Grains of Sand January 4, 2010
GRAINS OF SAND
January 4, 2010
Because there is so much information to pass on to you, the Grains of Sand will come out in two parts this week - today and Wednesday.
EVENTS COMING UP
Degreening of the Church: If you can stay for a bit after worship on Sunday, January 10th, we can use some extra help to take the greens down in the church. It goes a lot more quickly than putting them up!
Sandwiches for CHUM: The Peace and Justice Group is beginning a new monthly ministry of making bag lunches to take to CHUM once a month on a Sunday. Sundays are usually days when fewer meals are offered to those who are hungry. This is an intergenerational outreach. If you’d like to help, meet in the kitchen after church (during coffee hour) and help put together 40 bag lunches. They will include a sandwich, chips, fruit and dessert. Coordinating this ministry are: Bob Anderson and Mike and Sharon Oliver. Anyone can help — all ages!! Other ways to help would be to provide bars or cookies on the Sundays we pack the lunches. The rest of the food will be bought ahead of time.
Annual Meeting: January 17th. We gather after worship to look back over the past year and forward into the new, as a community of faith. We have two recipients of the St. Andrew’s medal, chosen for the way they model Christ’s presence in their life, and for their commitment and faithfulness to worship and outreach in the St. Andrew’s community. The budget will be presented and discussed. We will offer a new slate of Bishop’s Committee members to vote in. All communicants who are 16 years and up are eligible to vote. We will have child care available and refreshments will be served.
A Night of Norwegian Music
Mark your calendar for Friday, February 12, 7 p.m. Music will be provided by Arna Rennan and Brian Dack. Arna has studied at the Institute of Folk Music in Rauland, University of Telemark, Norway. Her repertoire includes a wide range - from ballads of the Middle Ages, stev (four-lined poems sung in free rhythm), work songs, immigrant songs, and much more. Her songs reflect history, folklore, religious beliefs, universal themes, and comical frankness. In addition to singing, she plays the guitar, accordion, seljefloyte (overtone flute) and langeleik. Music will begin at 7:30. Refreshments (Scandanavian style) will be served. Admission is free. There will be about 140 tickets available — so pick yours up soon (at church from Donn Larson) and invite a friend. A free will offering will be taken, and donated to the CHUM Food Shelf.
Instructed Eucharist
On January 24th and 31st, we will have an instructed Eucharist during worship. It has been close to fifteen years since we offered one - and many have joined us in this community since then. Some have come from other Episcopal churches. Others have come from other Christian denominations. Some have become Christian in that time. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on what we are doing when we worship - what do words mean, certain actions, why do parts of the service come in the order they do. We will cover the ‘Word of God’ on January 24th. On the 31st, we’ll do commentary on ‘The Holy Communion‘. On both Sundays, the commentary will be the homily. A reminder to those in Confirm not Conform (CnC) — these two Sundays are one of your lessons for Confirmation. Please try to be present.
EVENTS JUST PAST
Christmas Pageant: For those who got to see it — the children and youth offered an excellent pageant yesterday during worship. Thank you to Liz Maeshima for directing and coordinating, Roberta Cline for teaching music to the children, Adelaide Cline for repairing, creating and finding some new costumes (they were just stunning!), Mary Shaw and Kristin Grover for crowd control and ‘motherly presence’,
Jan Peterson and Elena Knezevich for providing music during practice.
Safe Haven Shelter: Thank you to all who helped the Teens with their outreach ministry to Safe Haven Shelter. Your generosity helped them collect, wrap and deliver 73 gifts to those who are staying there. Safe Haven is a shelter for women and children who are transitioning out of abusive relationships and trying to find work and a new home - basically rebuild their lives.
Christmas Eve: Even though we were in the midst of a blizzard, it paused long enough for many of us to get to church on Christmas Eve. As the storm began, I thought, ‘wow, we’ll be lucky to have 50 in church tonight’. Well — 115 of you made it! Many of you were already snowed (our plowed) in — and we missed you. Such is life in Minnesota, huh?
