|
Transforming Hearts & Community through Jesus' Love
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
Meet our New Assistant Rector, The Rev. Benjamin Thomas!
|
|
The Rev. Benjamin Allen Thomas, Jr. was born in Virginia and received a Bachelor's Degree in Literature and Philosophy. He received a Masters Degree in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University where he wrote his thesis on French refugee policies and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in order to unearth the ancient question posed in the scriptural Cain and Abel narrative - am I my brother's keeper? He completed his theological training at Sewanee: The University of the South's School of Theology, where he received his Master of Divinity Degree. Prior to ministry, he lived and worked in New York City for 12 years in social entrepreneurship, international economic and community development, and investment and finance. He is an Oblate in the benedictine Community of St. Mary, a contemplative Episcopal community that links care for the environment with Christian spirituality. He serves on the boards of Metropolitan Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping those on the edge of homelessness, and the Community of St. Mary, Southern Province. He is a member of the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association. His poetry has appeared in the Anglican Theological Review, Curator Magazine, and the Sewanee Theological Review. He loves running, tennis, and yoga, has traveled to over 35 countries, and is a passionate human rights advocate. He and his wife Anna have five children.
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The weekly newsletter from St. Gregory's - August 17, 2017
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This Sunday, we welcome Mr. Michael O'Gieblyn, violin, as our guest soloist at the 10 AM worship. He and his wife, Angie, along with their son Ryan, are newcomers to St. Gregory's. Michael serves as violinist for several orchestras across the country and Angie is a counselor at Lynn University. We welcome them to our church and we welcome Michael this Sunday morning. Music will include works by Flor Peeters and Gabriel Faure as well as the well-known and much beloved "Meditation" from Thais by Jules Massenet.
|
|
|
|
Celebrant & Preacher:
The Rev. Andrew J. Sherman
|
"Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles". Matthew 15:10-20, 21-28
|
Click on the image above to hear the Processional Hymn -
We The Lord's People
|
|
|
SAVE THE CRECHE - SAVE THE MENORAH!
|
The City of Boca Raton is in the process of forbidding citizen sponsored religious displays or symbols to be placed in Sanborn Park (a free speech zone by City ordinance). This will directly affect the presence of a menorah and the Christmas creche sponsored by Saint Joan of Arc Church and St. Gregory's. Our annual Creche blessing ceremony is a wonderful example of civic and ecumenical cooperation. A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 22 at 6:00 P.M in City Council meeting room. The ordinance in question is Ordinance 5397 and it can be read or downloaded from the City website. It is important that committed citizens make our thoughts known so that public policy is not enacted out of fear of atheism or the negative publicity initiated by atheism and its Satanic display last Christmas. Please make time to call the Mayor's Office, City Council members and any other persons of influence in City Hall. Most importantly, try to attend the public hearing on this very negative ordinance and express your thoughts about it.
PLEASE ATTEND THIS PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE 5397 BANNING OF RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS AND SYMBOLS IN SANBORN PARK. TUESDAY AUGUST 22 at 6:00pm in CITY HALL , CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM
|
"Boca Helping Hands Backsack" is back this year!
|
Last year, Hammock Pointe Elementary School opted out of participating in the backpack program. This year, the school has a new coordinator. We are looking forward to the assistance the program gives kids to have meals over the weekend.
It seems unlikely that children in an affluent city like Boca Raton would go to bed hungry on weekends. The reality is that a very large number of elementary school students do not receive nutritious meals at home and are eligible for a free or reduced hot lunch during the week at school.
St. Gregory's and The Chapel of St. Andrew partner with Boca Helping Hands to continue to grow a ministry of love to the poorest children of Boca Raton. In past years we have helped provide food for 100+ children at Hammock Pointe Elementary School in West Boca Raton. (The school is off of Boca Rio Road.)
We need volunteers!
No experience or special skills necessary! Every Wednesday afternoon during the school year, a group of volunteers from St. Gregory's and The Chapel of St. Andrew's meet at the school to pack the backsacks. We usually start around 2:30 and often it takes just about an hour depending on how many volunteers are available that week and how many backpacks we have to fill. It is a good way to help out the children in our community and share some fellowship with parishioners from both churches.
