F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3

Perspective — February 2013

Perspective A Monthly Newsletter Volume XLIX, Issue 2

Rushing into Lent Lent  [lent] noun

(in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitencein preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, andcertain other churches.

Origin: before 1000; Middle English lente ( n ), Old English lencten,lengten spring, Lent, literally, lengthening (of daylight hours);cognate with Dutch lente, German Lenz  spring;

— om Dictionary.com

is year, Lent arrives again with the early Bay Area spring. But I suppose it is never too early for us to begin a spiritual "spring cleaning" — a time to open the shutters of our hearts and minds to the light of prayer, conscience, and grace; to allow the Spirit to breathe through us with new life; to learn again to shoulder our crosses together with honesty, hope, and love as we follow Jesus towards Jerusalem, Holy Week, and Easter. While Lent might rush towards us on the calendar, we are called not to rush through Lent when it comes. Instead we are called to observe it — in the words of our Ash Wednesday service that marks Lent's beginning — as a holy time. is means slowing down for the work of authentic self-examination and repentance: a word itself that needs to be reclaimed for real change.

February 12, 2013!Pancake Supper at

Church? Yum!6:30 PM

February 13, 2013Services at

10:30 am and 7:00 pm

5 Sundays in Lent, following the 10:00 service, in the Nave.

Please join us!Continued page 2

2 Perspective — February 2013

Repentance means most of all a change of mind and heart — not just a turning away from something we might judge as bad, but a wholehearted embrace of something good. Tackling holiness in this way is not simply about identifying and shedding sin, but about the difficult, sometimes painful, but ever life-giving work of offering everything to God for transformation.  When I was a music student, I learned the hard way that it is almost impossible to simply give up a bad technical or musical habit. It works so much better to replace it with a good habit. From that learning I drew a profound spiritual lesson: giving something up during a season of fasting only matters if it allows God to put something good in its place. Maybe giving up some busy-ness for contemplation, reading from scripture, and prayer would be a good practice for you. Some of us may need to give up a piece of our schedule for more rest or family time. Some of us might rearrange family time to pull us away from the television and internet and reach out together to serve side-by-side in the wider community. e Lenten question for each of us then is simply how to undertake this Lenten spiritual work. I invite you to carry that question of "How?" for yourself with prayer into conversation with your loved ones and other members of this community as you approach the Lenten season. is year, we're undertaking a new kind of five-part Sunday Lenten series that will  move us together through the entire Gospel of Mark. Mark's Gospel, the earliest and simplest of the four we have in canonical Scripture, is as mysterious and provocative as it is spartan and easy to read. It is the "beginning of the good news," a beginning that does not end with the last verse of the text, but continues on with us: Mark's audience of pilgrims struggling to be faithful in their walk with God in Christ. Each Sunday of Lent, we will gather for an hour in the nave for conversation around what we hear and discover about God and our own journey through this foundational document of our tradition. Everyone in the parish is invited to participate in reading and contemplating the whole of Mark during Lent — reading and reflecting deeply on only a few chapters each week. Be sure to join us for our Annual Meeting coming up on February 3rd, as we start a series of town hall discussions about our ongoing ministries and future mission as a congregation. And mark your calendar for our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 12th — a good time for the whole family — and one of our two Ash Wednesday services on February 13th, where we will mark the beginning of our spiritual spring together.

Ever grateful for your presence and love in this place,

Br. Richard Edward+

Perspective is published eleven times a year, monthly, except for August, by e Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Mill

Valley, CA. It is available on paper through the mail, or online through the parish website: http://

oursaviourmv.org/. If you wish to receive Perspective through the mail, please contact the church office at

415.388.1907. We welcome your comments and submissions, although we cannot guarantee publication

due to space limitations. Please direct inquiries to perspective@oursaviourmv.org.

