Photos: Peter Chase on the Flying Angel

Abbie Chase sent along pictures from Dubai of Peter and the Flying Angel...

Update for Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sunday, November 29
No Church School
8:00am Holy Eucharist - Preacher: The Reverend Gwen Buehrens Celebrant: The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
9:45am Childcare
10:00am Holy Eucharist - Preacher: The Reverend Gwen Buehrens Celebrant: The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
11:00am Coffee Hour
& Swedish Reception
Monday, November 30
12:45pm Staff Meeting
8:00pm AA (6:30 newcomers)
Tuesday, December 1
9:30am Holy Eucharist
10:00am WSM Board Meeting
Thursday, December 3
4:30pm Miracle Kitchen
6:30pm Junior Choir
7:30pm Adult Choir
Sunday, December 6
Church School as Usual
8 & 10am Holy Eucharist
The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
11:00am Coffee Hour

Advent 2009: Waiting with Expectations

Advent (from the Latin word “adventus” which means “coming”) is a season of the Christian Church when we engage a period of expectation and waiting in preparation for the coming of Jesus. This period immediately before Christmas consists of four weeks of preparation where we both remember the first appearance of Christ as Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem, and anticipate the second coming of Christ. As practicing Christians, we believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews and Gentiles for the birth of the Messiah and the waiting that we do today in anticipating the Second Coming of Christ. For this reason, Advent readings are sometimes full of the sweetness of the Magnificat, or the shepherds’ experiences, and sometimes full of the imagined and apolyptical end time, when Christ will come for the last time and both redeem and judge the world and it’s inhabitants.

On the first Sunday of Lent, Western Christian Churches will move from the green of Pentecost to the blue or purple of Advent; this color change is one way to draw our attention to the spiritual themes of Advent: waiting and preparing for God, our spiritual king. During our daily experience of Advent, we are invited to slow down, reflect, pray, and incarnate love for one another and for God. The original tradition of gift giving comes from the intention to reveal care and love for one another.
Please join us at St. Mary’s during this holy season as we engage liturgy, music, and fellowship to anticipate the arrival of God together.

Peace in Christ,
Margaret

Special Music for Advent 2009

November 29 – First Sunday of Advent
Today we welcome the SWEA Choir and their director, Eva DiLascio, for Swedish Advent music including the traditional Hosianna, and a setting of the Swedish hymn Bereden väg för Herran (Prepare the Royal Highway) by Swedish composer Olle Widestrand .

December 6 – Second Sunday of Advent
As we focus on the voices of the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist, the Adult Choir will sing People, look East, the Besançon Carol, a call to prepare our hearts and homes to receive the Savior. During Communion, alto soloist Lynn Edwards will sing Prepare Thyself, Zion, an aria from J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

December 13 – Third Sunday of Advent
The Adult and Junior Choirs will lead the annual Service of Advent Lessons and Carols. A series of prophetic Scripture readings will be interspersed with Advent hymns. Carols sung by the Adult Choir will include Adam lay ybounden by Warlock, a setting of O come, O come, Emmanuel by Alice Parker/Robert Shaw, and the Irish carol, Angelus ad virginum, arranged by English composer David Willcocks.

December 20 – Fourth Sunday of Advent
The young people of St. Mary’s will present the Christmas Pageant during the 10 a.m. service with special music by the Junior Choir. The Adult Choir will sing Mary’s Magnificat, an anthem by contemporary British composer Andrew Carter. Rosemary Halloran, soprano and Anthony Garza, baritone, will sing a duet from the Bach cantata Wachet auf during communion.

Christian Education Update - 11/25/09

Wreath-making Gratitude
Our Advent Wreath-Making Event on November 22nd was a festive success! Heartfelt thanks to Whitney Pyzowski for volunteering to purchase and arrange all the wreath-making materials.

St. Mary’s Christmas Pageant: Seeking Participants
We hope all interested children will join us in the Christmas Pageant to be held on Sunday, Dec 20th! Please save these dates/times:

Sunday December 6th from 11 -11:30 am
Sign-ups for: Angels, shepherds, and animals with initial costume checks (non-speaking parts)
Sign-ups for: Speakers/Readers

Sunday December 13th from 11- 12 noon
Rehearsal for Speakers and Readers Only

Saturday, December 19th
8:30 am Rehearsal for Speakers/Readers
9 am – 11:30 am Pageant Rehearsal (ALL - including Speakers/Readers and Junior Choir)
11:30 – 12 noon Pageant Pizza Party

Sunday December 20th
8:45 am Short Rehearsal (ALL – including the Junior Choir)
10:00 am Christmas Pageant

We are also seeking parent volunteers for Saturday Dec 19th and/or Sunday Dec 20th to serve in the following three roles: 1) angel leader, 2) shepherd leader, and 3) animal leader. Please contact Isabel Phillips if you can assist on one or both of these rehearsal days: cell (978) 852-4633.

