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St. Mary’s News

December 2017 Volume 7 Issue 12

AWAITING THE MIRACLE

“While they were there, the time came for Mary to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.” Besides the manger part, that could have described the birth of any child of

any era.

But I think the juxtaposition of angels and shepherds offers us a clue. The thing is, God comes to us not in royal robes but swaddling clothes. We may dress up to receive him at Christmas, and that’s a fine thing, but remember he didn’t come to an Emperor, he came to shabbily dressed shepherds. The

birth was announced to the humble, not the mighty.

And herein lies the miracle of Christmas: God comes to us not in the public images we seek to project, but in our vulnerability; in our brokenness; in our insecurity; in our weakness. In other words, God comes to us in our very humanity. And God still

loves us. That’s the miracle.

Because underneath our fancy clothes, resides our true selves. The part of us that may be grieving the first Christmas without a loved one; or mourning a broken relationship; or reeling from a

recent medical diagnosis; or fearing for the future.

Jesus comes to our shepherd side. The side of ourselves that is

not spit and polished but hurting and vulnerable and in desperate need of love. The side of ourselves that is not

outwardly put together but inwardly broken.

And in that place is hope. Out of the depths, hope is unleashed. Not a things-are-bound-to-start looking-up hope. Not a false hope. Or an overly optimistic hope. But a hope born of God’s love for us even in the midst of tragedy or despair. A hope born

Contents

1 Rector’s Message

3 Love One Another

4 Music

5 Birthdays/

Anniversaries

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of a Savior who came not to a pristine palace among the well-dressed but right into the muck of the stable among the shepherds. A hope born out of the comfort and joy of serving and standing with the marginalized, the lost, and the downtrodden.

And during this Advent, we all wait to witness and experience the trajectory of God’s hope in a broken world. Each week can see more and more of the light shining in the darkness. Each week we see the miraculous residing even in the midst of the mun-dane. And that’s why we remember this otherwise ordinary birth, that is why we wait patiently and silently during Advent to prepare for God to unleash the extraordinary

power of God’s love for all humanity.

Advent is a holy season, and during this time of preparing to receive our Savior I pray we all experience the gift of God’s saving grace; may our hearts overflow with the hope born of our Savior’s love; and may we have a blessed Advent as we prepare for a very

Merry Christmas.

The Rev. Dr. Dewey E. Brown, Jr.

Rector – St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Dade City, FL 33525

www.stmdc.com

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus

for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20, 21

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Good News for Love One Another

The Good News arrived on November 15th in an e-mail from Father Dewey saying that a team has come together to carry on the Love One Another ministry at St. Mary’s. This team effort is

co-chaired by Lee Brenn (food preparation); Davis Henley and Tony Carbone assisting with food preparation, cooking, setup and cleanup. Margie Burns will take on volunteer e-mails and

communications.

The Love One Another ministry at St. Mary’s is strong and with more leaders at the helm can only grow stronger. The volunteers have been very faithful and it is certain they will remain so. Brownie

Bakers – Egg Boiler and Peelers – Servers – and Financial Helpers are all on board. There are those who have made many meals very special with their gifts of celebration and music.

It has been a privilege to work with so many committed volunteers and to serve so many appreciative people. The ministry is very simple; to feed hungry people – hungry for many things –

good food – a kind word – someone to listen to their story – a hug – a blessing – and hungry to hear the good news from folks who live it and share it.

As we are in the midst of organizing our last Love One Another meal we do so with Thanksgiving for all that has taken place over the last eight years and with confidence that this community

outreach is in very capable hands.

Our next Love One Another meal will be served December 10th 2017.

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DECEMBER 2017 MUSIC MINISTRY NOTES

As we enter this Advent Season, and the New Year of the Christian Calendar, I am reflecting back in

amazement of how much living we have done since this time last year. Christmas came and went,

and now it’s on its way again. All of our beautiful worship services, including many celebrations:

Baptisms, weddings, funerals, Epiphany, the Holy Name Monastery Concert, Shrove Tuesday, Ash

Wednesday, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, remembering our Saints, paying tribute to our Veterans, our

recent financial campaign, the Basket Auction Mission, and even getting through Hurricane Irma…

all of these events have been life changing. Our prayer warriors remain strong, the music we offer

comes from the heart, fund raising for 2018 FUMMWA Summer Music Camp has begun again, plans

for the future are all abuzz, and God continues to guide and lead us every step of the way! Wow!

