Bob Golledge in Ghana

As many of you know, Gail Jessup's son-in-law Robert Golledge is currently living with his family in Ghana, as Country Director of the Peace Corp there.

On their recent trip to Africa, President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Pamela Bridgewater had dinner with Bob Golledge and other volunteers in the country to thank them for their service and discuss their projects around the country.


In the picture, you can see Bob seated between the Bushes.

(Yes, Bob is wearing a Red Sox bow tie.)

An article on this visit is available at the Peace Corp website here.

This Coming Week at St. Mary's

Sunday, March 2 - Fourth Sunday of Lent

8:00 am Holy Eucharist - Peter Chase

10:00am Special Music & Holy Eucharist - Homily Preacher & Celebrant - Peter Chase

9:45am Childcare
10:00am CGSI & II
11:00am Intermediate Class
11:00am Middle school Class
11:00am Coffee Hour
5:30pm Soup & Cinema - Movie: Romero
El Salvador Mission Trip meeting following movie


Special Music - Sunday, March 2
Please join us at the 10:00am service this coming Sunday. The Adult Choir and soloists will sing a setting of the Mass, Missa Brevis St. Joannis de Deo, by Franz Joseph Haydn. The five parts of the Mass -- Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei--will be sung by the choir at the appropriate points in the liturgy accompanied by a "church trio" -- two violins and continuo. Haydn wrote 12 Mass settings of various lengths and complexities. The Missa Brevis St. Joannis de Deo is one of his early masses, written in the mid-1770s. It is a simple, yet beautiful setting, composed for the small church of a monastery in Austria. This Mass is sometimes referred to as the Kleine Orgelmesse (Little Organ Mass) because of an organ solo in the Benedictus, which is the concluding section of the Sanctus. Although the Mass has moments of quiet contemplation, Haydn's overall tone is one of cheerfulness and hopeful assurance. When criticized for the cheerfulness of his sacred music, Haydn replied that he "could not help it if at the thought of God his heart leapt for joy."

Please join us for Soup and Cinema - Sunday, March 2 at 5:30pm
Please join us tonight for Soup and Cinema. The movie tonight is Romero, which is a docu-drama on the life of Cardinal Romero of El Salvador. Those going to El Salvador from St. Mary's and St. Paul's in Natick will be preparing soup.

Save the Date: El Salvador Event - Saturday, April 12
The 2008 El Salvador Mission Team from Saint Mary's and St. Paul's (Natick) will be sponsoring a night of “cabaret music, food, spirits, dancing and a limited auction” on the evening of April 12th. All proceeds will benefit the 2008 El Salvador Mission Team and the Diocese of El Salvador. More details will be forthcoming.

Lenten Study Series, Tuesdays at 10:00am
The Women of St. Mary’s invites you to join in a study of many facets of “The Search for Peace.” Discussions will be held each Tuesday morning during Lent, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapter Room. Both men and Women are welcome to join us. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 4: The Reverend Philip Jacobs of Trinity Church in Canton will be speaking about the history of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship where he has been a member for more than 40 years and its role as the peace and justice witness of the church.

Stitch’n Chat - Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30pm
The next Stitch’n Chat will be held on Tuesday, March 4 at 7:30pm at Kitty Smith’s home at 4 Chiltern Road in Weston. For more info please call Kitty Smith at 781-235-1871.

World Day of Prayer - Friday, March 7 at 10:00amAll women and men are invited to celebrate the World Day of Prayer on Friday, March 7 at 10:00am in Christ Church United Methodist of Wellesley- to take a pictorial trip to Guyana. The offering of donations will be used to help women and children all over the world as they seek opportunity, education, shelter, food and basic rights. Light refreshments will be served. Christ Church, located on Brook St. in Wellesley, will be hosting World Day of Prayer service written by women in Guyana. The program's theme, "God's Wisdom Provides New Understanding" will be highlighted by Christ Church's Minister, Rev. Dr. Amy Alletzhauser. Those who plan to attend are requested to bring along their favorite cup or mug.

Soup & Cinema on Sunday March 2

Please join us on Sunday, March 2 at 5:30pm for Romero.



"Romero is the true story of the catholic priest Archbishop Oscar Romero who lived in El Salvador during the political unrest in the 1980s. The government has launched a 'terror campaign' against the guerillas in an attempt to crush them. Archbishop Romero's protests against governments' actions is perceived as disloyalty. As an example to others, the government begins to destroy churches and murder priests. Despite persecution, Romero continues to speak out against the atrocities the government is committing against the people of El Salvador, until his untimely death."

The mission team going to El Salvador from St. Mary's and St. Paul's in Natick will be preparing soup and the movie.

