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- Announcements / Programs | Page 3 -
Trumpet
Staff & Vestry Members
From the Rector…
January
2010
Third in a series on Prayer
“Most merciful God, we confess...” So begins the confession of sin in
Holy Eucharist Rite II (page 360 of the Book of Common Prayer).
In the past two issues of the Trumpet, I have looked at three of the
seven types of prayer listed in the catechism (BCP 856-857). With
adoration, praise and thanksgiving behind us, we’ll look at penance
this month, and the places it is found in the richness of our Prayer
Book.
From a very early age, most all of us have been taught that there were
acceptable and unacceptable ways to treat others. For some, “time
outs” have replaced an open hand to the posterior when something
was
deemed unacceptable, but either way there is usually also a demand of
an “I’m sorry.”
As we grew, we learned that sometimes the things we thought, said or
did were not what God expected of us, or that there were things that we
didn’t do or say that we should have. Penance, confession or
reconciliation of a penitent, whatever name it is given, is our saying
to God, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better. Forgive me.” It is living
into the promises of our Baptismal Covenant, renewed at the Easter
Vigil (p. 293), at confirmation (p. 417) or whenever another baptism
(p. 304) occurs: “Will you...whenever you fall into sin, repent and
return to the Lord?”
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Of
course, this can happen immediately upon discovering our transgression,
but it is also a part of many of the worship services
found in our Prayer Book. Morning Prayer (BCP pp. 41 and 70), Evening
Prayer (pp. 62 and 116), and Compline (p. 127) all can begin with a
general confession. Holy Eucharist Rite I (pp. 320 and 331) and Rite II
(pp. 352 and 360) each can either begin with confession or one follows
the Prayers of the People.
On Ash Wednesday, part of the worship is a litany of penance (p. 267),
and part of the even longer Great Litany (p. 148) is confessional. When
a bishop or priest is present, absolution from God is announced; when a
lay person leads Morning or Evening Prayer or Compline, an Assurance of
Pardon is read.
There is also, buried toward the back of the Prayer Book, beginning on
page 447, two forms for private confession: just you and a priest. As I
tell my Inquirer’s Classes, there is a little saying regarding this
sacrament: “All can, some should, none must.” It is a part of some
people’s regular discipline and not others. If you would like to “try
it out,” all you need do is ask; if not, that’s okay too.
Plenty of opportunities as we approach God to say, “I’m sorry. I’ll try
to do better. Forgive me.” And the best part of all, God does, each
time we truly ask.
Yours and His,
Father Bruce+
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Congratulations to:
Marci and Adam Sacco, daughter and son-in-law of Brenda and R.D.
Holman, on the birth of their son on Dec. 8 in Atlanta. Miller Douglas
Sacco weighed 6 lbs. and was 19 in. long. All are well. In their note
to Father Bruce about the birth, the Holmans note, “We look forward to
being back in church very soon.”
Wendy and Jack Draper on the birth of their daughter Harper Lee Draper,
born December 31. She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 in. long. All are
doing well.
Thanks from:
Donna Williams, who says, “Thank you for the prayers and cards. They
were so appreciated.”
And thanks to:
Anne Cody (and Dick also) and their helpers for the lovely ECW
Christmas Luncheon held at the Cody’s home on Dec. 15.
Gail Wilson, for your work in providing the children’s Christmas Party
on Dec. 19.
All who so faithfully helped prepare our church on Dec 19th and 20th
with the inside clean-up and the Greening of the Church.
Those who served at the Soup Bowl from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4. Thank you for
giving of your time and yourselves.
All who contributed to make Thanksgiving and Christmas much happier for
Sister Mary’s flock and our community neighbors. Deacon Bruce says St.
Michael’s provided more than 75 Thanksgiving baskets and a total of
$1,346 for the Christmas gift cards.
Condolences to:
Sharon, Whitt, Reid and Evan Wilkins for the loss of husband and father
Bobby.
Wes and Angie Baker, Calvin and Stewart for the loss of Wes’s mother
Guyanna Baker.
Memorials
Contributions noted below have been made to St. Michael’s in memory of
departed loved ones in December and January.
