May 2015 The Seasons of Easter and Pentecost Bishop Goff ... · 5/4/2015 · MARY’S EPISCOPAL...

May 2015

The Seasons of Easter and Pentecost

Bishop Goff to Visit St. Mary’s for

Confirmation and Holy Communion

Sunday, May 10

11:00 a.m.

New St. Mary’s

The Right Rev. Susan Ellyn Goff, Bishop Su-

fragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia,

will preside at worship on her pastoral visit to

St. Mary’s Church Sunday, May 10, at 11:00

a.m. On this occasion Bishop Goff will con-

firm our eighth-grade class of confirmands and

receive new adult communicants. The Bishop

will also serve as our preacher and celebrant at

Holy Communion.

Following the conclusion of the liturgy, the

Vestry’s Fellowship Committee cordially in-

vites the congregation to join with the Bishop

in the New Parish Hall for a reception. This

gathering offers and opportunity to greet the

Bishop, and also to welcome the newly con-

firmed and received members of our parish.

The St. Mary’s community invites parents,

godparents, family and friends to enjoy this

festive event.

2●ST. MARY’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH NEWSLETTER●MAY 2015 stmarysgoochland.org

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Dover Parish in the Diocese of Virginia

12291 River Road

Richmond, VA 23238

Telephone: (804)784-5678 Fax: (804) 784-1940

E-Mail Address: [email protected]

Website: www.stmarysgoochland.org

St. Mary’s School Telephone: (804) 784-2049

Episcopal Leadership

The Archbishop of Canterbury

The Most Rev. and Rt. Honorable Justin Welby

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori

The Bishop of Virginia

The Right Rev. Shannon Sherwood Johnston

The Bishop Suffragan

The Right Rev. Susan E. Goff

Assistant Bishop

The Right Rev. Edwin F. Gulick, Jr.

The Parish Staff Rector The Rev. Dr. John E. Miller

Associate Rector The Rev. Eleanor L. Wellford

Interim Associate Rector

The Rev. Louise Browner Blanchard

Minister to Children & Youth

The Rev. Kristopher D. Adams

Nursery Director Meg Zehmer

Organist & Choirmaster W. Dwight Graham

Parish Administrator Gina M. Alexander

Parish Secretary Lori R. Smiley

Parish Sexton Paul E. Pace

Assistant Sexton Gersain Agudelo

The Parish Vestry Senior Warden Richard G. Lundvall

Junior Warden Jane DuFrane

Treasurer Howard E. Cobb

Register Michelle D. Lewis

From the

Parish Register:

Transfers In: 14 April2015 Craig Brian Davis from

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, VA

14 April2015 Lucy Gardner Davis from


14 April2015 Jackson Miles Davis from


14 April2015 George V. Moncure, Jr. from


Weddings: 12 April 2015 Allison Louise Jones Balzer &

Christopher Matthew Lahy

Class of 2018

Betsy Rawles

Bruin Richardson

David Rose

Charmaine Trice

Class of 2016 William Gooch

Michelle Lewis

Richard Lundvall

Benjamin Weimer, Jr.

Class of 2017

Scott Barton

Jane DuFrane

Steve Guza

Brantley Holmes

Summer Worship Schedule

to begin on May 24

10:00 a.m. Service in New St. Mary’s

Alternating Holy Eucharist

& Morning Prayer

No Sunday School May 24 & 31

Summer Sunday School Begins on June 7

The Nursery will be open

for Newborn through Age 2.

mailto:[email protected]://www.stmarysgoochland.org

stmarysgoochland.org ST. MARY’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH NEWSLETTER●MAY 2015●3

PASTORAL CARE TEAMS TO BE LAUNCHED IN MAY "As one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another

as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10) THE EXCITING NEWS: John, Eleanor and Weezie are very excited to announce that four teams of lay pastoral caregivers

have been formed, trained and are eager to be deployed beginning in May! Pastoral care derives its name and nature from the

meaning of "shepherd" and suggests the work of the shepherd with the flock. Members of St. Mary's Pastoral Care Teams

(PCTeams) will help bring the church community to those who, in the short term, have become sick, are undergoing a transi-

tion, experiencing a mishap, or have suffered a loss. They will also provide care in long-term situations when parishioners

are no longer able to attend, worship or pray with us on a regular basis. Clergy will continue to be the first responders to criti-

cal pastoral situations and will then advise PCTeams on what follow-up care might be needed with hospital or in-home visits.

The pastoral gifts of our team members will be evident in other ways, too, such as providing caring casseroles, welcoming

new members (and babies, too!), checking in with parishioners who have been missed, and supplying literature and news of

events and activities at St. Mary's.

