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The East Range Epistle
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by Mary Groeninger, St. Mary’s, Ely I am writing from the state of Virginia, where our family is spending the month of April visiting cousins and grandparents. In addition to enjoying the bounty of a southern spring – the dogwoods and daffodils in bloom, the green grass that the kids touch in wonder, the rivers and lakes coated with algae rather than ice – we've been visiting our relative's churches. Last week, we attended a Catholic church that made me temporarily envious. The music, the service, the community were full of the warmth and energy felt in a large church at its best. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, to be part of a community like this? Wouldn't it be a relief to be a cog in the wheel of a church, rather than one of the axles? Wouldn't it be enriching for the kids to be surrounded by so many other kids, with a Christian Education program designed just for their age levels? All at once, I wanted to be part of a Big Church. The kids had a different opinion, however. "I don't like churches that aren't mine," said Sam. "Too boring." "How come I didn't get to have any bread?" wondered Cole. Then what I valued about being an East Range Episcopalian came back to me: the warmth of three different generations knowing one another as brother and sister; the energy generated from discussing the Gospel during the usual sermon time; the intimacy of Eucharist with all the congregation gathered around a table; and the kids knowing that if they have a Big Question (What happens after we die? What does God look like?), they can bring it up at church and get a serious answer. The past few months have been hard. At times, I've wondered whether it's worth the struggle to keep our little churches going. But size and meaning seem, at least for my family, to be inversely related. The community, the fellowship, the spiritual gifts St. Mary's has given us come, I think, from being small. It's worth it. |
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A May Meditation
I love May. May is my birth month so it is an occasion
for reflection for me.
One of my childhood memories is May Day baskets. I wonder
what ever happened to May Day? Since the Communists took it over
as their day I suppose it was down played in our country. And it’s risky
going door to door but then I wonder if that is worse than the risk of
staying inside and not knowing your neighbor. I miss the May Day
of my youth.
Preparation for May Day began in school with an arts and crafts
project for making a May basket or two. The object was to place a
basket filled with candy or cookies or some special treat on a neighbor’s
door knob, ring the bell, (or in my case knock hard since none of the neighbors
had a door bell), and then run like gangbusters to remain anonymous.
It was a act of selfless kindness. We acted out the biblical truth
that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
How very satisfying it was to do a random act of
kindness. In a society that sees random acts of violence or vandalism
paraded across the TV screen I think May Day baskets provide a wondrous
alternative. Picture this: One of the IDF tankers guarding
Arafat’s headquarters sneaks out of his tank and up to the door with his
May basket filled with baklava and hangs it on the knob, knocks, and runs
for cover. I wonder if he could survive this spontaneous act of kindness?
Or, how far do you suppose Yassir Arafat might make it carrying his May
basket? Notice that there is some risk involved here. I don’t
suppose Collin Powell will be contacting me to brief him on May basket
diplomacy. But any solution to violent disagreement would be improved
by a selfless, random act of kindness. In fact, I would wager that it will
be small random acts of courtesy that will finally win a lasting peace
anywhere.
The month of May is God’s spontaneous, selfless,
act of kindness. The warmth of the sun dries up the muddy roads.
Green grass appears and in May we’re not too tired to mow. While
there are lots of wood ticks the mosquitoes are few. Its not like
July when those hummer mosquitoes appear that may have wood ticks attached.
Blossoms abound – lilac and crab apple are my favorites. Flowers
are out in force. The planting of the crops gets underway.
It is mostly sweater weather at worst. The greening of the forest
is awesome.
Of all of nature’s May offerings the morel mushroom
ranks near the top. Hunting the morel takes you into the woods.
When the wood ticks are thick, the mosquitoes begin to hatch out, lilacs
are in bloom, and before the trees leaf completely out, the morels appear.
Competition for the morel is steep and the deer love to eat them as well
so you have to be quick to find them. The best place is where the
sun shines through for part of the day on a moist part of earth where decaying
bark is present. The side of a hill or a ravine are often a good
spots. If you see Jack-in-the-pulpits or ginger or blood root or
lady slippers you are probably in the right area. Morels are Christmas
tree shaped white or gray mushrooms that have a wrinkled exterior that
may look like a brain. They are a delicacy. I like them sauteed in
butter best but they are also great dried and crumbled so that they can
be shaken from a container adding flavor to meat, vegetables, or pasta.
Of course there’s a risk to mushroom hunting and a good guide is worth
knowing. But the reward is great as well. The Ojibwe call the
mushroom wabedo which sounds to me like a lively dance of joy. If
you don’t take the risk you won’t get the joyful dance. That’s
good news for a large part of living.
Of course May also gives birth to the high holy
day of Minnesota – opening day of fishing season. And there is Mother’s
Day which usually competes with Opening Day. May ends with Memorial
Day which is the unofficial beginning of summer in the North. I’d
say May is the month for Holiday-Holy Day. May it be so for all of us.
