| | | | From the Rector |  Dear Friends,
One Sunday in Lent I invited everyone to kneel at the rail after communion, to receive prayers and laying on of hands for healing. More people came forward than could fit at the rail, young and old and in-between. Several others came also, to join Philip and me in the laying on of hands and healing prayers. I heard from many people that this was a holy time. Episcopal congregations are reclaiming this ancient practice, both for healing and for empowerment. The Rev. Stephanie Spellers, priest to The Crossing, the emergent worship congregation at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, describes her recent experience of laying on of hands. Stephanie was recently named one of two chaplains to the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops. She was understandably nervous about preaching and leading worship with a congregation made up of all the bishops in the Episcopal church. Here is what happened at Eucharist at The Crossing the night before she departed for the meeting of the House of Bishops. "All day, I had been nervous about leaving for the House of Bishops, and as worship ended and fellowship began, I told a Crossing member about my anxiety. He stopped and yelled out, 'Hey everybody! Rev. Steph needs the laying on of hands!' Before I knew it, the scattering body had regathered around me, fanning out like a starburst as people stretched to touch my head and shoulders. A Pentecostal, black, gay young man who recently joined our community offered up a prayer that set the house on fire, asking God to pour out Spirit-power so that I might witness to the truth, love the bishops into courage and bear the dream of a new church into the halls of power. I slept like a baby that night. And, in the morning, I carried my people with me, even as they carried me." |
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| | | As we learn to hear and respond to God's call, we may also find ourselves anxious at what we find our selves doing. Having the tangible support of our worshiping community can make all the difference. I wonder if St. Mark's is being called to make this laying on of hands a regular practice. It will be offered again on May 29th. I invite you to participate however you wish, for healing, for empowerment, as a layer on of hands or simply praying in your pew. Then we will meet in the parish hall after coffee hour to share our experiences and our thinking. Blessings, John |
Calendar | May 1 - Natalie Finstead preaches Final Affairs Fair, 1-4 (see Shirley's Letter) May 15 - Sunday School Celebration and Vision Luncheon (see Philip's letter) May 17 - Women's group meeting 7:00 pm May 18 - St. Mark's hosts Alewife Deanery, 7:00 pm |
From the Senior Warden |  As we approach Easter I started reflecting on Lent. It brought me back to Ash Wednesday and when we heard the words "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return". This is a reality that most of us do not want to think about. We somehow feel if we talk about death it will happen quicker or if we do not talk about it, it won't happen at all. We are all very good at celebrating the miracle of birth without any trouble, but how do we feel about the end of life ... death. Some of you may think this is a morbid subject for me to be writing about but it is reality. Young or old we do not know when it will happen. Until we are personally involved where we may be responsible for taking care of someone who is ill and dying and then having to prepare a funeral for a loved one, we cannot imagine the emotions we go through.
Many years ago, my mother at the age of 80 passed her physical with flying colors on Tuesday. On Sunday I found her dead on the kitchen floor. She gave me a great gift. She had purchased her burial plot and her headstone and had made out a will so her wishes were clear. When she told me she was going to do all this I always said I didn't want to talk about it and that she was going to live forever. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her. When Ernie, my husband, was so sick, I tried to talk to him about end of life issues so I would know his wishes. He was not one to share his emotional thoughts and therefore I was left to make some decisions on my own. It was not easy. The day before his funeral, I did not know what town he would be buried in. He did have a will which I was grateful for. So, if you are wondering how to start a conversation about end of life issues with people you love and want to know what the options are for medical care at the end of life, make it a priority to attend the Final Affairs Fair on May 1, 2011 between 1 pm and 4 pm. Here you will be able to speak to knowledgeable people, view resource materials to take home and hopefully plan your final affairs or help a loved one to engage in this type of conversation with you. There will be information about funeral planning, nonprofit senior services, will and estate planning, nursing home care and human rights advocacies, hospice care, advanced care directives and more. This is a complementary event sponsored by the Burlington Interfaith Clergy. A representative from the Presbyterian Church, United Church of Christ, St. Malachy's, Temple Shalom Emeth and a core team from St. Mark's have worked very diligently on this project, and all have had experiences of not knowing the desires of their loved ones at the end of life. Reach out and bring a friend with you, they will thank you. Faithfully, Shirley Estrella |
