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| Soon (after the snow) |
In this Easter season we are mourning the deaths of some of our well-beloved parishioners, and the family members of others: Kitty Lou Booty (see the lovely tribute below written by her daughter, Jane Horn), Brian Kelley, Joan Wright’s husband, Bob, Dale and Dave’s grandson, John, Cece’s son, Doug and other friends and family members. They all died in March, as we were nearing the end of Lent. It is fitting that we are now moving through the Easter season, the season of the Resurrection. Knowing that all of these loved ones are now with God doesn’t stop the grieving, but as spring tries to arrive (is it really going to snow tomorrow?!) the promise of new life is all around us. And we do not lose hope, or faith, but every day see new buds, blossoms, birds and wildlife, all reminding us of the natural cycle of life and death and the renewal of all things. Our prayers are with all of you who are grieving.
On a different note, I am off next week, April 19-26. Please contact our Sr. Warden, Patti Rau, at 603-326-8098 if you have a pastoral emergency while I’m off, I'm having foot surgery on Friday, May 23. I’ll be on crutches (or a knee scooter!) and unable to drive for six weeks as it’s my right foot. My sister will come the day after surgery to help me for the first several days. Please pray for patience and grace for me following surgery. I’m grateful that Zoom and email will allow me to continue to work regular hours and stay in touch with all of you.
Next Sunday while I'm away Lisa, Gretchen and Cathie will lead Morning Prayer. The Zoom link will be the same as all of our Sunday services.
Kitty Lou Booty died at home on Booty Family Farm in Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, on March 22, 2021, a beautiful, sunny spring day when sap was collected from buckets outside her window, the sugarhouse was billowing steam, and a lamb was born.
The daughter of Clyde and Helen Harkins Smith, Kitty Lou was born May 15, 1930, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where she graduated from Saint Mary’s Hall and attended the University of Texas. She met John Booty at an Episcopal Church youth conference and the two married in 1950. Kitty Lou raised four children in faculty housing at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where John, an Episcopal priest, was a Professor of Church History. At age 40, Kitty Lou went back to school, earned a nursing degree, and worked for 15 years as a nursing home meds nurse. She and John subsequently lived in Sewanee, Tennessee, where John was Dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South. In 1984, their son Peter and his wife Diane started Booty Family Farm on Mount Israel Road in Center Sandwich, New Hampshire. Kitty Lou and John happily retired there in 1990, to a house built by Peter with trees from the property, using draft horses and a portable sawmill.
In her youth, Kitty Lou was a beauty queen (Miss Alamo Heights) and modeled for Texas Cottons, appearing in Life Magazine. She loved to dance, taking ballet lessons and continuing well into her later life as a liturgical dancer. And it was Kitty Lou who took the Booty children on camping and backpacking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Mount Katahdin in Maine. In her seventies, Kitty Lou was challenged by Multiple Sclerosis, which gradually took away her mobility, but did not damage her abiding faith, her warm smile, or her generous spirit.
A fully committed, loving Christian, Kitty Lou served on the vestry of Saint Andrew’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church in Tamworth, New Hampshire, and was a Companion in the Society of the Companions of The Holy Cross. She loved her faith family, was devoted to daily scripture reading and prayer, and she never failed togive thanks before a meal. Kitty Lou also surrounded herself with music – classical, opera, and Broadway musicals – and loved to read fiction and poetry, especially Jan Karon, James Herriot, and Mary Oliver. At Kitty Lou’s home the bird feeders were always full, afternoon tea was served at four o’clock, and everyone was welcome.
Kitty
Lou lived in a state of gratitude. She adored her devoted “care angels” and was so very grateful to them and to the
hospice nurses who guided her lovingly, enabling her to live and die at home. She enjoyed watching the changing
seasons, going for “walks” in her
electronic wheelchair, and visiting with wonderful friends who stopped by to read to her, sing with her,
or just enjoy a cup of tea with her on the porch.
Being on the farm surrounded by family and daily activity was a blessing that Kitty Lou
fully embraced. Everyone who entered her home was greeted
warmly.
Tradesmen were thanked for their skills, delivery people were invited to come back for tea, children were encouraged to call her Granny, and when she was no longer able to bake cookies, she gave out hugs and smiles that fed us all. “Love goes with you” were often her parting words.
Kitty Lou danced off to heaven
to joyfully reunite
with her husband
John who died in 2013, her son Peter who died in 2010,
and her great grandson Owen Peter who died in
2015. She leaves behind her brother Don Smith and wife Lila, daughter Carol and husband Ernie, son Geoffrey and wife
Helen, son Peter’s wife Diane, daughter Jane
and husband Todd, nine grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and two
more on the way. A “tucking in” service will be held for
her on the farm this summer. Love goes with her, our dearest Kitty Lou, Mom, and Granny. Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
The remaining Sundays at 10:00 AM
This Sunday-April 18th
at 10:00 a.m.
The Third Sunday of Easter
via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL
on ZOOM
The Collect
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Lesson Acts 3:12-19
Peter has just healed a crippled man, and in this passage he proclaims the fundamentals of the gospel to those who come running to hear him. From the beginning the new faith showed its power through such healings, and these occasions were used for preaching the good news. Many of these speeches are presented as summaries of basic themes. The role of the apostles as witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection is stressed, as is the theme of scriptural fulfillment.
Psalm 4
The prayer of one falsely accused, and an expression of confidence in God, who instills confidence and peace in all circumstance.
The Second Lesson 1 John 3:1-7
In this lesson we learn that through the Father’s love, disciples are now children of God, and they no longer live in sin. Their destiny is to be like Christ. Those who live without God do not understand what it means to be a child of God any more than they recognized Jesus. But Christians know that a dramatic change has taken place in their lives, and that the mystery of what they are fully to become still awaits them.
The Gospel Luke 24:36b–48
In our gospel the risen Jesus shows himself again to his disciples, and he interprets to them the scriptures which reveal that his death and resurrection were part of God’s plan. This Jesus is no ghost or phantom (as some later interpretations of the resurrection might have suggested). His appearance is real; his friends touch him and he eats with them. Now they are to be his witnesses and to carry the message of repentance and forgiveness to all peoples.
For our First Nation people and those in this country who are living in impoverished areas with access to needed services
For all those who working with COVID patients, vaccinations and vaccines.
Updating the Prayer List
Please let Deb know when a person can be removed from the prayer list. Thank you.
In the north
country now it is spring and there
is a certain celebration. The thrush
has come home.
He is shy and likes the
evening best, also the hour just before
morning; in
that blue and gritty light he
climbs to his ranch, or smoothly
sails there.
It is okay to know only
one song if it is this one. Hear it
rise and
fall; the very elements of your soul
shiver nicely. What would spring be
without it?
Mostly frogs. But don’t worry, he
arrives, year
after year, humble and obedient
and gorgeous. You listen and you know
you could
live a better life than you do, be
softer, kinder. And maybe this year you will
be able to do
it. Hear how his voice
rises and falls. There is no way to be
sufficiently
grateful for the gifts we are
given, no way to speak the Lord’s name
often enough,
though we do try, and
especially
now, as the dappled breast
breathes in the pines and heaven’s
windows in
the north country, now spring has come,
are opened wide.
Hannaford Fight Hunger Bag Program
Benefiting Month: May 2021
