All Hallows' Eve, October 31, 2014

This Sunday, the 2nd of November, is All Saints’ Sunday, with a Festal Eucharist of Thanksgiving at 9 o’clock, at which we will offer our pledges to God. The service will be followed by a celebration breakfast hosted by the Stewardship Committee to which you are warmly invited! Our liturgy will begin with the solemn reading of the names of the departed. If you have names that you would like have read, please call or email the office by Friday noon.
Daylight Savings Time ends Saturday night, so … REMEMBER to set clocks back 1 hour. The effect of this is that the “new” 9 o’clock will actually feel like the “old” 10 o’clock!
The readings for this Sunday are Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 34:1-10, 22, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12.

 Weaving Generosity into our Life: Have you woven in your symbolic thread? Please do! Thank you to those of you who have done so as you turned in your pledge card. A basket of possibilities is provided, but feel free to bring a fabric strip or ribbon of your own. This Sunday marks the culmination of our Fall Pledge season. Though pledges received after Sunday will still be appreciated, we’ll be announcing our total pledged to date at our Celebration Breakfast. Please remember that it is with generosity of spirit and gratitude to God for all that we have that we that we pledge our support to the ministry and mission of the church. No pledge is too small! None is too large!


Song of the Saints: A retreat between All Saints’ Day and Advent exploring together the lives of some of the saints of the Anglican tradition, and what their stories and spirituality have to say to us in the present day. This is an offering for members of the Lakes Region Convocation of the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire (which includes us)! It will be led by the Rev. Grace Burson of Holy Spirit, Plymouth. All are welcome-invite your friends!
The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit
263 Highland Street
Plymouth, NH
9 AM-2 PM, Saturday, November 22nd
Cost : $10 for lunch

To register, please email holyspiritrector@gmail.com  or call 603-536-1321 (leave message if no reply). 

Remember the fun?
(from Nov. 14, 2008)
 We hope you will join us for a Saint Andrew's Harvest Supper and Pie Auction, to be held on Friday, November 21st: 6 o’clock for the meal, 7 o’clock for the pie auction.  Tickets (adults $10, children $4) 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. 

We also need help delivering flyers. Please pick them up in the Parish Hall.
Note: Pies should be delivered on the day of the dinner/auction by 3 p.m.
Please contact Patti Rau (367-8223) or Christine Mills (452-4049) with questions or offers of help. 

Yikes! The Christmas Fair at Saint Andrew’s (formally known as Boughs and Bonbons) is only a month away:  Saturday, December 6th from 9 to 3! The committee has some new additions planned for this year, including serving a simple chowder lunch in the Prince Room, which will be beautifully decorated for Christmas.
Of course we also need volunteers to help….Stay tuned for ways in which you can participate. 

 Each October the Community Food Pantry holds it’s Annual Meeting and hosts a breakfast for its volunteers, thanking them for their service and celebrating the amazing work of this organization that is housed in our Parish Hall and is an important ministry of this parish, shared with many others in the community. This year we were blessed with a wonderfully informative presentation by Jamie, of the NH Food Bank, on the details of the SNAP program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as Food Stamps. If you think you might qualify for this assistance, stop by our Food Pantry on Tuesday or Friday mornings for details. If you’d like to contribute to the Pantry, consider a cash donation, since the Pantry is able to purchase food at much reduced prices.

