Postings
(Click Shield Above for Home Page)
Postings: Newsletters and other information.
The Evangelist
Newsletter of St. John’s Episcopal Church – January 2012
From Rev. Dan Lediard:
The month of February has various days of remembrance and a few are most significant. I best not forget Jody’s birthday on February 15th, and her mother’s birthday on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. This year I intend to skip my birthday on February 12th, as that was sixty-five years ago. And I thought age forty was hard to swallow!
Memories and history are deeply important as we can often look back and see cause-and-effect, which has shaped who we are as a civilization, as a parish family, as an actual family, and as individuals. Memories can bring back unpleasant thoughts. They can as well as bring back smiles and tears of happiness. All memories are a part of our inner-most being. However my memories of bad times keep fading with the years.
I associate February with my being in the USAF Military Police School, with my mother and I rushing to New Orleans as her mother was suddenly actively dying – and getting there in time to say good-bye. This was my first powerful and life changing experience of actually seeing and feeling the presence of God in the hospital room, just seconds after grandma’s heart stopped beating. I am getting the chills right now as I type and remember.
If my mother, and the Catholic Nun who was holding my hand, had not all seen and felt the same thing I would have assumed I was hallucinating. My grandmother’s actual moments of death are vague; but the many moments afterwards are alive and vivid.
God has created us in His image, as is written in the Bible. What this means is far beyond any explanation. At my age I no longer need an explanation. However, what we can do is work on what it means to us. Since God remembers far beyond our ability, isn’t it fascinating how we are given His complete and unconditional love – with no strings attached? Yes! It is fascinating and hard to figure out. I have finally accepted it as being factual, and not just being my understanding of truth. It has taken decades to get here.
I have often thought how significant it is that I cannot remember the actual date my father died, and yet I can vividly remember very special times while with my dad. Since this is common for human beings, it just might be one of the ways in which we were created in the image of God. Perhaps…
Does this imply that God cares not to remember the times we have made a mess of things, and instead prefers to focus on the goodness of who we are? Hmm? Is this delving into the mysteries of God? Absolutely. Is this another way of understanding the reality of God in that we are loved unconditionally? Yes!
I’d love to hear your thoughts,
Fr. Dan+
...most of the time, all you have is the moment, and the imperfect love of the people around you. Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Please keep St. John’s Prayer Chain members, and all who pray, in your regular prayers.
Reminders from Denise Johnston
Just a brief reminder to keep the food basket filled this winter. Besides adult food canned veggies, fruit, etc., remember the little ones with cereals, jarred fruits and veggies. Also, not for the basket, but the animal shelter needs food and litter for cats and canned food or dry kibble for the dogs. This you would take direct to the animal shelter. Remember, these are donations and should be tax deductable. Thank you all for the donations already made. Please keep it up; I know how much it is appreciated.
The new Flower Chart is up awaiting sign-ups for loved ones’ birthdays and memorials. Kopacz Nursery will deliver flowers to the Church if you are unable to bring them yourself.
REPORTS FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 29, 2012
Senior Warden’s Report:
St. John’s has had a good year, a positive year what with the leadership of Fr. Dan. After all it’s been a while since we have had two baptisms, and four confirmations – in one year and that says it all. Other accomplishments that St. John’s experienced have been reflected with the reports from Fr. Dan, Karen Bounds, Diana Henderson, Sam Weimer, Barb Leque, Karen Anderson, and Dan Jeffery and thus needs not to be repeated in this report. We have a strong vestry and what with their leadership, we continue in a positive note. My thanks to Mike and Diana Henderson, Roger and Karen Bounds, Sam Weimer, Abbie Ditton, Tim Leque, Denise Johnston, and Dan Jeffery. Special thanks go out to Marjorie Davidson for her continued dedication as church secretary and vestry clerk. Marjorie, you have, as my last year as senior warden, made this year a piece of cake.
During the year we have asked help from the congregation to assist with several ministries within the church from signing up for altar flowers, help with the worship service, coffee hour, altar, to help clean the church and church grounds. My thanks to everyone for helping out where there was a need. If you haven’t signed up to help what ever area that you would like to work, we just happen to have available sign up sheets. What ever task that you do sign up for and you need assistance, just know that there are those that will help you.
Vestry is a big supporter of the monthly Community Life gatherings. This a monthly meeting where we gather at a designated parishioners home for a potluck, visit and just get caught up on what has been happening in our daily and busy life. This was implemented when Fr. George was here as our priest and then when he left, vestry thought that this would be a good networking tool as we were then without a priest and to say the least, it was. It kept us strong and focused as a community serving the needs of St. John’s. If you haven’t attended a Community Life, I would encourage you to so. If you enjoy the coffee hours that we have after church, than for sure you would like Community Life. I would like to convey my thanks for those parishioners who signed up to host the Community Life. And I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the parishioners who helped with the coffee hours after church.
I would like to thank you the parishioners for your support during my tenure as Senior
Warden.
