February 24, 2022

 

FROM THE RECTOR

Lent is almost here! An Ash Wednesday service will be held on Zoom and Facebook Live at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 2.

Ashes Available for Pick Up

If you would like to have a packet of ashes for imposition at home during our Ash Wednesday service, please pick one up at the Church on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon between 1:00 and 4:00. If those hours are not convenient for you we will also leave some in the mailbox by the office door.

Update on returning to in-person worship: Our plan is to return to in-person worship on March 13. Services will continue to be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. Masks will be required and the Vestry asks that you maintain physical distancing as indicated by the round yellow stickers in the pews. Please, for the safety of others, plan to attend church on Zoom if you have recently traveled and/or been present at large gatherings, or if you are not feeling well, or coughing or sneezing. 

Lenten Book Study

This year’s Lenten Book study will begin on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:30 pm and run through April 13, the Wednesday in Holy Week. Please let Caroline know if you plan to join this book study. Attendance at every session is not required; come as you are able.

The book is Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy Jill Levine, Ph.D. It is available on Amazon for $13.19. We have studied other books by Amy Jill Levine and thoroughly enjoyed them, along with the accompanying DVDs.

Here is a blurb on the book from Amazon:

Jesus’ final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward.

Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes, or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and re-read these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges.

In Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience.

Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. The book is part of a larger six-week study that is perfect for Lent and includes a DVD, and a comprehensive Leader Guide.

Blessings, Caroline  

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP 
This Sunday-February 27
at 10:00 am
The Last Sunday after Epiphany

via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)
or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/

AND...
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL

on ZOOM

READINGS FOR SUNDAY
Sunday,February 27, 2022
The Last Sunday after Epiphany

The Collect

O God, who before the passion of your only ¬begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson  Exodus 34:29-35

In our first reading we hear how Moses’ face shone after he had spoken with the Lord. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after again receiving the Ten Commandments, the people were afraid to approach him because of the radiance of his face. Whenever he talked with the people, he had to wear a veil.

Psalm 99

The holy and mighty Lord reigns on high. God spoke to Israel’s leaders from a pillar of cloud and has forgiven them their misdeeds.

The Second Lesson      2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

In our New Testament reading Paul celebrates the freedom and boldness that comes to believers through Christ. Moses veiled his face when leaving the Lord’s presence, but now the veil is removed and open access is given to God in Jesus. The spirit brings transformation through God’s mercy, therefore right conduct and transparency are to characterize the dealing of God’s people, commending themselves to all with clear conscience.

The Gospel Luke 9:28-36

Our gospel is the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. The narrative is richly woven with themes and symbols drawn from Israel’s past and its hopes for the future. Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets whose promises Jesus fulfills. While Jesus is praying, divine glory is reflected in his human person. The chosen disciples hear a voice from the cloud declaring that this is God’s beloved Son.




Click below to see the readings: 
LECTIONARY PAGE  

DIOCESAN CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

The Bishop’s Curates fund provides support for congregations to help them hire promising, newly ordained clergy—clergy that they otherwise would not be able to afford. Curates bring new ideas, energy, and vision to the congregation and the Diocese. Permanent funding would ensure that the Diocese and congregations could continue to attract talented clergy and would benefit from the energy, talents, and perspective of newly ordained clergy.

 Without the Bishop’s Curates Fund we would not have Nathan Bourne leading St. George’s in Durham and developing a campus ministry at UNH.

Consider: How might adding a curate to your church’s staff help strengthen ministries in your congregation?

Watch a video of the curate from The Church of the Good Shepherd, Nashua at  https://www.givingsites.com/deeproots/our-plan.php



PRAYERS FOR EACH OTHER
One thing we can always do while we stay at home is to pray for each other! 

This Week We Pray for:

Health and Wholeness for our:
Parish:  Kelly Antonelli, Audrey Berry, Carolyn Boldt, Marty Cloran,  Judy Grace, Bev Hammond, Sue Huckman, Joan Marshall,  John McGowan,  Elizabeth Pease, Grete Plender,  Becky Riley, Steve Thompson, Carol Tubman, Gabriele & Bob Wallace.

