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February,
2005
Rector’s
Message
Dear
Friends,
It
is hard to believe that, in less than two weeks, many of us will stand
in the
Chapel at Saint John’s and have ashes placed on our foreheads as are
uttered
the words, “Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It is
a
ponderously freighted moment, for, starkly and without any
sugar-coating, we
are reminded of the passing nature of this earthly journey. By
direction, we
are asked to examine ourselves and the manner in which we are making
that
journey. We are asked to look within our hearts and souls and honestly
to
answer the question, “What are you doing with your life? Are you using
it for
something of value or are you wasting its precious, and
not-to-be-repeated,
moments.” We need not respond…but, in not responding, we provide an
answer by
default.
I
suspect that, for most of us, if we would honestly seek to answer, the
answer
may well be some of the one and some of the other. And that, in fact,
is the
wisdom and worth of those forty days set aside by the Church each year
and
which we know as Lent.
They
are days we are urged to use better to perceive the balance in our
lives…honestly to decide if we needn’t seek means by which to change
it. To
engage in this sort of reflection has, at least for me, required a
conscious
setting aside of time for the endeavor.
I
urge each of us to set that time aside each day during Lent…to reflect,
to
pray, to read, to think, to listen. Where we do that is up to each of
us. It
might be the Chapel of this Parish Church…or
walking in
Steep Rock…or in a quiet corner of our home. What is important is that
we do
it, for, in the undertaking, 2000 years of history and wisdom in the
Church
assures us that we will benefit. We will better understand how we
make…and
then, how we might make…this priceless and precious journey which is
our
earthly life.
A
most holy Lent to each of you.
Faithfully,
The
Revd RL Ficks III
Rector
The
Annual Meeting of
Saint
John’s Parish
has been
rescheduled
to
January 30th
at 11.20am in the
Parish
House
Ash
Wednesday ~
Services of Ash Wednesday (at
which ashes will be imposed for those who so wish and the Eucharist
celebrated)
will take place at 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
on February 9th in the Chapel.
Stewardship
for the year 2005 ~ In
October you
should have received the request of the Vestry for your support of
Saint John’s
Operating Budget during fiscal year 2005. If you have not yet done so,
we ask
that you take time to review this request with care and prayerfully
make the
decision regarding how you will respond. Your support of Saint
John’s is
essential to
our continued strength, and we pray that your response will be
generous. If you
did not receive this letter and wish to receive one, please call the
Office
(868-2527) and let us know. We will send it right along or you ought to
feel
free to use the pledge card reprinted on the blue sheet in this edition
of the
Eagle.
Loaves
and Fishes ~ This
ministry, in which Saint
John’s has been involved for well over ten years, is an important
effort to
feed those in need in our neighboring town of New Milford. Of late,
there seems
to have been a falling away of support for it amongst our Parishioners
and only
a few dedicated individuals have been left to “carry the ball.” Not so
terribly
much is required of us in order to make this effort function fairly and
smoothly. You need only pick up a pan from the table in the Parish
Hall, fill
it with a hearty dish (pasta, stew, etc.), and return it to the Parish
House at
your convenience. It will either be refrigerated or frozen for use at
Loaves
and Fishes where it will, indeed, feed the hungry at our very
doorsteps. If you
are willing to make a deeper commitment, three hours of your afternoon
on our
“day” at Loaves and Fishes (the third Friday of each month) would
assist
tremendously with the serving of the day’s meal. Saint
John’s is next
scheduled
to serve at Loaves and Fishes on February 18th. As noted, please sign
up on the
Parish Hall bulletin board to help and pick up a pan from the table in
the
Parish Hall, fill it with a hearty concoction, and return it to Saint
John’s no
later than Noon on the
18th. You
may also feel free to bring the pan back at any time convenient for you
prior
to that and put it in the refrigerator or freezer as may be most
appropriate.
Family
Sunday
~ This Sunday, January 30th is Family Sunday. We look
forward to
greeting all members of the Parish in church during the 10.00 am
liturgy. There will be childcare provided in the Undercroft after the
service
in order to allow parents to attend the Annual Meeting.
Confirmation ~ On
Saturday, June 4th,
Confirmation will be offered for members of this Parish. If you have a
child in
his or her thirteenth year or up who might wish to be confirmed at this
next
opportunity or are an adult who would wish to be confirmed or reaffirm
their
baptismal promises in the presence of the Bishop, please give the
Rector a call
(868-2527) and let him know of your interest. We will begin to work out
a
schedule of meetings in preparation for this event once we have a
better idea
how many might wish to be involved.
Hooray,
Hooray
Youth
Group Grinder Sale
For
Super Bowl
Sunday (2/6)
The
Youth Group is holding a Super Bowl Sunday Grinder Sale. Grinders can
be picked
up at the Coffee Hour on Super Sunday and may be ordered by email: stjohnschurch@snet.net or by using the order form
on the
attached pink sheet and returning it to the Church Office. Either way,
be sure
your order is received no later than 9.00am Friday,
Feb. 4th. Refer
to the pink
sheet to be sure you supply pertinent order information if using the
internet.
This sale will benefit the Youth Group’s plans to return to Appalachia this
summer to
continue their work improving housing for the area’s residents.
Shrove
Tuesday Pancake Supper ~ On
Tuesday
February 8th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saint
John’s Annual
Shrove Tuesday Supper will take place. We want
to make note of the fact that we need helpers that evening in the
kitchen. Please,
if you would be willing to help out for a couple of hours cooking
pancakes,
give the Rector a call (868-2527). He would be most grateful to have
some
volunteers to help with the evening.
