Spirit of the Eagle – November 2013

Rector’s Reflections
At the beginning of November, most people are putting away their Halloween decorations and preparing for Thanksgiving, but not here at St. John’s. Since we moved our Annual Parish Meeting from January a few years ago to November, our focus at the beginning of this month is getting our business settled before the start of the New Year. However, for centuries the Church has used the beginning of November to call to mind the lives of the members of the church who came before them. With the Feast of All Saints and All Souls, Christians honor those who marched before us in the Way. Here at St. Johns we have been charting a parallel course with Church tradition by honoring our own saints and souls who left this life ahead of us.

The last couple of weeks we have been fortunate to spend some time recalling the lives and contributions, of many of our members who have gone on to their reward. At our 140th anniversary celebration we focused on the generations of parishioners who founded and animated this church from its beginnings. On the Feast of Christ the King we were able to we focus on the generation that we inherited this parish from, people like Helen Lenz, Floie Matthews, Shirley Rawlings Haas, and Geneva Schmitt. Nor should we forget others who have begun their journey to the Lord, in the past year, such as Madeline Wright and Cliff Riefenberger. We the living should draw inspiration from the service and dedication of our parish saints and volunteer our time, talent, and treasure to the building up of this grand old church.

God Bless.+++Fr. Bryan Newman+++

Annual Parish Meeting – Vestry Elections
On the second Sunday of November, St. John’s will conduct our Annual Parish Meeting. While there is a lot important business to address at this meeting, perhaps the most important is the election of new members of the Vestry. We have been blessed, in recent years with very dedicated and committed individuals on our Vestry that have willingly sacrificed their time and energy to the service of our Parish and the building we reside in. They have accomplished some remarkable things in their tenure, such as installing new carpeting, the painting of our sanctuary, refurbishing the kitchen, and the Parish Hall, and the constant upkeep of the Church building and grounds. I could not be more pleased with the job they have done and I applaud their service. But time marches on and 4 of them have reached the end of their terms and will not be returning to the Vestry. So we need 4 people in the congregation to step forward to take their place and follow the fine example of their predecessors. Please consider being a part of this vital organization that our Parish is so dependent on. If you are interested in running for the Vestry please let a current member of the Vestry know. Please make every effort to be with us on November 10th because we need every member of St. John’s church to participate!

Wednesday Night Service
Our Wednesday night, Holy Communion service is an excellent way to rejuvenate our spirits as we face the balance of our week. There is nothing quite like taking a pause from the daily grind at mid-week to refresh ourselves by receiving our ‘spiritual food for our spiritual journey
’. I want to encourage all of you who were making the effort to attend Wednesday services, as it is just the kind of boost you need to complete your week. In November we will be celebrating the Anglican Martyrs, the Anglican Episcopate, and St. Cecilia and on the last Wednesday of the month, Thanksgiving. I hope to see you all there!

Choir Practice and Services
We have a small dedicated group that works diligently to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Won’t you consider singing with them? Practice is held every Wednesday at 7 p.m. As always we need more choir members and if you would like to make a joyful noise unto the Lord we would love to have you join us!

Vestry Meeting
Our Vestry Meeting for November will be on Wednesday, the 20th, at 7:00 PM. If you are a member of the Vestry please make plans to be present. Topics of discussion will be growing the parish and the results of the Annual Parish Meeting. New Vestry members, especially, are asked to attend. All are welcome.

The Flight of the Eagle
It was Fr. Stork, (of fond memory to many in this Parish) who shared a record of his activities with the Parish on a regular basis. It is in his honor and inspiration that we include the ‘Flight of the Eagle’ which is a record of my activities as your pastor over the month just past. Below are the visits and other events, I made in the month of October. I prayed with those I visited and gave them Holy Communion and Anointed them when needed. +++God Bless, Fr. Bryan Newman+++

10/5 Blessing of the Animals in St. John’s garden
10/6 Visited Fr. Al and Kathy Hougham @ their home.
10/20 Visited Donna Davis @ University Hospital
10/20 Visited Brenda Strong @ her home
10/27 Visited Ethel Fahlbush @ Villa Springs Nursing home

Fr. Newman’s Sermon from our 140th Anniversary Celebration
20th Sunday after Trinity 2013

Good Morning! Thank you all for joining us this morning. As you no doubt know by now, St. John’s is celebrating its 140th anniversary today. Now today is just the day we chose to celebrate it because the actual anniversary date was back on May 27th, but we were not quite prepared to do justice to such an occasion as this so we, the Vestry and I, decided to wait until we could. So everyone is invited downstairs, to the Parish Hall, at the conclusion of today’s service, to enjoy some good food and to reflect on some exhibits that we have put together to show some windows into St. John’s storied past and how we are pointed toward a bright future.

