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+