Jesus said, "For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you." (John 13:15)
Jesus said so. So of course we will try to do it. We'll try to love as he loved us. That's what he means, right? .... Well, yes, he did say to do that. And certainly we should be trying to do that. But this particular saying is about washing feet.
For some of us the thought of footwashing makes loving, even loving our enemies, seem by comparison pretty easy. We like to think we can love people at a distance. But footwashing is really up close and personal. Maybe too close and too personal.
But Jesus loves people up close and personal ... the dust of the day's journey, the sock fuzz between the toes, and the smell of old socks in the locker room. Wherever we've been and however we got here, he kneels before us and gently loves us clean.
Jesus, the Lord of lords, King of kings, Savior of the world kneels before us as a lowly servant. And he asks us to do the same for one another.
It is difficult for us, as it was for Peter, to show the messiest parts of our lives to someone whose love and respect we desire. It is difficult, too, to kneel reverently as a servant before someone else's messy life. But most difficult of all may be to realize that together we have been given the power to clean up that mess.
Jesus has given us the grace to make one another clean again.
Our baptism has made us clean and holy. But again and again we make messes of our lives. Footwashing reminds us that when we approach one one another as servants, willing to kneel reverently before the messy feet of our neighbor, we can wash away the mess.
The humble kneeler then sees in their own hands the feet of Christ, just as the one humble enough to welcome the washing will recognize Who it is that kneels before them.
"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
(John 13:17)
Blessings !
pat +
MEET OUR PARISHIONERS
Elaine Vanderpool
St. Stephen's
I was born in N. D. where I lived until I was 13. Since that time I have been a Minnesotan living in various places. I was raised a Methodist and my first experience with the Episcopal church was when I took nurses's training at St. Barnabas Hospital in Mpls. After my marriage to Tom Vanderpool, an Episcopalian, it was an easy decision to become one too. We lived in St. Cloud for a short time where I was comfirmed at St. Johns, and where our first child was baptized. We returned to Mpls while my husband attended medical school. Our first daughter was born there, and baptized at St. Cristopher's, Roseville, which was then just a basement church sitting out in the country. In 1956 we moved to Paynesville where two more children were born.
I have been an active member at St. Stephen's during these many years, serving in many capacities. At present I am treasurer, altar guild member, and lay reader.
I am retired, enjoying my 7 grandchildren, and still involved in various community activities.
To a parish in the Spirit of the Heartland Churches,
Pat asked me to share some of our story with you. My name is Bill Sullivan I am currently Sr. Warden and a member of the Total Ministry team at St. Matthew's in Chatfield. This has never been a wealthy parish. There have been generous benefactors in the past but there was never an endowment. The church is run out of current cash flow. When I first came to St. Matthew's about 25 years ago, we were in a yoked ministry with three other churches. Ben Scott was our priest. We had Eucharist twice a month and other Sundays we did Morning Prayer. Most of our budget was spent on clergy expenses. There was not much money left except for minor repairs. Most of the discussion at the vestry meetings in those days was about gutters and downspouts. Then the Diocesan subsidy ended and we were on our own with a list of supply clergy.
The supply clergy were good but had no ongoing relationship with us. Like you we decided to try this new Total Ministry idea the Diocese was pushing. We spent a long time in training. During that time we did put a new roof on the church and we did some structural engineering to keep the sanctuary from falling in on the congregation- but that's another story.
In February of 1997 we were commissioned and began to function as a team. About the same time we decided to address the issue of accessibility. There were seven steps leading up to the sanctuary and our church hall was in the basement down a narrow staircase. After hiring an architect to consult with us on options we chose to build a church hall on the level with the sanctuary. As it happened the church lot sloped so that the hall entrance on a side street required only one small step or an easy ramp. We had a successful capital drive that raised about 40% of the cost and we took out a note for $50,000. (After a lot of Diocesan Red Tape) This happened just after our commissioning in 1997. The community hall turned out very nicely. It's large and open with high ceilings and bright walls. Quite a contrast to the low ceilings of the basement and the dark wood paneling. Sometimes families and community groups use the hall for gatherings. It has been quite a statement of our viability as a church to the community at large. Our average Sunday attendance during the school year is about 30- quite variable (low) in the summer- with about 50-60 for Christmas Eve and Easter.
I became Sr. Warden last year and began paying more attention to cash flow. We have an annual budget of about $22000. Our mortgage payments were current and showed the mortgage would be retired in a year or two. Surprisingly, there is a large and growing balance in our checking account. It had been creeping steadily upward since about the time of the commissioning. Financially we are comfortable. While this is better than being short of funds; it is not right. We were not put in Chatfield to grow a bank balance.
Historically we had struggled financially and in many other ways. The changes associated with Total Ministry masked the changing financial picture. We had moved on from the survival mode. TM had secured stability of the Sunday morning service for long time members. But what about others? Over the years we have done mission and outreach on an ad hoc basis. Typically around an event organized by someone else such as the one day per year that we help out with the Migrant Ministry Project in Montgomery organized by Region V. We also send money to a number of organizations that send us appeals. We are into a new place for St. Matthew's. We have more money than mission. I believe it is absolutely necessary that we as a faith community figure out why we are here and who is in need. We need to design and sustain a program or programs to meet those needs. This will be new and different for us. There is risk.
And will the rewards be as we imagine them? For me the operating principle is the parable of the three stewards. We are not to timidly play it safe and bury our talent in the buildings and grounds of our church but like the successful stewards to put our talents to work and at risk in the world.
HYMNSING
Have you ever been sitting in the waiting room of a doctorıs office reading an interesting article in a magazine "continued on page 98". You turn the pages to find page 98, and realize that page is missing!