Great work on the ChIPs Project! Special thanks go to the Bunker household for their clear communication of the need! We brought in $344! Kathy and her team of young people will go shopping on Saturday to purchase suitable gifts, then the gifts will be taken by our Diocesan Convention Delegates to Convention next week.  From that gathering point they will be wrapped and distributed to incarcerated parents to give to their children at their Annual Christmas Party.
The Alternative Orthodoxy group that has been meeting on Wednesday mornings during October will take a break while the rector is away. We will reconvene for a final session to explore the topic Mysticism over Moralism on Wednesday, December 3rd from 11 to 12:30, followed by lunch for those who’d like to stay.
December calendar reminders:
On the 3rd Sunday of Advent, December 14th, our Bishop, Rob Hirschfeld, will be with us for his biennial parish visit to baptize, confirm, receive, preach, celebrate, and visit with us. We will have ONE service only at 10 o’clock. Please mark your calendars and do your best to be with us that Sunday as we welcome him to Saint Andrew’s and share the Advent season with him.
On the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 21st, we will again have a single service at 10:00 for our Greening of the Church liturgy, at which, within the liturgy, we prepare the church for Christmas. This is a wonderful opportunity for those who will be out of town for the actual Christmas holiday to share in the joys of the season here at home.
A message from the Rector… Duane and I will be leaving Sunday afternoon for Thailand, to return November 20, just in time for the Harvest Supper and Pie Auction. (See details in last week’s MEMO.)
The Rev. Susan Ackley will cover services on November 9 and the Rev. Jay Hutchinson on November 15. If you have urgent pastoral needs, please call the office or one of the wardens: Carol Tubman at 651-8230, Gretchen Behr-Svendsen at 323-7459.      And, yes…We promise to come home with lots of pictures and stories!
Food for thought on Halloween and All Saints’ Day…
In our contemporary culture, Halloween has been so separated from it’s original context – that it is the Eve of All Saints’ Day – that perhaps is warrants some attention. Since the days of the early church, Christians have commemorated those who, having professed faith in the living Christ, have entered into the nearer presence of their Lord, especially those who had crowned their profession with heroic deaths. Scholars believe the celebration of November 1 as All Saints’ Day originated with our Celtic forbears, where this date had long been honored as the thinnest” time of the year – when darkness overtakes the light –– when the veil between this world and eternity becomes transparent – the beginning of the season when deaths were most frequent (because of scarcer food supplies, illness, and cold). By the ninth century, the designating of this day to honor the continuing connection within the communion of saints – the living to the dead – had reached Rome and been adopted and it was urged that a festival honoring the day be observed throughout the Holy Roman Empire.
     Rather than holding a major Feast Day tomorrow (on Saturday, the 1st), our calendar gives us permission to transfer the celebration to the following Sunday when we, too will remember those who have died, recognizing that we are “knit together in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Christ our Lord.” By the tenth century, it became customary to set aside November 2nd as a sort of extension of All Saints’ (meaning major saints), honoring the vast body of faithful departed who are unknown in the wider fellowship of the church. With our Sunday celebration, be honor with joy and gratitude both the known and the unknown faithful departed.

And this closing Food for Reflection and Prayer from Brother James Koester SSJE…
Death
This ‘November Triduum’ of All Hallows’ Even, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days hold for us the same stark reality as does the Easter Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter: that death is real. It may come in the guise of cute children dressed up in all manner of costumes, begging candy from you or threatening tricks, but our pre-Christian and Christian ancestors in the faith would recognize Hallowe’en as that night when you stared at death, and stared down!
I hope you will be with us we celebrate this powerful time of continuing connection in Christ.
See you in church!
Blessings, Heidi+


St. Andrews-in-the-Valley, P.O. Box 436, Tamworth, NH 03886
Office hours: Tuesday-Friday 9-Noon
Phone: 603-323-8515
Office Administrator: Debra Hoyt




October 23, 2014


A new addition to our sign announces the
Community Food Pantry and Dinner Bell.  With time
the red will darken to match the other sections.
This Sunday, the 26th of October, there will services of Holy Eucharist at 8 and 10 AM. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship. At coffee hour  we will have a special emphasis on the ChIPs project, an opportunity to contribute to the diocesan program that provides Christmas gifts for incarcerated parents to give to their children at Christmas.
The Readings for this Sunday are Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 22:34-46.
Last Sunday’s Fall Work Day was a great success! Thanks to George and David for such careful organizing and to Pat & Dave,  Ann, Gretchen, Jonathan, Heidi & Duane, Bev, Betsy & Ellie, Jane, Cathie, Val, Preston, Grete & George, Bob & Carolyn, Lisa T, Carol, Ray, Joan, who contributed to raking, leaf-blowing, window-washing, garden-tending, chancel and altar cleaning, window insulating, and to Dale & Barbara, the preparers of food that kept us all going!

