St. Paul's News - September, 2008

8/14/2019 St. Paul's News - September, 2008

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Activities at a Glance

Ongoing Activities

Book Cart, 2nd Sunday after 10 AM service

B&PW, Tuesday, September 9, 6 PM ECW, third Monday, 7 PM St. Elizabeth Guild, September 23, 12:30 PM at

the home of Debby Pierce Family Night Dinner, Wednesday, September 10,

5 PM 4 Fs, 2nd and 4th Mondays (except as noted) Noon-

2 PM St. Pauls Library, open every Sunday Prayer Group, Tuesday, September 9, 5:30-6:30

PM

Mens Breakfast, 3rd Thursday, 7 AM Mid-Week Eucharist, Tuesdays, noon

This Month at St. Pauls and Elsewhere

Sunday School resumes, September 14, 9:45 AM Commissioning Sunday, September 14, during 10

AM service Sampler Sunday, September 21,10 AM Ushers Breakfast, Sunday, September 28, 9 AM

Looking Ahead

Pizza Party & Game night, October 3 The Gathering, November 4, St. Pauls

St. Paul's News

The Parish That Prays Together, Stays Together

By Carol Ingells

When I was a child, we often heard the phrase,The family that prays together, stays to-

gether. The same holds true for any group of peoplewho seek to love and serve God.

Again this fall, you are invited to consider being aregular part of St. Pauls monthly prayer group. Co-led by Steve Lange and Carol Ingells, and occasion-ally by other participants, we meet for an hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., the first Tuesday of most months, in theChoir Room. However, the September gathering willbe on Tuesday, September 9.

This year our focus will be the spiritual journal,Weavings, which is published every two months and

contains articles around a particular theme, such asGrace or Gifts or Prayer. Primarily, however, themeetings include sharing prayer concerns and prayingtogether. Participation is voluntary and non-threatening.

Come when you can. And even if you cant, know thereis a group praying together regularly: praying for thechurch, the world, the community, for ourselves andthose we love. If you have a prayer concern and can-not attend, feel free to send it to the group via oneof the regulars or through Carol or Steve.

May the St. Pauls family continue to pray togetherand stay together.

Commissioning Sunday

By The Rev. Ronald C. Byrd, Sr.

O

n Sunday, September 14, St. Pauls will kick off its

2008-09 program year. At the 10 a.m. Eucharist,Fr. Gordon will recognize and commission variousgroups that participate in our Sunday morning worshipservices and ministry programs. Members of the fol-lowing groups are asked to be present for this specialprogram year-opening service: Acolytes, Altar Guild,Church Musicians and St. Nicolas Guild, Church SchoolTeachers, Lectors, Leaders-Prayers of the People, LEM& LEVS, and Ushers and Greeters.

Wednesday Night is Family Night!


Family night starts again on Wednesday eve-

nings, beginning September 10. Need abreak, need a date, well dont be late in joiningyour church family for food and friendly conver-sation every Wednesday night beginning at 5p.m. Due to ever challenging economic times, Ca-tered Affaire has graciously reduced the pricingfor family night dinners. Dinner is $4.50 per per-son, $15 for a family of four and $18 for familiesof five. Family night dinners arent just for peoplewith children. Its dinner for the whole St. Paulsfamily! Please dont forget to sign up. Sign-upsheets are available on the wall adjacent to theelevator just outside the Merrifield room.

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3/20September 2008

St. Paul's News Page 3

B&PW

By Barbara Richardson

S

eptember is the beginning of another

busy year for B&PW. Our special recipedinner meeting is Tuesday, September 9 inthe Hill Room. Bring your favorite recipe anddish with the recipe directions. Dinner is at 6p.m. This is always a fun and delicious meet-ing.

The board meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in theVan Atta Room.

As always, all women of the parish are wel-come. If you are planning on attending,

please call Debby Pierce by September 7.

Sunday School Begins September 14


Sunday school classes will resume Sunday Septem-ber 14! Classes are provided for children in pre-

school through high school. Classes begin at 9:45 a.m.,allowing parents time to bring their children beforeattending the 10 a.m. worship service. Classes usuallylast about one hour, and then children and teachersjoin the entire congregation for Holy Communion.

Our classes from pre-kindergarten through eighthgrade will continue using the Living the Good Newscurriculum, which is based on the Revised Common Lec-tionary. Children study and participate in activitiesthat cover the same stories and lessons heard by thelarger congregation during the Ministry of the Word

segment of the worship service.

Sunday school study for senior high students is Bible-based and centered on theological questions that of-ten arise during ones adolescent years. Students areencouraged to consider some of the basic fundamentaltenets of the Christian faith, and are challenged bythat while also seeking practical applications for theirdaily lives.

This year we are blessed to have a full complement ofteachers who have agreed to invest another year of

their time, talent and treasure towards ensuring a re-ceptive and spiritual experience for our children.Please join Fr. Gordon and me in thanking this won-derful group of loving and dedicated individuals, andmay Gods blessings lead them throughout the upcom-ing school year.

Pre-K. Kindergarten Carol Laub and JulieFletcher

1st 3rd Grade Judi Clarke, Kathy Gut and

Jill Walker

4th 5th Grade Matt and Kim Hall

6th 8th Grade Barb Heany and Tom Foltz

9th 12th Grade Lyn Kressler

Important Dates for Teachers:

Teachers work and setup day, Saturday, Sept.13, 9 a.m. 12 noon

Youth Christian Education Meeting, Sunday, Sept.28, 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.

Calling All Men of the Parish!

By Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music

D

o you like good breakfasts? Do you like fellow-

ship with other men? Would you like to deepenyour understanding of your faith? (These questions arenot necessarily in not in order of importance!) Even ifyou dont, you are still warmly invited to join the MensBreakfast Group who meet on the third Thursday ofevery month from 7-8 a.m. to have breakfast togetherand then discuss issues of faith.

This year the group is continuing its study of the Gospelof Mark. Each session, although linked to the precedingand following ones, stands on its own. The Bible studygroup has discussed such topics as Parables, Eschatol-ogy, The Kingdom of Heaven, Hearing Gods Call and

others that grow out of the scripture.

If youre interested in joining us (you dont have to at-tend every meeting), please let George Gallup (622-4637), Gordon Weller (482-9454) or Steve Lange(482-0369) know, or just sign up on the sheets by theelevator. Our first meeting of the fall will be Septem-ber 18. Wed love to have you join us!


4/20September 2008

St. Paul's NewsPage 4

St. Elizabeth Guild

By Debby Pierce

An organizational meeting for St. Elizabeth Guild

will be held on Tuesday, September 23 at 12:30p.m. at the home of Debby Pierce.

All the women of St. Pauls are invited to come andbring ideas for the 2008-09 programs. A light lunch-eon will be served.

Usher News

By John D. Hawkins, Chair

Our annual breakfast is scheduled for Septem-

ber 28 at 9 a.m. Family members are wel-come to join us. Ushers will need to RSVP to theirrespective Head Usher by September 14 soenough food is prepared by A Catered Affaire.Head Ushers can contact me with their counts at303-1217.

On another note, Sampler Sunday is scheduledfor the Sunday, September 21, and James Clarkand his crew will be representing the usher groupthis year. If anyone would like to help or has anyideas for our table, I am sure Jim would be happyto hear from you.

Early Lansing Families:Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society to Compile Histories of Capital City Families

Contact:Kris RzepczynskiPresident, Mid-Michigan Genealogical [email protected]

To coincide with Lansings 150th anniversary as a city in 2009, the Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society(MMGS) is working on a compilation of histories of selected Lansing families. Anyone with knowledge of orconnections to early Lansing families are encouraged to submit family names, dates, and stories, along with

sharing their historic photographs, diaries, family Bibles, and other genealogical records and research.The project is expected to be completed by mid-2009; submissions are requested by August 31, 2008. Formore information about the Early Lansing Families Project, please contact Kris Rzepczynski, MMGS President,at: [email protected]; (517) 281-6722; MMGS, PO Box 16033, Lansing, MI 48901.

Sampler Sunday


T

his year Sampler Sunday, September 21, will be a one-day event and has been scheduled two weeks

later than its usual time to provide each organization at St. Pauls an opportunity to participate in aSampler Sunday Show-Jesus Contest. Each group, guild or committee is being asked to coordinate a displaywhich best explains its ministry. Small tables and other accessories will be available; however, participants areencouraged to be creative and thoughtful in preparing their presentation, as juicy prizes will be awarded tothe organization with the best booth, setup or display.

Sampler Sunday is an opportunity for members of the congregation to explore where their personal giftsmight be best utilized in the overarching ministry of St. Pauls. For some it may be an opportunity to becomeinvolved in a new or different ministry program; for others it will be a chance to recommit themselves to anorganization with which they were formerly involved. Dont forget to mark this date on your calendar, becauseyou never know where God might be calling you. For questions or details, please contact Kathleen Johnsonor Annette Irwin.


5/20September 2008


Financial Information as of June 30, 2008

By Jeff Irwin

The last financial statement was June 30, which was halfway through the year. The 2008 pledge revenue is

$298,318, which is 49.2% of the budget, so we are approximately on target. The operating loss through June30 is $69,482, which is again on target.

The designated and restricted funds recorded a significant loss of $27,230 in market value in June. Along withcontributions to the funds, the funds net income was $54,688. As of June 20, the combined net income of theoperations and the funds is at a $14,794 loss.

To date, it has been necessary to withdraw $70,000 from the Perpetual Fund in order to make payroll andpay outstanding bills. An additional $3,200 has been withdrawn from the Perpetual Fund for special purposesauthorized by the vestry.

Vacation Bible School 08 Sails into Port St. Pauls

By Carol Laub, First Mate

The week of June 22-27 saw the transformation of St. Pauls into aseaworthy craft, the HMS Steadfast, which carried our 58 participat-

ing crew members through exciting adventures of Bible learning and funbased on the VeggieTales The Pirates Who Dont Do Anything. Ourdays began with rousing songs and skits at the Yo-ho-ho Opening Show,where the Commodore and his pirate side-kicks, Bumpo and Bones, keptour crew on course to learn how to become true heroes for God. As ourship sailed on to Clapping Rock Crafts, Whipcrack Island Games, Spy-glass Bible Theater, Rockmonster Science Lab, and Cheesecurl Cave

Snacks, we reinforced the Bibleverse of the week: I can do all

things through Christ because hegives me strength. Phillipians 4:13.We were especially blessed to haveCaroline Thomas and her brothers,Jacob and Joshua, as shipmates onour journey all week.

The success of Vacation Bible School 08 was made possible through thecommitment and efforts of the entire St. Pauls community. Throughout theweek, we had over 45 different volunteers on site, assisting in variouscapacities. Among those present were over 15 youth: some VBS gradu-ates, others relatives of church members and some friends of St. Paulsteens who were recruited to help. They put in a huge effort, and the week

would not have been possible without them! There was also tremendoussupport behind the scenes.

Generous financial donations from church members nearly covered our costs for materials, supplies and deco-rations. Others managed the registration process, donated snacks, bought food for the cookout, lent props,helped decorate, cut fabric for the mission project, prayed for our success and so on. They say it takes a vil-lage to raise a child, and VBS is a wonderful testament to that tradition. It takes an entire church community tolaunch a successful VBS program.

