The East Range Epistle June 2004

    We like the old ways. It's familiar, comfortable, and secure. That successful advertising line ‘all new’ doesn't sell much in the church. Bibles, Prayer Books, and Hymnals are changed only at great risk. People leave churches over new words, and singing a new song to the Lord is usually painful.
    But look again at the God we see in the Bible.  Wherever God shows up it seems that things change – there is repentance (turning around, a change of heart), transformation, and a chance to have a whole new life. With a God like that it is no wonder that we long for some stability and changelessness. Christ, the Word, transforms our words and our lives. Yet God’s love does remain the same. In our own transformations, the godly love in us remains. The godly truth underneath and behind the ever-changing words of our worship books remains the same. The prayer that Jesus taught us is seldom prayed in Aramaic as he probably prayed it or in Greek as the gospel writers recorded it, but its truth in all its translations remains. We’ve prayed those familiar words over and over, but have we really made them our own yet?

East Range Churches' News

    Now that Pat has six congregations in her pastoral care either directly (those of us on the East Range) or indirectly (the ministry teams in Cloquet and Hermantown), it can be difficult to figure out just where she is when.
    To simplify church scheduling and minimize conflicts, beginning in June, church staff, wardens or vestry members will have access to an online church calendar, including Pat’s church meetings and responsibilities for all the congregations.
    There should be a prize for anyone who can calculate Pat’s monthly ministry mileage from the calendar.

July 27-30 –  Seeking God in the Wilderness
September 22-25 – Seeking God with Medieval Women Mystics

    Cost dependent on number of participants. Register with Pat at least two weeks prior to the retreat.

    There's still time to register for Education for Ministry, which begins in September. EFM offers regular gatherings of a small group (6-12) meeting with a trained mentor (Pat) to study scripture and theology, to pray, and to reflect on God's action in our lives.
    The text for this international program is from Sewanee, an Episcopal Seminary at the University of the South in Tennessee. This is not formal preparation for seminary or for total ministry, but adult learning at its best – students take what they need from the text, a little or a lot, and the group helps each individual integrate the learning into their lives. The group is limited in size, a commitment of regular attendance is required, and there is tuition. Scholarship help is available.
    If you are seeking God, looking for an intimate spiritual community, and ready to ask questions, to learn, and to and grow in faith, talk with Pat about whether EFM might be for you.

    On Wednesday, June 9, starting at 9:30 AM through Lunch with a program at 1 PM at St. John in the Wilderness, White Bear Lake
    Come to greet old friends, bring a new friend and bring photos of past ECW events.  The program will be presented by Doug Ohman of Pioneer Photography, who has photographed churches in all 87 Minnesota counties.  He will show slides and tell the stories of historic churches.  For information, contact Arlene Glander (651-777-3349).

    On June 18-19 at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis, the Community of the Cross of Nails is sponsoring a nation conference entitled “Reconciliation and Sexuality:  Youth, Families & Congregations”.
    This conference offers tools for people who want to be reconcilers concerning the issue of sexual orientation, and it provides a safe place to grapple with how we enter into reconciling our differences among youth, within families, and in all  institutions.
    Conference participants hold very different opinions yet model a reconciling temperament:

• Episcopal Bishops Don Johnson and Gene Robinson in a panel discussion on how to talk about this dilemma in churches
• Professors Robert Gagnon and Dan Via on meanings of the biblical text  with High school students on the experiences of young people
• Log Cabin Republicans director Patrick Guerriero on the political debate
• Pastor Corinne Chilstrom and former ELCA Presiding Bishop Herbert Chilstrom on how families deal with homosexuality

    If you are interested in how good preaching happens, whether you sense a call to preach, to wrestle with God’s word, or to sharpen your “ears to hear” the Good News, you are welcome. Monthly meetings, beginning in May, will be scheduled according to the needs of those involved. The two-year program, led by Pat, meets the requirements for diocesan licensing, provided the preachers to be licensed are also EFM students. Preachers, experienced or potential, whether desiring to be licensed or not, and auditors, from our congregations or others, are encouraged. Let Pat know (218-638-1206) that you are interested before Saturday, May 8.

    Does anyone need an extra driver on trips to Minneapolis?  Barbara Strickland of St. Paul’s tries to get down for a weekend visit once a month in the summer but her car is not up to taking long trips.  If you need to get to the Twin Cities area and have a car and want company or to have Barbara do all the driving, give her a call (218-666-3114).
    Barbara is available to drive in the day time (down on Friday, back on Monday).

