St. Blogory's: the internet café at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Deerfield, IL

Parish Newsletter

Dearly Beloved,                         

KEY DATES:

This Sunday, January 1, 2012: a softly spoken Feast of the Holy Name celebration at 10:00 am (no music, quiet voices)

Sunday, January 8, 2012: Meeting of the Standing Parish Nominating Committee (see below #2)

Saturday, January 21, 2012: Episcopal Spiritual Life Renewal Initiative begins (see below #1)

Sunday, January 29, 2012: The Fifty-Ninth Annual Meeting of St. Gregory's Episcopal Church (see below #2)

A MESSAGE FROM MEREDITH

At the December vestry meeting, I announced my decision to retire effective December 31, 2011. As I reported to the vestry, the decision came after much prayerful discernment, and I am looking forward to remaining at St. Gregory's and participating in the life of the community as a member of the congregation. I will continue to officiate and preach at the Wednesday morning service as well as preach monthly at Sunday services.

I actually began to worship here at St. Gregory's in 1995 when I left One in Christ Korean Congregation to accept the position of Director of Academic Affairs at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and was looking for a Christian community where I could worship on Sundays. I then came "on board" as your vicar in 2005 when I retired from Seabury.

So, I am actually returning to the relationship we first enjoyed― my being a member of the congregation and sharing with you in the worship life of the parish. My prayers continue for the parish and for each of you as we begin this new phase of our life in Christ together.

A WORD FROM WILLIAM

We will show our appreciation for Meredith's Ministry in the New Year at a PTBD― Party To Be Determined! Until then, here are some of her contributions to our life together: Meredith was instrumental in developing the Easter Eve Service of Water and Light for children and their families; the Children's Church program; the use of PowerPoint at Sunday services; The Grovers Bible Study Fellowship; and a number of experimental liturgies for the Wednesday morning services. She helped install and maintain the church's Wi-Fi system as well as trouble-shooting and updating our computers. Meredith's pastoral care will also be missed by our sick and shut-ins whom she has visited regularly for years. Finally, I am delighted that the Vestry accepted my suggestion that we give Meredith the title Vicar Emeritus as a token of our affection and gratitude.

#1 THE EPISCOPAL SPIRITUAL LIFE RENEWAL INITIATIVE [ESLR] is a diocesan project developed by the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest in collaboration with Willow Creek Church (how's that for an exciting pairing!).

I first learned about the ESLR [maybe we could pronounce this as "Easel-R"] when Jay Sidebotham, Holy Spirit's rector, sent me a letter "to share experiences we've had as a parish over the last two years, and to invite you to join with other parishes in the diocese in the coming months in a process of exploration and spiritual growth. The process involves a survey assessing spiritual vitality and subsequent workshops to reflect on the survey results. A number of parishes in our diocese have committed to this process in hopes of bringing renewed life to our parishes and to our diocese, [and] helping our churches to be agents of growth and service in the world. The process has brought spiritual growth to our congregation. It has brought spiritual growth to my life as well. It has been a gift."

I sent this invitation and other information about the Easel-R [ESLR] to the November Vestry meeting, which unanimously endorsed our participation in this exciting and spiritually challenging program.

The survey will be available from Saturday, January 21, through February 12. More details later!

Between now and then, please add this prayer to your daily devotions: "Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with us as we consider the renewal and mission of our congregation. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us by your Holy Spirit to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it, and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 AND 15, 2012: Sexual Abuse Prevention Training at 10:10 am in Founders Hall

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT PICTURES

CHRISTMAS FLOWERS AND MUSIC― A grateful "Thank You" to all who contributed to our Christmas Flowers and Music this year. Inadvertently we excluded from the Christmas bulletin John and Debbie Welker's Music donation "In Thanksgiving for their Children and Family." I am sorry for the omission.

#2 The 59th Annual Meeting of St. Gregory's Episcopal Church will be Sunday, January 29, 2012, beginning with the Nine O' Clock Service, for the purpose of reviewing the Spiritual and Temporal Condition of the Parish, and for the election of Wardens, Vestry, Diocesan Convention and Deanery Chapter Delegates, and members of the Parish Nominating Committee.

Continuing Vestry Resolution Concerning the Annual Meeting

"The Rector shall publish the voter eligibility requirements and qualifications for election of Wardens and Vestrymen in the Newsletter, stating that nominations will be accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting under the following conditions:

    "(a) The Rector, as Chairman, shall determine the eligibility of any nominees from the floor, as outlined in the Constitution at the time of the nomination.

    "(b) The nominee shall indicate his willingness to serve if elected at the time of the nomination, if present, or express such intent in a previously written statement, if not present— said statement to be presented to the Chairman at the time of the nomination.

