The Newsletter of the Episcopal Church of St. Peter & St. Paul May 2009 On the Inside... Breaking Bread Breaking Bread Have you ever wondered about the construction of this phrase from the Eucharistic prayers of Holy Commun- ion? What on earth do “praise and thanksgiving” have to do with “sacrifice”? I think most people in the world today think of sacrifice as something that is ugly, mean, and nasty; that it means giving up some- thing important or taking on some- thing distasteful. A little over a hun- dred years ago, Oswald Chambers made this same observation when he said, “Our notion of sacrifice is the wringing out of us something we don’t want to give up, full of pain and agony and distress. The Bible idea of sacrifice is that I give as a love-gift the very best thing I have.” (Run To- day’s Race, March 24) Perhaps we have this trouble be- cause we never quite move from Lent to Easter. The season of Lent, which includes Holy Week, focuses on temptation, sin, struggle, betrayal, and rejection, and on the arrest, cru- cifixion, and death of Jesus. By al- most any standard, those are un- pleasant topics. Here at St. Peter & St. Paul, the first quarter of the year (the one in which Lent falls) marks an average Sunday attendance that is 25% higher than the average for the rest of the year, numbers that are not all that different from other congrega- tions I have served. Because of our worship patterns, we tend to hear more about “pain, agony and dis- tress” than we do about joy, peace and love; but it is the latter three that mark new life in Christ Jesus. As we begin the month of May, we are about half-way through the season of Easter, culminating with Pentecost on May 31. This is the season when we shift our focus to the overwhelming love of Jesus Christ for all of us. In this season we realize that not only did physical death lose its fight for Him when he rose from the tomb, but also that death itself was the “one destroyed”. Vestry Goals …. 2 News from Parish Nurse …. 3 Cool Girls …. 4 EfM Graduates …. 5 Brotherhood Ribfest …. 5 Adult Christian Education …. 6 Lunch for all Seasons …. 7 Childrens’ Choir Musical …. 7 DOK Retreat …. 7 Youth/Children’s New .... 8/9 Post-Its from Preschool …. 10 Financial Notes …. 10 New Adult Bible Study …. 11 Graduate form ….10 Jesus freely demonstrated his love for us by surrendering himself to the Romans, by submitting to the tempo- ral power of the Empire, by giving up his own life to death … all in order to bring each of us to new life in Him. As we become more of an Easter people, we begin to realize just how much Our Lord loves us. With that realization we also find that the love of Christ cannot be con- tained within us any more than a hearty laugh can be successfully sti- fled. The only way to fully experience the exuberance of Christian love is to offer it freely and joyfully back to God as well as to those around us. When we do, we discover that shared love is multiplied love. So, if sacrifice is a “love-gift of the very best thing I have,” then surely it is accompanied by praise and thanksgiving. In that spirit, let us always give our very best to God. SACRIFICE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING by Father Robert Certain
Transcript
The Newsletter of the Episcopal Church of St. Peter & St. Paul May 2009
On the Inside...
Breaking BreadBreaking Bread
Have you ever wondered about the construction of this phrase from the Eucharistic prayers of Holy Commun-ion? What on earth do “praise and thanksgiving” have to do with “sacrifice”? I think most people in the world today think of sacrifice as something that is ugly, mean, and nasty; that it means giving up some-thing important or taking on some-thing distasteful. A little over a hun-dred years ago, Oswald Chambers made this same observation when he said, “Our notion of sacrifice is the wringing out of us something we don’t want to give up, full of pain and agony and distress. The Bible idea of sacrifice is that I give as a love-gift the very best thing I have.” (Run To-day’s Race, March 24)
Perhaps we have this trouble be-cause we never quite move from Lent to Easter. The season of Lent, which includes Holy Week, focuses on temptation, sin, struggle, betrayal, and rejection, and on the arrest, cru-
cifixion, and death of Jesus. By al-most any standard, those are un-pleasant topics. Here at St. Peter & St. Paul, the first quarter of the year (the one in which Lent falls) marks an average Sunday attendance that is 25% higher than the average for the rest of the year, numbers that are not all that different from other congrega-tions I have served. Because of our worship patterns, we tend to hear more about “pain, agony and dis-tress” than we do about joy, peace and love; but it is the latter three that mark new life in Christ Jesus.