Family and Friends:  Megan Adams, John Appleton, Angela B, Gary Cole, Grace Dick, Tracy Forde,  Joyce Gendron, Marge Hagerup, Carolyn Jarvis, Jack Lamberti, Alexa Lutter, Chris Mains, Lyse Marshall, Margaret, Melody, Peg Patenaude, Curt R., Sage, Sharon Sousa, Mary Thomas, Johnathon Walty.

For those who have died: Candace Antonelli

For those celebrating birthdays this month: Joan Marshall ,Carolyn Boldt, Bill May, Lin Frank, Nathalie Smith, Tom Huckman, Judy Grace, Melissa Bunker.

For those celebrating anniversaries: Valerie and Bill May.

Please let the Parish Office know if you would like to add or remove someone 

on the prayer list. Thank you.

   

COMMUNITY FOOD CENTER

The Food Pantry thanks you for your contributions throughout the year.
Food pantry continues to serve the communities needs with new hours.
Alternating Wednesdays
11am-3pm
March 2, 16, 30

Any questions please call 603-960-4067.   


INTRODUCTION TO MINDFUL LIVING - An offering from Christi Humphrey

Introduction to Mindful Living

A six session program, April – May 2022

offered online

 Are you curious to learn what mindfulness is and how it can benefit you?

Are you wishing for a mindfulness refresher?

 

This six session, 90-minute class, will introduce various types of mindfulness meditations and practices to support you in incorporating mindfulness into your daily life. Each session will provide a supportive environment with time for instruction and practice and a question and response period. The program will assist you in building and deepening your own meditation practice. You will also learn informal ways to bring mindfulness into everyday life.

 Topics covered will include:

·               Mindfulness of breath and body

·           Mindfulness of emotions

·               Understanding thoughts & beliefs

·               The wise heart --  nurturing joy & compassion

·               Bringing your practice into the world

Practices will include:

·               Walking meditation & mindful movement

·               Self-compassion practices

·               Mindfulness of thought meditation

·               Offering compassion for self and others

·               Working with difficult emotions 


Facilitator --  Christianne Humphrey MDiv is a student within the Mindfulness Meditation

Teacher Training Certification program offered by Sounds True, in association withThe AwarenessTraining Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Christi has supported others in practices of the heart for over 20 years.

 For more information or to register, contact Christi by phone (508) 633-7466 or email cchumphrey1@gmail.com.

FROM DEB LEAVING THE OFFICE


Today is a day filled with emotion.  Sad, to be leaving such a wonderful family. Happy, to see your future with a talented new Parish Administrator, Carieanne, who brings her own gifts to the job. Anxious, in not knowing where my future will take me. Confident, that I hold the strength to carry me forward in my journeys.
Thank you for all the wonderful expressions of gratitude that you all shared in your letters, visits and phone calls. Know that my St. Andrew's family will always remain in my heart and I couldn't have found a better place to have as my last employment opportunity as I get closer to retirement.

I know that the door is always open with Sundays of worship and hopefully in person events forthcoming.
I hope to see you again as your friend.

Debra



FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food for Thought



Blessing the Dust

All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners

or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—

Did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?

This is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.

This is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.

This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.

So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are

but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made,
and the stars that blaze
in our bones,
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.

 ~ Jan Richardson



Links



February 17, 2022

 

 

FROM THE RECTOR

I’m pleased to announce that Carrieanne Haight began working as our new Parish Administrator on Monday! Her hours will be 1:00-5:00 pm Monday – Thursday. She is currently soaking in as much information from Deb as she possibly can! Deb will continue training her through next Thursday afternoon, February 24, which is her last day with us. If you have a chance, please feel free to stop by the office briefly to tell Deb goodbye and to meet and welcome Carrieanne.

Update on returning to in-person worship: The Vestry is in the process of making a decision on when to return to in-person worship. I expect it will be in March, but haven’t decided on which Sunday yet. Stay tuned!

