The Connector
OCTOBER 2012
The C o nn ect or
Welcome to St. Andrew’s
Inside this issue: Stewardship in Action
2
Good Neighbors of Blount County
2
2012 Holiday Bazaar 2 Server Spotlight on The Tisdale Family
3
New Spirituality and 3 Wellness Offering October Calendar
4
Upcoming Events
October 7 - Parish Breakfast, 9 am Blessing of the Animals in the Courtyard, 5 pm
October 8 - Men of St. Andrew’s Dinner Meeting: Cincinnati Chili
October 14 - No Sunday School Vestry Nominations Close
October 24 - Parish Fish Fry, 6 pm
November 4 - All Saints Day Parish Breakfast, 9 am
Contact Us Phone: 865-983-3512 Parish Administrator: [email protected] Rector: [email protected] Website: www.saintandrews.dioet.org Steve Mosher, Rector Jessica Schroeder, Parish Administrator George Brooks, Sexton Dr. Jon Camden, Organist/Choirmaster
VOLUME 2
Senior Warden Dick Cox and his wife, Anne
Reflections on Community Symbols can be a powerful reminder of something important. One positive symbol for me that represents the community of Saint Andrew’s is the quilt that hangs in the church library. What makes the quilt extra special is the notebook that accompanies it which contains the family stories behind each square of cloth. The quilt was made by our Piecemakers several years ago from scraps of cloth donated by the families of Saint Andrew’s. The cloth was to represent something important to the donor and documented in the quilt notebook. For example, the cloth that Anne and I donated was from an old shirt that belonged to our son who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1982, an old dish cloth that belonged to my mother and a scrap of cloth from the bridesmaid dress used in our daughter’s wedding. This obviously makes the quilt important to our family because it represents events in our lives that intertwine with the community of Saint Andrew’s from my childhood to adulthood. I see myself and each of you as a square in the quilt of St. Andrew’s, each different and
individual like the squares. By ourselves we may be interesting but our potential cannot be achieved until we are reshaped and sown together into a community as the Body of Christ. In my experience, it is only God that can help me overcome my faults, fears, selfinterest, etc. so that I can be reshaped and woven into the fabric of our quilt/community. I believe it is through this process that each of us can be stitched together and made into something new that otherwise would not be possible. It is my feeling and observation that we are in the process of creating a new quilt for St. Andrew’s and that God is in our midst working to help us live and work as a community with love, compassion, and grace. For me this is not an easy journey, since I have to rely more on faith, have to give up my selfimportance, and focus on the parish instead of my own self interests. I am excited and looking forward to the new quilt that is being stitched together for us, and I hope you are also open to the new possibilities that God has in mind for us. Keep in mind that if you believe that someone should do something, that someone is probably you. I would like to repeat Fr. Steve’s Connector ending last month: “May God’s blessing continue to be upon us all, and may we continue on the path that would have us grow together into the full stature of Christ.” Peace, Dick Sr. Warden
THE CONNECTOR
Page 2
Stewardship - Using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do. In October, it will be time to turn our minds to the world of stewardship, a worthy, yet sometimes misunderstood, cause. We are called to be good stewards of all of our gifts, and at this time, the particular gift we will be focusing on is financial. Our vestry will once again be set on course to provide a balanced budget that meets the needs of our parish and all the various aspects that make it such a dynamic place to worship and grow in Christ. However, one of the most important points to remember going forward is that stewardship has many faces. Of
course, we must be diligent in our financial offerings in order to maintain our facilities, continue to grow our Outreach programs and build upon our Christian formation and fellowship activities. We must also remember that stewardship comes in the form of time and talent, sweat equity and brain power, as well. Without volunteers in our classrooms, we have no Sunday school. Without people who are willing to give of their time and energy, we can’t host Family Promise or staff the Community Food Connection. Without the talent and toil of volunteers, our gardens wouldn’t shine as a place of peace and serenity. Without
the leadership of our Vestry and Finance Committee and the thoughtful way they are leading us forward, we would not be poised to continue into a bright future. These are just a few examples! There are so many more spokes turning the wheels of St. Andrew’s, helping us to roll out the good news. So, yes, you will be receiving a letter and pledge card in October, asking you to support St. Andrew’s with your financial gifts. But we hope you will also take time to consider what other types of gifts you have to offer. What we can achieve together is only limited by the generosity of our hearts.
Community Outreach at St. Andrew’s...Good Neighbors of Blount County One of the community outreach programs that St. Andrew’s supports financially on a regular basis is Good Neighbors of Blount County. Good Neighbors “provides resources to maintain and/or increase the ability of our neighbors to cope with the challenges of everyday life. We do this in an atmosphere of love and respect, building partnerships through which Christ’s love can grow and by advocating for social justice within Blount County.”
