St. John’s Church Annual Report for 2013

Table of Contents

Agenda for the 193rd Annual Meeting

Minutes for the 192nd Annual Meeting

Parish Statistics and Nominations

Vicar’s Report

Warden’s Report

Music at St. John’s

Organ Maintenance Report

Mission Giving Report

Ann Browning Poetry Series

Buildings and Grounds Report

Pastoral Care Team and Parish Nurse Report

Hilltown Churches Food Pantry

Centering prayer Group

St. John’s Column for the Ashfield News

MotherWoman Report

Words Spoken by Annette Cycon at Homecoming Sunday

Pastoral Care Ideas from 2013 Annual Meeting

Treasurers’ Report

St. John’s Balance Sheet from 2013

St. John’s Budgets for 2013 and 2014, along with 2013 actual

AgendaSt. John’s Church

193rd Annual MeetingFebruary 9, 2014

(Following a festive brunch)

Opening Prayer

Eliot Moss

Hymn 778: We all are one in mission, verses 1 & 2

Welcome

Sue Craft

Report of the Nominating Committee

David Bruffee

Election

Presentation of the Annual Report and Budget for 2014

Jim Wagener

Hymn 779: The Church of Christ in every age, verses 1, 2, & 3

Envisioning Our Time Together in the Coming Year

Lynnette Sievert

Period of Thanksgiving

Susan Todd

Closing Prayer

Eliot Moss

Hymn 822: Through north and south, verse 1

Adjourn by 1 p.m.Minutes

St. John’s Church192nd Annual Meeting

February 10, 2013

Present:  Kristen Wickline, Rose Craft, Lynnette Sievert, Vivian Leidy, Marilyn Berthelette, Jody Hall, Addison Hall, Eliot Moss, Sue Craft, Susan Todd, Jim Wagener, Gordon Dean, Hedley Yost, Herb Libby, Mary Snow, Ruth Craft, Darlene Monds.

 Opening Prayer:  Eliot Moss

 Hymn 429  Vs 1&2

 Welcome:  Sue Craft read “Thoughts on Ashfield People”

 Covenant:  Read by members of the Vestry

 Nominating Committee Report:

                    Warden:  Sue Craft

Clerk:      Jane Wagener

                    Co-Treasurers:  Jim Wagener and Susan Todd

                   Vestry Members:  David Bruffee and Marilyn Berthelette

                   Vestry Associates:  Jim Wagener, Mariel Kinsey, Julie

                   Meservey, Lynnette Sievert, and Vivian Leidy.

                   Convention Delegates:  David Bruffee, Bob Harris

                   Convention Alternate:  Marilyn Berthelette

 

Treasurer’s Report:  Jim Wagener presented the budget. 

 Hymn 602 Vs 1&2

 Brain Storming Pastoral Care:  All

 Closing Prayer led by Eliot.

 Meeting Adjourned.

 Respectfully Submitted:

Jane Wagener

Parish Statistics 2013 for St. John’s Church

Baptisms: 0

Renewal of Vows: 0

Marriage: 0

Confirmations: 0

Received: 0

Burials: 0

Memorials: 1

Transfers: 0

Number of services held: 59

Total Attendance at all services by year:

2004: 3084

2005: 2770

2006: 2264

2007: 2248

2008: 2269

2009: 1923

2010: 2006

2011: 1520

2012: 1227

2013: 1291

Total Sunday Services: 52

Total Sunday Attendance: 1126

Average Sunday Attendance: 22

Vestry 2013

Warden: Sue Craft

Co-Treasurers: Susan Todd, Jim Wagener

Clerk: Jane Wagener (with assistance from Susan Todd)

Vestry Members: Marilyn Berthelette and David Bruffee

Nominating Committee: Sue Craft and Vestry

Nominations for 2014:

Warden: Sue Craft

Clerk: Jane Wagener

Co-Treasurers: Jim Wagener and Susan Todd

Vestry Members: Marilyn Berthelette, David Bruffee, Kristen Wickline

Vestry Associates: Jim Wagener, Mariel Kinsey, Julie Meservey, Lynnette Sievert,

Vivian Leidy

Convention Delegates: Marilyn Berthelette and Bob Harris

Youth Delegate: Arianna Burch Alternate: David Bruffee

Vicar’s Report on 2013

In 2012 our focus as congregation, in terms of new efforts, was expanding our mission.  We did this particularly through deeper relationship and more support for the Hilltowns organization called “It Takes a Village,” which seeks to support families and children in this region where access can be difficult to many services readily available in other cities and towns.  More specifically we underwrote the cost of the MotherWoman support groups in Ashfield and Cummington and a number of people had personal involvement and helped provide physical items of use to the groups.  In 2013 we continued this support and had more conversations with the organizers of It Takes a Village and MotherWoman, exploring what other things we might be able to do together in the future.

But our new initiative for 2013 related more to our own effectiveness.  With the retirement of Jan Mahnken, our secretary for many years, we undertook to redefine and expand the definition of the job, increasing the secretary’s responsibilities related to communication in this increasingly digital age.  We were pleased to hire Eleanor Dodson, who has gamely been learning how to prepare and send Constant Contact emails and electronic newsletters, how to maintain our web pages, and so on.  This training will continue in 2014.  Also, taking advantage of a grant from the diocese that helped fund the MotherWoman group but that included support for improving our communications, we hired a local professional web page designer to get our web pages reorganized.  They are beautiful!  And it was very satisfying to have them held up as a good example at the Annual Convention of the diocese in October.

