Our Parish Newsletter
| St Christopher's Lantern Articles Our Parish Newsletter
|
This is our monthly newsletter
on line. To access the articles,
click on the blue number
in front
of the listing.
You can get back to the home
page by clicking on the button
in the navigation bar on the
left.
| Rector's Note | 7 All Parish Breakfast |
| Events Calendar | 8 Godly Play |
| 2 New Rector | 9 Birthdays |
| 3 Christmas Boutique | 10 Bookshelf & Web |
| 4 Ministries & Fellowship | 11 ECW & Men's Club |
| 5 Parish Outreach | 12 Youth Notes |
| 6 Altar Guild | 13 Youth Choir |
| Rector's Note |
The
Rector’s Corner
Thoughts
From Fr. Young
Change, Change, Change
I am not sure about the whole human race, but at least for Americans, change is something we do not like. Episcopal Americans seem to like it even less than most, and when the change occurs in church, we really object!
As I have said before, it is impossible to improve anything without changing it. This does not mean that change is always positive. Sometimes, it is disastrous, of course, but my rule stands. We get better by changing.
St. Christopher's Church is on the cusp of change, and I believe the signs are all good. The final candidates seem to be first-rate parish priests, and I look forward to an exciting future for our beloved parish.
Why don't we like change? For most of us, stability and dependability are very important. We want to know how things are going to be, so when change occurs, it is upsetting.
Let me repeat something I have said in the past about change. Change has three phases: the end of what was, the middle uncomfortable stage, and the new beginning. The end begins to break in, and in our case, it began with a visit from Bishop Smith telling the vestry it was time to move on. They embraced his message with faith and leaped into the fray. The middle stage involved much hard work and time on the part of the Search Committee, and from what I have seen, they did an outstanding job.
The New Beginning is not far away, and is already breaking in, much like the daylight that precedes the sunrise. We are all thinking about how it is going to be, but there is still a bit of the discomfort left over from middle stage. My prayerful counsel is that we live in the faith that God has directed the wardens and vestry in the best way for us all, and can be grateful that we serve a God who loves us so much.
I hope we can be ready with happy hearts to welcome our new leader and shepherd. Having been a new rector several times, I am certain this priest will come with that joy, as well.
Blessings,
Fr. Bill+
back to top
| 2 New Rector |
An Important
and Eagerly Awaited Notice from the Vestry
ST. CHRISTOPHER'S HAS A NEW RECTOR!
The Vestry is extremely pleased to announce to the members and friends of our parish that the Reverend Dr. Martha Hathcock Conner has agreed to serve as rector and priest of St. Christopher's Church, Sun City.
“Mother Marty” will assume her responsibilities by being with us to celebrate and preach at both the 8 and 10 AM services on Sunday, December 7th.
She and her husband Michael come to us from Columbia, South Carolina, where she has served since May of 2007 as Priest in Charge/Interim Rector of the Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. She has also served as Interim Rector at the Church of the Epiphany in Danville, VA. Other posts include Asst. Rector at St. Thaddeus Church in Aiken, SC, and Rector of St. Mark's Church in Niceville, FL.
She would like to share the following statement: “I seek to share my gifts of liturgical leadership, preaching, teaching, pastoral presence, and listening with a Eucharistically centered parish which is committed to Christ's sacramental ministry of forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation and embraces diversity within a committed covenant community of empowered servant leaders.”
We are very enthusiastic regarding the above and ask that you join us as we WELCOME, Mother Marty and Michael!
Gary Welsh, Senior Warden
back to top
| 3 Christmas Boutique |
CALLING ALL PARISH BAKERS & CRAFTERS!
Our '08 Annual Holiday Boutique and Silver Tea are coming up, on Saturday, Dec. 6th.!
St. C's Silver Tea is served during our Holiday Boutique! We’ll have our parish Silver Tea Sets at a table in Harte Hall….with yummy “samples” of our holiday baked goods, to go with coffee, tea & cider. The Boutique & Bakery will be in Middleton Hall. We hope several of you will plan to help fill trays & refill coffee & tea for our Tea Table, or be "sales elves." Our holiday joy will continue from 9am to Noon.
Some of us have talent at crafts...and some enjoy baking. It would help if you could sign up...and then bring your crafts OR contact our Boutique Chair: Marilyn Hunter (or Fawncine in the church office) to say what you’ll be bringing, at least by Friday noon, Dec. 5th. That way, we’ll know how many tables we need! You can drop off your “Talent results” that Friday morning to the Parish Hall - OR just bring them by 8:00-8:20 am, on the day of the Boutique, Saturday, Dec. 6th. !
We usually have some neat items & yummies still available on the next Sunday or two, which is part of the fun. But, those who come on Sat. to the Tea and Boutique get 1st. choice...!
