parish life -january 2014class will resume from christmas break on january 7, 2014. the wednesday...

INSIDE:

TTTHEHEHE PPPARISHARISHARISH LLLIFEIFEIFE The Newsletter of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church

309 East Baltimore St. • Jackson, TN 38301 (731) 424-0556 • (731) 423-3688, fax

www.estlukes.org [email protected]

Parish Offices Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

The Reverend Deacon Tommy Rhoads, Deacon The Rev. Dr. Gene Davenport, Theologian in residence

Mrs. Trudy Lovell, Parish Administrator Mr. Jeff Beard, Facility Manager

Dr. Richard S. Townley, Organist/Choirmaster Ms. Donna Agnew, Christian Education Director

VESTRY Jim Craig, Senior Warden Lee Sparks, Junior Warden

Bill Parnell, Treasurer ♦ Lynn White, Clerk Janie Giles Carp, Harry Ecoff, Larry Greer, Mike

Hartup, Dusty King, Don Lanoue, Vikki Neblett, Clift Odom, Bill Parnell, Ed Wallis & Lindsay Wilhite

Welcoming all to worship the Risen Christ and live as his disciples

309 East Baltimore Street ♦ Jackson, Tennessee 38301 ♦ 731-424-0556 ♦ www.estlukes.org

January 2014 ♦ Volume 182, issue 1

EPISCOPAL CHURCH SAINT LUKE’S

Altar Candles .................................................. 3 Altar Flowers .................................................. 3 Altar Supplies ................................................. 3 Anniversaries .................................................. 7 Baptism Dates Ahead ................................... 2 Birthdays ......................................................... 7 Calendar .......................................................... 4 Christian Education ...................................... 2 EYC ................................................................. 6 Financial Update ............................................ 2 From the Parish Office ................................ 2 From Your Senior Warden .......................... 2 IRS Guidelines for Donations ..................... 7 Lectionary Readings ...................................... 2 News from Saint Luke’s Children............... 6 Notes from Gene .......................................... 3 Office Closings .............................................. 6 Parish Office Closings .................................. 7 RIFA Needs ................................................... 6 Scheduled to Serve ........................................ 5 Special Thanks ............................................... 7 Stewardship .................................................... 2 Sympathies of the Parish .............................. 6

**SAINT LUKE’S NEWS**

SERVANTHOOD by The Rev. Deacon Tommy Rhoads

So What's the Big Deal with Epiphany?

Epiphany? Feast of Lights? The Twelfth Night? What's that all about?

The word Epiphany comes from the Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, meaning "manifestation" or "striking ap-pearance." In Classical Greek, the word was used to describe the ap-pearance of dawn or the appearance of one's enemy in war, but espe-cially it was used to describe the manifestation of a deity to a wor-shiper. ….continued on page 3

FEAST OF EPIPHANY - S��, J��. ₅ �� ₅:₀₀ �.�.

It always seems that The Feast of Lights is just around the corner, just around the cor-ner of a brand new year...yet, it is one of the oldest traditions in St. Luke's Church, at least 50 years old...Robes, wings, halos, shepherd's crooks, the manger.... all so old...yet with the candlelight, all so new. The nave of the church will be filled with winged children and robed youth...we always expect to see and hear camels and sheep...because YOU come as the sheep...to be part of our fold. BRING your family members of all ages again this year.

NEW OFFERING ENVELOPE NUMBERS FOR 2014

Once again the new year has arrived and once again, you have a new offering envelope number. You should have already received a postcard with your 2014 offering envelope number in the mail. Please start using this new number as of January 1, 2014. This ensures that your contributions will be posted to your record for your tax reporting. If you need more envelopes, we have some available in the narthex for you to pick up on Sunday mornings. We will have bundles of 12 or 52 for your convenience or there will be loose envelopes in the pew racks as well. Please put your new number on either your envelope or your check. If you do not receive your offering envelope number by January 6th, please contact the parish office at 731-424-0556.

