From the Rector

As you must know by now, the Youth Group (Katie DeLapp, Emily Battin, Rebecca Battin, Holly Duncan, Jessie Duncan, Leonard Accos, Alex Chisholm, Ashley Cooper, Marshall Loria, Jennifer Schaibly, Ellie Holland and Lizzy Larsen) decided to organize the event this year and hoped that among other things that they would carry forward the brilliant tradition of Myra Battin and Ann Horn and their leadership of VBS in recent summers.  This they did, but in their own unique way! Not only was the week fun and exciting, but the leaders also succeeded in engaging over 30 volunteers from the "over 18" set, and the number of people involved who were under 18 years old numbered in the 50s this year.  VBS 2002 was truly an intergenerational event.

You’ll hear and read more about what kinds of activity typified the week elsewhere (see the list of names of people who contributed to the week in some way later in this issue).  I just want to add a reflection or two about what I think this all means for us as a parish community.

First, the teens showed us and themselves what empowerment looked and felt like.  In the planning and execution of this year’s VBS the Youth Group as a team of leaders came of age.  This was a harvest of what has been sown in the spiritual life of St. Paul’s during its nearly one hundred years of ministry.  Most recently, many adults have made ministry with the young people of St. Paul’s a priority and have supported their maturing leadership.  With regard to this summer’s VBS, Rusty Holland’s coaching and faithful weekly commitment to the team deserves special mention.

Finally, Jason and Rhiannon "Roni" Houser bade us farewell today as they prepare to move to Pennsylvania together as husband and wife.  They, along with Robbie and Shearon Williams, were charter members and leaders (spiritually, the “midwives”) of St. Paul’s Youth Group.  That they are now moving on as the young leaders grow into the next stage of their ministries among us is indeed auspicious.

On a personal note, I want to say how proud of and honored by the Youth Group and St. Paul’s Church I am.  This kind of energy just doesn’t happen by accident.  All of us have to be open to it.  And we are.

Christian Formation Coordinator Rusty Holland and I remain committed to supporting the ministry of the Youth Group and their leadership team.  If any of you feel called to embark on the next phase of their journey with us, let us know!

Love, Randy

Deacon's Corner

As many of you know, my main ministry outside the church is as a chaplain for Hospice of Kitsap County. My other passion is to work with the women at the Washington Correctional Center for Women at Purdy on two special weekends per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The next Kairos weekend is going to be held September 19-22.

You may not know what Kairos is. It is an interdenominational Christian ministry whose programs are designed to be presented in state and federal men’s and women’s correctional institutions in the United States with adaptations for other countries and languages. This ministry is conducted, in cooperation with the chaplains of correctional institutions, by teams of laity and clergy who are selected, trained and certified by area governing bodies of Kairos and approved by correctional institutions as citizen volunteers.

The term “kairos” is a Greek word designating an opportunity, a fixed or special time. People who work these weekends call it “God’s special time.” Forty-two women are selected by the prison chaplain to attend the three -day seminar on Christianity. The main purpose of the weekend is to help the inmates learn about the love that God has for them.

Kairos is an ecumenical prison ministry, made up of those who have attended a similar three-day seminar (Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus and other Christian renewal programs.) I made my own Cursillo in April of 1988 and was invited to be a part of a Kairos prison ministry team, but politely turned the invitation down. It was just not where I thought I was being called to do ministry at the time. Two summers ago I was once again asked and, after praying about it, realized that I was being called into this ministry. This upcoming Kairos weekend will be the third Kairos weekend I have worked and the first as part of the clergy team.

During each special weekend every inmate in the institution will receive a dozen home-baked cookies each day of the three-day weekend. These home-baked cookies, each prayed over while they are being made, help to bring these women to God. I’ve tasted the prison food and believe me this is a real treat for the inmates. As they munch on the cookies the women hear about the love of God and experience that love as well. There are about 800 women at Purdy, so if you do the multiplication, we will need about 2400 dozen cookies. That sounds like a lot of cookies. And, it is, but if each one of the volunteers gets their family members, church members, friends, neighbors etc. to bake cookies, we can do it!