Send Your Friends a Yankee Magazine E-Card

St. Mary's administrative assistant and accomplished amateur photographer Denise Flanagan had one of her photographs of St. Mary's grounds accepted by Yankee Magazine.

You can send an e-card to friends with this beautiful photo here.

Photos: Wreath Making and Acolyte Training on Sunday, November 23

Good News: November 16, 2009

The Good News from November 16 is available for download:
Good_News_2009_Nov_16.pdf

This issue includes a recap of the sermons from Children's Sabbath on November 1, as well as an update on the recent Diocesan convention.

Photos: Foods 'n' Fancies (2 of 2)

Photos: Foods 'n' Fancies (1 of 2)

St. Mary's Calendar - Sunday, November 22

Sunday, November 22
8:00am Holy Eucharist - Celebrant: The Reverend Margaret Schwarzer
Preacher: Julia de Peyster
9:00am Sunday School for grades 4 -5 and middle school
9:45am Childcare
10:00am Holy Eucharist w/ Baptism - Celebrant: The Reverend Margaret Schwarzer
Preacher: Julia de Peyster
10:00am K-3 Attend Church first; leave at beginning of 2nd Hymn
with the teachers
11:00am Coffee Hour
Advent Wreath Making
12:00pm Acolyte Training
Monday, November 23
12:45pm Staff Meeting
8:00pm AA (6:30pm newcomers)
Tuesday, November 24
7:00pm Sharing A New Song
Wednesday, November 25
Office closes at 12:00 noon
Thursday, November 26
Thanksgiving Day - office closed
no choir rehearsal
Friday, November 27
Office Closed
Sunday, November 29
No Church School
8:00am Holy Eucharist - Celebrant: The Reverend Margaret Schwarzer
Preacher: The Reverend Gwen Buehrens
9:45am Childcare
10:00am Holy Eucharist - Celebrant: The Reverend Margaret Schwarzer
Preacher: The Reverend Gwen Buehrens
11:00am Coffee Hour & Swedish Reception

More from El Salvador

Here are short video clips showing relief efforts by the Anglican church in El Salvador in Verapaz, a village hard hit by the recent flooding. These clips include narration by church staff that have worked with our St. Mary's mission trip members in 2008 and 2007, including Dr. Daniella Flamenco Gomez.


Dr. Daniella Flamenco Gomez - Director of Health with the Episcopal Church of El Salvador at relief site in Verapaz


Anglican Church of El Salvador relief work in Verapaz


A neighborhood destroyed - Verapaz, El Salvador

Good News: November 3, 2009

The Good News from November 3, 2009 is now available for download:

Good_News_2009_November_03.pdf

This issue includes Margaret Schwarzer's sermon on All Saints Day.

Yet today, in the Christian tradition, we hold up the mystery of death and the friends and loved ones who have gone on before us as we celebrate All Saints’ Day. We are asked to contemplate what we can never fully understand: our transitory bodies, our own immortal souls, and the communion of saints—both the living and the dead—who are bound to us as they, and we, continue to move more and more into the heart of God. We travel humble and difficult ground this morning. Of course, any one of us who is still breathing is, by definition, a novice and not an expert, in the subject of death and the afterlife, so I offer my thoughts as one Christian adventurer among many. What do we need to say on All Saints’ Day about death and our own journey towards it?

Update from El Salvador

The following photos were sent by the Anglican Church in El Salvador, and are posted on the Cristosal web site here. They show the devastation of last weeks flooding, including the mudslides that hit the village of La Verapaz. Bishop Barahona has travelled to some of these areas. We are in contact with Cristosal to see how we can help with their relief efforts.

Mailing to Parish

The following letters were mailed to parish members this past week. The first is the Wardens' annual stewardship letter, the second is an update from the Search Committee:

Wardens_Stewardship_Letter_2009_November.pdf

Search_Committee_Update_2009_November.pdf

Happy (Belated) Birthday to Bob Hoffman

From the Wellesley Townsman: "Wellesley business owner has crammed a lot into 100 years"

"Robert S. “Bob” Hoffman Jr. celebrated the anniversary of his birth — Oct. 23, 1909 — a little bit ahead of time last Sunday, when family and friends gathered to celebrate with him at a luncheon at North Hill in Needham...

"Bob Jr. not only worked and lived in Wellesley, he was active in town affairs. He was a member of Town Meeting and the Advisory Committee, was chairman of the Wellesley Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Kiwanis Club and served on the vestry at St. Mary’s Church in Lower Falls..."

