Posted On: 2008-08-06

Posted On: 2008-07-30

LET'S HEAR THAT AGAIN!

by Jan Rogers

Father Mike is given to preaching what I call "Crunchy" sermons, sermons you can chew over again on Monday or Tuesday. Often I heard people say, " I'd sure like a recording of that." As the owner of professional recording equipment and editing gear I asked the question, "Why not?" There being no good answer I began recording Fr. Mike's sermons in March.

Originally he wore the tiny flash recorder under his alb, but I guess it was disarming to see our priest with a tiny red pilot light, so he took to wearing it around his neck. That little silver thing around his neck is not some ecclesiastical adornment, not a second cross of sorts, no it's a flash mini-recorder.

I put all the sermons on my computer, make a CD copy for the church and anyone who asks for one gets a copy the following Sunday. People ask me how much? My answer: the same price as the sandwiches and the coffee and the cakes and other offerings given us at coffee hour. I don't make sandwiches. I make CD's, that's my ministry.

The plan is to put them on-line on the church website, but even when that happens, I will be delighted to make you a CD, so you can play it on your morning commute or at any other time that's convenient. You can also mail it to a friend, carry it by someone who is sick; there are lots of good uses for the CD's.

The format is mp3..the price I zero. The value? Priceless.

Posted On: 2008-07-30

LIFTED HIGH, WITH REVERENCE, JOY AND PRIDE

With all the solemnity the moment called for, Bill Thompsen processed the banner of St. Paul's, Quincy down the aisle of the cathedral in Jacksonville. As Bill moved slowly in the procession, he became aware of something swirling about him and began to realize that there was a mist of tiny fabric fibers and that the fifty-year-old parish banner was disintegrating, bit by bit. It was not what you would hope for when your parish priest was being ordained!

If you have ever visited St. Paul's you know that it is a small, paneled structure with high vaulted ceilings, but the dominant feature is a huge stained glass window depicting the women at Christ's tomb, created shortly after the turn of the last century. The window is the pride and joy of St. Paul's and is valued as one half the total value of the church structure itself. It has been emblematic of St. Paul's for years. The question: could it be transformed into a banner for the parish?

Maureen Holtz is an artist. Her medium, the quilt. Not the plain squares and circles that grandmother sewed, but intricate designs so beautifully made that at first glance they appear to be not so much quilts as paintings. Next question: could she create a faithful copy of the stained glass window? She looked, considered, then said, it could be done, but it would be a difficult, intricate job and the cost would be about $ 3,500.00. That's a lot of money for a small parish, but in true St. Paul's fashion the money was raised quickly and the work began.

This past Sunday, June 29, 2008 came the final act of this story, as Bishop John Howard blessed the banner. And this is it, a copy in the minutest detail of the stained glass window that is the very symbol of our parish. We hope it lasts far longer than fifty years. Next time there's a diocesan event, take a close look. You'll see why we are pardonably proud of our new banner.

Posted On: 2008-07-30

Standing before a jury in Athens, Socrates said, " The unexamined life is not worth living." I would add to that that the unexamined faith is not worth believing. That is why I am so excited that another year of EFM is starting in September. Through the first two years of study, the Old Testment and the New Testament, my understanding of my faith has enlarged considerably, I have learned things I did not know and gained understandings I did not have. So, how much do you know?

Those aren't even mildly difficult for an EFM student to answer. How about you? EFM is a great framework wherein to learn more and deepen your faith and understanding. You will learn how to think theologically and faith will become more meaningful.

Are you brave enough to examine your faith? Remember, some falls on rocky ground. EFM is a deep, fertile loam, loaded with nutrients. Come get planted this fall.

Answers: (1)St. Paul predated Mark. (2)Seven are genuine, the others probably not. (3) No it was written by many authors and edited together from multiple sources. (4) No, he didn't. Maybe one or two, but not all of them. (5)The story of the woman taken in adultery was added many years after. The story, cropped up in several gospels until it finally found a home in Luke. (6) No, the original Gospel of Mark ends with Mary telling the disciples she had seen the risen Lord and they don't believe her.

Posted On: 2008-07-18

The Breath of Life

The Lord be with you, or since there is more than one of you and this is the South, The Lord be with y'all!

We Episcopalians worship the infinite Savior, Our Lord Christ. Belief in Him brings salvation for our souls, but what of the here, the now, our earthly being? Are we to only depend on doctors and nurses to aid those in physical danger in this life? Or, are we to truly be Good Samaritans and be the instruments through which Our Lord can work His will to save a life from an untimely end?

On Saturday, 03-15-08, several members and guests of St. Paul's Episcopal Church made the decision to be those instruments by learning Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, aka, CPR. 'Resuscitation' is from a Latin word that means to "live again". When you know CPR you have the knowledge to possibly give back life to someone who would otherwise be deprived of it by cardiac arrest. What better gift to give than to give life? What better gift to receive than to see someone live by your breath and actions?

The CPR class was hosted and instructed by Terry Phillips and assisted by his wife Theresa through their family business Con-Techs Health and Safety. The CPR course was fully accredited and sanctioned through The American Safety and Health Institute.

The class was held in our Parish Hall so everyone was comfortable and felt at ease. Even when it came time to practice CPR on the training manikins no one was shy or felt out of place. We had fun yucking it up at each other while we learned together. Several humorous comments were made about the manikins, but everyone ended up on the floor putting a lip lock on a dummy! (And, not for the first time I was informed by one participant!) However, there did seem to be some disappointment from Ralph Anderson when he found out the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) trainer wouldn't actually deliver a shock.

Throughout the CPR course many personal anecdotes were exchanged, some describing very personal experiences of extremely traumatic situations. Stories of life and death were shared, stories of joy, stories of shattering loss, stories that really brought the group together.

What these stories aptly demonstrated, is that if you are involved in a life threatening emergency, there is always a price to be paid. The price is different, though, for that person who has knowledge, reacts, gets involved, and tries to make a difference from that person who is helpless to come to someone's aid because of lack of knowledge.

Imagine, you are in church and you see a member of your church family suddenly collapse. People are moving here and there and going nowhere. There's a lot of confusion and fear, but no one knows what to do, and you stand there helpless and hopeless and watch a member of your church family change from a loving person into a slab of meat before your very eyes. For the rest of your life you’ll be branded by that moment and what might have been if you would known what to do. That's a heavy price.

Now, imagine the same scenario, but this time you know CPR. You immediately take over the scene. You assess the victim, send someone to call 911, then you render CPR. You try to build a bridge of survivability for that victim until the EMTs arrive. The greatest imaginable joy would be if you are able to keep them going until the pros arrive. But, even if you can't keep them going your price, your burden is not nearly as heavy as that borne by the ones who did nothing because they knew not what to do.

These thoughts triggered something in Father Mike. He shared that he had been present on two different occasions when a medical emergency had happened in church. He wants to make sure that if any such happens at St. Paul's that we would be ready to handle it. That being the case, Father Mike has asked us to give him input to develop an Emergency Response Plan for St. Paul's. Nothing would please us more. For you see, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church we are a church family. We are a community of faith. We each have a claim through love on one another. We owe each other an obligation to help a member of our church family in distress.

Terry and Theresa Phillips