Notice an improvement?
Our fantastic painting team continues their work! The church has now been fully pressure-washed, and the front entrance stucco is painted. More work to be accomplished on Saturday and Monday! (More pictures at the bottom of this memo.)

Saint Andrew's-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO
September 23, 2010

Services for Sunday, September 26th, will be at 8 and 10 AM. Duane Dale will be preaching, reflecting on possible implications of the scripture readings on our care and tending of our building. Both services will be followed by coffee hour and a slide show and discussion. As we move forward in addressing maintenance issues, the Vestry and the Facilities Planning Committee are eager to be in open conversation with the parish. We hope you will be able to join for the discussion.

Saint Andrew's Presence at the Sandwich Fair, October 9th through 11th. For many years we have been trying to take advantage of the public visibility and fund-raising capacity of this hugely popular area event with a table at the Sandwich Fair. Thanks to Gretchen Behr-Svendsen's efforts, we have at long last succeeded! We will have a table in the "Farmers' Market" section.

Gretchen has been working heroically, largely on her own, growing gorgeous Indian corn, shallots, colorful gourds, and pumpkins on her family farm, for which we are enormously grateful. Carol Tubman has been busy canning relishes and jams, and Val May will be contributing her famous dog biscuits. But NOW it's time for the Parish as a whole to step up to the plate!

Our table will need to be staffed by two or three workers (you!) working in 3 1/2 hour shifts. We will need a set-up team from 4:30 to 6:30 on Friday Oct. 8th, then workers for morning, midday, and afternoon shifts on Saturday, the 9th, Sunday, the 10th, and Monday, the 11th. In exchange for your work, you will have access to a free pass to Fair the day you work. We will be located very near the back entrance, which will give us LOTS of visibility, even to hundreds (thousands?) of folks who are not necessarily "doing" the Farmers' Market.

It promises to be a lot of good community fun, and a fabulous way for us to raise money for Saint Andrew's. It is also a wonderful evangelical opportunity, as we share our gratitude for the world around us and the fruits of the harvest and offer healthy, beautiful, down-to-earth products. If we can be successful this year, we can expand next year.

How to sign up: Call the office and leave a message (603-323-8515). Email the office (office@standrewsinthevalley.org). Call Gretchen directly at 323-7459. Don't be surprised if you get a phone call! We really will need strong parish participation.

Initial Safe Church training session coming up: Safe Church training is required of all church members who do home visits or work with children, as well as all church staff, Vestry wardens, and treasurers. It is encouraged for all other Vestry members and interested parishioners.
The up-coming dates are October 2nd, at St. Paul's, in Lancaster, and November 20th, at St. Thomas, in Dover. Please contact our church office to register.

Readings for Sunday: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-161 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31

Food for thought from poet Mary Oliver (as we continue to reflect on the life of bees):

HUM
What is this dark hum among the roses?
The bees have gone simple, sipping,
that's all. What did you expect? Sophistication?
They're small creatures and they are
filling their bodies with sweetness, how could they not
moan in happiness? The little worker bee lives, I have read, about three weeks.
Is that long? Long enough, I suppose, to understand
that life is a blessing. I have found them -- haven't you?--
stopped in the very cups of the flowers, their wings
a little tattered -- so much flying about, to the hive,
then out into the world, then back, and perhaps dancing,
should the task be to be a scout -- sweet, dancing bee.
I think there isn't anything in this world I don't
admire. If there is, I don't know what it is. I
haven't met it yet. Nor expect to. The bee is small,
and since I wear glasses, so I can see the traffic and
read books, I have to
take them off and bend close to study and
understand what is happening. It's not heard, it's in fact
as instructive as anything I have ever studied. Plus, too,
it's love almost too fierce to endure, the bee
nuzzling like that in the blouse
of the rose. And the fragrance, and the honey, and of course
the sun, the purely pure sun, shining, all the while, over
all of us.

And the promised shots of a few of our worker bees:







Frank power washes the altar window wall.














A diligent worker (who?) makes sure that ALL surfaces get sealed.











George scrubs grime off the front of the church.













See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

Why are these five people smiling?
Because they have just finished painting the Memorial Garden stucco, the office exterior stucco and entire south side of the Parish Hall!

Thank you, Bruce, Duane, Cathie, George, Frank, also to Carol and Bob, who missed the photo!

Saint Andrew's-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO for September 16, 2010

Services for Sunday September 19th, will be at 8 and 10 AM. Both services will be followed by coffee hour.

The Rummage Sale in on! Once again you and the wider community have been incredibly generous with contributions of clothing and household linens. There are lots of "goodies" to be found, including many brand new items with their tags still on ... all at unbeatable prices! The sale will begin with a Friday morning segment from 10 to noon, then it will reopen from 5 to 8 PM. Saturday hours are 8 AM to 1 PM.
Many hands make light work. Do you have some available time? Packing up the unsold extras beginning at 12:45 on Saturday goes very quickly with good team of people; with only one or two it takes forever! You get the hint...

More help needed for Dinner Bell this Sunday! The rector and spouse could use a few willing hands from 5 PM through clean-up.

October Discussion Group forming. Take This Bread, by Sara Miles, will be our focus. To say this is a spiritual memoir of a twenty-first-century Christian is an understatement. It is gripping, funny, and truly thought-provoking. "Early one morning, for no earthly reason, Sara Miles, raised an atheist, wandered into a church, received communion, and found herself transformed -- embracing a faith she'd once scorned." Reading it is already changing the lives of several members of this parish!
Rather than a series of discussions meeting weekly, discussing a chapter or two a week, the plan this time is to read the book on your own, and then for us to meet as group at an appointed time. (Actually, if there is interest, we may offer several different times to meet to accommodate individual schedules.)
We will be submitting a group order in late September. List price is $15. To sign up, please email Debra in the office (office@standrewsinthevalley.org) or see the posted list in the Parish Hall, and stay tuned for discussion times in mid October.

