Ebb and Flow

 

“Hail thee, festival day, blest day that art hallowed forever, day when the Holy Ghost shone in the world with God’s grace.”

 

A year ago Esther Marshall loaned me one of her favorite compact discs containing all the hymns of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.  In mid-April she asked me to return it, but before I could (confession: The last few times I saw her I forgot to bring it) she died on May 2^nd.  Esther is gone now but for me she lives on in the Vaughan Williams’ hymns she loved, some of the gems of Anglican hymnody.  One of my favorites is “Hail thee, festival day”.  We’re most familiar with the Easter text but it also comes texts for Ascension Day and for Pentecost, the “day when the Holy Ghost shone in the world with God’s grace.”

 

We don’t often say Holy Ghost anymore.  In the Elizabethan English of the old Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible, ‘Ghost’ had the same meaning as ‘geist’, the Germanic word from which it sprung: ‘spirit’.  So now, referring to the third person of the Holy Trinity, we say Holy ‘Spirit’, using a word that does not conjure up ghosts spooky or silly, be they poltergeists or Caspers.  The coming of the Holy Spirit – or Holy Ghost, take your pick – on Pentecost is a bit spooky, but it is definitely not silly.  Just who is this Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity?  The last verse of Vaughan Williams’ hymn answers that question this way, “Spirit of Life, fount of our being, light that dost enlighten all, life that in all dost abide.”  Which brings me back to Esther.  If there ever was anyone who was filled with the spirit of life and shone with the light that enlightens us all it was Esther.  Now she abides in the fullness of life that abides in us all.  Thanks, Esther, for leaving us the gifts of your spirit and your music.  And please say hello to Ralph!

 

 

“The Final Mile”

 

On Pentecost Sunday, June 4^th, we will launch the Final Mile Campaign.  In June 2005 the Diocese of Oregon’s Board of Trustees extended a $250,000 line of credit for St. Catherine’s to complete construction of our new church building.  At the same time the trustees pledged to make a $25,000 grant to St. Catherine (in addition to the $75,000 they had already granted) if the credit line balance is paid off within three years.  The credit line balance peaked at $238,810 in October 2005. 

As of mid-May that has been reduced to $147,883.  Factoring in the promised trustees’ grant and $17,500 in outstanding pledges yet to be paid, leaves just over $105,000 to be raised by July 1, 2008.

 

The financial and faith commitments made by so many to St. Catherine’s have been truly remarkable.  Not only have you already paid for over 90% of a $1.1 million building project (including the land), you have also maintained a strong operating budget, built a reserve, and made generous contributions for the beautification of the church and community outreach.  Whenever the appeal has gone out, St. Catherine’s members and friends have responded with extraordinary generosity.  You have gone the first mile and many, many more.  Now it is time for the Final Mile. 

 

You can pledge to the Final Mile Campaign by extending a current pledge or making a new one.  Pledge cards will be available at the congregation meeting after the 9:30 Eucharist on Pentecost Sunday, June 4^th, and will also be sent out in the mail.  Together we will go the final mile and reach the finish line before July 1, 2008.    

         

Paul

 

 

Notes from the BAC

BAC May 18^th Meeting Highlights

 

• Fr. Paul reported that Joel sacks has agreed to chair the bylaws update.  He has already drafted a new set and forwarded them back to Fr. Paul.
• Fr. Paul reviewed the Parochial Report for 2005 which was officially approved by the BAC as presented.
• Sandra Christhilf shared the following  Communications Committee plans:

A permanent visitor registry, activities sign-up and information display concept for the narthex.

 

A communication plan that follows the church calendar year.

 

Development of a brochure and poster to attract and welcome visitors.

 

Enthusiastic approval was given to proceed with the plans and to develop a cost estimate for the narthex display.

 

• Frank Johnson reported on the Summer Feeding Program which begins in June.  The current plan is to expand from three day to five day week meals.  The summer feeding program began with a partnership of St. Catherine and the North Coast Recreation District.  The program has expanded to include the Food Bank and private donors, such as the Hope Chest this year and Safeway last year.  Similar programs are now being developed in Tillamook and South Tillamook County.   The goal is to provide 2500 meals this summer.  Sign up sheet will be available later to volunteer for this wonderful outreach program.

 

• Carol Jones’ Jr. Warden report appears in a separate section of this Tindings.

 

• Finances

January through April Operating Budget

          Total Income_________________$50,341

          Total Expenxes_______________$50,287

As the numbers suggest we are pretty much on track for the first third of  2006. 

