Message from Fr. Tom
The Grapevine H O L Y
T R I N I T Y
E P I S C O P A L
C H U R C H
M e s s a g e f r o m Fr . T o m From now on five in one household will be divided. This is tough to take. Division? How do we put division together with the songs of the angels to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born? With Jesus’ Gospel of forgiveness and love? With the risen Christ saying "Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with you." Division? Recently I took up reading What Christianity is Not by the Canadian Theologian, Douglas John Hall. The book is criticism on Christianity as we have come to know it. Well, a criticism on what we made our faith! A warm fuzzy feel good panorama, when we must remember that faith is always in dialogue, in conflict with . . . doubt. Hall says. 1st of all remember that Jesus is taken into custody not for preaching a new religion . . . hundreds of men and women before and after Jesus offered their ideas about God very contrary to the Sanhedrin and the temple elite. Jesus is not arrested for heresy, vagrancy, or riding a burro without the owners’ permission. No. No. No, Jesus is arrested for disturbing the peace. For turning over the money tables and chasing entrepreneurs out of the temple; for throwing his temple tantrum! This is what got Jesus arrested! Disturbing the peace! Do WE disturb the peace? Well I must say today's readings disturb my peace! These readings disturb my peace because from an early age I was taught, and maybe many of you too were taught, that being a follower of Christ meant to be gentle and sweet all the time. Like Jesus is gentle and sweet. I was taught to believe that the Kingdom of God meant milk and honey for every one every day -- if I was gentle and sweet and good enough. I was taught that when I was gentle and sweet and good enough then God would be gentle and sweet and good to me . . . everyone would be gentle and sweet and good. Then I went to my first Vestry meeting. Douglas John Hall agrees Jesus is tough. INSIDE THIS I come to bring division! There goes my peace -- and in comes my doubt, sinful creaISSUE: ture that I am. Vestry Sermon on the 1-2 Olive White, whom many of you may remember, loved the prayer "Disturb us o Lord" "Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely, because we sailed Miscellaneous Notes / 3 too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst Calendar 4 for the waters of life!! Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas Senior Wardens Report 5 where storm will show Your mastery; Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. Disturb us, O Lord. " Vestry Minutes N/A Faithful discipleship is naturally going to result in division -disturbance! Steward Schedule 6
M e s s a g e f r o m Fr . T o m C o n t i n u e d The announcement of God's kingdom requires choices about how we Christians, as a result of our baptism, our communion, our confirmation, our marriage, or our ordination, how we function in the world. We are called to take a stand on Jesus' priority. You shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your spirit -is his priority. Give to the poor is his priority! Go the extra mile is his priority. These priorities need to be lived, not just talked about. And never does Jesus say "Maybe." We say “w e l l . . . Maybe we should . . . Unfortunately, the fallen, lazy creature that I am . . .maybe we all are . . . I like to talk about stuff and fall into the trap of not acting on that talk. It so often happens then that when somebody steps up to help the outcast the down trodden the widow or the orphan, the poor, another voice says . . . “whoa. Wait a minute . . .Maybe . . . hadn't we better talk about this for a moment? That's gonna cost a lot of time talent and treasure. . .” therein lies the division and disturbance. I believe God gives us a chance to rearrange or time, our talent, our treasure and especially our thinking, in order to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us" in faithfulness. Trust -- that God is very near, God is shaping the future now. And I don't mean Maybe. Jeremiah with Jesus agree Peace, Shalom . . . it's a good word, a great word pointing to God's intention. And there are times when the future is not a Good time, Charlie. . . . There is a soft quiet minority voice over and over again from Genesis to Revelation that calls the status quo to account . . . He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6: 8-9). Give to those who ask, walk the extra mile. There is no maybe about it. And yes there are times when Shalom is not the best word for the community to hear or . . . . seek, or speak. Shalom is not the best word especially in the face of political, economic, ecclesial, or social disenfranchisement. Jesus says I come to bring division and there is no infallible way of knowing if this or that modern day prophet speaks the word of the Lord . . . this is just as true for us as it was for Jeremiah or Luke . This book (hold up the Bible) teaches us to see in our lives what the Lord has done . . . it is so much harder to see what the Lord is doing. Yet, This book does help us determine if we are hearing the words we just want to hear because they confirm our self-advantaged positions, support us in what we want to hear; promise no disturbance or division to the pattern of our lives, even when those patterns work to the disadvantage of others, the lesser, the poor. Some of us are old enough to remember the Coke commercial back in the 70's. Remember, “♫ I'd like to buy the world a Coke.” Well, we’d like our faith to be so warm and fuzzy but this is what Christianity is Not . . . . God has bought us more than a Coke, God keeps us company, telling us from time to time to disturb some peace as our own peace is disturbed through the grace of our Lord and Savior. Amen.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely, because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life!! Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where storm will show Your mastery; Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. Disturb us, O Lord. "
T h e
P a g e
G r a p e v i n e
3
Miscellaneous Notes We
are on our way…
Luau
$800,000.00
$329, 430.00
Cash raised to date
+ $300,000.00 pledged from the EFW is
$629,430.00
for Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
5001 Tanner 1,250,000.00
Shoshone
W-4-J (move in cost)
Lake way (begin construction)
Public Health
Boxelder
610 S. Kendrick On the Road to Tan-
February 14 or 15 (tentatively)
$12,000 in prizes , door prizes, silent auction and 50/50 raffle! Luau Dinner $ 100—includes dinner and dance for two, Plus a chance to win 400 tickets !
