S T P AUL ’ S E PISCOPAL C HURCH † F EBRUARY 2009
T HE E PISTLE
J ESUS SAID ,
The story of the feeding
of the 5,000 is not just a
beautiful and miraculous
story, but it is also a call
to mission for the church.
The miracle happens
when
Jesus goes
away
with his
disciples
for a time
of private
instruc-
tion. The
people of
the Gali-
lee follow
him to a
deserted place and there
is no food to feed the
masses that have gathered
to hear him teach and to
seek his healing. One of
the apostles asks Jesus to
send them away because
they do not have enough
food or money to buy
food to feed them. Jesus
tells the apostle “there is
no need to send them
away, you feed them.”
The story, which is retold
in all of the Gospels, says
that Jesus took the bread,
blessed the bread, broke
the bread, and gave it to
them. You may recog-
M ISSION
“T HEY NEED NOT GO AWAY ; YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT .”
M ATTHEW 14:16
nize this as a Eucharistic do that? We welcome
formula that describes the stranger into our S T P AUL ’ S O UTREACH
what Jesus did at the Last midst and provide ways O PPURTUNITIES
Supper and matches per- to provide both kinds of
• Christian Outreach Alliance
fectly with St. Paul’s de- food in a safe, caring, and
scription of the Holy concerned environment. • SABRA Sanctuary
Jesus told • Meals On Wheels
us to feed
• Mission to Namibia
them. The
El Hogar
story has •
both di- • Soles4Souls
mensions
and should • Episcopal Relief and Develop-
ment
be read
United Thank Offering
that way. •
There are a • Salvation Army
couple of
ways to • Angel Tree
provide • Christmas Food Boxes
Eucharist. We are told
food for the needy. One
that after all had eaten • Flowers to Shut-Ins
is to be welcoming to the
that there were twelve
stranger that comes
baskets full of the frag- among us at breakfast or
I NSIDE THIS ISSUE :
ments of bread and fish. at other times. A second
Most Episcopal Churches
I NVITATION T O 2
way is to give food to be P OLK ’ S I NSTALLATION
that I know about have used to feed the poor.
regular Holy Eucharists, There is a basket by the D AUGHTERS OF 3
but also a regular time of pulpit that needs to be THE K ING
sharing of more substan- filled. On Super Bowl K ID ’ S P AGE 4
tial physical food. The Sunday, we will observe
Holy Eucharist is open to “Souper Bowl Sunday.” M EMORIAL W IN- 5
all baptized Christians in You are encouraged to DOW
our understanding, but bring cans of soup to be P ARENTING IN THE 5
the other food is open to given to the poor. P EW
all who are hungry. Our
S ENIOR W AR- 6
job is to feed those who
are hungry spiritually and Jim+ DEN ’ S M ISSIVE
physically. How do we C ALENDAR 7
P AGE 2 T HE E PISTLE

I NSTALLATION OF P OLK V AN Z ANDT

The Parishioners of
St Paul’s Episcopal Church
Selma, Alabama
are invited to the installation
of their former rector,
The Reverend Polk van Zandt,
in his new parish,
Saint Paul's Episcopal church,
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Saturday, February 21, 2009
ten o’clock in the morning

O H , THOSE B IBLE NAMES ...

Okay, you’ve volunteered to
T HE SONS OF be a lector, and your very first
K ENAZ : assignment is one of those Old
O TH ’ NI - EL AND Testament passages with all the
S ERAI ’ AH ; AND unpronounceable names.
THE SONS OF
Never fear, help is here! To
O TH ’ NI - EL :
bolster your confidence, go
H ATHATH AND online to http://
M EO ’ NOTHAI . netministries.org/bbasics/
1C HRONICLES : 4:13 bbwords.htm (all with no
spaces) and up will pop this
wonderful web site. Select the
If you are interested in pro-
initial letter of the word, select
nouncing lots of Biblical
the word, and the word will be
names, please contact the
spoken so you can practice church office or Don King and
your pronunciation. sign up to be a lector. Lectors
are needed for both services,
The Lord works in mysterious
7:30am and 10:30am.
ways and the internet is a
blessing...sometimes.
(The preceding article came from St
Michael’s Trumpet of St Michael’s and
All Angels Episcopal Church in Annis-
ton, AL.)