"General Qualifications: Communicants in good standing: faithful in corporate worship and in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God; 17 years old and a voting member of the parish for one year.

"Voter Eligibility: Baptized persons age 16 or older; who regularly attend the Public Services of the Church in this Parish; are recognized as members by the Rector and at least one of the Wardens; whose names appear on the Treasurer's books as contributors for at least six months prior to the Annual Meeting, it being understood that the pledge or obligation for such contributions shall have been incurred prior to the said six months; and declare their willingness to conform to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Church."

In two Sundays, January 8, at 1:30 PM in the Rector's Office, the Standing Parish Nominating Committee of elected members Bonnie Travis, John Craig, Jon Dutcher, and Mary Curtis; and two retiring Vestry members, Paula Hamilton and Ray Bukszar, will meet to choose the nominees they will present to the Annual Meeting. Please let any of them know whom you would like to see nominated (including yourself!) for the following positions:

For one-year terms as Wardens: 2 to be elected (Art Bielski and Catherine Martin, eligible for 3 more one-year terms). For three-year terms on the Vestry: 4 to succeed Al Bazzoni (eligible for a three-year term in his own right), Jeff Singleton, Paula Hamilton, and Ray Bukszar; 1 for a two-year term to complete Lisa Halpin's term, and 1 for a one-year term to complete Donna Shelton's term.

For two-year terms on the Standing Parish Nomination Committee: 2 to succeed Bonnie Travis and John Craig.

We also directly elect two Delegates to Diocesan Convention and Deanery Chapter meetings for one-year terms. If you would like to represent our Parish at the November 16-17, 2012, Diocesan Convention, please fill out a Candidate Form, available on the table across from the Parish Office, by Sunday, January 22.

Here are thumbnail sketches of the Positions to be filled; complete descriptions are posted outside my Office:

WARDENS

Term of Office: One Year, limited to 4 consecutive terms. Responsibilities: In addition to those for Vestry: Assist the Rector and oversee Vestry committee work

VESTRY

Term of Office: Three Years. Responsibilities: 1. Attend all regular and any special Vestry meetings [Regular meetings are held on second Tuesdays from 7:30 – 9:30 PM]; 2. Serve on or chair Vestry committees as needed; 3. Carry out Church Canons and Parish By-Laws, including: Transacting the temporal business of the Parish; 4. Participate in the annual Vestry retreat; 5. Affirm and fulfill the "Covenant for Sexual Responsibility"

STANDING PARISH NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Term of Office: Two Years. Responsibility: Meet in January for Nominations to Parish Offices for the Annual Meeting

DELEGATES TO DIOCESAN CONVENTION AND DEANERY CHAPTER

Term of Office: One Year. Responsibilities:1. Attend the annual Diocesan Convention (November) and Deanery Chapter Meeting (October). [Deanery Meetings are called "Chapters" because traditionally they began by reading a chapter from Holy Scriptures]

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In your prayers this week, please remember the sick, especially, Jeff Franciosi, Marion Perhauch, Don Lypold, Donald Dutcher, Sarah Snyder, Brian Hill, Dawn Hainsworth, Cheryll Johnston, Lauren Keller-Taylor, Sharon Moceri, and Andrew Zint; our companion parish in Madagascar, Santa Grégoire, Tolagnaro, and their leader, Rev. Donné; the men and women serving in the armed forces and their families, remembering especially Timothy Welton, Cary Clark, Mike Demmon, Ilan Kedar, Jason Greenman, Robert Steere, Robb Dunlap, Brian O'Lavin, Greg Hirsch, Jamie Mitchell, Brian Adamson, Bob Morrissette, and Doug Columbus; and for the faithful departed, remembering especially Hazel Pedersen and Jack Hicks.

Faithfully yours,

"The Mood of Christmas," by Howard Thurman

This poem appeared in our friends Ellie's and Harry's Christmas Letter.

You may find out about Howard Thurman by clicking here.

"When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart."

A Manger, Bread, and Beautiful Feet

+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

St. Luke certainly knows how to drive home a point in our Christmas Gospel:

First, he tells us that Mary and Joseph laid Jesus in a manger.

Then the angel tells the shepherds that they will find Jesus lying in a manger.

And then, when the shepherds get to Bethlehem they find Jesus lying in a manger.

A manger, from the French verb manger― to eat, is a feeding trough, a sign that Jesus, now surrounded by shepherds, will be the Good Shepherd who feeds his sheep; and as Jesus himself tells us in St. John’s Gospel:

“I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry”

and

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (6:35, 51).