Not only do we at St. Andrew’s make a monthly contribution and have volunteers who are active in GN, we are also going to donate the proceeds from this year’s Holiday Bazaar to this worthwhile cause. How can you contribute to the success of Good Neighbors?
Dine out at Marlin & Rays or Papa Murphy’s Pizza on designated days and a portion of your bill will go to GN.
Volunteer your time/talents.
Purchase a ticket for the Annual ‘Share the Blessings’ Progressive Dinner on Nov. 4.
Volunteer to help and/or shop at St. Andrew’s 2012 Holiday Bazaar to be held on November 17!
For more information on Good Neighbors, visit their website at www.goodneighborsbc.org or call (865) 681-5420
(goodneighborsbc.org)
Good Neighbors by the numbers (August): 634 calls received • 168 appointments scheduled • 325 individuals receiving help • 299 volunteer hours • $8,053 direct assistance
Be a part of the 2012 Holiday Bazaar! Event Date: November 17 Next Workshop Date: Wednesday, October 3 at 9 am in the Great Hall. Come learn a new craft and enjoy some wonderful fellowship! Project: angel tree-toppers, seed pod angels Sign up sheets are on a bulletin board in the Great Hall for all the various opportunities to serve.
Volume 2
Page 3
Serving St. Andrew’s...Spotlight on The Tisdale Family by Nancy Cain Needed for a place to live: An airport and a computer. Needed for a church home: An Episcopal church with a sense of community. Sumter and Kit Tisdale found those fairly simple needs met in Maryville and at St. Andrew’s. They have been active members for the past 10 years, through the births of their three children, Marie (just turned 9 Sept. 25), Thomas, 6, and Elizabeth, 3. Those 10 years ago Sumter was a recent MBA graduate from the University of Georgia, and Kit was finishing up her doctorate by writing her dissertation. Dissertation work needs a computer. The airport was a necessity for Sumter who was traveling as a consultant in software engineering. To select a place to live, they compiled that list of their needs and added other qualities they’d like their hometown to have. The Tisdales (l-r): Kit, Thomas, Marie, Elizabeth and Sumter Then two friends, one who had been raised in Clinton, the other in Oak Ridge, showed them Maryville. “It reminded me of Florence, AL, where I finished high school,” Kit said. She was working with a coach on her equestrian skills and living away from home that year. She and Sumter had met at a Halloween party in Athens, GA when both were in graduate school there. Although Kit had been raised in the Catholic church, she had attended an Episcopal school. Sumter had been a lifelong Episcopalian with deep roots in the church. His great-grandfather had been bishop of Southwest Virginia with his see in Roanoke; his grandfather had also been a priest. They discussed their choice of church before they were married, and the Episcopal Church it was. In these 10 years at St. Andrew’s, Sumter has served on the vestry, was elected junior warden, then senior warden during the last years the Rev. Martha Sterne was rector. Since that time he has served on the finance committee. His leadership was essential to the refinancing of the parish house debt which led to the retiring of the mortgage earlier this year. “That certainly became my mission,” he says. Now he is refocusing his church participation on Education for Ministry which requires about four to six hours a week in study, not counting class time. Kit recently completed her four years in EFM. She has been one of the two leaders of the Refocus Sunday school class since its inception. During weekdays, she supports Marie’s education program at Sam Houston and keeps in close contact with parents of children with Down syndrome, helping advocate for Marie and children with similar disabilities. Her PhD in educational psychology provides her with valuable background and expertise. Since Sumter now works at Oak Ridge, he leaves their home on Court Street four days a week about 6 am and doesn’t return until 6:30 pm. Although his home time is limited, both he and Kit still attend Eucharist regularly, and Sumter helped research and purchase new computers and programming for the church offices. Elizabeth is in Wesley Day School and Thomas, a major sports enthusiast and soccer player, attends Sam Houston with Marie.