As we begin the month of May, we are about half-way through the season of Easter, culminating with Pentecost on May 31. This is the season when we shift our focus to the overwhelming love of Jesus Christ for all of us. In this season we realize that not only did physical death lose its fight for Him when he rose from the tomb, but also that death itself was the “one destroyed”.
Vestry Goals …. 2
News from Parish Nurse …. 3
Cool Girls …. 4
EfM Graduates …. 5
Brotherhood Ribfest …. 5
Adult Christian Education …. 6
Lunch for all Seasons …. 7
Childrens’ Choir Musical …. 7
DOK Retreat …. 7
Youth/Children’s New .... 8/9
Post-Its from Preschool …. 10
Financial Notes …. 10
New Adult Bible Study …. 11
Graduate form ….10
Jesus freely demonstrated his love for us by surrendering himself to the Romans, by submitting to the tempo-ral power of the Empire, by giving up his own life to death … all in order to bring each of us to new life in Him.
As we become more of an Easter people, we begin to realize just how much Our Lord loves us. With that realization we also find that the love of Christ cannot be con-tained within us any more than a hearty laugh can be successfully sti-fled. The only way to fully experience the exuberance of Christian love is to offer it freely and joyfully back to God as well as to those around us. When we do, we discover that shared love is multiplied love.
So, if sacrifice is a “love-gift of the very best thing I have,” then surely it is accompanied by praise and thanksgiving. In that spirit, let us always give our very best to God.
SACRIFICE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING by Father Robert Certain
John Hettinger John Patton Peter Protis Dan Smith Todd Smith Jim Squier Irene Trego
Charlie D’Huyvetter, Treasurer
Tom Martin, Secretary
The Vestry
Vestry GoalsVestry Goals
YEAR 1 Build membership by 10% Improve Welcoming & Follow-up Youth Development Coffee / Social Hour Improvements Adult Education programs
Complete Major Building & Grounds Projects Conduct Vacation Bible School Improve Communication Where we are with attendance,
education, budget etc. Vestry training for transition
from Program-sized Church (225 to <500) to a Resource- Sized (>500) Church
Spiritual development and ongoing education programs Annually Annotate projects and re- sults – State of the Parish Report Identify leaders within church for Vestry consideration
YEAR 3 Commitment to the debt pay-off adjusted for time Increased Membership in line with our SPSP Vision Commitment by vestry of Pledge to be @ 10% per year or working toward the number annually (i.e. increasing ) and publicly acknowledging this fact. Implement a Resource-Based Parish curriculum.
YEAR 2 Commitment to the debt pay-off adjusted for time Increased Membership in line with our SPSP Vision Commitment by vestry of Pledge to be @ 10% per year or working toward the number annually (i.e. increasing ) and publicly acknowledging this fact. Develop a Resource-Based Parish curriculum. Conduct a Church retreat
3 Breaking Bread
CPR/AED Certified
Twenty one members of St. Peter & St. Paul
completed the American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR and AED (automatic external
defibrillator) training course held at the church. All who signed up were in attendance
for the 2 1/2 hours class and demonstrated competency in adult and child CPR, the use of
the AED, and how to assist someone who is choking (obstructed airway or Heimlich ma-
neuver). The class was led by Diane Sanders, R.N., Community Education Coordinator, North
Fulton Regional Hospital with assistance from
St. Peter & St. Paul's CPR Instructors, Annlynn Harris, R.N., Pamela Whitaker, R.N., and Linda
Shrake, R.N..
Those completing the course were:
Jim McGaughy Mary McGaughy
Sandra Saxon Susannah (SuSu) Swanson
Gordon Swanson Carolyn Holt
Andrew Swart Priscilla Swart
Laura Eaves
Kathy Wadsworth Noel Wadsworth
Laura Rashidi-Yazd Peter B. Knox
Pat Bell Rachel Rojas
Bette VanWinkle Winsome Hawkins
Trude Beaman Frank Beaman
Gayle Warren Bruce Warren
Congratulations to the dedicated folks who took
time out of their busy schedules to complete
this potentially lifesaving course. Thanks to our instructors for donating their time. If you
are interested in taking a CPR/AED course at the church, please call the church office to be
placed on a waiting list. Your interest will determine how soon we offer another class.
