I bet you thought this wasn`t coming

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church
1020 24th Street
West Des Moines IA 50266
St. Timothy's Episcopal Church
Phone: 515-225-2020
Fax: 515-225-2083
E-mail: [email protected]
APRIL/EARLY MAY ISSUE
I bet you thought this wasn’t coming...
You can be sure I had my doubts! Either way, here it is. Late, but still
full of all things St. Timothy’s. I hope you enjoy what you find inside. It
is truly amazing once these issues start coming together how many pages
we can fill with what we’ve done, what we’re in the process of doing, and
what is yet to come. You gotta love a place with this much life in it!
You will also receive a May issue. It might be short, but it will be
PACKED with all kinds of SUMMER happenings, so keep an eye out...
One last item. A great time was had by all at the Easter Vigil Celebration. As usual, Sandra & Mark Marshall provided a wonderful event for
those who had just celebrated the first service of Easter. (If you have yet
to come to this service and the event that follows, I highly recommend
it.) Anyway, I promised to include the recipe for the treat I shared in
our newsletter, and that’s what I’ll close with.
Enjoy your spring and we’ll be back in just a couple of weeks with more
news from the pews...
Cannoli Dip
Ingredients
15 oz Ricotta cheese, strained*
8 oz Mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting if desired
1/2 cup heavy cream**
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (chopped pistachios would also be
good)
APRIL BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Birthdays
April 27: Pierce Mansfield, Josh Wilson
April 1: Elizabeth Mansfield, Colin Wiborg
April 28: Kathryn Johnson
April 2: John McManus, Benjamin Morrill
April 29: Bill Smith
April 3: Mary Crandell
April 30: Charles Ellerbroek
Directions
In a mixing bowl using a spatula, blend together Ricotta and Mascarpone
cheese, while pressing mixture along bottom of bowl to smooth mixture. Fold in
powdered sugar. In a separate mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks
form. Add half of whipped cream to Ricotta mixture and fold until combined,
then add remaining half and fold until combined. Fold in chocolate chips, reserving 1 - 2 Tbsp to garnish. Serve topped with remaining chocolate chips,
dusted lightly with powdered sugar if desired and serve with graham crackers,
strawberries, cannoli chips or fried flour tortilla chips dusted lightly with cinnamon.
*To strain I simply lay the ricotta over several layers of paper towels, then wrap
and squeeze to remove excess moisture. You want to remove enough moisture
that the Ricotta should hold it's shape pretty well so you may want to do this
step twice.
**If you don't want the dip fluffy you can reduce the amount of heavy cream or
even omit it (which will give it a texture closer to a traditional cannoli filling).
Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
April 4: Harry Swanson
April 5: Bev Goldman, Cheryl Modlin
April 6: Katy Bruner, Kary Bruner, Alejandro Hernandez,
Heather Preston
April 7: Jacob Nastruz
Anniversaries
April 4: Lea & Robert Hollwager and
Jana & Dan Montgomery
April 8: Chris Smith
April 14: Beth & Jason Arnold
April 9: David Lossen, Rachel Matera
April 17: Elizabeth & Jon Maxwell
April 12: Marshall Little, Julie Willse
April 19: Sooni & Jeff Roberts
April 18: Claudia Hernandez
April 20: Laurie & Jeff Thomas
April 19: Marilyn Boston
April 21: Julie & Seth Wright
April 20: Paul Jerrard
April 25: Sue & Shawn Jahner
April 21: Mike Hood, Hunter O’Connell
April 22: Judy Bloom
April 23: Jacob Bylund, Gene Gardner, Dan Montgomery
April 26: Judy Dugan, Jim Hall
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
FreeStore/School
2
BBB Book Review
3
Prayer Shawls
3
Urban Immersion
4
Youth/Calendar Events 5
The Month in Pics
6&7
Prayers of the People
8
On Being
9
Vestry Minutes
10
Coming Attractions
11
Celebrations
12
Special Insert
COMING ATTRACTIONS
FREESTORE UPDATE by Harry Swanson
The client load/
inventory sine wave
was in control again
the last couple months. We set a record for clients served in January and February. We actually restricted some items because our inventory
was low. Donations picked up and peeked on
March 10 with two houses-full of furniture and
24 queen mattress sets from Extended Stay in
Urbandale. With both warehouses full we
stopped taking any more donations through the
end of March.
