st. paul's news - june, 2010

8/9/2019 St. Paul's News - June, 2010

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newsSt.Pauls

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. PAULS EPISCOPAL CHURCH

June 2010 VOLUME 35, ISSUE 6

By now most of you know that I had a strokeon April 15. I had to go in to the hospitalthrough the Emergency Room, and they caughtthe stroke very early. Some have chided me

that "some people will do anything to avoidthe St. Paul's News deadline." Others say thatit was all because the IRS was looking for me.The reality is none of these are true. In fact, itwas just that I ignored my Type II diabetes to

the point that something broke loose and lodged in my brain creating the stroke. It wasbound to happen as long as I avoided changing my diet and taking care of myself.

I was very fortunate, however. It was a mild stroke. My speech is affected a bit. So ismy balance. Small motor skills (like writing and brushing my teeth) are difficult. Thegood news is that I can still hit a golf ball. It doesn't go exactly where I intend, but itdidn't before the stroke either. Now I have an excuse. In addition I have been told that95 percent of my lost function will return. I have to give it time.

I have returned to the office, but on a limited basis. I get tired very fast, and I'm notgoing to push it. Eventually I will return to some degree of normal. Until then, I will beavailable through email and phone should you not find me in the office. I will be check-ing my messages on a regular basis.

The whole experience has taught me a few things. First, in a God-given life, you have to

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Church Events

June

6 GRADUATION SUNDAY

8 B&PW CORPORATE

10 FORT BEND BOYS CHOIR

13 PARISH PICNIC

21-25 VACATION BIBLE SCHOO

Editors Note

By Christine Caswell, Editor

Thanks to everyone who participated in writing articles and the production of the SPN over this past year. I would liketo especially thank my lovely partner, Lyn Zynda, who has been the acting editor for the better part of the past threeyears while I pursued other activities.

There are no issues of SPN in July and August, but I have been informed that the deadline for the September issue isAugust 2 (at which point, I will probably still be recovering from my bar exam), so please have your articles sent to meby that time at [email protected]. Thanks again to the Vestry, the staff, and all of the contributors.

Lastly, welcome back, Gordon, and congratulations Steve Lange on your 40th anniversary (especially since Ive beenaround for all 40 of them).

By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller


2/10

Teaching Gods Children

By Roberta Tisdale, Vestry Member

As our Church School Year comes to a close, we would liketo acknowledge and thank our wonderful teachers for thededication and love they have given our parish youth overthe past year(s):

Carol Laub and Julie Fletcher - Pre K-KindergartenJudi Clarke, Jill Walker and Kathy Gut 1st-3rdMatt and Kym Hall - 4th-5thBarb Heany and Marti Narezo - 6th-8thHank Borden, Lyn Kressler and Judi Clarke - 9th-12th

Ask any Church School Teacher, and he or she will tell youhow rewarding it is to teach Gods children. Sharing Godslove and teachings is a great honor, and there is nothinggreater than to see that love shine through the eyes of achild.

Perhaps you might like to be part of this wonderful minis-try. Many people think that they may not be qualified toteach church school, but I can tell you that you dont needto have a teaching certificate; as long as you have Christslove in your heart, you can teach church school. You donteven need to be a Bible scholar. We offer an easy-to-follow curriculum, and youll be surprised at how much youwill learn as you prepare and share the lesson.

We are looking for teachers and teacher aides for theupcoming church school year. Many of the teachers ac-knowledged above have taught for many years and mayneed to take a break. Please consider being a part of thisvery rewarding ministry. The blessing will be all yours!Contact Barb Heany or Father Weller for more informa-tion.

Visiting Choir to Give

Concert at St. Pauls

By Dr. Stephen R. Lange,

Minister of Music

The Fort Bend Boys Choir of Texas,consisting of approximately 32 sing-

ers, will present a varied concert ofsacred and secular music written fortreble singers at St. Pauls on Thurs-day, June 10, at 7 p.m. Their con-cert at St. Pauls is part of a tourthrough Michigan that will includeAnn Arbor, Marshall, Mackinac Is-land, Petoskey, Suttons Bay, andGrand Rapids. They have receivedcritical acclaim for the quality ofboth their singing and programming.The concert is free and open to thepublic. Please invite friends andneighbors to attend this musicalevent. The Tour Choir is one of fiveperforming ensembles. For moreinformation, please contact the of-fice, 482-9454.

