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St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

The Epistle

July 25, 2019

August Issue

Who are They and Why do They Matter?

I must begin by sharing that my head, my heart, my very being is inundated with the current divisiveness in our country, and even in our church, over the whole issue of immigration, deportation, detention and the law. There are days when I actually hurt over this issue, and at times might even be caught with a tear or two in my eyes. Regardless of one’s political stance or even how one in-terprets pertinent portions of Sacred Scripture, it seems to me that we are called as people of faith to grapple with the question that I use as the title of this article.

The one question perhaps begs dozens of others, guaranteeing that any of us who truly think and reflect, and hopefully pray, about this can’t help but recog-nize the complexity of the issue. Here are some examples?

Who really are my sisters and brothers, in Jesus’ eyes?

Didn’t those people know they were breaking our laws when they came here undocumented?

Should it matter to us or be our “business” that some of those in detention centers are dying, being raped and experiencing other forms of sexual abuse?

Does not being a citizen make someone less of a human being?

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Whose fault is it that this is happening?

Is it immoral to separate young children who are not independent from their parents because they are not Americans?

What is sparking the hatred that is growing in our beloved America for those who are different, not white, not born here?

Are we really trying to “Make America white again,” or is that just more scare tactics?

Is it true that most of those who are here illegally criminals?

The questions could go on and on. And indeed they do. I am sometimes at the point where I am afraid to speak about the supreme law for Christians, that is, the law of love, for fear that I am going to offend someone or add to the amount of divisiveness in our land, in our Central Valley, even in our parish. I find myself asking God in prayer, “What do you want me to do as your priest? What am I to say? How can I preach your word without sounding political?”

To make the matter even more troublesome, there is this thing about my past. The Roman Church now has a pope who has spoken to the world, saying that what is happening is unchristian. Last week a group of nuns were arrested in Washington D.C. for protesting what they called the inhumane treatment of other human beings, speaking to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, about freedom, liberty, equality and justice for all. Of course, our own Primate, Bishop Michael Curry, is highly vocal wherever he goes about a supposedly Christian country being truly unchristian in this matter.

Why do so many hate, and I use the word purposefully, these “foreigners?” My four grandparents came here as foreigners. We all descended from foreigners, with the exception of the indigenous peoples of this land. Can I ignore Mat-thew 25, where Jesus makes it pretty clear: “What you do to the least of my people, you do to me?” Lord, what do I do with this? I hurt. I hurt for them. I hurt for us. I hurt for my beloved country. I hurt for my Episcopal Church, in which there are members who support what is happening.

The conclusion of this spiritual and emotional rant will not be an attempt to

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tell anyone reading this what he or she must decide for himself or herself. It will end as a plea to each of you who read this to take time to struggle with this, because something is very wrong. “Who are they and why do they mat-ter?” What is Jesus Christ, who died for us, asking each of us to do with this? Will I look more deeply into Sacred Scripture to discern what God expects of me through my Baptismal calling? Can I renew my baptismal vow to “respect the dignity and value of every person” with regard to this matter? What did Jesus mean when He said: “Go learn the meaning of this; man is not made for the law; the law is made for man.” Which is more important, how God sees each person or what human law dictates? Please ask for yourselves: “What does God ask of me in this situation?”

I pray for America. I pray for those coming here to seek safety for their very lives, who seek a place wherein they may find a quality of life that enriches them and their families. I pray for those in our detention centers. I pray for our elected officials. I pray for Modesto and our surrounding towns. I pray for our church. I pray for us. Will you too join me in these prayers, storming the heavens for a resolution to our divisions, our hatred, our racism, our dislike for those who are born somewhere else or who for whatever reason are “different?” I am reminded of good old Rodney King many years ago during the Los Angeles riots: “Can’t we all just get along here?”

Blessings, love and peace.

Your servant, Fr. Nick

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Office Hours Until August 5 Our Parish Administrator, Jeni Statzer, will be on vacation from July 29 until August 5. We will strive to keep the posted office hours, that is, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm. as much as possible. However, we strongly suggest that you call the office at 209-522-3267 for during this time if you wish to stop by for whatever rea-son. It may be, depending on available office vol-unteers and Fr. Nick’s schedule, that it will be necessary to close the office during regularly scheduled hours. Also, please note that if you are at the doors of the parish hall during office hours and the doors are locked, it may be that there is a volunteer inside. We keep the doors locked for safety reasons if and when there is only one person in the office. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these summer days.