The Care Calendar: For those of you who were
wondering how it is used.
Directly from the carecalendar.org web site is the following
explanation: “CareCalendar is a web based system to or-
ganize meals and other help for families during a time of ill-
ness or life changing event, such as the birth of a baby or
death of a family member”.
There are two essential roles in the Care Calendar ~ Meal
Coordinators & the Help Team
The Meal Coordinator coordinates meal sign up and other
needed assistance, without the frustration of making dozens
of phone calls. Ideally, this role is filled by a close family mem-
ber or friend. In the case of Robbie Certain, their daughter
Mary Vano was the initial meal coordinator. Once the Care
Calendar was established by
Mary, the role of coordinator
was filled by Fr. Robert. He
was then able to set up meal
times, schedule visits, and
other needed assistance.
The Help Team is made up of
volunteer helpers who can see
what needs are unfilled on the
Care Calendar and sign-up
for items that fit their schedule.
In addition, the help team will get reminders about needs that
you signed-up for and any unfilled needs for the day.
You will get maps and driving directions: Know how to get to
the recipients location, turn by turn.
Access when convenient: CareCalendar is available around
the clock. As long as you have access to the Internet, you can
get to CareCalendar. No need to worry about interrupting
the coordinator's day when you can easily look it up for your-
self. If you do not have access to the Internet, the Parish
Nurse will assist you with signing up.
For more information about the CareCalendar, please contact
This year we celebrate 17 years of working with Cool Girls. We serve 250 girls ages 8 to 14 from the low income areas of Atlanta. The best way to describe what we do is to read what a Cool Gal Volunteer wrote: As a former teacher the positive development of young lives has always been
very important to me. I have worked extensively with children who have come
from lower socio-economic backgrounds and know the advantages they often
lack that we take for granted.
Cool Girls is a program that helps fill these gaps for some of these disadvan-
taged girls, giving the direction and hope for a better future.
The part that we play in their lives here at St. Peter and St. Paul is truly a spiritual blessing. We provide an op-
portunity for the girls to come here and participate in a fun filled day, while providing much needed clothing and
school supplies to start back to school. That first day back to school might set the tone for a wonderful school
year. Hearing their delighted squeals and seeing the smiles on their faces is truly a wonderful gift in return.
I find myself working on Cool Girls all year long, collecting clothes and things I think they could use or might
like. I look with joyful anticipation toward the next year celebration day hoping that I am making a small differ-
ence in some young girl’s life.
Working with Cool Girls is so Cool!
Mary Anne Knox
To become a part of this program
1. Join the planning team. Our next meetings are May 13, Wednesday, 7:30 Room 1 and June 18, Thursday, 7:30 pm Room 1.
New members welcome.
2. “Adopt a Cool Girls Sundays” are on June14, 21, and 28th. Catch the spirit and adopt a Cool Girl. Girl’s names and sizes are
available in the Parish hall after the services. Fill a new book bag with a new school outfit, socks, underwear and other fun
items.
3. Teens and Adults are needed to help set-up the shopping area from July 20 to July 24 in the Parish Hall 10 Am till 4 pm. Get
service hours for your work.
4. Join the Cool Girl Volunteer Team (teens included) for the fun-filled Shopping Day on Saturday, July 25 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. We need many willing and loving hands and hearts to make it a special day for the girls. Volunteer now to work in the area
that you enjoy the most.
5. Please donate age appropriate clothing and accessories for girls ages 8 to 14 all sizes from girls 7 to womens 3X. Donations
can be taken to the Outreach closet next to the kitchen in the Parish Hall and put in the blue bin marked Cool Girls. Thank You.
