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SAINTS Alive! THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PARISH All Saints’ Church Chelmsford, MA September 2006
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SAINTS Alive! THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PARISH All Saints’ Church Chelmsford, MA September 2006
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From the Rector
Rector’s Insights from Kenya 2006
Tom Barrington will soon be bringing his insights of and from Kenya to a parish (and a fall picnic) near you!
He has endured illness, both his own and others’, made the acquaintance of many new friends, and borne witness to the poverty that makes parishes splurge only occasionally … to buy communion wine.
In his haler moments he has taken in many lengthy sermons, full days of CHURCH in multiple parishes, and more recently, mudmaking to strengthen a house (he painted a word-picture that made the process akin to processing grapes).
His letters back have been long, and rich with detail and reflection, but it will be good to see the Mzungu again, all the same.
All Saints’ Rector Tom Barrington will be welcomed back on Sunday September 10 from overseas missionary travels and an Adirondack vacation.
Interim Rector’s Insights Summer 2006
Which means we will be thanking our interim rector, Ray Bronk, and saying goodbye to him. Ray has deepened our knowledge of the role of the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion in light of our national convention this year and the election of Bishop Katherine Schori as Presiding Bishop. He has spoken with intimate knowledge about, for example, where a phone call to God might be a local call, or on a more serious note on our remembering of the Jesus at the Last Supper, and how we should consider ourselves co-celebrators (rememberers), and maybe even stand, during the preparation of the Body and Blood in the Eucharist service.
Ray has served us well (and served us food, in large quantities, too!) Many, many thanks!
Editor
Our Fall Church Picnic will be held on the church grounds immediately after the 10 a.m. service. All parishioners are invited to join us for fun, food, fellowship, and to welcome back our rector, Tom, from his four month sabbatical. Please contact Liz Landers at (978-256-9681) or Connie Morrison at (978-692-0757) if you are able to help.
Calling All Choir Members!
As I begin my 22nd year as your Music Minister, I find that I still look forward to the fall and the resumption of choir practices. As always, I welcome back returning members and would also love to see new faces in each group.
Our Children’s Choir meets on Thursdays from 5:30 – 6:15 p.m. in the choir room. Leah Cole is returning as that choir’s volunteer accompanist, and we welcome all children in grades 2-4. Children younger than grade 2 who can read words well are also welcome. This choir focuses on unison singing and usually sings twice/month in church.
The Junior Choir is a choir for unchanged voices in grades 5 and up. This group meets on Thursdays from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the choir room and also sings twice monthly. Connie Pawelczak is returning as the volunteer accompanist and this group sings mostly 2 and 3 part music. Both of these choirs begin rehearsals on September 14, and a complete schedule for the fall will be distributed at that time.
The Senior Choir is for all singers who don’t fit the qualifications of the previous two groups! This choir sings on most Sundays and rehearses on Thursdays from 7:45-9:15 p.m. Senior choir rehearsals begin on September 9. If making a commitment to attending weekly choir rehearsals is too daunting for you, consider being a seasonal singer and joining the choir for either the Christmas or Easter seasons. Especially needed are tenors, although we’ll give all new members a royal welcome.
If you can’t sing but would love to be involved, consider joining the Bell Choir which meets on Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and is led by volunteer Liz Marshall. Rehearsals for this group begin on September 14.
Please contact me at (978)251-1296 or maggie@ccc.com if you have any questions.
In faith,
Maggie Marshall, Minister of Music
Buildings and Grounds
We have concluded our stone masonry work for this year with the repair of the outside buttresses supporting the Cloister. We did not accomplish turnbuckle reinforcement, because the cost scope would have wildly over run the allocation. A long crack in the wall behind the Altar in the main Church was filled in. What we hope is that the structural repairs that require a contractor are mostly concluded. Perhaps, with the experience gained, we can do a little more of the near-ground patchwork ourselves.
I’m not sure that we need to do the ‘Every Third Saturday’ Volunteer days anymore; although a general Fall and Spring Cleanup date may be scheduled on the upcoming calendar.