Now, we get to where the proverbial rubber meets the road! I am asking for your support and involvement. I am inviting each of you to bake cookies for this special ministry. I will provide the zip lock plastic bags along with some instructions and several recipe ideas and leave them on the table in the nave for you to pick up and take home with you. Pray as you bake your cookies, asking God to touch the hearts of the women who will receive this special treat. Bring the cookies to church with you the following Sunday and I will put them in my freezer until it’s time to take them to the weekend. Thank you!

Cece Morris

Editor’s note: The deadline for cookies is Sunday, September 15th. You can contact Cece at her new e-mail address: deaconcece@attbi.com

Parish Administrator

The role of the Parish Administrator at St. Paul’s is a volunteer position that reports to the Rector and works closely with the Office Coordinator, Wardens, Treasurer and Finance Committee. The primary function of the Parish Administrator is to represent the Rector in managing the business of the church. This involves three broad areas of responsibility:

• Prepare and negotiate contracts and letters of agreement with the parish staff, our service providers and the community ministries that use our church facilities.
• Prepare grant funding requests to offset the costs of supporting on-campus outreach ministries and for special projects to refurbish and improve our facilities.
• Work with the Sexton, Rector and parish leaders to maintain a long-range forecast of preventative maintenance and capital improvements to preserve and enhance our church facilities.

In the past two years, we have received over $23,000 in funding grants and over $22,000 in tenant rental payments. These financial blessings have allowed us to convert the unused old choir loft into an Atrium for our church school program; upgrade the Oliver Room with the addition of new window blinds and provide an adjacent storage room; purchase new furnishings and equipment; and refurbish many areas in the church without having to use any church funds.

This year to date we have received $5,400 in funding grants and about that same amount in rental payments. Additional funding grants will be requested later this year and the rental payments will continue. All of this will help us continue to support our on-campus outreach ministries and to maintain and improve our church facilities without using any church funds.

Faithfully,

Larry Dugan

June Vestry Meeting Notes

Denny Bacon, Carol Everson and Steve Maloof who are members of the Early Response Team (ERT) and Diocesan Council, attended the meeting to discuss our financial situation and our non-payment of the diocesan assessment. First, they wanted a summary of our current financial standing. It was reported that we have no mortgage payments. Membership is slowly increasing, but pledge units and income are down over the last four years. We have been using the Schwindt Fund to cover shortfalls. Our 2002 budget is at a deficit, which is approximately the amount of the assessment. It was also mentioned that our facility has required a lot of maintenance lately.

The ERT wanted to know what we have been doing to increase our income. It was discussed that the Communications Committee was formed to help in this matter. We have increased our advertising, improved our newsletter and launched a much-improved Web site. We are focusing more on hospitality and newcomers by implementing new procedures to make new folks feel more welcome. We are also emphasizing Christian Formation programs, such as “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”, in order to attract more people to our church.

They wanted to know what we have done to cut costs. It was the consensus of the group that we really couldn’t do anymore to cut our costs at this point.

Denny Bacon expressed his concern that non-payment of the assessment has become “institutionalized” at St. Paul’s. Fr. Randy responded that we definitely need to get rid of our “all or nothing” attitude towards our non-payment of the assessment and come up with a plan to begin paying what we can until we are eventually making full payments.

Carol Everson reported that the Diocese has had to cut its budget and wanted to know how we were supporting the Diocese since we weren’t paying the assessment. It was stated that we have hosted HYCs, we participate in the Diocesan convention and Fr. Randy is on the COM, to name a few ways.

There will be a party from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm on June 30th for Cece Morris for her ordination into the diaconate. Since no monetary figure had been discussed previously, the party coordinators wanted to know how much they could spend on Cece’s party. It was decided that a good figure was $200 and the clerk would let the coordinators know of the amount.

The vestry was shown four proposed designs for St. Paul’s Vision Statement to be painted on the wall in the narthex. After seeing them projected on the wall, the group voted for design “A” to be used.

