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Fr. Tom’s Tidbits

Having just returned from a week on the Rosebud Indian Reservation with youth from across our diocese and a team from North Carolina, I can honestly say I am tired, and I look forward to my upcoming vacation. If you are like me, you need a break once in a while too. It takes a lot out of us when we are on the front lines each and every day trying our best to be who God is calling us to be and doing what God is asking us to do. For some, it can be-come so tiring that they try to block out the world and escape to the most remote place they can find; thinking that God will not find them and they can have some peace and quiet. However, in our hearts, we know that we can never truly hide from God. God is always watching over us even if we don’t think God is.

God has been watching over our church for fifty years. It may not sound like much when we read of other churches celebrating 100 and 150 years of ministry. But, for this place, it is a remarkable accom-plishment considering the changes that have taken place in our neighborhood over the last 20 or so years. The downsizing of Offutt and the housing boom in Papillion has left Bellevue a much smaller and older commu-nity than it once was. Young families vie for the newer, bigger homes and the closer proximity to shopping and entertainment found a little farther west from here. Just as Bellevue has been shrinking and growing older, so have we; and the realization we can no longer do all that we once did is a tough pill to swallow.

Many of you have told me that we want to grow our church family and we want to once again have the church filled with over 100 kids on a Sunday morning. I have also been told that over the years, as a parish, we have tried several different approaches, each yielding a few new members here and there. But with the migration westward, it has been hard to get people to drive past one Episcopal Church to worship at another. This is a challenge the vestry is about to take on. Over the past few months, we have been studying about church growth and how to make the church visible in the community. Two things we discovered are that, first, we are not as visible to those we are trying to reach as we thought we were; and, second, we need to make ourselves more visible to the community of folks we have in our own back yard.

The idea is that the more visible we are the more likely we are that someone will want to come and see what we have to offer. Therein lies our first challenge. A church that is growing expends a great deal of energy, and this can be exhausting. Eventually people need a break, and established churches then begin to conserve en-ergy by simply waiting for people to come to them. After a while they notice that the number of visitors begins to drop off until one day nobody comes looking. Our challenge is to find a way to become more visible without pushing us beyond our current abilities or resources. We have begun by making some outdoor improvements and there are a few more the vestry plans to tackle before winter sets in.

However, one thing we have learned is that the factors affecting visibility are not limited to the building and surrounding grounds, our signage, or our website; they also include each of us. We can help increase our visi-bility by sharing the news of what we are doing with those we encounter. When was the last time we bragged to someone about the work we do with Sienna Francis House, or the support we give the diocesan youth out-reach program, or that we support groups like the Boy Scouts, Green Bellevue, AA and Al-Anon by opening our doors for them to have a place to meet? Help us get the word out. Tell a friend about what is happening here; better yet, tell a stranger who one day might become a friend. If you have an idea of how best we can do this, please feel free to share it with one of our vestry members.

August 2011

The Flame

The Flame

Our Mission: The mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit is to be a welcoming place where people meet Christ and grow in their relationship with God through our worship, service, and fellowship.

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Upcoming Events and Fundraisers Aug. & Sept, 2011

Aug 20 Arrows to Aerospace

Sept 11 Parish Picnic

Sept 24 Youth—Paint Ball!

Sept 25 Halloween Costume Drive

Please submit articles for the September issue of The Flame to Judy at the church office

by August 15. Thank you!

We gathered July 6th to snip and stitch altar cloths for churches in the Dominican Republic. The cutting crew, Stephanie Bounds, Janet Her-ring, and Sharon Jones measured and cut the Fair Linen, Purificators, Corporals, and Lavebo towels. Soon Kim Culp, Alberta Yager, Sandy Vasser, and Karen Gray were measuring and pressing hems, and the sound of sewing ma-chines stitching could be heard. The completed cloths have been mailed to Trinity Episcopal Church, Norfolk, and will be included with those prayerfully made by other churches to have the crosses embroidered on them to make sure they are all identical. A group of women will be taking the linens down to the DR in Oc-tober to do training in Altar Care.

