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The Fledgling--Week of February 10, 2023
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You might recall that I mentioned in a sermon some weeks ago that the Season of Numbers is now upon us. Indeed, the time for filling out something called the parochial report has come--the time when clergy duly count up whatever statistics the diocese and the church as a whole want to know about, and report them.
I am happy to report that from my counting, St. John's continues to do well. We have grown a bit this past year, and our numbers continue to be robust. We added roughly twenty new members, if you are keeping track.
What is interesting to me, however, in each year that I fill out this form, is the way in which the numbers we keep track of have changed over time. One of the numbers we report, for example is "communicants". The definition of a communicant is a person who "is known to the treasurer, and has received communion within the past year, unless for good cause prevented." In ye olden days, before the advent of the 1979 prayer book, when Eucharist was celebrated each Sunday, to be a communicant was something you had to put some effort into, since Eucharist was only celebrated a few times a year. (In several places in our own archives, there are mentions of the sole Easter Eucharist being held immediately prior to the Annual Meeting, so everyone could be qualified to vote.) Nowadays, of course, it's not hard to be a communicant! Folks who swing through for Apple Fest are now our communicants, visitors on college trips, tourists--lots of people end up worshipping with us. Over time, the meaning of this number has changed.
Faith in general is like that. The rituals, the prayers we said in one part of our lives mean something different as we grow and change. They take on new layers of meaning, or begin to point us towards something deeper altogether. But that's ok--the goal of faith is not to achieve a perfection, but to continue to grow and deepen our love for God and for the world around us--and that process invites change.
What parts of your faith have grown and deepened in your life?
If you have an announcement for the Fledgling, send it to the office by Thursday morning for inclusion on Friday. Bulletin announcements should be into the office by Wednesday morning.
- If you know of someone who would like to receive the Fledgling, please send their email to the office.
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Prayer for the week
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings for this week
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Have you had coffee/tea/hot cider with Mtr Megan? Send me an email and we'll set up Skype/Facetime and chat! It's fun (I promise) and we can still meet while we're staying safe right now.
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Schedule this week:
Daily Morning Prayer: Monday--Thursday 9:30am on FB and YouTube
Adult Education: 9:15am in Parish Hall and on Zoom
Sunday Worship: 8am Rite 1 and 10:30am Rite 2
Episcopal 101: Join us following the 10:30am service. Grab some coffee and snacks, and head to the Chapman room!
Coming Soon:
Ash Wednesday, February 22: Rite 2 Eucharist with imposition of Ashes at noon and at 7pm.
Drive Thru Ashes from 3pm-5pm in the parking lot
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Christian Education
Adult Education resumes with a new book. We are now reading Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin DuMez. Join us in person or via Zoom with Chapter 8 THIS week.
CW: This book discusses difficult topics at times, and includes descriptions of child abuse, and racist and homophobic violence. Please take care of yourselves.
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Miss the Annual Meeting? Catch up now by reading the packet, here. Sincere apologies for the faulty Zoom link that was shared--somehow the link became corrupted and it failed to work. As soon as we have minutes from the Annual Meeting, these will be sent out in the Fledgling as well. --Mtr. Megan
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Historical Moment
In celebration of our 200th year, which began in April, we are perusing the various records of the parish to offer up different tidbits of our past. In a previous post, I cited Ernestine Cottrell as the first woman elected to the vestry here. I was properly corrected--indeed, it was Hope Kirkpatrick who was the first, and Ernestine was the second. Ms. Kirkpatrick was elected in the Annual Meeting of 1964 on the third ballot. In this same meeting, the following (entirely unrelated) report was filed by the Adult Class by Mr. F. Barron Freeman.
"Twenty-eight registered for the tenth year of the Adult Class, this fall, to undertake a close study of Evelyn Underhill's Worship during the first term, and an analysis of some non-Episcopal commentaries on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans during the second term. Average Attendence was good (about 21) until mid-December when we made the mistake of announcing an examination."
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