Annual Meeting This Sunday, January 29
Our annual meeting begins with our worship at 10 a.m. After prayers and Holy Eucharist, we move to the parish hall for lunch provided by the Bishop’s Committee and table conversation about our mission and service in the world. Also on the agenda are elections to the Bishop’s Committee, and our annual budget report. The meeting is scheduled to conclude by 1:30.
Note that there will not be an 8:00 a.m. service this Sunday.
From the Deacon’s Bench
An Update From Burundi - Ms. Tula Holmes, who you generously supported for her mission trip to Burundi, has provided some words from her trip:
Shut your eyes and try to imagine that you are married and that you have three children. Now imagine that you live in a house that looks like a 8 to 9 foot yurt. The one round room of your house is the kitchen, the bedroom, and the living room for your family of five. Can you see it?
Now pretend that you sleep under a dirty mosquito net that was given to you by the clinic at the birth of your first child. It’s why you went to the clinic in the first place. You would wash your netting, or for that fact, your clothes, but you have no soap. You wish you had a bar of soap.
Your net hangs over a grass mat, which is where you and your husband, and all of your children huddle together through the night. Two feet from your sleeping mat are the black stones where the fire is built for cooking, and on them sits a charred pot. Above, there is no opening for a chimney. The walls of your house are made of sticks and dry eucalyptus leaves, and the fire smoke escapes through the holes between the branches. When you cook, your twig and leaf wall could catch fire, so you have to be careful. Of course you cook only once a day, because there is not enough food for you or your family.
There are other problems with your round little house. When it rains, you get wet, so you take off your clothes and put them in a cooking pot to keep them dry. You don’t have a closet. You don’t need one. You only have one set of clothes to wear. Your family’s clothes are stiff with red dirt, and filled with tears and holes. They hang like cleaning rags from the shoulders of your children.
Were you able to stay with me? To read my sad scenario is to read the story of the Batwa people. Known as the pygmies, they are the forgotten people of Burundi. With a life expectancy of 27, they are the poorest people on earth. Last week, I took your gifts of food and soap to the Batwa village outside of Ngozi, which is nestled in the beautiful mountains of Burundi. It was a long four hour drive of dodging pot holes, snaking around tight hairpin turns though coffee and tea fields, and eucalyptus forests. The Batwa were told of our visit, and eagerly awaited our arrival. Together we provided the entire village of 68 families with food for four days – 2 kilos of rice and one kilo of beans for each family. We also gave each family two bars of soap. They thanked you all, their friends in America, and they asked you to come visit. They don’t have many visitors. Peace, Tula
Coffee with Christ
Between the 8 and 10 a.m. service we offer a forum time of conversation and coffee — called Coffee with Christ. Topics vary from Sunday to Sunday, and sometimes we take the time to simply socialize and get to know one another better.
Coffee with Christ begins at 9:10 in the Meeting Room.
Godly Play!
We are building on the tradition of the Advent Jesse tree to talk about our own family trees. Who are our people? Where did they come from? How is my family part of the family of God? The children will be discovering what family trees can be uncovered in the Old and New Testaments — a great way to continue learning the who’s who of the Bible and their stories! At the same time, the older youth will begin looking at ways in which we might put our faith to action in service work.
Children ages 2 – 12 are welcome in Godly Play, to hear the stories and respond to God’s Word. The children join their parents in church during the passing of the peace. Nursery care is available for younger children.
Between Sabbaths
Between Sabbaths is a semi-regular email/blog from Mother Cynthia expressing her thoughts and meditations on the church, God, Jesus, and what is currently happening at St. Hilda St. Patrick. You can read current issues by clicking one of the dates below.