We have also been preparing for my sabbatical.  My letter of agreement provides for three months of leave once every four years.  By the time I am taking the leave it has been almost six years!  I am pleased to report that the Rev. Jennifer Walters will be filling in during my absence in March, April, and May.  She and the vestry will be working hard to provide opportunities for spiritual journey and reflection just as I will be on personal pilgrimages and spending time in spiritual reflection and renewal.  More than that, the vestry and I agree that our hard work on mission and on improving communications – along with all the ongoing business of simply running a church, keeping our buildings in good shape, and so on – has been productive but has left less time for spiritual formation and education.  For example, it’s been a while since we have read a book together or had a discussion series.  So we anticipate efforts to reinvigorate our spiritual lives together, providing opportunities to grow in knowledge of one another and of our relationships with God, and to deepen all those relationships.  Church is a place, a community, in which we can know and be known more deeply than in other settings, and we want to facilitate that and have it be a safe and joyful place where that can happen.  We have also had significant conversations around how we can involve young people more and feed their growing spirituality.  It is a challenge to figure out Christian education for young people with our numbers and in the modern context, but we’re working on it.

If we consider numbers, our attendance dipped slightly in 2013 but our budget, both income and spending, particularly spending on mission and communications, increased.  It is hard to say what this means exactly, but we are gradually getting more people involved in leading worship and helping out in various ways.  It is part of being a Christian that we should be on the lookout for who may need the grace of Jesus in their lives and how we might introduce them to Jesus and the Christian life.  We all know we have something great and valuable here; let’s make sure it’s not a secret!

We thank you for your presence and support in 2013 and look forward to interesting developments in 2014!

 Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Eliot Moss, Vicar

Warden’s Report

At the 2012 Annual Meeting, we spent some time sharing our ideas about re-envisioning pastoral care, how each of us do pastoral care. During our Vestry retreat, we talked about specific ways to bring into action the ideas presented at Annual Meeting. I want to share some of those with you. Pastoral care is about giving. It is also about receiving.  St John's has been very blessed this year in both giving and receiving pastoral care.

Throughout the year, we have gotten to know the interns from Double Edge Theatre. Beside all the hard work they do at Double Edge, the interns came to our Community Picnics, shared a film, Twilight of the Mississippi, created by some of them and volunteered to help at Fall Festival. In December, we prepared a pancake breakfast as a thank you for all of their help and to wish them well as they moved on into new areas of learning.

Our summer Community Picnics were great fun with our parish family and friends sharing delicious homemade dishes and conversation. This year we decided to partner with someone from the community to host each picnic. On Halloween, some of our St John's family collected candy and from the Corner front porch gave it to those who came by to trick or treat.

The Pastoral Care Team hosted what we hope will be the first annual Caregiver Tea. We honored those who were or are caregivers. Special gifts were given and those who wanted it could have a wonderful chair massage. Two speakers talked about care giving and then tea and sweets were served to our guests by the Pastoral Care Team. In the Fall, the Tripp Foundation hosted a series of workshops to support caregivers.

MotherWoman continues to be a lively presence at The Corner House. Each Monday morning, mothers and their babies gather to talk and share. Two facilitators guide the conversation. Older siblings play in the parlor. A caregiver is there for the older children and provides snacks if needed. Growing out of the MotherWoman gathering, some of the mothers wanted to a have other opportunities to come together and so a playgroup was started. On Tuesday mornings, the toys are brought into the large room for everyone to use. We hosted a wonderful brunch on Homecoming Sunday with those who come to MotherWoman as our guests.

There are many ways to provide pastoral care. I have named just a few. Pastoral Care is sending and receiving love. It is about being noticed. St John's is very blessed.

Sue Craft

Warden

MUSIC 2013

Our wonderful, historical 1860 Johnson organ is still purring along, thanks to the excellent care it receives under the tutelage of Hedley Yost.  In addition to a choir presence on Easter and Christmas Eve, we had the pleasure of soloists joining us this year.  Beth Sperry sang a solo early in the year, Kathryn Aubry-McAvoy shared her lovely flute playing, Beth Sperry and Marc Fromm played and sang at the early Christmas Eve service, Scott Felluss played the Native American Flute at the same service, and Arianna Burch and Mariel Kinsey sang a Chinese duet at the late Christmas Eve service.  We are grateful for this sharing of talent with our congregation.  Our beloved Hedley Yost took the organ bench for the two Sundays I was away.  

I am always ready to have musicians join us and share their music. Just be in touch with me.

With wonder, love, and praise we raised the funds to purchase and put in our pews the supplement to our 1982 hymnal, entitled Wonder, Love, and Praise.  We are having a grand time exploring its contents.  There are old beloved hymns, new words with old tunes and/or new tunes, service music, and a goodly selection of music from other cultures.  In fact, the Chinese anthem sung at Christmas Eve came from this hymnal.

