Dragon Tales for October 9, 2019

Dragon Tales E-News

October 9, 2019

A Note from Peter

How do we show our gratitude? How easy is it for us to say thank you? I have long believed that our words mean more when followed by actions. If you say you love something, cherish it. If you say you follow Jesus, act like it. If I say I take my health seriously, stay away from donuts. You get the idea.

For a month, we have been talking about our need for annual pledges to support our ministries and enable us to continue and thrive as a church. More than talking about the bottom line in terms of dollars, we’ve been talking about getting as many people as possible involved in giving. I believe we give out of gratitude. We give from the blessings we’ve received from God. If I am thankful for the life I have, for the family and friends I have, for the job I have, for the health I have, for the church community I have, I have to give back.

Prayerfully consider making your pledge today. Pray about your blessings and your gratitude. Your gift is between you and God, but it is important that you make it. Fill out a pledge card on Sunday, or better yet, simply go to our website or your Realm account to make your pledge. Show your gratitude today!

Stewardship 2019

Beth Arruda on supporting the mission program at St. Margaret's.

Current Pledge Information (10/7/19)

Current # of Pledges: 64 Current Amount Pledges: $297,670

24% of goal 32% of goal

Just like giving of your time and talents, whether it be attending a service, participating in a missions program, or taking part or even leading a formation class, regularly giving funds to the church is also very important to the St. Margaret's community. We have tried to make that effort as easy as possible. Now we are in need of all members/families of the church to provide our leaders with an estimate of what you will be giving in total next year so that we can present a budget for 2020. The Stewardship Committee is challenging parishioners to increase their giving 7% from last year.

If you would like to see what you pledged last year and where your current amount of giving is, you can use Realm if you have logged in. Just go into your account and click the "Giving" tab.

Please give us an idea of what you will be financially giving in the year 2020 by filling out a pledge. You can click on the link above to pledge online or fill out a card by hand (mailed and in pews) and put it in the collection plate or drop it off at the church office.

Realm: Get Connected.

We are asking all parishioners to join Realm to foster efficiency and communication at SMC. You need to be invited by us which will take you to a sign-in site. To ask for an invite (or another one), just email [email protected].

To log in, go the www.st-margarets.org website homepage and look for the Realm logo.

Parish Life

Blessing of the Animals 2019

Rev Peter@St. Margaret's Day School Rev. Patti @ Campus on Sunday

PLEASE NOTE: Due to unexpected circumstances, staff may not have the ability to set up for coffee hour or other events for a few months. Anyone that can show up a bit early and help set-up please do so. Coffee hour takes 5-6 round tables and chairs.

Men's Breakfast THIS Saturday, Oct. 12

Our next Men's Breakfast is this Saturday, Oct. 12, 9:00 a.m., at Riverbay Roadhouse in the Cape St. Claire center. Guest Speaker will be Matt Chasse who will discuss the realities and challenges of living in west Africa as an American.

If you wish to participate, please contact [email protected].

October 12 -TSB Rockin' the Hall

We invite all budding musicians and singers to participate in our upcoming OPEN MIC event on October 12 beginning at 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Do you play guitar, piano, or another instrument? have you written a song? Do you like to sing with friends? would you like to tell a story, slam a poem? Join Third Sunday Band for this acoustic singer/songwriter edition of our Fall Coffeehouse. We will have a sound system and instruments set up to help your performance, some refreshments and snacks, and of course coffee! Members of the Third Sunday Band will be participating but we hope this is mostly about YOU!

If you would like to participate in the show, or if you are able to help with set up and snacks, contact Al Todd at [email protected] or text 443-481-9042.

Shenandoah Run in Concert

Nov. 2, 2019, 7pm, @St. Margaret's

This nine-piece band pays tribute to both vintage Americana and contemporary folk, playing covers and some originals and occasionally including a song from the worlds of bluegrass, country or foreign lands. Expect top-notch musicianship and soaring harmonies that will lure you in for that irresistible sing-along.

Tickets will be sold at the door. For more information, click here.