Grace Baptist in Des Moines and the Altoona
United Methodist Church held drives for cleaning supplies and small electrical kitchen appliances in March. Groups like these have been
helping us meet our Project Clean Start annual
goal so that each family has a basket when they
leave the FreeStore.
Financial Town Hall Meeting April 26,
after 8am & 10:15am services
3rd Annual EAT+PRAY+PAINT May 8
An Art Salon to Support
St. Timothy’s Preschool in West Des Moines +
St. Timothy’s Preschool in Nzara, South Sudan
Friday, May 8, 6:30 PM
Social Painting + Dessert + Wine
It was nice getting some extra helping hands in
March from The Chrysalis Foundation staff,
Saints John and Paul Church Altoona, Faith in
Action from the Diocese of Des Moines, and Acacia Fraternity at ISU. They worked on assembling dish sets/cleaning baskets, painting bunk
beds, assembling kitchen table sets and made a
landfill run.
$40 per person*
Register on-line @
www.elarteuncorked.com
We will replicate this beautiful
painting of Starry Night
by Vincent Van Gogh
Eat+Pray+Paint: St. Timothy's Preschool Fundraiser
*With 20-29 painters El Arte Uncorked will donate 25% of registration fee and with 30+
El Arte Uncorked will donate of 50% of the registration fee.
INVITE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
This group from Saints John and Paul actually
enjoyed the challenge of building tables. We’re
short approximately 70 table sets each year and
the table kits are from a generous grant from the
BWA Foundation in Des Moines.
Graduation Sunday May 17
Help us celebrate YOUR graduates!
Please forward their names, the school/program they are graduating
from, their future plans and a picture to the office for inclusion in our
annual graduation yearbook.
FROM OUR SCHOOL by Michelle Madden
The preschool staff and students are so happy that spring is here! We have been going outside and
enjoying the warm weather! We have had fun taking walks around the garden and watching things
start to grow.
The preschool wants to congratulate Mrs. Stamets, our lead teacher for the 3 year olds, on the birth
of her son! George William arrived on March 19th and the whole family is doing great!
The preschool is currently registering for the 2015-2016 school year.
We currently have openings in all of our classes!
Contact Michelle Madden and 494-7735 for more information.
Ascension Day Picnic
Let’s go fly a kite May 17 after the 10:15am service...
BYOK~ bring your own kite and come celebrate!
Mark your calendars for...
Congratulations to our School!
Their Lenten Challenge resulted in the donation of 195 Salvation Army casseroles and 102 dozen hard-boiled eggs (1224 eggs)!
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A Day at the Cubs!
Sunday, May 24th
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VESTRY MINUTES ~ MARCH 24, 2015 (DRAFT)
AN ALTAR FOR THE WORLD
6:30pm St. Timothy’s Parish Hall
Barbara Brown Taylor
“Spiritual but not religious” is one of the newer and increasingly common ways
people describe themselves. But what do they mean and what does the phrase mean
for those of us struggling to keep the Church — at least, organized religion — relevant?
In Attendance: Meredith Nastruz, Ronda Haas, Patrick Rice, Gene Gardner, Priscilla Sayeed,
Moses Bittok, Ken Johnson, Michelle Manning, Susan Leonard, Mike McGill, Jacob Bylund,
Rev. Mary Cole-Duvall, Dave Mable, Rev. Jeanie Smith, Sandra Marshall and David Blaha
representing the finance team.
These are the central questions in “An Altar in the World,” by Barbara Brown
Taylor, a religion professor who was a parish priest.
