of

St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchPiney Parish

Waldorf, Maryland

December2011

_ FI),()~ tk.Qector-

Dear Friends in Christ -Even if you haven't been on an

airplane in a while, you probablyremember these words. They're part ofthe standard safety announcement at thebeginning of each flight. First, there isinstruction on how to fasten your seatbelt.Next, accompanied by those grandiose armmovements, are the flight attendants'instruction about how to fmd the exitnearest to your seat ... and then youhear.. ..

"In case of a sudden decrease in cabinpressure, an overhead panel will open andan oxygen mask will drop down. Pull themask firmly toward you to start the flow ofoxygen, put the mask over your nose andmouth, and pull the strap to secure themake. THEN assist anyone near you... "

Me first. Then you.I know why they repeat this safety

instruction over and over and over, flightafter flight after flight. The reason ispeople like me. People who have beentrained to put everyone else first, thin!c,"YOU first, then me."

The problem is of course, that if youdon't have what you need, you're no goodto anyone else. You can't help anyoneelse - not your child, not your spouse, notanyone - with their oxygen mask if youpass out from lack of oxygen yourself.

Similarly, in these Advent andChristmas weeks, you can't help anyoneelse find joy if you're joyless from stress,from anger, from overwork, from

sleeplessness, or overspending. You can'thelp anyone else find peace if you'rerunning around like crazy. You can't helpanyone else find Jesus if you haven't beenable to connect with Him lately.

Me first. Then you.It's not a sin to think of yourself first.

It's actually part of the "BIG TWO"commandments. "Love -the Lord, yourGod", and, "Love your neighbor asyourself." In other words, whatever carewe extend to our neighbor is supposed tobe patterned after the care we've extendedto ourselves.

Soooo.... In this hard-to-catch-your­breath season, how are you doing puttingon your own oxygen mask? I will beposting Advent reflections to help youthink about ways to find Less Hurry andMore Holy in your days leading up toChristmas. They will be posted daily onour parish web site... , PineyParish.org.and on our blog. I hope you'll take a fewminutes to read them and perhaps find thatthey can serve as an oxygen mask for you.

During these days of Advent andChristmas, may you experience afresh themiracle of Emmanuel, God with us. Andin His abundance of goodness and hopeand peace, may you receive all the joy andpeace and renewed faith that you need,and some to share. Merry Christmas!

Blessings!

LESSONS AND CAROLS

Please come for a wonderful afternoonof seasonal LESSONS AND CAROLSmusic presented by the combined choirs ofchurches in Region VI at 3 pm onSunday, December 4 at Christ Church inLa Plata. Singing in the choir is open toanyone who would like to join.Rehearsals will be. on Wednesday,November 30, 7 pm and Saturday,December 3, 4-6 pm at Christ Church inLa Plata.

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SANTA'S SECRET SHOP

Once again this year, the youth groupwill have their Santa's Secret Shop openfor our little ones to purchase items fortheir family and friends on Sunday,December 11th during their SundaySchool hour. Donations are needed:Please donate items that could be re-soldby the children as gifts to others such as:candles, knick-knacks, old jewelry,kitchen gadgets, ties, coffee mugs, sportsmemorabilia, etc. Thank you!

HAVE BREAKFAST WITH SANTA!

Come one, come all! On Sunday,December 11th-11:30 am-l pm

Santa will be passing through for avisit to S1.Paul's during the "coffee hour"after the 10:15 service. Join us for apancake and sausage breakfast, games andcrafts, and a visit with Santa to celebratethe holiday season!

**Parents and Grandparents, we could useyour help with supplies for some of thecrafts. Please bring in packaged candy,whipped vanilla icing, graham crackers,sugar ice cream cones, mini marshmallowsor large plates for building and trimminggingerbread houses. You may bring themin any time; just mark them as "Breakfastwith Santa!" Thank you!

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ALTAR GUILD BREAKFAST,.CLEANING AND POLISHING DAY!

