Gryphon 11/04

In the middle of August I spent several days in the wilderness out west. It was a time for rest and reflection.
One of the many gifts I received during this time was hearing hummingbirds sing!
As I sat in the high desert of south Colorado amongst wildflowers, I watched and heard the hummingbirds fly from flower to flower eating and singing.

I say it was a gift for many reasons.
I was able to be in a place where there were many hummingbirds amongst the wildlife.
I was able to sit quietly for long stretches alone in a vast wilderness area.
I had the time, the place, the habitat to see and hear those birds as I never have before.

It was a powerful reminder to me how busy and distracted I am most of the time and how much I need to take time simply to Be.
To be aware of my surroundings, to be aware of my own body, to be aware of God's presence and gifts in the world.

I hope you too will have been refreshed and renewed in some ways this summer. I hope we all will continue to avail ourselves of the many gifts God gives us in family, friends, spiritual companions, and silence in which we can hear the birds sing out their joy and praise of God.

Contact us:

St. Mark’s Website – http://www.stmarksantioch.org

The Reverend Battle Beasley via email: pathwayspartners@yahoo.com

St. Mark’s Vestry – stmarksantioch@bellsouth.net

Electronic submission to the Gryphon’s Roar: submitgryphon@aol.com or nanaljn@aol.com

THE GRYPHON

The Gryphon is the newsletter of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and as such welcomes articles and suggestions from ALL parishioners. This is your venue for expressing thoughts you would like to share, important events in your families’ lives, suggestions you might have to make our parish life better. Please do not hesitate to use it.

Lorna Noren,

Editor

Once again it is time for the choir to begin rehearsing. We welcome anyone who likes to sing and can carry a tune to join us.

We can always use new members (especially men). We usually have a good time and learn some really great music. Please think about joining us this year.

I would also like to thank St. Mark’s youth choir. They did a wonderful job!! Thanks to Journey Button-Hale, Chris and Tyler Stovall, Danny Seivers, Andie Scott and Clara Robnett. You made me very proud!!

New Primary Class Expands Christian Education Opportunities for St. Mark’s Children

Gail Leverett, Sherry Walker and Kathy Larson will be leading a new Christian Education class for children in Primary grades this year. We use the Episcopal Children’s Curriculum (ECC) which has an excellent basis in modern Biblical scholarship and also teaches about the Episcopal Church.

The goal of teaching in these years is to make the people of the Bible and the Church come alive for young learners. This is consistent with the belief that the Christian faith is nurtured through relationships.

In four units this year, students will cover Judges and Kings, People in parables, The Holy Eucharist, and the Prayer Book.

This class will provide the needed transition between the “Godly Play” program for preschool children (led by Gretchen Miller and Kristina Gray) and the Intermediate class for older children. Please call Gail at 262-5375 with any questions about the Primary class.

There are some parallels with the Primary curriculum in the Intermediate class. First, we will focus on the prophets of the Old Testament. Then we will study Jesus’ parables as part of his life and ministry. The Holy Eucharist – as part of our shared life together and the Catechism will be studied in the last half of the year.

We have an average attendance of 4 (and growing!). Our students range from grades 5-8 (and we are flexible to tailor the classes for the student’s age and interests). Some of the lessons have involved acting out a part of the text that we are studying. This has been popular with the students, so we try to incorporate this where possible. Valerie Drake, and George and Iva Kurz, are teaching this year. If you have any questions, please call us at 865-5227.

All Christian Education classes will meet for one hour – from 9:15 to 10:15 am (between services).

Continuing Episcopalians of Tennessee is made up of people who want to remain
members of the Episcopal Church, and who are concerned that our new bishop
can be an effective bishop for the entire diocese. It is critically important to the
future of the Episcopal Church in this diocese that as many people as possible
become informed about the issues before us.

A well-organized group is working to pass a resolution at the next diocesan convention
to join the Anglican Network of Dioceses and Parishes. Please visit the CETN website for information and links to other helpful sites.

Get informed! Read! Surf! Stand up and be counted! And plan to attend the next
meeting of Continuing Episcopalians. The date and time will be announced as soon
as possible.

September Birthdays

September Anniversaries

Baptisms

On July 31st, Joseph Herbert Sievers, son of Thèrése and Herb Sievers received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. And on August 14^th, Kayla Grace Haefs, daughter of Alison and David Haefs, and Jackson Thomas Cook, son of Lauren and John Cook, also received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Thom and Holly Granger are proud grandparents of Kayla and Jackson.

Sandra Winters needs help. She cannot arrange flowers every week. And her primary helper, Elizabeth Gregory, can’t either.
In fact Elizabeth is retiring April 3, 2005, and will shortly thereafter move to Louisiana. Then Sandy will really need help!

If you can take responsibility for flowers for a Sunday between now and the end of this year, please sign up on the roster in Reynolds Hall. If you want to learn to do flowers, contact Sandra or Elizabeth and plan to join them when they do flowers.
It’s fun and not difficult, we promise.

If you sign up to buy and arrange flowers, you can be reimbursed for the cost of the flowers. Sandy and Elizabeth usually get them at SAMS, and turn their receipts into Karen Seufert for reimbursement. We try to buy what is fresh and reasonably priced. Generally we spend anywhere from $15 to $30. If you order flowers from the florist, the cost will most likely be more, and you will need to check with Karen Seufert before you order to see if there is money in the budget for reimbursement. Thanks!