Opening prayer was led by Michelle Manning and meeting brought to order by Gene Gardner,
senior warden. A motion to approve the minutes from February’s meeting as written-(Ronda
Haas/Jacob Bylund) with approval given by consensus.
Meredith and Madison Nastruz along with Mary Crandell presented to the vestry members a theme and proposed
dates for Vacation Bible Study (VBS) for 2015. Discussion and questions asked regarding how to promote VBS and
possible budget were asked of the group. A motion was made to approve to support VBS was given (Susan
Leonard/Jacob Bylund) and approval given by consensus.
MidAmerican Energy proposed easement report –Jacob Bylund is still waiting for a response from the company
regarding changes acknowledged at our last meeting. Nothing to report at this time.
David Blaha, financial team representative, presented the treasurer’s report. The report showed an excess of funds
after two months of $12,672. Pledges are up by $7,000 and church expenses down by $10,000 in the usual places
such as personnel and property. School financials are as to be expected, both programs positive year to date. A motion was made (Jacob Bylund/Ronda Haas) to receive and file the financial report as given, approval given by consensus.
A meeting with our neighbor to the North of the church parking lot was attended by Scott Brennan and Patrick Rice.
Brian Gongal and family seem to be receptive to keeping good relations with the church and are seeking no plans to
use the easement at this time. It was suggested to keep our neighbors in continued communications especially
when big events happen at the church i.e., funerals and weddings. It was suggested to give email address to Jennie
McKinney, communication’s director, for future correspondences.
The Anonymous Survey, done for the church to gather information regarding the upcoming major Capital project,
was shared with the Vestry. Gene Gardner distributed spread sheets with a sampling of “support” or “no support”
and possible monetary contributions that would be available. As of March 23, 2015, $269, 260 could be available
for the remodel and $20,000 available for water abatement. Much discussion and round-the-table talks were given
regarding moving forward with the project. Gene will draw up a letter to send out to the congregation to update and
continue the conversation to move toward the goal of this project. A meeting of interested vestry members will take
place soon with Matt Coen regarding possible alter/redo/modify of the original plans. This is a positive step!
Rev. Mary discussed and led the Vestry in a testing of our areas of service and clarity of roles between the Vestry
and the Rector (good review and information for all). She also encouraged the group to think about leadership roles
in the various categories of the church. It was also suggested by Mary for all to think about attending the Cathedral
for the installation of the Dean on April 25th during their 5 p.m. service and not having St. Timothy’s regular Saturday afternoon service so all could attend that wished. More to come in the bulletin. A trial study table for the Youth
Justice Initiative of the West Des Moines Police Department will begin this Thursday at the church. If all goes well,
it will be brought back to the Vestry for possible approval to continue. Mary has been associated with this organization for several years and indicated it is quite worthwhile. Mary would also like to start a Sanctuary Study Group—
more to come at the next vestry meeting.
Good of the Order—around the table discussions were given to those for last minute information.
Closing Prayer was given by Michelle Manning. Meeting was adjourned.
Faithfully submitted by Sandra Marshall, clerk
People aren’t as interested in being told about God as they are in experiencing God. Taylor offers 12 practices
for building an altar in the world, for experiencing God. Most of them are variations on the “mindfulness”
theme — being aware of yourself, your feelings, your surroundings, those around you — strangers as well as
friends — even your own pain. Because of the pace at which most of us live today in our culture, we are rarely
truly present in the moment as we dash from deadline to deadline and crisis to crisis, unaware of God’s presence and the opportunity to experience it.
Reverence, Taylor says, is an important part of Paying Attention (practice #2). While our culture reveres
money, power, education and religion, philosopher Paul Woodruff argues that true reverence is by definition
“the recognition of something greater than the self — something that is beyond human creation or control,
that transcends full human understanding.”
Taylor asks, "What awakens awe in you by reminding you of your true size?” This is where and how you will
experience the divine More.
