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We ask God's protection of: Deepest sympathy:
AROUND ST PATRICK'SLETTER FROM THE BISHOP I know that Bishop George Hunt and the Rev. L.A King have been a great blessing to you and to your Rector. I am sure that their respective decisions to accept calls to temporary but necessary ministries in other settings has been keenly felt by all at St. Patrick's. +George's leadership at Trinity, Sonoma and LA's at St. John's, Petaluma at just this moment in the life of those two congregations is making a very significant difference in the health, not only of those congregations, but of the Diocese. I hope that knowledge helps to make the loss you are experiencing feel worthwhile. I am certainly grateful to all of you at St. Patrick's for your support and encouragement of these two splendid fellow ministers, and these two neighbor congregations, during this critical period. May St. Patrick's continue to go from strength to strength, generously sharing its considerable gifts with those in need. God bless you richly this holy Season. WOMEN'S CURSILLO takes place at the Angela Center, April 29-May 2. Fran Morell is on the team. Pray for the candidates and team. DAUGHTERS OF THE KING meet May 2 after the 10:30 service in the Common Room. THE OUTREACH COMMITTEE meets on Wednesday, May 5 at 10:00 a.m. in the Common Room. The Committee makes quarterly distributions from the parish's Outreach Fund. THE HUMAN RACE starts 8:00 a.m., May 8 at Slater Middle School (3500 Sonoma Ave.) to raise money for local nonprofit organizations. MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE! supper and sing-along of folk songs, Gospel tunes, Spirituals, and Standards led by Dennis Studebaker is at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 8. Call Angela Stevenson (537-1440) for further information. MOTHERS' DAY is May 9. Bring your mother (or children) to Church. Or adopt a mother. ECW EVENING MEETING is on Tuesday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. for coffee and dessert. This event is for all parishioners and their guests. The speaker is the Jill Hunting, talking about her book, Finding Pete: Rediscovering the Brother I Lost in Vietnam. Pete Hunting, an IVS volunteer, was the first civilian casualty in the Vietnam War. We are setting the time at 6:30 p.m. to allow everyone to drive home in daylight. Books will be available at a discount for personalization. Please sign up in the parish hall. Let us know if you can bring a dessert (homemade goodies are always the best). COMMUNICATION SKILLS, an all-day workshop on May 15 led by Karen Krestensen, is sponsored by the vestry. Call Sarah Phillips (537-6685) for further information. ASCENSION SUNDAY. We will celebrate the Ascension of Jesus on Sunday, May 16. PENTECOST. The Feast of the Holy Spirit is May 23. At the 10:30 service, the account of Pentecost from the Book of Acts will be read in different tongues. Red is the color of the Holy Spirit. Why not wear red on Pentecost! This is one of the "big" days for baptism. We will baptize Jane Hall's granddaughter, Maya Natalie. THE SR SYMPHONIC CHORUS CONCERT is on June 5 & 6, including Jackie Senter and Hugh Stevenson, who will sing Haydn's great oratorio, The Creation. Tickets available from Hugh or Jackie. SUNDAY SCHOOL RECOGNITION At the June 6 9:00 a.m. service, we "recognize" the children of our Sunday school and Raymond Skipp their teacher. We give Bibles to graduating seniors including Elizabeth Peters and Jessica Begley (daughter of Cathy Castle). THE SUMMER SCHEDULE BEGINS ON JUNE 13.HOLY WEEK AND EASTERWhat a great Holy Week and Easter at St Patrick's! It was great to Welcome some guests: Toby & Diane Taylor who live next door to the church, Carmen Brand, Paul Spilsbury, Margaret Vancini and the Kruck family and others; to welcome back those who come each year to our Easter celebrations and to mourn in the light of the Resurrection those who have died since last Easter. Many people took part in different capacities of our worship. On Good Friday alone, 15 people took party in the Liturgy. Thanks to Michael Newell who sang, He was despised, accompanied by Sylvia O'Neill. Welcome to Andrew Metcalfe from Kenwood Community Church who read the part of Pilate in the John Passion Play. Two high points for Hugh: watching Quo Vadis with 15 friends on Holy Tuesday, and wiping with a towel those who came forward to have their feet washed on Maundy Thursday, a tender thing to do. The flowering cross has never looked better, thanks to the Schloemps and the Borgfeldts who supervised and all the children and those who brought flowers for them. Despite the stormy weather, the Easter Egg hunt was a great success in the parish hall. Thanks to Vicki Ward (and Charlie Ward who subbed for her on the day), Ingo and Camerin Rencken; and those who brought an abundance of candy and the Friday workshop women who stuffed the eggs. Judy Buff made a plea for Easter coffee makers Easter and had a great response. At the 9:00 a.m. coffee hour: Ray Jayne, Wendy Woods, Bonnie Wiggins, Cathy Castle, Linda Lewis, and Cecilia Bautista. The highpoint for a number of people was the presence of Stephan Welch (on sabbatical from London) among us. He preached at all services and celebrated at some. EDDIE GIBB ON EL SALVADOR I am extremely thankful to the St. Patrick's community who gave me their prayers and support for my mission trip to El Salvador with the Episcopal and Methodist Campus Ministry at UCSD. In the process of helping the people of San Marcos and going on pilgrimage during the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero to the sites where martyrs of the Church died, I grew spiritually and I also better appreciate the blessings God has granted unto me. While in El Salvador, we visited the Episcopal Relief and Development communities of San Marcos and El Maizal. San Marcos is a small community of over thirty families located in a jungle setting, a welcome sight in the most deforested country in Central America. El Maizal is a newly founded community teaching agricultural and industrial baking skills to youths. While in San Marcos, we helped construct a water tower to store water for the newly dug well. The people were without fresh water since their old well had become dirtied, and their crops and garden had died. We assisted by moving molten rocks, mixing cement, carrying buckets of water, and laying bricks. When the small amount of water that was left ran out, we had to trek about fifteen minutes with water jugs and wheelbarrows through a coffee plantation, past cattle being driven by teenagers with sticks, to a small lagoon where women were doing their laundry and children were bathing. The people of San