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October,
2005 Rector’s
Message Dear
Friends, I have a
colleague who is wont to say, “I
like it when children cry. It means someone will come and take them
away.” Not
a terribly cordial sentiment, but it makes a point. The presence of
children in
our midst can, at times, be a bit confusing...it can create
interruptions to
the order we might desire. The
matter is germane to our life here at As I
said, these are good things. The world
is a difficult place, and I rejoice in what is taking place here, for,
through
it, you and I have a chance to make life a little bit less difficult
for the
children entrusted to our care. I pray you rejoice with me and will
join me in
offering to these children the strength and direction a community of
faith such
as ours has the opportunity to offer. Two
prayers seem to me of special note in
this regard. Both are found on page 829 of the Book of Common Prayer. Almighty
God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of
children:
give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we
may teach
them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example
of our
Savior Jesus Christ. God
our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and
confusing
world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the
world, and
that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help
them to
take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a
new start.
Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and keep alive their joy
in your
creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Faithfully, The
Reverend Robert L. Ficks III This
Year’s Bazaar
will be held on Saturday, October 29th from 10AM-2PM. The
Preview Party
will be Friday, October 28th from 6:30PM-8:30PM. Please
mark you
calendars now to be part of this important event in the life of the
Parish. Laura
Daly and Chris Boshears will again be
in charge of this year’s planning of the Bazaar. Please take a moment
to review
what our needs are for this year. The sign up sheet will be in back of
the
Church every Sunday starting in September. Thanks to all who have
already
agreed to help us again this year. We still need lots of help and look
forward
to adding new volunteers to the list. Not to
be pushy, but we would like to know
as soon as possible if you are willing to help out. This will allow us
to
organize the work in the most effective way. If you have any questions
before
you commit to helping, please call Laura (868-9526). As was
the case last year, the bidding for
certain silent auction items including vacation homes donated for a
weekend
will be reserved for the Preview Party only. Invitations for the
Preview Party
will be mailed out in mid-September. If you are a parishioner, you are
already
on the mailing list. If you would like to be included on the mailing
list,
please call Laura Daly (868-9526). BAZAAR
SPECIAL NEEDS
There
are some specific needs we would like
to highlight: Silent
Auction
Please
consider donating valuable
furnishings, decorative arts, china, silver, etc. in good condition
(with a
minimum value of $25). Also, we ask that you consider donating a
service or use
of a second home or apartment for a weekend. Please accompany all
donations
with your name, description of the item and suggested value (the Silent
Auction
Committee will assign minimum bids). This will help us to keep track of
donations for our records and also for your tax-deductions. If you have
any
questions regarding a possible donation, please call Ann
Burton (868-2003) to inform her of your intentions so she can
stay on top of the inventory list for this all-important aspect of the
Bazaar. Last
year, we had great success with
donated items that were not auctioned off but priced to buy. We will be
doing
this again this year. So, please bear this in mind when you are
thinking of donating
items for the Bazaar. Donated
items should be brought to the
Parish House beginning October 8th. Call
the Parish House to arrange for pick-up if they are
too large for
you to handle by yourself. Lastly,
we need volunteers to man the
Silent Auction tables for both Friday’s Preview Party and Saturday. Preview
Party
We need
helpers to get this party going,
both in the kitchen and to serve. We will need 3-4 bartenders. We will
also
need volunteers to stuff envelopes to get the invitations in the mail
on time.
This would need to be done mid-September. Larder
Based on
last year’s success, we need baked
goods, soups and chutneys. Single serving items or small packages of
brownies
etc. were excellent impulse purchases last year. Call
Ann Hodgman (868-0583) if you will contribute goods to this
booth. We will need people to help Ann
sell items at
this booth on Friday and Saturday. Winter
Flowers
As
in the past, we need lots of containers suitable for the forcing of
bulbs. We
encourage those wishing to help to bring the containers to the Parish
House as
soon as possible. This will give us ample time to get this ever-popular
booth
ready in time for the Bazaar. We will also need helpers to pot up the
bulbs
(date and time TBD).
We will
also need one person on Friday and
Saturday to oversee this booth. Raffle
We
need someone to oversee the
selling of the tickets. Laura Daly will take care of the paperwork
involved in
running the raffle, but is desperate for someone to actually be in
charge of
getting tickets distributed and sold. Please call Laura
(868-9526)
if you are interested. Also, we
need volunteers to sell the tickets around town and beyond. Finally, we
will
need helpers to man the Raffle booth during the Bazaar both Friday and
Saturday.
Christmas
Crafts
We
really need individuals to help make
holiday crafts for this booth. We need knitters and those who would
like to
decorate Christmas ornaments. This booth is quite successful and can
become
even more so with a few extra helping hands. Call Laura
(868-9526) if you are interested in helping. Box
Lunch
Suzanne
Shrady has graciously agreed to
chair this part of the Bazaar activities. It would be great if someone
could
help Suzanne organize the box lunch. We also need volunteers to prepare
and
serve lunch. Cheese
Jill
Nicolson has once again agreed to be in charge of this
booth. We also need someone to donate a scale in order to weigh the
cheese and
price in accordingly. We can also use volunteers to man the table for
both
Friday and Saturday.
