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September 2001
Vol. 3 No. 8
Archive of Previous Issues
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The Grapevine is published monthly
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by St. Patrick's Episcopal Church
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Table of Contents for September 2001 [Vol. 3 No. 8]
WHO BROUGHT YOU?
In both the Old and New Testament, there are a number of genealogies. We tend not to read them because we do not know most of the people and we are not really interested in who
begot whom. But obviously it was important to many people-important enough to include them in the Bible. People wanted to know who your ancestors were, whether your line was pure.
Genealogies are also very popular today. People hunt through parish records to find their ancestors, even though they may know nothing about what those ancestors were like. It seems
important to know where we all came from.
I have been reflecting upon a different kind of genealogy: not who was the mother or father of whom, but who brought whom to church. The beginning of John's Gospel gives us such "genealogies."
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as "the Lamb of God." One who heard him was Andrew. He went at once and told his brother, Simon (Peter) and told him, "We have found the Lord." The
following day, a second "genealogy" started. Jesus invited Philip; "Come with me!" he said.
Philip found Nathaniel, and the latter confessed, "You are the Son of God." No doubt, in their turns, Simon and Nathaniel found others and brought them to Jesus. In Acts (8:26), Philip
found the Ethiopian eunuch and baptized him.
There are similar genealogies at St. Patrick's. At the end of July, I performed a wedding for a couple who have been regularly attending the 8:00 a.m. service. At their wedding, the maid of
honor told me that she had told the bride about St. Patrick's because she had attended a funeral here twenty years ago. She could not even remember whose funeral it was, but she
liked the church and she liked the service. The bridegroom brought his stepfather who has also become a member. At the wedding reception, the stepfather introduced me to an Episcopal
neighbor whom, he thought, should join our church.
I recently conducted the funeral for Jean Hastings. Jean lived in Oakmont Gardens and encouraged a number of her friends there to worship at St. Patrick's. Jean was invited by John
Brigham who met her at the Kenwood farmers' market. John and Brycie came to St. Patrick's for the baptism of their grandson, Atticus. So when he was only a few months old, Atticus
brought his grandparents, his cousins and their parents too. Jim Foster was invited to St. Patrick's because of his neighbor on one side, and he in turn invited his neighbor on the other.
My question for you is: what is your genealogy? Who brought you to church? You may have seen the sign on the highway or heard the cute accent. But you started or continued attending
St. Pat-rick's because some one encouraged you. The old joke that an Episcopalian brings someone to church every 20 years is not true for us. Who will you invite next and so continue your genealogy?
--Hugh Stevenson
TURNING POINTS
Deepest sympathy to
Robin Goerl and family. Robin's sister, Yvonne Manupelli died on July 21.
Bob Fry and many friends at St. Patrick's on the death of Jim Foster, who died July 22.
Bea on the death of her husband Walt Bogel. (July 22). Walt was for a number of years the person who counted the offering on Sunday mornings. Bea's address is: 2100 East Washington
Blvd., Apt. 127, Petaluma 94954.
Max and Jackie Senter on the death of Max's grandmother, Marie Church (July 22).
Charlotte Horne and family on the death of her mother, Elsie (memorial service was July 28).
Brian and Karen on the death of Brian's father, Mert, on July 13.
Vashti Papworth on the death of her friend Julianna Murray on July 8.
Blessings on
Schuyler Lee Peterson, great grandson of Camille Richardson, baptized July 1, 2001.
Robert Worth and Margaret McCarthy, married June 30, 2001.
Steven Merla and Michelle Renee, married July 28, 2001.
Andrew McGowan and Laura Codding, married on August 25, 2001.
Welcome to
JC and Rosa Speight, Don and Irene Odone, and Doug Allan of Oakmont.
John and Beth Peetz, and Nina Chrystal of Santa Rosa.
Vanya Rohner of Kenwood.
All these have worshipped with us recently
Transfers
Layten Heckman has transferred his membership from St. Peters, San Francisco.
Sharon Traeger has transferred her membership from St. James, Kent, Washington.
Farewell
Cecily Meehan is moving to Bellingham, WA.
Relocation
The Rev. Julie and Martin Wizorek are living at 6472, Timber Springs Drive, Santa Rosa 95409 (537-1376).
Marjorie Friedrich moved to Spring Lake Village, 5555 Montgomery Drive, 95409, #71.
Prayers for
Bob Neyhart who is in Summerfield Nursing Home.
Phyliss Mealman and Betty Fleming who have gone home from North Coast Rehab. Center.
