volume 20 issue 3 march 2016 - st. stephen's episcopal church · volume 20 issue 3 march 2016...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 20 Issue 3 March 2016
INTRODUCING FATHER IAN House Theological College in Cam-
bridge (UK). He was then ordained in
the Diocese of Manchester as a Dea-
con in 2004 and as a priest in 2005,
where he served his Curacy. In 2008,
he came to his current role, which has
given him the challenge and pleasure of
building and shaping from no previous
ministries.
Preparing and sharing food have been
at the heart of both Fr. Ian’s family life
and his ministry. He has brought Amer-
ica’s Melting Pot of cuisines to England,
loves discovering the vast array of cui-
sines brought to the British Isles
through Empire, and any cuisine that
takes his fancy. Ian firmly believes the
preparing and sharing of food to be a
spiritual activity, sanctioned by God,
and demonstrated throughout the Bible.
He illustrated this in a reality cooking
show on BBC2 called ‘Instant Restaurant’
in which he turned his home into a spiritu-
ality-themed restaurant. (And made a
good profit!)
Fr. Ian has dabbled in other media, in-
cluding, print, BBC Radio and currently
the University of Chester’s Radio Station
for which he hosts a weekly radio show.
Fr. Ian is very interested in showing the
Church and active faith in a positive light
in the public arena, including in the me-
dia. He has also been Chaplain on cruise
ships for Christmas and Easter, which
proved an interesting form of ministry,
and presented exciting challenges such
as distributing communion with a pair of
ice tongs! One of Ian’s dream jobs would
be to host a Saturday cooking show, as
“Fr. Ian” to combine his passion for food
and his wish to show the Church positive,
enriching and a source of spiritual nour-
ishment.
Fr. Ian will arrive at St Stephen’s with his
cat Sussex and a somewhat strange ac-
cent, a mixture of everywhere he has
lived (and some places he hasn’t!). He
will be leaving behind good friends, rainy
weather and flavorless steaks, and is
looking forward to reuniting with longtime
friends, beaches to stroll without a jacket
and the occasional Spencer! And of
course…being with the people of St
Stephen’s San Luis Obispo.
The Rev. Ian Delinger currently serves as
the University of Chester’s Chaplain to
the Warrington Campus and to the Fac-
ulty of Health & Social Care. He was
born in California, and was raised in both
rural western Nebraska and on the cen-
tral coast of California. He studied Chem-
istry at Truman State University in Kirks-
ville, Missouri. Then, he moved to the
Silicon Valley where he was as a pro-
ject manager in a consulting firm which
specializes in environmental, health and
safety issues for the semiconductor
manufacturing industry and other high
technology industries, followed by a cou-
ple of stints in corporate events manage-
ment and marketing.
Fr. Ian left the Silicon Valley after nine
years to train for ordination at Westcott
The Witness Page 2
VESTRY MEMBERS
Gail Taylor Sr. Warden
Bruno Giberti Jr. Warden Liz Frost Fellowship
Lynn Hollister Outreach
Stewardship
Robert Misson Pastoral Care/
Membership
Carole Merrill
Doris Highland
Bud Zeuschner
Chris Arndt Sexton
Katie Arndt Treasurer Linda Zeuschner Clerk
February 2016 Men’s Retreat
On February 12th, five members of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew met
at Mt. Calvary in Santa Barbara for a weekend retreat. Those who at-
tended were Chris Arndt, Bob Levison, Jim Gates, Jim Wall and Fr.
Lyle Grosjean our meditation leader. Pies and flowers were brought by
Chris Arndt as presents to the Brothers.
The retreat facility is available for the “purpose of providing a place to
come away from the crowd and our busy lives to spend time with
God”. There is silence from 9:00 pm until after breakfast. (The
women’s retreat extends the silence for the entire weekend)
The Benedictine services of Lauds and Vespers are offered each day in
the chapel and include a cantor, responses, and prayers. There is an
ancient spirituality that is present and it enters one’s heart and soul.
Our meditation times were both presentations and responses, and
thoughts about our spiritual and secular life. Many questions were
asked and once in a while we found an answer.
We are fortunate to have the retreats in February as they are a spiritual
introduction to Lent one of the most important, if not the most impor-
tant 40 days of our church life—a chance to reflect on all those things
we are thankful for and our misgivings and a time to extend the experi-
ence of the retreat and make time to quietly be with God.
