Winter 2014 issue - St. Mark`s Church

February/March 2014
O
What’s Inside:
View from the Vestry………...pg. 2
Parish Bulletin Board ……….pg. 3
Parish Lenten
Observances……....pg. 4
Parish Family Profile……......pg. 6
St. Mark’s Photo Album…….pg. 8
Monthly Calendars……...…pg. 10
n March 5, we'll begin the
40 day journey of Lent. It's a time of
preparation to get us ready for Easter.
On Ash Wednesday, I’ll suggest you to
take on a certain way of life. I’ll say to all
those gathered, “I invite you, therefore,
in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by selfexamination and repentance; by prayer,
fasting, and self-denial; and by
reading and meditating on God’s
holy Word.” (BCP 265)
That seems like quite a bit.
Too much, maybe, thereby leading some to continue on in their
current way of life without giving it
a second thought. But Lent is a
gift to us. To show us of our dependence on God and the need
for introspection and taking stock
and comparing our lives now with
the lives God desires for us.
It’ll take hard work. And in
the midst of busy lives filled to
capacity that seems impossible.
Submissions of photos, announcements and/or articles
for The Messenger are always
welcome for consideration. We
invite your contributions by the
10th day of the month prior.
We’d love to hear from you!
As I write this I’m dealing with my
own maxed-out life. Since before Christmas I’ve had an overly full schedule in
addition to illness in our family and an
increase in the honor I have to walk with
people through difficult times, with more
opportunities to do work I love, like
teaching and leading small groups. I’m
grateful for all of this—well, not for the
illness piece—but I cannot fathom taking
on much else myself.
But I also know this: I am not fully
where I want to be and I want to live the
life God intends for me.
So this means quite simply taking an
honest and hard look at my life and determining those things that need to give
way so I can live that more intentional
life with God’s help. That’s part of the
work of Lent. It isn’t adding more and
more on top of our lives, but selfexamination.
That leads us to repentance—
stepping back can allow us to see what
things are drawing us away from
God’s love. It can bring us to a
place of recognition that our
lives have become too full to
pray, but, as Bill Hybels out it,
we are too busy not to pray.
Perhaps you realize that taking
15 minutes a day to read and sit
with Scripture would be beneficial to your spiritual, emotional
and mental health, and that you
can trade 15 minutes online or
watching TV.
Perhaps the biggest thing God
has to teach you this Lent is to
politely but firmly say “No”. That
you alone will guard your time
and you want to fill it with those
things that bring life to you and to those
you love and to God. You and I cannot
do everything that comes before us—
even if it’s more good stuff—because we
are only human, we are but dust.
So I hope this Lenten journey for you
is a time of renewal, of returning more
fully to God and of discovering those
things that most bring you life and peace
and the ability to let go of and say no to
those things that will not lead to renewal.
Phil+
VIEW FROM THE VESTRY
by Sue Pearl, Clerk
At their November meeting your vestry:
∙
Proposed changing the headings on the balance sheet from “Income” and “Expenses” to the new, more appropriate “Gifts” and “Ministries” to give a better sense of the flow of money within the church budget.
∙
Discussed our initial Ministry priorities for 2014, including Community building, focusing more on Youth,
reaching out to individual parishioners, helping people find connections, keeping people who attend church
to stay for faith formation for themselves and/or their children, and continuing an interesting and compelling
program for our parish children.
∙
∙
Heard the Bishop Tom Shaw will be stepping down when his successor is consecrated.
Brainstormed about how and when to hold the 2014 Annual Meeting.
At their December meeting your vestry:
∙
Heard that an anonymous donor gave $5,000 to be designated for St. Mark’s Youth, with the stipulation that
$2,500 be invested.
∙
Learned that Michael Lindgren will become Chair of the Outreach Committee in January 2014, following
many years of dedicated service by Dee Cameron.
∙
Established that the 2014 Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 26. There will be one combined
service followed by the meeting. Nursery care will be offered and Melissa LaBelle will coordinate children’s
activities.
∙
Talked about how to encourage more families to share a photo for the parish directory.
St. Mark’s needs to add more service volunteers to their roster. If you
would like to be a Lector, Litanist, Usher, Greeter or Chalice Bearer,
please contact Phil (508-481-1917 or [email protected])
or Anita Reeder (508-624-7235 or [email protected]) and let one
of them know of your willingness to serve in these important volunteer
opportunities!
Thank you so much!!
Following is the slate of nominees
•The Rev. Holly Antolini, Rector, St. James’s Church, Cambridge, Mass.;
•The Rev. Ronald Culmer, Rector, St. Clare’s Church, Pleasanton, Calif.;
•The Rev. Alan Gates, Rector, St. Paul’s Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio;
•The Rev. Ledlie Laughlin, Rector, St. Peter’s Church, Philadelphia, Penn.; and
•The Rev. Sam Rodman, Project Manager for Campaign Initiatives, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
More information about each of the nominees is available at www.mabishopsearch.org.
