| Dragon Tales October 2008 Newsletter of St. George's Episcopal Church
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From the Rector: It's Fun To Be Generous
It is fun to be generous. It feels great to give money to people and organizations making a difference, really changing the world.
At the September Vestry meeting, the Vestry resolved to allocate the remaining $4800 of the Outreach Auction 2007 Funds accordingly:
$800 to the fuel assistance fund (additional to what is below) to help local people in need this winter
$1000 to Family Resource Center of Kittery
$1000 to York Food Pantry
$1000 to York Community Service Association
$1000 to Fair Tide
These were chosen in large part because of our concern for those who are in need and on the margins in our community as winter approaches, particularly given increasing food and energy prices.
Another $6200 from the auction was allocated earlier this year to:
$3200 Mission Trip to New Orleans
$1000 Horizon House Orphanage in Ethiopia (from whence Gus Beecher comes to us)
$2000 for an account with Estes Oil to provide heating oil and other energy aid, and Hannaford gift cards for food aid this winter (for when people call St. George's in need of help)
In addition, we gave $1000 to The Episcopal Divinity School (the "and change" from the Auction, plus additional Outreach monies) for scholarship assistance for seminarians with financial need. (All Episcopal Churches are urged by General Convention to support Episcopal seminaries through their outreach funds.)
A hearty thanks to two people who have worked hard and are working hard on behalf of all of us to raise these funds: Marcia Williams, for her vision and leadership in starting this Outreach Auction, and Barb Poulin for her leadership in assuring its future success (Barb is the 2008 auction chair).
Let's support them by making sure all of our friends and neighbors attend the Auction on November 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the York Golf and Tennis Club, so that we can get a few bidding wars going to support our neighbors in need!
In Christ,
Paige+
God Called and I Answered! From Your New Pastoral Associate by the Rev. Sudie Blanchard
I am so pleased to begin ministry as Pastoral Associate here at St. George’s. It’s all come as a very pleasant surprise—and everyone’s response to the news has been very positive and encouraging!
I will be devoting 16 hours each week to this ministry. Technically, these hours will be Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon, though knowing that pastoral needs are no respecters of schedules, some flexibility has been built into that plan. During the mornings, I will be making calls to parishioners who are homebound, in nursing facilities or in the hospital. A primary part of my job description also includes supporting and encouraging our active and involved Pastoral Care Team along with Pauline Cashman, the team’s current coordinator. I’ll also continue to work closely with Adult Formation coordinator Kate Bishop to provide good food for thought for adults in the parish in our existing Adult Formation program.
I am still a deacon in your midst. When you see me on Sundays, I will be in my diaconal role with fellow deacon Aaron Perkins—the “Book, Towel, Door” routine deacons are known for:
* Book = proclaiming the Gospel,
* Towel = serving at the altar
* Door = getting God’s people out of the church and into the world, doing God’s work.
On Mondays, my own diaconal ministry in the world will be unfolding over the next weeks and months as I explore some new opportunities. I’ll keep you posted in my deacon’s corner articles.
The best times to reach me are those Tuesday-Friday mornings either at church 363-7376 or on my cell phone 207-351-5467. I also keep close track of my email sblanchard@stgeorgesyorkharbor.org.
God is amazing! Several months ago, when, with Peter’s support and encouragement, I voluntarily chose to reduce my hours at the library to halftime, my primary purpose was to see where God might be calling me next. The answer now seems pretty clear!
Deacons Corner: Food Love by the Rev. Aaron Perkins
As I write this, it’s a beautiful autumn day which feels much more like August than late September. Despite the warm temperatures, colder weather and winter are approaching. We are facing the reality of significantly higher heating costs for everyone and some difficult financial times ahead for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.
How can we help out?
We were talking recently at a staff meeting about what an incredible job our meals ministry folks do when someone is in need because of an illness or unexpected event in his or her life. We thought that it might be a good idea to try and expand on that a little, with some help from all of you.
We have a freezer in the church in the closet directly under the organ pipe room where we store some food donations for our own parishioners in need of “food love” when they are going through a tough time—inreach. We would love to expand this food ministry with a ‘back stock’ of frozen food items ready to go to help those in need on an outreach basis, too. Sudie Blanchard and I are the primary contacts for St. George’s for those who contact the church in need of assistance, and it would be a wonderful thing if we could also offer help in the form of meals.
So, if you make lasagna for dinner, please think about making a second one at the same time in a foil pan that can be labeled and frozen and put into the church freezer. How about making a double recipe of soup or stew and freezing what you don’t need? Or maybe you could buy the bigger box of hamburger patties at the grocery store and put half of them into the church freezer.
