Ron Balcarras -
Elected to Vestry November 2009 |
Eileen Cardwell -
Elected to Vestry November 2009 |
David Winters -
Elected to Vestry November 2009 |
Suzanne Lindsey -
Elected to Vestry November 2008
I was born into a
Irish Catholic, Southside Chicago working class family. At 13, spurred by
common adolescent rebellion, embryonic stirrings of feminism, and the
intellectual doubts aroused when I gave a speech on overpopulation, I left
the Catholic church. However, I remained seated in the pews for several
more years, as my father asserted his patriarchal authority.
At 14, I briefly flirted
with fundamentalism, but only because all my friends were doing it and
assured me that the youth ministry scheduled lots of fun events. This
excursion into the realm of certitude did not end well. I quoted
Walden to my Bible study group, challenging their interpretation of the book
of Romans. Accused of being the voice of Satan, I left the group.
I was 15. It was hard.
All my
friends tried to win me back to the True Path by warning me of the dire
consequences I risked. After all, if God would send pagans to hell who
had never even heard of Him, what would happen to someone who had been given
news of God, and then rejected Him? Surely, eternal flames awaited me.
This
happened just before Easter, when my father insisted I perform the minimum
union requirement of Catholicism—receive the sacraments of Confession and
Holy Communion for one time that year. I recited the usual litany of
venial sins to Father Gilligan, but just as he slid the privacy door shut, I
blurted out “and I may have rejected God.”
Slowly
the door opened. “What do you mean?” I explained what had happened.
I remember to this day what he said next.
“Do you
reject the search for justice? Do you reject your fellow man, and the
peace and brotherhood you can find with him? Do you reject love,
caring for the unfortunate, forgiving those who have done you wrong?
Do you reject mercy and charity? Do you reject what God has given
you—this beautiful planet, the joy of your friends and family? To
reject God, you must also reject all He has given to us and all He asks of
us. Do you reject these things?”
“No,
Father, I do not.” “Then you should not be worried that you have
rejected God. God is all of those things, and more, and you cannot
embrace them without also embracing Him. Go in peace, to love and
serve the Lord.”
Spiritually, that was my last contact with the Catholic Church. I have
always been grateful, that we parted with a touch of class. |
| Fr. Jim Hall -
Elected to Vestry November 2008 Belated Greetings,
Somehow it slipped through the cracks that I was to do an article about me
when I became a Vestry member, so here goes.
I’m Jim Hall, a retired priest for 12 ½ years after 43 years of active
ministry in congregations from Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington and a
few places in between, including Tennessee and the ruggedly beautiful state
of Montana.
For about four years I was non-parochial while managing a heavy construction
company in Seattle, building and repairing bridges and roads. One of the
more interesting experiences while managing the company was the acquisition
of a dynamiter’s license, and I had the experience of demolishing a couple
of bridges and assisting in the demolition of others.
I left Seattle for Nashville and Holy Trinity Parish in 1983 where I met
Pauline, dated her, asked her to marry me, she consented, and we married in
April, 1987. We then moved to Hampton, Virginia in May where I remained as
Rector of St. Cyprian’s until retirement in 1996. In 1997 we moved to
Antioch and linked up with St. Mark’s where we have been happy ever since.
While in Montana I gained a graduate degree in anthropology, specializing in
language and culture, especially the language of aggression. One little
technicality of my existence should be mentioned. Because of church rules, I
cannot transfer to the Diocese of Tennessee as a retiree, so I am still
canonically a resident in the Diocese of Southern Virginia but am able to
function as a priest by license of the Bishop. However, as a member of the
parish of St. Mark’s I can serve as a Vestry person and exercise any other
function of a parishioner. I do not want a high profile, but I do want to be
of help to Battle and the congregation in any way that I can.
With thanks to all of you for your kindness to Pauline and me. God’s
blessing upon us all.
--Jim Hall
|
| Judy Robnett -
Elected to Vestry November 2008 |
|
Kate Granger -
Elected to Vestry November 2009 - Junior Warden
God’s House….our
home….
