Back-To-School Prayers

Dear Friends -
The buses are revving their engines and the school bells are ringing. As the beginning of the school year starts up, may you have a deeper sense of blessing than of rushing, a greater sense of confidence than of confusion. Transition - even the good kind - often brings with it unexpected upheavals.
Here are a couple of prayers to help you (and your kids) as they go on their way to new things. In the midst of it all, may you sense God's reassuring, uplifting presence.
Blessings,
Janet+

A PRAYER FOR OUR CHILDREN
Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges and universities, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open Forum this Sunday (9/26)

Dear Friends -
Sometime over the past couple of days - or perhaps today - you have received a letter from the leadership of St. Paul's. It's a letter that asks for your help.

Though many people have given generously, we still have a significant deficit (about $38,000, to be precise). The letter you receive will provide you with details about our parish's financial situation and asks you to prayerfully consider how you can help.

In order to answer any questions you may have about our parish finances - budget, expenditures, etc. - we will hold an Open Forum after the 10:00 a.m. worship service in the Parish Hall (during coffee hour). I will also be available to answer questions after the 8:00 a.m. worship service.

Thank you for all the ways you help support the work of God in and through St. Paul's. It really does make a difference.

Blessings,
Janet+

Notes from Vacation - II

Another quote from the Mark Twain museum . . . something to ponder . . . is it true?

The lack of money is the root of all evil.

Blessings,
Janet+

Notes from Vacation - I

From a visit to the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford -
one of my favorite quotes from Mr. Twain's writings . . .

Travel is fatal to prejudice.

Blessings,
J+

A Letter from Church Camp (a little summer humor)

(The characters and incidents portrayed below are fictitious . . . I assume. This is brought to you courtesy of the internet; orginal source unknown.)

Dear Mom & Dad,

Our cabin leader told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all upon the mountain looking for Adam when it happened. Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast.

I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning.

Our cabin leader got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up? The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes. Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if our camp director gets the bus fixed. It wasn't her fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left for our field trip. The camp director said that with a bus that old, you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why she can't get insurance. We think it's a neat bus. She doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes she lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus. She let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrol man stopped and talked to us.

The camp director is a neat lady. Don't worry, she's a good driver. In fact, she is teaching Jesse how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All we ever see up there are logging trucks.

This morning all of the kids were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. My cabin leader wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Our cabin leader isn't crabby like some of them. He didn't even get mad about us not wearing life jackets.

Josie and I threw up, but the cook said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. She said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison.

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy some more candy and fireworks. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love,
George

With an eye toward the future . . .

. . . parish leaders are in the midst of planning for the coming year. It's an exciting time. Many of the things that the people of St. Paul's have been longing for and praying for may now begin to be realized.

You can be a part of this time of hope and renewal. Here's how:
1. Pray daily the prayer that we've been praying together on Sunday mornings as part of the Eucharistic prayer: "Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world around us." And then add a prayer that God will draw us into what He's doing.
2. Help construct the parish calendar. If you are a ministry area leader, please call the parish office with dates and information about scheduled events in your ministry area. (Note: All information for the September Visitor and for the 2007-2008 parish calendar is DUE on AUG. 15th!)
3. Save space in your personal/family calendar for parish events. You will be receiving the parish calendar in the September Visitor, which should arrive the end of August. When you receive the parish calendar, please pray through the events and offerings you see there and mark out time for parish activities FIRST, before other demands press in.

This is God's promise to us: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) May our planning and preparations for the coming year enable us to receive the full measure of God's promise.

Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Avalanche Ranch - Day 5

Yee-haw!!!
The 50 young-uns who spent the week on Avalanche Ranch, 28 teen crew leaders, over a dozen adult helpers, and more than 60 family members and friends gathered in the chapel on Friday morning for a final CELEBRATION of our VBS week. The kids sang their hearts out, Sarah Wood (our Christian Education director and VBS coordinator) shared what the kids have learned this week, and I prayed. The Spirit of God was present among us in a powerful way. It was a truly awesome time. Yippie-i-o-ki-ay!!!

Quote of the day from one of the young-uns: "Can God really do stuff like that [heal people]? That's so cool."

Quote of the day from one of the parents: "My daughter doesn't want this to end. Is there some kind of program she can come to during the school year?" (My heart leapt . . . "YES!!! How about Sunday School?! . . ." Wah-hoo!)