Questions and comments can be directed to Gene Caudle, 770-354-1530 – [email protected]
5 Breaking Bread
Atlanta Women & Children’s Day Shelter
Your generous contributions of women and childrens’ clothing have made a huge difference in many lives. In addition to clothing, our preschool helped with 84 strollers and children’s furnishings. In difficult times like these, the Atlanta Furniture Bank has a waiting list of four to six weeks to get bare ne-cessities. In 2008 we initiated a program to help furnish apartments when the women get a job and a place of their own. We completed 16 apartments by Septem-ber. In October we received an amazing blessing. Gateway Homeless groups of the United Way, who had no resources to get furnishings, joined forced with us. They have the manpower to help us. As of April 1, 2009, we furnished 18 additional apartments. We need you! We will pick up anytime and any place. Bless you, Lorrie Penter—770.367.6594
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew
RIB FESTIVAL Saturday, June 6th
The Brotherhood of St Andrew's
chapter at St Peter & St Paul Par-
ish will sponsor a RIB festival on
Saturday, June 6 from 10:00am
to10:00pm at Churchill's Pub lo-cated at the corner of Highway
120 and Johnson Ferry Road (in
the Target shopping center com-
plex next to Starbucks).
All profits will go to the Episcopal
Community Center Emmaus
House.
The funds raised will be used to
help send kids to the summer
camp program. Come eat on site
or take out.
Call Deacon Chip Faucette
770.361.5971 or Peter Williams
678.429.7316 for more info.
Greeters
The Greeters Program offi-cially started in March and you will soon recognize us by our new blue name tags. If you know of a visi-tor, please welcome them and introduce us to them. We also still need greeters, particularly for our 10:30 service. If you are in-terested, please call Larry Kelley at 770.754.1486, ex-tension 222.
Eyeglasses for Africa
Thanks to all of you that have collected and contributed your out-
dated prescription and reading glasses for our "Eyeglasses for
Africa" ministry. Last month we sent out over 150
pairs to be consolidated with Mercy Flight in NY for
shipment to Uganda for Bishop Shalita. Some of
these glasses were contributions from outside our
parish, including from a local eyecare center whose
doctors have agreed to share their outdated collec-
tions with us as well as the Lions Club.
We will continue our collections here at SPSP and will ship as of-
ten as required. Please consider communicating with your
friends outside the church or perhaps in your workplace if appro-
priate. If anyone else in interested in assisting in this important
ministry please contact Lucita Douglas at 770/565-0065.
Congratulations to our EfM Graduates
Our high school and college graduates will be recognized in the June Breaking Bread
Andy CreedAndy Creed Amy RahnAmy Rahn
Don LoeberDon Loeber Jim SquierJim Squier
Peggy PowellPeggy Powell
Breaking Bread 6
Adult Christian Education Sunday Mornings 9:15-10:15a.m.
The Sunday morning classes will continue to meet 9:15 - 10:15a.m. with
“Cast of Characters” in Creation Chapel and “Dangerous Journey” in the Pastoral Care Office.
General Convention -- how it works, what it does Father Certain (a five-time deputy) will present a series of classes on the work of the General Con-
vention of the Episcopal Church through May 17. He will cover the history, structure, processes,
and issues that are considered and decided every three years. Crammed into a nine-day meeting,
the Bishops and Deputies have to act on over 400 pieces of proposed legislation, some of which are
quite controversial and have long-term effects. Before the end of the class period, we hope to have
a preview of legislation pre-filed for the 76th General Convention meeting in Anaheim, CA July 8-
17. Currently only 32 resolutions have been filed and can be reviewed at http://gc2009.org
Weekday Classes
Tuesdays, 9:30 AM - Parish Hall
Tuesdays, 7:00 PM - Conference Room Jane Gibout This is a Bible study class. Jane is the mentor for the Monday evening Education for Ministry class, and
as such, has mentored many in the study of the Bible. Just bring a Bible.
Wednesdays, 9:30 AM - Conference Room
Sunday - 7:00pm - starting June 7 - See article on page 11
Thank You to Adult Christian Education Teach-ers
Adult Christian Education has completed another great year. Thanks be to God for all who worked to make it a success:
The Reverend Dr. Robert G. Certain, The Reverend Elisa Harres, The Reverend Chip Faucette, Roger Sherrard, Pam Weed, Beth Nabors, Sara
Dempsey, Katherine Michalak, Annette Hodgson, JoAnn Gotschall, Adam Stone,
Caroline McCracken, Peter Protis, Jay Pongonis, Kurt Mueller,
7 Breaking Bread
LUNCH FOR ALL SEASONS
May 13, 2009
"Exploring the 3R's: Flannery O'Connor and Maryat Lee on Region,
Race and Religion"
Our speaker will be The
Reverend Deacon Dr.
