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Submissions
Our article submission deadline is the 20th of the month prior. Submission is easy using our online
form. Longer articles can be submitted using this
email. All submissions may be edited for brevity or clarity.
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Greetings!
Holy Week and Easter are past, but there's still plenty happening in the month of April! We hope you'll find time in your schedule to join us for one of the activities listed below. Happy Eastertide!
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Rector's Message
History is more than the piles of rocks that get uncovered by archeology. After a while, one pile of rocks looks very much like another. This used to be a wall, this used to be a cistern, this used to be a palace, and this used to be a dungeon. In time, they all look like each other. The lives and dreams of countless souls who inhabited these places are distant echoes unheard by hordes of tourists who look with skeptical glances at the remnants of past grandeur. Children giggle and squeal as they chase each other over rocks that slaves quarried and struggled to put into place so many centuries ago. Now in heaps, they challenge the hiker and imaginations of students trying to grasp the full scope of architectural and engineering genius that erected these structures in the first place.
What is it like to be in a building that Herod the Great commissioned? To see samples of floor mosaics that astounded his visitors, or walk along jagged walls swallowed by the sea where once ships from Rome carried officials who could be impressed by Palaces that rivaled any in the Imperial City? What is it like to sit in the ruins of a synagogue, in the ruins of a town called Capernaum, where a fisherman named Peter worshiped and a man named Jesus healed a man with a withered hand?
How does one sail on the Sea of Galilee and look at the same horizon that Jesus saw, and walk along the beach where he once called the sons of Zebedee to become fishers of people; to sit on the rock where the resurrected Jesus cooked fish and called out to the bewildered apostles, still trying to understand their Lord being alive?
History is not only about rocks and sea that once had a shape quite different than today. History is more than dates and battles or reigns of kings and queens. History is more than fragments of materials that touched the flesh of ancient people.
History is the glimpse into the souls of people like us. It's a different kind of mirror. Their dreams and needs were not very different from ours. How they achieved them or what they sacrificed, find similarities in us. The desire for love and friendship, the quest for God, and the need to discover and stretch beyond what they knew is active in us as well. The lessons they learned and mistakes they made are there for us to learn as well, but we seldom do, preferring to make the same mistakes ourselves! History is the experience of the wider spectrum of humanity; the bigger picture of who we are that points to the direction of where we can go.
Pilgrimage steps into historical places for the purpose of getting to know God better. Jesus was the incarnate Word of God. Historical places give a tactile reality to the spiritual lessons we've long wrestled with and give a new dimension to the word "incarnation." It does make a difference to sit where Jesus sat and see what he saw. It does make a difference to look into the world he lived in as a way of approaching the world he invites us into.
A pilgrimage is a great adventure and there is more than one way to go on one. Take a trip through art, literature, music or story -- but go, find people throughout time who ask the same questions and seek the same truths. Listen, learn, follow or lead. God is there and calling.
Bernie |
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Vestry Notes
The vestry met for regularly scheduled sessions in January and February. The following are highlights of the topics discussed. A motion was passed to accept the budget for 2012 which would be presented at the Annual Meeting. The budget includes the cost of two audits in 2012, since the 2010 audit was not completed in 2011. At that time, a deficit of approximately $21,000 was projected for 2012.
Valyrie Laedlein gave a summary of the candidates identified by the Nominations Committee to stand for election. There are three full term positions and one two-year unexpired term to be filled for the vestry. There is one warden position to be filled. Candidates for vestry will include: George Hebert and Kirk Petersen, standing for re-election; Tony Bousanti, Kathy Carliner, Martha Gardner and Margo Hill for election.
The Annual Meeting took place on Sunday, March 18. The election results from the Annual Meeting are as follows:
Senior Warden: Cheryl Notari
Three-year vestry terms: George Hebert, Kirk Petersen, Martha Gardner
Unexpired two-year term: Anthony Bousanti
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Movie Night: A Better Life
 Please join us on Friday, April 20 for the April movie presentation, A Better Life. This overlooked, but powerful movie garnered a best actor nomination for Demian Bichir.