Are there names you would like to have remembered at the altar during our All Saints’ Day service on November 2nd? Please take one of the sheets for that purpose from the bulletin table or send an email to Debra at office@standrewsinthevalley.org . The sheets can be put in the plate or the office.  All names will be recorded in our “Book of Names.”
A message from the Rector… Duane and I will be away for 18 days of vacation in Thailand, flying from Boston on the morning of November 3rd. As many of you know, our younger son, Chris, has been there since last January with plans to return to the US in February. Now that the rainy season in Thailand is ending, this should be a time of predictably dry and pleasant weather. We will be spending about a week in Chiang Mai (northern Thailand), some time in the central, eastern area based at the monastery where he has been living, and some time in Bangkok. I visited there in 1976, so it will be fascinating to see how things have changed. For Duane, this will be a first-time visit to Asia. We’re both excited to be going and looking forward to immersing ourselves in that culture and traditions, the beauty of the land, and the warm hospitality of the Thai people.
       We will be away for two Sundays. I’m happy to report that the Rev. Susan Ackley will cover services on November 9 and the Rev. Jay Hutchinson on November 15. Susan and I went to seminary together and she continues to be a close friend. She is the retired rector of the Episcopal Church in Plymouth and is a former member of Saint Andrew’s – which supported her for ordination in the 1990s. Jay has supplied here a number of times, though always in the summer. He teaches and serves as chaplain at Saint Andrew’s School in Wilmington, Delaware, but is on sabbatical this fall, staying at his family’s home in Holderness. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to experience their liturgical leadership and preaching and extend the warm welcome to each of them for which you are so well known!
     And, yes…We promise to come home with lots of pictures and stories!
 We continue to Weave Generosity into our Life as our fall pledge season continues. Thank you to all who have responded by deciding on your pledged support of the church, turning in your pledge card, and weaving a ribbon or thread into our growing tapestry! If you have not yet done so, we look forward to hearing from you. We hope you will be with us on the final Sunday of our pledge drive, November 2nd, All Saints’ Sunday, when all our pledges will be offered at the altar in a service of thanksgiving, followed by a splendid Celebration Breakfast hosted by the Stewardship committee.
Our 10 AM Wednesday study group based on the Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy materials continues. We had a very lively discussion yesterday exploring the term Cosmic Christ and our own understandings of what we mean when we refer to “Jesus” and “Christ.” Are they synonymous? What does each term imply? Next week’s topic: “Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy.” You are welcome to join us, even if you have not attended the two previous sessions. The reflective questions follow are intended to open your mind, memories, and emotions regarding some of the aspects of this session’s topic.
Food for thought as we continue our reflections on Saint Francis and his contributions to our understandings of faith and life…
This session is all about a return to Jesus’ emphasis on lively practice following 2,000 years of [what might be considered] over-emphasis on right belief. Here are some statements from Richard Rohr, the presenter in our series, as he speaks about the priority of orthopraxy over orthodoxy.

Disclaimer: In our group conversations we have acknowledged a number of important biases that we perceive Rohr to have. The questions that follow are his, not mine! They may even truly “push your buttons!” We also have noticed that his very strong statements have frequently prompted vital and energetic responses from each of us, responses that vary widely depending on our own life history and past religious and spiritual experiences! There are NO “right” or “wrong” responses to these statements. Please THINK AND REFLECT FOR YOURSELF.
I look forward to our upcoming shared conversation as we grow together in our life in Christ. Heidi+

  1. You do not think yourself into a new way of living; you live yourself into new way of thinking.
  2. Every time the church splits we lose half the gospel. The half we lost in 1054 at the Great Schism was contemplative practice.
  3. Let the institutional church maintain the superstructure of the creed, ritual, and doctrine; that frees us to worry about the structure of our daily lives.
  4. You can be perfectly orthodox and not understand the lifestyle of Jesus one bit!
  5. Begging keeps you at the social level of everyone else, in their lives and in solidarity with their pain.
  6. The great thing about orthopraxy is that there is really nothing to argue about until you do it! You don’t believe something until you’ve done it.
  7. We got lost in proving our metaphysics and then making others believe it. We spent all our time in enforcement, as if Jesus came to earth to enforce ideas.
  8. I don’t know a single example of any of our churches burning anyone at the stake for not taking care of the widows and orphans.
  9. We live in a wonderful time when we see that faith is not about systems of belonging or systems of belief. If Christianity is going to be renewed and reformed, it has to move to practice-based Christianity.
  10. The globalization of spirituality is making practice essential, because people don’t believe you any more until you’ve done it. Most of the things we said we believed were not skin off our back!
  11. The wonderful thing about orthopraxy is that it asks something of you. That’s why we’ve avoided it for so long!
  12. Going to a place in my daily prayers where for 20 minutes I have to go into kenosis – this “letting-go” and dying to myself, dying to my feelings, dying to my own angry thoughts – no one wants to do that!
  13. Orthopraxy asks something of you. Orthodoxy allows you to be a policeman of other people and never really do it yourself. This gives you a false moral high ground without deserving it for a moment!
  14. The word orthodoxy is not found in scripture. Jesus never encouraged this mentality, in fact, quite the contrary.
  15. Isn’t it ironic that a religion that believes that the word became flesh puts so much credence into words!
Join us for what promises to be a feisty and valuable conversation next Wednesday at 11:00. And, if you’d like to stay for informal conversation at 12:30, feel free to bring a box lunch.
See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

