St. Andrew’s NET

March, 2007

 

Dear Friends,

Following one Sunday’s service I left feeling optimistic about our future as a parish community. Although we have been without a Priest of our own for some time, we have truly been blessed with so many talented and uplifting Supply Priests while we search for the best person to lead our community of faith. The rousing “Amen” solicited from Ret. Bishop Wood was a sign of shared faith and enthusiasm in our small but growing community. A faith that has been challenged on many levels is still the core of what brings us together each week.

I was also impressed by the Rev. Jean MacDonald’s sermon in which she discussed the ‘middle ground’ that we often take (me especially!) and the fact that there are times when we have to face those difficult choices and aspects in our lives and deal with them head on; that there isn’t always a ‘middle ground’ also seems appropriate to us during this transitional time. This certainly rings true for the choices we are in the midst of making regarding calling a new priest – questions such as ‘who is the right person for us’, ‘what is the right path for us to take in growing our church community,’ and others, continue to be asked out loud and within our own prayers. Yes, there are times when we will agree to disagree, but there are also those times when we will need to be united in our decision, for those are the decisions which will define who we are as a Christian Community and members of St. Andrews Episcopal Church.

It is the Rev. Pete Kelsey’s sermon in early December which has stuck with me the most, and I truly believe this sermon was meant to prepare me somehow for the upcoming events which occurred in my life. As most of you know my father died suddenly and unexpectedly on December 14th – exactly one week before his 70th birthday. My family and I were and continue to be blessed by so many supportive friends, family, and community members – Thank You! While planning for my father’s funeral service, I continued to think about Father Kelsey’s sermon regarding the need to remember that death will lead us to resurrection – which this is what Jesus is really all about! That we try to live our lives in a faith based, honest, caring way while here on earth, but we will move on to bigger and better things. That a funeral mass is meant to be a celebration of one’s life and to that person’s passing unto ‘bigger and better things’! My father’s funeral consisted of very boisterous singing, which included the Concord Coachmen (a Barbershop chorus my father was a member) singing “This Little Light of Mine, some very rewarding memories of an incredibly generous man, and a loud rendition of “Hip Hip Hooray” at the end. And of course we concluded the day with a grand get-together with food that seemed to multiply! Now THAT was truly a celebration!

In the midst of my anger towards God for “taking my father”, I have come to believe that each day can be a celebration – that each Sunday will bring us that much closer to each other and to the reason we pray together. We have certainly faced many difficulties as a Parish and as individuals. We have and will continue to make decisions, after much prayer and deliberation, with the faith that they are indeed the Right decisions. We have been blessed by many talented, kind, and generous people to serve us in our interim, who have provided us with guidance and prayers for what is to come. During our time without a Priest, as a community we have continued to provide support to those who are suffering and in need; we hosted a tremendous First Night Dinner/Fundraiser; we’ve received (and invested) substantial bequests, we’ve met our pledge goal, our children continue to bless us in the many ways they help us, our coffee hours certainly must be the best in town, and the list goes on! And it is my belief that at the end of each day we will celebrate and give thanks for the good that has happened, for the good things that are to come, and to say AMEN for where we are in that moment.

Peace, Julie Nicknair-Keon

 

 

 

VESTRY NOTES

The Vestry and the parish representative met with Rev. Canon Thad Bennett and the Vestry of St. Peter’s in Lyndonville on February 22, 2007 to take the next step in the process of hiring a priest for joint ministry in Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury. We ask for your prayers in this journey of discerning God’s will for our churches.

The organ has been tuned, and we are on the look out for a new organist. We have also decided to look for a sexton and relieve Lin Hill and Diane Montague of the burden of cleaning the church which they have carried so willingly for the last year. We’ll be calling on all our members for the grand Easter cleaning before Holy Week if we have not found a Sexton by then.


