2015 April Grapevine - St. Stephen`s Episcopal Church

April 2015
Energy Stars
We often think that the spiritual
journey is about finding personal
happiness and peace. And so it is,
according to the religious traditions
of the world. The trick is how to
find that peace and happiness. We
often seek it in material possessions
and pursuit of entertainment. Spending time with our
friends from the Episcopal Diocese of the Southern
Philippines has helped me to see afresh that there are other
much more effective paths.
Anyone who conversed with Bishop Dan, Father Johnny,
Bong, Osang, Flora or Feli would quickly note the ready
humor, kindness, and serenity they possess, as well as the
obvious enjoyment of each other and generous openness
to those they met. They were just plain fun to be around. I
particularly enjoyed Flora’s joyous spirit, snapping pictures
at every opportunity and giggling with delight at every new
discovery. Her smile and laugh was downright infectious.
And maybe even harder in our world of easy privilege.
We can so quickly fall asleep in our comfort that we miss
the real joy of living in harmony with the Spirit, and the
adventure of responding to God’s call.
I said good bye to these wonderful new friends encouraged
afresh to ground myself daily in God’s loving presence and
own more fully my baptismal vows so that I might engage
more courageously the good work God has given me. And
I hope to be half as happy and as much fun to be with as my
new friends from the EDSP.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Kathleen Patton, Rector
And yet this whole team is deeply engaged in the heart of
gospel work, bringing (and being) good news to the poor,
making peace, and caring for creation. They do this work in
a place troubled by the constant threat of violence, and the
ravages of flood and typhoon, in churches so poor and rural
they are only accessible by foot by muddy roads. Why all
the joy?
In serious conversation about climate change, poverty,
government corruption and religious violence the resilient
Spirit was obvious. I believe it arose from a deep faith in
Christ, a trust in the vocation given by Christ, and a clear
vision of the presence of Christ in both every human being
and the goodness of creation.
Simple, but not easy.
Flora with snow for the first time
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St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church
Deep Roots,
Prayerful Hearts,
Open Arms
Mark Your Calendar
Mother’s Day & Rogation Sunday - May 10
Bishop’s Visit & Confirmation – May 17
Pentecost & Music Ministry Sunday - May 24
Messy Church - May 31
The Staff
The Rev. Kathleen Patton
Rector
The Rev. Michael Wright
Decon
The Rev. Bob Sipe
Priest, Associate
Rebecca Edmiston
Parish Administrator
Alison Askeland
Music Director
Katie Lewis
Organist
Jean Watson
Bell Choir Director
Riki Davis
Pianist
Samantha Solon
Child Care Provider
Ashley Gwin
Child Care Provider
Gretchen Moore
Family Ministry
The Vestry
Jan Higby, Rector’s Warden
Mike Reuter, People’s Warden
Barb Dunlap, People’s Warden
Judy Swanson
Bill Norvell
Ann Mottet
Janice Stixrud
Dave Hanson
Jan Hanson, Clerk
Artists-in-Residence
Columbian Choral Ensemble
Columbia River Handbells
Jean Watson, Fabric Artist
Sunday Services
8:00 am Eucharist in All Saint’s Chapel
9:00 am Adult Education
10:30 am Eucharist in Sanctuary
Office Hours
Monday - Thursday 10 am - 4 pm
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
1428 - 22nd Avenue
Longview, WA 98632
360/423-5600 [email protected] www.sslv.org
Ordinations (Seattle) – June 16
Parish Party - June 21
Mo. Kathleen’s Sabbatical – June 22-Sept. 21
Bishop’s Visit May 17th
We rejoice to welcome The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickle to St.
Stephen’s May 17. The Bishop will attend both Sunday
services, meet with those preparing to reaffirm their
baptismal vows, and chat with the vestry after coffee hour.
Sunday May 10th is Rogation
Sunday.
Bring in your seeds, plants and garden tools
to be blessed.
Pentecost is May 24th
Don’t forget to wear red
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There’s a New Quilt in Church
A quilt entitled, “And God Said Bang!,” was installed as an
altar frontal on Saturday, April 4th. I am deeply honored
to have my work grace God’s altar. To date, it is the most
complex piece I have ever done. The largest fabric pieces are
in the water spiral and the smallest, approximately ¼” by ¼”,
are in the outer ring.
The piece was started in 2008 with no thought as to its
purpose. Working on it on and off, as I was still employed
full time at Clark College, the quilt top was almost finished
in about 3 years. Then it sat in my closet for 4 years, because
I wasn’t sure how it should be quilted.