All Saints' Mass on Nov. 3

9:00 & 11:15 a.m. Services

St. Margaret's will once again host a New-Orleans inspired All Saints Mass on Sunday, Nov. 3. You'll her favorites like "Shall We Gather at the river" to "When the Saints Go Marching In" with special guests the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble.

NECROLOGY LIST

Do you have a friend or family member who died this year? We will add them to our Necrology list and prayers on All Saints. Send the information to

[email protected] by Monday, Nov. 28.

Between War and Here

Forum Preview on Nov. 3

Concert on Nov. 10 at 4:00 p.m.

Between War and Here is a powerful new collaboration between journalists and musicians exploring honor, courage, loss and hope. Ensemble Galilei is teaming with award-winning National Public Radio foreign correspondents Neal Conan and Anne Garrels for a November U.S. Tour that includes St. Margaret's on Sunday, Nov.10 at 4 p.m.

Ensemble Galilei founder and poet as well as SMC parishioner Carolyn Surrick created this show from her recent poetry collection titled Between War and Here. She will provide a preview for parishioners on Sunday, Nov. 3, 10:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Tickets for the concert can be purchased at

https://ensemble-galilei.ticketleap.com/stmargaretschurch/

and White Elephant Sale

Sponsored by St. Margaret's Women's Guild

Saturday, November 23 * 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.

*Vendors *Crafters *Raffles *Food

Do you have items to donate to the Guild's White Elephant (yard sale)? Bring them to the Fellowship Hall between 5 & 7 p.m. the night before on Nov. 22nd.

Formation

Upcoming Day School Events

* Day School Open House tomorrow, Oct. 10, from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m.

* Kindergarten registration opens tomorrow, Oct. 10th for year 20-21.

*SMDS Board and SMC Vestry visitation day is October 11th.

* A SMDS Spizzico/Froyo fundraiser at Bay Hills Center will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 5:00 to closing. Tell the staff you are there for SMDS and they will receive a portion of the earnings.

* On November 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Day School is sponsoring "Bringing Up Resilient Kids" a program from specialist Dr. Duane M. Isava of Halcyon Wellness Center. All are welcome. The program is free, with light refreshments and childcare provided!

* On Nov. 15, the school will sponsor a recycling day for small tech components. St. Margaret's parishioners are welcome to bring any of these kinds of items and place in a designated box in the Formation building foyer on Nov. 17 and 24.

Latest Youth News

St. Margaret's Youth Lock-in will be held Nov. 1-2 . Students should be dropped off at the church at 6 p.m. and picked up Saturday morning by 8:00 a.m.

Youth-led Sunday service at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 12th.

A MLK Day youth event through the Diocese will take place on January 19-20th. More details to follow.

Youth Happening #13 will take place for students in grades 9-12 at the Claggett Center near Frederick, MD. Participants should arrive Friday at 7 p.m. with parent pickup on Sunday at 3 p.m. Cost is $95 due by Jan. 23. Scholarships available.

Nightwatch, an overnight youth program at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City is on Feb. 20 & 21 . A $15 per person deposit is due in the next few weeks. There is limited space for this not to miss event! Registration is now being taken on REALM. Log in and click on Registration Events. Don't have a Realm account? Request one at

[email protected] .

New Beginnings diocesan program for grades 6-8 will be held April 26-28 at Camp Wright in Stevensville, MD. Cost is $75. Scholarships available. Deadline is April 18 for registration.

End-of-Year Lock-in will be held at St. Margaret's on Friday, June 15th . Look for more registration in the future.

