news

St.

Paul’s

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHSEPTEMBER 2010 — VOLUME 35, ISSUE 6

For the tenth year in a row, we arescheduling a Commissioning Service onthe first Sunday after Labor Day, the be-ginning of the fall schedule. One mightask “Do we have to do that again?” Theanswer is “Yes we do!”We are once again asking all membersof the acolytes, altar guild, choirs, lectors,Lay Eucharist Ministers, Lay Eucharist Visi-tors, Prayer Leaders, Church School teachers and students, Ushers, and all parishionersin general to be present. The reason this continues to be such an important service is be-cause many are restarting their spiritual journeys. When we do, when we look to othersto lead us, inspire and transform us, we always need the blessing and companionship ofGod for the journey.Sundays are special days. They are the times set apart for gathering together andpraying that God will be in our midst. That we will receive by word, sacrament andcommunity the grace of God. By the nature of our very busy lives there will be timeswhen we will be unprepared and short of enthusiasm for the task. With Commissioning,we hope and pray that it least one among us will hear the voice of God on that day.Who will that be?We hope you will plan on being present at the 10 a.m. service on September 12 andpresenting yourself for the blessing of God.

Church EventsSeptember

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REAKFAST

Tribute to Steve Lange

By Jeff Kressler, Sr. Warden

Last May 16 was a very special day for the parish of St. Paul’s. On this day, during the 10 a.m. service, we paid trib-ute to the music ministry of Dr. Steven Lange. Dr. Lange has contributed to our church in a great many ways during thepast four decades, and the time had come for us to say thanks. Highlights included:

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The Cherub & Grace Choirs sang “In His Hands” with special lyrics for Dr. Lange.

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Composer Doug Austin composed “Psalm 100” in honor of Steve’s 40th year. This was commissioned by thechoirs of St. Paul’s and performed that morning for the first time. Doug was the accompanist and choir member

Vicki Walker

conducted.

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A wonderful sermon was given by Vicki Walker in tribute to Dr. Lange.

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Doug Austin also composed a hymn in Steve’s honor which was sung at the conclusion of the service.

(Continued on page 10)

Commissioning(Again!)

By the Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Page 2

4 F’s

By Nancy Sheldon

Please mark your calendars and join us for the 4 F’s Group in 2010-2011. This year, our meetings are the first andthird Mondays of each month (*exceptions noted). Anyone is invited who has time in the middle of the day!12 noon Eucharist 12:30 p.m. Lunch ($4.00)1 p.m. Bible Study (Steve Lange) 1:15-2 p.m. Program

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September 20 – Program on China by

Susan Henderson

and

Chris Couch

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October 4 – Potter Park Tour behind the scenes

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October 18 – Maplewood Home for Women & Children (City Rescue Mission)

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November 1 – Programs by Altar Guild and on Kneelers

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November 15 – Overview of Lutheranism by Amanda Highben of University Lutheran Church

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December 6 – Someko Singers Christmas Celebration (with

Melanie Walker

and

Emily Laub

)

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*January 10 – Program on Australia, Fiji and New Zealand by

Nancy Rudd

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*January 24 – Program on Autism, its causes and treatments

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February 7 – Visit to Ele’s Place (grief counseling for children)

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February 21 – Rites of Passage

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March 7 – Visit to Mt. Hope Assembly of God Church & Gideon Healing Center

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*March 9 (Ash Wednesday) to April 24 (Easter) – 5 Lenten Book Reviews

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May 2 – Visit the Buddhist Retreat Center (lunch & Eucharist at the

Millars’

)

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May 16 – Annual Picnic, book review, planning session at

Nancy Sheldon’s

Men’s BreakfastGroup

By Dr. Stephen R. Lange,Minister of Music

Inviting all men of the parish to joinus for our first meeting of the 2010-2011 meeting year (yes, it mightbe a bit crowded, but we’d love totry our hand at that loaves andfishes thing—only it would proba-bly be eggs and sausage). Thegroup meets at 7 a.m. on the thirdThursday of every month with timefor eating (breakfast is $5.50 andis supplied by A Catered Affaire)and fellowship (until 7:30 a.m.) andthen a half hour of Bible study. Thisyear we’re continuing our study ofthe Gospel according to John.We’re led by a wide variety offacilitators (both lay and clergy),and we invite you to join us in oursearch to find out how the scrip-tures relate to our everyday lives.If you have any questions, pleasecheck with

George Gallup or SteveLange

. We’d love to have you joinus!

