Saint Mary's Episcopal Church May 2018 May Happenings • Vestry Retreat—May 5 • Flower and Pit Beef sale— May 12 • Diocesan Convention— May 12 • Awards / Youth Sunday—May 13 • Habitat for Humanity Project—May 19 • Acolyte Training—May 19 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Vestry Notes 2 Senior Warden 2 Director of Music 3 Happenings 4 Sunday School 5 Calendar 6 Women of St. Mary’s 7 T HE M ESSENGER H OEDOWN DINNER On April 15th, St. Mary’s held their annual theme dinner to raise money for Blessings in a Backpack. This year the theme was a good ol’ fashioned Hoedown dinner. The crew did an amazing job transforming the Parish hall with covered wagons serving the food, gorgeous centerpieces, cut out cowboys and even a tutorial on some line dances! Fun was had by all in attendance! Thank you to Shannon, Nina, Eric, Pam, Sandy, Mary, Elaine, John, Don, Lisa and everyone else who stepped in to help! We donated an extra $530.00 to Blessings in a Backpack through this fun event! Logo created by Lee Jones
Transcript
Saint Mar y's Episcopal Church
May 2018
May Happenings
• Vestry Retreat—May 5
• Flower and Pit Beef sale—
May 12
• Diocesan Convention—
May 12
• Awards / Youth
Sunday—May 13
• Habitat for Humanity
Project—May 19
• Acolyte Training—May 19
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :
Vestry Notes 2
Senior Warden 2
Director of Music 3
Happenings 4
Sunday School 5
Calendar 6
Women of St. Mary’s 7
THE MESSENGER
H O E D OW N D I N N E R
On April 15th, St. Mary’s held their annual theme dinner to raise money for
Blessings in a Backpack. This year the theme was a good ol’ fashioned
Hoedown dinner. The crew did an amazing job transforming the Parish hall
with covered wagons serving the food, gorgeous centerpieces, cut out
cowboys and even a tutorial on some line dances! Fun was had by all in
attendance! Thank you to Shannon, Nina, Eric, Pam, Sandy, Mary, Elaine,
John, Don, Lisa and everyone else who stepped in to help! We donated an
extra $530.00 to Blessings in a Backpack through this fun event!
Logo created by Lee Jones
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F R O M T H E S E N I O R W A R D E N –P A T W E AV E R
AP RI L V ESTRY N O TES vestments in the sacristy
have moved to storage in
the parish house. The
committee will be inviting
the youth to attend a
meeting to learn more
about becoming an
acolyte. Contact: Beth
Hunsinger
COMMUNICATIONS
COMMITTEE
The committee is working
with Amy Parker (Parish
Administrator) to move the
church website to another
platform that will better
suit our needs. The
existing website will
remain active until the new
version launches. The
committee will begin work
to create a professional
quality handout describing
the story and the history of
our stained glass windows.
Contact: Lee Jones and
Missy Waller.
working with the Property
committee to identify small
and large repair and
maintenance projects for
the remainder of 2018.
SENIOR WARDEN
Pat Weaver is working with
The Venerable Jane
O’Leary, Archdeacon for
the Diocese of Maryland,
to plan the program for the
vestry retreat on May 5th.
Deacon Jane will be joining
the vestry as a guest
moderator. Beginning in
May, Pat will contribute an
article to the monthly
Messenger to help inform
the parish about current
issues that the St. Mary’s
leadership is facing.
WORSHIP SUPPORT
COMMITTEE
In order to free up space in
the sacristy cupboards,
unused acolyte and reader
APRIL/MAY/JUNE CHURCH
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
Thomas Bartkowski has
planned two work
weekends, on April 28th
and May 5th, to complete
his eagle project. Thomas
and his crew will be
sanding and painting all
the metal handrails around
the exterior of the parish
hall, as well as stabilizing
some of the railing bases.
The annual Altar Guild
flower sale will be held on
May 12th; this year they
will be joined by the Youth
Group and Men’s Group
selling pit beef. The Men’s
Group will help at a Habitat
for Humanity building site
on May 19th. Youth
Sunday will be on May
13th.
JUNIOR WARDEN
Aaron Mullenax will be
Since Mid-August of 2017, the leadership of St. Mary’s has dealt with a unique and extremely
challenging situation: keeping our parish spiritually and financially well amidst a canonical
procedure that temporarily prevented our rector from fulfilling his pastoral and administrative
roles. Our official position, for many months, has been one of waiting to see where the
process would lead. By February, our hopefulness for the prospect of our rector returning to
St. Mary’s had come to an end. Following a great deal of prayer and discussion, the Vestry of
St. Mary’s voted unanimously on March 6th to dissolve our pastoral relation with our rector.
As required by the Canons of the Episcopal Church, a letter to Bishop Sutton from the vestry
and wardens formally requesting the dissolution was delivered to the bishop on March 26th.
Three short-term committees were formed to simultaneously handle important tasks that
arose from our decision. One committee (the Junior and Senior Wardens, and vestry member
Lee Jones) is handling St. Mary’s role in the dissolution process. Another large committee
(vestry members Marshall Garrett, Beth Hunsinger and Missy Waller; Parish Administrator
Amy Parker; parish members Jim Gribbell, Margaret Diem, Eric Taylor, Don Schranz) are
leading our search for an interim rector (or a priest-in-charge, if they deem that to be a better
option for St. Mary’s right now). A third group (the Senior Warden, Treasurer, and vestry
Finance Committee member Gabbie Taylor) has completed a severance proposal for our
rector, and is now drafting a compensation package for our Interim Rector (or Priest-in-
Charge).
