The
Gryphon’s Roar
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The
Gryphon’s Roar
"St. Mark's Newsletter"
| The Gryphon’s Roar | St. Mark's Newsletter |
| A message from the Rev. Battle Beasley |  |
| Keeping Watch Readings of Hafiz |  |
| Daughters of the King |
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| Welcoming Team | |
| People and Places | 
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| DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER | |
The Gryphon's Roar
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Dear people of God,
As we enter the season of Advent most of us find ourselves caught up in a swirl of activities. There are presents to buy, cards to send, decorations to find and put up and maybe a party to give or to go to. In the midst of all this we are bombarded virtually everywhere we go with the sights and sounds and sometimes smells of Christmas.
Sometimes it seems as if all our business keeps us from enjoying the season and indeed the post Christmas blues are all too real for millions of us who suffer from depression. And yet, year in year out the church in the season of Advent invites us to pause, take a deep breath, look around our soul's self and prepare ourselves for a new birth.
I believe it was Teresa of Avila who said, "we need to take at least 30 minutes each day to be still with God, unless of course we are very busy, and then we need to take at least an hour!"
The Church's invitation this season is indeed the answer to not getting caught up in the stress of hustle and bustle. It is the answer for those of us who create unrealistic expectations on our families, the season, and ourselves. The invitation is to a renewal of hope, compassion, charity, faith, and love. We begin again to live into the spirit of Christ, which indwells us.
As the Sufi poet Rumi says: Come, come, no matter if you have broken your vows a thousand times, come. Hear God's invitation to you, inviting you to welcome the new birth of Life into the world.
Peace,Battle +
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DIOCESAN
CYCLE OF PRAYER
Each month we will be publishing the Calendar of Prayer for the Diocese of Tennessee.
It begins on the first Sunday of
Advent, 2002 and runs through Year B of the Eucharistic Lectionary of the Book
of Common Prayer.
ADVENT I – Dec. 1, 2002 – Church of
the Advent, Nashville
ADVENT II – Dec. 8, 2002 – Church of
the Good Shepherd, Brentwood
ADVENT III – Dec. 15, 2002 – Church
of Our Savior, Gallatin
ADVENT IV – Dec. 22, 2002 – St.
Bernard’s Church, Gruetli
CHRISTMAS I – Dec. 29, 2002 – St.
James the Less Church, Madison
HOLY NAME DAY – Jan. 1, 2003 – The
Episcopal Diocese of Litoral
The Rt. Rev. Alfredo Morante-Espana, Bishop
CHRISTMAS II – Jan. 5, 2003 – Church
of the Epiphany, Lebanon
Church of the Epiphany, Sherwood
Keeping
Watch
In the morning
When I began to wake,
It
happened again ---
That feeling
That You, Beloved,
Had stood over me all night
Keeping
watch,
That feeling
That as soon as I began to stir
You put Your lips on my forehead
And lit a Holy Lamp
Inside
my heart.
Printed by permission from
I
Heard God Laughing, Renderings of Hafiz
Penguin USA, copyright 1996
After church, perhaps you’ve seen people near
the door with paper bags – and wondered what was happening. No, they aren’t
“bag ladies” (or “bag men”). They are part of the St. Mark’s welcoming
team! Appointed by Fr. Battle, and with the Vestry’s approval, this team was
constituted early in 2002 to insure that each visitor is met and welcomed to St.
Marks, and is offered information about our church community and opportunities
to know us better.
The bag is labeled with a picture of St. Mark’s
church and contact information. It contains the 2002 Episcopal Liturgical year
calendar, church directory, a brochure about the structure and activities at St.
Marks, the Gryphon, and a small loaf of bread. The bread is to symbolize the
Bread we all shared at Eucharist. The people greeting visitors and giving the
bags encourage people to share the refreshments in Reynolds Hall, and make
introductions to other St. Marks members. This is a very important transition,
and thankfully during those introductions, you have responded as part of the
church-wide “welcoming team” to help our visitors feel included.
It is important that the entire St. Marks congregation is part of the welcoming team. However, the following people meet on a regular basis to plan activities and strategy: Fr. Battle Beasley, Frank & Pam Brannon, Greg & Trisha Hall, Fr. Jim & Pauline Hall, Greg & Lorna Noren, Dale & Janet McDonald, and George & Iva Kurz.