St. Charles’ Church in Poulsbo is hosting a workshop on Saturday, July 13. The workshop is a preparation for Bring a Friend Sunday in October. All were encouraged to attend.

Tom Remick passed out examples of pictorials from Olan Mills and expressed the desire to include a special military section in the parish directory. The pictorial costs nothing for the church and each participating family gets a free 8x10 portrait and copy of the pictorial directory. The dates for the sittings are July 19th from 3:00 pm to 9:30 pm and July 20th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. There will also be a make up date in August with time and date TBA. Tom requested help with this project from three vestry members. Marilyn, Gladys, and Rusty volunteered.

Geof reported that a compilation audit will be done by Louise Tieman. She will spend six hours going through the audit with Terrie and it will cost $600-800.

Dennis discussed El Festival Latino as a possible event for us to participate in. It occurs on July 13th in downtown Bremerton and there is music, food, vendors, and booths. There were 5000-8000 people who attended last year and it would be a good place for St. Paul’s to get some exposure. It was decided that we didn’t have enough time to prepare this year, but it is a possibility for next year.

Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Dueñas
Clerk of the Vestry


July Vestry Meeting

Rusty Holland provided the vestry meal for the July Meeting. Thanks for the great supper, Rusty! We also welcomed Cece Morris to her first vestry meeting as our deacon. The meeting began after Oral Tradition Bible Study.

The clerk read aloud an e-mail received by Fr. Randy from Barbara Phinney. She was inviting everyone to an ALPHA workshop on Saturday, July 27, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at Silverdale United Methodist Church. Anyone interested was encouraged to attend.

Fr. Randy read aloud a letter he received from The Rev. Canon Carmen B. Guerrero, National Jubilee Officer, informing us of our acceptance as a Jubilee center. We will receive our Jubilee certificate at the Diocesan Convention from the Rev. Dr. Peter Strimer.

Terrie passed out the Treasurer’s Report, which contained our financial status as of July 18th, as well as a copy of the audit done by Louise Tieman with her recommendations. Terrie would like to have a Finance Committee meeting to discuss her ideas on how to implement Louise’s recommendations. It was decided that the meeting would be August 8th at 9:30 am.

There will be a family meeting to discuss the assessment with the members of the parish. The parish needs to be informed about what the assessment is and why we need to pay it. We are utilizing Diocesan resources without paying for them at this time. We need to generate more contributions to help pay it and possibly have a special funds drive solely for the assessment. The bottom line is that not paying isn’t hurting us at this point, but in the long run it definitely will.

Fr. Randy gave an update of his plan for Small Groups. His ideas for why we want to implement this are to bring new members to the church, to extend pastoral care between members, to promote parish spiritual renewal, to strengthen parish bonds, foster individual and family spirituality, and support for ministry activation. How we will accomplish this is to create affinity groups with a maximum of 12 members. The groups will have a life span of 9-12 months when they will disband and new groups will be formed. Prospective leaders will be selected and trained this fall.

Rusty handed out the plan for this year’s VBS. The youth group has decided to put the whole thing on themselves with the help of some parish volunteers.

Tom reported that the pictorial directory has been very successful. There will be a make-up date on August 19th for those who were unable to make it on the other dates. Tom said he would take a camera to shut-ins in order to get a picture of them in the directory. There was some discussion of displaying pictures of the vestry in the narthex and it was decided that this was an item for the Communications Committee.

All who were scheduled for Vestry Hospitality the previous month shared their experiences. Everyone reported that they had a heightened awareness, even when not assigned to make newcomers feel more welcome. Everyone was asked to remember to wear his or her name tags. There was discussion that the table in front of the name tags needs to be moved in order to make the name tags more accessible.

The Remicks, Hollands and Fr. Randy attended the Bring a Friend Sunday workshop at St. Charles. There will be another workshop at the Diocesan House on August 21st at 7:00 pm. On September 21st, St. Luke’s, Tacoma will be hosting a workshop from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm. It is free and lunch will be provided. Tom Remick will also be doing a workshop at St. Paul’s with the date and time to be determined.