TEAMWORK: The individual pastoral care members will be divided into four teams, with each team serving a particular

week of the month. Each team will consist of pastoral care members having a variety of pastoral care skills so that most of

the needs of the parish during any given week will be covered. Each team will have a team leader who will meet regularly

with clergy to review what might be needed for the week. Each team will then meet on the Monday of their week of service

for support, resources and to receive their assignments. 1st Week Team: Peggy Talman, Leader; Armistead Talman, Nell

Cobb, Linda Hyslop, Katherine Franta, Dottie Brotherton, Jan Betts, Fay Lohr, Valerie Deep and Lisa Powell. 2nd Week

Team: Pat Hughes, Leader; Catherine Hughes, Owen Conway, Margaret Mickel, Staige Nolley, Bill Nolley, Jane Covington,

Meg Zehmer, Jane Fawley, Sue Thompson and Cabell Jones. 3rd Week Team: Bev Beck and Deborah Orr, co-Team Lead-

ers; Ann Lagos, Bill Lagos, Susie Patton, Anne Lower, Frances Fife, Lynn Bayliss, Pat Gibb, Sydna Street and Jeff Allende.

4th Week Team: Margaret Lundvall, Leader; Mary Williams, Lucy Daniel, Brantley Holmes, Mary White, Carol Lynn For-

man, Missy Buckingham, Richard Buckingham, Susie Salsitz and Mary Lou Bean

AWARENESS and CONFIDENTIALITY: There is nothing more crucial to the success of this ministry than 1) being

aware that the team exists so that our parishioners can ask for help and 2) honoring the privacy of our parishioners so that

they can trust that their needs will be kept confidential. The clergy and PCTeam members will support each other, will use

discretion in referring to parishioners by name, will be the pastoral eyes and ears of our parish and will strive to be good stew-

ards of God's grace.


The Collect Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mys-

tery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant

that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's

Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their

faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

John’s Gospel is the last of four gospels of the New Tes-

tament. In outline it is generally similar to the other gospels,

but it is significantly different in a number of ways. It is cos-

mic in scope, instead of being localized in Palestine. John

speaks of incarnation of the Word rather than the birth of

Jesus in Bethlehem. John’s narrative contains a great deal of

material that the other three don’t, such as the famous “I am”

sayings, through which Jesus identifies himself by using

metaphors, like the good shepherd, and the way, the truth,

and the life. And John’s gospel is known for its signs and

wonders that point to the eternal nature of the Christ, includ-

ing his changing of water into wine and the raising of Laza-

rus. In short, the fourth gospel is a more theological treat-

ment of Jesus’ ministry than a collection of his sayings and

deeds.

John’s use of symbolic and metaphorical words is impor-

tant to note. His intent is to give us multiple clues to the na-

ture of Christ and his meaning for us today. John is always

beckoning the reader to pay attention to detail, and to dig

deeper to find truth and light for our journey.

Today’s Easter episode is a dramatic example of John’s

distinctive style of telling the story. He depicts the disciples

huddled together behind locked doors because they feared

being victims of same fate as their Lord. The risen Christ

mysteriously appears among them, but they do not recognize

him at first. The disciples are still suffering from the shock of

witnessing Jesus’ death, and are reeling in awe concerning

reports of his resurrection. Plus they are being cautious, lest

this unexpected visitor is a threat to their safety. So it is up to

Jesus to reveal his identity. He says, “Shalom aley-

chem” (“Peace be upon you”). The disciples are too suspi-

cious to give the greeting’s traditional response, Aleychem

shalom” (“[and] upon you peace).” They look at him in si-

lence, so he shows them his hands and his side. A glimpse of

Believe and See

A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter

Year B—12 April 2015

John Edward Miller

Rector

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,

and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were

locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among

them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he

showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples re-

joiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send

you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said

to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of

any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they

are retained.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples

told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them,

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my

finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will

not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Tho-

mas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus

came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my

hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not

doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and

my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because

you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and

yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disci-

ples, which are not written in this book. But these are written

so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,

the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life

in his name. -

-John 20:19-31


those wounds gets their attention. John says, “Then the disci-

ples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” The dime dropped,

the connection clicked, and they experience his presence

among them.

Next comes the “Pentecost moment,” according to John.

Jesus repeats the greeting, and gives them their apostolic

mandate to go where he would send them. Then he breathes

on them, and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This symbolic

act alludes to the ancient story in Genesis, in which God

breathes into the nostrils of the human he had created from

muddy earth, thereby making him a living being. In this res-

urrection appearance, Jesus “inspires” his apostles with the

power of new creation. Now they are spiritually ready to take

on a great responsibility, one for which they will need his

help, namely dealing with the sins of the people they will

encounter as missionaries of the Word.

This was a major moment. A game-changer, you might

say. And all of the remaining eleven were there to receive

this Easter gift, except Thomas, who was away at the time.

We are given no reason for his absence. But we are enticed

by the story to ask why he wasn’t ducking for cover like the

others. We can rule out defection or desertion, because he

returns. So there must be another reason. Perhaps he was

dazed by Jesus’ death, and confused by recent rumors, and

just wanted to go the open tomb and see it for himself.

Whatever his purpose was, it is clear that he is in no

mood to hear fantastic tales that made no sense to him. When

his colleagues tell him that they had seen the Lord, Thomas

likely gave them a raised eyebrow and maybe an “Uh, huh,

right” response. The door was locked; perhaps there was an

entry code, a special knock, or a password. If he had to use a

code, how could Jesus have entered without being admitted?

