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June 1 - 30, 2003 St. John’s Episcopal Church
SPECIAL EVENTS
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
A GOOD REASON TO BE AN EPISCOPALIAN "We have a faith not afraid to reason and reason not ashamed to adore." The Rev. W. Lee Shaw, in 101 Reasons to be an Episcopalian, available at the Cathedral Bookstore.
DO WE GIVE AS WE GATHER? As a child growing up on a farm, I learned that our community, and indeed, the continued survival of the population of this earth, depends on the grace of God. God’s gift to us is the Earth’s soil, the sunlight, and the rains that work together in their special way and time with farmers to produce crops and livestock to feed, shelter and clothe the people of the world. All these elements, combined with the toil and stewardship of those who work the land, produce abundant foods and fibers. There are different approaches to crop production. One is to plant and take whatever and however much the earth provides. This method soon uses up the nutrients of the soil and the yield dwindles. Another approach is to be a steward or caretaker of the land by putting humus into the soil, in many ways, so the land is enriched and improved by returning or giving to God’s good Earth a portion of its produce. When such enrichment is done consistently, the soil is improved and produces more and higher quality crops for so long as the proper investment continues to be made. Each member of our current Vestry, and the prior Vestry, has made a commitment to Stewardship by agreeing to return to God a portion of the bounty bestowed on each of them. That statement of commitment is included in this issue of your Eagle Notes. In our urban environment, God’s bounty is not seen in abundant crop production. Rather, it is represented by money in the form of earnings from employ-ment, business or investments. God has seen fit, for whatever reason, to permit each of us to live in a country where we may worship openly as we please and be provided with the opportunity to learn and work. What a bountiful gift we have received by the grace of our locality. But, like the farmers of faith, we may all be stewards in our own way, or we may simply take the bounty without returning a portion to God. Please consider intentionally returning a proportionate share of God’s bounty to God through his Church. The scripture tells us a tithe of the first ten (10%) percent is the proper portion to return to God. Deuteronomy 26:2 tells us that "You shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground . . . and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name." Please prayerfully consider what God has done for you and whether you, too, should make a commitment to return a portion of God’s blessing. May the Peace of the Lord be with you, always. Gale W. Mull
GET YOUR CHAIRS! We are selling children’s wooden chairs (left over from St. John’s School) for $25 each. These are high quality, solid wood chairs that have sentimental value for many. They make great presents and can be painted and decorated beautifully. First come, first served. You will need to pick them up.
TRANSITIONS Please welcome Kwasi K. Baffour, 1676 Cambridge Ave., Apt. 4, College Park, GA 30337, 404/684-9330. Kwasi recently transferred in from New Life Presbyterian in College Park. May God bless the souls of Dr. William Johnson, Jane Ann Young, and Robert Whittier, each of whom died on May 23rd. We are sorry to report the recent death of former St. John’s organist Patrick Montague. Pat and his wife lived in Silva, N.C. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in God’s nearer presence.
SPEEDERS Our May Speeders at St. John’s was great! Jon Marc Rutherford gave a fascinating talk about the history of church music. Our Senior Warden, Ernie Radaker, took a day of vacation and made a wonderful lunch for us. One Methodist lady said "I never expected anything like this." Thanks to these two gentlemen for their contribution to last month’s Speeders Day. We are on break for the summer, but plan to start up again in September. If you are over 55, please come join us.
FROM THE RECTOR Ministry Is Not June 8 is Pentecost, the day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church. I’ve been thinking about the Holy Spirit and St. John’s a lot lately. We are, it seems to me, coming close to a crisis in leadership. We have wonderful folks who have served well for a long time, as well as important leaders who were newcomers a few years ago. They jumped in with both feet and made themselves vital to the life of the parish. But now they, as well as many who have been here for decades, need a break. We must be raising up new leadership, new volunteers, new vitality. I have spent time in study and prayer trying to discern whether I have tried to push St. John’s to be something that it is not ready to be at this time in its life. We are currently a parish that gets things done when a person or small group takes responsibility and accomplishes the task. I have been trying to get us more organized, using committees more, instituting procedures to train new leadership, spreading the responsibility around, involving more people. That, church consultants tell us, is the next step in parish development. But perhaps St. John’s isn’t ready to take that step yet. Perhaps I have been pursuing a vision which is not shared by the parish. I don’t know. I’m still working on that. This I do know: if everyone who has told me that they wanted to get more involved actually got more involved, we would be in good shape. And I know this as well: the Holy Spirit has work for us to do. It is exciting and rewarding, but it requires time and commitment. On Pentecost, we will have a consolidated service at 10:00, followed by a picnic and Ministry Fair. You will have lots of opportunities to learn what our ministries are about and how you can be part of them. Whatever stage the parish is in, this is clear: we need you. And whatever stage your life is in, this is also clear: you need to be involved. Ministry is not a spectator sport. Get involved! Come, Holy Spirit, come!
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Eagle Notes