ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, HENRICO PARISH

THE PARISH SUN

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Richmond, Virginia (804) 649-7938 www.saintjohnsrichmond.orgwinter, 2015

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGSVestry Leaders Chosenfor 2015

At its January 13 meeting, the St.John’s Church Vestry choseleaders for 2015.

Senior Warden – Bruce DuffyJunior Warden – Karla HuntRegisters – Al Allen and PattieToblerTreasurer – Diane Moran

Communications Committee –Pattie Tobler, Vestry Liaison;John King, ChairFellowship Committee – PhinellaWeatherspoon and Sue Schutt,Vestry Liaisons; SheliaArrington, ChairEducation – Teresa Houck,Vestry Liaison and Chair; TeresaHouck, Children; Carol Wharton,Adults; Mariah Dudley and AlexLiverman, Youth/TeensFinance – Bruce Duffy, Liaison;Lynn Anderson, ChairInreach – Patty Soileau andBarbara Bayler, Vestry Liaisons;Reeves McCune, Chair; KarlaHunt, Prayer GroupOutreach – Barbara Baylor andKarla Hunt, Vestry Liaisons;David Curtis, Deacon’s Schoolintern, ChairProperty – Al Allen, VestryLiaison; Ashley McCune, ChairStewardship – Sue Schutt, VestryLiaison; Marshall Schutt, Chair

St. John’s Priest Associates, Deacon and InternSt. John’s Priest Associates,

Deacon and InternSt. John’s Church is greatlyblessed by four priest associates, atransitional deacon and a Deacon’sSchool intern who serve God inministry within our parish withoutcompensation. All of theseindividuals participate widely inthe life in our parish and supportour parish with their pledges. Hereis a little information about each ofthese remarkable and giftedpeople. We are grateful for thepresence and ministry of each ofthem.The Rev. Dr. Sandra M. Levy-AchtemeierSandi has been a priest associate atSt. John’s for over ten years, now.In addition to her liturgical roles aspreacher, celebrant, and clergyassistant during worship, Sandi

provides our St.John’s Forumwith engagingprograms andparticipates inone of St.John’s two bookclubs.Sandi wasordained to the

priesthood in 1995. Her Ph.D. is inClinical Psychology, and beforeentering Virginia TheologicalSeminary, she held the position of

Associate Professor of Psychiatryand Medicine and AssociateDirector of the Pittsburgh CancerInstitute at the University ofPittsburgh. She has two grownsons, Kevin and Brian, and fourgrandchildren.Sandi is a widely publishedauthor. Her most recent work,Flourishing Life, was published in2012 by Cascade Books (Eugene,Oregon). Sandi also wroteImagination and the Journey ofFaith (Wm. B. EerdmansPublishing Company, 2008 andBehavior and Cancer, written in2004, and newly republished.Sandi is well into her next book,which she describes as “TheFiction of our Lives”—be sureand ask her about it!A work of fiction Sandirecommends is An InterruptedLife by Etty Hillisum. Sandirecently cited a book of poetry byCharles Peguy, titled God Speaks.Sample his poetry atwww.sandralevy.net/Blog/TabId/112/ArtMID/501/ArticleID/11/Sleep.aspx. Check out a movingstory about a WWI Christmastruce with German soldiers on herBLOG,also.http://www.sandralevy.net/Blog.aspx.Sandi will be providing a programat the Chrysalis Institute in the fall

of this year: Telling Your Story:The Fiction of our Lives. It’sbased on her current writing.Learn more about Sandi Levy-Achtemeier at her website:http://www.sandralevy.net/.The Rev. Dr. Lindon J. EavesLindon is an Episcopal priestwho, for 45 years, has combineda full-time research career inhuman genetics with an activeministry in the Episcopal Church.He is currently DistinguishedProfessor Emeritus of HumanGenetics and Psychiatry at theVirginia CommonwealthUniversity, School of Medicine,where he directed the Virginia

