The Eagle - May 2007

It strikes me that those remarkable moments to which Mr. Wadsworth refers are, in fact, moments which reassure us of the reality of the Holy Spirit...that Spirit, the gift of which we celebrate the 27th of this month.

How often have you found yourself down...wrung out...weary of life and seeing little meaning in it? How often caught up in false opinion...contentious thought...trivial occupations? Those times come to us all, and they are awful times. But is it not a remarkable thing that we can overcome them? What is it that helps us begin to find joy again?

The Faith would answer that it is the Holy Spirit manifested through those who care about us and through the creation we inhabit...the Spirit which enlivens us again...which fills us with its fire. To pause to give thanks for such a gift is a good and joyful thing to do, and a means to reassure ourselves that no matter how difficult life might, at times, seem...we can hold fast to the Faith that there are to be spots of time when we will be nourished and invisibly repaired…through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit.

As we all know, St. John's is famous for its wonderful cooks. Now we're putting together a St. John's cookbook to spread that fame a little wider--and to raise money for St. John's as well.

We're looking for all your best recipes, of all kinds: beverages, appetizers, bread and breakfast items, side dishes, main dishes, desserts, chutneys and preserves, candies...whatever you like. We'd also love it if you included interesting notes, anecdotes, or histories with your recipes, since those are what make it so much fun to read a cookbook.

We will be kicking into high gear with this project over the summer with the plan to have the cookbook available at this October's Bazaar. To meet that deadline, we need all recipes by August 15. You'll shortly be receiving a paper mailing about the cookbook, with a self-addressed stamped envelope included, if you want to send your recipes by the regular mail. You can also email recipes to Laura and Ann at:

Please send the emails to both addresses. And feel free to call us with any questions you may have about this project.

Feel free, too, to submit as many recipes as you like. We're a small parish, so multiple entries will be fine. And if you have friends or relatives with a recipe you've always wanted, now is the time to ask them!

Look for further information and updates on this project in each week's Bulletin. Thank you all for your help. It's an exciting project and one that will bring lots of positive attention to St. John's

Loaves & Fishes ~ Our day for Loaves & Fishes is Friday, May 18^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 18^th. Please note: we are 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.

5^th– 8^th Grade Group ~ This group has been meeting with Bett Alter on a regular basis during this year and seems to be developing into a sound and worthwhile undertaking on the part of Saint John’s. During May this group will meet on the 6^th, the 13^thand the 20^th at 10.00am in the Parish House Library. Refreshments will be served.

Important News about the Silent Auction for the Bazaar ~ There is an effort underway to encourage members of the parish to “put on their thinking caps” about how they might support the Silent Auction. We are ready to begin receiving items for the Silent Auction and ask that you contact Ann Burton (868-2003) or Chris Boshears (868-9340) to let them know what it is you have and when you might like to bring it by. What is very important this year is for us to begin now to think about various goods and services that might be very attractive parts of the Silent Auction. By this we refer to the possibility of members of the Parish offering a stay in homes they may have in other parts of the country or the world; tickets to various sporting events; the opportunity to attend the opera or a symphony (perhaps with an opportunity to stay overnight in an apartment in New York); etc, etc. Items such as these have tremendous appeal to all sorts of people, and, in addition to all of the usual wonderful parts of our Bazaar, will do much to enhance the undertaking.

Vestry News ~ The regularly scheduled meeting of the Vestry took place on April 15, 2007.

Treasurer: Mr. Fowlkes reported that there is nothing major to add to the report for the first quarter of the year. In answer to a question about the rate at which pledges come in, he said that pledge payments are heavily weighted toward the end of the year.

Stewardship: Mrs. Schinke reported that one additional new pledge has come in since she wrote up the report she handed out, bringing the total of pledges so far to 109. She has sent a letter to those who pledged last year and who have not pledged this year.

In answer to a question about when people actually pay, Mr. Fowlkes said that we have never asked people to pay with any kind of periodicity. He could ask people to consider paying more frequently.

A discussion of the months ahead followed. There was a brief discussion of the process of finding a new rector.

Old Business: The Outreach Committee met. An allocation, already budgeted, has been made to St. John’s, Bridgeport, which depends heavily on our help. Mr. Poole reported that the literacy program in the Dominican Republic is going well.

New Business: Mrs. Schinke presented a proposal to rent the Parish Hall for Nia classes. The class would be held on Saturday mornings. Mrs. Schinke absented herself while the vestry discussed her proposal. There was some discussion about whether all groups should contribute the same amount when they use the parish hall. There was a motion to accept Mrs. Schinke’s request, said motion seconded and passed unanimously.

Music Notes ~ As we approach the end of April it is strange to reflect that less than thirty days ago we were still in Holy Week with Easter yet to happen. It certainly feels like at least half a year must have gone by since then. But, I suppose, that is the inevitable effect of such chock full mega-months. Exhilaration and disorientation in about equal parts.

This is not so say, of course, that May will be lacking in musical activity. By no means! In the middle of the month, on Friday the 18th at 8 PM and Sunday the 20th at 4 PM to be precise, the Saint John's Chorale will present its spring concerts. We have planned a program of music to complement and enhance the enjoyment of the season. (Thankfully the season in question has decided to behave itself at long last, and give the impression of a springtime that means business.) The Chorale will present Ralph Vaughan Williams' lushly romantic Serenade to Music, set to words written by Shakespeare in the last act of The Merchant of Venice, a passage that embodies some of the greatest observations on the power of music ever written; as well as the delightful Songs of Nature by Antonin Dvorak, a complete performance of Randall Thompson's Frostiana, a suite of seven pieces set to poems by Robert Frost; and a selection of 19th century choral songs. As has become our springtime practice, these performances will take place in the Parish Hall.

On the 27th of May, the feast of Pentecost will be observed with the final Evensong of this current season. The choir will sing C. V. Stanford's expansive Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in A, and one of that composer's most beautiful and sensitively set anthems, The Lord Is My Shepherd. The choir will be accompanied by our good friend John Abdenour from Saint Paul's Church in Fairfield. We all hope that you'll make every effort to attend this joyous service.

And thence onward into June. But perhaps we'll let June alone for the moment, sufficient unto May being the music thereof.