Saint Monica's Episcopal Church
Messenger
November 2014
Ghosts by Jeremiah Sierra from Episcopal Church Vital Practices on October 27, 2014 I went on a ghost tour a few years ago in Lower Manhattan. We walked by old buildings and parks and our guide told us about the people who had died there and also about the occasional hauntings that had been reported. It was more of a history and local folklore tour than a ghost tour. I would argue that the things that haunt us are not spirits of the dead but memories of the past. We can often feel these “ghosts” of the past in old church buildings and in our communities. In the churchyard of Trinity Wall Street, where I work, more than 11,000 people are buried, from extremely wealthy people and founding fathers to the poorest of New York’s residents. I’ve heard no reports of ghost sightings on the grounds, yet Trinity’s long history affects what Trinity does and how it understands itself. We can often feel these ghosts in our relationships. A parishioner who has had a bad experience at another church may be extra-sensitive to what the priest says or does, for example. That parishioner might not be responding simply to the individual, but to the ghosts of past priests. There may also be ghosts in our church neighborhoods. St. Lydia’s, the church I attend on Sundays, has moved into a new neighborhood in Brooklyn. Brooklyn has changed a lot in past years as real estate prices have shot up and people have been pushed out, especially minorities. When a church plants a new program in a particular neighborhood, say an afterschool program, it has to take into account that longtime residents will be responding not just to that new program, but also to the history surrounding the arrival of newcomers. We are often fooled into thinking that if we choose our words and actions carefully, that we can predict how others will react. But often we aren’t the only ones speaking. The ghosts have a say, whether we like it or not.
Our Staff & Vestry Vestry: Chuck Barnett - Senior Warden, Dan Ferguson- Junior Warden, Ann Philen, Bill Ramsey, Melanie Velaski, Beth Woods, Linda Aligood, Tom Chaapel, Frank Murphy Carol Farrel - Treasurer Viv Welch—Clerk of the Vestry Twinette McDonald - Music Director Sally Putters - Parish Nurse
There isn’t much we can do about these ghosts except acknowledge them. This is really just another way of saying that history matters and cannot be ignored. We can speak and act kindly and understand that everyone and every community has a history, and sometimes that history haunts us.
& Silent Auction! Be sure to join us Saturday, November 8 at 6:00 pm
To benefit St. Monica’s playground renovations Live Music by Fred and Company, Emceed by John Velaski, Delicious food, & Door Prizes! Fabulous auction items include original art, handmade quilts, hand knitted apparel, holiday decorations, collectibles, home décor, vintage jewelry & more! To view auction items, go to https://plus.google.com/photos/1089420736401718 88391/albums/6075042325712700209
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Saint Monica’s Messenger
Transition Committee announces times, dates to meet bishop nominees The slate of nominees for the Fourth Bishop of the Central Gulf Coast will be announced by the Standing Committee in early December. Please mark your calendar for January 2015 to meet the nominees. These meetings are open to all members of Episcopal parishes or missions in the Diocese. The schedule is as follows: Monday, January 19 Lunch* - 11:00 am to 12:45 pm at St. Francis of Assisi, Gulf Breeze Walkabout** - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Nativity, Dothan Tuesday, January 20 Lunch* - 11:00 am to 1:15 pm at St. Mary’s, Andalusia Walkabout** - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at St. John’s, Monroeville Wednesday, January 21 Walkabout** - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at St. Paul’s, Daphne * Lunch meetings will be open to all members of the Diocese. The process for making lunch reservations will be announced by the Transition Committee as the time gets closer. Lunches will be informal times to meet the nominees. There will be no formal programs at these events. ** There will be three “walkabout” sessions held as all nominees travel around the Diocese together. At each location anyone, not only the lay convention delegates and clergy who will vote at the election convention, can gather to hear from and question the nominees as part of the discernment and calling of a new bishop. Again, the process for reservations and the exact agenda for these events will be announced later.
Sisterhood receives trophy Texann Stephens, representing the Sisterhood of Quilter, presented a beautiful trophy given to the Sisterhood by Favor House in appreciation for their continuing, unselfish donations of hand-made quilts and other gifts to the victims of domestic violence.
