Bringing Living Water to the World
Loreto is located off of the beaten path and it is generally overlooked by the Peruvian government. For decades, the people of Loreto have been getting their water from a river a mile away that is loaded with bacteria and disease. People were suffering from dysentery and malaria. The village was dying.
Local shamans and witch doctors had the people convinced that they were dying because they had displeased the spirits. The people lived in fear of offending the witch doctors and thus losing their only hope of appeasing the spirits. They were suffering spiritually even more than they were suffering physically.
Additionally, the team gave the people Bibles and preached to them about the love of Christ and the fact that they do not need to be frightened of the witch doctors or the evil spirits any longer. Fifteen people came to a new or renewed faith in Christ. Many more gratefully took Bibles.
“Before we had to go to the river to get our water,” said Mariano Santiago Zhipina, a thirty-eight year old fisherman and farmer, “but now we have a new well and we are very happy.” The people of Loreto have a chance for a better life because of the love of Christ reflected in the gift from our parish. We do not know the people of Loreto, and yet Christ commands us to love all people in His name, and in so doing we can transform the world.
This year, we have only collected a small amount from Advent Conspiracy, but with other projects throughout the year, I am hopeful that we will once again be able to give to the people of Peru the gift of fresh, clean drinking water, along with the more important gift of the living water of the Gospel. Our mite boxes this year are going to go to this effort. Thank you all for what you have done to make it possible for the people of Loreto to live. With your help, we can continue to be a channel of God’s love and grace for the people of Peru.
In His Mercy,
Fr. Jonathan
Holy Week Schedule
Palm Sunday – April 1
8:00 am and 10:00 am - Holy Eucharist and Reading of the Passion
Maundy Thursday – April 5
7:30 pm - Holy Eucharist with Footwashing and Altar of Repose
Good Friday – April 6
12:00 pm - Good Friday Liturgy and 7:30 pm - Stations of the Cross
Holy Saturday – April 7
7:30 pm - Great Vigil of Easter followed by Ice Cream Sundae Party
Easter Sunday – April 8
8:00 am and 10:00 am - Holy Eucharist
Men’s Bible Study
Men: Spend a few minutes with God on your way to work
Starting Wednesday, March 21 at 7:30 am, we will be holding a men's Bible Study in the Piano Room. The purpose is to learn about what the Bible has to say about what it means to be a man, a husband, a father, etc. Half an hour to forty minutes. No experience in church or reading the Bible is needed. In fact, men who have not been able to attend worship on Sunday mornings are especially welcome. Come on out!
Thank You
Heart felt thanks to my friends for their concern and prayers during my recent illness. Special thanks to the Hemshers! For one thing especially-- Ray got me to the ER. And thanks to Sara Risi for arranging for dinner delivery from Pat Schilling, Barbara Irving, Gail McKenna, Ethel Wesley, Maria Thompson and Joan Gardner, from Joanne Folin.
Many, many thanks to Sara Risi who organized the “cooking angels” to bring delicious dinners during my convalescence after a nasty fall. They were Sara, Mary Sue Hidalgo, Joanne Christopher, Joanne Hawkins, and Barbara Irving (who also did grocery shopping for me several times). I also want to acknowledge Faith and Ray Hemsher and Tom and Janet McKinley, who have been most kind in taking me to run my many errands for which I am very grateful. Please continue to remember Ruth in your prayers. Love to all, Gretta Turkington
C.H.A.M.P.S. Saturday
The Spring C.H.A.M.P.S. Saturday is coming. At 9 a.m. on April 28 the entire parish family is invited (read encouraged) to meet at the church.
We will be cleaning up the outside and planting the grounds for Mothers’ Day. We need men to move mulch so the beds stay beautiful all summer. And we need women and youth to put the plants in the ground. We need young and old...young legs to run and experienced heads to plan. We expect to need a few engineering types. We even have a few jobs for inside. Coffee and donuts provided by the Property Team.
Women of Holy Comforter
Barbara Wilson, President
Spring offers a number of ways to get involved with the Women of Holy Comforter.
§ April 15 – Women’s Board meeting, 11:30-12:30 pm in the UPH.
§ April 22 – Deadline for Plant Sale order forms and payments. Our annual spring plant sale is a fundraiser to support our selected missions. Order forms are available in the Narthex and UPH. Plants will be available for pick up on May 5 before 11 am and on May 6. Thank you for your support.
§ May 6 – Annual Women’s Tea. We will be joined by Sister Theresa Irene and Sister Barbara from Episcopal Carmel of Saint Teresa, Rising Sun, Maryland. 11:30 pm – 1:30 pm, UPH.
§ May 7 – Dinner with Mothers and Mothers-to-be at Mother’s Home in Darby.
§ May 19 – Book Discussion/Lunch, 12 -2 pm, UPH. Sign up sheet in UPH. The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, translated by John Beevers and The Little Way for Every Day, Thoughts from Therese of Lisieux.
We are identifying officers and board members for 2012-2014. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Barbara Wilson at 610-544-0891 or .
Children and Youth Ministry
Ethel F. Wesley
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not for yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2: 8
The boys and girls in the Primary Class and Chapel program have been working on the theme of “Change” for the season of Lent. They have had lessons that have helped them understand that change is not the coins in their wallets, but the change in their hearts and the way they treat one another. Through music, stories, arts and crafts, the Mystery Bag, and prayer, the children have experienced Lent on their own level each week. They have heard the story of Zacchaeus, Abraham and Sarah, and Nicodemus. They have created a mural celebrating the animals God created. The Lenten Burial Box has been used to set aside the things we don’t use at this time. They know the color of the season and the number of days and nights. All of these things help make the Lenten season real for them.
