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S T P AUL S E PISCOPAL C HURCH † A UGUST 2012 T HE E PISTLE I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : S ENIOR WARDEN COMMENTS ; CHRIS- TIAN E DUCATION UPDATE 2 P UMPKIN P ATCH; DEACONS B ENCH 3 VBS 2012 P IX 4 S AWYERVILLE THANKS AND PIX 5 REFLECTIONS FROM THE ASSOCIATE REC- TOR 6 MONTHLY CALENDAR; S T. P AUL S ON THE ROAD 7 FROM THE RECTOR Dear Friends, Many years ago I ran across a quote that stuck in my head. The way I remember it is: “If God is everywhere in general, He’d best be some place in particular, or else His presence has little meaning.” I’m sure I don’t have it exactly right, and since I can’t verify the quote, I’ll not (mis) attribute it to its author. In any event, it made sense to me. Most of us, I imagine, have known places where God’s presence is palpable. One such place for me (and for you?) is St. Paul’s Church. Standing as it has for one hundred and thirty-seven years, this building has held hopes, dreams, joys, sadness, and everything in between. Peo- ple are brought into the Body of Christ here, and from here souls are consecrated into the larger life “with Angels and Arch- angels and with all the company of heaven.” This building has witnessed and been an inspiration for the prayers and worship of generations. As the song goes: “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this (holy) place.” And so, it felt very strange that Sunday morning of April 22 nd , when, after the 7:30am communion service, and after everyone had left and I had secured the church building, I turned out the lights, set the alarm, and locked the door. We would have another service later that morning, but it being the day of the An- nual Parish Picnic, the second service would be at the beautiful Carter Farm. And so I left that holy place in darkness. Of course, God is not confined to a place. Jesus promised that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) But it still was a strange feeling to turn out the lights and lock the doors of our church at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. We are taught that the Church is not pri- marily about place but about people, community, “the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all bap- tized persons are members.” (BCP p. 854) St. Paul’s is a community of people drawn into relationship by and in Christ, and the manifestation of community that is St. Paul’s is wonderful, holy, fun, faith- ful, sometimes untidy, almost always au- thentic, and an eclectic mix of folks trying to muddle through this life together as faithfully and as best we can. For a community to function well, it needs to gather periodically and regularly. The primary way Episcopalians gather is in worship and in the sharing of Holy Communion. Week by week by week. Summer is traditionally a time to shift gears. School is out. Many folks take vaca- tions or go to the lake or the beach, and there is generally a more relaxed pace of life. I hope it’s been a good summer for each of you. As the last few weeks of summer draw to a close, let’s make it a point to get back into the regular routine of Sunday wor- ship together. It is fun and enriching to be together, and our corporate worship of God is a basic source of our vitality and life. “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.” I hope you are, too! In Christ’s love, David+
Transcript
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ST PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH † AUGUST 2012

THE EPISTLE

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

SENIOR WARDEN COMMENTS; CHRIS-TIAN EDUCATION UPDATE

2

PUMPKIN PATCH; DEACON’S BENCH

3

VBS 2012 PIX 4

SAWYERVILLE THANKS AND PIX

5

REFLECTIONS FROM THE ASSOCIATE REC-TOR

6

MONTHLY CALENDAR; ST. PAUL’S ON THE ROAD

7

FROM THE RECTOR Dear Friends,

Many years ago I ran across a quote that stuck in my head. The way I remember it is: “If God is everywhere in general, He’d best be some place in particular, or else His presence has little meaning.” I’m sure I don’t have it exactly right, and since I can’t verify the quote, I’ll not (mis)attribute it to its author. In any event, it made sense to me. Most of us, I imagine, have known places where God’s presence is palpable.

One such place for me (and for you?) is St. Paul’s Church. Standing as it has for one hundred and thirty-seven years, this building has held hopes, dreams, joys, sadness, and everything in between. Peo-ple are brought into the Body of Christ here, and from here souls are consecrated into the larger life “with Angels and Arch-angels and with all the company of heaven.” This building has witnessed and been an inspiration for the prayers and worship of generations. As the song goes: “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this (holy) place.”

And so, it felt very strange that Sunday morning of April 22nd, when, after the 7:30am communion service, and after everyone had left and I had secured the church building, I turned out the lights, set the alarm, and locked the door. We would have another service later that morning, but it being the day of the An-nual Parish Picnic, the second service would be at the beautiful Carter Farm. And so I left that holy place in darkness. Of course, God is not confined to a place. Jesus promised that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in

the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) But it still was a strange feeling to turn out the lights and lock the doors of our church at 8:30 on a Sunday morning.