Vacation Bible School

"Each day at Bible School we emphasized how we can live by God's word, our Bibles. We learned the Bible Song, we had a Bible point: God's word is true. God's word is comforting. God's word is surprising. God's word is for every-one. Games, crafts, songs, and Bible verses all worked around the theme of the day. It was a great voyage. Thanks again to everyone who helped."

With these words, "Miss Kristi's" swan song as director of Vacation Bible School ended in a wonderful last aria. See the "God Moments" story in this issue for an example of

what was in the children's minds.

It was a nautical scene as twenty students gathered for a High Seas Adven-ture. We thank First Presbyterian of Bellevue and St. Andrews for sharing decorations and curriculum. Many other helpers behind the scenes made it all a great experience. Gold stars to Kitty Kentsmith, Jean Cook, Judy Adamski, Lynda Wyant, Lisa Weilandt, Mary Ruth and Collin Sullivan, and Alberta Yager.

Medals of honor to those in the trenches: Marcia Adams, Kurt Adams, Jan Sinram, Della Lee, Sharon Jones, Steve Smith, Pauline Parsons, Myrt Kunkel, and Father Tom.

The older youth who were a great help especially deserve kudus: Cole and Elic Chisam, Anna and Tristan Wilson, Jolynn Raczkowski, Noah Huftless, Grace Wilson, Amber and Crystal Kunkel.

Thanks to the congregation for your thoughtfulness in giving supplies converted into binoculars for our High Seas voyage and other necessities. Best of all, we took 275 pounds of food

to the Nebraska Humane Society to help feed the animal victims of the flood!

The Church of the Holy Spirit cannot thank Kristi Smith enough for her wonderful service all these years: now, there's a God Moment for sure!

Women of Spirit

Thursday Night Bible Study

Beginning in mid-September, Fr. Jack Kilby will be offering a bible study on the book of Hebrews Thursday evenings, beginning at 6:30pm. Please contact the church office if you are interested in this class.

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SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!

Marriage Beth Rathman & David Scarborough

Welcome The Mise Family

From our Vacation Bible School children, we re-ceived reports of many wonders that, they say, they know God sent. Here are some of them:

...A bird nest on my deck...

The corn that is growing in the fields...

Our parents...

Ms. Pauline, because she fixed food and food's from God...

We rescued our dogs...

We helped dogs of flood victims...

The deer I saw last night...

Helping someone pick up papers they dropped...

The sky, the sun, the moon...

Rainbows...

Rain (that's God crying)...

We forgot the best one! ME

(And all the rest of our wonderful children)

“MY GOD MOMENT”

Our Vestry needs your help in completing two pro-jects before them. First, they are collecting contact information about the ministry teams here at CHS. The goal is to publish an up to date information guide for members and visitors who would like to know what ministries are active in our parish and how they can become involved in them. If you are not contacted by your liaison over the next week or so, please contact Brian Wilson or Vic Culp who will gladly take your information and pass it on to your liaison. The second project the vestry is working on is the development of the 2012 parish budget. Please visit with your liaison to let them know the financial needs of your ministry in 2012.

ATTENTION MINISTRY TEAM LEADERS

50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER

Thank you to all those who helped make our celebration such a success, especially event coordina-tors Pat Tarleton and Kristy Smith. We will feature this wonderful event and acknowledge the work of the many volunteers who helped us pull it all together in the September issue of The Flame.

EfM provides theological education which sup-ports our faith and also teaches us to express that faith in day-to-day events. In EfM, our seminar groups dig deeper into the Christian faith, study-ing the Bible, Church history and theological ideas and reflect on connecting faith with life experi-ences.

The seminar group is the heart of the program and is made up of six to twelve participants and a trained mentor who meet weekly over the course of a nine-month academic year. Here at CHS, we meet on Tuesday evenings, from 6-8 pm from September through May. In the seminars, mem-bers have an opportunity to share their insights and discoveries, as well as to discuss questions which the study materials raise for them. This in-teraction gives the program a depth far beyond simply reading the lessons.

By examining our own beliefs and their relation-ship to our culture and the tradition of our Chris-tian faith, we can learn what it means to be effec-tive ministers in the world. In coming to terms with the notion that everything we do has poten-tial for manifesting the love of Christ, we discover that our ministry is at hand wherever we turn.

