July 2011
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Dear People of St. John's: First, a big thank you to our Sunday School teachers this year, especially to Jennifer Biloski, Sarah Steuteville, Cora Yao, Virginia Richardson, Susie Backstrom who worked with our grade school children, and John Allison and Ed Kokkelenberg who were our mentors of our Adult Class for the specially challenged. Please note that we continue to provide supervised nursery care during the summer at the 10:30 service with Emily Stoner and Tess Hanrahan. You will note several articles on outreach and that we continue to be active in many different areas. I especially commend you to “take 50 hungry children to lunch, for ten bucks”, that is our special offering on July 10th. for Feed My Starving Children. I’m happy to say that that the new roof over the guild rooms and kitchen is completed. We still have some patch work of flashing where the columbarium wing joins the choir roof and Charlie Ciccone is planning a “work day” for minor projects on a July weekend so look for news of that and please if you can, help. Many willing hands accomplish a lot and will make a real difference. As we continue actively going forth as messengers and bearers of Good News, summer often provides refreshment in surprising ways. My movie recommendation this month is an older film entitled Children of Heaven. Filmed and produced in Iran and nominated for an Oscar as the best foreign language film in1988, it is about a boy of the Tehran slums who looses his sister’s only pair of shoes, and so they have to share one pair of shoes. It reminded me of Slum dog Millionaire. I confess that my preconceptions of it coming out of Iran made me very skeptical if not suspicious, but it is a sensitive, honest and very well done film. Again, it is an unexpected grace from an unexpected place and I’m glad I didn’t let my prejudice obscure that. My sincere wishes for a grace-filled summer, no matter where you will be. Opportunities and signs of the Holy Spirit at work will continue to pop up. As I sit on the back porch before going to bed I’m just beginning to hear the frogs and crickets. I’m told this will also be the summer for those seven-year cicadas. I wonder how choir camp will be this year. All who have helped Nancy know how much work goes into it, but how much we all look forward and enjoy it too. Now I just have to remember back to that wonderful time when I worked in a lumberjack camp, and of stories I heard around the campfire drinking coffee that would put hair on boulders. Blessings always,Philip W. Snyder, Rector
Ah, summer. A time to relax, spend time with friends and family, and enjoy this beautiful area we call home. For me, it’s also time to reflect on the past program year and prepare for the future. As I look back on the 2010–2011 year, I realize that it was a special time of growth. Each group faced challenges, yet all of them persevered and did a terrific job. Everybody improved musically, and many members rose to become leaders within their ensemble. It’s been a good year. I’m deep into preparations for choir camp now, too. We’re taking a smaller group this year than last, and I’m looking forward to being able to give each camper more individual attention. We’re going back to White Eagle, and we’re all happy about that, too. While it’s a longer drive than Casowasco, I encourage those of you who can to come up on Friday, September 2nd, to see our show. We are also offering a Wednesday Evensong Service this year at St. Thomas’ in downtown Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. As always, I have a list of supplies we’ll need. Thanks in advance for whatever you can share or spare with us: Summer is also the best time for me to beginning selecting music and setting goals for the 2011–2012 program year. (Many of my suppliers run summer sales on music, making this best time to order next’s year’s anthems.) It will be a challenge this year, though, because the music program is in a period of transition. While the overall number of people involved in the music program is higher than it has been, all of the choirs need new members. For the adult and youth choirs, this is simply to fill out the ranks a bit. Our adult choir is aging, and the members are busy. Several of the youth choir have moved on and, although we have some children “moving up” from the children’s choir, there’s still room for more voices. (This becomes critical during the year, when members miss for school events such as sports or the drama program.) The handbell choir, too, needs new members. In the case of all three of these groups, adding new members isn’t