See Beth, Cathy Michael or David for more information First Prize $7,000.00 Second Prize $3,000.00 Third Prize $2,000.00 Tickets are available for purchase contact Beth McGowan at 686-9828 or church office At 628-4296
Aloha
August Birthdays & Anniversaries 1, Rita Lubnau, Mike Mcgowan 4, Joff Pilon. 9, Sheryl Matthews 10, Austin Strickland 13, Simon Fiske 19, Peggy Biggerstaff 20, Pam Lynch 24, Kaylin Gregory 25, Rollie Parkison 27, Rachel Kadow 28, Lane Keeney 30, Kayla Jones May God Bless You Always
6,Joe & Germaine Whisler 6, Stan & Carol Foster 7, Bernie & Bonnie Damori 18, Jim & Bobbie Rognmoe May God Bless your Union Today and Always
28
30
29 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
Sunday Holy Eucharist held at Mt. Pisgah Chapel Wednesday Eucharist and Education for Ministry held at First Baptist Church, 501 S. Gillette Ave. Fr. Tom’s Office is located at First Presbyterian Church, 511 S. Carey
27 Eucharist Prime rose at 1:15 26
23
22 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
25 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
21 20 Eucharist Pioneer manor at 10 am 19
18 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
17 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
16
15 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am 24 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
14 13
12
11 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
8 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
10 Bible study at Primrose 1:15
2
1 Worship in the Park
9
SATURDAY 7
FRIDAY 6 Eucharist at Pioneer manor 10 am
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 5
TUESDAY 4 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
MONDAY 3 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 2013 T h e G r a p e v i n e
P a g e 4
T h e
P a g e
G r a p e v i n e
5
S e n i o r Wa r d e n ’s R e p o r t SENIOR WARDEN’S REPORT May the God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace! Let me give you a progress report on the fund raising efforts for the new church. The Luau originally scheduled for 10/26/13 will have to be postponed to late January or early February 2014 due to some unforeseen circumstances. At this time the work schedule for the luau is being reorganized. It is estimated that we will need 20-25 volunteers to help. Everyone will need to help in some way including selling tickets. The committee heads are Michael McGowan and David Hill with assistance from Beth McGowan and Cathy Raney. See one of them to offer your help. The All Member Canvass raised a total of $24,740.00 in pledges for 2013. We are in the process of contacting those who were not at the meeting and those who have not pledged to give them an opportunity to pledge. We will be doing a pledge for 2014 before the end of the year. The Capital Campaign has made new lists for contacts. The first group for contact are the families who had loved ones who were active members of Holy Trinity; they are being contacted for donations to the memorial fund. The second group for contact are those who used to be members of HTEC; they are being contacted to donate either to the building fund or the memorial fund to honor someone who was important to them. The third group are special circumstances; these people will have face to face contact with delivery of a letter. The letters will be mailed in phases with follow up by phone within 10 days of the mailing date. The follow up will be done by teams of one vestry member and one member from the congregation. The vestry member will choose the member to help him. That team will be responsible for the follow up phone calls. The first group is Phase 1 with letters being mailed 9/6/13. The second group is Phase 2 with letters being mailed 9/20/13. The special contacts will be done face to face with a letter and should be done by 9/30/13. The All Member Canvass which is Phase C has not gotten the actual time line done but we will be keep everyone informed. I would ask each of you that if you are asked by a vestry member to be on his team that you strongly consider accepting. All of us need to help with the building of the new church in whatever way we can help. The Capital Campaign & Fund Raising Committee at our meeting on 8/22 