Thursday Memo: 2013

December 26, 2013

The Second Day of Christmas
and the Commemoration of Saint Stephen, the First Martyr

This coming Sunday, December 29^thand the First Sunday after Christmas, we will have a Service of Morning Prayer at 8:00 and a Service of Lessons and Carols at 10:00, each followed by a coffee hour. We hope you and your family will join us for worship and fellowship.

Next Sunday, January 5, 2014, there will be ONE service only at 9:00 in celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany.

Abundant thanks to ALL who prepared for and participated in the Christmas services. Very special gratitude to Carol Tubman for her master-minding and organizing of the Christmas Feast, to Jim Leavens and his assistants for serving as our chief cook, and to everyone who contributed to the meal with specialty foods and desserts. About 75 guests enjoyed a splendid meal!

Enjoy the picture array below!

It’s that time of year…that is YEAR END! Help our bookkeeper and our treasurer by submitting expenses and completing pledges.

And mark your calendars: Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 2nd, following our ONE service at 9:00 AM. Debra will be looking for your Annual Reports as soon as you can get them to her, final due date being January 15th. Please don’t wait until the last minute. Send them via email to the office or drop off a hard copy to her in-box.

If you need a copy of last year’s report, please send your request to her and she can either email it to you or provide a hard copy.

For your listening pleasure, on this, the Second Day of Christmas and also the Feast of Saint Stephen – as in the carol “Good King Wenceslas looked out…” which describes an action of the king on the day after Christmas Day – click here www.missionstclare/music/stephen/choir.html for a lively hymn.

Food for reflection…

Make a womb of your heart and a manger of your hands in which to receive the Son of the Most High, listen for the sound of angel wings beating upon the wind and join your voice to the echo of Mary’s and with her say ‘yes’ to God who has chosen and appointed you from the foundation of the world to go and bear fruit, fruit that would last. – Br. James Koester, SSJE

Enjoy the pictures below from Christmas Services and Dinner on Christmas Day.

December 19, 2013

Services for this coming Sunday, December 22^nd, Advent IV: Come join us all of us as we prepare and celebrate together. We will have only ONE service – at 10 o’clock (No 8:00 liturgy.) This will be our Greening of the Church, at which the participatory decorating of the church for Christmas will be accomplished liturgically by all of us together over the course of the liturgy, such that we begin amidst the deep blue of Advent, and depart leaving our sanctuary rich with laurel roping, poinsettias, and the white and gold of Christmas.

Last Sunday’s snow storm was a reminder about winter weather. The minuses: we cancelled both morning services and the temps really were minuses. The pluses: A shimmering evening eucharist with a capella singing and lots of candle light.

If the weather is doubtful and you wonder weather services will be cancelled or postponed, call the church for message. An email will also be sent out by 6:30 AM on Sundays or by two hours in advance of any Christmas service.

Don’t miss the Kings College Service of Lessons and Carols broadcast at 10 AM on Christmas Eve. Click here for a downloadable service booklet with text and information about the carols:

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chapel-services/nine-lessons.html
To listen, tune in to NHPR radio (99.5 or 89.1) at 10 AM on Christmas Eve morning, with a Christmas Day rebroadcast at 8 PM.

It’s that time of year…that is YEAR END! Help our bookkeeper and our treasurer by submitting expenses and completing pledges.

If you need a copy of last year’s report, please send your request to her and she can either email it to you or provide a hard copy.

Food for thought in these last days before Christmas. The words and music of this carol are what the scholars call “English traditional,” meaning many centuries old, probably dating back to medieval times. It is not in our Hymnal, though you may know it from the opening section of the Fantasia on Christmas Carols, by Vaughan Williams…
To listen click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUfcUreoZPw

This is the truth sent from above
The truth of God, the God of love:
Therefore don’t turn me from your door
But hearken all, both rich and poor.

The first thing that I do relate
Is that God did man create,
The next thing which to you I’ll tell
Woman was made with man to dwell.

And after that, ‘twas God’s own choice
To place them both in Paradise,
There to remain of evil free,
Except they ate of such a tree.

But they did eat, which was a sin,
And so their ruin did begin,
Ruined themselves, both you and me,
And all of their posterity.

Thus we were heirs of endless woes
Till God our Lord did interpose,
And so a promise soon did run
That He would redeem us by a Son.

And at that season of the year
Our blessed redeemer did appear,
He here did live and here did preach,
And many thousands he did teach.

Thus he in love to us behaved
To show us how we must be saved;
And if you want to know the way,
Be pleased to hear what He did say.