My thanks to Mike Murray for putting together today’s special bulletin, and to the members of the Vestry that came in yesterday to set up the exhibits for today’s celebration. Thanks also to those Church members who came in yesterday to host our visitors during the Dayton Tour of Churches. Please join Fr. Neuroth this coming Wednesday as he celebrates the Mass for the Feast of St. Luke, at 6 pm. It will be followed by Choir practice at 7 pm and this month’s Vestry meeting is also at 7. Next Sunday, after Holy Mass, please join me for this month’s Healing Service. So if you or someone you care about is suffering or ill please join me for this reassuring and rewarding service. Finally on the last Sunday of the month please join Fr. Butler, after Holy Mass, for this month’s Spirituality Class. Now for today’s message:

Winston Churchill who, in addition to being a great political leader was not a bad philosopher, once said, in regards to history, ‘The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.’ What he means by that is that to know where you are going, you have to know where you have been. Today, we are looking back at 140 years of history that has taken place in this parish; most of it, about 113 years has taken place in this very building. In looking back at our long history we should gain a perspective on where we are headed in the future, for to survive 140 years we must be doing something right. Today, we will focus on what we are doing right in order that it may carry us into our next 140 years.

In the early 1870s, Anglicans, then known as Episcopalians, living in Dayton and Bellevue had to go all the way to St. Paul’s Church in Newport. Now I know some of you are asking, ‘All the way to St. Paul’s? What’s he talking about? It’s just down the street.’ Well far too often we look at things through 21st century eyes instead of the eyes of someone from a very different time. In those days, the trip to St. Paul’s was somewhat arduous. It is nearly two miles from here to there and most people had to walk, unless you were wealthy enough to own a horse and buggy. At that time the roads were just dirt paths and not the smooth pavement we benefit from today. Ask yourself the question ‘how many people today, would walk 2 miles just to get to Church?’ Sadly I think the answer is very few.

In 1871 a small group of Anglicans in Dayton and Bellevue decided, with their Bishop’s blessing, to establish a meeting place in their town and operated as an extension of St. Paul’s church. At first they rented the Lutheran Church on Sunday afternoons, and then the Methodist Church, and later a place called ‘Odd Fellows Hall’ was where they met. I don’t know if it is still standing but with a name like that it should be. Then, on January 1st, 1872 the Dayton mission became independent of St. Paul’s and took the name of St. John’s Mission of Dayton, Ky. The Rector was a gentleman by the name of the Rev. Fred Elwell and the one notation I have on his tenure as Rector was that the church was prosperous. On May 27th, 1873 St. John’s Mission was granted full status as a parish under the Canons of the Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of Kentucky. An empty lot was then purchased on McKinney Street and a church building was erected and completed before the end of 1873 for the enormous sum of $2,500 dollars. I have been told that the original Church building is still standing although I haven’t seen it myself.

I found an article from a newspaper that was written just before our present building was constructed. It said that, ‘The Rev. Rollo Dyer, the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church since 1896, has announced that their present building on McKinney Street has been sold and a new building is under construction on the corner of Eighth and O’Fallon Avenues . It will be one of the finest church buildings on this side of the river, centrally located for the membership, which is largely beyond the boundary of the city. The site is a most favorable one, and the lot is ample for all purposes.’ The beautiful building you sit in today is over 113 years old and a major effort, by the Parish Vestry, has been made over the last three years towards its upkeep.

As a side note, in those days, in most every Anglican parish, the major Sunday service was Morning Prayer, which could be led by a layman, authorized by the Bishop, and not Holy Communion. Holy Communion, in the vast majority of Churches was only performed four times a year or if you were lucky enough to be in a large parish, once a month. It wasn’t that Anglicans did not appreciate the special significance of Holy Communion, it was that after the Anglican Church emerged from the Roman Catholic Church, about 500 years ago, there was a strong belief that Holy Communion, or the Mass, had been abused and that by limiting how frequently it was celebrated, Anglicans were giving the service it’s proper respect. Fortunately, during the last century, Anglicans have learned that proper respect for Holy Communion comes from being reverent during its frequent celebration, not by limiting it.