I celebrated my fifth anniversary at St. John's in October.  I am grateful for the opportunity to worship and play the organ with this lovely, “small but mighty” (as Sue Craft would say) church in the hills.

Marilyn Berthelette, organist

Hedley Yost Organ Maintenance FundOur Johnson organ was tuned and maintained in December of 2013.  The effects of

having installed slider seals at the base of each pipe in 2012 produced very pleasing results in that many pipes needed little or no tuning.  Our organ technician, Stefan

Maier, was most satisfied with the results. 

There is, however, one project which we must undertake in the near future.  We have just one rank of pipes which are made of wood with wooden stoppers.  These stoppers

are sealed with fine leather and can be adjusted up or down to achieve the desired pitch.  The old leather has deteriorated and must now be replaced.  The wooden pipes

will be moved to Mr. Maier's shop in Orange for the tedious refurbishing and will be returned to St. John's Church upon completion.  During this time the organ will be

playable.

The estimated cost for this project is $1,172.00.  I will assist Mr. Maier in his work at the church at no cost, thus reducing the cost of the project.  The total of the Organ

Maintenance Fund as of January 28, 2014, is $2,310.27.  We thank all those who have made and continue to make donations to this important fund.

Hedley E. YostOrgan Curator

St. John's Mission Team

2013 Mission Giving Report

            Each year the Mission Team has $5,000 to give away to groups that we feel make good use of our donations.  In keeping with the Mission Team's belief that Mission Funds be distributed locally, nationally and globally, the Team has decided to continue in that decision with a bit more going this year to local organizations who could use a little extra help in these tough economic times.  Below are the groups that are receiving funds this year:

 

Hilltowns Food Pantry: $800

P.O. Box 161

Ashfield, MA. 01330

The Food Pantry serves about ten towns in the area and is supported by local

churches.  This year the Food Pantry has seen the numbers of 

people benefiting from its supplies increase substantially. 

 

Community Action Fuel Assistance $1850

Attn: Tammy Butler

393 Main Street

Greenfield, MA. 01301

This program offers financial assistance and emergency oil for low

income people in Franklin County.  Given the reduction in government

funds, we have decided to increase the amount we traditionally give for the 

need continues to increase.

 

Franklin County Home Care $800

330 Montague City Road, Suite 1

Turners Falls, MA. 01376-2530

This agency provides help with emergency donations for 

food, caregiver support, and general elder emergencies.

 

 

Five Talents International $500

P.O. Box 331

Vienna, VA. 22183

Five Talents Mission is "to fight poverty, create jobs, and

transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries 

using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training

and spiritual development."  The names comes from Matthew 25:14-30,

"Master". he said.  You have entrusted me with five talents.  See, I have gained

 five more."

Thresholds $100

4101 North Ravenswood Avenue

Chicago, Illinois, 60613

Thresholds is committed to providing help and hope for people

with mental illness.  They are based in Chicago but have sites in

other parts of the country.  This donation is made in memory of Robert Hall. 

NELCWIT $200

New England Learning Center for Women in Transition

479 Main Street

P.O. Box 520

Greenfield, MA. 011302

NELCWIT, based in Greenfield, is an agency dedicated to helping

families survive the trauma of domestic violence and sexual assault.

They provide counselors who help people to make a plan to leave an

abusive partner, improve their self-esteem and find employment to help

meet their families' basic needs.

 

National Episcopal Relief and Development $350

P.O. Box 7058

Merrifield. VA. 22116-7058

Episcopal Relief and Development works with church partners and 

local organizations worldwide to save lives, and transform communities.

They help to rebuild after disasters and empower people to create lasting solutions that fight poverty, 

hunger and disease in over forty countries.  We have earmarked this

for those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines.

 

Ashfield Preschool $125

134 Baptist Corner Road

Ashfield, MA. 01330

The preschool serves children in Ashfield surrounding towns.

This donation is to be used for scholarships for those who cannot afford the 

tuition.

 

Shelburne Senior Center $125

Main Street

Shelburne Falls, MA.

The Senior Center serves senior citizens from Ashfield, Buckland, and

Shelburne.  Among their many programs are those providing transportation to

medical appointments and shopping, a home repair service-free of charge,

home visitation by a social worker, as well as meals, exercise classes and 

entertainment.  

 

Food Bank of Western Mass $150

97 Hatfield Street

Hatfield, MA 01038

Because the Hilltown Churches' Food Bank receives a great part of its

food from the Food Bank of Western Mass, it was decided that we would

make a contribution to them as well.

The Mission Team:  Mary Snow, Ruth Craft, Kristen Wickline, and Jane Wagener

December 16, 2013.

Ann Browning Poetry Series

The Third Annual Ann Hutt Browning poetry Series occurred on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Church. Martín Espada, called “the Latino poet of his generation” by Earl Shorris of The New York Times, was the featured reader. He was more dramatic than the lightning storm that accompanied his performance! Sarah Browning spoke movingly about her mother and read poems written by Ann and from her own work. This year we had over 70 poems submitted for our consideration. The dedicated judges were Jan Freeman, Susie Patlove, and Carol Purington. Jan and Susie once again presented the awards.