Seasonal risks By Nurse Sally The holiday season has arrived and we start making plans to go to family and friends or vice versa to celebrate. It is not uncommon when a person returns home from a visit or when company leaves that you don't feel well and feel you have contacted “The Flu.” This year there are special concerns with the severity of Ebola and its spread to the USA. It is certainly foreign to us. Ebola is very deadly with severe symptoms of difficulty breathing, runny nose, sneezing, coughing and body aches (sounds similar to flu symptoms). The disease appears 2 to 21 days after exposure, with the average being 8 to 10 days. It spreads through contact with body fluids. It is not air born, so you have to have direct contact with body fluids. As the disease progresses, internal bleeding progresses as well as bleeding from body orifices effecting internal organs . The disease is diagnosed by testing blood and tissue. There is no cure and treatment consists of symptomatic and experimental drugs. No vaccine is available yet, so I recommend that you don't travel to or have contact where viruses are found. Always practice good hygiene, hand washing with soap between fingers hand and wrist surfaces. Our greatest risk this time every year is Influenza. Many people die from it every year and targets are the elderly, the very young and individuals with compromised (persons getting cancer treatment drugs or has chronic conditions) immune systems. Influenza presents itself much like the common cold with similar symptoms of varying degrees. These are chills, sore throat, fatigue, headache, body ache and nausea with vomiting. Testing is available to determine the type, but antibiotics won’t treat a virus. To avoid the flu, drink plenty of fluids, rest, and stay out of crowded environments. You may be prescribed antiviral medication and flu vaccine. Otherwise, treat symptoms as advised. Don't forget, we will be offering free flu shots at the church on Saturday, December 6 from 9 until 11:30 am. Please bring your family, friends, neighbors. December is not too late to get your flu shot. Peak time is expected to be January and February and it takes approximately two weeks to build immunity. The enterovirus hits children with respiratory illness such asthma and bronchitis. It is believed to be a shirt tail relative of Polio. Most of the acutely ill have paralysis, but there have been some deaths reported this year. The virus can be tested for, so monitor your children. Most are already under a doctor’s care. Have a spooky Halloween and a very thankful Thanksgiving. There are always blessings to count. Nurse Sally
Saint Monica’s Messenger
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Toiling, Tending and Growing, a stewardship reflection by Brenda Ferguson Dear family and friends, May God keep a hedge of protection around you and his hand upon you, his Holy Spirit within you, to guide you and an ever burning desire for wisdom, which he said he would give bountifully. And lastly, the intelligence to know that every good and perfect gift comes from God including the breaths that you breathe and every beat of your heart. Thank you God in advance! I grew up in the garden, in the lush city of Jacksonville, FL, where my mother and father attempted every year to recreate the bountiful harvests of their gardens back home in Georgia. This did not go well. This is where I learned persistence, because the Florida sand was one of my father's failures. He fussed about the impossibility of success in Florida sand, but year after year, I helped him carefully dig his sandy trenches and place his fish in the troughs and plant his seeds. No, it was not mustard seeds; it was watermelon seeds; although my parents did give me a mustard seed necklace as I graduated from high school. To this day when I look at it, I think of watermelons and my father's faith that it would work, because it was sad to witness the pitiful vines that climbed out of that dry unforgiving sandy aquifer. My father seemed to gain something from the toil though. I gained lessons at both my parents' knees in the garden. My mother, the folklore herbalist she was, persisted in healing us from all woes with her trips to the wild with me in tow to dig and scrape her heart's desire into her pouches where she boiled and plastered nature's cures all over our unwilling bodies. It went well. We're still here. The lesson I took from that was that my parents had strong faith in nature and also in God. We had enormous, watermelon-sized problems but God somehow kept us all on his path. When I chose this week to write this, I felt at first I had chosen the wrong lesson. But after some study, I realized it truly was the right one. At the beginning of last year’s stewardship campaign, I was struck with the verse in Genesis 2: 15, which reminds us that we were placed in a garden, Eden, to practice and learn good stewardship. We are to be cultivating, tending, toiling, to allow God's creations, both the Earth and ourselves, his children, to be fruitful and to flourish. The Benedictine nun Hildegard of Bingen was a mystic, and a theologian. She named the vitality and vigor of God, viriditas. She had a special connection with nature and growth. She envisioned viriditas as the green energy of great love pulsing through the entire universe. She wrote about it in connection with God's love charging the world with renewal. It is said she envisioned green force animating every creature and plant with verdant divine love. I saw a connection when I read the gospel of Luke 18: 9 -14, the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee prays, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people... I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income..." He is so busy telling God what he is not that he has lost the meaning of why he was tithing and fasting to