Thanks be to God for wonderful kids and teen helpers and adult helpers. And SPECIAL thanks to God for the gift that Sarah Wood has been to us, serving as Director of Religious Education and VBS Director. She's "retiring" from her position as DRE, but she promises we'll be seeing her at church and involved at St. Paul's in other ways. We're SOOOOOOO blessed to have Sarah as part of our lives. THANKS, SARAH!
Yee-haw!
Blessings,
Janet+

Avalanche Ranch - Day 4

GOD IS AWESOME - Wah-hoo! In today's blissfully cooler weather, the young-uns on Avalanche Ranch took full advantage of the fresh air and sun by playing running games and water games on the rectory lawn. Those guys in the center, Will Dwinnels (back to the camera) and Peter Mavilla, were leading the fun.

Quote for the day . . . this time from one of the teen group leaders: "Can I sign up to do this again next year?"

I gotta tell you, it was an amazing and wonderful thing to sit in the chapel this afternoon and see 25 teens lead 50 VBS kids in singing praises to God . . .
"Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze,
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace.
Let's follow our Leader into the glorious unknown
This is a life like no other, oh, it's the Great Adventure."

If you want to be blessed right down to your toes, take a few minutes tomorrow and pop in at 11:45 a.m. to see the kids sing some of the songs they've learned for their parents. Yee-haw!
Blessings,
Janet+

Avalanche Ranch - Day 3

"Ain't no use to cry or frown.
Jericho is going down.
We don't fear a spear or sword
'Cause we're marching for our Lord."
Sargeant Matt Mastronardi led the "soldiers" in marching around the wall of Jericho seven times. Then the wall came tumblin' down - proving that GOD IS STRONG!

Quote for the day from one of the young-uns: "God helped my heart be strong when my grandma was in the hospital."

Yee-haw!
Faithfully,
Janet+

Avalanche Ranch - Day 2

It was hotter than a Loredo parking lot down on the Ranch today -- but that was just a good excuse to play some water games! Woooo-weeee!

Today, the kids learned that GOD IS WITH US (Wah-hoo!). One of the ways that we know God is with us is through all the ways God provides for us, especially through food and friends. Here, Emily Beard hangs out with the young-uns at the ol' watering hole.

Quote of the day from one of the young-uns on the Ranch: "God was with me when I learned to ride my bike without training wheels."
(I don't know about you, but I've found that there's lots of things in life that we have to learn to do without training wheels, so hearing this was a real encouragement to me!)

Yee-haw!
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Avalanche Ranch - Day 1

The weather's toasty, but that's not stopping the kids on Avalanche Ranch from having a good 'ol time . . . Today, the kids learned that GOD IS REAL (Wah-hoo!). They learned this not only from the stories and crafts and games and songs, but also through the enthusiasm of the Vacation Bible School leaders - especially teens like Johanna Dwinnels and Kate Rennie, who led the singing.

Quote of the day from one of the "young-uns" on the Ranch: "It felt like God was holding us in his hand."

Yee-haw and yippie-i-o-ki-ay!

Faithfully yours,

Janet+

Conversation with the Presiding Bishop

From June 28th-July 1st, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori made her official visitation to the Diocese of Connecticut. Presiding Bishops serve for a term of 9 years, and during that 9 years, it is one of their official duties and responsibilities to visit each of the 111 diocese of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Jefferts-Schori chose to make her official visitation to the Diocese of Connecticut for the occasion of the consecration of our new Bishop Suffragan, Laura Ahrens.


On the morning of Friday, June 29th, Bishop Jefferts-Schori spent a couple of hours with the clergy of our Diocese. It was a very informal gathering, and it was almost entirely a Q&A format. Jefferts-Schori was intellectually quick and very good humored thoughout, deftly handling questions ranging from "what do you do with your spare time?" to "do you think there should be/can be reconciliation between the factions in the Episcopal Church?"

Bishop Jefferts-Schori opened the discussion by explaining her understanding of the word "conversation." She said that the root of the word in Middle English literally means "to hang out with," and she noted that only part of that "hanging out with" involves words. Real 'conversation' involves knowing each other - spending time together and really understanding the whys and hows of each others worlds. Jefferts-Schori also noted that the ability to know one another is facilitiated by each of us first knowing ourselves.


For each of us, there is one deep truth about ourselves that we must know in order to have and maintain great relationships: "You are beloved." Each of us must know that God loves us more than we could ever ask or imagine. God's love gives us deep security and confidence; nothing can take God's love away. Grounded in that place of security and stability, we can open ourselves to knowing and loving others without fear, because nothing they can do or say to us changes that one most important truth: we are loved.

"A-ha!" I thought, as I was listening to Bishop Jefferts-Schori, "That explains how she does it." Spending time with Jefferts-Schori was such a delight because she is so present. Confident without being cocky, light-hearted without being flip, direct without ever being the least bit uncaring. Her lack of pretense and defense was truly refreshing.


