Dear St. Patrick's,

            Grace and peace. Early this morning surrounded by her daughter Carol Hylton and grandson Kevin, long-time parishioner Katherine Sheldon Pughe died at her home. She was 93 years old. A memorial service will be held at St. Patrick's this Sunday, February 13, at 3:00pm. Please keep Katherine, Carol, and Kevin in your prayers.

            Your Vestry met in retreat this past weekend at the Bolger Center in Potomac, Maryland. The Vestry brainstormed and developed action plans around five major topics: parish spiritual life, internal communications, recruiting and engaging new members, governance/by-laws, and alternate fundraisers. Over the next several weeks, I will write in the Wednesday email about the Vestry's vision for the future of St. Patrick's in each of these component areas.

            Please come to St. Patrick's to hear the musical talents of our young stars at the Youth Winter Music Tea on Saturday, February 12 at 5:00pm. This is a wonderful way to "do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ" (baptismal promise) and also an opportunity to get to know other St. Patrick's parishioners (see below).

            In this issue of the Wednesday email is the first in a series of "Do You Know?" questions leading up to our Centennial Celebrations that will be held the last weekend of October (October 29-30, 2011). Thanks to the hard work of the Archives Committee, the answers will be discovered in archival materials scanned into our website.

            A few quick reminders:

1. Now is the time to sign up for residential summer camp at Camp Wright on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. [More Information]

2. Bring a Friend Sunday is March 6 at 10:00am [More Information]

Faithfully,

Read last Sunday's sermon titled, "Becoming Church: Salt, Light, and YOU"      

We pray for long-time parishioner Katherine Sheldon Pughe who died this morning, and for her daughter Carol Hylton and grandson Kevin Hylton. There will be a memorial service for Katherine this Sunday at 3pm.

We pray for J.B. Loveland who is recovering from knee surgery, and for those who care for her, especially her husband Charlie, and children Mac and Halle Johnson.

Join us for our Youth Winter Music Tea this Saturday at 5pm.  We gather in the Great Hall by the fire and listen to our young people share their musical talents.  This year we have handbell ringers, singers, piano players, and more so it is sure to be a great afternoon. 

Sunday we have our 6^th graders sharing music for handbells as well as our 7^th-9^th grade Cambiata Choir singing a great song from the hit TV show, "Glee." Don't miss it!

We send a merry breakfast crew to the O Street Headquarters of So Others Might Eat (SOME) this Sunday, February 13th to make bacon and eggs and other breakfast treats for up to 300 guests. Here is a very tangible way to show Christianity in action, and spend some early morning time with fellow St. Patrick's parishioners. They gather at 6am, and are done in time for the 10am service. If you are able to join them, please contact Miren Beitia at 202 244-7236 or zarabozo-beitia@att.net. This is for parishioners 16 years and older due to food safety regulations in the District.

Join our Seminarian Henry McQueen for a study of how a Rule of Life can impact your Lenten journey and your arrival at the Easter Resurrection.  For centuries monastic communities have lived intentionally through a rule of life; we will explore how a rule of life can be shaped to affect our own lives. 

•  In four sessions held on Sunday mornings beginning February 13th until March 6th from 9:00 to 9:50AM

We will look at the history, the practice and the application of Rules of Life.  At our last session we will be prepared to begin our Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday just several days hence.  You will be encouraged to live your own Rule of Life during Lent; with the celebration of Easter you can then choose whether to maintain, modify, or abandon your personal Rule of Life.  It would be my prayer that your own Rule of Life become an important part of your life as you continue to grow into the community of Christ.

Please RSVP if you will be attending the next Senior Saints Lunch on Tuesday, February 15th at noon in the Church library.  Contact your hostess Marilyn Mix (202 965-5423 or mameremix@aol.com) or Karen in the church office.

St. Patrick's will again offer a forum for those caring for elderly or chronically-ill family members to come together to share ideas, resources, and most of all, faith.  If you or someone you know is negotiating the ups and downs of family caregiving, plan to come to St. Patrick's on Thursday nights, 7-8 pm, beginning February 17th.  Participants can come as their schedules allow.  Past discussions have included: self-care, advocating for loved ones in hospital settings, adjusting Christmas traditions to new family realities, and trusting God with death.  Each meeting begins with meditation or prayer.

If you would like to know more, please contact Mona Hanford, mhanford@infograte.com, or The Rev. Andrea Martin, at andrea@stpatrickschurchdc.org

Save the date, and start the closet cleaning:  We will begin accepting Rummage Sale donations starting Sunday, March 6th for one month leading up to the Rummage Sale on Saturday, April 9th. Note the earlier date than usual!

Want to help with the Rummage Sale this year? Contact Stacy Smith (ssmith@eburke.org) or Karen in the church office.

St. Patrick's is celebrating 100 years of service to the Palisades area of Washington, DC. How much do you know about your parish? Every week in the Wednesday email will be a question about the history of St. Patrick's. Follow the link to discover the answers from scans of archival materials. Centennial celebrations are scheduled for the last weekend of October, 2011 (October 29-30). Mark your calendars!

What was the actual date of the first service at St. Patrick's? Which parish started St. Patrick's?