volume issue 12 monthly newsletter for st. george’s … · film “the incredibles” a family of...

OrbitTheMONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR ST. GEORGE’S

EPISCOPAL CHURCH

VOLUME

55I SS U E

12December

2014

THIS ISSUEFROM THE RECTOR P.2CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE P.3ASSOCIATE RECTOR P.4YOUTH AND CHILDREN P.5SPAGHETTI SUPPER P.6STEWARDSHIP/MUSIC P.7CALENDAR P.8

MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of St. George’s Episcopal Church is to foster a diverse, loving and faithful community, founded on scripture, tradition and reason. We encourage everyone, through fellowship with one another and the Holy Spirit, to share time, talent and treasure in the worship of God, development of faith in Jesus Christ, and service to our community and the world.

ADVENT 2014 @ ST. GEORGE’SSunday, November 30th (First Sunday of Advent)

All services in Advent are from the 1552 Prayer Book. No Sunday School today, resumes with regular schedule on the 7th.

Sunday, December 7th (Second Sunday of Advent)Sunday School at 10:30 a.m. children check in at Class Rooms

Sunday, December 15th (Third Sunday of Advent)Sunday School at 10:30 a.m. children check in at Class Rooms

Sunday, December 22nd (Fourth Sunday of Advent)Only one worship service at 10:30 a.m., with Children’s Christmas PageantNo Sunday School or Kids CornerNo 8:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m. services this day

Hanging of the GreensStay after the 10:30 service to help decorate St. George’s for Christmas!

Envelopes for Christmas Flower Memorials are available in the pews.Memorials will be printed in the Christmas Eve bulletins

if received by Monday, December 15th.

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STAFF:The Rev. Benjamin Phillips, [email protected] x 102 or 545-5508

The Rev. Dr. Calvin LaneAssociate [email protected] x104

The Rev. Dave CottrillThe Rev. John FredenburghAffiliate Priests

Jeffrey PowellDirector of [email protected] x105

Jan GimbroneParish [email protected] x 100

Mitzi StonerBusiness [email protected] x 115

Lori ConstantineNursery [email protected]

SCHEDULE OF SERVICES:

Sunday8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharis

OFFICE HOURS:Monday - Thursday8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

From the Rector

For more information, check our website at www.stgeorgesdayton.org

‘Tis the Season...what season? Advent. Christ-mas. Jesus. Birth. Virgin. Incarnation. These are the words and ideas which we as Christians hold most dear to this time of year (and indeed at all times, not just De-cember!). If this is such a special time of year, and a significant one, why is it that when Christmas decorations and sales ap-pear in October I groan inwardly - and more often than not, outwardly as well. After all, if celebrat-ing Christmas is good, shouldn’t celebrating it sooner, longer, and more extensively be better? After all, more is always better, right?In the Disney/Pixar film “The Incredibles” a family of suburbanite superheroes are trying to navigate ‘regular’ life and the fact they have super powers. The key con-cept of the film wrestles with the idea that, in an age when everyone is celebrated as unique, what does it means for someone to be genuinely special? As the characters put it, if everyone is spe-cial, that’s just another way of saying no one is. If all seasons and times are special, then none

are. What makes Christ-mas special is that it does in fact arrive once a year. When we extend and expand the season, in an effort to celebrate it more, we actually end up appreciating it less. Our fore bearers thought that a month, or to be precise, four weeks, was sufficient to prepare for Christmas. Now we start more than a month before Thanks-giving. What is remarkably ironic about all this, is that at the heart of Christmas is the fact that in order to save lost sinners, God actually chose to limit himself. A holiday which is based on humble self-limitation is awash in gluttonous over-extension. God chose to voluntarily diminish his glory and become small, tiny, and weak and enter the world as a frail newborn baby. This fact is beautifully described by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “Have the same mind amongst you as Jesus Christ, who being equal with God did not consider equality with God something to be clung to, but emptied himself and took the form of a servant.” The Incarnation cel-ebrates the self-limiting of God’s glory for the sake of redeeming his fallen world. Perhaps if we yearn to enter into the reality of Christmas, it will take a similar self-limiting. If we don’t we’ll be pulling out our lights and trim in July one day and shrug it off. And while that’s not an evil in and of itself, we will have

lost the sense of what it means to enter into something truly, deeply, genuinely, powerfully special. A season that is special in the most ap-propriate and profound sense of the word. I pray that this Advent you will enter into this season with a sense of its uniqueness. Our liturgy at all our worship ser-vices will undoubtedly accentuate this - using a 500 year old liturgy tends to do that! I pray that as you come to the close of this year with your hearts and minds fixed on Christ, that you would also remember how special this parish of St. George’s is and how important it is to contribute to its life and ministry. If you have pledged for 2015 I thank you. If you are a member or worship regularly with us and have not pledged, would you consider doing so. And may the Prince of Peace be revealed to you in the power of the Gospel of the God who limited himself in order to draw near to you, and bring you near to him.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

