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St. Martin of Tours Anglican Church Crossword Newsletter September 2012
Give Thanks to the Lord For He is Good Psalm 106
Website www.stmartinoftours.ca Facebook http://www.facebook.com/
Priest Rev. Joan Scandrett Wardens: Angela Nutter, Vic Wiebe
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Crossword Newsletter
Inside this Issue
Rev. Joan
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Blessing the Animals
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Was Jesus Married?
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Facebook & St. Martins
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350 year Anniversary BCP
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Christmas-Live
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Church Council Minutes
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FYI
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PWRDF
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Church Notices
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Plan Canada Children
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Jazz Vespers
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Priest Rev. Joan Scandrett Wardens: Angela Nutter, Vic Wiebe Prayer Wheel: Phyllis Reeve tpreeve@shaw.ca
“ We are people of God, followers of Jesus, open to the Spirit”
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Rev Joan
Dear Friends, My time at Stephen’s United Church in Qualicum is winding down, and as I write this (on Wednesday, September 26) I am thinking that this time next week I will have begun my first week as your new priest. That is something I’m looking forward to! Just for fun, I’d like to share some of what I’ve been doing at St. Stephen’s over the past 4 weeks – and it has been a fun time indeed learning to “speak United”. It has been a whirlwind of activity, discussion, meeting people, attending meetings, and most of all, actively listening! The Rev. Phil Spencer has spent many hours going over various topics with me – below is a list of SOME of the things that were identified and discussed as learning areas: United Church history – formal and informal; Worship and liturgy – baptism, Communion, music; United Church polity and administration; Local governance forms; Marriage policies; Membership; Church size dynamics; Sexual abuse policy; Racial sensitivity; United Church culture and ethos; The Manual; Controversies – regional and national; Resources St. Stephen’s is a lively and diverse church community, filled with friendly, dedicated and spiritual people. There are two services each Sunday: one is “Contemporary” and one is “Traditional”. The contemporary service is quite an experience, and I was surprised to see that it includes all age groups from infants to a fellow in his ‘90’s. There is a worship band, lots of non-traditional music, and most of the service is put on a big screen at the front of the church so people don’t have to fumble with paper or books. The energy is incredible! Because the worship style is less liturgical than what I’m used to, I had to put away any pre-conceived notions I had about liturgy, and just enter as fully as I could into the time. The traditional service is much more recognizable as “liturgy” on one level, and the congregation is mostly on the elderly side of the age spectrum. There is a choir, along with a very competent organist/pianist, who sing the more well-known hymns of the church. But don’t get the impression that the worship is boring or flat. There is a different kind of energy that is both lively and inviting. One of the most interesting things I’ve done during my time at Stephen’s was to prepare for participate in “Worship 101” on September 23. During both worship services, each element of the service was explained and reasons were given for why and how the liturgy is put together. My part was to explain how the Communion Prayer is put together, and what the various movements of the prayer are. That was a helpful exercise for me. We then shared in Communion, which I found to be particularly special and moving. However, it was not without humour! At St. Stephen’s, the practice is to do intinction. The bread is cut into cubes, which are then dipped into the chalice containing grape juice. If a person dipped the bread too deeply into the grape juice, it would become soggy and fall apart, which then resulted in the person having to dig into the chalice to find the remnants. Or, the grape juice would drip off the bread, and dribble down a person’s chin. Yes, there were moments of holy laughter!! I have been warmly welcomed by this church community, and I will take many gifts from this time of learning with me as I begin my ministry among you. Thanks be to God, whose power is definitely at work in God’s church!
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A Blessing of the Animals took place on September 16th at the Fall Fair at the Commons.
Rev. Dr. Linda St. Clair presided over the blessing in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Commons grounds. It was wonderful to watch Rev Linda interact with the animals as she blessed them.
“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, the lord God made them all. Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, God made their glowing colors he made their tiny wings.”
Margaret Taylor and her golden retriever, Burren
Not pictured Linda St Clair’s Welsh Border Collie, Maggie
5 In the Scriptures, the act of blessing means 'the imparting of power or life.' The person performing the blessing is mediating that power from God or Christ to the person performing or the animal involved. To bless is more than an expression of goodwill and caring. To bless is to impart God's power in person! The blessing of each animal, by name, means that health, healing and life are being mediated from God for the benefit of the animal in its relationship with its human partners. We reinforce our common kinship by blessing ALL animals--human and otherwise.
