Notes from Our Senior Warden
May/June 2010 Reports, News, Activities and Happenings
Notes from our Senior Warden
by Joe Riddick
The sun is beating through the windows in my office and it feels good. Spring has arrived early in Maine and I am thankful for the warmth and the sunlight. It is wonderful to see forsythia, daffodils and crocus blooming – all plants that I loved in Virginia and were a harbinger of spring.
We had a glorious Easter Sunday Service at St. Mark’s. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the service and all of the Holy Week services. ChristChurch, St. Matthew’s and St. Mark’s held joint Lenten study programming as well as Holy Week Services. It was a wonderful opportunity to visit and worship in our sister parishes as well as host them in our parish.
The vestry at St. Mark’s Church has been hard at work realigning our budget for the year in accor-dance with parish goals established in November 2009. Our pledges for the year are above $70,000 which is a $5,000 increase from last year. We have fewer pledging units but the average pledge has increased and we are above the diocesan average. That is good news for the parish. Unfortunately, we have a budget deficit at this time. Our projected expenditures are greater than our projected revenues. Last year, the vestry committed to drawing less from the principal of the endowment from 2010 to 2015 so that within 5 years we would only use interest from the endowment for the operations of the parish. The vestry also committed to rebuilding the endowment to its previous level. The vestry is committed to monitoring the budget and making adjustments during the year as we learn to live with leaner, tighter fiscal and programmatic plans as we continue to be good stewards of the bounty that God has given us.
You will start to see members of the vestry moving forward in addressing the 2010 goals for the parish. We have established committees to provide leadership and support for our various ministries at St. Mark’s. I am proud that every member of the vestry has stepped forward into a ministry role. This is lay leadership at work in mission and ministry in the church. If you have an interest in a particular ministry speak to any vestry member. If a vestry member approaches you and wants your participation I hope that you will prayerfully consider the request to step forward into ministry.
We are blessed with a wonderful historic church. This spring, work will begin on repairing the tower. The vestry awarded a contract for work to commence in late spring 2010. Hopefully, the repair work will fix the leaking problem that con-tinues to plague us. The interior walls of the narthex and the nave are showing significant damage because of water. Once the leaks are fixed we can start the repair work on the walls. When the scaffolding goes up around the tower we will use the chapel doors to enter the church.
Last Saturday we held a funeral at St. Mark’s for a member of St. Barnabas Parish (who was a former member of St. Mark’s). The Philbrook family were members of St. Mark’s many years ago and the children said it was like a homecoming for them to be back in the church. In spite of the wall damage, the family and the others at the service commented on the beauty of the church. Many of the people asked questions about the church and I was able to provide certain pieces of information. We are starting a docent program at St. Mark’s so that our members can give tours of the church and have information to share with people. If you feel called to be a docent please let me know and we will gather folks together for a training session in May.
We have a parish plant sale on May 22. Tina Mann can provide more information on the sale and how you can participate. I am looking for plants to go into my expanding garden. Also on May 22nd is the Marilyn Tedesco Memorial Organ Concert. The concert will start at South Parish where Tom Marshall will play the Hook Organ. At intermission the concert will move to St. Mark’s church where Tom will play our Andover Organ and his French Harpsichord. It should be an exciting concert.
I am proud and pleased to be your Senior Warden. It has been a wonderful journey with you as we have moved forward in ministry and mission. Thank you for your continued support of your lay leadership in the church.
News from our Junior Warden
by Gary Mann
It has been a busy time at St. Mark’s. I have spent some of the time helping in the re-organization of Addie’s Attic by moving clothes, removing trash, etc., The church did not have a CO2 alarm in the church or in the Parish Hall. I have since purchased and installed alarms for both buildings.
I have received estimates: (1) to replace the covers on the stain glass windows in the church (2) to purchase window inserts for the office doors. These estimates will be discussed at the next Vestry meeting.
There were also some maintenance repairs such as a faucet repair in the upstairs men’s room in the Parish Hall; the replacement of 1 faucet and 2 urinal traps in the men’s room downstairs in the Parish Hall; replacement of sink trap in the ladies’ room downstairs; replaced light and rewired switch in the men’s room (lower level of Parish Hall); changed 3 outside outlets to G.F.I.’s to bring them to code; and had the electricians re-work the wiring and light the exterior cross.Additionally, I met with Eastern Fire for the quarterly inspection of the buildings.
With grounds work and lawn upkeep not too far in the future, I have donated a lawn mower to St. Mark’s Church which will be kept on the property.
Pastoral Care
Call the Pastoral Care number (207) 649-7620 if you or a member of your house-hold needs pastoral care. This phone is for pastoral emergencies and a member of the team will respond.