John Bray
Charlotte and Buddy Mullis
Ike Bridges
Charlotte and Buddy Mullis
Gail and Will Wilson
Jo Rhea and David Ford
Mary Chaney
Anne and Dick Cody
Jo Rhea and David Ford
Ken Chatman
Anne and Dick Cody
Brenda and Doug Ghee
Tom Freeman
Gail and Will Wilson
Mary Gentry
Dot and Chris Horsfield
Charlotte and Buddy Mullis
Jo Rhea and David Ford
Connie Holmes
Gail and Will Wilson
Rozelle Lentzes
Charlotte and Buddy Mullis
Gail and Will Wilson
Shirley Patterson
ECW
Audrey and Bill Vander Yacht
Bobby Wilkins
Gail and Will Wilson
Florence and Bryan Cuneo
Sandra and Bill Falkenberry
Charlotte and Jim McDaniel
Deb and Bob Pratt
Audrey and Bill Vander Yacht
Jo Rhea and David Ford
Rebecca and Mac Burt
Pat and Bill Ferguson
Sarah and Jimmy Sloan
Judith and Arthur Gould
Kathy and Eddie Gore
Patricia and Warner Kettles
Patrick and Sandra Bernardi
Ginny and Lenn Costner, Sr.
Anne and Dick Cody
Bodine McKay
Betty and Mike White
Terri and Van Dale Phillips
Thomas Coleman
Robert Stewart
June and Dennis Reaves
Melinda and Ronald Thomas
Marian Freeman
Keither and Roger Zeimet
Pat and Ed Dabbs
Jack Wilson
Brenda and Doug Ghee
Parish Meeting this Sunday
The Annual Parish Meeting will take place this Sunday (Jan 24)
following church. A covered-dish lunch will precede annual reports to
the parish and vestry elections. Join us to learn the “state of our
church” and help elect those who will represent us on the vestry. And
many thanks to outgoing members Kim Buckalew, Lenn Costner, Jr., Jo
Rhea Ford and Jerry Watson for your years of service.
At press time, those who are placing their names on the ballot, known
as “standing for the vestry,” include Mack Burt, Lenn Costner, Sr.,
Bill Falkenberry, David Ford, Ed Fowler, Doug Ghee, Harry Long, Bob
Pratt, Joellyn Sherrill, Jackie Terrell-White, and Cathy Coleman. Seven
openings must be filled. Qualifications for vestry members have been
listed in recent bulletins.
Let us keep in our daily prayers:
Cissy Thompson, Donna Williams, Suzanne Allen, Trisha Fowler, Kay
Kelly, Durrah Watson, Gene Desmarais, Dee Pugh, Dot Moffett, Kathi
Harrelson, Ron Mason.
Family and friends: Shirley Stahl, Marie Traina, Megan Pratt (Pratt),
Doug Ballantine (Fowler), Mike Bridges, Alma Allen (Bridges), Dotti
Yourgalite, Geraldine Morris (Mason), Joan Grover Hudson (Hudson), Jean
Deeth (Dunlap), Cleve DeBardeleben (Pruett), Ryan Bracamonte (Bransom),
the Stevens Family (Thompson), Margaret Torell (Cody), Katie Miller
(Roberts), Betty Smith, Michael Courtney (Wilson), John Schneider
(Schneider), Joey and Tyler McCord, Craig Terrell, Yvonne Borcheldt
(Terrell-White), Mary Holder (Youngblood), Kenneth Allison (McDaniel),
Joe Hubbard (Ghee), Geraldine Bryant, Sheron Cobb, John Lundy, Bobby
Newman (Cuneo), Phyllis Pruitt, Betty Palacio, George Stevens (Emigh),
Eric Marcum (Stirling), Paul Kelly (Drube), Willie Mae Comer (Costner,
Jr.), Anna O’Donnell (Vander Yacht), Clarence Paige, Krysmon Feazell
(Costner), Janie Savoino, Ann Wallach (Parsons), Deena Smith, Jean
Woodall, Diane Thompson (Cleghorn), Ron Clark (Wilson), Raymond
Rathburn, Hilda Paul, Sid Rathburn, Sandy Meier, Max White, Caitlyn
Grace, Alicia and Brian White, Bev Rathburn, Cindy Evans, Sherry Bawcum
(White), Jim Robinson, Carol Robinson, Lori Sheier (Lane), Peg, Gary,
Julia Laverack, Jeanette Holloway, JoAnne and Jack McKenna, John
Plunkett, Jeffrey McCullough (Bradley), Elizabeth Pierce, Ruth Mason,
Joyce Harrelson, Sharon Davis, Lois Cumb (Dunn), and Barbara Pitts.
