OCTOBER 2019 From the Rector’s Desk . . . In October, we will launch our fall financial stewardship campaign. Our theme for this year is Wonder in All. It’s taken from the prayer which is prayed at the end of every baptism. The prayer reads: Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and Wonder in All [emphasis and capitalization mine – fgs] your works. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 308) Throughout this year, we will focus on the Wonder of our common life at St. Thomas and the Wonder of the work that we do in Jesus’ name in our community and in the world. I want to remind you of a few essential things about our common financial life here at St. Thomas be- fore our campaign launches. 1. St. Thomas is entirely self-supporting. There is no entity outside St. Thomas that helps to fund our budget. About 15% of our income comes from other sources (mostly rental income and endowment interest), which means that about 85% of our budget is funded by us through our annual financial stewardship campaign. 2. What is our budget? There’s always a single page in “The Messenger” with up to date budget infor- mation. Our total budget in 2019 is $482,604. The 2020 budget is still in process, but looks to be in the neighborhood of $495K. I can promise - there’s nothing extravagant in our budget. We always hope to offer small COLA increases for our hardworking staff and cover needed property repairs. Insurance costs increase every year. All of our staff costs truly translate to ministry – as each member of our staff enables our church to do the work God calls us to do in our community! 3. Why should I make a financial pledge? Making a pledge helps the Vestry and staff know what income we can expect for the coming year. Just the way that knowing your salary helps you to know how to budget for the month or the year, receiving pledges helps the Vestry to do the same. But, a pledge is more than just a budgeting tool for the Vestry! Mak- ing a pledge is a way of affirming your commitment to God and to the life of our church. David and I have already made our pledge for this year – I hope you will join us. 4. How much should I pledge? Only you know the answer to that question. The Biblical standard for giving a portion of one’s income back to God is the tithe – and it’s 10% of one’s income. David and I give about 8% of our income to St. Thomas and 2% or more to other causes that are meaningful to us. Continues on Page 3 Inside this Issue Rector’s Letter…………………………...1 & 3 Blessing of the Animals…………... .............3 Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care …………4 Pumpkin patch News……………...…….......5 Family Minister’s Note…………………...….6 Parish Financial Report……………………...7 Parish Calendar……………..………………..8 ECW………………………………….…….….9 Outreach Corner Patch………………….…10 SHARE Needs …………….………………..11 Wellness Fair……………………….……….13
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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
From the Rector’s Desk . . .
In October, we will launch our fall financial stewardship campaign. Our theme for this year is Wonder in All. It’s taken from the prayer which is prayed at the end of every baptism. The prayer reads:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and Wonder in All [emphasis and capitalization mine – fgs] your works. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 308)
Throughout this year, we will focus on the Wonder of our common life at St. Thomas and the Wonder of the work that we do in Jesus’ name in our community and in the world.
I want to remind you of a few essential things about our common financial life here at St. Thomas be-fore our campaign launches.
1. St. Thomas is entirely self-supporting. There is no entity outside St. Thomas that helps to fund our budget. About 15% of our income comes from other sources (mostly rental income and endowment interest), which means that about 85% of our budget is funded by us through our annual financial stewardship campaign.
2. What is our budget? There’s always a single page in “The Messenger” with up to date budget infor-mation. Our total budget in 2019 is $482,604. The 2020 budget is still in process, but looks to be in the neighborhood of $495K. I can promise - there’s nothing extravagant in our budget. We always hope to offer small COLA increases for our hardworking staff and cover needed property repairs. Insurance costs increase every year. All of our staff costs truly translate to ministry – as each member of our staff enables our church to do the work God calls us to do in our community!
3. Why should I make a financial pledge? Making a pledge helps the Vestry and staff know what income we can expect for the coming year. Just the way that knowing your salary helps you to know how to budget for the month or the year, receiving pledges helps the Vestry to do the same. But, a pledge is more than just a budgeting tool for the Vestry! Mak-ing a pledge is a way of affirming your commitment to God and to the life of our church. David and I have already made our pledge for this year – I hope you will join us.