Our commitment to this form of outreach touches the lives of so many children in the greater Lansing area andplants the seeds of Gods love and compassion. Thank you all who made it possible! You are all heroes inChrist. Participants, children and volunteers are asked to join us at St. Pauls on September 28 for VBS ReunionSunday and dont forget to wear your t-shirts. Remember, God made you, and he loves you very much!

A few of The Pirates Who Dont Do

Anything who made VBS a rousing

success

Commodore Fr. Ron and his pirate

side-kicks


6/20September 2008


4 Fs Group for 2008-2009 Programs

LOOKING BACK HELPS US TO LOOK FORWARD

By Nancy Sheldon

September 15* - After studying other faiths andreligions, we thought it would be interesting to

look at our own Episcopal faith this year. Fr. Ron Byrdwill discuss the teachings of the Episcopal religion andhelp us find answers to the questions we have alwayswanted to ask about our faith. These questions willthen be put to John Keydel at our next session.

September 29* - John Keydel, the Canon for MinistryDevelopment and Transition Ministries from the Dio-cese of Michigan, will answer the questions we haveabout our faith that we formed on the 15th, as well asany additional ones we thought of during the interim.

October 20* Where I encountered God this sum-mera chance to share a summer activity and howwe saw Gods presence therein. Fr. Weller will alsoshare tales of his sabbatical.

October 27 - We will take a trip to St. KatherinesEpiscopal Church in Williamston to see their present

church (along with their art gallery), the originalchurch, their labyrinth, and some of their grounds.Wed also like to have communion in the originalchapel and have the Rev. Jannel Glennie talk to usabout their church and its history.

November 10 As we look forward to St Pauls 160thHistorical Celebration in May 2009, well begin tocompile the continuing history of St Pauls since 1970when To a Goodly Heritage was written. Recent his-tory is very important and by telling our own stories ofour lives at St Pauls during the last 38 years, we willbe able to add to the timeline that will be going up on

the wall in the Merrifield Room during the Celebration,and share the anecdotes that make our history a livingdocument.

November 24 We will continue to work on our his-tory together.

December 8 - We shall continue our annual traditionof a Christmas celebration with a special luncheon be-fore a concert in the church. Since Nancy Lange is nolonger the Choral Director in Grand Ledge, weve in-vited theSomeko singers from Okemos, as our own

Matt Nauss is a member of this talented Okemos HighSchool group.

January 12 - Fr Weller will give us a presentation onthe Roman Catholic Church and how it presently re-lates to the Episcopal Church by comparing and con-trasting the two faiths.

January 26 We will visit the Cathedral of St. Marysand have someone there guide us and talk to us aboutthe Cathedral and the catholic faith.

February 9Steve Lange will give us a presentationon the Wesley brothers and the relationship of Metho-dism to Episcopalianism.

February 23 We will visit Central United Methodistchurch next door and tour their facilities. We will alsocontinue our conversation with Joe Huston, their minis-ter, about the Methodist church and their faith.

March 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30Book Reviews duringLent

April 13 NO meeting since this is the day afterEaster

April 27 We will take a trip to see the work of the

City Rescue Mission. While there, someone will talk tous about their ministry.

May 18*Picnic at Nancy Sheldons home.

Usually the 2nd & 4th Mondays of each month (exceptions noted *due to Town Hall conflict)12:00 Eucharist 12:30 Lunch ($4.00)

1:00 Bible Study (Steve Lange) 1:15-2:00 ProgramAnyone is invited who has time in the middle of the day!


7/20September 2008


Calling All Choristers!

By Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music

All of St. Pauls Youth Choirs will begin rehearsals on Wednesday, September 10. The schedule is as follows:

Cherub Choir (Grades K-2) 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.Boys and Grace Choirs (Grades 3-6) 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.High School Choir (Grades 7-12) 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

The first Sunday for vesting is September 14.

The Chancel Choirfor adults of the parishwill kick off the year on Thursday, September 11, with a

potluck dinner at 6:30 p.m. and rehearsal from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Please feel free to bring a singing friend or

guest. Plates, cups and plastic ware will be provided. Please bring a dish to pass, but if you cant, please

join us anyway!

There will be a brief choir parents meeting for all of the youth choristers on Sunday, September 28, right

after church in the Choir Rehearsal Room to share hopes and expectations for the coming year and to signup volunteers to help with vesting and other St. Nicolas Guild opportunities.

Anyone who has questions about choir or who is interested in joining this fall and hasnt been a member beforeis asked to call Stephen Lange, Minister of Music, at 482-0369.

Choir News

Summer Baptisms


On Sunday June 22, Kory Ekineh Amachreewas baptized into the body of Christ and re-

ceived into the household of God. Kory, born Janu-ary 11 of this year to Opuene and Karen Ama-chree, was accompanied on this special day by hisgodparents, Kristine Rice, Tonye Amachree andKenneth Schillinger.

Also, Fr. Gordon, one week back from sabbatical, bap-tized and sealed as Christs own forever, Hunter Mi-

chael Nicholas Riggins and Parker Robert MatthewRiggins. Michael, soon to be two-years-old and Parker,just five months, are the two baby boys of proud parents Matthew and Courtney Riggins. While Matthewwas baptized and raised at St. Pauls, he and his family now reside in Noblesville, IN. Steve and Ana Ihrig, theboys godparents, witnessed along with our St. Pauls family this glorious occasion.

Tonye Amachree, Kristine Rice (holding Kory), and Kenneth

Schillinger stand with proud parents, Karen and Opuene Ama-

chree


8/20September 2008


WHAT IS ALTAR GUILD?

