A Message from our Rector
Dear Friends:
After John the Baptist was imprisoned he heard reports of Jesus’ work and started to worry. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether he was indeed “the one to come.” John had drawn massive crowds into the wilderness and spoke with passion to large numbers of people, scaring them, urging them to repent. By contrast, Jesus maintained a ministry that was much more local, healing heart, body, and soul one person at a time. John was perplexed by the form of Jesus’ ministry, the gift of time, the particularity of the contact. John was perplexed by the immediacy of Jesus’ mission, and by the long game it necessitated.
One of the gifts of the Incarnation, of God’s time dwelling among us as us, is the gift of presence. I have heard presence called “not quality time, but big fat quantity time.” It is the gift of minutes and hours of life; it is the present of our presence. It turns out that big fat quantity time is often a necessary component of “ministry” because ministry—whether done by professionals in collars or done by any of us in the most ordinary of circumstances—is about the process as well as the result.
In the four years that I have been in Greencastle, I have been a mentor in the Kids Hope program. Kids Hope links one adult volunteer with one child to meet once a week—that’s it. I signed up thinking that I’d be assigned to read books with a child, something that I love doing. But my student is not a fan of books—and anyway, I am asked to offer something much simpler: to show up. I show up once a week. We may meet for as little as 15 minutes, but I show up. We may have a project, or we may just eat lunch, but I try to be sure just to show up. I’ve been showing up for four years now.
I am amazed at how much showing up matters. First, the other kids at school get to know me, and are curious and a little envious that my student has this weekly event. Second, and more importantly, my kid notices. One year the program had started well after school had started. I met with my student the first Tuesday and then had to travel the second Tuesday. I was sure my student didn’t yet know the pattern or have expectations and wouldn’t miss me—but I was wrong. The following week his first words were, “Where WERE you last week???”
A commitment to show up and be present is a gift to this child. Over four years I’ve gotten to know a bit about him and his family. He is shocked to realize that his presence makes an impact on me, that I’ve noted and listened to him. And this child, who faces many hardships, has surprised me with his acts of generosity and kindness and observation—his own gift of presence—when he notes that I am in need and that he can fill that need. He is attentive and observant and generous in a given moment, getting me a tissue, or offering some of his raisins. He is present.
If you have a moment or two to spare during the course of a week, I hope that you will consider being a mentor for Kids Hope. Activities for the meetings could be planned out ahead of time, but just showing up each week, presence, is the main offering. Spending 15-25 minutes a week, month after month, eating lunch together is exactly that gift.
To find out more, or to volunteer to be a mentor, contact Carol Miller, the coordinator for Kids Hope. Carol is a great administrator of the program and a resource to mentors. She will provide games and coloring sheets if you want them; she keeps us informed about school calendars and is a liaison between volunteers and the school; she offers support when there is a challenge or snafu. She will also remind you that the thing is really just to show up, to be present.
You can reach Carol at kidshope@gobinumc.org
In peace,
Jen+
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity…Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.” –Simone Weil
Connect With Us
Rector’s Office Drop-In Time
Rev. Jen has set her office drop-in day as Wednesday of each week from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for anyone who would like to stop in and visit. You are always invited to make an appointment for a time convenient for you. Mondays are her Sabbath day.
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
In-Person Sunday Morning Service, August 23, led by Rev. Dr. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore,10:15 a.m.You can stream the service via St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Greencastle, Indiana Facebook Page. Click on this link to view the Live Stream. We will start the Live Stream 5 minutes prior to the start of the service.
Click here for the service booklet for this service.
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The Latest Updates
PRAYERS FOR OTHERS
If you have prayers that you would like offered on Sunday–prayers of thanksgiving, for those in trouble or sickness, or those who have died and those who grieve, please call in or send an email to Michelle. The names will be said aloud on Sunday for four consecutive weeks and then cycled off. If you would like the prayers continued, please tell Michelle and the names will be added to the long-term prayer list.
HYMN NAMES IN THE BULLETIN
In the coming weeks, you may notice a change in the way that hymns are designated in the service bulletin. The information at the bottom of the hymn includes a hymn name in capital letters. The hymn that begins “Jesus Christ is risen today” is set to the tune Easter Hymn. The tune for “Come, Thou Fount” is Nettleton. “Let all mortal flesh” is set in our hymnal to the tune Picardy, and both “Love divine, all loves excelling” and “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” are set to Hrfrydol.