Kelly’s Address: Several of you have asked for an address for Kelly Antonelli, Candace’s wife, so you can send a sympathy card. Her address is:

Kelly Antonelli

24 Heath Street #3

Somerville, MA 02145

I know she will appreciate hearing from you – we are her church family! She is staying with her mother and is near other family members.

Blessings, Caroline  

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP 
This Sunday-February 20
at 10:00 am
The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)
or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/

AND...
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL

on ZOOM

READINGS FOR SUNDAY
Sunday,February 20, 2022
The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

The Collect

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson                              Genesis 45:3-11,15

Our Hebrew Bible lesson relates a decisive moment in the story of Joseph as he reveals himself to his brothers, who then journey home to tell their father Jacob that his son is still alive. The brothers are at first overwhelmed by the discovery that the brother they had sold into slavery is now Pharaoh’s right-hand officer. Joseph tells them not to be upset: this has all been part of God’s plan to preserve Israel during the coming time of famine.

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40                                  

A psalm of advice to the wise, instructing them to avoid evil and to wait patiently on the Lord in righteousness.

The Second Lesson                    1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

In this passage Paul continues to discuss the question of resurrection from death. Some of the Corinthians are not sure whether they believe in resurrection, especially if it involves a physical body. There will be some form of body, Paul tells them. In this sense individually will continue, but it will be a body of transformed nature. As we have lived in a body like that of the earthly Adam, so we will have a body like that of the heavenly Jesus.

The Gospel                               Luke 6:27-38

In our gospel reading Jesus calls his followers to way of life that reaches beyond worldly understandings of what is good. In acts of mercy and kindness, disciples are to show forth the character of their heavenly Father. This manner of love extends even to enemies. It means learning to forgive and not judging others, for the measure given will be the measure dealt in return.


Click below to see the readings: 
LECTIONARY PAGE  

DIOCESAN CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

The Bishop’s Curates fund provides support for congregations to help them hire promising, newly ordained clergy—clergy that they otherwise would not be able to afford. Curates bring new ideas, energy, and vision to the congregation and the Diocese. Permanent funding would ensure that the Diocese and congregations could continue to attract talented clergy and would benefit from the energy, talents, and perspective of newly ordained clergy.

 Without the Bishop’s Curates Fund we would not have Nathan Bourne leading St. George’s in Durham and developing a campus ministry at UNH.

Consider: How might adding a curate to your church’s staff help strengthen ministries in your congregation?

Watch a video of the curate from The Church of the Good Shepherd, Nashua at  https://www.givingsites.com/deeproots/our-plan.php



PRAYERS FOR EACH OTHER
One thing we can always do while we stay at home is to pray for each other! 

This Week We Pray for:

Health and Wholeness for our:
Parish:  Kelly Antonelli, Audrey Berry, Carolyn Boldt, Marty Cloran,  Judy Grace, Bev Hammond, Sue Huckman, Joan Marshall,  John McGowan,  Elizabeth Pease, Grete Plender,  Becky Riley, Steve Thompson, Carol Tubman, Gabriele & Bob Wallace.

Family and Friends:  Megan Adams, John Appleton, Angela B, Gary Cole, Grace Dick, Tracy Forde,  Joyce Gendron, Marge Hagerup, Carolyn Jarvis, Jack Lamberti, Alexa Lutter, Chris Mains, Lyse Marshall, Margaret, Melody, Peg Patenaude, Curt R., Sage, Sharon Sousa, Mary Thomas, Johnathon Walty.

For those who have died: Candace Antonelli

For those celebrating birthdays this month: Joan Marshall ,Carolyn Boldt, Bill May, Lin Frank, Nathalie Smith, Tom Huckman, Judy Grace, Melissa Bunker.

For those celebrating anniversaries: Valerie and Bill May.

Please let the Parish Office know if you would like to add or remove someone 

on the prayer list. Thank you.

COMMUNITY FOOD CENTER

The Food Pantry thanks you for your contributions throughout the year.
Food pantry continues to serve the communities needs with new hours.
Alternating Wednesdays
11am-3pm
February 16
March 2, 16, 30

Any questions please call 603-960-4067.   

