All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, SC
In this month's issue (click on any title):
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THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS from the Rector
The Calm Before Saturday
(On Wednesday before the Garden Tour)
It’s Wednesday afternoon, and all the behind-the-scenes activities, which have been underway for the Garden Tour for months, are curiously absent at church today. This will change quickly within a day or two. The tremendous teamwork and cooperation that is the trademark of the All Saints Garden Tour is in overdrive as we point towards Saturday.
My office may look outwardly calm on this afternoon, and even Gordon Mann Hall for that matter, but that doesn’t mean that the many details that go into a successful Garden Tour go unnoticed. Imagine the garden owners taking a last walk around their gardens, making sure all looks great for their tour. A lot of people work very hard to make the third Saturday in May a very special day in the life of our Low Country.
Our tour is very special, not only because of the beautiful gardens, the huge crowds, the delicious lunch, the art and the crafts, the baked goods and the vendors, and the feeling of “goodness” that transcends all the labor and the beauty, but because all the months of work, all the details, all the meetings, are about giving to others in need in this community.
The Garden Tour is not about us. The Garden Tour is about people we may never see. The Garden Tour is about organizations that touch people’s lives in ways that promote human dignity and respect.
The Garden Tour lives on this year because people like you understand and appreciate the “larger picture” that underpins this labor of love. Out efforts help the following organizations:
The All Saints PreSchool Scholarship Fund
Programs for Exceptional People (PEP)
Bluffton Self Help, Inc.
Children’s Relief Fund
Hospice Care of the Low Country
Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse (CODA)
This tremendous outreach effort would not be possible without the grace of God, the commitment of dozens of parishioners, the many before us who shaped and gave leadership to garden tours past, and the hundreds of people who come year after year to immerse themselves in the beauty of these special home gardens.
We thank this year those who graciously offered their gardens for the Tour:
The Szczepek/Mangold Residence (Judy and Manfred)
The Bass Residence (Sharon and Nick)
The Stuckart Residence (Joan and Marc)
The Peeples Residence (Mary Ann and Tom)
The Prud’homme Residence (Barbara and Jerry)
The Buchanan Residence (Jo and Stuart)
The Fountain Residence (Linda and Mike)
The Heritage Garden Farm (Sea Pines Plantation)
The Blank Residence (Ginny and Arthur)
The Steingraber Residence (Veronika and Fred)
Also a very special “thank you” to Rosalie Van Dam and Elizabeth Loda for their thoughtful and effective leadership. The entire parish is grateful to them and those who took up the call to labor on behalf of others in our community…for the beauty of a garden.
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THE ASSOCIATE’S CORNER
Dear Friends,
I recently led a session of our new series, designed primarily for visitors, called “Welcome: A Guide to Life at All Saints.” During our time, we not only took a quick tour through the history and highlights of the prayer book, but I also provided an introduction to Sunday worship including a discussion of “liturgical etiquette,” that is, gesture and posture. We looked at questions such as: When and why do I cross myself? Exactly how do I receive communion? When do we stand, sit, or kneel?
As each of these things speaks to participation rather than to passivity in worship, I recalled that an anonymous priest had once referred to our various postures in the liturgy as a sequence of “Episcopal Aerobics.” It goes something like this:
Stand
Sit
Stand
Sit Still
Stand
Kneel
Stand, Shake Hands, or Hug
Sit
Stand
Stand or Kneel
Sit or Kneel
Stand or Kneel
Sit or Kneel
Kneel
Stand
It sure shows that when gathered for worship, we Episcopalians are no mere audience!
Blessings,
Mark
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GARDEN TOUR UPDATE
Extra, Extra…Read All About It! Record crowds attended All Saints’ 21st annual Garden Tour. As the “PB” went to press, we had tallied 896 attendees with a few additional ticket sales still to be included. Congratulations and thanks are due to all of you! There were visitors from Jacksonville, Atlanta, Asheville, and many other places. Many of our guests were repeats, and for some this was their first All Saints Garden Tour! And we had many inquiries about the date for the tour in 2009!
In addition to the beautiful gardens selected by our co-chairs Caroline McVitty and Jan Hooper, we had another marvelous blessing of perfect weather. Bob O’Flaherty, Betty Tufts, and Judy Russert organized the parkers and hostesses, filling in 120 shifts with all you Saints!