Institute forPsychiatricandBehavioralGenetics.Beforemoving to theUnited Statesin 1981, hewas on the

faculty of the University ofOxford, England. Prior to joiningthe community at St John's, hehas served as priest-in-residenceat the Church of the HolyComforter, St James's and StThomas’ Church, Richmond. Hecontinues to preach, teach andcelebrate regularly whilecontinuing his scientific researchand teaching at VCU.Lindon obtained the Ph.D. andD.Sc. Degrees in Genetics fromthe University of Birmingham,England, and trained in Theologyat Cuddesdon College, Oxford.Since ordination, he has workedsimultaneously as a priest andscientist studying the geneticbasis of human behavior. Lindonis known internationally for hisresearch in statistical andbehavioral genetics. Lindon has

received numerous awards for hisscientific research, including theJames Shields Award, theDobzhansky Award, the PaulHoch Award and an honorarydoctorate from the Free Universityof Amsterdam.An aspect of Lindon’s ministrylies on the intellectual frontierbetween science and theology,having served on a NIH-fundedresearch group to examine thetheological implication of theHuman Genome Initiative, and onthe Presiding Bishop'scommission on the "NewGenetics.” He served on the boardof advisors of the John M.Templeton Foundation and hasheld numerous named fellowshipsand lectureships in the area ofscience and theology. Lindon canbe heard on Krista Tippet’swebsite: On Being, in afascinating episode, Science andBeing:http://www.onbeing.org/blog/seeing-religious-creeds-as-scientific-hypotheses-with-lindon-eaves/6057Lindon’s additional talents lie inteaching, data analysis, andcooking. We could add manymore to that, but those are all hewill claim publicly. He alsoenjoys cricket and chemistry. Heand Sue have three grownchildren and three grandchildren.One of Lindon’s favoritechildhood memories is playingoutside with neighborhood kidson long summer days. He holdsclose to his heart the experience ofseeing the evening sun on aCotswold town on his and Sue’swedding day. Another profoundlymoving memory was of givingcommunion to his dying father-in-law.

If Lindon could travel anywherewithout concern for health, safetyor length of travel, he would go toSyria. In the meantime, wecontinue to pray for that country,with hope that peace and justicecan be established there.We are grateful to have Lindon’sgifts at St. John’s. He and Sue areshepherding our Young Adultsgroup that meets the first Sundayevening of each month.

The Rev. Susan N. EavesA native of England, Sue has livedin the United States since 1981.Sue and Lindon have three grownchildren and three grandchildren.Sue and Lindon have lived inNottingham, Birmingham, andOxford England, and sincemoving to the U.S have lived inRichmond Virginia. They are bothU.S. citizens.Sue Eaves was ordained in 1991after a career in education. Sheserved as Director of the Upper

School at St.Catherine'sEpiscopalSchool forGirls inRichmond,VA. Sheserved asRector of St.

Thomas' Episcopal Church fortwelve years. Sue and Lindonjoined us as priest associates in2013. On February 8, Sue willreturn to St. John’s Church afterhaving served as interim associaterector at St. Paul’s Church, here inRichmond.Sue has been quite active in theDiocese of Virginia, having servedas president of the StandingCommittee, chair of theCommittee for Women in Mission

and Ministry, first alternate toGeneral Convention in 2000 anddeputy to General Convention in2003 and 2006. A lifelongAnglican, she has a particularappreciation of the ability of thechurch to walk the "via media"(the middle way) honoring thecenturies old traditions of thechurch with the call to be theKingdom in our current age.Sue enjoys reading, photography,and theater. A reliable sourcereveals that she is an excellentcook! When asked about achildhood imaginary scenario,Sue revealed that she imaginedmeeting the Queen! As a child,she loved reading in the orchardat the bottom of the gardenSue recommends a meaningfulbook: A Lesson Before Dying,written by Ernest Gaines.When asked where she would gofor pleasure, presuming that cost,travel time, sanitary conditions,safety, and health were notissues, she said she would like totravel to Morocco. We arelooking forward to having Sueback at St. John’s Church.The Rev. William PickeringBill Pickering came to St. John’sChurch as a priest associate lastyear. He and his wife Lee Annlive just a few blocks away with

