The buds on our flowering cherry are about to burst!
Don't miss them on Sunday.





Saint Andrew’s-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO
May 12, 2011

Services for this coming Sunday, May 15th and the Fourth Sunday of Easter, will be at 8 and 10, with coffee hour following each service. The Fourth Sunday of Easter is often referred to as "Good Shepherd Sunday," since the Gospel is always taken from John 10 which is full of rich imagery of Jesus as the shepherd who cares for his sheep.

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name and follow where he leads; who lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Some urgent projects: Remember the metaphor of the beehive from our fall stewardship drive? A healthy hive depends on each bee taking its part in the work of the community. Duane will be pulling together several small work teams for some projects in the 2-8 hour range. If you're interested (or at least willing), please let him know at church, or email him at duane.dale@gmail.com.

The list is varied enough to accommodate help of both genders, various abilities, and all ages.
The projects include: (1) patching the front walk, (2) installing foam board under the "stage" area to block off musty air from the basement, (3) a carpentry project to smooth out the steep part of the interior ramp (near the stage) and install more handrails there, (4) possibly some landscaping around the outdoor ramp to the parish hall, to reduce the risk of someone stepping off the edge, and eventually some preparation for insulation work.

Thanks to all of you who have helped out in the past. We rely on volunteers doing what we can in order to make our “maintenance and repairs” funds cover as much as possible.
Readings for Sunday: Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10

Food for thought from poet Mary Oliver as we are awakened ever earlier by birdsong and light...

Why I Wake Early

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and the crotchety --

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light --
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness and kindness.
from "Why I Wake Early," 2004

See you in church!
Eastertide blessings,
Heidi+