As we approach the next budgeting season, look around! Is there an area or project that glares at you that needs work? I put all these ideas in a ‘Shopping List’ that is submitted to the Vestry. This part of the process is as open and transparent to the entire community as possible. Then the Vestry gets to do the ‘heavy lifting’ in deciding what to fund.
Philosophically, we could probably spend a budget by just sitting back and fixing what breaks during the year. But our course has been one of a relentless preventative, in part to remedy the past and to avoid at least the problems that we can foresee in the future.
Rich Jerome
Gearing Up For The Fall!
It seems strange to be approaching the beginning of our church program year without our Rector. I’m beginning to think that he timed this so that we would appreciate him more. ☺ As we prepare to welcome Tom back on September 10, perhaps the best gift we could give him would be to have all areas of leadership filled.
I was thinking of our church as being a room with many lights in it. Some of our lights will be shining brightly on September 10, including the choirs and the church school program. Faithful and continuous leaders in those two areas, for example, will ensure that those lights will shine. Our wardens and vestry will heave a collective sigh of relief on September 10, yet their light has shone brightly throughout Tom’s absence. The lights in areas like adult formation, stewardship, outreach, pastoral care have also stayed constant.
In this room with many lights, there are several lights that will not be shining on September 10, and in fact, haven’t been glowing for a while. The two biggest areas of leadership needed are our Youth Group and Fellowship. Our junior and senior high youth have leadership on Sunday mornings through the Rite-13 and J2A programs. The bulb that is out is for a Youth Group that would meet on Sunday evenings for fellowship as well as outreach or other service activities that could be determined. The definition of youth group is open-ended in terms of age, frequency of meetings, length of meetings, and overall scope. The Episcopal diocese as well as our Rector can provide resources and guidance, so one does not have to be well-versed in order to consider this ministry. Often, youth group leaders do not have children of this age.
Fellowship provides opportunities throughout the year for the parish to get together socially. Fellowship activities in the past have included things like the church picnic, the St. Patrick’s Day dinner, and parish potlucks. It is important for our church family to have opportunities to gather outside of our Sunday worship … Meredith and Paul McElroy have been Fellowship’s shining lights for many years, but have stepped down. They are available to help transition new members into this ministry.
If you don’t consider yourself to be a leader, but would be happy to be a part of either of these teams, please don’t hesitate. Your Senior Warden, Adrienne Spear, or Junior Warden, Ron Cannistraro, would love to hear from you.
Wouldn’t it be great to have all of our lights shining as we welcome Tom back on September 10?
Maggie Marshall, Minister of Music and Keeper of the Lights
Barbara Harris Camp Fund
The Barbara Harris Camp in Greenfield, NH is run by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and offers many different kinds of camping experiences from art and music to soccer and family camp programs.
Last fall with the proceeds of the Cabaret Night, we established a scholarship fund to help with the expenses for our parish youth to attend the Barbara Harris Camp.
At present the fund is small, but scholarships are also available from the diocese. If you are interested in a parish and/or a diocesan scholarship, please contact either of the wardens: Adrienne Spear at 978-251-4199 or Ron Cannistraro at 978-256-0929.
Also plan to attend the Cabaret Night, October 21, proceeds again to benefit the scholarship fund.
From the Associate for Adult Christian Formation
Upcoming Events
Sept 3 Farewell to the Rev Ray Bronk who has served during Tom’s sabbatical
Sept 10 Welcome Home!! to our rector, the Rev Tom Barrington
8:00 and 10:00 AM service times resume, both in the main sanctuary
Adult Bible study 9:00- 9:45 AM in the Blue Room
Sept 12 Silent Night 7:30- 8:45 PM Blue Room
Oct 10 Bishop Tom Shaw offers leadership class evening
Oct 11 Connect? a 6-week class for adults begins 7:30 parish hall
As I turned on my laptop to write this article, I discovered that I wrote my article for the May 2006 newsletter sitting at the same kitchen table (which belongs to one of my closest friends) in Wilmington, DE that I am sitting at now. Three months ago I had just finished a retreat at Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat and education center. Today I am here in Delaware, as I had planned some time ago, to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday. My planned stay of less than a week will end up being nearly two weeks long because I came here early when my father was hospitalized with complications of what has been diagnosed as esophageal cancer.