As always, I encourage you to contact me, or another church leader whom you feel
comfortable speaking with, and unburden yourself of concerns or questions. The Wardens
and Vestry, and all who are sharing their skills and knowledge to help us through this difficult
time, have one goal: to follow where we feel He is leading us, and act with love for our St.
Mary’s church family.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not worry about
anything, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
May 2018
The Messenger
The Little Hallel As a Cantata
We church Directors of Music cannot ignore the
Psalms, whether as hymns, canticles, the language of
the liturgy, text to anthems...they are all unquestionably
indispensable. The entire Psalter ends with a
breathless praise of God...one that breathes life into
everything. Psalms 146 to 150 sound an extended
doxology (a hymn of praise) just as the movements in a
5-chorus cantata. They are quite often referred to as
the Little Hallel (prayers as an act of praise or
thanksgiving), and are interwoven by the distinctive
Hallel-Yah (Praise God) that begins and ends each! This
declamation of praise is sounded 10 times, with the Psalter brought to a climax by 10 calls
to praise in Psalm 150. “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.” This 5-part cantata
summons us as humans to join in the greater chorus with all living creatures. Is it any
wonder that Psalm 150 has been utilized in the lectionary for the Easter season?
Here we have a pentad of praise, a remarkably glorious finish to the most wonderful hymn
book in the world. These five Psalms are a festal anthem, designed probably for liturgical
use in the services of the second temple. They have no title in the Hebrew LXX (The
Septuagint or LXX or 70 sometimes called the Greek Old Testament, is the earliest extant
Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew), but are ascribed to
Haggai and Zechariah, prophets contributing to the liturgy of the Second Temple. Perhaps
this number 5 related to the fact that the Psalter is composed of 5 books.
Our Psalm Cantata begins (in Psalm 146) sounding out the Divine presence in nature, as
leading the song to God. Psalm 147 continues this call to the whole people of God: “Praise
your God, O Zion.” Psalm 148 intensifies this dynamic orchestration by invoking more
praise, followed by Psalm 149 in which praise itself is to be an instrument of
transformation of the whole world as we know it. Our world as it is, will be seen and heard
and touched as the realm and reign of God. Here lies the heart of the poetry of
teleological hope. Psalm 150 thereby draws all praise together in a prayer that also
proclaims a creation fulfilled. It is a Spirit-filled song in solidarity with all who dwell on
earth. All social and political life converge with the cosmic song with God at the very
center.
There is more, however-such praise as this asks something of those who sing and pray.
The psalmists' song of hope is also a vision of justice, presenting as theology oriented to
the poor. Singing such praise asks that we who sing take up works of mercy and justice.
The poor and suffering of the world are part of our song. These psalms will not allow
indifference to the plight of all to whom the merciful care of God is directed. To sing” this
cantata commands that liturgy and ethics are singular in the praise of God. The cup of
water given, the dance of a little child, feeding the hungry, comforting the sick and
sorrowful-all these in turn are taken up as praise. Such acts of mercy are the nonverbal
forms of praise. All of this suggests musical possibilities to expand and improvise through
hymns, anthems, poetry, and more, even a through-composed composition utilizing psalm
paraphrases emerging as a concert choral piece.
In any event, to sing and pray these concluding psalms, we discover the music of the
rhythms of life, whether in our own lives or in the historical boundaries of our own
communities of faith. As is the case of all Scripture, the Holy One of all creation waits for
us to take up this song, even in the midst of difficulty and suffering and sorrow. I
personally invite each of you to study and sing this amazing little cantata that concludes
our Psalter.
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NO TES F ROM TH E O RGA N BEN CH
Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy temple;
praise him in the firmament of his
power.
Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his excellent
greatness.
Praise him with the blast of the
ram’s-horn;
praise him with lyre and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and
dance;
praise him with strings and pipe.
Praise him with resounding
cymbals;
praise him with loud-clanging
cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!
It has become a custom
now for us to share a 7:00
evening service on the
Thursday of the Ascension,
this year 10 May, with our
Lutheran neighbors. The
Feast of the Ascension,
since it always falls on a
Thursday, doesn’t get the
attention it deserves as
one of the High Holy Days
of our faith, and this is one
way to give it a boost. It is
Emmanuel’s turn to host,
and we are delighted that
the service will be held in
the light of our newly
refurbished stained glass
“Ascension Window.” We
hope that you will
advertise this widely and
invite your members to join
us that evening.
A wonderful feature of the
service is a “pick up” choir,
comprised of anyone who
would like to learn a piece
of music and sing it for an
anthem. The music is
available to anyone who
would like to join us. There
will be a rehearsal for the
choir at 6:00 PM in
Emmanuel Church. Choir
members will sit with their
families in the
congregation and come
forward at the time of the
anthem.
The Rev’d Canon Dr. Mark Gatza
Emmanuel Church
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M E N ’ S M I N I S T R Y H A B I T A T F O R H U M A N I T Y P R O J E C T
ASC EN SI O N SERVI C E AT EMMA NUEL A N I N V I T A T I O N
A C O L Y T E T R A I N I N G—M AY 1 9—C H U R C H
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