The East Range Epistle February 2005

via media is Here!!!!!! by Cheryl Killien, St.. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Virginia, MN           The via media program is ready to start on Sunday, February 13th.  What better way to start Lent than with a program that will enrich your body and soul.  We will offer you some heart-warming soups with all the goodies, a thought provoking video and conversations to ignite your soul.  We will start at 12:30 PM with lunch and end at 2:30 PM; daycare will be provided.  The following is the list of the programs, please feel free to attend as many as your schedule allows, although with a line up like this you don't want to miss any of the attractions:   February 13th:  Anglican Way of Being Christian February 20th:  God the Creator February 27th:  Jesus   March 6th:  Holy Spirit March 13th:  The Bible April 3rd:  Sin April 10th:  Kingdom of God April 17th:  So What:  Being Anglican in the 21st Century             We as Episcopalians have a hard time talking about God, Jesus, spirituality, etc but the time has come and this program avails you the opportunity to bring your questions. We may not have all the answers but we will listen, grow and search. What a great opportunity to build our community and grow in faith.  Growth on our journey should be non-stop, we should not come to a point and stop when we say “this is good”.  God has given us so much and continues to give us more as long as we ask; I believe the asking is one part of fulfilling our journey and giving God the opportunity to help us grow.  We need to make the choice to have one endless journey with the Lord; the potential is heavenly.  If you are on a journey, if your journey has hit a wall, if you need to start a journey, if you don't know what a journey is, this program is for you.  We all make life what it is and it can be so much more rewarding.     Even if you were born and raised in the Episcopal Church this program is for you.  via media is the “middle way”, equal respect for opposing views.  You have wisdom to offer those new to the church or to those not so into the church ways.  There is always an opportunity for us to learn from one another, that is what makes the roundtable discussions so valuable.  But the key is to grow in community because together we can open the red doors to a beautiful experience.     Remember:  Whoever you are and wherever you are spiritually, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church welcomes you on your journey of faith.  I invite you all to attend and bring a friend, neighbor or someone seeking an understanding of the Christian faith.     Please let us know if you know you will be attending but this is not a requirement.  If you have any questions or would like to be involved please do not hesitate to contact Cheryl Killien (218-254-2487) or Pat Gillespie (218-638-1206) or check out the links on our via media webpage . Cheryl’s article is used in lieu of an article from St.John’s, which was not received.

In this Issue via media is Here!!!!!! Pat's Pastoral Notes East Range Churches Notes St. John’s Notes St. Mary’s Notes St. Paul’s Notes General Notes The East Range Epistle is based on each congregation's input and assistance.  It is published in hard-copy and on the Internet for the East Range Episcopal Churches. Please send comments and input to St. Paul's Episcopal Church P.O. Box 376  Virginia, MN 55792     Via Media is Coming to St. Paul's           via media represents a renewed commitment to evangelism in the Episcopal Church. One of the lessons of General Convention is that the Church needs to spread the message of an inclusive, powerful, passionate God to all people. Our churches have experienced a tension between  “traditional” and “progressive” ideals in the weeks following the prophetic actions of General Convention.  For more information click on the logo above.

East Range Churches' News

   Deadline for input to the March 2005  issue of The East Range Epistle is Wednesday, February 16, 2005 to your congregational contact.  Processing is tentatively scheduled for Webnesday, February 23.

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

• March: St. Mary's
• April: St. Paul's
• May: St. John's

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

St. John’s Vestry Minutes from Tuesday, December 21, 2004:

• A draft 2005 budget was introduced, its found-ation being the proposed 2005 Three-Point budget. It appears as though St. John’s 2005 budget will exceed expected receipts by $10-13,000. St. John’s voluntarily agreed to donate $5,000 more than its 3-point allocation for the years 2003, 2004, and 2005.
• Tom Kingston will look into a recently received IRS document, which states we owe over $1,000 (since Saint John’s is not a taxable entity, it must be in error).
• Linda Davis’s resignation from vestry was accepted, with regret.
• In regard to snow removal, Jacob Bardwell has been hired at $25 per month to shovel on Sundays, and, until the annual meeting, volunteers will take care of shoveling during the week to facilitate mail delivery and general access. Rental of a PO Box is therefore unnecessary.
• Church canons indicate the minimum required number of vestry members is three. It was agreed that the future complement will total five, including both wardens and treasurer. Liz Lenich will approach church members about their interest in future vestry service.
• The landline telephone service will be discontinued, and eliminating garbage service is being investigated, also.

St. John’s Vestry Minutes from Tuesday, January 18, 2005:

• The treasurer’s report for December was presented, highlighting year end numbers for 2004. Pledges lagged the budget by $2000, and disburse-ments exceeded receipts by $6623 - as projected earlier, unfortunately. Our checkbook balance is $13,970.
• Liz Lenich will contact Jacob regarding unper-formed shoveling.
  
• Liz Lenich reported that Gail Hallstrom has agreed to complete the remaining two years of Liz’s vestry term.
• Discussion continued regarding the proposed East Range Episcopal Churches 3-point budget for 2005, towards which Saint John’s commitment is 28.16% (vs. 27.68 in 2004), plus the earlier-pro-mised $5000, totaling approximately $24,000. Some of the entries in the proposed budget appear to be wrong, and are under question. Saint John’s will request that $5000 from the 3-point checking account be taken to reduce liability, as was done last year. First Sunday and Saint Paul’s telephone expenses were discussed.
• St. John’s proposed budget for 2005 was reviewed. It will require dipping deeply into the checking account balance and possibly cashing in our CD in order to meet expected expenses in maintaining the same operations as in 2004. Pledges and donations continue to drop, while clergy and diocesan expenses continue to increase. Other expenses, such as utilities, remain relatively stable.
  

 ☺ The bagpipe demonstration and recital was thrilling – thank you, Dryw! And thank you, Erickson Fund!
 ☺ Thank you to Gail and all involved with the Christmas Pageant – it was a marvelous Christmas gift!
 ☺ Thank you to all our volunteer snow shovelers –  it seems as though you've done a whole winter's worth of work already, and it's only January!
 ☺ Thank you to Gail Hallstrom for agreeing to join the vestry! We need you!

St. John’s Reminders

• Although no one from St. John’s submitted a lead Epistle article for February, future articles would be greatly appreciated. We have been for-tunate that several church members have shared their writing talents towards this purpose in the past – please consider submitting your own article soon! You may write something ahead of schedule to save us time when St. John’s is on the schedule.
• Once again, our purificators have demonstrated their unique talent for going AWOL! Those of you harboring errant purificators, please turn them in directly! Thank you!
• Our monthly Coffee Fellowships in 2004 were greatly enjoyed and appreciated - hopefully they will continue. To do so, hosts are needed – and every month in 2005 is open! The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board inside the church’s front door.

 
    St. John’s Annual Meeting was held after The Epistle went to press.  Minutes will be in the March issue.

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

St. Paul's News

• 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.