From the Associate | Celebrating our Past & Envisioning our Future Ministry to and with Children St. Mark's is a multigenerational parish in which we celebrate God, enjoy one another, and serve our neighbors. Our mission is to create a place of safety and support in which all God's people are given the opportunity to be transformed, as we explore our faith and our call to service. -St. Mark's Mission Statement One of the beautiful things about St. Mark's is that our mission statement is not a lofty goal, it's just a statement of facts. Our mission statement describes who we are today! And it's significant that the first thing we say is that we are a multigenerational parish. In my first few months at St. Mark's (summer months, by the way) one of the most important things that I noticed was the presence and participation of children and youth at almost every parish activity. So one of our most important events for the month of May will be our Sunday School Celebration and Vision Luncheon on May 15th. As with all events at St. Mark's, everyone is invited to join in this celebration, but we especially invite our children and their parents to attend. We'd like to hear everyone's observations and ideas about Sunday School and other activities at St. Mark's. I invite you to begin this work by considering: What have been some of your favorite parts of our church activities that involved children? We'll begin our luncheon just a few minutes after the end of worship on May 15th. Look for the sign-up sheet in the narthex and plan on bringing the whole family! Peace, Philip |
Scholarship Announcement | St Mark's is pleased to be able to offer a scholarship each year to a parishioner pursuing post secondary school studies. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, please email Robert Pattison or call him at 781-771-6670. He will mail you an application form which needs to be completed and returned to him at St Mark's by Friday, June 10 . |
Women's Group | Our next Women's Group meeting will be on Tuesday, May 17th at 7:00 PM. Our guest speaker will be Jody Maggio. Jody is an expert on orchids and is also the Treasurer of the Massachusetts Orchid Society. We will learn how easy it is to care for and grow orchids. Please join us for what will be a fun and informative evening.
If anyone has any questions or is in need of transportation, please feel free to contact: Linda Kelley or at 781-883-8972 Rosemarie Tieri or at 781-272-1558
Judy Gustafson or at 781-229-2688 |
Deanery Meeting | On May 18th at 7:00 pm St. Mark's will host the Alewife Deanery meeting. All are welcome to attend to see what a deanery meeting is like. |
 People Helping People Food Drive
| The U.S. Postal Service will run its annual food drive for the Burlington Food Pantry on Saturday, May 14. Residents are reminded to leave at their mailboxes only unopened packages of non-perishable foods that have not yet passed their expiration date. Items especially needed include canned peas and green beans, pasta, spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, and canned pasta or stew (Dinty Moore, Chef Boyardee, etc.) Cash donations will also be accepted. Please make checks out to People Helping People. The food is delivered throughout the day by the postal workers to St. Margaret's CCD Building where it is sorted. The following week it will be delivered to the Food Pantry. This is a hugh project and many people are need to receive in the food and sort it on Saturday afternoon, May 14th from 1 to 6PM and Saturday May 21st from 9-1. This is a great way to help your community. If you are interested please contact Judy Walsh or call her at 781-272-8262. |
Walk for Hunger | The middle school class is walking again in the 2011 Project Bread's Walk for Hunger on Sunday May 1st. Everyone is welcome to join us in the walk (several adults have signed up already). If you aren't able to walk please consider donating to this worthy cause. You can make a donation directly on our team page on the Project Bread website. Click here to view the team page for St. Marks Burlington.
We have a goal of $1,500 to meet and donations in any amount are appreciated.
If you want more information or don't want to donate on-line please talk to Lisa Blaney or Sally Cassidy. |
God and Us: News from the Vestry | The stewardship team attended the Vestry meeting on April 11. They asked each Vestry member:
1. What led you to St. Mark's?
2. What do you like about St. Mark's?
3. What is your dream or vision for St. Mark's in the world?
These are the same three questions that you will be asked when a team member calls you in the next few weeks. Please give a lot of thought to these questions as your answers will have a great deal of influence in the shaping of St. Mark's direction in the next few years.
As an update of Safe Church policy: Windows will be installed in all Sunday School classroom doors, the choir room, and John's office door. Justin is going to draft an update of the Safe Church policies.
The treasurer reports year-to-date revenues are on target and year-to-expenses are under budget.