E MAIL
If you have given your current
email address to the Church
office and are not receiving
email weekly please let Joyce
know.
Some persons (mainly bell-
south.net and yahoo.com cus-
tomers) are reporting they are
not receiving email from the
Church.
Always check to make sure
that email messages have not
been blocked by your server
and placed in your junk mail
folder. If email has gone to
your junk mail folder simply
click on the message and “not
junk” to correct the problem.
M ISSION P AGE 3

D AUGHTERS OF THE K ING

We start off this year of 2009 prayer by each member and Hammonds
humbled by the many bless- each potential member. Leah Weaver.
ings that have been bestowed
Our members include: We are also fortunate
on our parish. It has been a
Fred Atkins to include and wel-
year of change but I know our
Shirley Baird come Jane Eliott who
parish family will continue to
Jane Bjelke is a daughter.
thrive as we search for a new
Peggy Brown
rector. The Daughters meet
Patti Currey
Sunday mornings in
The DOK chapter of St Paul’s Caroline Majors
the Bishop’s Room
is implementing a new minis- Sonja Martin
and celebrate Holy
try. At some point during the Bebe Reeves
Eucharist the first Monday of
2009 calendar year, you will Manera Searcy
each month at 6:15pm.
receive a card from us. Dur- Eddie Joyce Sexton
ing that whole month, your Liz Taylor In Christ,
name will be lifted up daily in The Rev Deacon Jaonie Leah Weaver

F AT T UESDAY
The day before Lent is known like eggs and dairy, would after 7am Eucharist that morn-
as Fat or Shrove Tuesday. It need to be used before the ing. However, you can come
marks the end of Epiphany and forty days began. to the church the night before 5:30 PM
the day before Lent begins as the youth will host a Pan- L ITTLE F RIEND ’ S
In modern times, that tradition
with Ash Wednesday. Pan- cake Supper in celebration of A RT S HOW
has become a time to “give up”
cakes are the traditional fare of Fat Tuesday at 6pm. Little
some vice like alcohol, fast
the day. Friend’s School will also host 6 PM
food, etc or a time to “take on”
their annual Art Show at P ANCAKE S UPPER
The reason for pancakes is that some virtue such as the Daily
5:30pm. U PPER H ALL
Lent brings about a season of Office or Stations of the Cross.
fasting. Liturgically speaking, Come to St Paul’s on Fat Tues-
St Paul’s will recognize a day
that fast meant eating plainer day and celebrate art and pan-
of fasting on Ash Wednesday
foods. And thus, all rich foods cakes with friends.
and will not serve breakfast

T HANK Y OU
January 26, 2009
Dear parishioners of St
Paul’s,
Thank you for the very gra-
cious welcome to St Paul’s
Church. The reception was
wonderful!
We are very happy to be with
you at St Paul’s. All of you
have been wonderful to us.
Love,
Jim and Jane Elliott
(The Rev Jim Elliott became St
Paul’s Interim Rector on January 4.
We are delighted he and his wife are
here with us to help us through this
time of transition as we work to-
ward calling a new rector. They
come to Selma each Saturday and
stay through Wednesday mornings.)
P AGE 4 T HE E PISTLE

s t
J u Jeremiah
o r
F Jeremiah was a prophet. His story is told in the
Old Testament in the book
of Jeremiah.
Find-A-Word When Jeremiah was a
P M F R H I R M J W Y J Y Q W young boy. God told him
to tell God’s words to the
Y O L T J E R E M I A H V I H
people. But the people did
X A T D N A H J W N D E N D E not want to hear God’s
O N L T H G E Z C V S Z E U E
words.
Jeremiah watched a potter
X L C C E S K I M E Q W Q U L
make clay pots. He watched
B M I M Y R I Q L E I A L M O as the potter turned a flat wheel and shaped a
G C S P A F F P T B Q Q Y W P
lump of clay into a pot. He saw the potter mush
the clay back into a lump and start over if the
Clay Jeremiah Vessel pot did not turn out right.
Hand Potter Wheel God told Jeremiah to tell the people, “We are
like clay in God’s hands. When we get
damaged or bent, God has to reshape us
like the potter reshaped the clay. God
wants us to be the best people we can be,
so we need to follow God’s command-
ments and live in God’s way.”

