July 31, 2014




We will have one service only, at 9 AM this coming Sunday, August 3rd, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost. The Jacob saga continues! Fertility, infertility, intrigue, and a wrestling match that changes everything!  Don’t miss the next installment of our reading from the book of Genesis!
 

Following the service, you are invited to the Rector’s Annual Summer Brunch, held at the rectory: 247 Pound Road in Madison, a twenty-minute drive from the church. Heidi and Duane will provide beverages and a breakfast casserole, and welcome additional contributions to the food table. Printed directions will be available in your bulletin on Sunday. (And, yes, you’re invited even if you’re not in church that day!)

The readings for this Sunday are Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 17:1-7, 16, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:13-21.
“First Wednesdays” return on August 6th.  Join us for a simple summer supper and a reading followed by discussion and eucharist. We gather in the Prince Room at 5:30 and close by 7:00. If you would like to make a food contribution, talk to Rev. Heidi.

The Annual Church World Service CROP Walk will be held in Sandwich on Sunday August 17 at 1 pm:
Be part of this important endeavor that raises funds for our Community Food Pantry, Dinner Bell, and overseas efforts to eliminate hunger. 
We need walkers: The walk in Sandwich is about 5 miles, Saint Andrew’s folks will be joined by teams for other area churches and individuals. You will need to pick up a registration/sponsor form which will be available at the Tamworth Farmers’ Market this Saturday and at church on Sunday. The walk begins at the Baptist Meeting House on Church Street in Sandwich at 1:00.
We need sponsors: Be open to providing financial support to one (or several) walkers. Support in any dollar amount is welcome, but the more money we raise, the more people our efforts will assist.
Make a personal commitment to learn more about local and global hunger: There’s an excellent, eye-opening article in the current National Geographic. 
Help out right here at St. Andrew’s by volunteering to serve on a Dinner Bell team!
Pray…for the walkers, the sponsors, the future recipients, the opening of all our hearts and minds to the severity of this issue…and listen for God’s call to you as to what steps you might appropriately take.
Ending Hunger one step at a time!

Theater runs deep at Saint Andrew’s: Don’t miss Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor on the Sandwich Fairgrounds Stage at 2 pm August 1, 2, and 3 and 7, 8, 9, and 10, and at the Sandwich Town Hall Tuesday Aug. 5 at 7:30 pm. Costumes and set design by Carolyn Boldt; Chris Boldt plays Falstaff, and Lisa Thompson plays Judge Robert Shallow.

On Saturday August 9 from 11 to 2, all are invited to gather with others from around the diocese for an Annual Diocesan Picnic at the newly established Church in the Woods in Canterbury, NH (92 Foster Road).  http://www.nhepiscopal.org/.

 Welcoming James and John Lamb...
“O God, you have taught us through your blessed Son that whoever receives a little child in the name of Christ receives Christ himself…” Last Sunday we had the opportunity to offer prayers of thanksgiving and blessing for James and John Lamb, sons of Robert and Monica Lamb, who were married here in 2005. Robert’s poem, written when the infants were still in the neonatal intensive care unit in Bellevue, Washington, was included the blessing service. A number of you asked for copies so Rob has graciously agreed.
Life Lines, by Robert Lamb
How thin the line of life,
how delicate and strange:
we see the seconds tick away,
we hope for peace and rearrange
to settle in through strife. 

But still the baby's skin is soft
amidst our angst and toil,
and still the baby must survive
by Earth's employ and gifts aloft
until we reap from Heaven's soil. 

How deep the heart of love,
how rapturous and true:
we yearn for wholeness in the fray,
we pray for wisdom, faith anew,
and aim to mimic laws above... 

But still our lives are round with sleep
amidst our age and claims,
and still our lives cannot survive
by mere resource and willful keep
until we give in children's names. 

Food for thought and prayer….
     At our weekly Wednesday service of Morning Prayer we commemorate the life of one of the “Lesser Saints” on our church calendar, following the brief biography and the readings provided in Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints. The officiant for the service often selects prayers that relate to the life of the person being celebrated. 
     Yesterday we remembered William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and Anthony Ashley Cooper (1801-1885), both of whom lived lives of prophet witness – Wilberforce, in the House of Commons, where he is remembered for his single-minded and persistent crusade for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade, and Cooper, in the House of Lords where he  pushed for legislative reforms regulating safer working conditions especially women and children and was a prime mover in restricting the use of young boys as chimney sweeps and mine workers. Both were lay people of deep faith and prayer whose faith gave them the insights and courage to use their positions of privilege and power on behalf of those who had none.
     As one of the collects, Gretchen (who was officiating) offered the following prayer which, having just discovered it, I commend to all of you:
For those who Influence Public Opinion
Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age my many voices: Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  [# 39, BCP p. 827]
Summer blessings,
Heidi+

