Via Media - Harcourt Parish Episcopal Church
Transcription
Via Media - Harcourt Parish Episcopal Church
The Newsletter of Harcourt Parish Harcourt Parish Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., and by appointment Phone: (740) 427-2187 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.harcourtparish.org Rector The Rev. Helen Svoboda-Barber [email protected] Organist/Choir Director Sharon Stohrer [email protected] Sec./Parish House Manager Hallie Logan [email protected] Treasurer John Elliott [email protected] Senior Warden Adele Davidson [email protected] Junior Warden Jeremy Strayer [email protected] Vestry John Aebi, Lucy Hughes, Linda Legros, Toma Lord, Andrew Reinert, Abby Serfass, Gregory Stark; Carolyn Batt, Clerk Bishop January/February 2010 Via Media WorkshopCycles Winter Project The WorkshopCycles classroom recently completed a cycle about The Miracles of Jesus. One of their activities was to make a book about the miracles. “This is my Body” and their task is to memorize the Lord’s Prayer. The final Cycle of the semester will be “Let there be Light” and each child will engage in an outreach activity to be the Light of Christ in the world. Leaders (leading a single session) and Shepherds (helping for a cycle) are still needed. Please contact Helen to volunteer. Our grade school children will be learning about The Good Shepherd during the Epiphany season and have a goal of memorizing Psalm 23. The Cycle for Lent is The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr. (800) 551-4815 Via Media Harcourt Parish P.O. Box 377 Gambier, OH 43022 Artists include: Zane and Emma Wright, Jonathan and Daniel Pastor, Rachel and Eli Strayer, and Frank Winter Greening of the Church/St. Nicholas Party Wrap-up Many thanks to Susan Givens, Marco Saavedra, Jeremy Strayer, and Shawn Svoboda-Barber for Greening the Chapel this December. Special thanks to Lisa Strayer for leading the concurrent St. Nicholas Party. Fun was had by all! 1 Rector’s Reflections Vestry Notes At ordination, clergy take a series of vows that help us shape our ministry and our life as ordained persons. One of those vows is, “Will you do your best to pattern your life and the life of your family in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that you may be a wholesome example to your people?” I answered this wholeheartedly and with a hearty “I will!” on my ordination day eleven years ago. And like with many of our vows, I had no idea where that vow would take me. In November and December, your vestry: • Prayed together • Studied the Bible together • Heard reports from the Rector, Wardens, and Treasurer • Approved one month of paid family leave for the Rector • Discussed our 2010 pledge campaign • Discussed and approved a budget for 2010 I am so grateful to be in a community that has allowed me to take a month of family leave while I care for my mother as she moves back home with us after breaking her hip and having a small stroke. The nursing home suggested that her care might be too much for us. And they may be right. But Shawn and I believe trying to care for her at home is the right choice for our family. It’s not the easy choice. And it’s not the comfortable choice. And it may not be the permanent choice. But it’s our choice for now. Pledge Report Many thanks to everyone who has pledged to Harcourt Parish for 2010. With a few pledges still outstanding, Treasurer John Elliott is hopeful that our 2010 pledge total will be almost $125,000. This is a sizable increase from previous years, but it is deceptively large. About $10,000 of this increase is money that has moved from budget line items of “gifts other than pledge” and “regular support.” The increase in pledge income also offsets a large decrease in our investment income for the coming year. Mom has improved significantly in the two weeks she’s been home. I’ve found that many of the things that are “therapy” for her are sheer delight for our children. And it feels like a miracle that we have two wonderful caregivers ready to help out when I return to work. The total 2010 expected income is slightly above the 2009 actual income, and these increases will be spent on increased health insurance costs, a salary increase for the parish secretary/parish house manager who will celebrate her fifth year with us, and a continued commitment to outreach both locally and internationally. Yes, this time is exhausting and messy and sometimes heartbreaking. But those things are all parts of any full life. The difficult parts are not something we get a “bye” in just because we’re Christian. If anything, they are what we are called into because we’re Christian. Christians are called to work hard. We’re called to get messy. And we’re called to the cross, where our hearts break and are redeemed. It’s OK if we succeed, and it’s OK if we fail. The goal is showing up, and being part of God’s redemption of the world. Weekly E-mails Harcourt Parish has begun sending weekly Harcourt Parish Updates by e-mail each week. These e-mails focus mainly on the week to come and include tools for individual preparation for Sunday service, for example: links to the lectionary readings, a short meditation, and a list of the upcoming hymns. Please take a moment to get familiar with our Update and please let us know if it is helpful or if there is something more you would like to see included. Thank you for having patience with me, and for your continued prayers, as our family lives into our next phase of doing our best to be wholesome in our life together. -Helen+ Harcourt Parish Outreach Rummage Proceeds The 2009 Rummage Sale and Jamie Lee Curtis Coat Raffle raised a record-breaking amount for outreach locally and internationally. The $9,753.86 collected will be disbursed as follows: • $500 To help mail textbooks to Cuttington • $500 To Episcopal Relief and Development, area of greatest need • $600 Habitat for Humanity of Knox County • $600 Canterbury (with $700 from the parish budget, total $1,300) T-shirt collection for Diocesan Convention distribution • $1,100 for Millennium Development Goals work in Belize. — $500 scholarship for Harcourt Parishioner to join Jim Skon’s MVNU spring break trip to Belize — $600 to deliver to Belize charity