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A nthony de Mello, an

Indian Jesuit priest and

psychotherapist (1931-1987)

offered this story:

The Master was in an

expansive mood, so his

disciples sought to learn from

him the stages he had passed

through in his quest for the

divine.

“God first led me by the hand,”

he said, “into the Land of

Action, and there I dwelt for

several years. Then God

returned and led me to the

Land of Sorrows; there I lived

until my heart was purged of

every inordinate attachment.

That is when I found myself in

the Land of Love, whose

burning flames consumed

whatever was left in me of self.

This brought me to the Land of

Silence, where the mysteries of

life and death were bared

before my wondering eyes.”

“Was that the final stage of your

quest?” they asked.

“No,” the Master said. “One day

God said, ‘Today I shall take you

to the innermost sanctuary of

the Temple, to the very heart of

God.’

And I was led to the Land of

Laughter.”

Copyright 2017 by PNMSI Publishing Co. Used with permission, Synthesis May 14, 2017 issue.

Fr. Bruce and Deb

A REFLECTION

United & Empowered

by the Love of

Our Lord Jesus Christ

Volume 2, Issue 8

Page 2 V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8 T HE CR OSS TI ES

Nothing Could Be Finer!

With those words, The Right Reverend Gayle Harris, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts, began her sermon at the Ordination and Consecration of The Reverend Samuel Sewall Rodman, III on Saturday, July 15, 2017. That is exactly how Fr. Bruce, Deb, Ray and I felt as we witnessed this spectacular event. Filled with over 1000 folks---bishops, priests, deacons, drummers, musicians, singers, and parishioners from all around the Diocese and beyond---Duke University Chapel was THE place to be THAT morning! Our “own” Michael Curry was the Chief Consecrator along with many other bishops, including The Bishop of East Carolina, The Bishop of Western North Carolina and The Bishop of Botswana, our Companion Diocese, who presented Bishop Rodman with Eucharistic vestments from his homeland. It was a joyful celebration, filled

with many

moments of laughter, as the Diocese of North Carolina welcomed its new shepherd. Hopefully, you will go online and view the ceremony for yourself!

Katie

What in the world do these three things have in common you might ask? Recently, Ray and I drove out into the countryside near Broadway to find the answer to that question. We visited 19-year-old William Tucker and his mom, Lucy, who have become very involved members of St. Thomas’ in the last few months. Through pre-vious chats with William, I discovered that he was learning to be a blacksmith—not the kind that shoes horses—and that he and his Dad al-so work with bees. William said he is a self-taught blacksmith using online videos and arti-cles to help him learn about this craft which he calls “functional blacksmithing”. He likes to make useful items like hooks, fences, gates or napkin rings. William has received mentoring

from an uncle and several others since he be-gan working with steel about a year ago. His uncle helped him build his own forge in 5 days! The forge, made from a trash can and an old metal table, has a heat-resistant liner that can reach a temperature of 2000 degrees! William uses propane to fuel his forge because it is cheaper, easier to obtain, cleaner and relatively safer than coal. One surprising thing we learned was that metal can shatter as easily as glass, if you’re not careful!! During the hotter parts of the year, William does not practice his craft---it’s just too darn hot!

William and his dad have also recently become beekeepers, so that was our next learning expe-

Bees, Blacksmithing, and William by Katie Hyer

T HE CR OSS TI ES Page 3 V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8

Bees, Blacksmithing, and William ... continued

rience. Due to an infestation by moths, they had lost 3 of their hives. William said that the smell of that many dead bees was repulsive. His dad, Bill, was out obtaining several “Nuke Boxes” to replace the ones lost. These boxes are estab-lished hives of around 3000 bees that have a queen, brood (eggs), drones or worker bees and honey. The best time to work around a hive is between 2-4pm. This is when the bees are most

active, and more tolerant of humans. If you show up in the early morning or late evening, they are a bit grouchy and don’t want you around. They also hate rain!

William amazed us with many facts about bees and their hives. Bees eat pollen and then spit it up to make honey. The taste of honey varies based on the type of pollen bees consume. Bees are very intelligent and have learned to work together to produce honey. Another very inter-esting situation that occurs in the hierarchy of a hive revolves around the Queen and Princess Bees. During swarming season before the “Princesses” hatch, the Queen will gather her supporters and leave the hive to form a new one. Then, all the Princesses engage in a “battle roy-al”, fighting to the death, until only one is left to become the new Queen. In addition, Worker Bees of a strong hive are willing to kill a Queen if they think she’s not up to snuff! If she is sick or wounded, they will kill her and breed a new Queen to take her place.

In this short article, I’m not able to recount all the fascinating information William shared with Ray and I during our visit. However, I’m positive he and his parents would welcome your visit to their “B and B”!!

V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8 Page 4 T HE CR OSS TI ES

Musical Presentations in July

Sunday, July 16

Parishioners were treated to a musical gift

when June Burbage, St. Thomas' organist, was

joined by Choir Member (and Rector's wife)

Deb Heyvaert, pianist, in presenting the

offertory anthem. Their choice, Be Thou My

Vision, was played with excellence and great

musical sensitivity. Many thanks to these two

for sharing their talents.