Bob Levison
IN THE MONTH OF MARCH
2, 9 Lenten Soup Supper
& 16 & Program
13 A Celebration of Harp
concert and reception
21 Book Discussion Group
24 Maundy Thursday
Service at 7:00 pm
25 Good Friday Service
at 12:00 noon
27 Easter Sunday Services
8:00 & 10:00
Coming Soon
June 11 Fr. Ian’s Installation
as Rector of Saint
Stephen’s & luncheon
(details to come)
The Witness Page 3
Ask the Treasurer
What are my options for making my pledge payments?
Last night at our Vestry meeting I was asked this question. So,
here are the options:
You can pay by cash or check. If you pay by cash, make sure you
put your name and the word "pledge" on the offering enve-
lope. If you pay by check, please write the word "pledge" in the
memo section. (This brings up another suggestion. Whenever
you pay by check for anything church related, write something in
the memo section that indicates where the money needs to
go. For instance, write "freezer" in the memo section and the
funds will be applied to the freezer purchase.)
You can set up automatic payments two ways. You can have
your bank send us a paper check from your account automati-
cally on the day you specify. You can have your bank send us a
transfer of funds (you specify the amount and the date). To sign
up for this, contact your bank and ask for an automatic deduction
form that you will fill out. Bring the form to us and we will com-
plete our part. Take the form back to your bank for processing.
If you have any questions regarding any of these options, please
feel free to give me a call.
Here are the Rabobank bank balances as of January 29,2016:
Operating: $100,916.47
Money Market: $35,126.13
Endowment Checking: $2,803.74
Respectfully Submitted,
Katie Arndt, Treasurer
Senior Warden's
report
Greetings from the office. I am on
a pretty steep learning curve, but I
am getting a lot of help from all of
the great staff and parishioners
here at St. Stephens. I have al-
ready identified, what I view, as an
issue with record keeping. Just
because we are 150 years old as a
church, our record keeping need
not reflect that, so I am going to
try to establish some spread
sheets to keep track of important
church events, attendance records,
etc. I am also going to focus on
our buildings as a priority in the
upcoming months. Our hard
working sexton has been earning
overtime in his uncompensated
position as the result of several
leaks in the education building
and also in the RSVP building. In
my opinion this must be an item
high on the list of Things To Do in
the coming months.
Our new rector, Fr. Ian Delinger,
will be joining us mid-April after a
rather arduous move from Eng-
land. We hope his first official Sun-
day will be May 1, 2016. Keep him
in your prayers as he winds up his
ministry at Warrington College
and prepares to take up the reins
at St. Stephens. I am so looking
forward to working with him.
Blessings, Gail
The Witness Page 4
Chocolate Factory
Opening in Ramsden Hall March 7th
Chocolate Factory sign up sheets have been moved from the Boydston Room to the bulle-tin board in Ramsden Hall. Both experienced and in-experienced workers are needed. Please sign up for whatever two hour shifts best fit your schedule. If you’ve worked in “the chocolate fac-tory” before, you know the task schedule may not be adhered to precisely, but whatever we hap-pen to be doing each day you’ll be in the company of friends and the place will have that wonderful smell of chocolate. Questions? See, call or email Kathleen (546-0880, [email protected])
Youth
Mission
Trips
in July
Church youth groups from all over the western states travel to one of the
summer Sierra Service Project (SSP)
sites for an unforgettable week of
serving, learning, worship and fel-lowship. The Episcopal Diocese of El
Camino Real (ECR) has reserved
spaces for a Middle School week June 25-July 1 and a High School
week July 9-17.
~ Fun! The SSP Experience includes a tradition of games, songs, and last-
ing friendships.
~ Safe & Dependable. SSP has 40
years of youth service, leadership, and home repair knowledge, is dedi-
cated to physical and emotional
safety, and provides nutritious meals and spiritual support to all volunteers.
~ Challenging service. Youth take on
complex projects, learn to safely use power tools, and cultivate teamwork
and problem-solving skills.
~ Intercultural engagement. Working with others to strengthen communi-
ties different from their own allows
youth to experience new cultures in
an authentic way.
The fee for Youth to participate in
either of these Sierra Service Projects
is $450 which includes food and lodging, building materials and trans-
portation from ECR but not food in
transit. There are camperships avail-able to help with the cost.
Adult/Parent Counselors are wel-
come, too!
For a registration form, or more
information, contact Kathleen, 546-
0880 or [email protected]
Easter Flowers Each year at Easter, members of our Altar
Guild decorate the church with beautiful
flowers.
If you would like to donate Easter flowers,
please fill out this form, enclose or attach a
check made payable to St. Stephen’s Altar
Guild: place it in the offering plate, drop it
by the church office or mail it to St.
Stephen’s, 1344 Nipomo St., San Luis
Obispo, CA 93401.
PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY
Name of donor__________________________________________
In memory of___________________________________________
In thanksgiving for_______________________________________
The Witness Page 5
General Information
The Witness is a monthly newsletter published by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, San Luis Obispo,
CA to provide information about the parish to the congregation. Subscriptions are free to anyone. Send
request along with your name and mailing address to the church office. Donations to help offset
distribution costs are appreciated. Make checks payable to St. Stephen’s.
The Church’s e-mail address is: [email protected]
The Witness Editor is Chris Kellett. Contribution of articles is encouraged. Please e-mail
submissions to the editor at [email protected]
The deadline for emailed submission of articles is Friday following the Vestry meeting. Call or email
editor with any questions. © Copyright 2016 by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. All rights reserved.
POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections to: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1344
Nipomo St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3935
BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Our February Book Club meeting took place
in the Library on the 15th—“Presidents’
Day”—when we discussed not only Hector
Tobar’s book, The Barbarian Nurseries, but also (appropriately enough for the date) the
current presidential aspirants. Our next
meeting would ordinarily take place on the third Monday of next month, but because that day is the beginning of Holy
Week, we decided to change the next meeting date to the
third Monday in April, the 18th, when we will again have access to the Parish Hall.
The new book we have chosen to discuss in April is Mar-
cus Borg’s Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The His-torical Jesus & the Heart of Contemporary Faith. Alan
Jones, dean, Grace Cathedral, wrote about this book:
“Borg liberates Jesus from the rigidity of fundamentalism and the aridity of intellectualism. He also graciously liber-
ates readers from the shackles of what many have thought
they were supposed to believe about Jesus if they were to remain Christians….What a relief to see Jesus in a totally
new light.”
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
We hope some of you will choose to join us for an interest-ing evening/discussion/delicious dinner. Please call Diane
Levison at 805-544-6486 if you have any questions.
SAINT STEPHEN’S WOMEN’S RETREAT
This year’s Women’s Retreat took place the weekend of February 5-7,
and it was attended by 20 women,
one of whom was our retreat leader,
Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves.
The theme of this year’s retreat was
“Loss, and ways to deal with it in our own and other’s lives.” Bishop Mary
led five meditations during the week-
end, and each one of them was a blessing to everyone present, not only
because of Bishop Mary’s spiritual
modeling, but also because the theme
dealt with something each one of us has faced—and will again. The
women’s retreat has always been a
silent one, beginning after the first meal and ending at the noon meal on
the last day. The silence—broken
only during the meditations to allow
for questions and discussion, and also during services in the Chapel—is
actually a spiritual gift.
Our retreat location was once again at
Mt. Calvary Monastery in Santa Bar-
bara, a site which had long been pre-viously known as St. Mary’s Retreat
House. The grounds are beautiful
and walkable, including a labyrinth
which is always accessible for private meditations; and the room accommo-
dations are both charming and com-
fortable. The brothers at the Monas-tery have enjoyed the talents of Luis,
the chef, for 25 years; and we were
all appreciative, too, of the delicious meals he provided.
Because the Mt. Calvary retreat site
is always heavily booked, St. Stephen’s women have managed to
reserve a retreat weekend for 2017 on
March 10-12. You may want to note this on your calendars with the idea
of keeping those dates available to be
able to participate in this wonderful
experience.
The Witness Page 6
Scriptures for
March
March 6, 2016
Fourth Sunday in Lent Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
II Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 116-32
March 13, 2016
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8
March 20, 2016
Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 23:1-49
March 27, 2016
Easter Day
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
I Corinthians 15:19-26
John 20:1-18
Sexton’S RepoRt Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (Roof Repairs) As you may know, the last few years of drought and warming temperatures have taken a toll on the ageing
flat roofs of the classroom wing and RSVP, resulting in leaks this winter. It took a couple of storms and making repairs to figure out the issue with the classrooms, Shire and Dottie's office. While the leaks appeared to be coming up from below, they were instead coming from the roof. The details are too long to include. Ask me if you want clarification. One thing I will say is that the entire walkway behind the classrooms is one big French drain. I sealed some scuppers cut into the roof edge dam over the classrooms, which seems to have stopped the leaks there. Today, I reattached the tarp over RSVP after the winds tore it off. After some study of the roof over the Shire, a few days ago I also sealed around the roof drain in the back cor-ner, as well as a few feet of the roof edge. During the last storm a couple of Sunday's ago, I purchased a new wet/dry shop vacuum for the church to facilitate sucking the water out of the Shire. We had ServPro come out to dehumidify the rooms and spray affected surfaces with an antimicrobial. They also had the walls tested for asbestos and lead, in case we need to do some remediation. The tests came back OK. The Vestry has approved a bid from Westbeach Construction to re-roof RSVP with 3 coats of a liquid rubber roofing material, as well as perform repairs and maintenance to the classroom and office roofs, the Shepherd window well behind the altar, and a loose shingle over the sanctuary. Work should commence in March. Ramsden Hall Wireless Internet As in years past, even though we make improvements, there are issues with the wireless in the hall during the Overflow Shelter. Since it works OK at other times, our current thinking is that it is a victim of its own success. Between church computers, parishioners' phones, tablets and computers, volunteers' laptops, tablets and phones, and whatever overflow guests connect with, the residential grade routers and access points are probably getting congested or overloaded. We will be looking at that for possible up-grades. Warming Up to the New Freezer The new freezer in the kitchen is in, cold and filling up with goodies. So far, we have collected a little over half of the $2,668 cost. Thank you to every-one that has donated so far. If you would like to give on behalf of the new freezer, please memo your donation check “Freezer” and put it in the col-lection plate on Sunday, or you can give it directly to Katie or me. Chris Arndt, Sexton
The Witness Page 7
Hands-On Stewardship
at St. Stephen’s!