Faith & Fellowship Mondays

The NEW Schedule for Faith & Fellowship is:

5:15 to 6:00 p.m.- Spirit Singers Kindergarten through second grade and third grade to fifth grade - Meet in Formation Building Classrooms B & C

5:30-6:15 p.m.- Youth Chorale (grades 6-12) - Choir Room

5:45-6:15 p.m.- Acolyte practice - Sanctuary

6:00-6:15 p.m.- Arts and Crafts - Parish Hall

6:20-6:45 p.m.- Fellowship Dinner - Parish Hall

6:45-8:30 p.m.- Youth Group - Classroom D

7:00-8:30 p.m.- Adult Formation -Formation Building

7:00-8:30 p.m.- Motet Ensemble Rehearsal - Choir Room

Adult Formation Schedule:

Monday Evening Book Study -

The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong

by Karen Gonzalez

Our Monday adult formation class is studying the riveting story of seeking safety in another land. The book is a gripping journey of loss, alienation, and belonging. Author Karen Gonzalez recounts her family’s migration from the instability of Guatemala to making a new life in Los Angeles and the suburbs of south Florida. In the midst of language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and the tremendous pressure to assimilate, Join us!

Join the Thursday AM Book Study

Our Thursday morning book study is held in Classroom E from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. of the Formation Building. The group will discuss the C.S. Lewis book " Mere Christianity." All are welcome. Childcare for ages 0-4 is available in the church nursery.

Compline Services 2019-20

Join us this choir season we are offering a regular schedule of “fourth Tuesday” evening Compline services at 7:30pm in the sanctuary on the following dates:

October 22

January 28

March 24

April 28

Any singer in high school or above is welcome to sing for Compline. Rehearsals take place prior to each service at 6:30 pm.

This contemplative service is 25-30 minutes in length and is comprised of prayers, lessons, psalms and collects, all chanted to ancient and timeless unison plainchant and a cappella choral repertoire. The present-day renewal of Compline places its emphasis on spiritual peace. It takes its name from the Latin word completorium, meaning completion, as it marks the completion of the working day through its focus on preparing the body for temporal rest as well as preparing the soul for its passage to eternal life. In many monasteries it is the custom to begin “The Great Silence,” an act by which the entire community, including guests, observes silence until the morning as a discipline to still the body, mind and spirit. Join us!

Missions

Missions Fair THIS Sunday- Oct.13

Where do you want make a difference in God's world? Visit the Missions Fair on October 13 in the Fellowship and Parish halls during the formation hour of 10:20 to 11 a.m. You will discover information on the many efforts St. Margaret's parishioners are a part of. It might just change your life!

Expected representatives are from My Brother's Pantry, The Lighthouse, Center of Help (Citizenship Classes), Dageno Girls Center, Annapolis Pride, Annapolis Immigration Justice Network, Anne Arundel Connecting Together (ACT), Kenya Connect, and more!

Endowment Grants Program for 2020

The 2020 St. Margaret's Church Endowment Grants application is now available on the church website . New this year: the committee will award one multi-year grant to a deserving organization. Applications are due by November 30, 2019. Pass this along to your favorite non profit!

Endowment Grants Celebration on

Oct. 27

St. Margaret's will hold a celebration of its 20th year of Endowment grants from a financial gift from Ed and Zoe Hall on Sunday, Oct. 27 from 10:20 to 11 a.m. We will also be honoring former Grants Administrator Izzy Winn who coordinated the entire grants process for many years.

If you wish to sign up to bring a special treat to the celebration, go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080D49A8AE2EAB9-celebration . For questions, contact Christine Feldmann at [email protected] .

Tanzania Information Session - Oct. 20 - 10:20am - Fellowship Hall

Sunday's Service

Property Adjacent to the Church (1623 Pleasant Plains Road)

For those of you who were wondering what was going on with the property to the south of the church, the vestry has voted to prepare the property to sell and deposit the proceeds in the endowment. Significant updates were done to the interior and exterior over the summer. Final approval to put the property on the market comes from the Standing Committee of the Diocese. In preparation for that report and presentation we are now in the process of gathering data. Part of the data needed requires getting several real estate agents to present a comprehensive market analysis so that we can price the property appropriately. If you are a licensed real estate agent and would like to provide a market analysis, please send an email to [email protected] as soon as possible to get the walk-thru time and presentation dates.

Chapter Y PEO Sisterhood Holiday Auction

at St. Margaret's on Nov. 14

All are invited to the Annapolis PEO chapter for their annual auction to be held at St. Margaret's on Thursday, Nov. 14, beginning at 1 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information, email [email protected].