Lucy, theirterriblyspoiledCockapoo,who istwelve yearsold.Bill grew upin FoxChapel, a

suburb of Pittsburgh and receivedhis Bachelor of Arts in Englishfrom Randolph-Macon College

in Ashland, Virginia. Shortlythereafter, he felt called to thepriesthood; he received his Masterof Divinity from The GeneralTheological Seminary, in NewYork City. He was ordained aPriest in Pittsburgh in 1971 andserved within that diocese inMurrysville, PA; Greensburg, PA;and Mt. Lebanon, PA. Bill andLee Ann then left Pittsburgh whenBill was called as Rector at St.Mark’s Episcopal Church, NewCanaan, CT. Bill retired for thefirst time at the end of 2004.Shortly thereafter, he and Lee Anncame to Richmond, where theyhave made their home. In 2006,Bill was called to serve “short-term” as priest-in-charge at St.John’s, Tappahannock, and wasthere until 2013—a long time forthat kind of position; they lovedhim!Bill and Lee Ann have threechildren and five grandchildren,very soon to be six. Bill lovesphotography, and he’s good at it!He also enjoys swimming andreading. He’s an inveterate beachcomber and loves spending timeat Narnia, their beach house inNorth Carolina. Travel has been apassion for Bill and Lee Ann—they have been to all 7 continents!They still want to see SouthAfrica, Iceland (especially in thewinter to see the Northern Lights),Israel, more of the HawaiianIslands, Patagonia, Costa Rico andBrazil. They need to stay healthy!When Bill was young, he wasbefriended by a retired Admiraland a good friend of his family,who shared stories about theNavy. Bill would pretend that hewas the captain of one of thosesubmarines, but other adventurescalled him.Bill shares a profound memory:“At the moment of my ordination

as a priest, when the clergy allgathered with the bishop, layinghands on my head– it became darkand the weight of the hands wasawesome. Then the bishop said,‘Therefore, Father, through JesusChrist your Son, give your HolySpirit to William, fill him withgrace and power, and make him apriest in your Church.”Bill recommends that we read C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books,especially, The Lion, the Witchand the Wardrobe.Bill’s favorite person in the Bible(other than Jesus) is St. Peter, andhis favorite Bible verse is Romans8:38-39:“For I am convinced thatneither death, nor life, nor angels,nor rulers, nor things present, northings to come, nor powers, norheight, nor depth, nor anythingelse in all creation, will be able toseparate us from the love of Godin Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are grateful to have Bill andLee Ann in our midst.

The Rev. Dr. Dorothy A. WhiteDorothy joined us in October,2014, after having been ordainedas a transitional deacon in theDiocese of Virginia. Everytransitional deacon engaged in aninstitutional ministry must alsohave a parish in which he or sheserves as deacon. Dorothy

performsthedeacon’straditionalrole atworship:she readsthe Gospelat worship,prepares

the altar for communion andcleans up thereafter, and proclaims

the Dismissal. In addition,Dorothy preaches, providesprograms at St. John’s Forum,and serves on our EducationCommittee.Dorothy received her Bachelor ofArts degree in Sociology fromthe University of Tennessee atKnoxville. She went on to earn aMaster of Arts in Theology andHistorical Studies from OralRoberts University (“ORU”) inTulsa, Oklahoma, and a Doctorof Ministry degree from theSamuel Dewitt Proctor School ofTheology at Virginia UnionUniversity in Richmond.Dorothy serves full-time as theschool chaplain at St. Catherine'sEpiscopal School in Richmond.She also chairs the Religion andPhilosophy Departments andteaches Religion in the Upperand Middle Schools. Formerly,Dorothy was an instructor in theundergraduate TheologyDepartment at ORU, then,director of Christian Educationand Assistant Pastor at FirstMount Zion Baptist Church inDumfries, Virginia. We are gladto have Dorothy in the EpiscopalChurch.Growing up in Knoxville,Tennessee, Dorothy loved to playHide and Seek, jacks, andmarbles. Other places in whichshe has lived are Anchorage,Alaska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; andFindlay, Ohio. Sometime,Dorothy would like to return toLondon, England, a city sheenjoyed visiting.Dorothy enjoys singing andwriting. In fact, she attainedsome celebrity as an R&B singerwith a group called "ThePrecious Three." They recorded a45 record at James Brown'sStudio in Augusta, Georgia. The

