St. Mary the Virgin 2012, Page 1

Thankful Tidings

A Quarterly E-Newsletter of Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church, Chattanooga

Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, 2012

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Rector’s Letter

2 Stewardship Rally Day

Stewardship Campaign Goals

3 Christian Formation and Adult Education

Children’s Ministries

A Request from our Seminarian

Thankful 20s&30s

Check out our new Website!

Worship Notes

4 Upcoming Events

General Convention 2012

Vestry Notes

Rector’s Letter

The Rev. Leyla King

The astute among you may have already noticed that this newsletter is the “Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, 2012” issue, and not the “Transfiguration” issue, as it has been at this time in the past two years. When I first started “Thankful Tidings,” I looked for liturgical markers that would handily divide the year in quarters to produce a quarterly e-newsletter. Advent, Lent and Pentecost all made sense, but we lacked a prominent calendar day in the late-summer, so I just picked the Transfiguration. I recently looked again at our Church calendar and discovered the feast of St. Mary the Virgin, on August 15, made a much more suitable late-summer, early-fall marker. After all, though we are now all Thankful Ones, it was not too long ago in our church’s history that Thankful merged with the Church of St. Mary the Virgin a couple of blocks from here. Many of you were members of St. Mary’s and even more of you will remember the merger. It is a significant part of our history and one I don’t want us to forget, for our past history helps to define our present identity.

But that’s not all that defines us. For the past few Sundays, we’ve been hearing Jesus in John’s Gospel talk about himself as the bread of life and we’ve been considering what it means to become that which we consume at the Eucharist: the body of Christ. As Christians, Christ’s self must be at the heart of who we are and we are defined by the work we are called to do in and for His name. That’s true for us as a community and for us as individuals. The question is, of course, how do we discern what we are called to do? And the answers are the same, for communities and for individuals: through common prayer, through studying the Scripture, through knowing our own history, and through listening to one another in community, we discern God’s call to us.

I hope that we will take the time over the next few weeks and months to each engage seriously in that kind of discernment. Thankful has gone through some exciting growth over the past few years and I encourage each of us Thankful Ones to prayerfully consider how we want to commit to and participate in the life of the Church and the work of Christ in the world here at Thankful. And Stewardship Rally Day gives us all a perfect time and place to start!

continued on page 3

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You are cordially invited to Thankful Memorial’s

What: Your opportunity to learn about all that’s happening at Thankful Memorial and discern how you are called to be a steward in God’s Church.

When: Sunday, September 16, 2012, immediately after the 10:00 service

Where: St. Mary’s Parish Hall

Who: You! and all of your fellow parishioners who help organize our ministries, from the Altar Guild to Children’s Chapel, from Mission & Outreach to Membership Growth, just to name a few.

How: Sign up in St. Mary’s Parish Hall to bring something to our potluck that day and then just show up! That’s all it takes!

Every year, our Stewardship Rally Day gives Thankful Ones an opportunity to come together and dream BIG for the vision of our church and its ministries. What are we called to do and be in the name of Christ in the coming year? How do we, by God’s grace, achieve that vision? And how will each of us commit and contribute to the Spirit’s work at Thankful? Come and be Thankful! Come and see!

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Our Stewardship Campaign this year will begin on September 16 and run through All Saints’ Sunday on November 4. By that time we hope to have accomplished the following two goals:

1. obtain 100% participation from all Thankful Parishioners; and

2. increase pledge income from $86,000 to $111,000 Why $111,000? With an operating budget of about $135,000, we’ve been decreasing the principal of our endowment every year, and we want to be better stewards here at Thankful of the gift our ancestors in faith left to us in our endowment, and of the gifts we have been given by the grace of God. Each year, we’ve increased our goal incrementally. At $111,000, our pledge income would begin to be more in line with our operating budget; plus, the three ones remind us of the Three-in-One to whose glory we give all things! Why 100% participation? We think every Thankful One is, indeed, thankful! And we know that, given the opportunity to be generous, Thankful Ones will respond generously. We cannot be Thankful Memorial without the commitment and contribution of every one of our members to the life and ministry of this Christian community. With that in mind, in the coming months, every Thankful One will be getting an invitation from one of our Stewardship Ministry Team members to meet together and share our stories about why we love Thankful and why and how we invest ourselves in the life of our church. We very much want you to join together with all of us by participating in our stewardship campaign and pledging generously to our work here. Think you’re not ready to participate? Remember that stewardship is about more than just money. Stewardship is about giving back to God from the abundance of all the gifts we have been given. And our pledge cards this year will help us to remember that. When you fill out your pledge card, we hope you’ll think about what gifts you’ve been given through Thankful and what gifts you can give back here. What commitment of time, talent and treasure are you willing to give to the work of Christ in the world as a Thankful response to the work of Christ in your life?

