| May 2007 |
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Table of Contents: Half a dozen people stand in the rain at 7:28 am on Friday, April 27th , 2007. The street is blocked off. A police officer keeps watch nearby. The heavy machinery had arrived and there it stood, ready to strike. The diesel engine roars to life and Rocky moves the joysticks as if he were playing a video game. The giant claw moves into position and pauses for just one second; then it strikes the building, piercing its protective skin. The building project begins.again. When did it really begin? With a vision of a more welcoming space in 1993? With the gift of an endowment in 1998? Did it begin in the collective mind of the community or in the expert drawings of the architect? Was it born in the vote of the congregation to stay in Hackettstown? Did the vision begin when the Historical Commission approved the plan, saying that where we had been and where we were going were in concert? Or was it when our appeal was granted after the Town Zoning Board denied our application after fourteen months of testimony, negotiation, re-drawing of plans, shadow study? Or did it really start when the parish said. "Go for it!" when asked if we should cut our losses or forge ahead? Was the beginning the Open Doors Capital Campaign, as each one pledged support personally and financially? Did it happen when the pre-construction meeting ended and we got the call saying, "The demo guy begins this Friday"? Can something be born more than once, again and again? Look once more at the people gathered there that rainy morning. The meteorologist: "I could get better pictures if it weren't raining, but this front will be here all day." A Vestry Member: "Boy, would I like to be driving that thing!" The Administrator: "I wonder what this will cost..how long it will take.if they will find me curled up under my desk one Friday afternoon." The Webmaster: "Do I have enough pictures yet? How about a slide show?" A Parishioner who came to see whazzup: "It's a little bit sad, don't you think?" The Senior Warden, "It's all good." The Rector: "After all this time and work, it seems so anticlimactic; I sure hope I am up to this." The feeling I had as I watched that day and the days which followed is that of entering uncharted territory. This is not a new feeling for people involved in a building project, but as I stand on the site once occupied by a building full of life and memories and the stuff of fellowship, I grieve for the loss of that holy space. At the same time --- maybe it's the dust playing tricks on me - I see the vision of a space occupied by people with crutches or wheelchair, using white canes for mobility, or signing to each other. It is a place of welcome where what is most important is the heart rather than the body or the senses. It is a place in which everyone knows that God is present in person and community, and yes, in the bricks and mortar, in the elevator and ramps, in the wood and sheetrock of the building. As Rocky moved that giant chewing machine through the parish hall, from time to time he paused. The behemoth backed up, lifted and closed its giant jaws, and pounded down on the crunched wood. The sound of the splintering bones of the parish hall brought to mind Ezekiel and his encounter with God in the valley. When God said to Ezekiel, "Mortal, can these bones live?" he answered, "O Lord God, you know." The answer is yes, these bones can live. Out of the death of the parish hall comes new life. This community is building the kingdom of God here in this tiny corner of God's earth. We know where our treasure lies and we are building this treasure in the living out of our baptismal promises: "Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons.and respect the dignity of every human being?" Our answer is, "We will, with God's help." Yours in the service of Christ, Cathy L. Deats+
Join us for the ceremonial Saturday, May 19, 2007, 12:30 pm
From our Deacon, The Rev. Sheila Shuford, Deacon Special Needs Presentation to Hackettstown Cub Pack 164 On the evening of March 23, 2007, Cub Scout Pack 164 held a meeting to learn more about special needs. The meeting was held at Trinity United Methodist Church. Russ Worthington joined me and gave me both communication help and support. I was setting up and waiting for the first Cubs to arrive when there arrived an onslaught of Cubs using crutches or wheel chairs. They whizzed by me . Cub master Bob Trinner assembled the meeting in the church proper. Ed Modugno was present with his seeing eye dog in training, Merlin. Merlin, as all of us at St. James' know, is a very hard act to follow. I did the smart thing and introduced myself by signing and left the floor to the charm of Merlin. Russ and I set up our information and seating in another room. The Cubs and siblings and parents came in groups of about ten. I did some basic deaf awareness training and explained the variety of deaf loss needs. I taught some simple and fun signs and finger spelling. I showed them my CapTel phone and talked about ever changing technology. Each child had the opportunity to finger spell his/her name for the group. There are seven Dens ranked by age from the youngest Tigers to the oldest Webelos. I think we had a total of about sixty including the Cubs, siblings and parents in 6 to 8 groups. Half way through the presentation I was delighted when one mother identified herself as a former interpreting student. We asked her to join us and she was a big help at interpreting and showing the group both the skills of an interpreter and in helping me make a smoother presentation. I thank Dave Lacouture for the invitation and I thank Russ for his talents. I would be pleased to do this sort of program for other scouts or school groups and would welcome your invitations. Sheila Shuford, Deacon We welcome Erin Eliza Corry, daughter of Adam and Angie Corry, born April 26th. Mom, dad, sister Briana doing fine as they welcome Erin (8 lbs 4 oz) home! note from the Rector: see you on Mother's Day? Calendar update:
