The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost July 1, 2012 Faith: the Ticket to Hope Easter in July We get a little taste of Easter again this week. Jesus arrives to raise a 12 year old girl from the dead. The crowd laughs at Him, derisively. A lot of culture still laughs at the claims of Jesus. What with things like technology, wealth, glamour, political intrigue, and detached sensuality as balms to our anxieties, what does the nether world really have to offer? The truth is . . . everything. Societies that lose their heart, common cause, unity, team spirit, purpose, urgency for justice, mercy, sacrificial courage become hard, cold, cynical. They become candidates for the scrap heap of history. It is the inner things: the heart, the soul, the spirit, the purpose, the common cause that represent strengths which are enduring and eternal. These are the things that produce hope. As we approach the 236 th anniversary of our nation, in a time of some anxiety, the Church, as always, has something vital to offer. Hope. The more we invest in being people of the inner Way, the more we leaven our world. Each of us has a choice to make. Our commitment to Jesus healing power for new life really matters.
Church Calendar SUNDAY JULY 1
7:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Family Service, Holy Eucharist, Rite II Church 6:00 p.m.
MONDAY JULY 2
Holy Eucharist, Rite II– Little Church
No Yoga the month of July 6:30 a.m.
TUESDAY JULY 3
Holy Eucharist, Rite I – Little Church
Men’s Study Group—Monthly Breakfast—Parish Hall (with full breakfast served the first Tuesday of each month)
12:00 noon Twelve Steps for Christians—Parlor
This Week’s Lay Ministries
7:30 a.m. Joe Gunter, John Lawler
7:30 a.m. Bob Baker, Mark Pitre
10:00 a.m. Bill Hinton, Carol Hunter
Rob Hinckle, Ted Dale, 10:00 a.m. Roger Cole, Bill Roedder, Richard Brinson, Jr., Bill Lancaster
6:00 p.m. Faye Mullis, Patsy Jeanne Little
CHALICE BEARERS 7:30 a.m.
11:15 a.m. No 11:15 a.m. service
Joe Gunter
ACOLYTES
10:00 a.m. E.B. Peebles, III, Cynthia Donnell 11:15 a.m. No 11:15 a.m. service
10:00 a.m.
U SHERS
LECTORS
WEDNESDAY JULY 4
Holy Eucharist—Little Church The Church Office will be closed for the Fourth of July and will reopen on Thursday, July 5. Have a safe and fun holiday! No 5:30 p.m. service
THURSDAY JULY 5
ADVISOR Mike Ballard 7:30 a.m. Matthew Minus
6:00 p.m.
VESTRY GREETERS 7:30 a.m. Bentley Collier 10:00 a.m. Bill Groves
Carl Madden, Lyla Brady, Leigh Minus, Emme Dale, Sara McAleer, Lillie 10:00 a.m. Hedberg, Frank Parker, Mac Dale, Ellen Madden, Will Parker, Thomas Chandler
11:15 a.m. No 11:15 a.m. service
ALTAR GUILD-WEEK OF JULY 8 The Ladd/ Inge group
11:15 a.m.
No 11:15 a.m. service
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost First Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Psalm: 130
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Gospel: Mark 5:21-43
Raise the Roof Project. The Raise the Roof Project has begun and students from churches in Alabama, Florida, and Indiana will repair three roofs in the South Broad Street area. We are so excited to welcome the first camp crew to the first ever camp week of the Raise the Roof Project. Many thanks to those who are making this incredible ministry possible, including our dinner coordinators, Lauree Riggin, Lee Lee Brady, and Fay Mullis; popsicle deliveries, Luci Ladd and family; breakfast server, Carol Hunter; activity helpers, Allison and Marshall Shields, Laura and Jay Divison; construction volunteer, Forbes Sirmon, and our Missions Committee for their support. There are many volunteer opportunities still needed. They include: assisting with an evening activity on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday from 8:45-10:00 p.m., or donating the items needed. They are: Sunday, ice cream and toppings for 100; Tuesday, popcorn and candy for Movie Night; Thursday, small prizes for Trivia and Go Fish Tournament;. You can help serve breakfast on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday mornings from 7:15-9:00 a.m. If you would like to help, please contact Lydia Johnson at 251-377-7809 or lydia@stpmobile.com.
Parish Life Fourth of July Though the Church Office will be closed for the 4th of July, we will have the regularly scheduled Holy Eucharist at 10:00 a.m. We will not have the 5:30 p.m. service on that day, so please make your plans accordingly. We have much to pray for as a nation. We are blessed to be free; we are blessed that so many have paid the sacrifice for that freedom. WE also have challenges before us as we seek a pathway to a just peace in the Middle East, and as we continue to work for the kind of society that would reflect in every aspect God’s hope for mankind. Join us Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. as we pray for our nation.
Music in celebration of the Fourth of July, this Sunday at the 10:00 a.m. Family Service! This Sunday we encourage you to leave the beach or cabana and bring your friends to come and celebrate with inspiring hymns such as: “God of our fathers,” “God bless our native land,” “America the Beautiful,” “God bless America,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” George and Leslie Mims assisted by Andra Bohnet, flautist and Peter Wood, trumpet, will play at the service. “Onward Christian Soldiers” with Piccolo, Trumpet, Organ and Choir will be sung at the Offertory. Music after the closing Procession will include John Phillips Sousa Marches for piano four hands. Sing and warm up your voice as you drive to church. You’ll want to use it mightily to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for our country!