had clarification from Press Stephens on the $300,000 grant from the Episcopal Foundation. It is being held by them until we have raised the rest of the money to get a Certificate of Occupancy. At that time they will release the money to us. At this time we have $310,000 in our building fund and $300,000 from the Episcopal Foundation. We need $803,116 to complete Phase 2 and 3. We still need to sell the Moonshiner property. Without selling the Moonshiner property we still need to raise about $213,116. As you can see if the Moonshiner property sold we would be very close to being able to build. Pray for the sale of Moonshiner. I would ask your prayers for all of Holy Trinity because this can be a most stressful time. We must remember that we are called to be obedient, to be faithful and to serve. No one said building a church is easy. Let us stay focused on God and His promise to answer our prayers. Think of PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). Let us keep pushing. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Maggi McCreery-McCoy
H O L Y T R I N I T Y E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H 511610 S. Kendrick Avenue Gillette WY 82716
Sunday
Chalice
Acolytes &
Service Date
Bearer
Crucifers
Sept. 1
Readers
Ushers
Eucharistic Visitor
Counters
Coffee Hour Hosts
Service in the park.. Come one come all
Vivian W. David H
Sept. 8
Lane K
Sept. 15
Rollie P.
Andrew R.
Sept. 22
Karolyn J.
David H.
Sept. 29
Norma A.
Lindsey
Karolyn J.
Colleen O.
R. R.
Brad C.
Colleen O.
Sheryl M. Dinah P.
Colleen O.
Sam B.
Rollie P.
Judith S.
Vivan W.
Donna B.
Nancy P.
Bernie D.
Cathy R.
Mike M.
Pam L.
Beth M.
Sheryl M
Laurie T.
MC Fisk
Pam L.
Lane K.
Jay M
Maggi M. Dinah P.
Rollie P Bernie D.
Carry In
TBA
TBA
TBA
August Altar Guild: Sheryl Nancy Holy Trinity Episcopal Church 511 S. Carey-Annex Gillette Wy.
T R I N I T Y
E P I S C O P A L
C H U R C H
M e s s a g e f r o m Fr . T o m From now on five in one household will be divided. This is tough to take. Division? How do we put division together with the songs of the angels to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born? With Jesus’ Gospel of forgiveness and love? With the risen Christ saying "Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with you." Division? Recently I took up reading What Christianity is Not by the Canadian Theologian, Douglas John Hall. The book is criticism on Christianity as we have come to know it. Well, a criticism on what we made our faith! A warm fuzzy feel good panorama, when we must remember that faith is always in dialogue, in conflict with . . . doubt. Hall says. 1st of all remember that Jesus is taken into custody not for preaching a new religion . . . hundreds of men and women before and after Jesus offered their ideas about God very contrary to the Sanhedrin and the temple elite. Jesus is not arrested for heresy, vagrancy, or riding a burro without the owners’ permission. No. No. No, Jesus is arrested for disturbing the peace. For turning over the money tables and chasing entrepreneurs out of the temple; for throwing his temple tantrum! This is what got Jesus arrested! Disturbing the peace! Do WE disturb the peace? Well I must say today's readings disturb my peace! These readings disturb my peace because from an early age I was taught, and maybe many of you too were taught, that being a follower of Christ meant to be gentle and sweet all the time. Like Jesus is gentle and sweet. I was taught to believe that the Kingdom of God meant milk and honey for every one every day -- if I was gentle and sweet and good enough. I was taught that when I was gentle and sweet and good enough then God would be gentle and sweet and good to me . . . everyone would be gentle and sweet and good. Then I went to my first Vestry meeting. Douglas John Hall agrees Jesus is tough. INSIDE THIS I come to bring division! There goes my peace -- and in comes my doubt, sinful creaISSUE: ture that I am. Vestry Sermon on the 1-2 Olive White, whom many of you may remember, loved the prayer "Disturb us o Lord" "Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely, because we sailed Miscellaneous Notes / 3 too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst Calendar 4 for the waters of life!! Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas Senior Wardens Report 5 where storm will show Your mastery; Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. Disturb us, O Lord. " Vestry Minutes N/A Faithful discipleship is naturally going to result in division -disturbance! Steward Schedule 6