Much of this description comes from the EfM website. To see more information on what EfM is, visit http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm and click on the "About us" link.

But (I’m not going to / I don’t want) be an ordained minister or a deacon!!

You don't have to be ordained to be a minister! Lay persons are a part of the ministers of the Church, as it says on pg 855 of The Book of Com-mon Prayer. Any adult is welcome to participate in EfM, whether they feel a calling to some form of ordination or not.

Who do I contact for more information?

For more information, please see Joan Wood or Kim Culp about this great learning opportunity! Registration for the 2011-12 year is happening now. Cost is approximately $350.

What is the Education for Ministry (EfM) Program?

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ROSEBUD—2011

On July 10th, Fr. Tom and Sharon Jones, Kristi Smith, Alexis and Kayla Blinston, Amber and Crystal Kunkel, Chloe and Gabe Kump-Schleig, Jolynn Paczkowski, Darren Rathman, and Anna Wilson joined youth from across the diocese on this year’s youth outreach trip to the Rosebud Indian Reser-vation. Following a blessing at the Sunday 8:00 am service, they quickly loaded up their equipment and hit the road for a six hour ride up to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Valentine, NE. There they would meet up with youth from Lincoln, Hastings, and North Carolina.

Over the week our team provided lunch to a great group of kids on the reservation, VBS, and also worked several service projects that helped the local church. These service projects included washing the inside walls of the church, thoroughly cleaning the vacant rectory in anticipation of the arrival of their new priest, and helping rebuild the handicap ramp. The team from North Carolina (who had flown out to be with us to learn about how we do Native American Ministry) really had a great time. They had worried if they would be seen as outsiders and were impressed at how quickly they were made to feel part of the family. Our youth made new friends and Jolynn became the proud owner of several articles of clothing sporting the NC Tarheels logo.

By the end of the week everyone was tired, but we had one more thing to do; we went tubing down the Niobrara River. While we had a few cool days in Valentine, the day we went down the river it was in the mid 90’s. The water felt great and everyone had a great time. Not everyone used the sunscreen as liberally as they were encouraged, and as a result we came home with a few kids who looked a lit-tle like tomatoes. Despite this, when the vans pulled into the parking lot on Friday night, they were filled with energy and you could hear them telling family about their trip. Each and every person who came this year said they want to do it again next year. Our youth also wanted to say thank you for your generosity, without which several would not have received scholarships that made it possible for them to attend. Go CHS!!!

Kids at

Vacation

Bible School!

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Financial Report as of June 30th, 2011

Actual Budgeted YTD Actual YTD Budget

EOG’s $ 12,125.00 $ 14,955.00 $ 80,256.00 $ 89,730.00

Other Inc $ 1615.75 $ 1,176.75 $ 10,254.25 $ 10,110.50

Expenses $ 15,520.25 $ 16,385.92 $ 90,510.00 $ 99,840.50

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Our Trip to Rosebud Written by: Crystal Kunkel

So the trip there was not so bad in Fr. Tom`s van, it was nice and quiet. I think it was the same in his wife`s van; but you would have to ask her. We stopped four times, two times for gas and two times so that we can eat. It’s about a six hour drive to the church we are going to in Valentine. After we were done unpacking, Fr. Tom took us to a pow wow . A pow wow if your wondering, is a celebration. They said that we can dance too, so we danced with them at least two times. The people that danced in the pow wow from our group were Chloe Kump-Schleig, Gabe Kump-Schleig, Crystal Kunkel, Alexis Blinston, Kayla Blinston, Matt Holscher, and Jolynn Paczkowski

While we were up there in Rosebud, at first the kids didn’t really want to do anything with us, but af-ter a while they started trusting us, and then they were like our best friends. While there, we also re-built the handicap ramp and it looks great. So on the last day, we got to sign the back of the church sign and before we took the kids home they all got a backpack with school supplies because school was starting up again. It was really sad when they left and we wish we could stay longer and help out more. Each year we always have a kid who is a bit wild, this year it was Riley. During the week he hit to people because he sometimes wanted to be alone. But at the end of the week, when we were giving hugs to people before they left, Riley wanted to give and receive lots of hugs. He really changed. We didn`t go right back to the church after the last day in Rosebud. We went to a museum to look at Rosebud history things. Before we left the museum we made a big circle and went around saying what went good this week and what didn`t, then we prayed with the people from North Carolina be-fore we went our different ways. It was fun with them here this week.

