I had the pleasure of meeting with our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Shori, last week at the Annual Council in the Diocese of Southern Virginia.  She talked a lot about having the courage to leave behind the old and embrace the new.  She said that while it is nice to be historical and quaint, God calls us to be more.  God calls us to change; God calls us to embrace new journeys.  As I look back at the last year, I can see that we have been through an incredible time of transition.  It has been a time of leaving the old behind and embracing the new.  We have found that our old behaviors just don’t work anymore, and, more importantly, we have found that moving on has brought us great joy and growth.

The joy and growth have come from spreading out and connecting with others.  We have become passionate.  Our passion is the fire that helps us to step out and embrace others.  We cannot be driven by passion alone, nor can we be driven by intellect alone.  Our passion requires serious emotional and strategic thinking.  Our passion needs to be tempered by reasonable thinking.  That is how we move on and keep our balance.  When we trust and honor our process of moving on and balancing ourselves, then we can respect other people and appreciate what they have to offer us.

When we react in a negative fashion, it is a sign that we do not trust our process of moving on and balance.  God calls us to move forward and to trust in what we establish. 

The relationships that we are forging with other churches in our community are wonderful examples of balancing our passion and intellect.  We have formed new partnerships.  We have made new formations in ministry.  We have become a community of people who work together; we are becoming fully connected to our youth and to mission programs.

Compared to the pain, suffering, and hunger in this world, we are privileged people.  God calls us forward.  God calls us to trust what we establish.  We are the ones who dare to reach out our hands into the dark in order to pull another hand into the light.

God will use the children among us, and the people on the margins – servants and enemies, Muslims and secularists – to remind us that everybody can be healed, even the people we love to hate. God’s mission is the healing of the whole world and every part of creation. That is the reason for Jesus’ presence among us in human flesh. And it is the reason why each of us is here – to be healing hands and hearts and tongues – as we will remember in those baptismal promises. 

Let us trust in our sense of balance for our passion and our intellectual and emotional balance as we venture out into new territory.

In the Bible, we find that the heroes were not the rich, powerful, and famous, but those who had trust and faith in the possibilities of what could be. They had faith in their sense of balance and passion.

Your faithful servant,
Margie

 In the Bible, we find that the heroes were not the rich, powerful, and famous, but those
who had trust and faith in the possibilities of what could be. They had faith in their sense of balance and passion. 

A Word About Bishops
By Margie Holm

Bishops can be seen as powerful figures, backed by resources such as money, staff, and facilities. In a sense they are powerful, but only through the same sort of trust and faith exhibited by our heroes in the Bible.

When the Episcopal Church was formed after the American Revolution, English institutions fell out of favor. The English bishops had authority and privileges that our founders carefully avoided giving to our bishops. We ended up giving bishops more responsibility than authority. Our Catechism answers the question “What is the Ministry of a bishop?” in this way: “The ministry of a bishop is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as apostle, chief priest, and pastor of a diocese; to guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the whole Church; to proclaim the Word of God; to act in Christ’s name for the reconciliation of the world and the building up of the Church; and to ordain others to continue Christ’s ministry.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 855) That is a tall order! They often lead by the force of their personalities since they are short of the sort of power a politician or a captain of industry might have. It makes us weak in one sense but strong in other ways.  A powerful example of a bishop who leads with faith and trust was given in the answer to “How could a bishop from a small diocese and with limited experience be elected Presiding Bishop?” One bishop answered, “Katharine is dynamic, creative, bold, and faithful to the gospel.  We see in her a centeredness, prayerfulness, groundedness, and courage.  She is a faithful and holy woman.  Her intelligence, her capacity to articulate, and her ability to speak pastorally to people on every side of every issue are qualities that make her, I believe, the first choice of many of us.”  I personally witnessed Katharine Jefferts Schori, our Presiding Bishop, when she presided for the consecration service I recently attended.

She demonstrated all those wonderful traits of leadership based on faith. That is what I’m talking about as a description of the leadership we hope to have from all bishops.  With faith and trust many wonderful things have been accomplished in the Church.

We Episcopalians love a good show and we had one when the 10^th Bishop of Southern Virginia was consecrated at the College of William and Mary.  It was one of the most significant moments of my spiritual life.  There were around 50 bishops attending in all their finery as well as over 100 priests dressed up as much as we were allowed. There were massed choirs offering wonderful music; there were great liturgies and sermons. I haven’t seen anything so grand as this ever before.  I loved it.  But if Jesus had been there, he might have said, “see that you say nothing about this to anyone.” It depends on what we were doing there.  If the consecration was only a show and we were only an audience, then Jesus may well have said don’t say anything about what you saw. Jesus is not looking for an audience. Jesus is looking for those who will follow Him and are willing to grow in faith and trust and gain a new perspective of what is possible. The new bishop in Southern Virginia is not the lone star ruler of the diocese.  He does not do it alone.  Being a well-grounded leader takes the bishop and the people to be a diocese.  Let us remember to keep Bishop Hollerith in our prayers as he exercises his extraordinary ministry and to work with our Bishops as responsible members of each and every Diocese to develop our faith and trust in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Episcopal Church Women

I am looking for a good turnout for the March 1^st women’s meeting and meal after the church service and Holy Eucharist. Remember all women are invited. The chairman of the Rocky Mount Convocation, Linda Jobe, will join us that day.