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Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24th)4:30 p.m. Musical Prelude5:00 p.m. Family Service w/ Holy Communion, Rite II

Nursery available. Children are invited to bring gifts of disposable diapers and other infant items, which will be donated to local chari-ties who serve families in need in the Miami Valley.

10:30 p.m. Musical Prelude – St. George’s Choir & brass quartet11:00 p.m. Festive Holy Eucharist, Rite II (w/ incense)

Nursery care is not available at this service.

Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25th)11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I

Nursery care is not available at this service.

Sunday, December 28th (First Sunday of Christmas)10:30 a.m., no Sunday School or Kids Corner

No 8:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m. services this day

Sunday, January 4th (Second Sunday of Christmas)10:30 a.m. Service of Christmas Lessons & Carols8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. services resume at normal schedule

Sunday, January 11th (First Sunday of Epiphany)All services resume normal scheduling and liturgies

CHRISTMAS 2014 @ ST. GEORGE’S

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From the Associate Rector

What a grand season it is at St. George’s as we pre-pare to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ, the one who, by being fully God and fully human, brings peace between God and humanity. The mystery of the Incarnation is something to ponder the whole year, but especially so during Advent. This year we have the wonder-ful gift to worship ac-cording to a very his-toric liturgy, a service that emphasizes God break-

ing into our life to heal and transform, bringing light to darkness. And at the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, December 23, we have the treat of our Christmas Pageant. Many folks are preparing for this and many thanks to them, especially An-nie Booth, Emily Gatlin, and Pam Pinchot. At the center of the pageant is a Nativity Scene set below the altar and our children will gather around the crèche to share in the joy of Christ. Considering this image and our use of the 1552 liturgy, I can’t help but think of one of the great preachers of our tradition, Bishop Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626). Worship in his day was much like ours will be this Advent, and one of his most stirring sermons

was called the Nativ-ity Sermon. He spoke about how we should approach Christ in the Lord’s Supper much as the shepherds and wise-men who came to cel-ebrate Jesus when he laid in the manger. The star that led the wise-men is long gone, Bishop An-drewes preached, but the brightness of a day-star can grow in our hearts when we come in faith to the table God sets for us. I hope you can come to support our children as they learn about God’s gift of himself and I hope that this year’s pageant will make the light of Christ burn in your heart as bright as a day-star!

Blessings,

Cal

St. George’s has fantastic Sunday School teachers, but right now we need more of them. This is a great chance to share your love for Christ with our children in a very simple, en-during way. Our plan is to recruit enough teachers that we can rotate to some degree much like other ministry leaders too (ushers, verger, etc) rather than have an every-single-Sunday commitment. In January we’re also going to have a two-part Sunday School teacher workshop on Sunday morning to prepare and equip those who volunteer. Our children need you! Please speak with Pam Pinchot, our Sunday School coordinator or the associate rector, the Rev. Dr. Cal Lane [email protected].

Looking for a way to help our children?

On Sunday, December 21, as part of the 10:30 service, our children are preparing a wonderful pageant celebrating Jesus Christ as God’s gift to the world. Rehearsals are being held each Sunday after the 10:30 service as well on Saturday, December 20. If you’d like your child to be part of this pageant but you missed the initial meetings, please know you’re most welcome! Please email the pageant director Annie Booth at [email protected] or the associate rector, the Rev. Dr. Cal Lane at [email protected].

Please note: No Sunday School on December 28 or January 4, 2015. Sunday School will resume January 11.

Christmas Pageant – “What Gift Can I Bring?”