October 16, 2014


 

  Don’t miss the photo gallery below!

This coming Sunday, October 19th, the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, there will be two services of Holy Eucharist – at 8am and 10am.
Please plan on lending a helping hand with our Fall Workday this Sunday after the 10 am service.  Dress to work outdoors and bring along rakes, gloves, and other tools you may need. Your help to get the church ready and buttoned up for winter is needed and appreciated. 
The readings for this Sunday are Exodus 33:12-23, Psalm 99, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22.

Weaving Generosity into our Life: Our Fall Pledge season is rolling as we weave generosity into our lives in so many ways! Thank you to those of you who have already turned in your pledge card and taken the opportunity to weave their strands into our growing banner. As soon as you have turned in a pledge card, each member of your family is invited to add to the weaving. A basket of possibilities is provided, but feel free to bring a fabric strip or ribbon of your own. And mark your calendars for two weeks from this coming Sunday, when we will all gather for one service at 9 o’clock for the in-gathering of our pledges, followed by a festive breakfast hosted by the Stewardship Committee.
Our learning and conversations of Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy, a study series, with DVD presentations by Richard Rohr continues next week on October 22, at 11 am in the Prince Room. The session #3 topic is “The Cosmic Christ.” [See the Food for Thought section at the end for the reflection questions to be pondered in advance of next week’s session.] If you missed yesterday’s session on Eco-spirituality and would like to view the DVD on your own, please speak to Heidi. Session 4, Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy, will meet on October 29.
What a FABULOUS booth we had at the Sandwich Fair! Thanks to all of you: To David, organizer-in-chief, to all who staffed our booth, to jelly-makers Carol and Gretchen, to all the bakers, and crafters, Duane for our wonderful new (weather-proof), St. Andrew’s banner, and to Gretchen, grower extraordinaire and the visionary who conceived of the whole idea that we might have a booth at the Sandwich Fair! The event was wonderfully successful as a fundraiser (We grossed over $3,000), but equally important was the contagious spirit of joy and delight in the fruits of the earth and the opportunity to be collaboratively creative!
  
(Children of Incarcerated Parents) ChIPS Program: The collection is underway for our parish's ChIPS program!  We will be collecting donations the weeks of October 19th and 26th, and then shopping for gifts on November 1st.  ChIPs provides incarcerated parents with an opportunity to give a Christmas gift to their children.  This may be the only positive interaction the children will have with their parents during the entire year.  If you would like to donate by check, please write "ChIPs" in the memo line.  The Bunker children will be accepting donations in person October 26th.  If you are interested in the ChIPs shopping excursion, see Kathy Bunker.The collection is underway for our parish's ChIPS program! 
Are there names you would like to have remembered at the altar during our All Saints’ Day service on November 2nd? Please take one of the sheets for that purpose from the bulletin table or send an email to Debra at office@standrewsinthevalley.org . The sheets can be put in the plate or the office.  All names will be recorded in our “Book of Names.”