About a year ago, Mo. Kathleen and Fr. Richard were at my
home and saw the quilt top. She quickly mentioned it would
make a good altar frontal and then I knew why I had been
inspired to design and make it. Still, I didn’t know how to
quilt it and I was afraid I’d mess it up if I wasn’t certain.
January, 2015 arrived along with New Year’s resolutions.
One of mine was to finish the quilt by quilting it and
binding the outside edge. I completed sewing the last few
of the 2058 pieces and placed it on my quilting frame. Then
ideas poured into my head and it was quilted in five days, a
new record for a piece that large.
The quilt represents creation. The black background
expanding outward to gray is the universe complete with
a few stars and a small nebula. The rainbow represents
“Let there be light;” the watery spiral is the separation of
water from land. The spiral to the left has stacked triangles,
each made of eight pieces, in the manner of the Quilted
Quadriad blocks in the parish hall. In quilting, that
pattern of triangles is called Flying Geese, so that spiral
encompasses all flying creatures. Some wings and two bird’s
feet are quilted there. The spiral going toward the bottom
has many pieces of fabric with a fur print. That spiral
represents all mammals including man. Green and beige
in the last spiral at the bottom right are the colors of the
grass, leaves, and sand where one would find jumping and
crawling creatures. The rings represent the molecules that
form the earthly elements.
Mo. Kathleen and I invite you to enter the altar area after
the Eucharist service any Sunday to better view the details
and see a new perspective on creation.
Jean Watson
Fabric Artist in Residence
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We are called to be Stewards of the Earth
Happy Easter!
Down in room 4 and in Messy Church, we have continued
to celebrate the joy and wonder of Easter with the children
through stories and activities. We have used an interesting
mix of classical art, such as Da Vinci’s The Last Supper and
a beautiful icon of Mary Magdalene, along with the ancient
stories of our faith and combined them with more modern,
surprising elements such as Lego bricks. We’ve learned how
the 12 were disciples until they bravely began telling the
story of Jesus and spreading the Word on their own. We’ve
learned about Mary, essentially the first apostle, for without
her testimony the others would not have known that the
tomb was empty on that first Easter Sunday. We have heard
the stories about how the apostles lived, their travels and
their deaths. We have listened to stories that unite us with
Christians around the world and how we all come together
in separate places, yet as one in the Body of Christ. So
many stories told in so many ways, with so many creative
ways to learn and apply them. There is so much wonder to
explore in these stories of our faith. All of us continue to be
a part of God’s story!
Our next Messy Church is Sunday, May 31st at 2:30pm. We
will be learning about the parable of the Mustard Seed and
have some good, messy fun! I hope you will join us!
With peace,
Gretchen Moore
There have been many articles and stories this month that
focus on the earth. April 22 was “Earth Day,” a 45-yearold celebration and call to protect the earth. Our call is
centuries older than that! However, when Earth Day rolls
around, it is an opportunity to reflect on how far we have
come in protecting our environment, God’s gift to us. We
can be proud of the progress we have made. And we also
need to celebrate specific actions taken in recent years to be
stewards of “our fragile island home.”
Weather stripping around leaky doors and windows
Energy efficient windows, insulated walls and ceilings,
heat pump
CFLs, LEDs, T-8 lights, new light fixtures
Motion sensors and programmable thermostats
Entry mats at doorways; green cleaning products
Low flow toilets in all bathrooms
Catalog reduction, recycled paper; 2-sided copies
Vegetarian options and meals, healthy recipes
Carbon reduction calculations
Outdoor services; prayers for the environment
Certified wildlife habitat (now with bird houses)
Multiple policies (e.g.: reusable dinnerware, nix on
bottled water)
Increased focus on recycling, including electronics
Spirit Market; CSA drop site; Sunday gleaning
Environmental Justice activities
Highlands Neighborhood native garden installation
Courtyard drip system; composting, alley crops
Support to our friends in the Southern Philippines to
offset our carbon footprint
Every single thing we have done has been guided by our
Creator. Every single thing has made a difference. But we
have done some calculations too, using the Energy Star
Management Portfolio.
All creation is God’s gift.
Because God works through us,
we affirm our responsibility to be just and faithful stewards
of our fragile island home.
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EDSP Visit
Thanks to all who made the visit from the Episcopal
Diocese of the Southern Philippines delegation such a joy.
Special thanks to Margaret Lapic and Janice Stixrud for
the wonderful meals, the Hanson and Swanson families
for their home stay hospitality, to Michael Wright for
event coordination, to Mary Lyons, Erika & Juice Quiroz,
and Jan Hanson, for touring folks around, and to John
Brugman & Cathy Cochrane for their Mount Saint Helens
hospitality. And a shout out to our Riki Davis for her
wonderful piano at the meal. Bishop Dan said we were a
five star church, because we had five star entertainment.