VICAR’S MESSAGE
As I write this, school has begun again, many are back at work after a break - and yet it is still the Season of Christmas. I love Advent and Christmas seasons — they are probably my favorite of the Church Year. I know I’ve mentioned before that we live in at least two calendar years — our secular year which begins January 1st, and our Church Year, which begins the First Sunday in Advent. The Season of Christmas is packed with ‘holy day’ observances - many of which go by the wayside, unnoticed — unless you happen to have a liturgical calendar (or sometimes listen to Public Radio in the morning).
In our family, besides the liturgical observances, we have a marriage anniversary and ordination anniversary to observe. What are some of those other holy days in the Christmas Season?
The day after Christmas is the Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr. Do you find it strange that the church celebrates a martyrdom a day after the birth of Jesus? It is said that the cross is right above the manger (have you ever noticed how the star of Bethlehem has a somewhat ‘cross-form’?) Life and death! With great realism we are asked to ponder the whole of the Christian life. At what cost to we follow this Child in the Manger?
December 27th brings us the Feast of the Holy Family. Scriptures are clear: community is at the heart of our Christian life. Reflect on your family of origin. Offer prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings that have come your way, and prayers for healing of wounds that might still be raw. Then consider what you can do to strengthen your family bonds.
December 28th is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Why would we have a story about the killing of children, just a few days after we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child? Again, we’re faced with Christian realism — Christianity is not escapist. We know — deep in our hearts - that children are being sacrificed all the time. Children are killed on our streets because of people who have guns (and shouldn’t). Children are starving in this world because of political games that keep food from them (there is plenty of food grown in this world to feed everyone). Children are abandoned by parents — to the TV and all the violent images they see day after day (how does that form their hearts and minds?). This feast day also asked us to remember that Jesus, as a child, was a refugee. Remember the story of his family fleeing to Egypt to escape the tyrant Herod? Ponder the ways children continue to be hurt - and resolve to do something about it.
January 1st brings us to The Holy Name and Mary the Mother of God. Jesus’ name is a derivative of ‘Joshua’, which means, “The Lord is salvation’. Names were very important in the ancient world. It was believed a persons name was closely aligned to the nature of the person to whom it had been given. Naming someone was not a random choice. A name foreshadowed what God intended the significance of a persons life to be. Jesus is the savior. Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she was to name her child, Jesus. Mary’s response to the grace of God was total and faithful. She named her child Jesus and gave him back to God. Blessing upon blessing. To be blessed, is to experience the possibility of happiness. Think about blessing for a moment. In the meditation booklet, Waiting in Joyful Hope, the author (Robert Morneau) says that “invoking God’s care upon someone or something is what we understand by a ble ssing. A curse, in contrast, is to wish evil upon another. A blessing or a curse! Here we have a fundamental option that shapes our destiny.” The beginning of a new year (secular) is a good time to think about who has blessed us on our journey. Who have we blessed? As we enter this new year it’s important to remind ourselves that an essential part of our Christian vocation is to be a blessing to others.
Well, these are just a few of the ‘holy days’ of the Christmas season. I haven’t mentioned them all, but you get the picture. The Season of Christmas is not just a 12 day vacation from school — it is a ’school of Christian formation’ itself, if we let it be. Christmas is not about a baby, not about sentimental piety, not about Christian fantasy. Christmas is a very adult feast. It stretches us far beyond a manger in Bethlehem. It brings us to recognize who it is that we will either accept or reject, in everything we do in our life this year.