In recent months, the EPIC youth group has been engaged in some very thoughtful reflections on spiritual life. Leading into Advent, we discussed the meaning of Jesus and the Kingdom of God in our lives, and the ways that light may come into the world. e EPIC youth helped to lead the Community Sunday service in December, and were pleased to share their Advent reflections with the larger community.   ey also wrote and prayed the prayers of the people, with a special focus on the needs of youth in our community. We are planning for another youth-led service in March, and we will continue with these at least once a season.            As part of our youth program, we have been combining the high school and middle school youth groups once a month for a special lesson. Recent lessons have focused on the Old Testament, the Gospels, and preparing for Lent.  We also had a special EPIC Sunday on Martin Luther King weekend, when we watched clips of MLK’s sermons and considered the meaning of his legacy in our lives. I have been moved and impressed by the youth’s thoughtful engagement with these issues, and in particular their willingness to consider the ways they can contribute to continued progress toward a better society and world. We look forward to sharing more of our reflections with the wider community in worship soon!             e youth will be engaged in several service projects this spring and summer. In March, the middle and high schoolers will have an opportunity to serve at the Marin Food Bank, helping to organize and pack massive amounts of food for people in need. And in June, we have our annual mission trip, heading back to Taos, NM to work with Habitat for Humanity, building a house for a family in need!             e dates for the Mission Trip are June 9-15. It is open to all in the church, and we would love to have more adults join us this year. Please let me know if you are interested or would like more information! vandorenw@gmail.com or 617-233-0361. — Willie VanDoren

EPIC

Perspective — February 2013 3

As we begin the new year, we would like to ask everyone to consider giving some time to help with Godly Play. We are so happy to have our classrooms full of wonderful – and wondering! – children. But as our program grows, so does our need for

volunteer help and support.

ere are many ways to contribute – from taking a bag of laundry and dishes home so the children can continue to have their weekly “feast” to learning to be a Godly Play Greeter or Story Teller to cultivate first hand the spirituality of our children.

It truly “takes a village” to offer a Sunday School program like Godly Play and we count on the kind efforts of our volunteers to ensure that our children have the spiritual and learning experience we desire for them.

To volunteer, please sign up at our morning circle or during Coffee Hour or feel free to speak with me or any of the Godly Play Greeters and Story Tellers.

In the Godly Play classrooms in January, we focused on the meaning of parables and why Jesus offered them to us. We heard the Parable of the Great Pearl and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. e older children also used a series of nesting boxes as a metaphor to explore how Jesus’ stories were customized for each generation. We changed our classroom colors back to green, the color of growing times. And in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we learned about Dr. King and his faith and other influences on his life as an activist.

Lastly, we are still welcoming Observers in our Godly Play classrooms – you will see a sign-up sheet posted outside the Near Classroom. We hope you will join us for a class soon!

Best regards, Tiana

Tiana WimmerCoordinator, Godly Play ProgramTianaW@me.com(415) 760-8698 – Cell phone

Godly Play — “It takes a village!” FebruaryBirthdays

4 Perspective — February 2013

You want me to do WHAT???

Cornelius the Centurion

February 7

All that we know about Cornelius is contained in the Acts of theApostles (chapters 10–11). He was the first Gentile converted to the Christian faith, along with his household. A centurion was commander of a company of one hundred men in the Roman army, responsible for their discipline, both on the field of battle and in camp. A centurion was a Roman citizen, a military career man, well-paid,and generally noted for courage and competence. Some centurions, such as Cornelius, and those whom we know about from the Gospel narratives, were men of deep religious piety. e author of Acts considered Cornelius’ conversion very momentous for the future of Christianity. He records that it occurred as the result of divine intervention and revelation, and as a response to thepreaching of Peter the chief apostle. e experience of Cornelius’ household was regarded as comparable to a new Pentecost, and it was a primary precedent for the momentous decision of the apostolic council, held in Jerusalem a few years later, to admit Gentiles to full and equal partnership with Jewish converts in the household of faith. According to tradition, Cornelius was the second Bishop of Caesarea, the metropolitan see of Palestine. Undoubtedly, Cornelius and his household formed the nucleus of the first Church in this importantcity, a Church that was gathered by Philip the Evangelist (Acts 8:40 and 21:8).

O God, by your Spirit you called Cornelius the Centurionto be the first Christian among the Gentiles: Grant to

your Church such a ready will to go where you send andto do what you command, that under your guidance it

may welcome all who turn to you in loe and faith, andproclaim the Gospel to all nations; through Jesus Christ

our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the HolySpirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Peter Baptizing the Centurion Cornelius,

by Francesco Trevisani, 1709.