Shaking his head, Thomas gives them a “prove-it” response.

He says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and

put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his

side, I will not believe.”

Who is Thomas, really? He is a disciple of Jesus, but

when he lays down the gauntlet, he is not yet an apostle, one

whom Jesus “sends” out with the gospel message. There is

something in his way, and maybe many things – fear of be-

ing crucified, worry about the future, anger that it all came to

an abrupt, brutal end – among other concerns. My gut tells

me that he’s in grief, and that he misses Jesus terribly. Loss

loomed large in the group. So when he heard that his friends

had seen something that he had not, Thomas resents their

joy. Feeling cut off and alone, he resentfully demands proof.

The experience that knocks the chip off his shoulder is

intense and personal. Jesus appears again, this time specifi-

cally focusing on Thomas. He approaches him, and makes

himself totally accessible to Thomas’ senses. Jesus makes an

offer he cannot refuse, telling him to reach out and touch the

wounds in his hands, and to thrust his hand in his pierced

side. And challenges him, saying (in effect), “Lower your

guard, Thomas. Go ahead, touch me; it is I.” For Thomas the

offer is enough; he knows him, and he exclaims, “My Lord

and my God!” In that moment, the Good Shepherd has res-

cued his lost sheep. Thomas is restored to the fold, and the

apostles experience the Risen Lord together.

However, history has saddled Thomas with the nick-

name, the “Doubter.” This Sunday is often dubbed,

“Doubting Thomas” Sunday because of his comments to the

others, hanging belief on pragmatic evidence. But this does

not do justice to Thomas, or to John’s intent. The only name

the gospel calls him is “the Twin.” John never names Tho-

mas’ twin, and that is no coincidence. This detail is designed

prompt us to take notice. It is the author’s hint that we should

discover the identity of the twin. We are invited to accept a

spiritual quest, because the answer to the question provides

the key to understanding life after the resurrection of our

Lord.

I am not alone in claiming that each one of us is Thomas’

twin. All humans are his twins. And everyone baptized into

the death and resurrection of Jesus is his twin. We share the

same fears, the same hopes, and the same human condition.

All of us are dealing with the same reality. In our experience,

people who die stay dead. To accept another view of the na-

ture of things, one that does not compute, requires another

kind of experience – one that is sees with new eyes.

Resurrection faith is not a black/white, no/yes decision. It

is not a leap into the dark. For us, it is a process of discover-

ing what God reveals about life eternal in the here and now.

That means that believing in the truth of Easter is an ac-

quired taste, a cumulative experience of tasting the fruit of

new life. Popular wisdom advises that, “Seeing is believing.”

That works for science, where testing and measuring matter

greatly, and for courts of law, where there must be evidence

to convince a judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt. But

seeking that kind of proof of God’s presence is a futile enter-

prise, because God surpasses our comprehension. Our desire

to touch and examine the evidence remains, but what faith

seeks is understanding, not certainty, which is the opposite of

faith. Faith is a deep trust in God that enables us to accept his

many disclosures of a bigger picture than earthbound vision

can grasp on its own. This Easter story in the upper room

illustrates that kind of faith. Its message is: believing is see-

ing.

In John’s gospel the empty tomb is not concrete evidence

of Jesus’ resurrection. Taken as evidence, the fact of empty

tomb tells only that Jesus is absent, missing. But faith ac-

cepts the empty tomb as a symbol that points beyond our

mortal limits and calls for trust in a new possibility. It offers

us a vision of reality that transcends our usual expectations.

It beckons us to become people who live as though we be-

lieve that love is indeed stronger than death.

Thomas, our twin, wanted desperately to believe. He did

not deny the possibility that the Lord was alive. He simply

longed to experience that truth for himself. While he lan-

guished in grief alone, outside the circle of faith, he remained

in the dark. As soon as he re-entered the community of be-

lief, he experienced confirmation of his hope. That is where

the risen Lord abides. He was, and is, among those who be-

lieve and follow his new commandment to love one another.


Their shared hope is ours as well. It is not a delusion, it is a

new level of reality.

Soren Kierkegaard was right: none of us can be a

“disciple at second hand.” We need the community of faith

to comprehend and confirm our belief. There Christ’s resolve

that we love one another as he has loved us is not only a new

commandment, it is the way, the truth, and the life. Where

love is, there Christ is. Thus we should not deride or despise

Thomas. On the contrary, we must embrace him; for his

story is our story. Neither Thomas, nor you, nor I is con-

demned to walk in the darkness without the light of life. God

hears our cry and graces us with glimpses of the truth that the

empty tomb no longer evokes fear and trembling; instead it

becomes the symbol of “love divine, all loves excelling,” and

our shared hope and joy.

