Eagle - June, 2005

As so often happens, it seems to me, as we come to the beginning of Summer, there are only to be a couple of things worthy of mention in my ramblings. Above all else, I need to thank every member of this Parish who has worked so hard during the previous months to ensure that life at Saint John’s has remained the rich and vital reality it is. Your care and commitment and love of this place and all it stands for is a gift of amazing grace and one for which I am deeply grateful.

I think all else that needs to be said as the quieter days of Summer draw nigh, is to pray that these days provide you with all that you anticipate they might and that yours will be a Summer of health and peace and deepening faith.

Sunday School News

A very important Sunday is coming on June 5^th. At the 10.00am service on this Sunday, Sunday School Graduation will take place, and we certainly hope that all the young people of the Sunday School will be attendance for this important moment in our Church year. It is also to be a Sunday on which the future of the Sunday School is held in relief for us both through addresses by Tom O’Connor and Ann Hodgman as well as the sermon which the Rector will preach. The Sunday School Steering Committee has been working for the last year to clarify and plan for the future needs of Saint John’s Sunday School. This is the moment at which that work comes into focus and is a time of tremendous importance for the future of this important aspect of Saint John’s. PLEASE mark your calendars and make it a point to be in church for the 10.00am service that Sunday. This doesn’t mean just those people with children but the entire membership of the Parish. The life of the Sunday School affects directly the future of this institution, and we need you here to participate in, and come more deeply to understand, this aspect of our life together.

Rummage Sale ~ It seems that this year, while there were a few that were able to help with the Rummage Sale, there really were not enough strong backs to deal with what is a significant undertaking. In light of this, we feel it best to allow the Rummage Sale to rest for a year and hope that it may find its way to life again next year. To those who did volunteer, our deep thanks. You were remarkably kind.

Rector Away ~ The Rector will be on holiday from the 13^th to the 23^rd of June. During his absence the Reverend Roger White (927-3486) will take emergency pastoral call.

Loaves & Fishes ~ Our day for Loaves & Fishes is June 17^th. Please sign up for cooking food or delivering it and serving it at Loaves & Fishes. The sign-up sheet is in the Parish House. Please have the pans of food delivered by Noon on the June 17^th. Please note: we are extremely needful of volunteers to help with serving on that day. It will not take a great deal of your time, but it will be a tremendous help at the Soup Kitchen.

Vestry News ~ At its regularly scheduled meeting of Sunday, May 15, 2005 the following received attention:

· The minutes of the April 17, 2005 meeting were approved with modest emendation.

· The Stewardship Committee and Treasurer’s Reports were accepted as submitted.

· Tom O’Connor presented a marvelous report on the work of the Sunday School Steering Committee. The report was very well received by The Vestry and considerable enthusiasm evidenced for this effort.

Outreach Committee ~ At its meeting of April 24^th the following received review. Linnea Morris and Catherine McCollian lead a presentation of the Youth Group’s plans to return to Appalachia this Summer. The Committee approved a grant of $1,000 to help fund this effort. Sandy Shrady, reporting on the work of Project Redirect of Long Island, brought the Committee up to date on work going on there. He will continue to keep the Committee informed in this matter in hopes that Saint John’s might become involved with this work in relocating and housing the homeless. An additional grant of $500 was made to the Saint John’s Fund at the town’s Social Worker’s Office. Mary Schinke gave a most informative presentation on the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia

. The Committee allocated $1,000 to the work of this organization. The next meeting of the Outreach Committee will take place on Sunday, June 12^th at 11.30am in the Library.

Music Notes ~ Some years ago, a prominent movie critic wrote what is almost certainly the shortest review in the history of journalism. The picture in question was called 'Boom!', and the review consisted of a single word: 'Ouch!' When thinking about my article for this month's Eagle, I was tempted to steal a page from this reviewer's hand-

May was the sort of month that seemed to contain at least half a year's-worth of goings on. From the Whiffenpoofs' concert at the beginning of it to the glorious Evensong at the end, May has been a very busy time indeed. The faithful members of the Choir and the St. John's Chorale must have felt, from time to time, that they'd actually established permanent residence in the choir room, taking only brief periods of time off for visiting their homes and families. But their extreme efforts were proven well worthwhile.

The St. John's Chorale concerts on the 13th and 15th were a delight. The group sang superbly, my colleague at the piano, Gil Rubin, was a joy to work with, and the gratifyingly large audiences at both performances were attentive, appreciative, and highly enthusiastic in their response. To use the standard expression, 'A good time was had by
all.' Many, many thanks to all the Chorale members whose enormously hard work over the past many months made these performances so successful. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every singer, many of whom, in order to get their solo passages just right, put in a great deal of extra work beyond the regular rehearsals. And an additional word of thanks must go to Laura Daly who gave so generously of her time and expertise in helping to decorate our 'Viennese Ballroom' (and in helping to take it all

On the morning of the 22nd, St. John's Choristers joined in the musical celebration of the Eucharist for the last time until next fall – another 'seasonal finale'. Those young parishioners who have participated in this program during the year are to be commended for all their hard work, and their parents for their dedication and assistance, without

The Service of Evensong on Sunday the 22nd of May was the choir's final such service for the current season. It was a magnificent service, made all the more splendid by the participation in it of several 'guest' singers. These beautiful services, occurring at regular intervals throughout the year, are for the choir very important landmarks in it's musical and spiritual life; times to step back from the feverish pace and bring into focus the underlying reason why we do the work we do. I know from my experiences as an attendee at such services that this sense of reflective revelation comes through to anyone

The choir will continue to sing throughout June, and perhaps, with a somewhat reduced number of singers, through much of July. Even so, I'm sure our singers are looking forward to a bit of a summer lull, a lull they most assuredly deserve.