St. Andrew’s NET

January, 2008

 

PASTORAL LETTER by Nicole (Nicky) Stevens

 

January 1, 2008, for many of us, signals a time to reflect on accomplishments, disappointments and struggles of the past year and produces powerful insights for planning the new year; we are filled with hope and good intentions.  We get another chance to reset our course, and achieve success in our new goals.

 

That date marks the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ as the beginning of the Epiphany Season.  Epiphany is the celebration of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.  We, at St Andrew's, are awaiting the calling of a Priest in Partnership to lead us in our spiritual journey.  The discernment process is difficult, the waiting is painful, yet as we pray every Sunday together, we are hopeful for that epiphany, that revelation.  

 

We look at ourselves with new eyes, we hear varied voices, we listen, we feel what is important to us in our community.  Are we ready to be active participants and committed members who will support one another and our new priest when that moment comes?  Will we recognize the call?  Are we ready to witness the revelation?  Are we ready to be "partners" in fulfilling our mission?   I believe we will, with God's help

 

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here I am; send me."  (Isaiah 6:8)

 

 

VESTRY NOTES

 

For the Annual Parish meeting after worship on 1/20/07, members are encouraged to bring a finger food to share.

 

The Christmas Eve Service was beautiful with almost 100 in attendance!  Our thanks to all who worked to make it happen.

  

 

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.

 

 

SPECIAL REPORT by Diane Montague

 

Greetings to you all from beautiful, warm Mexico.  David and I are very much enjoying being here in Oaxaca (wa-HA-ka) for a 2-month stay.  As you may remember, I spent 30 years of my adult life in Mexico serving indigenous peoples in literacy and Bible translation, so, for me, it's somewhat like coming home!

Last night we were invited to join our neighbors in celebrating the third "posada".  Following is a description of this tradition for your information and enjoyment.

"In Mexico, Christmas is an important holiday season with strong traditions. One of the most colorful traditions is the posada party, celebrated every evening from December 16 to 24. These celebrations commemorate Mary and Joseph's cold and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of shelter. "Posada" in Spanish, simply means lodging or shelter. Nowadays, the posada has evolved into a religious and social celebration, paying a festive homage to the journey.

Each one of these nights before Christmas, a party is held in a home in the neighborhood. There is plenty of food and drink, with candies and fruit for the children. At dusk, all the guests gather outside the house. A small child dressed as an angel leads, followed by children carrying figures of Mary and Joseph. Boys and girls dressed in silver and gold robes constitute the procession, followed by the adults and musicians. Everyone sings melodious songs as they walk slowly along, carrying their lit candles. When they reach the house, the group divides in two. One half remains outside and begs for shelter from the other half, which is inside the house. The doors are then opened, the religious part of the celebration ends, and the fun begins.

The happy end to each posada has always been the piñata. A piñata is a fragile earthenware jar covered with paper-mâché, traditionally made in the shape of a star, to recall the one that so mysteriously guided the Three Kings to the newborn Jesus. Now piñatas come in all shapes and sizes and are filled with candy, toys, and sometimes money.

In the old days, the last posada held on December 24 was most popular, because it was followed by midnight Mass. In the provinces of Mexico, this tradition lives on."  Might we consider initiating a variation of this lovely tradition in St. Johnsbury?

I do think of all of you often, and especially ask the Lord Jesus to come to you anew, to bless you and to keep you safe through the winter months.

With my love, Diane

 

 

HUMOR

 

The university professor challenged his students with this question: "Did God create everything that exists?"  A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"  "God created everything?" the professor asked.  "Yes sir," the student replied.   The professor glared at the student and answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."  The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question, professor?"

 "Of course," replied the professor.

 The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

The professor replied, "Of course it exists.  Have you never been cold?"

A few of the students snickered at the young man's question.

Unfazed, the young man went on, "In fact, sir, cold does not exist.  According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is, in reality, the absence of heat.  Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body, or matter, have or transmit energy.  Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat.  Cold does not exist.  We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat.   The student continued.  "Professor, does darkness exist?"

 The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong, sir.  Darkness does not exist either.  Darkness is, in reality, the absence of light.  Light, we can study, but not darkness.  In fact we can use Newton’s prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color.

You cannot measure darkness.  A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it.  How can you know how dark a certain space is?  You measure the amount of light present.  Isn't this correct?  Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said.  We see it every day.  It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.  It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.  These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Sir, evil does not exist, or at least it does not exist unto itself.  Evil is simply the absence of God.  It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.  God did not create evil.  Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart.  It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

 The professor sat down.  The young man's name?  Albert…                   … Albert Einstein.

 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

 

Building Committee Meeting, January 3 at 5pm.

Annual Meeting, January 20^th after worship.

Vestry Meeting, January 17^th at 5:30pm.