We are receiving $3,800 from Episcopal Charities Appeal for support of the diner and $1,800 for support of Olympic College daycare. This is the third consecutive year we have received grants from ECA, however these funds are restricted. With the left over funds from last year combined with this year we can buy a gas stove. Most of the money will go towards the ventilation system for the stove. We will be applying for money from Episcopal Relief and Development in the future and this money could be put towards renovating the kitchen.

There will be a special meeting dedicated to the 2003 calendar on September 5th from 7:00 - 8:45 pm.

Fr. Randy wants to start the Cottage Meetings in the later half of September. The vestry needs to attend at least one and a Finance Committee member will have to be present at each of the meetings. There needs to be at least six meetings. Sandy volunteered to host one on September 27th at 7:00 pm. The Remicks want to host one with a date TBA.

Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Dueñas
Clerk of the Vestry

Christian Formation

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is ready to start the Second Atrium.

The Journey to Adulthood Classes are ready to start up with the 7th through 12th grade folks.  A lot of things happened over the summer to prepare our Young Adults for the upcoming year. It was amazing the way our Young Adults planned and executed a wonderfully successful Vacation Bible School in August.  Ellie and I ventured to Sacramento, California, so that I could get a day and a half of training for Journey to Adulthood at the Episcopal Trinity Cathedral for the Diocese of Northern California.  It confirmed to me that St Paul’s is on the right track with our Christian Formation Program.

“Seekers’ Classes” are starting with Randy in preparation for the Bishop's visit in October.

Adult Classes and Groups are starting soon.

So, jump in and grab on.  It is time to start the NEW YEAR running.

Blessings,
Rusty Holland
Christian Formation Coordinator

VBS

Anyway, time went on and it became clear that Roni could not take leadership of VBS planning because of the wedding, college courses had to be completed, etc. Rusty was the one who took charge of the meetings from there on. We met in the library on Mondays from 6:00 – 8:00 pm and at each meeting Rusty brought in this big pad of paper and markers and wrote down just about everything we discussed.

A month later in mid-July, we realized that we didn’t have a lot of time left for planning. We did the math and found out that we had only six more meetings until opening day of Vacation Bible School. From that day on, we decided to start meeting from Monday through Friday. Each day we accomplished more than ever before. We spent a full day driving around in Katie’s car posting flyers on Wheaton Way. We had so much fun that day — I recall us buying two fish and naming them after Roni and Jason. And, just for kicks, we drove down to Jason’s place, gave them a flyer and invited them to VBS. Unfortunately, on the way home (err… church I mean), Jason (the fish) died. We held a funeral for him in the women’s restroom.

We (the youth group) decided to hold a planning lock-in at the last minute and needed someone to staff. Well, we asked Father Randy to stay and I guess it was another case of miscommunication, because he thought we were staying the night at the end of the week. Anyway, he agreed to stay with us on Monday night under one condition. We had to attend the television Eucharist in Seattle. That meant we had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning just to get everything ready. “Big Deal,” was the phrase that was flowing through our minds that day; we thought we could easily pull off decorating for VBS and catching enough sleep for the next morning. WRONG. I think Emily got the most sleep that night, a total of three hours J. Holly and Katie came in second place with around two hours and Jess and I came in last with ZIP (0) hours of sleep that night. I’m not sure about Father Randy; he probably spent half the night playing computer games, haha.

At around 5:00 the next morning, the VBS crew set off to Seattle to film. On the way, we stopped at Starbucks and Emily ordered a white chocolate mocha with whipped cream. She asked me what size would I like and since it was my first time in a Starbucks shop, I simply replied, “Large would work.” And instantly, people were looking at me as if I had committed a crime. Apparently in Starbucks, they have to be all fancy and whatnot, and have weird names for sizes. I can’t even bring up any size names!

