Spirit of the Eagle – April 2013

Rector’s Reflections
I don’t know about you, but Lent seemed to be longer than usual this year. Of course the fact that winter hung around longer than usual added to the feeling that times were tough and only increased our desire for light and warm temperatures. Also, the long illness of several of our members and the eventual passing of two of them, Cliff Reifenberger and Geneva Schmitt, only appeared to make the days appear more grim and that Easter would not come. But just like the rising of the sun, Easter came and the light has returned. Two friends have begun their journey to God and His creation is blooming all around us. Our Lord has risen from His Tomb and we have His promise of Resurrection as well. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
+++Yours-In-Christ, Fr. Bryan Newman

The Feast of the Annunciation, ‘Lady Day’
The Feast of the Annunciation normally takes place on March 25th, 9 months before the Nativity of Our Lord. This year, because of Holy Week it is transferred to the second week of April. We will celebrate this great feast on Wednesday, April 10th at our 6 PM Mass. In ages past, in England, this feast was known as ‘Lady Day’ and marked the beginning of the New Year. In those days the year was built around the events in Christ’s life, the Annunciation, Good Friday and Easter, and Christmas. At Noon on Lady Day the congregation would gather at the center of town and recite the Angelus, a great Christian prayer that relays the events of the Annunciation. A copy of this prayer is included in the Church Bulletin for the First Sunday after Easter (April 7th). Join us on April 10th as we celebrate the day the Virgin Mary consented to be the Mother of Our Lord and the day He was conceived.

Healing Service for April
Our monthly Healing Service will be conducted on, Sunday, April 28th, after Mass. It is inspired by St. James words, in his New Testament Epistle, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. Pray for one another, that you may be healed.” If you wish to be Anointed and offer your prayers for any that are suffering or are ill please join us after Mass on the 28th for this rewarding and reassuring service.

Geneva’s Final Coffee Hour
Many thanks to all who made and brought food for Geneva Schmitt’s funeral luncheon, held for her family and friends after their return from her burial ceremony. Our actions were very much appreciated by Geneva`s family and friends. Thank you to everyone for responding on such a short notice. You could really tell that our large group of guests were touched that Geneva meant so much to us by honoring her with the luncheon. Geneva’s presence was evident as her daughters reminisced about their past visits to SJC as children.
In Christian Love,
Brenda Strong

Vestry Meeting
Our Vestry Meeting for April will be held on Wednesday, April 17th, at 7:00 PM, after Holy Mass. If you are a member of the Vestry please make plans to be present. All are welcome.

The Flight of the Eagle
In Fr. Stork’s original newsletter ‘the Spirit of the Eagle’ he had a section called the ‘Flight of the Eagle’ where he related his activities for the past month. Below are the visits and other events, I made in the month of March. I prayed with them and gave them Holy Communion and Anointed them when needed.
+++Fr. Newman+++

3/2 visited Geneva Schmitt @ St. E’s Edgewood
3/9 visited Geneva Schmitt @ St. E’s Edgewood
3/10 visited Helen Foster@ Baptist Towers
3/17 visited Geneva Schmitt @ St. E’s Hospice Ft. Thomas
3/21 visited Fr. Al and Kathy Hougham @ their home
3/21 visited Geneva Schmitt @ St. E’s Hospice Ft. Thomas
3/30 Dayton Easter Egg Hunt @ Gil Lynn Park
3/31 visited Fr. Hougham @ his home

Anglican Church Women
Due to our kitchen remodeling project, the April 14 Coffee Hour has been cancelled, however the ACW will hold their monthly meeting right after Church at around 11:45 a.m. Among our business will be the planning of final details for the Spaghetti Dinner. A date for the kitchen cleanup day, spearheaded by Judy Hulsey, will also be discussed. While the bad news is there will be no April Coffee Hour, the good news is our kitchen renovation will be completed in time for the Spaghetti Dinner!

St. John’s Spaghetti Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 20th from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. With the installation of the new ovens, the new parish hall chairs, and overall sprucing up of the hall, the ACW is excited to prepare and host this annual dinner! All are welcome to attend so please spread the word and invite your family, friends and neighbors. Tickets are $7/adults and $3.50/children and can be purchased from Brenda Strong. Donations for the preparation of dinner are requested; spaghetti and spaghetti sauce and desserts such as cookies and brownies. Please drop off any donations in the parish hall and thank you in advance for your generosity. Mark your calendars to prepare meatballs and set up the hall, Italian style, on Friday, April 19th, between 5 – 6 p.m.