July 24, 2014




Preparing for the Lobster Dinner
 Services for this coming Sunday, July 27th, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, will be at 8 and 10 am. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.
The readings for this coming Sunday are Genesis 29:1-28, Psalm 105:1-11, 45b, Romans 8:26-39, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.
It’s not too late to get your tickets! The purchase deadline for our Lobster and Steak dinner on  Friday, August 1st, has been extended to this coming Sunday! Call the office to reserve or get your tickets on Sunday!
Our backyard garden
 You are invited to the Rector’s Almost-Annual Summer Brunch to take place immediately following the 9:00 service on Sunday, August 3rd. The rectory is at 247 Pound Road in Madison, a twenty-minute drive from the church. Heidi and Duane will provide beverages and a breakfast casserole, and welcome additional contributions to the food table. Printed directions will be available in your bulletin that Sunday. (And, yes, you’re invited even if you’re not in church that day!)
 
“First Wednesdays” return August 6th.  Join us for a simple summer meal and a reading followed by discussion and eucharist. Gather at 5:30, out by 7:00 pm. If you would like to make a food contribution, talk to Rev. Heidi.
 Welcome to Sherry Hilton and her grandchildren, Andrew and Allina. Their year-round church home is Saint Barnabas, Berlin, but they have a camp in our area and have been joining us this summer.

Blessings on Fran and Joe Curran as they begin their 22nd year of marriage.
IT’S DONE!  Yes, the 2014 Parish Directory is in your Parish Hall mailbox this Sunday, or on the adjacent table for pick-up. If you are out-of-town and would like a copy, please call or email the office and Debra will mail you your copy. If you notice any corrections or changes, please let the office know.  If your picture didn’t make it in, please make sure we have one for the production of any future copies.
The Community Food Pantry is encouraging a new approach to non-food donations. Help stock the shelves with this necessary item that is not covered by Food Stamps. Thanks.
July 27: Tea bags.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Partridge berry and pine needles under foot, lush ferns under a high canopy…Have you discovered our Grove Chapel? Just follow the path through the gateway in the fence at the woods across our field to the south of the church. Sit on one of the benches and let the moving air and scents bathe you the beauty and assurance of God’s presence.
Food for thought and contemplation from Richard Rohr…
To most “comfortable” Westerners, surrendering and letting go sounds like losing. But it’s actually accessing a deeper, broader sense of the self, which is already whole, already content, already filled with abundant life. This is the part of you that has always loved God and said “Yes” to God. It’s the part of you that is Love, and all we have to do is let go and fall into it. It’s already there. Once you move your identity to that level of deep inner contentment and compassion, you realize that you’re drawing upon a Life that is larger than your own, and from a deeper Abundance. Once you learn to do that, why would you ever again settle for some scarcity model for life?
But sadly, we continually do just that. The scarcity model is the way we’re trained to think: “I am not enough. This is not enough. I do not have enough.” So we try to attain more and more, and climb higher and higher. Thomas Merton said we may spend our whole life climbing the ladder of success, only to discover that when we get to the top our ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Wow!
A daily practice of contemplative prayer can help you fall into the Big Truth that we all share, the Big Truth that is God, that is Grace itself, where you are overwhelmed by more than enough-ness! The spiritual journey is about living more and more in that abundant place where you don’t have to wrap yourself around your hurts, your defeats, your failures; but you can get practiced in letting go and saying “That’s not me. I don’t need that. I’ve met a better self, a truer self.”  Adapted from The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis
Summer blessings,
Heidi+