song can be found on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47BqxUcNqio. In fact, the songis included in four R&B/Soulcompilation albums! Dorothyquipped, “Considering my calling,the lyrics are hilarious!”Dorothy recommends the novel,Hinds Feet on High Places, byHannah Hurnard. Her favoriteBible verse is Psalm 27:4: “Onething have I desired of the L���,that will I seek after; that I maydwell in the house of the L��� allthe days of my life, to behold thebeauty of the L���, and toenquire in his temple.”Dorothy will be ordained to thepriesthood (God willing) onMarch 21, 2015, at St. Catherine’sSchool. All are welcome to attendher ordination. Dorothy hasexpressed an intention to stayconnected with St. John’s churchafter she is no longer a deacon.We look forward to a continuedministry together.J. David CurtisDavid Curtis has joined St. John'sfor 2015 to complete hisinternship for the Deacons'School, a joint partnership of theDioceses of Southern Virginia andVirginia. David is a postulant forthe vocational diaconate and willbe ordained (God willing) in

2016. Hecomes to usfrom ChristAscensionChurchwhere heserved asOutreachTeam Chairand member,

Vestry member, Senior and JuniorWarden, and Altar Guild member.David grew up in Clifton Forge,VA. He received a Bachelor of

Science in Government andPolitics from George MasonUniversity in 1992. He lived in theDC metro area for 10 years beforemoving to Richmond in 2000.David works full-time as AssistantDirector of the Office of FinancialAid at the University ofRichmond.David married John Martin inOctober of last year. He and Johnlive in Northside and have threedogs, Belle, Sadie and Luna, andthree cats, Harvey, Simon, andOlive.David enjoys working in the yardand in the vegetable garden.Weekends can find David andJohn exploring the Northside onfoot with the dogs. David relates,“I'm a fan of long, quiet weekendsin Virginia's state parks, where Ican leave the world behind andbecome lost (figuratively, notliterally) in the woods.”David’s call to the vocationaldiaconate (David will be a“permanent” deacon) grew out ofhis commitment to ministering tothe poor and the outcast. He has apassion for feeding ministries,including CARITAS and St.Thomas Episcopal Church'sSecond Saturday Drop-inprogram. Because some of ourparishioners have expressedinterest in CARITAS and inbecoming involved in a feedingprogram, David is researchingwhat other Church Hill churchesoffer, so that we can considerpartnering with another church.More information about TheDeacons’ School and what avocational deacon is and does canbe found atwww.thedeaconsschool.org.David recommends this work offiction: Charming Billy, by AliceMcDermitt. When asked about a

childhood game or imaginaryscenario, David responded, “As achild, I was a huge Star Warsfanatic and still am. However, weshall not speak of Jar-Jar Binks.”Asked to relate a story about anexperience he had, David wrote:“Several years ago, I was on asilent retreat at Richmond Hill.Some guests wear name tags;those on silent retreats are given‘Silence’ badges to wear to alertothers not to try to engage themin conversation. In the morning, Idonned my Silence badge andwent for coffee. Two ladies, bothwith name tags, were already inthe refectory, getting theirmorning coffee. One turned tome and said warmly, ‘Goodmorning, Silence!’ to which theother lady responded, ‘His nameain't silence, ya fool!’ I wasbarely able to make it out of therefectory before I burst outlaughing.”One of David’s favorite personsin the Bible is Habbakkuk. Thebook tells of a prophet who railsagainst God for all the injusticein the world but still remainsfaithful to and trusts in God.David offers it as good scripturefor bad days.Asked about travel, Davidresponded that he would like totour Eastern Europe, especiallythe former Soviet Bloc nations.David was a host parent atUniversity of Richmond for threeBulgarian students and a Polishstudent, and he would enjoyseeing their homelands.We are glad that David’sexplorations have brought him toSt. John’s Church. OutreachCommittee meetings will be onthe second Sunday of eachmonth, in the Parish HouseLibrary, after Coffee Hour.

PRESERVATION INPROGRESS

St. John’s Church Foundation hasmatched The Robert G. Cabell IIIand Maude Morgan CabellFoundation’s $100,000 challengegrant to support Phase 2 of TheLegacy of Liberty PreservationProject. It was a 1:1 match, whichmeans that the Foundation had toraise $100,000 in order for Cabellto release their $100,000.“The response to the CabellFoundation challenge grant hasbeen tremendous,” said SarahWhiting, executive director of theSt. John’s Church Foundation.“Our supporters really understandthe importance of historic St.John’s church and its place inAmerican history. “Theirgenerous donations to ourpreservation work will allow thissite to be here for manygenerations to come,” Whitingsaid.