In the 15-18 age group the awards went to:

Henry Lombino – First Place Langston Sorensen-Hoberman and Alexis Whitebear – Second Place Allen Gabriel and Jazmin Toutant – Third Place

In the 12-14 age group the awards went to:

Emma Dennis-Knieriem – First Place Charlotte Harrison and Desiree Richer – Second Place Gemma Borra Paley and Romer Sullivan -- Third Place

Many thanks to Sue Craft, Jane and Jim Wagener, Marilyn Berthelette, John and Lou Ratté, Preston and Sarah Browning, Mariel Kinsey, and Juliet Jacobson for all their help. And thank you to the Ashfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, for their generous contribution to this event.

Buildings and Grounds Committee Report for 2013

This year marked the completion of many projects at Saint John’s.   Corner House structure:  Thanks to John Wood for helping with removal and replacement of rotten trim and skirt boards from the east side of the Corner House.  Mike Skalski also came to our rescue as the contractor to prop up the house while replacing a big piece of the sill beam and rebuilding a section of the stone foundation. Memorial Garden:    We were blessed to have the donated expertise of our neighbor Harry Dodson in choosing a landscape design, and selecting a specimen tree, shrubs, and ground cover.  Then he really went the extra mile, donating and installing all the plants. Many thanks Harry!   The marker plaque remains to come in 2014.  Donations are still being accepted for this project.  Church repairs:  We contracted with Art Lussier to inspect the entire church building.  Three issues were of immediate concern, and have been dealt with.  The tower roof's cracked lead sheeting has been repaired and a protective sealant applied.  The wooden parts of the bell mechanism have been repaired and treated with a wood protectant; the bell itself has been cleaned and protected; and the cast iron supports have been painted.  The cellar's summer  mildew  has been treated, nasty old insulation removed and replaced, and much of the floor covered with plastic. We will probably have to dehumidify the cellar in summer.  Building inspector items were taken care of. Thanks to Darlene Monds for helping replace two rusted metal columns in the cellar so we passed muster.  Other issues:  Thanks to Susan Todd and Sue Craft for continuing the de-cluttering of the church office space.     Spring and fall cleanups of the grounds, and periodic lawn-mowing  are still contracted out.  Carl Nelke is the provider for this service. We started the year without a regular cleaning service inside the church and the Corner.  We have since contracted for cleaning services with Ivy Terrill, who is doing a wonderful job. Special thanks to Susan Todd for her work in our gardens, and to Herb Libby for maintenance of the fish pond.  The annual service of the furnace at the Corner revealed several problems with the old furnace.  We are soliciting bids for a replacement, probably propane.   In the caretaker's apartment, the bathroom wall was repaired and re-tiled. Thanks to Ricky Smith of All-Around Tile for a generous donation of materials. The Buildings and Grounds Committee would like to thank all the church members who helped care for the church property this year.

Jim Wagener

Pastoral Care Team

Members: Sue Craft, Susan Todd, Rose Clark, Herb Libby, and Jane Wagener

The Pastoral Care Team has continued its commitment to meet every two months to discuss the pastoral needs of those in St. John's community and follow up as appropriate.

We have supported Eliot in his mission to make pastoral visits.

Our third year of providing a Baby Rest Stop during Fall Festival was met with appreciation from many parents who stopped by more than once to feed, change or just take a break with their young children. With our new changing station in the newly remodeled bathroom, we are pleased to welcome more families with young children, including the MotherWoman group that has been meeting at the Corner.

We offered a most appreciated Caregivers’ Tea in May for all those who care for others in tireless, selfless ways.

The Prayer Chain continues with prayers for members and non-members alike in need of prayerful support. We know from experience and even scientific study, that our prayers are felt by those we are praying for and bring them comfort.

As we begin a new church year, we ask you to consider ways in which you, too, are providing pastoral care to the congregation and the community.

Parish Nurse Report

Last year I began an Osteoporosis Prevention Fitness class at the Corner. It is open to all and to date has been well attended. The purpose is to strengthen bones and improve balance by a series of exercises using weights and balancing techniques. The class is supported by the Shelburne Senior and RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). There is no charge. We meet on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Come by and check it out!

I continue to make home visits as needed or requested.

Wishing you all good health,

Jane Wagener, Parish Nurse

A Letter from the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry

(transcribed from the original)

Annual Report 2013Dearest Member Churches, I have been involved with the Hilltown Churches Food Pantry for the past 17 years. It makes me very proud to be part of such a dedicated group of volunteers who give so much to help feed our local community. The HCFP has experienced a lot of changes over the last two decades. It

has evolvedfrom operating out of the pantry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, helping feed

about 20 families, to its current home in the Friendship Hall of the First Congregational Church in Ashfield; feeding at least 120 families. We’ve had a core of five

churches supporting our mission of feeding our neighbors in the Hilltowns until last

year when the UCC in Conway joined our efforts. 2013 brought one major change for the HCFP. We became a Client

Choice Food Pantry. All reports indicate it is a positive change for both our clients and

volunteers. We are told it should also lower our food costs because our clients are only

taking what they want and can use. It seems to also be solving our limited space issues. Another major change included having to find either our own 501©3 or

using one of our other member church’s non-profit number. Thankfully the UC in Conway

offered for us to operate under theirs. 2013 was also my last year as Chairperson. I’m excited to announce that

Pat Thayer has agreed to take my position over. I feel relieved to know it is still in excellent hands. Even though I’m stepping down as Chair, I will remain a

dedicated board member and volunteer because I believe in what we do. One of my goals for

2014 is to obtain our own 501©3 status. Finally, I’d like to say thank you to all of you! Without the support of our

six member churches and our numerous volunteers, this mission of love could not be

accomplished. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Blessings,

Janet M. Rogers, Chairperson

HILLTOWNS CENTERING PRAYER GROUP

(This report is a repeat of previous ones, because what needs to be said has already been said here! You are welcome to read it through again “for the first time.”)