Once again, we thank Pat Collett and Bobbie Cubbage for feeding the crowd along with the assistance from so many of you and, of course, 211 Park Bistro. Lillian Hill and Gerry Foss, along with help from a huge number of Saints, pushed the totals for the Heavenly Confections in excess of $1,000 in sales! Then there was Helen Hamilton and Muffy Schulze weaving their magic in setting up a successful boutique that was made for fun shopping, something we all enjoy doing.
But let me digress just a bit and take us all back to the fantastic Artists’ Reception and Poster Contest at the library last January, put together by Joyce and Don Nagel along with Shirley Pearse and Lee Woodruff. Marilyn Johnson was in charge of décor (she shines in that, don’t you think?), weaving her talents through each event. Then on Sunday, May 4, Margaret and Ken Collins shared their wonderful home on the May River for our Premier Party honoring all the garden owners, one of which were members of All Saints, the Buchanans! The party was chaired by Kim Alcock who, along with her committee of Saints, served up a great evening and delicious cuisine. And once again, thanks to all the Saints who participated!
But let’s not forget all the behind-the-scenes folks who helped in so many ways to make this year’s tour happen: Joe Bell with ticket graphics, George Collett and Di Oviatt (tour tickets), Sara Dodenhoff (tickets for the premiere party), Carolyn Moore (out there making sure posters were everywhere), Fred and Mary Anne Gebler (marketing masters getting great publicity for the tour), Susan Beaver (our new historian who has brought the tour history up to date), and Linda and Wil Hamp (working hard to keeping our finances in order). And last, but not least, my enthusiastic co-chair, Elizabeth Loda, who is already getting up to speed for the 2009 Garden Tour! (So be sure to contact her as she begins to plan.)
Thank you, THANK YOU…to everyone. And next month, we’ll publish the final figures for the distributions to our six charities.
The All Saints gift to the community…the Garden Tour…through the beauty of a garden.
--Rosalie Van Dam, Chair
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SUMMER SUNDAY ADULT COURSE
Jesus and the Gospels: You gotta start somewhere!
This summer series will be led by our clergy staff and will be held from 9:00 to 9:50 a.m. on Sundays in the library. This far-reaching course, which will extend from May through mid-September, is designed to make Jesus as real as possible through the many portraits provided by the Gospels.
This video course examines the four Gospels utilizing the tremendous talent of Professor Luke Timothy Johnson, internationally known for his New Testament expertise. A former Benedictine monk, Johnson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University in Atlanta.
The course schedule and list of topics is as follows:
Please plan to engage with this most informative topic this summer.
*This Sunday All Saints Church will be visited by The Right Reverend Todd McGregor, bishop of the Tolaria Diocese in Madagascar. You may remember last fall All Saints collected and contributed funds for the building of the first church /cathedral in the new diocese. The cathedral was named All Saints!
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A GREAT MUSICAL PLAN
[Ed’s note: the following is a summary of the talk recently given by Steven Branyon, our new Director of Music]
“A Great Musical Plan” begins with an overview of our hand bells. These were given to All Saints in 1999 by John and Anne Utley with the hope that there would always be a group of ringers to peal for worship and on any other appropriate occasion. Until three years ago, there was such a group; unfortunately, upon the death of some of the members, the bells fell silent. Once I arrived at All Saints, I promised I would do all in my power to make sure that the bells would be used regularly again. On May 20, a rehearsal took place with plans for a performance in the church sometime soon. We currently have three octaves of Malmark bells (37) and a group of seven ringers, with openings for more.
Some other immediate needs were listed, as follows:
Sheet music (anthems): these can be donated in memory or honor of loved ones (price is between $ .90 and $2.50 per copy). All Saints currently has on hand a library of just under 200 works (a standard church library numbers 500-800 works).
CDs/records/tapes of sacred musical literature for educating young musicians and for all to enjoy.
Additional music stands (we need about five).
Extend the hand bells to five octaves.
Seated choir risers.
Black performance folders for the choir.
Standard cubby-hole music cabinet for the choir.
Cabinet to hold organ/oversized solo music.
CD recording equipment and microphones for the sanctuary.
Autoharp.
Baby grand piano for the choir room.
Choral scholars (2-4 singers).
Publicity for fall programming.
Patrons for Children & Youth Program (Since this May 4 talk, the treasurer has informed me that there is some money to begin this program courtesy of “Friends of Music.” You may make additional contributions to continue this program.).
