St. Theodore's Episcopal Church

April 2012 Messenger

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:59:01 +0000

Click here to download a pdf of the April 2012 Messenger.

Women’s Retreat

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:05:05 +0000

What has become our traditional annual gathering of women from St. Theodore’s at Camp Mitchell is reserved for us at Grace Lodge on September 28-30, 2012. The cost of Grace Lodge is $800.00 per night for a total of $1600.00 for the two nights (Friday and Saturday). This cost will be divided by the number of women who attend. Grace Lodge will sleep 26 women. We are asked to reserve our weekend by sending one night’s rate in advance.
If you would like to come this year, I ask that you please mail me $31.00 by April 30, 2012. Make your check payable to Sarah Baker and mail to 13 Prestwick Lane, Bella Vista, AR 72715.
I realize that many of you reading this will not be familiar with this annual women’s weekend, but we would love to have some newcomers attend, so please contact me at 855-7692 or call the church office to find out more details.
It’s great fun and a good way to get to know your sisters at St. Theodore’s better.
Sarah Baker

The Bishop’s Visit ~ April 22, 2012

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:56:02 +0000

On April 22nd, The Rt. Rev. Larry Benfield will come to celebrate the Eucharist with us!
During his visit we will be offering the sacrament of Confirmation to those youth and adults who have not been confirmed. He will also be receiving into the Episcopal Church those who were confirmed in other faith traditions and who have made a decision to become an Episcopalian. If you desire to be confirmed or received please contact the rector.
Our bishop will also bless the new bishop’s chair and the chair for the rector.
Following the 10:30 service, there will be a potluck lunch and a time to visit with our bishop.

“Bakeless” Bake Sale

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:53:09 +0000

Our “St. Anne’s Bakeless Bake Sale” is still going on. We appreciate any contribution you are able to make. We thank you for your generous giving and are hopeful for another good year!

Church Photo Directory

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:47:10 +0000

GOOD NEWS! We are finally moving forward on a pictorial directory for St. Theodore’s. After much time and effort, it was decided that an in-house directory was not a feasible way to go. So a commercial firm was found that seems to be a good deal all the way around.
The terms of the agreement with Life Touch (the successor to Olan Mills) provide that every family and individual that is photographed will receive one free 8X10 portrait and one pictorial directory. You are NOT obligated to purchase additional portraits. You will have the opportunity to purchase additional packages if you desire. All of this is at no cost to the church.

The photography sessions will be:
Tuesday May 1 2:30 until 9:00 pm
Wednesday May 2 2:30 until 9:00 pm
Thursday May 3 2:30 until 9:00 pm
Friday May 4 2:30 until 9:00 pm
Saturday May 5 10:00 am until 5:00 pm

Sign up for the appointments will begin Sunday April 1 and continue until Sunday April 27. There will be someone to sign you up at all three services.

The photography sessions will be by appointment only so sign up early. Hopefully every individual and family will be able to fit this into their schedule.

WE HOPE ALL WILL SUPPORT PROJECT THIS BY MAKING AN APPOINTMENT AND HAVING THEIR PICTURE TAKEN.

If you have questions, Call Terry Anderson at 636-9271 or Mary Jane Cole at 855-4236

Lenten Study 2012

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:36:59 +0000

The Lenten Study Series of Phyllis Tickle’s book ” The Great emergence” will continue through April. Please join us for the exciting look at the church today as we move into God’s future as the Body of Christ.