As Thomas is given the assurance that death is not the

final word about Jesus, we also receive the blessing of en-

couragement that assures us that the power of love tran-

scends even the apparent finality of death. If we choose to

look at the world with Easter eyes, we see that the hands of

the risen Christ are all about us. They are the hands of loving

people who care about us. They are hands that bless us, that

touch us tenderly, that offer us a tissue to wipe away our

tears, that gives us a hand when we stumble to our knees in

sorrow. These are his hands – hands that were wounded for

our sake, hands that reach out to us in our suffering. They are

about the business of rolling away the stone from the tomb of

our grief. They are the hands of creation, hands that order the

chaos that debilitates us, hands of the divine artist who re-

fashions our flattened lump of clay into a creature made in

the image of God. These are the hands that gently take hold

of us and breathe the breath of life into our nostrils, inspiring

us to live life to the fullest.

Because of these hands, we know that the body of Christ

is not trapped in the tomb. He is raised from the dead, and

has ascended to the right hand of the Father. But he has not

left us without a visible, tangible sign of his eternal presence

among us. He has given us the church as the community of

faith. Together, in love, we represent his living body to the

world, and to one another. Christ our Lord is the head, and

we are called to be the members. The soul of this risen body

is the Spirit of God; the life blood of the Body of Christ is

love.

On this second Sunday of Easter the gospel invites us to

believe and see. It is up to us to accept this challenge, and to

gaze at the world with Easter eyes. Those of us who trust the

grace of God will recognize the risen Christ in and through

the community of faith. With God’s help we will see him,

and exclaim with our brother Thomas, “My Lord and my

God!” And in the company of the faithful we will sing a new

song: “Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!”

Amen.

11:00 a.m. Service—New St. Mary’s—May 2015

Date Service Ushers LEM Lay Reader Prayer Leader

May 3 Holy Eucharist II Mary & David Campbell,

Jane duFrane & Doug Pera

Bill Thornton Hobie Andrews Tracey Ragsdale

May 10 Confirmation—

Holy Eucharist II

Tami & Clyde Toms, Frank

& Charmaine Trice

Patricia Plaisted Deborah Orr

May 17 Holy Eucharist I Ann Steele, Youth Sydna Street Youth Youth


May 3 Holy Eucharist I Scottie & Tom Slater Joan Wilkins

May 10 Holy Eucharist I Phebe Van Valen Cabell Jones Cabell Jones

May 17 Holy Eucharist I Bill Gooch & Ralph Fisher Robin Lind Susie Salsitz Kitty Williams

9:00 a.m. Service—Little St. Mary’s—May 2015

SCHEDULE FOR LAY WORSHIP ASSISTANTS


May 24 Morning Prayer Tami & Clyde Toms n/a Pam Loree

May 31 Holy Eucharist Liz & Al Rider, Bill Gooch

& Ralph Fisher

Susie Salsitz Liz Rider

10:00 a.m. Service—New St. Mary’s—May 2015


Sometimes it takes a little longer than one expects but

Joseph Campbell recognized that when he explained that he

should have said “Follow your blisters.”

Although not a native Virginian, nor a graduate of ‘The

Institute,’ St. Mary’s parishioner Tom Farrell formed an

abiding interest in military history as a young man and espe-

cially in the story of the young cadets from VMI who were

ordered into battle at New Market on May 15, 1864.

Over the course of two decades, while being mightily

distracted by a demanding business career, Farrell conducted

research into diaries, contemporary journals and accounts of

the bloody battle that drove Union forces out of the Shenan-

doah Valley 151 years ago. Each side lost more than 13% of

their force, killed wounded or captured. The little Corps of

Cadets, which had marched down the valley from Lexing-

ton, to serve as a reserve force, was thrown into a faltering

line of attack in the early afternoon; it suffered 18% casual-

ties: 10 dead and 47 wounded.

It was a day of valor, horror, courage, and resolution that

is commemorated at the Virginia Military Institute every

May 15 with a roll call of the dead — answered by current

cadets from the companies of the fallen.

Farrell, the son of a West Point graduate, grandson of a

Major General also named Tom, and namesake of an uncle

who died at the Battle of Anzio in World War II, considered

writing a book about the battle but instead chose film as the

medium to follow his bliss.

With fellow University of Virginia graduate Dave Ken-

nedy — a former Navy aviator and subsequent actor, film

writer — Farrell co-wrote the screen play that was produced

as “Field of Lost Shoes,” winner of the GI Film Festival

award as Best Dramatic Feature of 2014.

The film debuted nationally on September 26 and is now

also available for purchase from retailers such as Amazon

and rental from such online services as Netflix.

Farrell will describe his experience of putting himself on

“the kind of track that was always there all the while” at the

St. Mary’s Seniors Lunch on Wednesday May 13.

St. Mary’s Seniors gather at forenoon, lunch is served at

12:15 pm. Our speaker begins at 12:45 and we promise you

may depart by 2 pm after ample time for questions.

All members of St. Mary’s are invited to attend, espe-

cially those juniors who are only aspirants to the order of

seniority. Please call the church office at 804-784-5678 for a

lunch reservation which helps so much in our meal planning.

Suggested donation is $5. We look forward to seeing you.