Helen and Kodi
Bl
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Mary and Robbie’s basset hounds, Vern & patti
David and Shelagh’s well-beloved dog ,Ginger. He’s the mischievous one at the back.
Photos Chris Bowers
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HDS Scholar Announces Existence of a New Early Christian Gospel from Egypt B. D. Colen,
Harvard News Office
09.18.2012
Papyrus fragment: front. Karen L. King 2012 Four words on a previously unknown papyrus fragment provide the first evidence that some early Christians believed Jesus had been married, Harvard Professor Karen King told the 10th International Congress of Coptic Studies today. King, the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, announced the existence of the ancient text at the Congress's meeting, held every four years and hosted this year by the Vatican's Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum in Rome. The four words that appear on the fragment translate to, "Jesus said to them, my wife." The words, written in Coptic, a language of ancient Egyptian Christians, are on a papyrus fragment of about one and a half inches by three inches. "Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to support that claim," King said. "This new gospel doesn't prove that Jesus was married, but it tells us that the whole question only came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage. From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better not to marry, but it was over a century after Jesus's death before they began appealing to Jesus's marital status to support their positions." Roger Bagnall, director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York, believes the fragment to be authentic based on examination of the papyrus and the handwriting, and Ariel Shisha-Halevy, a Coptic expert at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, considers it likely to be authentic on the basis of language and grammar, King said. Final judgment on the fragment, King said, depends on further examination by colleagues and further testing, especially of the chemical composition of the ink. One side of the fragment contains eight incomplete lines of handwriting, while the other side is badly damaged and the ink so faded that only three words and a few individual letters are still visible, even with infrared photography and computer photo enhancement. Despite its tiny size and poor condition, King said, the fragment provides tantalizing glimpses into issues about family, discipleship, and marriage that concerned ancient Christians. King and colleague AnneMarie Luijendijk, an associate professor of religion at Princeton University, believe that the fragment is part of a newly discovered gospel. Their analysis of the fragment is scheduled for publication in the January 2013 issue of Harvard Theological Review, a peer-reviewed journal. King has posted a draft of the paper, an extensive question-and-answer on the fragment and its meaning, and images of it, on a page on the Divinity School website. The brownish-yellow, tattered fragment belongs to an anonymous private collector who contacted King to help translate and analyze it. The collector provided King with a letter from the early 1980s indicating that Professor Gerhard Fecht from the faculty of Egyptology at the Free University in Berlin believed it to be evidence for a possible marriage of Jesus.
http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news-events/articles/2012/09/16/hds-scholar-announces-existence-of-new-early-christiangospel-from-egypt
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Did you know that 2012 is the 350 year Anniversary of the BCP?
