March 2012
Sabbatical: For What?
St. John’s Episcopal Church Mission Statement
The mission of St. John’s Episcopal Church is to worship and serve God as we:
Pray, Proclaim the Gospel, Promote spiritual growth, justice, peace and love. Affirmed by the Vestry, December 2008
Donna Balser, our Administrative Assistant, is putting together and printing our Eagle News. Edie Eckman is editing for us. All information and
articles are due in the church office no later than the 15 th of each month. Early items are always accepted. Thank you for being kind and on time.
March 15 is the deadline for the April Issue of the Eagle News
It is always hard to explain to people what a sabbatical is for a clergy person. We want to
associate sabbatical with the academic world and some writing project. A sabbatical is defined as, “leave
or a break or change from a normal routine (as in employment)”. Many seem to take a sabbatical as an
extended vacation, simply time away from the regular job, but we at St. John’s continue to be different. I
in essence will have four segments to my sabbatical. The first is one month of seeing Christians,
parishioners, in their work environments. The second phase is an intentional month of total silence in a
Roman Catholic retreat center. I know many of you believe this task to be impossible! The third phase is
a time to reconnect with my family, the only truly vacation-like segment of our sabbatical time. Finally,
another time apart to reflect, and commit to writing the experience of the entire sabbatical experience, a
task I look forward to with excitement.
It is a privilege for me and I pray it will be a valuable time for the parish as well. We will have time
apart to think about our common life together and our corporate goals. We will experience life without
one another for a short time, which may force us to look at our strengths and our weaknesses. You see,
in life we must do both. Some people argue that articulating the negatives or the problems is
counterproductive to moving forward but much like sin, if we can name our demons they lose their
strength and power. It is only then that we can use our strengths to, in effect, attack our problems. I hope
you will all use my time away to think about our future and our problems as well as our strengths.
In a world that says mainline religious traditions are in decline and there is nothing we can do
about it, I am here to tell you that is not true. Our religious landscape is changing and it is occurring both
gradually and rapidly. Young people think we are irrelevant, older folks think we are stuck in the past,
and non-religious folks think we are stupid to believe. We stand at a crossroad and we can decide our
future or we can wait for others to decide for us. I prefer to drive when I am on a long road trip so that,
succeed or fail, I am an active part of the process. My prayer is that we will all be active during this
sabbatical and that when we come to rejoin one another in August of this year, we can engage in a
conversation about the long-term mission and ministry of St. John’s-Waynesboro and move forward into
a bright future. May God walk with us corporately and individually as we embark on this sabbatical
together and may God bless us with new insights, sustained energy to get the job done, and a deep
sense of peace, joy, and love as we work together: Go into the world and preach the Gospel!
God bless us and keep us, God make His face to shine upon us and give us peace.
Kim+
Episcopal Relief and Development
Did You Know?
From Donna Balser
From the Office
It’s that time of year again to remember those less fortunate than ourselves by filling up our Hope Chests (Mite Boxes)
or envelopes if you would prefer. Please return your donations by Easter, April 8th to be included in the blessing on Easter
Sunday, before being sent to those in need.
1. Forty years ago we called George Middlekauff to be our musician. At that time, he was employed by First
Presbyterian. Times change, but not so much!
2. We are blessed with active and engaged youth in our parish who continue for the most part to be active in faith
communities when they go off to college, or the military, or the working world. Thanks be to God!
3. Teen African Ministries will have gift items in our parish on Sunday March 18 and Sunday March 25. It is an honor
system; take what you want and leave your money in a bowl. All the proceeds help AIDS children in Tobago.
4. Our Vestry is working hard for the parish each and every day. They lead our parish, they usher on Sunday mornings,
they prepare for social parties, they handle the finances, and they assist in evaluating staff and programs. Please take
time to thank them for their service and leadership.
Make Music to the Lord
From Frank Kennerly, Music Director
Hello, St. John’s! THANK YOU all for the very warm welcome! It is very heartwarming to receive such positive
support, especially when accompanied by such big smiles! I’m looking forward to Feb. 19th, which will be my first service with
St. John’s.
The choir has also been incredibly welcoming, and together, we would all like to extend the hand of friendship to all
who may have been thinking of joining the choir yet haven’t “taken the plunge”.
Here is what we’re told in the Psalms: Psalm 98:4-6(NIV)
Homebound Meals/Disciples Kitchen
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the
harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy
before the Lord, the King.
From Leonard Pittman
We are looking for volunteers to deliver meals to the homebound in April. Veterans and newcomers are
welcome. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 942-8781.
We will be doing Disciples' Kitchen on March 29th. A sign-up sheet will be on the Mission Board soon.