Attention Altar Guild members oranyone interested in becoming a member.All are invited to enjoy breakfast in theHamilton Room at 8:30 am on Saturday,December 10th, So, please mark yourcalendars to attend our yearly Altar GuildBreakfast and Polishing Day with aBlessing of the Hands..

We will be passing out the newschedule for 2012 as well. Please let Jane

Of Darlene know if you are able to attend.God Bless each of you for your Labor

of Love!

Jane (301-645-5536)

1Jarfene (301-645-7374)

SERVICE COMMISSION:

Walk to End Homelessness in CharlesCounty - A big Thank You to all of youwho walked or made a donation toLifeStyles' Homeless Walk on November19th. It turned out to be a perfect day for abrisk walk around La Plata - a little chilly,but sunny. Our donations from St. Paul'stotaled $6451 The proceeds from the walkwent to the "Safe Nights" program that isorganized by LifeStyles, Inc. Thisprogram provides emergency shelter forour homeless neighbors in neighboringchurches around the county during thecold months of November through March.

Christmas Connection Donations ­Christmas stockings are available to fill forchildren and teens. Please return filled

stockings by December _9th as theChristmas Connection will open onDecember 12th.

Mitten Tree - The "Mitten Tree" will beavailable in the narthex. Please fill it withhats, scarves, mittens, socks, etc. fordistribution through Children's AidSociety. Please fill it with

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Our heartfelt thanks to all in our PineyFamity for the kind words, cards andprayers on the passing of Joan Mathews.

Jolin .:Matliews ana famifj;Lois :Keecli ana .:Tamifj;

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HELP US GIVE A CHILD A TOYFOR CHRISTMAS

In speaking with Sandra Washingtonof LifeStyles, I learned that there are manychildren who will not receive a toy forChristmas - even with all the help andgood intentions of many civic agencies. Itseemed to me that we could help, even alittle, by buying toys that we could thendonate to. LifeStyles to hand out tofamilies who cannot afford to getsomething for their children.

Many of us, myself included, nolonger have to buy toys for our childrenand we miss the. fun of that type ofChristmas shopping. Our children havereached the age when they want cash orcars or cell phones or the latest techno­gadget that we don't know anythingabout ... so we long for the fun of buyingdolls, or cars, or fire trucks, or baby toys.

This is your opportunity! At thebeginning of Advent we will set up a treein the large narthex. It will be decoratedwith identifying marker ornaments - Boy2-4, Girl 6-8, etc. Choose what age andsex child you would prefer to buy for andwrite your name on the back of the"ornament." Then purchase a toy and putit under the tree. On December 218t,

LifeStyles will come and pick up the toysand hand them out to families to give totheir children on Christmas.

Thank you in advance for yourgenerosity and your care and concern forthose less fortunate than ourselves.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS:

Many thanks to Jane Fruh and DarleneGuy from the Altar Guild who sharedinformation with the Sunday Schoolchildren as part of the InstructionalEucharist. School age children have eachbeen given their own Prayer Book for useduring our worship services.

On December 4th, the Sunday Schoolchildren will have an opportunity to have aconversation with the prophets of theAdvent season - Isaiah, Elizabeth, and.John the Baptist, portrayed by ScottWesley, Paula Truitte, and CharlesGaumond. On December 11th, they willparticipate in Santa's Secret Shop. OnDecember 18th, they will be preparing forthe Christmas Eve pageant. Watch formore information about Advent activities

in the weekly bulletin.

There will be no Sunday Schoolclasses on November 27th, DecemberZSth or January 1at.

••••••••• **.**********************

STEWARDSHIP - PLEDGE CAMPAIGN

If you have not done so, please turn inyour pledge card as your offering to Godfor all the gifts and blessings in life thatyou have been blessed with. You can putyour pledge card in the offering plate, giveto a vestry or finance committee member,or mail to the church office.

Our Annual Stewardship Campaign isan opportunity for each of us to reflect onthe spiritual connection between generousgiving and a richer life' in. God.Stewardship, as described in the Bible, isbased on the belief that God is .the true .owner of each person's treasure, and that·everyone is accountable to God for theacceptable care and wise and generous useof those riches. ' .