George Arack, Sr. has gone home from Memorial Hospital.
Eleanor MacKenzie, and Joe Lucas are in the nursing facility of Friends House.
Congratulations to
Juelle and Whitney Fisher, who walked from Santa Clara to San Francisco in July in the Avon Walk to defeat breast cancer
Thanks to
Jean Henderson who is stepping down after 14 years on the Outreach Committee.
Phyllis Cressy for singing in the choir. Whoops! We omitted her name from the list of choir members in the last Grapevine.
Shirley Rush for directing the Vacation Bible School, and also her staff:
Shirley FlournoyMeri Carlstedt
Kerry MertleJudy Buff
Charlie BuffBill Rush
Sharon TraegerLinda Galloway-Long
Jackie SenterVashti Papworth
Josephine RossSara Phillips
Armand RussellLincoln McLain
Ben McLainNancy Flournoy
Ann PetersBarbara Dohaney
Amber PapworthCarol Papworth
JoAnn HaymakerBarbara Hunt
Karen BorgfeldtBrycie Brigham
Nancy PercivalMarcia Ronchetti
Robin GoerlMax Goerl
Phyllis CressyBev Stafford
Nina PohlBill Perry
Darci AldersonKen Krzywicki
Barbara KrzywickiJohn Brigham
About 40 children attended (30 last year) plus about 11 teenage helpers.
Alice Fielder and Chuck Chapman are serving on the Finance Committee, supporting Josie
Ross our treasurer.
Charlie Buff is co-chairing the Every Member Canvass with Hutch Gibb
Jackie McDonald is taking over from Will and Shirley Rush, the responsibility for Lectors and LEMs.
VESTRY HIGHLIGHTS
- We have spent time at vestry meetings in June and July discussing new members of staff with the result that Julie Wizorek began her ministry as Assistant on August 1, and
Layten Heckman as Director of Music on July 1. We welcome Julie and Layten; they will strengthen the ministry at St. Patrick's.
- During the fall, we will convene a small committee to make grants to one or two people from Santa Rosa as identified by Goodwill Industries), giving them "a leg up," finding a
job, getting themselves established. Gene Friedrich wanted to set up this scheme before he died.
- A number of maintenance projects have been completed during the summer. The lampposts in the parking lot and the storage container have been painted, new cabinets
have been installed in the Common Room, the roots of the trees beside the memorial garden have been given more room to expand, and we plan to "re-key" the locks for the
church property at the end of August.
- The Endowment Committee has held meetings with members of the Foundation of the National Church and of our diocese, and is working to build up our parish endowment
fund. For information, talk to Phil Holm.
- Our finances were examined by a diocesan auditor who stated, "The financial statements fairly represent the position of St. Patrick's."
- We decided to disburse our Jubilee Credit of about $6000 to three local, faith based organizations.
- We are planning the Every Member Canvass, which will kickoff on October 14 with a Parish Meeting. We are beginning to recruit candidates to be nominated for election to
the vestry at next January's Annual Meeting.
- We have been reading the book, The In-between Church, by Alice Mann, to Vestry members. She provides good advice about how we may move through a time of
transition. We will consider this book further at our annual retreat next spring.
DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOR
A mother had been teaching her three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after her the lines from the prayer. Finally, she
decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail.
Amen." (She might also have prayed, "Deliver us from e-mail"-Ed.)
ADULT EDUCATION
Pilgrimage to Northumbria. On September 23, after the 10:00 a.m. service, those interested in a parish visit to England in the summer of 2002 are invited to meet in the Common Room.
We need to find out how much interest there is and what you would like to see. One proposal is that we visit sites connected with the Celtic saints from our windows.
Parish History Project.
We want to gather together stories and photographs and other memorabilia about St. Patrick's. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the founding of the
parish, and the 20th anniversary of the building of our church. Can you help us? Can you come to a meeting in the Common Room after the 10:00 a.m. service?
Adult Education in September and October. We are planning a course on parables, taught by Ann McClure, in September, and a course on living a Benedictine life in October, taught by
Julie. Both of these courses will be on Wednesday morning after the midweek Eucharist in the Education Center. All are welcome to attend; bring friends. There will be sign up sheets in the parish hall.
WOMEN'S PAGE
ECW Luncheon - The ECW Luncheon Meeting will be Tuesday, September 11, at 11:00 a.m. Our speaker will be Vic Martinez, the Executive Director of the Adult Literacy Program
of Sonoma County. As one out of five people are functionally illiterate in English we will learn what is being done about this problem.