That is a lot of living!

And, we have a lot of living to do in the coming year! It is my prayer that each of you will come and

be a part of what God has in store for us. As a participant, being behind the scenes, being on the

frontline, volunteering, or just being a silent prayer partner…there is a place for you during the up-

coming events, and we look forward to being with you during these activities:

1. The adults will be caroling Saturday, December 9th. Meet at Royal Oaks at 5 PM, and then

we will head to Heritage Village. A covered dish party will follow at The McKienzie’s.

2. Special Advent music will be offered at the 10 am worship services on December 3, 10,

and 17.

3. Several of our House Band musicians will be playing in The Dade City Symphony’s “Many

Moods of Christmas” Concert on Saturday, December 16th at 7 PM, at The Pasco Middle

School Auditorium. Come out and enjoy this free concert!

4. Our Home Made Christmas Cookie and Bread Baking Fund Raiser will take place Saturday

and Sunday December 16th and 17th. 2 dozen cookies are $6, and banana, cranberry/orange,

or pumpkin breads are $5 a loaf. Order forms are at the church or call me at 813-760-7249 to

place an order.

5. The Youth Group and Youth Choristers will be caroling at Edwinola and Zephyr Haven on

Sunday, December 17th. Meet at Tanno Hall at 4:30. Then, we will return to church and have

our Covered Dish/Christmas Party, and end at 8 PM.

6. St. Mary’s will sing and play at Church Street Christmas Festivities on Friday, December

22nd from 7-8:30 PM on the NE corner of Church and 16th (Mrs. Judy Morris’ home). When

given the cue, please come up and join us in your favorite holiday songs

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7. Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th, the Youth Choristers and Children Sunday School Students

will help lead music at the 5:30 PM worship (special music starts at 5). And, the Adult Choir, The

Bells of St. Mary’s, and The House Band will begin the prelude music at 8:30 that night, with the

candle light service starting at 9 PM.

8. Looking ahead: The Kumquat Festival Yard Sale and parking will be held on Saturday, January

27th. The Super Bowl Sub Fund Raiser will take place Sunday, February 4, 2018. And The Holy

Name Monastery Concert is Sunday, March 11th at 2 PM. I am sure there will be more to come,

soon!

Although there have been many ups and downs in the past year, we certainly have done a lot of living,

and we have a lot of living to do! I am sure God wants us to keep on listening to His Will in our lives, and

to keep on keeping on, as we continue in ministry together at St. Mary’s. I love each and every one of

you, I thank you for truly being a church family that I, Maddox, and Raider can count on, and I wish you

God’s greatest blessings in this New Year!

Sincerely,

Sharon Brant

SBLutzBell@aol.com

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December Birthdays

2-Nancy Finnerty, Lawrence Woldenden,

4-Cathy Bennett, Caden Melton, Margie Tingley

7-Lorie Larkin

8-George Wiemer

9-Diane Riggleman, Simone Yebba, Kinlee Gude

11-Eddie Cox

13-Dorothy Picard

14-Michael Moorman, Paige Wolfenden

15-Danielle Hicks, Bill Jordan

16-Lee Brenn, Diane Linindoll

17-Diane Story

19-Sally Cooper, Sue Szczerba

20-Sarah Lynn Jarrett

22-Logan Hacker

23-Sydney Bruen, Lorraine St. Louis

25-Carol Barnett

26-Vince Rieger

27-George Randall, Father Murray

28-Everett Hedgecock

29-Hanne Jordan

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

December Anniversaries

20-Ed and Tracy Jennings

24-Arjay and Elayne Morgan

26-Joe and Judy Nicholson

Cal and Marnie Wilson

27-Thomas and Teena Watson

31-Eddie and Stephanie Cox

Perry and Linda Cain

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St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

37637 Magnolia Avenue

Dade City, Florida 33523

352-567-3888

Upcoming Events

December 10—Love One Another

December 16-17--Bake Sale

December 15—Dade City Symphony, 7 pm, Pasco Middle School

December 22-Christmas Street Christmas

December 24-9 am; 5:30 pm and 9 pm

December 25-9 am