See Fr. Paul’s Ebb andFlow for Building Fund status.

• Complete BAC minutes and financial report will be posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.

Hugh Hendrickson, Sr. Warden

 

JW Report for April & May

 

We wish to thank Nikos and his assistant, Stephan, for the absolutely beautiful stonework on the Memorial Wall.  It is truly a work of art.   This will house two single pieces of black granite.  Prior to installation, Oregon Memorial will inscribe the names on the granite of those who have gone before.  Future names will be inscribed on site.   The dedication will be at 9am (between services) on Pentecost, June 4^th. 

 

The Reflecting Pool pump was replaced under warranty on May 7^th and is working better than the original installation.  The water was drained and the pine needles and twigs were removed. However with the warm days we have had a huge algae bloom making our waters very pink.  We are going to drain the pool again, seal the cement, refill the pond and add an algaecide.  Hopefully this will solve some of our problems with water quality.

 

A drain for the Memorial Pool has been installed so that the water can be drained into the garden.  This will make cleaning much easier.  A filter in the drain has been put in all of the pools to help trap pine needles and twigs and prevent the drain from becoming clogged with debris.

 

The irrigation well is still not working properly and the well man is in the process of seeing what is causing the problem. 

 

David Godsey kindly volunteered to put shade cloth over the skylight to reduce the amount of sunlight and glare for those who are seated in certain areas of the church.  A big thanks to David for noticing a need and acting on it.

 

Our sound system is ready for use.  Please take a headset from the basket located in the sanctuary, on your left as you come in the door, on the bottom shelf of the offering plate table.  Please return it to the basket for use at the next service.  We currently have one missing.  If anyone has seen the headset in an odd place or knows where it was put after the Easter service please call me.  It certainly isn’t something one would wear home as a fashion statement.

 

I am looking for 3 strong willing bodies to move the wood kneelers from the Maintenance Building to the attic.  This will be the permanent storage place.  Please let me know if you can help with this move.  It should take very little time out of your day.

 

Merle Spencer has put together an inventory list with the locations of each item.  The list is located in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet under Facilities.   This should save everyone time when looking for a particular item.  Thanks, Merle, for all the time it took to compile the list. You have gone above and beyond once again.

 

We are beginning to discover how time consuming the upkeep of the property has become.  To help shorten the time the mowing volunteers spend, we are hiring Kathryn Rathbun to take care of the weed control, raking, and other jobs as assigned.  The volunteers will continue with the mowing schedule as set, but there will be areas that will remain “rustic”, such as the very back of the property.  Over time we will ring all the trees with bark dust or mulch to discourage the growth of grass and weeds.

Carol Jones, Jr. Warden

 

Women of St. Catherine

Women of St. Catherine recently performed "The Rite of Spring" - planting! Mary Barthelemy led a group of weeders, feeders and planters at our May outdoor meeting. If you look to the left upon exiting the back narthex door, you can't miss the new Bible Garden. Careful research and specimen collecting by Marlene Schmid yielded a wonderful variety of herbs and flowers mentioned in our Bible. They surround the blossoming cherry tree donated by Louise Spence. Marlene also devised plant labels on beach sand dollars. All of us at St. Catherine will enjoy seeing this garden be fruitful and multiply.

The business portion of this meeting centered around the financial report by our treasurer, Ann Andriesse. She presented the results of our recent fundraisers and plans for sharing our resources both within and without the church. We contribute to causes like the Neah-Kah-Nie High School Resource Center, the Nehalem Elementary School Family Center, and the Women's Crisis Center, as well as amply to St. Catherine's Building Fund.

Esther Marshall, an honored founding member of St. Catherine, passed into the hands of the Lord early this May. Many thanks to all the Women who prepared the reception after her memorial service. St. Catherine's Flower (Nigella damascena) seeds were shared with Esther's family - to have beautiful living reminders of her grace by their homes. We all miss her.

See the article in this issue of the "Tidings" about our UTO Ingathering on May 28th. Mae Hendrickson created an eye-catching display in the narthex to highlight this important annual offering.

Please also look at your summer schedules to see when you could provide for the hospitality of St. Catherine's coffee hours at either the 8:00 or 9:30 services. We should have numerous visitors this season and want to receive them warmly!

