St. Paul's Episcopal Church   Poughkeepsie, NY


MESSENGER
"Making friends while serving God"

The week of June 15-21, 2015


Cheering on marathon competitors



St. Paul's volunteers hydrate

Walkway Marathon competitors

Volunteers from St. Paul's enjoyed a role in last weekend's Walkway Marathon by staffing a watering station for the runners. Deb Williams suggested some of our parishioners might enjoy helping out and provided St. Paul's contact information to the marathon organizers at Walkway over the Hudson. Bobbie Gordon secured the Diddell Road watering station for us and Joanna Frang coordinated planning and organized our volunteers to be onsite at 6:30 am Saturday morning.

Clouds and wind early in the morning made the day look a little blustery but the skies cleared for the race and the temperatures were moderate. Dewy and Aleen Clarke brought a portable sound system, so volunteers and runners could enjoy reggae, do-wop, rock and roll and disco sounds. It was much appreciated by all.

The St. Paul's volunteers were joined by a group from the Poughkeepsie Arlington Rotary Club. Each group had a hydration station on one side of the walkway. Each side offered water and either a sugar-free or sugar enriched drink with electrolytes. Outbound runners in principal didn't want sugar until later in the race.

Two tables on either side were filled with hundreds of half-filled paper cups of fluids. Runners grabbed them as they ran past, dropping the cups when

Debbie Pitcher and Father Tyler mix "nuun," a non-caloric drink with electrolytes.

empty. Volunteers gathered up the empties and other litter. The race was the first fully environmentally responsible marathon in the US. Three recycling bins received garbage, paper products and plastic.

St. Paul's volunteers expressed pleasure at being able to aid and cheer on the runners who passed their station. In addition, all voiced the opinion that being together on a community project outside the church was quite a delight and they agreed to seek future community involvements in order to gather outside the church and again enjoy one another's company.

Our chief organizer, Joanna Frang, expressed thanks to all who volunteered and helped make the day a fun experience in support of this significant community event.

Posing with volunteer coordinators and State Troopers before the marathon t-shirts were distributed




 

Jesus calming the storm

'Open wide your hearts'

Job38:1-11; Psalm 107: 1-3, 23-32; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41

 

Our namesake St. Paul continues with those pesky Corinthians in this coming Sunday's readings. In the second letter to the Corinthians Paul is urging them to get over themselves. After describing to them what afflictions the early Christians had experienced and how they had been repeatedly accused of deeds the actual opposite of their actions, Paul says to them, "

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This week's
 lessons

We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return-I speak as to children-open wide your hearts also."

It's hardly a compliment to tell someone they're being spoken to as one would speak to children. And yet we all remember and sometimes long to return to a time when open hearted innocence was the norm, then trust and hope and joy were the default reactions, not suspicion or guardedness or fear. Paul tells the Corinthians they need to open their hearts as Paul and his disciples have opened them to the Corinthians. This is how we grow in faith.

God also dresses down Job in our Hebrew Bible reading, after Job complains bitterly over the hand he's been dealt. The reading is one of the better known direct quotes from God: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

An image of Job rending his clothes

Jesus admonishes his terrified disciples after he calmed the storm for their lack of faith.  "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" The Gospel reports "And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

We find our faith by experiencing and recognizing the goodness of God in our lives and then also seeing God's hands in those situations where have to concede we are not in charge. The collect for Sunday affirms of God "never fails to help and govern" the faithful, reminding us to actively work to maintain our faith and recognize the hand of the Almighty in the world about us all the time.
This week's events at St. Paul's

The week of June 15-21, 2015

 

16 - 6:00pm Seekers Group

17 - 12:15 pm Healing Service

18 - 1:00pm Outreach Committee; 6:00pm Finance Committee

20- 9:00am Mutual Study of Ministry; noon lunch; 1 pm Strategic Planning

21 - 8:00am Rite I; 8:45am Lessons' Discussion; 9:30am Choir Practice 10:00am Rite II, Sunday School

 

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