This doesn’t need to be complicated or labor-intensive, but it may make a huge difference to a family in need. Just make sure that you freeze the items in containers that you don’t want back and label clearly what the meal is, what’s in it and the date. Please place your offerings in the downstairs kitchen freezer above the fridge.
Together we can make a big difference.
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Crop Walk & U2charist by Ted Little
St. George’s will host the 7th annual Crop Walk this year, which will be followed by a U2charist at St. George’s! Both will have the central theme of ending world hunger.
Please join us on October 19. Registration for the Crop Walk will begin at St. George’s at 1:00 p.m. and the walk at 1:30. We will follow the same 
route as the past two years, except the direction will be reversed. It is an easy four miles, and a van will be cycling around to pick up those of us who may want to walk only a portion of that distance. The route is through York Village, along Long Sands Road to Long Sands Beach, then back along York Street to St. George’s. There will be three water stops along the way and refreshments will be served after the walk at St. George’s.
After the Crop Walk, please stay for the U2charist at 4:00 p.m. October 
19 is also Bread For Life Sunday. Bread For Life is a "non-denominational ministry dedicated to providing help to those in need, be it social, medical, spiritual or educational. The ultimate aim of Bread For Life is to point humanity to the One who alone is able to give Bread for life, be it spiritual or physical."
The offering from the U2charist will go half to the Crop Walk and half to the AIDS Response Seacoast (ARS) Food Pantry to honor Bread for Life Sunday. What a great way to recognize three separate ministries serving one common goal! FMI, please call the church office 363-7376 or Ted Little 363-7527. Team St. George’s, once again under the leadership of our youth group, will sponsor the Crop Walk and will be asking for your support. Please join us!
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We Are Gearing Up! by Barb Poulin
Yes, our Third Annual Outreach Auction will once again be held at the York Golf and Tennis Club on Organug Road in York on Friday, November 7. The silent auction is at 5:30 and the live auction begins at 6:30 p.m. 
Donations for the auction are coming in from individuals as I write this, and our faithful solicitors are out contacting local businesses. Gift certificates to your favorite places to eat and shop are being donated. Look for donor forms in your Sunday bulletins and on the parish table. (Please place completed forms in the box on the parish table.) Please let me know at barbpoulin@aol.com, 207-363-8731 or 207-337-2623 if you want to volunteer some time in this effort or if you want to discuss a particular treasure you are considering donating. Be creative and please save the date to attend!
To Ethiopia and Back by Tom Beecher & Jane Sweeney Beecher
On October 12, at both 8:45 and at 10:00, Tom Beecher and Janie Sweeney Beecher will talk about the two-year journey that brought Gus to their family. Topics will include thinking and praying about adoption, the adoption process, what they learned and saw in Ethiopia, and "happily ever after." Gus may even make a special guest appearance! Here are some photos to whet your appetite:
Bagging It For Outreach! by Lorrie Whittaker
This winter is going to be really tough for those who already live close to the bone, what with gas prices, heating oil prices and food prices rising. We are going to use the bottle and can redeemables fund to do some outreach this fall/winter—here’s how you can help:
* Bring in redeemable bottles and cans and leave them in the lower hall near the kitchen where you see the gray redeemables buckets (just leave your bags of items on the floor near the gray buckets), or
* If you have a CLYNK account of your own, consider using some of the proceeds to purchase $25 Hannaford gift cards and place the cards in the offering plate on a Sunday, or
* If you don’t have a CLYNK account, take a CLYNK bag with you from church in the next few upcoming weeks. A St. George’s CLYNK account label will already be on it so all you need to do is fill the bag with clean, dry redeemable bottles and cans (they won't accept Market Basket brand, however). You can put plastic, glass and aluminum all in the same bag—but make sure no more than 20% of the bag is glass or it will be too heavy (I put in four soda/water plastic or aluminum items for each beer-sized glass bottle and that works out pretty well). When the bag is full, tie it tightly shut and leave the bag at Hannaford’s at the CLYNK room (left side of Hannaford’s). That’s it!
Together, we can help some people stay warm and fed this winter, just by redeeming bottles and cans—easy!
Workforce Housing If you would be willing to have your name signed to the following statement, "We support Article One and will vote YES for affordable workforce housing in York," please contact Jim Gambrill at 363-7814 or jgambril@maine.rr.com. | ||||
Time & Talent: We'll Be Talking To You! by Lorrie Whittaker Instead of a Time and Talent Fair this year, the stewardship committee has hit upon a different formula—just talking to parishioners. Each Sunday between October 19 and November 16, representatives of the various ministries active at St. George’s will speak briefly after all services. They will explain what their ministry is, why they are passionate about it and how parishioners can get involved. Please plan to stay for about 10 minutes after your particular service each Sunday during this time—you never know which ministry you might fall in love with.