See you in church!
Christmas Blessings to all!
Heidi+

Celebrate Christmas at

Saint Andrew’s-in-the-valley

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF TAMWORTH AND THE OSSIPEE VALLEY

All are Welcome!

December 22 Fourth Sunday of Advent

10 am Service of Holy Eucharist and the Greening of the
Church for Christmas
(No 8 am service)

December 24, Christmas Eve Candlelight Services:

Family Service with Organ and Choir

4:45 pm Carol Sing
5:00 pm Blessing of the Créche & Holy Eucharist

“Midnight” Service with Organ and Choir

10:45 pm Carol Sing
11:00 pm Festival Eucharist

December 25, Christmas Day 11:30 am Holy Eucharist

December 29, The First Sunday after Christmas

8:00 am Service of Morning Prayer
10:00 am A Service of Lessons & Carols

January 5, The Second Sunday after Christmas
and Celebration of the Epiphany

9 am Service of Holy Eucharist

Free Traditional Christmas Dinner
Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec 25,
Gather at 12:30 - Dinner served at 1:00 pm
For reservations: call the church at 323-8515

December 12, 2013

Services for this coming Sunday, December 15th, the Third Sunday of Advent and will be at 8 and 10, followed by coffee hour. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship (and a last chance to purchase “stocking-stuffers” from the Boughs & Bonbons table).

"2nd Sunday dialogue homily"

Xena tends the dog biscuit table!

Boughs and Bonbons chairwomen Lynne and Patti would like to thank everyone who helped make the Christmas fair a success: Carol Tubman, Chris Mills, Elaine South, Carolyn Boldt, Barbara Lord, Claudia Kennedy, Dale Appleton, Val May, Sally DeGroot, Judy Ward, Carolyn Seston, Barbara Lloyd, George Rau, Bruce Kennedy, Gretchen Behr-Svendsen, Peg Cade, and the bakers of all cookies and other baked goods. If we haven't named you, a thousand pardons – we appreciate everyone's contributions, both large and small! We will sell our stock once again this coming Sunday, and then everything will be put away. If you want to buy any of the Fair Trade food products - the candy bars, chai, and hot spicy cocoa are especially great Christmas gifts - see Gretchen. Those can be purchased on any Sunday, but do get them before they are sold out.

A message from the Food Pantry: The Food Pantry is always grateful for your contributions of food, but at this time of year, as preparations are being made for the Christmas baskets, please know that cash contributions are especially helpful, since Food Pantry purchasers are able to buy items at much reduced prices, so your contribution dollars go almost four times further than if you purchase yourself at the supermarket! Thank you.

Our Advent Quiet Day is this Saturday, December 14^th, 9-1, led by the Rev. Susan Ackley.
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.” [Isa 35:1-2] Step away from the business of the season and join us for this short retreat time of prayer, and quiet activity. No previous experience is necessary! It will conclude with an informal Eucharist and a simple soup lunch. Please register by calling the church office or emailing Rev. Heidi by Friday (frantzdale@gmail.com) Also, we are looking for an additional volunteer to make a pot of soup.

Reminder for Sunday, December 22^nd, Advent IV: We will have only ONE service – at 10 o’clock – an opportunity for all of us to celebrate together. This will be our Greening of the Church, at which the participatory decorating of the church for Christmas will be accomplished liturgically by all of us together over the course of the liturgy, such that we begin amidst the deep blue of Advent, and depart leaving our sanctuary rich with laurel roping, poinsettias, and the white and gold of Christmas.

Food for thought at we engage in this season of generosity and giving (relayed by my colleague Gill Healey, pastor of the congregational church in North Conway...

The teller of this story was a man participating in a workshop called. “How to Track Woodland Animals.”

He was paired with a woods-wise woman with whom he spent silent hours tracking deer. On a deer path, each simultaneously spotted an odd black stone that looked like the petrified hoof-print of a deer. Being younger, he was quicker and snatched the odd stone first. As he eyed it in his hand, he could tell that she wanted it, so he gave it to her as a gift. Three times she graciously refused. Three times he gave it back.

In the time that has passed, the man has come to understand that the odd black stone meant more to him because he gave it away than it ever would have meant to him had he kept it for himself… and – while we will never know for sure – that odd black stone probably mean more to the woods-wise woman because it was a gift.

See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

Celebrate Christmas at
Saint Andrew’s-in-the-valley
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF TAMWORTH AND THE OSSIPEE VALLEY
All are Welcome!