St. Mark’s Church Office
“Wish List”
The church office is in need of: forever stamps, white copier paper and pastel copier paper.
Welcome Newcomers! We’re so Glad You Came! We’re thrilled to see you! As a matter of fact, we’ve been waiting for you!
We believe that every person who comes to worship with us is a special gift from God. We are all better off from you being here amongst us. We want to express the love we know in Jesus Christ with one another. And we’re excited to share it with you, and to grow together in our pilgrimage of faith. St. Mark’s is a place for all people - no matter where you may be on the journey - and it won’t take you long to discover that we are a vibrant and caring com- munity of faith, journeying from different places and life-experiences, but who desire to grow together. We are a people ultimately, of faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, relationships are paramount – especially when we consider our baptismal covenant, “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our self.” Our doors are open to you! If you have been praying, thinking, searching, church - shopping, and hoping for a place to belong - we say“Welcome!
Parish Celebrations
Birthdays
April
28 – Rachel Lenardson
May
19 – William O’Connor
21 – Vincent Tschamler
June
15 – Carol Oakes
25 – Tom Barden
Anniversaries
June
2 – Sue & Gordon Smith (anniversary)
9 – Marcia and Allan Butterfield (42 years)
Ordination Anniversary
June
20 – Rebecca Grant (2009)
A Messagefrom our
Assisting Priest
by R.A. Bamforth+
“Christ is Risen!” “He is Risen Indeed!”
Such is the greeting and response Christians have used through the centuries, instead of “Hello” or “Good Morning,” during the 50 days of Eastertide. I remember how overwhelmed I was by this tra-dition when I visited the Soviet Union in the spring of 1983. In spite of the officially proclaimed atheism of a communist regime, everyone we en-countered used this Easter Greeting (in Russian, of course). Don’t be surprised if I greet you with “Christ is Risen!” (in English, of course). I’ll look forward to your response, “He is Risen indeed!”
Isn’t it great to be celebrating the Resurrection once more and singing Alleluia again after the Lenten break.
And what a joy to have our own John Barden leading us at the organ!
Some of you had hoped for incense at the Festival Eucharist on Easter Day. I am aware that others don’t like it or are allergic to it. So, after consulting with the Senior Warden and the Worship committee Chair, I said “No” for Easter Day but “Yes, sparingly” for St. Mark’s Day, our patronal cele-bration on April 25.
Incense is an ancient worship tradition, a symbol of our uplifted prayers and praise, both sensually and spiritually evocative. It is not an essential part of our tradition but attractive to many on special occ-asions. It can help us to worship with all our facul-ties, sight, sound, touch, taste, and sweet smelling aroma. Scripture is filled with references like, “In every place incense shall be offered to my Name.” Malachi 1:11
Another subject that many have expressed them-selves about involves traditional or contemporary translations of the Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”).
Jesus spoke Aramaic Hebrew when he taught the prayer to his disciples. The Gospel accounts re-corded it in Greek. For centuries Western Chris-tians prayed it in Latin (Pater Noster). An English version has been in the Book of Common Prayer since 1549. Our 1979 revision of the Prayer Book has printed this translation along side an ecu-menically produced contemporary translation. Worshippers in the 21st century need to be familiar with both. At St. Mark’s we used the newer form for most of 2009. In Lent of this year we returned to the older form for a period of time. The differ-ences are slight. For instance, “trespass“ and “sin” are translations of the same Greek word. The same is true of “temptation” and “trial,” (or “test”). Each attempt to convey what Jesus meant evokes varying connotations and stretches our spiritual approaches to life and our need for God’s help.
We will continue to use the older form for a while. The Feast of Pentecost (May 23) is a great time to recite the Lord’s Prayer in many different languages or translations all at the same time. Plan now to re-cite it on Pentecost in whatever language you are familiar with. And remember, our Father-Mother God to whom we are praying is not limited to either English or 16th or 20th century forms.
Have you checked the tract racks lately? They are located at the bulletin board in the Parish House and at the rear table in the Nave of the church building. Subjects include: Prayer, Easter, Church member-ship, Episcopal jargon, even Sexuality.
By the way, in the library, opposite the office, are copies of three new books, which I recommend both for newcomers and life-long Episcopalians. Feel free to sign out for a week or two and return it for others to read. Titles include: Your Faith, Your Life – An Invitation to the Episcopal Church - This is a good basic overview in engaging and conversational style; The Episcopal Handbook - The essential field guide for all things Episcopal - Something for everyone, in a light-hearted style; Prayer and Personal Religion- A revised and updated classic.
Be sure to check the Parish House Bulletin Board regularly. In addition to info about people and events, a more somber page is posted each week by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship with names and ages of the latest war casualties, for our prayerful attention.
