By Anne Derse, Program and Community Life Coordinator

Dear Fellow Parishioners - I began my new position as St. John's  Program and Community Life Coordinator on June 29.  It is an honor to take up this responsibility, and I will do my very best to help St. John's continue to develop as a strong, welcoming, caring and giving community.  As Sari defines the goals of this part-time position, I look forward to speaking with you. We are blessed at St. John's with an abundance of faith, talent, life and professional experience.  How can we best use these gifts to serve God - helping each other and our neighbors, deepening our spiritual development, discipleship and the strength of our community? These are the questions I look forward to exploring with you.

I come to this position after 31 years as a diplomat, most of them spent living abroad in Trinidad, Singapore, Korea, the Philippines, Belgium, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Lithuania.  My family is from Wisconsin and I grew up with two younger sisters in Chicago and Kansas City - but a transformative experience as an AFS high school exchange student to France sparked a lifelong interest in international affairs.  I studied French and Linguistics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and after completing an MA in International Relations at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, I joined the Foreign Service in 1981.  I married a fellow Foreign Service officer with a background in Asian affairs, Hank Hendrickson of Frederick, Maryland, and together we raised four children, Joy, 34, twins Will and Betsy, 30, and Jane, 28.  We returned to the U.S., and to our family home in Bethesda in 2012, when I retired from the State Department and Hank became the Executive Director of the US-Philippines Society in Washington, D.C.

I am grateful for the warm welcome St. John's gave to Hank, me and our family upon our return, and especially, for the strong support this community has provided as I decided to pursue another lifelong commitment, that of deeper service to the church.  I am now in the process of discernment for the Diaconate and believe that the Deacon's "special ministry of
servanthood...to serve all people..." is relevant to the work I will do for St. John's as Program and Community Life Coordinator.  I can be reached any time at aderse@stjohnsnorwood.org or 301-401-5717, am available to meet on Monday and Thursday, and warmly welcome your ideas on how to make this new position most effective for St. John's.

 

Every three years, the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church known as General Convention meets to consider and conduct the business of the Episcopal church in the U.S. and to address a wide range of subjects related to the ministry of the church in today's culture. 

At this year's convention, which took place in Salt Lake City, two historic events took place.  First is the election of The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry of North Carolina as the next Presiding Bishop (the chief ecclesiastical leader of the Episcopal Church in America).  Curry will be the first African-American Presiding Bishop in the U.S. following the historic election of Katharine Jefferts Schori nine years ago as the first female Presiding Bishop.  Bishop Curry's installation will take place at our National Cathedral on November 1st of his year.  Click here to watch a video of Bishop Curry's sermon at the convention's closing Eucharist last week

A second major decision of the Convention this year was to authorize same-sex marriage in the Episcopal Church - whereas, previously, same-sex unions were performed on an individual parish basis, this new decision of the convention upholds the theological and ecclesiastical practice of same-sex marriage throughout the Episcopal Church.  It was also passed that the language of our canons are to be amended so that marriage is no longer exclusively defined as a union between a man and woman.  Our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Buddy who was present for the votes, offered the following comment:  "While debate was long and heart-felt, the vote was decisive in both houses. I was proud to vote with the majority, and equally moved by the witness of those in the minority, and the care taken by all to remain one church."

If you are interested in learning more about these and other proceedings of this year's General Convention you may do so by visiting  http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/

By Anne Timpane, Director of Music Ministries

I hope you're enjoying some of the new hymns we've been singing. Thanks to our copyright reprint licenses, we are able to enrich our worship with songs from other denomination's hymnals. While the Hymnal 1982 is still very present, it is not the only source for our songs. Music from other Episcopal resources such as Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Wonder, Love and Praise, and My Heart Sings Out, is part of the repertoire, as are songs from The Methodist Hymnal, The Presbyterian Hymnal, Gather, Singing Our Faith, The Faith We Sing, and the newly released Presbyterian resource, Glory to God.

Some of these hymns have both texts and tunes that are new to us, but I've been especially drawn to hymns with tunes we already know that have been given new life by adding different texts. We've sung Greensleeves with a communion text, Ode to Joy with three different sets of words, as well as Forest Green (which we know as the English tune for "O little town of Bethlehem") as a doxology. Combining the familiar with something new is a simple trick that adds another level to our experience as communal music makers.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12    

 

Please join us prayers of condolence  

 - for the family and friends of Austin Creel, longtime member, who passed away on June 29th

- for Lon Anderson on the death of his mother, Mildred Peele  

 

Please contact the Office if you have a prayer request or thanksgiving to share with the Parish.