If all goes as planned, the first pack will be Wednesday September 20. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Ron Knowlton in the St. Gregory's office or Michele Knowlton at 561-361-8970.
|
|
New Video Ministry - Help us film the Sunday Sermons
|
Wouldn't it be nice to see Father Andrew preaching in a video? We would love to start this new ministry. We would need some volunteers and we would rotate the schedule so once a month, you would record the sermon on our video camera. No skills needed - all age groups welcome - we can train you very quickly! If interested in joining this new ministry, please email Ron Knowlton,
[email protected]
THANK YOU!
|
|
From Tim Brumfield, Director of Music
|
As you've been reading here in What's Happening, we have a very exciting concert season coming up this year! I've written about Wycliffe Gordon and Dee Daniels, and last week I featured The Master Chorale and their upcoming performance of the Durufle Requiem. This week I want to highlight an ensemble about which I'm equally as thrilled-The Amadeus Trio. Now in their 25
th season, this concert will be one of a series marking their anniversary. Most, if not all, of the soloists and ensembles which I endeavor to bring to St. Gregory's have a personal connection to me and this amazing trio is no exception. In addition to being managed by Brumfield and Associates I've know the violinist, Tim Baker, and his family practically all my life. Tim's father was a piano instructor at my alma mater, EKU, and his mother was the music librarian. In addition, Tim's father, Landis, was also the principal organist at The First Christian Church in Richmond where I used to attend concerts and services as a child and teenager because of their extraordinary music and his incredible playing. Little did I realize that I would later at the age of 19, succeed him as the organist at First Christian and a few years later become Director of Music and Organist there, building on his legacy of a 20 plus year tenure. Tim was already an established violinist with major orchestras and ensembles and 25 years ago, helped form the Amadeus Trio.
These three incredibly talented musicians bring new life to chamber music and are recognized internationally as one of the most dynamic piano trios in the world today. Performing throughout the world, they will make a return to Lincoln Center in 2018 to celebrate their 25
th anniversary as they launch their newly recorded CD. Specializing in newly commissioned works, they also breathe new life into the timeless music of Beethoven and Mozart
Hiroko Sasaki, piano, enjoys an extraordinary career as a solo artist and chamber musician with her Carnegie Hall debut being declared "a rare poetic understatement" by Musical America.
Violinist Timothy Baker's extraordinary career has taken him from the Moscow Phil to the National Symphony and beyond and has served as concertmaster of the Wolf Trap Festival in Washington, DC.
Cellist David Teie performs the world over and is an active composer as well as performer of cello and vocal music. Along with being a classical musician, David performs and composes in all genres, having composed the string orchestra music for a CD of Rock music by the group Echobrain founded by Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.
I can't be more proud to introduce this group and especially Tim Baker to St. Gregory's and to the Boca community. This is going to truly be a concert to remember! For more info on this amazing trio, click here:
http://theamadeustrio.com/
|
| Check out the latest renovations at the Family Promise House! |
|
Gratitude Training took on a service project to upgrade and renovate the Eastburn Family Promise House. They raised money and upgraded the bathroom, put in new ceiling fans and installed an outside raised garden. Thank you so much Gratitude Training!! What amazing work!
|
The Holy Grill of St. Nicholas
|
In five weeks, on September 17, St. Gregory's will celebrate Episcopal Charities Sunday.
Most of our people know little about Episcopal Charities, but those few who do have asked that we get the word out to our members about this quiet but vital support organization, and several new members from other denominations have pointed out how fortunate we Episcopalians are to have this kind of organization. Episcopal Charities provides critical financial and management support for volunteer work by Saint Gregory's members and members of our sister churches. Episcopal Charities donates over $300,000 per year to support 40 Southeast Florida charities for which funding is requested by our churches, including $70,000 to organizations manned by St Gregory's volunteers. Over coming weeks, we will feature our local Episcopal Charities ministries in What's Happening. We hope you will find something here that resonates in your heart to support these good works.