critical to their survival, but it will improve the groups and increase the opportunities available to them. While I believed that having a cherub choir was a good thing, I believe that having a children’s choir is a great thing. First, it provides great training and education for the singers. They learn vocal production, and they gain a deeper understanding of the stories and values of our faith. At St. John’s, the children also sing in foreign languages, and often the music is more complex than usually sung by elementary school-aged children. There’s more to it than that, though. We sing in parts, which requires both cooperation with others and independence of thought. We learn to work as a group, but they are also given a chance to shine individually. It’s a venue of certain success because they hone their new skills in a loving, supportive environment. Members of the youth choir who have grown up singing in St. John’s say that it gives them the courage to step out and try new things. Most go to NYSSMA in voice or instrumental, and they all earn top marks. I don’t need to quote the many, many studies that link musical study to success in school and life. Participating in children’s choir also gives the singers a sense of purpose in worship. They are taught that they are worship leaders, and they take this role seriously. They learn to follow the Book of Common Prayer and lead responses as they are able. And it’s neat for them to vest and process to the very front of the church. I remember one young boy’s first Sunday. He was sitting next to the organ and, as the first hymn ended, he looked at me with a huge grin on his face and said, “This is so cool.” He’s right. It is cool. It’s an opportunity we’ve been blessed to be able to offer for more than 12 years here, but now we have to consider whether its time has passed. I know you’re busy. And I know that your children are busy, too. But if they’d like to join us, please let me know. We can work together to get them there. In the past, we’ve done carpools and shared rides. I’ve picked children up from school and gotten them to the church. Years ago, when my own sons sang in the children’s choir of St. Paul’s, Owego, I set up an after-school program for the singers. They came straight from school and spent an hour doing their homework or playing games before rehearsal. If your children want to sing, we can help. Finally, please know that there is no set attendance policy for members of the choirs; you don’t have to commit to being at every single rehearsal and service. Somebody is always absent. They travel for work or pleasure, or they have obligations that conflict with rehearsal. I try to work at least 6 weeks ahead, which makes it easier to keep up with the group. I also work with people at other times as necessary, particularly before Christmas and Easter. If you’d like to have a “trial run” with the musicians, join us in the choir stalls any Sunday morning at 9:30—or whenever you can get there. Our ‘Come and Sing’ choir will start on July 3rd, and we’d love to have you, or your children, join us. And please let me know if anyone in your family would like to join any of our groups in the fall; it will make my planning easier. And, as always, please let me know how I can better serve the parish musically. Thanks for your continued support. Nancy Radloff, Director of Music
Beginning With You!
The transition committee has been hard at work putting together a structure that will assist us in the process of determining where we want St. John’s to be and where we will be headed as we welcome a new rector sometime in 2012. While we busily list the desired characteristics of the new rector, it occurred to me that we should also be listing characteristics we the parishioners should be willing to develop. The role of every parishioner is as important as that of the future rector. If we are looking for a leader, are we willing to be enthusiastic followers? As we look for an ability to preach the gospel, are we promising to be productive listeners? When we are presented with new ideas for ministries, will we have the courage to pledge time, talent and riches to support them? Will we be asking more of a new rector than we are willing to ask of ourselves? I admit to being somewhat apprehensive (?) about our future, but in an energized and hopeful way. The potential is there for St. John’s to continue to be a force in the development of our community and in the personal lives of our parishioners. It is exciting to know that God has put no limits on our ability to make things even better. “If you want the earth filled with joyful noise, you gotta start singing!”