Also needed are people to help us realize our musical goals, as follows:
Teachers/educators who can commit to certain days each month to help with an after-school music program (we need people who have a love for children and youth in second grade through high school).
Keyboard teachers (for lab piano); the transference of music to keyboard enables great sight-singing skills.
Mentors to children and youth (not necessarily educators, but those who just love to be around young people).
People to help serve refreshments.
People to teach a Bible lesson.
Bell ringers.
In addition, the Adult Choir will always be open to those who will commit.
During this summer, we will need various soloists/duets for services, various instrumentalists, and a choir camp for second through sixth grades.
By fall, you can expect to see:
- A bell choir in place for services
- A community concert during the holiday season
- An evensong community adult choir
- A program offered to children from second grade through high school, including Royal School of Church Music membership (a graded program)
- A steadily growing adult choir
- And additional music at the 8:00 a.m. service
In the future, we’ll plan for a choir trip to England (2011) and improved acoustics in the sanctuary.
Finally, the adult choir will be rehearsing during the summer months on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the choir room to prepare music for the 10:15 service. This would be an excellent opportunity for you to sing with the choir, particularly if you are unable to commit to the fall/winter schedule of rehearsals and services. All are welcome!
--Steven Branyon
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PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY
On May 11, we saw the celebration of Pentecost, Mother’s Day, and the blessing of the first completed shawls from the new Prayer Shawl Ministry. What a wonderful day!
Many of the current knitters were present as Fr. Lindsey gave a blessing over the dozen-plus shawls prior to their gifting. After the 10:15 service, the shawls were displayed in Gordon Mann Hall during coffee hour. The interest shown in them was outstanding! Nearly all were selected for distribution as a means of wrapping others in the love and prayers of All Saints.
Currently, only three shawls remain as reserve inventory, and they are being stored at church. We will, of course, be adding to these in the weeks ahead. The shawls are available for distribution by clergy, lay ministers, and church members. There is no set criteria for the giving of a shawl; they are intended to be given when needed as a link to God’s love. The recipient is determined by the giver.
For additional information or to join this ministry, please contact Shea Szachara at 705-2500 or at shea@szachara.com.
-- Shea Szachara
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HERE COMES VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL!
VBS will again be awesome! The dates are June 16-20 at Christ Lutheran Church (on Wm. Hilton Parkway near the Island Car Wash). For anyone new to All Saints, we have been partnering with Christ Lutheran for several years in order to present a VBS to the community. Most of the students, age three and up, come from one of our local preschools and many are un-churched, so the effort of evangelism is great. All the volunteers have a great time too! Lori Anderson is an awesome director and very organized. Already, about 25 volunteers from Christ Lutheran are on board; last year, we had over 20 folks from All Saints (including teens) helping. There are many ways to serve.
Four female young adults will be the featured musical group (Captive Free Journey) and they need housing, if you have a spare room. Usually transportation is not a problem, but that might be another way to help. We also need crafts persons, sports folks, storytellers, and kitchen helpers as well as group leaders. All the materials are user-friendly.
Scholarships may be provided for $15.00 and our special GO (Gospel Outreach) Soccer Balls are $10.00 each. These will be sent to 300,000 South Africans and will be personalized with VBS materials in English and African languages and signed by the children. We will bless them and mail them off to these missions. You may also purchase GO balls for family members. This theme was chosen to coincide with the World Cup soccer championships. One half of all the people in South Africa are under the age of 15 and most are soccer enthusiasts!
We hope that any All Saints children and many from our PreSchool will attend, as well as visiting grandchildren. VBS will be full of fun, and it could also be life-changing. Local musicians are welcome to join the Captive Free Journey group.
From May 18 through May 25, Loni Saunders was at Camp St. Christopher for Spiritual Director training. So if you are interested in participating, want to check training times, or ask questions, please leave a message at 686-3990 or email either Loni or Dave at DSAUND6560@aol.com. Lori Anderson can show a video and bring some materials so we can generate excitement about VBS! Donna Downing will be on staff once again (probably running the outdoor activities), and she is awesome!
As this is a partnership for us with Christ Lutheran, we hope many will want to participate fully. We will post a list of supplies in Gordon Mann Hall, and we plan to update all VBS contributions in a unique and graphic way!
God Bless You for wanting to be part of this endeavor. Let’s build our church involvement and help children to know the Lord! Let’s all participate the week of June 16-20!
