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February 1 - 28, 2005 St. John’s Episcopal
Church SPECIAL EVENTS
Eagle Notes Deadline If you would like to submit an article or information to be published in the Eagle Notes, all information must be in the church office no later than February 16 for March publication. Please have information on diskette or e-mail to: parishadmin@stjohnscollegepark.com From the Rector The Vestry Retreat, and this and that I went on retreat with your vestry to Camp Mikell (our diocesan camp and conference center near Toccoa) on January 14-16, 2005. The retreat is a special time. I always tell the vestry that just getting away together is the most important thing we do all weekend. Although the benefits are not quantifiable, our most productive time is probably not when we are doing something “productive” (like some programming), but when we are just hanging out together. Laughing, telling stories, snacking, hiking, shopping, whatever the leisure activity is, it is how we get to know one another and renew or initiate friendships. I think this is important for two reasons. First, the vestry needs to function well as a group. If difficult decisions and differences of opinion arise down the road, it is important that these be folks who know and care about one another as sisters and brothers in Christ. It is invaluable that they know in their gut (and not just in their heads) that the other members care deeply about St. John’s and our mission of being the Body of Christ where we have been planted. That does not diminish disagreements, but it does foster something more important than agreement: respect. I’m happy to report that in my time at St. John’s, I do not recall a single instance in which I have had to interrupt a vestry meeting to remind the members to be respectful toward one another. I wish I could say that that were the norm in every church. It is not, and I am so grateful for it here. The second reason friendships and respect are important on the vestry is the same reason they are important in any sphere of our lives — we only live once, and who wants to go through life dealing with people who are not friendly and respectful toward one another? We do, however, also work on our retreat weekend. You will be seeing the fruits of our efforts during the year. One exercise was to ask a simple question: “What to you think is God’s will for St. John’s?” Before you read on, stop and answer that question for yourself. The vestry answered in lots of ways, many expressing good, solid theology about being the Church. My favorite, however, was the most concrete and practical: “Ask people to come.” Whatever your answer is, think about how God wants you to put it into action.The vestry also approved the 2005 budget. Some new vestry members were amazed at the complexity (and money) required to run St. John’s. We’ll post the budget in Bott Hall, but I thought I’d give a little information about it. Projected income and expenses is $274,541, of which $205, 647 comes from your commitment payments (the rest comes from Odyssey and the Bargain Shop). We contribute $2,080 per month to the Diocese, and a total of $1200 per month to Bethlehem Ministries, Family Life Ministries, Good News Jail & Prison Ministries, and the Interfaith Airport Chaplaincy. It’s important that you know that $1000 per month of that total is drawn down from our Outreach Fund (a reserve fund created by designated gifts), which has about $24,000 left in it. At this rate, we will exhaust the Outreach Fund in two years. I also support a number of ministries through my discretionary fund. All of our finances (including my discretionary fund) are audited every year. I think we are doing very well. But I believe that churches doing well should practice “holy discontent.” As we strive to live out God’s will for St. John’s, if we try to hold on to the present, we will quickly be holding on to the past, and we will be doomed. Let’s explore together how God’s will for us might lead us into new and unexpected places. Come on — it may be hard, it may be challenging, but I promise you one thing: it will never be dull! February Birthdays
About our Worship... Did You Know? by David McLeod, chair of the Worship Commission At a recent 10:30 Sunday service, after the Consecration, Jim elevated the Bread and Wine, finished the prayer, and waited for the Great Amen. It never came. In typical Jim fashion, he said to the congregation, “Let’s do that again”, and he repeated the end of the prayer. This time, the people responded loudly, “AMEN!” Amen (derived from the Hebrew verb aman, meaning “to strengthen” or “confirm”) comes at the end of most of our prayers, but the Great Amen, which comes at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, emphasizes the assent of the people to the words spoken on their behalf by the Celebrant. I believe this is one of the most important moments in the service, as we confirm our belief that this is His Body and Blood that was given for us. We should respond joyously and firmly, with conviction. The Book of Common Prayer even prints this in all capital letters to emphasize its importance in the liturgy. So, say it loud. Say it proud. AMEN! Ministry Fair This year the Ministry Fair will be held at the Cathedral of St. Phillip. On Sunday, March 5, join hundreds of fellow Episcopalians as we come together in worship and fellowship to connect, grow, and transform our individual and parish ministries. The day will begin with The Great Gathering from 9:00—10:00 a.m. There will be many workshops to choose from and attend. The first session will be from 10:15—11:45 a.m. The second workshop session will be from 1:15—2:30 p.m. and workshop session three from 2:45—4:00 p.m. St. John’s has always sent a large contingent, including many vestry members. You can find registration forms and a list of workshops in Bott Hall. For more information please call the church office at 404-761-8402. Pantry Needs
