emmanuel the trumpet church staff · church staff the rev’d canon dr. mark gatza, ... the trumpet...
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Emmanuel
Church Staff
The Rev’d Canon Dr. Mark Gatza,
Rector
Brent Pertusio, Organist & Choirmaster
Heather Costantino, Christian Education
Coordinator
James Kennard, Sexton
Church Phone
410 838-7699
Church Cell Phone for
Pastoral Emergencies
443 752-0573
www.emmanuelbelair.org
Services:
Sundays—8 AM, 10 AM & Noon
Tuesdays — 10 AM
Your Vestry Wants To Hear From You!
Here is a list of your vestry to contact with any concerns!
Rector --Mark Gatza: [email protected]
Senior Warden — Dottie Ward: [email protected]
Treasurer -- Steve Bareford: [email protected]
Registrar -- Liz Glass: [email protected]
Joan Kime: [email protected]
Paul Rogers: [email protected]
Shannon Rogers: [email protected]
Ted Roux: [email protected]
Debbie Bissoondial: [email protected]
Chris Gauthier: [email protected]
Cami Rogers: [email protected]
Rita Scharmann: [email protected]
JoAnne Bogusko: [email protected]
Peg Goodson: [email protected]
Allan Herlinger: [email protected]
Linden White: [email protected]
Inclement Weather &tc.
On weekdays we follow the public schools with respect to canceling or postponing church sponsored events. Outside groups that use our parish hall spaces have their own policies.
With respect to weekend — especially Sunday — please call the church answering machine or go to our website, www.emmanuelbelair.org. We will have up to the minute information about what we are or are not doing.
Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095
Do you remember 1066 and all that? William the Conqueror and the Normans overtake England. And what was all that about “The Domesday Book?” Wulfstan, priest, monk, and consummate administrator was there at the heart of it. One of the few Anglo-Saxon bishops to retain his “see” after the Norman Conquest of England, his humility, charity, and courage won him friends from both the old regime and the new. Though initially criticized for his lack of formal learning — and the fact that he couldn’t speak the French language of the new English lead-ership —his faithfulness and honesty made him one of William’s most trusted advisors. Such an advisor, he thought, should hold the rank of Bishop and he was consecrated Bishop of Worcester. As English dioceses were reconfigured under Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, his obedience to his superior and his willing-ness to promote the new plan served as examples for other bishops who perhaps hoped that the Normans would just go away. Together the two bishops acted against the impressment of English subjects and their enslavement in Ireland. Wulstan’s administrative abilities led to the completion of the Domesday Book, which was in essence a survey of the lands and landowners of the conquered
lands. Like the “Registration” that is mention in Luke’s Gospel at the beginning of the story of Christmas, its practical use was to provide accurate accounting with respect to taxes. At the end of his life he was about the only English-born leader, secular or sacred left amid the new rulers. We celebrate his feast on the anniversary of his death, 18 January. MG+
The Trumpet
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
303 North Main Street
Bel Air, Maryland 21014
19January 2016
Upcoming Scripture Lessons
10 January 2016 — Isaiah 43:1-7, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
17 January 2016 — Isaiah 62:1-5; I Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11
Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095
Almighty God, your only-begotten Son led captivity captive and gave gifts to your people: Multiply among us faithful pastors, who, like your holy bishop Wulfstan, will give courage to those who are oppressed and held in bondage; and bring us all, we pray, into the true freedom of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our 148th *Annual Meeting
Every year Emmanuel’s congregation meets to select vestry members and discuss the budget for the new fiscal year. This year’s meeting will be Sunday, January 24, 2015 at 11:15 a.m. follow-ing the 10:00 Service. On the day of the congre-gational meeting there will be only one service at 10:00.
In order to streamline our meeting, reports from the rector, senior warden, organist/choirmaster, Cottage Thrift Shop, Out-reach, Christian Education, Women of Emmanuel and Finances will be published online prior to the meeting for your review. A limited number of print copies will be available at the meeting.
Members of the congregation are encouraged to attend and help with the governance of Emman-uel. Past meetings have been productive and filled with lively discussions about the future of our congregation.
Wow! Thank You! With 93% of our goal tallied and with a few outstand-ing pledges to go, we are in the best shape we have been in at this time of the year in several years. Thanks to all of you who have been so generous in your support of Emmanuel Church.
Here are just a few numbers to illustrate how far we’ve come. For 2015 our actual pledges totaled $148,652 with 88 pledge cards filled out. This year we have pledge cards from 104 persons and families totaling almost $197,000.
“Every Church Roof Leaks!” … according to Bishop Sutton. And some gutters need to be redone, and some window panels need to be replaced, and we need to really clean the floor of the Chapel, and there is a lot of other stuff too. We have managed, despite our deficits of late, to do quite a lot of maintenance and repair work around our cam-pus. Watch this space for news about what we are working on and how your hands can help.
We’ve Lost a Christmas Story! Walking down the Broadway aisle of the Church one afternoon this Christmas season, I
paused at the window that portrays Jesus in the Temple teaching the scribes and priests
when he was a young boy. I thought, “I haven’t preached that story since I’ve been at Em-
manuel,” and I wondered why that was. After a little time with an online Lectionary re-
source, I found out. The Episcopal Church no longer features the story, which is found at
the end of Luke 2, in our lectionary cycle. While on the first Sunday after Christmas all of our Mainline
Protestant friends were hearing about the wisdom the young Jesus offered to the religious leaders of his tra-
dition, we read John 1:1-18, the great Hymn to the Logos. Though I have some leeway with respect to choos-
ing lections, I have found over the years that staying close to the order of things helps me to see connections
between readings that are often helpful.
You probably learned the story itself in Sunday school. At
the age of 12 or 13, Jesus goes with Mary and Joseph and their
families and probably a large group from Galilee to the Temple
in Jerusalem for a great festival. There would have been thou-
sands of other pilgrims just like them, and in the relative safety
of the well-guarded Temple, it is not a surprise that Mary and
Joseph would have given Jesus the freedom to roam a bit.
When the festival is over, everyone regroups with their
traveling companions and heads for home. Again, having done
this many times, it was not a surprise that Mary and Joseph did-
n’t connect with Jesus as the caravan pushed north. When they
finally did search among their companions, and found that he
was not with them, they made the dangerous decision to turn
back on their own to return and search the city. Your guess is as
good as mine whether they went to the Temple first to find Jesus,
or whether they looked other places! The point is that is where they found him, and though it doesn’t sur-
prise us — who know the whole story — it might still have confounded them, especially given the rapt atten-
tion that held his audience.
The tone of scolding is evident in Mary’s question, “Child, why have you treated us like this?” But his
answer, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” leads directly to the observation that Mary
“treasured all these things in her heart.”
The Church occasionally struggles to hold onto the notion that Jesus Christ is both fully divine and fully
human. The temptation to look for “the historical Jesus,” on the one hand, or to preach only about the eternal
salvation that his ministry provided, can be difficult to avoid. To my mind, this story balances those two na-
tures in a wonderful way. Wandering off from his parents? How human is that! Debating points of law with
priests and scribes at the age of 13 and without any formal education? That’s divinity pure and simple.
Our window, created by the Willet & Company studios in Philadelphia in the 1950’s, is difficult to photo-
graph well, given the bright southern light that shines on it and the wire cage outside that protects it. Do
pause and look at it sometime. Notice that the scribes and high priest are wearing tiaras and that the Phari-
sees are wearing turbans — a accurate historical rendering that not many people would notice. Look also at
the red and white turban band on the figure on the left. If you can reach it, rub you finger across and feel the
texture of the two layers of white and red glass fused together — a Willet trademark. We are blessed to have
in our sanctuary such a beautiful work of art that tells such an important story about our Savior.
Totidem Verbis Mark Gatza+
Jesus at the Temple Teaching by He Qi
Selecting Vestry Members
At the Annual Meeting described on the first page, we will select four new Vestry Members, according to a new process approved at the 147th Annual Meeting. We will put the names of nomi-nees into three hats, according to the Service they frequent on Sundays — 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM and Noon.
The qualifications to be a member of the Vestry include regular attendance at worship for at least the prior six months, receiving Holy Communion at least three times each year, and “being known to the treasurer.”
One name will be drawn from each hat, resulting in three new members and assuring that all of services will be represented.
The remaining names will be stirred together in another hat and a fourth nominee will be select-ed, bringing us up to our full complement.
Several nominations have been made so far, but there is still time to nominate yourself or another person.
The Vestry meets on the Third Monday of each month in the Harward Parlor at 7:00 PM. We spend a little time in prayer and in Bible Study be-fore we move on to business. We generally con-clude between 8:30 and 8:45 or so, and occasion-ally there are months that we don’t need to meet.
*P.S. Did you check out that number on page 1? It’s getting awfully close to a round number worth celebrating! Any body inter-ested in planning a party, say, for the end of March 2018?
Yes, we’re going to do it again! It’s time to place your order for the Saintly Scorecard so that you can read all about this year’s bracket candidates. Please let the Rector know if you are interested in playing last year. (And you should be: that’s why we do bios of saints in the Trumpet!)
The Rector is In,
Too! With the hiring of a Parish Ad-ministrator there have been changes in the office at Em-manuel. Mark has designated the following times and days for drop byes, and visits. He is also available by cell phone any time for any ques-tions, concerns or other business. You may also sched-ule an appointment through Ellen Patton, our Parish Administrator.
The best times to drop in to meet or talk with Mark in the office are:
Thursdays 10:00—Noon & Saturday 11:00—Noon
Breakfast is Served! No matter what the scientists and doctors say about what it or is not good for you to eat or drink, they all still agree that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a Fall season of more limited service we have a schedule for Breakfasts that will get us through what promises to be a cold winter and early spring. Please feel free to clip this (Wolfstan on the back won’t mind) and put it on your fridge or bulletin board so you’ll know when Breakfast is served. January 10th
January 24th
February 7th
February 21st
March 6th
April 3rd
April 24th
May 1st
May 22nd
Lent & Easter Come Early Someday when the sermon doesn’t grab you, turn to page 880 in the Prayerbook and check out the rules for finding the date of Easter. (You’ll return to the sermon soon enough!) For 2016 Please Note:
Ash Wednesday is February 10th Easter Sunday is March 27th Pentecost is May 15th