Parish Meeting July 28 Because we will not be hosting coffee hour in the parish hall during the summer months, we will be using a different format for to-day’s parish meeting. Fr. Nick will offer a shortened “homilette” today, in lieu of a reg-ular homily. Immediately after the singing of the Recessional Hymn, for which there will be no recessional, we ask that those who wish to attend the meeting remain in their seats. We will strive to keep the meeting brief, allowing for folks to enjoy refresh-ments afterwards outside the Narthex of the church.

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New for St. Paul’s: shopping at Amazon and donations for our church. And it doesn’t cost a thing! Sounds to good to be true? Well it’s not. Amazon will make a quarterly donation to St. Paul’s of 0.5% of eligible purchases. All you need to do is to designate St. Paul’s as your charity of choice. This percentage is NOT added to your purchase.

All you need to do is:

1) go to the website: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-3191691

2) You will get a box in the center of the screen that has as Your Amazon Smile “The Rector Wardens & Vestry Of”

THAT’S ALL! You will now have a profile that will automatically credit St. Paul’s for future eligible purchases.

In your Amazon account, you can click on “Account & List,” scroll down to “Your Amazon Smile” to make sure it designates “The Rector Wardens & Vestry Of” as your charity of choice. Remember that only eligible pur-chases qualify for the Amazon Smile donation.

THANKS FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION

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American Leadership Conference Session at St. Paul’s

On Thursday, August 8, Class X (“10”) of the American Leadership Confer-ence of Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, will hold their full-day session and training here at St. Paul’s. There will be no Tai Chi in the parish hall that day.

Interim Period in Diocesan Office

The bishop’s office has begin interviewing applicants for the position of Di-ocesan Administrator/Secretary to the Bishop. As you know, this person will have her/his office at the diocesan building on the grounds of St. James’ Ca-thedral in Fresno. The diocese hopes to have this person in place by the end of August. Meanwhile, anyone who has a need to communicate with the dio-cese should contact Rev. Canon Anna Carmichael at 541-400-9844 or at canonanna@diossanjoaquin.org

Spanish Immersion Program at ECCO?

“Back in the day,” as some would say, under the leadership of Bishop Rivera, our diocese offered Spanish Language instruction at our conference/retreat center in Oakhurst. Perhaps some of you recall that opportunity. During the Southern and Northern Deanery meetings the past two weeks, parishioner Wilson Colón, with the encouragement of Bishop David, presented a lan-guage immersion program as a possibility at ECCO for next summer. This would be a week-long, intensive and interactive program. This same oppor-tunity will be announced at the forthcoming Central Deanery meeting. It would be necessary to have at least 20 persons participate in order to have the program be effective. If you were not previously aware of this possibility, and if you are interested, or know anyone who might be interested, please let Wil-son Colón know. Expressing interest does not entail a commitment. The week is penciled in at ECCO for July 2020.

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St. Paul’s Application to Attain Parish Status As most of you know, St. Paul’s has come a long, long way since the unfortu-nate departure of many of our sisters and brothers from the Episcopal Church over ten years ago. Under the leadership of Bishops Lamb and Talton, Fr. Stickney and Pastor Kathleen, and those who chose to remain Episcopali-an, St. Paul’s became a place of hope, trust in God, and a commitment to be faithful to our Gospel calling to welcome all. And truly by the grace of God, who has lent success to the work of their hands, we are today a vibrant, grow-ing parish, walking in “The Way of Love.” At a recent vestry/parish meeting (on June 19) our shepherd for the past 5 ½ years, Bishop David Rice, acknowledged this blessing from God. In addressing us he began by speaking these words: “Well done, St. Paul’s, well done.” In response those present clapped – a gesture that in part spoke to the reality of what we have indeed, by God’s grace, and the dedication of each parishioner, become. We have weath-ered many storms over the past few years, struggling to find our identity in our national church, our diocese and our communities. We have wholeheartedly welcomed the mantra of our diocese by continually praying about and working to discern what we are “Called to be....”

The Master’s Works As a skilled inventor, John Muir was a prized factory employee in Indianapo-lis. If not for an industrial accident in his 20s, he may have spent his life mak-ing things indoors. But after recovering from being temporarily blinded, Muir headed on a 1,000-mile walk to “consider the lilies.” He then began doing that literally, as a botanist. To his résumé, the 19th-century Renaissance man added naturalist, glaciolo-gist, conservationist, founder of the Sierra Club, and Father of National Parks. Yet when Muir was asked what he did, he replied simply, “I study the inventions of God.”