We are taught that the Church is not pri-marily about place but about people, community, “the Body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all bap-tized persons are members.” (BCP p. 854) St. Paul’s is a community of people drawn into relationship by and in Christ, and the manifestation of community that is St. Paul’s is wonderful, holy, fun, faith-ful, sometimes untidy, almost always au-thentic, and an eclectic mix of folks trying to muddle through this life together as faithfully and as best we can.

For a community to function well, it needs to gather periodically and regularly. The primary way Episcopalians gather is in worship and in the sharing of Holy Communion. Week by week by week.

Summer is traditionally a time to shift gears. School is out. Many folks take vaca-tions or go to the lake or the beach, and there is generally a more relaxed pace of life. I hope it’s been a good summer for each of you.

As the last few weeks of summer draw to a close, let’s make it a point to get back into the regular routine of Sunday wor-ship together. It is fun and enriching to be together, and our corporate worship of God is a basic source of our vitality and life. “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.” I hope you are, too!

In Christ’s love,

David+

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PAGE 2 THE EPISTLE

From the Senior Warden Saint Paul's summer schedule was initiated in fine style with our special breakfast marking the change from our fall‐winter schedule. Special thanks to Greg Bjelke for conceiving and executing this semiannual event to mark and cause us to focus on the transitions and changes in our common life together at St. Paul's with fresh energy and enthusiasm. 

Your Vestry continues to work to redefine, expand and restructure St. Paul’s commit‐tee system. Please review the following list of committees and let David, Joyce or me know on which committee(s) you would like to serve. It is our goal to reorganize the committee structure, job descriptions and expand committee membership into the parish as a whole. Our committees will include the following: Stewardship; Worship; Outreach; Parish Life; Christian Ed; Little Friends. Please join with and partici‐pate in this vital project of inclusion and renewal. 

The special properties committee consisting of your Junior and Senior Wardens, Jerry Dillard, Harry Gamble and the Rector has initiated meetings with and sought advice and referrals from qualified professionals to assess the current condition of our physical assets and make recommendations to the Vestry for the maintenance and/or upgrade of our historic site. A recommendation to engage additional professional as‐sessments of the status and condition of our sanctuary and parish hall will be pre‐sented to the Vestry at its August meeting. As summer fades and we anticipate the arrival of fall, let us all join together with renewed energy and enthusiasm to live and achieve our collective vision for St. Paul’s parish family. Thanks be to God! 

Faithfully, 

Ralph Hobbs, Senior Warden 

Christian Education Update! September is just around the corner! St. Paul’s Fall Christian Education program will re-sume on September 9th, when we return to our regular service times of 7:30 and 10:30am. The Christian Education Committee and I are excited about our Sunday School offerings for all ages. On Sunday mornings, in addition to con-tinuing our new children’s curriculum Weaving God’s Promises Year Two and a brand new teen curriculum Our Biblical Ancestors, there will also be two adult of-ferings—the ongoing Tipton Parlor lec-tionary discussion and a new clergy-led class (details forthcoming!). We hope that all will join us during Christian Education “hour” beginning at 9:10am each Sun-day as we grow and mature in our Christian faith, no matter what our age! Remember, Chris-

tian Formation is a life-long process! Peanut Butter and Jelly Club, our monthly after-school program for elementary school children, will continue its tradition of an annual “theme” accompanied by exploring related themes from

the Bible. Our “theme” this year will be Toy Story/God’s Story/Our Story as we discover insights into the Christian faith via the three Toy Story movies. The mid-week Bible Study on Tuesday mornings will also resume in September as we continue our walk through the Gospel according to Mark. Come join us!! More details to come in the September

newsletter and a separate Sunday bulletin insert soon, so stay tuned!

Betsy+

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THE PUMPKINS ARE COMING! We are still waiting for final confirma‐tion from the pumpkin supplier, but we are anticipating delivery on Satur‐day, October 13th. We  will need many hands to off‐load the pumpkins from the truck. Also, we will very soon be recruiting volunteers for several three hour shifts. Let’s all get on board for this important and FUN ministry!! 