In May I wrote, These days I am very aware of Tom leaving home to explore Kenya, community, formation and mission. These four months invite the whole parish into sabbatical, into ways of looking beyond our familiar ways of doing and being. We will have recommendations from the Learning Team to consider, planning for fall programs to do, a supply priest to welcome, and leadership responsibilities to take on. I look forward to the fruits of this sabbatical time, not just for Tom, but for the entire parish.
I can say that back in May I was mostly dreading the four months to come. My husband Brian left for a project in Washington, DC the same week Tom left for sabbatical. It began to sink in that our younger son Sean was 1) graduating from high school and 2) heading out to Seattle in August for college—which meant both trying to fathom his departure and organizing him for that departure.
The reality of the summer has not been dreadful, though in many ways it has been much harder than I had imagined, especially with my father’s illness. I have enjoyed working with Ray as he has filled in as priest during Tom’s absence. Brian was home most weekends and I was able to go to DC for a few days in June.
We spent an afternoon there exploring the National Cathedral. I was especially struck by the Resurrection Chapel with its mosaics depicting the stories of Jesus’ appearances from Easter to Ascension. I had a wonderful, warm, fun time with my two sons Mike and Sean. Sean is safely and happily established in an apartment outside Seattle. And hard as the situation with my dad is, the experience has been one in which family has come together to support one another and a time marked by prayer and faith.
Still, I am ready for what I’ve dubbed the New Normal—Tom’s return, Brian’s project ending, an almost empty nest (Mike is home from Fitchburg many weekends), and more of a sense of what my dad’s next steps are. Don’t let the list of events at the beginning of my piece fool you—September will not be quiet at All Saints’! Tom and the parish will be reconnecting and exchanging stories about their adventures. Church School will resume. The vestry will move ahead with its implementation of the strategic plan.
I see this year’s focus in adult formation to be very much in parallel with the strategic plan, seeking to create more effective and confident leadership and to help each of us here have a deepened sense of how we are called to join God’s mission as a parish community and as individuals in our daily lives. You will be hearing more about Bishop Tom Shaw’s plan to come and work with our parish around the topic of leadership; he feels that our strategic planning connects with the book he has just written! And beginning in mid-October we will be offering our next adult program. I am hoping we can put together something for all of you who so enjoyed the experience of via media.
Welcome to September and the beginning of the program year! These promise to be interesting and exciting times!
in peace,
Amy Hunter
Associate for Adult Christian Formation
39-year-old Milena Del Valle was killed July 10 in one of the Big Dig tunnels when 12 tons of concrete ceiling panels broke loose and fell on her car. As a result of related investigations and repairs, the tunnel system is not expected to be completely reopened before September.
July 17 brought a 7.7 magnitude earthquake to West Java, Indonesia. There was a 6-foot tsunami in Pangandaran with considerable loss of property and 600 lives, and, on July 27, a 6.1 strength quake in the North and West Sumatra provinces.
In addition to the military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Israel and the Hezbollah organization in Lebanon fought a 33 day war in July-August, and an uneasy truce prevails at the time of writing.
Churches and institutions we are asked to consider especially during the month of September are listed in this section.
Sunday, September 3, 2006 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. Peter’s Church, Salem
St. John’s Church, Sandwich
St. John’s Church, Saugus
St. Luke’s Church, Scituate
Diocesan Youth Council
Youth Leadership Academy
Sunday, September 10, 2006 Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. John’s Church, Sharon
Trinity Church, Shirley
Church of Our Saviour, Somerset
Christ Church, Somerville
Brotherhood of St. Gregory
Sunday, September 17, 2006 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. James’ Church, Somerville
St. Matthew & The Redeemer, South Boston
St. Peter’s Church, South Dartmouth
Christ Church, South Hamilton
Congregations: Lectors, Lay Readers, and Lay Eucharistic Ministers
Sunday, September 24, 2006 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Church of the Holy Nativity, South Weymouth
St. David’s Church, South Yarmouth
St. Mark’s Church, Southborough
St. Mark’s Chapel, St. Mark’s School, Southborough
Merrimack Valley Project
Lives to Remember:
We note the passing of:
Ron Cannistraro’s mother, Helen-June 26. Services for her were held in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Connie Moreau’s mother, Roberta Goff-June 30
Darlene Gossement’s mother, Priscilla Kelley-July 1
Denise Sullivan’s father, Bill Joly-July 3
Elizabeth Danieli’s father, Jim Little-July 23
Rich Jerome’s mother, Mildred-July 24
Liz Marshall’s husband, Maggie Marshall’s father, Ed Marshall-August 27.