A retreat for the women of the parish will be held on Saturday, June 8th from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Judy Hulsey’s home. We would like to thank Judy for sharing her beautiful home with us. Father Butler and Janet have graciously offered to prepare devotionals and readings for the day to assist us on our spiritual journey. All women are urged to attend and they may also invite some special women in their life to join in on this day of prayer, reflection and companionship.

Thanks to all involved in the ACW who assisted in preparing some delicious dinners during our Wednesday Lenten Soup and Salad dinners. Your meals, time and fellowship are appreciated! Thanks also to those that decorated and prepared food in true Irish fashion to make our St. Patrick’s Day celebration memorable.

Thank you to all and especially the Vestry, for their recognition that it was time and their decision to donate funds to upgrade our kitchen. The ACW, all that prepare meals, assist with clean up, and do any work at all in the kitchen are very appreciative of this effort.

Looking ahead to summer, the ACW will be hosting a Father’s Day Luncheon for the men and fathers of our parish on Sunday, June 23rd, a week after Father’s Day. Thank you to all who participate and support the ACW.

Congratulations to Paige Smith!
Congratulations to Paige Smith! She applied and was accepted into Western Kentucky University’s Baccalaureate Nursing Program. She will start the program this fall; her junior year. Best Wishes Paige, as we are certain you will surely succeed in this program.

Opportunity for Electronic Giving at SJC
A few of our parishioners have inquired about the opportunity to have their contributions transferred electronically to the church account. This service would be particularly helpful in keeping up with your intended offerings. A minimum of 15 people will be necessary to get this service. If you think this would be something you are interested in, see Tim Lenz after church or tlenz8989@gmail.com and he will fill you in on the details.

Introducing Jonah Timothy Black
Jonah Timothy Black was born on Monday, April 1, 2013 at 12:45 p.m., weighing in at 9 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring in at 22″ long. He is the son of Ryan and Jordan Black, grandson of Carla and Tim Black and Carolyn and Tim Schlotman, and great-grandson of Brenda and the late Harlan Strong.

Chairs for Sale
Don’t forget about our chair sale, as we still have quite a few of the old metal folding chairs left. We are selling them for only $5 each and all money collected will be placed into our building maintenance fund. If you are interested in buying a few chairs, please see Mike Lenz and he’ll even load them into your car.

April Birthdays & Anniversaries
Brittany Butler – Birthday – April 13
Ethan Whalen – Birthday – April 15
Robert & Wilhelmina Hooks – Anniversary – April 22
Carol Petrie – Birthday – April 22
Wilma Herklotz – Birthday – April 25
Mike & Julie Murray – Anniversary – April 28

From the Sr. Warden
The City of Dayton has graciously agreed to accommodate our need for additional handicapped parking by providing us with an additional handicapped parking sign in front of the church. The additional sign will be installed within a week or two. We will now have 2 handicapped parking spaces in front of church for Sunday parking. PLEASE try to park as close to the car in front/back of you so we can accommodate our need for handicapped parking AND give us adequate drop off space in the front of church.

Spiritual Tidbits for April from Father Tim
I saw the Son of God go by
Crowned with a crown of Thorn
“Was it not finished Lord,” said I
“And all the anguish borne?”
He turned on me His awful eyes:
“Hast thou not understood?
Lo, every soul is Calvary
And every sin a rood.”

By Rachel Annard Taylor, “The Question” from Anthology of Jesus, edited by Sir James Marchant. (A “rood” is a large cross)

•••

Spring has arrived! Go for a short rambling walk outside today. Ask God to speak through your senses. Be alive to sounds and smells. Listen for the new life. Do something while outside – feel rain on your face, wind in your hair, mud on your fingers; smell the spring earth, the flowers, the grass; listen to the sounds of water, of birds. Imagine these sensory experiences as God’s direct signs of love to you—His tender touch, His gentle caress, His fragrant and eternal breath of life. ~Father Tim

•••

On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn. G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

•••

Feast Day of St. George – April 23
Patron of England & Catalonia

Pictures of St. George usually show him killing a dragon to rescue a beautiful lady. The dragon stands for wickedness. The lady stands for God’s holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.