Nursery Spot Checkers

By Roberta Tisdale,

Vestry Member

St. Paul's is blessed to have so manyyoung families. Every Sunday ournursery is filled with toddlers. In ad-dition to our paid Nursery Atten-

dant, we rely on parishioners whovolunteer one Sunday a month tomake a "Spot Check" with the Nurs-ery Attendant before and midwaythrough the 10 a.m. service. The"Spot Check" is to ensure adequatecoverage for the number of childrenpresent. If there are six or morechildren in the nursery, the SpotChecker stays and helps the NurseryAttendant. We are in need of peo-ple to be Nursery Spot Checkers forJune, July and August. The sign-up

sheet is outside the Merrifield Room.Special thanks to our Spring NurserySpot Checkers: Jeanne Tippett,Joan Ferguson, Judy Manson, Sue

Bolton, Carol Ingells, Vicky Bellon

and Kym Hall.

Picnic in the Park

The Annual Sunday Service andPicnic in the Parkwill take placeon Sunday, June 13, beginningwith Eucharist at 10 a.m. Thelocation is Granger Meadowson Wood Street in DeWittTownship.

Since Granger Meadows has abaseball diamond we are an-ticipating a thrilling game ofsoftball. There is a jungle gymfor younger members and bas-ketball hoops too.

Sign up is available by theMerrifield Room to bring one ofthe following: potato salad,baked beans, salad, veggies,fruit dish, chips, dessert. Thechurch will provide hot dogs,hamburgers, drinks and picnicware.

The 10 a.m. service will takeplace at the Park, in lieu of aservice at the church. The 8 a.m.service will be at the church asusual.

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Comings and GoingsBy Martie Repaskey

Please welcome the following newcomers to St. Pauls!

Joe and Valerie Cordes: This interesting couple runa beautiful B&B, the Rosewood Inn, on Francis Rd.,

Lansing. They were married four years ago; shortly

after, they purchased an old house and completely

renovated it. They have been in the B&B business

for two years. Joe is a builder, and Val is an inte-

rior designer. From the looks of it, these two are

having a wonderful time with their new business,

which includes hosting wedding parties.

Debby Henrie and Dave Parks: These two are

scheduled to be married at St. Pauls on July 24.

Debby grew up in upstate New York, having at-

tended the church where Father Weller worked

after his ordination! Both Debby and Dave work at

WLNS/Channel 6. She is in the advertising depart-

ment, and Dave is a videographer. These two have

already gotten involved at St. Pauls, so they are

likely to be seen at Parish Life activities!

B&PW

By Nancy Rudd, President

The next meeting of the B&PW Guild is Tuesday, June8 at 6 p.m. It is our year-end picnic at Debby Pierceshome. Call Debby for a reservation, and please bringa dish to pass. Join us for an evening of good foodand fellowship to end our year.

Visit the Rain Forest at VBSDont miss anexciting timeat St. Pauls2010 Vaca-tion BibleSchool, June21-25, from 9a.m. to 12noon. Partici-pants will bevisiting theRain Forest tofollow Jesus ona life changing adventure. Spend five days of discov-ery with five Bible verses, including John 3:16. We aredelighted to welcome back Fr. Ron Byrd as our VBSleader. Reserve your childs (childrens) place now bycompleting the registration form below. Forms are alsoavailable on line www.stpaulslansing.org or at the

church.

Childs Name

Address

Phone

Email

Parents Name

Grade

Tee Shirt Size

Transportation provided by:

Emergency Contact

Registration Form

Staff members will be out of the office the followingdates:

Gordon Weller July 131Bill Fineout June 19-27 and July 1825Kathleen Johnson August 17

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http://www.stpaulslansing.org/http://www.stpaulslansing.org/


4/10

Nine Choristers Move to New ChoirsBy Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music

On Mothers Day, May 9, nine choristers of St. Pauls youth choirs moved into new choirs. Moving from the CherubChoir to the Boys and Grace Choirs were second graders Anna Johnson, Lydia Rose, Pauli Nevin, and Hope Milne.Moving from Boys and Grace Choirs to the High School Choir were fifth graders Rebecca Rose, Kaitlyn Narezo,Emily Irwin, and Kaleel VanVoorhees, and sixth grader Frankie Nevin. St. Pauls lone graduating senior this year isMatthew Nauss, who will be honored for his 13 years of dedicated service to St. Pauls choirs on Graduation Sunday,June 6.