Leslie Weimer
Junior Wardens’ Report:
The focus this year was on maintenance and performance for our sanctuary, parish hall, Sunday school rooms, and rectory. Our facilities are being used by more people during the week, as community groups meet here, an office is in use, and our own church activities have increased.
The rectory is home to our rector and his wife, as well as housing the church office, which is open and staffed by our secretary on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am-12 noon. The rectory got new carpeting by private donation. St. John’s purchased a new stove for the kitchen this year.
The parish hall has and is being used for
· St. John’s Book Club
· the Warming Station steering committee
· meetings with the rector and vestry meetings
· weekly coffee hours
· parish pot lucks and the parish Christmas party
· community group events
· wedding receptions
· funeral meals
The basement rooms are used for:
· St. John’s Sunday School
· a permanent office for Umatilla Morrow Alternatives
· Domestic Violence meetings for women and children
· an occasional vestry meeting
Each spring we have an all parish “Prune and Pray” Sunday. This past spring many people stayed after church to help clean windows, mop floors, dust the cobwebs, weed, prune, rake, and haul away garden debris. Many hands truly made the work easier, and St. John’s was shining for Easter Sunday.
We continue to take care of our continuing maintenance, cleaning, and gardening with volunteers, so there are many ways our parishoners can pledge their help! Our maintenance needs are seen and taken care of by several caring and dedicated individuals. Milroy and Sam know how to do just about everything around here!
The gardens take regular care, and we have some pretty spectacular ladies who visit the church with their gloves and trimmers. They could always use some help.
The rotation schedule for volunteer cleaning and mowing the lawn remains the best way we’ve been able to keep the building clean and ready for use. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who pledge this service to our church. They are indispensable.
Since cleaning the parish hall, bathrooms, kitchen, and sanctuary takes considerable time, we have found a professional cleaning service that will clean all the bathrooms and mop the floors, including the kitchen, for about $50. This service is paid for with private donations to a designated fund, and we hope to have this done once or twice each month to help support all the volunteer cleaning that needs to continue.
A major improvement this year has been the new coat of paint on the church’s east and south sides, and the refurbished sign that was installed on the front siding between the windows. The church sign was redone and hung on the south side of the church so it is visible from the street.
St. John’s benefits from all your helping hands.
With great appreciation,
Diana Henderson, Co-Junior Warden
From the Musicians:
We of the “St. John’s Quintet” wish to report that we have once again been honored to lead the music ministry here at St. John’s. Our hard work in planning, and rehearsing pays off for us when you in the congregation participate by raising your voices in song. And your smiles and compliments are appreciated more than you know.
We especially want to thank the parents of our “Little Angels” Choir for allowing us to engage your children in the gift of music. They are such a blessing to all of us and we hope to include more children as the time goes by. We will begin rehearsing them again soon.
We are aware that some changes are afoot here at St. John’s and that we need to address the wishes of those who want to participate in a choir.
While we welcome those who would like to sing with us, we feel it is more important that those folks start another group within the church. If we have another music group to lead the congregation, we can all share in the music ministry and take turns providing the music. During the feast days of the church, that would mean more choices for music participation during Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas in particular. And, frankly, we need some time off at least once a month. If another group could take up that slack, we wouldn’t feel guilty being gone sometimes!
We have not come to this conclusion lightly, but believe that trying to have a larger choir up front just won’t work given the space we are living with, the time necessary to integrate new people into the group and dealing with trying to direct such a group. Also, the quintet’s music doesn’t really lend itself to choir robes (guitars and robes don’t mix!), and we don’t have the expertise or training to direct a choir.
We hope that these thoughts will be accepted graciously and with understanding because we love being music ministers, but have our limitations as well!
I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me to get other reports that were presented. If you have one you’d like to have sent out, I can email it to the congregation when you send it to me. Next year I’ll know better. –Dan J-H
Funnies from Denise:
1. During the children's message, the minister asked the children gathered around him whether they noticed anything different about the church that day. There was silence as the children looked around. Then the minister's own son raised his hand and said "It's full, Dad
2. While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto
the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.'
…we are living in a time of enormous changes; we have the opportunity to change our thinking, to change our philosophy by responding to and really trying to understand what's happening, what time it is on the clock of the world. Grace Lee Boggs, 97 year old philosopher and social activist, Detroit, Michigan. Quote from On Being, National Public Radio program, “Becoming Detroit”. 01/19/12 http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2012/becoming-detroit/
February 22, Ash Wednesday: Psalm 103 or 103:8-14; Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Beware; keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? They will crush you to the ground,… and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; …because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.
Jesus of Nazareth, Mark 13.33; Luke 12.56; Luke 19.44. NRSV
Named for the Evangelist,
St. John's is a small, affirming congregation.
Whoever you are,
Wherever you come from,
You are welcome here!
Worship Service
Holy Communion Sundays at 9:00.
Please stay and visit following the service.
+ 665 E. Gladys Ave + Hermiston, OR + 97838 +
+ (541) 567-6672 + + stjohnshermiston@gmail.com +