Faith @
Fifth and Juliana
Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
One of the blessings, strange as this term may sound when I
continue, of priesthood is that people invite you in to share some of
the most tender, and, dare I say, intimate, times which life affords.
I call them holy moments. One such holy moment has been the time spent
with our beloved friend and family member, Jean Lewis, and with her
daughter, Jane, and son, Turk, and Lewis, Cox and Richardson (pardon
please any omissions) families.
Jean entered the time of her surgery and all which might
accompany it with a great sense of peace "should anything
happen." Her faith was deeper than an artesian spring and just as
free flowing. Son, daughter, family and friends enveloped her in
anticipation of, during and after the surgery. It was a beautiful
thing to see and share. Then as you all know, something happened.
Nobody anticipated it. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, could have. Jean
lost consciousness. She lost the ability to breath on her own. In her
customary way, Jean made sure we all knew her wishes. [Have you taken
the time to give those who love you the same gift?] And, we lost
something — the conversational presence and physical companionship
of a mother, grandmother, and friend.
But some things were gained as well. Jean gained healing from
physical damage to her brain which could not be overcome even by all
of "our knowledge" and medical sophistication. She gained
her place with Carle in the heavenly realm — a place which Jesus
went before to prepare for her — in the nearer presence of God.
Gained also was a deeper witness to God’s love. It came in
card games played (and lost to Jean) on a CCU bed table. It came even
more clearly in conversations with Jean after the stroke —
conversations which I believe with all my heart she could hear, but to
which she could not respond. At first they were to cajole (maybe even
harass her back). They soon and appropriately turned to profound
expressions of love. Jean was blanketed and embraced with them. Family
and friends, nurses and doctors, walked her as far into the arms of
God as one can on this side of the Divine Mystery.
In the prayers of our tradition we pray for a holy life and
"for a holy death." This was a holy time. Nowhere in these
events was the image or presence of the "Grim Reaper" to be
found. One can attempt to run from the last and final event of our
earthly life — and that run will be in vain. Or one can embrace the
approach and occasion of death as a part of life and embrace it when
its presence becomes unyielding. The only presence here was that of a
tender, compassionate, loving and God-dispatched Angel of Death come
to accompany Jean home on the prayers of those who love her.
Jean Lewis has offered us yet another lesson — not about how
to play cards this time — about how to love and honor others,
herself and her Lord. May we learn from her to talk about our own end
time. Embrace it, not as an enemy, but as a friend, the arrival of
which is to be prepared for, talked about, shaped and shared with
those we love most.
Thank you, Jean, for the time we shared. I am a richer man, by
far, for it: blessed in so many ways. Enjoy your time with Carle, and
save us a place at the table for our time to come.
Faithfully,
Scott Hunter+
|
Please Note The New Mailing
Address for Trinity :
Due to the move of the Post Office
from downtown, Trinity has a new mailing address which is as follows:
Trinity Episcopal Church
430 Juliana Street
Parkersburg, WV 26101
Also please note that 430 is the
street address and should not be labeled as a box number. Thank-you !
Parkersburg Homecoming - This
year’s Homecoming will be held August 20th – 22nd. On Saturday the
21st, Trinity’s young people will have a Gatorade stand in front of the
church to provide Gatorade to the participants of the Half Marathon.
Following the marathon the young people will be asked to stay to help do
some cleaning up of the youth room on the second floor of Trinity House.
Check your mail box for a letter from Connie with more details.
Sin of Omission !
Apologies are
extended to Julie Gyongyosi, whose name was left out of the article about
the Pictorial Directories in the last issue of the Times. Julie
contributed many hours towards the production of the Directory and we
apologize for the oversight!!
