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Volume 9, Number 11

November 2017

Inside This Issue

Thanksgiving Seasonal Sharing 2

Christmas in New England Fair 2

Upcoming special services 3

Altar Guild News 4

Christian Formation 5

News and Notes 6

The Wardens, Vestry and Parishioners of

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

41 Park Street, Manchester, CT 06040

Request your prayers and presence

for the Celebration of New Ministry

and Institution of

The Reverend Ann Lovejoy Johnson

as Rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church

on Tuesday, December 5, 2017

being the Eve of the Feast of Nicholas of Myra

at seven o'clock in the evening

The Right Reverend Laura Ahrens, Presiding

Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut

The Reverend Douglas Barclay, Preaching

Pastor, Concordia Lutheran Church

Handicapped entrance on Church Street

Clergy: Cassock, surplice, white stole

Reception to follow

"God cooks; we share the feast"

The Rev. Ann Lovejoy Johnson will be formally installed as St. Mary’s rector on Tuesday, Dec.

5, at 7 p.m. The Rt. Rev. Laura Ahrens, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, will

preside. Plan now to attend this important event in the life of our faith community. Volunteers

are needed to help with preparations. If you can participate, contact Nate Carlson

(carlsonn@aetna.com) or Dotti Cannon (dotti@brownsugarcatering.net).

Page 2 H a p p eni n g s

Seasonal Sharing is up and running! The collection of non-perishable food continues

right up to Thanksgiving. Drop-off boxes are located in the narthex, the church office,

outside the Church School wing and on the stage (behind the curtain) in Neill Hall. Mon-

etary donations are needed and appreciated to support our 25 families from Bennet

Academy. Your money will go to purchase eggs, butter, cheese, milk, diapers, baby food,

special dietary needs and extra fresh produce. Please make checks payable to St. Mary’s

with “seasonal sharing” in the memo line. Sign-up sheets for donations of frozen turkeys

and baked goods (homemade or store bought) and delivery help are in the narthex.

Important Dates to Remember:

Nov. 12 -- Produce Sunday (donations of fresh produce)

Nov. 18 -- Saturday Packing (Neill Hall 8:30 a.m. packing food)

Nov. 19 -- Delivery Sunday (Neill Hall after 10 a.m. service)

Items needed include cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, cereal, bottled juice, pasta sauce, tuna, mayonnaise, canned

fruits and vegetables, soup, crackers, tea and coffee.

Questions? See Sarah Tierinni, Janet Platz or Jane Wolanin

Support Thanksgiving Seasonal Sharing

“Christmas in New England” Fair Dec. 2 Our annual “Christmas in New England”

holiday fair is being held on Saturday, Dec.

2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the drawing

for the theme baskets at the close of the fair.

The fair will include Christmas decorations

and holiday items, baked goods, tins of

cookies, crafts, lunch, vendors, theme bas-

kets, etc. We will need everyone’s help in-

cluding yours to make the fair a success.

You can:

Donate new/gently used Christmas

decorations and other holiday

items.Items can be dropped off on the

table in the hallway leading to the Mu-

sic Room starting on Nov. 1

Help price the donated items on Mon-

day afternoons at 1 p.m. on Nov. 6, 13

and 20 in the Music Room.

Team with a friend to create a theme

basket for the Take-a-Chance drawing.

Baskets can be dropped off on the table

in the hallway to the Music Room be-

ginning Monday, Nov. 27, or earlier by

prior arrangement.

Help set up Anderson Hall, Guild

Room and the church school rooms

with tables for the booths and luncheon

the week before the fair.

Bake holiday cookies, bars, pies or oth-

er goodies for the cookie and baked

goods booths.

Staff one of the booths for a couple of

hours (or more if possible) or help

serve at the luncheon.

Help take down tables, clean up and

reset the rooms after the fair.

Invite your family and friends to the

fair.

The next CINE planning and organization

meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m.

Please feel free to join us. Watch the Sunday

bulletins and display in the narthex in the

coming weeks for additional information

and the volunteer, baked goods and theme

basket sign-up sheets. Admission to the fair

is free, but we are asking the public for a

donation of a non-perishable food item for

St. Mary’s Seasonal Sharing. For additional

information, contact co-chairs Barbara

Welchman at 860-569-3389 or Valerie

Huestis at 860-645-8293.