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food for Thought




Here is Mary Oliver’s classic meditation on the mysteries of life and death:

White Owl Flies into and Out of the Field

Coming down
out of the freezing sky
with its depths of light,
like an angel,
or a buddha with wings,
it was beautiful
and accurate,
striking the snow and whatever was there
with a force that left the imprint
of the tips of its wings —
five feet apart — and the grabbing
thrust of its feet,
and the indentation of what had been running
through the white valleys
of the snow —

and then it rose, gracefully,
and flew back to the frozen marshes,
to lurk there,
like a little lighthouse,
in the blue shadows —
so I thought:
maybe death
isn't darkness, after all,
but so much light
wrapping itself around us —
as soft as feathers —
that we are instantly weary
of looking, and looking, and shut our eyes,

not without amazement,
and let ourselves be carried,
as through the translucence of mica,
to the river
that is without the least dapple or shadow —
that is nothing but light — scalding, aortal light —
in which we are washed and washed
out of our bones.

~ Mary Oliver

Links



February 10, 2022

 

FROM THE RECTOR

Thank you, everyone, for a good Annual Meeting on Sunday. Thank you for attending, listening closely and asking questions. I especially want to thank our Zoom co-hosts, Sammie, Lois and Jen. Sammie was responsible for admitting everyone to the meeting and making sure there was no inadvertent background noise. Jen highlighted our speakers throughout the service and the Annual Meeting, at the same time taking notes for the minutes of the meeting. And Lois showed a huge number of slides and charts along with her usual hymn slides. It truly takes a village! Thank you to Jen and Bob, Patti and Sammie as well, for their contributions to the meeting.

Kelly’s Address: Several of you have asked for an address for Kelly Antonelli, Candace’s wife, so you can send a sympathy card. Her address is:

Kelly Antonelli

24 Heath Street #3

Somerville, MA 02145

I know she will appreciate hearing from you – we are her church family! She is staying with her mother and is near other family members.

Here is a repeat of The Salt Project’s Theology of Valentine’s Day. I think it’s been a few years since we ran it the first time.

“Before Hallmark, before long-stemmed roses delivered to your door or your desk, before heart-shaped boxes of chocolates with embossed “flavor maps” — there was St. Valentine. Actually, there may have been two. The history’s pretty murky, and includes legends about an early Christian priest (or was it a bishop?) martyred for (perhaps?) surreptitiously helping Christians to wed. So uncertain are the details, in fact, that in 1969 the Roman Catholic Church officially discontinued liturgical veneration of St. Valentine, though he’s still on the list of recognized saints.

But the holiday lives on. It turns out Chaucer, of all people, may be the reason why: the late-medieval poet penned “Parliament of Foules” sometime around 1375, including a link — embellished by more than a little poetic license — between courtly love and St. Valentine’s feast day. February 14, Chaucer wrote, is the day birds come together to find a mate: “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.” A lovely day indeed — and as the poem’s fame spread, so did the day’s association with affection, both avian and human.

But however fanciful these various legends may be, there’s a deeper wisdom beneath the whimsy. For centuries in Christian thought, the most prestigious book in the Bible, the “graduate school” of Christian spirituality, wasn’t Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, or the Book of Genesis, or the Psalms. It was the Song of Songs, an ancient — and pretty racy! — romantic poem about love in a world fraught with danger. Over the centuries, the poem was interpreted as an unsurpassed figurative portrait of the love between God and God’s people.

This Valentine’s Day, think of all the love in your life — the love you feel and the love you witness; the love you remember and the love you long for; even the love among the birds of the air! — as a glimpse of God’s care for all creation. And if you’re especially perceptive (or especially mischievous), you can glimpse divine love even in places as ordinary as a sweet little greeting card, an arrangement of flowers, or a “flavor map” embossed on a heart-shaped lid.

If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, the truth about God’s love is that it’s all around us, the Song of all songs, the Symphony of all symphonies, echoing everywhere.”

