitation to be Junior Warden.
- We agreed that a “Clean Up Day” for the parish is not necessary thanks to the excellent work of our sexton, Mel Pohl.
Vestry members reported in on the assignments that they were given at the vestry workshop.
Endowment Committee
Notice! Change of due date!
Completed applications for grants from
the Endowment Committee of St. Patrick’s must be received by April 25, 2003 for consideration at the next quarterly review. Application forms and information are available from Karen Steelman at steelman@sonic.net or 538-3970. Distributions from the Endowment Fund support capital needs, provide seed money for new ministries or special one-time projects, and expand St. Patrick’s outreach ministries.
PLEASE NOTE: On Thursday, June 26, a luncheon and wine tasting at the Fisher Vineyards will honor donors to the Endowment Fund
ECW News
“A Celebration of Women” will be the theme of our April 8 ECW meeting. All the women (past and present) of St. Patrick’s will be honored. Please sigh up for your attendance and contribution of salad or dessert to our meal. Episcopal Church Women includes all the woman of the parish.
Farewell to Nina!
At the April women’s breakfast we will be saying good-bye to one of our much loved members, Nina Pohl who will be leaving us in mid-April. The breakfast will be on the first Saturday, April 5 in the Parish Hall from 8:30 to 10am. Please bring fruit, coffee cake or a breakfast casserole to share. Nina will be moving to Nevada City to be close to her family. All women of the parish are invited to come and enjoy this fond farewell to Nina. The May breakfast will be on Saturday, May 10 when Sharon Traeger will lead us in Tai Chi.
Turning Points
Addresses:
Nancy Percival is at PO Box 6843, Bend Oregon, 97708-6843
Cappy Green is at 835 Hopkins Way Apt 312, Redondo Beach, CA 90277-2024 (phone 310-372-6495)
Vernona Bisset 6454 Ventura Drive, Magalia CA 95954 (phone: 530-873-2677)
Patricia Dunn celebrated her 91st birthday on St. Patrick’s Day and her husband Hugh is 101. They are in a home in Washington (phone: 509-667-8476)
May they rest in peace.
Allan Chambliss died in February 10.
Olive Dieterle died on March 7
Bob Hamblin died on March 5
Eleanor Enrico, aunt of John Leech
Arlis Watson died on March 12
Prayers:
Please pray for all those serving in the armed forces, especially Jay Kimsey, James Hoey, Adam Derum, Frank Papworth, and Stephen Michael Leonard.
|
