[The PDF for this issue has been lost--Ed.]
By
the Grace of God
And with the People consenting
The Right Reverend Thomas Clark Ely
Will Ordain
Carole Allcroft Wageman
As a Deacon
In Christ’s One
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
On the Feast of the Ascension
Thursday, the Twenty-ninth of May, 2003
At 7:00 in the Evening
Christ Episcopal Church
64 State Street
Montpelier, Vermont
Your Prayers and Presence are Requested
Clergy: White Stoles
Reception Following
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Dear
Friends,
The last few weeks I have had the privilege
of working with Carole Wageman on planning
her ordination to the Diaconate.
She has worked
very hard at organizing a liturgy that our
Bishop would approve, putting together an
invitation list of clergy and others, all
the while looking for a new place to live
closer to Shelburne—and, of course,
her son Gavin is still in Iraq. Carole has
always seemed to find energy when the rest
of us were tired.
Carole came
to Christ Church some four years ago after
a lengthy sabbatical from the church. Not
from God, but from organized religion. As
she has shared with all of us, it was the
open front doors of the Church that caught
her attention. Those open doors piqued her
interest, welcomed her, called to her and
once inside, she was enveloped in God’s
love. As the Spirit led her through those
doors God was getting what God wanted. It
has always been God’s intention that
Carole be ordained. She took a circuitous
route (for which I am glad) but eventually
came back to where she belonged. God has
always been calling Carole to live out her
baptismal vows as an ordained person in
the Church, and I am more than pleased it
is in the Episcopal Church.
It is hard
for me to put into words how much I will
miss Carole and her ministry at Christ Church.
She has been a colleague in ministry, a
trusted friend, and a tireless worker in
this parish, who is loved and respected
by all and whose ministry of love and caring
has touched all of us. Be sure to be there
on May 29th at 7pm to join in her celebration
and ministry as well as the ministry of
this parish. After her ordination, Carole
will begin her work as Assistant Rector
of Trinity, Shelburne where she will be
a fine addition to their staff.
Truly, God
gets what God wants,
—David
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A Soldier’s Prayer
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn humbly
to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater
things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better
things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the
praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel
the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy
life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all
things.
I got nothing that I asked for – but
everything I had hoped
for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers
were answered.
I am among all men, most richly blessed.
—By an unknown
soldier
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Dear Christ Church Family,
Once again, I want to express thanks from
our family for your prayers and special
thoughts during this difficult time of worry
for our son’s safety as he serves
in the United States Marines in Iraq. On
the day after Easter, we received a letter
from Gavin – our second letter since
he arrived in Iraq in early February. We
suspect his letter was written from a city
called Al Kumayt which is north of Al Amarrah
– above Basra and near the border
with Iran. I thought you might be interested
in a piece of his letter (he serves in an
artillery battery).
“Life
here in Iraq is pretty crazy. I’ve
already been in a few firefights. I had
four mortars land about 30 meters away from
me… Sleep and food is hard to come
by. When we (Bravo Battery) were busy in
Al Nasiriyah, we didn’t sleep more
than an hour and a half a night for all
four days. Regardless of the battle stress,
I’m doing all right… The people
here will trade just about anything for
a single American dollar. I traded one bill
for 15 of theirs. I’m doing okay though….
Send junk food…don’t have a
lot of time to write… Gotta go. I
have a patrol to go on. Love, Me”
The past few
weeks during the height of battle have been
very difficult for us as a family. We have
wondered where he is; what he is experiencing;
and whether he is safe or not. We have vicariously
traveled through Iraq with his unit via
the embedded reporters that have been with
Task Force Tarawa (the Task Force that his
unit is assigned to). The embedded reporting
is the only way we have been able to figure
out where he is and what battles he has
been facing. Every day that passes without
a call from the Red Cross or a uniformed
Marine coming to our door is a day that
has been blessed. Now that the fighting
seems to have subsided, things feel a little
more settled, although none of them are
in safe living conditions as far as we are
concerned.
The 1/10 (1st
Battalion/10th Marines) received the first
shipment of Gatorade that was sent before
they crossed into Iraq on March 21. We received
a note of thanks to Christ Church from 1st
Sgt Fullard (Gavin’s First Sgt). A
second shipment was sent at the beginning
of April. We are not sure if it has been
received yet, since mail delivery is difficult
to do in the middle of battle when they
are moving on from place to place.
Your prayers
and kind words of support have meant so
much to us during this unsettling time.
I never fully appreciated the gift that
a community of faith can be during times
of personal trials, but your consistent
caring and faithful support have eased the
days of uncertainty and fear. We have felt
less alone and you have made this difficult
time a lot more tolerable for these past
few weeks have seemed like a daze. Thank
you for keeping our son and our family in
your prayers.
Faithfully, Carole
Wageman
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An
Update from the Vestry
The vestry has proceeded with the two-pronged
plan that had the support of the parish
at the Annual Meeting in January. First
of all, we are in the process of retiring
the deficit of 2002 with funds from our
investments. This is money that we are very
late in paying to the Diocese of Vermont
for our 2002 assessment. Secondly, we have
appealed to all the members of Christ Church
who feel able to increase their pledge for
2003 in order to allow us to move forward
with hiring someone part-time to facilitate
our religious education program. We had
a very faithful response to this appeal.
Forty members pledged $6500 in additional
money toward this goal. Although this is
not enough to fund the position as it was
originally conceived, the vestry voted to
move forward with the hiring of an individual
who would begin in July or August and continue
through December. It will be made clear
to the congregation and the individual that
the position will be able to continue only
to the extent that the parish continues
to provide the increased financial commitment
necessary to support it in 2004.
The vestry
will have to take a hard look at our current
operating budget in order not to have a
deficit in 2003. We already have had an
unanticipated increase of $4,000 in our
insurance costs for the year and in fuel
oil that will be $2,000 over budget. We
will have to comb through all our expense
areas to offset these new increases. We
may need to ask parishioners to contribute
time to some church tasks we currently pay
for. We will certainly have to contribute
vigorously to all our fund-raising endeavors.
It will give us the opportunity to discuss
and carefully choose together the most important
elements of our vocation as a parish. Where,
in our life together as Christ Church, is
it most important that we spend our time,
talent and treasure?
To be continued...
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Etymologies:
Both the Latin and Greek roots of
the word believe mean “to give
one’s heart to.”
In the German,
belieben, which is the root of the
English word believe, means “to
be loved.”
The word religion
comes from the Latin re (again) -ligio
or -ligare (to tie or bind) so “to
bring back together what has been broken.”
—Thanks again
to Forward Day By Day
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Parish
Clean-up Day
Saturday, May 10 9am-12 noon
Join us in
cleaning up the Church Grounds. Raking -
pruning - seeding - sweeping - laying new
Blue Stone sections in the Court Yard.
Bring a rake,
a shovel, your pruning clippers and a broom.
Lunch will be provided.
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Food
For The Poor
Sunday, May 4, The Rev. Don Brown representing
Food for the Poor preached at both services
and led our Adult Forum.
This interdenominational
Christian Ministry was founded to help the
poorest of the poor in the Caribbean and
Latin America. More than 90 cents of every
dollar goes directly to helping the poor.
Food For the Poor also creates a vital link
between the church of the First World and
the church of the Third World. $20 can buy
200 pounds of rice and beans providing a
meal of complete protein for 800 children.
$35 can provide enough rice and beans to
keep a family of four alive for six months.
Please support
this important outreach ministry.
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