She also advises Getting Lost (practice #5) as the only way to find unexpected treasures and blessings, and
Feeling Pain (practice #10), for the world’s great religions all grew out of pain.
The practice that took me by the throat and left me breathless was #8 — Saying No. Much has been said in
many contexts about the pitfalls of our over-scheduled lives, but Taylor makes a strong case for the extent to
which this lifestyle separates us from God.
“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” is a commandment, she points out, just like “Have no other Gods
before me,” “Do not commit murder,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Honor your parents” and “Do not steal.”
When did we decide it was optional?
Think about THAT for a moment.
—by Ronda Menke Haas
~to read more of this book review or to find more information about BBB, go to: http://sttimsbbb.blogspot.com/
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY
The Prayer Shawl Ministry at St. Timothy’s has helped those in need of comfort and those welcoming new
family members for many years. It’s a small but mighty contingent that has either knitted or crocheted
these shawls—and they are looking for new members to keep this important ministry going.
Did You Know? information was given to all Vestry members from Gene Gardner for all to review.
Next meeting will be April 21, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Parish Hall.
‘Spiritual’ may be the name for a longing – for more meaning, more feeling, more
connection, more life. … They know there is more to life than what meets the eye.
They have drawn close to this ‘More’ in nature, in love, in art, in grief. They would be
happy for someone to teach them how to spend more time in the presence of this
deeper reality, but when they visit the places where such knowledge is supposed to be
found, they often find the rituals hollow and the language antique.
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We have included two patterns in this issue. One for crocheters/one for knitters. If you are interested in
joining them, please contact Marcella Huff at: 306-9904.
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ON BEING EPISCOPALIAN: EASTER SYMBOLS
& CUSTOMS REVISITED by Terry Swanson
I wrote most of this column several years ago but thought some of you may not
have been part of our church family then and might enjoy it. I have updated it a
bit.
Many of our Easter symbols started as pagan symbols of one culture or another. We cannot ignore
the tie between many of our Christian symbols and early pagan symbols and expressions, It seems
reasonable to me that early church leaders tied these familiar rituals to Christianity to ease nonbelievers into the fold.
As I was surfing the net, I found several sites that described all our beloved Easter symbols, including the name Easter, the Easter bunny, and Easter eggs, as the devil’s images meant to distract us.
In fact many of the very conservative churches are now calling Easter, “Resurrection Sunday” because the very name Easter comes from the name Eostre, who was a Teutonic goddess of spring.
And goodness knows we can’t handle knowing that!
An article by W.J. Bethancourt III addressed the concern that Easter is but a distraction from the
real purpose of the resurrection. He spoke of the wonder primitive peoples must have felt in the
spring when plants that seemed to be dead came alive again. (Wonder that, in its way, was a manifestation of faith.) Most importantly, he wrote that it doesn’t matter where the images had their
start, what matters is what images they bring to us as Christians: Easter images of Christ, sacrificed
and risen. The best part of the article was at the end where he addressed the naysayers. He said:
And if the devil has been trying to “pervert (Easter) symbols thru the ages, giving them pagan
meanings,” then to view them as such is to fall into Old Scratch's trap, isn't it?" If this "rebirth of a
dead deity" pagan story is only a myth spread by Satan, then it follows that it blew up in the
Old Liar's face when it was made fact.
That said, Easter has some fun as well as serious symbols attached to it. Think about the idea of the
Pascal Lamb: lambs were sacrificed in the Temple; Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, the final and
perfect sacrifice.
An egg is an obvious symbol of rebirth and is easily identified as a symbol of the rock tomb out of
which Christ emerged to the new life of His Resurrection.
The Easter lily is a symbol of purity because of its whiteness and delicacy of form. It also symbolizes
innocence and the radiance of the Lord's risen life. It is called the Easter lily because the flowers
bloom in early spring, around Easter time.
And of course, we can’t forget the Easter Bunny. To those with small hearts, the Easter Bunny is
really just an emblem of fertility and a holdover from those Teutonic pagan beliefs. My daughter
Kathy lived in Germany for several years, and this is the story her German family told her about the
Oester Hase (Easter Hare).