"Live from the Scene, an Eyewitness Report" was a message on The Rev. Dr. Cathy L. Deats cell phone voice mail. "The last major event to be held in the Parish Hall at St. James", the message continued. The Bell Choir began rehearsing again on April 29, after a well-deserved break following participation in services on March 18, Palm Sunday and Easter. We had fun (I hope) preparing those pieces and we hope that our offerings enhanced the worship experience for those hearing the results of our work. I do not think that "All work and no play" is a very good way to treat Bell Choir volunteers. So after rehearsal on April 29 some of us ventured to the lovely Thai/Indonesian restaurant on Moore Street , the Pandan Room, for a relaxing lunch of Dim Sum. We all had fun sharing the choices and trying new foods and spices. The deserts were really great!! After lunch, Wendie Germain, Diana Grant and Sam and Louise Olshan traveled to Westminster Choir College in Princeton for a performance by the Westminster Concert Bell Choir. We heard phenomenal music on 8 octaves of bells and 6 octaves of chimes. The members of the choir practice for 4 1/2 hours a week and must spend additional time working individually on their own difficult sections. The music they played ranged from levels 2 - 6. (Our own Multi-Generational Bell Choir has begun playing level two music.) The choir is now preparing music for Choir Recognition Sunday, June 10. The piece is really fun to play and should also be interesting to listen to, using several different techniques of bell playing. It is a special piece for Sam and me as it is one of the pieces that my former Bell Choir played at our wedding. It really is nice to hear it again and the St. James' choir did a great job of sight-reading the piece. It should sound wonderful by June! Louise Olshan Sunday, June 3 8:00 am service at St. James' as usual; (Music provided by Dave Heistand) Followed by food and fun Independence Field of Dreams Fully accessible park with paved walking trail, wheelchair accessible restrooms, playground for kids, sheltered pavilion for cooking out and plenty of space for fun and games! Bring your bats and gloves for a softball game. Tom Malejko's West Point plebe class has just released its crest. Mom Eileen says she cannot believe how far they have come in such a short time. Go see the class of 2010 crest at http://ozark.west-point.org/family/mem2010/images/crest_2010.jpg The class crest signifies " our willingness to support the hallowed institution of the Army, ...and our loyalty." Included in the crest is the American eagle " fiercely flying overhead with its wings sprawled open, ensuring America is protected from all enemies. In its beak the eagle is carrying the olive branch, which is the hope and offering of peace." We at St. James' pray always for the safety of our troops, for those who have lost their lives in war, and most of all for peace. We salute the Class of 2010 as they work toward peace.
At our last meeting , the Okoye family led our Youth Group in a discussion about the year Tina, Sylvia and Ricky spent in Africa. Chika Okoye(Mom) provided our group with historic and cultural details while the teens filled us in how the experience affected them It was very interesting and we thank Chika, Tina and Rick for sharing with us. In May we will have our final two meetings for the school year. For the first meeting we will "Get To Know The Bible" and May 27th will be our spring game and party. Youth grades 6-12 please join us. Special welcome to new member, Justin Simmons. Questions or comments: Dawn Modugno and Lori Pursel Bereavement Center Tea and Tour The Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center located on the 2nd floor of the Mitcham House of St. James' Church will hold a Tea and Tour on Wednesday, May 23rd from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Light refreshments will be served. A slide show and sample materials will be available during the Open House. This tour will be conducted for Karen Ann Quinlan employees, Board Members and Volunteers. The Bereavement Center has recently completed a renovation of their office space in the Mitcham House and this will be an opportunity to see their renovated office and learn more about the Bereavement Center and Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and Home Care. April Godly Play lessons concluded with preparation for Mother's Day. There will be two more weeks of Sunday School in May. Thanks to all of the parents for the consistent attendance this year, especially during our transition to our new classrooms. We are being given a special opportunity by Cathy Deats on May 20th to come to church at the beginning of the service and stay through the sermon. The students will ask Dr. Deats questions about the church, the Bible, and related topics. Parents: Please encourage your children to jot down some questions and bring them on the 13th or 20th, so we can organize them. Please call me if you have any questions: 850-9214 The May schedule is as follows: May 6th Family Sunday(Students in church) submitted by Kathy Lacouture We will honor graduates on Sunday, June 17 th - Please contact the church office if there is a graduate in your family - 8 th grade, High School, College, Professional School or other program. Our church family would like to celebrate graduation milestones with your family. Coffee Hour on that day will be hosted by the Education for Ministry (EFM) Class, which has two graduates who have completed the four-year program this year. Many of you will remember Dayne, the golden retriever being raised by Amy Modugno. He went back to the Seeing eye for formal instruction last year. After a year of training and maturing, the Seeing Eye has placed Dayne with a 56 year old gentleman in Maine who is a technical writer. Dayne's new owner does alot of hiking and walking. We know he will be happy in his new job. His trainer at the Seeing Eye described Dayne as a very energetic buy loving dog who was always willing to work and always wanted to do the right thing. We are so proud of Dayne and remember the great time we had with him in the first year and a half of his life. Thank you to all of you at St. James' who support and tolerate the presence of a puppy in church. It really is a great learning and socializing experience for them. Puppy Smiles to you all from the Modugno family.
