Spirit of the Eagle – July 2012

News

Notes from Rector Bryan K. Newman
The Choir will start its summer hiatus from Wednesday night practices the first week of July. Given that attendance at the Wednesday night Mass falls dramatically during the summer, I have decided to suspend the Wednesday night service as long as the Choir is on hiatus. So please plan on joining the Choir and myself when Wednesday night Holy Communion returns on Wednesday, August 22nd.

+++Yours-In-Christ+++
Fr. Bryan Newman

Vestry Meeting
Our July Vestry Meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. If you are a member of the Vestry please make plans to be present. If you are a parishioner with particular business you would like discussed or would like to attend yourself, please approach any member of the Vestry or Fr. Newman and let us know that you will be attending.

Bible Study Class
We are continuing our review of the book of Genesis, which is the key that opens the mystery of our Christian faith. So please join us for this thought-provoking look into our origins. Our knowledge of God and what He wants for each one of us, primarily comes from Sacred Scripture. If you are still on the fence as to whether to participate keep in mind the words of the words of St. Jerome, “Ignorance of the Scriptures, is ignorance of Christ.”

End of the Month Club
The End of the Month Club is a chance for parishioners and friends to meet at a local restaurant to share a meal and fellowship. All are welcome. Most times we meet for lunch on the last Thursday of the month. A few times a year we meet for dinner, so those who can’t make the lunches have a chance to share in this fellowship. Our next gathering will be at Claddagh Irish Pub at Newport on the Levee, on Thursday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m. There is music and it is Pub Quiz Night.

We hope to see you there!

Spiritual Tidbits for July from Father Tim
St. Vincent was born in 1576. In after-years, when advisor of the queen and oracle of the Church in France, he loved to recount how, in his youth, he had guarded his father’s pigs. Soon after his ordination he was captured by Corsairs, and carried into Barbary. He converted his renegade master, and escaped with him to France. Appointed chaplain-general of the galleys of France, his tender charity brought hope into those prisons where hitherto despair had reigned. Once when a mother mourned her imprisoned son Vincent put on his chains and took his place at the oar, and gave him to his mother. His charity embraced the poor, young and old, entire provinces desolated by war, and Christians enslaved by the infidel. The poor man, ignorant and degraded, was to him the image of Him Who became as “a leper and no man.” “Turn the medal, he said, “and you then will see Jesus Christ.” He went through the streets of Paris at night, seeking the children who were left there to die. Once robbers rushed upon him, thinking he carried a bulging treasure under his garment, but when he opened his cloak, they recognized him and his burden (a couple of small starving and abandoned children), and fell at his feet. He died in 1660. His feast day is July 19th.

Ah, my God and Lord! How many are there that go to seek in Thee their own consolation and pleasure, and desire Thee to grant them favors and gifts; but those who long to do Thee pleasure, and to give Thee something at their cost, setting their own interests last, are very few. St. John of the Cross – Dark Night of the Soul

Please join us at our next Spirituality Class on July 22nd. We just finished discussing “resurrection” and will next be tackling Session Three in Surprised by Hope and discussing “The Hope of Heaven”. Heaven is not a faraway place we hope to go some day. Through Christ it is very near, it is the control room of earth, and as we follow Jesus, the reality of heaven comes alive in us and is unleashed through us.

Father Tim

“For of all other creatures and their works, yea, and of the works of God’s self, may a man through grace have fullhead of knowing, and well he can think of them: but of God Himself can no man think, and choose to my love that thing that I cannot think. For why; He may well be loved, but not thought. By love He may be gotten and holden; but by thought never.” (from the 6th chapter of The Cloud of Unknowing – anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century)

The anonymous author continues in Chapter 22:

“Sweet was that love betwixt our Lord and Mary. Much love had she to him. Much more had He to her. For whoso would utterly behold all the behavior that was betwixt Him and her, not as a trifler may tell, but as the story of the gospel will witness – the which on nowise may be false – he should find that she was so heartily set for to love Him, that nothing beneath Him might comfort her, nor yet hold her heart from Him. This is she, that same Mary, that when she sought Him at the sepulcher with weeping cheer would not be comforted of angels. For when they spake unto her so sweetly and so lovely and said, ‘Weep not, Mary; for why, our Lord whom thou seekest has risen, and thou shalt have Him, and see Him live full fair amongst His disciples in Galilee as he hight [called them]’, she would not cease for them. For why? Her thought that whoso sought verily the King of Angels, them list [skillfully] not cease for Angels.”