Georgia Newman, a veteran
of O'Connor studies, who
has devoted much of a thirty
-year career in higher edu-
cation to researching, writing
about, and speaking on top-
ics pertinent to O'Connor's
fiction, essays and letters.
Newman's particular focus
has been the friendship and
correspondence between
Flannery O'Connor and
avant-garde playwright
Maryat Lee, from which
Newman draws her topic for
this presentation. Currently
serving as vocational dea-
con college chaplain at St.
S t e p h e n ' s E p i s c o p a l
Church, Milledgeville. Dea-
con Newman continues to
draw inspiration from and to
share her enthusiasm for the
author Newman heralds as
"woman and author for all
seasons."
Lunch at 11:30 AM in the
Parish Hall, followed by our
program. Please call the
church office at 770-977-
7473 by the Monday before
DOWN BY THE CREEK BANK
May 3, 2009 – 9:15 a.m. Nave
Join our Carol and Crusader Choirs as they take
us down to the creek bank to fish
and have fun. Listen as they share
Bible stories and how
God is with us all of the
time. Has anyone seen GERMS?
Be prepared to enjoy and sing-
along with our young musicians as
they ask God: Is there anything I can do for
you? Is there anything I can be for you? We’ll
look for you at the St. Peter and St. Paul creek
Great News for all Daughters of the King!
Do you sometimes miss going on retreat because of distance, cost, or transportation?? Here is your chance for a “Mini Retreat” – right here at St. Peter & St. Paul! On the weekend of May 22
nd and 23
rd,
Mtr. Elisa is planning to present a new program on Spirtual Gifts just for the Daugh-ters. The program will start on Friday evening with a pot-luck dinner followed by our program, and will continue Saturday morning with a light breakfast, program and lunch.
Consider this our very own “mini retreat”! To re-serve a space or arrange transportation, please contact Lynda Ward. Her number is (770)592-0868 and her e -mai l address is
Breaking Bread 8
Youth News
Rite 13 Celebra-
tion
On May 3 over 20 young teens will “graduate” from the Rite 13 program to the rising J2A group at the 10:30 a.m. service. These teens worked for two years with their focus on celebrating the individual-ity of each young person and their creative potential. The Rite 13 liturgy (A celebration of Manhood and Woman-hood) is the community ex-pression of this and a rite of passage from childhood to-wards adulthood. This rite is loosely based on the Jewish bar/bat mitzvah tradition and is a way for the entire congre-gation to celebrate the unique gifts and abilities of its young teens. Please keep this group of teens in your prayers as they continue on their journey to adulthood.
Youth Group Dates
May 3 All Grades 7 - 12
Plant the garden!
May 17 All Grades 5 - 12
Final youth group night
of the spring!
J2A Pilgrimage
The St. Peter & Paul youth pilgrimage teens leave for Italy on May 18, returning to Atlanta on June 6. This group of 22 ris-ing sophomores and juniors spent the last two years strengthening their faith and fo-cusing on the skills and critical thinking involved in their maturing to adulthood. Their religious pilgrimage is the spiritual highlight of their youth. Our pilgrims will visit Roman ruins, St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s and the Vatican in Rome, study the life of St. Francis in As-sisi and renaissance religious art in Flor-ence. Please keep the pilgrims and lead-ers in your prayers on their journey: An-sley Astuto, Brad Bahorich, Harry Barnes, Erin deFrietas, Erin Dye, Sam Farmer, Elizabeth Forestner, Austin Froemming, Lauren Lamutt, Matt Leagan, Alex Lewis, Will McFadden, Cammann McFall, Caro-line Misel, Corrine Nabors, Maggie O’Hara, Jake Protis, Scott Raulerson, Carl Runge, Preston Smith, Luke Smith, Lucy Swan, Deacon Thomas Ader, Barbara Ader, Kim Hakes, Will Kelly.