Episcopal Appalachian Ministries (EAM) By now, folks who are connected to the Internet have seen one step to help improve communications at St. James. Communications was a high priority project from the most recent Vestry Retreat. What was introduced toward the end of April, was The Weekly 'eNewsletter' delivered via Email. The Weekly eNewsletter is an electronic version of the weekly bulletin. That bulletin has already been made available on our website. A way to deliver the Announcements to your Inbox was found with little extra work by anyone. Everyone who we know who has an email was sent an email inviting you to complete a subscription to the Weekly eNewsletter. The first edition was sent to those who had already subscribed was sent out on Saturday, April 21st. The Weekly eNewsletter will be sent to all subscribers on or about Friday of each week, as part of the bulletin preparation. The bulletin is created (typed one time) but is now distributed electronically to the Weekly eNewsletter and to the web site. This Weekly eNewsletter is a one way communications. The church office to you. Please note that there are a couple of characters that are typed they may be presented in the Weekly eNewsletter as a strange or weird set of characters. To avoid that, those characters, like the apostrophe, will NOT show up in the electronic announcements. If you are looking at St. James' Episcopal Church, it will show as St. James Episcopal Church, as long as we remember to remove it. There has also been set up another email list that we reach all parishioners and friends of St. James that is a Parish wide email list. It will be used only when needed, but there have been several times when there was a message that need to go out. One example what a Sunday this winter when there were not going to be a worship service due to snow. That would be an example when this list would be used. As we expand this effort, we will have the capability to generate mailing labels for those without Email. The website and email are only two ways of communications. Our intent is to reach everyone, but keeping our expenses on budget. The next step will be an option to have the St. James' Journal delivered electronically OR by normal postal mail service. It is also on the St. James' website and will continue to be, but you will have the option to have it arrive in your electronic Inbox. Bottom line is the we want to be able to keep everyone informed of what is going on at St. James. With the changes that will be the results of our construction, quickly but without impacting our budget. Each year, the vestry makes a monetary gift to each of our high school graduates. The amount of the gift varies from year to year, as the source of these funds is the contributions received for Spiritual Bouquet (remembrance of one's friends and family each week). If you would like to honor our graduates with a contribution to this fund, please make your donation payable to St. James' and mark it "Graduates." Cappy Gottfried was born and raised in Montclair, NJ. She attended Montclair High School and secretarial school. She tells me that growing up she was a member of a very similar and loving church as St James. Her minister and mother were the ones that gave her a deep sense of faith. She always loved to sing and was in the church choir. Cappy married and had 4 children, 1 daughter and 3 sons. She lost one son to leukemia when he was 24 and tells me that he was so loved that they received over 300 condolenses. Her husband Phil passed away about two years ago; that was when Cappy happily moved to Heath Village and started attending St James (she says Cathy Deats is a doll!). Cappy is retired from the Morris County Prosecutors Office. She has 5 wonderful grandchildren. She volunteeers at the Heath Village library and is on several committees there. She is also a very active member of the St James Fundraising Committee and is a lay visitor. Several weekends ago she spent the entire day at the St James Rummage sale and brought in many residents of Heath Village to the What in the World fundraiser the following day after church. She was also an important part of our Tricky Tray last year. She never misses a fundraising meeting. What energy! If you know Cappy, you know she loves to laugh and tell jokes. She plays Bridge at Heath Village and also loves to read. Ask Cappy about the 28 years she spent singing with the Sweet Adelines! Cappy was married for 54 years and lived in Whippany at the time. Cappy loves all kinds of music such as classical, jazz and big band.
Sheila Shuford was born in New York City and grew up with her mother and stepfather in Ft Pierce, FL. She spent summers with her father and stepmother and step/half brothers and sisters in Syosset, Oyster Bay or Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Sheila was the feature editor for her high school newspaper and the editor of the yearbook. Sheila attended the Tob'e Coburn School for Fashion in NYC. She went through Macy's training squad and became assistant fashion coordinator. Sheila has a son who lives in Los Angeles. She also has two Spaniels named Martha and Mamie (think first ladies!) who she adores. They are the current members of her canine family which numbers seven on earth and in Heaven. Sheila first met Cathy Deats when Cathy became a professional interpretor. At the time, Sheila was the executive director of The Deaf Contact Center, housed at St Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Succasunna. That organization was replaced by the current telephone relay service, now required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Sheila was always a pioneer!). Cathy interpreted for Sheila at Rotary Clubs and church events. They attended EFM together and as you know, the rest is history. Last year, Sheila was ordained a Deacon. She is the president of the NJ Chapter of ALDA (Association of Late Deafened Adults). She taught a sign language class at St James and has taught the junior choir how to sign hymns. You can find her either blessing animals for us or attending many of our functions. It's hard to picture Sheila as a clown, but she informs me that she marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as one! Ask her about that experience!
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214 Washington Street | Hackettstown, NJ 07840 Office: 908-852-3968 | FAX: 908-212-7535 email: stjames214@comcast.net |
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Updated:
May 27, 2009
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Created: 05/03/07 |