(Please contact the parish office for changes).
Happy birthdays and
anniversaries!
January 20,
Michael Hodge; 21 Kim Shives, 22, Dot Perry; 26, Buddy Canup; 28 Kim
Buckalew. February 2, Joyce
Watson, Geneva Telford; 3 Ed Dabbs; 6 Joellyn
Sherrill; 8 Denise Dodd; 9 Lenn Costner, Jr., Chloe Garcia; 14 Carley
and Gene Knight, Brenda and Doug Ghee, Jackie and Ron White; 15 Buddy
Mullis; 16 Charlotte McDaniel, Sharon Wilkins; 17 Bob Lokey; 19 Jerry
Watson, Elizabeth Buckalew; 23 Jack Lentjes; 26 Bette and Mike White;
29 Wendy Draper.
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Annual statements available
If you have not yet picked up your annual statement, please do so soon;
they are located in the narthex on Sundays and in the church office on
weekdays. Unclaimed statements will be mailed out, but every penny
saved by eliminating postage costs will be most helpful.
Help wanted: PLEASE
COMMUNICATE!
As an introvert, I realized long ago that one of my major failings is
that I assume people either know everything (news, test answers,
falling sky) before I do, or else can read my mind about some job I’ve
taken on. WRONG!
If you resemble that remark, and even if you don’t, please take the
time to share any of your personal information with Father Bruce, the
church office, or other church leaders when life happens. That way,
hospital patients can be visited, happy and unhappy family events can
be commemorated and prayed over, addresses and phone numbers can be
updated in time for mailings (saving us 44 cents for the first mailing
and 44 cents for postage when it’s returned undeliverable), and The
Trumpet and/or Sunday bulletin can share appropriate information with
others. Thanks for your help! -- your editor
E & O: Events and
Opportunities
Inquirer’s Class begins in
January
Father Bruce will start this weekly class at noon on Sunday, Jan. 31,
for anyone new to the Episcopal Church who would like to learn more
about the church. After completing the class, any who decide to
continue with the process will be confirmed during the bishop’s annual
visit in the fall; no further classes after this one would be required
of those individuals. If you plan to participate, please contact the
office so a booklet will be available for you. 237-4011.
“Sample the Arts” Jan
31-Feb 3.
This second annual arts workshop at Camp McDowell’s Alabama Folk School
allows as many as four different classes from a variety of arts at this
retreat. For more information, call Danielle at (205) 563-9990 or go to
www.campmcdowell.com/folkschool.
Women’s Night Out returns,
Feb. 2
Just as we were getting started, the “cold snap” of the decade occurred
to deter us. However, the monthly gathering returns (unless more really
bad weather happens) on Tuesday, Feb. 2. We plan, once again, to gather
at Los Mexicanos #3, 1936 Hwy 78 East, Oxford (just east of The Apple
Barrel antique mall). Please RSVP to Kim at 237-4011 so we can alert
the restaurant how many to expect.
Prayer workshop Feb. 13
Would you like a deeper prayer life? Come join us when Praying without
Words: An Introduction to Centering Prayer is provided at St. Michael’s
on this date from 9 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. The cost is $30, which includes
lunch. It will teach the method of Centering Prayer, a part of the
Christian Contemplative tradition for hundreds of years. To register,
contact Charlotte Mullis at 256-237-3083 or
charlottemullis@bellsouth.net
by Wed., Feb. 10.
Mardi Gras alert: Revelers
(and cooks) needed on Feb. 16!