Rich Jerome prepared the following thoughts on the passing of his mother.
Dear friends,
As you have seen by the announcement, my mom passed away peacefully Thursday morning. We were with her in passing. Medically, her kidneys went into failure at some point last weekend. Ultimately, that caused potassium to build up in her system which stopped her heart. As you may know, she was the longest resident at the Atrium, the Alzheimer's care facility at Drum Hill. The treatment options were invasive and painful, which were contrary to the medical instructions that she had set forth with her attorney more than 10 years ago that I was charged to carry out.
Prior to the Atrium, she lived in assisted living, where for as long as possible, she went to the Chelmsford Senior Center and enjoyed many activities. One of her last public 'good times' was attending Donata's wedding.
Mildred was born in Lodi, NJ as the third child of four and is survived by her youngest sister, Lucy, in California. Her father held a good job as a foreman for the Water Works all through the depression. She graduated High School and also what we would now call a trade school. She mastered stenography and typing on manual typewriters. In those days, mass mailings were done with stencils and hand addressing. Mildred worked for almost 50 years as the senior Clerk/Administrator to the Superintendent of Schools in Lodi, NJ. As such, she assigned all the teachers in this school system to their class assignments each year. There were 6 elementary, 1 'middle' school and 1 High School. Early in her career, she hand wrote the first diplomas of Lodi High School in beautiful calligraphy. Even at the end of her time there, she walked to work, a little more than 2 miles each way, with a fairly steep hill in her path every day.
Imagine that at the end of her career, she self mastered the rudimentary 'word processing' of the 1980's! In that she was a modern woman in many respects, she never had a driver’s license. A lifelong Democrat, she could be fairly opinionated at times, yet I never heard a foul word from her lips.
She married a handsome serviceman in 1948 and enjoyed 32 years with him until his early passing in 1980. She doted on home and family, and especially enjoyed reading to children.
Not particularly church going, Mildred nonetheless had a personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus, Blessed Mary and many saints, as evidenced by well worn prayer cards and rosary beads. She seemed particularly successful in using prayer to find misplaced personal objects!
My cousin likes to describe her personal mannerisms with a somewhat old-fashioned phrase, in its best and original sense, "Mildred was always the lady,” and she was a loving caring wonderful mother and grandmother to us.
I celebrate her good life, and asked her to "Put in a good word for us" in heaven today.
Rich Jerome
Dates to Remember …
The first day of church school will be Sunday, September 10th 2006.
In June, Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori was elected to be the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. She will replace Bishop Frank Griswold in the position. She will be installed November 4, 2006 in a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral.
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Acolytes’ New Year
Acolytes’ New Academic Year Meeting and Training: Tom and Clem will be meeting with all the acolytes after the 10 AM service on Sunday Sept 17. All current acolytes are requested to come to the meeting as we will do a quick status and update. Please bring any schedule constraints you have (such as weekends you will be away, conflicts such taking the SATs etc.) At this time we will also have a refresher course for returning acolytes and begin training of our new ones. Last spring, we had to say good-bye to members who graduated or moved away and we need to refresh our ranks. Everyone in the parish should be reminded that all baptized members of our parish grade 4 and over are welcome to join. If you are interested, please come to this meeting to ask questions or contact Clem via e-mail clemc@ccc.com or phone 978-251-1296 or Tom at asctom@gis.net.
Acolytes’ Road Trip to the National Acolyte Festival: There has been a request by our acolytes to participate in the 27th Annual National Acolyte Festival. The Festival will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, October 7, 2006. The Festival Service of Holy Eucharist with Rededication of Acolytes will occur at 10 am, followed by lunch and a variety of workshops and tours.