SPSP Cookbooks
The J2A Cookbooks are still available in case you missed out in December. They are a great gift or addition to your kitchen. See Deacon Tom or Bar-bara Smith (770-998-9695) to get a cookbook.
rything from that list. Please return the list with your
supplies so we know what class it goes to! Our hope is that
this will make organizing the supplies much easier.
CAMP MIKELL SUMMER CAMP
SCHEDULE 2009
Go to www.campmikell.com
for more information
SUNDAY SCHOOL UPDATE
There will be no Sunday school
on May 3rd. We encourage you
to attend the children’s spring
musical in the nave during the
Sunday School hour ~ 9:15 -
10:15am.
May 17th is the last day of Sun-
day school.
Children’s News
Breaking Bread 10
Post Its From Preschool… submitted by Tracy Gallagher, Director
Spring is here, finally, and we are fast approaching the end to another fantastic, event filled year at St. Peter & St. Paul Preschool. Enrollment has continued to grow at our Preschool, and this year we are graduating the largest class of four year olds ever – 39!
In addition to everyday learning, our preschool had several wonderful events throughout the year. Our Open House and Muffins for Mom are always great kick off activities in the fall, giving families a chance to reconnect or get acquainted. Our four year olds experience a very special and traditional Thanksgiving Feast in the parish hall with parents, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Our Christ-mas Sing-A-Long in December was a magical evening, with our preschoolers putting on quite a per-formance. The festivities continued with a reception in the parish hall after the performance. Donuts for Dad is a special treat since we don’t see dads that frequently. Finally, our annual Spaghetti Dinner was a fabulous evening – combining fundraising with fellowship, and our inaugural silent auction was wonderfully successful! Our preschool year will culminate with our graduation ceremony on May 14th. It is with mixed emotions that we will watch our four year old classes sing their last songs and receive their “diplomas.” Many of our graduates have been students in our school for four years; others have joined our program this year. No matter how long they have been with us, we have gotten to know, understand, and love each of them – we will miss them all! We hope we have instilled in them a love for learning, and the life skills of sharing and caring.
Big hearty congratulations to our graduates!
Brian Bauman Luke Barker Hannah Baker Evan Carter Rachel DeLoach Noah Dressen Cecilia Childers Ashton Ellis Philip Eichelzer Catherine Fernandez Sophie Friend Cameron Ellis Hayden Forestner Emma Gephart Sam Hartt Jodan Gettys Gabrielle Godfrey Abigail Lewis Lauren Lassiter Brooke Gumpert Madison Loud Alex Lebrun John Henry Hynes Joshua MacKay Cassidy MacDonald Ian Ward Marin Picchi Carter Oliff Kayleigh Rizk John Roehsler Nimai Patel Arik Scofield Sara Beth Warnken Carys Roberts Sam Shaw Crandel Wright Katie Shelton Abigail Swank Reagan Tull
Financial Notes - February 2009
Operating Fund 2008 Actual 2009 Budget 2009 Actual
Total offering income $ 135,210 $ 171,144 $ 146,380
Total expenses 159,227 184,499 175,598
Excess of Income over Expenses
(24,017) (13,355) (29,218)
Y-T-D through February
11 Breaking Bread
Parish Hall / Kitchen
Reservations
When request ing
meetings in the parish
hall, it is important for
you to advise if your
group will require use
of the kitchen. If we
are not notified of your
needs, the kitchen
may be reserved for a
different party.
SUNDAY EVENING ADULT BIBLE STUDY BEGINS
JUNE 7
We are forming a Bible study group, open to all
adults, but especially for those unable to at-
tend Sunday School due to choir practice,
teaching Sunday School, or who are otherwise
occupied during the 9-10 am time period on
Sundays. We will meet from 7 – 8:30 pm on
Sunday evenings in Room 3 of the church. The
tentative agenda is a short fellowship and
opening prayer, Bible study and discussion,
and closing prayers.
The intention of this class is to have enough
time to really dig into the selected readings
and provide a forum to discuss our under-
standing of the message and how it applies to
our lives. We begin with John. Of all the Gos-
pels, John is not a chronological account of Je-
sus’ life but is rather a meditation on the sig-
nificance of his death. At the first session we
will discuss the Book of John, Chapters 1 –
2:11, the stories of Jesus calling the first disci-