The 4th of July and the Separation of Church and State I have been asked recently about thoughts on the Catholic bishop’s suit against the US government over the birth control provision in the healthcare law. My understanding of Catholic theology and Thomistic law is limited at best, but as I understand it, the Catholic church considers the interruption of pro-creation as an interruption of life like they consider capital punishment, abortion, and euthanasia interruptions of life. All this is impermissible in their doctrine. While I approach ethics from a more Protestant perspective, I liken the case a little, to the recent lawsuit involving the Episcopal, Methodist, and Catholic Churches against the State of Alabama’s immigration law. That law made it a felony to assist anyone who might turn out to be an illegal alien. The Church could not accept that. It was theologically untenable. Equally so, the birth control requirement to the Catholic Church. . . . We actually benefit in this country from a reasonable separation between Church and State. The democracy benefits. In a book entitled, From Dictatorship to Democracy (which in many ways inspired the Arab Spring) author Gene Sharp observes that when a democracy loses the independent voices of its subgroups it is headed toward the loss of its freedoms. It is natural to the tendencies of governments of all political persuasions to move toward suppressing independent voices. Yet it is urgent to the well-being of the whole that the autonomy of these voices be maintained. The privilege of the separation of Church and State is a great blessing to be celebrated this 4th of July, for the Church and the nation. It is not perfect, but it is a great gift.
Parish Life
Classes for Christian Formation
The flowers on the Altar of the Church are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Mrs. R. E. Ledyard, Jr. The flowers on the Altar of the Little Church are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Joe and Vivian Ferniany and Theodora Scott by Betty and Kathleen.
Tuesdays - St. Paul’s Men’s Study, Conference Room, 6:30 –7:30 a.m.
The Men’s Study Group will have its monthly breakfast on Tuesday, July 3, in the Parish Hall at 6:30 a.m. We will continue our study of Isaiah. Hope you will plan to join us for some delicious food, inspiring discussion
Twelve Steps for
This is an opportunity to learn about and practice the Scriptural and Christian principles upon which 12-Step Spirituality is based. We open with prayers for noonday from our Book of Common Prayer and a brief reflection on how a particular step relates to our lives. No homework. All
Christians—Parlor
Happy Birthday to St. Paulians for the week of July 1– July 7, 2012. Christopher Allen Patrick Allen William Arendall Lauren Bixler Elizabeth Chandler Laura Chandler Taylor Citrin Ashton Cushing Shelah Dearmon
Emmitt Dubose John Friend Robert Hayes Michael Herndon Jack Horner Diane Horst Mimsy Hossley Luci Ladd Lucille Mayfield
Anne McLaughlin James McPoland Brooks Milling Matthew Minus Sue Moseley Emma Myers David Nicholson Chris Odom Donnie Radcliff
Melia Saliba Tom Seibt Allison Shields Maryella Sirmon David Terry Alexander Wiles Tommy Wood Matt Zarzour William Zundel
Life is a gift from God. We rejoice in the joy of spending it together.
It’s getting closer! - Vacation Bible School We can’t wait to take flight and learn to trust God at VBS, July 23—27, from 9:00 a.m. until 12 noon. In order to get ready our flight crews need YOUR help. You can help by donating any of the items listed. They are: cardboard egg cartons, large paper grocery bags, newspaper, sheets of cardboard, small containers with plastic lids, resealable plastic sandwich bags, cotton balls, 3 oz. paper cups, wet wipes, turkey basters, smocks or used men’s shirts, and Dawn dish soap. Items may be brought to the Church Office. Thank you so much for your support and generosity in advance.
EYC News Mark your calendar– We’re going to Sewanee—July 15 –20! Please let Margaret Cadden know if you plan to go by calling the Church Office at 342-8521 or by calling Margaret at 610-6696.
Tuesday, Noon—12:45 p.m. Parlor
YOGA There will be NO yoga classes during the month of July.
From the Archives Excerpts from The Spring Hill Preserver written by Robert Hunter, First issue of the newsletter, June 28, 1979. The Spring Hill community passes another milestone this June when the U.S. Post Office leaves Spring Hill Shopping Center to relocate farther out Old Shell Road near University Boulevard. For more than one hundred years the neighborhood was served by the Postal Service from various facilities not more than one hundred yards from its present location, and frequently the postmaster or postmistress lived no more than a block away. Sixty years ago the neighbors got their mail and bought their two-cent stamps from Mr. Cox, the postmaster, who shared a small board-and-batten building with Mr. McPhillips, who ran the neighborhood grocery store and lived next door. This building stood beside the streetcar track where the Merchants Bank (Regions) drive-up windows are now located. It was a fine place to wait for the streetcar and pass the time with neighbors and friends. The Post Office offered no boxes for its customers, you just asked for your mail and Mrs. Cox gave it to you. After all, there were fewer than one hundred families and certainly no business mail. Smells of bulk coffee beans and spices, and even tobacco and snuff, from the store filled the Post Office space as well as the store. Mrs. Cox helped her husband take care of the Post Office and in later years their daughter succeeded them. Next door, Mrs. McPhillips likewise helped her husband with the store and their son joined his mother after Mr. McPhillips died. They had a Model T Ford delivery truck, ably operated by a friendly black man whom everybody called Henry. Henry knew exactly how to put the Model T right up to everyone’s kitchen porch so he could carry the groceries in. If you did not have a phone, Henry would pickup your order when he stopped in the morning and bring it back after lunch.