Rector
Away ~
During the period January 31- February
4th, the Rector will be in Texas
assisting with the
reading of the General Ordination Exams. In his absence, The Revd Roger
White
(927-3486) will take pastoral call. The Revd George Hall will celebrate
the
Eucharist on Wednesday, February 2nd at 9.30am.
Evensong
for the Feast of the Presentation ~
Evensong will be
sung this Sunday, January 30th at 5.00pm to mark
the Feast
of the Presentation…also known as Candlemas. It is a most ancient and
beautiful
occasion at which the gift of light to the world is celebrated; thanks
is
offered for the willingness of Mary to be the bearer of that light
which is the
Incarnation; candles are blessed; a procession takes place; and what
(to this
writer) are some of the most beautiful hymns of the Church are sung. We
hope
you might be here for this wonderful occasion. If you are uncertain
concerning
Evensong, please take a moment to read the attached yellow sheet for a
full
discussion of this ancient and beautiful service.
Vestry
News
~ At its regularly scheduled meeting of January
16, 2005
the following received attention:
The
minutes of the December
19, 2004
were accepted will modest emmendation.
The
Treasurer’s Report and Stewardship
Report were received as submitted.
Thank
you notes from members of the staff
for Christmas bonuses were read.
A
discussion of a Vestry gathering for
lunch or dinner took place. Jeanne Reid and Mary Schinke will pursue
this
undertaking.
The next
meeting of the Vestry will be February
20, 2005.
Youth
Group News ~ We will
be having
one of our now-legendary Grinder Sales on Super Bowl Sunday,
February 6th
(see enclosed pink order form). I expect a lot of repeat orders,
based on
our past reputation, so anybody who is free that day will be needed.
All hands
on deck!
We
will also sell grinder orders at Coffee Hour before the Annual
Meeting on
January 30th. Please be there!
In
addition to the Grinder Sale in February we will probably also
visit the
Youth Group at Trinity, Torrington, one
Sunday.
This will be partially just to get together and meet the people there,
and
partially to talk about the trip to West
Virginia for
those who are
interested in joining us. I'll send out an email just as soon as
the date
is set.
In the
meantime, I'll see everybody next week and the week after, and we'll
have a
chance to talk about other things we might want to do during February
and
March. At a meeting of both parents and Youth Group members, early in
January,
we talked about a number of ideas that would be fun, and don't
necessarily
have anything to do with a summer trip.
Send me
an
email if you've got a great idea for getting everyone together and
we'll see if
we can make it happen during the next few months!
~ Frances
Music
Notes
~ One
month ago it was Christmas Day 2004, an event that already seems as
remote in
history as Hannibal
crossing the Alps with
his herd of
pachyderms. The first few weeks of January are quite often a low
energy
time for most choirs, as their members recuperate from the rigours of
the
'holiday' season. But I am happy to report that both sections of
the St.
John's Choir -
i.e. the
Adult Choir and the Choristers – have made full recoveries and are on
excellent
form. Indeed, as of this writing we are looking forward to
celebrating
the Feast of Candlemas with a combined Choir/Chorister Service on
Sunday
morning, the 30th of January, and a beautiful candlelight Evensong
later that same
day at 5pm.
Both of
these will no doubt have taken place by the time this issue reaches
you.
Then it will be onward to the end of Epiphany and the beginning of
Lent, which
brings me to the topic of Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday,
which
this year falls on the 8th of February. On that day, in the late
afternoon, a festive pancake supper will be served in the Parish House
along
with the traditional Shrove Tuesday Talent Show.
Anyone who was a bit of Shrovian (or should that be Shrovish)
entertainment up
their sleeve - vocal, instrumental, terpsichorial, or otherwise - and
would
like to participate, should contact me as soon as possible so that we
can begin
organizing the program. Just talk to me after church on Sunday,
or ring
up the office at 868-2527. You can always leave a message if I'm
not in.
Two days after that, on Thursday the 10th of February, my pal Michael
Bawtree
from the U.K. will be joining me for an evening of music both serious
and
lighthearted for piano four-hands - two performers, one piano - in the
Parish
House. A light supper (prepared by the Rector!) and libations
will be
served. Michael and I have performed this sort of
program for many years in many places, and it has always been as much
fun,
judging from response, for the audience as for ourselves. Michael
is
stopping here for a 48 hour visit on the way from Glasgow, where
he is now
taking post-graduate courses in orchestral conducting at the Royal Scottish Academy, to San
Francisco, where
he will be
playing an organ recital. I must remark that only as intrepid and
enthusiastic a
traveler as Michael could possibly regard Washington, Connecticut as
being 'on the
way' from Scotland to San
Francisco.
But there
it is. Details of this program can be found elsewhere amongst these
pages, but
one bit of reiterative redundancy may be risked in stating that
reservations
are a must, as seating is limited.
Finally, I would like even at this early date to mention the St.
John's Chorale
Spring
Concerts. They will be taking place on Friday the 13th
and
Sunday the 15th of May in the Parish Hall and will feature the complete
Liebeslieder (Love Song) Waltzes, opus 52 and opus 65, by Johannes
Brahms. I can't think of a better way to welcome the Springtime
than with
these enchanting masterpieces of 19th century Romanticism. Please
plan to
join us for this Viennese evening. And, of course, the
Whiffenpoofs will
be on hand just one week prior to these concerts with their inimitable
delights, Sunday, the 8th of May.
Anticipating such a May as that should help remove the sting from such
a frigid
January as this.
In hopes that we may all continue to dodge the blizzards, I remain
Yours truly,
Richard
Busch
Parish
Register
Baptism
Graylen
Robert Wilson
~ January
2, 2005
Burials
Harold
James
Tompkins ~ December
28, 2004
Transfers
In
George
and Mary Davis ~ November
18, 2004
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