The liturgical-year, seasonal version of the “After Pentecost?” discussion group for April and May, with a focus on new life, living as “an Easter people.”  A time of study, prayer, fellowship, and reflection on God’s activity in our lives.  Scripture, spiritual writings, or movies will focus our reflections. First and third Wednesdays. 7-9 pm:

•  May 5 – Tradition: Celtic Spirituality
•  May 19 – Scripture & Movie: The Passion: the Gospels & Gibson  (Discussion will be enhanced if participants have already seen the movie.)

    The next meeting of the Environmental Stewardship Commission is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 11-12 at Gooseberry Falls State Park.  The meeting will begin at noon on June 11 and continue through noon on June 12.
   The Commission has reserved camping space for anyone wishing to attend (hard-sided campers will need to reserve a space).  If you prefer not to “camp out”, accommodations are available in nearby Two Harbors.
    For more information, visit the Commission’s website or contact Chuck (218-744-1615)

    “Who do you say that I am?” That’s a question Jesus asks his friends. Today we understand ourselves not only as Jesus’ friends, but also as “the Body of Christ,” that is the church. So perhaps the question we should be asking ourselves in the church is “Who do we say that we are?”
    Over the summer, the After Pentecost discussion group will meet on first Wednesdays (June 2, July 7, and August 4 at 7 pm at St. Paul’s) to reflect on that question. We will consider what it means to call ourselves Christians, Episcopalians, and part of our own congregations. We will reflect on our shared “core values” - those essentials that make us a community. All are encouraged to attend as we look at where God is at work in our individual spiritual journeys and our travels together.

    St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal Church on Park Point, Duluth, will be offering a Vacation Bible Camp on Monday through Wednesday, June 28-30.  The camp will run each day from 1:30 PM to 3PM.  If you have children who are interested in attending, contact the Rev Cindy Peterson-Wlosinski (218-727-1262) for details.

    Are you interested in the Befriender Program?  There will be training sessions at Trinity Episcopal Church, Hermantown, on June 18-19, July 16-17, and on two dates in the Fall.  For more information about the program, talk with Pat or contact Trinity Episcopal Church (218-729-7957).

    If you are interested in how good preaching happens, whether you sense a call to preach, to wrestle with God’s word, or to sharpen your “ears to hear” the Good News, you are welcome.    Monthly meetings began in May and will be scheduled according to the needs of those involved.
    The two-year program, led by Pat, meets the requirements for diocesan licensing, provided the preachers to be licensed are also EFM students. Preachers, experienced or potential, whether desiring to be licensed or not, and auditors, from our congregations or others, are encouraged. Let Pat know (218-638-1206) that you are interested.
    The June meeting is Wednesday, June 30, from 7 to 9 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church, Hermantown.

    The Keynote Speaker at the Diocesan Convention was the Rev Charles Fulton, Director of Congregational Development for the Episcopal Church.  Last issue, we covered his “Reason #2 to Grown your Church: Our Children don't attend our Church anymore”.  This issue, we will look at Reason #1 from his speech (done in countdown fashion, like David Letterman’s Top Ten lists)

Reason # 1 to Grow your Church:  Jesus told us to go to church

    Jesus told us to go and Baptize or to reconcile all people to God. What does that mean?
    Jesus did not die so the Diocese of Minnesota or any other Diocese could be strong and healthy.
    Jesus did not die so the Episcopal Church could be strong and vital and healthy.
    Those are not the end.  Those are the means to what Jesus did die for. To restore all people. To transform lives, to bring that good news of life in its fullness to a world that wants to hear that news.
   One of the lesser known resolutions of the 2003 General Convention was a challenge to each of us to become articulate in our personal faith story.
    We do that by bringing our own experience of God in our lives: our own experience of faith, our own journey into consciousness, because often it is in our unconscious. We are so busy worrying about things that we forget the great moments in our lives. We forget what it’s all about.
    So one of the things we have to do is stop and bring into consciousness our experience of God, our own personal quirky, unusual story of how God has worked with us and in us, and to form that experience into a story and then to tell that story. This is very important because it’s a different kind of Evangelism.  It is not “you need to do this and you need to believe that”, but it is the “I” story (“I know God in my life and I know God in community. May I tell you about my experience?”) that concludes with a question (“And what is your experience of God?”).
    We tell our story and we invite them to tell theirs. We have a story to tell. We have trans-formed lives. Tell that story to your children, to your neighbor, to your co-workers.

   Deadline for input to the July-August issue of The East Range Epistle is Wednesday, June 16, to your congregational contact.  Processing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, June 23.