Peace! Lloyd E. Hall The following two excerpts from Have Faith in the Good — by Herbert E. Thomas, MD. To be published in the coming months. "The Kotel in Jerusalem" The Western Wall of the Temple Mount, sometimes spoken of as the Wailing Wall, is called the Kotel by the Jews. They believe that the Diving Presence, The Shekinah, rests of top of it. Christians speak of the Divine Presence as the Holy Spirit but see it as part of the Holy Trinity hence present throughout the world and not particularly related to the Temple Mount. Jesus laid great emphasis on the Divine Presence, the Holy Spirit. He made the point that if one blasphemed it there would be bad if not terrible consequences. i believe he thought of it as resting on top of the temple. I have gone to the Kotel many times, usually following my visits to Mary's tomb in the upper kingdon of the Kedron Valley. The time I overheard a conversation, or at least one side of it, I did not fell singled out. But on two different occasions I did feel that i had been. The first possibly in 2003 or 2004, I received a Bronx cheer as I entered the plaza area. I did not actully hear it but it came to me in my thoughts and was no association. I find it amazing that I can smile about it. I don't know why I was given one, but I have no trouble figuring out why I deserved one. The second was when the words "Have faith in the good" came to me. "Pray for the Peace of Jesrusalem" On my first visit to Jerusalem I took a taxi from Mary's tomb to the German colony. The driver told me, when asked, that he was a Muslim. So I asked him why he hadn't moved to the U.S. or to Chile. He told me he was married and had two or three children. His answer mirrors my own deepest sense of what Jeruslaem means to me. He said, "I believe that when there is peace in Jerusalem there will be peace in the world." *** My last trip to Jerusalem was in May of this year. I followed the same routines of previous trips. Nothing unusual happened until I arrived at 4 am Saturday morning at the palm tree. It was Shabbat and I had resolved not to pick up any litter. However, i saw three large pieces of trash directly across from the palm tree. My first thought was not to pick them up as I had promised myself I wouldn't. But because they were where they were I did so anyway. Immediately a crow or rook near the base of the palm tree set up a dreadful din. I became anxious, as I knew at once it did so because of my promise. I then remembered what Simon Peter had said when Ananias and his wife lied about the amount of money that had received from the sale of their property. No one had told them to sell their property much less donate it all to the community. Likewise no one had asked me to keep Shabbat as the seventh day. It had been entirely my idea. In th case of Ananias and his wife both had dropped dead when confronted with their lies. Both had experienced a profound rejection. In each one sees such a toxic degree of physical pain that the ventricle of the heart must have expanded to such a degree as to cause instant death. This rejection of Ananias and his wife in the Book of Acts is, to my knowledge, an excellent example of what can happen when someone is suddenly rejected.In the Talmud, the story of Bar Kamsa is also one of sudden rejection and is well known to every Yeshima student. On this trip I realized finally that I must be far more focused on doing what I say I'm going to do.
A Message From Loaves and Fishes Hello St. John’s Parishioners, I’d like to give you an update on what is happening at Loaves & Fishes: We are now serving between 120-150 individuals per weekday and over 2700 meals per month. We noted that from April 201– March 2011 our total amount of meals served, including seconds, was 37,939 compared with 35,313 last year. 2,626 more meals of second servings were given in 2010–2011compared to the previous year. This statistic demonstrates that significantly more guests are arriving hungrier and relying on the Loaves & Fishes meal as their primary source of nourishment each day. Our guests are of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, but most are vulnerable economically and socially. Now that summer is here, we are looking forward to receiving donations from local gardens and farms. Many of our guests cannot afford to buy produce, so you can imagine how grateful they are to be served plates filled with fresh salad and tastefully cooked vegetables. In fact, our daily menu always includes a delicious vegetarian option. As you know, we are more than a free meal program—we are a community—everyone is welcome at the Loaves and Fishes table. We do not ask our guests for identifying information and there are no requirements. During our 28-year partnership with you, we have cultivated a respectful and compassionate community in which people can share a meal with others and, if needed, seek help during times of crisis. Our staff and volunteer advocates can provide referral and advocacy services for guests who have unmet basic needs. For example, a public health nurse and a lawyer are available to guests once a week during meal times. Other social service agencies such as the Red Cross Homeless Shelter and the Catholic Charities’ Samaritan Center also regularly provide outreach services in the dinning hall. Everyone: our staff, volunteers and guests are making connections and helping one another. All of this is done while enjoying a terrific meal! If you haven’t already, please consider joining us; Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon and Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6 pm. We would also welcome your interest in volunteering, as we rely on over 100 volunteers a week to bring our mission to life. For more information, please call our office, 272-5457 or explore our website at loaves.org/. I am looking forward to joining you in worship and fellowship after one of your summer services. On behalf of the Loaves and Fishes Board of Directors, Staff, Volunteers and Guests, I want to express our deep gratitude for your continued support of Loaves and Fishes. Sincerely,
Rev. Christina Culver Loaves and Fishes of Tompkins County is a Christian ministry which provides a place for free meals, hospitality, companionship, and advocacy for those in need, regardless of their faith, beliefs, or circumstances. |
