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    St. Paul's Episcopal Church
    November 11, 2015 
      Parish E-Newsletter 

Sunday November 15
Pentecost XXV - Proper 28

   

     Sunday Morning Schedule
        • 8:00 am           Holy Eucharist Rite I 
        • 9:00 am           Fellowship Time  Last names: Me-R
        • 9:30- 10:15      Mezzanine - "Paul:  Mystic Not Moralist"
        • 9:45 am           Choir Rehearsal 
        • 10:30               Holy Eucharist Rite II 
        • 11:45               Fellowship Time Last names: Me-R



From Your Rector

Dear Saints of St. Paul's,

It is convention week.  Friday and Saturday (November 13 & 14) your delegation will be attending to the business of the larger church at the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Olympia that is being held at the Lynnwood Convention Center this year.   Clergy and representatives from over 100 congregations and chaplaincies in the diocese will worship together, meet together in business sessions, attend workshops, and share in fellowship.  It is always a rich experience.  We look forward to reporting back to you next week.  I ask for your prayers:


Prayer for the Diocese (pg. 817 BCP)
O God, by your grace you have called us in this Diocese to a goodly fellowship of faith. Bless our Bishop Greg, Delegates to Convention, our priests and deacons, and all the congregations and people who worship and minister in this diocese. Grant that your Word may be truly preached and truly heard, your Sacraments faithfully administered and faithfully received. By your Spirit, fashion our lives according to the example of your Son, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all among whom we live; through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.


Other highlights:
  • This morning your "Faith Formation Committee" met to continue its good work of planning and providing experiences of learning and prayer that are meant to help deepen our life in Christ.   Marlene Kropf shared Mary Oliver's poem "When I am Among Trees" which seemed especially appropriate for our discussion of drafts of the committee's developing mission statement.  You may read the full poem here.  The final words read:
"and you too have come
into the world to do this,
to go easy, to be filled 
with light, and to shine."
  • The third anniversary of St. Pauls' beautiful Thursday evening service of Compline will be celebrated next Thursday, November 19.  We are grateful to Richard McGuffin for his dedication and gifts of music that he brings to this beautiful liturgy.  Please be sure to read Richard's message. 
  • The ministry of intercessory prayer at St. Paul's is being reconstituted.  For all who are interested in participating in this ministry, you are invited to bring a brown bag lunch to the Pollard Room next Tuesday November 17 at noon for an organizational meeting.
Finally, on this Veterans Day we remember those who have given their service to our nation.


Prayer for Heroic Service (pg. 839 BCP)
O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


..and may we all go easy, be filled with light, and shine... 

In Christ's name, 

Dianne+

The Rev. Dianne Andrews, Rector
(206)817-6530 (cell)
(360)344-2728 (home)


Sunday's Sermon
Pentecost XXIV - Proper 27



1/16th of a Sparrow
(click here to view)
The Rev. Dianne Andrews

Bonus Material:   

Sunday afternoon Bill Maxwell sent the preacher the following email:

Today you suggested that we are impacted, controlled, loused up by our larger economic environment.  Here's a poem I wrote this last week that fits that idea.  Love, peace, etc.    Bill


CLEARCUT WOUNDS
 
Yesterday we drove south
along a country road.
We turned a corner, and there,
winding up the hill and over it...
        click here for more



Stewardship

Stewardship Heart 

          


Pledges have started to come in! As of this past Monday, 22 pledge cards have been returned, for a total of $67,600. That's a great start toward our goal of $215,000 to be pledged for 2016. 

We ask that you return your pledge card by InGathering Sunday, November 22. That's the Sunday before Thanksgiving. With your help, we are coming together in "Building Up the Body of Christ" at St. Paul's, with the goal of achieving a level of financial fitness that truly supports our operations and our aspirations.

Thank you!


 


Ingathering invitation




"Deepening Our Faith"

Continuing Monday Evenings
6:45 pm - 8:00 pm
"Bible Study & Questions of Faith"

Come to the Pollard Room for an exploration of the coming Sunday's scripture lessons and faith conversation.
* * *

A new series starts October 25 in the Mezzanine (Sundays 9:30 am - 10:15 am):

Paul
 
"Moralist:" a person who has strong feelings and opinions about what is right and wrong and who tries to control the moral behavior of other people.  "Mystic:" a person who begins a quest for God not in the world of externals but within his own soul, being fully present to experiences of deep-felt joy or sorrow, beauty or suffering, gain or loss.
 
