The CRIER July-August 2017 A Newsletter of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Perspective

If your life is a

grand disaster, you’re looking

from the outside in.

If you see life as A

Grand Design,

you’re looking from the inside

out.

Dear Friends in Christ, As you read this edition of the Crier, summer break is in full swing. Many of us have planned or have already experienced some sense of “vacation”. Some of us have gone camping, others have visited family, a few of us may have even traveled to new and wondrous places throughout our great nation. My hope is that this time for renewal, relaxation, and restoration. To be honest, the summer months have been somewhat challenging for me as the Pastor of our faith community. I have struggled to find the balance between “keeping our foot on the gas” by continuing a large array of bible studies, outreach opportunities, and fellowship activities with the recognition that we need to invest in taking time for rest. I heard something recently that has helped me with this dilemma. A fellow priest reminded me that the summer holidays were simply an extension of our liturgical calendar. After beginning the Christian calendar with Advent and Christmas, we celebrated the season of Epiphany where we learned more about the Christ child born among us. During the season of Lent and Easter, we remembered that the Christ child was destined to give His life for the sins of us all. After celebrating new life with the Risen Christ, we told the story of His ascension to the Father’s right hand so that he can reign in glory. At the first of June, we remembered the Pentecost event where the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples and the “church” was born. Now that we are in the midst of the summer months, we are challenged to take all that we have experienced as “church” into the world. All that we have learned inside the walls of our sanctuary, we take into the world – sharing the Pentecost Spirit with everyone whom we meet. We share the love of Christ with those in line at the amusement park, those we camp with in our state and national parks, those we swim with at Indiana Dunes, and those family members that we gather with for summer reunions. I share all this as a reminder, and a challenge, for us not to see the summer as a time to “take a break” from church or religion. Rather, this is a time for us to be even more intentional about “being the church” – in the world. Have a blessed rest of summer, Fr. Roger+

July—August 2017 Children & Youth

Youth ministry is in need of adult volunteers who care about teens and feel passionately about contributing to their spiritual formation. Please contact me if you interested in helping out. The youth of St. Andrews is small in number, but have so much to offer. I look forward to spending much more time with our youth this next year fostering their many gifts and talents and I know many adults in our church would too. Yours in Christ, Sarah Colias

Many, many thanks to all those took a “sticky note” and then abundantly supplied the VBS tent. You have made my first year in directing VBS SOOOO much smoother! Blessings to you all, Jen

I have been blessed with the experience of serving our youth alongside Bernie for the past two years and will continue to do so this next year. Our upcoming summer will be spent planning ways to build on the foundation of our youth program through spiritual teaching,

A LARGE WELCOME to our new children and youth staff!!! Sarah Colias and her husband Jim,

often worship at 5:30 pm and come from Munster, Indiana. Jen Rodd and her husband Jody have 2 children in our kids program. Jen is the daughter of Bob and Barb Janulis and was baptized at St. Andrew’s and had her early Christian formation at the Erie Street church. WELCOME Sarah & Jen!!!

Yes…..It’s VBS TIME AGAIN!!!

What has antlers and can fly? A Moose-quito.

What do pine trees wear to the lake?

Swimming TRUNKS!

Campout: Getting S'more of Jesus is coming July 12-14! Join us from 9am-12pm for Bible stories about Jesus who is the light of the world! We will have games like Mosquito tag and build a s'more. There will be science and crafts that explore light and shadows with prisms and magnifying glasses. Please join us. Registration forms are by the Education Wing.