Food for thought in preparation for next week’s Wednesday session on The Cosmic Christ…
  1. Take a blank piece of paper and draw on it two large intersection circles. In one circle write Jesus and in the other Christ. In each circle write the words and phrases that you associate with each word. In the area where the two circles intersect, write words and phrases that you see the two words holding in common.
  2. Our church recognizes the seasons of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, the Season after Pentecost (the long, green season, sometimes called “ordinary time”). Right now we are approaching the end of the season after Pentecost. How does living in each particular season color your relationship with the Christ who permeates all creation?
  3. In this session Richard Rohr will call our attention to the five passages of scripture which the first Franciscans emphasized as they lived into the understanding that Christ existed from the beginning of creation: Colossians 1, Ephesians 1, John 1:1-18, 1 John 1, Hebrews 1. Read one or several of these passages, appreciating them as expressions of the materialization of God in the first incarnation billions of years ago at the big bang.
  4. In our Hymnal, find the section containing hymns of the theme Jesus Christ our Lord (434–499). Scan the selections there, finding lines that appeal to you as you reflect on the significance of those two names. Notice ways that hymn writers have their own distinctive – and sometimes contradictory – theologies woven into their lyrics.
  5. If the Christ mystery has been present in the creation from the beginning, then it has been accessed by an incredible diversity of humans over hundreds of thousands of years. As Christians our identity is shaped by the particular manifestation of Christ consciousness 2000 years ago in Jesus. What do you claim as a follower of Jesus Christ?
    (Questions taken from the Guide Book to the study series Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy, by Richard Rohr with Tim Scorer,Morehouse EducationResources, 2014.)

See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+

St. Andrews-in-the-Valley, P.O. Box 436, Tamworth, NH 03886
Office hours: Tuesday-Friday 9-Noon
Phone: 603-323-8515
Office Administrator: Debra Hoyt
PHOTO GALLERY
Weaving Generosity


 
Sandwich Fair






October 9, 2014


  Don’t miss the animal Blessing photo gallery at the end..

Services for this coming Sunday, October 12th, the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, will be two services of Holy Eucharist, at 8 am and 10 am .
The readings for this Sunday are Exodus 32:1-14, Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14.
Weaving Generosity into our Life: Our Fall Pledge season is rolling as we weave generosity into our lives in so many ways! Thank you to those of you who have already turned in your pledge card and taken the opportunity to weave their strands into our growing banner. As soon as you have turned in a pledge card, each member of your family is invited to add to the weaving. A basket of possibilities is provided, but feel free to bring a fabric strip or ribbon of your own.
Our learning and conversations of Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy, a study series, with DVD presentations by Richard Rohr continues next week on October 15, at 11 am in the Prince Room. The topic is “Eco-Spirituality. [See the Food for Thought section at the end for some reflections on today’s conversation.] If you missed yesterday’s session and would like to view the DVD on your own, please speak to Heidi. Session 3, The Cosmic Christ, will meet on October 22 and Session 4, Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy, on October 29.
Sandwich Fair: The fun begins!!! 
But it's OCT 11-13 (Sat. thru Monday). We've fixed the sign!
Look for our booth with our new banner (!) in the Farmers’ Market section adjacent to the Crafts building. The closest entrance is from the Bean Road parking lot.
Thanks to all of you who have agreed to staff our Booth and to all of the jelly-makers, bakers, growers, and crafters!
But we’re looking for some Whoopie Pie makers! They were a big hit in past years, especially the pumpkin and apple versions. Our secret recipes have been located, and Chris Mills now has them. You can call her cell phone at 452-4049.
All baked goods – preferably wrapped/packaged – can be dropped off at the church by 3:30 Friday afternoon, with a list of ingredients. Chris will have "blank" labels that she can put on last-minute items.  Thanks!
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Are there names you would like to have remembered at the altar during our All Saints’ Day service on November 2nd? Please take one of the sheets for that purpose from the bulletin table or send an email to Debra at office@standrewsinthevalley.org . The sheets can be put in the plate or the office.  All names will be recorded in our “Book of Names.”