THE BCP STORY ARCHBISHOP CRANMER'S IMMORTAL BEQUEST: T HE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER The Book of Common Prayer is central to the Christian faith as practised by the Church of England. Compiled in the sixteenth century by Thomas Cranmer, and modified in 1662, the Prayer Book remains the official doctrinal standard of the Church of England and of most other Churches in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Cranmer's memorable cadences have given guidance and illumination to generations of Christians in regular worship and at the turning points of their lives and continue to do so. The Prayer Book is deeply rooted in the Bible: not only does it make very full provision for the reading of Scripture, but its services are in substance and language scriptural throughout. The Book of Common Prayer is irreplaceable as the guarantee of orthodoxy, dignity and beauty in the Church's worship. Its services are reverent in honouring the power and majesty of God, accepting the reality of human sin and joyfully acknowledging the pardon given through faith in Jesus Christ. The direct and unambiguous words of the Prayer Book have become a familiar part of our speech, to the extent that it is, after the Bible, the most frequently cited book in the "Oxford Dictionary of Quotations". The Book of Common Prayer is one of the guiding influences on our language and the basis of religious expression in this nation. THE BOOK The Book of Common Prayer appears in many variants in churches inside and outside of the Anglican Communion in over 50 different countries and in over 150 different languages. Again in many parts of the world, more contemporary books have replaced it in regular weekly worship. Traditional Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian prayer books have borrowed from the Book of Common Prayer, and the marriage and burial rites have found their way into those of other denominations and into the English language. Like the Authorized King James Bible and the works of Shakespeare, many words and phrases from the Book of Common Prayer have entered popular culture. HISTORY The first book, published in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. Prayer books, unlike books of prayers, contain the words of structured (or liturgical) services of worship. The work of 1549 was the first prayer book to contain the forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English and to do so within a single volume; it included morning prayer, evening prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion. The book included the other occasional services in full: the orders for baptism, confirmation, marriage, 'prayers to be said with the sick' and a funeral service. It set out in full the Epistle and Gospel readings for the Sunday Communion Service. Set Old Testament and New Testament readings for daily prayer were specified in tabular format as were the set Psalms; and canticles, mostly biblical, that were provided to be sung between the readings. The 1549 book was rapidly succeeded by a reformed revision in 1552 under the same editorial hand, that of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. It never came into use because, on the death of Edward VI, his half-sister Mary I restored Roman Catholic worship. On her death, a compromise version, largely 1552 with a few amendments from 1549, was published in 1559. Following the tumultuous events leading to and including the English Civil War, another major revision was published in 1662 (Church of England 1662). That edition has remained the official prayer book of the Church of England and its 350th anniversary is now being celebrated. Two dates are often cited for the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer in 1662. The first is 19 May when royal assent was granted, the second is 24 August when the Prayer Book came into use. The details have kindly been researched by staff at the House of Commons Library. The complete article is found : http://www.churchofengland.org/
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CHRISTMAS-LIVE
Update Sept. 24, 2012 Preparations for the production of Christmas-Live! are coming along well. Representatives of Our Lady of Victory, Gabriola United and St. Martin’s got together to discuss some practical details on Thursday, September 20.
Christmas-Live! will take place December 22, at 5:00 pm at The Commons. It will consist of the Christmas story, narrated and acted out, interspersed with familiar Christmas carols for all to sing. It will last approximately one half hour. Bring a lawn chair if you don’t feel you can stand for that long. Bring a flashlight.
Bring family and friends ! This production is a chance for three churches on Gabriola to work together to offer the gift of the Christmas story to the whole community of Gabriola. Everybody in the community will be invited to attend. This production can be as elaborate or as simple as the people involved would like to make it.
We still need some people to play the principal parts. None of the parts are speaking parts. No more than six hours of time will be required for rehearsal and production (mostly in the week before Dec. 22). If you’ve ever wanted to be an angel or a shepherd, this is your chance! We need people to make costumes (approximately 12 costumes in all). We would love donations of curtain fabric or sheets to make into costumes. We would love some farm animals – sheep, cows, donkeys. We have been offered the use of the PHC kitchen and dining room at The Commons if we would like to serve hot chocolate after the production. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with this, that would be great. We would like a group of people to pray for this project. Hilary Plowright has volunteered to be in charge of this group. Please contact her to be added to the Christmas-Live prayer
team. There will be all kinds of smaller jobs to do on December 22. If you think this is a worthwhile project and would like to help, please phone Susan Brockley 247-9467 or email sbrockley@shaw.ca.