MARCH
BIRTHDAYS
3rd Robert Bearce
10th John Kellett
24th Bev Williams
THANK YOU TO Doris Highland, Lynn Hollister, Kathleen
Pennington, Alison Preston and Gail Taylor for teaching Sunday
School classes in February.
THANK YOU TO Lynn Wiech, Clark, Kay & Amy Lewis, and the
History Committee for hosting coffee hours in February.
THANK YOU TO the retiring Vestry members Kathryn Bumpass,
Bill Walters, Bob Levison and Dianne Long for their 3 years of hard
work on the Vestry.
THANK YOU TO Bob Levison and the many volunteers from St.
Stephen’s and Cal Poly who helped get Ramsden Hall ready for the
Overflow Shelter and those who spent many hours volunteering as
greeters and over-night hosts.
THANK YOU TO the Altar Guild, Choir, Brotherhood of St.
Andrew’s and the Vestry for providing delicious soups for our Lenten
Potlucks.
THANK YOU TO Kathleen Pennington for joining the finance team
as both a money counter and a data entry volunteer.
THANK YOU TO Everyone who contributed nonperishable foods
for the “Souper Bowl of Caring” through which our Youth donated
107 pounds of food and $10 to Grass Roots II.
Order Chocolate Easter Eggs
by March 6th!
Only $9 for half a pound of beautifully decorated, handmade
chocolate or $5.50 for a quarter pound. Order for yourself, your
friends and family or sponsor an egg for a needy child. Proceeds
from the sale of these eggs go toward outreach programs through our
Parish Council. Eggs will be ready to pick up after services on Palm
Sunday. We’ll be making the “no nut” eggs first, so if you’ll need
yours early, choose “no nut” and you can pick them up the Sunday
before Palm Sunday.
If you didn’t get an order form, pick one up at the back of the
church, on the bulletin board in Ramsden Hall or at our website (www.ststephensslo.org).
The Witness Page 8
ARE YOU READY FOR EL NIÑO?
For the rain: Clean out your gutters
Check your roof, skylights, doors and windows for leaks
Have heavy plastic sheeting to cover a broken window or skylight
For the wind: Remove tree limbs that could damage or break your roof or windows
Move outdoor furniture indoors or secure so it won’t blow over
For loss of power: Put fresh batteries in your flashlight
Have a battery powered lantern
Know how to open your garage door manually
Have cash on hand – in case ATM is not working
Have ready: One week supply of medications
First Aid kit
Emergency contact information available
Know where your shut offs are for: water, gas and electricity Support from neighbors if needed
DO NOT: Use your stove or grill to heat your home
Walk through water that is above your ankles
Drive over a flooded road
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
This month I am including a recipe from the Joy Jones Soup Cook-
book to entice you to try the recipes. You can still purchase the
cookbook for $15. All proceeds go to the Parish Council.
This recipe is perfect for those suffering from a winter cold or flu.
COUNTRY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Joy Jones Serves 4
1 (49 oz.) can Swanson’s chicken broth
1 small carrot, chopped
¼ c. celery, chopped
1 Tbs. onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
⅛ tsp. poultry seasoning
⅛ tsp. dried thyme
1 c. dry medium egg noodles
2 c. diced cooked chicken
In a soup pot, combine broth, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, poultry
seasoning and thyme. Heat to boiling.
Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add noodles. Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add chicken. Heat through, stirring occasionally.