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Farewell McGowins & Congratulations EFM GradsYouth and Children’s MinistryYouth Group Fall Service Ministries by Rob JohnsonThe members of our Youth Group have had an active few months! While Youth Group certainly has events that are fo-cused on fellowship, a major focus is also on service to others, as Christ has called all of us to do.The youth began by assisting with the setup of the Rummage Sale in late September. Students helped assemble racks and tables, prepare the Nursery and Choir rooms for the sale and sort the merchandise. During the Rummage Sale, the youth were back helping as needed but also by conducting a bake sale. Bake sales were held in the distant past at the Rummage Sale and the return was welcomed by customers and parishioners. The following day, during the normal meet-ing time, the group participated in a well-earned Nerf War as a reward!While the bake sale was a fundraiser, the money was used solely for outreach. The week following the Rummage Sale, the Youth Group visited the local Meijer to purchase supplies needed by the Blue Star Mothers, a volunteer organization that supports troops deployed overseas. The group delivered the supplies to the Blue Star Mothers the following week, re-plenishing several items that the organization was low on. While there, the members were also active with packing boxes of supplies to be shipped to our deployed service members. It’s been a great Fall so far! If you’re in 6th grade through high school and haven’t been attending Youth Group, you’re missing something! We hope to see you there soon! Youth feeding the poorOn Sunday, November 23 from 3-5 our youth prepared sack lunches for St Vincent de Paul. Christ said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40).

Encountering Broadway in Dayton by Susan DalyOne of the highlights of the many youth events this fall was a trip to the Schuster Center to see Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. On Sunday, October 26, a group of parishioners from St. George's including 12 members of the Youth Group and 13 Sunday School children and their families, along with other parishio-ners and a few friends from the community attended the performance. This event for St. George's was made possible by a generous grant from the Dottie Yeck Foundation. Thanks to the Yecks, a total of 82 people were able to see this fun and energetic performance and share a wonderful lunch together in the Donor Lounge at the Schuster Center.

The youth group and some of the younger members of the parish started the day at Bible study where Annie Booth reviewed the Bible story of Joseph (Genesis chapters 37-50) that inspired the musical and shared some of the history of the theatrical version (originally written for an English school and subsequently expanded). Though our modern youth come from smaller families than Joseph's, they could relate to the family tensions of sibling rivalry, and most admitted to not necessarily being as willing to forgive as Joseph was.

This was a great opportunity for the entire congregation of St. George's to pray, eat, converse, laugh, and share a wonderful experience together. See you at the next Yeck Event!

David Sangrey and Laura Gains on stage!Recently our own David Sangrey and Laura Gains have taken to the stage. David was in performances of Anne of Green Gables with the Ketterings Children’s Theatre and Laura is dancing in performances of the Nutcracker with the Dayton Ballet. Take a moment and congratulate them when you see them in church!

Youth Christmas PartyOn Sunday, December 14 from 3-5 p.m., all youth are invited to come and celebrate at the home of Sheila and Randy Hughes. Come for fun, food, and ping-pong!


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St. George’s Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction

Saturday, Jan. 31, 20155:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ticket Sales and Volunteer Sign-Ups will begin on January 4th. Plan to come for a time of food, fellowship, and fun for all ages!

Socialize with old friends and make some new ones while placing bids in the Silent Auction, buying tickets for the 50/50 raffle, and feasting. Dinner will include appetizers, salad, bread, pasta with red or white sauce, meatballs and sausage, dessert, and beverages. Children's activities will include face painting, balloon artist

creations, and crafts.

Now is the time to help gather items for the Silent Auction. Can you donate a service or a personal treasure? Can you solicit a donation from a business you patronize? Contact Bryan and Susan Daly at 306-8462 or [email protected] to contribute to or assist with the auc-

tion. Letters acknowledging donations are available now.

Watch for the Volunteer Sign-Up poster in the Welcome Area in January and choose how you want to be involved.

Whether it’s selling raffle tickets, making meatballs, setting tables, cooking spaghetti, or helping with clean-up, there’s a job for everyone, and it's a great way to get to know your fellow parishioners.

If you have questions or offers of help, contact Thelma Best at 434-5486 or [email protected] or Julie Powers at 602-1335 or [email protected].

All proceeds from the Dinner, the Auction, and the 50/50 Raffle will benefit the outreach of our parish to those in need in the Dayton community, across the U.S., and around the world. So come and join us on January 31st,

and while you’re having a great time you’ll be “doing good” by supporting the work of St. George's.

Pane e Vino - In Italian that's Bread and Wine. At the Spaghetti Dinner we will supply the bread, but we are asking you to donate the wine. If you are willing to donate a bottle (or bottles), please contact Jean Tarr at 885-1791 [email protected]. Salud!

Centerpiece materials needed! At the Spaghetti Dinner we traditionally use balloons anchored with boxes of pasta and jars or cans of red or white sauce to decorate our tables. Af-ter the dinner, the pasta and sauce are donated to the Day-ton Episcopal Food Pantry. During the month of January, please bring these items and place them in the red wagons in the narthex. We will store them until it's time to decorate. Thanks in advance!