V o l u m e 9 , N u m b er 1 1 Page 3

Free Concert Nov. 4

Acclaimed pianist Margarita Nuller

performs at St. Mary’s Nov. 4.

By Leader Eileen Christensen

Troop 27, based at St Mary’s, partici-

pated in a Council Jamboree in Octo-

ber on the Hebron Fair Grounds. It

was a very large camp out of approx-

imately 4,000 Scouts. It had a fair-

like atmosphere, with each troop

demonstrating a scout skill. Our

boys demonstrated lashing while

building a Klondike Sled. The more

formal opening and closing ceremo-

nies were enjoyed by all.

Troop 27 welcomes new scouts. Visit

us on Thursday evening in Neill Hall.

By Ruth McElraevy

The Richard J. McElraevy Memorial Con-

cert Series is proud to present the ac-

claimed pianist Margarita Nuller in recit-

al on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, at 7 p.m. at

St. Mary's Church.

Ms. Nuller was raised and educated in St.

Petersburg, Russia, and has studied at

The Hartt School with Maestro Luis de

Maura Castro. She is a highly accom-

plished musician, and we invite you to

welcome her to St. Mary's and to be

amazed and entertained by her talent.

The concert is free and open to the public,

and a reception will follow. Please join

us—and spread the word! Invite a friend

or a neighbor. You will not be disap-

pointed!

Scout Troop Attends Jamboree

Notes on Upcoming

Services

Everyone is invited!

Matt Lindeman installation —

On Thursday Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m., there

will be a Celebration of New Ministry at

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Milford,

CT. The Rev. Matt Lindeman (a former

seminary intern at St. Mary’s) will be in-

stalled as rector.

St. Mary’s Stewardship Cam-

paign Wrap-up — On Sunday, Nov.

12, we will have one 9 a.m. service to con-

clude the 2017-2018 stewardship cam-

paign.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Ser-

vice— On Sunday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m., an

interfaith Thanksgiving service will be

held at Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Syna-

gogue, 400 Middle Turnpike East, Man-

chester.

Ecumenical Thanksgiving Eve

Service — An ecumenical Thanksgiving

Eve Service will be held on Wednesday,

Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Episcopal

Church. We will be joined by members of

Concordia and Emanuel Lutheran

Churches.

St. Mary’s Open For

Thanksgiving Day Race

St. Mary’s Neill Hall will again be open

8:30 to 11:30 a.m. for the Manchester

Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.

The doors of Neill Hall will be open to

offer a warm gathering place, restrooms,

water and hot beverages to racers, walk-

ers and spectators.

Invite your families, friends and neigh-

bors to meet you at St. Mary’s and then

enjoy the race.

Page 4 H a p p eni n g s

When I Was Hungry and Thirsty (left), a reproduction of

a sculpture by renowned Canadian sculptor Timothy

Schmalz, was on view at St. Mary’s recently, and may re-

turn for a time later this year. The sculpture represents

Jesus as a blanketed beggar reaching out his hand for

help.

Don Burr, a deacon intern at St. Luke’s, Darien, owns the

work and has placed it at Episcopal churches across New

England. Burr says the sculpture is “a resource and op-

portunity to share the message (inspired by the Gospel of

Matthew 25:37-40) with parishioners and passersby

alike—that is, to seek and serve those we find on our front

steps or far out on the margins—and reminding those who

view the artwork that when they serve those in need, they

serve Jesus himself.”

Deacon Karen Fedorchak arranged for the artwork to

come to St. Mary’s and hopes to bring it back during

Christmas Seasonal Sharing.

Photo by Pat Ballsieper

Sculpture Visits St. Mary’s

By Jean Kelsey

The Altar Guild team rotation for the

remainder of 2017:

November: Anna Robillard’s team

December: Sharron Ring’s team

What does St. Mary’s Altar Guild

do? The Altar Guild exists to assist the

clergy. We are tasked with caring for the

altars of the church, reverently and re-

sponsibly. An opportunity is provided

for spiritual development and service to

the parish. We learn that the altar is the

central point of the church and how to

vest it properly. In the process, we learn

the names of the furnishings in the sanc-

tuary and to identify all the vessels and

linens used during a service. In addition

to normal Sunday services, special ser-

vices are held such as funerals, wed-

dings, baptisms, confirmation, ordina-

Altar Guild News

tion, home communion visits, and last

but not least, Christmas and Easter fes-

tivals. St. Mary’s is blessed to have four

dependable teams of altar guilders.

