Benedictions August

Vicars Voice

Reconciliation and Forgiveness

“From suffering I have learned this: that whoever is sore wounded by love will never be made whole unless she embraces that very same love which wounded her.” - Mechthild of Magdeburg

Of all the major tenets and teaching in Christianity, reconciliation may just be one of the most neglected and yet, one of the most important. I think it is difficult to consider reconciliation and forgiveness because so much in our culture goes against the idea of reconciling and forgiving. Full Article

August Calendar

August Servant Ministry Schedule

August Lectionary Selections

Lectionary Page

*We are currently using RCL, so please click on RCL on the day you are looking for on the calendar.

What to do in case of a Pastoral Emergency:

If you are in the hospital, facing surgery, needing prayer or if there is an emergency you can contact the Vicar by phoning her at St. Benedict: (Sunday-Thursday during the day 360-456-2240 or at home 360-357-2877 or on her cell 206-303-8474. Please note that the Vicar does not check voice messages Friday or Saturday at the church. You can also contact Deacon Tony Irving at home: 360-491-3111.

German Ministry

The German Ministry meets every 3rd Saturday of the month from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Benedict. There will be a German Service followed by fellowship in the Parish Hall. Come and check it out and spread the word!

Alkins Scholarship Fund

The David Alkins Educational Scholarship Fund’s purpose is to provide funds to members of St. Benedict’s, clergy, and/or lay persons for experiences which contribute to the educational and/or spiritual growth of individuals, and must, in turn, be of benefit to the St. Benedict’s community as a whole. The committee’s goals continue to include increasing the fund and encouraging church members to take advantage of this opportunity to further the spiritual growth of our church community.

Committee members for 2008-2009 are Bob Carmichael, Hal Hodgson, Anne Metzler, Lucy Reuter and Joan Vance. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship from the fund please contact the church office at 456-2240.

Alkins Scholarship Furthers our Clergy's Preaching Voices

In May, Deacons Tony Irving and Gen Grewell, along with our Vicar Georgi, attending the 16th Annual Festival of Homiletics in Minneapolis, Minnesota. What on earth is a homiletic festival? Homiletics is the churchy word that describes the art of preaching. For five days, we learned and listened to the finest preachers and teachers on the planet. Our days were crammed with lectures and church services and opportunities to hear from clergy and professors that are dynamic good preachers.All three of us walked away refreshed, restored and ready to set St. Benedict on fire with the word of God! Thank you to the Alkins Scholarship Committee for making it possible for the three of us to attend this conference.

St. Benedict Feeding Ministry is Growing!

With the weekly snack program, community dinners/food bank (on 2nd Fridays & 4th Saturdays of every month) and Drexel house dinners, the feeding ministry is definitely growing! More

Say Cheese!

Rosemary Walrod and Nancy Zabel will be taking pictures for a new directory after the 8 am and 10 am services. We hope that this will help us to get to know each other better and to connect a face with a name. If you would like to help with this effort please contact Nancy or Rosemary today and don’t forget to stop by and get your picture taken by September 14th! If you are unable to come to the church, please call the office so that we can arrange to have someone come take your picture.

Little Red School House

Thank you to all who once again took time out of your busy schedules to launder clothing for the Little Red School House. All of those big black bags have been replaced with white ones signifying that they have all been cleaned! Wow! Thank you again for your kind hearts and generous spirits!

Church to get a Facelift by Mary Moore

The Building Commission has asked the Bishop’s Committee for permission to spruce up the building with new paint and new flooring. Our dear church is looking a bit tired and it is the thought of the members of the Building Commission that a bit of sprucing up would help us to get through some of the big decisions that we are about to confront in the near future. More

Kids Corner click to see if you can find the hidden message

Matthew 14:2-33

Come have fun with your church family!

Family dinners will be known as Family Fun Night from here on out. They will still be generally held at David and Lisa Metzler's home on the second Sunday of each month and will start at 6 pm. This is an opportunity to have quality time with your family and our church family. We share food, play games and visit. Everything is flexible. It is a great opportunity to get the opportunity to play that 6 person game that your family isn't quite big enough to do regularly or pogo stick, or re-experience the joy of rope games. Nothing is too goofy! For more details contact Lisa or David Metzler: (360) 412-0868. Or, you can just show up on the second Sunday. Usually we do not gather if the second Sunday is a holiday (like Mother's Day in May.)