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THE LECTIONARY: YEAR A

January 5, The Feast of Epiphany Isaiah 60:1-6 • Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3:1-12 • Matthew 2:1-12

January 12, 1st Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 11:1-10 • Psalm 72:1-7,18-19 Romans 15:4-13 • Matthew 3:1-12

January 19, 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 35:1-10 • Psalm 146:4-9 James 5:7-10 • Matthew 11:2-11

January 26, 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 9:1-4 • Psalm 27:1, 5-13

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 • Matthew 4:12-23

BAPTISM DATES AHEAD…

The Book of Common Prayer recommends five dates for Baptisms… The Great Vigil of Easter, Pentecost Sunday, All Saints’ Day, The Baptism of Jesus, and when the Bishop visits. Other dates may be scheduled, but these dates bear special significance to Baptism on our calendar. The next service that will include Holy Bap-tisms will be Epiphany, January 12, 2014. Please contact the Parish Office if you have someone to be Baptized.

ADULT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

The Upper Room class which meets Sunday mornings at 9:15 is discussing a series on Au-gustine’s “The Confessions.” Class will re-sume from Christmas break on January 5, 2014.

The Tuesday evening Bible study led by Gene Davenport is studying Hosea. Class is at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome. Class will resume from Christmas break on January 7, 2014.

The Wednesday morning Bible Study led by Dr. Brady Whitehead meets each Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in the Saint Luke’s Library. The class will resume from Christmas break Janu-ary 8, 2014.

FROM THE PARISH OFFICE To receive news updates from the Diocese of West Tennessee, please visit www.episwtn.org and sign up for The Dioce-san Communicator e-newsletter.

The deadline for the February “Parish Life” is January 20th.

Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church The Parish Life - January 2014

The annual Parish Meeting is behind us. The

main order of business was election of new vestry

members. I want to thank the outgoing vestry

members for great work under trying circumstanc-

es. Thanks to Loni Harris, Lynn Wheeler, and Gus Middleton. They

may be officially "off " the vestry, but their work is not done. Loni

was elected to the Diocese Standing Committee. Lynn has agreed to

continue helping with HOOP. Dan Kayal and Archie Wright had

previously resigned from the vestry and were replaced with this elec-

tion.

The new vestry members elected are Larry Greer, Dusty King, Mike

Hartup, Janie Giles Carp, and Harry Ecoff. We expect great things

from them as well.

Election of vestry officers was held during the Vestry meeting fol-

lowing the 10:30 service Sunday. Yours truly was reelected Senior

Warden. Lee Sparks was reelected Junior Warden. Lynn White re-

mains as clerk and Bill Parnell continues as Treasurer. Committee

chair persons will be appointed later. Anyone having a burning desire

to serve on a committee let it be known.

Let us go forth in the coming year to love and serve The Lord as we

proceed with the search for a new Rector. AMEN.

FROM YOUR SENIOR WARDEN… by Dr. James (Jim) Craig

Yours in Christ,

SYMPATHIES OF THE PARISH are extended to… ...Greg Kost at the passing of his father, Henry Kost

SERVANTHOOD...CONTINUED

The Feast of the Epiphany traditionally falls on January 6, the Twelfth Day after Christmas, and it commemorates the revelation of God to humankind as the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Epiphany is older than any other Christian feast except Easter, and originally it was a general celebration of the incarnation of Christ including his birth, the visitation of the Magi, his baptism, and his first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee.

In medieval and Tudor England, the eve of the Epiphany, or the Twelfth Night, marked the end of the Christmas celebration. A cake was baked containing a bean, and whoever found the bean was de-clared the ruler of the feast, also known as the feast of lights. Later in history, this date came to mark the beginning of the season of Carni-val or Mardi Gras.

Please join us for Saint Luke's traditional Feast of Lights celebration at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, January 5. Who knows? You may find the bean!