LENT For this season of Lent, many of us think about something to “give up.” Un-
fortunately, these things often have little
impact up on our life and walk with
Christ. Here is a list of “40 things to give
up for Lent.” But this list is different. It is
not the typical things like soda or choco-
late. These are things truly worth giving
up. There is one for each day of the sea-
son. And these are things to give up not
just for Lent, but for the rest of your life.
Fear of Failure
Your Comfort Zone
Feelings of Unworthiness
Impatience
Retirement
People Pleasing
Comparison Blame
Guilt
Over Commitment
Lack of Counsel
Impurity
Entitlement
Apathy
Hatred
Negativity
The Spirit of Poverty
Going Through the Motions
Complaint The Pursuit of Happiness
Bitterness
Distraction
Giving up
Mediocrity
Destructive Speech
Busyness
Loneliness
Disunity
The Quick Fix
Worry . Idolizing
Resistance to Change
Pride
Small View of God
Envy Ungratefulness
Selfish Ambition
Self-Sufficiency
Sorrow
My Life
This website goes into greater detail of each item on the list.
https://www.greaterthings.today/40-
things-to-give-up-for-lent-the-list/
The Witness Page 9 MARCH 2016
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church 1344 Nipomo Street San Luis Obispo CA 93401-3935
Office: 805 543.7212 Ramsden Hall: 805 543.7215 Fax: 805 543.0744
[email protected] http://ststephensslo.org
Office hours: Monday — Thursday 9:00 a.m.— 1:00 p.m.
Key: Ramsden Hall – RH; Boydston Room – BR; Library – L
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 10:00 Yoga RH 5:30 Centering Prayer
2 10:30 Women’s Prayer Group -L 11:30 Holy Eucharist 6:30 Lenten Soup Sup-
per and Study
3
4
5
6 Lent IV 8:00 HE II 9:00 Bible Study 10:00 HE II and Sun-
day School 12:00 Youth Comm.
7 Chocolate Factory
opens!
8
10:00 Yoga RH 5:00 Centering Prayer - Transept
9
8:00 Bro. of St. Andrew B-fast
10:30 Women’s Prayer Group – L 11:30 Holy Eucharist 5:15 Choir Rehearsal 6:30 Lenten Soup Sup-
per and Study
10 12:00 Altar Guild RH
11
12
13 Lent V
8:00 HE II 9:00 Bible Study 10:00 HE II and Sunday School Pick up No-nut Choco-
late Eggs 3pm A Celebration Of Harp Concert & Reception
14
15
10:00 Yoga RH 5:00 Centering Prayer - Transept 7:00 Vestry BR
16
10:30 Women’s Prayer Group – L 11:30 Holy Eucharist And Healing
5:15 Choir Rehearsal 6:30 Lenten Soup Sup-
per and Study
17
18
19
20 Palm Sunday
8:00 HE II 9:00 Bible Study 10:00 HE II and Sun-
day School Pick up Chocolate Eggs
21 6:00 Book Club RH Witness Deadline
22
5:00 Centering Prayer - Transept
23
10:30 Women’s Prayer Group – L 11:30 Holy Eucharist 5:15 Choir Rehearsal
24 Maundy Thurs.
7:00 Maundy Thurs. Service
25 Good Friday 12:00 Good Friday Service
26
27 Easter Day 8:00 HE II 9:00 Bible Study 10:00 HE II and Sun-
day School Easter Egg Hunt
28
29
5:00 Centering Prayer - Transept
30 10:30 Women’s Prayer Group – L 11:30 Holy Eucharist 5:15 Choir Rehearsal
31
The Witness Page 10
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Permit No. 57
ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 1344 NIPOMO ST
SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 93401-3935
Address Service Requested
The Witness
St. Stephen’s Services
Sunday 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist without music 9:00 a.m. Bible Forum in Boydston Room 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II with music Sunday School for K-12 (during school year) Child care available during 10:00 am service
Wednesday 11:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer
Office Hours Monday—Thursday 9:00 – 1:00 1344 Nipomo Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3935 Office: 805-543-7212 Fax: 805-543-0744 Email: [email protected] Website: http://ststephensslo.org
Lunch on the Brothers Lunch Bags Update
Since we started this program a few months ago, the office staff has handed out almost 40 lunches to hungry people who come in off the street. Each non-perishable bag has some sort of meat or protein (tuna or chicken, Vienna
Sausages, or single serving bowl), crackers, water, fruit and fruit juice, a snack of some sort (granola bar, cheese and crackers, small bag of crackers, etc) a des-sert (cookies or maybe a pudding cup), some other treat, a Wet Nap, and a packet of plastic utensils, salt, pepper, and a napkin.