July—August Parish Ministries

Liturgy & Worship Pam Harris

Outreach Faye Kachur

Once again, St. Andrew’s has surpassed its goal! The annual tuition drive for Antu and Kenya ended on Pentecost Sunday. A total of $3225.26 was collected for their senior year tuition and fees. This is $475 MORE than what they need! The extra money will be kept in their account by the Holy Cross Education Foundation and available for them to use for their post-secondary education. I speak for Antu and Kenya and their parents saying thanks to you for your generosity and steadfastness through four years in this ministry. There is no vacation for summer outreach because there is no vacation for need. This summer we are

supplying lunch food for the children of Valparaiso who are not able to have a nutritious mid-day meal. The

Valparaiso Christian Food Pantry will distribute the lunches. The following is a list of items they could use:

Applesauce cups Breakfast bars (low sugar) Cereal

Canned pasta Fruit (canned or fresh Peanut butter J elly

Mac and cheese Spaghetti-o’s Tuna

Cheese and crackers tomato or chicken noodle soup cookies

popcorn pudding cups teddy grahams

apple juice juicy juice boxes

Monetary donations are also accepted for the purchase of milk, eggs, cheese and meats. Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s with “Food Pantry” on the memo line.

The annual backpack collection will begin July16 and end Aug. 6 for area students. A list of items will be available by July 16. This year due to a very generous donation by a parishioner, there will be backpacks you can take to fill and three ring binders to start your collection of school supplies for those in need.

When you read this it will be July, the middle of summer. Temperatures have climbed into the 80’s, days are full of sun and fun. God’s light pours into the world. It is Ordinary Time, that long stretch of time between Trinity Sunday and Advent I. It is a time for learning about Christ’s work in the World. We are learning what we are to teach all the new disciples we have been making; as we are called to do in the so often overlooked second part of the Great Commission.

This is Kingdom Time. The church is decorated in green, the bright color of leaves. We return to glass vessels and plain candlesticks. This is a time for remembering who we are and being nourished by our Agape meal, go forth into the World to love and serve the Lord…seeing Jesus in all people, not just those who look or act or speak like us. “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven”.

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live….these were the first words of the first song sung in St. Andrew’s on the Sunday it was officially opened in 2006. Now we can indeed build a house. In conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, on Saturday, July 22 we will need 15 people to help build a house for a single mom veteran in Valparaiso. According to the latest build schedule, we would be working on installing carpeting, interior doors and appliances, and touching up the painting. The schedule can change but they will have everything needed on site. The sign-up list will be on the kiosk.

July—August PARISH MINISTRIES

Financials A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT Dick Beach, Treasurer

Operating Fund (for period ending 5/31/17) Total # Pledging Families Units Actual Budget 150 105 Income $ 123,225. $ 117,083. Expense $ 117,711. $ 116,003. Net $ 5,512 $ 1,080)

Growing-in-Grace Mortgage Reduction Fund (for per iod ending 5/31/17) Total # Pledging Families Units Actual Budget Mortgage Balance 150 50 Income $ 22,703. $ 16,450. Expense $ 64,024. $ 16,450. Net ($ 41,321) $ 0 $ 157,779.

It’s Never Too Late to Make A Pledge. Share in God’s mission with a glad, generous, and grateful heart.

Vestry Mance Parks, Senior Warden

The Vestry members for the year 2017 are as follows: Fr. Roger Bower, Sr. Warden Mance Parks, Jr. Warden Art Munro, Treasurer, Dick Beach, Linda Halas, Clerk, Laura Kennedy, Jennie Brock, Rich Kado, Tim Ames, Kim Tolliver. The meetings open with a prayer and a reading or meditation. Each Vestry member takes a month of the year and leads the prayer and meditation for that month. Vestry members are also scheduled to assist the income recording secretary in counting the money collected for the three weekend services. The Vestry had a retreat at the church on March 18 at which Fr. Roger presented a video titled” Vestry Orientation” pointing out the role of the Vestry. Every member was issued a copy of the “vestry resource guide”. The bylaws of St. Andrew’s were discussed, pointing out that a person had to be a minimum of 18 years old to be eligible for the Vestry. The statistics of the Renewal Works survey was discussed and how we compare to other churches. In our April meeting Dick Beach, treasurer, presented the vestry with a proposal to take $ 50,000 from the “Operating Fund’ and loan it to the “Growing in grace Fund” to be used to pay down the principal on the mortgage, The Church would save about $ 11,000 in interest. The Vestry voted to adopt this proposal. We close each meeting with a prayer. Fr. Roger asked the Vestry to pray for Fr. Phelps in East Chicago.

