Rector – Appalachia Reflections
Not quite a week home from our trip to Barnes Mountain in Kentucky and I am still reflecting on our time there – the work we did, the people we met, how we created community, and where God was in all of it.
Some of you heard several of our youth offer stories and reflections from the trip last Sunday as a part of the sermon. We look forward to hosting an event in September with a slide show and fuller accounts of our time. But in the mean time I offer these pictures with short captions to offer some glimpses of our time in Appalachia.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
How awesome it was to see so many of our Sunday School students participating in July’s M.A.D. Camp production of Pinocchio. Great job, kids!
Although it’s fun to be in the summer mode, our Sunday School team is always thinking ahead. At the present time we are in need of “team” teachers and “subs” before September, as well as volunteers to read children’s Bible stories to our preschool class. Can you assist? We hope you will give prayerful thought to volunteering to work with our parish children in this meaningful ministry. To find out more about our program and format, or to look through a Living the Good News curriculum book, please contact one of the names listed below.
Yvette Allen (yallen1952@gmail.com)
Betsy Davis (jbeezd@aol.com)
Joan Fader (faderj1@juno.com)
Choir/Music
Hi everyone! We spoke last month about the early Judeo-Christian worship services, discussing the psalms and canticles that were commonly sung or chanted. This month, we’ll continue by discussing religious music of the first century and Plainsong.
If you’ve been following along, you know that the psalms and canticles were chanted in early Christian services, and by the time first century rolls around, we begin to see definite melodies that would correspond to specific texts. As tunes and texts begin to become paired with one another, we start to see a yearning for new tunes and thus new texts.
This was a heated point of contention in the early church; after all, who gives us permission to write our own hymn texts – aren’t the psalms and canticles substantial enough? Logic prevailed, however, and individuals began to justify the composition of new hymns and lyrics by comparing them to the new prayers and sermons that were being written during the same era.
One of the earliest (and most popular) texts that existed outside of the psalms and canticles is the “Te Deum laudamus,” often simplified to “Te Deum.” The first line translates as “We praise thee, O God,” and the text has been set by composers across the centuries (a few of my favorites are below):
Jean-Baptiste Lully (https://youtu.be/IRxT2bBXcDI)
W.A. Mozart (https://youtu.be/IFocK5AQYog)
Antonin Dvorak (https://youtu.be/fsZRfLKh1-M)
Other popular texts included the “Vox Gilarum” (or “Gladsome Light”) and “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” (although a different tune than that in our hymnal today).
This eventually lead into the idea of Plainsong Chant, which has several distinct characteristics: (1) Each note is of equal duration (except the last note of a line), (2) there is one melodic, unaccompanied line, (3) the melody consists of smooth, singable steps that gradually rise and fall, and (4) the text is in Latin, which made it easily singable because of the vowels.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a great example of this. Listen to the first 45 seconds of this recording, by the Gesualdo Six, for an accurate recreations of what this chant would have sounded like in the first few centuries: https://youtu.be/MSRocN1dTrM. (This version, arranged by Philip Lawson, features the original chant and then a new harmonization).
Next month we’ll start talking about Gregorian Chant and the role of the early Catholic church.
Environmental
“Understanding Our Environmental Legacy III” was held this past April at St James’ to great acclaim. Each of the four presentations: commercial composting, the Maryland Biodiversity Project, Changes in populations in disease-causing insects in the United States and the Climate Reality Project were offered by local professionals. Average attendance was twenty with many from the community. Surveys taken after each presentation expressed overwhelmingly positive feedback – “great presentation”, “knowledgeable speaker”, “encouraging”, “surpassed expectations”, thank you”.
Most of the attendees learned of the presentations through the church bulletin and personal invitation. However, the presentations were written up in the Mt Airy Messenger, on Facebook and notices were placed in the Carroll County Times as well as the Frederick News Post.
Special thanks to Chris Richards for helping with the audio visual equipment, Liz Peterson and Jeannie Pellicier for providing refreshments and Laura Davis for help with the publicity poster.
