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The Glebe Gazette
Monthly newsletter of the Glebe Episcopal Church
Bennett’s Creek Parish, Suffolk, Virginia
July 2015
FROM THE RECTOR
Beloved in Christ:
I am writing this before we have our Vacation Bible School
(VBS) so I cannot really comment on how great our efforts
paid off, but if hard work and perseverance is any indication
our VBS will be sensational. And, I want to thank Larry and
Tom for their tremendous efforts at pulling everything
together to make VBS so successful. I also want to thank
everyone associated with our effort for their support and
hard work.
Janet and I spent the weekend of Sunday the 21 in
Wilmington, North Carolina celebrating the 50th Wedding
Anniversary of some dear friends. This was a very important
celebration for me because I was there at the wedding, and
our friendship predates the wedding and even the decision
to marry. Elizabeth, my first wife, met these friends at
church while I was serving in Korea. When I returned the
threesome became a foursome. Over the years our church
connection has been an enduring bond. It seems to me that
friendships that originate through the shared experiences of
a common faith and worship practices are the ones that are
the strongest and most lasting. Many of my longest
friendships are with folks I have known through the church. I
cherish these relationships and always look forward to
hearing from or seeing friends that I have known for many
years. Many of them knew me for years before I went to
seminary and some were even shocked that I was going to
seminary. But we have all remained close, and now Janet is
being incorporated into these long standing relationships.
st
Of course we should all remember that Jesus is our true
friend today and forever. John’s Gospel is quite positive on
this point, having Jesus tell the disciples, “There is no greater
love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends …no longer do I call you servants
…I have called you friends.” Joseph Scriven composed a
stirring hymn titled, “What a friend we have in Jesus” which
we no longer have in our Hymnal, but its message is still valid
– that we have a wonderful friend in Jesus and we can take
our needs to him in prayer.
Every three years the Episcopal Church, USA meets in
General Convention. This is one of those years and they are
meeting June 25 to July 3 in Salt Lake City. You can check out
what has happened and what will happen at General
Convention by going to the Diocesan web site at diosova.org
or by going to the national church web site at
episcopalchurch.org. At either there are instructions
directing you information on General Convention.
The only real issue that I see at this General Convention is
the election of a new Presiding Bishop. The term of office
for a Presiding Bishop is nine years. Our present Presiding
Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori has served her full term,
and while I do not know if she can run for a second term, I
suspect that she does not wish to so do. It is a very stressful
job. Do check in to one of those sites and follow what goes
on at a General Convention.
Peace,
Ross+
CARS, CYCLES AND COFFEE
Our first outing turned out to be a big success, we had 1012 cars, one cycle and forty to fifty people. It got hotter
when Mike Bauswell and his southern gospel group 4 GOD’S
Sake started singing. All the singers were members of his
family, and they created a friendly, community atmosphere
with their singing.
We opened our doors to the community with tours of the
church, and they were impressed.
We made $210.50 from sales and donations, plus an
additional $38.00 contribution for about $250.00 total. Not
bad for two hours worth of work.
Thank you, Greg, Dylan & Madison Sootoo, Laura Sootoo,
the baker, Philip Ford, Keith Harrell, Larry Todd, Sean, Tina
& Brenna Kehoe, Alice Dawson, Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Jesse Pruden and Kathleen Coyne with Owen & Aubrey, and
Mike Bauswell, our community friend.
Thank.
We have scheduled two remaining Cars, Cycles, and Coffee
sessions this summer on the third Saturday of the month,
weather permitting.
1. July 18 - Lookin’ Up Trio
2. August 15 - Daughter’s Of The King
Hours are 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM with singing from 10:00 AM
to 11:00 AM. We’ll serve coffee for free, and sell sausage
biscuits and O Doodle Doo’s donuts. The main purpose of
Cars and Coffee is to have a little fun, to show off our
church and to get the community more involved.
See you there!
MUSIC NOTES
By the time you get the newsletter, our choir will have sung
this hymn as an anthem; it is SIMPLE GIFTS, a Shaker Song.
This hymn is the best known example of the Shaker legacy.
Shaker communities became one of America's marvels. Life
in the Shaker villages seemed idyllic, with elegantly simple
buildings, graceful furniture, large cattle herds, flourishing
gardens, and abundant food. Life within the community was
peaceful and minutely regulated, with the sexes separated so
far as practicality would permit.
By the end of the nineteenth century, however, Shakers had
become a mere remnant. Their legacy remains in some of
their inventions, in the beautiful design of their furniture,
and in their music.
Shakers put a high value on the concept of "laboring,"
whether laboring in the workplace or field for the benefit of
the society, or laboring in vigorous dance movements during
worship. These were used in order to awaken "spiritual
gifts." Laboring was "joyful exercise... mighty through God,
joyful as heaven, and solemn as eternity."
Our worship, like that of the Shakers, is anything but
sedentary! We kneel, sit, and stand to express various
attitudes of devotion, and we walk to the altar and hold out
our hands to receive communion. We are usually not
conscious of the degree in which the position of our body
affects our emotions, but if we should have the courage to
experiment with kneeling during the sermon, the connection
between body and spirit would soon be clear. The Shakers
believed that their dance movements got rid of evil. How
appropriate that these movements are set to words that that
describe the simple freedom of knowing "where we ought to
be." When we learn to move through life in the context of
that freedom, we know we are in "the place just right."
When we are in that place, we need no longer be rigid with
fear and defensiveness. Instead, we can "bow and bend."
These movements teach us that is not shameful to "give in"
to others, but that true harmony comes from mutual
listening and flexibility.
Moreover, if we truly allow ourselves to be moved by the
Spirit, we may find that we are called to change. We may
even come full circle in some of our opinions. Then we can
remind ourselves that "coming round right" doesn't
necessarily mean standing our ground. It may, indeed, mean
taking many detours.
It is a gift to be able to move in freedom to the rhythm of a
hymn text like this one from the Shakers. When we do this
"joyful exercise," the wisdom in the text becomes part of
our body's experience as well as our soul's.
(Adapted from pp. 49-52, of "A Closer Walk," a book about
meditating on Hymns for Year A, by Nancy Roth.
Try singing the words to hymn #554, "'Tis the Gift to be
Simple,'" as you keep singing through the summer days.
Jo Anna
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
VBS will kick off on 29 June and run thru 2 July starting at
6:00pm. Please come and offer a helping hand or enjoy the
message that will be conveyed to the children.
Thursday from 8:30 to 9:00 PM is open house. Family and
friends are welcome to join us for cake and meet the
teachers and your community friends.
Our mission for DVBS is Driver Volunteer and Suffolk Fire
Department. On Wednesday they will be here, with two fire
engines, from 5:45 to 8:10 PM. They will talk about duties of
the fire department and how they serve the community of
Driver. Each class will have an opportunity to inspect these
trucks. We will take up a collection each day to be given to
the Driver Volunteer Fire Department. We request that you
limit your contribution from each child to no more than
twenty-five cents.
Topics will include:
God is:
a. INCREDIBLE
b. FAITHFUL
c. UNCONDITIONAL
d. REAL
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Please submit all articles by Friday July 24, 2015 to
[email protected]. Visit the Glebe website
at: www.glebechurch.org. You can download Adobe for
free at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Please contact the editor if you have email and would like to
be added to the email distribution of this newsletter.
ATTIC BASEMENT CLOSET (ABC) SALE
Rumor has it that the date is 09/26/15. So people get ready
there is an ABC a comin’.