+ The Messenger + March 2013

A Communication Ministry of Christ’s Church Episcopal, Duanesburg, New York - Christ’s Church Episcopal is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion -

The Rev’d William Hinrichs, Rector (H) 518 541-3206 (C) 518 221-3425 Email: WilliamRHinrichs@aol.com

The Rev’d Debbie Beach, Deacon (H) 518 372-1352 (C) 518 669-1898 Email: dbeach21@verizon.net

Mrs. Debbie Fish, Warden 518 895-8461 Mr. Doug Fortman, Warden, 518 887-5673

Church website: www.christchurchduanesburg.org Kenneth Fish – Editor, fishesny@nycap.rr.com Facebook: Christ Church, Duanesburg Email: ccduanesburg@gmail.com

Parish Office Mail: PO Box 92, Duanesburg, NY 12056 Parish Hall Phone: 518 895-2383

The parish is located at: 132 Duanesburg-Churches Rd, Duanesburg, NY, on the corner of Route 20 and Duanesburg Churches Road in Duanesburg, near exit 24 off I-88

Rector’s Reflections Dear Friends in Christ, At our Annual Meeting in January I said, “I would like to suggest that one place to begin (responding to the challenge presented in that day’s readings) is to take this year to work together, guided by the Holy Spirit, to craft a mission statement that will give direction and shape to our life together for the next several years.” To craft a mission statement that is short enough to be easily memorized and comprehensive enough to embrace the fullness of the Gospel, we need to begin by gathering information. To do so, I need your help. Below are two questions. Please reflect on them, pray about your response. Then send your answers to me by email, write down your responses and bring your this sheet to church or mail it to the church. We would like to have everyone’s response by Easter Sunday (March 31). WHAT IS IT ABOUT CHRIST CHURCH THAT YOU HOPE NEVER CHANGES? WHAT SEEMS TO BE MISSING AT CHRIST CHURCHTHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE? We need to hear from everyone. Even if you only write down a word or two after each question, please return your answers to me or a member of the Vestry. Yours in the Joy of the Resurrection,

Father Bill+

VIEW FROM THE PEW

OBSERVING LENT Ash Wednesday fell on February 13 this year and of course it began the penitential season of

Lent. The Book of Common Prayer invites us to observe a holy Lent, “by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word

And to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our moral nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. ” (page 265)

The ashes used in “The Imposition of Ashes” are actually the residue of burned palms from the

previous Palm Sunday. Part of the dictionary definition of ash is dust. The Burial of the Dead service in our Book of Common Prayer contains this part of the prayer in The Committal: We commit (his/her)

body in the grave, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.“ (pages 485 & 501) In Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, I found many references to ashes and dust. In

Genesis (2:7 KJV) God created man from dust, giving him the breath of life and man became a living soul. Also in Genesis (3:14 KJV) God condemned the serpent to eat dust upon his belly for all the days of its life. Likewise to Adam Genesis (3-19KJV) God said he would eat bread until he returned

to the ground. “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Other references to dust are varied, usually with references in sin and destruction.

As we trudge through the forty days, we have an undeniable light at the end of the tunnel of

Lent. This light is the light of Jesus. Thanks be to God.

. You are all always in my prayers. In His Love and peace,

Doris J. Weiler

The Health Benefits of Laughter

“Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.” ― George Gordon Byron

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Our Parish Nurse, Tippe, has started a game night which will be held once a month. There are social, emotional, health and spiritual benefits of fellowship, but what about laughter specifically? What are its benefits? According to WebMD in the last few decades, researchers have studied laughter's effects on the body and turned up some potentially interesting information on how it affects us:

• Blood flow . Researchers at the University of Maryland studied the effects on blood vessels when people were shown either comedies or dramas. After the screening, the blood vessels of the group who watched the comedy behaved normally -- expanding and contracting easily. But the blood vessels in people who watched the drama tended to tense up, restricting blood flow.

• Immune response . Increased stress is associated with decreased immune system response. Some studies have shown that the ability to use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells, as well.

• Blood sugar levels . One study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of laughter on blood sugar levels. After eating, the group attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate the same meal and then watched a comedy. After the comedy, the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after the lecture.

• Relaxation and sleep . The focus on the benefits of laughter really began with Norman Cousin's memoir, Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (a painful spine condition), found that a diet of comedies, like Marx Brothers’ films and episodes of Candid Camera, helped him feel better. He said that ten minutes of laughter allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep.

So bring your favorite board game and come reap the potential health benefits of a good laugh!

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” ― Mark Twain

--Deacon Debbie Beach

Blood Pressure Clinic on March 17th at 11:15am

LADIES GUILD - Auxiliary Planning Meeting After church on Sunday, March 10 , all the ladies of the church are invited to gather during coffee

hour to discuss scheduling the spring rummage sale, the use of funds, and any other get-togethers or activities. Please join us. If you have any questions, please see Jane Weyers.

DIAPER & SOCK DRIVE - (Sunday, March 3 ) Help continue our support of Father James

Brisbin’s ministry, by volunteering diapers and children’s socks for the Burmese refugees at St David’s in East Greenbush.

VESTRY - The next Vestry meeting is Thursday, March 21 at 7 pm in the Parish Hall. Vestry

meetings are usually the third Thursday of the month.