We arrived at the studio around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning and at the front doors, Father Randy said we were here to meet Michael Jackson! Haha, I thought this was all a joke, but the Reverend there did have that name. As we sat in the lobby waiting, Father Randy shared a little joke with us about a husband and her wife not being able to stay awake during the priest’s sermons. We were laughing so-o hard J!

Okay Okay, enough with my babbling, let’s get to the real point of the story. The first day of VBS was the most stressful of all. We were so unprepared, I mean, we had everything set up but we weren’t mentally prepared for VBS! I remember being so scared because I was scheduled to be the Master of Ceremonies for that night with my best friend, but he didn’t show up because it was his birthday that day. The next day things were way, way different. We had Alex helping us staff and plan out the event, and if you haven’t met him or seen him yet, he is really, really good with kids. He never ceases to amaze me every time he’s up on stage. He just… I don’t know, you could say he was born to entertain J.

The final night of Vacation Bible School came on by as if VBS was only two days long! This was by far the most stressful night for me. That day, Alex called me up and told me that he couldn’t make it to Vacation Bible School for personal reasons. We were expecting Roni and Jason the day before and they didn’t show up, Marshall told us that he got off work at 6:00, and we expected him to be there at around 7:00. Emily and I were going to teach the Youth Group a song for closing that night but Katie and Holly didn’t want to participate. Ugh, it seemed as if everything was going wrong that night. I was talking to Sheri Wilkin, Jennifer Dueñas, and Marilyn Pantano at the registration booth about how stressed out and how disappointed I was. One lady (I’m sorry but I forgot her name, I was too busy crying) came up to me and offered me some advice, and just hearing what she said, I was already fighting to hold back the tears, I just started crying because everything was not going as I had planned.

Sunday morning, the “core” youth group (Emily, Katie, Rebecca and I) called up a lot of people, asking them to come to church. I remember Katie calling Marshall at 10:00, about 15 minutes before the service, telling him to get over here. Emily called up a handful of people the night before, but most of them couldn’t show that day. She called up Jason Ross, Ismael Lewis, James and Megan Bottonfield and Brecia Rife. Anyway, we reserved two pews for the youth group, and to my surprise, Jason Houser walks in and sits down. We all thought he was out there camping; well that’s what I was told. During the service, I felt as if the youth group grew a lot closer in those past two months of frantic VBS planning, setting up and such. We all cried, well most of us did, when Roni sang I Will Remember You to the church. After the service, we had a surprise waiting for Roni — we weren’t going to let her get away with making us feel bad. We sang a Celtic Blessing, a song that Emily, Holly and I pulled from the HYC community. As planned, Roni did cry, and I thought I saw tears building up behind the band-aid Wendy stuck on her nose (Just playing J).

The point of this long story is, after the past two months we have spent together, WE have had our fights, WE have had our disagreements, WE shared our tears and sorrow. All of this has brought our Youth Group a lot closer than before. Haha, WE even refer to the church as “Home” now. And now, WE have successfully pulled off VBS, and WE finished it entirely as a GROUP EFFORT! Whoop whoop! Haha, I am so relieved that it is all over! I’d just like to thank you all for your support and remember, if you didn’t participate this year, there’s always next year!

Leonard Accos

VBS 2002: All Stars

Many thanks to the Music Team — Cindy Holland, Gayla Elverson, John Battin, Richard Horn, Tom Remick, Kathryn Houchen, Bill Anthis and Father Randy — for providing beautiful music for the children to sing, dance to and celebrate God’s love throughout the evenings and on Sunday morning.

Many activity stations were supervised by willing adult volunteers each night to help kids discover for themselves the “reflections of God’s face.” Muchas gracias to Terrie Remick, Michelle Pantano, Becky Escobar, Cece Morris, Katherine Adams, Marilyn Pantano, Marj Salo, Gladys Berteaux, Jennifer Dueñas, Cyndie Lord-Wilkinson, Kelly Duncan, Caro Dugan, Blair Schuetz, and Judy Wilkin. These folks kept the kids busy all week taking pictures, painting, reviewing scriptures, telling stories, creating musical instruments, playing games, and a whole host of other things.