Marcos were very hospitable, as was the common theme with everyone we met in El Salvador. They told us of some of their struggles. One woman told us how difficult it is to make ends meet when some people earn perhaps $1 USD/day working in what are basically textile sweatshops. El Salvador's currency is the US dollar, but prices are not much cheaper than in the US, and the minimum wage is less than 1/7th of that in the US. So some people live in extreme poverty while a very select few run the country. However a newly elected government by the people is beginning to adjust tax brackets and give hope of change. We attended an ecumenical service in honor of Romero and a rally for him on the anniversary of his murder. We saw his casket, walked through his small house, and stood where he was shot in a church while giving Communion. We also went to the Jesuit University, the YUCA, and stood where the six Jesuit priests were assassinated in 1989 for inspiring many people to fight the government with liberation theology. Going to these thin places where one could feel the presence of God and after hearing such miraculous stories like Romero's heart and liver not having decomposed when last dug up three years ago due to his incorruptibility, and that the rose garden planted where the six priests died now blooms year-round unlike other flowers in El Salvador, helped reaffirm God's wondrous glory to me. This trip deeply influenced me, and I will continue to strive for social justice for the people of El Salvador and others less fortunate than I. If you would like to see more about my adventures, go to youtube.com and type in the search "El Salvador Spring Break 2010," and it is the first result. FINANCE COMMITTEEThe Finance Committee has had several names over the years as its role has changed. The Endowment Committee was established in 1996. That year, we received a bequest from the estate of Leroy and Helen Neill that was restricted to upkeep of church property. We also received other gifts to be used for visiting speakers or outreach projects. Only the interest from the Endowment Fund could be spent. Designated Funds Committee Kay Merkt made a gift to establish a music fund. In 2006, the Flournoy family gave a bequest in memory of their parents, Spence and Shirley, to be used exclusively for the annual Jazz Mass (traditionally on the first Sunday in September). In 2003, a substantial bequest was received from the estate of Denny and Dorothy Martin, to be used "where it was needed." The vestry set up a number of designated funds planning for the future. The responsibilities of the committee were no longer exclusively the Endowment Fund. In 2006, the vestry approved the charter for the Designated Fund Committee. A Rectory Fund was set up to provide a loan for a future Rector of St Patrick's to purchase a house in Sonoma County. Money from the Capital Fund was used for new heating and air-conditioning units and other major expenses/repairs such as re-sealing the church parking lot. Gifts given to St Patrick's in memory of a loved one are deposited to the Memorial Fund. When Gene Friedrich was treasurer, The Altar Fund was established using the year-end surplus from altar flower donations. The altar guild used this fund to buy new altar linens and other items used in worship. Finance Committee
As the capital funds of St Patrick's have grown, the Finance Committee has been responsible for the investment of these. We are now retaining the services of a financial manager. The current parish policy is that half our assets are invested in fixed income funds and half in stock funds. In 2009, the Finance Committee produced a leaflet about planned giving at St Patrick's. That same year, we received approximately $260,000 in bequests. This was very unusual. Normally we receive bequests of about $10,000 per year. Bequests are an important source of revenue for our parish and allow us to build a strong Balance Sheet and to provide future income for outreach and other purposes. At one time we were the only parish in the Diocese with earthquake insurance. It was expensive so we decided it was more prudent to place the premiums we would have spent on insurance in an Earthquake Fund. These were the balances at the end of 2009:
Hugh Stevenson DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERSDOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS was founded in France in 1971 by doctors and journalists. Its official name is Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). It is an international medical humanitarian organization providing aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. It is an independent organization that also reserves the right to advocate for improved medical treatment. In 1999, it received the Nobel Peace Prize. In order to maintain its independence, MSF depends on private giving (such as St Patrick's,) not from governments. In 2006, MSF had more than three million individual donors and private funders worldwide. $152.1 million or 20% of the total funding was raised in the USA.
MSF medical teams on the ground are in constant dialogue with local authorities, warring parties, and other aid agencies in an attempt to ensure the best possible medical care for patients and their communities and to reinforce the organization's operational independence. On any one day, more than 27,000 committed individuals representing dozens of nationalities can be found providing assistance to people caught in crises around the world. They are doctors, nurses, logistics experts, administrators, epidemiologists, laboratory technicians, mental health professionals, and others. There are 19 offices around the world, including one in New York. The vast majority of MSF's aid workers are from the communities where the crises are occurring. MSF has a long history of responding to epidemic outbreaks of infectious diseases. It has also become involved in the treatment of the devastating pandemics of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and diseases that affect the world's poorest and for which there are few effective treatment options. MSF responds to natural disasters, but this is only a small part of its work. Usually local health authorities are quickly able to garner support from international agencies and governments for natural disasters. And the needs are predominantly in the areas of reconstruction and development, which is outside of MSF's scope of expertise and operational focus. This was the case for the South Asian Tsunami in 2004. Charity navigator awards MSF four stars, their highest rating. St Patrick's has supported MSF each year from our outreach giving. FISH NEEDS YOU!
More about other charities we support in future Grapevines. |