Sunday, July 23

Guest cellist David Oh shared his extraordinary

music-making with parishioners and visitors at

St. Thomas'. The first movement from Bach's

Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, a

composition requiring

great technical skill from the performer, was

the prelude. The offertory was The Swan by

Saint-Sae ns. Performed with delicate

masterfulness and assisted with sensitive

accompaniment by June Burbage, the guest

cellist's playing evoked the gliding grace of a

swimming swan. Appreciative parishioners

responded with spontaneous applause at its

conclusion.

Sunday July 30

On this date we were especially blessed as we

had two performances.

Choir member Karen Huey, accompanied by

organist June Burbage, performed the offertory.

Her chosen selection was Great Is Thy

Faithfulness, composed by William M.

Runyan. The adaptation for violin and

keyboard was secured from Alfred Music

Company.

Bob Lewandowski provided a tremendous treat

at the July Fifth Sunday Luncheon. A master

accordionist, he thrilled attendees with a

spirited and entertaining program of much-

loved tunes. Excited parishioners cheered,

shouted huzzahs, and made their appreciation

known with enthusiastic and prolonged

applause.

Thanks, Bob, for sharing your stupendous

talent with everyone. You made

a delightful Sunday even more special.

T HE CR OSS TI ES Page 5 V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8

2 Jenna White, Gavin Shepard

3 Cynthia Moorman

7 Josephine Fatog

13 Finn O’Hara

15 Mary Quinn

18 Joy Gilmour

19 Mary Louise Matthews, Todd Spofford

21 Lynda Turbeville

22 Norma Naegele

31 Debbie White

19 Todd and Louise Spofford

August Birthdays & Anniversaries

Page 6 T HE CR OSS TI ES V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8

Father Bruce and the Congregation of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Thank you all at St. Thomas' for the memorial service for my wife, Roberta. It was so comforting to our family and those attending. She was a life-long Episcopalian. Father Bruce, the choir, readers, ushers and other church servers made me proud of St. Thomas', surrounding our family when we needed them most. Roberta was a devoted wife, loved her family, and was always there to encourage and support them. Roberta traveled extensively in her job and with me on my military assignments, having our daughter, Amy, in California and son, Paul, in Germany, and keeping our family together. Roberta was a Registered Nurse. She worked as the Surgical Services Director at a large hospital in West Virginia and later at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford. She maintained a life-long interest in surgery and was an inspiration to all. We all loved Robert and will miss her so much. God bless you, Roberta (Grandma Bobbie). Thank you, St. Thomas'. We love you, Roberta. John, children and grandchildren

In the Silence, Name Me

Holy One,

untamed

by the names

I give you,

in the silence

name me,

that I may know

who I am,

hear the truth

you have put into me,

trust the love

you have for me,

which you call me to live out

with my sisters and brothers

in your human family

Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle, p. 24

Page 7 T HE CR OSS TI ES V OLU ME 2, ISSU E 8

We have a new update on our sign!

For those who are ill:

Barbara; Joan; Jack Beyer; Kara Bowman; Chuck Boyd; Edith Cates; Scott Caviness; Pat Clark; Diane Hancock; Charlotte Hohenstein; Karen Huey; Bill Hyde; Cindy Julich; Pat Kirkman; Mary Louise Matthews; Kathie McBride; Norma Naegele; Rebecca Pascoe; Lynn Weber; Layne Wright.

For strength and guidance:

Ryan; Claudia Cox; Anne L.; the Naegele family; John Rogerson; Vicki Russell; the Vestry; Steve and Barbara Yuskevich; Chris and Justin Weber.

For those serving and our armed forces deployed and at home.

Praises: For the continuing growth of St. Thomas’

Our Prayer List

In Loving Memory of

Roberta Lee Rogerson

November 19, 1936—June 6, 2017

“Cross Ties”

is published monthly by

St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church

312 N. Steele St., Sanford, NC

Office: (919) 774-8644

Fax: (919) 776-5883

Email: stthomasnc@icloud.com

Website: http://stthomassanford.dionc.org

Office Hours

Beth Wood, Admin. Asst.

M & F, 9AM- 12PM

Tu, W, & Th, 9AM – 1PM

Rector

The Rev. Bruce Heyvaert

We extend a warm welcome from our church

community. We at St. Thomas’ believe that:

Whatever your religious background

Whatever your history

However you have come to be drawn to the Lord

You are welcome to walk your journey of life with us

at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church.

The Parish Staff

Director of Music Dr. Jo Ann Bowman

Organist

June Burbage

Nursery Care Katie Yuskevich

Lay Leaders

Andy White, Treasurer

Women of the Church

Cornelia Olive

Outreach Committee Chair

Pat Kirkman

Cross Ties Editor V. Naegele

stthomassanford@gmail.com

The Parish Vestry

Serving through 2017

James Jessup, Jr. Warden

Cindy Julich, Sr. Warden

Katie Hyer, Clerk

Serving through 2018

Wendy Seymore

Elizabeth Zeph

Bob Carlson

Serving through 2019

Bill Bradford

Jeremy Linney

Cornelia Olive

@ St. Thomas

For Church Musicians and Artists

O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

From The Book of Common Prayer, pg. 819