Endowment funds are distributed on a basis of 5% of the 3 year average of the amount in the fund. One third goes to global assistance, one third U.S. assistance (such as Lilian Vallely School) and one third to scholarships. The first two are distributed through the Outreach committee. The scholarships are:
1. $500 (if only one is given)
2. $400 each (if two are given)
3. $200 each (if four are given)
Bob Pattison and I are on the scholarship committee and are looking for two more parishioners to join us.
We are looking for volunteers to run the fall fair. Please give it a thought. Well that's all for now God Bless Don |
Mother's Day Roses |  On Mother's Day, we will be honoring the special place mothers have in our lives. If you would like to remember or celebrate your mother, grandmother, godmother, the woman who has always been like a mother to you, the mother of your children, etc., give a rose or two or twelve in her name. The names of these special women will be listed in the bulletin for this day. The roses cost $5 each and will be used to adorn the sanctuary on Mother's Day, May 8th. Roses will be distributed after the service.
The net proceeds from the sale of these roses will be donated through REACH to a local shelter for women and children fleeing abusive situations.
Please complete the attached form and submit it with $5 for each rose to the church office by May 1, 2011 so we can order the roses in time. Please write 'Mothers Day' on the memo line of your check. |
Choir Notes | A big THANKS!
Thank you to all of the members of our Adult and Youth Choirs, who worked so hard to prepare for Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. I was happy to have Andy Gilbert with us to add his wonderful tenor voice to our Adult Choir, and it was great to have a larger-than-normal Youth Choir for Palm Sunday and Easter. Our Adult Choir added so much to our Holy Week services in addition to extra rehearsals, and for that I am very grateful.
Story Sunday in May
Since so many of our Youth Choir members will be taking part in the Walk for Hunger, we will postpone our anthem for that day. On the next Sunday, which is also Mother's Day, we will offer a special anthem to give thanks for our mothers.
Choir Scholarship
The St. Mark's Vestry has approved a scholarship program for the Adult Choir. Under this program, St. Mark's will provide funding to a high school soprano for weekly half-hour voice lessons. In exchange for this, the singer will make a commitment to sing with the Adult Choir in our weekly rehearsals and services. A similar program has been implemented in other area churches with great success. I have been in touch with voice teachers and high school music teachers in surrounding towns (Burlington, Bedford, Billerica, Woburn and Lexington), but would appreciate any assistance in spreading the word. Please see me if you need any other details or if you have any questions or suggested candidates.
Bruce Burrell and People Helping People
Betsy Figenbaum brought us the news that Bruce Burrell has been memorialized in a very special way by People Helping People. PHP has established a scholarship in Bruce's honor, a tribute to his spirit of volunteerism and his work as PHP's Treasurer from 1988 to 2010. This scholarship of $500 will be awarded to a high school senior from the town of Burlington who epitomizes Bruce's sense of community service and volunteerism, and who plans to attend a post-secondary educational institution. As much as we miss Bruce, our hearts were warmed by this wonderful tribute to him. More details are available at the PHP website: www.peoplehelpingpeopleinc.org. Susan Dearborn |
Lion in the Limelight - Betsy Figenbaum |  Husband: Bob, son, Rob, daughters, Kimberly and Tina.
Grew up: Methuen, Andover, back to Methuen
St. Mark's: Choir, Altar Guild, Gardening, Outreach Committee, writes articles for the local newspaper.
Q: What do you love to do?
A: READ! Be outdoors, gardening, hiking, snow showing, kayaking.
When I was ten years old, My Dad died. He owned a bookstore in Lawrence. The family kept the store going. Then my Mom died when I was sixteen. I went to live with my older brother, who was quite a bit older and married with very young children. Then I went to secretarial school in Boston, and lived with my aunt and uncle in Arlington. I changed my career goal and went to Boston University and trained as a Dental Assistant. While I was there, I met the doctor who I currently work for. I have been working for him in his orthodontist practice for 28 yrs.
When I was living with my aunt and uncle in Arlington, I met my husband. He was an assistant manager working for my uncle at W.W. Grainger. Bob came to the house to help plan my uncle's retirement party. My aunt told him that if there is going to be a retirement party, you are going to take my niece! Then we dated a couple years, and got married.
I grew up in the Congregational Church, active in the Youth Group. Bob lived in Lexington, and went to the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Bob's sister, Dorothy Mooney and his brother, Ernest, were involved with a survey of the area to see if there were enough Episcopalians to start a church in Burlington. They were the founders. When we married, and later moved to Burlington, to this very house, forty-five years ago. We went to The Redeemer at first, but it was a bit hard to keep going over there when the children were young. We had our second child baptized at St. Mark's at the portable church dome. Then by the time our third child came along, she was baptized in our current building.
I like to work in the background, not out in front. And I like to give a voice to people who do not have a voice, especially the military servicemen. My brother was in the Air Force for 20 years, in Asia, The Philippines, Bob was in the Army, in Korea, after the war.
I love to read, especially history: WWII, Civil War. We will be going to Virginia in June and will see some of the Civil War sites, like Manassas, and Woodstock at the Inn of Narrow Passage.
St. Mark's feels like a home to me. People say that everyone cares, and knows your name. It is open and inviting, people are greeting new people. People care.
(reported by Rick Eaton) |
Notes from EDS |  Three years ago I matriculated at EDS with a wonderful group of people. A required class for our first year is something called Foundations - a deep exploration of the lenses through which we see the world and a shared learning of some basic principles for working together in mutual respect - principles that we will then carry out into the world after graduation. A lot came out in these meetings, and we grew very close.
This May most of them are graduating, moving on to live out their vocations in the world, and it's a challenge not to feel left behind, bereft. By the grace of God, early in Lent Tricia de Beer presided and preached at St. Mark's, and she spoke to the practice of daily reflecting on where you saw God that day, and how your response might inform your life in the next day or days. I had been getting deeply frustrated because I could not see clearly what God wants of me, and her sermon spoke deeply to me in my frustration. Since then I've been practicing being aware of God where I am, and not worrying about where I should be. Sometimes where we are isn't a very good place. I was feeling pretty down about losing my friends, even wondering whether I wanted to go to commencement. Then I got an email in which our choir director invited anyone to who wanted to, to come and sing an anthem for commencement. I heard God in this. I heard God calling me to continue to work to get over my fears of singing in public. I heard God suggesting that I might think of that work, of the time I will spend driving into Cambridge for rehearsals, and of contributing to my friends' graduation even in such a small way, as a gift to them, a gift they might never know about, but a very real gift nonetheless. So on May 19th I will be in Cambridge, giving them and God my grief over their departure, and lifting my voice, miserable thing that it is, in love and celebration of their achievement and of of the gift they are to the household of God. - Catherine Owens |
Lector and Chalicer Schedules | LECTORS Date | Hebrew Scripture/ Psalm | New Testament | Prayers of the People | May 1 | Shirley Estrella | Ann Sullivan | Rick Eaton | May 8 | Jack Heidbrink | Adrian Turner | Betsy Figenbaum | May 15 | Bruce Jordan | Howard Bettinson | Norm Dooley | May 22 | Jeremy Grace | Steve Cunha | Sally Toye | May 29 | Mark Lamourine | Rick Eaton | Nelson Holt | June 5 | Story Sunday | June 12 | Sally Toye | Shirley Estrella | Betsy Figenbaum | June 19 | Ann Sullivan | Jack Heidbrink | Norm Dooley | June 26 | Adrian Turner | Bruce Jordan | Jeremy Grace |
CHALICERS Date | Crucifer/Chalicer | Chalicer 2 | May 1 | Pat Doleman | Meghan Jordan | May 8 | Shirley Estrella | Steve Cunha | May 15 | Jack Heidbrink | Sue Heidbrink | May 22 | Sally Toye | Norm Dooley | May 29 | Meghan Jordan | Howard Bettinson | June 5 | Story Sunday | June 12 | Steve Cunha | Sally Toye | June 19 | Pat Doleman | Norm Dooley | June 26 | Shirley Estrella | Howard Bettinson |
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Regular Schedule | Holy Eucharist and Church School both begin at 9:30 am on Sunday. Church School children join the congregation at the peace. After service we have coffee hour in the parish hall. On the first Sunday of the month Sunday School combines with our regular service for a special Story service. The Bible study group meets on Sunday in the parish hall after coffee hour to study the lessons for the next Sunday. No special background or education is required, and you do not have to attend every week. Please join us when you can!
The Youth Choir rehearses after service on Sunday. The Adult Choir rehearses on Thursday at
7:00 pm.
The Youth Group meets on the first and third Sundays after the service. Vestry meets at 7:00 pm in the Choir Room on the second Monday. Vestry meetings are open to all, unless otherwise announced. |
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