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Check out our new website! If you haven’t yet bookmarked our new website, please do: http://thankfulmemorial.dioet.org/ We’ll be making some significant changes over the coming weeks, but the site is live and active. You can find sermons preached, information about some of our ministries and even this newsletter on the site, to mention just a few things!

Worship Notes

Welcome back Choir! The Choir will begin singing

at every Sunday service again on Stewardship Rally

Day, Sept. 16. Rehearsals will begin in the weeks

previous to that date. For more information, or to

join the choir, contact Don Stilwell, choir director,

at keepincontactwith@me.com, 931-247-7781

And with the Choir comes the Psalm chant, of

course. Don’t forget that, beginning Sept. 16, we’ll

be singing, instead of saying the Psalm together.

Finally, a note from the Altar Guild: Ladies, please

remember to blot your lipstick before coming

forward to receive communion! Thank you!

Adult Sunday School will reconvene in the fall on September 23 with a new set of Adult Christian Formation and Education offerings. We’re considering series about cultural competency and other religions, about the meaning of some of the most familiar prayers in our Eucharistic liturgy, and about evolution and creationism. But we haven’t yet set the schedule, so if there’s something you’d like to learn about, talk to Mike Gray (graysigsys@aol.com), our lay leader for Adult Sunday School, or call or email the church office to give us your ideas. Adult Sunday School gathers every Sunday after the service. All are welcome! Theology Uncorked takes place on the last Thursday of every month at Blacksmith’s Bistro beginning at 5:15 p.m. for half-off wine and full-strength discussion! Our two groups talking theology (20s&30s Theology on Tap and 40+ Thankfully Uncorked) have combined forces for even better theological conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Join us on August 30 for our kick-off event, “Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?” You can read the New York Times article by that title and some responses to it on our website by clicking “Current Information” under the “About Us” tab and using the password TheologyUncorked. Theology Uncorked will continue to be a monthly event, so mark your calendars and if you think of a great speaker or a good theological topic for a future gathering, let Mother Leyla know!

C H I L D R E N ’ S M I N I S T R I E S

SUNDAY SCHOOL for children in 2nd

grade and older begins

again on September 23rd

.

CHILDREN’S CHAPEL for our younger children (2nd

grade

and younger) continues every Sunday during the service.

Plus, we’re still looking for BABYSITTERS for younger

children every Sunday for one hour after the service during Sunday School, September-June. Regular babysitters will earn $10.00 per hour and must be 16 or older. Anyone interested in the position should contact MaryFrances Beesorchard. (beesorchard.maryfrances@gmail.com).

And Adult Formation

A Request from our Seminarian… Hello, everyone! I have been blessed with an extraordinary

opportunity to study in the Holy Land in the coming year!

I was recently accepted into a two week program at St.

George’s College in Jerusalem. St. George’s is housed

on the grounds of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem and

focuses on academic and experiential learning. In other

words, I’ll get to marinate completely in the atmosphere of

Jesus’ ministry. I am raising money to help offset the

financial burden of the trip. The minimum cost is $5,000,

not including unforeseen expenses. I would like to ask you

Thankful Ones to prayerfully consider helping me to make

this outstanding trip a reality! And a big thank you to a

number of you who have already contributed.

In Christ’s love, Brooks

***

To contribute to Brooks’ fund for study at St. George’s, you can offer gifts to him personally, or make out a check

to “Brooks Cato” and drop it in the collection plate on any Sunday. Brooks was recently approved by his Bishop as a Candidate for Ordination in the diocese of Arkansas. Please continue to keep our seminarian in your prayers as

he begins his final year of study at seminary.