A joke from Uncle Billy, Mitford resident "Wellsir, this old feller an' 'is wife was settin' on th' porch, an' she said, 'Guess what I'd like t' have? He said, 'What's that?' She said, 'A great big bowl of vaniller ice cream with choc'late sauce and nuts on top!' He says, 'Boys howdy, that'd be good. I'll go down to th' store and git us some.' Wife said, 'Now, that's vaniller ice cream with choc'late sauce and nuts. Better write it down.' He said, 'Don't need t' write it down, I can remember.' Little while later, he come back. Had two ham san'wiches. Give one t' her. She looked at that san'wich, lifted th' top off, said, 'You mulehead, I told you t' write it down, I wanted mustard on mine!' Joke from ; A New Song, by Jan Karon

THE SHELF IF GOD IS LOVE: REDISCOVERING GRACE IN AN UNGRACIOUS WORLD Philip Gulley and James Mulholland " Empathy walks hand and hand with grace. As long as I guarded the gates of my life carefully, allowing only those who were like me into my relationships, my home, and my heart, I could find reasons to be ungracious. As long as I allowed hate, pain, fear or pride to keep others at a distance, they remained strangers - different, and therefore a threat. Only by befriending neighbors, strangers, and enemies do we begin to understand and love them". Neither of the authors of this book were raised Quakers. In fact, one of the authors was a preacher in a fundamentalist Baptist Church in Texas for several years. Life experiences required each of them to make changes to their lives as their understanding of spirituality and religion changed over time. Their willingness to wrestle with their own life decisions will resonate with many readers who search in their own hearts over what direction to take next. They make strong arguments to support their views about nationalism, economics and pacifism, but they are careful to do so in their recommended caring, gentle way. This book is not necessarily a soothing balm to the soul, but it promises to prod you into evaluating your own thoughts and more importantly, the authors would say, your commitment to becoming a social justice advocate in a “peaceful way”. A REVIEW BY ANITA QUINLAN

IS THE REAL FR. ROGER THE FICTIONAL FR. TIM? A review of the Mitford Series by Jan Karon

If you’d like to read a novel novel and treatise on Episcopalian evangelism (and, no, novel novel isn’t a misprint. The first novel is the adjective which describes the second novel, the noun), consider The Mitford Series by Jan Karon. As you wander the streets of the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina and follow the daily exploits of Fr. Tim Kavenaugh (you might find yourself mentally substituting Fr. Roger, Fr. Ross, Fr, Patrick or Fr. Clark when you read “Fr. Tim), you’ll gain an appreciation for the richness and depth of the Episcopal Church impact on the lives of people in the Mitford community. And if it would happen in Mitford, it could happen in Valparaiso. Currently reading book seven, taking a trip to Mitford is a pilgrimage of sorts. I always relish my trips to Mitford, a town in which (admittedly fictional) people seem to live in real community with one another, and a town whose inhabitants exemplify many of the fruits and struggles of gospel-living. I have learned a lot about how to pray and how to deal with both my passions and my enemies from Karon's novels. And so, as I said, reading the Mitford Series is a bit of a pilgrimage. Let me simply share some quotes to whet your interest.

“The firefly only shines when on the wing, So it is with us--when we stop, we darken.” At Home in Mitford “...God first started speaking to my heart--the very day I started speaking to His!” A Light in the Window

“Phillipians 4:13 for Pete's sake!” A New Song Give me faith, Lord, to know Your Presence as surely as I know the beating of my own heart. I've felt

so far from You....” In This Mountain

As CRIER editor and ad hoc librarian, the Mitford series will find its way onto the shelves of the cloister library. My only question is whether it should be housed in the section on fiction or Anglican? Jack Given

Instead of people shouting, ranting on social media and bickering about politics, this book written by two "peace-loving" Quaker pastors reminds people to follow a different way of life. One that recognizes God's unconditional love for everyone; one that is "gentle, humble, open and compassionate". At first those words just sound like a directive to be "nice to other people", but the primary focus of this book is not just about being nice, but rather about taking action. It is a clear call for everyone to follow Jesus' example and to work tirelessly for social justice.