A couple of years ago I read John Baxter’s Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas (New York: Harper Collins, 2008). He writes this about bread:

“For centuries, bread in France signified the gulf between the classes: the higher up the social ladder, the more finely milled your flour, and the whiter your bread. Of someone who had all his success in early life, then fell on hard times, the French say, “He ate his white bread first.

“The bread of the French poor, when they had any, was dark and hard, made from wheat mixed with inferior grains like barley or rye. Unscrupulous bakers sometimes adulterated the flour with sand, even cement.”― and this practice continued as recently as the early twentieth century.

Then, later in his book, Baxter writes:

“The lavishness of our modern Christmas obscures how minor a role gifts traditionally played in the celebration. In [Charles] Dickens’ day, food and good works mattered far more. Scrooge, when he sees the error of his ways, doesn’t buy presents but gives money to a charity that helps the poor and sends a turkey to his clerk Bob Cratchit, whose wages he raises and family he helps” (pp. 235).

Here’s how Dickens himself describes Scrooge at that moment of transformation:

“‘I’ll send [this huge turkey] to Bob Cratchit’s,’ whispered Scrooge, rubbing his hands, and splitting with a laugh. ‘He shan’t know who sends it. It’s twice the size of Tiny Tim.’”

Then Scrooge tells the delivery boy, “You must have a cab,” and, Dickens continues,

“The chuckle with which [Scrooge] had said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy, were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried.”

St. Luke tells us that when Jesus began his public ministry in Nazareth, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day as was his custom. And when the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, Jesus found this passage:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (4:18).

It’s a passage that echoes our Christmas reading from Isaiah:

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news.”

May Jesus, the Bread of Life, born in a manger, nourish our compassion for the breadless, the jobless, the friendless, and the hopeless, so that we, like Jesus, may have beautiful feet.

Amen.

Christmas Eve Children's Sermon

Gaston is a French-Canadian reindeer who sometimes helps Santa on Christmas Eve.

Gaston:       Merry Christmas, boys and girls! Joyeux Noel!

Bill:             Merry Christmas, Gaston. How are you this afternoon?

Gaston:       I am very excited as always on Christmas Eve.

Bill:             I remember last year Santa came up with the idea of bringing a cow with him to bring milk to the boys and girls who were too poor to leave a glass of milk for Santa. So how did that go?

Gaston:       Well, we discovered that a cow weighs so much that it slowed down Santa’s sleigh. So we came up with Plan B.

Bill:             Which is?

Gaston:       We are going to bring a goat this year, because goats are lighter than cows.

Bill:             So I imagine you’ve had to learn a lot about goats this year to prepare for tonight.

Gaston:       Ah, oui, we have learned a great deal about goats.

Bill:             For example?

Gaston:       Well, their favorite song is “Row, row, row your goat. . . .”

Bill:             Oh, Gaston.

Gaston:       And their favorite appetizer is escargoat.

Bill:             Oh, stop!

Gaston:       And their favorite car is a Chèvre-rolet.

Bill:             That’s enough!

Gaston:       I guess I really got your goat this Christmas, huh?

Bill:             I guess you did, Gaston! Well, say Merry Christmas to the boys and girls until next year!

Gaston:       Merry Christmas, boys and girls, Joyeux Noel!

Bill:             Well, boys and girls, as you look at the crèche, what do you see more than anything else?

Remembering the straw in the stable in Bethlehem, people believed that it was good luck to have straw in their house at Christmastime.

In Croatia, people spread straw under the dining room table to symbolize the manger.

And in some places, people slept on the straw instead of in their beds on Christmas Eve.

And in France, at the beginning of Advent, the manger was empty, like this [take Jesus and all the straw out of the manger]. And each night, if a child had done a good deed for someone, he or she would get to add a straw to the manger. And hopefully, by Christmas Eve, there would be a soft bed of straw for the baby Jesus.

And especially in Scandinavian countries, sometimes the straw was tied into wreaths. And sometimes they created a Yule Goat, like this [take the Yule Goat out of the bag].

The Yule Goat made sure that people were preparing for Christmas, and they brought Christmas presents to children in Sweden.

So tonight, after the service, if you’ll go to my office, Mrs. Roberts will give each of you one of these little straw goats, to remind you of the straw in the manger, and to do good things for people, and how much Jesus loves you.

Christmas Letter and Christ Masses Schedule

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David!

“Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.

“Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:10-14

In 733 b. c. the Syrians and Ephraimites joined forces to destroy Judah, and King Ahaz feared the loss of everything. So the Lord sent his prophet Isaiah to assure the King that he had nothing to fear. 

Yet Ahaz was not comforted.

And so “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Ahaz was so hard to bless! The Lord tried to bless him with a word of encouragement, and Ahaz would not receive it. Then the Lord tried to bless him with a sign of encouragement, and Ahaz would not receive it. 