"What is ECW?"
Newcomers to this Parish sometimes ask, "What is ECW?" The initials stand for Episcopal Church Women, a national, diocesan, and local organization which is open,
free-of-charge, to all women of the Parish. The focus is on worship, fellowship and gift giving. Our group meets five times a year at salad potluck luncheons in the Parish Hall. We have
interesting speakers come from all walks of life.
At St. Patrick's we are fortunate to have an enthusiastic, energetic, hard-working ECW group
dedicated not only to our Church but also to helping to support other mostly local charitable groups through our Outreach program. During the fiscal year ending in June, 2001, we had
donated $3,664.00 for various Parish special needs and $9,150.00 to groups such as the Vineyard Workers' Services, FISH, YWCA Women's Shelter, Valley of the Moon Children's
Home, the Redwood Gospel Mission and twelve other agencies.
The funds for these ECW gifts were raised through the United Thank Offering (UTO) envelope
collections, the sale of our salad cookbooks, a Bargain Faire and, especially, the Unique Boutique held in October. Because of the quality of our handcrafts the Unique Boutique has
become one of the most popular Holiday Crafts events in the area and last year raised almost $11,000.00 for our ECW programs.
Many of the women of St. Patrick's are also involved with Church-related activities such as the Altar Guild, Vacation Bible School, the Women's History Project, Daughters of the King, the
Bible Society, the Needlepoint Guild, and the making of the exceptional needlepoint kneelers in the Church.
So, the Episcopal Church Women of St. Patrick's have a wide variety of interests. Every
woman of the Parish is welcome to come to the luncheons and to participate as she can. Whatever help she can give will always be appreciated and it is a great way to meet people!
--Carolyn Perry
BOUTIQUE WORKSHOP
The Boutique Workshop continues to meet every Friday from 9:00 to 12:00 noon. There still is a lot to be done. The workshop chairmen are requesting that items that have been made
outside the work-shop be turned in. They can be brought to the Workshops any Friday morning. If you cannot bring them to the workshop call Barbara Fry at 538-2164 to arrange for pick-up.
Quality items are needed for the Silent Auction. Marilyn Schlangen will pick them up, polish them or launder and iron them and do whatever is required to prepare them for the auction.
For pick-up call Marilyn at 833-5011 or, if you would like, deliver them to Kathryn Gary at 539-7932. Forms
for your income tax purposes are available.
If you need pots for the plants you are preparing for the Garden Shop or if you have pots or baskets to contribute please call Connie van loben Sels at 833-5381 or Shirley Flournoy at 538-4048.
At this peak of the fruit season it is time to can them, make jams and jellies, or fruit pies to freeze for the Gourmet Pantry. If you have any excess fruit please call Jean Meyer at 833-5575.
Closer to the day of the Boutique, many cookies will be needed for the tea table. They are a big attraction for which St. Patrick's is famous. Jean Derum asks that they be brought to the
kitchen the Friday before the Boutique or early that Saturday morning. Invitations will be included in the October Grapevine.
--Robin Goerl
Daughters of the King - Prayer for the Clergy
"Lord, Bless your ordained servants. Pour your spirit upon them. Give them wisdom, zeal and faith. We ask that you give them quiet times to be with you to refresh their spirit. Grant them
moments of calm amid the demands and chaos of daily life. Lord, we pray for the families of your ordained servants. They give up family time to the needs of others and are seldom
acknowledged for the important role they play in the success of church families. We pray for your servants that they have the strength and courage to bear your people in their heart. All this
we ask in the name of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ." (unknown source). Call the church office for prayer - 833-4228.
--Sharon Traeger
(537-8661)
SUNDAY SCHOOL AND YOUTH GROUP
Blessing of Backpacks. At the beginning of a new year, the Rev. Julie will bless the backpacks of children going back to school at the 10:00 a.m. service on September 2. We ask
God's Spirit "to guide, guard and protect each one of them at school and at home, at work and at play."
Sunday School.
Registration of students for Sunday school will take place on September 9. Children will attend the 10:00 a.m. service-there is a jazz mass that day. We will enjoy an ice
cream social after the service. Classes will begin the following week. Before Christmas, the children will learn "The Great Stories" of the Old Testament: creation, Noah, Joseph's coat of
many colors etc. During Advent, they will begin the stories of Jesus' birth and his ministry, leading up to the story of his death in Holy week.