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St. Martin of Tours Parish Council
St. Martin’s Parish Council Tues. September 11, 2012 7 pm at GUC Hall MINUTES Present: Angela, Jacquie, Vic, Corinne, Pam, Rob, Joan Opening: Corinne Welcome: Chair
Regrets: Linda
Approval of Agenda additional items as added Minutes of the Meeting on Aug, 14, 2012 - errors or omissions none
M/S Angela/Corinne M/S Angela/Corinne
Warden’s Report Vic/Angela This month has been very interesting. We have appointed a new minister< Joan Scandrett , and now we can look forward to a shared ministry. Joan is going to live on the island and has signed a lease for the house on Jeanette. We thank Anne Privett for her incredible service to us over the past year. We wish her well in Victoria at St Mary’s in Oak Bay. We also thank our musicians for their incredible talent. We said farewell to Leah Hokenson who has taken a post with a church in Nanaimo. We are lucky to have the talent of Hiromi Bradshaw and Steve Smith as our musicians. Now we look forward to working with the United church. It promises to be interesting and a lot of fun. We aim to have several social events to bring us together. We feel sure that Joan will fulfill our aspirations and look forward to working with her to achieve that. We thank also Linda St Clair who has kept us together, introducing us to Marcus Borg and Dom Classen , the Iona service, and who has given her time to our care both spiritual and social. I doubt whether this community would be in the position we are now without her guidance. Now we turn our attention to our commitment to shared ministry. Clergy Report
none
Correspondence: Cards of thanks and appreciation received from Linda Hass Point of Order: After discussion it was agreed that when council makes a decision no council member will report to an individual unless that is the role agreed upon. Actions agreed upon by the council will not be changed without further discussion by council. Treasurer’s Report August 2012 [as distributed] M/S Corinne/Rob Question shouldn’t Hydro be part of Clergy expenses and not a separate line item? Corrections made to Foster Parent line item as per request Business Arising from Minutes 1. ACTION – has Rob accepted position on JAC - YES 2. Driveway paving revisited update Vic Written estimate now available from Royal Paving $5,690 +HST (approx. $682.80) Pevious motion RECINDED “That the Church of St. Martin will match GUC’s $1,000 contribution for the paving of the driveway based on current preliminary estimate ($4,500)
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St. Martin of Tours Parish Council NEW MOTION: That the Church of St. Martin will contribute up to $1,500 for the paving of the GUC Driveway (amendment) Money to be withdrawn from the Building Fund. M/S Rob/Pam New Business: 1. Rob Plowright: Per request from GUC Nancy Jenner for someone to be responsible for ensuring there is water for drinking & coffee available at the Church. Rob Plowright has offered to do take on this role. 2. St Paul’s visitor card. Discussion to reinstate the Welcome Brochure designed by the Communications Committee with revisions. To be approved by Council. 3. Thanksgiving: Pam requested that we make it a real Harvest Festival. Pam offered to join the Worship Committee whence this will be discussed at the next meeting on October 2, 2012 4. Musician’s Contract: Joan and Warden’s will meet with Steve Smith to review the contract.
Committee Reports: Altar Guild No Report Rose/Jill Our Guild continues with its stalwart band of members. Working in three teams and working behind the scenes to assist the presiding minister. We look forward with enthusiasm to the arrival of Joan Scandrett and learning from her. We anticipate a busy fall and winter season. Communications Jacquie A September 2012 issue of The Crossword newsletter was sent out to parishioners and friends and included announcements received in the post. Various other email notices were sent out during the month about upcoming events or changes. Fellowship/Fundraising Committee will be meeting this Friday to consider the Fall Events
Jacquie
Outreach
Diane
No Report
Pastoral Care Carolyn The Pastoral Care Group continues to reach out to the members of our Church family. The Care Givers Group met on Sept 5th , as usual the first Wednesday of the month. This is very beneficial for the participants who exchange information and advice and have an opportunity to chat and to laugh - the best medicine in the world. Stewardship Rob Rob said event is on schedule and he will offer a personal invitation to GUC members. Worship Jacquie Next scheduled meeting October 2, 2012 at 2 pm GUC hall to plan Thanksgiving service. Announcements and Reminders - sick/needy Michael Kew in rehab now. Adjournment: 9:25 pm M/Vic Closing Prayer: Rob Next Meeting Oct 9, 2012 at 1:30 pm GUC Hall [Opening: Jacquie Closing: Pam]
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Caregivers Meeting
Please contact Carolyn Pullano if you know of anyone in need of support in our parish or community Phone Carolyn at 250-325-2747 Or Hilary at 250-247-2037
Meets at 2pm on the first Wednesday of the month. Gabriola United Church For more information call Angela: 250-247-9732
Prayer Wheel To make a request for prayers and/or thanks for prayers or to participate in this ministry please contact Phyllis reeve at 247â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7889 or tpreeve@shaw.ca
Thank-you to all who have contributed and continue to contribute to the Food Basket. Did you know that our donations are measured by weight? People for a Healthy Community (PHC)
If you would like to know more please talk to Rose who will gladly tell you more about this wonderful ministry..