Blood Drive News

By Elisabeth Richardson

St. Pauls held the Spring Blood Drive on Saturday, April 25, withgreat success. We collected 56 pints of blood, two of which weredouble red. Over 113 people came together to make this eventhappen. Listed below are the individuals we would like to thank forgiving blood, making phone calls, making sandwiches, setting up,tearing down, and working the day of the drive. If we have for-gotten anyone, please know that we thank you, too!

Amanda Alvarez, Darrick Alvarez, Erikah Alvarez, Van Anderson, Maryann Austin, Karlene Bach, Ed Ben-

son, Sue Bolton, Allan Boron, Sally Boron, Brooke Broughton, Linda Brown, Thomasina Canty, Larry Clark,

Antonio Clarke, Judi Clarke, Karen Clarke, Chris Couch, Graham Crabtree, Lisa Craig, Paul Denhartigh, Ellie

Doersam, Mikayla Duncan, Marilyn Earley, Bill Ericson, Ruth Farmer, Charles Finkel, Daniel Fletcher, Julie

Fletcher, Vicki Fowler, Kathy Gut, Larry Gut, Matt Hall, Barb Heany, Susan Henderson, Ryan Henrys, Doug

Holmes, Cindy Hosimer, Brock Howard, Carol Ingells, Melissa Ingells, Courtney Irwin, Emily Irwin, Jeff Irwin,

John Irwin, Ron Irwin, Sherrie Irwin, Omero Lung, Alyssa Jackson, Mark Johnson, Margaret Kariuki, Janet

Kosht, Jeff Kressler, Lyn Kressler, Carol Laub, Rick Laub, Sally Laurion, Mandy Lawton, Sue LeDuc, Kirk

Lindquist, Dorothy Marsh, Chris McDaniel, Maggie McDaniel, Jean McDougal, Deb McMartin-Finkel, Chuck

Millar, Sue Millar, Gordon Milne, Jim Milne, Nancy Milne, Theresa Milne, Kaitlyn Narezo, Marti Narezo, Larry

Otis, Debby Pierce, Max Pierce, Alyssa Rathbun, Martie Repaskey, Barbara Richardson, Elisabeth Richardson,

Pat Riley, Mary Rodeck ,Mark Rudd, Nancy Rudd, Tom Sampson, Nick Schultz, Jean Shawver, Pat Smith, Jen-

ette Suprenant, Lisa Swihart, Steve Swihart, Paige Thompson, Kristi Thrush, Jeanne Tippett, Joan Van Auken,

Lee Villareal, Melanie Walker, Vicki Walker, Maria Wawro, Ray Wawro, Alex Wheaton, Carol Witchtoski,

Nancy Wonch, Amy Wortley, Greg Wortley, Julie Young, Lyn Zynda

The fall drive will be Saturday, October 30. We will have a Halloween theme, of course. The Red Cross is low onblood, so if you have given in the past, please go to the donor room soon. If you have never given, please considerdoing so. Help save a life!

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Financial Information as of April 30, 2010

By Julie Young, Treasurer

The end of April is 33 percent of the year. Pledge income in April was $30,353, making the year to date total$115,047, which is 35 percent of the annual budgeted pledge income. This would indicate that we are slightly ahead ofprojected pledge income for the year to date.

Operations for April had a net gain of $308. There was one transfer required from the investment account into the oper-ating account during April. The amount transferred from the Perpetual Fund was $10,000. The investment accounts/fundshad a net income of $7,299 for the month.

Vestry HighlightsAt the May 18th Vestry Meeting your vestry: Enjoyed the pleasure of welcoming Fr. Weller in shar-

ing the meal Approved an amended agenda Received communications Approved the April minutes Received the Treasurer's report and approved a

transfer of up to $30,000 from the Perpetual Fund asneeded to meet expenses

Received vestry committee reports

Approved a clergy pension alteration to the budgetfor the current year

Discussed ways of assisting Kathleen Johnson Tabled until June consideration of a St. Paul's credit

card account Planned for the June 6 breakfast honoring St. Paul's

high school graduates Discussed damage done to a restroom by visitors Received Deacon's report Adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Requests for PrayerWe pray for those who are sick and in need: Cindy Robinson, Shelley Robinson, Mason Hill, Lois Caswell, BarbHacker, Marjorie Belles, Aleda, Dave, Kathryn Senko, Barb Powers, Patricia Reno, Skip and Marsha Macholz,

Tom Foltz, Vivian Hawkins, Linda, Bill, Kent Riley, Jan Bigham, Max Sutton, John Hawkins, Joan, Karol Ryan,

Phyllis Quinn, Amanda, Laura Miller, Stephanie, Maureen Nauss, Grace, Norm Landon, Jared Miller, Aviana

Bridgeman, Pat Amundson, Sam Montie, Noah, Danielle, Emilio Garcia, Richard Sauerzopf, Orville Wiggins,and Lloyd Law.