Looking ahead to the Bishop’s Visit on December 14th: About every two years, the Bishop makes an “official” visit to Saint Andrew’s. On that day we will have ONE service at 10 o’clock at which Bishop Hirschfeld will preach and preside, as well as baptize, confirm, or receive into this branch of the church any who are interested. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed, or received, please talk to the rector right away so that we can make appropriate preparations. Please mark your calendars now for this special service so that you can plan to be with us.
Food for thought in the Franciscan tradition … follow-up on our Saint Francis Day focus from last Sunday and preparation for our next Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy session next Wednesday, the topic for which is “Eco-Spirituality”…
I offer these questions in advance of our meeting since it is often helpful to come to a group conversation after personally considering some of the issues that will be raised. These reflective questions are intended to open your mind, memories, and emotions relating to this topic. Feel free to jot down your responses.
1. When you hear the term eco-spirituality, what comes to mind for you?
2. Based on your reading and various media presentations, what are you noticing these days about the global ecological crisis? What feelings does this engender in you? How do your spiritual practices address this growing crisis?
3. In the time before the next session, find an opportunity to go to a place that allows you to practice “an open-eyed reverencing of reality.”
4. Think about the ways our life as a congreation is structured and managed. Look for ways that it encourages transformation of human life toward a deeper consciousness of God’s presence in all things. Look for ways that it maintains the status quo and encourages dualistic thinking (Dualistic thinking is either/or thinking, winners and losers, for me or against me.) , rather than mystical consciousnessƒs.
5. Last Sunday copies of St. Francis’s “Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon” was made available. We also sang a musical setting of it as our opening hymn, “All creature of our God and King” [Hymn 400]. The text of it also follows in this MEMO. Find times during the week to read this, maybe even several times, both aloud and in silence. Allow the reading to carry yyou into a worldview of St. Francis, who granted animals, elements, and planets subjectivity, respect, and mutuality by calling them brothers and sisters.
The Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon                
Frances of Assisi, Friar, 1226
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessing.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor;
And bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
And through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather
Through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised by You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praise be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised bye You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for your love
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death
from whom no living one can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless the Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+
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St. Andrews-in-the-Valley P.O. Box 436, Tamworth, NH 03886
Office hours: Tuesday-Friday 9-Noon
Phone: 603-323-8515
Office Administrator: Debra Hoyt
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PHOTO GALLERY from Animal Blessing last Sunday.
Photos by Zack DeGroot.








October 2, 2014


 
The altar flowers last Sunday were given by Judy and Larry Grace
in loving memory of their son, Roy, and arranged by Dale.
This coming Sunday, October 5th, the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, we will have only ONE service of Holy Eucharist at 9 am, to honor the Feast Day of Saint Francis with our annual Blessing of the Animals. As usual, dogs on leashes are welcome, cats and other small animals should be caged or crated. We will designate the transept as an “Animal Free Zone,” and welcome larger animals for a blessing outside at 10:15. Invite your friends to “Bring-Your-Pet-to-Church Sunday!” Special thanks to the Pastoral Care Committee for hosting Coffee Hour.

Micah is looking forward to seeing his canine friends again this Sunday. Be sure to pass the word along to them and offer them a ride! Do you recognize his collar?
The MEMO Editor wishes to express an apology to the Cocco for the misspelling of his name last week. It’s Cocco – not to be confused with the hot beverage!

The readings for this Sunday are Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Psalm 19, Philippians 3:4b-14, Matthew 21:33-46.
The Women’s Lunch Bunch will meet this Wednesday October 15th, at noon at the Mt. View Station Restaurant in Center Ossipee. Contact Dale Appleton with questions. 

 Weaving Generosity into our Life: Our Fall Pledge season got off to a lively start last Sunday as the first pledgers took the opportunity to weave their strands into our growing banner. As soon as you have turned in a pledge card, each member of your family is invited to add to the weaving. A basket of possibilities is provided, but feel free to bring a fabric strip or ribbon of your own.
 
