Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in 1990
It's the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, and we'll hear the story of Jesus stilling the storm and then walking (with Peter, for a heartbeat) on the water. And Paul, quoting Moses, says "The Word is very near you, on your lips and in your hearts."
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Here's who's doing what this Sunday:
...click
here for the complete verger schedule.
Readers
Kristin Wood:
Old Testament
(click here to see)
Cindy Cameron:
Epistle
(click here)
Gospel:
(click here)
Psalm and Prayers: Elizabeth Higgins
Host: Black
Chalice: Joan Lawrence-Studebaker, Doug Jenisch
Announcer: Pete Lapre
Counters: Kate Conner, Carl Hanson
Greeter: Barb Coulter
Here are this week's announcements:
Guest preacher, August 10
Leslie Black, co-chair of the Ministry Discernment Committee, will preach this Sunday. She will reflect on the MDC process, among other things.
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Influx of children from Central America (from Diana Collins)
The link below is to an article my friend, Suzy, wrote in response to being asked why so many parents were sending their children to the States despite the danger of doing so. Worth reading. The girl she describes has been one of my favorite kids of all time at the home. It's devastating to hear what she has recently endured. Hopefully we will open our hearts and country to these children.
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140803/PC1002/140809823/1021/
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End of Life choices discussion (from Ann Raynolds)
End-of-life choices discussion with professional facilitator from Compassion & Choices: Wed., Aug. 13 at 6 pm at 1856 Quechee Main St., Office No. 5. For directions or further information email Ann Raynolds at Rayann802@gmail.com or phone 802-295-158.
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Prayer List
To make a prayer request, contact Holly Hall by phone, 802-295-9095 or by e mail, hchall50@gmail.com. If you would just like to have something added to (or removed from) the Prayers of the People list (printed in the weekly leaflet), please send email to announcements.spc@gmail.com.
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Knit and Purl Fellowship (from Holly Hall)
Knit and Purl Fellowship- meets 1st and 3rd Monday of the month 6:30. August 18th at 6:30, we will meet at Janie Bell's home.
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Listen Community Dinner (from Holly Hall)
The last two 2014 LCD meals planned by two ST. Paul's cook teams are Sept 14 and Nov. 17th. A menu for Sept. 14th will be posted on Parish Hall bulletin four weeks prior to Sept. 14th. We appreciate your contribution in making the community dinners a success.
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Bishop Ely's Sabbatical
If you'd like to follow the Bishop's progress, his tweeting is here:
https://twitter.com/BishopVT10
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MDC: Behind the Scenes (from Leslie Black)
Through the spring and summer months, the MDC has been hard at work, having increased the length of our bimonthly meetings to focus intensely on a crucial task. We have been diligently crafting and revising answers to twelve questions which will be posted on a national website and viewed by prospective priests. Questions center around change and the church of the future; desired gifts and skills of future leaders; worship and liturgical style; ministry, internal and external; pastoral care; spirituality; stewardship and conflict.
Our goal has been to provide concrete information which also captures the spirit of St. Paul’s. To do so, we have drawn heavily on the two MDC sponsored events, but we have also relied on sharing by MDC members who were present at the two retreats, after church meetings on various subjects, the Listening Group events and other less structured conversations.
The revised draft is nearly ready to share first with the vestry, then with the congregation and finally with with the Diocese. An abridged version (1200 characters per question) will be posted on the national website, and the complete version will be added to our website.
The list of questions can be found on the on page 7 of Appendix D of this document:
http://diovermont.org/PDFs/deployment/CallingClergyManual2013.pdf
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Circle of Trust Retreat: Reconnecting Who We Are With What We Do
(from Jill Fischer and Bev Barton)
This is a sampler of the series of retreats that Jill Fischer and Bev Barton have been attending over the past year.
What happens in a Circle of Trust?