Traveling
this summer? Why not plan to prepay your
financial support to Trinity Church. Even when you are gone our
bill-bearing mail continues to find us. Your consideration would be
appreciated by all: ESPECIALLY THE TREASURER !!!!!
 counted
quite a few Trinitarians among its campers this summer. Blake and Sarah
Johnson both attended camp at Peterkin, and three families attended the
weekend long "Small World" camp. Andy and Max Lawson, Mary
Grahame Hunter, and Michael West all attended the "Small World"
camp (with parents in tow) where they learned the story of Jonah and the
Whale. We also had Father Hunter and Connie Waterman serving on staff at
Peterkin. Trinity had a great turn-out and hopefully we’ll have even
more Trinitarians attending summer camp next year !!!
Men and Women’s Weekend Retreats -
Don’t forget about the fast approaching
Weekend Retreats at Peterkin. The Women’s Retreat is to be held Sept.
17th thru 19th. The Men’s Retreat is the following weekend: Sept. 24th
thru 26th. Sign-up sheets for both retreats are on the Trinity Hall
Bulletin Board and registration forms are available from the church
office.
Women
Raise The Roof:
We are almost done -- drywall is nearly all hung and we
are into drywall finishing. When that is complete it will go quickly. We
anticipate finishing at the end of August or early September. If you can
help, we will be so very , very grateful. Also we are in desperate need of
some folks to fix lunches for the women working on the house on Fridays
and Saturdays in August. If anyone can help please call Jo Tingler at
863-4631.
Large Print Forward – Day by Day -
If anyone is interested in large print copies of Forward – Day by Day
magazine, please contact the church office at 422-3362, so that they
can be ordered and the correct number of copies can be made available.
The Good Samaritan Clinic -
A sign up sheet is on the Trinity Hall Bulletin
Board for volunteers to provide food for the workers at the clinic. The
next date is for September 16th and as of yet no one has signed up to
help. Volunteers are also needed for October. Sandwiches, fruit and or
vegetable trays and a dessert are needed, and you may also call the clinic
at 422-7357 for more information if you are able to help.
In a very short time school will start again and lots of
Fall activities will be upon us. Just a few of the activities that are
being planned for the late summer and early fall are listed below. Some
activities will be announced in later editions of the Times as
times and dates are finalized. I hope everyone enjoys these last few weeks
of summer !!
Aug 20 – 22: Parkersburg Homecoming with
Trinity "Gatorade Stand" Sat. the 21st for the Half Marathon
runners.
Aug. 25: Episcopal Church Habitat Committee
Meeting at 5:15 p.m.
Aug 29 – 30: Peterkin Committee Meeting at
Peterkin
Sept 5: Official Launch of Episcopal Habitat
Project with church service followed by a pig roast at the City Park.
Trinity, Good Shepherd and Christ Memorial Episcopal churches are all
participating. Exact time still to be finalized.
Sept 8: Episcopal Blood Drive 12 – 6 p.m.
Sept 11: Workday at Trinity, from 9 a.m. till
noon.
Sept 12: First Day of Sunday School
Sept. 12: Visitation of Bishop Smith, with
opportunity for confirmation and reaffirmation. Vestry meeting with the
Bishop following the service.
Sept. 24: Supper Club at the Rectory at 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 25: Diocesan Search and Transition
Committee Meeting in Charleston.
Oct. 11: ECW Fall Luncheon at Trinity Hall
These are just a few of the activities being planned for
the upcoming months, not to mention the 50th Anniversary Book Sale the
first week of November. So mark your calendars now !!!
| Connie’s
Corner
Can you find the names of 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph?
This is a most remarkable puzzle. Someone found it in the seat pocket on
a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping himself occupied for
hours. One man from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john
boat. Roy Clark studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Victs
mentioned it in her column once. One woman judges the job to be so
involving, she brews a cup of tea to help calm her nerves. There will be
some names that are really easy to spot...that's a fact. Some people
will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are
not necessarily capitalized. The truth is, from answers we get, we are
forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of
them at the worst. Something in our genes is responsible for the
difficulty we have. Those able to find all of them will hear great
lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation may help,
books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers.