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St George’s Garden Plot Update2014 Stewardship

P L E D G E C A R D S

P L E D G E G O A L

Cards Received -

93

$$ Received -

283k

Target Goal - 165

Pledge $$ Goal - 415k

2015 STEWARDSHIP2 0 1 4 B U D G E T - 4 9 2 K

If you have pledged for 2015, thank you. If you are a member or worship regularly with us and have not pledged, would you consider doing so.

I have not been this confused for a very long time! As I write, the day is well below freezing, a thick blanket of snow feebly keeping the earth’s temperature above the 8 degrees Fahrenheit predicted for tonight. A week ago I was raking leaves in very balmy weather, yet yard decorations around the neighborhood ranged from ragged Halloween to Veterans’ Day flags to lighted Christmas decorations and indoor Christmas trees!

To top it off, my caroling quartet has sung all of our favorite Christmas carols already, in the outdoor malls that light community trees in mid-November. We seem so eager to “get Christmas in” before mid-December.

Sounds like my usual rant, I know. But one of the things I love most about the Episcopal tradition is the season of Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of Christ and the birth of the infant Redeemer. We hold Christmas at bay, at least at church, until, well, Christe-mass.

You probably have noticed that our Advent will feature a look back to our roots, with the 1552 liturgy developed by Thomas Cranmer. Our music will look back as well, in three ways. First, in that the choir will chant the Te Deum from the Hymnal 1940 each week at communion. This is a look back to our newest “old Book of Common Prayer,” one that I hope will bring pleasant recollections of the worship of old that we remember from our own lifetime. Second, we will sing anthems and hymns, insofar as possible, from the Renaissance age of Cranmer: music that still resonates with us all these centuries later. And third, we will welcome “Wind in the Woods,” an early music ensemble which will play 16th century music on period instruments. My thanks to Dan Duncan for helping make this possible. Dan is a St. George’s parishioner, as well as a member of the consort.

And fear not, for behold…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s just say that when Christ-mas comes, we will greet it and our Savior with glorious music, or-gan, brass quintet, and the making of merry music with our voices. So keep your eye on the calendar, lest you become confused like me! Happy days of Advent!

Jeff

Music at St. George’s

5520 Far Hills AvenueDayton, Ohio 45429OFFICE: (937) 434-1781FAX: (937) 434-2148

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DECEMBER 2014 CALENDARSUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Holy Eucharistwith Prayer Ministry8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.Lectionary & Youth-Bible Study 9:30 a.m.Sunday School & Joyful Noise10:30 a.m.Youth Group3:00 p.m.Holy Eucharist and Healing Service5:00 p.m.

Holy Eucharist 8 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.Lectionary & Youth Bible Study 9:30 a.m.Sunday School & Joyful Noise10:30 a.m.Youth Group3:00 p.m.Holy Eucharist5:00 p.m.

Lectionary & Youth Bible Study 9:30 a.m.Holy Eucharist and Christmas Pageant10:30 a.m.Greening of the Church

Lectionary, Youth & Rector’s Bible Study 9:30 a.m.Holy Eucharist10:30 a.m. Youth Group 3:00p.m.

Prayer Shawl Ministry1:00 p.m.

Vestry Meeting7:15 p.m.

Staff Meeting10:00 a.m.

Social Issues7:00 p.m.


Stephen Ministries9:30 a.m.



Bible Study9:30 a.m.

EfM7:00 p.m.


Building & Grounds5:30 p.m.

EfM7:00 p.m.

Finance Meeting7:30 p.m.


EfM7:00 p.m.

CHRISTMAS EVEOffice Closed

See page 3 for Christmas Eveservice schedule.

Dragon Slayers9:00 a.m.

Choir Practice7:00 p.m.


Stephen Ministries Training9:30 a.m.


Castle Cooking8:00 a.m.



CHRISTMAS DAYOffice Closed

Holy Eucharist11:00 a.m.

Office Closed

AA Meeting (Closed)7:00 p.m.NA-Teen/Young Adult (Open)8:30 p.m.

Office Closed

AA Meeting (Closed)7:00 p.m.

NA-Teen/Young Adult (Open)8:30 p.m.

Office Closed


Office Closed


Choir Practice10:00 a.m.

NA (Open)8:00 p.m.

NA (Open)8:00 p.m.

Choir Practice10:00 a.m.

NA (Open)8:00 p.m.

NA (Open)8:00 p.m.

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volume issue 12 monthly newsletter for st. george’s … · film “the incredibles” a family of...

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