By Sue LeDuc

S

t. Pauls Altar Guild is a committee (we just use the old-fashioned word guild) that takes care of the altar

and all the altar furnishings for the church. The guild is organized by weeks so a member has duties justone week of any month. To be fair, we rotate the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Palm Sunday andEaster). This ensures the members assigned to the 4th week dont always have to take care of Christmas.

Members are responsible for setting up the altar for all services held at St. Pauls, including weddings and fu-nerals. We also clean up after each service, polish the silver and brass as needed and launder the linen. Thesanctuary is our bailiwick and we keep it clean and polish the brass pulpit, the lectern, crosses, etc.

Let me clear up some myths about the guild:

Membership does not require special knowledge of those mysterious things that happen at the altar. Membership does not require status as a life-long Episcopalian or even long-time membership at St. Pauls Membership does not require any special training or study other than the hands-on training we give to

every member Membership does require people who are interested in serving the church is this quiet and rewarding way.

If you are interested and think this might be a way you could give back to our parish community, please con-tact Sue LeDuc (349-4079) or Pat Riley (882-1691) You will find a group of people who are fun, caring andwho always help each other out.

Stewardship Committee Builds on Successful 2007 Every Mem-

ber Canvass

By John Nevin, Vestry

The St. Pauls Stewardship Committee met through-out the summer, building on last years successful

Every Member Canvass. The committee met on July28th with Kristine Miller, Director of Stewardship andPlanned Giving for the diocese and with her adviceand encouragement, adopted some changes for 2008.Most importantly, financial pledge cards will be sepa-rate from Time and Talent cards which will be distrib-uted in September. Instead, the committee is planningInvitation Sunday on November 2 (All Saints Sun-day). Pledge cards will be distributed at the begin-ning of the Invitation Sunday service, there will be aspecial guest preacher and pledge cards may be re-

turned and blessed at the altar. We are hoping forthis service to be truly inspirational.

A revised stewardship brochure is being developedthat will be distributed at Sampler Sunday on Septem-ber 21. The committee will be looking for volunteers tostuff packets at the Family Night Dinner on Wednes-day, September 17th. Please, watch for your invita-tion to Invitation Sunday, the bulletin and future is-sues of SPN for further details about the 2008 EveryMember Canvass.

Finally, the committee has been blessed with newmembers Kate Johnson, Goldie Adele and LynnMande-Rollins.


9/20September 2008


Youth Executive Council to Convene September 21

The youth group will hold its first executive council meeting on Sunday, September 21 at 11:30 a.m. Thecouncil will take up several orders of business for the day, including the election of officers and program

calendar planning. Lunch will be provided. Young people between the ages of 10 and 17 are asked to attendand be prepared to cast their vote. Next month the youth group will meet on its regularly scheduled first Sun-day of the month.

Youth Ministry Articles Provided in Collaboration By:

Youth Christian Education and Youth Fellowship Chairperson, Kelly GmazelYouth Group Executive Council President, Steven Kariuki

Youth Group Coordinator, Barbara HeanyYouth Group Advisor, Tom Foltz

Acolyte Guild, Directors Patricia Bellinger & Carol Sleight

The Rev. Ronald C. Byrd, Sr., Curate

CROP Hunger Walk 2008

The youth group will be gearing up for the 2008CWS Greater Lansing Crop Walk. The 10K walk

for hunger will take place on Sunday, October 12, be-ginning at 12 noon. Last year, the youth group receivedover $1,000 in donations and is looking forward to sur-passing that number this year. On Sundays, September28, October 5 and October 12, the youth group will becollecting donations and pledges in the Merrifield roomduring coffee hour. Please stop by the table and helpsay NO to hunger!

Acolytes Guild Meeting

The acolyte guild will meet on Sunday Sep-tember 14, immediately following the 10

a.m. service. Parents, if your child is interested inbecoming an acolyte, please contact Fr. Ron formore information. Children should be at leasteight-years-old. The acolyte guild meets on thesecond Sunday of every month.

St. Pauls Youth Travel to San Antonio, Texas

Alexandra Fletcher and Baylie Sanchez traveled with Bishop Gibbs and a youth delegation fromthe Diocese of Michigan to the Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) in San Antonio, Texas. EYE brings to-

gether over 1,500 young Episcopalians from all across The Episcopal Church USA. The youth experi-ence is a week sharing and growing in what is hoped to be a deeper faith with Jesus Christ. Study andlearning, worship, prayer and music services marked the week. AJ and Baylie returned home from SanAntonio on July 14.

EYE ReflectionsBy Alexandra Fletcher

EYE was an amazing experience. To worshipwith so many individuals at once is a feeling

like no other, especially since these people werenot just from around the country, but from otherparts of the world as well; each and every one ofthem being different, not only in their personalityor where they came from, but also in their manydifferent places on the path of faith. It was verycomforting that there were people at EYE to assistus in our journey with God, because in our youth,

there is so much we haven't experienced, so muchthat we don't yet understand. It is during this time,

when we are surrounded by all of this doubt, thatwe begin looking to God for guidance and reas-surance. EYE was the most supportive group Icould have asked for to help re-energize my faithin the world. I walked away with hope for the fu-ture and the strength to help others who are strug-gling as I was.

I want to thank my church, St. Pauls, for sendingme to San Antonio. I enjoyed every minute of mytime there, participating in activities such as musicservices, forums, seminars and masses.