Blessings, CarolineING 

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP 
This Sunday-February 13
at 10:00 am
The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)
or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/

AND...
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL

on ZOOM

READINGS FOR SUNDAY
Sunday,February 13, 2022
The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

The Collect

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson                              Jeremiah 17:5-10

In our opening Lesson we hear how the prophet urges each individual to trust solely in the Lord, who alone can search out human motivations.  Jeremiah’s primary concern is that people should realize the importance of their choice.  Only one who recognizes the powers of human self-deception and rests in the Lord can live a fruitful life.

Psalm 1

The Lord makes fruitful the lives of those who choose the way of righteousness.

The Second Lesson                    1 Corinthians 15:12-20

In this epistle reading Paul insists that belief in resurrection from death is basic to the faith that Jesus was raised, which, in turn, is vital to all Christian hope and experience.  If, as some suggest, there is no resurrection, then there is no reason to believe that God raised Jesus.  If Jesus was not raised, then we remain in our unforgiven condition and are without hope for ourselves.  In fact, however, Christ was raised and is the first of many who will find new life.

The Gospel                               Luke 6:17-26

In our gospel passage Jesus heals many of their illnesses and teaches his disciples that the values of the kingdom of God are quite different from worldly standards.  His words offer both comfort and challenge.  Those who now are poor, hungry, sorrowful, and persecuted will find blessing, while the rich, satisfied and well spoken of will experience emptiness. Jesus’ disciples must learn to share in material and spiritual deprivation in the world if they are to know the joy of the kingdom.


Click below to see the readings: 
LECTIONARY PAGE  

DIOCESAN CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

Missional communities are new shoots of the vine that offer alternative forms of worship and community. Dinner churches, nature churches, and digital churches are all examples of different ways of “being church” that are being raised up here in New Hampshire. Since 2014 we have seen these new sprouts emerge in the form of communities such as Church of the Woods, The Mission in Franklin, The Digital Mission, and Christ the Way Church. Increased support for clergy and lay leaders and providing for gathering space and other assistance is critical to strengthen these communities.

 Consider: How does supporting missional communities outside of the traditional church context enhance who we are as the Episcopal church in New Hampshire?

 Learn more from the Rev. Kate Harmon Siberine, Missioner at the Episcopal Mission of Franklin by clicking here.



PRAYERS FOR EACH OTHER
One thing we can always do while we stay at home is to pray for each other! 

This Week We Pray for:

Health and Wholeness for our:
Parish:  Kelly Antonelli, Audrey Berry, Carolyn Boldt, Marty Cloran,  Judy Grace, Bev Hammond, Sue Huckman, Joan Marshall,  John McGowan,  Elizabeth Pease, Grete Plender,  Becky Riley, Steve Thompson, Carol Tubman, Gabriele & Bob Wallace.

Family and Friends:  Megan Adams, John Appleton, Angela B, Gary Cole, Grace Dick, Tracy Forde,  Joyce Gendron, Marge Hagerup, Carolyn Jarvis, Jack Lamberti, Alexa Lutter, Chris Mains, Lyse Marshall, Margaret, Melody, Peg Patenaude, Curt R., Sage, Sharon Sousa, Mary Thomas, Johnathon Walty.

For those who have died: Candace Antonelli

For those celebrating birthdays this month: Joan Marshall ,Carolyn Boldt, Bill May, Lin Frank, Nathalie Smith, Tom Huckman, Judy Grace, Melissa Bunker.

For those celebrating anniversaries: Valerie and Bill May.

Please let the Parish Office know if you would like to add or remove someone 

on the prayer list. Thank you.

COMMUNITY FOOD CENTER

The Food Pantry thanks you for your contributions throughout the year.
Food pantry continues to serve the communities needs with new hours.
Alternating Wednesdays
11am-3pm
February 16
March 2, 16, 30

Any questions please call 603-960-4067.   

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food for Thought



Love yourself.  Then forget it.  Then, love the world.

                             ~ Mary Oliver


Links




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