Dragon Tales E-News
October 10, 2018
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A Note from Jeff
What is
“
Church
”
? What do we think of when we think of church? Hard pews and old music? A few hours respite from a busy life? Fellowship? A place for moral education? A place to deepen your faith, or is it simply a life-long habit? Is this even a question that has occurred to you?
The answers are as varied as the people giving them. Our Youth Group is exploring this question, and all the questions that flow from it, this year. Our young people are very bright and inquisitive; they are literally asking for more chances to explore faith and church. Consequently, we are devoting part of each Youth Group meeting to exploring some aspect of
“
What is Church?
”.
Just in case you have not heard, the youth are designing and running the 9 am service next May 12
th
. This is a daunting undertaking for a dozen or so young people, and we are spending this year getting ready. While the service in May is ultimate objective, this is truly a case of the journey being far more important than the destination. So far, we have had discussions (there are NO lectures in Youth Group!) on subjects ranging from church architectural terms, the Trinity, the structure of an Episcopalian worship service, and even Transubstantiation! Last Monday we began our exploration of the Nicene Creed by identifying those parts we simply don
’
t understand, and those parts that have us saying,
“
Oh, I doubt
that
…
.
”
Peter and Patti will be coming in to help us puzzle through our questions. Later in the year, the various ministries that make our Sunday morning worship possible will be working with us, too. While we are, of course, interested in
what
these ministries do, we also want to understand the
why
behind what they do.
In addition, we have been visiting other churches in the neighborhood. We are getting a good feel for how different denominations worship, and that helps us explore our own worship practices. This Friday evening, we will also participate in a Shabbat at Temple Beth Shalom in Arnold.
The intent is to help the youth formulate their own answers to
“
What is Church?
”
Even more importantly, they will have the language and the context to think about this question for the rest of their lives. As they grow and mature, they will always have the tools they need to help them decide what Church means to them, and to help them be intentional in their worship. The answers they come up with will be unique, tailored to meet their individual needs, but they will all hopefully share a common understanding of how
“
Church
”
and worship can help keep us in touch with the love God has for each of us. It is an exciting journey!
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Parents' Workshop
Screen Sense TONIGHT
St. Margaret's Church and St. Margaret's Day School are sponsoring a free workshop for parents on how to make good choices about children’s use of technology in the early years. The program will be held
tonight, in the Fellowship Hall at 6:30 p.m. Childcare will be provided. The program is free for admission, and all are welcome!
Presenter is Claire Lerner, LCSW-C, a licensed clinical social worker and child development specialist. She is a source on early childhood development for NPR and numerous national daily newspapers such as
The New York Times
,
Wall Street Journal
and
USA Today
.
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Now Livestreaming the 9:00 a.m. Service
We will be livestreaming our 9:00 a.m. service this Sunday on our
Facebook public page at https://www.facebook.com/smcannapolis/.
You do NOT have to be a Facebook user to view it. If you ARE a Facebook user, "like" our public page and it will appear in your feed. We will try to avoid showing faces during communion time as best we can. Thank you for being patient as we work through these issues.
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Stewardship Campaign for 2019
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The Power of Pledging
We’re in the last few weeks of this year’s Stewardship campaign, The Power of Pledging, and our matching campaign is still happening! During the matching campaign--
* every pledge from someone who’s not pledged before
* any pledge from someone who has taken time off from pledging
* any pledge increase from the previous year’s pledge
will be matched! We have $35,000 in matching funds from generous parishioners.
St. Margaret’s budget funds not only staff salaries and benefits, but provides funds for facilities maintenance, administrative costs, missions efforts, and worship and formation, among many other things.
Pledging during stewardship provides the best planning and support for next year’s budget. If there is a ministry you are passionate about at St. Margaret’s (including coffeehour on Sunday!), we ask you to prayerfully consider pledging so we can continue those efforts next year and beyond.
Earlier this week, Stewardship reached 60% of this year’s campaign goal of $910,000. While we’re making great progress, we hope these last few weeks push us to (maybe over!) our goals. We know this is ambitious, but currently St. Margaret’s is running a deficit budget. Thanks to the endowment, we can continue to provide the support and services the community deserves. However, we are making an extra push this year to ensure we are reducing the draw on the endowment for operating expenses.
Please submit your pledge via mail or online by October 28, 2018
to allow adequate time for budget considerations for 2019. It’s not a contract, just a commitment – one that allows the Vestry to more accurately establish a 2019 budget.
If you have any questions, please contact our Stewardship co-chairs Doug Seybert (703-599-8746;
[email protected]
) or Brad Callahan (443-326-3333;
[email protected]
).Thank you for your continued support of St. Margaret’s Church!