This week at our parish picnic, our youth group will be serving ice cream from the Holy Grill of Saint Nicholas Food Trailer. The Holy Grill is a new mobile feeding ministry started by our sister parish, Saint Nicholas of Pompano Beach, and helped by a $1000 New Ministries Startup grant followed by a $10,000 Basic Human Needs Grant, both from Episcopal Charities. It is designed to move meal service to places that are convenient for the local homeless. The Holy Grill serves at a number of local sites, which is important to the homeless as services for them are moved further out by beach communities seeking to enhance the appeal of central beach tourist areas. A huge problem for homeless is the amount of walking they must do. Their feet suffer badly from the need to keep moving constantly all night long to avoid being arrested for loitering. They are gratified by St. Nicholas' efforts to minimize their travel to get meals. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!
|
|
Youth Group - What's Happening?
|
May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
~ Psalm 67:1 ~
THIS SUNDAY - AUGUST 20
Annual Parish Picnic after 10am service
Help with Holy Grill Food Truck Italian Ice sales
SAT, AUG 26 - SUN, AUG 27
MALL SCAVENGER HUNT -- LOCK-IN --
AND MUCH MORE!
Meet at St. Gregory's at 6pm
More details coming soon!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Sun, Sept 17 -- Youth Group Pasta Lunch fundraiser
Sat, Sept 23 -- Beach clean up, picnic, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Sun, Sept 24 -- Love Boca Outreach Dinner
Sat, Oct 28 -- Parish Work Day and Fall Festival
Other fun stuff in the works: cooking class, Advent wreath making, Christmas Gourmet Market fundraiser, Operation Christmas Child . . .
and MUCH MORE!
|
Speaking the Truth in Love invites the reader to live assertively - just as Jesus did.
This spiritual yet extremely practical book and training make clear:
- What assertiveness is (and is not)
- the Biblical foundation for assertiveness
- How Jesus is our model for living assertively
- How to be assertive in prayer and praise
- How to make, refuse, and negotiate requests
- How to express and receive compliments
- How to handle criticism, anger, and other tough relational issues
You will learn practical ways to relate to others with greater honesty, compassion, and respect.
Come and experience the freedom and joy of Christian assertiveness!
A limited number of copies of "Speaking the Truth in Love" will be available for purchase at the first discipleship training session. Participants can also purchase a copy of the book from
www.stephenministries.org
. The sessions will be more meaningful for those who have a copy of the book.
|
|
Update from St. Gregory's Episcopal Church Women (ECW):
|
|
For our Autumn Bazaar, we are calling all Artists and Craft Makers from St. Gregory's!
As part of our upcoming Autumn Bazaar (November 18), we are collecting all kinds of arts and crafts for people to buy*. This year, instead of a Christmas-based theme of baskets, trees, wreaths, etc. we hope to sell a variety of art - paintings, pottery, etc. and crafts - aprons, knitted goods, shell mirrors, placemats, handmade Christmas cards, etc. - whatever our talented artists and craft-makers are willing to donate!
Please let us know what you'd would like to contribute. Or, bring your arts and crafts to Harris Hall Monday through Thursday from 9-3:00 p.m. You can also participate in the Bazaar planning by attending our August 24 meeting at 6:00 p.m. in Harris Hall.
*We are also collecting
attic treasures, toys, books, jewelry, and items for our 1-2 Dollar table. More donation ideas include: dishes, cups, purses, belts, hats, leather goods, small electronics, games, vases, kitchen gadgets, books, sporting goods, plants, collectables, and more!
Help us make the Bazaar a big success!! Proceeds will support St. Gregory's Inreach and Outreach programs.
-For the Thanksgiving Pie Bake Sale, to ascertain interest, through September 10 tell us if you are interested in purchasing a pumpkin pie(s) for Thanksgiving. Pies will cost $10.00 each; available for pick up November 21 and 22nd. If interested, please tell us by emailing at office@st-gregorys,com and/or call 561-395-8285. The official sign up dates for pies will begin in October.
Thank you for your supporting the ECW!
|
Hi, Foyer Folks
And thank you all for sharing your friendship and some great meals, and honoring some of our many selfless volunteers! It's making this low season lots more fun! Please don't hesitate to invite someone new or shy to come along; it's an easy way for them to make friends in our parish family!