Each of the feasts of Christmastide is another star on the horizon of the soul, confirming what our hearts already know: God is with us. The radiant dawn has swallowed up the darkness. It is the Season of Light. Christmas is not a single event. It is an entire season of feasts - from December 25 to the Sunday after the Epiphany (Baptism of Jesus). Each of them is designed to take us deeper and deeper into commitment, into understanding, into faith — and to put a glow into our soul. That’s enough for now. Wednesday, January 6th, is the Feast of the Epiphany. I’ll have more to say about that — then. Until then — keep on observing Christmas in your life! Christmas Blessings, Cindy
CLERGY TIME
We need you to be aware of some changes in clergy time that began as of January 1, 2010. Fifteen months ago, when we were in the midst of our renovation, I was feeling overwhelmed with all the meetings and day to day life of the parish - and being only half time. The budget would not allow for an increase in salary for the time I was putting in — so I made the choice to ‘job share’. I gave a portion of my salary so we could hire another priest, who could help with preaching and pastoral care - and other things that might come up. So — we hired Sally Maxwell at 1/4 time. I ‘cut back’ to 1/3 time of salary. I never did cut back on my time offered to the parish - which is usually considerably over 1/2 time. However, it has been very helpful to have Sally with us — to pick up some preaching, to do some pastoral visiting, to begin a couple of new ministries we’ve never had (Young Adults and Parent’s Night Out). Life has changed for Steve and me. Steve retired from St. Luke’s Hospital in October, which means I am no longer covered by his health insurance (which I have been since I began at St. Andrew’s). I now have to pay a rather hefty monthly premium — as many of you do as well. We can no longer afford to relinquish 1/4 of my salary each month. SO — as of January 1st, Sally will remain with us for the time being, at 1/10th time (which is about 20 -22 hours a month). She will be with us one Sunday a month (paid), to preach. She will continue with Young Adults, Parents Night Out, and some pastoral care. If you see her other Sundays, then that is on her own time - and a gift to us. Her salary still comes out of my salary - but I am reclaiming enough to be able to cover my health care expenses each month.
Please remember that Sally will not be available to us as much as in the past. Keep this in mind when you ask for her time. Thank you. Cindy
CHRISTIAN FORMATION - Bible Study
A class on the Book of Job will begin January 13th (and 20th & 27th), meeting from 5:30 to 7 :00 p.m. We will read the Book of Job and discuss it’s context in the larger setting of scripture, what the author is addressing, and the unresolved issues of ’suffering’. In addition, we will read together, JB by Archibald MacLeish. This is a contemporary play based on Job. You can get the book from Amazon for One Cent plus shipping. The class will be led by Susan Nelson and Cindy Peterson-Wlosinski. Susan taught the Book of Job as literature while she was an English teacher at East High.
Please sign up in the Mission Hall if you will attend. We need at least five others for the class to proceed.
THE ROVING REPORTER - Traci Reynolds
My article is about John of Damascus, who lived from 675 to 749 CE (Common Era). John was a Christian and an official in the court of Muslim Khalif, Abdul Malek, in Damascus. During those times, the eastern and western half of the Mediterranean practiced different styles of Christianity. One of the oldest cities in the world, Damascus was the capital of Syria. You recall that Paul became a Christian on his way to Damascus - ’seeing the light’. John began as a monk in the famous Mar Sabain Palistine Monastary, out in the wilderness. John was a poet and priest - and had many poems that became spiritual hymns, inspired by this life in the wilderness. At Easter, one of the hymns we sing is “Come ye Faithful, raise the strain of Triumphant gladness.” Another hymn is “The Day of Resurrection”. This is sung to the tune of ‘Lascasshire’ in the Eastern Church’s Great Vigil of Easter. The ceremony consists of can dles being lighted and shouts of “He is risen! Christ is Risen Indeed!” in Greek. People sing hymns while staying in church the whole night - and then knocking Easter eggs together before a huge feast. This practice would have pleased John of Damascus very much. The time before Christmas, that we have just observed, along with the coming time of Easter this spring, is a time of revisiting the vastness of my relationship with the Lord. I think that is how John may have realized his relationship and all of it’s vastness with the Lord. I am made in God’s image, as we all are, yet in comparison to God and all of his accomplishments, I am so small.
KRISTIN’S CHILDCARE
Need childcare? Know of someone else who is looking for childcare? Kristin Grover is beginning a new Day Care for children of all ages. There are immediate openings. Kristin’s Childcare is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. She is licensed in St. Louis County, has CPR and First Aid Training and certification, is a member of the Food Program and accepts private and county payments.
The child care location is convenient - 308 N. 53rd Ave. West, - close to SuperOne and Menards.
At Kristin’s Childcare, they do all sorts of projects an crafts. We pay games, sing songs, and spend plenty of time outdoors! If you’re looking for a home away from home for your child, or children, please give Kristin Grover a call - 218-390-6652.