The Finance Committee is beginiringtheir work of creating the budget for 2012.And we count on your giving to preparethe expenses of the church and .ourdiocesan and outreach giving for nextyear.

The members of the Finance'

Committee are Susan Parody, GregFerguson, Phil Hamilton, Sewell Truitte,Joe Guy, Kristin Sackman, Mike Fritz andMother Joy.

For we are God's servants, workingtogether; you are God's field, God'sbuilding. 1 Corinthians 3:9

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HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE EPISTLEFROM THE NOVEMBER

VESTRY MEETING

• Plans are progressing nicely for theFabulous Fifty+ luncheon. Interestin the luncheon has been expressedby several other churches in theregIOn.

• A parishioner is developing anenergy audit to improve theeffectiveness of the existing HVACsystems.

• Caroling at the Genesis andCharles County Nursing Homes, aswell as Breakfast with Santa, isplanned for Dec. 11th.

• Fifty-six pledges were received onOffering Sunday. More pledgesare anticipated. The financecommittee will meet the week afterThanksgiving to develop a budget.

• The new members of the FoyerGroups have been determined andthe groups are off and running withtheir gatherings.

• The Sunday School childrenrecently had an introduction to theEucharist and older childrenreceived a Children's Guide to theEucharist.

• Several items were added to thePiney Facebook page. TheFacebook page has 84 "friends".

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LADIES' NIGHT OUT - December 21

The next Ladies' NightOut will be at 6pm on Wednesday, December 21,t. Awonderful evening has been planned at the

home of Mary and Steve Fugate in LaPlata. There will be door prizes and tomake the occasion even more special, weask everyone to bring a wrappedChristmas ornament to exchange. Theprice for the evening will be $15. Wewould like everyone to sign-up and pay inadvance by December 18th• The paymentmay be given to Linda Hurd or LorraineBerry during the coffee hours. We lookforward to seeing you on this specialevening of fun and fellowship.

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ACTIVE ADULT MINISTRY

Are you an "active adult" who wantsto enjoy life to the fullest? The ActiveAdult Ministry, new to St. Paul's this year,might be of interest to you. Our purposeincludes, but is not limited to, informativelearning experiences, physical and mentalenrichment, and service to both St. Paul'sand the community at large. To facilitatethat vision, our activities are advertisedboth at St. Paul's and in local newspapers.

This year's events have included anAARP Safe Driver Course that, whencompleted, offered participants automobileinsurance discounts; Lunch and Learn"brown bag" events where speakerspresented various topics of interest; andweekly yoga classes taught by a certifiedinstructor. Both a wine tasting and adinner theater are tentatively scheduled forearly spring 2012. But we're not justabout having fun. We also want torespond to various needs at St. Paul's andwithin the community at large. Underconsideration is a volunteer driverprogram, assisting with child care at parish

events, and visiting local nursing homeresidents. If you have any suggestionsor questions or want to participate in theplanning, please contact Val Carter (301­934-2883).

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WINTER GATHERING

Tentative plans are being made for aChili Cook-off followed by an evening ofmusic and fun sometime in February orMarch. To make this happen, we areasking for volunteers to help plan andorganize the evening. The ftrst planningmeeting will be held on January 12th at9:45 in the parish hall. If you would liketo join the planning team, please speakwith Linda Hurd or Lorraine Berry.

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II r,-.:

COFFEE-U,~",~& CONVERSATION

Thank you to those who hosted CoffeeHour in November:

Ann and Jimmy RobeyMeredith and Tom MayBecky and Tony HackleyDarlene GardnerMargaret LemanSallie and Lynn LyonsJoyce and G.O. LyonJoan and Fred RitterJoanne and Nicete MoodieJoan and Ron CrittendenPaula Truitte and Jane Fruh

FABULOUS 50+ LUNCHEON

On Wednesday, December 7, 81

Paul's will host the annual ChristmaFabulous 50+ Luncheon. Invitations fothis event have been extended to all thlEpiscopal churches in Region VI. Thiservice, which precedes the luncheon, wi]begin at 11:30 with the Rev. Cassandr:Burton celebrating the Eucharist.

