Saint Andrew's-in-the-Valley
Thursday MEMO
August 4, 2011


We will be having ONE service only at 9 AM this coming Sunday, August 7th. Do join us for worship. Coffee hour will be hosted by summer members and will lead into an all-parish conversation at which we will look ahead to September, October, and November, when the rector will be on Sabbatical. This will be a time for the Sabbatical Committee to share the plans that are now in place for the running of the parish, including clergy coverage and lay leadership, and for your questions to be addressed and suggestions heard. A refresher leave is not only a gift to the rector but also an exciting opportunity for the congregation. Please plan to stay for this discussion.

Dinner Bell servers last Sunday: Heidi, Haley, and Jennifer

Kitchen update: Plans are moving forward! Thanks to a very generous grant from the Tamworth Foundation, over the next few weeks our kitchen will see new counter-tops, a new stove, and a new prep sink! Please bear with any temporary inconveniences – such as removed moldings and some rearrangement of counter-top items. Thanks also go to Duane Dale and Vic DeGroot who will be doing the necessary demolition to make the new work possible!

The Rummage Sale is coming…August 26th and 27th! So start sorting those clothes that you haven’t worn for a year and gather them together for drop-off on the 23rd or 24th. And if you are able, sign up for a few hours of helping with set-up, selling, and clean-up. Many hands make like work! In addition, if you would like to set up a craft or white-elephant booth of your own outside, please contact Debra in the office. We ask only a contribution from your sales ($10? 10%? 100%? It’s your choice.)

Readings for Sunday: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:13-21

Food for thought, prayer, and action….
Those of you who were with us last Sunday will remember that we heard as our Gospel Matthew’s account of Jesus calling Peter to step out of the boat and walk across the water to him. In my homily I reflected on Tom Reinfuss’s discernment process in light of that story. On Monday morning I found a book on my desk from our affiliate member Ray Walker entitled If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat!” by John Ortberg. I’m only two chapters into this poignant and humorous book which focuses very directly on the ways in which “water-walking” brings a deeper connection to God, and, conversely, NOT stepping out of the boat at all “leads to stagnation, unrealized potential, and unfilled longings,” as well as to a sense that “I’m not living my life; the one I was supposed to live.”
NOT stepping out leads...

To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,
Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed –
Until weeks become month
And months turn into years,
And one day you’re looking back on a life
of Deep intimate gut-wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered
Lives you never touched,
And you’re sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul,
And forgotten dreams,
And you realize there is a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be part of something bigger than yourself –
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.
You never got out of the boat!”

This upcoming refresher leave time is an opportunity to all of us – you and me – to grow in our dependence on God and to “step out of the boat!” It’s a time to say “Yes!” Might there also be an interest in having a group read this book together, to discuss, encourage, and pray together during the fall?

See you in church.
Blessings,
Heidi+