Eagle_May

As the “year” begins, I am struck by the pace of life which seems to be consuming more and more time for more and more people. The most common complaint I hear from those who come to my Office to speak about matters which may be on their mind is, in one manner or another, a form of the following. “I seem to have so little time for myself and my thoughts…time simply to be quiet.”

I think this is, without a doubt, the overwhelming reality of the beginning of the 21^st century, and it is one we are wise to acknowledge…and then to find means to engage. The human soul can only survive for so long without adequate nourishment. It is no different from any other vital and functioning part of our beings. Endless hours seem to me to be devoted to the manners in which human beings of this age care for, and nourish, their bodies…far more, in fact, than seem to be dedicated to caring for and nourishing their souls.

I wonder if it mightn’t be wise for each of us to reflect in the days ahead regarding how we are nourishing our souls…whether or not Saint John’s (or some other entity devoted to such nourishment) may not offer means for us to become healthier…more whole. One is wise to remember that the root of the word “salvation” is salvus…translated reasonably accurately, “health and wholeness.”

There are the regular services of Sunday…the Wednesday Eucharist…Evensong on a regular basis…the Adult Forum on Sunday mornings…the Altar Guild and Flower Committee…Layreaders…Chalicists…the Choir…the Chorale…not to mention a side door always open to allow you the opportunity quietly to sit and reflect in this most holy and beautiful space.

For those of us blessed with the care of children, the same questions might well be asked. How are their souls being nourished…Sunday School…Youth Group…the Choristers…Acolytes?

How we use the days allotted to us is everso important, for they are finite in number. Might these waning days of Summer not offer each of us a time to commit ourselves to the nourishment of our souls during these coming months that we might arrive at “year’s end” better nourished…refreshed…more whole and healthy…than we begin?

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 Saint John’s. Please contact Father Ficks (868-2527) for additional details.

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 9.00 AM in the Parish House Library and allows those who have attended the 8.00 AM service to be in this gathering as well as those who will be attending the 10.00 AM service. The Forum ends about five minutes of ten and coffee is available for those attending. This year’s Forum will be offered the weeks of September 19 – November 21. Father Greer’s topic this year will be “Poetry and Religious Truth.” Father Greer notes,

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 by going to the Christian Education page of the website; scrolling to the bottom of the page; and clicking Adult Forum Schedule. That agenda is obviously highly selective. Consequently, people are encouraged to submit their own favorites for our consideration.”

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.

Youth Group News ~ Four members of our Youth Group -- John Gillespie, Catherine McCollian, Linnea Morris and Tucker Deane-Krantz -- joined with four teenagers from Trinity, Torrington, to travel to Appalachia from August 8 through 12. We returned to the same area we visited two years ago, McDowell County, which was devastated by floods only a few years ago. We actually went back to the community center in Premier, which we had painted as carpenters finished construction two years ago. This large building, set in the midst of dozens of FEMA trailers, serves as job-training and computer classrooms, a church, day-care center, offices, food distribution site and community center. In the two years since we were there the building had seen a lot of hard use, and we spent a lot of our time painting and cleaning.

We also organized and delivered school supplies to children both in Premier and along the creek, wherever we spotted households that appeared to be occupied by families. Along the way we visited a typical West Virginia farm that was perched on a patch of ground on the mountainside. Just about everything we did was an "eye-opener" for the St. John's and Trinity kids. We ended up our week with a tour of a real coal mine, and then an adventurous and very slow trip back by Amtrak.

John, Catherine, Linnea and Tucker will have a chance to talk about their experience on Sunday, October 2, at the 10:00 a.m. service. The four Youth Group members from Torrington will be making a presentation at Trinity on Sunday, October 30.

Please put these dates on your calendar! More news to come about our Youth Group early in the fall. If you are not on the Youth Group mailing list, but would like to be, please contact the Parish Office at 860-868-2527 and ask to be put on the mailing list.

Sunday School ~ This year’s Sunday School begins on Sunday the 25^th of September. During the period September 25th ~ November 20th (the season of Pentecost). During this first “term,” the Sunday School will be lead by Jeanne Reid and Tom O’Connor. The new format of the Sunday School is one that divides the year into three sections. Each section is lead by a different group of volunteers from the Parish. Last year was the second year this format was used, and it seems, on all counts, to have proved quite successful.

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, Oct. 2nd.

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).

All those who will be involved in the Bazaar are invited for coffee and refreshments at the Parish House on Thursday, September 29th at 9:30AM. Please note that we are having a morning meeting this time in hopes of a greater attendance rate. This will be an important pre-planning meeting.

BAZAAR SPECIAL NEEDS

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 8^th. 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).

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.

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.