On Friday, it was time for us to go on the river and it was a lot of fun. A few people fell off their tubes, one or two landed on rock but nobody was hurt. We stopped at Smith Falls for lunch and we went back to the falls to take pictures. It was really fun. After getting out of the river, we took showers and headed on home. On the way home everyone was sleeping and it was very quiet. Finally, we got home and it was really good to see our family again, but before we could go on home we had to unpack the trailer. After we were done doing that, Fr. Tom called the people that went on the mission trip to-gether and handed out t-shirts. When we got to go home, we kicked off our shoes and went to bed. It was a wonderful trip there because we got to meet the kids on the reservation and some new people in our group that we didn`t know before and in the end it turned out alright after all.

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Minutes of the Vestry

July 14, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT Vic Culp Fr. Tom Jones Lori Stevens Christine Brockinton Doug Adams Brian Wilson John Parsons Cynthia Williams Lynda Wyant

Vic Culp opened the meeting with a prayer. The group discussed Chapter 3 of Twelve Keys to an Effective Church and agreed that it was the least relevant chapter thus far. Several Vestry members said that the book is written for a broad audience, and parts of it are not relevant to our form of worship. The Vestry believes it is the quality of our worship which attracts people to Holy Spirit and why they stay. The group believes the mu-sic portion of worship has improved recently. Lynda pointed out that the church was originally developed not for the Twin Ridge neighborhood but for Episcopalians stationed at Offutt. However, that audience has moved off base and west. Doug suggested that we make an effort to ―know our audience‖ in Twin Ridge and, in an effort to attract young people, do more ―on line‖. The Vestry agreed with John when he stated that a market exists for the traditional worship service that we provide.

OLD BUSINESS •The banking change continues to progress. •Plans for the 50th Anniversary gathering have come together. There is some question about the num ber of registrations. •Storm Chasers. We have two dates remaining this year: July 28 and August 20. Members were pleased with the size of the checks we are receiving – averaging $500. Cub Scouts are not doing as well. There was some discussion about the optimum number of volunteers due to the close quarters in some areas. •Ministry update. No report. Top Ten Priority Planning. The Vestry took action in the following areas: a. Fascia board.: MO7-14-01 Vic moved and Doug seconded a motion that we accept the bid of Innovative

Roofing. $400. If a supplement amount is needed the Vestry can vote on line. (The ice jam item will be considered after the fascia repairs are completed.) Approved.

b. Windows.: MO7-14-02 John moved and Vic seconded a motion to accept the bid of Pella Windows. Four windows will be replaced with sliding windows. $3300. Approved.

c. Defibrillator: MO7-14-03 John moved and Lori seconded the motion to purchase a defibrillator. $1595. Approved.

d. Signs: MO 7-14-04 John moved and Vic seconded a motion to purchase three new street signs at a cost of $165. each. Approved.

e. Bids concerning the flag pole and driveway lighting will be ready by the August meeting. •Report on Rummage Sale. The sale was a success, earning approximately $1200. •Vacation Bible School. There were about 20 children in attendance. Numbers low but successful event.

FINANCE REPORTS FINANCES. Vic reported that our income is a little low but not yet a problem. Our income was 90% of antici-pated and expenses were 95% of expected. No unusual events this month.

MO7-14-05 Lynda moved and Doug seconded acceptance of the financial report. Approved. MO7-14-06Vic moved and John seconded a motion to pay the bills. Approved.

NEW BUSINESS. •Next Storm Chasers date: July 28th •50th anniversary dinner: July 29th •Arrows to Aerospace parade: August 20th •Lynda noted that we have several scouts who will need Eagle Projects in the near future. We need to be looking for ideas for them.

Meeting ended at 8:00. Next Vestry meeting scheduled for August 18th. Respectfully submitted, Pat Strecker, recorder.