Set up
and Clean up
Crews We need
volunteers to help set up the
Bazaar a few days before the event, clean up after the Preview Party on
Friday
night and close down the Bazaar on Saturday afternoon. We are
looking forward to another grand
Bazaar. We thank you all in advance for your time and effort in making
the
Bazaar the wonderful event that it always is. Adult
Forum
~ We are fortunate that the Reverend Rowan Greer has agreed again to
lead the
Autumn Adult Forum at A
religion makes some ultimate claim on our belief. It
demands a commitment. A literary
experience, on the other hand,
does not. ... [Despite the difference
between poetry and religion] one still must concede that religion and
poetry
have much in common. ... the relationship between religion and poetry
is a
polar relationship in something of the same sense in which we speak of
the
poles of an electric battery ... poles that mutually attract each other
and
thus generate a current of energy." –
“This
is only one way of describing the relationship of poetry to religion. Perhaps we shall find others.
We shall spend ten weeks examining specific
poems, and you will find a detailed schedule is available on 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. Layreaders,
Chalice Bearers, Acolytes and Ushers ~
Please be aware that any member of the
Parish who is interested in becoming involved in any of these
ministries should
feel free to contact the Rector and let him know of that interest. You
would be
most welcomed and your gifts received with gratitude. We have
a special need this year for new
Acolytes. A number of our more senior corps members have gone off to
college.
Any young person in fourth grade or above would be welcomed to become
involved
in this ministry in the life of Rector
Away ~ During the period of October 3 through
October 8, the Rector will be in Family
Sunday ~ The first Family Sunday (that one Sunday each
month when the young people of the Parish join us in the Church for the
entire
service) will take place on Sunday the 2nd of October at the
10.00
am service. Evensong
~ Evensong will be sung on Sunday, October 2nd
at 5.00pm for the Commemoration of the Feast of Saint Michael and All
Angels. Saint
Francis Day - Blessing of the Animals ~ On
October 16 at 1.00pm, the opportunity
to participate in the traditional blessing of the animals will be
offered on
the steps of Christian
Education Update ~ The
following
provides you with information regarding Nursery
- This
program, for
the youngest of our members, is offered in the Undercroft every Sunday
from
9.00am through the end of Sunday School (approximately 11.15am). Erin Koslosky, a senior at Shepaug High
School, who comes to us with the highest personal recommendations and
considerable background caring for small children, will be present in
the
Undercroft each Sunday beginning this week (9/18). We have
structured her
time here to begin at 9.00am in order that parents with children can
have the
opportunity to participate in the Choir or the Adult Forum. During
Sunday
School, Sunday
School - Sunday
School begins next week (9/25) at 10.00am in the
Undercroft.
For young persons up through fifth grade, this “one room schoolhouse”
model
provides a nurturing and loving environment in which children learn the
lessons
of the faith as well as care and concern for one another from 10.00 to
11.00
each Sunday. Sunday School lessons follow those being used each Sunday
in the
regular liturgy in the Church. At approximately 11.00am, parents come
downstairs from the Church to bring their youngsters back up with them
to share
in Communion (or, if they are not ready for that, to receive a blessing
[Parents desiring to have their children start to receive Communion
should be
in touch with the Rector]). One Sunday a month (ie, Family Sunday), all
youngsters (except the very smallest…who can stay with Erin) come to
the entire
service with their parents where they take an active role in many
aspects of
the liturgy (during which the Saint John’s Choristers sing in company
with
members of the Senior Choir). This
year’s first Family Sunday is October 2nd. For parents
interested in learning a bit about the subject matter which is covered
on a
Sunday by Sunday basis in the Sunday School, you can go to the website (www.stjohnswashington.org);
click Christian Education; scroll
down a bit; and click the
link entitled “Weekly Sunday School Lessons”. This will allow parents
to
discuss with their child(ren) what went on in Sunday School in a more
informed
manner.The first third of this “school year” will be taught by Jeanne
Reid,
Dixie Deluca, and Susan Markert. Middle
Schoolers - Young
persons in the
6th through 8th or 9th grade (this
decision
rests with the young person and his or her parents) gather two Sundays
a month
at 10.00am in the Parish House Library to spend time discussing matters
that
affect their lives at this particular time in their development.
Particular
attention is given to deepening understanding of the Christian journey
and
creating a comfortable environment to discuss matter concerning ethical
decisions and the increasingly complex situations that confront these
young
people as the approach adulthood. The
first two meetings of this group will be on October 9th and
16th
in the Parish House Library at 10.00am. This group is led by Bett
Alter,
the head of the History Department and teacher of Ethics at The Gunnery
School.