“We speak our own truth; we listen receptively to the truth of others; we ask each other honest, open questions instead of giving counsel; and we offer each other the healing and empowering gifts of silence and laughter. This way of being together is so counter-cultural that it requires clear explanation, steady practice, and gentle but firm enforcement by a facilitator. But once we have experienced it, we want to take this way of being into other relationships.”
--Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness
When people connect who they are with what they do, the seeds of transformation are planted in their lives and the lives of those they touch. When those people join with each other, transformation becomes a possibility in the larger world. Circles of Trust® support such movements toward positive personal and social change in venues ranging from the family to the workplace to the larger community.
Retreat: This retreat is based on the work of Parker Palmer, a remarkable teacher and author (A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, Courage to Teach) who is having an extraordinary national and international impact through his writings and the retreat processes he designed.
This day will provide:
· Space to nurture personal and professional integrity and the courage to act on it
· Focus on the art of open and honest questioning, developing receptive listening, and practicing empathy as keys to understanding others and moving beyond habitual tendencies to try to “fix” people and give advice
· Whole group, small group, and individual time where we’ll use our own stories, as well as insight from poets and storytellers from various traditions, to develop our intuition and inner wisdom
· Practices to explore soul & role in light of current professional and personal situations
Date: Sunday, August 10th
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Bishop Booth Conference Center in Burlington, VT
Cost: $125 (includes light breakfast and lunch)
Invitees: We welcome a diverse mix of participants, from many professions, backgrounds and perspectives
To register: Contact one of the facilitators
Facilitator: David Leo-Nyquist a school-based consultant and former humanities teacher and teacher-educator. He has designed and facilitated Courage & Renewal retreats since 2000, and lives in Shelburne, VT. (802) 233-5565; dleonyquist@gmail.com
Co-Faciltator: Holly Wilkinson is a career counselor, writer and long-time facilitator of circles. She is currently a member of the national Courage & Renewal Facilitator Preparation Cohort and lives in Richmond, (802) 922-1425; hwr@gmavt.net
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The Alleluia Golf Tournament, Saturday, September 13th (from Stew Wood)|
Golfers, craft your foursomes for the third annual Alleluia Golf Tournament at the Basin Harbor Club outside of Vergennes, VT on Saturday, September 13th. This fun event in which St. Paul's teams have done so well supports the programming life of the Diocese of Vermont.
The course is fun, with very little water to worry you and no hills to climb. Box lunches nourish us as we compete, a great dinner awaits us when we're finished, and lots of prizes are there to be awarded the participants.
Let Stew Wood know of your intention to play. We can car pool to make the trip easier for all of us.
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St. Paul's Caring Ministries:
Intercessory Prayer Group, Healing Team, Pastoral Care (from Diana Collins)
Is God calling you to intentionally minister to our community? If the answer is "yes" or "maybe" please contact Holly Hall or Diana Collins for more information. While the ministries are different, the common denominator is our caring for one another. All three groups are planning on meeting together every other month for study and to better understand how the ministries interrelate.
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Bible Study
There will be no midweek Bible Study or Eucharist until August 27th.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
. . . details at http://www.stpaulswrj.org/announcements/
Monday, August 18
Knit and Purl fellowship at the Bell’s (see Holly Hall)
Tuesday, August 26
Vestry meeting at 6:30
Sunday, September 7
Quarterly all parish checkin meeting after church
Saturday, September 13
Alleluia Golf Tournament near Vergennes, VT. (see Stew Wood)
Monday, September 15
Listen Community Dinner (see Holly Hall for details)
Sunday, September 14
Resume Fall/ Winter Worship Schedule: Services at 8 and 10 a.m.
Sunday, September 21
Funeral planning workshop after church
Saturday, October 4
2014 Parish Retreat at Camp Ohana, Fairlee, VT
NEW: Saturday, October 18
Ministry Fair: “Discovering God in the Neighborhood” at St. Paul’s, WRJ
Sunday, October 26
Micah awards at Listen Center in WRJ