On 3rd Sundays of the month, the children will gather for their own service at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Center and will stay in the their classes for the entire service. On 2nd Sundays,
Junior and Senior High students will be in church assisting with the contemporary service. Younger children will be in Sunday School as usual, and will join the congregation in church at
the time of the peace.
The Junior and Senior High students decorated their room at the back of the parish hall on
August 26. They will probably be meeting there for youth group on the 3rd Sunday of the month after the 10:00 am service.
Acolytes meet each 2nd Sunday (the contemporary service Sunday) in church, after the 10:00 a.m. service for a workshop with Heather McKoy, Robin Goerl or the Rector.
Welcome Back to Sunday School
I am very excited about our new curriculum for the coming school year. We will be focusing on
Bible Stories as the core of our curriculum in the hope that all children coming to our Sunday School will grow up knowing some "core" stories.
The younger children may simply learn and under-stand the stories while the older group may look at how to apply such a story to their lives in Santa Rosa. Though the older children may
already know about Noah's Ark perhaps they will do research on evidence of existing archeology of the ark or do a skit for the younger children. The stories of the month will be
published in the bulletin so ask the children what they thought of the stories they heard. And if you are not sure of the story join us in Sunday School!
We will have four classrooms: Pre-K, K, 1st grade, grades 2-3-4 and 5-6-7, and 8th grade and above. We need teachers for all of these grades and for any length of time.
Maybe you have a favorite story or would like to share an art project that you or your children did in the past? Or perhaps you would like to sit in a classroom one day and read a favorite
story. The opportunity to read to and get to know our children of the parish is great. And volunteers are still needed for one day, a month, or many !!
Our teenagers:
The youth group will be painting their own space on August 26th. What was once the nursery room will become our Teen Room. Must be at least 13 to enter! We still need
a couch and a pool or ping-pong table to promote the fellowship and discussions that will happen there.
--Bonney Philbin
WORSHIP
Jazz Mass will take place on September 9, at 10:00 a.m. We are hoping that the Eldorado Syncopators will lead us in worship. Their director is Robert Young.
The choir will be commissioned on September 16. Their rehearsal date has yet to be finalized. They will have had rehearsals on the weeks of September 6 and 13, and they will sing for the
first time on September 16. Layten Heckman our new Director of Music began his ministry at St. Patrick's on July 1. He has put together a program for the fall that includes a folk setting of
the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus and a Jewish piece during the High Holy Days.
Lectors and LEMs. Lectors read the prayers and readings and are not licensed by the
Bishop. LEMs are Lay Eucharistic Ministers who administer the chalice. They are licensed and are encouraged to attend the Deanery Lay ministry day each year. They will all meet on
September 9 after the 10:00 a.m. service. (take your ice cream across to the Common Room). We are looking for your questions and comments about our worship at St. Patrick's.
The Outreach Committee: The Committee has regretfully accepted Jean Henderson's decision to reduce her commitments and her resignation from this committee is one of those.
For seemingly many years at St. Patrick's Jean WAS the committee. Through her ongoing efforts and continuous enthusiasm many organizations have received help. Today we have the
largest budget ever for OUTREACH that we have been allocated as well as dedicated members. Jean's particular favorites: American Bible Society, Valley of the Moon Children's
Home, the Heifer Project - will always remind us of her dedication to serving others. In her own words - "There is no such thing as a retired Christian." This committee will miss you, Jean,
but we expect to see you at St. Patrick's as long as you remain in the area.
Barbara Fry
Health and Wholeness Ministry: The Health and Wholeness Ministry Committee provides
a service for St. Patrick's parishioners. We arrange transportation for medical appointments, church, and shopping. Also we make check-in calls and offer respite care. Can you volunteer?
If you can, it will enable us to help many more than we are able to help now. We appreciate any time that you can give. Please call
Marion Hawley, coordinator for September, at 579-6717.
Hospital Chaplaincy is offering a course on listening skills, "Listening from the Heart," for
potential volunteers in hospitals and nursing facilities. 40 hours of training will be offered; the cost will be $50.00. Courses take place on Saturday and Tuesday evenings, beginning
September 29. A couple of members of St. Patrick's have taken this course in the past. For further information call 566-9600.
Entertainment Books
for 2002 will be available soon. You will be able to take advantage of the savings immediately. They will cost $25 of which $10 comes to the church. These books
offer savings for restaurants, services, car rentals, hotels and a host of other things.
The Missionary is our diocesan newspaper. You can read it at the diocese's web page
(www.dncweb.org). You can enter your e-mail address to receive a PDF version of the paper.