THAT’S LAUGHABLE Dr. Julien Smith - June 17/18

Gen 18:1-15 (21:1-7); Ps 116:1,10-17; Rom 5:1-8; Matt 9:35-10:8(9-23) Some years ago I was part of a seminar with a group of faculty from universities all over the world. We were reading Plato’s Symposium. The seminar leader—a professor far, far above me in rank, status, wisdom, and experience—posed a question and I offered an answer. The seminar leader paused thoughtfully and then turned toward me and said, “I think that’s laughable.” Nobody laughed. In fact the room went rather silent for a moment. You see, what the word “laughable” meant in that comment was not that I had said something very funny, something we all want to enjoy a good laugh over. The seminar leader wasn’t suggesting that I had a brilliant sense of humor. She was making plain that I had said something ridiculous, something ludicrous, something that was totally out of touch with reality. What I said may have been laughable, but it wasn’t particularly funny. Nobody was having a good time, enjoying the moment. Nobody was smiling. Especially not me. In fact, if there was an emotion as far away from smiling as you could get, that’s what I felt. Foolish. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Humiliated. Sometimes laughter is not that funny. In the reading from Genesis, Sarah has a good laugh, but there’s nothing funny going on. You see, Sarah is ninety years old at this point, and the LORD has just told her husband Abraham that she is going to have a son. And so Sarah does what most people would do after hearing a statement like that. She laughs. But God takes Sarah’s laughter extremely seriously. The LORD says to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?” And even when Sarah denies it, God says, “Oh yes, you did laugh.” It’s not the case (I don’t think) that God has no sense of humor. It’s that God and Sarah have completely different views of reality. In Sarah’s view of reality (and in Abraham’s for that matter, and for most of us), ninety year old women don’t get pregnant. So it’s absolutely no use trying to believe that it might happen. It’s ridiculous to put your faith in something that is actually just plain impossible. You see, God had promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, to give Abraham and Sarah offspring more numerous than the stars at night. But God had been slow in making good on that promise. Awfully slow. And so Abraham and Sarah had just given up hope. They stopped believing. They lost their faith. God’s promise was simply laughable. But right at this moment, God asks Sarah a question: “Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” Now it’s important that God asks Sarah a question rather than making a statement. Because the answer to this question will determine that path that Sarah’s life takes. And it’s not a question that God can answer. Only Sarah can. Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? That’s the question God is asking us today. And it’s a question only you and I can answer. Now, about a year later, God finally makes good on his promise, and Sarah has a son. And you know what? She laughs. But this time the laughter is different. A year ago, she laughed because she thought God was ridiculous. Now she laughs because she finds herself ridiculous for ever doubting God. And all her family and friends are laughing too—not at her but with her. Sarah’s story is really the story of two laughs. The first is the laugh of disbelief. The idea that God could

transform our suffering into something good is just ludicrous. The second laugh is the laugh of faith—the only thing we can’t believe is that we didn’t believe!

Sarah doesn’t find what the LORD has said to be ha-ha funny. She finds it to be ridiculous. Her laughter means, “God, I don’t believe you for a second. You have GOT to be kidding me.” What the LORD is talking about is just impossible. Everybody knows that. To suggest otherwise is just a joke, and a cruel one at that. My guess is that Sarah has heard a lot of laughter in her life, and not the funny ha-ha kind. The kind of laughter that sounds like this: “How about that Sarah? Ninety years old and still no kids? What a joke! I don’t know why Abraham still keeps her around?” Not having children when you want them is a tragedy in any age, but in Sarah’s day it was particularly dire. It meant that you would have no one to take care of you in your old age. It said to the rest of the world that God was displeased with you. It made you the butt of jokes. Sometimes laughter is not that funny.

