A Note from a University Fellowship Leader
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Dear St. Paul's,
My "senior superlative" in high school was “most likely to become the Pope,” a designation that said as much about the state of religious education at my Episcopal school as it did about me. I couldn’t get Archbishop of Canterbury? Still, my classmates were right about my love of the Church. I didn’t know much more about college than they did about Anglicanism, but I knew I wanted to go somewhere with a vital Episcopal student ministry. Chapel Hill and William & Mary fit the parameters. UVA did not.
Somehow, through waitlists, deferments, and uncertainty, I fell into UVA. And somehow, through the dedication of students, the support of this parish, and more uncertainty, the undergraduate ministry at St. Paul’s was transformed from a small, close-knit group of friends into the largest Episcopal campus fellowship in Virginia and the largest LGBTQ-affirming campus ministry at UVA, offering the best of our Episcopal way of doing church to the entire student body.
God sustains Christian communities in innumerable and imperceptible ways. In the case of The University Fellowship (TUF), I notice three particular blessings: the support of our larger parish home; the ministry of our wise and devoted chaplain; and the servant-leadership of students seeking to live out the promises of baptism, as the hymn has it, "seven whole days, not one in seven."
With Student-Vestry elections underway, these are my last few weeks in a formal leadership role at TUF. I am confident that TUF will continue to be a place where students can grow and find community in ways that are more meaningful and grounded than perhaps anywhere else at UVA. And I am grateful to God and the people of St. Paul’s for the vitality and growth of this ministry.
–
Lachlan Hassman
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Sunday, November 24, at St. Paul's
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Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King
8 a.m. –
Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
(quiet, traditional)
9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. –
Nursery Care: birth - kindergarten
(Sunday school wing)
10 a.m. –
Holy Eucharist with Choir
(festive, intergenerational)
11:15 a.m. –
Adult Forum: Ailya Vajid, the Hadi Institute chaplain for Muslim students at UVA, on Islamic perspectives on bodies and human-ness
(parish hall)
11:15 a.m. –
Sunday School: pre-K - 5th grade
(Sunday school wing)
11:15 a.m. –
Youth Group: 6th - 12th grades
(Sunday school wing)
5:30 p.m. –
Evening Eucharist in the Chapel
(informal, candlelit)
6:30 p.m. –
The University Fellowship Sunday Supper: Casual meal and conversation, free and open to all undergraduate students
(lounge)
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This week’s anthem and organ postlude are by Welsh composer William Mathias (1934-1992) who also composed the settings of the Gloria/Sanctus we are currently singing. Mathias is probably best known for his anthem
Let the people praise Thee, O God, written for the 1981 royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. His compositions include operas, symphonies, piano concerti, organ works and a host of music written for the Anglican choral tradition.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates is a lively and optimistic setting of Psalm 24:7-10, featuring the choir and organ in joyful dialogue.
Processional is typical of the composer’s unique, highly rhythmic style, which seems especially suited to ceremonial occasions.
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Friday, November 22, 10 a.m. –
Funeral for Douglas Carter Vest
Saturday, November 23 –
Committal Service for Heinz Kramp at Monticello Memory Gardens
Monday, November 25, 7 p.m. –
The University Fellowship Conversations on Faith & Life
(Canterbury house)
Monday, November 25, 8 p.m. –
Compline
(chancel)
Tuesday, November 26, 12:15 p.m. –
Holy Eucharist
(chapel)
[Note: Our Wednesday Evening Prayer service, community dinner, and choir rehearsals will not be held on Thanksgiving Eve.]
Thursday, November 28, 10 a.m. –
Thanksgiving Day Holy Eucharist
(chapel)
Sunday, December 1 –
First Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 1, 10 a.m. –
Toy Offering
(
details below)
Sunday, December 1, 11:15 a.m. –
Advent Wreath-Making for all ages
(details below)
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A pledge is a statement of intention, and the stated intention is generosity and belonging. It’s a way of saying, “I’m in. This is my church.” If that’s the way you feel about St. Paul’s,
please seal that commitment with a financial pledge. You can mail your pledge card to the church anytime, or you can make your pledge online
here.
