Faith @
Fifth and Juliana
Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
"Or are you envious because I am
generous?" These words just jumped off the page at me from
Matthew’s Gospel this past Sunday (Matthew 20:15b)! Further, upon
reflection, the answer to the question is sadly that we are often
envious because someone is generous. And you can imagine that I have
been spending some time in reflection about why that may be the case.
I suppose I, and others, are envious for a number
of different reasons. One of these reasons for envy could be the
"why didn’t I think of giving or doing that first." I
could have done it. I could have gotten the credit, praise or
accolade. Another reason for the envy might run along the lines of
"what a showoff." He or she didn’t need to do that. It
could have been done anonymously — the Bible says "don‘t let
your right hand know what your left hand is doing," after all.
Still another response born out of envy: "Well if I had what they
have I would be generous too."
I have no doubt that you can come up with other
versions and ideas similar to the responses offered above. However, in
whatever form they take, it seems to me that they rise up out of an
egocentric place — the I am the center of my world place. Now as
much as we are inclined toward the argument that "I" am
never that tacky or self-centered, the truth is just about everyone
finds himself or herself in that place once-in-a-while — most folks
are not proud of that, but sadly we also encounter those who just don’t
seem to care.
When the specter of envy, especially over someone
else’s generosity raises up, I have come to understand it as a sign
that one has lost their center. For the Christian it is understood
that the plenteousness of our lives comes from God alone. Further, we
know from Holy Scripture that when we give to others what God has
given to us, there is always replenishment in abundance. When we lose
our center, be begin to believe that what we are called upon to give
has come to us solely by our own efforts: if that were so we could
live forever just by working to live forever. There would be no need
for grace because we could earn our salvation.
It is true that the Scriptures say we are not to
let our right hand know what our left hand is doing, but it is also
true (Romans 12: 9-10) that we are to "out do one another in
showing honor." The musical words of an old offertory sentence
ring in my ears: "Let your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in
heaven."
With God’s grace, may we each find within us
that which is already there: a generous heart. Then, may it always be
our resolve to live fully from it.
Faithfully,
Scott Hunter+
|
Supper
Club!!: The first Supper Club of the fall
season will be September 24th at 6:30 P.M. at the home of the Father Scott
and Tina Hunter. No agenda, just bring a covered dish and a friend and
enjoy a fun evening with fellow Trinitarians. Please call the Hunters at
485-6925 as soon as possible so that they will know what everyone is
planning to bring and how many to expect. Come and enjoy a new season of
Supper Club !!!
Women’s
Retreat at Peterkin: The Episcopal Church Women’s
Retreat was held this past weekend at Peterkin, featuring Canon Carter
Echols. About 71 women were in attendance with 5 representatives from
Parkersburg. Susie Fitcher, Jennifer Currey, Sandi Lawson, and Betsy Curry
represented Trinity while Susan Jenkins from Good Shepherd also attended.
Canon Echols from the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., presented a
program on "Where is Jesus in Your Life?" It was a refreshing
look at women’s roles in Jesus’ ministry. In addition, there was a
hiking trip to the falls (there is water in the creek again !), Johanna
Rengers presented a slide show on her mission trip to Haiti this past
summer, and an informational meeting was held by a few members of the
Daughters of the King. The peaceful camp setting provided everyone with
time for reflection, prayer and rejuvenating of bodies, minds and spirit.
Rivers of the World — Amazing
Outreach
Mark Thurman, a trustee of Rivers of the World (ROW)
will be in Parkersburg, at Trinity to share the mission, ministry and
outreach of this organization. What is ROW, you ask? ROW is an
international exploration and development agency that works on very remote
rivers. Our staff is located in the Congo, Peru, Honduras and Belize.
Their goal is to explore and assist people with all manner of projects! We
love to attempt the impossible IF it will help someone else. We are not
here to just look at problems — we are here to provide help! Each year,
hundreds of volunteers travel to select ROW sites to assist in projects
that range from education to health, to missions, to construction!
Mark will be bringing information and images gathered on
three trips to the Peruvian Amazon. Saturday, October 9, 7:00 pm in the
church is a special time open to everyone. Mark will then join us again on
Sunday morning for a special adult education time. Plan now to join us —
and bring a friend.
Trinity Photo:
On August 13,1999 a photographer at the Parkersburg News caught a
beautiful picture of a rainbow directly over Trinity Episcopal Church!
Those of you who subscribe to the News saw it in black and white.
We were very lucky, through the efforts of Emma Beatty, to obtain the color
print of that photograph. The archives committee turned this photo into
Christmas cards and note cards to be offered for sale at the 50th annual
Trinity Book Sale. We also have 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 color prints ready for
framing, which can be ordered at the Book Sale. The Christmas cards, in
groups of 10 and inscribed with WISHING YOU A BLESSED CHRISTMAS,
are $15.00. Note cards, also in groups of 10 and blank inside, are $13.50.
Checks may be made out to TRINITY ECW.
For those who would like to order a print, or either of the groups of
cards, please fill out the order sheet in Trinity Hall, or call Emma at
428-5797 or Barbara Allman at 295-7328. You may leave a message if no one
is at home.
 T-Shirts:
T-shirts with the Episcopal Habitat Project logo on the front (see
click art on the left) are also being ordered. These shirts are available
in red, white or blue and in sizes from small – 3XL and are 100% cotton.
The prices of the shirts are $12.00 each.
