Another 9/11 has passed and all thetragedies of the day were recalled in avariety of ways. The TV gave coverage tomany of them. As I relived that day, onesmall TV piece came to light again. It wasjust one ten-second sound bite that hasbecome the staple of the medium. For justa moment, one of the people interviewedshared why he was not in Tower One ofthe WTC as he should have been. Hestopped to buy doughnuts for the office.He thought it would be a nice thing to do.Because of this little thought and action on that fateful morning, his life was spared.There were others who experienced the same thing. One missed the bus. Another’salarm clock didn’t go off. A third got a blister because he wore a new pair of shoesand needed to stop at the drug store for a Band-Aid. There are any number of storieslike this, and the most common question after the sigh of relief that they were sparedwas/is, “Why?” People ask themselves if it was in God’s plan and why? Does God havea reason or purpose for me to have survived?As an answer to that, let me say “maybe.” God does have the ability to alter each per-son’s life in some ways, maybe even when a person stops to buy doughnuts for his co-workers. What I don’t believe in is predestination. Our lives are not all mapped out withno possible deviation from a path. To believe in predestination denies one of God’s

(Continued on page 8)

news

St.

Paul’s

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHOCTOBER 2010 — VOLUME 35, ISSUE 7

Church EventsOctober

ANTERBURY

MSU F

ALL

EAST

LESSING

OFF

THE

EASTS

ITTEN

REE

PPEARS

,MSU

U-M F

OOD

RIVE

ATTHEW

HEPPARD

EMORIAL

ERVICE

, C

ROP

ALK

B&PW

OMERS

’ C

LASSES

NSTRUCTED

UCHARIST

OUTH

HRISTIAN

DUCA-TION

OMMITTEE

, U

NITY

RUNCH

APTISM

LASSES

ALL

LOOD

RIVE

ORNING

RAYER

By the Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Little Things

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



October 4 – Potter Park Tour behind the scenes



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



November 1 – Programs by Altar Guild and on Kneelers



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



December 6 – Someko Singers Christmas Celebration (with

Melanie Walker

and

Emily Laub

)



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

Nancy Rudd



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



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



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



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

Millars’

)



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

Nancy Sheldon’s

Canterbury FallFeast Fundraiser

By the Rev. DeaconWilliam Fineout

The Canterbury MSU, Episcopalchaplaincy at Michigan State Uni-versity, is having its Fall Feast &Auction fundraiser on Friday, Octo-ber 1 at 6 p.m. at All Saints Episco-pal Church. Great food, marvelousfellowship, and a fun way to sup-port our campus mission is offered.Help the students pay for program-ming and a spring break missiontrip by buying a ticket for $30.We have a table of 10 reservedfor St. Paul’s. Please see

DeaconBill

St. Paul’s Hat &Mitten Tree for2010

By Dorothy Marsh

On October 10, a tree will ap-pear in the cloisters. Each year,the “Giving Tree” arrives andmagically sprouts gloves, mit-tens, scarves and hats. Well, ofcourse, it’s not just magic sinceeach of us contributes pieces ofits decorations. Still it is a joyfulfeeling to see it grow weeklyand know that its fruits will beshared and bring pleasure andwarmth to so many. All sizes,shapes and colors are welcome,and you are invited to partici-pate in growing this bountywhich will be delivered to Chris-tian Services “Love Closet” atJudson Memorial Church.

Blessing of theBeasts

By the Very Rev. Dr.Gordon F. Weller

On October 3, the Sunday closestto St. Francis’ Day, we will have aBlessing of the Beasts service at 3p.m. Please consider bringing yourpet for blessing and prayer. Ourpets represent the unconditionallove of God and, when coupledwith the blessing, offer a very posi-tive message. Refreshments will beserved.

Page 3

Newcomer?

By the Very Rev. Dr.Gordon F. Weller

Are you new to the parish? Havequestions about the EpiscopalChurch? Questions about St. Paul’s?Want to explore what membershipmeans? Consider coming to a classoffered on Saturday, October 16,at 9:30 a.m. We will try to answerall your questions at that time. Inaddition, All Saints Sunday, Novem-ber 7, is when we welcome by nameand individual recognition our newfall members. Please identify your-self to

Fr. Weller

or Evangelismchair,

Sally Lawrence

, so you canbe included. In addition, there is aNewcomer dinner on Saturday eve-ning, November 6, beginning at 6p.m. There will be more news as weget closer to that date.

B&PW

By Nancy Rudd, Presi-dent

The October meeting of theB&PW Guild is Tuesday,October 12. We will meetin the Hill Room at 6 p.m.for dinner and a businessmeeting. Our program willbe a talk by Bill Fineout.Please call

Debby Pierce

for a reservation. Dinner is$8. Join us for an eveningof delicious food, a pro-gram, and great compan-ionship.

Baptisms onNovember 7

All Saints Sunday, at the10 a.m. Service

It will again be time for our fallbaptisms. In preparation for thissacrament of initiation, we havescheduled one class on October 9for all people, including parentsand Godparents for children. It willbegin at 9:30 am and last until11:30. Depending on the numberinvolved, there may be a need forother classes. They will be scheduledat the participants’ request. If inter-ested, please contact

Fr. Weller

and/or the parish office

to reservea time.

U-M v. MSU at St. Paul’s

By the Rev. Deacon William Fineout

Who will win the football game? The importantquestion is who will win the St. Paul’s U-M v. MSUfood drive! Once again, this fall classic of food anddonations for the Greater Lansing Food Bank willhappen here at St. Paul’s. Starting September 24and finishing on Sunday, October 10, we ask eachof you to step up and donate on behalf of “yourteam.” According to our organizers,

Pat and TonySmith

and

Nancy and Pete Sheldon

, the U-M teamis the decided underdog based upon past drives.Details will be posted in the Sunday bulletins.

Matthew SheppardMemorial Service

By the Very Rev. Dr Gordon F. Weller

Once again, on the Sunday closest to MatthewSheppard’s Martyrdom date, St. Paul’s will conducta Eucharist service of worship that speaks outagainst hate crimes. Please plan on attending Octo-ber 10, at 7 p.m., and let your presence voice yoursupport.

CROP Walk 2010

By Barbara Heany, Vestry Member

Please join St. Paul’s Youth Group as it walks in the 34th Annual Greater Lansing CROP Walk on 10/10/10. CROPHunger Walks are sponsored by Church World Services and help children and families worldwide with 25 percent ofthe proceeds staying right here in our own community to aid services such as Advent House Ministries, The Garden Pro-ject, Volunteers of America, among others. Our goal this year is to raise at least $1,100. A local anonymous donor haspledged $50 to each church that increases its previous year’s total by 10 percent. Please visit our CROP walk table inthe Merrifield Room where more information will be available. If you aren’t able to walk, please consider supportingSt. Paul’s Youth Group with your pledges. Together we can help stomp out hunger!