VBS took place this year because of the “never say ‘Quit’ attitude” of members of the St. Paul’s Youth Group. A big “round of applause” for the “staff” of VBS 2002: Katie DeLapp, Emily Battin, Rebecca Battin, Holly Duncan, Jessie Duncan, Leonard Accos, Alex Chisholm, Ashley Cooper, Marshall Loria, Jennifer Schaibly, Ellie Holland, and Lizzy Larsen. This group of young folks, under the “watchful eye” of Father Randy, Rusty Holland, Jason and Roni Houser, poured out their time and energy over their summer break to pull this huge project together for the children of our parish and community.

And, thanks to everyone who served as VBS “Prayer Warriors”— you know who you are….

Seekers’ Class

If you are interested in joining or being confirmed in the Episcopal Church, I prefer that you have been active in an Episcopal faith community for at least a year, since that is the best preparation you can have. The age for class is generally 16 years old (or older) but if younger individuals feel drawn to participate, speak with me. The class starts on Sunday, September 15th, right after church at 11:30 (or so).

Randy

A CHILDREN’S CHARTER
FOR THE CHURCH

• to receive, nurture and treasure each child as a gift from God;
• to proclaim the Gospel to children, in ways that empower them to receive and respond to God’s love;
• to give high priority to the quality of planning for children and the preparation and support of those who minister with them;
• to include children, in fulfillment of the Baptismal Covenant, as members and full participants in the Eucharistic community and in the church’s common life of prayer, witness and service.

• to love, shelter, protect, and defend children within its own community and in the world, especially those who are abused, neglected or in danger;
• to nurture and support families in caring for their children, acting in their children’s best interest, and recognizing and fostering their children’s spirituality and unique gifts;
• to embrace children who seek Christian nurture independently of their parents’ participation in the church;
• to advocate for the integrity of childhood and the dignity of all children at every level of our religious, civic and political structures.

• to receive children’s special gifts as signs of the Reign of God;
• to foster community beyond the family unit, in which children, youth and adults know each other by name, minister to each other, and are partners together in serving Christ in the world;
• to appreciate children’s abilities and readiness to represent Christ and his church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be, and according to gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the church. (Ministry of the Laity pg. 855 BCP)

Russian Orthodox Concert

If you are able to host, transport, provide a meal or sell CDs for the group, please let me know (Cindy Holland 698-8512)! Two transportation events to coordinate include a trip to Seatac (Thursday, October 3rd) and Seattle, Episcopal Church of the Ascension (Saturday, October 5th). Posters, advertising, tickets and the reception all need to be coordinated. What a great cultural opportunity to have a Russian guest in your home for two nights (October 3rd & 4th)!

Dmitry Vorobjev, baritone and conductor

Dmitry Vorobjev was born in a small town near the capital of Belarus, Minsk. He studied music in Minsk when he was six years old and played cello at the age of nine. When he was fifteen years old, his hand became sick and he began to study as a choir conductor. He graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory as a choir conductor and now he works at the National Musical Theater of Belarus as a conductor. He works in the special children’s music school as a conductor of the children’s string orchestra as well. Dmitry is twenty-seven years old.

Natalia Lebed, soprano

Natalia Lebed was born in St. Petersburg in a musical family and grew up in a cultural atmosphere. Her mother is the professor of music in the Music College of St. Petersburg, so Natasha has been singing since she was a child; it was as natural for her as breathing.

Natasha studied at the Music College as a choir conductor, and with her beautiful voice, she passed examinations in the St. Petersburg Conservatory as an opera singer. She has graduated and sometimes is invited to the operetta theater and travels with the same vocal group as well.

Stanislav Dmitriev, Tenor

Stanislav Dmitriev was born in Leningrad. Since he was seven years old he’s been singing in the boys’ college choir. Later, he studied there and toured throughout the Soviet Union. He also studied at the Conservatory as a choir conductor and finished his studies in 1994. Since 1990, he has worked in the most famous choir in St. Petersburg – the Academic Singing Capella, where he sings as a member of the choir and as a soloist in Russia and abroad. He is thirty two years old.