This candid social drama tracks the relationship and conflicts between Mexican immigrant gardener Carlos and his teenage son Luis, whom he's trying to interest in earning an honest living rather than drifting into the East L.A. gang scene. Our movie begins at 7:30 p.m. in St. George's Resource Center (3rd Floor). If you'd like to bring dinner, please arrive at 7 p.m. Popcorn and a beverage are provided. |
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Confirmation
On Sunday, April 22 at 3 p.m. in Trinity & St. Philip's Cathedral in Newark, four of our youth will be confirmed by The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith. These youth have completed a two-year series of classes with the Rector and we're proud of their accomplishments.
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Interfaith Holocaust
Remembrance Service
On Sunday, April 22, St. George's will host the 35th Annual Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance Service. The event begins with an opening prayer at the Jefferson School on Ridgewood Road at 5:45 p.m. We'll walk to the church and the service begins at 7 p.m.
The service has become an important tradition to the communities of Maplewood and South Orange, featuring many Holocaust survivors as keynote speakers through the years. This year, Abraham "Abe" Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League will be the main speaker.
This is the first time since the service began 35 years ago that St. George's is hosting the event. Please come and support this event and welcome our friends and neighbors to our church home!
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Crop Walk 2012
 For several years, St. George's has joined with other congregations in Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn in the annual CROP Walk. This year's walk is happening on Sunday, April 22 beginning at 1 p.m. (and lasting no more than an hour) in Maplewood Memorial Park. One of the reasons this date was chosen is because it is Earth Day and many of us saw the connection between food and the environment.
The CROP walk benefits the work of Church World Service, both here in the United States and around the world. Twenty-five percent of all funds raised come back to the local community to distribute. In the past few years, funds have gone to the St. Joseph's Food Pantry, Our Lady of Sorrows Food Pantry and MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity.) We recognize that all of our parishioners may not be able to participate in the walk that day due to conflicts (e.g., confirmation, baseball games, etc.) but please know there are ways you can participate: Go to the Maplewood/South Orange/Millburn walk page on cropwalk.org. You have two options now: - Click on "sign up" and you can register to be a walker - even virtually - on the St. George's team. I then encourage you to send the link, perhaps with your personal message, to your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and encourage them to sponsor you as a walker.
- If you don't want to be a walker yourself, click on "donate" and you can sponsor an individual member of the St. George's team (or the team itself.)
Of course, if you are interested in donating by check, please make your check out to CWS/CROP and give it to me and I'll be sure it gets submitted. Please let me know if you have any questions or need help in any way navigating the website. I hope each one of you will participate in some way! Thanks! Martha Gardner |
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Mother's Day at St. George's
We celebrate Mothers' Day at St. George's in a slightly different way. For the sixth year in a row we are planning a baby shower to collect needed items on behalf of North Porch Women and Infant's Center. North Porch is an emergency service providing formula, baby food, diapers, clothing, bed linens and baby care supplies to needy mothers and infants in Newark, Paterson, and Dover. We are asking parishioners to bring any of the many items that North Porch gives to its clients each week. North Porch's needs depend on storage space and the season. You will find collecting boxes in the Narthex from April 15 onwards. North Porch is hoping to receive the following items this Mothers' Day.
- Disposable Diapers in large sizes 5 and 6;
- Diaper Cream;
- Stage One baby food;
- Gifts cards from Shop Rite, Target or Walmart are always welcome.
The Outreach Committee will thank you effusively and will host a festive coffee hour immediately following the May 13 9:15 and 10:30 services. Contact Lindsay McHugh with any questions.
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Change begins with you -- make a difference through the Alleluia Fund
 Through the Diocese of Newark's Alleluia Fund, individuals and congregations can become "flashlights of faith converging into a spotlight" and make a significant difference in the lives of many by supporting diocesan outreach and mission in the areas of food, shelter, education and international programs. Make a tax-deductible gift online or find out more at dioceseofnewark.org/alleluia. (Checks may be made out to "Diocese of Newark" with "Alleluia Fund" in the memo line, and mailed to 31 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102.) Here is just one of the stories of an organization supported by the Alleluia Fund:  | | Time: 2:13 |
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Thank you for taking time to enjoy Dragon Tales!
Sincerely,
Dragon Tales Team
St. George's Episcopal Church |
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