Have you ever been in a movie theater enjoying an exciting movie, and the screen goes dark. The third reel of the movie was missing!
Have you ever been reading the latest John Grisham novel, and after you finished chapter 5, you realized chapters 6-8 were missing!
This is exactly how many feel when we eliminate hymn verses during our worship services. (It should be said however, that those verses marked with an asterisk* can be eliminated. Others hymn verses are left out from time to time because of certain seasonal liturgical considerations. For example, during Lent, if a hymnıs first verses are Lenten in nature but the last verse speaks of the resurrection, the last verse would not be sung.)
The words of our hymns tell stories, say prayers, or give us instructions. Others have beautifully poetic seasonal words. Many verses quote scripture, often referring to the lessons of that very day. The lay ministers of our churches, who pick the hymns, do so very carefully. The hymns are as important to our liturgies as the lessons we read, and the prayers and psalms we say together out loud and in our hearts. If you donıt wish to sing, read the words as others sing. If you canıt see to read the words, hum along and listen to the words those around you are singing. Remember the old adage: Those who pray, pray once, those who sing [or read/listen] pray twice!
Team Ministers:
Lu Tax - Church of Our Saviour, Little Falls
Cynthia Evans - Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre
Doris Dodds - St. Stephen's, Paynesville
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre, is beginning a news Bible Study Series on The Acts of the Apostles. Second and Fourth Tuesdays at noon.
St. Stephen's, Paynesville, continues a book study on The Dance of the Spirit on Thursday, April 5. Look for a new book study on C. S. Lewis in May.
Our Saviour's, Little Falls, is open to your suggestions for Christian Education. Contact Zippy or Pat with your ideas.
MINISTRY DISCERNMENT and GOLF?
There are lists of names posted in all our parishes; please pray for them and for their ministries. At at least one church no one has written anything on the lists; please check the list of ministries and note beside your name and the names of others those ways that you/they are serving or might in the future serve in our churches.
Frequently Asked Question: All this talk about "All the Baptized sharing the Priesthood of Christ" is confusing. We have a priest and she went off to seminary and got ordained to be that and now we pay her to serve in our churches. How can the rest of us be sharing and doing some of that too?
The Priest's Response: Do you play golf? It's confusing to me. My brother's a golf pro. He worked hard to get there, joined the PGA, and gets paid for what he does well. He's a professional. How can the rest of you be playing golf too?
Okay. It's an analogy, and it falls short some places. Golf is only a sacrament for some of us (said with a very big grin). But sometimes analogies help.
PAROCHIAL REPORT
The parochial reports for all three churches are available at
http://www.motherflash.com/directory/
Ask any team member for the user name and password. They are the same as the ones for the church directory.
The complete reports will also be posted at our churches or you may request a copy from any team minister. Bottom line comparisons:
| Good Samaritan | Our Saviour's | St Stephen's | |
| active members | 25 | 50 | 14 |
| average attendance | 19 | 24 | 13 |
| pledges | $ 17,554 | $18,794 | $ 7,000 |
| total offering (including pledges) | $ 21,324 | $ 24,423 | $9,000 |
| expenses | $ 55, 891 | $ 36,913 | $ 18,749 |
PHONE TREE
You will find a brightly colored phone tree included in this newsletter. It is for relaying important parish information, such as cancellations. Please tape it inside your phone book NOW.
HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Palm Sunday (usual times), April 8 9:00 am St Stephen's 10:00 am Our Saviour's 11:00 am Good Samaritan Maundy Thursday, April 12 1:00 pm St. Stephen's 4:00 pm Good Samaritan 7:00 pm Our Saviour's Good Friday, April 13 1:00 pm St. Stephen's at Good Sam Nursing Home 4:00 pm Good Samaritan 7:00 pm Our Saviour's Holy Saturday, April 14 4:00 pm Good Samaritan (with Team Ministers) Easter Sunday 6:00 am Vigil at Our Saviour's 9:00 am St Stephen's 10:00 am Our Saviour's 11:00 am Good Samaritan
BLESSINGS & WEDDINGS
Spring is here and many couples are coming before God in our churches to celebrate their relationships with weddings and blessings. Please pray for them.
April 21 - Jennifer Thompson & Michelle Ouellette at Our Saviour's
April 28 - Amy Sidmore & Julie Nohner at St. John's
May 5 - Kimberly Riddle & Patrick YoungBlood at Our Saviour's
May 19 - Brenda Tepley & Timothy Orness at Our Saviour's
May 25 - Don Burr & Michael Peterson at Epiphany Lutheran
ALPHA
Alpha is coming to the Spirit of the Heartland! An Alpha group is planned for each of our communities. Alpha is an opportunity to be introduced to and strengthened in our relationship with God thru Jesus Christ. All are welcome to participate and you are encouraged to invite your friends and neighbors to join with you in Alpha. The groups will begin meeting in early June and we ask your help in making Alpha possible. Each group needs 4-5 people to serve as "cooks and bottle washers" and facillitators for the discussion groups. Please contact Harriette Burkhalter at harrijack@sedona.net or 520-284-1690 to offer your assistance. After May 10 you can reach me at 320-453-7805. I'll look forward to hearing from you and to joining together in Alpha.
APRIL BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Church of the Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre
April 2nd Pat Gillespie
April 10th Sarah Coltvet
April 23rd Rosemary Peterson
Church of Our Saviour, Little Falls
April 11th Jan "Zippy" Zeman
April 16th Andy Starin
April 29th Brittany Dobmeier
St. Stephen's, Paynesville
April 1st Elaine Vanderpool
MINISTRY SCHEDULES
Good Samaritan
Our Saviour's
St. Stephen's
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