The schedule for the lead article for the next three issues of The East Range Epistle is:

• July-August: St. Mary's
• September: St. Paul's
• October: St. John's

St. John's News (Submitted by Jane Kingston)

    Thank you to the chalice bearers (Linda Davis, Jane Kingston, Kathy Leathers, and Art Nichols) for their participation in Eucharist services from now on.
    Thank you to Gary Drobnick for his plumbing expertise as well as donations of materials - it is very much appreciated!!

    Church notices can be published in the Eveleth Scene free of charge. Contact either Liz Lenich (218-744-5773) or Rose Judnick at the Eveleth Scene (218-744-2931).  Deadlines are Mondays each week.

    St. John’s Vestry Minutes - Tuesday, April 20, 2004

• The insurance policy has been received and is now up to date (including Terrorism Coverage for an additional $15 annual fee).
• Touch Decorators’ bid to paint all exterior trim and re-glaze windows as necessary was accepted.
• Once storm water quantity in the catch basin has been determined, a sump pump will be installed later this summer to comply with city regulations.
• As it is rector-controlled, the 3-Point Discretionary Fund will be renamed the “Rector’s Expense Account” to avoid any potential conflict with canonical requirements as to Mother Pat’s dispersal decisions.
• Our pledge envelope supplier has been changed, resulting in an annual savings of $80 - $90.
• Unfortunately, the Jack & Jill Nursery will leave St. John’s at the end of May due to its inability to meet prohibitive licensing costs.
• Quad City Food Shelf thanked St. John’s for donating 37 pounds of goods.
• Megan Hagberg was again hired to provide organist services for the summer.
• St. Mary’s will participate in First Sunday Services for the summer, and will therefore share those costs.

St. Mary's News (Submitted by Mary Groeninger)

St. Paul's News

GET IN THE HABIT.
     As we start a new year, I hope you will continue to use your Blue Boxes as a daily reminder of God’s love for us.   If you have not discovered the joy of daily remembrances of God’s blessings, may I invite you to pick up a UTO Blue Box and get into the habit ofputting a coin in whenever you remember how many things you have to be thankful for in your life.
     I am still saying thanks for the joy of living through the holidays.  I am thankful I have had my two-year-old grandson visit for a week (50 cents) and that he is going home today ($1.00).   I am especially thankful for the mild winter we have had this year.   In all  things be thankful ... that is our duty and our joy.

    Unofficial Minutes of the Vestry Meeting of May 11, 2004:

Before its business meeting, the Vestry and Shirley Coe met with John Lindgren, Regional Director for Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (PFLAG) to discuss the possibilities, feasibility, and procedures for St. Paul’s helping and hosting a local chapter’s start
Committee Reports:

• The Planning Committee recommended that we honor this spring’s graduates on June 6. The Vestry agreed to that date. The Hospitality Committee will help with the reception following the regular service. Pat has already purchased gifts for our graduates.
• For the Outreach Committee, Ginny reported she had visited the Niija Center and offered the $200 the Vestry approved at the April meeting. She said the needs of the Center continue, and we may be asked for more. Joie reported that she had used money from Bev’s Magic Penny to help a family in difficulty and had other prospects for our help. She mentioned that the fund’s resources were getting low.
• For Buildings and Grounds there was no report. The Vestry approved a motion that we ask Andrew Hill to be responsible for mowing the grass this summer for $10 a week.
• Marlene reported for the Restoration Committee with the news that the restoration of our old stained glass windows and work on our new ones should be complete by October. She said she was still looking into the procedure for turning off the elevator and its phone for periods of disuse and our being able to restart it with a key. She said further she had been working with Pat to coordinate Restoration efforts with the contents of a new grant proposal.  (See New Business)

• Pat reported that she had received no messages of opposition from our members to the initiatives to help members of the gay/lesbian population in the area the vestry has been discussing for three months.
• She said she was gratified by how much she felt the presence of the Holy Spirit during our Sunday services, especially during announcements.
• She said that after complex negotiation she had had some success in straightening out mistakes in our Diocesan Fair Share amount. A corrected report on our finances has been sent. It is hoped that will result in the lower amount we had originally thought would be our obligation.

• At Pat’s request, the Vestry approved $400 to send Pat and Barbara to the church conference “Reconciliation and Sexuality” June 18-19 which will feature Bishop Gene Robinson.
• The Vestry approved delegating the writing of a new grant proposal to Cheryl Killian and Chuck Morello with the final version to be approved by Pat and David Allen prior to being submitted. The grant will request funds for renovating the downstairs rooms for various purposes and purchasing a video camera system for recording services for showing on local access TV, weddings, baptisms, etc.

• the Diocesan Commission on the Environment.
• the Episcopal Church.
• the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota.

This page maintained for the East Range Episcopal Churches by . Address comments on typographical errors to Chuck.