Producer-Screenwriter Tom Farrell II

Describes Movie-Making for Seniors

Wednesday, May 13 at 12:00 Noon

by Robin Lind

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you,

and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your

bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.

-Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Menu:

Cold Plate Spring Special

Sliced Baked Ham

Neiman-Marcus Recipe Chicken Salad

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Rolls

Carrot Cake Cupcakes


Late one afternoon earlier this week, the phone rang here

at St. Mary’s, and I answered it. A friendly-sounding man

said, “Hey, is John Miller there?” I told him that John was

out of town and asked if I might take a message. “Well, I’ve

known John for years,” he said, “I’m not an Episcopalian (he

actually said “Whiskypalian), but from time to time, I like to

call John up and ask him some questions. Since he’s not

there, do you mind if I ask you a question about the Bible?”

He said that he was interested in what I had to say about

a certain verse. Answering a question about a single Bible

verse makes me a little nervous because some, at least, are

really susceptible to being taken out of context, so I cau-

tiously agreed. “Here it is,” he said, “‘I am the way, and the

truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except

through me.‘ What’s the Episcopal position on that?” he

asked. As I said, some Bible verses are susceptible to being

taken out of context. Where was John when I needed him? I

took a deep breath. “If you’ve been talking to John about

stuff like this,” I said, “you know there’s hardly ‘an Episco-

pal position’ on anything. We range from one end of the

spectrum to the other on just about everything. I’m not say-

ing that John and I would disagree, but what I would say

isn’t necessarily what he would say. Don’t you want to wait

until you can talk to him?” No...he said that he was interested

to hear what I thought.

To make a long story short, I said that it saddened me

when verses like that were used to exclude people rather than

welcome them, because during his life on earth, Jesus was

constantly expanding the circle of people who are in God’s

kingdom - children and women, the sick and the Samaritans,

those who are poor and uneducated and those who are rich

and seeking - and inviting all of them into a closer relation-

ship with God. Jesus spoke this verse itself in a very intimate

setting - at the last supper - to very particular people - his

disciples. It doesn’t make much sense to me that the same

Jesus who railed against the rigidity of the Pharisees and

their ilk meant for this saying to be used against people who

might never have heard of him. I believe that goodness is at

the heart of God’s creation and God’s relationships with us--

all of God’s creation and all of us.

John’s friend didn’t catch me so off guard after all, in

part, I’m sure, because I’d been so steeped in today’s gospel

about the good shepherd. It’s a shift from what we’ve heard

since Easter - those wonderful, powerful, and sometimes

even funny stories of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances

to people who had known and loved him - a shift to Jesus’s

testimony of who he is for us. It’s as if we’ve been watching

a riveting play unfold on stage and all of a sudden the main

character is standing in front of us and talking directly to

each of us, reminding us that we - all of us - are part of the

story.

And that story is breathtaking in its portrayal of faithful-

ness - not our faithfulness to God, which is, despite our best

intentions, fickle at best - but Jesus’s faithfulness, and

through him, God’s faithfulness, to us, no matter what. We

can hardly begin to fathom how much we are already cared

for, how intimately we are already known, how deeply we

are already loved, but the image of Jesus as the good shep-

herd and us as the sheep is a good place to start. The good

shepherd will lay down his life for us. He knows us the same

way that God knows him, and he seeks to bring all of us to

him, to God, to One. No matter how lost we are, how far

astray we go, he will search for us. And he reminds us that

we, the sheep, know him. We know his voice; we can hear

his call. He is waiting for us to hear it, and he is anticipating

that we will.

There are, of course, many competing and often noisier

voices: the one that convinced the rich young ruler that the

money he already had was worth more than Jesus’s promise

We Know It

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Year B—26 April 2015

Louise Browner Blanchard

Interim Associate Rector

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays

down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the

shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming

and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches

them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a

hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shep-

herd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Fa-

ther knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life

for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this

fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the

Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take

it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my

own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power

to take it up again. I have received this command from my

Father."

.–John 10:11-18


of abundant life; the one that assured the Pharisees that peo-

ple’s afflictions were the avoidable consequence of some-

one’s sin; the one that persuaded Peter that he was better off

not admitting that he knew Jesus, to name just a few. We,

too, are susceptible to depending on wealth and possessions

for happiness, blaming people for their unfortunate circum-

stances and ours, and looking away from injustice. We tend

to make God someone who thinks like we do, especially

about the things that scare us the most, so that our ways are

God’s ways instead of vice versa. But the call of the good

shepherd never ceases. It is the foundational lesson for us in

this post-resurrection season, the first and foremost lesson

not only about who Jesus was, but who the risen Christ is, to

us, for now and for all time.

And something deep inside each of us actually knows it.

The Rev. John Philip Newell, a renowned expert on Celtic

spirituality and international peacemaking, often tells of the

time that he was giving a lecture about the essential goodness

at the heart of God and God’s creation. One woman in his

audience, who had been raised with a more fire-and-

brimstone vision of God, was overcome by how much John

Philip’s words resonated with her. “I knew it, I knew it, I

knew it,” she exclaimed afterward. In our hearts, so do we.