There is a deep Center, the Center and ground of our being, and we can pass through that Center into the very Center of God. The two Centers are one - the very Center of all that is.

Basil Pennington

Sponsored by both St. John’s and First Church, the Centering Prayer group continues to meet at the Corner every Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:30. 

The structure of the hour is consistent, with 20 minutes to a half hour of silent prayer and meditation followed by a half hour of prayerful reading (lectio) of the current scripture or psalms or other selections. Members of both churches, as well as people without affiliations, are part of the group.

A strong bond develops between us as we share a regular time of deep silence. I like to think it is also a holding place of prayers for the larger community.

All are welcome!

If anyone is interested in reading about Centering Prayer - this modern contemplative practice based on the early monastic teachings about prayer - here are three books I highly recommend:

Thomas Keating: Open Mind, Open HeartThomas Keating: Manifesting GodCynthia Bourgeault: Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

We have recently learned that there is an international group called Friends of Silence. This is how they describe what they do, and I think we can call ourselves friends of silence along with them!

“Friends of Silence is a non-profit endeavor to facilitate others in reverencing silence, prayer, contemplation, the Divine Guest, and the Oneness of all creation as well as to encourage the life-giving empowerment that derives from the Silence.

Friends of Silence began in Detroit in 1987 as an urban contemplative community welcoming individuals of all faiths and cultures.   We have grown from forty or so to an international community at large of over 6,000 pray-ers.  We are linked in the Silence, in heart-prayer, and in friendship to many religious and spiritual communities as well as the various F.O.S. groups that are emerging in prisons, businesses, nursing homes around the world.  Recognizing the efficacy of silence, we meet together or in the solitude of our homes to hold our family and neighbors, our cities and country, our world and planet in silence and prayer.

Friends of Silence take time to offer the gift of themselves in silence, prayer, and sharing.  Opening one’s heart with the desire to radiate Love and Light is a response to the noise, speed, distractions, the violence, injustice, and oppression so rampant today.  The outward, visible results of silence are difficult to discern or to define.  Yet, by faith, we continue to spend time in silent prayer, often being blessed with the inward fruits of the Silence: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and gratitude.

For those who would be in solidarity with Friends of Silence through shared times in the Silence at home or within gathered groups, the following guidelines are offered:

    * A commitment to meet regularly for an hour or so in a space conducive to silence.    * Let there be mostly silence starting, if it is helpful, with an appropriate short reading offered prior to the time of silence.    * Let there be an expectant attitude that the Silence of each individual will be transformative somewhere in the world through the mystery of Love.    * Honor the time spent in silence by ending with a time of journaling and/or sharing, if two or more are gathered, and for intercessory prayer for the world.

Aware or not, everyone needs and hungers for simplicity and time for solitude and silence.  May your Silence help to balance the noise of today’s world!  And may you come to know the strength and power of the Beloved, the peace and joy of Divine Love, and the gentleness and guidance of the Divine Light in the goings and comings of your everyday life!”

SO! Centering Prayer, or Friends of Silence, this is what is happening at the Corner on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Mariel Kinsey 

ASHFIELD NEWS: Monthly Column from St. John’s 

This was the eighth year that I have written a monthly column for the Ashfield News, having inherited the honor from John Snow.

My intent is to write reflections that are timely, personal, and inclusive. I realize that my process adheres to the Benedictine dictum to Listen: listen to each other, listen to the world, and listen to God. My hope is that through this “listening”, I might offer images and perspectives that slightly shift how the world is seen, for a moment, if not for longer. 

I completely enjoy this project. It becomes a personal practice of paying attention to what is occurring both inwardly and outwardly all through the month between the actual columns, and then being able to extend it out to a wider community. I am very grateful to St. John’s for this opportunity.

I do not know how much longer I will be up to doing this. I’m putting out the word that if someone else would like to take it up, or someone you know whom you would like to see taking it up, then let’s talk.

It has been suggested that I include a column from this last year as representative of what I’ve been submitting in the name of St. John’s: here then is the column for May of 2013.

COURAGEPerhaps the earth can teach us/ as when everything seems dead in winter/ 

and later proves to be alive. Pablo Neruda

It’s almost spring. Snow is piled two feet deep outside my window. Some mornings a fox trots past my house on his way into the woods. He’s hungry. The nights are cold, the days warm up, and through a process of pressure, suction, and temperature variations, the sap is dripping into the tin buckets, or meandering through those blue lines strung tree to tree up Norton Hill. Passover and Easter, both secular and religious, are soon upon us. Under ground all sorts of life is ready to start seething. But not yet. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow.

