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November, 2006 Dear
Friends,
It probably remains true that the big holiday in November
is Thanksgiving Day. To be sure, no longer does
Santa Claus bring the Christmas tree while the children are asleep on
Christmas Eve. Instead, the Christmas rush intrudes
earlier and earlier into November. Despite this we
should do well to spend a little quiet time in November thinking about
giving thanks. There are times in our lives when
this is not an easy thing to do. Bereavement,
illness, the inevitable reverses of fortune, and the difficulties that
beset our busy lives often quench a thankful spirit.
Early in the fifth century in the eighty-fourth year of
his life a man named Paulinus of Pella wrote a poem in which he
recounts his life and reflects upon it. The story
he tells begins with a sheltered and happy childhood, with all that
education, wealth, and position could give him. But
most of the poem describes his loss of all this because of the
barbarian invasions. One disaster succeeds another
as Paulinus seeks for ways to survive. And yet the
title of his poem is The Thanksgiving, and he claims that "as
my old age improves my vision, I see now that when I lost all of that,
the loss became a profit for me. When those riches
of the world were taken away, I could seek those riches that never pass
away."
Few of us have been caught up in the sort of disaster
experienced by Paulinus, but perhaps his reflections can make sense for
us. That is, a spirit of thanksgiving can enable us
to discern what really matters and what will last. And
these things are often the simplest and humblest of our experiences –
what the bumper sticker calls "random acts of kindness." Moreover,
a spirit of gratitude can also become one of generosity. When
Christ tells us that we become most ourselves when we lose ourselves in
caring for others (cf. Mark 8:35), he is, I think, telling us what
"good works" really are. What we do, ideally,
should spring from thanksgiving translated into love, rather than
finding its basis in obligation or obedience to some sort of rule or
law. We do not always attain this ideal, but the
more we can act freely and spontaneously out of a spirit of
thanksgiving, the more we are freed from drowning in a sea of
obligations. And so, to put in a small plug for the
stewardship campaign and apply the idea to it, it is in the spirit of
thanksgiving that we should respond – freely and not merely out of
obligation. The familiar Prayer of Thanksgiving
puts my point best of all:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy
servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy
goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men. We
bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of
this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption
of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for
the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us
that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly
thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips,
but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking
before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days....
~ Rowan Greer Hooray
for the Bazaar! ~ As
this edition of The Eagle is being put in the mail, we are at the eve
of this year’s Saint John’s Bazaar. We have no
doubt that it will be a fantastic success and extend our deep and
abiding thanks to Chris Boshears and Laura Daly who agreed to serve as
co-chairs of the Bazaar this year and to Ann Burton and Isabel Fowlkes
who chair the Silent Auction. Thanks also goes to
dozens and dozens of other individuals who will be pitching in to make
the Bazaar the wonderful success it always is. Congratulations
and deep gratitude to everyone who made this labor of love to benefit
the work Saint John’s. Family
Sunday ~
Family Sunday (when the young people of the Parish join us
in the Church for the entire service) will take place on the 29th
of October at the 10.00 am service. Evensong
~
Evensong will be sung on Sunday, October 29th
at 5.00pm for the Commemoration of the Feast of All Saints. Adult
Forum ~ We are
fortunate that the Reverend Rowan Greer has agreed again to lead the
Autumn Adult Forum at Saint John’s. The Forum
begins on Sundays at 9.00am
in the Parish House Library and allows those who have attended the 8.00am service to be in this
gathering as well as those who will be attending the 10.00am service. The
Forum ends about five minutes of ten and coffee is available for those
attending. This year’s Forum will use as a framework, The Oxford
History of Christian Worship, which will provide a wonderfully
informative and intriguing look at the manner in which the Church has
come to worship as it does today. Its history will
be traced from its earliest roots in Judaism and The New Testament,
through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation and more modern times.
This Forum is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your
appreciation and understanding of what the liturgy is, represents, and
offers. This year’s Forum will be offered the weeks
of September 17 – November 19. We
cordially invite you to attend these meetings. It is not essential that
you attend all of them but certainly are urged to come to as many as
possible. You are assured that your time will be time very well spent.
We are graced to have as fine a teacher as Father Greer in our midst. During
the Rector’s Absence on Sabbatical ~
During the period September 1st through
December 1st the Reverend Rowan Greer, assisted by the
Reverends Randall Balmer and Susan McCone will oversee the services of
Sunday. The Reverends George Hall, Roger White and
Susan McCone will preside at the 9.30 Eucharists on Wednesdays.
The Reverend Roger White will be taking emergency pastoral
call through November 8th; and November 18th
through December 1st. Roger may be
reached at the Office of Saint Andrew’s Parish in Kent 927-3486.
During the period November 9th through November
17th The Reverend Susan McCone will be on emergency pastoral
call. Susan may be reached at 868-9741 or
212-759-1508. Please note that, if any of these
dates change, the proper emergency pastoral call number will be
available on the answering machine at Saint John’s Office 868-2527.
Matters of day-to-day business should be directed to
Maureen Griffin, Parish Administrator, at the office. If
necessary, you may contact the Wardens, Chris Boshears (868-9340) or
Mary Schinke (355-8609). Daylight
Savings Time ~
A
reminder to set your clocks back an hour before going to bed on
Saturday , October 28th. Observance
of All Saints’ Day ~ On
Sunday, October 29th at the 8:00a.m. and 10.00a.m. services
and at the 5:00p.m. Evensong, The Feast of All Saints’ will be observed.