This is not just feel-good sentimentality. The life of a

shepherd and his sheep is fraught with danger and threats, as

is ours. But the 23rd Psalm, which we said together a few

minutes ago, reminds us that we are guided even in the val-

ley of the shadow of death, that we are cared for even in the

presence of our enemies. Kate Moorehead, dean of the Epis-

copal Cathedral of St. John in Jacksonville, tells the heart-

rending story of a 14 year-old boy whose older brother was

killed in a tragic accident. The boy was at an age where no

one would have expected him to do anything other than seek

the solace of his friends and lose himself in video games.

Instead he visited his brother’s grave, where he laid a wreath

of flowers and took a picture, and posted it on Facebook, and

wrote about the peace that he felt there. That boy heard the

shepherd’s call, and we hear it through him. The promise is

not that no harm will come to us, but that no harm will de-

stroy us--that God’s love can and will accompany us, sustain

us, and, perhaps most remarkably, dwell within us.

It’s one of the reasons that we come here together this

morning - to remind ourselves of the essential goodness that

is at the heart of our faith and of each other, to draw strength

from and to encourage each other to listen for the shepherd’s

call, as we witness to it in our own lives and the lives of oth-

ers. Nothing can take that away from us. It’s the way, and the

truth, and the life. It’s the resurrection promise, and today’s

gospel reminds us that it belongs to us. Deep inside, we

know it. We know it. We know it.

THE REVEREND

LOUISE BROWNER BLANCHARD TO CONTINUE AS ASSOCIATE RECTOR

The Rev. Dr. John E. Miller, Rector of St. Mary’s Church, an-

nounced at the April 28 meeting of the Vestry that he is extending

the term of the Rev. Louise Browner Blanchard as Associate Rec-

tor through 2015. Originally called to serve a six-month interim

ministry concluding on June 30, Weezie has agreed to remain on

the clergy staff at St. Mary’s through year’s end. Her range of re-

sponsibilities has included collaboration with the Outreach, Worship, Communications, and Welcoming

committees. In addition to these assignments Weezie is assisting the Rector on the Search Committee

for a new Assistant Rector. She has also shared the pastoral, sacramental, administrative and preaching

ministries of the parish, and initiated new programming for the Lenten season. This spring Weezie will

lead parishioners on a spiritual retreat to the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massa-

chusetts. Following the Rev. Eleanor L. Wellford’s departure from St. Mary’s in mid-June, Weezie will

share overall responsibilities with the Rector. St. Mary’s is grateful that the parish will continue to bene-

fit from Weezie Blanchard’s gifts for ministry.


CHILDREN & YOUTH MINISTRIES

The Rev. Kristopher D. Adams Minister to Children and Youth

CALENDAR AT A GLANCE

Sunday, May 3 Children & Youth Committee Meeting (10:00am)

Sunday, May 10 Bishop’s Visit & Confirmation (11:00am)

Sunday, May 17 Children & Youth Service (11:00am)

Sunday, May 24 No Sunday School

Sunday, May 31 No Sunday School

Sunday, June 7 Summer Sunday School Begins (10:00am)

Thursday-Friday, June 18-19 Youth Homegrown Mission Trip (Grades 6-12)

Monday-Friday, July 13-17 Vacation Bible School (Age 3-Grade 5)

YOUTH FELLOWSHIP SUNDAY UPDATE Thank you to everyone who came out to join us for our Youth Fellowship Sunday! We had a wonderful time racing go-karts, getting soaking wet on bumper boats, and playing putt-putt golf. Throughout the summer, we plan on having even more opportunities for our St. Mary’s youth to get together and have fun. Please watch your email for updates and invitations to our summer youth events as they are scheduled!


BISHOP’S VISIT AND CONFIRMATION Sunday, May 10, 11:00am

Our bishop's visit and confirmation date has been set for Sunday, May 10, at 11:00am. Please mark your calendars now and begin in-viting your friends and family to join us for this special event! The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff will be presiding at this service, and it will be followed by a reception with light refreshments.

We are happy to announce that our confirmation class for this year includes: Emma Ahearn, Cape Beirne, Alex Brown, Gracie Burress, Jack Deutsch,

Gabrielle Franta, Grayson Gunter, Edmund McElroy, Celia Phillips, Harrison Rhodes, and Ann Cameron Zehmer.

Those being confirmed should arrive by 10:15am and gather in their regular confirmation classroom. Please contact the church office if you have any questions regarding the service. Parents of Youth in Grade 7, who will be our rising confirmands for 2016, are encouraged to assist with the refreshment preparations on this Sunday. If you are available to help, please contact Dede Andrews at [email protected].

CHILDREN & YOUTH SERVICE followed by an Ice Cream Social

Sunday, May 17, 11:00am

The children and youth of St. Mary's will be leading this special service which will feature children and youth serving as greeters, collecting the offering, and leading in our readings and prayers. Rising sixth grad-ers will be recognized as they transition into our youth program, and graduating seniors will be recog-nized as well. Following the service, we will have an ice cream so-cial, and donations will go towards our Homegrown Mission Trip this summer. Children and youth inter-ested in participating in this service should use the sign up button below to volunteer for the areas in which they would like to serve. We hope that you will join us as our young ones lead us in worship!