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2014 ALTAR FLOWERS, ALTAR CANDLES, AND ALTAR SUPPLIES

Flowers adorning the altar in the church are given weekly, and Candles and Supplies are given monthly, in memory of the departed or in celebration of someone living. To provide Altar Flowers, Altar Candles, or Altar Sup-plies, sign up on the bulletin board by the elevator or contact the Parish Office. The 2014 Calendars have been posted. Please note that we will need to look at January and February first, but we encourage you to select your dates throughout the year early.

After you’ve signed up to provide Altar Flowers, contact the florist of your choice and make arrangements for your week. We can recommend a florist if you need one. A reminder will be sent to you. Don’t forget to contact the Parish Office with memorial in-formation for flowers, candles, and supplies at 731-424-0556. Please see the sign up sheet in the hallway across from the elevator.

THE JANUARY ALTAR SUPPLIES

are given to the glory of God and in honor of

Tommy Rhoads, Dr. Gene Davenport, Jeff Beard, and Trudy Lovell for all their

hard work

by Susan Francisco

THE JANUARY ALTAR CANDLES

are given to the glory of God and honor of

Tommy Rhoads, Dr. Gene Davenport, Jeff Beard, and Trudy Lovell for all their

hard work

by Susan Francisco


NOTES FROM GENE by The Rev. Doctor Gene Davenport

One of the things I like about the Episcopal Church is the way it has relatively managed to keep Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany in their proper places. Of course, no one knows at what time of the year Jesus actually was born. The seasonal events, however, as the early church slowly came to cele-brate them, are important elements in the life of faith.

Unfortunately, secular society and Christians under the influence of that secularity, have made the Sunday after Thanksgiving (and increas-ingly Thanksgiving Day) the beginning of Christmas. President Roose-velt declared the fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day at the request of major business leaders who wanted to get underway with Christmas shopping. It would make perfectly good faith sense to shop for less and to do it during the twelve days of Christmas – Christmas till Epiphany. Until I learned better, once the Christmas meal was over, so was Christmas. The decorations came down the next day. Later, I learned ...Continues on page 6

STEWARDSHIP by Lee Sparks, Junior Warden

Stewardship [stoo-erd-ship] noun - www.dictionary.com the position and duties of a steward, a person who acts as the sur-

rogate of another or others, especially by managing property, financial affairs, an estate, etc.

the responsible overseeing and protection of something consid-ered worth caring for and preserving.

Traditionally, we at St. Luke’s have only discussed stewardship in terms of pledging money for the operation of the parish. It comes up in early October, with regular beggings on Sundays through Novem-ber, with pledges trickling in through December. Then, a budget is announced and we’re done until next year.

Yes, our pledges are very important. In no way do I want to mini-mize the importance of receiving pledges. St. Luke’s operates on the pledged income we receive throughout the year, and without those pledges, we would be unable to function.

But consider the definition of stewardship above. Stewardship is not something we just do in the fall. Each of us is a steward charged with the responsible overseeing and protecting of something we, as members of St. Luke’s, consider worth caring for and preserving: the mission and ministry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jackson, TN.

In the coming months, issues of stewardship will be printed in this space, by myself and others, with the goal of changing the way we think about and approach stewardship. While money and our pledges are a part of that, it is only one part of a much larger picture. I hope to begin a conversation within the parish about what stewardship is, and how we can each be good stewards.

Happy New Year

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January 2014

1 New Year’s Day

No Services

Parish Office Closed

2 7:00 p.m. Home Brewer’s Club

3 4 12:00 noon EYC

5 The 2nd Sunday after Christmas

The Rev. Judith Reese

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist

9:00 a.m. Choir Practice

9:15 a.m. Christian Education


5:00 p.m. EYC

5:00 p.m. Feast of Lights

Paper Recycling

6

7 7:00 p.m. Bible Study

8 10:00 a.m. Bible Study

5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist

7:00 p.m. Choir

9 7:00 p.m. Genealogy Society

10

11

12 The 1st Sunday after the Epiphany

The Rev. Dr. Gene Davenport





5:00 p.m. EYC

Canned Food

Collection

13

5:30 p.m. Vestry

14

7:00 p.m. Bible Study

15

10:00 a.m. Bible Study


16

17

18

19 The 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

The Rev. Judith Reese





5:00 p.m. EYC

20.