St. Paul's Youth Ministry


10/20September 2008


Habitat for Humanity Builds

By The Rev. Deacon William H. Fineout

This information is from the Habitat update of July 30, 2008:

In the next year we will start and complete at least three new construction houses. One of these has be-

gun and is funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Peckham Industries will fund the next new project. Thethird project will begin in the fall and is very special to us: You may remember a fatal fire on Mothers Day2007. That fire took the lives of two long-time Habitat volunteers, Chuck and June Rybnikar. Their family re-cently donated that property to Habitat Lansing. We will work to complete the house so that it may be dedi-cated on May 12, 2009, the second anniversary of the fire.

The other projects will be rehabs. The first rehab will be a house on Massachusetts Avenue that has been do-nated to us. This is a very generous donation, as the house has been appraised at $70,000. The house has hadnew electrical and plumbing, new drywall, windows and roof. The donor is donating tile and grout, materialsfor the porch railing and a new refrigerator. The work needed to complete this project includes painting, floor-ing, new porches and a garage. We expect this project will require an additional $10,000 to complete.

The other rehab projects will be acquired from the Ingham County Land Bank. I have been working with theLand Bank to acquire HUD foreclosed homes that can be rehabbed for less than the cost of new constructionand that will require fewer volunteer hours. We expect to complete 4 6 of these homes in the next year. Theaverage cost of rehab of these homes will be $30,000 (less than half of new construction). Expected volunteerhours will be 500 700 per project. Given the economic climate, this will get good houses occupied and getthose in need into homes quicker.

St. Pauls has a group that has been very active in this ministry, and we support Habitat with outreach funds. Ifyou would like to help with either donated hours of service or financial support, let Deacon Bill know.

Collecting for SILS in September


S

ome eighteen-year-old former foster children,

whose foster families no longer receive state assis-tance, find themselves without a place to live or with-out any family support.

Child and Family Services attempts to aid these youngadults through its Supervised Independent Living Ser-vices (SILS), but much state funding of the programhas been cut.

When these teenagers are placed in an apartment,they get financial assistance for rent, but they have nofunds and no family/friend support for all the itemsthat a young person needs to start independent living,from blankets & sheets to frying pans, glasses, toiletpaper, etc.

As part of Lansing Area Episcopal Projects (LAEP), StPauls will take its turn this September. Purchase and

collection of needed items will take place during a

two week period, September 14-28.We will soon know if our young adult recipient is amale or female, and possibly the first name. All com-munications are confidential through Child and FamilyServices.

There are seven areas (care packages/rooms) like theone listed above for an October 1delivery date. Mis-sion & Outreach will provide you with a detailed list-ing of all items we need.

Examples from one area include: Bathroom 3 bathtowels, 3 hand towels, 3 washcloths, a bathmat or

bath rug, shower curtain & rings, tumbler & soap dish,and a laundry basket (into which we would pack all ofthe above).

Mission and Outreach


11/20September 2008


Mission & Outreach Activities:

Where is Christ calling you to help others?

September 21

Alzheimers Association Memory Walk

September 14-28

SILS Apartment Collection for Lansing Area Episco-

pal Projects

October 10

Canterbury MSU Fall Feast fund raiser dinner &

auction

October 11

Blood Drive Red Cross

October 12

Crop Walk Church World

November

UTO Ingathering Episcopal Church Women

(ECW)

November 9-23

Thanksgiving Baskets

December 6 (13)

Housing Assistance Fund Fruit & Greens Sale

December

Youth - Mitten Tree

December 14

MDG Water for Life Ingathering/Wrap up

December 24

Gifts for the Christ Child Eves House

Ongoing:

Manna Sundays for street ministry (busing/work

boots)

Water for Life Heifer International

Prayer quilts

Cars INC

Sudanese Education

Check the Newsletter articles and the Sunday BulletinAnnouncements for additional details and informa-tion.

Water for Life

By Lyn Zynda, Mission and Outreach

I

n the United States, we take clean drinking water for granted while elsewhere in the

world, a child dies every eight seconds from drinking dirty water.

You might remember the St. Pauls community voted to build a well for a village as our2008 project to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This is an ambitiousundertaking and will require us to raise $7,500 in order to build one well and provideconnections for houses to the local well.

The Water for Life fundraising campaign to reach this impressive goal is well underway. As a means to raisethe funds necessary to fulfill our commitment, Mission & Outreach decided to use water bottles to collect loosechange similar to the tithe boxes used by UTO over the years

The Meijer Store in Grand Ledge has generously donated 20-ounce water bottles for this project and we be-gan by distributing the bottles to the congregation during the Parish Picnic. After the bottle is empty, ratherthan just throw it away or recycle it, cut an opening in the top and say a prayer of thanks for the ready avail-

ability of fresh water as you drop in your spare change.

If you havent already done so, pick up a water bottle or replace your filled water bottle. Water bottles areavailable at the back of the church. Look for goal updates in future issues of the Newsletter and Sunday bulle-tins.



12/20September 2008


Join or Support the Alzheimers Memory Walk


The Lansing area Alzheimers Association Memory Walk will be held on Sunday, September 21, beginningat 1 p.m. on the beautiful MSU campus (registration begins at noon).

Please join with your Deacon Bill and the St. Pauls team in this years walk by becoming a walker or bymaking a donation to sponsor this years team or individual walkers. Last year, St. Pauls was represented bythree walkers who presented a total donation of $120. We hope to increase those numbers this year.

(Continued on page 13)

Order of Saint Luke the Physician Group Forming


We are delighted to announce the formation of alocal group open to Saint Paul's Episcopal

Church members, the Order of Saint Luke the Physi-cian. The Order is made up of lay people, health pro-fessionals, and clergy who feel called to make Jesusministry of healing a regular part of their vocation.

