Parish News - St. Stephen`s Episcopal Church, Pittsfield

Volume 1, Issue 1
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
Parish News
From the Rector
1
Senior Moment
1
St. Stephen’s New Cross
2
Sacred Dance Service
2
Church Calendar
3
Balloon Festival Dinner
4
Rector
Father Curtis Metzger
Vestry
Chris Porter, Senior Warden
Barbara Barr, Treasurer
Virginia Pearson, Clerk
Martha Booth, at-large
Katie Jones, at-large
Sabra Welch, at-large
Music Ministry
Katie Belanger,
Choral Director;
Keith Belanger,
Organist/Pianist
Team Leaders
George Booth,
Outreach
Lucinda Kerivan,
New Member Ministry;
Marylee Johnson,
Prayer Shawl Ministry;
Margaret Porter,
Publicity/Website;
Charlotte Berry,
Altar Guild;
Connie Mitchell,
Parish Life Guild;
Bernie Cameron,
Adult Education;
Katie Belanger,
Family Education;
Steve Ekerberg,
Newsletter/Communications
The Reverend Curtis Metzger, Rector
From the Rector
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Parish Ministries
Spring 2009
By Father Curtis Metzger
St. Stephen’s Beloved:
We have come through
Winter, landed in Spring,
and found our ‘Alleluias’
again in the wonderful
Easter season. Times are
tough, but it seems they
may be getting better;
and just to have the warm
air and flowering
everything lifts the spirits.
The promise of Spring is
like the promise of our
Lord, who promises to
‘never leave us or forsake
us’—even when it seems
dark and cold, Spring will
come again. The Sunday
lessons of late we hear
Jesus calling his disciples
to abide in his love. To
‘abide’ has such deep
meaning—resting,
confidence, surrounded
by love, and
strengthening.
That is why it is so
Senior Moment
Greetings from the
Vestry! As you may
know, we have an
opening on the Vestry
which we are interested
in filling for the balance
of 2009, so I’d like to use
my Senior Moment to
describe what the Vestry
important to spend time
with Harold......you know
the story of the little boy
who thought God’s name
was Harold—“Our Father,
who art in heaven, Harold
be thy name!” Harold is
great! And we, the friends
of Harold, should always
remember how great it is
to spend time with Him.
optimistic about the
future. And I challenge
everyone to get involved
in some way in the
fundraisers we are having
this Summer that largely
go to help those in need
in our communities.
Easter and Pentecost
I hope this newsletter
finds everyone well and
Fr. Curtis+
Blessings,
By Chris Porter, Senior Warden
is (and maybe what it
isn’t). This may seem
pretty obvious to most of
you, but in my own
experience of coming
into St. Stephen’s and
the Episcopal Church
some 15 years ago, I
must admit it took me
years to figure out what
the Vestry does, not to
mention the Guild.
While I’m still trying to
figure out the Guild, I
have figured out the
Vestry, and it’s as simple
as this:
(Continued pg. 2)
St. Stephen’s Parish New s
Page 2
Senior Moment
Parish Register
Baptisms
Jazlynn-Mae
Elizabeth Birch
Rebecca Lynn Davis
Melissa Ann Davis
Called
Fr. Curtis Metzger;
as our Rector
Marriage
Katherine Ortega and
Keith Belanger
the Vestry is the Parish
Board of Directors,
responsible for the monthto-month operation of the
Parish, the management
of our relationship with the
Diocese, and most
importantly, the care and
feeding of our Rector. If
you know a bit about how
things work in municipal
government, you could
easily describe the Vestry
as the Board of
Selectmen, the Planning
(Continued)
Board, and the Budget
Committee rolled into one.
Our current vacancy runs
until January 2010, at
which time it would be
filled by election at our
Annual Parish Meeting.
Have I scared you away
yet? If not, why not give
the Vestry a try…until
January, at least? At that
point, you’d have the
option of signing on for a
full term, or not. No
pressure. No guilt. Think
of it as a trial run, with an
opt-out clause if you
decide you’re not in love
with the work of the
Vestry.
My moment is up. Please
give it some thought, talk
to any and all Vestry
members you can corner,
and let me know if you’d
be interested in joining our
merry crew. Many thanks
for your consideration.
New Members
Tanisha & Steve Ekerberg
Denise Paterson
Eileen & Mike Davies
Graham Wilson
Carol Brown
Burials
Elvia Hetu
William Johnson
Key Dates
June 6th –
Town-Wide
Yardsale
Please bring
donations and baked
goods to the Church.
July 18th –
Old Home Day
Celebration
August 1st –
Pittsfield Balloon
Rally
St. Stephen’s New Cross
The Cross is Up!
After what seemed to be
an eternity, the big cross
is finally up on the roof!
As many of you know, the
original crosses, which
were most likely part of
the original construction of
the church in the late
1860’s, pretty much fell
apart when they were
taken down by the roofers.
Thanks to Chris Noyes,
Fayth Noyes and George
By George Booth
Booth for making the
cross and to George
Booth and Dan and Amy
Place (Dan is with
Northeast Line
Construction Corp.) for
getting it installed. Dan
brought the bucket truck
up from Massachusetts to
help us.
The cross, which is made
of Spanish cedar (the stuff
they make cigar boxes out
of), is just over 4 feet tall
and weighs about 40 lbs.
It seems a lot smaller now
that it’s up on the roof! It
was installed using a ¾”
pin that goes down into
the main roof beam and
extends up into the center
of the cross. The primary
support comes from the
steel brackets which
secure the cross to the
roof. These are the reused original brackets.