In its long history St. John’s has endured trying times as well as good. We know that during the Great Depression it almost closed, and if not for Don Prigge’s family, almost certainly would have. And while the surrounding community dealt with travails like floods, storms, and foreign wars, St. John’s remained an icon of hope and faith in a community sorely in need of it.

As we look back over the years of St. John’s existence the question arises as to how this parish has made it this far. What qualities does it have that empowered it to endure 140 years? It has had great pastors to be sure. It has had great members of its congregation, but pastors and lay people do not last 140 years. Unfortunately we are all temporary. So how has this church done it? Longevity of institutions is not a hallmark of our country. Groups, clubs, businesses, and even Churches come and go like the seasons of the year. Were you able look into the past and see the neighborhood St. John’s is a part of, virtually every building surrounding us, (that is not a home), would house something entirely different than what it does today. I found an old picture from the early 20th century, of this Church on the internet, I have a copy of it in the parish hall, and nothing about the surrounding area is the same. Only the Church is the same, Oh there are a few cosmetic differences but this building is largely unchanged in the more than 110 years that have gone by. Since it was built it has been a constant presence for good, illuminating this area with the light of Christ expressed through the Anglican tradition of the Christian faith.

In St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians he encourages his disciples saying, “I commend you brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I have delivered them to you.” And the people of St. John’s have done just that. In all these many years, the same faith has been practiced, the same Word has been preached, and the same God has been worshipped. This Church has endured the passage of time because it has something that is so rare in our society today,…consistency. We use virtually the same Prayer-book that has been in use for nearly 500 years in the Anglican Church and a Hymnal that contains hymns from centuries ago. We read from the most influential translation of Holy Scripture in history, the King James Bible. We may tweak a few things here and there, but what we do here has remained largely unchanged for nearly a century and a half.

A Methodist or Presbyterian or even a Roman Catholic from 140 years ago, were he or she able to enter a Church of their denomination TODAY, would not recognize the worship being performed there. But an Anglican from 140 years ago, were he to come through those doors in the back, and take a seat in the pews you are sitting in, would instantly recognize the worship service at St. John’s as how it was done in his time. I do not make this comparison to denigrate those churches that have seen fit to change how they honor God. They thought change was necessary. They thought they needed to change with the times, to conform to new ways of thinking. They thought their Church needed to be relevant to the modern world. But not here at St. John’s, we believe the only thing we need to be relevant to is faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that there are some things that should not change and that is why we consistently and continually worship in much the same way that Anglicans did 500 years ago. We believe that in a world of near constant changes there are things that need to stay the same, things that we can count on always being there and giving us a firm foundation to stand on.

Let me illustrate what I mean. One of my favorite movies is Field of Dreams. It’s about an Iowa farmer, named Ray, facing foreclosure on his farm. One day, long dead baseball players begin emerging from his corn-field to play a game on the baseball field he has been inspired to build. Ray invites a famous writer to come to his corn-field to give him perspective on what has taken place and if he should finish the baseball field. Ray is worried that if even if he finishes the baseball field no one will come to see it. I’m going to paraphrase what the writer told Ray and substitute St. John’s where the writer used the word, baseball. He begins, ‘The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been St. John’s. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But St. John’s has marked the time. This building, this worship, it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and could be again. Oh…people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.’

As we begin our second 140 years we should not give in to the worry that the world has passed us by. Or be concerned that what we do no longer appeals to people of today. Instead we must cherish the things that have sustained us for the first 140 years and continue to consistently practice the faith and worship, in the tradition that it was given to us. If we do, we can be assured that people will most definitely come.

Let us pray,

Dear Lord, we give you thanks for the many years you have blessed this parish of St. John’s. Grant us courage to face the future as we continue to appreciate our past, and may we consistently keep the traditions that were delivered to us. We ask this in Jesus Holy Name. Amen.

Christmas Flower Memorials
With Christmas quickly approaching, now is the time to consider honoring loved ones by donating to our Christmas Flower Memorial. You may either give the money to Joyce Murray or you can drop it in the collection basket. Please write on your check memo line: Christmas Flower Memorial, and don’t forget to include a list of the names of your loved ones along with your check.

