+ St. Andrew’s NET +

February, 2008

 

 

PASTORAL LETTER by Diane Montague

 

Greetings to each of you in the cold, northern reaches of Vermont from me in the warm, southern reaches of Mexico!

 

From my somewhat distant perspective and with the news I’m receiving from St. Johnsbury, it seems to me that St. Andrew’s is at a crucial point in its life and work.  And I don’t think I’m alone in thinking this.  We have bequest monies, but we have a very few people attending services and working hard ‘behind the scenes.’  Yes, we are on the brink of interviewing a Priest-in-Partnership, but engaging someone to fill this position does not present an immediate solution to our difficulties.

 

Let’s look at our Mission Statement and consider again who we are and what we’re here for:

 

1.     We believe God is calling us – through our Baptismal Covenant and the example of Jesus – to a ministry of worship and study, witness and service. 

 

2.     In this we strive to be an inclusive community of faith, offering all people sanctuary, healing and fellowship.

 

3. We continue to live out our mission statement through our mutual ministries which include:  Worship, Christian Formation, Administration, Stewardship, Outreach and Pastoral Care.

 

We’ve been called by God.  We’re not here as part of a business or company, but we’re a people set apart by God to minister, worship, study, witness and serve.

 

We’re a welcoming, loving family.  We’re actively reaching out, giving from our hearts, caring for the hurting and lonely.

 

Let’s also look at some of what God has to say to his people who are discouraged and feel like quitting, and find the help to keep living out God’s call on your life, or to reconsider and return to God and acknowledge again his claim on your life and service.

 

First from the Letter to the Hebrews: 10:24-26

24. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his (Jesus’) return is drawing near.

Then from Paul’s letter to the Romans: 15:4-6

4. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  5. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6. so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

May God bless us and give us perseverance and encouragement, renew our hope, and draw us back to worship and glorify him with God’s people at St. Andrew’s.  Blessings, Diane

 

 

VESTRY NOTES

 

The parish annual meeting was held on 1/20/08 and reports are available for members who could not attend.  Elected to the Vestry was Lin Hill for 3-year term with the understanding that she would not take the Jr. Warden's responsibilities. All other members of the Vestry whose terms were ending agreed to stay on board until a priest -in- partnership is called.  Sarah Maynard was elected as a Convention delegate; Betty Maynard was elected as an alternate.  Skip and Sybil Hazen agreed to continue as representatives for the Northeast Deanery.  Attendance consisted of 15 members but their ideas and the open discussions were stimulating and will help guide Vestry in decisions for the future at St Andrew's.  Meg Powden gave presentation about the Feasibility Study The architectural plans for the proposed addition to the church as well as the plans for a new church building were explained and are on display.  The Vestry has directed the Building Committee to obtain cost estimates for both proposals.  

 

Jim Locke, Lois Peters' son, volunteered his plowing services free of charge for St Andrew's during the bigger snowstorms.  This will help Jim Myers in snow removal this winter.  We are very grateful for Jim's kind offer.  

 

Diane Montague will be returning to Vermont mid-February, we will welcome her with open arms!

Our Spaghetti Supper Fund Raiser on First Night (December 31st) was again a success!  Approximately 130 meals were served and we netted about $800.

 

We will have a 7pm Eucharist at 7pm on Ash Wednesday, February 6th.

 

 

PASTORAL CARE

 

If you are looking for pastoral care please don’t hesitate to contact someone on the Pastoral Care Team:
Sybil Hazen 626-8678, Marion Parks 626-7213, Jocelyn Burrell 748-5247, Lin Hill 467-3308, and Robin Bergman 633-2871. (Sybil and Marion head up this group.)

Pastoral care is the work of the congregation – this is our group of facilitators -- all of us should feel encouraged to send notes or make phone calls when we see the need, particularly at this time where we lack the spiritual guidance of a priest.  We also must remind ourselves to reach out for help when we need it.

 

 

ODDS AND ENDS

 

Members complained our kitchen sinks are too low… designed for an 11 year-old.  The cost-effective solution is to have our 11 year-olds do the dishes!

 

We will soon have a new website and Webmaster!  See Sarah Maynard’s progress at www.standrewsvt.net!  There is no cost to us except we must permit some advertising.  The main advantage to us is it does not require a programmer… almost anyone with some computer experience can maintain it.  And we now have our own Domain Name so we always will have the same web address regardless of which Provider we use!

 

Weight problem?  Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are “XL."   Stand, sit, kneel, stand, kneel… it's quite a good physical workout on a Sunday morning.

 

SPECIAL REPORT by Diane Montague

 

David and I were visiting in a Chinantec (CHEE-nan-tek) home.  I worked with this indigenous group for 20 years and we had come back to visit friends.  It was late afternoon, and had been raining heavily for some hours.  We had gone out of the main family room briefly, and when we returned, we were surprised to see two new faces; a man and woman, probably in the their late 60’s.  It turns out they are one of only three families that live in this village, and had braved the rain to wish our friends a happy New Year.  David described the woman as quick and bird-like in her movements and quite verbal.  I greeted them in their language, but, because I am an outsider and have never met them before, it didn’t register, and they continued to talk to me in Spanish while talking to everyone else in Chinantec.  This amusing and frustrating situation continued for some time, until finally it dawned on them that I was speaking their language! 

 

I noticed that our host, Juve (HOO-vey) had brought the man a Spanish Bible, which, apparently, he had asked for.  Suddenly, out of the blue, he began preaching, in Spanish, about the “Last Times”, the end of the world, the wrath of God on sinners, etc. (They use Spanish because it is both the trade language and has, in their view, more prestige than their own “humble” mother tongue.)  I was not surprised to hear this kind of message, because it is often what is taught on the radio and by the itinerant preachers who travel in these mountains.  I felt sad for two reasons:  one, the New Testament is available to them in their own language both in written and recorded forms, but I didn’t have a copy with me:  and two, God’s message to us is that he loves us enough to have sent his Son to die for us, not primarily that he is angry with us and will punish us.

 

I moved to sit next to the man, and looked at the passage he had open.  It was from Daniel, and is indeed a message of judgment. The man continued to preach to me in Spanish and I began to talk to him quietly in Chinantec.  I took the Bible from him, and turned to John 3:16.   I had memorized the verse in Chinantec, and, softly and slowly, I shared it with him.  He calmed down, listened, and interacted with me in his own language.  He was very excited when I promised him a copy of the NT in the recorded form. (I’m not offering him a printed NT, as it has different vowels and other features than Spanish, and even young people struggle to read it, even though it is in their own language.)

 

We will be heading back up into the mountains in two days, and I will be taking the Talking New Testament to him.  I’ll let you know how he responds!

 

We’re back!  Manuel received the New Testament and the Talking Bible with great delight and excitement!  I also gave him a primer with which any speaker of Chinantec who can already read Spanish, can learn to read and write their own language.

 

I look forward to seeing all of you in late February.

 

 

HUMOR

 

The local news station was interviewing an 80-year-old lady because she had just gotten married -- for the
fourth time. The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband's occupation.

"He's a funeral director," she answered.  "Interesting," the newsman thought. He then asked her if she wouldn't mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they did for a living.

 She explained she'd first married a banker when she was in her early 20's, then a theater manager when in her 40's, later a preacher when in her 60's, and now in her 80's, a funeral director.

The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers. 

She smiled and explained, "I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go."

 

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

 

Investment Team Meeting – At AG Edwards, February 19st at 4pm

 

Vestry Meeting – February 21st at 5:30pm.