July 17, 2014


Last Sunday, we blessed and said farewell to our friends Lynn and Levi who are moving to
Washington state. We’ll miss you Levi and Lynn! Stay in touch!
Services for this coming Sunday, July 20th, the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, will be at 8 and 10 am. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.
The readings for this coming Sunday are Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.
Our Lobster and Steak Dinner is just two weeks away – Friday, August 1st, at 6:30 pm! Tickets must be purchased by next Wed, July 23rd. Reservations can be made by calling the Church office (323-8515) or David Manley (301-1074); Tickets are available at the church. The price is $30. There is also an alternative, $10 children’s meal that includes a hot dog with all the other accompanying items listed above. A portion of our proceeds goes to support some vital organizations in the community, including Starting Point, Tamworth Caregivers and the Tamworth/Sandwich Food Pantry.  
Do you recognize two of your fellow parishioners?
Treat yourself to the artistic work of several St. Andrew’s parishioners and visit Advice to the Players’ special free exhibit this weekend and next at the Sandwich Grange Hall at 36 Maple Street, near Town Hall and the Corner House Inn. Enjoy great photographs and wonderful costumes from selected Advice To The Players productions. This Exhibition celebrates the work of company photographers Duane Dale and Monika O'Clair and also features costumes by Carolyn Boldt. The lion's mask from A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Queen of France dress from Love's Labour's Lost and the 'King Robe' which has been in numerable productions are just a few of the fun pieces you get to see up close. Pictures of your favorite actors from The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, and Richard III will be displayed and prints will be available for purchase. Advance tickets to Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Hamlet, a farce written by Canadian playwrights Warren Bain and Matt Bernard, will also be on sale there.
   Both Sherlock and the Exhibition are happening on Fridays and Saturdays, July 18, 19 and 25, 26. The exhibition is open from 1-5 and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Hamlet starts at 7:30; time for a nice meal at the Corner House in between.
   On this Friday the Exhibition will stay open from 5-7 pm for Gallery Walk, when you can also visit the Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Sandwich Home Industries and Surroundings. From 5 to 6 pm tomorrow (Friday) there will be a reception to honor Carolyn, Duane, and Monika, and their work with the company.
“First Wednesdays” return August 6th.  Join us for a simple summer meal and a reading followed by discussion and eucharist. Gather at 5:30, out by 7:00 pm. If you would like to make a food contribution, talk to Rev. Heidi.
IT’S DONE!  Yes, the 2014 Parish Directory is in your Parish Hall mailbox this Sunday, or on the adjacent table for pick-up. If you are out-of-town and would like a copy, please call or email the office and Debra will mail you your copy. If you notice any corrections or changes, please let the office know.  If your picture didn’t make it in, please make sure we have one for the production of any future copies.
The Community Food Pantry is encouraging a new approach to non-food donations. Help stock the shelves with this necessary item that is not covered by Food Stamps. Thanks.

July 20: Shampoo/Conditioner, July 27: Tea bags. 

Many thanks to the Stone Church Players who so evocatively enacted our Hebrew Scripture reading from Genesis last Sunday: Chris Boldt (Isaac), Patti Rau (Rebekah), Chris Mills (Esau), Val May (Jacob), and Lisa Thompson (Narrator). The passage was Genesis 25: 19-34, 27:1-40.
If you missed it, or want to hear this evocative offering and the dialogue reflection that followed a second time, click the triangle at the left: 






Jacob having already stolen his brother’s birthright, Rebekah persuades him to trick his brother again and deceive his father (Isaac) so as to receive his father’s blessing. Jacob is hesitant at first, but then goes along with the scheme.
Jacob: Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.
Rebekah: Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word.
  



Isaac is fooled and blesses the younger son, Jacob.
Narrator:                So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him.
Isaac:   Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 
Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. 
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!’
Isaac struggles with the action he has taken and Esau pleads with this father for a blessing of his own.
Esau:    Father, have you not reserved a blessing for me?
Isaac:   I have already made him your lord, and I have given him
all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?
Esau:       Have you only one blessing? Bless me, me also, father!
Narrator:                And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
The dramatic presentation led to a lively discussion with the congregation. 

Summer food for thought and reflection by poet Mary Oliver…

Some Herons

A blue preacher flew
toward the swamp,
in slow motion.

On the leafy banks,
an old Chinese poet,
hunched in the white gown of his wings,

was waiting.
The water
was the kind of dark silk

that has silver lines
shot through it
when it is touched by the wind

or is splashed upward,
in a small, quick flower,
by the life beneath it.

The preacher
made his difficult landing,
his skirts up around his knees.

The poet's eyes
flared, just as a poet's eyes
are said to do

when the poet is awakened
from the forest of meditation.
It was summer.

It was only a few moments past the sun's rising,
which meant that the whole long sweet day
lay before them.

They greeted each other,
rumpling their gowns for an instant,
and then smoothing them.

They entered the water,
and instantly two more herons–
equally as beautiful–

joined them and stood just beneath them
in the black, polished water
where they fished, all day.
 