New from your Ministry for Spirituality and Wellness...Introduction to Tai Chi Tai Chi is a meditative internal martial art that combines slow controlled movements with breath awareness. It’s meditative and health benefits are well documented. Participants will learn some easy gentle Tai Chi movements to coordinate with their breathing. The program is based on the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi beginning classes and will be taught by a certified instructor. When: Monday and Wednesday evenings from October 15th through October 31st for a total of six - one hour classes. The first class will meet from 6:30PM-7:30PM. Future class times will be determined by the needs of the participants. Where: Great Hall Who: Open to parishioners 18 and up, who are able to walk with minimal or no assistance. No fees will be charged. Those wishing to make a donation to St. Andrew’s general fund may do so. Contact Mary Pope for more information and to reserve a place in this class. (865) 981-2906
October 2012 Parish Agenda
The C o nn ect or
Welcome to St. Andrew’s
Inside this issue: Stewardship in Action
2
Good Neighbors of Blount County
2
2012 Holiday Bazaar 2 Server Spotlight on The Tisdale Family
3
New Spirituality and 3 Wellness Offering October Calendar
4
Upcoming Events
October 7 - Parish Breakfast, 9 am Blessing of the Animals in the Courtyard, 5 pm
October 8 - Men of St. Andrew’s Dinner Meeting: Cincinnati Chili
October 14 - No Sunday School Vestry Nominations Close
October 24 - Parish Fish Fry, 6 pm
November 4 - All Saints Day Parish Breakfast, 9 am
Contact Us Phone: 865-983-3512 Parish Administrator: [email protected] Rector: [email protected] Website: www.saintandrews.dioet.org Steve Mosher, Rector Jessica Schroeder, Parish Administrator George Brooks, Sexton Dr. Jon Camden, Organist/Choirmaster
VOLUME 2
Senior Warden Dick Cox and his wife, Anne
Reflections on Community Symbols can be a powerful reminder of something important. One positive symbol for me that represents the community of Saint Andrew’s is the quilt that hangs in the church library. What makes the quilt extra special is the notebook that accompanies it which contains the family stories behind each square of cloth. The quilt was made by our Piecemakers several years ago from scraps of cloth donated by the families of Saint Andrew’s. The cloth was to represent something important to the donor and documented in the quilt notebook. For example, the cloth that Anne and I donated was from an old shirt that belonged to our son who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1982, an old dish cloth that belonged to my mother and a scrap of cloth from the bridesmaid dress used in our daughter’s wedding. This obviously makes the quilt important to our family because it represents events in our lives that intertwine with the community of Saint Andrew’s from my childhood to adulthood. I see myself and each of you as a square in the quilt of St. Andrew’s, each different and
individual like the squares. By ourselves we may be interesting but our potential cannot be achieved until we are reshaped and sown together into a community as the Body of Christ. In my experience, it is only God that can help me overcome my faults, fears, selfinterest, etc. so that I can be reshaped and woven into the fabric of our quilt/community. I believe it is through this process that each of us can be stitched together and made into something new that otherwise would not be possible. It is my feeling and observation that we are in the process of creating a new quilt for St. Andrew’s and that God is in our midst working to help us live and work as a community with love, compassion, and grace. For me this is not an easy journey, since I have to rely more on faith, have to give up my selfimportance, and focus on the parish instead of my own self interests. I am excited and looking forward to the new quilt that is being stitched together for us, and I hope you are also open to the new possibilities that God has in mind for us. Keep in mind that if you believe that someone should do something, that someone is probably you. I would like to repeat Fr. Steve’s Connector ending last month: “May God’s blessing continue to be upon us all, and may we continue on the path that would have us grow together into the full stature of Christ.” Peace, Dick Sr. Warden
THE CONNECTOR
Page 2
Stewardship - Using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do. In October, it will be time to turn our minds to the world of stewardship, a worthy, yet sometimes misunderstood, cause. We are called to be good stewards of all of our gifts, and at this time, the particular gift we will be focusing on is financial. Our vestry will once again be set on course to provide a balanced budget that meets the needs of our parish and all the various aspects that make it such a dynamic place to worship and grow in Christ. However, one of the most important points to remember going forward is that stewardship has many faces. Of
course, we must be diligent in our financial offerings in order to maintain our facilities, continue to grow our Outreach programs and build upon our Christian formation and fellowship activities. We must also remember that stewardship comes in the form of time and talent, sweat equity and brain power, as well. Without volunteers in our classrooms, we have no Sunday school. Without people who are willing to give of their time and energy, we can’t host Family Promise or staff the Community Food Connection. Without the talent and toil of volunteers, our gardens wouldn’t shine as a place of peace and serenity. Without
the leadership of our Vestry and Finance Committee and the thoughtful way they are leading us forward, we would not be poised to continue into a bright future. These are just a few examples! There are so many more spokes turning the wheels of St. Andrew’s, helping us to roll out the good news. So, yes, you will be receiving a letter and pledge card in October, asking you to support St. Andrew’s with your financial gifts. But we hope you will also take time to consider what other types of gifts you have to offer. What we can achieve together is only limited by the generosity of our hearts.
Community Outreach at St. Andrew’s...Good Neighbors of Blount County One of the community outreach programs that St. Andrew’s supports financially on a regular basis is Good Neighbors of Blount County. Good Neighbors “provides resources to maintain and/or increase the ability of our neighbors to cope with the challenges of everyday life. We do this in an atmosphere of love and respect, building partnerships through which Christ’s love can grow and by advocating for social justice within Blount County.”