Each team is responsible for all the ser-

vices held during their month. The du-

ties include preparing flowers for ser-

vices, cleaning the silver, laundering and

ironing the linens, setting up the altar

and cleaning it up after, and generally

making the sanctuary shine.

The Altar Guild Memorial Flower

Fund provides flowers for the altar, as

well as altar bread and wine, candles,

linens, and more. Donations are always

welcome.

Our Altar Guild is in need of NEW

WOMEN OR MEN who are interested

in learning more about serving God in

this ministry! We have teams that really

need help with the Sunday morning set-

up and clean-up tasks. Flower arrangers

are also needed. Training is offered for

all phases of altar work. Please see or

call me (860-643-5718) for further in-

formation.

V o l u m e 9 , N u m b er 1 1 Page 5

Church School Year Gets Underway

Godly Play students Maya Tierinni and

Isabela Blinn.

Zoriah Price and Muse Johnson enjoy dur-

ing Church School Class

The Rev. Ann Lovejoy Johnson commissioned church school teachers and

youth mentors commissioned during the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, Oct. 22.

From left are Laura Hart, Karen Armogida, Ellise Sullivan, Lynne Kumnick,

Ann, Sarah Tierrinni, James Tierrinni, Maya Tierrinni and Jill Terry.

Youth in RITE 13 Formation classes entered

their own homemade scarecrow in the 9th

Annual Downtown Manchester Scarecrow

Contest. The “St. Mary's Youth Group Scare-

crow” was located at the bottom of Park St.

The youth filled him with patches that con-

tain words they feel exemplify Christ's love in

the world: Forgiveness, Joy, Charity, Love,

Generosity, Kindness, Trust, Gratitude,

Hope. They had a great time constructing,

assembling and displaying him over two

weeks of classes. They worked on listening to

each other’s ideas, problem-solving, brain-

storming words that “embody Christ's Love”

and fostering each other's creativity!

Pictured with their creation are Avery Mer-

cier, Nyasia Price, Janna Hart, Claire Carl-

son, Azalech Johnson, Jacob Mercier (back)

and Logan Tomic.

Visitors are always welcome!

Worship Schedule

41 Park Street Manchester, CT 06040

S t . M ar y ’s Episcopa l C hur ch

Phone: 860-649-4583 E-mail: sandy@stmarysct.org

God cooks; we share the feast!

Sundays

7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist*

8:45 a.m. Adult Forum

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Christian Formation classes*

Tuesdays

7 p.m. Evening Prayer

Wednesdays

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Healing Prayer

*Exceptions: On Nov. 12, we will have one combined service at 9 a.m.

News and Notes

Stewardship Wrap-up — On Sunday, Nov. 12, we will have a sin-

gle service at 9 a.m., followed by a special coffee hour, to celebrate

the conclusion of our Stewardship Campaign. Plan to join us!

Silk City “Office Hours” — Rector Ann Lovejoy Johnson’s last

“office hours” for the year at Silk City Coffee on Main Street in Man-

chester will be on Friday, Nov. 3. Ann will resume the practice after

the first of the new year.

Church Office Closed — St. Mary’s parish office will be closed

Nov. 7 through 10 while our rector and parish administrator attend a

special training program.

Peace by Piece Quilters — The last meeting for 2017 will be on

Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Anderson Hall. Stop in! Check out our

website, www.pecebypiecequilters.blogspot.com or see us on Face-

book.

Every bit counts! Help support St. Mary’s ministries.

Remember, w hen you shop at AmazonSmile, the Amazon Foundation

will donate 0.5% of the price of your

eligible AmazonSmile purchases to St. Mary’s.

Contact Mechelle Tovar Olórtegui for details:

860.995.1946 / mechelle.tovar2011@gmail.com

Parish Register Updates

Burial:

Russell A. Turner, October 10, 2017

Sunday school children in the Godly Play group and their teacher,

Laura Hart, give thanks for their snack and for their time together on

Stewardship Sunday, Oct. 8.