** DO price your items $$…at least a minimum…as it’s hard for us to guess time, ingredients & talent (tho’ we can help suggest...). Try to bring your baked-goods wrapped to sell “as is” in plastic baggies or containers -or on paper-plates or pie-tins covered with wrap & maybe a holiday sticker. Many bakers pack cookies by the half-dozen. Pricing stickers will be available at the Boutique & Bakery, as well.
We need lots of baked goods of all kinds: cookies, candies, breads, muffins, pies, cakes, fruitcakes & pastries! If you can jams or mustards or make treats (like chex-snacks or caramel-corn) bring ‘em over. Make what you love best…& we’ll all enjoy buying & munching! Bring EXTRA baked goodies for the Tea in any containers…and the “tea ladies” will set them out on trays on the Tea Table, as “samples” of our Boutique.
Bake early and Freeze items….in your freezer or in the big one in our parish kitchen. Clearly LABEL any items frozen in the parish freezer as "BOUTIQUE." Baked or canned items (like jams or pickles) can come Friday Dec. 5th....or be brought fresh to the Boutique.
Crafts come in all “colors” too, so get creative! There will be some lovely (& some cute) useful items that “showcase” our parish sewing talent. We’d also love a great variety of other crafts, like candles, pottery, woodwork, jewelry, puppets, ornaments, wreaths or silk-flowers (not necessarily Holiday items), to name just a few. What could you make?
We’re sure St.
C’s has lots of hidden talent -so let it flow onto our Boutique tables!
Be
sure to tell our
parish children
and youth
that they are invited to bake or make crafts, too!
If any have an idea that takes space or “many hands” to make… phone our sec’y Fawncine, & we’ll advertise a “workshop time,” for a Nov. weekday or Saturday. There’s a GREAT Toffee recipe that makes a NM church over $1,000 each year. Want to help make it?
If you’d be willing to help with Craft or Bakery Sales or with the Tea trays & beverages, contact our Chair: Marilyn Hunter (at 583-2887 or mhunter8@cox.net) or Fawncine in the church office: 972-1109/ scparish@quik.com. Many hands make light work -& make a holiday mood!
Plan to share your talents & help make our Boutique & Tea a fun success!
| 4 Ministries & Fellowship |
St. Christopher’s CARES
Visitation of shut-ins of the congregation continues. Venues include private residences, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. Our goal is to visit each shut-in at least once per month.
There is however a very URGENT need for individual congregants to assist in this rewarding ministry. We need people to visit one shut-in once per month. Sadly we have lost one of our shut-ins, Jack McLaughlin, this past summer.
If you are interested and motivated to help your fellow man in this ministry, please call Carol Brown at 623-977-2278.
Carol Brown, CARES Chairperson
THE SLEEPING BAG WORKSHOP
The need is always there for a warm place to sleep, and we're working to keep that need fulfilled. How about joining us on the first and third Mondays of each month to help make sleeping bags for homeless people! The work is easy and rewarding, and all we ask is a couple of hours of your time.
Hope to see you in Middleton Hall November 3rd and 17th from 9 to 11 am. Thanks!
Barbara Welsh
The Christopher Singers
A sing is scheduled as shown below. Things may change so please watch the Sunday bulletin for updates.
Monday, Nov. 3, 10:00, Sunview Care Center, 12207 N. 113 Av. In Youngtown.
We'd love to have new people join us for this fun outreach. Anyone wishing to come along or who desires more information about us, please call Marion or Joanne.
Joanne David 974-1759
and Marion West 972-4567
Like everything else these days, the cost of our Sunday flowers has dramatically increased this year. While we actually pay $85 a week, we are very appreciative of the $55 donation we receive from parish members.
We do not expect our donors to pay the $85 for two bouquets; however, our Altar Guild funds are not unlimited. We are considering alternative options regarding our present flower arrangements and will keep you advised.
Doris Schoeben
| 5 Parish Outreach |
Goodies Galore & Outreach by Ann Gay
FOOD DRIVE
Our annual food drive will begin November 2nd with all food gathered going to the West Side Food Bank. During these difficult economic times we need to help the hungry more than ever before. As you know, there are so many more people who are now in need of basic food.
We will have our usual food drive but will also initiate a new weekly drive and are asking for one can of food per person attending church each Sunday. FEED THE HUNGRY, ONE CAN AT A TIME will begin Nov. 2nd. We ask that each parishioner bring one item of food to church each Sunday. In this way we can collect about 150 items of food each week! This outreach will continue until there are no hungry people in our community. Please add one food item to your shopping list each week and bring it to church with you. We CAN make a difference!
It has been suggested that there are hungry pets that need food too; so, if you like you can also bring a can of food for a pet. West Side Food Bank collects food for animals as well as humans.