Save the Date: El Salvador Event

The 2008 El Salvador Mission Team from Saint Mary's and St. Paul's (Natick) will be sponsoring a night of “cabaret music, food, spirits, dancing and a limited auction” on the evening of April 12th.

All proceeds will benefit the 2008 El Salvador Mission Team and the Diocese of El Salvador.

More details will be forthcoming.

Presentation Materials from Adult Forum on Climate Change

Click the link below to view the presentation materials from the February 10 Adult Forum by Allan Klumpp, "Warming of the Climate System Is Unequivocal — Acting Urgently to Change Course at All Levels of Society".

(Note - these files were updated on February 21, 2008.)

Formatted as Microsoft Word document:
Allan_Klump_2008_Feb_21.doc

Formatted as an Adobe PDF file:
Allan_Klump_2008_Feb_21.pdf

Update on El Salvador 2008 Mission Trip

In less than three months, a team of six from St. Mary’s (Peter Chase, Ariel Acuna, Ann Wessel, Tom Riley, Tim Green, Paul Pyzowski) will join five people from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Natick (Mark McKone-Sweet, Ron Burns, Mary Erickson, Sandy Hall, and Joan Hellmuth) on a nine day trip to El Salvador.

The team will be staying in a dormitory attached to San Juan Evangelista (St. John’s), a former refugee camp and the largest Anglican church in El Salvador. The teams’ current itinerary includes Sunday worship and fellowship with our sister parish Santa Maria Virgen, located in a working poor neighborhood in the capital city of San Salvador. The team will also visit important Salvadorian religious and historical sites, as well as meet with Bishop Barahona at Diocesan headquarters.

Bishop Barahona has asked that the mission team spend part of their trip helping rebuild roads in the western mountain region of El Salvador. In 2002 the Anglican church in El Salvador built a new church, San Marcos (St. Mark’s) in a remote region near Izalco; Episcopal Relief and Development provided funding so that the church also had an adjacent clinic and community center. This being an area with persistent crime, the Salvadorian government also opened a police station nearby. (The pictures of the community of San Marcos below are from Paul and Mark's trip there in June 2007.)


Following the dirt mountain road up to the community of San Marcos


The outside of the Episcopal Clinic adjacent to San Marcos

However, hurricanes in 2004 destroyed significant portions of the paved access roads. As a result, access to and from the area becomes difficult in the summer rainy seasons. With this isolation, the community cannot get to the market to buy/sell needed goods, and the Diocesan doctor cannot get in to provide service.

Last year’s Diocesan Mission Team to El Salvador, which included Paul and Mark, spent four days helping rebuild the access road to the community of San Marcos. This year’s effort will focus on rebuilding the road that goes past San Marcos, the community center and clinic, and the water cistern that stores safe drinking water for the community.


Water cistern provides the drinking water for the community


Rebuilding the access road to San Marcos


Members of an Episcopal Mission Team and the people of San Marcos

The Bishop has asked that our team provide both manpower to help the community in the construction, as well as raise funds to contribute to the cost of materials - the state government has said that funds for the construction supplies are not available.


We will provide more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, we ask that you keep this trip and the team members in your prayers.

Search for Peace Lenten Series - Tuesday, February 19

Please join us on Tuesday, February 19 at 10:00am when Valerie Dixon, Ph.D. (Christian Social Ethics Professor), from Andover Newton Theological School speaks on The Courage of Lamentation in the Search for Peace. There will be a Holy Eucharist at 9:30am. Please feel free to join us.

Soup & Cinema Starts on February 17 at 5:30pm

Please join us on Sunday, February 17 at 5:30pm for Soup & Cinema. Our movie will be Ingmar Bergman’s film, Through a Glass Darkly, winner of the 1962 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film.

Reminder: Register for New System for Email Updates

Last reminder! Starting next week, St. Mary's is changing the way it sends email updates. If you haven't already done so, and want to receive (or continue to receive) these emails, please take a moment to register below.

Subscribe to Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, Newton Massachusetts

Email:

Visit this group

This will give each individual the ability to manage how they receive email updates from St. Mary's. It should also eliminate problems we have been having with some members not receiving these emails.

This update only affects emails sent to the entire parish. All other communications, including U.S. Postal mailings, will stay the same.

Special Music for Lent on March 2, 2008

Missa Brevis St. Joannis de Deo
by Franz Joseph Haydn

During the 10 a.m. service on Sunday, March 2, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Adult Choir and soloists will sing a setting of the Mass, Missa Brevis St. Joannis de Deo, by Franz Joseph Haydn. The five parts of the Mass -- Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei -- - will be sung by the choir at the appropriate points in the liturgy accompanied by a "church trio" -- two violins and continuo.