Many of us find ourselves living between those two laughs, between the laugh of disbelief and the laugh of faith. Perhaps we’ve heard God’s promise but we’ve given up believing on it. So hear afresh God’s question for us today: Is anything to wonderful for the LORD? Before we take a look at the other Scriptures, let me make an important correction. God is not our lucky rabbit’s foot. God is not the CEO of our own private Make-A-Wish Foundation. God doesn’t promise to make all our dreams come true. Sarah’s story doesn’t mean that God is obligated to turn our wishes into reality. Sarah’s story means that God is faithful to God’s own promises. God doesn’t promise us a life free of suffering. God promises to be with us in the midst of suffering. And God promises that in the end, suffering will be redeemed and made good. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome helps us see how we get from the first laugh of disbelief to the second laugh of faith. Paul shows us how faith works. Because we have been “justified by faith” we now can “boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God.” There’s a bit of theological jargon there, so let me explain. To be justified means to be declared “in the right”. It means that God doesn’t hold our sins, our failings, our shortcomings against us. And this has happened not because we’ve tried really hard to be good, but rather because Jesus the Messiah died for us. God’s glory is a way of talking about God’s amazingly excellent character. We could just as well talk about the glory of Steph Curry’s three point shot; or the glory of Beyoncé’s voice; or the glory of Shakespeare’s pen. God’s amazingly excellent character has been revealed to us in Jesus, and Paul says we are one day going to share in that glory. We are going to be like Jesus. In other words: This past event—Jesus dying for us—means that in the present we can confidently celebrate our future hope to share in God’s glory, to become like Jesus. Does that sound laughable to you? Sometimes it does to me. Paul is telling us to boast, to celebrate, to throw a party because we will all one day be like Jesus. Let’s think about this past week. Do we find evidence that we are turning into a person that resembles Jesus? Well, my hope is that each of us would find some evidence of that. But it is likely mixed in with indications that we are not living the glorious life of Jesus. At this point Paul says something surprising, even downright shocking. We also confidently celebrate our suffering. Why? Because suffering produces patient endurance. Endurance produces tried-and-tested character. And character produces hope. But there’s something unusual about this hope. This hope doesn’t disappoint us; it doesn’t let us down; it doesn’t turn out to be one huge joke. And why is that? We have this hope because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Now “love of God” could well mean “God’s love for us” but here I think Paul is talking about our love of God. In other words, the gift of the Holy Spirit enables us actually to love God. Loving God doesn’t mean having romantic feelings of affection for God. Think rather of the commandment that lies at the heart of Israel’s faith: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut 6:5). In its context in the book of Deuteronomy, this commandment sums up all the many commandments that Israel is to be obey in order to bear witness in the world to the one true God. As Israel obeys these commandments—understood as an act of love—Israel becomes like God and thus shows the world who God is. In other words, loving God entails a commitment to faithfully obeying God so that the world will know God. Loving God is at the heart of the church’s mission. And this ability to love God—we don’t call it up on our own. Paul says that the Holy Spirit pours this love for God into our hearts. What seems laughable, unbelievable, ridiculous—that we are going to become like Jesus—we can confidently hope in this because the Holy Spirit is at work in our hearts, enabling us to love God faithfully. As we love God faithfully, our lives will begin to resemble more and more the gospel-shaped life of Jesus. We get a picture of this as Jesus sends out the disciples on a mission to cast out unclean spirits and cure diseases. Let’s imagine that Jesus were sending us out on a mission like that today. “Nola, I’d like you to go to over to the oncology ward and cure all the cancer patients. Jim, why don’t you and Jean head over to the morgue and raise all those recently dead. Why don’t Toni and Angie go cleanse everyone in Porter County with an infectious skin disease? And let’s have the Foster family spend the week casting out demons. Would we find that laughable? Unbelievable? Ridiculous? What kind of church would even think

about that kind of crazy stuff? Not St. Andrew’s! What a joke. I don’t know whether God is calling the church in Porter County to this kind of miraculous witness. He well may be. But I do know that, in whatever form it takes, the church is called to be a witness. The church is

called to a mission of communicating in our words and deeds the gospel—the good news—that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.