Also T-shirts will soon be available advertising the 50th Annual
Trinity Book Sale. These shirts are still in the design phase but
sign-up sheets will be available in the next week or so. Check out the
Bulletin Board for more information on all the shirts and for sign-up
sheets.
Acolyte Training: There
will be an acolyte training session immediately following the 10:30 a.m.
service this coming Sunday September 26th . All acolytes AND
those wanting to be acolytes (3rd grade plus please) are asked to attend
!!
Diocesan Search and Transition
Committees
will hold their first meeting all day in Charleston on Sat.
Sept. 25th. Our prayers will be with them as they begin the process of
selecting the next Bishop of West Virginia.
ECW Fall Luncheon:
The ECW Fall Luncheon will be held Monday Oct. 11th beginning at 11:30
a.m. Lee Fritch will be the speaker and child care will be provided. More
details will follow in next week’s Times.
| Connie’s
Corner
Answers to the "can you find the 25 Books of the Bible"
(printed in and earlier Times)
This is a most
remarkable puzzle. Someone found
it in a seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu,
keeping himself occupied for hours. One man from Illinois
worked on these while fishing from his johnboat.
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 calm her nerves.
There will be some names that are 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 may help you compete.
Remember, there are 25 books of the Bible lurking
somewhere in this paragraph.
Books in the order they occur in the paragraph:
| 1. Amos |
7. Job |
13. Romans |
19. Revelation |
25. Kings |
| 2. Mark |
8. Hebrews |
14. Titus |
20. Timothy |
|
| 3. Luke |
9. Esther |
15. Matthew |
21. Samuel |
|
| 4. John |
10. Acts |
16. Genesis |
22. Numbers |
|
| 5. Joel |
11. James |
17. Hosea |
23. Malachi |
|
| 6. Judges |
12. Ruth |
18. Lamentations |
24. Peter |
|
Many thanks to Annie Mitchell and Mimi Seaman who found
all the books. If anyone else had found all of the books please let me know.
Thanks, Connie |
 Blessing
of the Animals !!!
The Ohio Valley Episcopal Cluster will hold a deanery wide
service for the annual Blessing of the Animals. It will be held Sunday
October 10th at 2:00 p.m. at the St. Mary’s Veterinary Clinic in St. Mary’s,
W.V. The clinic is located on Route 2 a little past the end of the 4-lane
that passes through St. Mary’s. It is on the left and across the road from
the Rite Aid Pharmacy. Appropriate restraints are recommended for your pets,
especially since the clinic is located next to the highway. Everyone is
invited to share in a day of thanksgiving for all God’s creatures, great
and small. Our furred, feathered and finned friends are all invited.
Crop Walk: This
year’s Crop Walk will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday October 10th.
For more information check the Bulletin Board in Trinity
Hall or check next week’s Times. Trinity will also be a water stop — if
you can’t walk give us a hand to help those who do.
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, Gladys Fitcher, Julia Batten,
Julia Davis, Shirley Davis, Elsie Reed, Jamie Hill, Virginia Nicely, Dick
Smith, Sarah Jane Yates, Faye Watson, Gene and Periene Oeland, Seldon Stone,
Betty Stout, Michelle Turner, Ann Johnson, Tony and Louann Cottrell, Amanda
and Brian Schwarzel, Tom O’Shea, Sam Dils, Charlie Cope.
Also, please pray for the victims of
earthquakes in Turkey, Greece, and Taiwan. Remember those flooded in North
Carolina and the mid-Atlantic coastal regions, as well.
Ministers for Sunday,
Sept 26th
| Chalice
Bearers: |
Bill
Douglas, Carol Olson, Jennifer Currey, Sue Ellen Johnson |
| Lectors: |
Bill
Douglas, Jim Full, Lanae Dailey |
| Ushers: |
Charlie
Culbertson, Forbes Hiehle NEED 2 MORE TO HELP OUT! |
| Acolytes: |
|
| Coffee
Hour: |
Julie
Matheny and Charlotte Muse |
|
Proper for Sept 26th
|
Ezekiel
18:1-4, 25-32, Psalm 25:1-14, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:28-32 |
Altar Guild for the week of Sept
22-28
|
| Wed:
Clean-up: Emily Dowling, Saturday, Setup: Charlotte and Bill Bee,
Sunday, Between: Lucy Hill, Clean-up: Cara Bowen, Charlotte Muse,
Tues. the 28th, Setup: Lynette Neilson
|
|
Outreach Items of the Month
 | Cereal |
| Dishwashing detergent |
Please place in basket at the
back of the church
Classes in Christianity
in the
Episcopal
Tradition will continue through October 3rd. Classes begin at 4:30 p.m.
Adult Forum sessions
have resumed on Sunday mornings at 9:15. The Gospel of Luke is being
studied. This week: Chapter 12. We meet in the Adult Ed. Room. Bring a
friend and join us ! |
 Book
marking continues every Tues.
and Wed. mornings at 10 a.m. Help needed for
the last 3 weeks in Sept. Please come help mark books if you can !!!
Books are still needed for
the book sale.
Godly Play: Godly
Play Sunday School sessions have begun for our young people. We are
still in need of "Aunts and Uncles" and story tellers to
help out with our sessions. Anyone is welcome to volunteer. Please
contact DRE Connie Waterman if you are interested in helping out !!
Parkersburg Area "Christian
Radio" Station
TUNE IN TODAY!
|
Any
information for the Times needs to
be to the editor by noon on Sundays. Notes may be left in the mailbox
at the church or sent by email to
BCurry@trinitytimes.com.
|
|
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