GOODIES GALORE (our Rummage Room)
Goodies Galore opened its doors on October 4th and will be open every Saturday from 7 to 11 AM thru December 13th, except on December 6th which is when we have our annual Christmas Boutique, bake sale, and tea.
We are always pleased to receive goods from you so please continue to clean out your cabinets and garage. Let me, Ann Gay, know if you have some items that are too big for you to bring in and I will arrange for them to be picked up. We are also in need of workers for the last two Saturdays in November and the 13th of December. PLEASE sign up to help.
JEWELRY sells very well and will be featured at our sale on December 13th. However, we are in need of more jewelry so please look thru your jewelry and see if you might have some items that you no longer wear. If so, we'd love for you to donate them prior to December 6th so they can be sorted, bagged and priced for the sale on that day. Men’s cuff links and tie tacks are also needed as are watches of all types.
RUMMAGE SALE and STYLE SHOW
We will not be having a rummage sale in 2009 and will continue our week sales until May. The ECW has decided to have the Style Show so more information in this regard will be forthcoming.
THE BOOT FUND
This has been a wonderful outreach for the past 10 years and one which we hope to continue. Shoe coupons are purchased from Payless Shoe Company and then given to various schools in the area that have children who can't attend school unless they have shoes. We also use the coupons to purchase shoes for the Phoenix Nursery Crisis Center in downtown Phoenix. So far, in 2008, we have bought 150 pairs of shoes for the children using sizes provided to us by the center.
The Men's Club made much of this possible by donating most of their share of the Goodies Galore money to the Boot Fund. Sojourners also needs the coupons so that the women there can make their own decisions regarding what type of shoe each family member needs.
We plan to give Sojourners at least 10 coupons at Christmas. (Each coupon is worth $20.) Please continue to support this very worthwhile outreach by adding your donations to one of the boots which you will find in the Narthex and in Harte Hall near the Outreach table.
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH
We plan to continue our Christmas Outreach with the Sojourner's Crisis Center for abused women and their children. Sojourners is located in downtown Phoenix and now have over 250 beds for women and their children who are escaping abuse. The programs offered at Sojourners are all designed to help the women relearn how to make choices, feel safe, and eventual live on their own. They range in helping the women decide what kind of food to eat, how to care for their children, and learning a skill so they can earn money to support themselves and their children.
It is a wonderful place and I would be very happy for you to go down with me when i make a delivery. Just let me know.
Sojourners has a Holiday Store each Christmas where each women and child can purchase gifts for themselves, friends, and family members. The women earn “holiday bucks” while at Sojourner's by doing various things such as deciding what to wear, taking a class, etc. and then they can use the holiday bucks to purchase the items they would like. All the items are new and given to the Holiday Store by various churches, businesses and individuals.
We have been asked to provide household items and gifts for older children. Last year with the money that individuals from our church provided, along with the money set aside from Goodies Galore and from the outreach fund of the Vestry, we were able to buy 10 microwaves, 10 irons, and dish sets and silverware for over 100 people. There were lots of pots and pans, toasters, frying pans, tool kits and CD players to name a few of the items.
We will again need your help so that we can once again provide items for the Sojourners Holiday Store. All items need to be new so you either bring items for the holiday store to Harte Hall, or you can donate money so that items can be purchased.
All items need to taken to Sojourners by December 8th so that they have time to set the store up for the women. I will be collecting donations on November 30th and December 7th. THANK YOU for your generosity.
Please continue to collect: calendars, greeting cards, poptops, stickers, travel soaps/shampoos, pens, and paper pads.
CHRISTMAS POT LUCK
We are planning on having our annual Christmas Pot Luck on December 14th beginning about 11:30 AM.
Please plan to come and celebrate the SEASON with other parishioners. They may be singing too!
One last note - - -
Pat Lameyer and Ann Gay are both planning to retire from co-chairing Goodies Galore as of June 2009. Both of us will continue to work once a week or so if needed but feel that it is time for others to take the helm.
Please let one of know if you might be willing to take on this project. I will continue being chair of Outreach.
Ann
| 6 Altar Guild |
Like everything else these days, the cost of our Sunday flowers has dramatically increased this year. While we actually pay $85 a week, we are very appreciative of the $55 donation we receive from parish members.
We do not expect our donors to pay the $85 for two bouquets; however, our Altar Guild funds are not unlimited. We are considering alternative options regarding our present flower arrangements and will keep you advised.
Doris Schoeben
| 7 All Parish Breakfast |
Please join us on Sun., Nov. 2nd at 9:00 AM (Choir at 8:30)
for our ALL PARISH BREAKFAST!
Everyone is cordially invited to bring a friend or neighbor, between the two services, and enjoy a delicious hot breakfast.