It’s important to realize that, in the Gospels, miracles function as signposts, vivid symbols that can’t be ignored, pointing to the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus proclaims. How can we bear witness to this new reality brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus? What does it look like for the church to proclaim the gospel in our own culture? I’ll wrap up with one suggestion. Like Sarah, we live our lives between two sorts of laughter—between the laughter of disbelief, laughing at the promises of God, and the laughter of faith, laughing with God and others as we celebrate God’s faithfulness. Much of the world is stuck in that first kind of laughter—the laughter of skepticism and disbelief. If you told your neighbor, “God raised Jesus from the dead and wants to transform you and me into the glorious image of Jesus!” what do you think your neighbor would say? “That’s laughable.”

Franciscan Spirituality: One reason so many people have lost heart today is that we feel both confused and powerless. The forces against us are overwhelming: consumerism, racism, militarism, individualism, patriarchy, the corporate juggernaut. These “powers and principalities” seem to be fully in control. We feel helpless to choose our own lives, much less a common life, or to see any overarching meaning. The world is so complex, and we are so small. What can we do but let the waves of history carry us and try to keep afloat somehow? But maybe we can at least look for some patterns, or for those who found the patterns. Let’s turn to a thirteenth-century Italian who has one of the longest bibliographies of anyone in history: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). His simple wisdom has attracted many cultures and religions and continues to resonate eight hundred years later. Saint Francis stepped out into a world being recast by the emerging market economy. He lived amid a decaying old order in which his father was greedily buying up the small farms of debtors, moving quickly into the new entrepreneurial class. The Church seems to have been largely out of touch with the masses. But Francis trusted a deeper voice and a bigger truth. He sought one clear center—the Incarnate Jesus—and moved out from there. Francis understood everything from this personalized reference point. He followed Jesus in at least three clear ways. First, Francis delved into the prayer depths of his own tradition, as opposed to mere repetition of tired formulas. Second, he sought direction in the mirror of creation, as opposed to mental and fabricated ideas or ideals. Third, and most radically, he looked to the underside of his society, to the suffering, for an understanding of how God transforms us. In other words, Francis found both depth and breadth—and a process to keep him there. The depth was an inner life where all shadow, mystery, and paradox were confronted, accepted, and forgiven—and God was encountered. The breadth was the ordinary and sacred world itself. Francis showed us the process for staying at the center: entering into the world of human powerlessness. In imitation of Jesus, he chose “poverty” as his honest and truthful lens for seeing everything. Francis set out to read reality through the eyes and authority of those who have “suffered and been rejected”—and, with Jesus, come out resurrected. This is the “privileged seeing” of those who have been initiated by life. It is the true baptism of “fire and Spirit” with which, Jesus says, we must all be baptized (see Mark 10:39). For Francis, the true “I” first had to be discovered and realigned (the prayer journey into the True Self). He then had to experience himself situated inside of a meaning-filled cosmos (a sacramental universe). Francis prayed, “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Finally, he had to be poor (to be able to read reality from the side of powerlessness). He realized that experiencing reality from the side of money, success, and power is to leave yourself out of sympathy with 99% of the people who have ever lived. (Richard Rohr: June 4, 2017)

In a world that is choking on the laughter of disbelief, the church is called to be a witness to the

laughter of hope. The church’s mission is to proclaim, in all we do and say, in the face of appearances to the contrary, that Jesus is Lord over all the earth. Our call is to

live in the reality of that truth, in the confident hope that God will make it so. And if that sounds laughable to us, let us hear once again God’s question for the church: Is

anything too wonderful for the LORD?