Thankful’s 20s&30s

20s&30s enjoyed a brunch at Blacksmith’s together this month, and we’re hoping to continue gathering monthly through the fall. But to do so, we need everyone’s help. Have an idea for an event? Want to host us for fellowship? Contact April Counts (counts.april@gmail.com) or Erin Tocknell (etocknell@mccallie.org) and let us know!

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Vestry Notes The Vestry is in the middle of working on a number of

projects, including planning for Stewardship Rally Day,

considering re-keying our buildings, and organizing a re-

haul of our garden to be more low-maintenance. As

always, for copies of minutes from our Vestry meetings,

you can contact the church office. We hope, in the

coming months, to begin posting minutes on our website.

1607 W. 43rd St., Mail to: P.O. Box 2274

Chattanooga, TN 37409

423-821-3135, thankfulones@comcast.net

thankfulmemorial.dioet.org

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

VESTRY: 7:00 P.M., CONFERENCE RM, ST. MARY’S PARISH HALL

Thankful members are invited to observe vestry meetings.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

STEWARDSHIP RALLY DAY!

We’ll kick off our Stewardship Campaign and every Thankful

One will have the opportunity to contribute to the life of our

parish in 2012-2013.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

SUNDAY SCHOOL: ST. MARY’S PARISH HALL, AFTER THE SERVICE

Sunday School begins today and continues through the year.

Children gather on the stage, adults in the conference room.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9

VESTRY: 7:00 P.M., CONFERENCE RM, ST. MARY’S PARISH HALL

Thankful members are invited to observe vestry meetings.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4

ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY : 10:00 SERVICE, CHURCH

If you would like to be baptized, let Mother Leyla know now,

so we can prepare for this day. This is also the deadline for

pledge cards to be returned.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

VESTRY: 7:00 P.M., CONFERENCE RM, ST. MARY’S PARISH HALL

Thankful members are invited to observe vestry meetings.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18

BISHOP’S VISITATION: 10:00 SERVICE, CHURCH

If you would like to be confirmed, let Mother Leyla know now

so we can prepare for this day.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2

BROOKS’ LAST SUNDAY: 10:00 SERVICE, RECEPTION TO FOLLOW

We’ll celebrate Brooks Cato’s ministry among us and wish

him and Becca a fond farewell.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

General Convention 2012

The 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, held in

Indianapolis this past July was a great success. So much good

work, fellowship, and faithful and prayerful decision-making

for the future of our Church took place – too much to fit into

this little column! But, here are some of the more general, big-

ticket items you may want to know about:

Liturgy: Among other things, GC approved a resolution for

the trial use of a rite for the blessing of same-sex unions

beginning in Advent of this year. Clergy and parishes who

choose to do so may use the liturgy with the approval of the

diocesan Bishop. In our diocese, Bishop Young is

appointing a small task force that will present a resolution to

our own Diocesan Convention concerning this rite. In the

meantime, Bishop Young is encouraging all parishes and

clergy to continue prayerful conversations and discernment.

Budget & Structure: A lot of the energy at GC focused

around the structure of our Church’s institution. Are the

administrative structures we have established the best and

most efficient way for accomplishing Christ’s mission in the

world? Probably not. GC approved a resolution that creates

a task force to study our Church’s structure, think creatively,

and present to the 78th General Convention in three years an

option for new ways of doing mission as a Church. In line

with this emphasis on mission, the budget for the Episcopal

Church now reflects the Church’s five marks of mission,

with grant money available for dioceses and local parishes to

do that work.

The Anglican Covenant and the Global Church: GC

approved a resolution that declines to take any position, right

now, on the proposed Anglican Covenant and, instead,

commends ongoing dialogue between the Episcopal Church

and all Churches in the Anglican Communion. We continue,

also, to pray particularly for those Churches in the

Communion who are persecuted and oppressed.

For more information on these or other decisions taken at

General Convention, see www.generalconvention.org.

Questions, comments, or concerns about any of this? Please

don’t hesitate to make an appointment with me so we can talk.

Blessings,

Leyla +