April, 2017
The Mainsail St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church April, 2017
St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church “Our Mission as the Body of Christ” To know our faith…. To live in truth and love….. To serve the needs of all people.
1
RECTOR’S CORNER To my way of thinking, one of the best aspects of St. Simon Peter is its leadership. Episcopal Churches all operate -more or less- the same way, but I think our lay leadership does an exceptionally fine job. Let’s review: the Vestry of a parish is its functional board of directors. It puts in place policies and sets goals for the parish and its congregation. The rector is the COO of a parish, she is charged with holding and leading worship as well as seeing to day-to-day operations. In that role, the rector selects a member of the vestry to serve as the parish’s senior warden. The vestry as a group selects from among its members a junior warden to serve alongside the senior warden. The Senior Warden is often called the Rector’s Warden. The role a senior warden plays in an Episcopal parish will vary somewhat by parish depending on the congregation’s traditions and culture, the rector’s personality and leadership style and what the warden’s community requires. Common across all parishes is a warden’s responsibility to ensure worship services continue, if the rector or parish priest is absent or unable to perform his duties. It might be easiest to think of the senior warden as being the Vice President of the parish. When for whatever reason, the rector is unable to lead the parish (i.e. when a rector retires or leaves a parish) the senior warden has the responsibility to steer the parish until such time as a new rector arrives. In addition, the senior warden is both a confidant and an advisor to the rector and often handles special projects. The senior warden can weigh in on issues with which the rector is wrestling or share with the rector issues or concerns that members of the congregation may face. Senior wardens are not appointed to simply “rubber-stamp” a rector’s plans or decisions. Most of us think of the junior warden as being in charge of “Buildings and Grounds,” while that is usually the case, the junior warden is also “the people’s warden.” Here, the junior warden serves as an ombudsman for members of the parish. If a member of the parish has an issue with something happening in the parish; with another member of the parish; or the priest(s) the junior warden is the person to talk to. Depending on the situation she will provide advice and council as well as direction as to next steps. James Yaeger is the current senior warden and Ellen Mayer is the current junior warden. Please talk to them or me about any concerns or questions you may have. You might also want to thank them and all members of the vestry for a job well done. In addition to these roles and the vestry, we have a treasurer (Ken Kilgroe) who provides oversite to our financial picture; a clerk of the vestry (Mavis Vines) who records the minutes of the vestry meetings; and a whole host of committees that take on the business aspects of our parish. This doesn’t even include all the groups, guilds, and committees that work for the betterment of our church and community. In fact, I can think no one who doesn’t serve in some way because even if right now your task is confined to worship and prayer – you too are contributing to the wellbeing of this congregation. I am grateful to each of you! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Mollie+ 2
Adult Spiritual Formation Class The next book to be studied by the Adult class is: “Holy Dying, Stories and Struggles”, written by The Reverend Ellen Richardson, MD. The next class will be April 23. A signup sheet for book orders is on the kitchen door. ****************
PCS “Parents with Children in School”
Children’s Sunday School 11:00 – 11:45 11:00 – 11:40 (Meet in the chapel during Youth Sunday School) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mardi Gras and Pancake Dinner – The Pictures Say It All - Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!
Landscape Cleanup Many thanks to those who have kept the landscape of St. Simon Peter in such good shape. It is Spring again and time to prepare for Palm Sunday and Easter. Everything needs to be weeded and cleaned. Time is a bit tight – A churchwide work day is planned for April 8 (Palm Sunday is April 9). Please take a couple hours and help prepare the church for Palm Sunday and Easter. If you have questions regarding your plot or the clean up plans, give Ellen Mayer a call at 205-602-4008. 3
Episco-Chicks Date: Time: Where:
April 5, 2017 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Shirley Goodman 108 Berkley Drive Pell City, Alabama 35128 205-482-5539
The Plan: Gather together, eat (finger foods provided by attendees), drink (also provided by attendees) and be merry. leave from the church at 5:15.) (Please Note: Due to Holy Week the date is the FIRST Wednesday NOT the Second.)