We are so blessed with big food drives this year! However, we are always in need of items that go out of our food pantry faster than water! We don’t usually receive these items in food drives, but they are very useful. Cold Cereal Oatmeal Grits Flour and Sugar Dried Beans Jello and Pudding Juice, Individual & Bottled Powdered Milk Toilet Paper Washing Powder (Laundry & Dish)
Winter Needs
Our needs for this month will benefit us throughout the remaining winter weeks. If you can help in any way, we would appreciate it! A tax donation slip is always available upon request. Hats and Gloves Coats Jackets Scarves Socks Slippers, Boots Blankets Toiletries Grocery Gift Cards Marta Tokens or dollars to purchase them Pre-Lenten & Lenten ActivitiesJoin us on Tuesday, February 8, at 6:00 p.m. for a pancake supper to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. We will enjoy pancakes prepared by our youth, motorcycle rides with Robbin Iddins, and sing goodbye to Alleluias. On Ash Wednesday, February 9, we will have services at 7:00 a.m., Noon, and 7:00 p.m. Each Wednesday beginning February 23 (we will go to Holy Comforter on Feb. 16th) and ending March 16, we will have Lenten Suppers beginning at 6:00 p.m. Following supper, the Rector will lead a program, then we will worship together. Our Lenten program comes from “Groundwork”, a guide developed by the Episcopal church. It is based on the lectionary, and it’s goal is to encourage personal and congregational transformation, to ask congregational members and leaders to dig deeply into the soil of their mission and context to do serious and joyful learning about evangelism, invitation, and welcome. Please join us! Just for Fun— Trip to the High Museum of Art On Wednesday, March 2, 2005, we will go to the High museum to see the Romare Bearden exhibit. Romare Bearden is widely acclaimed as one of the 20th century’s preeminent visual artists. His works evoke the places where he lived and worked: the rural south, Pittsburgh, Harlem, and the island of St. Martin. Religious subjects and ritual practices, jazz clubs, history, and literature are overlapping themes in his work. The exhibition features approximately 140 of Bearden’s collages, photomontages, watercolors, paintings, and monotypes from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. We will meet at the church and car pool to have lunch near the High Museum and then see the exhibit. The museum cost of $8.00 includes your ticket, audio guide, and 10% off in the gift shop. This does not include the cost of your lunch.. Please call the church office to make your reservation by Tuesday, February 15. Tsunami Victims Support Episcopal congregations and dioceses continue generous fundraising efforts four weeks after tsunamis, triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake, hit several countries in South Asia on December 26, leaving more than 210,000 people dead and thousands still missing. Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), which has received more than $2.1 million in donations to date, furthers its relief efforts in South Asia as millions of people remain homeless in countries including Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. To support families devastated by the earthquake and tsunamis in South Asia, donate to the South Asia Relief Fund at www.er-d.org or call 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, South Asia Relief Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101. Family Life Ministries How’d we do in 2004? Our membership grew from 230 to 237 members We Baptized one new brother in Christ, David Wagner Average Sunday attendance was 123 The attendance for Easter Sunday was 236 The attendance for Christmas (eve and day) was 214 LEM2’s visited those unable to attend weekly services and administered the Eucharist 47 times We held 105 Sunday services and 82 weekday services We administered Holy Communion 17,977 times Lay Eucharistic Ministers A REAL NEED, A real opportunity One of the things I remember, with great pleasure, is my time as a Lay Eucharistic Minister II at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Chappaqua, N.Y. It was in 1985 that lay people were first permitted to take the Eucharist from the church on Sundays to people in the parish who were unable to attend Sunday service. It was a real honor for those of us who were chosen, and for me it was a great chance to get to know these people on a deeper level. At this time in the life of St. John’s we are finding a need to care for more of our members who are unable to attend church, and therefore a need for more LEM2’s as they are called. If you are a communicant of St. John’s and have time to spend on a Sunday afternoon or evening with some of our wonderful parishioners who can’t attend church, I would love to hear from you. We will provide training and a handbook so you will feel comfortable doing this, and I guarantee you will enjoy it. Ruth Via Media We have a new thing coming to St. John’s! Starting on March 30th we will offer an 8 week course on Wed. evenings (supper included) using newly designed materials inviting you to ask all the questions you might have about the Episcopal Church. It is for newcomers and cradle Episcopalians. The videos are well designed and it should be great fun. Watch for further details. Ruth Please note: Beginning in February, the Vestry will meet on the third Tuesday of each month.Your Help is Needed! Each week we invite members and visitors to join us for a time of fellowship and refreshments after the 10:30 service. This is our time to get together with old friends and make new ones. Help us to be a more inviting church by providing refreshments for this special time in our week. Please sign up on the calendar located in Bott Hall. We look forward to seeing what goodies you come up with! Thanks!
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Eagle Notes