The (unofficial) color of the day was purple…

Nine of us gathered yesterday for the first of five sessions entitled Embracing an Alternative Orthodoxy, a study series, with presentations by Richard Rohr in conversation with a group of Christians from various denominational backgrounds (via DVD), followed by our own conversations and explorations: Our second session – Eco-Spirituality – will be meet on October 15, at 11 am in the Prince Room. Session 3, The Cosmic Christ, will meet on October 22 and Session 4, Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy, on October 29. Please RSVP to frantzdale@gmail.com if you plan to attend so that you can receive some reflection questions in advance. [See the Food for Thought section at the end for some reflections on today’s conversation.] If you missed yesterday’s session and would like to view the DVD on your own, please speak to Heidi.
 Preparations for the Sandwich Fair, Oct 11 – 13
Set-up for the Fair is in less than one week! Now’s the time for bakers to get going. Convenient-to-eat snacks are very popular. Call Carol (539-2780) to let her know your plans.
Volunteers needed to staff our booth: Seriously, WE NEED YOUR HELP! The success of our booth at the Fair depends on being well staffed! With three of us on deck at all times, we can be relaxed and welcoming vendors, tend well to our customers, provide help for each other, and have a good time reaching out to folks. To volunteer, please call the office (323-8515). Please leave name, phone number, and preferred staffing time. Or sign up on Sunday.
The available times follow:
Saturday, October 11
7:30 pm to 10:30 am: 3 needed
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm:  2 needed
3 pm to 6 pm:  3 needed
Sunday, October 12
7:30 pm to 10:30 am: 1 needed
10 am to 1 pm:  1 needed
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm:  1 needed
3 pm to 6 pm:  3 needed
Monday, October 13
7:30 pm to 10:30 am: 1 needed
10 am to 1 pm:  all set
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm:  2 needed
3 pm to 6 pm:  1 needed
The ChIPsProject: Over the next few weeks, you'll be hearing more about the ChIPs Project.  This project provides Christmas gifts for incarcerated parents to give to their children.  This year we'd like to accept financial donations in October, and then have a group shopping expedition in early November to select gifts.  If you're interested in helping, please let Kathy Bunker (Kathy_bunker@yahoo.com) know. For some heartwarming information on the ChIPs project, read this article from the Diocesan Web site:
http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102613649529-500/ChIPs+article+2014.pdf 
Looking ahead to the Bishop’s Visit on December 14th: About every two years, the Bishop makes and “official” visit to Saint Andrew’s. On that day we will have ONE service at 10 o’clock at which Bishop Hirschfeld will preach and preside, as well as baptize, confirm, or receive into this branch of the church any who are interested. If you would like to be baptized, confirmed, or received, please talk to the rector right away so that we can make appropriate preparations. Please mark your calendars now for this special service so that you can plan to be with us.
An update on contributions received in response to our anticipated budget shortfall: To date 21 households have either generously contributed or agreed to contribute a combined total $5,540. Thank you. If you are behind on your pledge payments it would help our cash flow for you to bring your payments up to date as soon as possible. If others of you are able, additional special gifts are still welcome. Thank you.
These brave turkeys were caught one morning last week by Debra out the office window! The flock has recently been visiting our back field at least twice a day.

 Food for thought, in the form of a few quotes from our Study Group exploration of the Atonement…
“Jesus did not come to change the mind of God about humanity, but to change the mind of humanity about God.”  John Duns Scotus, d. 1308
“The actual atonement that Jesus did was the emptying of himself to do what God wanted.” Raymond Raney, DVD participant
“As a culture we are at the pluralistic level. That’s why so many things that were understood at the magical and mythical level don’t make sense to us anymore. I don’t want to throw them out, I want to ask how you raise them up so that they are truer than ever. Once we get to the highest non-dual or mystical level, we really understand the transaction of love – the transformational power of love. I don’t want to throw out any of these doctrines or dogmas; rather, let’s find out what they really mean.
“That’s why we use the term “alternative orthodoxy.” We’re still concerned about being orthodox, but what so many people call orthodox is childhood conditioning passing for orthodoxy. It doesn’t help because when they go off to college at the rational level of consciousness where it doesn’t make sense anymore, they throw out the baby with the bath water. That’s why agnosticism and atheism are largely a child of Christianity. If you go to formerly Christian nations you find a high degree of agnostics and atheists.” Fr. Richard Rohr
“We’ve been shaped by American culture. We like will-power religion: “I can do whatever I need to do.” The language of the scriptures and the mystics and saints is not the language of willfulness but willingness – the language of surrender.”  Fr. Richard Rohr
A Prayer of Alcuin, and 8th Century Celtic saint:
Give us, O Lord, we pray,
firm faith, unwavering hope, a passion for justice.
Pour into our hearts
the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding,
the Spirit of Counsel and Spiritual Strength,
the Spirit of Knowledge and True Compassion,
The Spirit of wonder in all Your Works.
Light Eternal, shine in our hearts;
Power Eternal, scatter the darkness of our ignorance;
Might Eternal, have mercy on us.
Grant that we may ever seek your face
with all our heart, soul, and strength.
And in your infinite mercy
bring us at last to the fullness of your presence
where we shall behold your glory
and live your promised joys.

In the name of Jesus,
Our body and blood,
our life and our nourishment. Amen.
See you in church!
Blessings,
Heidi+
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