SIGN UP FOR THE CHILDREN & YOUTH SERVICE: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-children

mailto:[email protected]://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-childrenhttp://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-children


During the summer, Sunday School will be offered for children age 3 through grade 2 during the 10:00am service. Sunday School will include a morning scripture lesson, followed by fun activities and a snack. Our summer Sunday School schedule will last from Sunday, June 7 - Sunday, August 30. All children (age 3 - grade 5) will begin Sunday School in the 10:00am service with their families. Following the scripture readings, our children will be dismissed to the Block Room for the remainder of Sunday School. Please note that there will be no Sunday School on the following Sundays: May 24, May 31, July 5, and September 6. On these Sundays, we would love for your children to join us for the 10:00am service. The nursery will be open every Sunday for our 10:00am service to care for newborns through age 2. Parents, please volunteer to help with our summer Sun-day School program! Please use the link or QR code to access our online sign up!

SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summer1

SERVING AS A ST. MARY’S ACOLYTE

The youth of St. Mary’s play a special role in leading our worship each week as acolytes. At St. Mary’s, acolytes assist in worship by lighting and extinguishing the candles on the altar, as well as leading the service’s processions as a crucifer—one who carries the cross. Aco-lytes have served the Christian church for centuries, and serving as an acolyte gives St. Mary’s youth the opportunity to continue this historic and important tradition in our worship services. If you have been confirmed (or completed the eighth grade), please sign up to serve as an acolyte. Training sessions will be provided for all new acolytes. New and veteran acolytes should sign up for the dates on which they would like to serve using the links below.

SPRING ACOLYTE SCHEDULE:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-winter1

SUMMER ACOLYTE SCHEDULE:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summer

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summer1http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summer1http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-winter1http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-winter1http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-winter1http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summerhttp://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48acaa29aafe3-summer


For more information about our children and youth ministries, including additional details for events or signing up as an adult volunteer, please contact our Minister to Children and

Youth, Rev. Kristopher Adams, at [email protected], or the Chair of the Children and Youth Committee, Mrs. Brantley Holmes, at [email protected].

Thursday & Friday, June 18-19

St. Mary's Episcopal Church stands in the gap between rural Goochland and urban Richmond. This summer, our youth are invited to participate in a homegrown mission trip designed to help our youth serve both of these different communities. Our homegrown mission trip will include food packing at St. Mary's for Goochland Family Services' Food Pantry, volunteering at Shalom Farms, which is a re-gional food access and community development project on the James River, serving food downtown at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s Soup Kitchen, as well as sharing in activities for both worship and fun. Our mission work will take place Thursday, June 18, through Friday, June 19. More details will be available soon, as well as an online sign up. We hope you will plan to join us this

summer as we minister to the needs around us from the farm to the city!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Monday-Friday, July 13-17, 9:00am-12:00pm

You will not want to miss out this summer on our summer Vacation Bible School where we will learn all about Jesus’ life as a child! Everyone knows what it’s like to hear their parents tell stories from their childhood. Can you imagine the kinds of stories Mary and Joseph could tell about Jesus? We will be journeying with your children back to Hometown Nazareth, where they’ll learn more about their faith and that the child of Mary and Joseph is also the Son of God.

DOWNLOAD OUR VBS REGISTRATION FORM: http://www.stmarysgoochland.org/?p=4617

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]?subject=Confirmation%20Classhttp://www.stmarysgoochland.org/?p=4617http://www.stmarysgoochland.org/?p=4617


St. Mary’s Episcopal School

By Susan Rawls, Director \"Where did the year go? It is hard to believe that we are on the final month of

school and preparing to graduate 27 children to kindergarten. We have had a fan-

tastic year and looking forward to summer camp and a summer respite. Our

classes for next year are

almost all full. We still have space in our two year

old class and in our pre-k class (children turning 5

from January to September, 2016.) We invite

you to set up a visit at St. Mary's Preschool by

calling 784-2049. Also, please enjoy our website

at www.saintmarysschool.net.

The playground will soon transform into a play

space for all of us, church and school, to en-

joy. Be on the watch for the installation of the

new equipment!

The teachers and staff at St. Mary's Episcopal Pre-

school wish you all a very happy summer!! Thank

you for your continued support of our school com-

munity! The Monday/Wednesday Two's went to the "zoo".

http://www.saintmarysschool.nethttp://www.saintmarysschool.net/Home.aspx


P A R I S H ● N E W S ● I N ● B R I E F

Rector’s Weekly Bible Study

The Bible Study meets every Wednesday in the Library from 10:00 a.m. to

11:30 a.m. Led by Rector John E. Miller, each Bible study session focuses on

the Lectionary readings assigned for the succeeding Sunday. Members are en-

couraged to bring a Bible in a translation or version that they enjoy reading.