The Order exists to promote and practice the healingministry of Jesus Christ. Therefore it is important thatall of its members should be thoroughly familiar withwhat Jesus said and what Jesus did. The only way todo this is to study carefully the healing ministry thatoccurs in the Gospels with prayer and community.

This is a group called by God to develop and practice

healing prayer by the laying on of hands and prayingfor specific concerns and wholeness. This group, whichwill include members of other Episcopal churches, willaddress the commission from Jesus to the church - toheal the sick.

Jesus healed. He healed anyone who came to him inneed. He reached out and touched people who wereparalyzed, had skin diseases, epilepsy, and bone de-formities, to name just a few. He even brought back tolife several people who had died. He healed people

of shame and loneliness, and he helped the willing toyield to the will of God. The name Jesus, in Hebrew,means "God heals."

As a Christian community, we are called to healingprayer. We know that God is always loving, and wegive thanks for all kinds of ways that God heals.

The Order of St. Luke hopes to meet on the third Sun-day of the month at 4 p.m. at St. Paul's. The Rev. Dea-con William Fineout will serve as chaplain, and he willbe happy to answer any of your questions. At thesemeetings we will have teaching, pray for each others'concerns, and conduct the order's business. Each yearwe plan to have a healing mission/retreat. The first

one is planned for April of 2009.

All are welcome who are seeking to discern if thehealing gift is what the Holy Spirit is calling them todevelop. In the Order of Saint Luke the Physician, wewill study scripture and prayer, share readings andexperiences of healings, and develop daily devotionsto a rule of life. These help us to discern our healinggift and develop that gift to understand what Godwants us to do each moment of the day. Come andjoin us.

Volunteers are needed!There are few things more rewarding than making a difference in the life of a child. Considervolunteering with Eles Place as a childrens grief support group facilitator, and help childrenlearn to cope with the death or life-threatening illness of a parent, sibling or other loved one.

Eles Place participants range in age from 3 18, and come from a wide variety of ethnicbackgrounds. People of color, males, and bilingual individuals are particularly encouraged to apply to becomea facilitator; however, any interested adult is welcome to submit a volunteer application.

Please apply by August 20 to be considered for the next facilitator training program, which begins on Septem-ber 4, 2008. For more information, call (517) 482-1315 or visit www.elesplace.org

http://www.elesplace.org/http://www.elesplace.org/


13/20September 2008


ACTION of Greater Lansing Update


T

he Justice Ministry team has been hard at work at

St. Pauls! Our parish joined with three diversecongregations from Lansing and East Lansing over ayear ago to create a dynamic organization, ACTIONof Greater Lansing. ACTION works to fill gaps in ourlocal communities to bring fairness and justice to everyindividual. It does this not through providing directservice work to those in need, but rather throughbringing the needs of the community to those in powerpositions. We do this through a specific three-stepprocess of listening, research and then direct action,where we ask the politicians to reform the system tofix these needs. Through this method, we have beenable to successfully initiate or complete three different

issues within one year of existence!

Twenty-five individuals from our parish attended ourNehemiah ACTION Assembly in May in hopes of se-curing a favorable response from Lansing MayorBernero on a housing initiative. With nearly 450 peo-ple there to support the initiative, we received unani-mous yeses from Mayor Bernero. We are proud ofSue LaDuc who served as the co-chair of this housinginitiative and was the individual to publicly receive thecommitment from Mayor Bernero!

ACTION specifically asked the city to crack down on

the high number of unregistered rental properties inthe city of Lansing. These unregistered properties werefound to be directly related to the high number of redtagged properties in the city that were closed due togross violations of the housing code. Action asked forspecific action steps to:

1. Reinforce an existing housing code that requires

rental property owners to post their positive rentalstatus visibly on the rental property.

2. Provide the community with a publically accessiblewebpage of rental property information. This in-cludes information on red tag properties and whatis being done with those properties by the city ofLansing.

ACTION has also been busy on finishing the initiativesfrom 2007. In 2007, we asked the County Commissionto create a Jail to Community Reentry Initiative to bet-ter transition the high repeat offenders from the Ing-ham County Jail into our community. We are proud toannounce that we are on track for this initiative, look-ing at a starting date in the fall of this year. We alsoasked Lansing Police Chief Mark Alley to complete aHot Spot Card Program, an anonymous crime report-ing tool for the city. We are proud to announce thatthis program has been completed and is currentlybringing in an average of one card each week thatreports crime and drug activity in our neighborhoods.

At this time, we are completing our summer supportdrive. If you havent already, please contact one ofour justice ministry team members to support this workfinancially. In the fall, we will begin our next round oflistening meetings within the church to identify a newproblem to solve in 2009! Please consider being apart of one of these exciting meetings as we continueto build an exciting ministry for justice within our con-gregation!


The walk parallels the scenic Red Cedar River on campus and provides many chances to shorten or lengthenthe actual walk as you might wish. This is a wonderful way to help fight this insidious disease which is affect-ing more families every year.

The Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds forAlzheimer care, support and research and it calls on volunteers of all ages to become champions in thefight against this fatal disease. Since 1989 Memory Walk has raised more than $230 million for ourcause.

See Deacon Bill to join as a walker or donor. Further information may be found at the Lansing MemoryWalk web site: http://www.kintera.org/FAF/home/default.asp?ievent=272393. You can also donate online to any walker if you are so inclined. All checks should be made out to the Alzheimers Association.

(Continued from page 12)
http://www.kintera.org/FAF/home/default.asp?ievent=272393http://www.kintera.org/FAF/home/default.asp?ievent=272393


14/20September 2008


Special Thanks, To Special People!

The Rev. Ronald C. Byrd, Sr.