ALTAR GUILD – the Altar guild needs some new members. Currently, there are 3 teams of two

and 1 person serving alone. Altar Guild involves setting up the Altar for services, cleaning up after services and changing the altar linens according to the season. Training is available – new people are paired with a seasoned veteran. If you are interested or would like more information, please talk to Sharon Mericle, Cheryl Lennox or Debbie Fish. HEALING A WOMAN’S SOUL – Caring for the Caregivers –Caring for someone else? Need a day for you? Saturday, March 9 from 9-4 at the Carondolet Hospitality Center, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham. Fee: $25.00 per person which includes Lunch. There are limited scholarships available. Contact: 518-242-0577 or hawsretreats@gmail.com. Rev. Dr. Anne Curtain from the Episcopal Diocese of Albany is the executive director of Healing a Woman’s Soul and one of the presenters. Please see Fr Bill for more details and flyer, with registration information.

MARCH + BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES & EVENTS SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT

24 Lent 2 Lenten Program–9 am No Sunday School Holy Eucharist –10

25 Ladies Bible Study – 7 pm

Curt & Tracy Rabideau

26 27 Alzheimer’s program – DACC – Noon

28 1 2

3 Lent 3 Lenten Program–9 am Sunday School - 10 Holy Eucharist –10 DIAPER DRIVE

4 Ladies Bible Study – 7 pm

5 Jennifer Wolfe

6 7 8 9 Franklyn Acevedo

10 Lent 4 Lenten Program–9 am Sunday School - 10 Holy Eucharist –10

11 Ladies Bible Study – 7 pm

Bart MacDougall, Denny Wolfe

12 13 14 Barbara Hinrichs

15 16

17 Lent 5 Lenten Program–9 am Sunday School - 10 Holy Eucharist –10 BP Clinic – 11:15

18 Ladies Bible Study – 7 pm

19 20 21 22 23

24 Palm Sunday Lenten Program–9 am Holy Eucharist –10 No Sunday School

25 Ladies Bible Study – 7 pm

26 Joyce L.

Mason

27 Joshua Langston

28 Maundy Thurs 7 pm service followed by watch

Ben Lennox Phil & Cheryl

Lennox

29 Good Friday 7:30 am Raising Crosses 7 pm Service

Carm Fusco

30

31 EASTER Holy Eucharist –10 No Sunday School

Nolan McHugh, Sherry Schrade

1 Johnny Bard

2 3 Bob & Heather

MacDougall

4 5 Bart & Linda

MacDougall

6

7 Bible Study –9 am Holy Eucharist –10 DIAPER DRIVE No Sunday School

8 9 10 11 Thomas Walsh,

Alexis Weyers

12 13

March + 2013 Schedule Acolyte, Chalice, Greeters & Sunday School

Date Acolyte Bell Ringer Greeters Lectors Sunday School

March 3 Tippe Miller Tony Miller Ken & Debbie Fish Marge Cummings & Terry Williams

Cindy & Katherine

March 10 John Weiler Ken Fish Andrea & Bryan Salisbury

Sharon Mericle & Barbara Hinrichs Tippe & Tony

March 17 Jane Weyers Bryan Salisbury Brenda Warner & Barb Heimlich

Sandra DePoalo & John Weiler Barbara & Jenna

March 24 (Palm Sunday)

Sharon Mericle Tony Miller Barbara Hinrichs & Terry Williams

Elizabeth Iseman & Tippe Miller

No Sunday School

March 28 (Maundy Thurs)

Volunteer volunteer volunteers volunteers n/a

March 29 (Good Friday) volunteer volunteer volunteers volunteers n/a

March 31 (EASTER) Sandra DePoalo Ken Fish

Andrea & Bryan Salisbury Steve & Sherry Schrade No Sunday School

April 7 Tippe Miller Bryan Salisbury Barbara Hinrichs & Terry Williams

Bryan Salisbury & Bart MacDougall

No Sunday School

Altar Guild, Greeters, Readers & Counters Date Chalice Altar Guild DOK - Prayers Counters

March 3 Debbie Beach Linda MacDougall & Cheryl Lennox Rite I Debbie Fish & Cal Weyers

March 10 Sharon Mericle Marge Cummings & Cindy Creasy Elizabeth Andrea Salisbury & Doug Fortman March 17 Sharon Mericle Marge Cummings & Cindy Creasy Debbie F Judy Breitenstien & Tippe Miller March 24 (Palm Sunday)

Sharon Mericle Elizabeth Iseman & Sharon Mericle Sharon Cindy Skala & Phil Sayles

March 28 (Maundy Thurs) Debbie Beach

Elizabeth Iseman & Sharon Mericle

March 29 (Good Friday) Debbie Beach

Elizabeth Iseman & Sharon Mericle

March 31 (EASTER)

Debbie Beach Elizabeth Iseman & Sharon Mericle Debbie B Debbie Fish & Cal Weyers

April 7 Debbie Beach Linda MacDougall & Cheryl Lennox Rite I Andrea Salisbury & Doug Fortman

If you cannot serve for your assigned Sunday, pleas e contact someone to take your place. Thank you.

+The Messenger A Communication Ministry of Christ’s Church Episcopal – Duanesburg P.O. Box 92 Duanesburg, New York 12056-0092 CHRIST CHURCH VESTRY:

Fr. Bill Hinrichs, Rector Philip Sayles – Vestry member

Debbie Fish - Warden Cindy Skala – Vestry member

Doug Fortman - Warden Cal Weyers – Vestry member

Judy Breitenstein – Vestry member

Tippe Miller – Vestry member Debbie Beach - Deacon

Andrea Salisbury – Vestry member Sherry Schrade – Treasurer