Find out more

about Jeremiah
at the Rotation Rodeo
each Sunday morning
at 9:10am
M ISSION P AGE 5

S T P AUL ’ S M EMORIAL H ISTORY W INDOW

Got a Historic St Paul’s Ancestor?
T HOSE ALREADY
~ MEMORIALIZED
INCLUDE :
St Paul’s Memorial History Window
T HE R T R EV
Contact James Hammonds 412-3131 for details R OBERT W
B ARNWELL
Or just tell Joyce you are interested
T HE R T R EV
OR J OHN G
M URRAY
Want to honor a famous Rector or Parishioner?
W ILLIAM J OSEPH
Like
H ARDEE
Captain Jones Clara Weaver Parrish
The Reverend Edward Gamble General John Forney T HE R T R EV
L EONIDAS P OLK
Governor John Forney Johnson The Reverend Ellison Capers
J OSEPH E
J OHNSTON
The cost is $500.
To view the window, look in the Lower Hall Kitchen.

P ARENTING IN THE P EW
A new book by Robbie Cas-
tleman, Parenting in the Pew,
is a great assist in helping par-
ents of teenagers and little
ones alike to understand that
going to church is going to
worship. She offers practical
ideas and funny stories that
anyone can relate too.
The book will not only enrich
the quality of worship for the
family, but for anyone attend-
ing St Paul’s since we are
called to “do all in (y)our
power to support these persons
in their life in Christ” (BCP p.
303) through our Baptismal
Covenant.
Have you ever noticed how
the children and their families
seem to sit under the window
depicting “Jesus and the Little
Children?” Jesus says, “Let
the little children come to me
and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of heaven be-
longs to such as these.” (Mark
10:14 )
Robbie Castleman writes,
“Worship is the most impor-
tant thing you can ever train
your child to do.” Don’t ex-
pect to read this book and
find tips on how to keep your
little ones quiet. Castleman
advocates squirmy children
who are redirected during the
service and encouraged to
participate and engage in
worship so that the family’s
worship experience is trans-
formed and enhanced.
Parenting in the Pew can be
purchased from Amazon.com
for $10.40 plus shipping. Or
contact Candice Frazer and
she can purchase the book for
you without the shipping, so
you pay only $10.40. You
can also check out other
reader’s reviews and see ex-
cerpts from the book at Ama-
zon.com.
P AGE 6
S ENIOR W ARDEN ’ S M ISSIVE
Almighty God,
giver of every In part of the scripture for this
good gift: Look issue of the Epistle, Jesus says
graciously on “give them something to eat”. I
your Church, and
expect the folks at St Paul’s are
so guide the minds
of those who hungry for some information
shall choose a on the process of the selection
rector for this of a new rector. The vestry
parish, that we
voted, at the recommendation
may receive a
of the Diocese, to employ a
faithful pastor,
consultant to assist us in the
who will care for
your people and search. At the time of this
equip us for our writing Donna Gerald has been
ministries; suggested to us as our consult-
through Jesus ant and she and the Rev. Pat
Christ our Lord.
Wingo are scheduled to meet
Amen
with the Vestry on January
BCP p. 818 20th. I am told our consultant
has excellent skills in helping
D EACON ’ S B ENCH
Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
On the occasion of World
Mission Sunday, I would like
to invite you to reflect on the
continuing urgency to pro-
claim the Gospel also in our
times. The missionary man-
date continues to be an abso-
lute priority for all baptized
The Episcopal persons who are called to be
Church recog- servants and apostles of Christ
nizes World Mis- Jesus. “Go, I shall send you far
sion Sunday on away to the Gentiles.” (Acts
the last Sunday 22:21)
of Epiphany,
We as Christians are to feed
February 22.
and nourish the world.
To learn more Creation is suffering. Vio-
about Episcopal lence, in many cases, marks
involvement visit the relations between persons
www.episcopalchurch.org and peoples. Poverty op-
presses millions of inhabitants.
Discrimination and sometimes
even persecution for racial,
cultural and religious reasons
parishes in their efforts to find
a new rector and I will report
to you the outcome of her
meeting with the Vestry.
Ms Gerald will also be work-
ing with the search committee
in aiding them in their tasks. I
don’t yet know of a time
frame, but the committees
should be organized in the very
near future.
In the meantime we are very
fortunate to have the Rev. Jim
Elliott as our interim rector.
He has hit the ground running.
His leadership and genuine
concern for us as a parish is a
drive many people to flee from
there own countries. There is
a constant threat regarding the
man-environment relation due
to the indiscriminate use of
resources. We ask ourselves:
Is there hope for the future, or
rather, is there a future for
humanity? And what will this
future be like? The answer to
these questions comes to those
of us who believe from the
Gospel. Christ is our future,
and his Gospel is a “life-
changing” communication that
gives hope, throws open the
dark door of time and illumi-
nates the future of humanity.
St Paul said, “Woe to me if I
do not preach (the Gospel)!”
1Cor 9:16. Love of Christ led
him to travel over the roads of
the Roman Empire as a herald,
an apostle, a preacher and a
teacher of the Gospel. By
looking at St Paul’s experi-
T HE E PISTLE
true blessing. We can give
thanks to God for sending him
our way. Of course, I would
be remiss in not mentioning
the added blessing of having his
wife, Jane, be with us. She has
jumped right into so many
aspects of the church: the
choir, Daughters of the King,
reunion groups and other
events. I know we will come
to love and appreciate both of
them more and more as they
walk with us in our spiritual
journeys here at St. Paul’s.
Bill
ence, we understand that mis-
sionary activity is a response to
the love of which God loves
us. That love is the spiritual
energy that can make the har-
mony, justice and communion
grow among persons, races
and peoples to which everyone
aspires.
There are countless people
who are waiting for the procla-
mation of the Gospel, those
who are thirsting for hope and
love. Let us set sail in the vast
sea of the world and, following
Jesus’ invitation, let us cast our
nets without fear, confident in
his constant aid.
Joanie
The preceding was taken from a
message written by Pope Bene-
dict XVI regarding World Mis-
sion Sunday in 2008. to see the
full text, visit www.vatican.va.
M ISSION P AGE 7