A festive evening is planned for this year’s Mardi Gras, and volunteers
are being sought to provide some of the specialty dishes. Watch for
more details in future church bulletins, but if you are willing to help
with the culinary chores, the cost of ingredients will be covered.
Direct any questions to Father Bruce!
Lenten season programs
planned
The Ash Wednesday service which heralds Lent will be held February 17
at 5:30, followed by a soup or covered-dish supper at 6:30. The
subsequent weekly Wednesday night Lent services will also begin at
5:30, with a Eucharist service followed by a healing service, with a
meal at 6:15 and program at 6:45. For more details, please watch the
Sunday bulletin or check with the church office.
Daughters of the King
begin new class
If you are interested in joining this order of women, a new members’
class begins on Sunday, Feb. 28. To sign up for the class, please call
the church office (237-4011).
Serving on the front
lines...
Ushers are still needed! If you would like to be “the face of St.
Michael’s,” greeting and providing any necessary guidance for those who
enter our doors on Sunday mornings, please sign up in the narthex. All
are welcome; this is an “equal opportunity” opportunity. Training is
provided. See Head Usher Jim McDaniel for more information.
Nursery volunteers also
needed
For the time being, the Sunday nursery will be staffed by volunteers.
If you can devote one Sunday (or more) to this calling, your commitment
will be most appreciated. Sign up in the narthex.
Haiti earthquake relief
If you wish to contribute to the victims of the recent earthquake
through the Episcopal Church, contributions may be made to the
Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, 521 North 20th St., Birmingham, 35203, or
to Episcopal Relief and Development, P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield,
VA 22116. As you may recall, the Episcopal diocese in Haiti is
our companion diocese. Checks made out to either of these may also be
dropped in the offering plate and they will be forwarded to the
appropriate address.
Coffee hour update
Although there has been some confusion lately about who’s recruiting
for Sunday coffee hour chefs, the sign-up sheets in the parish hall
were provided for those who like to plan well in advance and commit
their culinary talents to one or more favorite dates in the coming
year. For the rest of us, who are certainly willing to furnish the
goodies,
but never plan that far in advance, Lucy Quinn will continue to be the
coordinator/opportunity giver/scheduler/nag ;-) that some of us need.
Many slots are still open for 2010, and the sign-up sheet will remain
available in the kitchen. But, Lucy will continue to keep tabs and make
calls to potential donors in plenty of time for them to prepare their
offerings. (Personally, I’m lucky if I know a month in advance if I’ll
be in town...and it takes me a long time to commit to cooking anything.)
While some of us see the Sunday coffee hour as a wonderful opportunity
to relax and schmooze with our fellow parishioners after the morning’s
service, for others including Lucy its smooth operation truly is (in my
opinion) a calling that they fulfill from behind the scenes each week,
perking the coffee, setting out the contributor’s spread, and making
sure every thing runs smoothly and not asking for credit. Sort of like
the disciples feeding the five thousand who have gathered to hear The
Word of the Lord, hmmm? Thank you to all of you.
And by the way, there’s also a sign-up sheet for altar flowers...
Sorry,
folks, but no recipe this month (the recipe cupboard is bare).
Watch for one in next month’s Trumpet, and don’t forget to make and/or
meet your pledge so we can pay the bills, come to the annual parish
meeting (with or without covered dish; there’s always plenty), say your
prayers, and thank you for reading The Trumpet!
Belated Happy New Year!
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TRUMPET
EDITOR: Cathy
Coleman
VESTRY
MEMBERS: Terms ending
…2010 Cathy Coleman, Bill Falkenberry, Jim McDanie-Sr. Wardenl, David
Schneider..
...2011
Florence Cuneo, Jim Stirling, Peg Tyler, Bette
White
- Clerk ...2012 Mack Burt-Jr. Warden, Lenn Costner, Sr., David
Ford, Bob Pratt.
THE
CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL
AND ALL ANGELS
1000 W.
18th St. (P.O.
Box 1884) * Office 256-237-4011
Website:
www.stmaaa.org
email: stmaaa@cableone.net
The
Church is open daily
for visitation and prayer 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Office
Hours: Monday
– Friday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 1:00PM - 4:00 PM
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