ST. JOHN’S HOLIDAY OUTREACH
The holidays are quickly approaching and St. John’s will once again assist local families for Thanksgiving and Christmas with its annual Holiday Outreach program. Eight families will be assisted for both holidays through the Lincoln Elementary Family Resource Center. For Thanksgiving, we will be providing a Thanksgiving meal along with an assortment of non-perishable items. For Christmas, we will be providing a Christmas meal, non-perishable items and gifts for the children through our Giving Tree.
The Thanksgiving delivery will be conducted on Sunday, November 24, 2013.

For this year’s holiday outreach, in addition to food, it was brought to our attention that the less fortunate are in need of paper products (toilet tissue, paper towels and tissues), soap products (such as hand soap, bar soap and bodywash), toothbrushes and toothpaste, and shampoo. If the parishioners at SJC could bring just one or more of these items in the next week or two it would greatly help out those in need. Anything you are able to assist with will be greatly appreciated. We will have a box in the back of church and in the parish hall for donations.

We are in need of food item and cash donations to make this outreach as successful as in the past and continue our ‘reputation’ of stewardship within the community. If you would like to make a monetary donation by check, please make the check payable to “St. John’s ACC” with a designation in the memo portion of “ACM Outreach”. The donation will be processed through the general fund and directed to the ACM group. Thank you for your participation and generosity to this worthy cause.

Spiritual Tidbits for November from Father Tim
Saint Willibrord B.C., Feast Day 7th of November, was born in Northumbria (North East England) in 658 from pious, newly converted parents. His father Wilgils entrusted the boy as an oblate to the monastery of Ripon, and became a recluse at the mouth of the Humber River.

Willibrord grew up under the influence of St Wilfrid, bishop of York. At the age of twenty Willibrord was irresistibly drawn towards Ireland, the “Isle of Saints”, where he submitted to strict asceticism at the monastery of Rathmelsigi. He was ordained priest in 558. Willibrord was filled with the spirit of “peregrinatio”, the mystic desire of renouncing an earthly home, in order to preach the gospel to heathen peoples. In the year 690 he crossed over to the European mainland with 11 companions, to bring the Christian faith to the people of the Frisians (North West Netherlands and North West Germany), who had so far resisted evangelization.

Willibrord organized his missionary work with clever pragmatism until his death at 81. On his 70th birthday he made a note in the margin of his calendar about the most important dates of his missionary activity, and concluded with the dictum, “in Dei nomine feliciter” (happily in God’s name), which expresses his unflinching faith in God. He died on 7th November 739 and, according to his wish, he was buried in Echternach monastery.

Very soon after his death he was venerated as a saint, so that more and more pilgrims came to his grave. Willibrord wells and springs, which skirted his missionary routes and prove a great baptizing activity, were visited by people to solicit the healing of various nervous diseases, especially of children. A great number of parish churches in Belgium, the Netherlands, and along the Lower Rhine, which were often linked with the monastery of Echternach, have been dedicated to St Willibrord to this day.

Faithfulness to their patron saint is proved by pilgrimages to Echternach and their participation in the Dancing Procession. This procession is a religious event whose origins date very far back, and which could survive up to our days thanks to its uniqueness. It takes place every year on Whit Tuesday, and attracts thousands of participants and an equal number of spectators, thus to honor the memory of a saint of really European dimension, who is often called the apostle of the BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, & Luxembourg) countries.

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November is a time of sincere thanksgiving. In day’s past when the summer harvest was successful and complete, provisions put aside safely as possible, and all preparations were fully in place for the upcoming unpredictable winter, it was then time to give glory to God for all the bountiful blessings bestowed. Thankfulness was due. While most of us in modern times fall outside the ebb and flow of our ancestor’s day, and are no longer “attached to the earth” in such an agrarian way, we still should remember the bountiful blessings in our life, no matter how small. Our modern days, now more than ever provide us a way, as Saint Willibrord chose, to be filled with the spirit of the mystical “peregrinatio”, in order to preach the gospel. Let us start by witnessing our personal thanksgiving to our many un-churched family and friends. I pray that God continually pours bountiful blessings through, over, and out of you during this month of November. ~ Father Tim