For 150 years this Port Townsend community of faith has called itself St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  What was there about St. Paul's life, his call, his conversion/transformation, and his understanding of God and the Christ that prompted the church founders in 1865 to take him as their patron saint?  What does this faith community's name say to its members and to the larger community?
 
In an 8-part study/discussion of St. Paul, using 4 CD's from Franciscan priest Richard Rohr, we will consider Paul through the lens of mystic-having great love and enduring great pain for the resurrected and living Christ.  His experience of knowing the Christ informed his understanding of sin, the law, the body of Christ, and the pattern of everything.
 
Just as Paul's meeting the Christ on the Damascus road changed his life, our meeting Paul not as moralist or New Testament letter writer but as mystic may give new vision for us, a spiritual community who claim his name.
 
Topics that will be covered include:
 
1.  Paul's Conversion Experience
2.  Sin & Death:  Real Force Fields
3.  Freedom and the Law
4.  Community:  Paul's Primary Audiovisual Statement


* * *

Advent quite morning


Diocesan & National Church News

 

Annual Convention of the Diocese of Olympia is convening this week:

Your delegates will be reporting back in next week's edition of the newsletter:

Katie Fleming
Val Johnstone
Richard McGuffin
Linda Nolan


Upcoming Events




2nd Saturday Potluck
           November 14
               6:30 pm
     St. Paul's Parish Hall

A call to Sue Cook will answer 
any question you might have.
I hope to see you there.
360 301-2830


A grand welcome to any and all who would join our LGBT community this Sat., Nov 14th, for our monthly 2nd Saturday potluck. 

As always, it will be held at St Paul's Parish Hall & will begin at 6:30.

Our Fall Harvest theme continues to offer a welcoming array of possibilities.

So, come with a hot or cold something - Salads are enjoyed by all & makes our inner Moms' happy that we're eating our greens.

Thirsty, a bottle of juice, wine or water...perfect!
All sweet gifts are, of course, heartily received.




* * *


Three Years of Compline - Thursday November 19Compline
 
Compline, the last of daily offices, is sung every Thursday night at 8:30 in the sanctuary.  For twenty minutes we pray, chant a psalm, sing a couple of hymns, and know moments of quiet.  One may choose simply to sit, listen and pray, but all are welcome and encouraged to sing along.  Chanting, as a group, encourages a feeling of connection and as we hear our own voices, those of others, and absorb the meaning of the words we are singing.  When these elements come together it feels magical.  Every week we reach a slightly different consensus on tempo and rhythm and pitch, even with the same compliment of singers.  Some nights two or three gather together, other times more than a dozen.  It has been a great three years, and we would love for your voice to join - on any Thursday, and especially on this anniversary occasion.  There will be some special music - and maybe even a third hymn.
 
Questions, comments, complaints?  Call Richard:  385-6167



* * *


sewing
Saturday November 21
9:00 am - 2:00 pm 
Parish Hall
 


Group Sewing Session 

...for all who are interested in creating
Quilted Casserole Caddies

Bring your own sewing machine and extension cord.  
 An ironing board will be provided.

For a pattern and list of materials contact:
Sue Cook (360)344-2830

* * *


150th painting


* * *


Parish Life and Announcements 



Parish Prayer MinistryPrayer
       November 17
           12 noon
       Pollard Room

Parish Prayer MinistryAre you interested in being part of a regular Intercessory Prayer group?  We will have an organizational meeting on Tuesday, November 17th at noon in the Pollard Room of Fenn House.  Please feel free to bring a brown bag lunch.  At heart, we will discuss the practice of prayer.  We will also work out the mechanics of making prayer requests and managing them so that our volunteers can lift people, situations, events, locations and entities up in prayer on behalf of our whole parish.  Please join us!  Questions?  Contact Tracy Garrett, 360.344.2382 or 


* * *


Library  
The current staff picks in the library center on PRAYER.  Kate Braestrup is a Unitarian Universalist minister who serves as chaplain to the Maine Warden Service.  She graciously escorts true prayer into real life. In this, her fourth book, Braestrup approaches prayer from 24 angles, including from the threshold, in mixed company, for enemies, before service, and with laughter. She presents prayers in lyrics or without words. She understands that prayers can be posture and presence but never formulaic: "They need not be factual, but they must be true."  Read Beginning Grace and be enchanted by her perspective.  
 
Other titles on prayer on display are Prayer:  Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J. Foster; Living Prayer by Archbishop Anthony Bloom and Opening to God:  Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer by David Benner. 