I love May.
The Rev Canon Stephen Schaitberger is Canon Missioner for Northern Minnesota, which includes the East Range Episcopal Congregations.
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The Transition Team is managing the daily operations of our three congregations. If you have questions about what the team is doing, please contact the member from your congregation: St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
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The Search Committee has been formed and the members are as follows: St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
More information on their activities will be available in upcoming issues. |
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East Range
Churches' News |
Search Committee Prayers
During Search Committee Meetings there will be an opportunity for our congregations to gather in prayer. The prayers will be silent as well as communal and will begin at the start of each meeting and conclude when we are informed that the meeting is over. Whenever the meeting is at St. Paul’s, the prayers will be at St. John’s; whenever the meeting is at St. John’s or St. Mary’s, the prayers will be at St. Paul’s. Come for as long as you like. If you cannot make it to the church, please pray at your home or place of work. You can use Prayer 13, Page 818 of the Prayer Book as a starting point
Highway Clean-up
Highway clean-up has been scheduled for Saturday, May 4. Be at the Pike River Bridge at 9 AM. It is a big job, so all are asked to come and help. There will be a pot-luck picnic afterwards, so bring something to grill or share.
June Epistle
Deadline for input to the May issue of The East Range Epistle is Thursday, May 16, to Carol Morello (218-744-1615, or fax: 218-744-1635). Processing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 22.
Epistle Contribution Schedule
The schedule for the lead article for the next three issues of is:
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St. John's
News
(Submitted by Nancy and Dick Harvey) |
Vestry Notes
The following topics were covered at the Vestry Meeting of April 14:
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St. Mary's
News
(Submitted by Mary Groeninger) |
Service Schedule Update
Ely:
St. Mary's, Ely, continues to meet at the Ely Presbyterian Church at
9:00 AM on Sunday mornings. Sunday school for 3-8 year olds follows the
service. There is a communion service or morning prayer each Sunday.
Tower:
St. Mary’s, Tower, will begin Eucharist Services on Saturday, May 18
at 6:30 PM each Saturday through the Summer. The Rev George Porthan
will be officiating.
Questions on either location? Contact Mary
Groeninger (218-365-3364).
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St. Paul's News |
Thank You
THANK YOU to Chuck Morello and Rae Lynne Koivu for their presentation about the "Good News" they learned at the Magnetic Church Conference recently. It was thought provoking and exciting to hear what we can start doing to make St. Paul’s a place where visitors who enter will come back again!
Wednesday Meetings
St. Paul’s people and their friends are invited to attend each Wednesday at 10 AM for Coffee and talk at the Guild Hall. Ladies will be working on some projects working toward additional fund-raising efforts.
Vestry News
(Submitted by Rae Lynne Koivu)
The following topics were covered at the Vestry Meeting of March 18:
UTO Ingathering
The UTO Ingathering has been scheduled for Sunday, June 2. Mark your calendars!
The poem below was submitted by Eathel Grady of St. Paul’s as a reminder
that the U.T.O. Box (“the little blue box”) is not just for the Sunday
of the U.T.O. Ingathering but throughout the entire year. Thank you
Eathel!
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It sat on my table and mocked at me,
For few were the coins that lay within,
But there it rested in mute reproach,
And I cried to it, "Why do you goad me so"?
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So I shut it away in a closet dark,
Behind a fast closed door; But the mischief was, I knew it was there, And it troubled me all the more. Then I set it out in a prominent place,
And I said: "Dear Lord, if Thou ask of me,
Now merrily clink all the coins in my box,
And I praise our Lord for the gift to me,
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So, what was this Magnetic Church presentation all about?
In March, Rae Lynne Koivu and Chuck Morello spent
two days at a conference designed to look at how our worship services and
church community fill empty lives with the Good News of Christ. They
used the passage about the experience on the road to Emmaus (Luke
24:13-35) as their Scriptural starting point.
Andrew Weeks, an Episcopalian who grew up in Canada,
led the conference and challenged thought processes to look at visitors
as a gift from God and that to neglect visitors is to be disrespectful
to God. It is a living into the Great Commission.
At the April 7 service Rae Lynne Koivu and Chuck
Morello presented 18 low- or no-cost things that St. Paul’s can do to become
more open to the needs of visitors and newcomers. Their focus was
on the “little things” that reflect negatively in the eyes of a visitor.
As part of that effort, the distribution of The
East Range Epistle will be changing in the coming issues, so that it, too,
can light a fire in the hearts of possible visitors.
If you want to help make a fire of the love of Christ
burn inside of visitors or if you have questions, talk to someone who was
there on April 7 or to Rae Lynne
or Chuck about what they presented.
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Address comments on typographical errors to Chuck.