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Toy Offering – On
Sunday, December 1 (the first Sunday of Advent), we will hold a toy offering to benefit the
Schoolhouse Thrift Shop. Parishioners are invited to bring new or like-new (unwrapped) toys to the service. This year we are once again partnering with the Schoolhouse Thrift Shop, a ministry of the Charlottesville Region of the Diocese of Virginia, for their annual St. Nicholas Toy Sale (to be held December 7). Their toy sale is an effort to make Christmas more affordable for local families. Money raised by the Thrift Shop goes to support PACEM, Habitat for Humanity, the Alliance for Interfaith Ministries, and the Gertrude Mitchell House. Please help support their efforts by contributing to our toy offering. Toys can be brought to the service on December 1 or dropped off in the toy offering box in the Chancellor Street hallway anytime before then.
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Advent Wreath-Making Event – Join parishioners of all ages in the parish hall on
Sunday, December 1, following the 10 a.m. service for this family-friendly event that will prepare you to enter into Advent with your very own home wreath. Kit, instruction and assistance will be provided. If you have any cut greenery to donate (boxwood, holly, greens with berries, etc.), please bring it to the parish hall on Saturday, November 30, or to church with you on Sunday, December 1.
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St. Nick Night – Mark your calendars! Our annual St. Nicholas Celebration is
Wednesday, December 4, following the 5:30 service. There will be dinner, storytelling, and if we're lucky an appearance from St. Nicholas himself. If you are in middle or high school and are interested in helping out with the event, please contact Peyton Williams at [email protected].
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Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols – On
Sunday, December 8, at 5:30 p.m. the St. Paul's adult and children’s choirs will combine for a classic candlelit service of Lessons & Carols to begin the Advent season. Readings, anthems, hymns, and prayers prepare the way for the joyful Christmas season. The choirs will offer music by Palestrina, William Mathias, Orlando Gibbons and others. Nursery care will be provided and a festive reception follows the service.
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Christmas Pageant – Join us for the St. Paul's Christmas Pageant on Christmas Eve,
Tuesday, December 24, during the 4 p.m. service. We have lots of roles to fill and could use a few adult helpers as well. Please email Peyton Williams at [email protected] for details.
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A Call for Cookies – Calling all bakers! We need several dozen (mini) festive Christmas cookies for our December 4 St. Nicholas Celebration, and several dozen (any size) cookies for our December 8 Lessons & Carols reception. Please consider contributing to either or both of these events! St. Nick night cookies can be dropped off in the kitchen on Sunday, December 1 (to allow enough time for the St. Nicholas elves to prepare for their celebration). Lessons & Carols cookies can be dropped off in the kitchen on Sunday, December 8.
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Task Force Update – The Adult Formation Task Force has been asked to explore the many avenues available at St. Paul’s for adults’ spiritual growth and formation, to hear the needs and interests of parishioners, and to report to the Vestry and clergy our findings and recommendations. We are
not charged with planning specific content for upcoming Adult Forums or other programming.
Our timeline is roughly as follows:
- Sept.-Dec. – Review existing programs, activities, and ministries: We are and have been conducting numerous interviews with leaders and participants in a variety of offerings, and are now beginning to compile our reports on the programs.
- Jan. 12 – Adult Forum: We will discuss our work and hear directly from you about your interests in this crucial area of parish life at St. Paul’s. Please plan to attend!
- Jan.-Feb. – Listen to the parish: After January 12, a brief survey will be sent out by email and will also be available in print. There will be multiple opportunities for any parishioners who wish to do so to meet face-to-face with the Task Force.
- Feb.-May – Development of recommendations
- May-June – Report to the Vestry
Members of the Task Force welcome your comments and suggestions. You can contact us at any time by emailing us at [email protected] or writing to the Adult Formation Task Force, c/o St. Paul’s Memorial Church.
The members of the Task Force are: Leslie Middleton, Peter Moench, Margaret Mohrmann (chair), Tim Rambo, Melanie Rightmyer, and Virginia Ritchie.