begin with. In contrast the sinful tax collector is painfully in touch with all his shortcomings, and begging for mercy. Two prayers side by side, one is open to God's transformation, willing to grow and be changed. The other is static, unchanging, and stagnant; a vine planted in shifting sand that will wither. Imagine with me, two vines with succulent grapes side by side. One is lovely and imperfect, of nature and rooted in God's love, nourished with his word, and is growing in grace and faith. The other vine is lovely and too perfect and looks like nature, but is like the artificial plastic plants bought and paid for in a shop. It never grows, changes, or bears another fruit. It sits and gathers dust until it is returned to dust. A vine of nature won't be prefect; it will go thru times of feast and famine and bear the signs of struggle. The Pharisee may have thought that trying to be perfect and having good actions and performing certain duties would give him reward points for good behavior. It is clear that he enjoyed feeling set apart, feeling distinguished, above the sinful as he pointed out. We've learned like the Pharisee that God's grace isn't earned by noticing the sins of others while we ignore our own. It isn't bought when we dress in finery, put our best foot forward, and stand on our own pedestal of pride. We often try to achieve perfection on our own and boldly put our best Prada-heeled shoes forward. We trust in our own power to grow great wealth and fame only to hit the bottom when we fail. It must be part of the human nature to practice avoidance. We become so busy planting seeds of success that we avoid looking in the mirror and really examining what is growing in our own hearts, who we are, where we are, how we got there, and to whom we give the glory. On the mountain of joy or in the valley of gloom, God can be our mirror. He can plant us in his garden and help us grow beyond our imagining. It begins with the mirror and some hard questions, a little time for insight and small steps. For my family back then and for my family now it has been one foot in front of the other with baby steps. Those steps led us to St. Monica's, and we are truly blessed because of it. God has the power to transform us and grow us into good stewards, into the green, living "viritadas" vine, as we thrive as individuals and as his people gathered in his garden. And it all begins with a mustard seed of faith.
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Saint Monica’s Messenger
November 1 is All Saints Day The New Testament uses the word “saint” to describe the entire membership of the Christian community. All Saints’ Day celebrates all Christian saints, particularly those who have no special feast days of Painting by Fra Angelico their own. As we remember all the saints on this day, we should also remember that we are all saints. We may not be perfect, but we can do all we can to be closer to God – including helping others become closer, too. Let us be thankful for the many examples of saints we have and remember that each of us is also called to be a saint, during this life and after. Commemoration of All Faithful Departed The day after All Saints’ Day is the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed, when bereaved parishioners can offer prayers and remembrances for their loved ones who have died Just as All Saints’ Day is tied into the belief that all of God’s people are connected in one communion, the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed (or All Souls’ Day) is a time to remember those who have gone before us. Take time to remember all the friends and family who are no longer on this earth, relive happy memories, and give thanks to God for special people who have been part of your life.
Then and Now!
Two Winter Woods Sessions
Have you heard of Winter Woods? It’s the diocese’s winter camp at Beckwith and this year the program will be offered in two sessions for 6th-to-8th graders. You can sign up for one or both sessions. Partway into the holiday season, you may need a break and Winter Woods is a great opportunity. We offer all the fun camp activities, including field games, environmental education, arts and crafts, ropes course, s’mores and camp fires, spiritual programs, and praise and worship. The cost is $150.00 for one session or $250.00 for two sessions. If you invite a friend who hasn’t been to Winter Woods before, you will receive a $25.00 discount. Limited scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration is now open at www.BeckwithAL.com. Contact James Lawrence, Diocesan Youth Coordinator and Summer Camp Director, at james@beckwithal.com with any questions.