The menu of breaded chicken breastroasted potatoes, green· beans and a rolwill be prepared and served by thlHospitality Committee. A special visitofrom the North Pole has agreed to make aIappearance in spite of his busy scheduleIn addition to the two cakes t<commemorate anniversaries and birthdaysthe Planning Committee would like t<place a plate of Christmas cookies on eadtable for dessert. For this, we need hellfrom the wider parish. We are askin!parishioners to please make one to twcdozen Christmas cookies for this event. A

sign-up sheet will be posted in the hallwa)to insure we have an adequate number.

In advance, we thank you for helpingto make this a very special event in the lifeof the parish.

ST. PAUL'S, PINEY BOOK CLUB

The next meeting of the St. Paul's,Piney Book Club will be on Monday,January 16th in the clubhouse atHeritage of St. Charles in White Plains,Maryland from 7-8:30 pm.

We welcome new niembers and lookforward to another great discussion. Formore information, please contact Janice.Miller at ianmill@comcast.net.

The book for discussion at thatmeeting will be The Best of Me byNicholas Sparks.

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SERVING ON VESTRY

As we consider our vestry slate for thecoming year, the vestry thought it wouldbe good to once again explain how thevestry slate is determined. Several yearsago the vestry discussed its function inlight of a revised understanding of howvestry members and vestry teams are anintegral part of the ministry and mission Qfthe church. We came to see, and havecome to believe, that the most effectivevestry members function as the leadminister of a team of other ministers, all ofwhom have recognized skills, gifts,interest and passion around serving thechurch in a particular area of ministry.

For example, we can easily recognizesomeone who has a heart for the youth andchildren of our church, is a dedicatedfollower of Christ, has particular gifts and

skills in youth ministry and education, andis passionately involved in serving andsupporting the church. That person wouldbe asked if they are willing to serve aslead minister and vestry member for theyouth ministry/education team. We givethem time to consider the request, prayabout it, and see if they believe it is whatGod calls them to do.

We do not put them in competitionwith anyone else or have them "run" to bea minister. We recognize that we are allcalled to be ministers of God. Therefore,for the past two years at parish meetings,we have presented a carefully chosen slateof lead ministers/vestry members to thecongregation for approval.

As Christians, whose first call is tolove others as God loves us, we do notwant to see anyone agree to go forward fora position of service and then be voteddown by their congregation (friends andchurch family). It is embarrassing, feelslike a devastating rejection by the church,and is just as deeply hurtful to adults as itis to children. We have had .good peopleleave the church because the hurt has beenso great.

Just as Jesus carefully picked hisdisciples, so we carefully consider beforewe ask people to be lead ministers/vestrymembers. The new lead minister/vestrymember is usually suggested by thecurrent lead minister/vestry member and

. approved by the rector and vestry.Usually it is someone who has beensuccessful as a part of the ministry teamfor some time and has a clearunderstanding of what is involved.

To be the lead minister for a vestryteam is a big responsibility. Not only is

the vestry member responsible for theministry of the team but also fornetworking and for finding other ministrymembers to be on the team. Vestrymembers are responsible for planning andorganizing events; having oversight of theministry team program, ministry budget,and materials. They should attend churchregularly; be a consistent pledger; attendweekly and special services; participateenthusiastically in all events at the church;attend vestry retreats; attend monthlyevening vestry meetings; report andoccasionally write articles for the Epistleabout the ministry; and workcollaboratively with other ministry teamsand the rector.

Vestry members are chosen for aspecific ministry and for their recognizedskill in that area. Rather than being aposition of power or prestige ... it is a.position of humble and loving service toGod, to S1.Paul's, and to its people.

