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The East Range Epistle
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by Christopher Chamberlin Moore You cannot know the reason why I am here this morning. It may be as simple as a move to your community or as complicated as a personal crisis that leads me to seek strength from God. In either case, I am here. And I will probably remain here and come back to worship with you next Sunday and the Sunday after and the Sunday after that, if you will do some things for me. Won’t you please:
The above article, used in lieu of an article by St. Paul’s, is adapted from an article in Answer of March 9, 1998 from St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Woodbridge, VA. |
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I love June
June is the month of explosive growth in the north. The forest turns green with lush vegetation. Most animals have given birth and are busy nurturing their young through the fast paced growth spurts of June. The bucks are in the velvet; which means that they are growing new antlers. All the birds have returned. Their songs and activities start early and end late in a mind blowing explosion of action. If you look closely this is the month the little loons are on the adult backs. That works for humans also.
Matthew 6:26: “Behold the birds of the air they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them”. How true it is andyet how active the birds flit from seed to nest to participate fully in the grace of abundance that God has provided for them and their young. And how they sing while they work. It should be a parable to us who may be burdened with our ministries that demand so much time and energy. I wonder if we sing enough while we work in the Lord’s abundant fields? I wonder if we realize how much we are fed and how much we are growing. I know we sometimes complain about others not doing their part as if they are getting off easy and not sharing the awesome burdens of Church life. June is the month where growth should remind us that ministry is much joy to which the burden cannot compare..June is the month for swimming at the beach or the swimming hole.
In my youth we had a neighborhood swimming hole. Purgatory Creek ran though a lime stone gully about a quarter mile from my house. An eddy near a huge rock had hollowed out a five foot deep pool about the size of a small hot tub. Conditions were just right to build a swing which swayed from one side of the bank to the other. If you swung just right you could let go and drop into the swimming hole. There were no life guards. No parents. No beach fees. We were as free as the current. One day it happened. I misgauged the drop and fell on the rock, breaking my right wrist. I wore a cast for the rest of the summer. Because of that break, I spent the summer using my left hand. As a result I play a mean game of ping pong with either hand. I learned to dribble and shoot the basketball with the left hand. Growth, pain, and joy are often mixed into a wondrous tapestry. I’ll try to remember that the next time a June thunderstorm approaches and my right wrist becomes a weather predictor.
The first fruits of June are strawberries. Cool mornings found the kids of our area leafing through dew draped foliage for those elusive berries. There we were dreaming we’d get rich picking berries. Rows were assigned at random and rarely was anyone truly happy with their row. The temptation was to get through as fast as possible and get the big ones so you could get to another row. We picked at the Hill Farm which was so named because it was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hill, if I ever knew their first names I have forgotten. Their reputation was not built on first name, sociable employee relationships. Mrs Hill was the ayatollah of the berry patch. She inspected every carrier to see that there were sufficient berries that were ripe and uncrushed. She also checked on whether the quarts were indeed filled with berries rather than straw or leaves. We pickers were not above such tactics. She kept the running total of carriers picked and at the end of the day told Mr. Hill how much we were to be paid. She rewarded good pickers with bonuses and penalized poor ones with deductions. She also ordered us to return to our row because we must have missed the smaller ripe berries. She’d say, “Don’t just pick the big ones, the little ones taste better.” I feel so blessed to be serving with the small congregations of the north. In a world that is focusing on big at nearly every turn much of our ministry could take inspiration from the berry patch where we learned not to overlook the vitality of small.
Blessings on your June
+ 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 looking for clergy to celebrate some of our Summer services. If you have a relative or friend who is a priest and will be visiting this Summer please contact the Transition Team member from your congregation with details. St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
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The Search Committee
has been meeting weekly to develop a congregational survey, which is our
current step in the search process. Within the next couple of weeks
each member age 15 and over will receive a survey to complete. This
survey will help the Search Committee to develop a parish profile and determine
our joint goals and objectives, as well as skills and experience our next
priest will need to help us reach them. Each person’s views are important.
Your prompt return of the survey will also help move the process along.
St. John’s:
St. Mary’s:
St. Paul’s:
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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
Celebration of a New Ministry
On Sunday, June 9, at 4 PM, there will be a service of Celebration of a New Ministry at St. James' Episcopal Church, Hibbing. The Rev. Walt Gordon will be installed as rector. The service is at 4:00 PM. to allow clergy and other friends from out-of-town to attend.
Environmental Stewardship Commission Meeting
Starting at Noon on Thursday, June 20 and ending around Noon on Friday,
June 21, the Environmental Stewardship
Commission will have its quarterly meeting at St. Edward’s Episcopal
Church, Duluth.
A trip to the Fischer-Merit sustainable agriculture farm
is planned. Other items include preparations for the study trip to
Alaska and for the Diocesan Convention.
If you are interested in attending any or all of
this meeting, contact Chuck Morello
(218-744-1615).
Bi-weekly Women’s Book Group
Starting on June 5, St. James's Episcopal Church, Hibbing, will be hosting a women’s book group. The group will meet every two weeks at 7 PM, except that it will not meet on July 3. It will meet on July 10 and every two weeks after that. The exact number of sessions will depend on the wishes of the group, although it is expected to conclude by late August or early September. The book is Temptations Women Face: Honest Talk about Jealousy, Anger, Sex, Money, Food, Pride written by the Rev Mary Ellen Ashcroft. For more information or to be part of this group, contact to Kari Kilen (218-252-5116).
Bi-weekly Men's Book Group
Starting on June 4, at 7 PM, St. James's Episcopal Church, Hibbing, will be hosting a men's book group. The group will be reading Dogspell: A DOGmatic Theology on the Abounding Love of God written by the Rev Mary Ellen Ashcroft. For more information or to be part of this group, contact the Rev Walt Gordon (218-263-6150).
Note: The Rev Mary Allen Ashcroft was ordained deacon last year and will be ordained priest later this month. She will be preacher and celebrant at St. James on August 11.
July-August Epistle
Deadline for input to the July-August 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, June 26.
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 May 13:
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St. Mary's
News
(Submitted by Mary Groeninger) |
No Information Received
Please provide your news and information to Mary
Groeninger (218-365-3364).
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St. Paul's News |
The UTO Ingathering has been scheduled for Sunday, June 2.
Mark your calendars!
Every Wednesday at 12:30 PM there will be a meeting of the Women of St. Paul’s at Marlene Munig’s residence. The group will start now on the Christmas Tree Project. Contact Marlene (218-741-3077) for more information or directions. Women from all our congregations are welcome.
Vestry News
(Submitted by Gain Coon)
There was no formal meeting for lack of a quorum. The next Vestry
Meeting will be on June 17 at 6:30 PM.
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I am only one,
-Edward Everett Hale submitted by Rae Lynne Koivu |
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Address comments on typographical errors to Chuck.