Sandra Christhilf will offer a very special program at our June 2nd meeting. She has implemented the powerful practice of writing through grief. She will read from her work Diary of the Lost and Found at 10:00 a.m. this Friday in the sanctuary. All are invited to come to this presentation, so appropriate after Memorial Day. Terri Maragos, President

The Phil’s Corner

A philosophical St. Catherine member sends this food for thought:

 

Dreams are an art form created by the Soul for our own edification.

Thomas Moore

 

DIRECTORY UPDATES

 

The Directory is a document that changes on a regular basis.  Instead of sending out an addendum every couple of months, I thought it would be easier and faster to include any changes in the monthly newsletter.  The church office directory will always have the changes updated also.  The following are the changes, corrections, additions and deletions to the 2006 Directory:

 

          Address Changes:  Hugh & Mae Hendrickson  503-436-8745

                                      79955 W Beach Road

                                      Arch Cape OR 97102

 

                                      Sam & Patricia Murphy  503-615-6846

                                      811 NE 73^rd

                                      Hillsboro OR 97124

 

                                      Bob & Jan Tarr   503-436-0932

                                      31942 W Ocean Road

                                      Arch Cape OR 97102

 

 

Email Additions:               The Rev Melinda & Joseph LeRoy

                                      Phone number correction:  503-539-7350

                                      crimsonmanzanita@yahoo.com =Melinda

                                      Josephsbell1943@yahoo.com = Joseph

 

Deceased:                       Esther Marshall

 

Janet Lease

 

Poetry and Spiritual Journaling

The Center for Contemplative Arts is very pleased to offer opportunities to experience your faith through poetry and spiritual journaling. Lindsay and Mary Warren, who attend Sts. Peter and Paul Episcopal Church in Portland, will be coming to Manzanita on Saturday, June 10. Lindsay will offer a morning session called Poetry and Faith in which he will explore some elements of poetry found in the Psalms and will help us apply the principles of poetry and faith in our own creative writing. Lindsay has been writing poetry since he was in college and has served as an Episcopal priest for the past fifty years. Mary will lead us in an afternoon session on Spiritual Journaling. Mary has been journaling since childhood and has taught workshops and writers' conferences, especially to church groups, for many years. Poetry and Faith will be from 10 a.m. till noon. Spiritual Journaling will be from 1:30 till 3:30. You may attend one ($10) or both ($15) of these sessions. Bring your lunch (refrigeration and microwave available) or go out for lunch. To sign up, call Lola Sacks 368-6227. For other offerings of The Center for Contemplative Arts, check our web site at www.neahkahnie.net/cca

 

UNITED THANK OFFERING Ingathering Day

 

May 28^th is the time to empty our UTO box (or Blue Box) putting the money, preferably a check, into an envelope marked UTO and drop it into the collection plate; then use your box to start saving for next year’s ingathering.

Our collected money is sent to our Diocese, and is forwarded to the national UTO office in New York.  It is kept in an interest bearing account until distributed in the form of grants to address human need and promote mission expansion throughout our country and around the world. 

UTO is not a fund drive, but rather a discipline in our daily life in Christ wherein we offer prayers of thanksgiving for things we feel especially thankful for—we all have many!

 

If you haven’t developed the habit as yet, I have blue boxes for you.  Put them in a place where you will see them each day, and drop in a coin as you offer thanks. 

Remember to bring your UTO money in on May 28^th.  Mae Hendrickson, UTO Chair

 

Detour Please

The sacristy is where the Altar Guild prepares for setting the altar for our services. Because it is a "two-fanny" space, using the sacristy as a passage way into or out of the sanctuary when there are services scheduled makes for a difficult working situation for our dedicated Altar Guild people. It would be very helpful for them if we would all retrain ourselves to enter and leave the sanctuary through the main doors in the narthex. Thank you for your consideration.

 

The Bible Garden: Part I

This is the first of a series of articles about the new Bible Garden and the plants in it.  Marlene Schmid is the author of this excerpted article…and an enthusiastic gardener.

 The Women of St. Catherine have created a Bible garden filled with both medicinal and culinary plants - many drawn from the pages of Scripture or from legends pertaining to the events in the life of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.  We also have planted Nigella (St. Catherine's flower) throughout the property.  The Nigella forms a pod, which is similar to the wheel on which St. Catherine was martyred.  One of Nigella's many names is Love In A Mist - an appropriate name here at the coast.