The Right Rev. Dr. Mariann Edgar BuddeThe Bishop of Washington

Rector: The Rev. Dr. Joy Rose, TSSFPhone: 301-934-8001

Email: reviovrose@aol.com

AAAAAAAA

00000000 BIRTHDAYS &ANNIV€RSARI€SOO

IN DECEMBER

7 - Val Carter

9 - Kristin Sackman

11 - Sam Truitt

19 - Jack and Joyce Ferguson

Kathy WesleyDon Wilson

20 - John Mathews

21 - Sally Barley

23 - Mother Joy24 - Mike and Susan Fritz

Russ and Ann Lancaster

25 - Julianne Gardiner

27 - Hollis Lyon

28 - Ron and Joan Crittenden

31 - Bob Ferguson

If you have a birthday or anniversary inDecember and are not listed above. pleasenotify the office so that you can beincluded next time. Thank you!

Office Hours:

Parish Office:FAX:

Email:

Web Page:

Tuesday - Friday,9:30 am - 2:30 pm

301-645-5000301-638-5894

PinevParish@aol.comwww.PinevParish.ora

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Senior Warden: Kristin Sackman, 301-392-9367Junior Warden: Mike Fritz, 301-934-5736

Facilities Coordinator.

Donna Ferguson, 301-934-3127Cemetery Director: Phil Hamilton, 301-645-5327

REGIONAL ASSEMBLYmGHLIGHTS

from

Charles Gaumond, delegate to convention

Regions 5 and 6 of our diocese met atSt. Barnabas', Leeland, on Saturday,October 29. These regions reach fromRock Creek in DC and Laurel in MD to St.Mary's City, covering a long and diversearea. The highlights of the meeting were:

Bishop Chane spoke about his.retirement plans that include moving backto San Diego to be near his three childrenon the West Coast. He spoke about thehealth of the Episcopal Church and theWashington Diocese. There are diocesesthat are struggling with declining numbers;some are considering merging toconsolidate their shrinking numbers. Ourdiocese is not struggling; we may be thehealthiest one. However, our membershipis still slowly declining. Success inincreasing our membership comes fromchanging peoples' lives. Changing livesdoesn't require money or hoards of people,but it requires a redefinition of ourmission. The bishop held up SouthernMaryland as an example of small parishesworking together, for example, with thefour-parish choral·evensong during Adventlast year at St. Paul's Piney.

The bishop also spoke about thechanging world; he had recently been inTripoli and Lebanon arranging a meetingbetween Sunni and Shia Muslims andChristians. In the turmoil of the MiddleEast, Christians are being hunted inPalestine and Iraq. He also painted atroubled future for the world, as did thespeaker at last year's Diocesan convention,

with growing religiously-fueled terrorism,internet volatility, and insecurity.

Bishop-elect Budde also spoke abouther perceptions of where we, theWashington Diocese, could be in tenyears. Our diocesan leaders - theseinclude many lay people - find ourdeclining membership unacceptable.Growth must occur at the parish level. Theparish growth that she experienced inMinneapolis took several years, forexample, ten years to grow a successfulyouth program from nothing. She seessigns of growth here too. She wants todevelop parish level leadership to supportgrowth so that we can fulfill God's will inthe world.

She mentioned the generation ofyoung people who are completely missingan education about God, Christianity, andthe good news that we preach. In general,Episcopalians have breadth in their beliefsand spirituality, but this breadth is oftenoffset with shallowness. As adenomination, we tend to assume moredepth of our own belief and spirituality.We need to have more experiences toshare with those who are unchurched. Weshould realize that one of our strengthscomes from what we know and whatwe've seen. We need to tell more personalstories about our experiences that havelead us into being in the church. Merelytelling someone your story may lead thatperson to search for God.

I hope that you share my excitementabout the future of St. Paul's, Piney, andthe rest of the Washington Diocese underthe new leadership of Bishop Budde.