On the long night before Good Friday, when Jesus was in the garden, alone, praying, scared,
alone, very alone, a large hare came to sit beside him.
The hare asked Jesus why he was so forlorn.
Jesus said, “Tomorrow, I must face the tests and I’m afraid and I’m alone.”
The hare said, “I cannot ease your fear but I will stay and talk with you tonight
so you will not be alone.” And he did.
The next morning when Jesus was taken, he said to the hare, “If you wait, I will return.”
The hare said, “I will wait here for you and not leave until you return.” Jesus just smiled sadly.
But the hare waited, all Friday all Saturday, all Saturday night. He never wavered.
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Then, as the sun rose on Sunday morning, Jesus returned and said, “You have been a good
witness and eased my loneliness. For your favor, I make you my servant to children on this day
that they may know that I will see them in their time. Until then help them to rejoice with me.” 9
I hope you believe, as I do, in the truth of that story and I pray your whole Easter Season be blessed.
UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS
SECOND OFFERING IN APRIL
Our April 2nd Offering partner is…
May 2 ~ Work Day with Both Hands
Our Faith & Grace Garden
May 9 ~ Movie Night &
This “home grown” ministry has produced tons of food, year after year,
to feed those in our community.
Cinnamon Roll Baking
For Mother’s Day
Please support another year of growing healthy food for a hungry world.
May 29 - 31 ~ Urban Immersion
To find out more about the garden and its spring opportunities, visit:
www.growthefood.org
June 19 - 21 ~ Summer Ministry School & Retreat
July 27 - 31 ~ Summer Camp
Mark Your Calendars!
For those serving in our military, especially:
Kevin, Jeremy, Alex, Gabe, David, Johnathan, Pat, Nathan, Mary, Trevor, Jack, & Sean
Weekly
For those suffering in body, mind, or spirit, especially:
Saturdays:
9am Centering Prayer
5pm Holy Eucharist
Joseph, Jacob, Becky, Eric, and Steve
Sundays:
8am Holy Eucharist
9am Christian Formation
10:15am Holy Eucharist
DIOCESAN & CATHEDRAL OPPORTUNITIES ~
Mondays:
6:30pm Re-Entry Team Mtg.
April 25—10am to 3pm Baptismal Living Day with Dwight J. Zscheile,
author of The Agile Church
Followed by the installation of The Very Rev. Troy Beecham as the 4th Dean of
the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Des Moines
Thursdays:
9:30am MP & Bible Study
6:30pm YJI Study Table
May 15—Early Registration Deadline for Summer Ministry School & Retreat
June 19-20—Summer Ministry School & Retreat
More details on all events can be found at: http://www.iowaepiscopal.org/
Wednesdays:
11:30am Men @ Cubs Club
7pm Choir Rehearsal
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Fridays:
9:45am Books, Brew, &
Banter
APRIL
MAY
April 18th: Diocesan Music
Training
April 21: Everyday Stewardship
Mtg. & Vestry Meeting
April 22: 3pm Deerfield Svc.
5:30pm Confirmation
Class
April 24-25: EYC Lock-In
April 25: 10am Diocesan Baptismal Living Day
NO 5pm Holy Eucharist
April 26: 9am & 11:30am Financial Town Hall Mtgs.
April 29: 5:30pm Confirmation
Class
May 5: 4pm Metro Chapter Clergy
Mtg.
7pm COG Mtg.
May 8: 6:30pm EAT+PRAY+PAINT
May 9: EYC Movie Night
May13: 11:30am HE + Connection
Luncheon
3pm Deerfield Service
6:30pm Finance Tm. Mtg.
For more information about any of the events on our
calendar, please contact the church office at:
(515) 225-2020 or
[email protected]
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MARCH & APRIL & EASTER AT ST. TIMOTHY’S
The Lord is Risen indeed...
Alleluia!
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