Have you ever been  so   very    frustrated  by someone’s unwillingness to be blessed?

There’s no question that Isaiah was so very frustrated― “Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?! 

Apparently the Lord shared Isaiah’s frustration: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.”

You don’t want a sign, Ahaz? Well, that’s just too bad, because I am determined to bless you! 

So taking Ahaz by his kingly lapels, and fixing him with piercing eyes the prophet gave him a sign― “Look! Look! the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanu-El: With Us is God.

Eight centuries later an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.” Matthew 1:20-24. 

Joseph was easy to bless!

Are you hard to bless, like Ahaz? Or easy to bless, like Joseph? 

Christmas is a time to ask, “Are we ready to be blessed by the One who is ‘God with us’?”

Christmas is also the time to ask, “Are we ready to be a blessing? Are we ready to be “us with God?” 

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.” John 12:26

Merry God-With-Us-Mass!

                                                     

ST. GREGORY’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH CHRISTMASTIDE SERVICES

DECEMBER 24 – SATURDAY – CHRISTMAS EVE

4:00 p.m.        SPECIAL MUSIC – St. Gregory’s Choir and Brass Quintet 

4:30 p.m.        CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND CHILDREN’S SERMON WITH GASTON

Choral Eucharist – child care provided

10:30 p.m.      SPECIAL MUSIC – St. Gregory’s Choir and Brass Quintet

11:00 p.m.      CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Choral Eucharist

DECEMBER 25 – SUNDAY – CHRISTMAS DAY 

10:00 a.m.       CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Holy Eucharist – Chancel Vocalists

DECEMBER 28 – WEDNESDAY – HOLY INNOCENTS 

7:00 a.m.         Holy Eucharist

JANUARY 1 – SUNDAY – NEW YEAR’S DAY – HOLY NAME 

10:00 a.m.       Holy Eucharist

JANUARY 4 – WEDNESDAY  

10:00 a.m.       Holy Eucharist 

JANUARY 8 – SUNDAY – 1 EPIPHANY– THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Regular schedule of services and Christian Formation resumes with child care at all services 

8:00 a.m.         Holy Eucharist

9:00 a.m.         Holy Eucharist and Children’s Church

10:15 a.m.       Church School and Adult Forum

11:00 a.m.       Holy Eucharist 

Please contact the clergy if you know of someone who is sick or shut-in and would like to receive the Sacrament during the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Tent

+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In this morning’s first reading, King David is living in a house and God is living in a tent. Think about that: King David is living in a house, and God is living in a tent.

So how incredibly contemporary and relevant is that?!

Then King David had a Bright Idea― to build a house for God― and God’s prophet Nathan encourages him. Too bad they didn’t run their Bright Idea by God first! Turns out that God likes living in a tent so he can “move about among all the people of Israel.”

So God puts an end to David’s Bright Idea and says to him:

“Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”

The words “house,” “kingdom,” and “throne” bring us directly to this morning’s Gospel― listen for them as I read:

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”

Here’s how the poet Edwin Muir imagines the meeting between Mary and the angel Gabriel (“The Annunciation” in Collected Poems):

See, they have come together, see
. . .
Each reflects the other's face
Till heaven in hers and earth in his
Shine steady there. . .
But through the endless afternoon
These neither speak nor movement make,
But stare into their deepening trance
As if their gaze would never break.

Theologian and writer Maggi Dawn has this to say about Muir’s poem in her book The Writing on the Wall:

[He] “created a scene where . . . the meeting between Mary and the angel might have been a lengthy encounter― a whole afternoon passed while they gazed into each other’s faces. Muir captures perfectly the theological idea that while a message from God may be impressive, it is never impersonal. It is not just the delivery of information, like an email from head office, but a meeting of persons, and the primary significance of the angel’s visitation is not the angel himself, nor even the message that he bears, but the connection made between a person and God.”

Then she adds this parenthetical comment: “And as some theologians have mused, perhaps Mary also needed time”― that endless afternoon― “because she had a choice to make― she had the option to say ‘no.’”

The idea that Mary needed to make her choice during that endless afternoon brings us to another poet’s imagining of Mary’s and Gabriel’s meeting. In W. H. Auden’s For the Time Being; A Christmas Oratorio, the angel speaks to Mary:

Hear, child, what I am sent to tell:
Love wills your dream to happen, so
Love’s will on earth may be, through you,
No longer a pretend but true.

Today the Unknown seeks the known;
What I am willed to ask, your own
Will has to answer; child, it lies
Within your power of choosing to
Conceive the Child who chooses you.

“Child, it lies Within your power of choosing to Conceive the Child who chooses you.”