December 22    Fourth Sunday of Advent
10 am Service of Holy Eucharist and the Greening of the
Church for Christmas
(No 8 am service)

December 24, Christmas Eve Candlelight Services:

Family Service with Organ and Choir
4:45 pm   Carol Sing
5:00 pm   Blessing of the Créche & Holy Eucharist

“Midnight” Service with Organ and Choir

10:45 pm Carol Sing
11:00 pm Festival Eucharist

December 25, Christmas Day

11:30 am Holy Eucharist

Free Traditional Christmas Dinner
Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec 25,
Gather at 12:30 - Dinner served at 1:00 pm
For reservations: call the church at 323-8515

December 29, The First Sunday after Christmas

8:00 am Service of Morning Prayer
10:00 am A Service of Lessons & Carols

December 5, 2013

Services for this coming Sunday, December 8th, the Second Sunday of Advent and will be at 8 and 10, followed by coffee hour hosted by the Bunkers.

St. Andrew’s Boughs & Bonbons Holiday Fair is this Saturday!

December 7th: 9 am to 1 pm. Be part of the fun. We want your help, and we promise you it will ignite a wonderful sense of pre-Christmas spirit!

e Our cookie plates have become a signature item. So we need a wide variety of interesting Christmas cookies and small bars. Please deliver to the church kitchen anytime on Thursday or by 9 am on Friday. (No tins this year; we’ll do them on plates.)

eWe’d would love breads, coffee cakes, candies, but cookies take precedence if you don't have time to do both. Jellies, jams, conserves, and curds are also very welcome, but no pickles or relish for legal, food-code reasons.
eWe will have the table of pre-owned Christmas items again this year – in good condition please.

eThere will also be a table of new Christmas décor items.

Please have all items to the church by Friday morning for pricing and set-up. If you can lend on hand on Saturday for a three-hour time block or more, we could use your help from 8 a.m. set-up through 2 p.m. clean up.

Please contact co-chairs Lynne Clough (323-7046) or Patti Rau (367-8223) with questions or offers of help. Let’s make this Boughs & Bonbons a continued success!

Our Advent Quiet Day is on Saturday, December 14^th, 9-1, led by the Rev. Susan Ackley.
So what is a “Quiet Day” you ask? Think of it as a short retreat – an opportunity to gather under the gentle direction of a leader who will guide the group in brief presentations, prayer, and quiet activity time. No one will be put on the spot! No previous experience is necessary! It is a time to step away from the business of the pre-Christmas season and to be attentive to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Susan has chosen a passage from Isaiah as the focus: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.” [Isa 35:1-2] This will gently inform our reflections, prayer, and creativity. It will conclude with an informal Eucharist and a simple soup lunch.
Please register by calling or emailing the church office or Rev. Heidi by Tuesday, Dec. 10. Pre-registration is necessary, because we need to provide appropriate food and supplies. Also, we are looking for an additional volunteer to make a pot of soup.

December Women’s Lunch Bunch will meet at noon on Wednesday, December 11^th, at the home of Carolyn Boldt. Directions will be available at church on Sunday. This will be a shared meal, so please bring something for the meal. All women welcome (even if you’ve never come before and don’t know Carolyn).

Last Sunday’s outreach discussion was well attended and fruitful. The suggested distribution of funds will be presented to the Vestry at their December 18th meeting for their deliberation and vote. In addition, at the urging of the group, a complete listing of all the organizations with their contact information will be available on Sunday so that folks who might like to make individual contributions may do so.

Thank you to all our Eucharistic ministers, visitors, and lay worship leaders! Your service is a blessing to all of us. They are licensed by the bishop, and renewed every three years in time for the First Sunday of Advent – hence last Sunday as our commissioning Sunday. Newly licensed this year are: Dale and David as eucharistic ministers and Gretchen as a lay worship leader. Other LEMS: Carol, Gretchen, Lynne, Ginger, Bruce, Judy, Cathie, Kaitlyn, Val, Lisa, Sammie, and George; other worship leaders are Lisa and Cathie; eucharistic visitors are Gretchen, Bruce, Cathie, and Val. These are all roles open to any baptized person who has the necessary training and appropriate gifts.