* * *
 


Ongoing



Illuminated manuscript

Every Thursday Evening - 8:30 pm
Solemn Chanted Compline
In St. Paul's Sanctuary
20 minutes of prayer to complete 
and bless your day  



* * *
Evensong Services in Port Townsend

Evensong

The following churches are offering monthly contemplative services using music from the Taize Community in France, allowing for a once a week offering.  All are welcome.  

1st Sunday, 5pm. - St. Paul's Episcopal
1020 Jefferson St., Port Townsend
(360)385-0770

2nd Sunday, 5pm. - Trinity United Methodist
609 Taylor St., Port Townsend
(360)385-0484

This coming Sunday November 15
3rd Wednesday, 7pm. - Grace Lutheran 
1120 Walker St., Port Townsend
(360)385-1595

Last Thursday of the month, 6:30pm.
First Presbyterian, 1111 Franklin St.
Port Townsend, (360)385-2525

* * *

Spiritual Direction at St. Paul's
 
What is Spiritual Direction?
        
Spiritual direction is the contemplative practice of helping people awaken to God's presence and action in their lives so they can respond in a growing relationship.  A trained guide listens and accompanies the directee, witnessing the Spirit's movements and encouraging healing and growth.
 
Who might seek spiritual direction? 

People seek spiritual direction for a variety of reasons, including:
  • To be more attentive to the presence and action of God
  • Integrate spirituality into daily life
  • Discern and make difficult choices or navigate transitions with deeper spiritual awareness
  • Share struggles, disappointments or losses, with the aim of understanding God's ways more fully
  • Find encouragement for faithful living
  • Maintain healthy life balanceExplore ways of praying that nurture and deepen one's relationship with God.
 
Directors: Kathy Couch, Marlene Kropf, Elisabeth Rotchford-Haight
 

* * *
 
COFFEE HOUR SCHEDULE

First Sunday of the month: last names A-G
Second Sunday of the month: last names H-Mc
Third Sunday of the month: last names Me-R
Fourth Sunday of the month: last names S-Z
Fifth Sunday's:  shared by various church groups
  • When there's a fifth Sunday, different committees/groups will be invited to sign up on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall. Coffee
  • Each group will be responsible for setting up, making coffee and cleaning up. If you don't know how to do this, ask an old-timer!
  • This applies to the 8 o'clock AND 10:30 coffee hours.
It is highly recommended that there is some organizational conversation within each alpha group in advance of the day itself to better manage the logistics of who is setting and cleaning up.
Weekly Prayer List

This is a new section in our weekly newsletter.  The names of individuals and families will not be printed in this widely distributed publication.  You can find them in your Sunday worship bulletin.  
 
IN THE DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER, WE PRAY FOR:  Emmanuel, Eastsound; St. David, Friday Harbor
 
IN OUR COMPANION DIOCESE OF JERUSALEM WE PRAY FOR:  Church of the Good Shepherd, Salt, Jordan
 
IN OUR COMPANION PARISHES, WE PRAY FOR:  St. Paul's Montrouis, Haiti 
 
AT ST. PAUL'S, WE PRAY FOR:  Stewardship/Finance
 
WE PRAY for all who work to find a way of peace in the Middle East and in all areas of conflict throughout the world.  We pray for the ministry of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.  We pray for all who are suffering from natural disasters and climate change. We pray for an end to hatred and division.

FLOWERS ARE GIVEN to the glory of God, and in celebration of the Life of Ruth Ann Dean & Stanley Edward Garrett by Tracy & Pat Garrett.

Calendar At-a-Glance


Thursday
November 12


7:00 - 8:30 am

Men's Bible Study (Hwy Roadhouse)
3:00 - 6:00 pm

Bet Shira School (PH)
6:30 -7:30 pm

Choir Rehearsal
8:30 pm
Compline



Friday
November 13
Diocesan Convention

6:30 - 9:30 pm

Bet Shira (PH)



Saturday
November 14
Diocesan Convention

6:30 - 8:00 pm
2nd Saturday Potluck



Sunday
November 15

Pentecost XXV




8:00 am
Holy Eucharist Rite I
9:00 am
Fellowship
9:30- 10:15am

Mezzanine -  Paul: Mystic not Moralist
9:45 am

Choir Rehearsal 
10:30 am

Holy Eucharist Rite II
11:45 am

Fellowship
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Women's AA Group (church)



Monday
November 16

Katie in Office
11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Book Group (PR)
3:00 - 4:30 pm