We know the end of the story.

Mary does choose to conceive the Child who chose her, and through Mary God will enter our world. John puts it this way in his Gospel: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

Last week in her sermon, Meredith used Eugene Peterson’s translation: “And the Word was made flesh and blood and moved into our neighborhood.”

But here’s a more literal translation: “And the Word became flesh, and pitched his tent among us.”― which brings us right back to this morning’s first reading, where we learned that God likes a tent so God can move about among his people.

But before God can pitch his tent among us, God must first become flesh in Mary.

In her sermon on the Feast of St. Mary in 2003, Katherine Bush said this about God’s becoming flesh in Mary:

“Mary quite literally carries God within her. To be the space that the uncontainable God inhabits is not a job for the weak or the faint-hearted. Mary lives with God kicking around inside her.”

“Mary lives with God kicking around inside her.” Isn’t that a wonderful phrase?

So on this Fourth and last Sunday in Advent, three questions to ask:

What is God asking me to do that still needs my “yes?”

In what way is God “kicking around inside me?”

And where in my neighborhood is God pitching a tent right now?

Let us once again pray this morning’s Collect of the Day, with one change:

“Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a tent prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”

Parish Newsletter

Dearly Beloved,

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT REHEARSAL:

This Saturday, December 17 at 9:00 am― Rehearsal for all pageant parts.

THIS COMING SUNDAY, THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT:

Christmas Pageant performed after the 9:00am service!

Last Call to sign up for Christmas Brass and Christmas Flowers!

Contributions may be made either In Memory Of loved ones or In Thanksgiving For the blessings in your life.

Please attach your checks payable to St. Gregory's and note either flowers or music in the memo line. Please write separate checks for music or for flowers.

Thanks to your generous donations, Christmastide will be ever brighter! Catherine Martin and Sybil Ten Eyck.

Pick Up your Pre-Ordered Gift Cards!

Also, for those last minute stocking stuffers, gift cards including Starbucks,

Regal Entertainment and Lettuce Entertain You will be available for purchase.

Thank you for your incredibly wonderful support for our Preschool through this Win-Win program!

THE SPIRIT OF ADVENT SUNDAYS PAST

Many, many thanks for the generous response to the Fourth Annual Knitwear Sale and to Deborah Ham-Bolger for her contributions.

$603.50 was raised for the Troop Support Program. Kudos to Cissy and Nuala for their continued devotion to this important ministry.

If you need a "feel good" experience, then come join us on box packing night. You'll meet some incredible people and you'll leave with a spirit soaring, you'll stand a little taller, and the smile on your face will last for days thereafter.

Thanks, Lin and Ruth Reichenbach.

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A big THANK YOU to all the enthusiastic folks who pitched in to Green the Church!

CookieLuck recipes will be posted on the church website later this week. I'll be emailing them also to people who provided their email address.

Unfortunately, the camera-woman didn't get as many good photos as she wanted, but here are the two that did turn out: 

Thanks again!! Leigh

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We raised $1,344 from our African Team Ministries' Jewelry and Crafts sale to support their work among the East African orphans of AIDS parents. My thanks to Ingrid and her helpers Sue Koy and Tina Reynolds; and to all of you who made the purchases.

DO YOU TEACH OR WORK WITH YOUTH?

Join us on Sunday, January 8 and Sunday, January 15, at 10:10 am for Sexual Abuse Prevention Training at the Adult Forum.

ST. GREGORY'S YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY AND FIRST SEMESTER

Last Sunday St. Gregory's Youth Group closed out its first semester with our annual Christmas Party at Marian House.

We had a packed house with both youth and volunteer leaders. Our celebration included an evening with dinner, Christmas cookies, a fun gift exchange, games, and time together as a group. This was a great way for us to close out our first semester of youth group.

This has been a wonderful first Fall semester for me at St. Gregory's. As we approach winter and Christmas, I am truly looking forward to next year. There are so many events for the youth coming up, so get excited!

St. Gregory's Youth Group will resume on Sunday, January 8.     Bret  

This year we are collecting the tangible items of hats, mittens and scarves, so let's all hang our donations of hats, mittens or scarves on our mitten tree in Founder's Hall.

These will be donated to the needy in our own diocese.

We will accept monetary donations as well.

These donations may be placed in the alms basin, mailed in, or given to me personally at the Church.