Don’t forget St. Mark’s Day, April 25. (We’ll go easy on the incense!)
Joyfully yours in the name of our risen Lord and Savior,
Dick Bamforth+
Fundraising Update
Greeting Cards Postcards
The greeting cards have been selling quite well. I have re-stocked them in the church and in the Farnum Room. Additionally, postcards are now available. The greeting cards are $2.00 each or 12 for $15. There are 3 designs available in both the postcards and greeting cards. The postcards are $1.00 ea. There are envelopes located in the location of the cards where you may leave your payment. These will be available for sale at our plant sale, arts festival, holiday sale, etc., From the onset we knew that this fundraiser would not generate a great deal of money, however, it was able to (1) provide a small revenue stream and (2) a good amount of exposure through the photography contest, thus serving as a reminder to all that St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is a beautiful historical building.
Spring Plant Sale
The spring plant sale is creeping up on us it will be here before we know it. As you begin working out in your gardens keep in mind sharing your plants, bulbs, seedlings, divisions, etc., at the church fund-raiser. The Spring Plant Sale will take place on Sat., May 22 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. We are asking for items to be dropped off at the church on Friday. We are in need of volunteers in a few areas. (1) To help organize, price & mark items that will be sold the following day; (2) To sell light refresh-ments…coffee, tea, lemonade, doughnuts, etc. (3) individuals to sell items; (4) individuals to sell greeting cards, postcards church cookbooks (5) individuals to help with set up at 7 a.m. cleanup at 1 p.m.) In order to be successful we need volunteers to come forward to help with these areas. Please see Tina Mann, call (441-2971) or email if you’re able to help or do-nate items. There’s something for everyone to help with no matter your age---consider volunteering!
Cookbook
The cookbooks are scheduled to be shipped from the publisher the first week of May. The cookbooks will be sold at $12 each and our first printing will consist of 500 cookbooks. These cookbooks will be for sale at all of our fundraising events, in the back of the church, in the Farnum Room, mail order and through Amazon. If you have additional ideas for cookbook sales, please let me know.
Arts Festival
The Arts Festival is shaping up. This Festival will take place on June 26 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Great Hall as well as outdoors on the grounds of St. Mark’s. There will be 35 Maine Artists and crafts people exhibiting and selling their art/craft. Items will include everything from organic food, jewelry, weaving, quilting, knitting, woodworking, metalworking, pottery, painting, organic personal care products, etc., There will be a concession area for individuals to purchase light refreshments and lunches throughout the day. Due to limited space, a sit down space inside the Great Hall will not be available for eating. We may be able to set up a few benches outdoors for eating. I am looking for someone who is willing to chair this part of the event. Additionally, I will be looking for volunteers on the day of the event to help with vendor/visitor questions, directions, setup, cleanup and the selling of our items (greeting cards, postcards, and cookbooks). If you are able to help in any of these ways, please see Tina Mann, call (441-2971) or email . This has proved to be a popular fundraising event and as of the first of April we have a waiting list of artists/craftspeople wanting to participate.
Volunteers Needed!!
Spring Indoor/Outdoor Plant Sale (May 22, 8-1) WANTED: VOLUNTEERS FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. We are in need of individuals to help with set up on Friday, sorting, pricing of plants and identifying. We will be selling lite refreshments: doughnuts, brownies, cookies, lemonade, coffee, tea, etc., We will need individuals to donate items and to sell these items as well as sell plant items, answer customer questions, etc., We will also sell greeting cards, postcards and cookbooks and we will need individual(s) to do this. And, of course, individuals for cleanup on Saturday will be greatly appreciated. If you can help with the plant sale, there is a sign up at the back of the church or contact Tina Mann.
Annual Summer BBQ/Ice-Cream Social/Yard Sale (July) WANTED: CHAIRPERSON(S)
Quilt & Needlework Show (raffle, admission, vendors tables) (Oct. 16, 9-4)
Holiday Fair (Nov. 20)
WANTED: CHAIRPERSON(S)
Pie Sale (Pick up pies – Dec. 23, 10-Noon)
Choice of 3 pies: apple, pumpkin and pecan.
Pies are 9”. Cost $10.00 each. Orders accepted from November 20th through December 16th. Pies need to be paid for at the time of the order.
St. Mark’s Annual
Indoor / Outdoor Plant Sale
Saturday, May 22nd
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
We need seeds, bulbs, plant seedlings (vegetable and flowers), plant divisions and any unwanted indoor/outdoor plants! Volunteers are needed to help with this fundraising event. If you can help with this event, contact Tina Mann at 441-2971.