Hello Beautiful! Karen and Brian Borgfeldt are members of St. Patrick's. They own and
operate a skin care salon in San Francisco. They have recently moved to Kenwood and opened a new branch across the road from the church. They will generously donate to the
church a tithe of 10% of the money paid by St. Patrick's customers or those whom they refer. Karen can put a natural glow in your cheeks. For further information, call her at 833-5023.
Vacation Bible School: The Vacation Bible School held July 30 through August 3, 2001, was a joy for the forty students, ten teenage assistants and the thirty adults involved. The
weather coop-erated by being mild. On the last day, Friday, we had seventy people seated in the back patio for lunch. They had just seen a wrap-up program in the church that featured
each class singing a song the group had learned. They saw the two quilts made from the children's designs this year with fish and shells, and another two quilts from last year's work
with the theme of animals from the ark. Next year's VBS director will the Sharon Traeger.
Shirley Rush
Director
Women's History Project: "W" wants you!
What? The Women's History Project.
Why? To preserve the stories of the vital women who helped to shape our parish.
How?By interview, using tapes or your own notes. (Handwritten material is acceptable.
When? NOW! For complete details please call Claire Morelli at 539-2692 or 537-8158.
Looking Ahead: Bread for the World's Hunger to Harvest Resolution is "making its way" through the full Senate (watch your newspaper) as it calls for United States aid to reduce
hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa where one person in three is chronically undernourished and 291 million people live on less than $1.00 a day.
Next month we will join churches nationwide in an offering of letters to Congress to end hunger in God's world. A list of co-sponsors of the resolu-tion - Senate 53, House 102, is available at:
w.w.w.bread.org. In addition to our California members it may be of interest to note your congress members from "back home" to whom you could write. Jean Henderson
Thanks:
I would like to thank everyone for all of your cards, prayers, poems, and loving support. It was a difficult time for me and my family but God gave me strength to do things I
did not know possible. My sister Yvonne and I were very close, speaking on the phone everyday. As most of you know we had a great trip to Italy this spring and brought home may
pictures and great memories. Her passing, as painful as it was, was also a Wow! experience for me and Steven. She lead us verbally on her journey to heaven, as she held her arms up over
her eyes to block out the bright light, she told us "I am so happy! Jesus saved a chair for me." Her words will be with me forever and I trust in the Lord that I will dwell with her in heaven
one day. She will be missed tremendously by all who knew her and some who didn't.
Robin and Steven Goerl
What's in a name?
One of my favorite Vicar of Dibley episodes is "The wedding" in which Geraldine, the female Vicar of this small English town, meets the senior warden's younger
brother, Simon. They exchange the usual greeting. Simon asks Geraldine, the first woman priest that he has met, "What shall I call you? Father, mother?" She is so taken by this tall strapping
man that she fumbles over the question and replies, "Call me Gerri." But in quickly thinking
about this she decides to go straight to the essential elements in her name and says, "Forget all the vowels and just call me "Grrrr!"
What do you call an ordained woman? In anticip-ation of going into ordained ministry, a colleague at Santa Clara University started to call me
"Padra" in deference to our archaeology work with the Spanish mission period. But, in the Epis-copal Church we don't have the practice of using the title of Padre. So what do you call
an ordained woman?
The question of how to be addressed is eventually asked by most female seminarians as we are
exiting seminary or venturing into their first job. Men have a long history of titles, one of which is Father. The use of Father conveys respect and is tied to a long tradition of authority.
Women, however, are still groping for their formal title. Some have used the title of "mother" as
a mirror "father." This does not set right with many of us, especially mothers, because I am not your mother. You already have one! And when I say mother, I think of my relationship with my
own two sons and with my mother. The title also does not have the same authority as Father has in the Church politic or in our culture. Perhaps, more import-antly, we are not in a parental
relationship nor is the Church and the people any more.
We are, in truth, co-ministers by virtue of our baptism. All are part of the "Priesthood of all
believers," as Luther put it. At baptism we are given our names. My name is Julie. And, as someone pointed out, "That's what God calls me!" However, there are appropriate times when
a title is needed and so I have chosen to be called the Reverend Julie. "The Reverend" is a title
that I was given at ordination. The title in a way denotes my ordination charge to assist in public worship and to "interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world." Next
year when I am priested the title will convey my ordination charge to be "pastor, priest, and teacher."
So, what do you call me? I don't think Geraldine's method of abbreviation would work, "Jl." But if you want to use a formal title call me - Reverend Julie. Or, since God calls me Julie, why
not you too?
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