Craft Fair & Yard Sale Saturday, Dec. 6
Graduation Day! Congratulations to Aaron Gaff, pictured above left at an EYC Rockathon in 2003-4 and on the right with his son, Ashton on October 30, 2014 graduating from Army Basic Training . ARMY STRONG!
We are currently collecting items for the yard sale. If you have items to donate, please see Susan Early
John Velaski & Dave Somerville Viv Welch
TBA Dodie Matlock & Dora Giles
Chuck Barnett Ray Farrel Tom Chaapel & Dave Somerville Bill & Sally Putters Ushers Jim Morningstar & Frank Murphy TBA Norma Ramsey & Jackie Wright To the glory of God Valerie Smith
Melanie Velaski
Connie Chamberlin
Chuck Barnett & Connie Chamberlin
Beth Woods
Ushers
Jim Morningstar & Jeff Woods
TBA
Linda Aligood & Brenda Ferguson
To the glory of God
Melanie Velaski
Ray Farrel
Lector Epistle reading
Acolytes
Altar
Greeters
Oblation Bearers
Ushers
Nursery
Coffee Hour
Flowers
Arrangers
Eucharistic Visitor
John Velaski
Jeanine Black
To the glory of God
Bill Ramsey & Ray Farrel
Ushers
John Velaski
Ray Farrel
Pauline Somerville
To the glory of God
Connie Chamberlin & Katherine Pate
TBA
Jim Morningstar & Dan Ferguson
Carol Farrel
Beth Woods
To the glory of God
POTLUCK
TBA
Jeff Woods & Bill Ramsey
Ushers
Beth Woods
Ron & Ann Philen Ushers
Dave Somerville
Connie Chamberlin
Beth Woods
Carol Farrel
Fred Woods
Ray Farrel
November 30
Valerie Smith & Dave Somerville
Dave Somerville
Ray Farrel
Eileen Jenks
Dan Ferguson
Connie Chamberlin
November 23
* If you are unable to meet your obligation, please call a replacement, or swap with someone.
Carol Farrel
Texan Stephens
Connie Chamberlin
Jackie Wright
Psalm Ron Philen
Mike Scordato
Pauline Somerville
Wimberley Murphy
Eileen Jenks
November 16
Dave Somerville
November 9
Frank Murphy
Eucharistic Minister, 9:30 Lector 1st Lesson
November 2
Service Schedule for November 2014
November Prayer Requests Roy Aligood Avery Beadle Helen Beadle Herman Boudreaux Rosalynda Blackburn Max & Marie Cartwright Destiny Coy Debi & Cliff Frogatt Tracy & Ashton Ferguson Amy Franklin Ron Giles Mike Godwin Nancy Holland
Jane Hunter Lascenica Knapp Savanah & Maverick Knapp Erik Koonce The Lewis Family Don Lemerick Laura Lowe Charlie Martinson Bob Matlock Aurelia Medina Billy Morreau Bill Nix Katherine Pate
Military Prayer List Bill Putters Leroy Robbins Tiny Robinson Barbara Roper Garland & Melton Scott Bob Tebbs Brandon Warwick Frank & Polly Welch Brennis Whaley Todd Wilson Marcella Young
Birthdays in November…
13, Shelby Kizer; 14, Fred Woods; 17, Ann Philen, Viv Welch
Anniversaries in November…
There are no anniversaries recorded for November If your birthday or anniversary is not listed or not listed correctly, please let Viv Welch know.
Saint Monica’s Episcopal Church 699 South Highway 95-A Cantonment, Florida 32533 We’re on the web at Www.st-monicas.org
Phone: 850-937-0001 E-mail: Office@st-monicas.org The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Brian Condon Daryl Coy Mark Feely Aaron Gaff Benjamin Gaff Tim Hartford Johnny Hurd James Klinginsmith William Knapp Andrew Kuntz Nicholas Matroni Jeremy Wright