-- Loni Saunders
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PRESCHOOL NEWS
It’s hard to believe that our school year is almost over. This month we will have our last day of school on June 4 and will celebrate our graduating four-year-old class as they leave us to go to Hilton Head Early Childhood Center, Hilton Head Christian Academy, and St. Francis Catholic School. We wish them all well and send them in full confidence that they are well-prepared for their new school adventures.
The month of May was a busy one for us, and we had a fabulous time! For the first time, the PreSchool children painted and decorated birdhouse chimes, tiny baskets, mini flower pots, and button boxes for the garden tour boutique. You may have wondered how you missed 33 child-decorated items at the boutique! Well, that’s because they were so cute that every parent wanted their own child’s item! The proceeds, of course, went to the garden tour. Our goal next year will be to have each child make two items: one to sell to mom and dad and one to sell at the boutique.
We are sorry to say goodbye to several of our teachers at the end of this year. Ms. Terri Quinn will be moving to Nashville, TN, as her husband has taken a job at Vanderbilt University. Ms. Lisa Priester will be carpooling her sons to school as Evan’s schedule has changed to a half-day program at Bluffton Elementary. And lastly, Ms. Meghan Yearout is going back to school to get her Master’s Degree at Savannah College of Art and Design. We wish our teachers well, and we know they will be missed by all of us who will be here at school loving the children.
For the first time, we will be hosting a summer camp led by Ms. Rebecca Martel and Ms. Beth Nizolek. The camp will cover four weeks, two in June and two in July. The June weeks are full; however, the two weeks in July still have openings as of this writing. Please call Ms. Nan at school, 681-8671, if you are interested in knowing about any available camp spots.
There are many people to thank this year for all their help and support: Ms. Marilyn Bertke for reading to the Redbird class every week, Ms. Joyce Brady for doing music with the school every week, and our main Pasta Dinner helpers (Erika McGoldrick, Anne Finn, Susan Hughson, DeAnna Kaup, Holly Mlodzinski, and our new trainees, Mati Topping, Ceci Parella, and Viviana Sheeran). (And be ready with ideas to improve next year’s Pasta Dinner!) Many others helped as well and the school benefited greatly from everyone’s efforts. Special thanks goes to our two main playground helpers, Jennifer Bent and Julie Benjamin. Extra eyes are very helpful when all the children are on the playground at the same time and teachers are taking children to their cars.
Have a safe and happy summer. Get lots of rest, have lots of fun, and don’t blink…school will begin again on August 19!
-- Nan Thompson
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D.R. CONSTRUCTION TEAM TRIP REPORT
Our trip was a rousing success! When we arrived in Barahona from Santo Domingo on Saturday April 26, we looked at a dull gray stone and cement building and fence. When we left the following Saturday, there stood a church in vibrant color!
On Sunday, we attended two church services – one held at Jesus Peregrino (Jesus the Pilgrim), the church in the barrio, and one at the storefront where members of La Redencion are meeting until the new church we are helping to construct is completed. It was a pleasure to see the enthusiasm of the Dominicans in celebrating our religion. Fr. Lindsey gave the sermons at both services and they were interpreted by Bob Stevens, Executive Director of the Dominican Development Group (DDG) and a member of our work team. We were glad we arrived in Barahona a day early to participate in the services. There was a lot of exuberant music with tambourines, smiling faces, and interaction among everyone present. Dominicans are a handsome and proud people, and it was a wonderful experience to worship with them.
Monday morning we began our work at the site of the church and school. All the team members were “workers” who tackled every task, and when completed, performed other tasks. Nobody was in an inactive state all week! Work was the name of the game, and it was a pleasure to see. Although working in the sun and grime was physically exhausting, it was very gratifying to see what got accomplished. Several times we needed to ask different members to come in out of the sun or one of the rooms since they looked dehydrated and tired. But they drank some water, rested a while, and then went back to work.
The goal for the week was to complete the installation of all doors and windows (done by Dominicans), seal the roof with two coats of sealer, install electrical wiring, and paint the ceiling of the church with two coats. Because of our outstanding workers, these tasks were completed by Wednesday! So we moved on to painting the church exterior and surrounding walled fence, and this was finished by Friday morning!