Friends, Take time to look and really see!
Summer blessings, Heidi+

July 10, 2014

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..."
The Clarke family
 Services for this coming Sunday, July 13th, The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, will be two services at 8 and 10 am. With sorrow, but thanksgiving to God for our time together, we will be saying good-by to Lynn, Richard, and Levi Clarke, who will be leaving soon for their new home in Washington state so that Lynn and Levi can join Richard where he works.

The readings for this coming Sunday are Genesis 25:19-34, Psalm 119:105-112, Romans 8:1-11, Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.
Last Sunday’s sermon and the opportunity to try on an actual yoke and discover its surprising comfort led to much engaged conversation! See pictures below.
IT’S DONE!  Yes, the 2014 Parish Directory will be in your Parish Hall mailboxes this Sunday, or on the adjacent table for pick-up. If you are out-of-town and would like a copy, please call or email the office and Debra will mail you your copy. If you notice any corrections or changes, please let the office know.  If your picture didn’t make it in, please make sure we have one for the production of any future copies. Don’t miss the reflection piece from Heidi and the end of this MEMO.
 


Welcome to Jane and Todd Horn. Jane is Kitty Lou and John Booty's youngest daughter, and they have just moved to Mt. Israel Road in Sandwich from the Denver, Colorado area where they were active members of the cathedral congregation. It will be a joy to have them with us, not just occasionally, but regularly.
So let's pull out those name tags and use them! Not just for Jane and Todd's benefit, but to help other newer folks in our midst. Summer is a wonderful time to be intentional about introducing ourselves when you see someone you don't think you recognize ... or someone whom you recognize, but realize you really don't know.
 
A big thank you from Barbara Worcester (for the parish’s participation in the celebration of her son Charlie’s life held here last Sunday.)
Wow! …Kindness … common sense … humor …humanity … even a joyful occasion … a wonderful atmosphere of thanks for Charlie's life!
     I particularly want to thank the people who contributed such a glorious feast for the reception.  It was colorful, beautifully set out, varied and delicious.  It felt like a wedding reception (more joy).  One guest asked Barbara Lloyd who the church's caterer was.  It was, of course, the artists of the cakes and cookies and sandwiches and fruit and iced tea and other contributions which added up to a happy and fitting good-bye to a former chef and gourmet. 
   My family and I are hugely grateful to all of St. Andrews for the outpouring of love and support and effort that made the service and reception such a success, physically, spiritually and emotionally. 
   Many, many thanks to you all. 
                                                                        With love, Barbara Worcester
 



Restoration of the stonework of the west end is now underway, thanks to your support of the church building and repair fund. Our stonemason is Chris Brown of Silver Lake. Much of the southwest buttress, which had become seriously unstable, is being dismantled and will be reconstructed with the same stones and fresh mortar. Much of the façade will be re-pointed and the stains will be cleaned.
Education for Ministry – if you want to learn more about how God is connected to your life and  how you might serve God in the world, if you would like to learn more about the Bible, then EfM might be for you. It is being offered, meeting weekly beginning in September, at Trinity Church, Meredith, with Rev. Robin Soller as mentor. Questions? Talk to Rev. Heidi or Gretchen Behr-Svendsen, who will be embarking on year III of this excellent program.
Lobster or Steak is Back at St. Andrew's! Have you been one of those waiting for the almost annual event to return to Saint Andrew's? Well here it is: Friday evening August 1st at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available at the church Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 am to Noon.  Reservations can also be made by calling the Church office at 323-8515 or David Manley 301-1074.  Reservations are limited and must be paid in advance.  Tickets must be purchased no later than July 23rd. That’s just 2 weeks from yesterday!
Your meal will begin with Steamers, followed by your choice of either a succulent Lobster or a mouth watering Steak – cooked to perfection and just the way you like it – and accompanied by Corn-on-the-cob, Homemade Cole Slaw and Dinner Rolls.  And did you wonder if there is dessert? Well of course it is all topped off by our World Famous Blueberry Buckle!! Beverages include Iced Tea or ice water or bring your own beer or wine to the dinner.
The price is $30. There is also an alternative, $10 children’s meal that includes a hot dog with all the other accompanying items listed above.
A portion of our proceeds goes to support some vital organizations in the community, including Starting Point, Tamworth Caregivers and the Tamworth/Sandwich Food Pantry.  

The Community Food Pantry is encouraging a new approach to non-food donations. Help stock the shelves with this necessary item that is not covered by Food Stamps. Thanks.
July 13: Jelly other than grape.  July 20: Shampoo/Conditioner. 