4. How much should I pledge? Only you know the answer to that question. The Biblical standard for giving a portion of one’s income back to God is the tithe – and it’s 10% of one’s income. David and I give about 8% of our income to St. Thomas and 2% or more to other causes that are meaningful to us.
Continues on Page 3
Inside this Issue
Rector’s Letter…………………………...1 & 3
Blessing of the Animals…………... .............3
Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care …………4
Pumpkin patch News……………...…….......5
Family Minister’s Note…………………...….6
Parish Financial Report……………………...7
Parish Calendar……………..………………..8
ECW………………………………….…….….9
Outreach Corner Patch………………….…10
SHARE Needs …………….………………..11
Wellness Fair……………………….……….13
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Susan Eimas, 10/1
Ed Rhodes, 10/1
Casey Peltier, 10/2
Lynne Montgomery, 10/3
Louise Armitage, 10/4
Laura Barlow, 10/5
Alissa Forbes, 10/5
Kate Knight, 10/7
Jan Hamilton, 10/11
Colin Regan, 10/20
Becky Ventorini, 10/26
Bruce Berlage, 10/27
David Forbes, 10/29
Katie Ryder, 10/29
Fred Young, 10/30
Glen Letham, 10/31
Articles for the November Issue of the Messenger are due by
October15th!
Happy Anniversary to: Kathleen & David Leach, 10/1 Julie & Andrew Walter, 10/4 Claudia & Scott Johnston, 10/10 Susan & Kent Gardiner, 10/11 Becky & Jim Ventorini, 10/17 Rita & Bruce Allan, 10/20 Nellis & Jeff Crigler, 10/20 Cindy & Brad Hargroves, 10/27 Cleta & Ray Raymond, 10/27
— St. Thomas Episcopal Church —
Reach ing out to inc lude a l l peop le in Chr is t ’s love !
MINISTERS
The Bapt ized Fai thfu l of St . Thomas ’ Episcopal Church
The Most Rev. Michael Curry , Pres iding Bishop
The Rt . Rev. Susan Gof f , Eccles iast ical Author i ty , Suf fragan Bishop
The Rt . Rev. Robert Ih lof f , Bishop Assoc iate
The Rev. Fran Gardner -Smith, Rector - f ran.gardnersmith@st t thomasmcleanva.org
The Rev. Anne Turner, Associate Rector ( fo r Pastoral Care) -
Nico le W arga Cr ibbery Careg iver ncwarga00@hotmai l .com
NOTE: Please let the Office know if your birthday or anniversary is missing from this list.
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Bless ing of the Anim als
This Sunday, October 6, 2019
at 10:00 am
Bring your furry friends or pictures
with you for a blessing!
We will be using this Liturgy at 8:00 am as well.
Please bring pictures of your pets to the 8:00 am service.
5. What’s our goal for this year? Based on the draft budget for 2020, we have set a goal of 85 pledges totaling $410,000. That’s a 2.4% increase over last year’s pledges. The Vestry and leadership at St. Thomas haVE already pledged – and increased their pledges by 3.5%! $410K in pledges would give us a balanced budget with fairly paid staff.
2019 has been a year of great growth at St. Thomas. We have grown in Wonder in so many ways. We’ve grown in numbers (more than forty people have joined us in the last year). We have grown spiritually (through retreats, bible studies, our Lenten program, and our Sunday School programs). We have grown in our mission (serving our neighbors in need in both old and new ways) and finding creative ways to stay in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
I continue to be grateful every day that God has called me to serve with you in this wonderful communi-ty. Please join me and your Vestry in supporting the mission and ministry of St. Thomas this year as we appreciate the Wonder in All that is St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Blessings,
Rev. Fran
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I am beginning a new endeavor this fall: I am starting a Doctor of Ministry program. A D.Min. is a degree intended for working clergy; much like an executive MBA, it is not meant to pull a person out of his or her job, but to propel deeper professional inquiry. It can be accomplished without interrupting a clergy person’s parish work.
I will be pursuing a degree in “Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation”—in other words, preaching—from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. For three years, I’ll be taking courses in the Old and New Testaments, as well as courses that examine the congregational setting (that’s you) and the religious leader (that’s me). The courses are all on-line, with both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. Towards the end of the three years, I will complete a significant research pro-ject.