~

MINISTRIES FOR DECEMBER

December 4December 11December 18December 25I

ALTAR GUILD

Betty ThompsonBetty ThompsonBecky HackleyBetty ThompsonDarlene Guy

Darlene GuyPam SmithDarlene Guy

COUNTERS

Joe GuyPeggy GoldsmithPaula TruitteK Truitt I D BurroughsMike Fritz

Laurie JaffeKen CarterF Cavanaugh I L Hurd

8 O'CLOCKLEM(S) and LECTORS

Fern BrownRon CrittenclenJoan CrittendenI2nd LESSON READERS Joan CrittendenGregory ReevesPeggy Goldsmith

ACOLYTES

Skip RolandJoan CrittendenDana Crittenden

U~HER(S)

Guy SmithWendy & Emily VanHoozierDick & Margaret Leman

GREETER(S)

Phil & Judy HamiltonLois KeechDora Bunting

Dora BuntinJ

-COFFEE HOUR

Pam & Guy Smith Elaine MillerGeorgi Walsh

Lindo Lockhart

10:15 A.M.10 O'CLOCKILECTORS

John SackmanPaula TruitteMlko FritzDeborah Brown2nd LESSON READERS

Doug WhiteSteve CavanaughNlcoto MoodiePeggy Goldsmith-LEMSJohn SackmanPaula TruitteMlko FritzDeborah Brown

Kristin SackmanSewell Truitte~)UOCln l=rltzKay Laughton-=ACOLYTES

Justin TruittJohn Sackman, Sr.I .do IIPH 1I11t,011

Sam Truitt

ICOIl/lOr KouchAlyssa Gerh~rt

Madison CarrollJoshua SokolChrilltln6 WBliiay./ .Iphll I(. Krllttln SaokmanUSHER(S) Lynn & Sallie LyonsDavid & Shelley Culhano Greg & Donna Ferguson

"-GREETER(S)Greg & Donna FergusonLorraine BerrY Mike & Susan Fritz..COFFEE HOUR:Mary & Steve FugateGrog & Donna Fergul'lOilIIIwid I nl III H I

Joyce ScofieldSusan & Mik~ Fritz----

- --

DecemberSunday MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday

Each Sunday

1239:30 am

10am8amH.E. Prayer Shawl MinistryCrafts for Kids9:15 am5.S: 6pmin Parish Hall

10:15 amH.E. Handchime Rehearsal

7pmAdult Choir Rehearsal45678910

3 pm Festival of

10-12 am8:30amNine Lessons and

11 amYogaFood Pantry Open Deadline to returnAltar GuildCarols at Christ stockings forBreakfast,

Church, La Plata 11:30 amChristmasCleaning &3 pm Outing to PTP

Fabulous 50+6pm ConnectionPolishing"A Christmas Carol"

Service andHandchime Rehearsal10-12 amDinner at Ledo's in La Luncheon7pm

Plata afterwardAdult Choir RehearsalFood Pantry Open

11121314151617

Santa Secret Shop

EPISTLE DEADLINE!

10am

Eucharist11 amYoga 9:30am

11:30 am-1 pm at CCNRCPrayer Shawl Ministry

Breakfast 6pmwith Santa Handchime Rehearsal7:30 pm 7pmVestry Meeting7pmBible Study Adult Choir Rehearsal

18192021222324

Greening of the

10-12 am6pm10-12 am

Church & Narthex11 amNO YogaFood Pantry OpenHandchime Rehearsal Food Pantry Open

Deadline to bring

6pm7pm

6:30 pmAdult Choir Rehearsal Pageant & H.C.Toys for Children 7 pm Gospel of MaryLadies' Night Out7 pm Gospel of Mary 8:00pm(under the tree) Bible Studyat the Fugates'Bible Study Holy Eucharist25

262728293031 .~~CHRISTMAS DAY11 amYoga "'~.r.0 jOffice closed until

••• ; :\1

10amcl 'be~~.

January 2~~~()'b-~~,Christmas Day

'}j~' •• 'b'ttl!\.Holy Eucharist

bt$\~e"'~.'I;~'b-.~~ ~ ~'ttl

(one service only) .tr:J~~.~~fJ ,