| Dragon Tales June 2008 Newsletter ofSt. George's Episcopal Church
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From the Rector: Transitions...
Friends,
Summer is almost upon us—hoorah! Church continues to happen at St. George's, but I admit I really love how it changes some during the summer months. Somehow the season captures us, and we are able to spend more recreational and fun time together. We get to enjoy each other, even as we enjoy this glorious time of year. This summer finds us in a time of transition. I continue to be so proud of Steve+, and happy for Steve+ and Dave as they anticipate their new life and ministry in Des Plaines. I will also miss them terribly.
Although we are entering a time when the pace of our life together eases a bit, please know that your Wardens, Vestry and I are deliberate in our prayer as we anticipate this transition. Now is the time for us to engage responsibly with where we find ourselves and to ask ourselves and God to bring us clarity around where God is leading us, and particularly, how we will be best staffed in order to follow God's call most effectively.
This is about stewardship and it is about hope. It is about commitment to listening for God's voice and loving God's world and our neighbors whom God has called us to serve, whom God intends for us to invite to share in the banquet of fellowship and spiritual nourishment and service here at St. George's.
Please see the Wardens' article for some of the different ideas we are praying through. And please share with us your insights. We welcome your voice in this time of listening.
Blessings and peace, friends,
Paige+
Farewell... by the Rev. Steve Godfrey
“Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.” (2 Cor. 13:11)
Saint Paul was good at hellos and goodbyes. In his letters he tended to greet his communities very intentionally and to close by praying for their well-being and for God’s grace to be upon them. He offers a good example and reminder of the importance of greetings and farewells, of honoring the beginning and “ending” of relationships. I put “ending” in quotes because meaningful relationships don’t really ever end—they change.
As Christians we recognize the eternity of life and proclaim our faith by claiming the ongoing nature of relationship. Even when we are separated, we remain in relationship through our memories and the ways we have been impacted by one another. So it is important to take time to say “goodbye” and cement our relationships in goodness.
My remaining time at St. George’s will be devoted to saying goodbye. Please see the accompanying list of events coming up to give us opportunities to hang out before I leave on June 8 and head west, first to a CREDO conference for ongoing clergy renewal and a vacation on the West Coast, and then to become the rector of St. Martin’s Church in Des Plaines, Illinois.
These events are not necessarily programmed. They are simply times to be together to cement our relationship and bring it to closure—not ending, but closure and completion; to share our sadness in parting and rehearse our hopes for one another, hopes that will endure and characterize our relationship in the future.
Even as I look forward to an exciting new ministry in the Chicago suburbs, I am experiencing a lot of sadness as I contemplate leaving my numerous friends at St. George’s. And I am also realizing my tremendous hope in this community. It is exciting to imagine more and more families discovering the love of God through Godly Play and the vibrant fellowship and worship here, more and more faithful and seeking people discovering God’s love in spiritual formation and serving God on mission trips, perhaps even more people discovering faith through an ongoing Episcopal presence in the Berwicks. These hopes will help propel me in my ministry for years to come.
The word “goodbye” is an abbreviation of “God be with you.” It is a prayer. My prayer as I leave St. George’s and Maine is that God indeed be with you and bless and keep you in faith, hope and love, until we meet again. I look forward to sharing this prayer with you in the weeks to come.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion (sharing) of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Cor. 13:13)
In Christ,
Steve+
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Communication Makes All the Difference
by the Rev. Aaron Perkins
I’ve been working with a committee at the Correctional Center over the past six months. We began the work with an intervention of sorts, because we recognized that we were having problems working with each other.
At the beginning of the process we spent two days in retreat, defining what sort of workplace we wanted: safe, professional, and accountable. We also were able to talk about what we valued most in a workplace—good communication was at the top of the list.
Over the past six months we have been meeting regularly to discuss how we go about making changes in order to live into the workplace values we had defined. Keep in mind that this is a prison, and folks are used to a very ‘top down’ leadership structure. It has become apparent that in order to change this workplace, the changes need to come from the bottom up.
We have discovered that one of the most effective ways to accomplish this is communicating with each other. When we take the time to intentionally communicate, we begin to understand each other’s perspectives. For example, we discovered that the security staff really didn’t understand all of the requirements and stresses of the job that the medical staff had to do—and vice versa. When these two groups began to communicate better, they began to work together as a team, resulting in a better environment for everyone and better care for the inmates.