“The Deacon’s Bench”

Jonathan Daniels Annual Pilgrimage

Saturday, August 11th, 2012 – 11 am, Hayneville AL

Carolyn Maull McKinstry, Homilist

Plans are well underway for this year’s annual ob-servance and pilgrimage to Hayneville, AL to re-member and honor the lives of Jonathan Daniels and the twelve civil rights martyrs of Alabama.

This year’s homilist will be Carolyn Maull McKinstry, author of While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement. A survivor of the civil rights struggle and eyewitness to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, Carolyn Maull McKinistry marched under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and bravely faced Bull Connor’s German Shepherds and stinging fire hoses during the bat-tle for equal rights. Now, one year before the fifth anniversary of the bombing, Carolyn will share her experience and insights during the pilgrimage that is sponsored by The Commission on Race Relations and the Diocese of Alabama.

Jonathan Daniels was an Episcopal seminarian who answered the call of the Rev. Dr. Martin Lu-ther King Jr. to help register African-American voters in Alabama. He was shot and killed on Aug. 20, 1965, while shielding then 16-year-old Ruby Sales from a shotgun blast as she attempted to en-ter a store to buy something to drink. Daniels was added to the Episcopal Church Calendar of Saints in 1994 to be remembered each Aug. 14.

The pilgrimage begins at 11:00 a.m., on Satur-day, August 11th at the Courthouse Square in Hayneville. The procession will go to the old county jail where Daniels and Sales were among those detained for a week and then will move to the old Cash Grocery Store where Daniels was killed. The pilgrimage will end at the Courthouse where a service of Holy Communion will take place in the courtroom and McKinstry will speak.

~ from the Diocesan Office and contributed by Deacon Joanie Hammonds

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St. Paul’s Vacation Bible School 2012

“COME TO THE MANGER”

The children of St. Paul’s and their friends celebrated four days of “Christmas” in June! Revisiting the manger during a time sepa-rate from the hectic holiday season in Decem-ber gave us all time to hear again and reflect upon the stories and carols of Jesus’ birth. The children heard stories of Christmas from around the world, learned new songs, were given a special “tour” of the pipe organ, and

created special art projects reflecting the reli-gious themes of Christmas. And as an out-reach project in the name of the Baby Jesus, the children brought beach towels and swim goggles to be given to our Diocesan-sponsored Sawyerville Day Camp. The collection was blessed at the St. Paul’s altar during our closing worship service.

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Sawyerville Day Camp Outreach Project

Thank you, St. Paul’s! Once again we were able to take on a challenge and meet our goal (or in this case ex-ceed our goal)! We were very successful in collecting all the items that were asked for by Sawyerville. We had many swim suits, towels, goggles and gift cards for gas and WalMart. The generosity of St. Paul’s Par-ish should never be questioned.

Thank you,

Leslie B. King

St Paul’s was well-represented at Sawyer-ville by our own Jessica Harris, Roger Jones, Lizzie Reeves, and Sarah Reeves,

who all served on staff!

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~From the Associate Rector~ The following appeared on a blog of a friend of ours who is the rector of a church in Lexington, Kentucky. We thought it great food for thought and share it with her permission. Laurie+ writes:

WHAT PRIESTS WANT YOU TO KNOW 1. Your minister has a personal life. Just like your teachers in school and your doctor, ministers and priests have a life that existed long before they were or-dained. So, just like you, they have family issues and car trouble and dishes that sit in the sink far too long and children who were up sick all night before the Easter Day services. Just like regular people, life can be joyous and overwhelming. And we often are not able to share that with parishioners. A quote I saw on a bumper sticker said, "Be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Yes, indeed. 2. Sundays are long days for us. We are on, and I mean Beyonce at a concert on, from the time we step into the church until the last person leaves. We are responsi-ble for the liturgy, the sermon, and the climate control (because no one in the church agrees on tempera-ture). People tell us things, from random comments about the football game to significant news about their lives. We often are teaching a class, as well. A retired priest I knew said every hour clergy work on Sundays is the equivalent of working 2.5 hours any other day. 3. Clergy have to flip switches in ways that are not good. Every priest I know has many stories of going from a parishioner's hosptital room where the family has gathered to say goodbye to a finance committee meet-ing. It is the nature of what we do. Remember when your minister takes a morning off, s/he may be giving herself or himself time to reflect on all that has happened because that's the only time she has. 4. We miss the parishioners we bury. Just because we're preaching the sermon and celebrating the liturgy like we're totally together doesn't mean we aren't crying on the inside. Clergy do not live day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year with the people they serve and not grieve when those beloved people die. Again, grief needs her space and time, so allow your minister to take that time (or remind them to take that time.