Punctuation or spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will
help you compete. Remember, there are 25 books of the Bible lurking
somewhere in this paragraph.
Peace+ Connie
|
Please hold these people, events and circumstances in your
daily prayers. Also, we encourage you to always say a prayer for those
unknown persons who have no one to pray for them. By-the-way,
please remember to renew prayer requests weekly.
Tom Patrick, Nellie Taylor, Terri Hindman,
Alex Northrup, Mary Carolyn & Bill Mildren, Sr., Donna Tyo, Ruth Greer,
Mazie Smith, Mary Glen Rice, Maggie Crofton, Esber Tweel (priest) and Rocky
Rachell (priest), Gladys Fitcher, Doris Brown, Butch Shaver, Julia Batten,
Julia Davis, Shirley Davis, Bill Pollock, Mary Bee, Elsie Reed, Jamie Hill,
Virginia Nicely, Dick Smith, Sarah Jane Yates, Faye Watson, Gene Oeland,
Seldon Stone, Mary Martin, Ben Coleman, and Betty Stout.
Ministers for Sunday,
Aug 15th
and Aug 22nd
| Chalice
Bearers: |
Aug
15: |
Sue
Ellen Johnson, Paul Miller, Jennifer Currey, Bill Douglas |
|
Aug
22: |
Charlotte
Bee, Sue Ellen Johnson, Eric Lawson, Carol Olson |
| Lectors: |
Aug
15: |
Reed
Belasco, Jim Full |
|
Aug
22: |
Lee
Fritch and Jennifer Currey |
| Ushers: |
August: |
Roger
and Paula Sellers, Claudia Smith, Lee Fritch |
| Acolytes: |
Aug
15: |
Lanae
Dailey, captain |
|
|
Megan
Gyongyosi, Anne Renner |
|
Aug
22: |
John
Northrup, captain |
|
|
Alex
Dauphin, Maggie Northrup |
| Coffee
Hour: |
Aug
15: |
Lucy
Hill, Helen Roberts |
|
Aug
22: |
Scott
and Tina Hunter |
|
Proper for Aug 15th and Aug 22nd, 1999
|
|
Aug
15th: Isaiah 56: 1(2-5) 6-7, Psalm 67, Romans 11:13-15, 29-32,
Matthew 15:21-28, Aug 22nd: Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans
11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20 |
|
Altar Guild for the week of August 9
– 15
|
|
Tues. Paul Miller, Wed. Betsy
Smith, Sat. Susie Fitcher, Michael Carter, Sunday, Between:
Jennifer Currey, Clean-up: Betty Nicholson, Julie Matheny |
|
Altar Guild for the week of Aug 16th
– August 22nd |
|
Tues. Paul Miller, Wed. Betsy
Smith, Sat. Tina Hunter, Eric Lawson, Sunday, Between: Jennifer
Currey, Clean-up: Betty Nicholson and Betsy Curry |
|
Outreach Items of the Month
 | Cereal |
| Dishwashing detergent |
Please place in basket at the
back of the church
 Adult Forum:
Adult Forum will continue again this coming
Sunday, Aug. 15th beginning at 9:15 A.M. All are welcome. The topic
this Sunday will be Luke, chapter 11.
|
Book marking continues
every Tues. and Wed.
mornings at 10 a.m.
The Finance Committee
will meet Wed. Aug. 18th at 5 p.m. at
the church.
Classes in Christianity
in the Episcopal Tradition will continue every Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
except Sunday Aug. 15th. |
The next issue of
the Times will be published the week of August 23rd . Please
have any articles or other information to the editor by August 22nd.
Also this issue will be the last of the "two week" Times,
after which we will return to weekly issues.
ECW Board Meeting
The next ECW Board Meeting has been scheduled for
Aug 30th at 10:00 a.m. at the church
Parkersburg Area "Christian
Radio" Station
TUNE IN TODAY!
|
|
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