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Adult Education at St. Paul’s Mark your calendars now if you are interested in attending a four-part series on the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. Classes will begin on Tuesday, Sep-tember 17, and continue on September 24, October 1, and October 15th. We will skip Tuesday, October 8 because that is Family Promise week, and also Yom Kippur begins at sundown that evening. Classes will run from 6pm through 7:30 pm

Please Submit Your Responses to Questionnaire During all services the past two Sundays we have been distributing question-naires, asking each parishioner to respond and return the document to us. This “project” is an endeavor to create a parish profile that allows us to get to know “who we are,” other than by name, address, telephone number and e-mail. We are engaged in this undertaking because a number of parishioners over the years at parish meetings have suggested that it would be nice to know who each of us is in terms of our professions, hobbies, likes, etc. We ask that each of you submit this info, including only that which you are willing to share. Additional questionnaires are available on the table in the Narthex, and on our web page. Thanks for your help with this.

Simple Symbiosis

Christians are like the several flowers in a garden, that have each of them the dew of heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each oth-er’s roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other. —John Bunyan

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Salvation Army Shelter Dinner

Sunday July 14th The Salvation Army Dinner Team cooked and served a dinner of BBQ chicken thighs, potato salad, green salad, cornbread, mandarin oranges, ice cream bars, and milk.

The staff and guests love to see us come and we are blessed every time we visit at the shelter. Many thanks to those who prayed for the team and guests, those who donated cash and ingredients for the dinner, the cooking and serv-ing team. This is a team ministry that involves everyone in the congregation and all the participation is greatly appreciated.

The next dinner will be Sunday, September 22. Anyone interested in helping with this ministry please contact Linda Lowe, 529-5467 or lwlowe@outlook.com.

If not, St. Paul’s is offering

GOLDEN opportunity We are looking for ten to twenty people who have little or no experience speak-ing Spanish to sign up for our Spanish language instruction. We plan to meet once a week for two hours of instruc-tion. The time between classes will be used by participants to complete assign-ments and use the internet and other me-dia for support. On Sundays we will of-fer Spanish Conversation Tables during coffee hour for additional practice.

If you are interested, please see Wil.

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The Senior Warden’s Corner I hope and pray that this month’s Epistle finds all of you well and enjoying the summer. As always we have been busy, there is no vacation when it comes to the business of church and spreading the Good News!

First, I would like to give thanks to God for Nick’s recovery. We are truly blessed to have a pastor who

is caring, compassionate and responsive to the spiritual needs of our parish-ioners and during his absence, we certainly had a glimpse of all he does, and believe me, its not just Sundays! Thank you Nick, for all you do for St Paul’s and our community.

As reported to you earlier, we have modified coffee hour during the summer. The change has been received well, and I have heard that many are apprecia-tive that it wasn’t cancelled altogether. A big thanks to Sara Heintz and her crew, she is always looking for additional helpers, so please contact her if you wish to be part of this important hospitality ministry.

The process of erecting the sign has begun. As of this writing, it has gone to the planning commission for permit approval, the 2 week wait has expired and the next step is getting bids and selecting an electrical contractor.

I would like to thank all the volunteers and youth who worked very hard in providing a quality Vacation Bible school, not only to our children within the church but close to 30 other children. It was a great program and the children really didn’t want it to end, so thank you, thank you.

Linda Lowe and her crew of volunteers prepared a delicious meal (as always) to the shelter folks at the Salvation Army. The residents were most grateful, lots of applause. What I appreciate about this ministry is the thoughtfulness in which a varied menu is provided. The residents get lots of pasta dishes and Linda and her team take great pains to assure the residents get a variety and that it is well balanced. Thanks Linda! Again, this is a great ministry and if you are interested, please let Linda know.

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“What’s A-happening” in TEC (The Episcopal Church)

The date has been set for September 15, the Sign groundbreaking. It is also “Welcome back Sunday” as we resume in the fall with Sunday school and Choir.

And lastly, all parishioners should have received by now an accounting for your generous pledge to St Paul’s. It is especially important this year with the Diocesan Treasurer auditing every month, that we stay current on pledges so we can show that we indeed are ready to move into Parish status. Your contri-butions are most appreciated, as is your time and talent.

Your sister in Christ,

Samantha

[Episcopal News Service] In 1971, St. Christopher Episcopal Church in League City, Texas, gave a Bible to a parishioner, David Scott, to take with him on a business trip. To this day, the congregation still has not gotten it back. - That’s because he left it on the moon.

Check out all the wonderful things going on in the Episcopal Church at large. https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org Barbara Inderbitzin

Looking for An Awesome Getaway for Labor Day?

Prepare to be Surprised!