He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and he was one of the Emperor’s favorite soldiers. Now Diocletian was a pagan and a bitter enemy to the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a brave Christian, a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for being so cruel. Then he gave up his position in the Roman army. For this he was tortured in many terrible ways and finally beheaded.

So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him.

We all have some “dragon” we have to conquer. It might be pride, or anger, or laziness, or greediness, or something else. Let us make sure we fight against these “dragons”, with God’s help. Then we can call ourselves real soldiers of Christ.

•••

April Spirituality Class
Abba is the term used in more than one place in the New Testament for addressing God as Father and it is with the ‘Our Father’ prayer that these meditations are concerned. At first sight it might be thought impossible to say anything fresh on something so familiar to all Christians as the Lord’s Prayer. Yet the inexhaustible depths of meaning to be found in it may, by the very fact of familiarity, all too easily escape notice and understanding. Please join us on the 21st of April as we begin to discuss “the prayer of all prayers,” the summary of the gospels, and “the interpreter of desire.” Reading material will be provided based on the number of participants who attend the first class. ~Father Tim

•••

The words of prayer are written once and for all, so that he who wishes to present his intellect motionless before the Holy and Life-giving Trinity may always pray one and the same prayer. The intellect itself has the sense that it is seen, even though at that time it is utterly impossible for it to see anything, for it is imageless, formless, colorless, undisturbed, undistracted, motionless, matterless, entirely transcending all things that can be apprehended and perceived in the created world. It communes with God in deep peace and perfect calm, having only God in mind, until it is seized with rapture and found worthy to say the Lord’s Prayer as it should be said. This is what we are told by St. Philemon and St. Irene, as well as by the holy apostles, the martyrs and other holy men. Anything other than this is illusion born of self-conceit. For the Divine is infinite and uncircumscribed, and the intellect that returns to itself must be in a similar state, so that through grace it may experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “For we walk by faith, not by sight,” says St. Paul (2 Cor. 5: 7). St. Peter of Damaskos, That Stillness is of Great Benefit

Prayer for April
Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and wonder of your world – for the hardness of wood and the softness of mud, for the briskness of cold and the wetness of water. Thank you for the life you’ve granted us – for the satisfaction of good work done and for the softness of sheets at the end of the day. Let me see you in all things and love you above all things. Amen.

I pray your April showers will fill your life with May flowers for the beauty and wonder of your world. ~Father Tim

End of Month Club
The St. John’s End of the Month Club will be holding their April get together at 1 p.m. on April 25 at The Green Derby Restaurant on York Street in Newport. We look forward to seeing you at on April 25 to share some fellowship and have a good meal!

PROPOSED BY-LAW VOTING UPDATE
The timeframe to vote on the proposed St. John’s By-law changes will end Sunday, April 14th. If you have already voted, thank you for your participation. If you have not voted to date, please take time to do so in the designated red box in the rear of the church. If you are unable to physically vote at church, you may vote by e-mail or hardcopy mail. Please make every effort to participate; we must have 2/3rds of the voting membership approve the changes. Please contact a Vestry member with any questions or concerns.

Sunday School Program at St. John’s growing weekly

St. John’s would like to welcome Kim Newman and thank her for, after persistent pleas from Fr. Newman, coming to the rescue of our Sunday School Program. After many months of struggling to fill the very important position of Sunday School instructor at St. John’s, our prayers have been answered and it appears the Good Lord has sent us an angel. A Christian Education teacher for many years, Kim has been inspiring the children to learn about Jesus in a fun and illustrative way while using a Bible board, as well as teaching them songs and stories. Thank you Kim, for becoming a part of our family at St. John’s!

Jr. Warden’s Report
Thanks to some generous parishioners, the Vestry and the ACW, our “To-Do List” is nearly complete and our building is looking good both inside and out. Recent improvements have been new carpeting and a new parish hall roof and the completion of the kitchen renovation is anticipated in time for the Spaghetti Dinner. I would like to thank everyone who has led these efforts to make my job as Jr. Warden a real pleasure….. You know who you are.

As a result of a seemingly never ending winter, the Church garden is a little bit behind schedule. Now that some spring weather is finally here, I hope to have the mulch down and some flowers planted within the next week or so. Speaking of flowers, please feel free to take home any of the lilies or tulips in Church from our Easter Service. There are too many bulbs to use in the garden now and it would be a shame to see them all go to waste.

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” – Robin Williams

Until next month,
Mike