Bett has many years of experience in this particular area of work with
young
men and women. She has lived and worked in Youth
Group - Young
persons from
6th through 12th grade are all invited to
participate in
the work and life of the Youth Group. Under the guidance of Caroline
Sorrel,
David and Camille Gillespie, Julia Brennan, and Steve McCollian, this
group
undertakes all sorts of service projects (in recent years having
traveled to
Honduras once and Appalachia twice to help those in need as well as
tending to
leaf raking, etc at various Parishioner’s homes) as well as gathering
simply to
have some fun (ie, Christmas caroling, hosting dances, etc.). The first meeting of the Youth group is
September 25th at 10.00am in the Parish House Library.
Pictures
and narrative of the Youth Group’s most recent mission trip (during
August of
this year) are available on the website (www.stjohnswashington.org)
at the
bottom of the homepage on the link entitled “Letters from Loaves
and Fishes is in Need ~ For
many years, Daylight
Savings Time ~ A
reminder to set your clocks back an hour before going to bed on
Saturday ,
October 29th. Youth
Group News ~ The
Youth Group met
on Sunday, September 25th and prepared a wonderful Coffee
Hour for
the entire Parish. The members present spent a good bit of time
discussing
activities for the coming year. The next activity will be going on a
Haunted
Hay Ride in Woodbury near Holloween. Of special note, is the plan to
have a
farewell and thank-you reception for Francis Chamberlain as she
completes
almost ten years as leader of the Youth Group on November 6th…the
date the Group will present a review of it trip this last Summer to Vestry
News ~ At its
regularly
scheduled meeting of Sunday, September 18, 2005 the following received
attention: ·
Minutes
of the
August 21st meeting were accepted as read. ·
Mr
Fowlkes present
a review of the work of the Stewardship and Finance Committee in
preparation
for the Stewardship Campaign of 2006. ·
Mr
Fowlkes
presented the Treasurer’s Report for August. It was accepted as
presented. ·
The
Rector reminded
the Vestry of Saint John’s commitment to hosting the Deanery Lessons
and Carols
service on December 4th at 5.00pm. ·
Ms
Schinke
submitted the final draft of the revised Parish By-Laws. They will be
submitted
to the Parish for approval at the Annual Meeting in January. ·
The new
Parish
Financial Guidelines, as prepared by Mr Fowlkes, were approved and will
go into
effect immediately. Any Parishioner interested in reading these
guideline is
welcome to ask for a copy from the Office. The next
meeting of
the Vestry will be October 16, 2005. Music
Notes ~ What
a difference a year makes! Last
September I had just arrived in Washington and was faced with the task
of
trying to get the kaleidoscopic music program at St. John’ s up and
running for
the first time - well, the first time for me at any rate.
I was in
a position not unlike that of a person trying to cook a meal in
somebody else’s
kitchen when the owner is away. Such a person might well know how
to
cook, yet still finds himself flummoxed because he doesn’t know where
utensils
and ingredients are kept, or how to operate unfamiliar
appliances. The
result? He wastes a great of time either asking himself amusing
but
pointless questions like “If I were a pepper mill where would I be
hiding?” or
reading convoluted instruction booklets like “How To Make The Most Of
Your New
Solar-Powered Cheese Grater!” Neither of which pursuit is of much help
in
getting a meal on the table efficiently. No one will be more
aware of the
aptness of this simile than our Rector. I can’ t begin to guess
how many
hundreds of times last fall I must have enquired piteously, “Bob, can
you
PLEASE tell me in which file of which folder on which computer I might
possibly
find whatsis?” This
September has
been very different. Having completed a full cycle working within
the
various departments of the music program, and having unlocked the
secrets of
most of the behind-the-scenes mechanics, I’ve managed to make the
transition
from the calm of summer to the “full tilt' mode of autumn with a
minimum of
complication. The Choir, Chorale, and Choristers are all back in
action
with several new members swelling the ranks of capable and dedicated
musicians
in each of these groups. This is good news indeed, since without
them
nothing can happen. Some
events of
note: The first Evensong of the 2005-2006 season will take place
on
Sunday, the 2nd of October, in commemoration of the feast of St.
Michael and
All Angels. For this beautiful service the choir will be
augmented by
several visiting singers. We hope as many of you as possible will
be able
to attend. The I would
also like
to point out that the first concert of this season’s St. John’ s
Concert Series
will be taking place on Sunday, the 9th of October, at 4 PM. This
concert
will feature English tenor, Simon Wall, a superb young artist who has
performed
extensively in Europe and the It’ s
good to be back
working with the fine singers of St. John’ s after their summer hiatus,
and I
look forward to lots of fine music making during the coming
year. Now if
only someone
would be good enough to tell me, in a way I can remember, just how to
send a
fax! But that’s another story. Sincerely, Richard
Busch Parish
Register Burials Patrick
Robert
Clynes, September 10, 2005 |