Rector’s Reflections ~ April, 2012

jennifer — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:09:32 +0000

Crosses
It wasn’t that many weeks ago that we gathered together on Ash Wednesday and again heard that “we are dust and to dust we shall return”. A cross of ashes was placed on top of the cross of our baptism when we were told that we are “sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked and sealed as Christ’s own forever”. We left that time of worship and began the season of Lent with our two crosses on our foreheads admitting that we are both mortal and through the miracle of baptism the immortal adopted children of God.
As I write these reflections, we are about to enter the stunning conclusion of our Lenten journey by walking together through Holy Week that will take us to the cross of Jesus the Christ of God and the Garden Tomb. The images of the week are bold and spiritually challenging. Palm branches for the King, dramatic healings including the raising of Lazarus from his garden tomb, foot washing, bread and wine shared in the first Eucharist, swords, spears, whips, and nails, a body hanging on a cross, and then the blessed silence as Jesus’ mortal remains are sealed in a tomb in the garden.
There is another image that speaks to me of the darkness of the night. There is a lot that happened at night in the darkness. Rather than my pointing out the recurrence of those images in our Holy Week story, I want you to read the story and name them, and then embrace the darkness which during our childhood we have been told is a time to be afraid.
This past fall I was blessed to hear at the Dubose lecture series, the Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor speak about her latest book still in the process of creation. She has titled the new work Learning to Walk in the Dark. God is with us in the light of the day and in the darkness of the night where we are not likely as were our spiritual ancestors to seek our God who was walking with us the whole time. We toss and turn in our beds at night and death comes often at night, but so do babies and so does spiritual insight and so did the greatest of all proclamations for Christians; “The tomb in the garden is empty!” And as the angel at the tomb replied: “Why are we seeking the living among the dead?” The angel’s words have become our Christian mantra and creed.
We at St. Theodore’s have a “garden” – a cemetery on our church campus – and we are in the process of rejuvenating that sacred space in order to be a more suitable space for worship and as a place to be with those we love whose mortal remains are in their tombs. It is also a place we can meet Jesus. Any time and any place we come with open hearts we can meet and be with Christ and be healed and comforted by him.
We are just starting to lay down the foundations of this rejuvenated sacred place and there will be ample opportunity for you to contribute to this project. At this time we have received three generous donations that have enabled us to proceed with the first phases.
You cannot truly get to Easter morning without going in the dark of Good Friday and to the tomb – our tombs- in God’s many gardens. If you cannot come to the garden, pause wherever you may be and remember your connection with Jesus Christ and welcome Jesus into your hearts. Wear your cross boldly as Christ’s own forever.

March 2012 Messenger

jennifer — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:53:32 +0000

Rector’s Reflections ~ March 2012

jennifer — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:08:42 +0000

As I am traveling around, I pass a number of buildings I would name as a church. It is often hard to tell what kind of church until I can read a name of the church and possibly its denomination. But if you took away all the signs, what would you see? Sometimes synagogues or even mosques look like Christian churches, and some churches look like a business office or maybe a restaurant has taken over an abandoned church. It is only when you go inside and look do you see symbols of the faith tradition of those who worship in the building. There might be a cross, an altar, denominational hymnals, a baptistery, or a mourner’s bench. Often the interior seems particularly holy and seems set apart for sacred things such as baptisms, funerals, or other meaningful worship.
When I was brought here for an interview with the Search Committee in 2005, I was taken aback in a good way by our sacred space. I had been to St. Theodore’s because it was in the Northwest Convocation while I was in Fort Smith, but not for about twelve years. The sacred space had changed, but there was also something missing. I now even remember asking my guides: “Where do the clergy sit?”
I did hear during that visit about the two “Bills,” Bill Sengel and Bill Pengelly, who made a lot of the church ”furniture” such as the cross, the altar, the baptismal front, the altar rail and so forth. What a wonderful use of God’s gifts through those two men!
As you also know by now, what I sensed were missing were the bishop’s chair and the chair for the rector. They are both very important symbols of the Episcopal Church. Our name is derived from the Latin word “episcopus,” translated to mean bishop. Our bishop presides at every Holy Eucharist when present and only delegates that responsibility when he is away to his licensed representative – a rector or vicar. Our bishop is in the apostolic line of American bishops and is our keeper of the faith as a member of the House of Bishops. He is our visual connection to the National and Diocesan church family.
I have no oral history as to the why of the missing chairs except that possibly Bill and Bill just ran out of time in their building projects and maybe the two chairs were next on the list. Thankfully we have another “Bill,” only this “Bill’s” name is “Frank” –Frank Emeterio. He has built for the children’s Godly Play I class a small baptismal font and a child size pulpit. He was contacted about making the two chairs and did so with his usual enthusiasm and modesty. When our bishop comes for his annual visitation, he will dedicate the chairs to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for the Emerterios’ many blessings.
This Lent we are called to once again examine our lives and wonder not only about our outward appearances but what is inside as well. Do we need to wear signs and symbols of our faith so people will know we are Christians, such as the ashes on our foreheads after the Ash Wednesday services, or will they just know? It is all about what we say and what we do while we are here on this sacred ground and inside our building. It is also what we say and do while we are away from this sacred ground that other people hear and see St. Theodore’s Episcopal Church in us.
St. Theodore’s is a building but most importantly St. Theodore’s is each and every one us. We are St. Theodore’s. May you have a blessed Lent.

February 2012 Messenger

jennifer — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:48:43 +0000