Against the advice of some, Bishop Jefferts-Schori stands ready and willing to meet with people who vehemently opposed her election and/or who openly challenge her theology and authority. Bishop Jefferts-Schori is free to converse with her detractors because she is secure in God's love. She doesn't consider it a waste of time to converse with people who disagree with her because she really listens - because she truly respects their dignity and because she believes she might learn something from them.


Oh, yeah. There's one other reason that Jefferts-Schori doesn't believe it's a waste of time to converse with people who disagree with her: hope. "Hope," she says, " is where I live."

Faithfully yours,
Janet Waggoner+

Open for Business: Summer Sundays at St. Paul's

Don't miss Sunday worship or you'll miss some wonderful experiences. Not only will GOD be present among us, we'll also be enjoying beautiful music, enticing sermons and special music:

Sunday, Aug. 5th - The Choir of Pivot Ministries (a 25-30 member gospel choir!)
Sunday, Aug. 12th - Guest organist Jan Holden
Sunday, Aug. 19th - Special music by our own Bernadette!
Sunday, Aug. 26th - Guest organist Ben McCormick
Sunday, Sept. 2nd - Guest musicians Cynthia Howell (vocals) and Mark Agliotta (acoustic guitar)

I look forward to seeing you here!
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Celebration of the Life of Ruth Schuster

Dear Friends in Christ -

Our beloved Ruth Schuster, a devoted, long-time member of St. Paul's, passed away on Friday, July 27th.

A service of memorial and celebration of her life will be held here at St. Paul's on Sunday, September 16th, at 2:00 p.m.

Please keep Ruth's beloved family and friends in your prayers during this time, as they mourn her passing and fondly remember the blessings Ruth was to her family, friends and community.

Following is Ruth's obituary, as provided by her family.

Faithfully yours,
Janet+

Ruth M. Shuster (April 7, 1923 - July 27, 2007)
Mrs. Ruth M. Shuster passed away Friday morning, July 27, 2007 at Lincoln County Medical Center in Troy, Missouri. She was 84 years old. Ruth was born April 7, 1923 in Norwalk, Connecticut to Lloyd and Wilhelmina (Naumann) Sturges. She attended Norwalk High School and Grace Episcopal Church in Norwalk. She moved with her family to Derby, Connecticut and there married Stanley Klubek. They were blessed with five children: Michael, William, Kathryn, Joseph and Julie. Stanley preceded her on December 7, 1959. She married Bruno Shuster on August 4, 1962 and acquired two stepsons: John and Joseph Shuster. Bruno and Ruth spent 30 wonderful years together before he passed away on April 25, 1991. She was a long-time member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Huntginton, Connecticut and was active in church affairs and sang in the church choir. Ruth was a student of Maestro John Heidenger of Wallingford, Connecticut and sang with his Solo Ensemble. She also worked as a volunteer at Griffin Hospital. Ruth later moved to Elsberry, Missouri and spent her last two years with her daughter, Julie and her dog Heidi. Surviving are her children: Michael (Jerrilyn) Klubek of Shelton, Connecticut, William (Jacklyn) Klubek of Anderson, South Carolina, Kathryn Reyes of Plymouth, Michigan, Joseph (Glennie) Klubek of Leavenworth, Kansas, Julie Klubek of Elsberry, Missouri, John Shuster of Uncasville, Connecticut and Joseph Shuster of Wichita, Kansas; three brothers: Edwin Sturges, Joseph Brotherton, and Walter Brotherton and seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, and her siblings Beverly Gamble and Robert Sturges. Ruth will be sadly missed and long remembered by all those who knew and loved her. Memorials may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 1867 Lackland Hill Parkway,St.Louis,Mo,63146. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Huntington, Connecticut on September 16, 2007 at 2 pm. Family and friends may view the on-line guest registry at www.mccoyblossomfh.com.

Ready to Roll

Dear Friends in Christ -

I've returned from a very refreshing time of retreat and vacation, and I'm ready to roll! I was blessed to share some of my retreat experiences during last Sunday's sermon. If my sermon made you curious about the retreat center where I spend time every summer, you can visit Adelynrood's website at www.adelynrood.org.

The truth is that we all need some retreat time over the summer. It's a form of extended Sabbath and an important part of keeping Commandment #4. Going on retreat is also one of the key ways we get "charged up" and ready for what God's calling us to next. I'm excited to see what that will be.

This summer, may you find "rest unto your soul." Rest that leaves you ready to roll.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+

PS - Typical retreats can be as short as a half-day or as long as a week. You can "retreat" by yourself or with a group; you can go on retreat in any peaceful place - a park, a church, a retreat center. If you need help shaping a retreat, or finding a place to participate in a pre-planned retreat, please don't hesitate to call me! There are lots of resources close to home.