At the morning services, members of the Parish who have
died this year will be remembered as well as those whose names are
given to us by members of the Parish who wish to have various departed
loved ones remembered. Ordination
of The Revd. Dr. Randall Balmer ~ At Saint
John’s Church, on the 7th of December at 7:00p.m., the
Reverend Dr. Randall Balmer will be ordained to the priesthood.
This is, of course, a major milestone in the life of one
who has become an integral part of our Parish life. You
are not merely invited but urged to attend this celebratory service,
one of such importance in the history of Saint John’s, and support
Randall as he enters upon his priestly ministry. Advent
Lessons & Carols ~
On December the 10th at 5.00 p.m., Saint John’s
will host the Deanery Service of Advent Lessons & Carols. This
marvelous service, crafted decades ago at Cambridge University by Eric
Milner-White, is one of the gems of the Anglican Church and offers a
beautiful opportunity to hear the word of God in readings related to
the Advent of our Lord and to rejoice in the music so many talented
individuals have composed to celebrate this event. The Clergy from the
Parishes of the Deanery will read at this service, and The Right
Reverend Andrew Smith, Bishop of the Diocese will be the Officiant. The
Altar Guilds of the Deanery will receive special recognition at this
service and a lovely reception will follow. Please mark your calendars
to be here for this evening. Christmas
Card Sale ~
Choose
from several designs depicting the beautiful scenes in the paintings of
Henry Siddons Mowbray for your holiday greetings. The
cost is $15 for 10 Note Cards or Christmas Cards and the proceeds from
the sales benefit both the Altar Guild and Saint John’s Church.
The cards are available at Saint John’s or by calling Ann
Burton at 868-2003. Nominations
for the Vestry ~ Please
be aware that, during November, the Vestry Nominating Committee (made
up of those members leaving the Vestry in any given year) will be
meeting to make nominations for new members of the Vestry and Officers
for the coming year. This year, Christopher
Boshears, Mary Schinke, Winston Fowlkes, Peg Addicks, Joan Beattie,
Russ Elgin, Camille Gillespie and Ann Hodgman will comprise the
Committee. If you have a person you would like
considered as a nominee for the Vestry, would you take time to speak
with one of the above-mentioned members of the Vestry and let them know
of your interest. It would be most helpful if you
let them know why you felt the person you are suggesting is
particularly qualified for this post. The slate of
nominees for the Vestry will be presented at the Annual Meeting in
January 2007. Loaves
and Fishes is in Need ~ For
many years, Saint John’s has supplied food and food servers once a
month at Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen in New Milford. Over those
years, a considerable number of dedicated members of the Parish have
overseen this work. Most recently, David Poole has held this post.
In order for us to continue to undertake this ministry to
those in need practically at our doorstep, it would be a positive thing
if a few additional members of the Parish stepped forward to offer time
in this ministry. The commitment seems rather manageable…one Friday
afternoon a month for about two and one-half hours transporting
casseroles prepared by parishioners and stored in the Parish House
refrigerator to the Richmond Center on Main Street in New Milford,
warming them up, and helping serve them to those who visit the Center
for a daily hot meal. Obviously, if two or three volunteers step
forward, this commitment becomes quite modest and might be only
required of each volunteer three or four times a year. This is a
worthwhile ministry of this Parish to those in need. If
you are willing to explore the possibility of sharing in this effort,
please call David Poole (354.8964). Vestry
News ~
At its
regularly scheduled meeting of Sunday, October 16, 2006 the following
received attention:
The next
meeting of the Vestry will be November 19, 2006. Music
Notes ~
Anyone
not actually in the choir might well regard November as a rather
well-behaved, modest little month, with not much in it apart from
Thanksgiving just to give things a bit of spice. But to those of
us who toil weekly in the musical vineyard, November is in reality a
seething maelstrom of activity. The reason, of course, is
obvious: we’re getting ready for the feverish activities of
December. But I shant venture into next month’s details
yet. For one thing, it would deplete my supply of snappy copy for
December’s Eagle. As for
this issue, I have only a few retroactive ‘news’ ruminations. You
may recall that October’s music notes included a plea for singers,
especially altos, to swell our ranks. Alas, I fear I must report
that the result of that plea was rather less than hoped for. In
other words, none. However, on the bright side, one of our
erstwhile members who had been unable to sing with us for the past
several years due to the vicissitudes of life and early parenthood, has
now rejoined us. This is a circumstance for which we are all
abundantly grateful. It seems, too, by way of further good news,
that a sort of Special Evensong Choir is beginning to evolve.
Visiting singers from as near as Woodbury and as far away as Rhode
Island (!) have recently been joining us for these services, and have
expressed interest in continuing to do so on a semi-regular basis
throughout the year. Those who attended our two October Evensong
Services will have seen no less than four or five fresh faces amongst
the choir. What a difference if makes, not only to the fullness
of the sound but in the scope of the repertoire we can consider.
Of course, hope continues to spring that some singers from closer to
home may yet decide to take the plunge. The welcome mat remains
well swept and in place. Finally,
but by no means of lesser import, the highly and justly acclaimed
Manhattan String Quartet will be appearing here on the 12th of November
in the second of this season’s Saint John’s Concert Series. Their
program is not to be missed, including as it does the lovely quartet in
E minor by Bederich Smetana, and two Beethoven quartets - one from his
early period (opus 18, Nr. 3), the other (opus 135) his very last
composition, with regard to which may I venture to say, ‘What a piece!’ And beyond
finally, a resounding ‘Bravo!’ to Tom Brown for the stupendous recital
he gave here on the 8th of October. His artistry and virtuosity,
coupled with the sheer invention of those clever fellows Bach, Brahms,
Debussy, and Chopin left the large and appreciative audience literally
breathless. Keep
your eyes on this space for details of December’s complexities. Sincerely, Music
Director |