5. We are not particularly good at disappoint-ment. Perhaps it's a personality type, but most clergy I know will work until their fingers fall off for the commu-nity they love and serve. Just a note - this is not good. God jerked my attention to this fact a week before Palm Sunday, when I just hit a wall. We cannot do eve-rything we want to do. We only have a certain amount of energy, which means we, like the rest of the humanity, have to make choices about where and how our energy can be shared. This will always mean something that someone really, really wants to see done in the church will not be done. And we hate that, but there you go. 6. Life happens at the church every day of the week. A few things that happen when the flock is not at the church: planning liturgies, writing sermons, taking phone calls, meeting with people who need to be heard, visiting those who are sick, working with community groups, dealing with the physical plant, reading emails, and rearranging schedules when the unexpected hap-pens, as it often does. Churches are busy, busy places every day of the week. Which also means it's always bet-ter to make an appointment rather than just stop by if you really need to talk. 7. Many clergy only get one day off a week. For many of us, things happen on Saturday, so our Saturdays are not always a day off. And it's also a day for sermon-writing because often the week gets too busy for quiet time to write. 8. Church life is often feast or famine. Just like regu-lar life, life in the church either seems to run at 100 mph or quite slow. There are weeks that 80 hours is not un-usual for me, and I am quite thankful for the ones that require about 20. And when the slow weeks come, hav-ing a parish that empowers their clergy to take that time and relax is a gift. We really love what we do, but need down time to re-energize and reflect. 9. We don't remember what you tell us on Sun-day. Please, email us or write it down. 10. We make mistakes. Yes, indeed. Forgive us when we do. Love us anyway.

(From the blog of The Rev. Laurie Brock, Rector, Episcopal Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Lexington, KY, and shared with her permission.)

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AUGUST 2012 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

August

• 5th 10 Pentecost Holy Eucharist 8:00 & 10:00am Breakfast between services

• 6th The Transfiguration DOK Meeting and H.E. 6:15pm

• 8th Holy Eucharist 7am Breakfast follows Cedar Hill 10:30am

• 9th Staff Planning Retreat

• 11th Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage

• 12th 11 Pentecost Holy Eucharist 8:00 & 10:00am Breakfast between services

• 14th Little Friends Open House 5:30-6:30pm

• 15th Little Friends Begins! Holy Eucharist 7am Breakfast follows

• 16th Vestry Mtg 5:30pm

• 19th 12 Pentecost—Blessing of Backpacks Holy Eucharist 8:00 & 10:00am Breakfast between services

• 22nd Holy Eucharist 7am Breakfast follows Cedar Hill 10:00am

• 26th 13 Pentecost Holy Eucharist 8:00 & 10:00am Breakfast between services

• 29th Holy Eucharist 7am Breakfast follows

St. Paul’s on the Road Terry and Catesby Jones – Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Huntsville, AL

Bill and Bunny Gamble – Church of the Advent, Lillian, AL

Glenn and James Foster – St. Francis Episcopal Church, Dauphin Island, AL

David and Betsy Powell – Trinity Episcopal Church, Apalachicola, FL, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Prattville, AL, Grace Episcopal Church, Gainesville, GA

Fred Williams (via Nancy Bennett) – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Washington, DC

Anne and Joe Knight—St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Daphne, AL

SAVE THE DATES!! September 9th—Fall Christian Education Kickoff and service times return to 7:30 and 10:30am

Sunday afternoon, Oct 7th—Organ Concert by Quentin Lane (more info to follow)

October 11th—Lobster Fest

October 13th-Pumpkins arrive (we think!)

October 19th—21st—Annual Parish Retreat

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210 Lauderdale Street P O Box 1306

Selma, AL 36702-1306

Church Office: (334) 874-8421 Fax: (334) 875-7457

www.stpaulsselma.dioala.org

The Rev David Powell - [email protected] The Rev Betsy Powell -

[email protected] The Rev Joe Knight - [email protected]

Joyce Dawson - [email protected] Joanie Hammonds - [email protected]

Miriam Coffee/Patti Campbell–[email protected]

ST PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH † AUGUST 2012

St. Paul’s Vision Statement

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Selma, Alabama,

is a Christian community

with open doors and invisible walls.

Enlivened by God’s love, we experience:

Life-sustaining worship

Life-long learning

Life-empowering service


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