Ecuador 2005 – summary by Melanie Pafford-Failor

On July 21, 2005, I left Tennessee for my first trip to Ecuador. I traveled there with Elizabeth Gregory and Holly Granger, members of St. Mark’s. We also enjoyed having Holly’s niece Carrie Sandlin with us. The focus of our trip was relationship building with our Companion Church, Santiago Apostol. Padre Cristobal Leon is the priest of Santiago Apostol and was our host for this trip. You will notice that we took time for shopping frequently! This was often for our Ecuador Market – we buy items for resale to the St. Mark’s community. Proceeds go into a fund for projects in Ecuador.

Following is a daily itinerary and my reflections of the trip. If you would like to see digital photos, please let me know via email at mlpf@united.net

Ecuador Itinerary 2005

Thursday: Travel Day – total of 6 hours in the air. Arrived in Guayaquil late. Stayed at Hotel Palace.

Friday: Travel to Manta 3-1/2 hours on the road (paved but full of potholes). Stopped in La Pila to visit the church and to say hello to our friends. Checked into the Goleta Hotel in Manta.

Took Padre Leon, his family, and our translators – Nestor and Rocky - to supper.

Elizabeth, Carrie, Holly, Rocky, and Ita (Padre Leon’s wife) helped paint the emblem on the church.

Evening: Taxi to La Pila for 7:00pm Eucharist at Santiago Apostol Holly sang at offertory, Elizabeth read scripture in English; we presented the framed print of St. Mark’s church. Padre Leon presented us with their 5-year plans for expansion!

Celebration with soft drinks, music, dance exhibition, and audience participation in dancing!

Sunday Morning: attended worship service in Manta at San Pablo, Melanie read scripture in English, Rocky played guitar for us after the service. We then met with the Architect, Padre Leon, his son James, Rocky, and Nestor to ask questions about the 5-year plan for Santiago Apostol.

Afternoon: Taxi to La Pila for churchwomen’s prayer session – Melanie led them in a Guided Meditation (with Rocky as translator) and in an Art Prayer activity. Elizabeth and Padre Leon kept the children occupied so the 28 women could participate with minimal distractions.

Evening: Supper was pizza in the roof café of our hotel. It was Rocky’s 23^rd birthday so we got him a cake to celebrate! Padre Leon and Nestor joined us for the evening activities!

Later after we had gone to our rooms, we each heard a knock at our door. Padre Leon and his family had come by to give us gifts of candy, cookies, and jewelry. Each gift had been selected with our favorite colors in mind. They were beautiful!

Monday Morning: Back to La Pila for children’s activities led by Carrie and Holly. Melanie, Holly, Rocky, and Nestor were assistants! Activities included Hopscotch, Duck-Duck-Goose, Sidewalk Chalk Drawings, Coloring Books, and Balloons.Montecristi – Shopping, visit to the local Fire Department (since my husband Steven is a fire fighter…I wanted to photograph their fire truck!), and a visit to the Episcopal Church there. Padre Leon is a retired fire fighter. The Montecristi Fire Department volunteers to help clean the church in La Pila when needed. They just hose it down with water!

Afternoon – Holly and Carrie flew to Quito for an adventure into the Rain Forest and the mountains. They would return to Nashville on August 1.

Evening - Churchwomen’s prayer session at San Pablo in Manta - Melanie led them in a Guided Meditation (with Rocky as translator) and in an Art Prayer activity. We had 20 participants. Elizabeth, Nestor, and Padre Leon were able to participate this time.

Padre Leon gave Melanie some gifts for her husband from the Fire Chief in Montecristi. They sent him a cap, a t-shirt, and collectors decals. What a wonderful gift!

Melanie gave Padre Leon some Anglican Prayer Beads, made by Donna Floyd of St. Mark’s!

Tuesday: Shopped in Manta, visited the University, visited the waterfront, had lunch on the beach, and bid teary farewells to Padre Leon, his family, Rocky, and Nestor.

According to the dictionary, companionship means the relationship of companions; fellowship; an association of people who share common beliefs or activities. St. Mark’s has a commitment of companionship to Padre Cristobal Leon and the congregation of Santiago Apostol. I am humbled to be a part of that commitment.

This trip allowed me to touch others and to be touched by others at the core of my being. I saw God’s face in the eyes of many of the people I met in Ecuador. We spent time listening to stories of people’s lives and sharing faith questions. I realized that the people of Ecuador and the people of Tennessee are connected spiritually even if separated by geography and economics.

When we left Ecuador, I left part of my heart there. The country and the people blessed my life and I look forward to another visit soon. In the meantime, email and phone calls will have to suffice for communication with my new friends.

The Right Reverend Bertram Herlong	Bishop of Tennessee
The Reverend Battle Beasley	Rector
Frank Brannon, M. Div.	Pastoral Care Coordinator
George Kurz	Senior Warden
Steve Failor	Junior Warden
Karen Seufert & Les Worsley	Treasurers
Kelly Stovall	Clerk of the Vestry