working with the Episcopal Church (or $1,100 to the charity if no parishioner attends) • $6,453.86 To Interchurch Social Services of Knox County. The rummage workers, Outreach committee, and Vestry believe the area of highest needs is Interchurch, so the majority of the funds were designated for the work they do for the poor in Knox County. The parish is also committed to continue designating at least 0.7% of our budget to the Millennium Development Goals to help eradicate extreme poverty internationally. Our 2009 giving towards the MDGs includes the money given to Episcopal Relief and Development and the money allocated for Belize.” For more information on the MDGs, go to www.E4GR.org Diocesan Convention Hands-on Work Day Ink Recycling Please continue to give the church your used printer ink cartridges of any type. You may drop them off any time outside our office door (or even put them in the offering plate as one unknown person did last month). We turn these used cartridges in to Staples and receive great discounts and coupons that save us hundreds of dollars. 2 Food for the Hungry volunteers 7 Epiphany Party, January 6th The Season of Lent Ash Wednesday Buffy and Bob Hallinan hosted our annual Epiphany Party at their home on Wednesday January 6th. Much fun was had by all who attended! Thanks to Buffy and Bob for hosting, and for all who braved the cold weather to attend! Ash Wednesday falls on February 17th this year. Please plan on attending one of our Ash Wednesday services to begin your holy observance of Lent. We offer a brief Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes over the lunch hour from 12:10-12:50. A half-hour meditative Taize-type service will be at 5pm, followed at 5:30 by a Eucharist with sermon, music, and Imposition of Ashes. Youth Group The new Harcourt Parish Youth Group continues to meet twice per month. Most recently, we gathered to make 20 loaves of banana bread from scratch. These loaves were handed out at the Hot Meals dinner on December 24th as a gift to all who attended. While we made the bread, we talked about different aspects of Christmas, which parts are most important, and which parts have little to do with the core of our faith. Lenten Evening Prayer Evening Prayer will take place in the chapel each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 5pm during Lent (Thursday February 18th through Tuesday March 30th). If you would like to lead one or more of these prayer services, please contact Abby Serfass. Lenten Study: Becoming Bread Diocesan Winter Convocation Mark your calendars for our Lenten Supper and Education Programs which will run from 6:00-7:30 on Wednesday nights February 24th through March 31st. The second annual Diocesan Winter Convocation will be February 5-6 at the Holiday Inn in Perrysburg. The keynote speaker will be Martha Grace Reese, author of Unbinding the Gospel. The gathered community will discuss faith sharing, evangelism, and how these ideas can be authentically lived out in each of our lives without scaring our friends. Please consider attending this event. Brochures and registration forms can be downloaded at www.dohio.org Our theme this Lent is based on the book “Becoming Bread” by Gunilla Norris, and the wonderful bakers that are part of our community. Each weeks’ meal will include bread from a different baker, the recipe, and a bit about what each baker has learned about bread. We will also use portions of the book to guide our discussion and help us weave God, our own lives, and our daily bread together. New Year, A New Commitment: Join the Choir! Lenten Evensong We always welcome new voices, especially sopranos and altos. Next year we will be without two of our sopranos, so please give careful thought to joining. Questions? Speak with Sharon or any choir member. Harcourt Parish will present a simple, formal highchurch Evensong at 5pm on Sunday, February 28th. Lessons & Carols Thank you to all who participated in Lessons and Carols this year and especially to Sharon Stohrer for her fine musical and organizational leadership. Those who attended appreciated the prayerful tone of the evening as well as excellent music. 6 3 Kroger Rewards HARCOURT PARISH During the last quarter of 2009, Kroger gave a total of $965.10 to Harcourt Parish because of the Kroger Community Rewards Program. Anyone can be added to this program by simply having a checker scan your Kroger Plus card and the scan code accompanying this article. KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM Registration instructions for those who do not have access to a computer: 1. Take this form with you the next time you shop at Kroger. Share this scan code with your friends and family--they all can help Harcourt Parish earn rewards. (Please note, your Plus card can only help one charity.) 2. Hand this form to the cahier to scan along with your order and your Kroger Plus card. 3. You only need to use this form once. After initial registration, your Kroger Plus card will be automatically linked to the Harcourt Parish rewards program. Once registered, a percentage of your grocery bill will be credited to Harcourt Parish every time you use your Kroger Plus Card when shopping. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR PARISH! Bobby Toth ’10 shares his acolyting expertise at the Diocesan Convention in November. Harcourt Parish Prayer List Request Form The prayer list is renewed several times a year. Names should be resubmitted each cycle for ongoing prayer requests. Your Name: _______________________________________________________________ 1) Name to pray for: _______________________________________________________ Relationship (friend, relative, self, etc): _______________________________________ Concern: ___________________________________________(Keep private? Yes No) Please keep on list: 2) Name to pray for: _______________________________________________________ Relationship (friend, relative, self, etc): _______________________________________ Concern: ___________________________________________(Keep private? Yes No) Please keep on list: ____2 weeks ____2 weeks ____entire cycle ____entire cycle This list may be mailed, e-mailed, phoned in to the office, or dropped in an alms basin. 4 5