Cornelius the Centurion

Perspective — February 2013 5

John Roberts [1853-1949] was born in Dyserth, on the coast of North Wales, south of Prestatyn and north of St. Asaph, which I had the pleasure of visiting in 1993. Roberts received his education at Rhuthun Grammar School, then at St David’s College, Lampeter, then affiliated with Oxford University. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1876, and was ordained a deacon in 1878 at Lichfield Cathedral by the Rt. Rev. George Augustus Selwyn. Roberts served as curate for a short time at Dawley Magna in Shropshire, but soon le there for the Bahama Islands in 1878. He was ordained a priest by the Rt. Rev. Francis Cramer Roberts at Nassau, became chaplain of St Matthew's Cathedral, and also ministered to the leper colonies. He continued to grapple with his vocation and the dissatisfaction he felt ministering only to Christian people. It was also during this time that he met Laura Alice Brown, the Cathedral organist, who eventually became his wife.

February 25 John Roberts was a priest and mission worker among the Shoshone and Arapahoe in Wyoming where he worked tirelessly from his arrival in 1883 until his death in 1949. Born and educated in Wales, Roberts served briefly in the Bahamas where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1878. Shortly thereaer, on a visit to New York, he contacted John Spalding, the missionary bishop of Wyoming and Colorado, asking for work among Native Americans. Bishop Spalding sent Roberts to serve in Colorado initially, but by 1883 he had made his way to Wyoming where he began work among the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians in the area that is now the Wind River Reservation. Roberts learned the languages of both tribes and made extensive notes on vocabulary that have been invaluable to later generations of scholars. Roberts shared his work with Laura Brown, a wealthy woman he had met while serving in the Bahamas. ey married on the day of her arrival in Wyoming, Christmas Day 1884. Together they had six children, five of whom survived the harsh conditions, all of whom learned the native languages as well as English. In 1887, aer building trusting relationships with the people, the Shoshone chief granted land to Roberts on which to build a mission school for girls to complement the nearby government school for boys. In addition to the mission school, Roberts was responsible for starting congregations in nearly a dozen locations. Unlike other missionaries who sought to change the culture and lifestyle of Native peoples as a sign of their conversion to the Christian faith, Roberts believed it was important to preserve the language, customs, and culture of the people. Roberts sought to honor and respect the ancient ways of the Native peoples while at the same time proclaiming the Gospel among them, inviting them to faith, establishing congregations, and serving their needs in the name of Jesus.

The Rev. John RobertsPriest, 1949

Creator God, we thank you for bringing your missionaryJohn Roberts om his native land to live and teach

your Gospel in a spirit of respect and amity among theShoshone and Arapahoe peoples in their own language;

and we pray that we also may share the Good News ofyour Christ with all we meet as iends brought together

by your Holy Spirit; for you are one God, Father, Son, andHoly Spirit, living and true, to the ages of ages. Amen.

The above was excerpted from the blog:The Good Heart by Harry Allagree, ObJN. Retired Episcopal parish priest and Regional Missioner; professed Oblate of the Order of Julian of Norwich. He lives in Cotati, CA.

http://thegoodheart.blogspot.com/2011/02/rev-john-roberts-1853-1949.html

John Roberts & Shoshone Episcopal Mission, 1883-1885

6 Perspective — February 2013

Last month, a few happy parishioners warmed themselves at a Newcomers’ Breakfast in the Hofele home. e event, which the family plans to do regularly, was David’s idea. ey had hosted similar occasions in their neighborhood and wanted to expand it to their church community. A good, social breakfast, says Cooke Hofele, “starts the day on the right foot.” Whole families are invited, and David does it all. e meal consists of fruit, coffee or tea, and David’s “healthy, yummy pancakes” with seasonal variations, such as berries. For the January breakfast, the hosts have prepared for three or four new families and “a few church veterans” to keep the conversation going. If more appear, “We’ll make more pancake batter.” If this sounds a lot like southern hospitality, that’s because it is. Both Hofeles came here from Atlanta and from Savannah before that. Cooke got her name from a grandmother there. When the granddaughter was born, Cooke was her middle name; her first name was Evelyn. Grandmother announced, “Well, I’m gonna call her Cookie.” e name stuck, but the original spelling remained.