M e s s a g e f r o m Fr . T o m C o n t i n u e d The announcement of God's kingdom requires choices about how we Christians, as a result of our baptism, our communion, our confirmation, our marriage, or our ordination, how we function in the world. We are called to take a stand on Jesus' priority. You shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your spirit -is his priority. Give to the poor is his priority! Go the extra mile is his priority. These priorities need to be lived, not just talked about. And never does Jesus say "Maybe." We say “w e l l . . . Maybe we should . . . Unfortunately, the fallen, lazy creature that I am . . .maybe we all are . . . I like to talk about stuff and fall into the trap of not acting on that talk. It so often happens then that when somebody steps up to help the outcast the down trodden the widow or the orphan, the poor, another voice says . . . “whoa. Wait a minute . . .Maybe . . . hadn't we better talk about this for a moment? That's gonna cost a lot of time talent and treasure. . .” therein lies the division and disturbance. I believe God gives us a chance to rearrange or time, our talent, our treasure and especially our thinking, in order to "run with perseverance the race that is set before us" in faithfulness. Trust -- that God is very near, God is shaping the future now. And I don't mean Maybe. Jeremiah with Jesus agree Peace, Shalom . . . it's a good word, a great word pointing to God's intention. And there are times when the future is not a Good time, Charlie. . . . There is a soft quiet minority voice over and over again from Genesis to Revelation that calls the status quo to account . . . He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6: 8-9). Give to those who ask, walk the extra mile. There is no maybe about it. And yes there are times when Shalom is not the best word for the community to hear or . . . . seek, or speak. Shalom is not the best word especially in the face of political, economic, ecclesial, or social disenfranchisement. Jesus says I come to bring division and there is no infallible way of knowing if this or that modern day prophet speaks the word of the Lord . . . this is just as true for us as it was for Jeremiah or Luke . This book (hold up the Bible) teaches us to see in our lives what the Lord has done . . . it is so much harder to see what the Lord is doing. Yet, This book does help us determine if we are hearing the words we just want to hear because they confirm our self-advantaged positions, support us in what we want to hear; promise no disturbance or division to the pattern of our lives, even when those patterns work to the disadvantage of others, the lesser, the poor. Some of us are old enough to remember the Coke commercial back in the 70's. Remember, “♫ I'd like to buy the world a Coke.” Well, we’d like our faith to be so warm and fuzzy but this is what Christianity is Not . . . . God has bought us more than a Coke, God keeps us company, telling us from time to time to disturb some peace as our own peace is disturbed through the grace of our Lord and Savior. Amen.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely, because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life!! Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where storm will show Your mastery; Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. Disturb us, O Lord. "
T h e
P a g e
G r a p e v i n e
3
Miscellaneous Notes We
are on our way…
Luau
$800,000.00
$329, 430.00
Cash raised to date
+ $300,000.00 pledged from the EFW is
$629,430.00
for Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
5001 Tanner 1,250,000.00
Shoshone
W-4-J (move in cost)
Lake way (begin construction)
Public Health
Boxelder
610 S. Kendrick On the Road to Tan-
February 14 or 15 (tentatively)
$12,000 in prizes , door prizes, silent auction and 50/50 raffle! Luau Dinner $ 100—includes dinner and dance for two, Plus a chance to win 400 tickets !