The cross should last a
very, very long time.
Sacred Dance Pentecost Service May 31st
We commemorate the
descent of the Holy Spirit
on Pentecost. Our service
st
this year on May 31 will
be enhanced by Pittsfield
resident Beverly Drolet
performing sacred dance
accompanied by the St.
Stephen’s Choir.
Sacred dance is prayer;
the primary feature which
distinguishes sacred
dance from any other kind
of dance. Liturgical
dance, a type of sacred
dance, includes body
movement, attitude and
shaping that may involve
an individual dancer, a
group of dancers or the
entire assembly. As a
ritual activity, liturgy
employs different qualities
of movement in its
ceremonies, such as
processing, bowing,
kneeling and standing.
Liturgical dance is not mere
performance, but connects
with the prayer of the
assembly. Liturgical dance
does not interrupt or stop
community prayer it enriches
it, a fitting addition to our
Pentecost celebration.
Beverly Drolet is a 25 year
member of the St. Matthew’s
Sacred Dance Choir, an
interdenominational dance
group.
Page 3
St. Stephen’s Parish New s
Sunday
Wednesday
Thursday
4
5
The First Book of
Common Prayer
11
12
St Barnabas,
Apostle
Friday
Saturday
6
Town wide Yard Sale
3
8
9
Columba, Abbot
TOPS 6:00PM
10
15
16
TOPS 6:00PM
17
18
19
20
22
23
TOPS 6:00PM
24
25
Nativity of St John,
the Baptist
26
27
29
St Peter and St Paul,
Apostles
30
TOPS 6:00PM
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
13
Friday
1
2
3
2009
Sunday
Saturday
4
Independence Day
11
6
7
TOPS 6:00PM
8
9
10
13
14
TOPS 6:00PM
15
16
17
18
Old Home Day
20
21
TOPS 6:00PM
22
Mary Magdalene
23
24
Thomas a Kempis,
Priest
25
St James, Apostle
27
28
TOPS 6:00PM
29
Mary and Martha
of Bethany
30
31
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
JULY 2009
5
Pentecost 5
Proper 9
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Laying on of Hands
12
Pentecost 6
Proper 10
9:30 Holy Eucharist
19
Pentecost 7
Proper 11
9:30 Holy Eucharist
26
Pentecost 8
Proper 12
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Parish Family Sunday
Tuesday
2
JUNE
7
Pentecost 1
Trinity Sunday
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Laying on of Hands
14
Pentecost 2
Proper 6
9:30 Holy Eucharist
21
Pentecost 3
Proper 7
9:30 Holy Eucharist
28
Pentecost 4
Proper 8
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Parish Family Sunday
Monday
1
Saturday
1
Balloon Festival
8
3
4
5
6
The
Transfiguration
7
10
11
12
13
14
Jonathan Myrick
Daniels
15
St Mary, the Virgin
16
Pentecost 11
Proper 15
9:30 Holy Eucharist
23
Pentecost 12
Proper 16
9:30 Holy Eucharist
17
18
19
20
Bernard, Abbot
21
22
24
St Bartholomew,
Apostle
25
26
27
28
Augustine, Bishop
of Hippo
29
30
Pentecost 13
Proper 17
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Parish Family Sunday
31
AUGUST 2009
2
Pentecost 9
Proper 13
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Laying on of Hands
9
Pentecost 10
Proper 14
9:30 Holy Eucharist
Page 4
St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church
50 Main Street
P.O. Box 435
Pittsfield, NH 03263
Phone: 603-435-7908
E-mail the Rector:
[email protected]
St. Stephen’s Parish New s
All are welcome, without exception, at St. Stephen's.
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is located on Pittsfield's historic Main Street, adjacent
to Dustin Park. Our Sunday worship time is 9:30AM. All are welcome, without
exception, to receive Holy Communion.
Our Mission
We believe that all we are and all we have are gifts from God, and we are thankful.
It is our mission to share the love of God with each other and with the rest of the world.
The Little Church
With a Big Heart.
Balloon Rally Dinner August 1st
By Sabra Welch
We’re on the Web!
www.ststephenspittsfieldnh.com
St. Stephen’s will provide
the evening meal for the
balloon crews and their
sponsors on Saturday,
st
August 1 during the
Pittsfield Balloon Rally.
We earned $1000 last
year providing this meal
and it was great fun. We
were asked by the Rotary
Club to serve again this
year as they were told by
last years crews it was
the best meal they’d had
at the Balloon Rally.
We will prepare to feed
100 people and are
asking people to donate a
roasted turkey, sliced,
with the juices.
The Crews will come to
the Church undercroft for
On the Menu:
•
Roast Turkey
•
Marion’s Famous
Dressing
•
Pasta Salad
•
Green Salad
•
Rolls
•
Cranberry Sauce
•
Assorted
Desserts
•
Beverage
____________________
their meal, with the option
to take the meal back to
the field with them.
We must be ready to
serve at 5:30PM. Actual
meal time will depend on
the day and flight
conditions, the balloon
glow and the fireworks. It
could be a long day, or if
it rains, we could be
finished by 8PM.
Last year we fed 47
people but were paid the
guaranteed 100. With
the positive feedback last
year, I expect we’ll feed
more this year. We get
paid and extra $10 per
person over 100, so it’s
hard to lose on this event.
Last year we divided the
leftovers among the
people at Church the
following morning…so it’s
a good summer Sunday
to attend!
Questions? Call Sabra
603-435-6535