Women's Spiritual Gp (PR)
3:00 - 4:30 pm

Bal-A-Vix-X (PH)
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Overeaters Anonymous (PR)
6:45 - 8:00 pm

Bible Study (PR)



Tuesday
November 17


10:00 am

Just Soup Prep (K)
10:30 am - noon

Spiritual Directors Peer Group  (PR)
noon - 1:00 pm

Prayer Ministry (PR)
3:00 - 6:30 pm

Poetic Justice (PH)



Wednesday
November 18


10:30 am
Service of Healing & Holy Eucharist 
11:30 am - 2:00 pm

Just Soup (K/PH)
  
K = Kitchen
PH = Parish Hall
PR = Pollard Room

Thursday
November 19


7:00 - 8:30 am

Men's Bible Study (Hwy Roadhouse)
8:30 - 11:00 am

Work Crew
3:00 - 6:00 pm

Bet Shira School (PH)
6:30 -7:30 pm

Choir Rehearsal
8:30 pm
Compline



Friday
November 20





Saturday
November 21


9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Sewing Group (PH)



Sunday
November 22

Last Sunday 
After Pentecost
Christ the King


8:00 am
Holy Eucharist Rite I
9:00 am
Fellowship
9:30- 10:15am

Mezzanine -  Paul: Mystic not Moralist
9:45 am

Choir Rehearsal 
10:30 am

Holy Eucharist Rite II
11:45 am

Fellowship
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Women's AA Group (church)



Monday
November 23

Val in Office
2:00 - 5:00 pm

Bookkeeper
3:00 - 4:30 pm

Women's Spiritual Gp (PR)
3:00 - 4:30 pm

Bal-A-Vix-X (PH)
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Overeaters Anonymous (PR)
6:45 - 8:00 pm

Bible Study (PR)



Tuesday
November 24


10:00 am

Just Soup Prep (K)
3:00 - 6:30 pm

Poetic Justice (PH)
6:00 - 8:00 pm

Vestry



Wednesday
November 25
Just Soup Thanksgiving Dinner

10:30 am
Service of Healing & Holy Eucharist 
11:30 am - 2:00 pm

Just Soup (K/PH)
  
K = Kitchen
PH = Parish Hall
PR = Pollard Room
Sunday Servers
  
 SUNDAY  
November 8, 2015
Pentecost XXIV 

 
 
 

8:00 am

Presider
The Rev. Dianne Andrews
Preacher
Rev. Judy Dahl (MCC)
Eucharistic Minister
Sandy Dengler
Lector
Tracy Garrett
Usher
Bill Lowry
Eucharistic Visitors

Coffee Hosts
Last names Me-R





10:30 am

Presider
The Rev. Dianne Andrews
Preacher
Rev. Judy Dahl
Acolyte
Mary Kell
Eucharistic Minister
Sue Cook
Organist
Jenny Pipia
Lectors
Sue Cook
Karen Barrows
Eucharistic Visitor(s)
Patrick Raymond
Usher
Jeff Stoch
Greeter
Pat Hale
Bread Baker
Kathy Couch
Church School & Childcare
Joan Jonland, Tanya Barnett
Coffee Hosts
Last Names:  Me-R
Altar Guild
Team 2
Flowers

Pat & Tracy Garrett

Sunday's Lessons

November 15, 2015
Pentecost XXV - Proper 28
Year B

Holy Eucharist

Collect

Gracious God who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 


First Lesson

Daniel 12:1-3

The Lord spoke to Daniel in a vision and said, "At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."



Psalm
 
Psalm 16 Page 599, 600, BCP
 
1
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; *
I have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord,
my good above all other."
 
2
All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, *
upon those who are noble among the people.
 
3
But those who run after other gods *
shall have their troubles multiplied.
 
4
Their libations of blood I will not offer, *
nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
 
5
O LORD, YOU are my portion and my cup; *
it is you who uphold my lot.
 
6
My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; *
indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
 
7
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; *
my heart teaches me, night after night.
 
8
I have set the LORD always before me; *
because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
 
9
My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; *
my body also shall rest in hope.
 
10
For you will not abandon me to the grave, *
nor let your holy one see the Pit.
 
11
You will show me the path of life; *
in your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.



Second Lesson
 
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25

Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. [And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"

he also adds,

"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.]
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

Gospel

Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."



 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church 1020 Jefferson St. 
Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 385-0770
stpauls_pt@outlook.com

We are an open and inclusive community and welcome people of all ages and of every denomination and faith.