Although St. Thomas has no formal role in the degree process, I very much hope I can share the work I am doing with you. I am aware that preaching is by no means a solo job; listening to me and Fran and Liz, week in and week out, is a profound commitment. I hope there are ways that I can help us all think more carefully about both the preaching of and the listening to sermons. Know that I am so grateful to you all for allowing me to be in ministry with you.
Blessings,
Anne
From Our Associate Rector for Pastoral Care
Last month’s meet-up was superb! Eighteen women of St. Thomas attended!
Our next Women Eating Supper (WES) meet-up for conversation and fellowship is Tuesday, October 8th @ 6:30 pm, at
Café Deluxe in Tysons Corner.
Please let Kristi Roberts know you're coming so we can reserve enough
6 8 AM Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10 AM Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10:00 am Sunday School 11:15 am Coffee Hour 11:30 am Voice for life choir 4:00 PM PALLET LAYDOWN 6:00 pm MEB @ The Old Brogue
SHARE’s Food Pantry is need of the following items in October. Please drop items off in the Narthex.
Share currently has ample supplies of baby wipes, canned potatoes, canned tuna, ramen, tomato sauce, and canned black beans. Share would welcome reusable shopping bags as well as paper shopping bags (grocery or clothing retail) with intact handles. Ziplock bags (quart / gallon, partial boxes acceptable) would be greatly appreciated too.
Food
Spaghetti/pasta (1 lb) Canned vegetables (corn, carrots, etc) (15 oz) Canned fruit (peaches, mandarin oranges, pineapple, fruit cocktail) Pasta sauce (cans or plastic jars) Canned tomato products (ex. diced) 100% Fruit Juice (64 oz) Vegetable oil (24 oz, 48 oz)
Personal Care Feminine hygiene (panty liners - maxi pads) (14 - 18 ct) Diapers (size 2 – 6) Toilet paper Deodorant
Several members of our congregation have severe nut allergies —
We know of one peanut and one almond allergy (and perhaps there are
more). PLEASE LABEL ALL NUTS IN POTLUCK DISHES. THANKS.
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Coming in November!
We are tugging on our garden gloves for an adventure: teaching YOU how to prune!
Whether you are a novice or have been pruning your garden for years,
these workshops will enhance and expand the information
and skills you'll need to prune like a Yankee Clipper.
The workshops will focus on our unique pruning techniques for every shrub in the garden allowing you to ap-
proach your garden with confidence. Workshops include a brief talk, practice time
with Yankee Clippers’ skilled instructors, and plenty of time to ask questions.
The knowledge you will gain can be applied to any garden.
Fall Pruning Workshop @ St. Thomas
$75/person
Saturday, November 16, 2019
9:30am – 12:30pm (rain date: 11/17, 1:00-4:00pm)
Space is limited, so please register soon!
How to register:
Go to www.YankeeClippers.com Click on and fill out the “contact us” page.
(make sure you select “Attending a workshop” as your interest and note the workshop location you are interested in) You will be sent a welcome email providing instructions and information.
Your payment will secure your place in the workshop.
If you would like to be unsubscribed from ALL Yankee Clippers emails, please reply and let us know.
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8991 Brook Rd
McLean, VA 22102
703.442.0330
Pastoral Care (571)549-1458
www.stthomasmcleanva.org
REGULAR WORSHIP SCHEDULE
SATURDAYS
5:00 PM — HOLY EUCHARIST, RITE II, OR
EVENING PRAYER, RITE II
SUNDAYS
8:00 AM — HOLY EUCHARIST, RITE II
10:00 AM — HOLY EUCHARIST, RITE II
1st & 3rd Sundays—Voice for Life Choir
2nd & 4th Sundays—Hand Chimes
T h e M e s s e n g e r
Nursery care available on Sundays
from 10:00 am—12:00 pm
A PRAYER FOR ST. THOMAS’ CHURCH
Almighty God, by your Spirit the whole body of your
Church is governed and sanctified. Hear our prayer for
St. Thomas’: build in us a renewed vision of your Church;
shape our life according to your will; empower us with the
gifts to make us one, that together we may grow as a
church in the spiritual strength of community, and reach