Not only do we at St. Andrew’s make a monthly contribution and have volunteers who are active in GN, we are also going to donate the proceeds from this year’s Holiday Bazaar to this worthwhile cause. How can you contribute to the success of Good Neighbors?
Dine out at Marlin & Rays or Papa Murphy’s Pizza on designated days and a portion of your bill will go to GN.
Volunteer your time/talents.
Purchase a ticket for the Annual ‘Share the Blessings’ Progressive Dinner on Nov. 4.
Volunteer to help and/or shop at St. Andrew’s 2012 Holiday Bazaar to be held on November 17!
For more information on Good Neighbors, visit their website at www.goodneighborsbc.org or call (865) 681-5420
(goodneighborsbc.org)
Good Neighbors by the numbers (August): 634 calls received • 168 appointments scheduled • 325 individuals receiving help • 299 volunteer hours • $8,053 direct assistance
Be a part of the 2012 Holiday Bazaar! Event Date: November 17 Next Workshop Date: Wednesday, October 3 at 9 am in the Great Hall. Come learn a new craft and enjoy some wonderful fellowship! Project: angel tree-toppers, seed pod angels Sign up sheets are on a bulletin board in the Great Hall for all the various opportunities to serve.
Volume 2
Page 3
Serving St. Andrew’s...Spotlight on The Tisdale Family by Nancy Cain Needed for a place to live: An airport and a computer. Needed for a church home: An Episcopal church with a sense of community. Sumter and Kit Tisdale found those fairly simple needs met in Maryville and at St. Andrew’s. They have been active members for the past 10 years, through the births of their three children, Marie (just turned 9 Sept. 25), Thomas, 6, and Elizabeth, 3. Those 10 years ago Sumter was a recent MBA graduate from the University of Georgia, and Kit was finishing up her doctorate by writing her dissertation. Dissertation work needs a computer. The airport was a necessity for Sumter who was traveling as a consultant in software engineering. To select a place to live, they compiled that list of their needs and added other qualities they’d like their hometown to have. The Tisdales (l-r): Kit, Thomas, Marie, Elizabeth and Sumter Then two friends, one who had been raised in Clinton, the other in Oak Ridge, showed them Maryville. “It reminded me of Florence, AL, where I finished high school,” Kit said. She was working with a coach on her equestrian skills and living away from home that year. She and Sumter had met at a Halloween party in Athens, GA when both were in graduate school there. Although Kit had been raised in the Catholic church, she had attended an Episcopal school. Sumter had been a lifelong Episcopalian with deep roots in the church. His great-grandfather had been bishop of Southwest Virginia with his see in Roanoke; his grandfather had also been a priest. They discussed their choice of church before they were married, and the Episcopal Church it was. In these 10 years at St. Andrew’s, Sumter has served on the vestry, was elected junior warden, then senior warden during the last years the Rev. Martha Sterne was rector. Since that time he has served on the finance committee. His leadership was essential to the refinancing of the parish house debt which led to the retiring of the mortgage earlier this year. “That certainly became my mission,” he says. Now he is refocusing his church participation on Education for Ministry which requires about four to six hours a week in study, not counting class time. Kit recently completed her four years in EFM. She has been one of the two leaders of the Refocus Sunday school class since its inception. During weekdays, she supports Marie’s education program at Sam Houston and keeps in close contact with parents of children with Down syndrome, helping advocate for Marie and children with similar disabilities. Her PhD in educational psychology provides her with valuable background and expertise. Since Sumter now works at Oak Ridge, he leaves their home on Court Street four days a week about 6 am and doesn’t return until 6:30 pm. Although his home time is limited, both he and Kit still attend Eucharist regularly, and Sumter helped research and purchase new computers and programming for the church offices. Elizabeth is in Wesley Day School and Thomas, a major sports enthusiast and soccer player, attends Sam Houston with Marie.
New from your Ministry for Spirituality and Wellness...Introduction to Tai Chi Tai Chi is a meditative internal martial art that combines slow controlled movements with breath awareness. It’s meditative and health benefits are well documented. Participants will learn some easy gentle Tai Chi movements to coordinate with their breathing. The program is based on the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi beginning classes and will be taught by a certified instructor. When: Monday and Wednesday evenings from October 15th through October 31st for a total of six - one hour classes. The first class will meet from 6:30PM-7:30PM. Future class times will be determined by the needs of the participants. Where: Great Hall Who: Open to parishioners 18 and up, who are able to walk with minimal or no assistance. No fees will be charged. Those wishing to make a donation to St. Andrew’s general fund may do so. Contact Mary Pope for more information and to reserve a place in this class. (865) 981-2906
October 2012 Parish Agenda