A heads up for next Sunday, September 26th: Our Pledge Season continues with Duane Dale, chair of our Facilities Planning Committee, taking the pulpit to get us reflecting on "bricks and mortar" issues! Both services will be followed by a discussion, so plan on being there to be part of the conversation. Please hold your pledges at least until then, and preferably until after you have heard some of the October Sunday stewardship speakers.

A word from our Presiding Bishop as she addressed the House of bishops meeting...
reprinted HERE on our "2010 Blog" page.

Readings for Sunday: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1, Psalm 79:1-9, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Luke 16:1-13

Food for thought: What might it mean for all of us to "take care of our hive?"




Cathie advises Duane on the office wall.






Frank doing the high stuff!





















Come and rest a while in the garden...




See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

Bee hives? Honey? What's that all about? Come taste and see!

Saint Andrew's-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO
for September 9, 2010

The will be services at 8 and 10 AM this Sunday, September 12th. Join us for worship as we kick off our Fall Pledge Season. The Rev. Charles LaFond, Diocesan Canon for Congregational Life, will be with us as our preacher. Pledge packets will be distributed following each service. If you are unable to be with us in person, yours will be mailed to you during the week. The Stewardship Committee has had an especially fun time preparing for this season. Come! Taste and see!

Memorial Garden Stucco Painting Party this Saturday beginning at 8 AM. We could use a few more participants for prepping as well as painting. And a cheering squad is alwyas welcome ... just know you might be put to work! Call Duane at 367-8220.

Our Annual Rummage Sale will be held next weekend: Friday, September 17th, 10 to noon, and 5:30-8 PM; Saturday, September 18th, 8 AM to 1:30 PM. Spread the word. Prices are terrific and there are always "choice finds" to be had! The sign-up sheets for helpers is in the Parish Hall.

Dinner Bell help needed next Sunday, September 19th! Twice a year the rector and her spouse sign up to be Dinner Bell chefs, and Duane and I need your help! Traditionally, we team up with young people in the parish and their parents to prepare, serve, and clean up the meal that Saint Andrew's hosts each week -- but anyone would be welcome to join us. If you can give us a hand, let me know by phone, email, or in person. Many thanks. Your ideas about what to serve would be welcome (but are not required).

Readings for Sunday: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28, Psalm 14, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10

Food for thought:
From Charles LaFond "The View from Blackwater Bluff," September 2009

Honey bees are, by their nature, aware of their needs... Throughout the spring, the bees were wildly optimistic about life, due to huge vats of sugar syrup which slowly leaks into the hives as an encouragement from the beekeeper. The presence of the sugar syrup stimulates optimism -- resulting in the production of everything from wax cells to larvae to honey.
Under normals circumstances, a strong colony of 100,000 bees will collect considerably more honey than they need for winter. That extra honey is the last to be stored by bees and is the only honey which the beekeeper collects in the closing days of summer. The bees are not making honey for "I." The bees are making honey for "We." They do not exist as individuals, but rather as a collective which seeks to meet each others needs. The notion of "I" seems not to have any power in the bee hive.
Since I am not a bee, I am not as good at separating what I need from what I want... My honey bees are modeling a way of life echoed in nature throughout the wild kingdom: "take what you need. Leave the rest to others needs." It seems that only we humans have confused our needs and our wants. And truth-be-told, as I look back on my summer vacation of pottery, friendship, and pledge payments, these things are not just what I need but also what I want.
On most days, it is enough.

See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

"Like the stillness in the wind before the hurricane begins...."







Saint Andrew's-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO
for September 2, 2010

There will be ONE Service only at 9 AM this coming Sunday, September 5th. As this summer season draws to a close, please join us as "8 o'clockers" and "10 o'clockers" come together for worship and fellowship!

Your Stewardship Committee has been hard at work. Next Sunday, September 12th, we will be kicking off our Fall Pledge Campaign. I hope you will be with us then as well to hear this year's plans and to welcome our diocesan canon for Congregational Development, the Rev. Charles LaFond, who will join me at the altar and be our our guest preacher.
Charles, who is, among other things, a priest, a potter, and a former monk, brings a wealth of experience, stories, and perspectives on what makes for healthy parish life. He has been working with the vestry and the pledge campaign committee, knows us well, and appreciates our many strengths. We are fortunate that he is able to be with us next week! He will be at both the 8:00 and the 10:00 services.

Hurricane Earl is approaching. While it seems unlikely that we will feel much impact from the storm up here on Friday evening or in the early hours of Saturday, do keep those in coastal areas, as well as those of us with strong connections to coastal communities, family members, and especially ships at sea, in your prayers.

And one word of preparation: On the off chance that high winds should cause power outages here, check your supplies, and power up your cell phone. "Old style" telephones, with the receiver attached to the phone continue do function in most power outages, while modern, cordless phones do not. Good power-outage preparation suggests that all households have at least ONE corded phone that will work in those situations. If you have inadvertently gotten rid of yours and would like one in reserve, please let me know. We have two available spares, first come, first served!

Readings for Sunday: Jeremiah 18:1-11, Psalm 139:1-5, 13-18, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33

Food for thought: Take the time to listen to the stillness and to listen to the winds.

See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+