Sunday School Calendar - November 15 - December 2009

November 15 Week 7 Sunday School
9:00 am 4th-5th grade class; Middle School class
10:00 am K-3rd graders (start in church)

November 22 Week 8 Sunday School
9:00 am Sunday School as usual 10:00 am - for children not in Junior Choir
Junior Choir Sings
Parish-wide Advent Wreath- Making at Coffee Hour

November 29 No Church School (Thanksgiving Recess)

December 6 Week 10 Sunday School
9:00 am 4th-5th grade class; Middle School class
10:00 am K-3rd graders (start in church)

December 13 Advent Lessons and Carols
9:00 am Sunday School as usual for children not singing in the Junior Chor
10:00 am Junior Choir Sings

December 19 Rehearsal for Christmas Pageant
9am - noon w/ Pizza Lunch for all Children

December 20 Christmas Pageant & Holy Eucharist
8:45 am Final Pageant Rehearsal w/ junior choir & acolytes
10:00 am Christmas Pageant & Worship Service

December 24 Christmas Eve Services (5 and 10 pm)

December 27 Christmas Vacation Week
No Sunday School

St. Mary's Calendar - Sunday, November 15

Calendar for the Upcoming Week
Sunday, November 15
8:00am Holy Eucharist - Celebrant & Preacher: The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
9:00am Sunday School for grades 4 -5 and middle school
9:45am Childcare
10:00am Morning Prayer - Preacher: The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
K-3 Attend Church first; leave at beginning of 2nd Hymn with the teachers
11:00am Coffee Hour
2:00pm Middle School Pie-Making for local Thanksgiving Dinner
Monday, November 16
1:00pm Staff Meeting
8:00pm AA (6:30pm newcomers)
Tuesday, November 17
Tables Set up in Parish Hall & Chapter Room for Foods’n Fancies
12:00pm MECA
7:30pm Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, November 18
9:30am Foods’n Fancies Work Day
6:30pm Sharing a New Song in Sanctuary
Thursday, November 19
9:30am Foods’n Fancies Work Day
6:30pm Junior Choir
7:30pm Adult Choir
Friday, November 20
9:30am Foods’n Fancies Work Day
Saturday, November 21
10:00am Foods’n Fancies Bazaar
Sunday, November 22
Childcare & Church School as Usual
8:00am Holy Eucharist - Celebrant: The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer Preacher: Julia de Peyster
10:00am Holy Eucharist & Baptism - Celebrant:The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer Preacher: Julia de Peyster
11:00am Coffee Hour
Advent Wreath Making
12:00pm Acolyte Training

Devestation in El Salvador

On Monday, Hurricane Ida tore through Central America, leaving as many as several thousand dead and many more homeless. The BBC has coverage of this tragedy here, here, and here. Bishop Barahona, Anglican Bishop of El Salvador, said the following:

San Salvador, 8 November 2009

The vulnerability of the environment of Central America is exposed once again with the passage of the storm, Ida. The Primate of the Anglican Church of the Region of Central America (IARCA), the Most Rev’d Martín Barahona, sympathizes with the victims of each of the affected countries.

Ida surprised Central America in the waning hours of this past Saturday (yesterday), when it landed with 145 km/hr winds. “This was a most particular phenomenon in the three hours that it rained,” said Germán Rosa, Minister of the Environment of El Salvador.

In Nicaragua there are more than 40,000 affected, in Guatemala more than 100 people have been evacuated and in El Salvador there was not a definite number (as of Sunday) of homeless but the Civil Protection authorities report that there are 91 dead, 60 disappeared, and hundreds of injured. The statistics may well grow in the next hours.

Bishop Barahona said that he wants to emphasize that “disasters are not natural, nor are they a punishment from God. These events challenge us to revise our systems of protection.” He added, “We are praying for the families and are in communication with other institutions and sister churches at the national, regional and international level to plan our level of action right now and after the emergency.”

In El Salvador, the most affected departments are those in the central part of the country: San Vicente by the volcano Chinchontepec, which produced a mudslide of several kilometers and claimed several victims. Also, there is an orange emergency alert in the departments of San Salvador, Cuscatlán, La Libertad and La Paz.


The major roads into El Salvador are blocked, electric lines are on the ground, five bridges have collapsed, thousands of people are being housed on an emergency basis, and midst all these losses are the disappeared.

Bishop Barahona said that he considers “Ida to be the worst natural event of the year to strike El Salvador. It intesifies the social and economic problems with which we live. We pray to God for the life of our families, communities and countries.”

Photos: Childrens' Service on November 8

Photos: Cradles to Crayons

This past Saturday St. May's volunteered its Parish Hall to serve as the final sorting location for all Newton donations made to the
Massachusetts Cradles to Crayons organization. Several of our members participated in planning and volunteering for this very worthwhile cause. Thank you all!