20 Martin Luther King

Day

Parish Office Closed

21


22



23

24

25

26 The 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany

The Rev. Deacon Tommy Rhoads





5:00 p.m. EYC

Paper Recycling

27

28


29



30

7:00 p.m. Interfaith Discussion

Group

31

January 2014

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5

Eucharistic Ministers

Lay Readers & Lectors

Acolytes

Ushers

Children’s Church

Wednesday, January 1

5:30 p.m.

No Service

Sunday, January 5

8:00 a.m.

Greg Petrinjak

Mary Beth Seltzer

Greg Petrinjak

Susan &

John M

cCutchen

2nd Sunday after Christ-

mas Day

10:30 a.m.

Greg Kost

Gary Wake

Bogard to visit M

ary Rainey

Janie G

iles Carp

Clift Odom

Mary Garrard

Jake Booher

Stone McC

raw

Karen Crenshaw

& Cleve M

orris

Lyn &

Chris Wheeler

Debbie Torstrick

Donna Agn

ew


5:30 p.m.

Amy Wake

Amy Wake

Sunday, January 12

8:00 a.m.

Lew

is Perrigo

Lyda Kay Ferree

Lew

is Perrigo

Leila Frankland &

Ham

ilton M

oore, S

r.

1st Sunday after the

Epiphany

10:30 a.m.

Lindsay Wilh

ite

Andrea Hazlehurst

Hazlehurst to visit Jane Wolfe

Jenny-Lyn Caterina

Nancy Caterina

Anne Elizabeth G

arrard

Jack W

ilhite

Caleb Jessie

Greg & Lana Petrinjak

Bob &

Fran Beare

Amy Kendrick

Donna Agn

ew


5:30 p.m.

Lew

is Perrigo

Lew

is Perrigo

Sunday, January 19

8:00 a.m.

Mary Beth Seltzer

Don Lanoue

Mary Beth Seltzer

Vicki &

Irvin Rainey

2nd Sunday after the

Epiphany

10:30 a.m.

Amy McL

ean

Lee Sparks

Ron Canter

Emily Canter

Alexis Wehn

Emma McL

ean

Michael H

ead

Lee &

Julia Sim

mons

Tommy & G

ail H

edgepeth

Nikki Chalk

Cindy Cost


5:00 p.m.

Mary Beth Seltzer

Mary Beth Seltzer

Sunday, January 26

8:00 a.m.

Nancy Pechacek

Lyda Kay Ferree

Johnathan K

endrick

Abbie H

inton &

Jam

es D

owd

3rd Sunday after the

Epiphany

10:30 a.m.

Jim Craig

Greg Kost

Arthur Grimball

Andrea Grimball

Meredith Arm

our

Jake Booher

Stone McC

raw

John &

Jackie Foxx

Tom &

Ginny DeW

itt

Mary Glenn H

artup

Donna Agn

ew


5:30 p.m.

Lee Sparks

Lee Sparks

Sunday, February 1

8:00 a.m.

Greg Petrinjak

Nancy Pechacek

Greg Petrinjak

Reggie Weaver & Fred Bowyer

Presentation of our

LORD

In the Temple

10:30 a.m.

Amy Wake

Mary Beth Seltzer

John Caterina

Katie G

onzalez

Robby Wake

Caleb Jessie

Emma McL

ean

John &

Mary Nenarella

Clift & Tricia Odom

Debbie Torstrick

Donna Agn

ew

Wednesday, February 5

5:30 p.m.