PARISH EVENTS

Newcomers’ Coffee Learn more about us after the services on July 16th And August 20th

LADIES NITE OUT! 4th THURSDAY every month @ 6:00 P.M. July 27 - Blue Point— 13 E Lincolnway August 25 - El Salto - 3304 Calumet

MEN’S GATHERING 8:00 AM at Church 7/1; 7/15; 7/29; 8/12; 8/26 Join St. Andrew’s men in the lively art of conversation

(topics like faith, sports, politics, civility in society)

July 21 RAILCATS BASEBALL GAME! & August 4 INMAN’S BOWLING!

Mass in the Park & Parish Family Picnic Sunday July 9 at 10:00 AM Our annual Mass in the Park and All-Parish Picnic will be held at the Kirchhoff Park Shelter . (East of Roosevelt/North of Wood: look for sign) We’ll supply the brats, burgers and drinks: you supply the side dishes! Let’s everyone come together for this wonderful day of worship in the park, fun games, & fellowship!

This year the Valpo Parks Department is having the 4th of July Fireworks on July 4th (duh)

but they’ve moved the location to the empty lot on Vale Park and Valparaiso St, just north of the main branch of the Valparaiso Post Office. The site should be ideal to sit in comfort by the St. Andrew’s Pond and watch the exploding skies. IT’S A PARTY!! St. Andrew’s is supplying hot dogs, buns, chips and smores.

CAMP NEW HAPPENINGS JULY 23 - 29 Matthew 25:36 I was in prison and you

came to visit me.' Camp New Happenings is the next best thing: it’s caring for children of those in prison. Children who have at least one parent incarcerated in a State of Indiana or Federal facility are eligible to participate. Camp New Happenings offers all of the activities normally associated with a summer camp, from starting the day with the Pledge of Allegiance to daily swimming and arts and crafts to sports, hiking, evening camp fires, cookouts, along with a non-denominational Christian education. For More Information contact contact Christina Nevill at 219-309-5635. And for a really great summary of the program, visit http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/camp-offers-children-of-the-incarcerated-a-chance-to-spiritually/article_387d4c33-f223-5e3a-bc5a-31ea38b3e196.html

YES 64!!That’s how many volunteer man/woman-hours were spent on Clean- Up Day, 2017! Please take time to recognize these amazing people for donating their time and muscles so willingly: Sharon Beach; Dave Brock; Jenny Brock; Angie Camarata; Patsy Crider; Suzanne LaCount; Greg Lasky; Ross Mack; Art Munro; Mariann Munro; Lynn O’Neill; Mance Parks; Missy Parks; John Parks; Tari Parks; Nancy Seeley; Tatiana Seeley; and Kim Toliver. Weeds were pulled and hauled away around the church and the entire west side of the parking lot, as well as the area by the church sign and the fire pit; grasses and bushes hewn; weed-killer applied; stones hauled, distributed and raked in; sidewalk cracks cleaned and filled; outside windows washed, trash (3 bags worth) collected on church grounds; yellow safety curb painted; and mailbox and cross wood-stained. 64 hours equals 8 full-working days! The work was neither easy nor light so a mighty “thank you” to those of you who so tirelessly helped make St. Andrew’s look so spiffy. Another note: I cannot thank all of you, again, for making this job so much easier! As I step down from the Junior Warden position, I am passing the torch to a most-qualified, outstanding man in Art Munro. Let’s all continue to work together and as one, to help Art in his new position. Blessings to you all. Toni Sanchez

