The Warden’s Corner
The past two months have been an absolutely exciting time for our Parish family. As you all know, our new “PIP” (Priest-in-Partnership), Fr. David Veale, and his wife Donna, have moved into the Rectory. Prior to their arrival on March 6th, we had to review the condition of the Rectory and make sure that it was habitable. Rick Hamilton, Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, worked with a plumber and an electrician to bring everything up to working order. The plumbing system was totally examined, and all broken pipes were replaced, as well as faulty faucets, the sink in the downstairs powder room as it was impossible to obtain fixtures for the old sink, as well as finding and soldering some pipes that had never been soldered when installed! Of course, this plumbing work included having to cut holes in the plaster to access the pipes and then patch the plaster. An electrician examined outlets and fixtures, and replaced the ventilation fan in the kitchen, as there was a real concern that the non-working fan switch could have been inadvertently turned on, overheated and caused a fire. The good news about these repairs, is that we were able to place an insurance claim for the damage caused by the pipes having been frozen, so this work was accomplished for the amount of our deductible, $1,000.00.
On Saturday, February 27th, and Saturday March 6th Parishioners gathered at the rectory and performed some major cleaning of all three floors. Much of the debris, which had accumulated in the basement, was removed and hauled away, and many of the walls were washed down, some of them multiple times! The crystal chandelier and wall sconces in the dining room now sparkle, as well as the huge mirror in the dining room. The interiors of most of the windows were also washed. My thanks to all who helped in the effort: Rick Hamilton, Ted Burton, Pat Burton, Edna Chagnon and her cleaning gal Amy, Carol Livingston, Fern……, Russ Walters, Priscilla Carpenter, Mark Kalbfleisch, Tom Yearman, Sylvia Yearman, Joyce Chase, Jim Fouts, Carolyn Murray, Herk Dunsmore, Louise Counos and Heidi Silman. It was especially interesting to watch everyone working on cleaning on the 6th, while the Veale’s household furnishings were being moved in.
I would also like to extend the thanks for the Parish to Fr. Irving who helped out over the past eleven months by providing us the mid-week Wednesday services. This was a very special gift to the Parish and to the faithful members who attend this quiet service each week.
The Parish extends a long overdue thank you to all of the members of the Ministry Discernment Committee for the good work, which they accomplished over the past two years. They succeeded in creating a wonderful Parish Profile which the Vestry and Fr. David will use for guidance in our ministry together over the next three years. The other members who worked on the committee through the Discernment Process included Pat Burton, Herk Dunsmore, George Murphy, Rick Hamilton, Mark Kalbfleisch and, most especially, our Chairman, Alan Cassavoy. Thank you for all of your hard work.
I, personally, extend my thanks to everyone in the Parish who helped me remain somewhat sane throughout our entire discernment process and, most especially for the love and support of my husband, Jim. Thank you all! As I have stated to a few people at the Diocesan level, since Fr. David agreed to be our PIP, being the Senior Warden of a Congregation in Transition has been crossed off of my “Bucket List.”!
Regards,
Carolyn Fouts, Senior Warden
We extend the sympathy of the Parish to Jane LaRock, whose son Rocky died recently; to Phyllis Powell, former organist, whose son John died recently; and to Linda and Jim Ballard, on the death of Linda’s father, Loren Sanderson, this past week.
New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place
The St. Luke’s core team for the Partners for Sacred Places training attended the third session on Saturday, March 20th. Attending from St. Luke’s were team members Fr. David Veale, Rick Hamilton, Joyce Chase, Carolyn Fouts and Donna Veale. We enjoyed a lovely day in White River Junction, complete with sunshine and their crocus in bloom!
This third session included presentations by two members of the Episcopal Church Foundation, which provides consultants (for a fee) for Parishes to use when determining the feasibility of holding a capital campaign, then the planning and implementing of a capital campaign. We did some role-playing on how to ask for gifts, as well as learning about the use of professionals versus trying to do the fund-raising alone.
Given the focus for the past few months of trying to bring a priest into the Parish, we have let the Partners for Sacred Places planning be placed on the back burner for awhile. Now that we have the priest, and have taken care of the immediate needs at the rectory (although the outside does need to be painted!), we can now look at the Partners for Sacred Places program with renewed vigor, looking at possible groups that could use our facilities, as well as what needs to be done with our church building, beginning with the pointing on the outside, to the repair of the plaster and painting on the inside. We expect to be making some big announcements about our ideas and plans in the near future.
HELP NEEDED!
The Finance Committee has at least one opening for a member. We meet the 2nd Wednesday of the month to review financial issues regarding the Parish. The meetings are at 7 PM in the Secretary’s office. You do not have to have a financial background!
If you are interested, please contact Herk Dunsmore at 524-9663, or leave your name with JoAnn, Parish Secretary, 524-6212.
Also, there are openings on the Counter’s Schedule. The offerings from the Sunday service as well as any income is counted, recorded and deposited at the bank. This occurs after the service on Sunday and takes about 1 hour, sometimes less. You will have someone work with you to count.
If you are interested, please call JoAnn Blouin, Parish Secretary, 524-6212 with dates you can count.
Resurrection Rolls
Ingredients:
• 1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 8 large marshmallows
• Melted butter
• Cinnamon
• Sugar
Directions:
1. Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
2. Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ.
3. Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and
spices the body was anointed with upon burial.
4. Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow.
5. Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams)
6. Bake according to package directions.
7. Cool.
8. Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there!
9. Celebrate God's love!
‘Our Daily Bread’
(Rogation Tuesday)
A very basic question we may ask ourselves is, " Do we eat to live or live to eat?" and if we answered truthfully many of us could say yes to both.
What if we went to gather our food and the shelves had fewer items to choose? What if the cost for the few items was beyond our means? Certainly this is the case already for many people.
Recently on BBC News it was reported that the world stockpiles of wheat are at the 1948 levels. We may be entering into a period of time where the world’s basic food supplies are becoming dangerously low. There are several factors for the decline of wheat, corn and other basic food supplies such as global weather conditions and the daily diet of many Asian nations like China are changing and are increasingly becoming more like ours. More tillable land is being used for increased grain production for animal feed or energy usage. The cost, quality and fair distribution of food and water are becoming more of a concern for all of us. We are not suggesting that we hoard food or that the store shelves will be empty, but rather the cost and in some cases availability of some food items will continue to rise.
It would be to our advantage that we learn more about our local food supply and gain knowledge from a number of local agricultural experts and groups that work hard to ensure fair and adequate food supplies.
The public is invited to attend a morning of informative presentations and work shops on Tuesday May 11, 2010 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church St. Albans, Vermont from 9:30-1:30 including a lunch to benefit Martha’s Kitchen. (Free will Offering)
The theme of the event is ‘Our Daily Bread’ with Ron Krupp as a keynote speaker, who is the author of a new book called ‘ Lifting the Yoke.'
*LIFTING THE YOKE: LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO AMERICA’S FARM AND FOOD CRISIS
• The Globalization of Food and Farming
• The Battle of the Bulge
• Sustainable Markets and Regional Solutions
Ron Krupp, is also the author of the well-known book “The Woodchuck’s Guide to Gardening”.
There will be a number of interesting speakers from various agricultural groups and students who will be attending. We guarantee how you shop and perhaps eat will be changed forever.
If Possible R.SV.P. By May 10 to either St. Luke’s 524-6212 or Deacon Jim Ballard # 893-7734