Food for thought, reflection and prayer For Saint Nicholas Day, December 6^th…
Saint Nicholas, Patron Saint of children, sailors, innocents, and others in need
Nicholas was born in the 3^rd century in Asia Minor. After his wealthy Christian parents died, he used his entire inheritance to help the poor, the sick, and children in need. Nicholas gave in secret, expecting nothing in return. He became bishop of Myra while still as young man, and was later imprisoned for his faith. He attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. Greatly loved for his compassion and care, he died on December 6, in the year 342. Stories tell of Nicholas saving three young women from slavery, protecting sailors, sparing innocents from execution, providing grain during a famine, and rescuing a kidnapped boy.
Gracious God, send your spirit upon us that we may follow in the steps of St. Nicholas, loving you and generously caring for others; we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

See you at the Fair … and in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

November 28, 2013
Thanksgiving Day

We will have ONE service only at 9 a.m. this coming Sunday, December 1 and the First Sunday of Advent. The first Advent candle will be processed and altar ministers and eucharistic visitors will be commissioned. The coffee hour will be hosted by the Vestry.

At about 10:20, all who are interested are invited to gather in the Parish Hall to discuss our annual distribution of outreach funds. While the Vestry will make the final decision, this open parish conversation provides advice. In 2012 we supported about 18 different organizations that serve God’s mission in the world (locally and globally) with donations ranging from $50 to $300. Priority is given to organizations and projects in which parishioners are personally involved. If you have an organization that you would like to see our church support, please come prepared to “introduce” it to us through your description and perhaps some printed materials.

Advent calendars are available for children. Poster/calendars with the "Slow Down. Quiet. It’s Advent." theme are available for anyone wanting to enrich their Advent season.

As we look ahead to Christmas… Envelopes are now in the pews for the poinsettias and laurel roping that Christmas that will decorate our church. Contributions of any amount may be made in memory or in thanksgiving and placed in the offering plate or mailed to the church.

Boughs & Bonbons, our Christmas Fair, will be held on Saturday, December 7 from 9 to 1. Mark your calendar and invite your friends. To make this event a continued success, we need your help:
• Bake cookies

• Make candy

• Bake bread or make preserves

• Deliver posters

• Come decorate the wreaths on Thurs. Dec. 5 at 9 a.m.

• Set up and clean up

• Work at the fair

Please contact co-chairs Lynne Clough (323-7046) or Patti Rau (367-8223) with questions or offers of help. Let’s make this Boughs & Bonbons a continued success!

Blooming in the Wilderness: An Advent Quiet Day will be held at Saint Andrew’s on Saturday, December 14th from 9 to 1. Take a little time out of Advent to contemplate the joy-filled mystery that lies beneath all the busyness of the weeks before Christmas. We will gather in periods of silent prayer and invite the Spirit into our midst through a variety of creative expressions. We will be led by the Rev. Susan Ackley, who has explored the relationship between prayer and creativity in a variety of quiet days and other venues. She served as priest/artist-in-residence at Emmanuel Church in Boston last spring and was a member of the clergy team here during Heidi’s sabbatical in 2011. Please call or email the church office to register.

Thank you for your prayers and understanding last Sunday when I was called away unexpectedly to attend to my hospitalized elderly father. He has regained some strength and is now in skilled nursing care at the Rhode Island facility where he and his wife have their apartment. My sincere thanks go to Carol, our senior warden, who urged me to go and “be a daughter,” and to Lisa, Gretchen, and Ellie+ who graciously officiated for the services. And thanks to all of you who valiantly braved the chill of our unheated church! Toes and fingers may have been cold, but I gather the Spirit was warm and present. I sincerely hope that our furnace technicians have now solved the problems.

Food for thought and reflection…

This is a time to give thanks, and I give thanks for your presence in my life and the life of this parish family. I wish you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

While we will not all be together for worship on Thanksgiving Day, I hope you will set some time aside both privately and at your table with others to give thanks to God for the many blessings of your life.

The Collect for Thanksgiving Day
Almighty and gracious God, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [BCP p. 246]

And, lest Saint Andrew be overlooked in the fullness of this coming weekend…

The Collect for the Feast Day of Saint Andrew, November 30^th
Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
[BCP p. 237]

Yours in Christ,
Heidi+

November 21, 2013

Services for this coming Sunday, November 24^th, the Last Sunday after Pentecost and Our Final Ingathering Celebration, will be at 8 and 10 at which time all the pledges will be offered to God in Thanksgiving during the liturgy.

A message from your Stewardship Committee: Thanks to the many people who have responded by turning in pledges for the coming year! It is only by knowing what the church can expect to receive that the Finance Committee and Vestry are able to make budgetary decisions for 2014. If you have misplaced your pledge, additional cards are available on the piano. Completed pledge cards may be put in the offering plate on Sunday or mailed to the church office. Once you have turned yours in, be sure to open your “door” on our Grounded in Giving tree on the piano … and if you’ve forgotten your number, or if you find that yours has been opened already, just open any door, folding it back firmly, so the picture can be seen. Questions? Talk to Gretchen or Lisa (or Debra in the office).