We would like to welcome our two new vestry members:  Diane Montague and Robin Bergman who were voted onto the vestry at Annual 

Meeting on January 21, 2007.  Libby Hillhouse is rotating off, we appreciate her dedication and commitment to St. Andrew’s Church, wish her 

well on her adventures in Israel, and look forward to her return.  At present Meg Powden is acting as interim Senior Warden, Chip Mesics, 

Junior  Warden, John Ayers, Treasurer, Julie Nicknair-Keon, Nicky Stevens, Robin Bergman, Jeff Kay, Diane Montague and Anna Kennedy, Clerk of the Vestry.

 
 

 

PASTORAL CARE

 

During the recent spell of bitter cold weather, the news media kept reminding us to check on our elderly neighbors.  I called the 67 year-old widower to the east and he had the flu.  Over the next few days we sent him soup and a meat pie.  The same day I called the 84 year-old widow to the west.  She had gone over Stannard Mountain to Walden, Vermont for a pancake breakfast… ON HER SNOWMOBILE!!  (Submitted by John Ayers)

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 748-3083, Lisa Norsworthy 695-1408, 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

 

Thanks to the generosity of 28 members we exceeded our $32,000 pledge goal by $360!

 

Through February we used less than 50% of our heating oil budget (the season ends in May) and this year’s budget is 17% less than we used in 2003 and 2004.  This is encouraging performance of our new heating system!  We can probably save more at modest cost by increasing heating capacity in Jones Hall so we can keep it at lower temperatures but get it up to 68 degrees faster.

 

Our Parochial Report for 2006 was completed and sent to the Diocese of Vermont a full week ahead of the March 1st deadline!  We are ready to start the 2006 audit which is not due until September 1st.

 

We look forward to the baptism of Emily Michaela Counter who arrived on this earth January 12th weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce (this is  probably the last time we dare announce her weight) and measuring 22 inches long!!

 

Congratulations to Jon Bergman for becoming an Eagle Scout at a ‘Court of Honor’ on February 25th!  We all know how hard he worked for this.

  

 

WET PANTS


A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk in a third grade classroom and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants is wet.  He cannot possibly imagine how this has happened.  It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it.  When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now!  Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl filled with water.  Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.  The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"


Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy.  The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out.  All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out.  You've done enough, you klutz!"

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."


Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can.  Keep the faith. This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.  There is no cost but a lot of rewards.  Let's continue to pray for one another.

The prayer:  Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power.  Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment.  Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.  Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace.  Where there is need, I ask You to fulfill their needs.   Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings.  AMEN!.
 
 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

 

Saturday, March 17th… Bean and Chili Supper at St. Andrew's...  4:30 to 7pm.  Bring some friends!!


Lenten prayer and lunch series to reflect on “Christ on Trial”

The long-standing tradition of ecumenical noontime Lenten prayer services with lunch will begin on Wednesday, March 7. The theme 

of this year’s worship is “Christ on Trial.” Each Wednesday, we will hear testimony from someone in the gospel story about who Jesus is.

   *Matthew, a tax collector, will testify on Jesus’ association with sinners.

*A once crippled woman will testify that Jesus illegally healed her on the Sabbath.
      *Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, will speak of Jesus disturbing the peace.
      *A woman caught in adultery will testify how Jesus halted her execution.

The series will conclude differently this year, ending with an ecumenical Tenebrae service during Holy Week at 5:15 p.m. on April 4 

at St. John’s Church.

 

Schedule :  Noon worship with lunch following at 12:30pm

March 7 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

         led by Rev. Brendan Hadash of the Universalist Unitarian Congregation

March 14 at North Congregational Church

         led by Rev. Jay Sprout

March 21 at Grace United Methodist Church

         led by Rev. John Marshall

March 28 at North Congregational Church

         led by Rev. Bonnie Haase of South Congregational Church 

April 4 at 5:15 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

         An ecumenical Tenebrae service led by Revs. Pat Forman, Rich O’Donnell, and Lynn Burgess

 

 See the “Worship Minister Schedule” for March details.

WORSHIP MINISTER SCHEDULE

 

 

RETURN
3/2/07