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"PARISH UPDATE" - April 2, 2007
by Chris Porter, Senior Warden.
Greetings ...
For lack of any better ideas, I’m sticking with "A Senior Moment" as the name for this second Sr. Warden newsletter blurb. Compared to the flurry of activity late last year, into the annual parish budgeting and meeting season, followed by the expanded stewardship season, the last few weeks have been relatively calm. I almost feel guilty for not contributing any announcements during the last few services ... almost ... but thanks to Fr. Curtis and all of you, I feel like things are humming along very nicely.
Our stewardship and pledge drive has been extremely successful; we have commitments of over $30,000, toward a budgeted pledge figure of $33,000. So many of you have been moved to increase your pledge compared to past years, for which I am truly grateful.
The vestry is looking ahead to a period of retreat, strategic planning, and a mutual ministry review with Fr. Curtis.
My minute’s up. Thanks to all of you for everything you do for St. Stephen’s, and for your support of me.
Cheers and Happy Easter,
Chris Porter
AN EASTER LETTER
By Fr. Curtis Metzger
Dear Friends,
It is with such joy that I celebrate my first Easter with you! The first couple of months as your pastor has been a whirlwind of activity. It has given me an even deeper appreciation for the depth of commitment on behalf of so many parishioners who make St. Stephen’s a living witness to our Resurrected Lord! I am still learning many things and gradually getting to know more of you.
Our Mardi Gras celebration was tons of fun and the hot and spicy dishes everyone brought were simply fantastic! I look forward to more festive celebrations with you throughout the year. Hey, you do food real well!
There is still serious tension in the Anglican Communion around our Bishop and our national church. I know that you are aware of this, and I haven’t spent much time addressing it. Frankly, most of the time I and we are too consumed with how we live out the Gospel in our little church, in our lives, and our communities. Bishop Gene continues to inspire me, the diocese, and the national church with his ministry and the grace with which he handles it all.
I am inspired by you, too! There are so many of you who do such wonderful and gracious things that add such depth and goodness to our common life. Signs of life in our church are also reflected in the fact that I have four people who are interested in confirmation and two baptisms on the horizon. We have also had a wonderful Sunday School session and Adult Education program through Lent, thanks to Kim Harris, Connie Mitchell and Bernie Cameron.
Several people have requested that I post some of my sermons on our website, so with fear and trepidation (I’m such a neurotic preacher!), I have consented. Special thanks go to Margaret Porter, our webmaster (mistress?), for making this happen and for her wonderful management of our website.
Easter is the most important celebration of the Church year. In the movement of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Day, we enter into the depths of Jesus’ remaining days on earth and we learn about his unfailing, unyielding, and profound commitment to love us to the end.
Together let’s share that message of love with our loved ones, friends and neighbors!
Easter Blessings,
Fr. Curtis
PARISH PROFILES by Elvia Hetu
New Man on the Vestry
David Cummings was elected at the Annual Meeting in January to serve a three-year term on the St. Stephen’s Vestry.
Dave was born in Springfield, Vermont. When he was 3 years old his family moved to Newport, New Hampshire, where he attended school and graduated from high school. As an English major he attended several colleges, beginning at Bates College in Maine and graduating from Plymouth State College in New Hampshire.
He first went to work for the Concord Monitor as a feature writer and later as a sports writer for several years, through 1997. After taking time to travel down the East Coast of the United States, ending with a month in Key West, Florida, Dave returned to work for the Concord Monitor as Lakes Region Bureau Chief.
Dave met Heather while working with her brother at the Monitor. Heather was teaching school in South Portland, Maine, and Dave moved to South Portland, taking a job with a weekly newspaper in Kennebunk.
They were married in Cape Neddick, Maine, in 1999. Their son Noah was born in 2000, and the following year Dave accepted a job in Milford, New Hampshire, editing two weekly newspapers.
After they moved to Epsom, New Hampshire and built their present home, their son Mason was born in 2003. The family joined St. Stephen’s about that time. Their daughter, Rose-Aimee Kate, was born on January 26, 2007.
Heather had continued teaching middle school in Belmont, New Hampshire after they moved to Epsom, and for the last three years has been Curriculum Coordinator for the Shaker Regional School District in Belmont.
At St. Stephen’s, Heather has helped out in the Sunday School and is a Lay Eucharistic Minister.
Since last September, Dave has been working in public relations for the New Hampshire Association of Realtors in Concord.
Dave’s favorite food is homemade Swedish pancakes, and he loves basketball, playing in the Concord Men’s League. At St. Stephen’s, he’s currently editor of the newsletter.
We are fortunate to have this young man on our Vestry.
And We Have A New Lady, Too
Martha Booth was elected to serve the next three years on the St. Stephen’s Vestry. You probably know Martha, who sits in one of the front pews on the left side of the church with her husband George, who often plays his guitar for the services.
Martha was born in Beverly, Massachusetts and attended Beverly schools and Westbrook College in Portland, Maine, where she majored in Retailing. She first worked in retail sales for Lechmere in Danvers, Massachusetts, where she met George.
After they were married, they moved to California, where they lived for three years and where their daughter Hillary was born. After moving to Killington, Vermont for six months and to Rutland, Vermont for six months, they moved to Concord, New Hampshire, where George had accepted a new job and their daughter Emily was born in 1983. Their next move was to Penacook, New Hampshire, where they lived for 13 years.
George’s next job took them to Florida for 10 years, and then they moved to their present home on Joy Street in Pittsfield, New Hampshire and St. Stephen’s Church.
While in Florida, Martha had been an active member of the Vestry, the Altar Guild, a Chapter of the Daughters of the King, and in the Fun Fellowship of their church.
At St. Stephen’s, Martha is a member of the Altar Guild and reads the Prayers of the People in turn. She put together the games for our latest outdoor activities, and she is now chauffeuring our member who is in a wheelchair to church on Sundays. She hopes to one day start a Daughters of the King Chapter at St. Stephen’s with meetings once a month for prayer, companionship and Bible study.
George is presently President of Province I (the New England States) of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and is Director of the Chapter he started at Stephen’s, of which Jim Whinn is Vice-Director and Francis Conti is Secretary-Treasurer.
Martha is presently an Administrative Assistant for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests in Concord.
She is fond of Italian food and likes to do crafts.
We are pleased to have Martha Booth with her enthusiasm, insight, and sense of service on our Vestry.
A WORD ABOUT HOLY WEEK SERVICES
Why participate in Holy Week worship services?
Holy Week is the central celebration of the church in the liturgical year. During this week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter Day, we mark the events that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus: the triumphal entry, the last supper, the betrayal of Judas and denial of Peter, the trial before Pilate, the crucifixion and the resurrection.
The liturgies are not meant to be separate events but a unifying ritual experience that ties together the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and invites us to participate with Him in these events.
While these events obviously happened many centuries ago, the liturgies of Holy Week mark the passage from Lent to Easter and the passage from death to life. You are invited to participate in this great mystery.
Holy Week worship services: The Maundy Thursday (April 5) and Good Friday (April 6) services will begin at 7 p.m. this year.
PARISH REGISTER
Births Rose-Aimee Kate Cummings
New Members Grace Holden
Spring 2007 Edition Editor: Dave Cummings Artist: Sandy Thomas Contributors: Elvia Hetu,
Fr. Curtis Metzger, Chris Porter
Contact the Editor at 736-9734 or cummings@metrocast.net