The nominees will participate in a series of open meetings around the diocese March 14-19, giving the people of
the diocese an opportunity to meet and learn more about the nominees.
The election will take place on Saturday, April 5 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont Street) in Boston.
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∙
Youth Group members Laura S, Ben F., Ryan M, Emily M, Katherine B and Matt P., and Melissa
LaBelle for providing activities for kids during our Annual Meeting.
∙
Linda Ayers, Andrea Farrell, Dana McCluskey, Anne Miller, Rosemary Nelson, Sue Pearl, Anita
Reeder, Kristin Romine, and Janice Taylor for their help with the Senior Luncheon.
PARISH BULLETIN BOARD
Genevieve Soleil Forrester
Georgiana Luna Forrester
Beckett Finch Forrester
Emma Michelle Kenney
1/12/2014
Keegan Michael Weiss
2/9/2014
Men’s Night
at
Kennedy’s Pub
Our outreach partner for
February
Wednesdays,
February 28th
& March 28th
7:30pm
March
TBD by our Youth Group
STAY TUNED!
Hope to see you there!
All loose plate monies collected will be donated to these organizations.
To learn more about love146, please visit their website at
www.love146.org
SAVE THE DATE
Bishop Gayle Harris will visit St. Mark’s
on the afternoon of Sunday, April 6th.
There will be a special schedule that day
with services at 7:45am and 4pm. The
4pm service will be followed by a Seder
Supper shared with Bishop Harris.
Stay tuned for more details to follow!
2013 Christmas Bazaar Wrap-up
We had a successful 2013 Christmas Bazaar in many
tangible and intangible ways: we filled our Parish House
with members of our St. Mark's community, we welcomed members of the greater community with the
warmth of good food and Christmas music, many of our
youth were actively involved, we enjoyed the opportunity
to work together toward a common goal and we raised
$5,107 for our Youth Group's 2014 mission trip and the
Southborough Food Pantry Fuel Assistance program.
Thank you to everyone who gave of their time, talent
and resources to make this Bazaar successful in so
many ways!
A luncheon will be held for our seniors (a
subjective term but for this purpose, all
parishioners 65 and older) on Wednesday,
February 12.
This opportunity to enjoy a meal and visit
with friends will begin with a quiet service of
Eucharist at 11:30am. Please RSVP to Sheila
Holland at [email protected]
or 508-481-1917, and please let her know if
you’d like a ride.
Don’t Miss a Valentines’ Day
Parents’ Night Out
Enjoy a Valentine's Day date night
while your kids enjoy a fun party!
On Friday, Feb. 14 from 5-8:30pm
kids are welcome to participate in
active games, skits, a craft, pizza dinner, popcorn,
cookie decorating and a G-rated movie.
All money raised to benefit the St. Mark's Youth
Mission trip in July.
Kids aged 3—grade 5 are welcome. Cost: $30 for
1 child, $50 for 2, $60 for 3 and $15 per child for
4 or more.
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PARISH LENTEN OBSERVANCES
Annual Lenten Series
Each Lent the churches of Southborough join together for a meal, worship and reflection series.
Each parish hosts one of the Tuesday evenings,
and each clergyperson takes a turn leading a reflection time.
Make time this Lent to get to know your neighbors, visit the other churches in town and reflect on what it means to be
the body of Christ together.
“Christian Characters and Their Complex Selves”
March 18 & 25, April 1 & 8
March 18th: Rev. Julie Cedrone speaking @ St. Anne's
March 25th: Rev. Phil LaBelle speaking @ St. Matthew’s
April 1st: Stephan Hebert, Chaplain, St. Mark's School, speaking
@ Pilgrim Church (co-hosted by Community Church)
April 8th: Rev. Barbara Talcott speaking @ St. Mark's
Daily Prayer Service:
An Opportunity for
Spiritual Formation
Beginning Thursday, March 6, and continuing
throughout Lent, Phil will be leading Morning
Prayer from the Daily Office at 7:30am each
weekday morning in the church. On
Wednesday mornings, Eucharist will be offered as well.
If you are looking to deepen your spiritual
life, or have always wanted to explore regular
prayer but were unsure how, this is an opportunity for you. We will be done by about
8am.
Please join us.
Don’t Miss
our
March 5th
Service Schedule
7am Eucharist
12pm Eucharist
6pm Family Eucharist
(See article below for details)
7pm Eucharist
Pancake Supper!
March 4th
6 - 7:30pm
in the Parish Hall
$5/adult, $3/child, or $15/family
“Hide the Alleluias”
activity for kids!