All members and friends are cordially invited to attend and participate. While

no prior biblical training is required of group members, an open mind and

readiness to learn and share insights are always welcome!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

This group of spirited knitters meets in the Associate Rector’s office every

third Thursday of the month at 10:00 a.m. Its purpose is to knit, weave, or cro-

chet shawls as the ministry’s participants pray for God’s blessing on those in

need of pastoral care. The end product is not only a lovely source of warmth,

but it is also a tangible means of comfort. Each shawl represents the loving

witness of prayer offered by a community knit together by the Spirit of God.

Education for Ministry

This small group co-mentored by Associate Rector Eleanor Wellford and Ca-

bell Jones meets every Tuesday afternoon from 3:30-6:00 p.m. in the Library

of the Education Building. The group spends its time in theological reflection

and review of specific reading assignments.

Mary’s Altar Guild

Spring Dinner

Please join us for a light dinner fare on:

Thursday, May 7, 2015 from

6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Fun, Fellowship, Bring a Friend!

Our Rector, John Miller, will present a refresher course

in Altar Guild procedures for Holy Communion.

RSVP to Joanie Robins 741-6393 or

[email protected] by May 4

mailto:[email protected]


The St. Mary’s NEWSLETTER is published monthly from September through May, with one summer edition, as a ministry to the members and friends of Dover Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. The views and information expressed herein are guided by

the mission statement of our parish:

We are a community of faith that worships and learns together, welcomes all people, and serves the needs of others in gratefulness for

God’s love and grace revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Editor-in-Chief The Reverend John Edward Miller, Ph.D., Rector

Managing Editor Mrs. Lori Remington Smiley, Parish Secretary

Staff Photographers The Parish Staff

Contributors The Lay Leadership and Professional Staff of Dover Parish

The regular deadline for submission of articles for publication is the fifteenth day of each month.

Kim Glenn to be Ordained

To the Transitional Diaconate

God willing, Kimberly Baker Glenn, a communicant of St. Mary’s Church

and a former member of our parish professional staff, will be ordained a Deacon

of the Episcopal Church on Saturday, June 6. The liturgy will commence at 4

p.m. at The Falls Church, 115 E. Fairfax Street, Falls Church, Virginia, 22046.

The Bishop of Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Shannon Sherwood Johnston is scheduled

to ordain Kim, along with seven other candidates, to the Holy Order of Deacons.

Her specific vocation is to the Transitional Diaconate, which means that Kim

will continue on the process to be ordained a Priest after having served a term as

a Deacon.

Once consecrated as a Deacon, Kim will, in the name of Jesus Christ, serve

all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely. In addition,

The Book of Common Prayer contains the following charge by the Bishop to a new Deacon at the service of ordi-nation:

“As a deacon in the Church, you are to study the Holy Scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to

model your life upon them. You are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example,

to those among whom you live, and work, and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns,

and hopes of the world. You are to assist the bishop and priests in public worship and in the ministration of God’s

Word and Sacraments, and you are to carry out other duties assigned to you from time to time. At all times, your

life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself” (BCP,

543).

Kim’s journey to this calling to serve has been a long one. Having completed the Education for Ministry pro-

gram in January 2001, she discerned a vocation to ministry with youth. Kim served faithfully and well as St.

Mary’s Youth Minister from 2001 until 2009. During that time she developed our youth groups and led many

summer mission trips. She also committed herself to continuing education. Kim graduated from what is now Un-

ion Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, with the Master of Arts in Christian Education in 2005. She completed

the Master of Divinity degree from Union in 2014. Further, as a part of her ordination process with the Committee

on Priesthood, Kim has commuted to Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria throughout the current aca-

demic year. Her work there is nearly complete, and she will graduate with a certificate in Anglican Studies from

VTS on May 21, 2015. Kim’s candidacy for ordination has been endorsed by St. Mary’s Rector, the Rev. Dr.

John E. Miller, the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Virginia, and Bishop Shannon.

The Glenn family, including Kim’s husband, Charles, their three adult children – Charles, Jr., Sarah Courtney,

and Garrard, and Kim’s Baker family of origin in Lexington, Virginia, have steadfastly stood by her, and accom-

panied her, in this adventure of faith. St. Mary’s parishioners have helped Kim in the vocational discernment

process, and the parish vestry and staff members, both clergy and lay professionals, have joined in prayers and

practical support for Kim. All of us wish Kim Godspeed in this sacred ministry as a Deacon in Christ’s Church.


RECEPTION WITH THE BISHOP

Sunday, May 10

12:30 p.m.

Parish Hall

Menu:

A Spring Garden Luncheon

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Vegan Pasta Salad

Cucumber Dill and

Grape Tomato Salad

Deviled Eggs

Fruit Salad

Pigs in a Blanket

Mini Crab Cakes

Crudite

Cookies, Cupcakes

and Brownies

This occasion of fellowship will enable our parish to greet the

Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the

Right Reverend Susan Ellyn Goff, and to welcome the newly

confirmed and received members of the Episcopal Church.

Please come and enjoy this festive reception prepared and

hosted by our fellowship committee.


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