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Hurry!
Last Week to Sign Up!
Trip to the Holy Land
on Oct. 21
Tour for all -- not just seniors!
Parishioners are invited to an exciting
visit to the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Lands on Sunday, October 21st.
The monastery is in Washington, near Catholic University.
After the 11:15 service, participants will eat a catered lunch and watch a video in the Fellowship Hall before boarding a bus for a 3 p.m. tour of the monastery.
The tour lasts about an hour. It is a fascinating and beautiful place. More information can be found on their website at
www.myfranciscan.org
.
NOTE: There will be a fair amount of walking, and while the church and most of the grounds are handicap-accessible, the tour includes the grottoes and some of the shrines, which are not. There are steps involved.
Reserve your seat on the bus
for $35
by check to "St. Margaret's Church" with "HolyLand Trip" in the memo line. Put in the offertory plate on Sunday or get it to the church office.
DEADLINE is Oct. 15.
Sign up and pay for the trip at our registration table THIS SUNDAY during coffeehour.
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Faith & Fellowship
Monday Activities
Our Faith & Fellowship evenings have begun!
Activities include:
5:00 - Spirit Singers - Choir Room
(Grades 2-5)
5:30 - Youth Chorale - Choir Room
(Middle & High School)
5:30 - Acolytes practice - Sanctuary
5:30 - Arts & Crafts - Parish Hall
6:00 - Fellowship Dinner
6:30 - Youth Group
6:45 - Adult Formation
6:45 - Motet Ensemble Rehearsal
Adult Formation Schedule:
Monday, October 15:
Parishioner Al Todd will be screening a movie on environmental issues titled "An Inconvenient Sequel" about the continuing battle to promote awareness of climate change, with another film of this type to be shown on November 12. Join us!
Nursery care begins at 6 p.m.
Pay for Meals by credit card here!
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Necrology List for 2018
In the All Saints bulletin, we will be listing all
those who have died or been baptized in 2018.
You can submit a name to
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Day School Fundraising
Bay Hills Night 10/17
Mark your calendar and support our Day School by having dinner at Spizzico's and/or a tasty snack at Froyo's the evening of
Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Bay Hills center.
Say you are a Day School supporter and they will earn a percentage of your bill!
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Missions Fair on Oct. 21
Mark your calendar for our annual Missions Fair on
Sunday, Oct. 21, during coffeehour,
in the parish and fellowship halls. Parishioners will be able to view all of the many outreach efforts of St. Margaret's providing ways for parishioners to become involved.
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Diocesan Visit on Oct. 21
Our Diocesan Visit for the program year will be on Sunday, Oct. 21. The Rev. Canon Scott G. Slater,
Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland will be providing the sermon for the day. Make sure to give him a true St. Margaret's welcome.
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Third Sunday Band Coffeehouse
on Oct. 27
CANCELLED
Look for another date soon in Dragon Tales!
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Blue Jean Sunday on Oct. 28
Wear your work clothes and bring your gardening and other tools for our next Blue Jean Sunday on Oct. 28. We will begin work after the 9:00 a.m. service.
Jobs will include vine clearing and removing a great deal of debris including mounds of dirt that were dumped for many years after burial plot diggings in the cemetery. Please join us! Questions?
Contact All Todd.
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Newcomers Dinner on Oct. 28
We invite all newcomers to St. Margaret's (new this year) to join us for a dinner on Sunday, October 28,
at 5 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
Childcare is provided.
Participants will hear from church leaders and learn about all of the programs and opportunities available to them at St. Margaret's. Please RSVP with the number in your party to
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Call for Veterans Photos --
Veterans Day Special Service Nov. 11
We will be joining churches across the diocese in noting the 100th anniversary of WWI with a tolling of the church bells at
11 a.m. on Veterans' Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, followed by a special music service at 11:15 a.m.
During coffeehour, we will offer
a slideshow of St. Margaret's military parishioners' and/or family members' (of any era) service photos.
You can either email a digital copy to
[email protected]
or drop off a hard copy and place in Laura's mailbox in the church office. Please be sure to leave the veteran's name and the name to whom the photo should be returned.
Photos are due no later than Monday, November 5th.
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Mark Your Calendar
Sunday, November 4 --
All Saints' Mass @ 9:00 & 11:15 a.m.
Tuesday, November 6 --
Election Day
Saturday, November 10 --
Men's Breakfast @ Riverbay Roadhouse @ 9 a.m.
Saturday, November 17 --
Children's Eucharistic Celebration @ 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, November 17 --
St. Margaret's Guild Holiday Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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