Checks may be made out to St. Gregory's and noted "Gift of Warmth." Thank you! Deacon Dennis Lietz

ST. GREGORY'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH CHRISTMASTIDE SERVICES

DECEMBER 24 – SATURDAY – CHRISTMAS EVE

4:00 p.m.    SPECIAL MUSIC – St. Gregory's Choir and Brass Quintet

4:30 p.m.    CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND CHILDREN'S SERMON WITH GASTON    Choral Eucharist – child care provided

10:30 p.m.    SPECIAL MUSIC – St. Gregory's Choir and Brass Quintet

11:00 p.m.    CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST― Choral Eucharist

DECEMBER 25 – SUNDAY – CHRISTMAS DAY

10:00 a.m.    CELEBRATION OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST― Chancel Vocalists

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In your prayers this week, please remember the sick, especially, Cheryll Johnston, Jordan Haley Peterson, Liz Barris, Bill Waltemath, Dawn Hainsworth, Lauren Keller-Taylor, Sharon Moceri, and Andrew Zint;

our companion parish in Madagascar, Santa Grégoire, Tolagnaro, and their leader, Rev. Donné;

the men and women serving in the armed forces and their families, remembering especially Timothy Welton, Cary Clark, Mike Demmon, Ilan Kedar, Jason Greenman, Robert Steere, Robb Dunlap, Brian O'Lavin, Greg Hirsch, Jamie Mitchell, Brian Adamson, Bob Morrissette, and Doug Columbus; and

for the faithful departed, remembering especially Mary-Ellen Gray.

Faithfully yours,

Haleliwia i Nadolig / Hallelujah for Christmas

After playing the video, read the stunning lyrics from Brigyn's website reproduced below, with the English translation following y geiriau Cymraeg:

 

Haleliwia

[Welsh lyrics: © Tony Llewelyn]

Mewn dwrn o ddur mae'r seren wen
Mae cysgod gwn tros Bethlehem
Dim angel gwyn yn canu Haleliwia.
Codi muriau, cau y pyrth
Troi eu cefn ar werth y wyrth
Mor ddu yw'r nos ar strydoedd Palesteina.

Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia.

Mae weiran bigog gylch y crud
A chraith lle bu creawdwr byd
Mae gobaith yno'n wylo ar ei glinia'
A ninnau'n euog bob yr un
Yn dal ei gôt i wylio'r dyn
Yn chwalu pob un hoel o Haleliwia.

Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia.

Mae'r nos yn ddu mae'r nos yn hir
Ond mae na rai sy'n gweld y gwir
Yn gwybod fod y neges mwy na geiria'
Mai o'r tywyllwch ddaw y wawr
A miwsig ddaeth â'r muriau lawr
Daw awr i ninnau ganu Haleliwia.

Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia, Haleliwia.

English Translation:

The White Star in a fist of steel,
There's a shadow of a gun over Bethlehem,
No white angel singing "Hallelujah".
Raising the walls, closing the doors,
Turning their backs on the value of the miracle,
The night's so dark on the streets of Palestine.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

There's a barb-wire circling the cradle,
And a scar where once was the World's creator,
Hope is weeping - on its knees.
Guilty - each and every one of us,
Holding Mankind's coat -
While he destroys every trace of "Hallelujah".

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

The night is dark, The night is long,
Yet there are some that see the truth,
They know the message is more than words;
That from the darkness comes the dawn,
and the music brought the walls down.
There came the hour for us to sing, "Hallelujah."

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

Parish Newsletter

Dearly Beloved,    

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT & REHEARSAL INFORMATION

Sunday, December 11 at 4:00pm Christmas Pageant Rehearsal for all speaking parts.

Saturday December 17 at 9:00am Rehearsal for all pageant parts.

Sunday December 18 Christmas Pageant performed after the 9:00am service!

THIS COMING SUNDAY, THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT:

Ingrid Roberts will be hosting our sale of unique gifts of African Jewelry and Crafts in the Rector's Office. Your purchases will support African Team Ministries' work among the East African orphans of AIDS parents.

Leigh Stewart, our Greener-in-Chief, will lead the charge, whistle in hand, as we put up trees, wreaths, and garlands all around the inside and outside of the church. Stop by the Church Office and add your name to the sign-up posters for the various activities― each takes less than an hour. Or just come and join in on the fun!

But wait! There's More!

OUR 2nd ANNUAL COOKIE-LUCK

While we're "Greening the Church" we'll also be enjoying our 2nd Annual Cookie-Luck! It's part potluck and part cookie exchange. Here's how it works:

• Bring at least one batch of your favorite cookies
• Provide a copy of your recipe with your name and email address on it
• After the Greening, take home a mix of any cookies that remain
• You'll receive an email with all the cookie recipes!

So sign up to help decorate, bring a batch of cookies, and have some holiday fun!

A WORD FROM THE ALTAR GUILD'S FLOWER CHAIRPERSON

Since we have many new parishioners, I thought it would be a good time to summarize the altar flower ordering, price, etc.