There’s a breath-held feeling of neither this nor that. Something’s shifting, yet everything still looks the same. We anticipate the fresh greenness of Spring, but occasionally remember that Spring is not peaceful. All kinds of poppings and crackings, breakings and burstings; thick squishy mud season, and all kinds of uglinesses underfoot. It’s turbulent. It’s a mess. 

Reminds me of our times right now, all over the world. Turbulent, messy.  Reminds me of Jesus’ world back then at Passover time. Oppression, poverty, anger and fear. Rituals of freedom and hope in the midst of hardship and suffering. The Jewish tradition knows how things actually happen: after the liberation from slavery came those YEARS of wandering in the desert, and Moses didn’t even GET to the promised land. Then Jesus comes along to stir up hope and direction in people who are without either, and ends up on the wretched cross, defeated and dead. But   - something bursts through from that death that nobody has adequately understood even unto now, though a lot of nobodies and somebodies have tried, have tried, to explain, to encapsulate. That Something defies encapsulation. That Something has to do with the bursting and breaking of old boundaries and dead definitions so that whatever filled Jesus during his human life exploded itself into human consciousness.  Something like the emergence of a new Being, I mean REALLY new, as in unimaginably different, which begins to transform individuals, and then systems, and then life. And “the world” itself. 

Hasn’t gotten here yet, this New World, not by a long shot. But the cycles of seasons, the recurring celebrations of Passover, Easter, spring rituals of death and resurrection, attest to and support a deep human yearning for transformation into a really NEW life, one that is abundant and vibrant, one that encompasses in the same moment the suffering and the joy, the grief and the celebration. 

Sometimes this transformation happens slow and steady, like the dripping of the clear thin tree juice into a bucket. Sometimes it is turbulent, disorienting, messy, and startling. Like those fiery hours of boiling the juice down to essence. Like tiny new leaves bursting out of bare twigs, like all the squeezings and meltings and flowings, creepings and crawlings that are upon us. This is inner process, mirrored in the world around us.

That’s why I say that living like Spring takes courage. It’s a time of opening, and open means broken. “There is no breakthrough without breakage,” says Nor Hall. So: two feet of snow and hungry foxes notwithstanding, the maples have been broken into, the sap is moving, and the fires are prepared. The daffodil bulbs are ready, the bugs are stretching their infinitesimal legs, and we are courageously ready for Spring.  For all that it will, and might, bring. 

Respectfully submitted,

Mariel Kinsey    

A Letter from the Hilltown Village Mothers’ Groups

Dear St. John's community,

Thank you for your generous support of the Hilltown Village Mothers' Groups.  With your help we have created a haven for mothers in these Hills.

Every week mothers make their way to group, often with one or two small children in tow.  When they arrive they are greeted by snacks and tea on the counter and friendly words of welcome from the facilitators.  Some leave their older babies or toddlers with our warm, capable childcare provider, grab a cup of tea and for the first time that day (maybe that week!) turn their attention to themselves.  This may be the first time they have let someone other than a family member care for their child.  For mothers with young babies they know they can relax here and feed, comfort and change their baby in the circle without worrying about baby noises and baby messes.  They are welcome here.  When mothers and children are settled we are invited to take a deep breath in and just arrive.  Using the MotherWoman guidelines the facilitators draw a curtain between regular life and this space here: strong emotions are welcome, you can speak freely without interruption, we will listen with compassion, non-judgment and respect.  And so Mothers' Group begins...

Week to week the issues and stories told range all over: worry, grief, intimacy, frustration, communication, friendship, change, sadness, work, great joy, fear, triumph, guilt, embarrassment, hope.  Each woman brings her own ups and downs to share.  The facilitators weave the stories together with universal themes.  We see that we are not alone.  In closing we remind ourselves of simple ways to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to care for our children, the most important job there is.  We linger over tea in the kitchen as our little ones toddle underfoot.  Eventually we make our way out the door knowing we can return next week.

In deepest gratitude,Anna WestleyFamily and Volunteer Coordinator for the Hilltown Village   

35 women attended our Mother's Groups in 2013.  The Ashfield group met weekly while school was in session (30 sessions), and the Cummington group met monthly (9 sessions).

There was some overlap between the two locations, with 28 individuals attending in Ashfield and 10 in Cummington, but half (5) of the women who attended in Cummington only went to the Cummington group, and more than half (22) of the women who attended in Ashfield only attended in Ashfield.  20 of our participants were from Franklin County (Ashfield, Buckland, Conway, Shelburne Falls, South Deerfield) and 11 from Hampshire County (Cummington, Chesterfield, Huntington, Northampton, Plainfield, Williamsburg, Worthington), and one participant was visiting from out of state.

Homecoming Sunday Message by Annette Cycon

On Homecoming Sunday, September 15, 2013, Annette Cycon, Founder of MotherWoman, spoke to the parish during its 10 a.m. service.  Following are the transcribed words from that very moving moment.

Susan Todd: Today our paths cross with a pioneering saint. This woman, Annette Cycon, has changed lives of people that she will never know. We are so grateful and honored that she is in our presence today. I have a little paragraph which describes her background, and I am going to read it now. 