Haydn wrote 12 Mass settings of various lengths and complexities. The Missa Brevis St. Joannis de Deo is one of his early masses, written in the mid-1770s. It is a simple, yet beautiful setting, composed for the small church of a monastery in Austria. This Mass is sometimes referred to as the Kleine Orgelmesse (Little Organ Mass) because of an organ solo in the Benedictus, which is the concluding section of the Sanctus.

Although the Mass has moments of quiet contemplation, Haydn's overall tone is one of cheerfulness and hopeful assurance. When criticized for the cheerfulness of his sacred music, Haydn replied that he "could not help it if at the thought of God his heart leapt for joy."

Photo Archive: St. Mary's Outreach at Rosie's Place

Since it founding by Kip Tiernan in 1974, Rosie’s Place has provided a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives. Rosie’s Place currently is home to 50 women, living in 4 homes. In addition, Rosie's place provides advocacy for countless additional women for whom these toys are earmarked for. Rosie’s Place relies solely on the generous support of individuals, foundations and corporations and does not accept any city, state or federal funding.

Outreach Volunteer Opportunity at the Miracle Kitchen

Please consider volunteering at the Salvation Army’s Miracle Kitchen in Framingham on the first Thursday of every month. St. Mary’s is responsible for preparing and serving a dinner to 60 to 100 people. Dinner preparation starts around 4:30 p.m. and is served at 6:00 p.m. Clean up is usually completed by 6:45 p.m. You can volunteer for the entire session, part of a session, a single session or every month. Anyone over the age of 12 is welcome. We have a good time and our guests are very appreciative. Please call Andrea Gordon at 781-237-6668 for further information.

Soup & Cinema Starts on February 17 at 5:30pm

This year’s Lenten film series will feature the acclaimed religious trilogy directed by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Each Sunday evening we will begin with a soup supper at 5:30pm This event is open to all.

February 17, 5:30pm soup, and 6:30pm movie. The first film will be Through a Glass Darkly. Winner of the 1962 Academy Award for Best Foreign language Film with an astonishing performance by Harriet Andersson. This story deals with a family’s disintegration and spiritual abandonment. The climactic ending that “God is love; love is Good” brings a ray of hope in an angst ridden world. Following the movie, Peter Chase will talk on Bergman’s religious influence.

February 24, The semi-biographical film Winter Light will be presented with a discussion led by Bill McAndrew. Bill has written film reviews and hosted a radio talk show on cinema. Winter Light is Bergman’s exploration of The Lutheran Church in rural Sweden. Some critics place it on the top ten list of films. The movie is highly symbolic with rich imagery for discussion.

March 2, Those going to El Salvador from St. Mary's and St. Paul's in Natick will be preparing soup and the movie. Romero is a docudrama on the life of Cardinal Romero of El Salvador.

March 9, will conclude the trilogy with The Silence, a stark and disturbing vision of emotional isolation appropriate for the penitential season of Lent. Following the film there will be a discussion on redemption and grace by Peter Chase and Bill McAndrew.

Lenten Series on Peace Starts on Tuesday, February 12

WSM Lenten Study Series, Tuesdays at 10:00am
The Women of St. Mary’s invites you to join in a study of many facets of “The Search for Peace.”  Discussions will be held each Tuesday morning during Lent, beginning on February 12 at 10am in the Chapter Room. This study is open to all.
 
Tuesday, February 12: Kevin Bowen, Vietnam veteran and director of the UMASS Boston William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Its Social Consequences, will be speaking on veterans’ issues and the concerns of war victims.

Tuesday, February 19: Valerie Dixon, PhD., professor of Christian Social Ethics at Andover Newton Theological School, will be speaking on “The Courage of Lamentation in the Search for Peace.”

Tuesday, February 26: Kerry Campana, a professional artist and a member of United Parish of Brookline, will be speaking on the process of creating a monumental and meaningful memorial for the servicemen and women who have died in Iraq.

Tuesday, March 4: The Reverend Philip Jacobs, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Canton, will  speaking about the history of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) and its role as the peace and justice witness of the church.  Reverend Jacobs has been a member of EPF for more than 40 years.

Tuesday, March 13: The Reverend Canon Edward W. Rodman, professor of Pastoral Theology and Urban Ministry at Episcopal Divinity School and a veteran of the civil rights movement, will be speaking on Restorative Justice, a social movement to institutionalize peaceful approaches to problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights.

Good News: February 7, 2008

The Good News from February 7 is available for download:
Good%20News%202008-Feb-07.pdf

This issue includes details on this year's Lenten programs, as well as educational excerpts from an instructional Eucharist providing background on our worship liturgies.