We pray for the recently baptized: Nadia Scott Pauly, daughter of Matt and Mindy Pauly, Randolf Aloysius Schnei-der son of Clif and Jill Schneider and Antonio Luke Urista, Jr., son of Antonio Urista and Stephanie Earley

We pray and remember those in the Military, serving in dangerous areas: Matthew Rawlins, Jeff Doorlag, and

Justin Murphy.We give thanks: for the safe return of Tyson Carter, Daniel Reno, and Jonathon Reno from military duty over-seas.

We pray for those expecting: Jenelle and Paul Rawlins, Kym and Matt Hall, Summer (Sleight) and Jake Ste-vens, and Sacha Mallory and Seth Burris.

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Celebrating 40 Years of Music Ministry

By Vicki Walker, Chorister

The following is an edited version of the sermon preached on May 16 at the service celebrating Dr. Stephen Lange

Today we celebrate the gifts of ministry, of teaching and of serving others as we honor and celebrate Dr. StephenLange and his 40 years of service to St. Pauls.

Shortly after I was asked to speak, I was asked in a politically correct sort of way, if I might, you knowrefer to thelectionary in any sort of manner and relate my thoughts to something appropriate to, you know. church. For once Iwas ahead of the game, because I had run online to look things up and prayed that the readings would NOT beabout circumcision, eunuchs, or Leviticus. Imagine my great luck when I discovered the reading from Revelations thatproclaimed, Blessed are those who wash their robes. And I said SCORE! Actually, I believe my response was, dontworryIll make it Jesusy. And then I quickly added, But Im not going to say that hes Jesus or anything.

As I started to gather my thoughts, I quickly discovered that I was both right AND wrong. Steve isnt Jesus, but he isJesusy in those ways that Jesus calls us all to be.

To teach is to share your time and talent with others so that they can be enriched and do the same. Jesus was ateacher. He worked among the people. He had faith in them when they had no faith in themselves. He held them ac-countable when they did harm, and demonstrated by word and by example how to change their paths and realize

their potential. And no matter what, he loved them. Teaching is a living ministry, and as much as we at St. Pauls havebeen beneficiaries of Steves ministry for the past 40 years, we are also charged with being stewards of what wehave received as we take these gifts and share them with others.

You may have experienced this Steves ministry in different ways: through Adult Christian Ed, 4-Fs, weekly prayergroup, mens breakfast or various outreach projects. I have been a recipient of his gifts through his music ministry andhis teaching, both of which are very dear to my heart and something I actually know something about.

We are all blessed to have been part of a ministry that has nurtured our many gifts. I am just one of a vast number ofvoices joining together to say thank you for your music, your teaching, your faith and your friendship. The psalmistwrote, Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness and come before him with sing-ing. Through your leadership, education, ministry and example, you have brought us all together, helped us find ourvoice, and allowed us, time and time again, to experience the power of music and prayer and faith in action. You

taught us not only HOW to make a joyful noise, but WHY. After 40 years, now I think I know.

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Dear Parishioners:

Thank you so very much for the wonderful cele-

bration you provided for my 40 th anniversary

observance. I am truly grateful for the beautifulanthem and hymn that were commissioned in

my honor (and for the extra rehearsal time thechoir put in to learn them), for the plaque com-

memorating my years of service at St. Pauls,for the scrapbook that contained so many kind

words of support and appreciation, and for all ofyou who contributed to the scrapbook (it was a

wonderful trip down memory lane!), for thewonderful reception held after the service, and

for your recognition of the tremendously impor-tant part that my wife, Nancy, has played in

supporting my ministry and contributing herown. I give special thanks to the Bowling

Tournament committee that organized theseeventsMartie Repaskey (Chairperson), Jeff

Kressler, Vicki Walker, Alex Wiesner, RickLaub, Larry Clark, and Kirk Lindquistto

Max and Debby Pierce for their great contribu-

tions to the reception, to Martie Repaskey and

Nancy Sheldon for organizing the cards and

letters in such a beautiful scrapbook, especiallyto Vicki Walker for her very moving and hum-

bling sermon, and to Doug Holmes, membersof the St. Nicolas Guild, and the ECW. Thank

you so much for the time, effort and thoughtyou all put into making this day one of the most

memorable in my life and for the support andencouragement you have offered me for the past

40 years. I feel truly blessed.