Alexey Goloviznin, Bass

Alexey Goloviznin was born in Karelia in a small town called Belomorsk, Russia. In 1986, he went to St. Petersburg to continue his studies in the Special Music School at the Conservatory. He studied as a pianist and a choir conductor and completed his studies as a choir conductor. For five years, he has been singing in one of the largest and most famous cathedrals - Trinity Cathedral of Alexsander Nevsky Monastery. He is touring western Europe and the United States with different vocal groups.

Music Ministry

God challenges us to grow every day. Remember, you'll never feel "ready" to join the choir or play for the congregation (no one ever does). You just need to prayerfully challenge yourself to "go for it!"

St. Paul's Musicians meet on TUESDAY nights, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. Childcare provided. Maybe your place in the puzzle is with St. Paul's Musicians! See you next TUESDAY night.

Cindy Holland
Director of Music

St. Paul’s Web Site
www.stpaulsbremerton.org

The site serves as a link for folks (visitors and members) to find out what is happening at St. Paul’s. Several new families have commented that they discovered St. Paul’s first by searching the Web and visiting our “Home Page”. Check it out!!

Valerie Williams
Web Master

Church Quiz

Odds & Ends

New Program Year. On September 15th, we kick off the new program year. Christian Formation classes for adults, youth and children begin on this day at 9:00 am. Come and join the fun!

“Back to the Drawing Board.” It’s subtle, but many of you did notice that the Vision Statement was not on the narthex wall above the entrance to the nave, even in outline.  As it began to manifest itself (i.e., the “handwriting on the wall”), I began to feel that the design just wasn’t working out as we’d hoped.  We’re going to do more aesthetic “discernment” around this important project until, well, 99 out of a hundred of us can say ‘wow’.  My thanks to Blair Schuetz for her hours spent on the prototype. – RAL

Hey, did you catch Randy, Emily Battin, Katie DeLapp, Leonard Accos, Jessie and Holly Duncan on KONG TV (Channel 6) on August 25th or September 1st at 5:00 am as they represented St. Paul’s celebrating a Eucharist for television viewers? The service was pre-recorded in Seattle early on the first morning of Vacation Bible School following an “All-Night” work party spent putting the final touches on VBS. Way to go, guys!!!

Remember. “Bring a Friend to Church Day” is on Sunday, October 13.

Days of Wine and… If you can contribute a bottle of Taylor’s Tawny Port wine (less than $4.50 at any package store), the Altar Guild would be very grateful to you. Just leave it in the sacristy.

Altar Flower Offerings.  It is always fitting to have flowers placed on the Altar as a memorial to a loved one, to celebrate a special event in your life, or perhaps a birthday or an anniversary.  Forms are available next to the flower chart on your right as you enter the nave. Altar Guild Fall Planning. The Altar Guild will be meeting on September 21st at 10:00 am. Please contact Jeanne Thune or Gladys Berteaux, Coordinators, if you will be unable to attend.

Acolytes

The minimum age to serve as an acolyte is nine years old. There is no maximum so all you adults are encouraged to get involved as well! The assistance of acolytes is an important part of our liturgy and they are expected to act responsibly, attend any required rehearsals and serve with dignity. Serving as an acolyte is also a fun way to learn more about being an Episcopalian!

There will be a training session for all current acolytes as well as anyone interested in becoming a part of this ministry on Saturday, September 7th, at the church from 10:00 to about 11:30 am. Some changes have been made to the duties and a lot of our current acolytes are moving up so it’s vital that you all attend. If anyone has any questions or is unable to attend please contact me at bjagduenas@att.net.

Jennifer Dueñas
Director of Acolytes

Daughters of the King

Daughters of the King support each other and other women in their spiritual life. Prayer is our main focus and we are encouraged to do service for others and for our churches. As a chapter we are not allowed to raise money but assist through our prayers and service. We have a motto: "I am but one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something."

Maryann Jordan