Although their southern drawl seems to have vanished, Cooke insists that it comes right back when they make their annual trip back home, visiting family and letting daughters Kate, Madelyn and Emilie go to Episcopal Summer Camp in North Carolina.

is last Christmas, however, their travels took a more global direction. Cooke’s parents still live in Atlanta, and their fiieth wedding anniversary was coming up. Years ago, her dad had fallen in love with Africa and returned to it four or five times. To celebrate their anniversary with the people he loved in the place he loved, Dad packed his two offspring and their families

off to Kenya, where they all went on safari together. e experience was unforgettable, and the kids were just the right ages to appreciate it. Twins Kate and Maddie are now eighth graders at Mill Valley Middle School. Emilie is in fih grade at Old Mill. “We saw every animal,” says their mom, “six cheetahs on Christmas Day,” then six lions, not

together. ey also sighted three leopards, hordes of elephants, giraffes and zebras. It was the trip of a lifetime.. During the week, Cooke, a former grade-school teacher, works from home, but David spends a lot of time on the road. His own company, Proinsurance, has an office in Novato and a second office in Menlo Park. ey’re shopping for a plug-in hybrid. e Hofeles’ involvement with Church of Our Saviour has been more than dutiful. David served on the Stewardship committee and is now a member of the vestry. e girls have been torchbearers and will be getting confirmed in April. ey don’t see all their service as a one-way street, however. It is, says Cooke, “ a win-win for our family.”

Pancakes in Mill Valley, Christmas in Kenya

Who’s in the Pews? by Rosine Reynolds

Cooke, David, Kate, Maddie and Emilie in Kenya with extended family.

Perspective — February 2013 7

Sunday Ministries at Church of Our Saviour - February 2013

Staff The Rev. Br. Richard Edward Helmer n/BSG, Rector 415-244-1860 The Rev. Annette Rankin, Deacon 415-298-2479 The Rev. Jason Lucas, Assisting Clergy 612-396-2533 Luda Lee, Seminarian Intern 415-388-1907 Dr. Daniel Hoggatt, Organist and Choirmaster Willie VanDoren, Youth Minister Rose Scarff, Parish Administrator Jeff Johnson & Gay Rawlins Johnson, Co-Treasurers Terry Peck, Sexton Joan Peck, Editor, Perspective Rosalind Patterson, Coordinator, Perspective

2011 Vestry

Malin Clark Senior Warden Michael Mooney & Austin Lowery Junior Wardens

Charlie Coleman David Hofele Scott Johnson Marjorie Macris Doug Roberts Mo Stout

Worship at COS Sundays 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I 9:45 a.m. Children & Youth Programs 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite II Wednesdays 10:30 a.m. Eucharist & Bible Dialogue Tuesday-Friday: 9:30 a.m. Morning Prayer 5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer

Ministry Coordinators Acolytes Amy Paulenich Adult Education Dryden Liddle Altar Guild Gay Rawlins Johnson Archives Rose Scarff Care of Creation Ministry Mark Tarpey-Schwed Coffee Hour/Parish Life Cathy Steele & Kathleen Piraino Eucharistic Ministers Richard Helmer Healing Team Nancy Cone Lectors Nancy Cone Outreach Jane Brophy Pastoral Care Team Cathy Steele St. Anne’s Circle Diane Amses & Maggie Lang Stewardship David Hofele Sunday School:

Godly Play Tiana Wimmer Middle Saints Amy Paulenich Paige MacLeod Confirmation Richard Helmer EPIC Youth Willie VanDoren

Ushers Warren Leiden Welcome Harriet McCue Pastoral Counseling Nancy Cone Blessings, Baptisms & Pastoral Counseling Richard Helmer

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR Phone: 415-388-1907 Fax: 415-388-6584

Email: office@oursaviourmv.org Web: www.oursaviourmv.org

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

________________________________________________________________________ The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour 10 Old Mill Street Mill Valley, CA 94941 Return Service Requested