Cajun music & Mardi Gras beads!
Ash Wednesday Family Service
Join us on Ash Wednesday, March 5th, for a service geared especially for families at 6pm.
This service will be about 40 minutes long, and will invite children
of all ages to think about the meaning of Lent and how to begin
preparing for Easter with activities geared especially for them.
We hope you'll make time on this holy day for worship with your
families as we begin our Lenten journey.
4
Please sign up on the form in the
Parish House foyer.
Volunteers are needed also, to set-up,
flip, and clean up! If you can help,
please contact the church office at
[email protected]
or 508-481-1917.
ADULT FAITH FORMATION
The February Adult Forum sessions will focus on our Anglican history and tradition. Join us at 9:45am in the Parish Hall (unless otherwise noted) for these interesting discussions led by Father Phil.
February 2: “The Beginnings of the Anglican Church”, 9:45am, Parish Hall,
Did our denomination really get started because Henry VIII wanted an annulment
of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon? Did the Church of England change immediately under Henry, or did that come later? What about the Book of Common Prayer? We will explore the foundations of the Church of England, its connection to Rome and the Protestant Reformation, and
the real story behind Henry and his desire for a divorce.
February 9: “What Happens at Eucharist?”, 9:45am, Church Nave, Have you ever wondered what takes place up at our
altar during the Great Thanksgiving? Why does the priest wash his hands? What's the point of adding water to the wine? Do
all the special items have names? Why does the priest wear what he/she does? All your questions and more answered at
this Adult Forum. We'll gather inside the nave of the church. And why is it called a "nave" anyway?
February 16: “Fancy Coffee Hour”, 9:45am, Parish Hall, Refreshments for all ages with board games for the kids and the
pretty china for the grownups!
February 23: “How Are We Different?, 9:45am, Parish Hall, What makes Episcopalians different? Are Episcopalians
Protestant or Catholic? Are we just Catholic lite? What differences do we have from other Christians? With so many different denominations within Christianity, it may be confusing to know what it all means. Come to this interactive Adult Forum
as we explore what makes Episcopalians Episcopal!
CONGRATULATIONS
TO OUR
2014 EPIPHANY PARTY “WISE GUYS”!
Many thanks to the following individuals who
are teaching the third session of Sunday
School at St. Mark’s!
Preschool/K:
Jen Peoples & Kathleen Cormier
First/Second Grades: Kristin Richmond & Jody Chase
Third/Fourth Grades: Diane Root & Carin Fallon
Fifth/Sixth Grades:
Jackie Barnes & Dana McCluskey
Youth Forum:
Melissa LaBelle
5
PARISH FAMILY PROFILES
MEET THE CAVANS
Names:
Jim & Julia
Children: Hunter, 15 months
Pets: French bulldog named Izzy and Birman cat named Simba
Town of Residence: Southborough
Members of St. Mark’s Since: 2011
Occupations: Jim is a partner in a medical research company.
Julia is a teacher, but she’s currently staying at home with Hunter.
Involvement at St. Mark’s: Jim is on the vestry, and Julia is hoping to get
involved with outreach.
Favorite Family Activities: They enjoy traveling and camping together,
while Julia likes gardening, and Jim skeet shooting.
Interesting Facts About Their Family: “Stained glass artwork has played an important role in our lives. Jim and Julia are
both from Sherborn, Mass., but didn't know each other growing up. We met while taking stained glass lessons from a
mutual acquaintance, a glass artist in Sherborn. Stained glass also played a role in Jim's entry into the Episcopal
church. Jim was raised Catholic and first joined the Episcopal Church in the early 2000s, as a member of the Church of
the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. He first visited the church in order to see the original Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass
windows, and he ended up developing a friendship with the rector. We are both quite fond of the beautiful stained glass
windows at St. Mark's!”
Favorite Thing About St. Mark’s: “We loved the Easter Vigil service last March, when both Hunter and Julia were baptized. The service was so moving and beautiful. We love that St. Mark's is a vibrant community where we can grow in
our faith, individually and as a family.”
A great group of talented ladies helped out with decorating and setting up the
church for Christmas on Monday, December 23rd. Although we were low in
number, we were high on talent. Many thanks to Anita Reeder and Karen White
who took charge of placing the plants and setting up the crèche display with the
help of Rosemary Buse and granddaughter, Libby. Also on hand to do the various other tasks were Dee Cameron, Mary Coogan, Helen Seward, and Carey
Zimmerman. We watered the plants, bagged them, brought in greens, filled candles, changed candles, ironed the frontal, posted hymns, and set up for all the services. Carey walked around in the pouring
rain changing the purple bows to red. What a trooper!!! And lastly, we thank Dave Holland who helped bring over the crèche
bins from the attic with me and did the vacuuming for us.