Steve Lange


8/10

A Box City Experience

By St. Pauls Youth Group

On April 23-24, 14 of us gathered to explore and experience what it might be like tobe homeless. We learned that homelessness can happen to anyone at any time due toloss of a job, an illness, or a natural disaster. Just because someone is homeless doesntmean he or she is lazy or crazy or creepy. Oftentimes they are people just like any ofus, with families and dreams; they just had a stroke of bad luck. And there are thou-sands of these people right here in our own community.

When we arrived for the evening, it felt like we were checking into an actual homelessshelter. After we registered, we had to place all our personal belongings in a brownpaper bag and hand them over. That felt very strange and rather intrusive.

The evening was kicked off with a presentation by Russell, the Volunteer Coordinator ofCity Rescue Mission (CRM) of Lansing who told us about how CRM operates and helpshundreds of homeless people here in our community. He told us that the four elementsthat keep CRM in operation are Faith, Hope, Love and Charity

We also met Dallas, who shared his incredible story of how CRM helped him. Dallas is

only 21 years old, but already he has been through more than most of us can ever imagine. Coming from a very badhome environment, his parents died very young, and Dallas has been out on the streets since he was 15 years old. Af-ter hitting rock bottom, he found City Rescue Mission and, through their love their support, he found Christ in his life. Heis now 10 months into their one-year Transformation Program and on his way to becoming a firefighter. He chose thatfield because he wanted to help others like he was helped. We applauded Dallas for his courage and determinationto bring himself out of his bad situation. And he told us that he gave all the credit to God.

Dinner that night was stone soup. We all brought a vegetable to add to the broth and ended up with a delicious din-ner. You may have heard the story. The moral is rather than hoarding food, by combining what you have in times ofscarcity, everyone comes out better for the common good.

A scavenger hunt using biblical verses led us to clues which earned us money. We used that money to make purchasesat The Mission Store. We were able to buy things like snacks, toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, lotion, waterbottles and toilet paper. We quickly learned what our needs and wants were!

Later we divided into four teams to build our Box City. For inspiration to create our box houses, we used the four ele-ments that CRM told us keep it operating: Faith, Hope, Love and Charity. We hope you had a chance to see them.

We arose at 6 a.m. with empty tummies and not knowingwhere our breakfast was going to come from. We earned ourbreakfast by helping set up the Red Cross Blood Drive.Breakfast tasted pretty good by the time we sat down to eat!

We ended our Box City experience with a trip to City RescueMission of Lansing where we were given a tour of their Michi-gan Avenue facility. Pushing our grocery cart filled with Mis-sion Needs items down Michigan Avenue, we received somepuzzled looks, but we were graciously welcomed and our do-nations gratefully received upon our arrival.

Box City was an amazing experience which opened our eyesand our hearts to the needs of so many people and families inour community who need our help. We also came away feel-ing very thankful for all that we have in our own lives. Thankyou for helping us help the City Rescue Mission of Lansing tohelp others.

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take care of yourself. My body was always my friend; I could beat it up, and a little bit of sleep would heal every-thing. Everyone told me that I was going in the wrong direction, but I thought myself invincible. I now know that I am amere mortal. I may be doing God's work (or trying to), but even that is no excuse for stupidity. When God set thiswhole world in motion, He created certain parameters. Everyone is subject to the same regulations; there are no ex-ceptions. Take care of yourself.

Second, I may have lost something in the form of bodily function, but I am alive and this is the greatest gift of all. Each

new day is exciting and filled with possibilities. When God asked that we live as little children, it was these qualitiesHe asked that we value. So often we (myself included) ignore the excitement of life and the possibilities that life con-tains. I can only say "never again."

Finally, it re-emphasized to me the value and impact of love. As Christians we are called to live that kind of life. Thenumerous cards, letters, emails, and other encouragements meant a lot. They still do. And I cannot imagine functioningwithout being able to love my family and you. Jesus said it, I believed it. I still do, only now even more.

By the time you read this, I will be back on the job and even in the pulpit. I hope to be a different and better person. Ihope to be more aware, healthier, and a more loving person. Thanks be to God.

(Continued from, Renewal, page 1)

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st. paul's news - june, 2010

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