(Carpools
TABLESCAPES Update – Drum Roll!!!! The 2017 Tablescapes event raised $14,000. This money will be divided between the Christian Love Pantry and Lakeside Hospice. Hooray, Hooray, Hooray
On March 25, the ECW of St. Simon Peter hosted the Cheaha ECW Convocation meeting. The business of this meeting was to plan the Diocese of Alabma ECW Fall Convention. (Cheaha Convocation is hosting.) Assignments were reviewed – including housing, auction, food, meeting rooms, special activities, décor, etc. Andrea Peacock, outgoing president, bragged a bit about the national standing of the Alabama ECW. “Rock Stars” was the term she used. The Alabama ECW is tops in giving and ministry activities. Yea, Alabama Episcopal Church Women! Pearl Slay, incoming president, encouraged involvement on the part of every Episcopal woman. She shared information about many of the programs sponsored by ECW and provided handouts relative to these programs. Mother Mollie’s homily was beautiful and very well received. The food, morning refreshments provided by St. Simon Peter and salads provided by the guests churches, was delicious. There were many comments about the beauty of the church and how well kept it is. Perhaps one of the best parts of the entire day was the attendance of two FUTURE Episcopal Church Women. 4
APRIL BIRTHDAYS April 2 April 6 April 7 April 15 April 17 April 24 April 25
Marie Moore LJ Stanton Kathy McCoy Ellen Mayer Shirley Wilson Brett Vines Don Grant
April Calendar
April April April April April April April April
9 11 11 12 13 14 15 16
April 16 April 17 April 22
Palm Sunday – Service Begins Outside with the Processing of the Palms Sandwiches for FUMC (Please bring more sliced meat and less chicken and tuna salad) Mother Mollie preaching at FUMC (NOTE – This is a change from the March calendar.) No Wednesday Eucharist Maundy Thursday – 6:00 p.m. Good Friday – Stations of the Cross – 4:00 p.m. Holy Saturday – 9:00 a.m. (Followed by decorating the church) Easter Sunrise – Murrays’ Home
Easter Service – 9:30
Easter Egg Hunt follows service
Office Closed Karla and Dave Wedding – 2:00 p.m.
Regularly Scheduled Weekly Activities Are: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday:
Cursillo – 10:30 a.m. EFM – 5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist – 10:00 a.m. Needlework Guild – 11:00 a.m. Chair Yoga - Noon Choir Practice
Fridays: Bridge – 2nd and 4th Fridays (Please set up events after 2:00 p.m on these days.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________
“People may not always remember what you did or what you said – but – they will always remember how you made them feel.”
5
2017 Important Dates for Your Calendar May 7
Benefit Piano Recital by Ellen Mayer (Reception to follow recital)
May 21 May 28 June 4 – 7 October 6-7 October 20-November 5 October 28
(Proceeds donated to Christian Love Pantry) Youth Sunday and Parish Picnic Mother Mollie preaches at The Chapel in The Pines Vacation Bible School ECW Fall Conference at Grace Church in Anniston White Elephant Sale Fall Festival
Did You Know? If you missed or would enjoy hearing one of Mother Mollie’s sermon again, they are available on the St. Simon Peter website. You can access them from your PC, IPad, or smart phone. Share this information with your friends and family. stsimonpeter.org
Worship
6
-
Sermons
7
St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church “Our Mission as the Body of Christ” To know our faith…. To live in truth and love….. To serve the needs of all people.
1
RECTOR’S CORNER To my way of thinking, one of the best aspects of St. Simon Peter is its leadership. Episcopal Churches all operate -more or less- the same way, but I think our lay leadership does an exceptionally fine job. Let’s review: the Vestry of a parish is its functional board of directors. It puts in place policies and sets goals for the parish and its congregation. The rector is the COO of a parish, she is charged with holding and leading worship as well as seeing to day-to-day operations. In that role, the rector selects a member of the vestry to serve as the parish’s senior warden. The vestry as a group selects from among its members a junior warden to serve alongside the senior warden. The Senior Warden is often called the Rector’s Warden. The role a senior warden plays in an Episcopal parish will vary somewhat by parish depending on the congregation’s traditions and culture, the rector’s personality and leadership style and what the warden’s community requires. Common across all parishes is a warden’s responsibility to ensure worship services continue, if the rector or parish priest is absent or unable to perform his duties. It might be easiest to think of the senior warden as being the Vice President of the parish. When for whatever reason, the rector is unable to lead the parish (i.e. when a rector retires or leaves a parish) the senior warden has the responsibility to steer the parish until such time as a new rector arrives. In addition, the senior warden is both a confidant and an advisor to the rector and often handles special projects. The senior warden can weigh in on issues with which the rector is wrestling or share with the rector issues or concerns that members of the congregation may face. Senior wardens are not appointed to simply “rubber-stamp” a rector’s plans or decisions. Most of us think of the junior warden as being in charge of “Buildings and Grounds,” while that is usually the case, the junior warden is also “the people’s warden.” Here, the junior warden serves as an ombudsman for members of the parish. If a member of the parish has an issue with something happening in the parish; with another member of the parish; or the priest(s) the junior warden is the person to talk to. Depending on the situation she will provide advice and council as well as direction as to next steps. James Yaeger is the current senior warden and Ellen Mayer is the current junior warden. Please talk to them or me about any concerns or questions you may have. You might also want to thank them and all members of the vestry for a job well done. In addition to these roles and the vestry, we have a treasurer (Ken Kilgroe) who provides oversite to our financial picture; a clerk of the vestry (Mavis Vines) who records the minutes of the vestry meetings; and a whole host of committees that take on the business aspects of our parish. This doesn’t even include all the groups, guilds, and committees that work for the betterment of our church and community. In fact, I can think no one who doesn’t serve in some way because even if right now your task is confined to worship and prayer – you too are contributing to the wellbeing of this congregation. I am grateful to each of you! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Mollie+ 2
Adult Spiritual Formation Class The next book to be studied by the Adult class is: “Holy Dying, Stories and Struggles”, written by The Reverend Ellen Richardson, MD. The next class will be April 23. A signup sheet for book orders is on the kitchen door. ****************
PCS “Parents with Children in School”
Children’s Sunday School 11:00 – 11:45 11:00 – 11:40 (Meet in the chapel during Youth Sunday School) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mardi Gras and Pancake Dinner – The Pictures Say It All - Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!