Members of the youth group have been participating in Delaware Deanery events throughout January and February. Andrew Kellner and Manny Lampoon from Church House have organized the activities that have brought about seven church groups together. This March, the youth will experience a Pasta Fest and Ice Cream Party at Redeemer, Springfield. Each church will bring an item to make this lunch possible. Lunch, music, games, and a reflection will be part of the agenda for this event.
Many thanks to all those who helped make the two Pretzel Sales a success. The money raised will go towards summer mission work similar to the trip to Johnstown, PA last year. Thanks to the youth members who cut, diced, mixed, and cooked the soup for the Lenten Wednesday evening meal: Elizabeth Hawkins, Sammi and Noah Newmiller, Noah Baldwin, Hope Morrison, Kristen Kennedy, Michael Katrakazis, and future member Mary Thompson. Thanks are extended to our organizer Faith Hemsher and parents Beth Kennedy and Lorraine Bechtel. The dinner funds will go towards the summer outreach programs.
The annual Egg Hunt will be held on Palm Sunday after the 10:00 service. Thanks to everyone who filled eggs for the Sunday School children. This event will be held on the church lawn. All the children in the Nursery and Sunday School are invited to attend.
May Christ be your light as we continue to travel together this Lenten season.
April 1 – Egg Hunt after the 10 am service April 21 – Youth Service at St. James’ the Less
April 8 – No Sunday School classes April 29 – Junior/Senior Meeting with lunch
April 15 – Sunday School classes resume
Comforter Submissions
If you would like to submit information to be included in the May Comforter, please submit to Barbara Wilson by Thursday, April 19. If possible, submit your information via Microsoft Word via email to . If this is not convenient for you, please just send the information via an email message or send a note to the church office to Barbara’s attention. We welcome your submissions.
Zumba
Zumba is being held at 5:30-6:30 pm in the upper parish hall on Monday and Thursday evenings. For more information, contact instructor, Kristen Tirney, . First class $5, then $10 per class or $80 for 10 classes.
Bricks and Mortar
Jim Gardner
The Property Team would like to introduce our newest member, Matt Hartnett. Although it is no longer practical to have a Sexton, it is necessary to have someone do the repairs and odd jobs to maintain our beautiful buildings and grounds. Matt is a professional Handyman who comes in for 4 hours a week to do whatever is needed. He is certified in plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work. Matt is a parishioner of Incarnation/Holy Sacrament and comes to us highly recommended. As one of his first tasks, Matt replaced two undercroft windows with glass block. Whenever it rained, water poured through the rotted window frames into the undercroft.
We need your help in identifying things in need of attention. Please, if you notice anything amiss, note it on the Job Jar sheet on the bulletin board in the upper parish hall.
The Team would like to thank Brian Gelsomini for tackling one of the items on the Job Jar sheet. Brian spent several wintery afternoons re-fastening the cyclone fence to its supports. The wire seems to be a favorite gnawing spot for the many squirrels in the neighborhood— that’s how they keep their teeth sharp.
Next on our list of Things-to-Do is to replace the carpet in the halls and Piano and Youth rooms. The old carpet was beginning to unravel and posed a tripping hazard. During the week of February 22, Eldorado Carpet One removed the old and installed new carpet. Another tripping hazard is the breaking tiles in the upper parish hall, the busiest room in the building. Eldorado will be doing those repairs also. We would like to thank Joanne Folin for her recommendation of Bob Spano at Eldorado Carpet One.
In preparation for the big job of replacing Holy Comforter’s aging roof, we received a suggestion through Jack Davis encouraging us to “look into” the benefits of a metal roof. After searching online, we discovered there are many kinds of metal used for roofing not just copper. We have narrowed our search to steel roofing with some great benefits, including:
· The life span of metal roofing is 50 years or more.
· If it does need to be replaced, the tear-off material can be recycled. Most metal roofs have recycled content ranging from 25% to 95%.
· Metal roofing weighs a fraction of other roofing products such as asphalt shingle or slate.
· The individual roofing panels can be replaced if necessary.
· Metal roofing does not support mildew or algae, and is not produced with petroleum by-products. It does not contribute to the contamination of rainwater.
· Metal Roofing allows water and snow loads to shed from the roof plane.
· It is also a water barrier, which protects a roof system from growing fungus under the roof on the decking. In the upper parish hall the decking is our ceiling.
And surprisingly: Metal reflects up to 70% of the sun’s energy, thus minimizing heat retention. This results in less heat being transferred into the building’s structure. Metal roofing can sustain up to 34% less heat gain than asphalt shingles. (A cooler UPH.)
We have interviewed several company representatives including a company that manufactures an “enhanced slate” metal roof. They have given us a very competitive price with added benefits: they will remove our slate, put the good slate on palettes, and assist us in selling it. The old roof slates might have a quite substantial re-sale value.
To investigate how a metal roof has worked for another church, the Property Team took a field trip to Hummelstown, PA. The people of the Hummelstown church have found their 5 year old roof to be very satisfactory. They have been very pleased with the installation and the workmanship of the product. They also said their heating bill went down and there was no more noise than usual from rain. Please see me if you would like more information. We have a sample of the “enhanced slate metal roofing material in the church office and pictures of the church in Hummelstown.
Security continues to be a major problem— and we need your help. Several times a year we remind people of what a temptation our building and grounds are and ask that everyone be security conscious. Over the last few weeks Holy Comforter has had an attempted break-in and several doors have been found unlocked when the Daycare teachers arrived in the mornings. Even if your group “didn’t open the door”, check to be sure all doors and
windows are closed and locked. Inform us right away, if you notice anything suspicious or out of place.
Vestry Meeting March 20, 2012
Sharon Yost
Rector’s Report