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Schoolhouse Thrift Shop Seeking Volunteers – The
Schoolhouse Thrift Shop is seeking new volunteers to help them live into their mission. The shop is open 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Most volunteers work a three-hour shift from 10-1 or 1-4, usually once a week. Training is provided for new volunteers. Volunteers sort and price goods and place them on display for sale, run the cash register, do light cleaning, assist customers, etc. If you are interested in volunteering, or if you have any questions, email St. Paul's parishioner and Thrift Shop volunteer Sheila Haughey at [email protected], or call the Thrift Shop manager at 434-973-2271.
Outreach Ingatherings – As a result of research conducted by the Mission & Service Task Force, we are spreading out our ingatherings this year, rather than consolidating them all into Advent. This will help us to better meet the needs of the organizations we support, aligning our ingathering timing with the beneficiary organization's time of greatest need (which in many cases does not coincide with the holiday season). This Advent, we are focusing our efforts on our Toy Offering to benefit the Schoolhouse Thrift Shop (details above), and are discontinuing our Salvation Army Angel Tree participation. Please contribute to this offering on December 1, and stay tuned for other ingathering announcements in the coming months!
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A summary of the actions of last week's Annual Convention can be found
here.
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Holding each other's joys, sorrows and concerns before God in prayer is a spiritual practice that characterizes our life together at St. Paul's. In our worship services we pray each other's prayers together. Outside of our time together many parishioners make it part of their daily lives to pray the prayers of the parish community. You are invited to participate in your own way.
Thanks be to God
for the service of the fourteen Youth Group and TUF students who participated in the Habitat for Humanity Rake-a-Thon last Saturday.
for the hospitality of Pat Punch, John Reid, and Lloyd Snook, who prepared our Wednesday night dinner this week.
for developing friendships among parishioners who live at Westminster-Canterbury and the members of The University Fellowship who visited there last Sunday.
for all our blessings this Thanksgiving season, for the fruitfulness of the earth, and for the prosperity of our community and nation.
for the faithful generosity of St. Paul’s parishioners and friends making 2020 pledges, and all who support our life and ministries.
Your prayers are requested
for members and friends of the parish who are sick, sorrowful, or in any kind of trouble, including David Nelson, Anne, Ruth, Mary Ann Miller, David, Pierce, Libba, Jim, Bob, John, John Ritchie, Lynda, Joyce, Joy, Margaret Ann, Judith Kovacs & her family, Katie, Helen, Becca, Paul, Kathy, Jan Bravo, Cece, Jeff, Andrew & Devin, Louise Sinclair, Jason, Tom, Christine, Joshua & Julian, Muriel, Jessica, Sally Myers & her family, Karen, Peter & Cosette, Katherine, Christopher Hamlett, Glen Peterson, Stephanie, Ashley, Annika, Tim, Rosalie, Robert, Dottie, Mike, Meiko.
for all who are traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday.
for the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson as she begins her work this month as Assisting Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia.
for our neighbors who are homeless or struggling to pay rent, for immigrants in our community, and for all our partners in IMPACT as we seek justice in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
for our city and community and nation; for the victims of racism, injustice, and oppression; and for all who serve the common good in law enforcement and the courts.
for the partners of the African Development Project in Kenya and Uganda, and for all who benefit from their work.
for Kris Roi Episcopal Church and School in the Diocese of Haiti, and for our partnership with them and St. Paul's School in New Hampshire.
for Piedmont Parish, Madison, according to the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.
for the Church in the Falkland Islands, and for their Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Timothy Thornton, according to the Anglican Cycle of Prayer.
We commend to God’s never-failing care
victims of violence and warfare throughout the world, including migrants and refugees who have died fleeing danger.
all whom we love but see no more, including Heinz Kramp, to be interred at Monticello Memory Gardens on Saturday; and Douglas Carter Vest, whose funeral will take place at St. Paul's tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Peter M. Larsen, in whose loving memory this Sunday's flowers are given.
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