The above paragraph is a beautiful description of the love between Jesus and Mary Magdalene and a wonderful example for each of us to follow. Do we love Jesus so much that we would not be comforted even by angels until we found him? Do we love him so much that nothing, not even angels, will cease our quest to be in His presence?

St. Mary Magdalene, Penitent, Commemoration July 22, Trinity VII

I pray that your July will be full of celebration. Celebration for our great nation founded on Christian principles – celebration of our love for Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Father Tim

‘God’s Creation’ Church Day Camp
—-Saturday, August 4, 2012—–

On Saturday, August 4 the Education Committee will be hosting their 2nd Annual Day Camp. This is a scaled down version of a Vacation Bible School which we want to use to introduce our Church to the community. We have an enthusiastic group that has come together to stage a fun and educational day for the children attending. No Church can grow unless it attracts and keeps families with children, therefore we must develop strong programs for them. Please pray on this and decide how you can contribute! Our theme this year will be ‘God’s Creation’.

Brittany Butler’s Grill Out and Ice Cream Social
——Sunday, July 15, 2012—–
Asbury College has a really nice incentive program that allows the home Churches of their students to rally together and raise money for that student, while matching all money raised of up to $1000 to offset the cost of tuition each year. Since Brittany Butler has been home schooled, her college tuition cannot be supplemented with KEES money, so any help we can provide would be greatly appreciated by the Butlers.

After Mass on July 15, the Butler Family will be hosting a Grill Out and Ice Cream Social to be held in our Churchyard. In addition to grilling out some Angus metts and brats, some yummy ice cream options will be offered. Brittany will have some personalized SJC items for sale, as well as a special gift that she has created for one lucky person who attends or makes a cash donation.

If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute some money to help out, please make your check payable to St. John’s Church and give it to Lori Seyberth.

Altar Guild
The Altar Guild is responsible for making the sanctuary ready for all services. Its members maintain the church’s liturgical requirements for services by preparing the altar, laundering linens, preserving the sacred vessels, and arranging the floral displays that beautify the church. If you would be interested in serving on the Altar Guild, or if would like to give flowers for a Mass in memory of a loved one, please contact Joyce Murray.

July Birthdays & Anniversaries
Trudie Baur – Birthday – July 14
Ethel Fahlbush – Anniversary – July 17
Judy Boughner – Birthday – July 21
Pat Boerschig – Birthday – July 29
Wilma Herklotz – Anniversary – July 30
Tom Hulsey – Birthday – July 30
Juanita Marvin – Birthday – July 30
Fr. Bryan and Kim Newman – Anniversary – July 31
Mike Lenz – Birthday – July 31

Join us for the Ft. Thomas Independence Day Parade
Please make plans to march with us in the Fort Thomas Independence Day Parade, which will be held on July 4. We will be meeting at 9:15 a.m. at the residence of Lori and Rich Seyberth, located at 14 Waterworks Rd. in Fort Thomas. We will then walk the short distance to the parade starting point at around 9:45. As you can see in the photo above, we had a large and enthusiastic group of parishioners who marched in the Bellevue-Dayton Memorial Day Parade. Let’s make an effort to put together another large group of parishioners to spread our message, so the people in Fort Thomas know we are a spirited group of people who welcome them to visit us anytime at St. John’s. Directions to the Seyberth residence are listed below:

Directions from Bellevue/Dayton

  1. From Route 8/Cowens Drive- Turn onto I-471 S toward I-275
  2. Take exit 4 for KY-1120/Memorial Parkway toward Bellevue/Newport
  3. At traffic light, Turn Left onto Memorial Parkway and go 2 miles
  4. Turn Left onto Waterworks Rd. 14 Waterworks Rd on the right hand side.