Annette Cycon is the founder of MotherWoman, and has been a clinical social worker for 26 years. She founded MotherWoman based on her personal and professional knowledge that mothers are the cornerstone of the world we share. When a mother is valued, supported, and strong, then children, families, and communities are strong. Annette has dedicated her life work to supporting mothers through MotherWoman support groups, one of which is hosted here at St. John's church. Training providers of services to moms, about the challenges in the postpartum period and changing social policy that affects us all. But more importantly, Annette is the mother of two young adult daughters. They are such a shining light in her life and have been the primary reason she works so hard to be the best she can be and support other mothers with the same desire. Annette, thank you.

Annette: That was really sweet, thank you.

I really wasn't expecting to start crying before I spoke. But, I am. Thank you so much for inviting me. I've spoken at many podiums in my career, but never in a house of God. As I was raised catholic, this is a very different and special and precious moment, so thank you very much for letting me.

As Ms. Susan said, I have some letters after my name. I'm a trained social worker. I founded MotherWoman almost 20 years ago because the most important thing that ever happened to me in my life was I became a mother. It was the thing that changed me the most. It was the thing I learned the most from. It was at that moment that I received the greatest gift, the most precious gift, felt the purest love, and discovered the strongest mission that I had ever had to be the best person that I could ever be for them. Yet, I'm not perfect. They aren’t perfect. 

And life isn't perfect. We have images about how we want to be and how we hope to be. It doesn't always turn out that way for us. Now they are almost 20 and 22 and their bedrooms are empty in my house. They live in their own places. I've watched them and my own mother, who is 83, and an immigrant to this country, and who lost her own mother in childbirth with her, is on hospice. I am going to be navigating that next journey in my life, as I watch my daughters and soon lose my own mother. So where do I go? Where do I go with that? How do I know how to do that? How do any of us know how to do that? Where are my mothers? Where are the people I can learn from? I'm not the first person, the first mother who's done this. 

Yet in our culture, we've lost those precious places where we can gather to learn from each other life's great hardest lessons. We live in a culture that likes to glorify motherhood. It's very comfortable talking about all the wonderful and idealized things about motherhood, and they're all true. There's nothing more beautiful than that first giggle of your baby, or that first smile, or the first school play where the little ones dress up like a duck or mouse or creature, standing there terrified. It's just so cute. Or when they walk down the aisle in a cap and gown, or veil and tuxedo. Or holding your own grandchild for the first time.  Motherhood is blessed. 

Yet it's not all cupcakes and balloons. You scratch the surface of any mother, no matter how old or young she is, or if she looks like she has it all together, you're going to find a story of everything that she holds. Worry about the safety of your children, number one. Worry about having a job, being able to pay the bills. Worry about employment, unemployment. Worry about education. Worrying about health care. Worrying about the health of our children, or our own health. If our kids have health concerns, mental health concerns, social concerns, heartbreak. Being invited or not invited to the birthday party when they're five years old and having melt downs. Emotional tears of our two year old and five year old. Teenagers and our young adults. All of these things weigh on us. Transportation. The news. The news is harder to hear. It became harder for me to hear the news once I became a mother. 

It means an easier cry at everything, at everyone else's heartbreak. Because everybody's children became my own. That horrible day last December when the Sandy Hook killing took place, we all broke down and wept. Even though those weren't our children, we felt it. For many of us that has happened to us. Through silent experience, mothers do lose their babies. Before they're born, when they're born, shortly after they're born. Mothers bury their children before them. It's the hardest and most crushing thing that life has to offer us. Again, where do we go? Who do we follow? How do we learn how to do these hard things? 

Motherhood and fatherhood, I want to honor all the dads in the room and their fathers too. It's the same thing for you guys as it is for us. Parenthood holds all of the world's spiritual lessons. It is the biggest person growth and spiritual retreat, life long, that we can ever have. We have to learn patience, lots and lots of patience every day. We have to learn courage. We have to learn forgiveness. If you love someone, you will become very forgiving because nobody's perfect. We have to learn to forgive ourselves. I don't know about you, but I set a pretty high standard for myself, particularly in regards to my 

motherhood because I love them so much. But there's no one who drives me more crazy than them, too. There's no one who gets me to my edge the way my kids do.

My mother said the same thing about me, so I know I'm not speaking out of school here, right? It's part of love, meeting each other at that tough spot; then, having the love be greater than the conflict or greater than the thing and the memory of okay, you're not perfect, I'm not perfect. I love you. Can I forgive myself for my own shortcomings? That's probably one of the hardest things for mothers to do. Where do we go? 

The story today, the gospel reading, was so perfect I thought, for my talking about motherhood. Although the gospel reading talked about Jesus as a shepherd, I've heard mother. If you have a hundred children and you lose one, wouldn't you go out to extraordinary means to bring that child home? This picture, this stained glass window behind me is a picture of today's gospel reading. It's, to me, a picture of motherhood. You know you've got the older one here, the baby here, and the one in your heart that's not here. How do we carry this huge life lesson that motherhood is? 

That's how MotherWoman was born. I found that I had very few places to go where I could really talk about the heard stuff. I could talk about the fun, easy, joyful stuff anywhere I wanted to go. That was easy, that was great. But the really tough things, the things that made me cry and be afraid at night, very few places. So we created a support group where women could come together and be honest and talk, non-judgmentally, and be compassionate about the whole journey of motherhood is. In other cultures and in other times women gathered together regularly, multi-generational, to teach each other things and show each other the life journeys about birth and death and motherhood and sisterhood and all these kinds of things.

