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From the Vicar's Pen: ON BEING AN EPISCOPALIAN The Episcopal Church is often described using the metaphor of a three-legged stool, each leg being necessary to support the stool. These three supporting structures of our Church are: scripture, tradition, and reason. Episcopalians are members of the wider Anglican Communion, a communion made up of 38 self-governing churches consisting of 70 million adherents in 161 countries. Though made up of varied races and cultures, we are unified through our history, our theology, our worship, and our relationship to the See of Canterbury. Celebration of the Holy Eucharist is central to our form of worship. Our Book of Common Prayer is a unifying text while offering variety within the text. Our parents were the Roman Catholic Church and the English Reformation. This heritage has lead to a wide spectrum of worship traditions, some being referred to as Anglo-Catholic and others referred to as being very Protestant. The tradition leg of our stool seems to be the most variable leg. In some churches incense is used; candles are prominent; Holy Water is available at the entrance; flowers decorate many , surfaces; vestments range from plain to very ornate. The variety is a strength of the Episcopal Church, not a weakness. It is with this in mind that some new additions are being offered at CHC in response to those who have requested them. You may choose to enjoy them or to ignore them, but you need not fear them. Church of the Holy Communion has been gifted with several items which are being made available to those who wish to use them as part of their personal worship practices. Holy Water stoops will be place near the front and back entrances to the nave of the church. Holy Water helps remind Christians of the water of Baptism and is used upon entering and exiting the church. The symbolism on the Holy Water stoops includes an early symbol of Christians (the fish), a symbol of the Holy Spirit (the dove), and a symbol of Jesus' death and resurrection (a cross). A supply of blessed Holy Water will be kept in the sacristy. A forty-lamp pricket (votive light stand) will be placed to the left of the door exiting the nave. It will have glassware that is of the correct liturgical color for the season, and each glass will contain an eight-day candle. As was explained in a previous From the Vicar's Pen, the light from the candles reminds us of the light of Christ, and the burning of the wax reminds us that our lives are being consumed by earthly time. The act of lighting a candle as a memorial in remembrance of loved ones, present or those who have gone before us, is an ancient custom very similar to the act of giving flowers in remembrance of loved ones. Proper annunciator bells will be placed in the sanctuary at the entrance to the sacristy and will be used to announce the beginning of the service. A crucifix titled "Gift of the Holy Spirit" has been placed over the altar in Mc Neil Hall. This crucifix shows Jesus nailed to the cross, yet still showing His strength and His love for His people, as He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit as symbolized by a dove. It is a powerful symbol that needs to be viewed to be truly appreciated.
Having taught the earth sciences for thirty seven years, I am acutely aware of the myriad faces of Mother Nature. I am also of the opinion that most of us, out of ignorance of the complexity of nature, make the mistake of assigning a value judgment to nature dependent on how we are affected by her actions. Having said this, I am now going to do exactly that. All the Gospel accounts of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem and the events of Holy Week take place in a hot, dry, sunny location. Western New York was cold, snowy, and gray this Easter season. At first this seemed almost as bad as Christmas without snow. I knew this was the wrong attitude to start the Lenten-Easter season with, so I personally worked very hard at looking for the silver lining and adjusting my attitude to where it should be during this season. Lent began in February, a time when us non-skiers begin to give up hope of ever being warm again or of ever experiencing a sunny day again. I worked at deciding that this rather dismal weather was perhaps appropriate for the penitential nature of Lent. Why should I expect to be ebullient about the weather? Perhaps the weather could help me focus on the "gray" areas in my life and allow me to address them in a helpful manner. The visual warmth of the honey-scented candles, the beauty of the music, and the solemnity of the service all served to make the Stations of the Cross and Benediction very meaningful and totally independent of the weather outside. Independent that is except for when weather forced us to cancel the service. The earliness of Daylight Savings Time threatened to flood the church with too much sunlight during the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil services, but Western New York's gray weather carne to the rescue, helping to darken the church and thus heighten the drama of these services, especially when the "New Light" was brought to the altar during