September 2008

Peace be with you.

This comes hoping that your summer has been restful and renewing and finds you ready to engage in the life of St. Anne's again. The program year begins with the Welcome Back Brunch on September 14th hosted by the vestry. This year there will be ONE service on that day at 9:00am (Rite I with music). The brunch follows. Please bring photos of your vacations to share with friends. The six campers will be given a large collage of photos of their week at the BCH Camp. If you haven't returned your Church School registration form you will be able to fill one out then.

This summer the Presbyterian Church-USA forged a closer relationship with the Episcopal Church. Now clergy can share pulpits and tables with the blessing of the local Bishop and Session. I have always liked the depth and seriousness of the Presbyterian Church School materials. This year we will be using one of their curricula called "We Believe" for grades 4,5,6 - a survey of the Old Testament. We are happy that Lisa Kinser will be joined by Ed Giroux, Judy MacPherson, Janet Blesso, Doris Hamner and Jose Torres. It will be a wonderful class and I hope that our young people will take the time to attend.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd will continue to be offered for those ages 3 - 9, by Ron Desmarais and Brenda Komarinski. This is a Montessori type learning experience with early spiritual formation around the sacraments as the goal. They would like to train parents (or other interested parishioners) how to lead a class so that the burden of every class doesn't rest on them alone.

The Tuesday Bible Study will resume on September 16th - at 10:00am and 7:30pm. The course this year is entitled "The Historical Jesus" and is taught by Prof. Bart D. Ehrman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It will be very different from some courses you may have heard of with the same name. Classes are held in the Nichols Room.
There will also be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for the newcomers and inquirers "Welcome to the Episcopal Church" course. It will meet beginning Saturday, Sept. 27th at 10:00am. During the first meeting we will determine the meeting times going forward. This is a six week course that answers questions on history, worship, polity, mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church. It is for anyone - newcomer or old-timer.

There are also several educational opportunities offered at the Deanery Workshops at Christ Church, Andover on Saturday, October 25th. I urge you all to look at the listing included in this issue and consider attending. We have changed the calendar to make this day available because there are so many workshops that will enhance the ministries you already do.

We have not had a meeting of the fair committee yet but the date has been set for December 6th. Please put the date on your calendar and think about how you would like to help. There are no doubt things left out of this letter that should be included. In advance I apologize.

We are off and running!

Blessings,

Peggy