November Spirituality Class
Please join us on the 24th of November as we continue the class study of “Doing the Right Thing”, a six part exploration of Ethics. This class we will watch “If We Know What Is Right, Can We Do It?” & “What Does It Mean To Be Human?”, two 30 minute thought provoking DVD sessions and discuss each one in depth. Doing the Right Thing explores the moral breakdown affecting culture from all sides, and how a lack of Ethics drains our Spirituality. The series raises ethical issues in a compelling and fresh way, through panel discussions, interviews, and student questions. The six video sessions and workbook encourage participants to examine how ethical issues relate to all aspects of their lives. Panelists and guests include Chuck Colson, Robert George, Alveda King, Ben Stein, Brit Hume, Donovan Campbell, Dr. Ken Swan, and many others. I hope to see you in class in October. Be sure to bring any teenagers in your family as well – this is a must see for them! And bring a friend!!! ~ Father Tim

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O Sion, thou city sole and single, mystic mansion hidden away in the heavens, now I rejoice in thee, now I moan for thee and mourn and yearn for thee; thee often I pass through in the heart, as I cannot in the body, but being but earthly flesh and fleshly earth soon I fall back. None can disclose or utter in speech what plenary radiance fills thy walls and citadels. I can as little tell of it as I can touch the skies with my finger, or run upon the sea or make a dart stand still in the air. This thy splendor overwhelms every heart, O Sion, O Peace! O timeless City, no praise can belie thee. O new dwelling-place, thee the concourse and people of the faithful erects and exalts, inspires and increases, joins to itself, and makes complete and one. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153

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In November read the sixth chapter of Isaiah and “feel” the presence of God and what we have to be thankful for. After reading it, go forth and transmit it by living fellowship and the inspiration of personal contact. ~ Father Tim

“One thing there may be known; unlike as it is, when a man heareth himself a dulcet instrument of strings sweetly sounding, compared to whoso but heareth tell thereof, even so are the words which are received in the purity of grace and flow forth out of a living heart by a living mouth unlike to those same words if they are beheld upon the dead parchment… For there they grow cold, I know not how, and wither away like roses that have been plucked. For the lovely melody that above all toucheth the heart is then quenched to silence; and in the waste places of the withered heart are they then received.”
Henry Suso, O.P., German Domincan Friar, 1300-1366

End of the Month Club
Since Thanksgiving falls on the last Thursday of the month, The End of the Month Club would like to invite everyone to our November 22nd gathering at Dixie Chili at 1 p.m. Remember the only two qualifications needed are: 1.) You must surround yourself with friends who like to eat and share fellowship, and 2.) Repeat #1. We hope to see you there! Everyone is invited, so call if you need a ride.

Thank You, Thank You, Judie B.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank a very special, wonderful Christian woman in our parish. She has helped me out in two very special ways during my recent “healing process” time. Judie Boughner (AKA Judie B) has filled in for me on SJC night (last Monday of the month) at the Henry Hosea House/ECHO for the past five months. Also she helped me on Monday, October 21st with the Family Promise (formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network) with purchasing the groceries for breakfasts and lunches for the families in the program, then delivering them to the United Church of Christ in Ft. Thomas and carrying groceries down two flights of steps to the kitchen to be put in freezer/refrigerator.

Thank you Judie, for all of your help, support, time, effort, and dedication. I appreciate “everything” very much. It is very helpful to know someone such as yourself who will do the job, do the job well, and not hesitate to say “Yes, I will do it”. Thank you!

In Christian Love,
Brenda Strong

November Birthdays & Anniversaries
Mary Ann Neuroth – Birthday – November 9
Jerri & Tim Lenz – Anniversary – November 11
Bob Schmerge – Birthday – November 13
Carolyn & Bob Schmerge – Anniversary – November 16
Donna & John Lipscomb – Anniversary – November 26

Pie Raffle for Thanksgiving Outreach
At the Parish Meeting on Sunday, November 10th, Lori Seyberth will be raffling off pies to benefit our Thanksgiving Outreach. So far this year, we have 2 delicious desserts — an Apple Cinnamon Silk pie and a Turtle Cheesecake. Raffle chances are 2 for $1.00. Be sure to bring your lucky dollar(s) with you on this Sunday to benefit the less fortunate! If you would be interested in bringing a pie to help out the cause, please see Lori before the meeting and she’ll be happy to raffle it off!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is the appointed time for focusing on the good in our lives. In each of our days, we can find small blessings, but too often we overlook them, choosing instead to spend our time paying attention to problems. We give our energy to those who cause us trouble instead of those who bring peace. Starting now, let’s be on the lookout for the bits of pleasure in each hour, and appreciate the person who brings love and light to everyone who is blessed to know them. You are one of those people. On Thanksgiving,
I’m thankful for you… Happy Thanksgiving!