Directions from I-275

  1. From I-275, head North onto I-471 North
  2. Take I-471 N to exit 3 for KY-1892 E/Grand Ave toward Fort Thomas. (Note construction on I-471 at Memorial Parkway has closed that exit)
  3. Turn Right onto N. Grand Avenue/KY 1892 (St. E. Ft Thomas is on the right)
  4. Turn Left at traffic light onto Highland Avenue
  5. Highland Avenue runs into N. Fort Thomas Avenue-At stop sign Turn Left onto N. Fort Thomas Avenue
  6. Continue on N. Fort Thomas Avenue past city building/fire house, where you will be directed left onto N. Fort Thomas Avenue
  7. At stop sign, Turn Right and continue on N. Fort Thomas Avenue
  8. At stop sign (gas station on Left) Turn Left, go one block then turn right onto Waterworks Rd. 14 Waterworks Rd. is on the right.

Any questions, call 859-781-3615 or 513-488-9431

The Baptism of Jaxon Keenan Lenz
The Baptism of our grandson, Jaxon Keenan Lenz, was held on Sunday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m. The Baptism was performed by Fr. Bryan K. Newman with assistance from Rich Seyberth. We would like to thank everyone from St. John’s who hung around to share this special occasion with us, as well as all of those who contributed to the feast we enjoyed afterwards in the parish hall. We would especially like to thank Robert Hooks for preparing and serving the food, and Brenda Strong, who stayed until the very last dish was washed and put away. We received many compliments from our guests about the beauty of the Church, as well as the friendliness and hospitality shown by our members here at St. John’s Church. Thank you very much!

Sincerely,
Ruth & Mike Lenz

Jr. Warden’s Report
Many major projects have been completed over the past 2 years, among them being the installation of a new roof, new parish hall windows, new sidewalk, new furnaces and air conditioning units, and a nicely remodeled ladies room. In hindsight, our beloved Church had fallen into a dismal state of disrepair right before our very eyes. I hope all of the above mentioned improvements will give everyone who contributes their money to St. John’s satisfaction in actually seeing tangible evidence of their generosity.

That being said, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel in regard to the completion of projects we have been forced to ignore for the past 20 years. Only two things remain- new carpet and new louvers in the bell tower, and they are on the short list. I would be remiss to not give due credit and thanks to Ms. Jean O’Roarke, God rest her soul, for blessing us with an endowment that has enabled us to fund many of our major projects through investment returns alone. Through her generous gift to St. John’s, coupled with an attainable and sensible budget, I’m confident we can complete the remaining items on our “to do” list within 2 years.

Due to firm commitments of many of our “worker bees”, our June 9 Parish Work Day was semi cancelled. I would however, like to thank Judy Boughner and Eileen Hanson for showing up anyway to do some patching in the Sacristy. Due to the busyness of summer, we will attempt to have another work day in the fall. We will try to complete the Sacristy project soon so we can concentrate on getting the Church hall painted in the fall.

Speaking of the Church hall, there is a long pew underneath the coat rack that serves no purpose and needs to be gone before we can paint the Church hall. It is FREE OF CHARGE but you must make arrangements to haul it away yourself. Since Judy Hulsey has shown an interest in it in the past, she gets first dibs. If Judy does not want it, please let me know if you’re interested between now and July 31.

I am pleased to announce that my New Steel Door Dream has come true. It will be installed by mid to late July at a cost of $1270. The funding for the door began with a net profit of $350 at the city-wide yard sale and then a generous donation of $100 from a parishioner. I would like to thank the ACW for stepping up to donate $400, and the Vestry for voting for the Church to pay the remaining balance of $420.

Until next time,
Mike

Dear Lord,

There is no greater feeling of liberation than to experience this freedom from sin and death that you have provided for me through Jesus Christ. Today my heart and my soul are free to praise you. For this I am very thankful.

On this Independence Day I am reminded of all those who have sacrificed for my freedom, following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ. Let me not take my freedom, both physical and spiritual, for granted. May I always remember that my freedom was purchased with a very high price. My freedom cost others their very lives.

Lord, today, bless those who have served and continue to give their lives for my freedom. With favor and bounty meet their needs and watch over their families.

Help me to live my life in a way that glorifies you, Lord. Give me the strength to be a blessing in someone else’s life today, and grant me the opportunity to lead others into the freedom that can be found in knowing Christ.

Amen

This concludes the July edition of The Spirit of the Eagle.
Have a SAFE and HAPPY Fourth of July!