During Father Gordons sabbatical, I witnessedGods grace and blessings through so many of

you. When I called, asked or tapped you on the shoul-der with a question or request for assistance, each ofyou responded with an enthusiasm and willingness tohelp in any way you could. Our collective efforts andgenuine desire to live faithfully into the ministry towhich we have been called is reflective of Christ Jesus.For this I give thanks and praise to our Father inheaven, and to you Gods truly special peoplemy St.Pauls family. Thank You!

Reflections on the April 19, 2008 Blood Drive

By Eleanor Doersam

B

y the time you read this I hope you have all seen

the Blood Drive Honor Roll and viewed the pic-tures of some of our volunteers.

Over 80 parishioners and friends worked together toregister a 102% goal for 51 unites of blood. Onceagain we were commended by the Red Cross for sur-passing our goal of 50 units.

Im writing today to clarify one aspect of our drivethat disqualifies so many of our blood donors. Pub-lished Reference Range for hematocrit/hemoglobin formen is 40.7-50.3% and for women 36.1-44.3%. TheRed Cross uses a higher standard. If you were de-ferred it is a good idea to read the nutrition fact labelof all foods you eat and determine how much iron is inyour diet. Foods that are good to eat to increase theamount of iron in your diet are listed below:

Liver, beef, pork, poultry, and fish are all excellentsources of dietary iron. These foods contain heme iron,which is readily absorbed by the body. Shellfish, suchas shrimp, mussels and oysters are also good sourcesof iron.

If you do not eat meat or fish, other foods with high

iron content include:

Iron fortified cereals Beans or legumes especially kidney

beans, pinto beans and chick peas. Vegetables such as peas, spinach, and

lentils. Fruits especially apricots and raisins. Enriched and whole grain breads. Molasses

Absorption of iron from any of the sources can be im-proved by eating vitamin C rich foods at the same

meal. Vitamin C rich foods include orange juice,grapefruit, cantaloupe, green peppers and tomatoes.Tea contains tannins which will decrease absorption ofiron.

Our Fall Blood Drive date is Saturday, October 11,2008. Lets all iron up this summer! Sincere thanks foryour generous support of this outstanding OutreachProject.

By William H. Fineout, Deacon

St. Pauls Homebound Members

Need You!

Please consider becoming a Eucharistic Visitor.At present there are a couple licensed mem-

bers who may take Holy Communion to home-bound parishioners.

St. Aelreds Guild members do a marvelous job ofvisiting those among us who are sick or unable toattend Sundays or Tuesdays, and the clergy makeregular visits with Holy Communion on major holi-days and upon request; but there is a need foradditional trained lay visitors who can maintainour community connection and take Communion toour shut-ins.

Many Eucharistic visitors also are licensed as Eu-charistic ministers to serve the chalice during HolyEucharist on Sundays, however doing both is notrequired. Please consider where God is callingyou to serve this flock. Let Deacon Bill know if youare interested.


15/20September 2008


Laying the Foundation: An Update from the Evangelism Committee

By Stephanie Van Koevering, Vestry Member

D

uring the past few months St. Pauls Evangelism Committee has begun to develop and implement a solid

action plan for welcoming and engaging newcomers.We have already started to develop an electronic database for tracking and following up with visitors andparishioners in need of contact from our clergy. To date, several hundred contacts from the past few yearshave been entered, and committee members are scouting out relationship management software that willallow Fr. Weller and Fr. Ron to keep track of their outreach efforts in the future.

The committee also issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to overhaul the St. Pauls website. Several intriguingresponses were received and a working group of committee members, Vestry leaders and other interestedparticipants is currently being formed to evaluate all the candidates.

In the year ahead, the Evangelism Committee plans to develop a new church wide mentoring program that willhelp newcomers become assimilated more fully into the life of the parish. We look forward to working with allmembers of the St. Pauls community as we reach out and connect with new families on an ongoing basis.

If you have ideas, thoughts or suggestions about how you would like to see St. Pauls engage newcomers moreeffectively, please feel free to share them. The Evangelism Committee continues to seek new members and rec-ommendations for future improvement. Please contact Stephanie Van Koevering at (517) 669-9111 [email protected] with your suggestions.

We pray for and celebrate the birth of Hannah Violet Hall, daughter ofKym and Matt Hall.

We pray for those expecting: Deb and Jeff Sleight and Sarah (Weller) andJoe Evenden.

We pray for and celebrate the weddings of: Carrie S. Ihrig and Joshua A.Freeman, and Kayla M. Hibner and Phillip A. Kitchell

We pray for and celebrate our newly baptized: Kory Ekineh Amachree,son of Karen and OpueneAmachree; and Hunter Michael Nicholas Riggins and Parker Robert MatthewRiggins, sons of Courtney and MatthewRiggins

We pray and remember those in the Military, serving in dangerous areas: Daniel Reno, David Granger, andBill Sheldon

We pray for comfort for the family and friends of Judith A. Rush, Nancy Hiscoe Clark, Harold W. Irwin, Ber-tha Winkle, Marilyn Britt, Tom Shawver and August D. Diedrich, Jr., who recently passed away

We pray for those who are sick and in need: Cindy Robinson, Richard, Audrie and Aaron Hegmon, Shelley

Robinson, Dennis Letner, Mason Hill, Lois Caswell, Eric Lindquist, Charles Weaver, Ben Herbert, ChanceCollins, Caroline Thomas and her family, Mary Ann Kelley, Ed Farmer, Ed Jones, Barb Hacker, Darrick,

Chris, Marjorie Belles, Cal, Kathryn and Elizabeth Senko, Daphne Such, Aleda, Rina Rister, Barb Powers,

Pam Lacey, Dave, Skip and Marsha Macholz, Patricia Reno, Chuck Buck, Rick Edwards, Leona Gordon,

Carrie, Michael Skinner, Bea Richards, Dick Wagner, Edward Such, Virginia Jessop, Judy Jones, and MasonBeasley

We pray and give thanks for the ordination of The Rev. William H. Fineout, Deacon and for the safe return ofFr. Gordon Weller from his sabbatical.