Remember that the Lex Matthews scholarship information application is due by March 15^th. This is the scholarship to help women 23 years or older continue their education toward a certificate or undergraduate degree. If you would like information please contact me.

The following are positions on the board to be filled:  president, vice president, secretary, sec. of devotional life and sec. of food administration.  These positions will be voted on at our April meeting and will take office the first Sunday in June.  If the nominating committee calls you please accept the position and take a place on the ECW board.

The ecumenical church services and lunches give us a good opportunity to see others who often we have not seen in a while and make this a most enjoyable outing. I hope to see some of us Episcopalians there. I think everyone who came enjoyed our turn this past week. The food and fellowship were both great. Thanks to everyone who made it a success.

Sisters in Christ,
Ruthie G.

Safe Church Training
Saturday, March 7, 2009

Safe Church Training will take place on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount from 9:30 am—1:30 pm. This class is imperative for anyone who works with children of all ages in the Episcopal Church.  If you have not had this class please contact the parish office for more information.

Don’t forget

Daylight Savings Time Begins on Sunday, March 8^th.  Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour when you go to bed on Saturday night.  You don’t want to miss the Second Sunday in Lent services!

Saints’-On-Wheels Tour Schedule

Saints’-On-Wheels provides an opportunity for church members and friends to explore God’s creation….the  beautiful world around us… with fun and fellowship.  To register, you must call Vickie in the church office at 537-3610.  If you need to be picked up, let her know.  If we do not have at least 7 people call in two days before the trip, then we must cancel.  Cost per trip will be $10 to cover the cost of gas.  Meals, drinks, admission fees, and other personal purchases will cost extra. Parents must accompany their children.  Please sign up for one or all of the following trips….

Colonial Williamsburg Va

Tentative for Thursday March 26, 2009

Let’s leave the Office about 9 AM and head to Williamsburg, Virginia.  The route will be determined later.  We’ll have lunch there and see some of the colonial town.

http://www.history.org/visit/eventsAndExhibits/calendar/index.cfm

The Planetarium in Chapel Hill

Tentative for Saturday April 18, 2009

We’ll leave about 9:30 and eat an early lunch maybe in Durham then head over to the Planetarium and see a show or two.  Admission $6 adults or $5 seniors (60+). Additional shows are $2 each.

http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/

Outreach

The loose offering on the second Sunday in March is designated for the National Bone Marrow Registry.  We hope to raise money to sponsor a bone marrow drive.  We'll learn more about it at our first Lenten program on March 4th. Particularly needed are minority donors or donors of mixed race.

Also, thanks to the Cub/Boy Scouts for their donation of canned goods to All Saints’ Food Bank.  But unfortunately, it is never enough and our shelves have gotten very low again.  So keep the donations coming in on Sundays.

Looking for a desk for Summerlee to use in the parish office.  Let us know if you have one.  Thanks

COLUMBARIUM NEWS

We have added 24 new niches to the Columbarium in the Dunn Garden.   At this time, they are being offered for sale at the price of $1,000.00.  This is an introductory price.  As of June 1, 2009, the price will increase to $1,500.00.  Please give this careful consideration and let us know if you would like to purchase a niche.  Contact the parish office for more information.

Children’s Choir Is Up and Running!
By Jim Lee

 I remember the day—the very day—my voice changed.  I had been singing as a boy soprano at a children’s choir festival where I had a prominent solo.  The next weekend, my church children’s choir was to perform the same piece, and we had a rehearsal scheduled for Saturday morning before performing in our Methodist church on Sunday.  I began my solo, a beautiful setting of Psalm 19, “The heavens do declare the majesty of God…” in a very shaky baritone!  My choir director and I worked the whole afternoon on a concept called “falsetto,” and I was restored to a soprano for one more day.

I still trade e-mails with that choir director, who is now working with a Lutheran church in Atlanta.  As a matter of fact, when I thought about music for our children’s choir to perform, I remembered the songs that I sang in children’s choir and youth choir and actually found some of the songbooks we sang from to get the music and lyrics.

For many of us, our first experience with music is in the church children’s choir.  We remember the excitement of being a part of “big church,” and we recall how important we felt to be entrusted with such responsibility.  We also learned many of the texts and stories of the church through the musical settings we sang.

In order for our kids to have these experiences, Margie has asked us to have the children of the church present a short program of music and readings on the fifth Sunday of any given month beginning in March.  We will also expand the Flowering of the Cross service on Easter morning to include a performance by the children’s choir.  I have selected the music and prepared a text for each service, and I have CDs of the songs available for the children to sing along with.  We will rehearse at 10:30 each Sunday morning at the end of Sunday School.

A children’s choir program is vitally important in the life of a church, and I hope that you will make an effort in March to make sure that your children are a part of this experience.  Many thanks to both parents and kids for making this special effort.

It is often said in the Episcopal Church regarding private confession that 
“all may, some should, but none must.” 

 Reconciliation of a penitent is more commonly known as confession.  There are two forms of confession in the Episcopal Church.  First, there is public confession, which is part of the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and present during other services of worship.  In public confession, we all pray together for the forgiveness of our sins, which we may enumerate in the silence that is kept after the bidding.

Private, individual confession is also available in the Episcopal Church.  There is no requirement for such a rite.  What we tell people is that “all may, some should, but none must.”  For some people who are unusually burdened, the pronouncement of God’s forgiveness in the presence of a priest can be an important step in the process of healing.  To arrange for the reconciliation of a penitent, please contact the parish office to set up an appointment.