At the end of October, the team sponsored a dinner for newcomers who have worshipped with us several times. Thirteen newcomers attended. This was a great opportunity to get to know them better. In addition, people representing various program areas at St. Marks were present to briefly discuss those activities and to answer questions. Our guests made several suggestions: refreshments/donuts between services – for the Sunday School time; a movie night; programs for young adults and single people; and social events – perhaps a dinner near Thanksgiving or Christmas. We anticipate having similar dinners for newcomers bimonthly or quarterly.
The team is planning to order calendars for
2003. We have also approached the Vestry for approval to sell calendars to the
congregation at a slight profit to raise enough money to make the calendar
distribution self-sufficient. The team is also reviewing the 2002 brochure to
determine any changes needed for the next year.
Fortunately, we have an average of 1-2 visiting persons or families every week through the year. However, as we enter the holiday time and begin a new year, experience has shown that we will likely have more visitors. The attention and care we show to our visitors is an important first step in building relationships for our congregation and for evangelism in our community.
When you next see a visitor at St. Marks, please remember
that you are a valuable member of the “team” and make that step to introduce
yourself, learn about the person, and welcome them to our Christian community.
SAINT LUKE'S ANNUAL TOY DRIVE
Don’t forget Saint Luke’s annual toy drive on December 9th and 10th. This is an event that Saint Luke’s has done for twenty years. It is a program for the “working poor” families who earn incomes below the poverty level. It allows the caregiver, parent or grandparent to pick three toys, one book, one stuffed animal and a stocking stuffer for each child living in the household. The program is made possible through the generosity of the community and provides a lot of joy and love to the children. Last year over 1000 children, infants to age 16 received the gifts through Saint Luke’s. They might otherwise had nothing for Christmas.
Please open your hearts and your pockets for this worthy cause. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Elizabeth H. Smith, Chairman, 2002 St. Luke’s Toy Store.
ANNUAL PARISH
MEETING – NOVEMBER 17, 2002
The Annual Parish Meeting was held between services on Sunday, November 17 at 9:00 AM. The Vestry election was held. There were about 10 nominees running to fill three slots for 2003 to serve a three-year term.
Those elected were Leslie Branch,
George Kurz and Richard Hardison. They have their work cut out for them.
They attended their first meeting on Monday, November 18th.
We also discussed a lot of ideas about
what we would like others to say about St.Mark’s, from being more visible from
the street to doing more outreach and everything in between. This will
give the Vestry a lot of ideas to think about in the coming months.
Let’s keep the Vestry in our prayers
throughout the year.
Co-Treasurer Needed
We are in search of an individual willing to take on
Linda Clendening's responsibilities as Co-Treasurer. Linda would like to
take a well-deserved break from the "high finance" of the church so
that she may concentrate her efforts in other areas.
The responsibilities are: tallying the receipts each
Sunday, completing the deposit, logging the pledges on a spreadsheet, and
actually taking the deposits to the bank at some point early in the week. This
would work best if you attend the 10:30 service. This would also include the
preparation and mailing of quarterly giving statements so that everyone can keep
up with their pledges.
Can't lie, this does take two to three hours each
week. If you would like to know more about this position, please see me or Linda
Clendening as soon as possible. Thank you.
Gift of Altar Linens -
St. Mark’s has received a gift of Altar
Linens from Karen Seufert in honor of John’s birthday Which he
celebrated on October 9th. Thanks, Karen.
Happy Birthday – John Seufert –
belated, October 9th
In Sympathy – Our sincere
condolences go out to the Granger family on the passing of Thom’s father.
EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN
In response to the Call to Action to fight
violence in our society that was issued by the National Board of the Episcopal
Church Women, the Diocesan ECW has chosen Magdalene Ministries in Nashville as
our Special Missions Project. The
mission of Magdalene is to provide sanctuary, along with support service and
educational opportunities for women who have a significant history of
prostitution and chemical dependency. How
can you help? Through financial
donations, becoming a volunteer, providing linens and household items and having
a Thistle Farms sale at your church. Call your church office, ECW President or contact person for
more information.