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Margaret’s Rhubarb Crisp
St. Stephen’s, the Energy Star
Did you know that we are energy stars? As participants in
the Genesis Covenant, (http://www.episcopalchurch.org/
files/genesis_convenant_final.pdf ) the Episcopal Church
and our Diocese have committed to reducing our energy
consumption in our buildings by 50% by the year 2020. St.
Stephen’s has gotten on board, and thanks to hard work,
conservation, and investment in insulation, light bulbs,
and new windows, we have already reduced our carbon
output by 25% since 2010. This is measured and verified
through the Energy Star program. Compared with other
buildings of our type, age, and location, we score 90 out of
100 points for energy efficiency. This means 25% savings on
our energy bills, and 25% savings on the greenhouse gasses
emitted.
The adventure begins now – how do we shave off that
other 25%? If you have ideas, share them with your vestry
members.
Realistically, it is hard to imagine ever achieving zero
carbon output from our old building. But we can “offset”
our carbon emissions. Trees are natural carbon sponges.
They “inhale” carbon out of the air and “exhale” oxygen.
And guess who is in the business of planting them?
Our friends of the EDSP are ready to help! For about $760
a year, we could offset the church’s current carbon emissions
by purchasing and planting seedlings in the Philippines.
These trees offer protection from the violent storms and
flooding increasingly experienced on Mindanao, as well
as alternative income as the rice growing season becomes
shorter and poor farmers look for drought resistant crops.
And you can be an energy star in your own home,
calculating your “carbon footprint”, practicing conservation,
and offsetting your footprint. Or start by offsetting your
airplane travel. A cross country trip can be offset with a $20
tax-deductible contribution.
HOW? Go to www.eccw.org (our diocesan website) and
click the “Carbon Offset” button on the right hand side of
the page. EASY.
Spray 9 x 9 “ pan with cooking
spray.
Add to pan 4 cups chopped
rhubarb,
2/3 cup sugar and 2 Tbs flour
mixed together. Let stand for
a while, stirring occasionally.
Heat oven to 375’.
Mix until crumbly: 1/2 cup brown
sugar, 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup melted butter.
Spread over fruit evenly.
Bake for 40 minutes, until bubbly.
Make 1.5 recipe for 9 x 12” pan.
6 - Day Camp
We’d like to invite the youth of your church to the Diocesan
High School 6-day summer camp. Any high school youth
who has completed their ninth grade year through 2015
high school graduates are welcome to attend. The camp
will be held July 5th-11th 2015 at Pleasant Valley Christian
Camp in Mineral, WA. The theme this year is Rainbows:
God Reigns and the Son Shines! This is a great opportunity
for the youth of the Diocese to meet and connect with each
other.
During the week the youth will laugh, play games, worship,
do crafts, go to a dance, hang out with small groups, meet
new friends, and connect more deeply with God. Also
planned is an opportunity for baptism and confirmation
with Bishop Rickel. Your youth don’t want to miss out!
The cost for 6-day is $280. There are a limited number
of scholarships, so youth should request one early!
Registration and payment are completely online this year!
Registration is now open at: http://www.ecww.org/youth
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Financial Summary
by Wayne Amondson
“Another solid month of Giving! The first quarter of 2015 has been solid. A great start to the year. Thank you for your
generousity and faithfulness! Expenses did exceed the Giving a bit, making our Month Ending Balance: ($-14,480.43). Yet
we are on Budget! Since our Budget for 2015 allows for a withdrawal from our Diocesian Investments, to keep our Operating
Fund healthy, our first withdrawal will be presented to the Vestry and hopefully get the Operating Fund back into the black.
Again, thank you for your faithful support to the Ministries of St. Stephens!“
Don’t forget that you can now give electronically at SSLV.org.
or scan our QR code to go to our mobile giving page
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Fresh Local Produce All Summer
Watershed Garden Works will be in our Courtyard every
Sunday and every Wednesday afternoon this summer.
They are also offering Community Supported Agriculture
Shares that are now available. It is an agreement between
the farm and you the customer. Instead of buying
vegetables each week, you become a member of this CSA
farm in the spring and receive a share in the harvest
regulary throughout the season.
The goal is to create a mutually beneficial partnership
between the farm and the customer, bringing you the best
of what is in season, as it comes up, direct from the farm.
CSA box examples:
Early Summer: Swiss chard, snow peas, snap peas, radishes,
spinach, parsley, lettuce, strawberries, new potatoes
cilantro, scallions
High Summer: Kale, basil, onions, tomatoes, collards,
parsley, lettuce, summer squash, cucumbers, green
beans, plums, cherries, figs, garlic, shallots, greens,
peppers
Late summer/fall: Swiss chard, onions, spinach, cabbage,
kohirabi, broccoli, beets, winter squash, apples, pears,
cider, melon
Sign up sheets available in the hallway.