Thank you so very much ladies (and Dave) – we couldn’t have done it without your help.
On Thursday January 10th, we met again to remove the Christmas plants, wreaths, and crèche scene: we then set up for Sunday’s Eucharist and baptisms. Thank you Rosemary Buse, Rosemary Elsbree, Anita Reeder, Helen Seward, and Carey Zimmerman for all your help! Carey went around the church and parish hall and removed all the wreaths and bows and took the bows
to the attic along with the creche, came back for the hangers for the bows, and hung them in the attic for use next year. This
was such a big help and a lot of work doing it alone. She also took several plants to shut-ins. Thank you, Carey. Anita and Helen took all the containers with the crèche figurines to the attic to be stored. Ladies, this was a “job well done” and thank you
all so very much!!! God’s blessings to you now and always!!
Please consider joining the Altar Guild. We need new members from the difference services to lessen the work of those already
volunteering. The work is not difficult and would not take much of your time.
Helen Seward & Dee Cameron
Altar Guild Co-Chairs
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FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING
Foster community
JANUARY 26, 2014
Top: Fr. Phil thanks out-going vestry members
Diane and Rosemary.
Bottom: Congratulations to Gabriela Dunn,
this year’s recipient of Shirley Taylor Award
Outreach
Maintain
God’s
house
Spiritual
life
Our 2014 Vestry Officers
From left to right above: our Senior Warden, Linda Ayers; Junior Warden, Kristin Romine;
Clerk, Sue Pearl and Treasurer, Tanya Bottini
Please welcome our newly elected members of the vestry (left to right above):
Jim Cavan, George Cumming and Dana McCluskey
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ST. MARK’S PHOTO ALBUM
A special “thank you” to
Gabriela Dunn for coordinating and directing this
year’s pageant.
Photos courtesy of Jeanne Poulin.
8
ST. MARK’S PHOTO ALBUM
Photos courtesy of Jeanne Poulin.
Pageant Rehearsal
December 21, 2013
“...because practice makes perfect!”
All-Parish Coffee Hour!
Fun & Games!
Photos courtesy of Gabriela Dunn
9
16
10
9
9:45am Fancy Coffee
Hour
23
24
17
7pm Vestry Mtg.
3
Monday
2
FEBRUARY VACATION
WEEK—No Sunday
School
Sunday
Tuesday
25
18
11
4
5
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
26
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
19
11:30am Senior Luncheon
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
12
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
Wednesday
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
7pm Adult Choir
7pm Adult Choir
7pm Adult Choir
7pm Adult Choir
Thursday
27
20
13
6
14
7
28
21
7:30pm Men’s Night @
Kennedy’s Pub
VALENTINE’S DAY
6pm Parents’ Night Out
Friday
Saturday
22
15
8
1
February 2014
Sunday
30
23
16
7:30am Morning
Prayer Service
7:30am Morning
Prayer Service
7:30am Morning
Prayer Service
31
24
17
7pm Vestry Mtg.
10
9
7:30am Morning
Prayer Service
3
2
Monday
4
11
5
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
7pm Adult Choir
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service w/ Eucharist
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
6pm Ecumenical Lenten
Series @ St. Matthew’s
7pm Adult Choir
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
7pm Adult Choir
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
7pm Adult Choir
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
Thursday
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
26
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
6pm Ecumenical Lenten
Series @ St. Anne’s
25
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service w/ Eucharist
19
9am Parish Administration & Program Mtg.
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service w/ Eucharist
12
7am Eucharist
12pm Eucharist
6pm Family Eucharist
7pm Eucharist
9am Parish Administra-
ASH WEDNESDAY
Wednesday
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
18
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
6pm Shrove Tuesday
Pancake Supper
Tuesday
27
20
13
6
7
7:30pm Men’s Night @
Kennedy’s Pub
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
28
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
21
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
14
7:30am Morning Prayer
Service
Friday
Saturday
29
22
15
8
1
March 2014
The Messenger
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
27 Main Street
Southborough, MA 01772
Phone: 508-481-1917
Fax:
508-481-2160
Email: [email protected]
Staff
Philip N. LaBelle, Rector
Sheila Holland, Parish Administrator
Gabriela Dunn, Director of Religious Education
Micheal Hoffmann, Organist and Choirmaster
Dave Holland, Sexton
Sunday Worship Services
7:45am
Holy Eucharist
8:45am
Family Eucharist
9:45am
Faith Formation
10:45am Choral Eucharist
WE’RE ON THE WEB!
W W W . S T M A R K S S O U T H B O RO U G H . O RG
F I N D U S O N F AC E B O O K !
S T . M A R K ’ S S O U T H B O RO U G H
FIRST
CLASS
POSTAGE