This is a lesson that we all need to remember. We all live together in this church community and we all have a common mission. There will be times when we will disagree on how best to live out that mission. If we take the time to intentionally keep our lines of communication open and to work to understand each other’s point of view and stresses, then we will be sure to accomplish much more and squabble much less.
Opportunities to Connect With Steve+
• Berwicks Church: Thursday, May 29, 5:45-7:30 at First Parish Federated Church in South Berwick
• Teachers & Youth Leaders & their spouses & partners: Friday, May 30, 6:00-9:00 at Steve & David's home in South Berwick. Teachers and leaders please RSVP to sgodfrey@stgeorgesyorkharbor.org or 363-7376. BBQ meat (southern style) & beverages will be provided; feel free to bring sides, salads, desserts, but don't feel obligated. By “popular” request, please do not bring children (as one teacher said last year, "That's what babysitters are for.")
• New Orleans Mission Trip reunion: Saturday, May 31, 2:00, at the Ervins' home in Kittery (team members mark your calendar and watch your email for details)
• Early Service Coffee Hour: Sunday, June 1, 8:45, at St. George's
• All Parish Coffee Hour, Sunday, June 1, 10:00-11:00, at St. George's
• Thursday morning, June 5, Healing Eucharist at 10:00 followed by brunch ("dutch") at Norma's around 11:00
• Newcomers BBQ (northern style) - kids especially welcome, Saturday, June 7, 5:00-7:00, location TBA
• Farewell party, Sunday, June 8, noon, at St. George's. Contact Lisa Lane, Megan Segalla or Nancy Merrill if you want to help.
Re-Imagining St. George's
by Brenda Ervin, Senior Warden & Ken Barrett, Junior Warden
With Steve’s impending departure, your Wardens and Vestry would like to extend our best wishes and Godspeed to Steve+ and Dave as they prepare for their move to Illinois. While we’re sad to see them go, we’re excited about Steve’s call and the new opportunities awaiting both of them. We also want to take this opportunity to thank Steve for his tireless efforts around youth and family ministries. We’ll miss you Steve!
At our May Vestry meeting, we worked with the Vestry and Paige to re-imagine what St. George’s could look like after June, 2008. Although we’re still working through details and, most importantly, praying about those details, we want to share some ideas with you. We’ve also asked Paige to review the various areas that she and Steve had focused on, so we could ensure that we had considered those areas important to us all as we re-imagined.
Here are our current thoughts. With our parish continuing to grow, we feel it’s imperative to continue to have a part-time assistant rector. While we’re greatly blessed to have retired clergy among our parishioners, the time needed to care for the needs of our parish, as well as the steady amount of work that is involved in continuing to offer programs and grow St. George’s, means that we need to honor our commitment to having another priest on staff part-time. Additionally, the volume of work for our Parish Administrator continues to mount. In light of the additional work due to growth and the fact that Paige and Steve had taken on some administrative duties to offset the burden, this appears to be the appropriate time to increase the Parish Administrator’s role. We are also considering the possibility of hiring a part-time sexton who could help with set-up and take on both cleaning and general maintenance duties. The Parish Administrator, Rector and Associate, in addition to many of you, regularly find themselves doing the work of a sexton. Hiring a part-time sexton would allow them to be better stewards of their time and gifts for ministry.
Are these ideas possible? Based upon our assessment of our budget and costs, we believe they are. As we continue to meet and pray about these and other possibilities, we ask you to do the same. Peace.
Honoring Our Graduates!
Please join us on June 1 at the 11:00 service, as we honor these members of St. George’s who are graduating from high school (or its equivalent) this spring: Alison Bailey, Ariana Fox, Ian Lane, Rebecca McKenzie, Jordan Perkins, Joshua Perkins, Kelsey Ray, Hillary Sule, Seth Wagner, and Christopher Yorston.
There will be a reception for the graduates and their families and friends immediately following the 11:00 service. Everyone is welcome to attend! Please contact Susan Yorston if you wish to help with the reception, 363-7609 or susanyorston@yahoo.com.