We use the Deerfield Florist and the typical podium arrangement is $50. This includes a $5 fee for delivery to church on Saturday.

If a more expensive arrangement is desired, that is fine, but I need to know this ahead of time.

Specific flowers can be requested if they are in season, but normally I let the florist choose within our normal guidelines (e.g., no Lilies).

We can have more than one donor on any given Sunday, and there are many Sundays that are spoken for on a regular yearly basis. I keep the listings and notes for this.

If you want to take the flowers home, you may pick them up after the 11:00 service, or if you wish, they may be taken by the clergy to someone who is hospitalized or to one of our shut-in parishioners.

(The special Christmas and Easter flowers which are placed on the floor around the altar or in various areas in the church, are ordered separately. Please see next article!)

If you would like to have altar flowers, please contact me or the church office. Also feel free to contact me with questions or comments about the altar flowers. Thank you! Cathy Leimbeck 847-541-0058 cleimbeck@comcast.net  

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR CHRISTMAS BRASS AND CHRISTMAS FLOWERS

The joy of our Christmas celebrations Gregory's is heightened both by our beautifully decorated sanctuary and by the glorious sounds of brass within our music program.

Please look opposite the office for the clipboards for FLOWERS and MUSIC donations.

Contributions may be made either In Memory Of loved ones or In Thanksgiving For the blessings in your life.

Please attach your checks payable to St. Gregory's and note either flowers or music in the memo line.

Please write separate checks for music or for flowers.

Thanks to your generous donations, Christmastide will be ever brighter! Catherine Martin

CALLING (not quite) ALL USHERS!

We are hoping that two ushers might be able to assist the Wardens and other Vestry Greeters at each of the Christmas Eve services.

This is primarily help with handing out bulletins and with the offertory collection, after which your "work" is complete!

If you can help at ONE of the two services, please let Catherine Martin know by December 11th. The Services on Saturday, December 24th, begin with special music at 4:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Please call me at 847-317-9503 or e-mail me at csmartin02@att.net, and let me know which of the two services is best for you. And thanks so much for your consideration! Catherine Martin, Warden.

YOUTH GROUP DECORATING PARTY

Last Sunday the St. Gregory's Youth went to the Claremont to decorate the doors for the Holiday season.

We had a great experience meeting with the residents and sharing in the joy of the Holiday season with others.

Some of the doors were really quite lavish, peppered with falling snowflakes, Merry Christmas spelled out in wrapping paper, with lintel made candy canes, and some covered with Giant snowmen.

Needless to say, we had a great time being creative and being together as we shared the Holiday spirit with others!

This year we are collecting the tangible items of hats, mittens and scarves, and have the perfect vehicle with to measure our progress― our traditional Mitten Tree!

Let's all hang donations of hats, mittens or scarves on our mitten tree in Founder's Hall.

These will be donated to the needy in our own diocese.

So let's see if we can overburden the mitten tree. Oh yes, we will accept monetary donations as well. Either I or one of our faithful parishioners will be stationed in the hall after services to accept donations. These donations can be placed in the alms basin or mailed in.

Checks should be made out to St. Gregory's and noted "Gift of Warmth."

Thanks to everyone! Deacon Dennis Lietz

TROOP SUPPORT NEWS

The 37th Troop Care Package Event was a tremendous success. We packed 152 boxes, a record number!

Each package had a Christmas stocking filled with candy (much had been donated by Laura B. Sprague School staff and students) and other fun items.

A large contingent of students from Shepard Middle School attended, accompanied by several staff members who have joined us many times before. The students had just completed Veteran's Day projects at school so their participation was especially meaningful for them.

We appreciated all the help setting up, packing, and cleaning up and donations to help cover mailing costs.

We have received several thank you emails from soldiers who received packages. Here is one of them:

"OMG, received your packages today. Thank you very much. I shared all the goodies with the guys in my office and then brought the remaining items down to our MWR. Thank you, thank you don't know how much this means to all of us."

Another soldier provided the contact information for a unit in Afghanistan that needs support. We will include them at our next packing event. The date has not yet been set.

We want to thank Lin Reichenbach who sponsored another craft sale that will also benefit the troop support program. Thanks, Lin! Cissy & Nuala

CATHEDRAL SHELTER CHRISTMAS BASKET DEPOT!

Pastoral Care Visitor Susie Dutcher took these photographs of our parish's generous response to the Christmas Basket program.

A HAPPY UPDATE FROM SANTA GRÉGOIRE, TOLAGNARO

Bishop Todd McGregor reports:

"I saw Rev. Donne this past week as we had a conference in Toliara. He seems to be doing fairly well. He informed me that the items which we stolen have been recovered and undamaged so we thank the Lord for that."