Pastoral Response Team
From Sabbatical Committee
Our supply priest for Father Kim’s sabbatical, The Reverend Dr. Doug Wigner, suggested we form a pastoral
response team while Father Kim is on sabbatical. It will be a group of people willing to step into pastoral emergencies to aid
fellow parishioners. To date, we only have one person who has expressed interest in this call to service. If you feel called to
be the eyes, hands, and heart of Christ to our parishioners, please let the office, Father Kim, or any member of the Vestry
know of you willingness to serve in this vital ministry.
Thank You for Jobs Well Done!
From the Vestry
We do not usually take time to thank our paid staff but we would like to take this opportunity to thank our parish staff.
Donna and Tony Balser, Frank Kennerly (who joined our staff on February 15), and Father Kim work week in and week out to
make our parish run as smoothly as possible. We thank them once a year with a financial gift but we often do not take time to
simply say, "thank you". On behalf of the people and the Vestry of St. John’s, thank you all for your dedication and work for us
all.
Retirement Reception for Donna and George
By the Fellowship Committee
The Vestry Fellowship Committee was very pleased to help organize the retirement reception for both Donna Donham
and George Middlekauff when they both retired from our Choir service, after serving collectively for more than 60 years. We
would like to thank all who contributed to the Musical Fund established in their names, who brought food to the Sunday
reception, and who contributed card, gifts, and entertainment for their reception. Their service to St. John’s was fully
recognized on Sunday morning, February 12th, for their many years of service. We wish them both Godspeed and best wishes
in their well-earned retirement.
Thank You
From George Middlekauff
I wish to express my sincerest thanks and gratitude to members of the congregation, the choir, and staff—Fr. Kim,
Donna, Tony, and Donna—for their support and generosity over the past years. I am grateful for the privilege of playing on
such a magnificent organ and for allowing me to be part of an active music program with Donna and the choir. Participating in
the performance of the Faure Requiem (a long time favorite) with the choirs and orchestra under Donna's direction was the
highlight of my musical career. Therefore, I am delighted about the start of the music fund, which will enable future musical
events. And a huge thank-you for the wonderful party for Donna and me, the great food, the close harmony of the Valentine
singers, your cards, and your “well wishes”. You are all truly special! Congratulations and very best wishes to our new director
of music, Frank Kennerly.
There’s no mention that you must be a professional singer, so if you have a song in your heart, please know that there
is a place in the choir for you! Not sure where you’ll fit? Not to worry! We have plenty of room in the choir loft, and we promise
free pencils for making notes, free (tasty!) lozenges for scratchy throats, and wonderful pew-partners who are there to support
you with joy and jubilation.
Still not convinced? I’ll be glad to chat with you directly. Please know that you can reach me most of the time on my
mobile: 540.241.0603, or at my email, fkenn@comcast.net. Leave a message including your name and number and I’ll return
your call at my first opportunity.
Prepare for the Fair!
From the committee
The 66th Annual Parish Fair is May 5th. It will benefit the Episcopal school in Haiti. Please start accumulating gently
used (no junk) items for the White Elephant area. Everything should be clean and in working order and may be dropped at the
church during business hours. Contact Donna Balser if pick-up is needed. Flat screen TVs or monitors only; no clothes. We
need books, puzzles, toys, kitchenware, furniture, etc. Start saving jewelry and small jewelry boxes, but please wait until
closer to the fair to bring them. We’ll discuss plants and baked goods in next month’s newsletter. Contact Pete Marks
(marksab@ntelos.net) or Trudy Topolosky (topolosky@aol.com) with questions or to volunteer to help.
Palm Sunday Breakfast
From George Buzzard and Elizabeth Smith, and Nancy Rogers
April 1 is Palm Sunday. We will have a congregational breakfast at 9:00 a.m. For those whose last name begins with
A-M, please bring an egg (or main) dish. For those whose last name begins with N-Z, please bring fruit, biscuits, muffins or
some other breakfast food. Juice and coffee will be furnished. Mark your calendars!
Substitute Ushers Needed
From Nancy Rogers
I have been on the Vestry for just over a month, and I am amazed at all the work the Vestry does for the church. I
never had any idea the multitude of jobs the Vestry does to keep the church working like a well-oiled machine.
The Vestry, led by Fr. Kim, work well together and enjoy giving of their time and talents to do the work they are asked
to do. However, there is a place where we need help. Not only does the Vestry do their assigned jobs, but they also sign up to
usher for a month at a time and each member takes 2 months a year. That means we do not fully participate in the worship
service for two months out of the year.
Would any of you, male or female, be willing to sign up to at least help out one Sunday a month, or every other
month? Even a substitute list would be helpful so that the person ushering could call on you, if they were unable to usher one
of their Sundays. It’s not a hard job. It is mainly greeting people and handing them a bulletin. Some of you may say “been
there, done that”, but if it was only one Sunday once in a while, will you be willing to serve again? We would very much like to
start a list of people that would be willing to usher, then we can work out scheduling depending on your availability. This would
be a small but very much needed way that you could serve your church. St John’s does belong to all of us, and it takes all of
us, not just a few, to keep it running efficiently.