Landscape Cleanup Many thanks to those who have kept the landscape of St. Simon Peter in such good shape. It is Spring again and time to prepare for Palm Sunday and Easter. Everything needs to be weeded and cleaned. Time is a bit tight – A churchwide work day is planned for April 8 (Palm Sunday is April 9). Please take a couple hours and help prepare the church for Palm Sunday and Easter. If you have questions regarding your plot or the clean up plans, give Ellen Mayer a call at 205-602-4008. 3
Episco-Chicks Date: Time: Where:
April 5, 2017 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Shirley Goodman 108 Berkley Drive Pell City, Alabama 35128 205-482-5539
The Plan: Gather together, eat (finger foods provided by attendees), drink (also provided by attendees) and be merry. leave from the church at 5:15.) (Please Note: Due to Holy Week the date is the FIRST Wednesday NOT the Second.)
(Carpools
TABLESCAPES Update – Drum Roll!!!! The 2017 Tablescapes event raised $14,000. This money will be divided between the Christian Love Pantry and Lakeside Hospice. Hooray, Hooray, Hooray
On March 25, the ECW of St. Simon Peter hosted the Cheaha ECW Convocation meeting. The business of this meeting was to plan the Diocese of Alabma ECW Fall Convention. (Cheaha Convocation is hosting.) Assignments were reviewed – including housing, auction, food, meeting rooms, special activities, décor, etc. Andrea Peacock, outgoing president, bragged a bit about the national standing of the Alabama ECW. “Rock Stars” was the term she used. The Alabama ECW is tops in giving and ministry activities. Yea, Alabama Episcopal Church Women! Pearl Slay, incoming president, encouraged involvement on the part of every Episcopal woman. She shared information about many of the programs sponsored by ECW and provided handouts relative to these programs. Mother Mollie’s homily was beautiful and very well received. The food, morning refreshments provided by St. Simon Peter and salads provided by the guests churches, was delicious. There were many comments about the beauty of the church and how well kept it is. Perhaps one of the best parts of the entire day was the attendance of two FUTURE Episcopal Church Women. 4
APRIL BIRTHDAYS April 2 April 6 April 7 April 15 April 17 April 24 April 25
Marie Moore LJ Stanton Kathy McCoy Ellen Mayer Shirley Wilson Brett Vines Don Grant
April Calendar
April April April April April April April April
9 11 11 12 13 14 15 16
April 16 April 17 April 22
Palm Sunday – Service Begins Outside with the Processing of the Palms Sandwiches for FUMC (Please bring more sliced meat and less chicken and tuna salad) Mother Mollie preaching at FUMC (NOTE – This is a change from the March calendar.) No Wednesday Eucharist Maundy Thursday – 6:00 p.m. Good Friday – Stations of the Cross – 4:00 p.m. Holy Saturday – 9:00 a.m. (Followed by decorating the church) Easter Sunrise – Murrays’ Home
Easter Service – 9:30
Easter Egg Hunt follows service
Office Closed Karla and Dave Wedding – 2:00 p.m.
Regularly Scheduled Weekly Activities Are: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday:
Cursillo – 10:30 a.m. EFM – 5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist – 10:00 a.m. Needlework Guild – 11:00 a.m. Chair Yoga - Noon Choir Practice
Fridays: Bridge – 2nd and 4th Fridays (Please set up events after 2:00 p.m on these days.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________
“People may not always remember what you did or what you said – but – they will always remember how you made them feel.”
5
2017 Important Dates for Your Calendar May 7
Benefit Piano Recital by Ellen Mayer (Reception to follow recital)
May 21 May 28 June 4 – 7 October 6-7 October 20-November 5 October 28
(Proceeds donated to Christian Love Pantry) Youth Sunday and Parish Picnic Mother Mollie preaches at The Chapel in The Pines Vacation Bible School ECW Fall Conference at Grace Church in Anniston White Elephant Sale Fall Festival
Did You Know? If you missed or would enjoy hearing one of Mother Mollie’s sermon again, they are available on the St. Simon Peter website. You can access them from your PC, IPad, or smart phone. Share this information with your friends and family. stsimonpeter.org
Worship
6
-
Sermons
7