Work on the sewage disposal system was in full progress with two Dominicans digging a five-foot diameter hole; when we left, this hole had reached the 30-foot depth mark. The men are digging through mostly rocks, and it is a daunting task. The system, similar to our septic tanks, must reach sand so the fluids will seep away. Hilda, the project foreman and a member of La Redencion, will confirm completion of the plumbing so our Vacation Bible School in late June for 65-70 people can be held in the new church building.
Blessings and special thanks to our All Saints team members: Fr. Rick Lindsey, Arthur McVitty, Dennis Foss, David Saunders, and Fred Finn as well as to Bob Stevens and Chuck Gargola from the Clearwater Deanery in Florida. Pictures of the trip are on the DR Mission Bulletin Board.
Interested in the 2009 trip? Please contact Fred Finn at 705-2317 for information.
-- Fred Finn and Bonnie Gruetzmacher
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GIVING FOR AN EDUCATION
A needy child in the Dominican Republic can receive the gift of learning at an Episcopal school with a $300 scholarship. This money will pay for tuition and school uniforms. We have just received the names of six children who are currently in need of scholarships. Their pictures, along with a brief biography of each child, can be found on the Outreach bulletin board.
This rewarding ministry has always been well-supported by All Saints…by individuals, by families, by supper clubs, and by organizations within the parish which have donated full or partial scholarships. If you have given to this effort in the past or are new to All Saints, please thoughtfully consider supporting these children. No gift is too small, and every dollar is valued. Your check may be made payable to All Saints, with the notation DR scholarship.
For more information about how you can support our missions in the Dominican Republic, the fastest-growing diocese in the Episcopal Church, call Loni Saunders at 686-3990 or Bonnie and John Gruetzmacher at 687-5267.
-- Bonnie Gruetzmacher
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A STEWARDSHIP MINUTE
Do you remember these words from Psalm 42 describing the thirst for something greater? As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God. (Psalm 42:2) Our wholeness comes from having our total existence fed: body, mind, and spirit. To put it plainly, wholeness, meaning, and joy come to us completely when we love and serve God with our entire being. That is, when we choose to be good stewards for our entire existence: bodies, minds, and souls. The significance of Jesus’ statement that “One does not live by bread alone” (Mt. 4:4) is explained in the June issue of Stewardship. The feature article points out that as important as bread is for one’s life, food alone does not satisfy our inner needs. Our spirit needs to be fed as well. The hymn writer, Charles Wesley, put it well in these words: A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify, A never dying soul to save, and fit it for the sky.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to have the spiritual strength, to serve you with our whole being: body, mind, and spirit. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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WELCOME PIPER ABBOTT
We welcome to the world and to our All Saints family Piper Pearl Abbott, born to Michelle and Christopher Abbott on May 16. Piper weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 18 inches. Her big sister Breanna was on hand to welcome her home. Piper is the second granddaughter of our own Marilyn and John Adams.
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FEED MY SHEEP is an All Saints outreach project for our local food pantries Bluffton Self Help and The Deep Well. June’s suggested donations are “Peanut Butter and Jelly.” Donations can be left in the wicker basket in the narthex.
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CODA—Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse Many thanks to our parishioners who donated much needed household cleaning supplies which were delivered the last week in April by our ECW liason. For June we are asked to continue to provide ‘Items for the Medicine Chest’ such as band-aids, OTC medications—aspirin, cold/cough/flu remedies, antibiotic cream, etc; just the same items you have and use at home! CODA’s collection spot is located in the parish hall next to the hanging quilt. Please be generous.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN
The next meeting of the All Saints’ ECW chapter will be held Tuesday, June 10, beginning at 6 p.m. with social time. Our guest speaker will be parishioner and ECW member Elizabeth Loda. She will speak on two subjects dealing with women’s finances: Money Mistakes Women Make and Stretching Retirement Income. Also on the agenda will be the induction of the new ECW officers. They are
President, Dotty McIlraith
Vice President, Marian Passannante
Secretary, Jo Anne Milana-Rizza
Treasurer, Di Oviatt
Program Coordinator, Caroline McVitty
Worship Leader, Loni Saunders
All women of All Saints are considered members and are invited and urged to attend our monthly meetings. If transportation is an issue, please call Marilyn Adams in the parish office.
-- Marian Passannante
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THE JULIETS will meet for food, fun and fellowship on Monday June 16, 9:30 a.m. at The Original Pancake House, located across from the Moss Creek Center. All women are invited to attend.
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