“Five foundations contributed$43,500 to the match,” Whitingsaid, “the Titmus Foundation, theGarland and Agnes Taylor GrayFoundation, the Nocero FamilyFoundation, The National Societyof the Descendants of the Signersof the Declaration ofIndependence, and one thatwanted to remain anonymous. Therest came from individualdonors.”

In 2013, the St. John’s ChurchFoundation undertook afundraising campaign to addresscritical preservation issues at St.John’s Church, a NationalHistoric Landmark that is anactive Episcopal church. Underthe Legacy of LibertyPreservation Project Phase 2, theFoundation has raised $462,000 to

make the repairs at St. John’sChurch and its surroundinghistoric site, including replacingthe roof, painting the exterior,repairing and conserving theshutters, obtaining a conservationassessment of the sounding board(see related article), a structuralanalysis of the church, includingdetermining the effect of the tierods, and making any necessarycarpentry repairs.

The planned preservation work’s$395,260 budget includes:· replacing the church and parishhall roofs;· painting the exteriors of thechurch, parish hall and keeper’scottage;· repairing or replacing thechurch shutters;· making repairs to the visitorrestrooms;· making interior paint analysisof the church;· doing a conservationassessment of the church’ssounding board;· conducting a structural analysisof the church; and· removing and pruning treesendangering the parish hall roofand graveyard.

Work will begin with the roofreplacements as soon as weatherpermits. The plan is to begin withassembling the scaffolding onApril 1, 2015. Because thescaffolding will be used by boththe roofing and paint contractors,the project will start in the springin hopes of avoiding theunpredictable weather of March.

All daily operations will continueat the church, including churchservices and special events, andtours and reenactments. It will beexciting to share our progress with

visitors! Should you have anyquestions regarding the project,please contact Sarah Whiting, St.John’s Church FoundationExecutive Director atswhiting@saintjohns.cc, AshleyMcCune, member of St. John’sChurch and volunteer ProjectManager atashleymccune@comcast.net, orAmy Swartz St. John’s ChurchFoundation Preservation Directorand Project Manager ataswartz@saintjohns.cc.

Amy Swartz

YOUNG ADULTSIn 2015 the Young Adults groupplans to focus on three types ofactivities: service, spiritualgrowth and fellowship. Of coursemany of our plans will involve abit of all three. The group is opento folks in their 20s and 30s. Ifyou would like to be a part of thegroup, just show up to a meeting.All of our events are advertisedin the church bulletin and in e-mails.Here's a look at our schedule forthe first nine months of the year:February -- Spiritual discussionon a story or scripture, hosted bythe SchuttsMarch - Serve meals for Caritasor the Salvation ArmyApril - Join other churchmembers for RebuildingRichmond, Sat. Apr. 25May - Discussion on missionwork in Lesotho, hosted by KeriGeigerJune - Night out at a FlyingSquirrels gameJuly - CookoutAugust - Organize and lead icecream social as part of NationalNight OutSeptember - Movie night anddiscussion, hosted by HeatherJones

FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE BISHOP’S CHAIR

In June 2014, St. John’sreceived an email from PamMarshall of Lichfield,Staffordshire, Englandregarding the bishop’s chairand matching stall (bench)located in the dignitaries’pew adjacent to the ColonialAltar. The British craftsmanresponsible for hand makingthis furniture forSt. John’s was Denis AlvaParsons MBE, 1934-2012.

According to Ms. Marshall,during the 1950’s Parsonswas schooled in the Britishcarving tradition. Histraining, a seven-yearapprenticeship, concentratedon Christian symbolism,figurative sculpture, foliagecarving and letter carvingtechniques. He worked inwood and stone, bothfigurative and architecturalstyles; his career spanned 50years.