I’ve been on the vestry now for two years and the
Junior Warden for half a year…and my goodness I’ve learned a lot in that
time! There is so much to do to run our church and keep the building and
grounds beautiful. It can honestly be overwhelming at times.
Over the passing months of being in charge of the work
days and helping to get maintenance done at St. Mark’s I have begun to
understand some things about what being a member of a smaller church is
about. We are a FAMILY, in every sense of the word. We are very close knit,
we know each other better than any of us would like to admit to, and are
“there” for one another in times of trial and need.
The point I would like to make is that it seems that
some of the emotional connection to the place we all meet each week has
diminished over the years. In speaking with many of the elder members of the
congregation, it seems that in years past, there was a greater sense of
ownership and pride in both the building and grounds at St. Mark’s. Not to
say that many of you are not doing your part now, I guess I am just trying
to reach out to some of the folks who haven’t really felt a connection like
this with our lovely little church.
Our work days that we schedule for Saturdays each month
are one of the only times that so much of the church maintenance gets done,
and lately the number of people showing up to lend a hand on those days has
been dwindling. We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of people in
our congregation, and I am just hoping to inspire some new life and new
commitment when it comes to this particular need for our church. We usually
only work 4 hours or so and it ends up being a lot of fun. Beyond that, it
is a great opportunity for fellowship with each other.
I will be honest here and say that before I joined the
vestry, my offerings in the department were meager and I didn’t really feel
the connection and ownership for quite some time. I guess I just always
thought “someone else can do that”. The thing is…..we are not a huge number
of people, and each of your talents is needed. It’s like going to Grandma’s
house for Thanksgiving….You help out in the kitchen, you take out the trash
for her, you lend a hand. This is our family. This is your home. Take pride
in it!!
I cannot emphasize enough what a wonderful blessing the
church family has been to me over the years. If you feel the same way, I
hope that you will take some time to give back. It feels good! I promise you
will have fun and enjoy getting to know your family in a new way.
Peace,
Kate Granger
|
 Greg Noren -
Elected to Vestry November 2009 - Senior
Warden |
|
Cyndy Fahnestock
-
Elected to Vestry November 2009
Dear Congregation,
I am Cyndy Fahnestock, one of the vestry members installed
on January 11, 2009. This is a new position for me. My husband, Bruce, and I
have been attending St. Mark's for about a year where I have been in the
choir. As a child I was confirmed a Methodist, (my maternal grandfather was
a Methodist/Episcopal circuit rider), but as a teen I attended Church of the
Ascension, (Episcopal) in Lexington Park, MD and was confirmed at Washington
National Cathedral in 1969 . Bruce and I were married at Ascension and our
two daughters, McLean and Erica were baptized there.
In 1981 we moved to Fairfax, Virginia and attended Truro
Episcopal, a charismatic church under the guidance of John Howe, now bishop
of Central Florida. There we participated in the Arts Ministry, singing in
the choir, acting in various drama productions, playing guitar for the
interdenominational Friday night Praise service (contemporary music) and
traveling the East Coast providing music for Episcopal Renewal Conferences.
Upon moving to Tennessee in 1991, I attended St. Bart's
for about a year, Brentwood United Methodist Church (2 years), and New Hope
Community Church for 13 and you guessed it... I sang in the choir and
participated in drama. Also while at New Hope, I was the mentor for the MOPS
(Mother of Preschoolers) group and attended video Bible studies made by Kay
Arthur, an Episcopalian. We moved from Brentwood to Smyrna in August of 2006
when my husband retired from Volunteer Corporate Credit Union in Nashville.
My business experiences are: teaching music (my BA is in
Music), marketing for a local credit union and working retail and teaching
at the Beaded Bungalow. I teach piano, play guitar, sing, and make jewelry.
As this is my first go at being a vestryman, I hope to quickly learn how I
can be of service to the Kingdom here at St. Mark's.
|
For Previous recent Vestry profiles click
here. |