Camp Michael Needs You!

This Regional Ministry is in it’s 36th year through the wonderful efforts of volunteers. Help is needed in the kitchen, in the craft area and at the water-front to support our two lifeguards. Also, all are welcome and invited to visit camp and to participate in Family Night on Tuesday evening August 5th for a great carnival and dunk tank. Plus, get the chance to see what happens at camp! “Family” is anyone from our Willapa Regional Ministry-that’s all of us! Come and share in the camp fun beginning at 6:15 pm! Campers and staff look forward to welcoming you!

Summer Food Challenge

The Episcopal Churches of Thurston County are sponsoring a collection of items such as tuna fish, canned meats, peanut butter and mac n’ cheese for the Thurston County Food Bank. All items will be collected at the Tri-Parish picnic on Aug. 31st at Huntamer Park and in our hallway.

Community Resource Exchange

White socks and small bottles of hygiene items are needed to give to homeless individuals who will come to Qwest field from 9am to 2 pm on September 12th for foot washing and foot care, as needed. This is a grassroots event, which has potential for Thurston County. Items need to be turned in by Sept 7th. Please drop in basket marked CRE in the hallway. Thanks for your support!

Newcomer Party

Are you new to St. Benedict? Then we want to greet and get to know you! Our Vicar, George Anne, will be hosting a newcomer party at her house on August 3rd from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Please let the office know if you would like more information or want to attend. We’re glad to have you!

Lay Your Burdens Down

Need a time for refreshment and healing? Saint Benedict Church will hold an evening service of Reconciliation and Wholeness Thursday August 14 at 7 PM. Come for quiet time for meditation and prayer and anointing for healing and reconciliation. Contact Deacon Zula for more information.

Hospitality Team Meeting

If you are an usher or greeter, or if you would like to be one, come join us for fellowship and training on Sunday, August 24th @ 9:oo a.m.

Choir Kick Off Party!

Love to sing? Come to the Choir Kickoff potluck Thursday, August 8th @ 5:30 p.m. at Nancy Zabel's home. Explore the possibility of joining the chir this year. The sign-up sheet and details are on the hall counter.

Financial Update

Please remember to keep your pledge up-to-date during these summer months. Our expenses don't seem to take a vacation during the summer even if we do! Thank you.

Alkins Address

At the request of The Rev. David Alkins, I am including his new address below. It will be placed in the new directory, but here it is for the interim.

The Rev. David S. Alkins

P.O. Box 206

Seaview, WA 98644

360.642.8452

Tri- Parish Picnic

On Sunday, August 31, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. St. Benedict’s is hosting our third annual Tri-Parish Picnic. It will be at a Huntamer park. Save this date for this exciting community fun filled event. We will have a wonderful BBQ/picnic following our worship together with St. John’s and St. Christopher’s. Everyone is invited including guests and friends. Bishop Greg Rickel will be our presider.

The Deacons Voice by The Rev. Nancy Allaire

An Opportunity to Blessand Be Blessed!

Jesus will say: “I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we . . . see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” And He will say, “. . .To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' ( see Matthew 25:34f ) Full Article

Service Time Change

Beginning Sunday, August 17th, the start time for the second Sunday service will change from 10 am to 10:30 a.m. The Bishop’s Committee made this decision after asking the congregation’s input over the last few weeks. Almost all who provided feedback were flexible. Starting at 10:30 will allow us more time for Christian formation between Sunday services. Questions? Talk to any of the Bishop’s Committee members.

Meet the B.C.:

Pat Basta, Linda Conroy, Mary Eberling, Gary Grewell, Lisa Metzler, Mary Moore & Bob Wilson

Senior Warden: Peggy Carmichael

People’s Warden: Nancy Zabel

Clerks: Judy DeBuse & Lyn Mitchell

Assisting Clergy:

The Rev. Nancy Allaire, Deacon; The Rev. James Blundell, Retired; The Rev. Ray Dexter, Retired; The Rev. Gen Grewell, Deacon, Retired The Rev. Tony Irving, Deacon; The Rev. Zula Johnston, Deacon, Retired; The Rev. Norris Pearson, Retired; The Rev. Dr. John Van Eenwyk