 A large cross in the garden has been fashioned out of rocks donated by Nikos Maragos.  The cross is surrounded with Sweet Woodruff, a low growing herb which when dried, provided soft and sweetly scented manger bedding. The symbolism in the Bible garden extends beyond its plantings.  We have a rock filled drainage ditch, which is overflow from the pool surrounding the sanctuary.  This ditch

suggests the river Jordan and flows into the pond below, which stands for the Sea of Galilee.

 Planting a Biblical garden brings a new dimension to the words of the Scripture.  And tending to the garden - watering, weeding, maintaining – is an act that brings us closer to God and the meaning of His creation.

The garden is a work in progress and will be expanded in the future.
 

A Letter from Debby Livingston

 

Dear People of St Catherine’s,

         

I arrived safely at the Convent of St. Helena on Monday of Holy Week, having been delayed for several days by treacherous weather conditions.  The Sisters welcomed me with open arms, Greek pizza, and help unpacking the car.  We have since been immersed in prayer and silence, which I am finding a wonderful way for a contemplative introvert such as myself to enter into this new life.  So far, I am happy & peaceful here, and still feel the internal sense of confirmation of the rightness of this decision.

 

I would like to thank all of you for the brief but fruit-filled time of shared worship and ministry at St. Catherine’s, and for sending me off with such an abundance of blessings and gifts.  I wrapped myself in the prayer shawl during the entire journey to Vail’s Gate and prayed my way across the country.  It has been a comfort to feel wrapped in your prayers and well-wishes as I both grieve the loss of so much I have loved, and reach out to embrace a lifestyle for which I have yearned for years.  The prayer beads and quote by Edith Wharton are also tangible reminders of your love.  The unexpected but very welcome gifts of cash from St. Catherine’s as a whole (through the Vicar’s Discretionary Fund) and several of you as individuals (you know who you are) covered the expenses of the trip East, in spite of the exorbitant and apparently ever-rising price of gas (but let’s not go there today.)  Best of all, the touch of your hands in blessing upon me continues to remain with me in this new place and new community of faith.  Thank you so much for being the Body of Christ to me!

 

I would appreciate your continuing prayers for me as I test out the fitness of this vocation.  I have been praying for you daily, and thinking of you with love and gratitude.  Holding you in prayer and wishing you Peace always,

                                                                             Debby

Editorial note: Debby was clothed as a novice in the Order of St. Helena at their convent in Vail’s Gate, New York on April 18, 2006.

 

 

 

 

Parish Profile

 

From time to time, we realize we don’t know each other as well as we’d like to. Even though we all belong to the same church, it’s sometimes not so easy to learn about each other.  So, we thought it would be interesting and useful for us to introduce ourselves to each other through Tidings and a column we’ll call Parish Profile. 

 

First, meet our writer.  Linda Nygaard, one of our newest members, moved here from Portland about a year ago as part of a long-held dream of living at the coast. Linda comes to us with a background in marketing communications, public relations and writing. Her travel, food, profile, and culture articles have been published in newspapers and magazines internationally. She has written two travel books about Portland and has contributed to several books of essays. You might recognize her name from occasional food articles she writes for the North Coast Citizen.

 

Linda has two grown sons; one, Luke, lives in Seattle and the other, Ryan, lives in Portland. She says the love of her life now is her five year-old grand daughter, Emily, who comes to the beach to visit Nanna and enjoys all the sea treasures she can find.  “Watching that sweet little girl, curls bouncing and arms flailing as she fills her pockets with sticks and shells and seaweed while she runs wild in the sand is a vision of love,” says Linda. “It’s truly my favorite pastime now!”

 

Linda is a full-time broker with Windermere Manzanita.  Of her work she says, “I’ve always been fascinated by all things hearth and home.  Even though I’ve traveled a lot, and written about some exotic places, it’s always ‘home’ that beckons me. And now, finally, ‘home’ is here in Manzanita. It’s a blessing to represent people in their home purchases and sales in this sweet corner of God’s green earth.  I love hearing each home’s story, and learning about its family—it’s a privilege and a pleasure. Each home has a spirit of its own and that is part of the allure.”  Linda says she is feeling very much at home here and looks forward to meeting more parishioners.

 

Linda has volunteered to write Parish Profiles for us so don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from her. She promises the interview will be painless and fun.  If you would like to nominate someone whom you would like to know a little better, you can email Linda at lnygaard@nehalemtel.net. 

 

 

 

 

The Tidings is available on line at www.st-catherine.info.  If you would like to get the news on line and not by snail mail, let the church office know and we’ll take your name off the newsletter mailing list.  stcatherine@nehalemtel.net or 503-368-7890