St. Paul’s HostsThree-DioceseGathering

By The Rev. DeaconWilliam Fineout

You will see a lot of activity atSt. Paul’s on September 24when three Episcopal Diocesesin the Lower Peninsula will hosta mutual gathering withspeaker The Rev. Dr. KatherineGrieb. This is a chance forclergy to gather and hear oneof our own.The Rev. Dr. Grieb teaches the-ology at Virginia TheologicalSeminary and is the author of

The Story of Romans, a Defenseof God’s Righteousness

. She iscurrently working on a book ofthe Hebrews.

Prayer Group

By Carol Ingells,Spiritual Director

The Prayer Group will resume itsmeetings on Tuesday, September 7,from 5:30-6:30 p.m., in the ChoirRoom. Our focus this year will beThe Psalms and prayer experienceswith them. This ancient “prayerbook of the Bible” contains everysort of human feeling, frailty,beauty and hope. The verses of thePsalms were part of Jesus’ prayerlife, ancient even then. “Where twoor three are gathered in my Name,there I will be in the midst of them,”Jesus said. This is a powerful wayto connect with God and help our-selves, one another, our parish, thecommunity, nation and world. Thesetting is peaceful and informal,non-threatening and sometimeseven fun! Steve Lange and

CarolIngells

co-lead these monthly gath-erings and you are invited! Forquestions, call Carol at 372-5714or Steve at 482-9454

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Please join the Memory Walk 2010

By The Rev. Deacon William Fineout

The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Lansing Memory Walk is scheduled for Sunday, September 19. Alzheimer’s is aninsidious disease that is affecting more and more of our friends and relatives. Deacon William Fineout will be walking onbehalf of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Please join him as a walking team member or please donate to our team total.Deacon Bill will be walking in his tenth Memory Walk event. Locally, two years ago, St. Paul’s was represented by fivewalkers, and last year we had two. Won’t you please join us?Nationally, Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and re-search. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $300 million for the cause. When you register for the Alz-heimer's Association Memory Walk®, you're joining a nationwide community of thousands of people who are standing upand participating in the fight against this devastating disease. All Memory Walk donations benefit the Alzheimer's Asso-ciation, the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. The mission of the Alzheimer'sAssociation is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care andsupport for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. We are on the MOVEto end Alzheimer's. There were over 276,000 walkers who participated in 596 walks nationwide and raised $41 million,a 7 percent increase over last year.

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Where: MSU Auditorium Field, Auditorium Road and Farm Lane, East Lansing

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When: Sunday, September 19. Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the walk begins at 1 p.m.

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Length: 5K (3.1 miles) or 3K (1.8 miles). Actually you can make the walk as short as you physically need, because wewalk along the Red Cedar River on the beautiful MSU campus, and there are many bridges to shorten the walk to fityour needs.If you would like to donate, please make out a check to “Alzheimer’s Association,” and give it to Deacon Bill, or go to theMemory Walk website and make a pledge on line. Go tohttp://www.alz.org/memorywalk/and keep searching untilyou find our team, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in the Lansing Memory Walk.

B&PW

By Nancy Rudd, President

The September meeting of theB&PW Guild is Tuesday, Sep-tember 14, 2010. We will meetin the Hill Room for dinner, pro-gram, and business meeting. It isour annual recipe dinner, soplease bring a dish to passalong with copies of the recipes.Our program will be

ChrisCouch

presenting a book re-view on

Wolf Hall

by HilaryMantel. Please call

DebbyPierce

for a reservation. Dinneris $8. Join us for an enjoyableevening of delicious food, enter-tainment and great companion-ship. As we start our next year,let’s all try to bring a guest andpossible new member.

St. Paul's Ushers

By John Hawkins

Welcome back. I hope your sum-mer was enjoyable. I want tothank everyone for helping outduring the summer when otherswere away on vacation. How-ever, the start of the fall scheduleis quickly approaching.We will have our Annual Break-fast Meeting on Sept. 19 at 9a.m. Please let your Head Usherknow how many in your familywill be attending. Head Ushersmust let me know by Sept. 12, so Ican tell A Catered Affaire thenumber that will be attending.Thank you, and I look forward toseeing you there.

Fall Beginningfor St. ElizabethGuild

By Debby Pierce

Our first meeting of the seasonwill be on Tuesday, September28 at 12:30 p.m. This will be aplanning meeting for the rest ofthe year. Please bring yourideas to the meeting, which willbe at the home of Pat Smith,7427 Delta River Drive, Lansing48906.If you need directions or a ride,please let me know at 485-5446.