I'd like to get a count of people who can make our Saturday afternoon 9/30 event with a guided tour of Gumbo Limbo and also we'll be accompanied by our own longtime Gumbo Limbo volunteer, Jim Miller. We could follow with early supper at Gretl's Bistro, precede with a lunch at Boca Beach Club, or we're open to any other dining ideas you have, including a potluck picnic in the park. Please reply to all or to me with your thoughts on that meal. The Guided tour (which is optional, you can browse on your own) will be $5 and limited to 25 people which should not be a problem at all, but I need to reserve our tour early.
Thanks,
Maralee Pope
847-712-1891
|
On September 24th, you can be part of a fundraiser that will help homeless families in Palm Beach County! If you love Chipotle go to this Boca location! Help homeless children and their families achieve sustainable independence. On September 24th, show this flyer on your phone, print it out, or tell the cashier that you are supporting Family Promise of SPBC!
Thank You.
Visit our website for the countdown till this event!
http://familypromisespbc.org/events/483/
|
A Workshop Series with Kate Eaton and Mishkhah
.
|
|
Participate in the transformation of classical models of worship through the arts, music, movement and interaction.
Learn the four-phase process of "discovery, preparation, launch, sustain" created by Mishkhah to support churches in their efforts to create worship services that are dynamic and life-changing.
Workshop dates:
8/19/17 Phase One: Discovery
6-9pm - Potluck dinner and discovery time
Location: Kate Eaton's home (see map)
9/16/17 Phase Two: Preparation
1-4pm - Introduction to preparing all elements of a new service.
Location: Kate Eaton's home (see map)
9/30/17 Phase Two: Preparation continues
1-4pm - Complete the preparation of all elements of a new service and stage the service.
Location: Spanish Monastery
10/4/17 Phase Three: Launch
6:30-8:30pm - Participate in the creation of the first service - observe all elements and how attendees interact with each element, particularly the Via Sacra ("sacred way"), a walking meditation.
Location: Spanish Monastery
10/11,18, 25 and 11/1: Phase Four: Sustain
6:30-8:30pm - Continue to participate in creating the next four services. Learn how to keep the service elements consistent throughout a season. Observe how the service evolves over the course of the season, how those who attend respond and consider how these elements could be incorporated into a service at your church.
Location: Spanish Monastery
Workshop cost: $200 per person
Join Kate Eaton, founder of Mishkhah, for a hands-on workshop series beginning 8.19.17, at 6pm. Participate fully in the 4-phase process of "discovery, preparation, launch and sustain" that Kate has developed to create dynamic and transformative worship. Learn this process in action in support of a new service first-hand at the Spanish Monastery.
For more information contact Kate Eaton at [email protected]
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER |
|
Announcement Deadlines for Bulletin and What's Happening
|
As we approach the start of season soon, we would like to remind everyone that if you have an announcement for the bulletin and What's Happening, please send it
[email protected];
[email protected] &
[email protected] . The deadline to the send announcements is noon on Wednesday. Thank you!
|
Bible Study Opportunities at St. Gregory's
|
|
Tuesday
9:30 am - Women's Bible Study
Wednesday
8:00 am - Men's Spirituality Breakfast (Marlee's Diner
|
|
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- For the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer (BCP) p. 815
|
|
Announcement Deadlines
|
Send "What's Happening" On |
-What's Happening by Noon Wednesday
-Bulletin items by Noon Wednesday
-Steeple News by 15th of the Month
|
Like what you see in "What's Happening"? Then forward it on and encourage your friends and family to sign up! Anyone can subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Coffee Hour Schedule
August 20: Back-to-School Picnic (No Brother's Breakfast)
August 27: Last names A-H
September 3: Last names I-M
September 10: Last names N-Z
|
|
St. Gregory's reaches out to the community through its music and lecture programs, worship services, ministries that benefit the poor locally and internationally, and much more. But we can't do it alone. Join St. Gregory's in giving back to the community by supporting our ministries. Let's do God's work together!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
St. Gregory's Episcopal Church
100 NE Mizner Blvd
Boca Raton, FL 33432
561.395.8285
www.stgregorysepiscopal.org
|
|
|
|