Ms. Marshall was kindenough to forward clippingsfrom two circa 1970’snewspaper articles. Parsonsis pictured with the finisheddignitaries’ chair madeexclusively for St. John’s, aquote from the article reads:“The chair, in mock 17th

century style, is carved inmahogany.” Pictured in the

other article he tells thenewspaper reporter “…agood deal of preliminaryhistorical research plays animportant role in (my) hiscreations”.

Denis Parsons, according tohis biographer, was “…ateacher, lecturer anddemonstrated at the RoyalAcademy and the Royal FineArts Commission in thepresence of Her Majesty theQueen”.

During the 1970’s St. John’sChurch underwent a majorrenovation. It is thanks tothe far-sighted vision, andagain, the archival research,of the individuals involvedwith that renovation that weare able to experience manyof the historical elementspresent in the church today.As with other architecturaland decorative componentswe enjoy, St. John’s isfortunate to have these twolovely, ecclesiastical piecesof reproduction baroque-styled furniture.

Judith Bowen-Sherman

RESTORATION OF THESOUNDING BOARD

In the fall of 2014, St. John’sChurch Foundation was awardeda grant by the National Trust forHistoric Preservation from Cyn-thia Woods Mitchell Fund to per-form a conservation assessmentof the colonial-era soundingboard above the pulpit. The$2,850 grant must be matchedwith other funding on a one-to-one basis.

The assessment, to be completedby Conservator Carey Howlett inMarch, will include a carefultreatment plan to evaluate thesounding board and determinethe best course of action for con-servation and care. The plan willinclude research, analysis of theconstruction and materials, mi-croscopic paint analysis to deter-mine the original surface coatingsand, microscopic wood analysisto determine the wood composi-tion. In addition, a study of thehistoric elements of the soundingboard in context with the historyof colonial Virginia and Britishprototypes may reveal the maker.

Howlett visited the church in ear-ly January to determine hiscourse of action for the assess-ment. He found that in order toassess the piece properly, it mustbe taken down. Church memberand volunteer Ashley McCuneand carpenter Chris McCrackenwill be responsible for removingthe board and building an easelfor it to rest on while it’s beinginspected. It will sit in the south-eastern corner of the sanctuaryopposite the Queen Anne Bible.Parishioners and visitors will

have the ability to get a closerlook at this amazing artifact.

After determining the best conser-vation method, Howlett will betaking three or four exposure win-dows of approximately ⅛" x3/16"in size. This will entail re-moving the finish to inspect thehidden colonial layers and deter-mine their actual color and chemi-cal structure.

“Organizations like St. John’sChurch Foundation help to ensurethat communities and townsacross America retain their uniquesense of place,” said StephanieMeeks, president of the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation.“We are honored to provide agrant to St. John’s Church Foun-dation, which will use the funds tohelp preserve an important pieceof our shared national heritage.”

Amy Swartz, St. John’s ChurchFoundation Preservation Director

IN MEMORIALKEVIN GRANTZ

Kevin Grantz, the talented actorwho for many years portrayedGeorge Washington in St. JohnChurch Foundation's Reenactmentof the Second VirginiaConvention, died unexpectedly onMonday, January 13, 2015.

Kevin was a nationally knowninterpreter of George Washingtonwho enjoyed sharing his talent andhis knowledge of history withschool children.

Kevin was known in Richmondtheater circles as a versatile actorwho had performed on almostevery stage in the city as well ason television and in movies.

A part of the St. John’scommunity, Kevin will be missedby all those who remember him asthe stately George Washingtonand as a friend and a gentleman.

Memorial contributions may bemade to the St. John’s ChurchFoundation.

THE PARISH SUNSt. John’s Church, Henrico ParishOffice: 2319 East Broad StreetRichmond, Virginia 23223Address service requested

The StaffThe Rev. Laura Inscoe

linscoe@saintjohnsrichmond.org

The Rev. Dr. Sandra Levy-Achtemeier

Website:www.sandralevy.net

The Rev. Lindon Eaves

The Rev. Susan Eaves

The Rev. William Pickering

Patty Duffy

pduffy@saintjohnsrichmond.org

Diane Moran

Robert Copeland

The VestryBruce Duffy

Karla Hunt

Al Allen

Barbara Baylor

Teresa Houck

Sue Schutt

Patty Soileau

Pattie Tobler

Phinella Weatherspoon