 In some cultures, when a baby is born the mother is expected to do nothing for three months except rest, recover, and feed her baby. All the community and the village come together and they cook for her, they clean her house, they take care of her other children, and they do all of the other strenuous, worldly things so that she can focus on the most precious thing: beginning her child's life, and herself developing as a mother. We don't have that. We've lost that village, which is why I brought the "It takes a village" theme today. It does. MotherWoman asks become that village for other people.

Our mission is to support and empower mothers, to create positive personal and social change by creating community safety nets of which your MotherWoman group is a part, of which this church is a part. To impact social policy so that we all can live in a more just and sane world. And to promote, I love this line, the resilience and the leadership of mothers. Yes. Very awesome. Mother doesn't have to become CEO to be a leader. She doesn't have to become a minister to be a leader. She's a leader every single day in her home. She could be a humble leader. She may not work anywhere else, but in her kitchen and in her community. You want to support that leadership because she's doing the most important job that is:  to raise the next generation. 

So the name of this organization is MotherWoman, but really it should be called "For All Our Children," because that's what it is. I want to thank you very much for inviting me to speak, for inviting me for your homecoming service, I think that’s very appropriate, and 

for all that you've done to support your mother group in your community so that women who live here, because in January it gets pretty remote out here, pretty lonely. When you've two little kids or three or one, and it's a snowstorm, it can get a little bit isolated. So to provide women here a place where they can come and be honest and share with each other and derive strength from one another is a beautiful thing. So thank you very much for doing that. Thank you for inviting me today. God bless you.

Re-envisioning Pastoral Care

Following are a few of the ideas generated from the 192nd Annual Meeting:

Random Acts of Kindness Month

Caregivers’ Tea

Reaching out with phone calls

Make prayer shawls

Do something more to help out the rural poor – especially women

Help people with taxes

Help new mothers overwhelmed with housework

Help with tech support – or navigating phone systems for assistance

Continue to help school in Haiti

Develop spiritual formation program for elders and children

Christmas baskets for community members

During our Vestry Retreat we considered the ideas generated at Annual Meeting and devoted our energies to these areas:

We held a Caregivers’ Tea, celebrating our local caregivers with a beautiful tea and chair massages and gifts. We also invited Jan Freeman of Paris Press, who had just published two essays on illness

by Virginia Woolf and her mother, and Nell Lake, author of The Caregivers, to discuss their work.

We met with Anna Westley, facilitator for MotherWoman to discuss ways we can help low income mothers in the Hilltowns. We decided to offer Corner space for a once a week Community Playgroup.

We offered Corner space to a local tax preparer so that her clients wouldn’t have to travel to the Valley for assistance.

Your thoughts and ideas are very much taken to heart by the vestry. We try to address them wherever we can.

Treasurers’ Report

We are particularly grateful to Sandy Lilly for her devoted service to St. John’s for many years. She has been essential in keeping our

books in order and understanding the needs and requirements of our small parish. We are deeply indebted to her for her service.

Last year we were able to make whole (briefly) our Ford Account Savings after the expense of our Corner renovation project, all the while expending nearly $10,000 in mission and outreach. It is always our goal when we transfer funds from our Ford Account to replenish them as soon as we are able.

We had a large expense for the restoration of our tower bell and its support structures. Many people have donated toward this expense, so we are putting this money in our 2014 renovation account to defray the amount we were “in the red” for last year. This restricted amount will go toward the additional renovations that Art Lussier has determined we need to address in the spring. He is helping us with our long range maintenance plan.

Noteworthy in our 2014 budget are the expenses in support of the vicar’s sabbatical and the supply fees associated with that three month period.

Also noteworthy is the fact that we have given 2.5% raises for the vicar, the organist, and the financial administrator – something we haven’t done in several years. We have also given more hours to our sexton to keep our buildings well-maintained.

Despite the raises we have given and the sabbatical expenses, we have a balanced budget for the year. We have continued our support of MotherWoman for the coming calendar year and support for the Cummington group until the end of the school year.

As was mentioned in the Buildings and Grounds report, we will need a new furnace for the Corner House. We have budgeted $6,000 for this as a capital expense and hope to raise this amount in the coming months

We have had many requests for our Discretionary Funds in recent months. This account is nearly depleted so we need to concentrate our efforts on replenishing these funds.

Rather than delineating where our fundraising profits come from – Fall Festival, Tag Sale, etc. – we are naming a gross amount for all fundraising events ($6,000), expenses ($2000), and a hoped-for net gain of $4,000.

We are grateful to Russell Williams, Del Glover, and Richard Prée for participating in our annual audit last April. We set a goal of doing an inventory of our church treasures which was accomplished through a video made by Gus Ganley, a filmmaker. We still need to update the appraisal of our Tiffany window. The treasurers will meet in the coming weeks with Sandy Lilly to receive training in our financial software.

Thank you to everyone who has given so generously to St. John’s this year and over the years. We are deeply grateful for the astonishing kindness of so many people, near and far.