Take advantage of your special 1/2 price rate for staying at ECCO (The Episco-pal Conference Center Oakhurst)

Check out all the information at https://eccoyosemite.org/

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Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin

Pilgrimage of Hope

June 24, 2019

Dear St. Paul’s,

On behalf of Bishop David and the Pilgrimage Planning Team, I wanted to thank you for your financial contribution of $100.00 to the Pilgrimage of Hope. Without your support, we would not have been able to make this out-ward and visible sign of our commitment to helping our sister and brother immigrants in the Central Valley find a way toward citizenship. Our pilgrim-age was, and continues to be an important witness as Christians, and Episco-palians, to our call to care for our neighbors.

If you have questions about immigration issues or California’s Day of the Immigrant, I recommend the following websites:

www.sjraise.org https://caimmigrant.org/immigrant-day-2019/

We make the road by walking,

Cn. Anna

Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. 4147 E. Dakota Ave., Fresno CA 93726. 209-576-0104

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Treasurer's Corner

Please remember to check the Bishop’s Committee Meeting Notes and the Profit and Loss Statement posted in the Narthex on the bul-letin board.

Please send any inquiries, I will respond to our inquiry and share the information in the following months Treas-ure’s Corner.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Stephanie Gilmer, Treasurer Email: mzgilmer@att.net Cell: 209-402-3017

Financial Report - May 2019

The following is information from the May 2019 Financials:

Income: $51,090.58

Expenses: $67,2883.12

Net Income: -$16,792.54

All bills and stipends paid timely. The expenses this month increased due to the 1st installment on the sign.

Thank you for all your gifts of talent, time and treasure.

Please, if you have any concerns or questions contact me at 209 402-3017.

Stephanie Gilmer, Treasurer

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Volunteers Needed with Transportation and Meals for

Parishioners in Need If you are interested in being placed on a call list to take meals to parishioners who are unable to make meals due to illness, please let me know. We are at-tempting to create a calling list, so that when a need arises we have parishion-ers to call.

If you are interested in being placed on a call list for transportation to a medical appointment that can not be serviced by Dial-A-Ride, public transportation or other non profits, please advise us.

Blessings and Joy,

Stephanie Gilmer 209-402-3017

Sarah Hartmann 215-917-8477

Trips to Black Oak Casino This is an announcement regarding our fall parish outing to Black Oak Casino on Saturday, October 5th, leaving from the church parking lot at 9 am. We will have sign-up sheets available in the near future. The cost remains at $20.00, with multiple rebates available. Mark your calendars now, and plan to join your friends and family for this fun day, not just at the casino, but on the bus as well. See Phil Machado for more details.

Also, pertaining to the same topic, the Italian American Club of Modesto has been a strong supporter of our casino outings, with several members partici-pating. If you wish to join them for an identical trip, they are hosting one on Saturday, August 17th. Feel free to join Fr. Nick, Wil, Mom Lorenzetti, and Phil and Anita Machado as we reciprocate a bit of support for our friends. If you are interested, you may call Fr. Nick’s aunt, Louise Nishikawa, at 209-484-043.

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Summer Fruit Basket Taste some fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) — perfect for summer, and all year round! • Love: “There is always an ‘again’ with love.” —Unknown • Joy: “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.” —Anne Frank • Peace: “Peace begins with a smile.” —Mother Teresa • Patience: “The purposes of God may sometimes seem delayed, but they are never abandoned.” —H.C. Mears • Kindness: “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” —Mark Twain • Goodness: “Goodness means to do things for the glory of God.” —Martyn Lloyd-Jones • Faithfulness: “Do small things as if they were great because of the majesty of Christ, who does them in us.” —Blaise Pascal • Gentleness: “There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.” —Han Suyin • Self-control: “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” —2 Tim. 1:7 (ESV)

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Kid’s Page

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Michael B. Curry, our Presiding Bishop David Rice, our Bishop & Anna Carmichael, our Canon

Armed Forces

Tom Allen, Wyoming Air National Guard Melissa Allen, U. S. Air Force Brandon Alonzo, U. S. Air Force Christopher Bradley, U. S. Navy T. J. Browning, U. S. Navy Logan Bryant, U. S. Navy Jay Colón, U. S. Air Force Brandon Cox, Texas Air National Guard Cheryl Edelman, U. S. Army Jorgito Fuentes, U. S. Navy

Nick Garber, U. S. Army Johnny Olmos, U. S. Coast Guard Brett List, U. S. Navy Cole Medeiros, U. S. Navy Nate Wallace, Nev. Air National Guard Carson Repan, U. S. Air Force Jeffrey Kinnaman, U. S. Coast Guard