Amen!

+ + +

In your prayers this week, please remember the sick, especially, Bill Morell, Jordan Haley Peterson, Liz Barris, Bill Waltemath, Victor Grandinetti, Tommy Tuszynski, Marie and family, Dawn Hainsworth, Lauren Keller-Taylor, Sharon Moceri, and Andrew Zint;

our companion parish in Madagascar, Santa Grégoire, Tolagnaro, and their leader, Rev. Donné;

the men and women serving in the armed forces and their families, remembering especially Timothy Welton, Cary Clark, Mike Demmon, Ilan Kedar, Jason Greenman, Robert Steere, Robb Dunlap, Brian O'Lavin, Greg Hirsch, Jamie Mitchell, Brian Adamson, Bob Morrissette, and Doug Columbus; and

for the faithful departed, remembering especially Murray Green and Joseph H. Dudewicz.

Faithfully yours,

A New and Beautiful Song

+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Many of the first Christians expected that the end of the world would happen within their generation, and as time passed with no end in sight some grew discouraged. So Peter wrote a letter to a number of churches to encourage them, and this morning’s first reading is taken from that letter:

“Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire. . . .”

When I read those words I immediately remembered this famous poem by Robert Frost, published in December 1920:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

His contemporary, T. S. Eliot, published a poem titled The Hollow Men in 1925. Here are its final two verses:

This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper. 

Both men wrote their poems in the aftermath of the Great War.

A generation later, in 1952, the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb; and six years later, in an interview in September 1958, a reporter asked T. S. Eliot if he would still conclude his poem with the words, “Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Eliot said no for two reasons.

First, because “not with a bang” wouldn’t work anymore with the reality of the hydrogen bomb.

And second, Eliot didn’t know whether the world would end with either a bang or a whimper because people whose houses had been bombed in World War II had told him that they didn’t remember hearing anything” (“T. S. Eliot at Seventy, and an Interview with Eliot” in Saturday Review. Henry Hewes. 13 September 1958 in Grant p. 705.).

But speculation about the end of the world doesn’t interest Peter. He simply takes it in stride and then asks a penetrating question:

“Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness. . . ? Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.”

Peter is telling us not to let the future distract us from the present. This morning’s Gospel tells us not to let the past distract us from the present, either:

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,”’ John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for Mark begins with John the baptizer. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for us begins with baptism. And baptism is about two things: repentance and forgiveness.

Repentance, literally, is about “turning around.” “All roads lead to heaven― all you have to do is turn around!” Repentance is something God gives us the grace to do so that we can turn from the past and embrace the present. In other words, repentance is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for us.

Forgiveness, literally, is about “letting go.” Forgiveness is something God does for us to set us free from our past sins and failures and hurts so we can embrace the present. So forgiveness, is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for us, too.

But at its heart, baptism is about death and resurrection. In the words of our liturgy, “We thank you, Father, for the water of baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection” (The Book of Common Prayer, page 306).

Recently we have begun referring to our hour-long Sunday services as “practices”― “practices” for the other 167 hours of the week.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I read this passage about “practicing” just this past week from Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community, by Tim Conder and Daniel Rhodes (a book I’ve mentioned before):

“Because Christ has conquered death, and because we are able to enter into his victory by practicing our own death in baptism, we can encounter the world with optimism. . .” (p. 223).

“. . . Christians should be those who are the least likely to let fear dominate our lives and the way we interact with others. Our interactions do not have to be based on a fear of death, a fear of losing our families, a fear of losing our homes or our wealth, for all of these things have been given over to Christ already in our baptism. . .” (pp. 222-3).

I have also been asking the question of “How can we do a better job of imagining how we might take the Scriptures we read in the church out into the world?”

So imagine my further delight when I read this analogy between reading the Bible and another discipline that takes a lot of practice:

“. . . reading the Bible is a lot like reading music. Anyone who has had even an entry-level course in music realizes that reading music is an exercise that cannot be divorced from its performance. 

". . . To truly read music one must deploy an instrument to actualize the notes, to hit the notes with perfect pitch, and to join them together smoothly and eloquently. . .” (p. 229).

“To read the Bible as Scripture is to perform it, to be called into its mission, to learn to sing its beautiful songs. A true reading of Scripture must live in its performance . . .” (Ibid.).

“Practicing our mission . . . allows us to interpret the Word of God in the Bible because, just like the singer who must actualize the notes on the page in her voice, we must actualize this Word with our lives, making them into beautiful songs” (p. 230).

Whether the world ends in fire or ice, with a bang or a whimper or no sound at all, and whatever our past may be, baptism is our invitation to sing now a new and beautiful song to the Lord.

Amen.