St. George’s Church Schenectady, NY June 2014 ST. …

1 THE GEORGIAN REPORTJune 2014St. george s Church schenectady , NYST. george S DAYS unday, May concelebrated Sung High Mass at the combined 9AM Procession inchurch and around the Stockade Andrew s Society schenectady , acolytes, choir and farewell to Fr. Delos Wampler who has moved with a delicious Georgian potluck feast of epic HERITAGE FOUNDATION AWARD Mayor Gary McCarthy stepped up to the podium at schenectady City Hall at 3:30PM on May 22nd toannounce a tornado warning and issue instructions in case it hit. After a stunned silence, the 80 + peoplegathered on the 2nd floor of the Rotunda shrugged off this doom n gloom announcement to applaudseven recipients of this year s schenectady Heritage Foundation award.

2 Fr. Paul Blanch accepted on behalfof St. george s Representing St. george s at the ceremony: Rick Forshaw, Rosemary Pannone, David Kennison, ChrisHenry, Christine & Keith Nelson, and Bob & Lynn Paska. In his acceptance, Fr. Paul acknowledgedproject manager David Kennison, project architect Ron Petito, and Dave Knox from Advanced Construc-tion & Steeplejacks of Red Hook. Gloria Kishton, president, explained that SHF encourages, promotes and recognizes historic preservationin schenectady County and congratulated those winners on their restoration of homes, sidewalks, gates, andSt. george s steeple.(L-R) Christopher Henry, Richard Forshaw, David Kennison, Fr. Paul Blanch,Mayor Gary McCarthy, Gloria paska A tie: congratulationsto the winners of theAnnual Easter EggHunt, Sam Whitemanand Liam it was arainy day, the youngGeorgians activitywas held in thechurch instead of onthe Church EASTER EGG HUNTYOUTH NEWS For the 5th consecutive year,Colton Jacquith shaved his headfor St.

3 Baldrick s Children sCancerAppeal andraised over$2, SICM Internship: Congratulations to ErinThiessen, our SICM Summer Intern! Erin is lookingforward to working with inner city children, inspiringthem to make good choices in their lives. With workexperience as a cashier at Target, she has taken 5years of Spanish including a college level course inthe subject, is an Honor-roll student at SchenectadyHigh School and treasurer of the Peer applied to the SICM program as she isseeking to become a more well-rounded person. SICM interns work in any of the programs,including Food, Summer Lunch, Summer DayCamp,.Home Furnishings, or help with overalladministration .Interns work up to 240 hours,participate in group meetings, and write two reflec-tive pieces at the conclusion of their experience.

4 SICM Lunch Program: It takes a village to that includes Georgians! This summer,sign on for a day or two of serving lunches atWallingford Park (August 11-15.) SICM serveslunches in parks and on various Church lawns duringthe summer to children and youth from infancythrough age 18. In 2013, they served over 53,500meals to hungry kids! In schenectady , 80% ofchildren now qualify for free or reduced rate luncheswhen school is in session, and too many of themwould not have regular meals during the summerbreak. Come, help our children, one lunch at a time. Thank you, all who generouslydonated toiletries for the people served throughBethesda House. A record number of 44 bagswere assembled/delivered as our Lenten project.

5 Good Samaritan Ministry: Since the beginningof 2014 , St. george s Good Samaritan Ministry hasprovided 8 meals, 2 rides, and two days of emer-gency house cleaning. Twelve Church members wereinvolved in these efforts, serving 4 individuals. Theprogram is available to parishioners in need and canbe called upon through the weekly volunteer listed inthe Church bulletin. Good Samaritan volunteers findcomfort and fellowship from extending a helpinghand to fellow parishioners. The core of volunteershas always stepped in when called, often implement-ing other helpful measures for the person in NOTES(L-R) Dawn Tonneau, Louisa Carr, Izzy Whitehead, DianeReed, Joan Pearson, Paul Nooney, Art DeLuke, BobMoran, Rembert Herbert, Sue Hartz, Jeff Krystopolski is on the keyboard.

6 On Sunday, March 2nd, aka Choir OutreachSunday ..choir members (above) sang for residentsat Kingsway Manor. Prior to that performance, theyalso sang for residents of Wynwood on UpperUnion Street. The Organ Refrubishment Fundraiser sponsored aCorned Beef and Cabbage Dinner on March 16thfrom 4-6PM. It was eat in or take out , andmany took advantage of the latter. Approximately 50tickets were sold for this tasty event at a profit of$750. Members of our St. Cecelia Choir sang in the Hallelujah Chorus at First Reformed Church onFriday, May 30th. All on the Same Page Book Club: Membersrecommend summer reading: Alice Poloumbo - TheEngagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan. SandeeHughes - The Rosie Project, by Graeme Blanch - The Irresistible BlueberryBakeshop and Cafe, by Mary Simses.

7 PaulineHolmes - A Tale for the Time Being, by Meg Hughes - The Last Runaway, by TracyChevalier. Dawn Tonneau - The Thirteenth Tale, byDiane Setterfield. Wendy Madelone - The RentCollector, by Camron Wright. Nancy Angus - TheHusband s Secret, by Liane Moriarity. As a favoritepick of our book club-read books for the past year,members suggest Breakfast with Buddha, by tonneau-4-THE RECTOR WRITES .. about Fresh Expressions of being ChurchIt is almost a clich to say that Church is not a building, it is people. Butwhen we think of Church as people, we often still have the meeting withina Church building mainly in mind. As Winston Churchill said, First webuild our buildings, and then our buildings build us.

8 For many people, Church is what happens on Sunday morning. Centuriesof Church practice have made it difficult to imagine Church as anythingother than a weekly worship gathering. We go to Church because wethink of Church as a meeting. In various places around the world todaywe are witnessing some very exciting fresh expressions of Church , andthese fresh expressions are beginning to challenge the old way of now see community as being at the heart of Church life, and manyChristians have an understanding of community that is much bigger than a weekly worship is built through personal encounters all through the week - individuals eating together, going to afilm with each other, or just hanging out with one another online or in real life.

9 People don t go to Church ;they are Church throughout the week through their relationships. The Australian writer, Michael Frost, askshis book (Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture, Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006, p276): Whycan t we think of churching together as a web of relationships? Why are we obsessed with the singularevent rather than seeking the rhythm of a community churching together ?Secondly, Church is more than worship. Many Christians have been taught that Man s chief end is toglorify God, and to enjoy him forever. They have been told that worship is the ultimate means of glorifyingGod and should be at the center of Church life. So much of our Church life revolves around worship thatother things, like fellowship and mission, take second place (or are almost totally ignored).

10 But this hugeemphasis on worship is not always born out in the life of Jesus. Certainly, Jesus spent time in corporateworship and in solitary prayer. But what the Gospel writers stress even more are his public ministry, and hisdeath and resurrection. Presumably it was his entire ministry, and not just his worship, that pleased hisFather (Matthew ).Likewise, The Acts of the Apostles puts the emphasis on the mission of the early Church , not its worship. Inthe wonderful summary of believers life together, corporate worship is definitely included, but alongsidemuch else such as eating together, meeting daily and sharing possessions (Acts ). In Romans equates worship with a sacrificial life, not with a worship service.