16/20September 2008


By Millie Erickson, Vestry Member

From the Parish Life Committee

Plans are in full swing for a variety of fellowship opportunities this fall. Mark your calendars with the fol-lowing dates:

October 3 2nd Annual Pizza Party and Game Night for all the Parish family: kids, families, couples, singles.There will be something fun for everyone.

November 4 The Gathering Coffee House at St. Pauls. Recall the days of Pete Seeger, Peter Paul &Mary, folk guitars and tie-dye in this fun event for all adults in the parish and their guests. Entertainment willbe provided by local folk talent.

More details on both these events to come.

Watch for announcements in the near future regarding other happenings, including the One Book, Many Jour-neys Book Read, which will be back in January. This year we will offer both an adult and a family book withrelated events. The titles will be announced soon!

ST. PAULS 160TH YEARAN HISTORICAL CELEBRATION

By Nancy Sheldon

St. Pauls will celebrate its 160th birthday in 2009. Plans are underway for activities and events throughoutMay, 2009, with special emphasis on the four Sundays that month.

May 3 Worship and Music May 10 Childrens Sunday May 17 Missions and Outreach May 31 Homecoming Sunday

A committee began work on plans for the celebration in March, but we would like your assistance for this spe-cial celebration.

The committee would like you to contribute any ideas you may have on ways to commemorate the anniversary.

We would ask you to share any historical treasures you may have: pictures, items you may have written forthe church prayers, thoughts or essays about what St. Pauls means to me, interesting personal stories ormemories, music, old copies of St. Pauls News or Sunday bulletins, cookbooks, and guild memorabilia. Almostanything you think might be noteworthy about St. Pauls long history.

We would also like to encourage your participation in other ways. Ideas might include putting on a play. Weneed volunteers to collect church clothes from various decades; work on a celebration committee; and contactformer members and their families. We would love to have someone film the various events or help preservethe memories and stories.

Youll be hearing more about the upcoming activities, but your eyes and ears and memories are vital to a suc-cessful, meaningful celebration. Contact Nancy Sheldon or any of the clergy if youd like to help or you havesome treasure for the committee.


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two day excursions with returns to a home town in between. It also fits into what I experienced during my timeaway from St. Pauls. Linda and I traveled to many places, talked with many people, and witnessed manythings, but it was always a relief to come home. Home provides a chance to renew ones self physically, men-tally and spiritually.

As this sabbatical comes to an end I am pleased to be among you once again. Being with you sets me at ease.While I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience all that I did, I am also grateful to be of serviceto the Lord in this place. During the rest of the summer take your own periods of rest and relaxation, but letsmeet again at St Pauls in September. St. Pauls is home.


would see him, he would want to know what I was doing and would comment if he had read any of

my free-lance articles. And I always sought him out to at least say hello.When St. Pauls did its capital campaign approximately10 years ago, Tom wanted me to work withhim on the publications. Fortunately, I had a workplace then that was very generous, and allowedme to use its desktop publishing software. Tom would come into my office, and we would just sit andtalk. My supervisor from that era was a retired colonel from the state police, so one day, he andTom stood in the hallway chatting for quite awhile about all of the people they both knew in com-mon. When the father of one of my co-workers died in that same time period, I was happy to see avery familiar bagpiper at the memorial service.

The Shawvers were always good to my mother, taking her to programs and bringing her home fromchurch. Whenever I would showed up for a service, Tom would always check to make sure I wasntplanning on leaving her there. I guess he was just looking out for her.

A few years ago, Mom lost a pair of glasses in their car. I told Tom that since I didnt work that farfrom where they lived at the time, I could come over on my lunch hour. But he insisted on coming myway and asked if I could meet him at the little coffee shop down the street just to catch up for awhile. So I did. It was still the same job but by then a different boss. I went anyway and definitelystayed longer than I should have. But it was worth it.

Tom and I also served together recently on St. Pauls communications committee, trying to figure outhow best to target and attract new members. If the church is to survive, it needs new blood andideas. But it is also important to know our history, and Tom was certainly a vital part of that.

For those of us who knew him, Tom Shawver was the embodiment of St. Pauls. When his health is-

sues became more apparent, I realized that when he passed away, it would be the end of an eraand a great loss to my church family.

I wish I had the time to research and pay tribute to all of the guilds, special projects, and activitiesTom was involved in throughout the decades at St. Pauls, because I feel as though I am doing himan injustice by not recognizing all of his contributions. But he probably would have understood thatwe are on a really tight deadline this month. Besides, it would probably take weeks to find all ofthat information, even if I could. The man was involved in almost everything.

My prayers are with Jean and the rest of his family at this time, but my condolences go out to all ofus who knew Tom Shawver. We have suffered a great loss.



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TheSt. Pauls News is a publication of St. Pauls EpiscopalChurch, Lansing Michigan.

St. Pauls Episcopal Church Staff

The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon Weller, Rector

The Rev. Ronald C. Byrd, Sr., Curate

Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music

Mr. William H. Fineout, Deacon

Ms. Mary Rodeck, Assistant Minister of Music

Ms. Kathleen Johnson, Office Manager

St. Pauls News Editorial Staff

Christine Caswell, Editor

Helen Hiscoe, Proofreader

Lyn Zynda, Layout Editor

Documents

St. Paul's News - September, 2008