Update for Sunday, November 8, 2009

Please join us Sunday evening at 5pm for Taize Evensong. The photo above shows the main church in Taize, in the Burgundy region of France, from which the Taize tradition comes. You can learn more about the history of Taize here.

Sunday, November 8
No Church School
8:00am Holy Eucharist - The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer
9:45am Childcare- Infants through pre-K
10:00am Holy Eucharist - Children's Sunday - The Reverend Ms. Margaret Schwarzer & help from Young Adults & Children
About the Service - The children and young adults of St. Mary's will be our worship leaders at the 10:00am service.
They will be greeting, ushering, acolyting, singing, reading, and preaching. Adults will be available to mentor.
1:00am Coffee Hour
1:00pm West Gallery
5:00pm Evensong followed by
Soup and Bread supper.
Monday, November 9
1:00pm Staff Meeting
8:00pm AA (6:30 newcomers)
Wednesday, November 11
Veterans Day - Office Closed
6:30pm Sharing a New Song
Thursday, November 12
11:00am Investment Committee Meeting
1:00am Clergy Mtg (Chapter Rm)
6:30pm Junior Choir
7:30pm Adult Choir
Sunday, November 14
1:30pm Sharing a New Song Rehearsal in
Parish Hall
Sunday, November 15
Childcare & Church School as Usual
8:00am Holy Eucharist
10:00am Morning Prayer
8 & 10am Services - The Reverend Margaret
Schwarzer
11:00am Coffee Hour

Reminder: Cradles to Crayons this Saturday

Advent Wreath Making, Sunday November 22

On Sunday November 22 we will be hosting Advent Wreath making during the coffee hour following the 10AM service. All parish members are invited to join us in making a wreath. To make sure we have enough supplies, if you would like to make a wreath and you or your family does not have a child in Sunday school this year, please sign up in advance on the bulletin board, or contact Denise in the office.

Food 'n' Fancies Coming Saturday, November 21

We invite everyone in the parish to take part in our annual church fair, as volunteers and customers. Partake of handmade crafts, delicious home-baked foods, the Vermont cheddar cheese wheel, an array of white-elephant items, festive plant terrariums, raffles and the Silent Auction. Enjoy a homemade soup and sandwich lunch in the Chapter Room.

Foods’n Fancies has earned such a reputation for wonderful buys that it attracts return visits from friends of St. Mary’s and former congregants who have moved away. Use this opportunity to do your Christmas shopping early. Invite your friends and neighbors to attend. And remember, all proceeds support our outreach ministries and countless in-need.

If you want to print and post the poster, please download it here:
Celebrate%20Autumn%20Poster.pdf
Celebrate%20Autumn%20Poster.doc

Update from Peter Chase

"I am enjoying Gilead by M. Robinson which I highly recommend. A nice passage on the use of water in baptism quoting Feuerbach who said 'Water is the purest, clearest of liquids; in virtue of its natural character it is the image of the spotless nature of the Divine Spirit. In short, water has a significance in itself, as water; it is on account of its natural quality that it is consecrated and selected as the vehicle of the Holy Spirit.' We do not sanctify water at baptism as much as we recognize it as a blessing. Isn't there another image in scripture of the Holy Spirit sweeping across the sea? I noticed that today in the deep harbor and felt more at home on the water than the land. Perhaps because I'm living in a foreign land and it is the oceans that unite us. So I have decided to spend the remainder of my life at sea (only kidding). But, now I know why some seafarers are at home away from land and also why I think this work can be a blessing.

"Second observance of the day was coming into port at night with a full moon. Around 9 ships arrived at the same time and we had to tie up to one another. So I climbed off the Flying Angel onto a supply ship, then onto a fishing vessel, then to my amazement a large tug boat, next a water taxi, and finally a barge. Each vessel was bobbing up and down and there were no ladders except for the helping hands of those who kept me from falling into the bay. Philipinos, Sri Lankans, Poles, Africans and Arabs. Everyone was smiling and laughing and poor and I was grateful to be alive. God bless the workers of the world!" - Peter

Good News: October 27, 2009

The Good News from October 27 is available for download:
Good_News_2009_October_27.pdf

This issue includes an article adapted from a sermon delivered on October 25 by guest preacher The Reverend John H. Finley IV, founder of the Epiphany School.

"I serve as the Head of School of Epiphany School, a tuition-free, independent Episcopal middle school for economically-disadvantaged children in Dorchester. I founded the school twelve years ago with The Reverend Jennifer Daly, and St. Mary’s has been terrifically supportive of our work. Great things are happening at Epiphany. Students are posting impressive test scores and going on to great high schools. Whole families are moving out of poverty, and St. Mary’s helps make it all possible. On behalf of all of us, thank you..."