There’s no charge, but free will donations are gratefully accepted to help cover the cost of food. We look forward to seeing you!
The Roddy Family
back to top
| 8 Godly Play |
ANNOUNCING A NEW TIME FOR GODLY PLAY
Beginning November 9, 2008, Godly Play will begin at 9:45 a.m. in the Godly Play room over the Narthex. This will enable us to join our families during the Peace and all of us can be present for the Eucharist.
The reason for this change is to give our children the opportunity to “break bread together” with their families and church family. They will be there for the entire Eucharistic celebration and not just running down the aisle after the ushers in time to share the bread and wine. How can children learn church manners and truly understand the proceedings when they are never in church? How can they learn the beauty of our traditions if they are never present?
The Godly Play story will be, in essence, the children’s sermon. This means that the story will begin shortly after 9:45 a.m. Once the story teller begins, anyone arriving late will have to sit outside the circle with the door person until the story is over.
If you would like to see how this looks and works, please feel free to join us any Sunday. As long as we don’t too many parents at one time, it will work and we will be glad to have you visit.
Thank you for the support of Godly Play and our young persons.
back to top
In Memoriam
Marcella Kocher
Ed Lehman
| 10 Bookshelf & Web |
The Bookshelf
The Bookshelf continues to be open every Sunday before and after services. We appreciate all your donations and purchases. We always need more video tapes and CD’s.
We also have a bunch of new 3D puzzles which look interesting and they’re only 50¢ each. In the book department, mysteries and Westerns seem to go the fastest. We now have a larger table for New Arrivals. Paper backs are arranged alphabetically by author, thanks to Barbara Welsh, so it should be easier for you to find a favorite author.
We are hoping for a successful Book Fair sale with the reopening of Goodies Galore. Put your money in one of the book banks located on the bookshelf or table.
All money raised goes for church support. So far, we have been able to contribute several hundred dollars to our general fund. Thanks!
Charlotte Powley
On The Web
www.stchristophers-az.org
| 11 ECW & Men's Club |
Episcopal Church Women of St. Christopher’s
Our November meeting will be on Saturday the 15th. We begin at 10:00 AM with Morning Prayer in the Chapel. Please plan to attend and bring a friend or neighbor.
Our Christmas Boutique and Bake Sale will be held in Harte Hall Saturday, December 6. (See announcement elsewhere in this issue.)
We will be featuring craft items and Christmas items, as well as baked goods. Marilyn Hunter is chairman, assisted by Frances Wood and Jo Hansen. If you have any questions on the boutique call Marilyn at 583-2887.
St. Christopher’s Men's Club
You are cordially invited to attend the
BREAKFAST MEETING
Saturday, Nov. 22nd 8:00 AM in the Chapel
Gentlemen: It's time! It's time to share our good fortune with the rest of Sun City and the immediate area. Bring someone new to the Men's Morning Prayer and Breakfast, and we will share with them the Love of Christ.
Now, when times are so uncertain, is a good time to give what we know to be certain. God is with us! We look forward to seeing you!
Gary Welsh
| 12 Youth Notes |
SUMMER CAMP 2009 -- SIGN-UP NOW!
No, I’m not getting senile; I really do mean what the headline reads. If you sign up for Chapel Rock summer camp 2009 before December 31st, 2008, we (as in the church scholarship fund) will get $20 per camper off the cost of next year’s camp fees. Yes, you must pay your $50 non-refundable registration fee before Dec. 31st and then pay the remaining $50 within two weeks of your camp session. Here’s the schedule we received at the Diocesan Convention in mid October.
June
7-13—Chapel Rocks (9th-12th)
June 14-20—Chapel Rocks (6th-8th)
June 21-25—The Well (11th-12th)
June 28-July 4—The Gift of Love (3rd-5th)
July 5-11—The Gift of Love (3rd-8th)*
*denotes grade level completed spring 2009
Send your check with your name, address, phone number and St. Christopher’s name, parent’s names and email address. Give them the dates you wish to attend and be sure to state, “I’m registering by December 31st to lock in the 2008 rate!”
I know this won’t save families any money, but it could save the scholarship several hundred dollars, or enough to finance one or two more campers. If this works for you, please don’t delay. Send in your reservation now.
Carol
back to top
| 13 Youth Choir |
Youth Choir Members!
Please remember the following times for youth choir practice.
The LITTLE LAMPLIGHTERS' CHOIR (ages 5-11) will meet the first and third Sundays of each month, beginning September 7th, in the chapel at 9:00 AM for thirty minutes.
The CANDLELIGHTERS' CHOIR (ages 12-17) will meet the second and fourth Sundays of each month, beginning September 14th, in the chapel at 9:00 AM for thirty minutes.
Gary Welsh