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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 with David, please call the Rector (868.2527).

Youth Group Needs

For a number of years, Frances Chamberlain has given freely of her time in a ministry to the Youth Group as its leader. This has been a most gracious and overwhelmingly generous gift, and we are deeply indebted to Frances for giving it. It is time for her to leave and she will do so shortly after the first Family Sunday of the year when the Youth Group will do a presentation regarding its trip to Appalachia this summer.

Caroline Sorell, Camille & David Gillespie, and Steve McCollian have all indicated a willingness to assist with the Youth Group, but each of them has indicated that they would like some additional help. It is a case of many hands making light work, and, certainly, the more involvement we have from members of the Parish the more successful the Youth Group will be and the more creative thought can be brought to its life at Saint John’s.

Please take some time to consider this possibility and give the Rector a call with any questions you might have in this regard. He looks forward to hearing from some of you to the effect you are willing to move forward in this ministry.

Hull Scholarship ~ Under the guidance of Peg Addicks and Russ Elgin, the Hull Scholarship Committee awarded a scholarship to assist with the college education of 2005 graduates of Shepaug High School: Josh Kimball and Jessica Alex. Congratulations to these young persons and our thanks to the Hull Scholarship Committee for overseeing this aspect of life at Saint John’s.

Music Notes ~ I'm writing this newsletter article in Absencia, a remote and delightful area of Cape Cod where I'm spending my August 'vacation'. I've put the word vacation within parentheses in order to dispel any visions it might engender of relaxing days at the beach sipping rum-cocos under a beach umbrella. Not at all. During the past two weeks my chum Michael Bawtree and I have been giving a series of Piano-4 Hand concerts hither and thither, activities which have kept us both rather busy. This series of concerts will reach its culmination with a performance at St. John's Washington on Friday the 2nd of September. Indeed, by the time this newsletter has been received that performance may well have taken place.

And, of course, as of the 1st of September I will be back in Situ - a place not unlike Absencia, though slightly busier and in Western Connecticut - ready to get started on the duties of the 2005/2006 Church Year. I look forward to seeing the choir again as we begin a new year of sung services on the second Sunday of September. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to urge anyone within reach of The Eagle who may ever have considered joining the choir now to re-consider the idea very seriously. We are always looking for new singers, most especially in the Tenor and Bass sections. Practically all peculiarities of personal schedule can be accommodated, so please don't let the fact that you may often be out of town keep you from at least considering joining the choir. I'm always glad to talk with anyone who may be interested and try to answer any questions they may have.

The complete schedule of Evensongs for 2005/2006 is available by going to the homepage and clicking Choral Evensong. In addition, brochures containing information regarding the upcoming St. John's Concert Series are available at the entrance to the Church and Parish hall. Please note that the Christmas Candlelight concert given by the St. John's Chorale will be performed in the Sanctuary on Friday, 9 December at 8 PM and again on Sunday, 11 December at 4 PM. We will be singing both Te Deums by Benjamin Britten, the Messe de Minuit pour Nöel by Marc Antoine Charpentier, as well as works by Liszt and Victoria.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to Barbara Geary and Michael Ruminski, the organists who filled in for me so admirably during the month of August. It isn't always easy to find available musicians at this time of year, so I am particularly grateful for their willingness to help out. Many Thanks.

I'm very much looking forward to my return to Washington and to the beauties of Autumn in Western Connecticut, and to re-connecting with the wonderful people of St. John's Church.

Youth Group Meeting

The first Youth Group meeting of the year will be held

on Sunday, September 25 at 10am in the Parish Hall.

Many exciting possibilities for the year will be discussed

so please bring your ideas and come to this meeting!

Outreach Committee News ~ The Outreach Committee of Saint John’s wishes to inform you that the Reverend Gail Keeney-Mulligan, Rector of Saint John’s Church in New Milford, has written requesting Saint John’s Washington’s help in offering some volunteers to cover the New Milford church homeless shelter for one night a month. We have one volunteer so far and we need two more. The Reverend Keeney-Mulligan describes the commitment as follows:

We have the shelter open for five months, so we would ask for one or two
volunteers from your church one night a month. They could come together as a couple, preferably a man and a woman in order to provide a sense of safety and comfort to our guests. They would need to be at the church site at 9:00 and begin to check people in until 10:00 when the doors are locked. Lights are out between 10 and 10:30 and everyone sleeps until 5:30am, when all are wakened. They dress, pack their stuff into containers given them and they are stored and the guests are back on the street at 6:00, so that the volunteers can go home, to work, to school or wherever for their day. We run for five months from November to April.

If you would like to explore this possibility further, you are urged to contact the head of the Outreach Committee, Ted Bent, at 868-0577.