Table of Contents for October 2010 [Vol. 12 No. 9]

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"I LOVE THE LORD AND I LOVE AMERICA"

I have heard of Rush Limbaugh, but who is Glenn Beck? He obviously has a following. On August 28, he attracted a crowd of 87,000 to a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in DC to "restore the honor" of the United States and "American values."

What do these "American values" consist of? According to one commentator: cutting taxes for the super-rich and abolishing government subsidies for the poor, such as Social Security and Obama's health-care plan. And yet the audience of largely white rural working class people are precisely those who stand to gain the most from those things they so vocally oppose.

One of these was recorded as saying, "I love the Lord and I love America." I found this troubling. Did she really mean it, or was it mere sentimentality? I would want to ask the speaker, where in the Gospels did she find words of Jesus to support her statement? If she read the gospels, she could not avoid discovering that Jesus loved the marginal, the outcast, the poor and the oppressed. I could give many examples, but let us look at just one.

At the beginning Jesus preached a sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4: 16-27) in which he set the tone for the rest of his short ministry. He took as his text Isaiah 61:1-2: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Then he said, "Today these words have been fulfilled in your hearing."

If we read a little further in the same chapter, we discover that these words were not popular with his congregation. In fact they wanted to do away with him. Perhaps members of Glenn Beck's "congregation" would dismiss these words of Jesus as "socialism" or "Liberation Theology!" They might declare them to be un-American.

I have been reading about a woman called Fannie Lou Hamer. She loved the Lord and she loved America. She was steeped from her birth in 1917 in the values of Jesus in her rural black church in Mississippi. She sang Gospel songs as she worked in the cotton fields. In 1962, she registered to vote (an American activity, surely). She became involved in voter registration. There were terrible consequences. She was evicted from her home, subjected to death threats, targeted for drive-by shootings. Both the Klan and the FBI regarded her as a troublemaker. She was arrested and beaten, suffering permanent kidney damage.

Of these two women, the one at the Lincoln Memorial in August 2010 and the one in Mississippi in the 1960s, which of them had the courage of her convictions? Which of them could be said to truly love the Lord? Which of them lived a Christ-like life? It is easy (but dangerous) to project on to the Lord that He wants what we want. Rather we should be telling ourselves, we want what He wants. Then there's some chance that we may discover true American values.

Hugh Stevenson

TURNING POINTS

All find a welcome:
Stephen & Frances Harrison from Walnut Creek were here on August 29, taking a "gander" at Oakmont.
Pat Noble from Oklahoma was here while visiting family in Oakmont.
"Thank you for your great gift of St. Patrick's label wine and bread during my late summer visit to Kenwood. I enjoyed the Sunday Service and Art Show and appreciated your hospitality." From Timothy Davidson who visited us from Philadelphia on August 15.

For this, much thanks:
The Stewardship/Gratitude Committee organized the Parish Picnic on August 29.
Robert Young and the Eldorado Syncopators played the Jazz Mass on September 5.

We ask God's protection
of those serving in the military overseas:
Ian Papworth in Afghanistan.

We will exalt you, O God, our King:
Sallie and Chuck Wood are 4-time grandparents. Congratulations to their son Brian and daughter-in-law Robyn on the birth of Karine Abigail Wood.
Barbara DeCampo and Fred Klingbel are engaged to be married on December 11.
Betsy and Rich Randolph are the proud grandparents of Matthew Alexander Randolph, born in August.
Anne & Charlie Chapman are the proud grandparents of Landon Pinaki Das, born Sept 22.
Andrew Belding returned from Iraq, Sept 15.

Deepest sympathy:
To Jini Bauer on Fred's death on September 12. Fred and Jini were married in 2001. Fred and Betty came to St Patrick's in 1986. Fred was a lector. Fred's first wife, Betty, died in 1999.
To Jeanne Doron on Harv's death on September 10. They joined St Patrick's a year ago.

May they know God's healing power:

Blessings on:
Sarah Haggberg and Matt Appel were married by the bride's grandfather, Bill Sell-Lee, at Anderson Ranch on September 5. Bill and his wife came to the 8:00 a.m. service. They go to church in Sequim, WA where they are friends of Jan and Chuck Johnson, sometime members of St Patrick's.
Per Rosdahl and Diana Cardenas were married by Bishop George Hunt on September 25.
Ryan Opatz and Miranda Soares were married by her godfather, Rev. Gary Lemery, on October 1.