Donations for the Food Basket for People for a Healthy Community, Gabriola Please support this vital ministry to those in need Donations of food may be placed in the basket as you enter church or you may contribute financially using the Food Bank jar at coffee time.
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September 13, 2012 By Simon Chambers
For years, PWRDF supporters have been able to support international development, relief, and refugee work by sending cards (available for a suggested donation to PWRDF). This year, PWRDF is offeringCards two beautiful cards—“Angel” PWRDF Christmas Now Availableand “Holy Family”—which contain the message “To you is bo in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord” from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel, as well as the me “Christmas Peace” in the five languages of the Lambeth Conference of the worldwide Anglican Communion: English, Fr nese, Spanish and Kiswahili. Card size 5.5″ x 4″ For Suggested years, PWRDF supporters have able international development, relief, and refugee Cost: donation of $15.00 forbeen a pack ofto 12support cards and 12 envelopes. work by sending Christmas cards (available for a suggested donation to PWRDF). Ordering Information: Order cards through your PWRDF Parish Representative, or directly from PWRDF: Ricky Thisde year, Castro PWRDF is offering two beautiful cards—“Angel” and “Holy Family”—which contain the message 1- “To 866-308-7973 you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord” from the second chap(416) 924-9199, ext 318. ter of Luke’s gospel, as well as the message “Christmas Peace” in the five languages of the Lambeth Conference of the worldwide Anglican Communion: English, French, Japanese, Spanish and Kiswahili. Card size 5.5″ x 4″ Cost: Suggested donation of $15.00 for a pack of 12 cards and 12 envelopes. Ordering Information: Order cards through your PWRDF Parish Representative, or directly from PWRDF: Ricky de Castro 1- 866-308-7973 (416) 924-9199, ext 318.
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Congratulations
Birthdays
Anniversaries
October 1
John Gooding
October 12
Cheryl McKillop
October 12 Elgin & Cheryl McKillop
Births Congratulations to Derek & Sarah on the birth of their baby Colin Andrew Holmes Kilbourn Born Sat. August 25th 5lbs 11ozs
Special Outreach Serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Time to Remember A special outreach service is being planned for early November to enable those on Gabriola who have experienced a bereavement to be supported in remembering their loved one. Please pray for this outreach and make a note of people known to you who should be invited. Details will follow, but to discuss please call Pam Hodgkins on 250 325 5646 or email pjhodgkins@aol.com"
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Oct. 9th, 7:00pm GUC
Jazz Vespers Oct 9 at 7:00pm Gabriola United Church
Oct 12th 11:00am at Gabriola United Church Social Committee Lunch with Rev Joan and Gabriola United Church’s Activity Committee
Oct. 16th 5:00pm Welcome to Gabriola for Joan with Gabriola United. Please bring appetizers/fingers foods
Nov 15th Cedar Country Christmas self-guided tour. Details to follow. Dec 1st Christmas Craft Fair Bake Table at Gabriola Elmentary School Remember It’s never too early to start baking. Dec 1st Wine & Wisdom New Church Year Party Gabriola United Church
Prayer Shawl Meeting Ministry Meets: 3rd Monday each month in Gabriola United Church hall.
Bible Study Wednesday mornings at10:00am Location announced each week Ph. Cheryl @ 247-8664 or Susan @ 247-9467
Church Council Meeting 2nd Tuesday of the month Worship Committee Meeting Oct 2nd
New Social Committee co– chairs Carolyn Pullano, Hilary Plowright
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Oc
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Oct 9, 2012 7:00pm
OCTOBER 9, 2012 7:00pm Gabriola United
7:0
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“ We are people of God, followers of Jesus, open to the Spirit”
Malaspina Galleries
Rev Joan’s ph number : Email Address: revjoans@gmail.com
Bulletin Announcements to Jacquie by Wednesday at 5:00pm jmjessup@shaw.ca or phone 250-247-8308
Please submit your srticles for the Crossword to Hilary at: hplowright @shaw.ca