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LAY MINISTRIES SCHEDULE SEPTEMBER 2011

Ministries

September 4 12th Sunday after

Pentecost

September 11 13th Sunday after

Pentecost

September 18 14th Sunday after

Pentecost

September 25 15th Sunday after

Pentecost

VPOD D Adams J Parsons L Wyant ???

Coffee Hosts 8am 10:30am

S Jones Team 5

??? Team 6

??? Team 7

J Wood Team 1

Greeters Sat 5pm Sun 8am 10:30am

Fr. Tom J Wood G Gray K Gray

Fr. Tom J Wood J Parsons P Parsons

Fr. Tom J Wood D Olander J Olander

Fr. Tom J Wood Y Ryan T Wingert

Ushers 10:30am J & L Wallace C & M Hagen G & K Gray C Darrell D Olander

Altar Guild C Austin K Sterzer B Oltman T Conley

L Hamilton P Tarleton T Wingert J Mellor

J Sinram L Hartman M Kunkel K Leigh

S Vassar J Olander B Rathman J Wood

Altar Bread

LEM Sat 5pm A Yager D Adams C Feingold A Yager

8:00am Lessons Prayers

J Smith H Tarleton

K Smith J Wood

J Sinram H Tarleton

S Russell-Heller J Smith

10:30am Lessons Prayers

R Sanders K Gomeringer

MR Sullivan C Chisam

V Cummings Jr S Howard

D Buser M Hagen

Acolytes 8:00am 10:30am

Team 1 Team 5

Team 2 Team 3

Team 1 Team 4

Team 2 Team 5

LAY MINISTRIES SCHEDULE AUGUST 2011

Ministries

August 7 8th Sunday after

Pentecost

August 14 9th Sunday after

Pentecost

August 21 10th Sunday after

Pentecost

August 28 11th Sunday after

Pentecost

VPOD B Wilson V Culp L Stevens L Stevens

Coffee Hosts 8am 10:30am

D & M Adams Team 1

??? Team 2

L Wyant Team 3

J Wood Team 4

Greeters Sat 5pm Sun 8am 10:30 am

??? J Wood D Olander J Olander

??? J Wood G Gray K Gray

Fr. Tom J Wood J Parsons P Parsons

Fr. Tom J Wood Y Ryan T Wingert

Ushers 10:30am G & K Gray C Darrell S & K Smith V Cummings

Altar Guild C Austin K Sterzer B Oltman T Conley

L Hamilton P Tarleton T Wingert J Mellor

J Sinram L Hartman M Kunkel K Leigh

S Vassar J Olander B Rathman J Wood

Altar Bread T Storm

LEM Sat 5pm V Cummings Jr A Yager D Adams A Yager

8:00am Lessons Prayers

R Sanders H Tarleton

K Smith S Howard

J Sinram J Wood

S Howard J Smith

10:30am Lessons Prayers

K Gomeringer D Buser

M Hagen J Wilson

S Russell-Heller C Feingold

C Chisam MR Sullivan

Acolytes 8:00am 10:30am

Team 2 Team 4

Team 1 Team 5

Team 2 Team 3

Team 1 Team 4

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The Flame

Newsletter of The Church of the Holy Spirit - Episcopal

1305 Thomas Drive

Bellevue, NE 68005-2973

402 291-7732

The Flame is a monthly production of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Episcopal, in Bellevue, Nebraska. We welcome all

stories, pictures, and suggestions, but must reserve the right to choose what we can print. Please send articles to either

Judy Adamski at holyspirit@chsepiscopal.org, or Mary Ruth Sullivan, at mzkitty33@cox.net. Please send all pictures to

Judy Adamski at the church office. The next deadline for submitting news is August 15th.

2011

Regular Services:

Education:

Office Hours:

Rector’s Day Off:

Webpage: www.chsepiscopal.org Email: holyspirit@chsepiscopal.org

Saturday: 5:00 pm Holy Eucharist (chapel)

Sunday: 8:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite 1 (church)

Nursery from 9:00 - 11:30 am

10:30 am Holy Eucharist (church)

Wednesday: 9:30 am – Holy Eucharist (chapel)

Sunday: 9:30 am - Sunday School (Sep - May)

Wednesday: 10:30 am - Bible Study (parish hall) (Sep - May)

Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Friday: 8:00 am - Noon

Friday