Food for thought and some important information prompted by our new pictorial Parish Directory…
One of the most fundamental longings of the human soul is to feel known, and one of the blessings of this parish is that knowing each other and being known by each other is part of the fabric of who we are. Through our worshipping together (opening ourselves to God and one another), our reaching out when someone new comes through our doors, our socializing over coffee hour, and our teaming up together as we engage in the many ventures of tending to our life together and our reaching out to the wider world, we share our joys and concerns with each other and come to know one another more deeply.
     We all are aware that knowing someone and being known and is much more that just a matter of being able to “put a name to a face,” but our pictorial Directory can be a big help in the process. Of course it is a quick (and we home accurate) way to get in touch with each other, and it’s a great way to put names and faces together. But it goes beyond that as we look through the pictures and notice our love and caring or are reminded of the challenges that a particular individual might be facing, such that “just scanning the Directory,” nudged by the Holy Spirit, becomes an invitation to prayer. I hope you will allow yourself to use the Directory in that way – often.
     The Directory is set up in three sections – members, affiliates, and friends. Please know (especially if you are not happy with where you have been listed) these are somewhat fluid categories with “fuzzy edges.” Listed as members are “regulars” who participate in the life of the parish on a year-round basis. Affiliates are people who are active members of some other church besides St. Andrew’s – most often that means summer residents, and folks who live elsewhere but with a second home in the area who may be with us from time to time throughout the year. Friends are former members who have left the area but still want to stay in touch; people who feel connected to us and worship with us a few times a year when they are up here visiting; folks who have a sacramental connection having been baptized, married, or had a close family member be buried from this parish; and others who are drawn to worship with us from time to time. We have included pictures for many of the Friends in this edition, to help all of us remember who you are when we welcome you back among us. Several pages for “notes” have been included at the end and changes and corrections will be made available as needed.
    The Directory was made possible through the tireless efforts of Duane Dale (our photographer-in-chief) and Debra Hoyt, our office manager, who has tried valiantly to keep track of the multitudinous changes in contact information. If you discover errors – and I know some information is already out-of-date! – please just let Deb know. If you would like to be included and are not, it probably means that we do not have your contact information.
     And a request: Remember that the Parish Directory information is provided to you “in trust” and is not to be used as a solicitation device. Likewise, if someone outside the parish asks you for contact information on someone listed in the Directory, please contact the person listed in the directory and ask permission to pass the info along, or have him or her connect with the one inquiring. Thanks.

See you in church!
Blessings, Heidi+



 

 

July 3, 2014


We will have ONE service only this coming Sunday, July 6th, the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.  This will be a 9 o’clock service, with coffee hour hosted by Finance and Stewardship Committees. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship as we welcome our returning summer friends.

The readings for this coming Sunday are Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:11-18, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.
A service celebrating the life of Charlie Worcester, who died in March will be held at 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Members of the parish are urged to bring finger food for the reception. Charlie was a year-round resident of Chocorua and the son of long-time summer member Barbara Worcester.
It’s back! Join us for our Lobster or Steak Dinner on Friday, August 1 at 6:30! Tickets will be available beginning this Sunday or call the church to make your reservation (323-8515). Advance ticket purchase is required.
The office will be closed tomorrow, July 4th.
Thanks to Gretchen and Lisa for their able officiating last Sunday in my absence. And thank you to all for your prayers of support for Duane and me as we celebrated my father’s life and committed his ashes “to the deep” on a splendid, blue-sky Vineyard day!
The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him and be gracious to him, the Lord lift up his countenance upon him and give him peace.
Don't miss the photograph by Connor on the cover of the New Hampshire Episcopal Life.


 
Food for thought and prayer as we celebrate the Fourth of July…
Amidst the fun and community spirit of parades and fireworks, cook-outs and family gatherings, may we remember to pause and reflect on the many benefits of this nation and our freedoms, celebrating the day with gratitude to God for the blessings of our lives, as we remain mindful of those who are unable to experience the liberty we so easily take for granted.
A Prayer for Our Country
from Avery Brooke’s Plain Prayers in a Complicated World.
O Christ, we love this land. We wish it were always a simple love and often it is, but life has become complicated. Good gets mixed up with evil, and mountains of laws and regulations and numbers and systems get in our way when we wish to make everything work as it should. When things go wrong it becomes easy to give up, to blame other people, and to do nothing.
O Christ, give us the unashamed courage to believe in the highest and the best ideals of our country, and enough passionate patience to make them come true. Amen.

See you in church!

Blessings, Heidi+