S CHEDULE OF E VENTS
F EBRUARY 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

• 1st, 8th, 22nd EYC 5-7pm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• 2nd Pre-lenten Retreat with First

Presbyterian 10:30am 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

• 2nd Daughters of the King 6:15pm 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

• 3rd Staff Meeting 3:30pm
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
• 3rd-5th Pictorial Directory Pictures
• 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th Choir 6pm
• 9th Peanut Butter & Jelly Club
3:30pm
• 10th Cottage Suppers 6:30pm
• 11th Cedar Hill Holy Eucharist
• 15th EYC to lunch with Clergy
• 15th Epistle Deadline
• 16th Office Closed President’s day
• 16th Matthew Foyer Group 6:30pm
• 17th Vestry 5:30pm
• 19th-21st Diocesan Convention
• 21st Polk’s Installation at St Paul’s
Murfreesboro, TN 10am
• 22nd Enquirer’s Class begins 4pm
• 24th Little Friend’s Art Show
5:30pm
• 24th Pancake Supper 6pm
• 25th Ash Wednesday Services 7am,
Noon, and 6pm
• 26th Morning Prayer (Time TBA)
• 27th Stations of the Cross 5:30pm
 S T P AUL ’ S E PISCOPAL
C HURCH † F EBRUARY 2009
210 Lauderdale Street
P O Box 1306
Selma, AL 36702-1306

Phone: (334) 874-8421

Fax: (334) 875-7457
www.stpaulsselma.dioala.org

The Rev Jim Elliot - rector@stpaulselma.org

The Rev Joe Knight - hazenone@bellsouth.net
Joyce Dawson - parish@stpaulselma.org
Joanie Hammonds - deacon@stpaulselma.org
Candice Frazer - family@stpaulselma.org
Miriam or Patti - choir@stpaulselma.org

Sunday, February 1
Bring cans of Soup to Church
for donation to
Christian Outreach Alliance
GO
(Food Pantry) TEA
And help our team win M !
The Souper Bowl!