GRATEFUL GLAD & GIVING
Among the things that your vestry expressed gratitude for at the September meeting were:

1. The New Members Supper in August.
2. The office staff, Marcia and Fran and their support for the Gratitude/ Stewardship Committee. Fran was commended for her minutes of the August vestry meeting.

OCTOBER AT ST. PATRICK'S

October 1 Marriage at 4:00 p.m. of Ryan Opatz and Miranda Soares.

October 2 Convocation and preparation for the Diocesan Convention at Church of the Incarnation, 10:00 a.m.-12:30.

• Adult Ed, 9:00 a.m. in the Common Room. Jim Rawls: the pilgrims go west from Plymouth.
• Robert Young, Sylvia O Neill and Alan Rea will play Bach's concerto in D Minor BWV 1063 for three keyboards as the postlude to the 10:00 a.m. Service.
• Daughters of the King meet at 11:30 a.m.
• Blessing of the Beasts at St. Francis Winery on Pythian Road, 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. in honor of St Francis. Fr. Patrick Leslie of Star of the Valley Roman Catholic Church will perform the blessing. All are welcome.
• Marriage of Megan Kemph and William MacDonald, 6:00 p.m. at Viansa Winery.

October 9 English Tea at 5:30 p.m. with presentation about the pilgrimage to Cornwall in May 2011, with English folksongs sung by Robert Young's folk group. Please sign up.

• Schedule of three services begins: 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• Adult Ed at 9:45 a.m., final session on pilgrimage. Hugh Stevenson on Wessex and Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet of nature.
• Bach Sunday. Lutheran pastor, Alan Piotter will help us celebrate J.S. Bach. We will sing Bach chorales and a Bach anthem.
• At 12:30 p.m., Ryan Mayer, fiancé of Mollie Studebaker will be baptized.
• Women's cursillo at the Angela Center. Raymond Skipp is the music director; Harry Allagree is the "Spirit"; Susan Skipp & Pat Babb are on the team.

October 16 Oktoberfest banquet and auction at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale on Sundays.

• Healing Sunday. At all services on the Sunday closest to St. Luke's Day we offer the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for those who come to the altar rail. We do not ask why you seek healing. For many it is a comfort to receive the laying on of hands with the prayers of the gathered congregation.
• Daniel Green will be installed at 6:00 p.m. as vicar of St. John's Petaluma.

• Pledge Ingathering. In mid-October, you will receive by mail a pledge card for 2011. Will you please complete your card and send it back by mail, or bring it on this day.
• Piano Recital. Sylvia O'Neill and Alan Rae will play Brahms and Percy Grainger at 3:00 p.m. No charge but donations for our music program are gratefully accepted.

• Commemoration of the Departed. We will remember by name those who have died during this past year. There is no sign up sheet. Will you speak the names of your loved ones who have died? After the 10:30 a.m. service, we proceed to the Memorial Garden to pray for those interred there.
• Anniversary of Hugh's ordination. Bishop George Hunt will renew Hugh's ordination vows at the 10:30 a.m. service. Potluck lunch will follow.

November 2 Election Day

• Daylight Savings time ends. The clocks fall back one hour.
• Consecration Day. Pledge cards and pledgers will be blest at all services.

November 12-13 Diocesan Convention at Redding.

November 14 Veterans Sunday. Please wear your medals! We will recognize those who have served in the military and those currently overseas.

AROUND ST. PATRICK'S

Flu Season
Last year people got in a panic about the H1N1 virus. Not so in our neck of the woods! We took common sense precautions. Let's be equally careful this winter.

• Keep our hands clean in church.
• We may prefer to exchange the peace with a smile, a bow and a kind word.
• Let's avoid people dipping their fingers with their wafer (this is less hygienic than drinking directly from the cup). Would you prefer to keep the wafer on your open hands and allow the Eucharistic minister to dip your wafer for you?
• If you are sick, stay at home.
• Get a flu shot

Quarterly Statements
Statements are going out early in October to those who made pledges in 2010. Please check them against your own records. They also answer questions about how much you pledged in 2010 as you ponder your pledge for 2011.