Shine Shine Shine!
Lots of glass got polished prior to the
Easter celebration. Thanks to Skip
Dunlap, Dave Hanson, Margaret
Lapic, Janice Stixrud, and Judy
Swanson for their contributions of
elbow grease.
Subject: Altar Guild Recruiting
The Altar Guild exists in order that its members may offer
to our Lord and His Holy Church, their love and devotion
by caring for the Sanctuary, the Altar, its ornaments and
equipment, and the vestments of the priest.
We are recruiting women or men that would like to be a
part of this non-glamorous, yet fulfilling, service. Please see
Mother Kathleen or Robin Swecker if you are interested or
have questions
Making Connections
Join us on June 7th for a special coffee
hour. The vestry will be providing
a sandwich lunch and there will be
opportunities to make connections
with activities and ministries around
the church.
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Introducing; Your Church Library!
You may have noticed some tidying up in the Church
Library area. Some people have even asked me, “what is the
point of having these books?”
There are few things as meaningless and pathetic as books
which no one reads; (unless it is a mind which never is
open to new ideas). Our library, however, is a bountiful
cornucopia of treasures. Just think of the wonderful people
who love our church, and then imagine the donations they
have given us. As I have been cataloging the books, I have
thought fondly of the common wisdom which we share and
appreciate.
We are on the brink of having a truly functional and living
library! In the first of what I hope will be a regular and
ongoing explanation, here are at least preliminary answers
to some of the questions you may have:
1. How are the books organized? The books are on the
shelves in Dewey Decimal System order, beginning on
the west wall, and ending on the east wall.
2. Why use the Dewey Decimal System? While
no system is perfect, Dewey is used by most public,
undergraduate and small libraries in the United States.
As you may recall, it divides all human knowledge into
10 broad categories, and then refines those categories
into subdivisions of ten. In theory, this puts book of
the same subject in proximity to one another on the
shelves, making for more pleasurable serendipity when
browsing. You can find similar books under the same
number in the public, school and academic libraries
you may also use.
3. Why do so many of our books have a spine label
with a number that begins with “2”? In the Dewey
Decimal System, the “200’s” is the classification for
Religion. That is why some numbers can get rather
long. For example: 200=Religion, 220=The Bible,
227=The Epistles, 227.1=The Epistle to the Romans. We
do have books from every decade, including cookbooks,
science and poetry.
4. Are all of our books shelved by Dewey Decimal
Number? No, there are three exceptions. The
Biographies (most books about people’s lives) are
shelved after 999, under “B”, and then by the last name
of the person who the biography is about. Fiction
(most novels) are shelved after the Biographies, under
“FIC” and then alphabetically by the author’s last name.
Books for youth are shelved under “J” in the upstairs
nursery.
5. How do I find books in the library? All of
our books are in an online catalog at: http://www.
librarything.com/catalog/sslv (There is a link on our
website, but it is currently buried in the “members
only” Links section; this will change soon!). You can
access this catalog by Author, Title, Subject, Keyword
or Dewey Decimal number, anywhere you can access
the Internet, including the church library! (see the wall
for the posted Wi-Fi code) If you do not have Internet
access, we have plans (see below)! There is also a binder
with author/title/subject indexes on the center shelf,
west wall. (which needs updating)
6. How do I check books out? There is a small spiral
notebook on the center shelf, west wall. Just write down
your name and the title of the book. Return the books
to the same shelf, in the “Books to be shelved” area
when you are finished. We are a relatively small library
and trust our community to respect our common
intention to share this resource fairly.
Beginning on May 3, we will have a booksale at coffee hour,
selling duplicate copies or books outside the scope of our
collection. The proceeds from this booksale will go toward
the acquisition of a very simple touchscreen, to be securely
mounted in the library, and giving access to our collection
on the Librarything website. I would like to do this in
memory of William Lammi, one of several volunteers who
have helped create this resource for us. Do not hesitate to
contact me if you have any questions, in person or by email:
[email protected]
Jan E.V.W. Hanson, Librarian
Mark Your Calendar
Mother’s Day & Rogation Sunday - May 10
Bishop’s Visit & Confirmation – May 17
Pentecost & Music Ministry Sunday - May 24
Messy Chuch - May 31
Ordinations (Seattle) – June 16
Parish Party - June 21
Mo. Kathleen’s Sabbatical – June 22-Sept. 21
St. Stephens Episcopal Church
1428 - 22nd Avenue
Longview, WA 98632
Address Service Requested