Saint Andrew's Harvest Supper and Pie Auction TOMORROW NIGHT! Tickets will be available at the door. Plan to come and invite your friends! We are hoping that many of you will provide your delicious baked pies (pies that can be frozen for Thanksgiving feasts are especially welcome) to be auctioned following the meal, beginning at about 7:30pm. Note: Pies should be delivered on the day of the dinner/auction by 3 p.m.

A message from the Food Pantry: The Food Pantry is always grateful for your contributions of food, but at this time of year, as preparations are being made for the Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, please know that cash contributions are especially helpful, since Food Pantry purchasers are able to buy items at much reduced prices, so your contribution dollars go further! Thank you.

St. Andrew’s Boughs & Bonbons Holiday Fair is only two weeks away!

Saturday, December 7th – 9 AM – 1PM

We need your help with this last fundraising event of the year.

We would like to put cookies in tins this year. If you have any holiday tins that you could donate, it would be appreciated. They should be big enough to hold about a dozen cookies. We also need volunteers to help….

·         Make bows: Monday, Nov 25^th at 6:30 pm
·         Decorate wreaths: Thursday, Dec. 5^th at 9am
·         Bake cookies
·         Make candy
·         Bake bread or make preserves or relishes
·         Deliver posters
·         Set up and clean up
·         Work at the fair

Please contact co-chairs Lynne Clough (323-7046) or Patti Rau (367-8223) with questions or offers of help. Let’s make this Boughs & Bonbons a continued success!

Blessings, Heidi+

November 14, 2013

Altar flowers were given in loving memory of Fred Jones and William Rooks

Services for this coming Sunday, November 17^th, the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, will be at 8 and 10, the Rev. Randy Dales preaching and presiding. Randy is the retired rector of All Saints’ Church, Wolfeboro and currently serves as diocesan chaplain to retired clergy. Following the 10:00 service, you are invited to gather with our parish representatives to Diocesan Convention and Randy for a discussion of our recent Diocesan Convention. Come and hear more about the issues that were discussed and the decisions that were made.

Heidi and Duane will be in California on retreat for a week with their son at his monastery. If you are in need of pastoral care or have important questions, please call the office (323-8515) and leave a message, or contact senior warden Carol Tubman (615-8230).

Our final Ingathering Celebration will be on Sunday, November 24^th, at which time all the pledges will be offered to God in Thanksgiving during the liturgy.

Plan to join us for a Saint Andrew's Harvest Supper and Pie Auction, to be held on Friday evening, November 22nd. Tickets will be available at the door. Plan to come and invite your friends! We are hoping that many of you will provide your delicious baked pies (pies that can be frozen for Thanksgiving feasts are especially welcome) to be auctioned following the meal, beginning at about 7:30pm. Note: Pies should be delivered on the day of the dinner/auction by 3 p.m.

Thank you to Sammie for organizing the inspiring visit last Sunday from her friend and colleague Tamara Kittleson-Aldred of Eleanore’s Project. The audio of Tamara’s sermon will be available next week. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures as a number of us had a chance to explore wheelchair use … land to realize the enormous skill required!!!

Yikes! St. Andrew’s Boughs & Bonbons Holiday Fair is a only month away. Saturday, December 7th – 9 AM – 1PM

We need your help with this last fundraising event of the year.

·         Make bows: Monday, Nov 25^th at 6:30 pm
·         Decorate wreaths: Thursday, Dec. 5^th at 9am
·         Bake cookies
·         Make candy
·         Bake bread or make jams, conserves, dessert sauces, etc.
·         Deliver posters
·         Set up and clean up
·         Work at the fair

Please contact co-chairs Lynne Clough (323-7046) or Patti Rau (367-8223) with questions or offers of help. Let’s make this Boughs & Bonbons a continued success!

Food for thought: A reflection on giving thanks
from The Very Rev. Sam Candler, Cathedral of St. Phillip, Atlanta, Georgia…

…Maybe this is what it’s like to be close to the Kingdom of God, where all is made new: When I realize how much I do not need, I am that much freer to acknowledge the simple wonders God has for me right now – the simple gifts like love, and family, friends, the church, and community.

Maybe this is what real thanksgiving feels like: Thanksgiving is freedom from the unnecessary clutter of our lives – freedom from what we do not need, so that we can see anew the simple gifts God has for each of us.

Have a good week. You will be in my thoughts and prayers as I sit by my tent in the avocado grove.

Blessings, Heidi+