Stewardship 2011
In October we are invited to make a financial pledge to St. Patrick's for 2011. We need to increase our income from pledges by $20,000 just to maintain existing programs. Pledged income has remained flat over the past 8 years at around $250,000. Our expenses increased with inflation but we survived because of some reserves and undesignated bequests. The good news is that in past years new pledgers made up for the pledges we lost when people moved away or died. In these volatile economic times, please prayerfully consider these factors when you make your pledge to St Patrick's.

Midweek Eucharist

• At 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Come and join us. We remember one of the saints of the Church and offer ministry of healing to those who wish. We usually finish by 9:45 a.m.
• At 11:00 a.m. there is a weekly Eucharist with hymns at the chapel of Spring Lake Village. Hugh Stevenson is covering for the Rev. David Rickie, the Episcopal Chaplain, on October 13 and 20.

Diocesan Convention
Convention will again be at Redding, CA. It will take place Friday-Saturday, November 12-13. There is a pre-Convention meeting at Incarnation Church, Santa Rosa, on October 2 from 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Youth Mission 2011
Ingo Rencken is organizing a youth project in South Africa during the summer of 2011. The only and major expense will be the air fares. He has already garnered a lot of frequent flier miles. Do you have frequent flier miles with Delta or with American Express that you would be willing to transfer to St Patrick's?

Nursery Supervisor
Carol Papworth has been supervising the nursery since its inception. She is going to college in San Antonio. Ingo has volunteers whom he will supervise, who will take Carol's place. Carol has a couple of cats that she cannot take with her. Are you a cat lover who could provide a home for one or both of them?

Picnic Benches
Xavier is planning to paint the picnic benches outside the youth group room at the back of the parish hall. He could use some help. How about you? Give him a call.

The John Bogart Library
We have some interesting new books in the library. Thanks to Nancy Dill for a new copy of Taylor Caldwell's perennial favorite, Dear and Glorious Physician, a novel about St. Luke.

And thanks to Sylvia and Michael O'Neill for four new books by Phyllis Tickle, the religion editor of Publishers Weekly. Two are meditations and stories from her farm in Lucy, Tennessee, and two, under the cover title of The Divine Hours, are prayers and psalms for Spring and Summer.

You can see where I have placed these new additions by checking the sheet, Books Acquired in 2010, in the red folder on the library table.
Karen Babula

OKTOBERFEST

On October 16, the women of St. Patrick's will host the Oktoberfest dinner and auction. Over the last 35 years we have worked tirelessly on raising funds for various charities in Sonoma County with our focus primarily on groups that help women and children. In the past we have donated money to Valley of the Moon Children's Home, Valley of the Moon Vineyard Workers, Social Advocates for Youth (SAY), Kenwood School Music and Art Appreciation Program, and Sonoma Kinship Family Center to name a few.

Recipients of this year's fundraiser will be:

• The Sierra Youth Center, a young women's intervention program helping first time offenders learn life skills in order for them to become productive members of our community.
• The YWCA and their programs to assist women and children who have been abused.
• The Salvation Army Adopt A Holiday Family.
• The Social Advocates for Youth (SAY), an organization that provides crisis counseling, short-term housing, and family therapy for runaway and homeless teens.

We are asking members of our congregation as well as the business community of Sonoma County for their support with this event. Thus far we have auction offerings which include a week's stay in Maui, Santa Rosa Symphony tickets, wine tours and tasting as well as fine art pieces and gift certificates. My personal favorite is "A Pie A Month" offered by a Parish member.

Auction baskets are being offered by the Outreach Committee, the Choir, the Daughters of the King, and the ECW. I wonder if the Vestry, Worship Committee, Men's Breakfast Group, Bridge Group, and Landscape committee will take up the challenge. Let's be creative and see which group can offer the most unique basket for auction. (Bragging rights only of course.)

If you have an item or even a service that you would like to donate to our event, please contact Jean Derum (jderum@comcast.net or 523-4553) for instructions. We would be extremely grateful if we could add your name to our list of donors for this year's Time and Talent Dinner and Auction at St. Patrick's Church.

Mark your calendars for Saturday evening, October 16th at 5:30 pm. Café Europa will cater dinner, including traditional Oktoberfest faire. Beer and wine will be available. No Oktoberfest celebration is truly complete without a little accordion polka music and we are trying to locate a volunteer for this.

Tickets are available to the first 100 guests only and will be on sale in late September.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Bless each of you for your continuing support of St. Patrick's.
Jean Derum

KUDOS
God made it happen and this is the team that assisted with the Art Show that delighted so many of us and helped us get acquainted: