St. Thomas' Tidings Newsletter; August 2001

CONTENTS:

THE RECTOR'S DESK

FINANCIAL NEWS & REPORTS

LITURGICAL NOTES

Healing Service
Thoughts on Stewardship
Tom Balsley

PARISH LIFE & NEWS

OUTREACH

Third Sunday - Reidsville Outreach Center

YOUTH

Tiny Saints

THANK YOU NOTES

Thank You Notes

THIS & THAT

NEWS FROM THE
EPISCOPAL DAY SCHOOL

Follow this link for the complete
August 2001 Calendar

August Special Services and Events at a Glance
August 3 & 4	Youth Retreat
August 4	Horsley / Mailly Wedding
August 11	The McHugh's Party
August 19	EDS Open House
August 26	Sunday School Open House & Cookout

Flowers for August 2001
August 5	Horsley
August 12	Rhodes
August 19	Anna B. Hunt
August 26	John & Susan Bullock
July 29	Laura Felts

August Greeter Schedule
August 5	Kris Rogers
August 12	Dot Ferneyhough
August 19	Pam Allen
August 26	Bill Sutton

August Usher Schedule
August 5	Bill Sutton & Richard Piazza
August 12	Joe & Priscilla Forster
August 19	Phillip & Susan Dalton
August 26	Clark & Susan Turner

August Parish House Cleaning Committee
Betty Whitsett

August Altar Care
Chairman	Martha Balsley
	Jan Wheless, Melody Moore, Dot Reilly

THE RECTOR'S DESK - The Rev. William D. Oldland

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The Rev.William D. Oldland

This newsletter celebrates the first anniversary of my writing these letters. I find it very appropriate to thank God for the opportunity to be here and to thank you for all aspects of the last year culminating with the ordination.

Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!! Ellen, William, Daniel and I thank you for the love and support we have felt from this parish during the last year. From the moment we began to pray, visit, and talk, our call to St. Thomas' has felt right. We are very grateful for all of the assistance we received during the last year in ways too numerous to mention.

We also want to express our thanks for the prayers, the work, and the gifts for my ordination. A great deal of time, energy, and thought went into this wonderful parish event. I am aware of some of the planning that went into the various aspects of the service. Some people helped with the bulletin. Others helped as the acolytes, the choir, the ushers, the servers, the readers, the alter guild, the bread, the video tape recording, the pictures, and more. I am aware of some people who helped with the planning, decorating, and serving of the reception. I am also aware of some people who worked on planning and purchasing the wonderful gifts. The Chasuble and stole are beautiful. The new linens for home communions are perfect. The cloak for the winter is a very thoughtful and useful gift.

So many people were involve din this event that it would be impossible to name them all. I am sure I have already left out some aspect of the planning and preparation that took place. In addition, some people were doing things behind the scenes of which I am not fully aware. All of the prayer, time, thoughtfulness and energy made the service and the event worshipful and beautiful. It is impossible to express how grateful we, as a family, and I, personally, feel.

We look forward to many years together with the people of St. Thomas'. We pray for this community, for the church, and for you, our friends. Thank you again for everything.

Peace,

Bill+

Income: May 2001

Expense: May 2001

Pledged	$ 0.00
Received	$ 0.00
Shortage	$ 0.00

Budgeted	$ 0.00
Spent	$ 0.00
Under spent	$ 0.00

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'"

from Luke 10:29

Earlier this month, you might have read the piece in Greensboro's Sunday morning edition about Beth McKee-Huger, Director of the Greensboro Housing Coalition. In addition, Beth is also an ordained Episcopal deacon serving at St. Barnabas' Church in the same town.

I had the opportunity to meet Beth several years ago when she was the director for Habitat. I knew then she was a spirit-filled individual who believes that, through God, there isn't anything that is impossible. Her task now, as it was with Habitat, is to help provide safe, affordable housing as well as being an advocate for Greensboro's poorest people. It was mentioned in this article that if you watch closely when she walks down the street, she's the one who stops and talks to strangers, especially the dirty and disoriented ones whom most people pretend not to see. You and I know that Jesus spent much of his time with the poor. However, there are very few of us who do more than have an occasional encounter with them. In fact, getting too close to the poorest of the poor makes me feel uncomfortable. It's even very easy for me to believe, at times, that the one way to be comfortable is to yield to the mindset that only material possessions will truly put me at ease.

My faith, however, is strengthened by Beth and her commitment to help those in need. And by my friend, who has a downtown business, who buys a meal for anyone off the street who asks. And by my sister who fills her backpack with apples or granola bars whenever she goes into the large metropolitan city near her home to give to those who solicit until her supply is gone.

I think Jesus is constantly telling us that if we are too untroubled in this world, something is passing us by. I'm sure that there have been too many times when the church has aligned itself with the rich, when it knew full well that Jesus chose to walk with the poor. Maybe Jesus could see that the rich young ruler regarded material prosperity as a god. And possibly Jesus is saying to us that when we have so much wealth, and that wealth is so important, we don't have room for Him.

Tom Balsley

September 12	Willie Adkins St. Paul
October 10	Marian Safriet St. Luke
November 14	Jeanne Horsley & Mavis Simon St. Mary & St. Teresa of Avila

Administrator's Report Angie Underwood

Preschool Report Carol Puryear	The Day School's Open House is scheduled for Sunday, August 19th. from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. in the Parish House. Kindergarten will begin their first day on Monday, August 20th. However, preschoolers will return on Tuesday, September 4th.

Kindergarten Report Cori Anderson