the Vigil. I think this was the coldest Easter Sunday I have ever experienced. Easter finery consisted of warm coats, mittens, and woolen hats. It was cold, but the sunlight was magnificent. So brilliant that I was forced to either wear sunglasses during the 8 o'clock service or to change my seat, and we all know what creatures of habit we are, so on went the glasses. Our church's lack of stained glass windows actually helped to enhance the joyful feeling this much welcomed sunlight offered us. Bright and cold to me isa better combination than warm and gray on Easter Sunday. I was very happy on Easter and I think most of the congregation was also. The pews were quite full and the congregations' singing filled the church. All my senses seemed heightened. Susan played better than ever, the choir sang with such gusto that they sounded much bigger than they are, and Adrienne's violin descant was "the icing on the cake". The small sounds of the children in the pews spoke of the future in a positive way. The smells of various spring flowers and of leftover incense and beeswax candles made me glad I don't suffer from sinus problem. Easter Sunday for me, and I hope for you, was wonderful and will be a reminder throughout the year, when I need it, of God's love. It was indeed a "day the Lord hath made". I rejoiced and I was glad in it. Thoughts of the Vicar's wife
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From the Warden: Much of our June meeting was spent discussing our parish finances. The down swing in the stock market has had a negative effect on our quarterly dividends. At present we are working with a deficit budget. We are over our proposed budget for Buildings and Grounds, but some repairs can be put off no longer if we are to maintain the integrity of our church building. We are waiting for a quote concerning the repair of the board and battens in the front of the church. Hopefully this necessary repair work will be done before the end of summer. We have experienced flooding due to very heavy rains on both June 22nd and June 29th. Each time parishioners have pitched in to solve the immediate problem. Nonetheless, until the situation is remediated properly ,flooding during heavy rains will continue to be a problem which threatens to do structural damage to the substructure of the church building. Justin Drew (Buildings and Grounds) has solicited two companies for repair estimates which we are expecting to receive shortly. At that time the Council will make a decision concerning how to proceed. This warden extends a special Thank You to all the parishioners who have helped monitor and clean up the flood waters. It is becoming increasingly more expensive to maintain the grounds due to the ever rising cost of gasoline. It now costs approximately $30 in gasoline each time we cut our lawns, and with this recent rain the grass has been growing too well. Thank You to all our mowers and gardeners. The church looks very inviting from the outside. We purchased a small cart to tow behind the mower so as to make maintenance of the grounds easier. We also had to repair quite a few screens. Thank you, Bootsie. The possibility of putting our newsletter online was discussed. It would not only be a way of saving money (every newsletter sent costs about $1), but it would also allow for more timely receipt of the newsletter and any other information that needs to be shared with the parishioners. Give this some thought and share your views with Babette Fuller (Newsletter editor). This would not be an all or nothing change. If you do not have access to a computer, the newsletter will continue to be printed, though hopefully on a smaller scale. An issue came up that was tabled but is worth thinking about. Every year we rent, at the cost of $195, a tent for use during the barbecue. It has been suggested that we might consider building a open-air pavilion for use during outside events which we hope would increase with the building of said pavilion. We need to accumulate more information about costs, building requirements, etc. before we proceed to discuss this issue further, but we would like everyone to give this some thought. It is felt we need to think in terms of growing and offering more to the community rather than adopting a siege mentality and try to just survive. Nothing succeeds like success. Frustration was expressed at the somewhat irresponsible way in which some of the privileges to serve our parish are being treated. A small parish such as ours needs to be able to count on people when they say they will accept a job or position. To serve is a privilege which needs to be accepted respectfully and completed responsibly. Joy gives you wings in difficult circumstances: the problems don't go away, but you can rise above them. Connect with God and experience His abundant joy. Honor God in your work. Faithfully, Laura, Steinke, Warden
"Remember that a good example is the best sermon" Jay Phillippi has sent us information about youth activities in the Diocese. Check the Bulletin Board in the Narthex. Questions: call Jay at 483-6405 or email jayphillippi@episcopalwny.org. Barb Biddlecom
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