Please pray for all of our sisters and brothers in Christ. God of wisdom and love, help me and all others who are struggling with difficult circum-stances find direction and strength to face our challenges. Give us the assurance that under-neath us are your everlasting arms, which will sustain us through everything we face day and night. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Theresa & Howard Grieshaber - 8 David & Mary Beth West - 14 Brian & Elizabeth Cassagio - 18 Keith & Ginny Munroe - 22

Jim & Samantha Bland - 23 Jim & Annamary Peck - 23 Flavio & Ivanna Duran-Gallardo - 29

Alex Diaz - 1 Cherie Sheaffer - 2 Andy Cox - 4 Phillip Diaz - 6 Sarah Hartman - 6 Joyce Bell - 9

Pam Cox - 10 Colby Bigelow - 11 Ruth Serré - 18 Karl Inderbitzen - 19 Gavin Bigelow - 20 Stephanie Howlett-West - 20

Doug Welsch - 23 Genanne Hill - 24 Sandy Freitas - 27 Nancy Harrison - 30

August Anniversaries

If your birthday or anniversary is in August and you aren’t listed here, please let Cherie Sheaffer know. We don’t want to leave anyone out.

August Birthdays

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July 28 - One service at 9:30 July 28 - Parish Meeting after 9:30 service July 29- 11 a.m. Finance Committee Meeting July 29 - Aug 5 - Jeni Statzer on vacation Aug 4 - Services at 8 and 10 Aug 7 - 10 a.m. Salvation Army Food Distribu-

tion Aug 11 - Services at 8 and 10 Aug 18 - Services at 8 and 10 Aug 25 - One service at 9:30

On Going Events

Sundays - 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist Last Sunday of the month, ONE service at 9:30 Tuesdays - Bible Study at 10:45 at Bethel Retirement Residence on Scenic Dr. Wednesdays - 10 a.m. Morning Prayer in Guadalupe Chapel Wednesdays - We Speak Spanish at the Old Mill on 9th & F Streets. 12:3 Wednesdays - Hand Bells & Choir are on vacation till September Wednesdays - Bible Study at Adamson’s home at 6 p.m. Third Thursday - Vestry Meeting 7 p.m. Third Monday - Knit One Pray Too 1-3 pm youth room 1st and 3rd Tuesdays- Merton Poetry group is on vacation till September 3rd Tuesdays and Thursdays every week - Tai Chi in the Parish Hall 9:00 a.m.

Upcoming Events

Church office hours: Monday-Thursday,

8:30 am-1 pm closed on Friday.

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The Epistle St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

July 25, 2019 Volume 10, Number 8 August

E-mail Addresses Priest, Fr. Nick Lorenzetti julested3320@gmail.com

Parish Admin. & Facilities Coordinator Jeni Statzer, stpaulsmodestoca@gmail.com

Music Director, Organist & Choir Chuck Sheaffer, cbshea@pacbell.net

Assistant Organist James Armstrong, jfaworking@gmail.com

Bells Judy Teter, jltpt@sbcglobal.net

St. Paul’s Epistle Editor Cherie Sheaffer, cbshea@pacbell.net

St. Paul’s Web Page & Social Media Greg Masztal, gregmasz@gmail.com

Prayer List & Latino Ministry Wilson Colón, 209-567-2433 wilsoncolon66@gmail.com

St. Paul’s Event Coordinator Tracy Pugh, vinofileincal@gmail.com

Visioning our Faith Team Niniv & Rossana Tamimi, ninivtamimi@sbcglobal.net

Coffee Hour Jim & Janet Armstrong, jfaworking@gmail.com Sara Heintz, sara19811007@sbcglobal.net

Finance Committee Judy Teter, jlpt@sbcglobal.net

Safeguarding God’s Children/People Jeni Statzer and Stephanie Gilmer

Children’s Sunday School Brian Cassagio, ecassagio@aol.com

Vestry Members Senior Warden - Samantha Bland samphillipsbland@sbcglobal.net

Treasurer - Stephanie Gilmer, (non member) Joyce Bell Eric Goossens Lynelle Hains Gayle Ivy Linda Lowe Chuck Sheaffer Hennie Van Konynenburg Barbara Vassell

Sunday Services Holy Eucharist at 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.

Last Sunday of each month one at 9:3oam

Children’s Sunday School during 10:00 service

www.saintpaulsmodesto.org

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Modesto, CA

Visit and like us on Facebook

Church Office Phone: 209-522-3267, st.pauls_episcopal@sbcglobal.net

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 1;00, Fridays - Closed