Details of the trip are still being worked out, but if All Saints’ can be part of this wonderful trip, then the plan is once again to rent a large van, drive down Friday and return Sunday, sharing costs of a motel in the Washington DC suburbs. As soon as we have an estimate of costs, we will pass them on to everyone who is interested. Note the Festival itself will cost a small amount (on the order of $25-$35 per person payable to the National Cathedral). The trip will cost that plus the cost of the van, room and food. We need to get an estimate of the number of acolytes participating as well as at least 2 adults (1 male, 1 female) to chaperone and help drive (you do not need to be a parent of an acolyte to help out).
Note, like the last time we participated there should be some small amount time to see a few of our national treasures on the National Mall on the same trip. If you are interested being part of this trip, please contact Clem via e-mail at clemc@ccc.com and feel free to check the web site at the national cathedral:
http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/worship/acolyte.shtml
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Confirmation Information Meeting
A informational meeting for any parents/youths interested in being confirmed in the Episcopal Church will be held on Wednesday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Blue Room. You must be in the 8th grade or higher to be eligible. Adults who are interested in being received or confirmed are also invited to attend. If you have any questions, please see Tom Barrington.
All Saints’ Thrift Shop Now Open!
Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday
10 – 3 PM
All Saints’ clothing consignment shop is now accepting gently used clothing for infants, children and adults. Clothing is accepted for the two weeks following the first Wednesday of the each month.
Come shop for bargins for the whole family. A great way to save money, recycle your gently used clothing and support the many outreach programs that the Thrift Shop donates to each year.
Check it out!
Greetings!
Please keep wearing your nametags!!! There are always lots of new faces at this time of year, and it really is helpful to have your name clearly displayed when getting to know new members. If you don't have a nametag, please email me (kate2323@aol.com) or sign up in the Narthex and I'll make you one.
Thanks so much!
Katie LaRochelle
Greeters Coordinator
Fall Service Times
We will resume our regular 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services on September 10. Both services are Holy Eucharist Rite II, with music and choirs at the 10 a.m. service. The 8 a.m. service will return to the sanctuary at that time. Our thanks to our sexton, Bob, and the Altar Guild for their extra work in preparing for Sunday worship in the chapel. Noonday Eucharist on Wednesdays in the chapel continues as usual.
Current Vestry Members
David Cahill Beth Anne Economou Lois Freeman
Derick Gates Steve Grillo Doug Hausler
Joe Sala Sally Warren Anne Whitaker
Adrienne Spear, Senior Warden
Melanie Hickcox, Treasurer
Meredith McElroy, Clerk
Table Talk
“The kings of this world have power over their people, and the rulers are called ‘Friends of the People.’ But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat, or the one who serves him? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves.
“… just as my Father has given me the right to rule, so I will make the same agreement with you. You will eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom…”
from Luke 22: 25-30.
Church Office...................................... 978-256-5673
Senior Warden....... Adrienne Spear
Junior Warden........ Ron Cannistraro
Treasurer............... Melanie Hickcox
Clerk..................... Meredith McElroy
Acolyte Director.... Clem Cole
Adult Education...... Amy Hunter
Altar Guild............. Liz Landers
Buildings and…….. Rich Jerome
Grounds
Christian School..... Laura Marshall
Michelle Thomas
Elizabeth Danieli
Coffee Hour.......... Cindy Dussault
Endowment ........... to be filled
Environmental Stewardship
Committee............. Liz Marshall
Fellowship.............. to be filled
Finance.................. Clem Cole
Music Minister....... Maggie Marshall
Outreach............... Dave Kuzara
Pastoral Care......... Joy Chadwick
Saints Alive............ Patrick Blumeris
SaintsAlive e-mail:.. ... saintsalive@yahoo.com
Stewardship........... Steve Grillo
Thrift Shop............. Carol Cannistraro
Youth Group.......... to be filled
Webmaster............ Richard Coles
Web site................ www.allsaintschelmsford.org
… for the October 2006 Saints Alive! is
September 17th, 2006
Please leave your articles in the Saints Alive! mailbox in the church office, or send them via email to SaintsAlive@yahoo.com Thanks.