Our reasons for this change are simply pragmatic: the hymn names are shorter than the first lines, and fit better into our bulletins. But there is also a certain skill—and pleasure—to identifying tunes as well as words, in part because it highlights the artistry of the person who wrote the music. Be sure to look this week for this new feature to our bulletins.
BOOK AND BIBLE GROUP– ***on a break until after summer***
We will be taking a break through the summer from our Tuesday afternoon gatherings. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements for occasional gatherings of Pub Theology when we will gather to share snacks, a cold drink, and conversation. Evening Prayer will still be celebrated at 4.00 pm on most Tuesdays.
EVENING PRAYER
Join us for Evening Prayer in the sanctuary on Tuesdays at 4:00. Evening Prayer is a wonderful service to wind down the day and move into the evening hours.
CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
On Wednesdays at 1:00, we gather for about a half hour in quiet contemplative prayer. A leader introduces the prayer and a bell is chimed; we sit in prayer for twenty minutes until another chime sounds and then close with a spoken prayer. Feel free to come in any time between 1:00 and 1:20 to pray in silence in a lovely sacred space.
ALTAR FLOWER CALENDAR
An altar flower calendar is posted in Hamilton Hall. Sign up to sponsor the altar flowers to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, remember a loved one, or in thanksgiving for an important event. We ask a donation to help offset the cost of the altar flowers and other worship expenses. Be sure to tell the office your dedication so that it can be printed in the bulletin. Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and in the memo field please put this information: Altar Flowers, person’s name, occasion, Sunday date you’d like for the flowers to be on the altar.
VESTRY MEETING MINUTES
If any of you are interested in what your Vestry is doing, there are two copies of each month’s minutes on the music stand in Hamilton Hall. Feel free to read and return!
SHOPPING LIST FOR NON-FOOD PANTRY
Please see the Non-Food Pantry Latest section of the newsletter for items most in need for this month. Meals and conversation in Hamilton Hall are going well. Patrons are now able to pick out items they most need. Your contributions help our budget go farther in helping meet the needs of those in Putnam County. Please scroll down to view the distribution dates and latest updates. If you can help with this ministry in any way, please contact Harriet Moore or Carl Huffman.
KROGER COUPONS
If you have any unwanted Kroger coupons, please bring them to Hamilton Hall and place in the window ledge near the “Little Library”. We would like to make them available to our Non-Food Pantry recipients so that they might be able to take advantage of them to help extend their food budget. Thanks in advance!
FREE DAILY DEVOTIONAL
We have some large print Day by Day daily devotionals in the sanctuary that you are free to take home for your personal devotions–and if we know that people would like copies, we can order the right amount. Many of you may also appreciate the on-line version of Day to Day. Click here.
Non-Food Pantry Latest
Saturday, August 29
• Noon to 2:00 p.m.
There will be a distribution in Hamilton Hall and light lunches will be served inside. We are grateful for all those who have worked so hard to obtain supplies for the Non-Food Pantry. Items are having to be purchased from a variety of sources making it much more expensive. Donations to help offset this extra cost will be gratefully accepted!
Top 3 Needed Items
Your prayers are asked for:
Haile Bane, grandson of Joanne Haymaker
Beth Benedix, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
+Tom Breidenthal
Jennifer Clarke, friend of Patti Harmless
Cindy Crawley, cousin of Karen & Jim Mannon
Tom Kaiser, friend of Jen+ & Chris
Lynda, friend of Sarah Finlay-Black
Teresa Masten, friend of Karen & Jim Mannon
Trevor and Christy Moore, friend of Karen and Jim Mannon
Sally Motsch, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Gene Shaw, brother-in-law of Patti Harmless
Elizabeth & Natalie Sheffler, daughter & granddaughter of Page & Narda Cotton
Deloris Smith, friend of Emily Knuth
Jenny Smyth, niece of Patti Harmless
Luke Smith, son of Mark Smith
Skip Sutton
Eugene Swanger, friend of Jen+
Larry Taylor, former member of St. Andrew’s
Donald Voermans, father of Nick Voermans
Edwina Vose, friend of Jen+
Catherine Waggoner, friend of Jen+
Dwight Ziegler, uncle of Stephanie Gurnon
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: St. David’s, Bean Blossom, The Rev. Kate Wilson, The Rev. William Morris
Our companion dioceses: The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil: The Most Rev. Mauricio Jose Araujo De Andrade, Primate of Brazil and Bishop of Brasilia. The people and Diocese of Haiti and Saint Andre’s Parish and school in Mithon.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Church of the Province of West Africa
Birthdays: none
Anniversaries: Dave and Sue Murray, August 22
Special Events and Services