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastoral Coverage
Kristin+ will be away on vacation from August 6 through august 13 and will be unable to respond to emails and text messages. If you require routine assistance please call the church office at 301-829-0325. For pastoral emergencies please contact our Senior Warden, Cheri McClanahan.
Office Hours Week of August 5
Monday – Thursday 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Thank You Message from Mt. Airy Net
We are grateful for your recent gift of $500. With your help we can be sure families have breakfast and lunch for their children who are off school for the summer. It is such a blessing for us to be a place where others can directly help those in their own community. Thank you! Sue Veres, Director.
Where in the Church is Flat St. James?
How are you coming on completing your passport? Don’t forget to get your stamp from Kristin+.
2018 St. James’ Basket Raffle & Silent Auction
Our 12th Annual Basket Raffle & Silent Auction will be held Saturday, October 13th–mark your calendars! This important fundraiser takes place during the Mt. Airy Fall Fest at the Firemen’s Carnival Grounds at the intersection of Twin Arch Rd. and Rte. 27. As in the past, the completed Baskets and Silent Auction items will be on display at St. James’ for two weeks before the Fall Fest beginning September 29th. Tickets will be on sale at the Church during that time. Winning tickets will be drawn on Monday morning, October 15th at the Church.
Here’s how you can help:
Volunteer to be a part of the Basket Raffle committee to assist with publicity, flyer distribution, soliciting donations and gift certificates from local businesses, or make/donate a completed basket using a theme of your choice or bring new or like new items from home to donate. Place your donations in the marked BASKET RAFFLE DONATIONS containers in the Narthex. Committee members and volunteers will design and create themed baskets during August and early September. This year, we are fortunate to have some baskets on hand ready to be filled with donated items, but can always use additional medium to large baskets. Ideas are listed below. The deadline for donations of basket contents is Sunday, August 5th. The deadline for donation of finished baskets is Sunday, September 23rd. If you have questions about baskets, want to donate a finished basket, or want to volunteer for the Basket Brigade (August/September) call or email Joan Fader at 301-703-8787 or at faderj1@juno.com. Join the fun and make new friends!
Items for the Silent Auction are being accepted now. These are items that would generate higher bids by themselves than as a part of a basket. Such items could include paintings, quilts, unopened perfume, fine jewelry or, high-value gift certificates, and the like. If you have questions about the Silent Auction, please contact Mary Hutchins-Danna at 443-277-0505 or at mhdslp@hotmail.com
Event Volunteers are needed to assist with ticket sales before and during the Basket Raffle & Auction, to assist with transporting baskets between St. James’ Church and the carnival grounds, setting up tents and tables, as well as, calling winners of Baskets and Silent Auction items. Contact Betsy Davis by email at jbeezd@aol.com if you have questions, or you can sign up for times to assist on SignUp.com at a later date.
Let’s make the St. James’ Basket Raffle & Silent Auction a huge success. Thank you in advance for your generosity of spirit and continued support.
Your Basket Raffle & Auction Committee Co-chairs:
Ave Smith (averellesmith@aol.com/301-674-3357)
Marilyn Hancock (ladyzip2004@yahoo.com /301-788-0136)
Here are some examples of basket themes from previous years:
Sports (golf, baseball, football)
John Deere
Birds
Games for girls/boys
Baby boy/girl
Wine and/or related items
Home décor
Spa day
Teacher
Health and exercise
Christmas
Fall/Halloween
Jewelry
Pets
Picnic
Cooking
American Girl clothes
Summer
Gardening
Movie night (DVD’s, popcorn, etc.).
Also needed:
Colorful wire-edged ribbon for all occasions
Double-sided clear “scotch” tape
Shiny clear “scotch” tape
White and colored tissue paper
Our bow makers Bonnie Winkler and Joan Collins will be happy to create the beautiful bows that
adorn our St. James’ baskets.
If you are able to provide any of these items, please place them in the BASKET RAFFLE
DONATIONS containers in the Narthex.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Cory and Natalie DelRegno (Tyler, Kyle)
Leslie Dickinson and Peter Sabonie (Jacob)
Richard Drehoff, Jr.
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