PARISH PRAISES Praise God for the Gift of Life & Marriage

July Anniversaries July Birthdays, cont’d

AJ & SueAnne Mathewson (34) 7-2 Corinne Lemarie 7-23

Bruce & Jeanne Foster (37) 7-5 Vincent Lemarie 7-24

Eric & Anna McDonald (15) 7-7 Stella McKamey 7-25

Jeff & Gretchen Gatz (21) 7-13 Sandra Bobrowski 7-26

Mance & Missy Parks (54) 7-15 Milena Veltri 7-28

Greg & Jayna Lasky (15) 7-20 Gretchen Gatz 7-29

John & Tari Parks (20) 7-26 Joan Given 7-29

Fr. Ross & Pat Mack (46) 7-31 David Nevill 7-31

August Anniversaries August Birthdays

Van & Beth Bartniczak (36) 8-1 Derek Graf 8-2

Vincent & Erin Goffette (19) 8-1 Pam Cain 8-5

Dawn Weiler & Tina Stout (26) 8-3 Patty Brink 8-6

Charlie & Shelly Foster (17) 8-4 Salena Anderson 8-10

Lou & Ruth Foster (57) 8-6 Teresea Beach 8-10

Martin & Lynn O’Neill (52) 8-7 Robyn Christie 8-10

Tom & Brittany McKamey (2) 8-8 Mariann Munro 8-10

Tom & Sandy Horne (39) 8-12 Gail Keith 8-13

Dennis & Anita Quinlan (15) 8-16 Megan Gatz 8-14

Dana & Tammy Campolattara (22) 8-19 Cole Myers 8-14

Harley & Jan Snyder (62) 8-20 Max Winchell 8-14

Dave & Pat Thurman (48) 8-22 Janice Martinek 8-16

Tom & Susan Clouser (43) 8-26 Marjorie Barnard 8-17

Jack & Joan Given (53) 8-29 SueAnne Mathewson 8-18

July Birthdays Julia Foster 8-19

Roger Sederberg 7-1 AJ Mathewson 8-19

Anna McDonald 7-2 Tim Ames 8-20

Emily Fisher 7-3 Toni Sanchez 8-22

Tracey Pest 7-4 Jena Mitchell 8-24

Eric McDonald 7-6 Ingrid Schimnoski 8-24

Ken Martinek 7-7 Sarah Colias 8-26

Jim Schafer 7-7 Christy Graf 8-26

Beth Ireland 7-11 Mae Ann Henderson 8-26

Tyler Graf 7-12 Janelle Wigel 8-26

Janis Burden 7-14 Steven Anderson 8-27

Tammy Campolattara 7-17 Bill Sampson 8-27

Traci Paff 7-17 Teri Winchell 8-27

Courtenay Casson 7-18 Sheryl Reynolds 8-28

Brannon Murr 7-18 Billie Bryan 8-30

Erin Goffette 7-19

Congratulations!

And an early congratulations to a future graduate, Bernie Hartsough, as she leaves for seminary.

TO ALL OF OUR GRADUATES

!!!

Emily Fisher, Danny Wilkinson, Jeannine Lemarie, Tom Adamson,

Bev Collinsworth, John Bryan, Timothy Standiford

And CONGRATULATIONS TO Christie Thomas, for winning Opportunity Enterprises DSP, Distinguished Service Professional, for 2017, the 50th Anniversary of OE.

The University of the South School of Theology is located in Sewanee, Tn. and is an institution of the University of the South. The School is comprised of an accredited seminary of The Episcopal Church and the Beecken Center, a center for lay and clergy education and training. The seminary educates women and men to serve the broad whole of The Episcopal Church in ordained and lay vocations. The School develops leaders who are learned, skilled, informed by the Word of God, and committed to the mission of Christ’s church, in the Anglican tradition of forming disciples through a common life of prayer, learning, and service. Sewanee’s seminary education and world-wide programs equip people for ministry through the gift of theological reflection in community.

NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION

US POSTAGE PAID

VALPARAISO, IN 46383

PERMIT NO. 369

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www.facebook.com/standrewsvalparaiso

St . Andrew’s Episcopal Church

505 Bullseye Lake Road Valparaiso, IN 46383