Gary Wake

Gary Wake

6

RIFA NEEDS FOR JANUARY

SNACK-BACK-PACK PROGRAM Instant Oatmeal / Fruit Cups

Cheese Crackers / Ramen Noodles Microwave Popcorn / Canned Soup

PANTRY Canned Chicken / Canned Fruit

Baked Beans / Cake Mix / Canned Soup Canned Potatoes / Peanut Butter / Jelly

COMMUNITY KITCHEN Commercial Size Pork & Beans Commercial Size Sweet Peas

Onions / Plastic Forks Spaghetti Sauce / Paper Towels

Toilet Paper / Pine-Sol

OTHER NEEDS

RIFA sends food home each weekend for almost 300 needy children through the snack-back-pack program. The community kitchen is currently serving an average of 165 people per day. RIFA also passes out nearly 200 sacks of food per month. These numbers will increase with the weak econo-my.

We ask that you please remember the needy when you are filling your shopping cart. This is a small way that everyone can help and individual contributions add up to a big help to those less fortunate.

This is a primary and vital part of Saint Luke’s outreach to the wider Jackson com-munity. Your assistance with any of the three RIFA programs is helpful.

Please bring your items to the church and place them on the table outside the Library or in the red wagons in the Narthex. Items will be collected on the second Sunday of each month. If you have any questions, please contact the parish office at 424-0556.


Follow us on Twitter @estlukes

EPISCOPAL YOUTH COMMUNITY (EYC)

EYC has some great things happening this fall. Our schedule for December:

Sat., Jan. 4 - Meet at the Church at 12:00 noon. We’ll be helping Ms. Donna Agnew with putting on the Feast of Lights. She will need some of you to play parts, so if you’ve just been waiting to be discovered, here’s your chance. The pizza is on us!

Sun., Jan. 5 - Feast of Lights

Sun., Jan. 12 - Regular EYC Meeting. We’ll be planning for the coming months.

Sun. Jan. 19 - No EYC; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

Sun. Jan. 26 - TBD

Please note that EYC is from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the church, unless otherwise noted. Check our Saint Luke’s EYC Face-book page for updates.

NEWS FROM SAINT LUKE’S CHILDREN!!!! by Donna Agnew, Director of Christian Education

The advent candle has been the focus of our Sunday School time during this advent season. We have en-joyed talking about hope, peace, joy, and waiting, as well as angels! Children’s church has been lively as we bring new animals and people to the manger each week. We are all excited to have new friends joining us each week!

Make plans now to join us for the Feast of Lights celebration on Sun-day, January 5th at 5PM. We hope that all of our St. Luke’s children will be a part of this very special service.

I look forward to working with you in 2014 to build a strong educa-tion program for our children and young people. Thanks to all who work with the children, and who encourage me!

Hope, peace, joy, love, and a little “magic” to you and yours this sea-son!

NOTES FROM GENE...continued

how far that is from a proper celebration of the birth of the Anointed One of God. Advent and its hymns anticipate both the birth of Jesus

and his return at the end of history. Christmas hymns and carols cele-brate his birth. Epiphany hymns celebrate him as Lord of the entire world, whether or not the world recognizes him as such. Joy to the World, for example, is not about Jesus’ birth, but is an Advent (and perhaps Epiphany) hymn about his return as Lord of the Creation at the end of history.

It is especially intriguing that in Matthew’s Gospel the Wise Men, who are astrologers from the East, apparently find Jesus when he is about two years old – a youngster just old enough to be cute, mischie-vous, and full of life. Anyone willing to use that setting for a future cel-ebration of Epiphany? I imagine it would make the local newspaper.

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IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S GRACE AS OF NOVEMBER 2013

Budgeted Pledges for 2013 ..... $335,000.00 Needed Year-to-Date ................ 307,083.33 Received Year-to-Date .............. 249,659.76 Income Surplus (Deficit) ........... (57,423.57) Needed Monthly .......................... 27,916.63

Please make every effort to keep your pledges current throughout the year.

JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES

Jan. 12 Phil & Peggy Bogard Jan. 13 Reece & Stella Spitzer Jan. 26 James & Pat Craig

JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

Jan. 2 Harry Kemp Jan. 4 Andrew Sharp Jan. 5 Vickie Clement Jan. 10 Johnathan Kendrick Jan. 13 Tricia Odom Jan. 15 Joy Lanoue Jan. 17 Burton Crews Jan. 17 Alicia Hazlehurst Jan. 24 Jason Cole Jan. 24 William Hamilton Jan. 24 Gerald Holt Jan. 24 John Neblett Jan. 24 Lee Sparks Jan. 25 Kim Lett Jan. 26 Elizabeth Cowden Jan. 26 Anne Garrard Jan. 26 Marley Wake Jan. 27 Glenda Ford Jan. 27 Nathan Kendrick Jan. 27 Angela Parker Jan. 28 Cindy Kost Jan. 30 Donald Carp


SPECIAL THANKS TO…

...all the volunteers who help in the office.

...Pat Craig for taking snack-back-pack items and canned food items to RIFA. ...Jerry Holt and Greg Kost for their hard work with paper recycling. ...Lindsay Wilhite and all who helped in the kitchen with the St. Nicholas celebration. ...all who helped with the “Parent’s-Shop-Out”. ...Dr. Richard Townley and the Saint Luke’s choir for all their hard work on the beautiful Christmas music.

THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED JAN-UARY 1ST IN OBSERVANCE OF NEW YEAR’S DAY AND MONDAY, JANUARY 20TH IN OB-SERVANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY.

IRS GUIDELINES FOR CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Please do not file your 2013 tax return until you receive your State-ment of Contributions from the parish office. The IRS has very specif-ic guidelines to charitable donations. To assist you in filing your tax return, we have gathered the following information from the IRS. For more specific information, please go to their website at www.irs.gov.

“To deduct any charitable donation of money, a taxpayer must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. A bank record includes canceled checks, bank or credit union statements and credit card statements. Bank or credit union statements should show the name of the charity and the date and amount paid. Credit card statements should show the name of the charity and the transac-tion posting date.

Donations of money include those made in cash or by check, elec-tronic funds transfer, credit card, and payroll deduction. For payroll deductions, the taxpayer should retain a pay stub, Form W-2 wage statement or other document furnished by the employer showing the total amount withheld for charity, along with the pledge card showing the name of the charity.”

The law requires that a taxpayer get an acknowledgement from a char-ity for each deductible donation (either money or property) of $250 or more. However, one statement containing all of the required infor-mation may meet the requirements of both provisions.

For your donations to be deductible for 2013, please be sure that it is turned in to the parish office by 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, De-cember 31, 2013 or postmarked December 31, 2013. Any donation received in the parish office after December 31, unless mailed and postmarked December 31 or before, must be applied to your 2014 contribution records and is therefore deductible on your 2014 re-turn according to IRS guidelines.

The family of Dr. Harold Yarbro wishes to thank the parishioners of Saint Luke’s, Tommy Rhoads, Trudy Lovell, Jeff Beard, Richard Townley, members of the choir, Victoria Parchman and the ECW for their faithful and caring support during our celebration of Har-old’s life. You have reminded us of his victory over death and of our comforting assurance of the promise of his salvation. We offer our gratitude and our love to all of you. Thanks be to God. The LORD shall give strength to his people; the The LORD shall give strength to his people; the The LORD shall give strength to his people; the The LORD shall give strength to his people; the

LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace. LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace. LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace. LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace. ---- Psalm 29:11Psalm 29:11Psalm 29:11Psalm 29:11

SAINT LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 309 East Baltimore Street Jackson, Tennessee 38301

www.estlukes.org [email protected]

Non-Profit Organization

U. S. Postage

P A I D

Jackson, TN Permit No. 671

Return Service Requested

SAINT LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH ♦ WELCOMING ALL TO WORSHIP THE RISEN CHRIST AND LIVE AS HIS DISCIPLES

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parish life -january 2014class will resume from christmas break on january 7, 2014. the wednesday...

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