See Beth, Cathy Michael or David for more information First Prize $7,000.00 Second Prize $3,000.00 Third Prize $2,000.00 Tickets are available for purchase contact Beth McGowan at 686-9828 or church office At 628-4296
Aloha
August Birthdays & Anniversaries 1, Rita Lubnau, Mike Mcgowan 4, Joff Pilon. 9, Sheryl Matthews 10, Austin Strickland 13, Simon Fiske 19, Peggy Biggerstaff 20, Pam Lynch 24, Kaylin Gregory 25, Rollie Parkison 27, Rachel Kadow 28, Lane Keeney 30, Kayla Jones May God Bless You Always
6,Joe & Germaine Whisler 6, Stan & Carol Foster 7, Bernie & Bonnie Damori 18, Jim & Bobbie Rognmoe May God Bless your Union Today and Always
28
30
29 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
Sunday Holy Eucharist held at Mt. Pisgah Chapel Wednesday Eucharist and Education for Ministry held at First Baptist Church, 501 S. Gillette Ave. Fr. Tom’s Office is located at First Presbyterian Church, 511 S. Carey
27 Eucharist Prime rose at 1:15 26
23
22 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
25 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
21 20 Eucharist Pioneer manor at 10 am 19
18 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
17 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
16
15 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am 24 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
14 13
12
11 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
8 Holy Eucharist Mt. Pisgah at 10:00am
10 Bible study at Primrose 1:15
2
1 Worship in the Park
9
SATURDAY 7
FRIDAY 6 Eucharist at Pioneer manor 10 am
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 5
TUESDAY 4 Eucharist at the Tanner property At 7:00pm
MONDAY 3 Bible Study at Church Office at 1:15
SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 2013 T h e G r a p e v i n e
P a g e 4
T h e
P a g e
G r a p e v i n e
5
S e n i o r Wa r d e n ’s R e p o r t SENIOR WARDEN’S REPORT May the God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace! Let me give you a progress report on the fund raising efforts for the new church. The Luau originally scheduled for 10/26/13 will have to be postponed to late January or early February 2014 due to some unforeseen circumstances. At this time the work schedule for the luau is being reorganized. It is estimated that we will need 20-25 volunteers to help. Everyone will need to help in some way including selling tickets. The committee heads are Michael McGowan and David Hill with assistance from Beth McGowan and Cathy Raney. See one of them to offer your help. The All Member Canvass raised a total of $24,740.00 in pledges for 2013. We are in the process of contacting those who were not at the meeting and those who have not pledged to give them an opportunity to pledge. We will be doing a pledge for 2014 before the end of the year. The Capital Campaign has made new lists for contacts. The first group for contact are the families who had loved ones who were active members of Holy Trinity; they are being contacted for donations to the memorial fund. The second group for contact are those who used to be members of HTEC; they are being contacted to donate either to the building fund or the memorial fund to honor someone who was important to them. The third group are special circumstances; these people will have face to face contact with delivery of a letter. The letters will be mailed in phases with follow up by phone within 10 days of the mailing date. The follow up will be done by teams of one vestry member and one member from the congregation. The vestry member will choose the member to help him. That team will be responsible for the follow up phone calls. The first group is Phase 1 with letters being mailed 9/6/13. The second group is Phase 2 with letters being mailed 9/20/13. The special contacts will be done face to face with a letter and should be done by 9/30/13. The All Member Canvass which is Phase C has not gotten the actual time line done but we will be keep everyone informed. I would ask each of you that if you are asked by a vestry member to be on his team that you strongly consider accepting. All of us need to help with the building of the new church in whatever way we can help. The Capital Campaign & Fund Raising Committee at our meeting on 8/22 had clarification from Press Stephens on the $300,000 grant from the Episcopal Foundation. It is being held by them until we have raised the rest of the money to get a Certificate of Occupancy. At that time they will release the money to us. At this time we have $310,000 in our building fund and $300,000 from the Episcopal Foundation. We need $803,116 to complete Phase 2 and 3. We still need to sell the Moonshiner property. Without selling the Moonshiner property we still need to raise about $213,116. As you can see if the Moonshiner property sold we would be very close to being able to build. Pray for the sale of Moonshiner. I would ask your prayers for all of Holy Trinity because this can be a most stressful time. We must remember that we are called to be obedient, to be faithful and to serve. No one said building a church is easy. Let us stay focused on God and His promise to answer our prayers. Think of PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). Let us keep pushing. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Maggi McCreery-McCoy
H O L Y T R I N I T Y E P I S C O P A L C H U R C H 511610 S. Kendrick Avenue Gillette WY 82716
Sunday
Chalice
Acolytes &
Service Date
Bearer
Crucifers
Sept. 1
Readers
Ushers
Eucharistic Visitor
Counters
Coffee Hour Hosts
Service in the park.. Come one come all
Vivian W. David H
Sept. 8
Lane K
Sept. 15
Rollie P.
Andrew R.
Sept. 22
Karolyn J.
David H.
Sept. 29
Norma A.
Lindsey
Karolyn J.
Colleen O.
R. R.
Brad C.
Colleen O.
Sheryl M. Dinah P.
Colleen O.
Sam B.
Rollie P.
Judith S.
Vivan W.
Donna B.
Nancy P.
Bernie D.
Cathy R.
Mike M.
Pam L.
Beth M.
Sheryl M
Laurie T.
MC Fisk
Pam L.
Lane K.
Jay M
Maggi M. Dinah P.
Rollie P Bernie D.
Carry In
TBA
TBA
TBA
August Altar Guild: Sheryl Nancy Holy Trinity Episcopal Church 511 S. Carey-Annex Gillette Wy.
