The month of May will be

an especially meaningful

one for St. Mary’s as we

say goodbye to our interim

rector and greet the per-

manent rector who will

lead us into the future.

The Rev. Lynne A. Grifo

became St. Mary’s interim

rector in February 2016.

Since then, she has ful-

filled all of the many pasto-

ral and administrative re-

sponsibilities of a rector

while our faith community

engaged in the lengthy

process of searching for

our new, permanent rec-

tor.

With our search completed

and a new rector called,

Lynne’s role with St.

Mary’s is complete. Her

last Sunday with us will be

May 7. On that day, we’ll

have a single service, at 9

a.m., followed by a recep-

tion to honor Lynne and

thank her for all she has

done for St. Mary’s over

the past 15 months.

The Rev. Ann Lovejoy

Johnson will assume her

position as our new rector

on Monday, May 15. On

May Brings a Farewell and a Welcome

Ha

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Volume 9, Number 5

May 2017

Inside This Issue

Volunteer for May Fair 2

Church School observes Earth Day 2

Mental Health Awareness Walk 3

Linus Project quilts for children 3

Sunday, May 21, we will

again have a single service,

at 9 a.m., followed by a re-

ception to formally welcome

Ann.

Please plan to come to both

services and receptions to

mark these special transi-

tions in the life of our faith

community.

The Rev. Lynne A.

Grifo

The Rev. Ann Lovejoy

Johnson

Mark Your Calendar!

Sunday, May 7: 9 a.m. ser-

vice, followed by farewell re-

ception for the Rev. Lynne A.

Grifo,

Sunday, May 21, 9 a.m.

service, followed by welcome

reception for the Rev. Ann

Lovejoy Johnson.

A Prayer for Our Interim Rector

Gracious Father, we thank you for the gift of Lynne’s

ministry here at St. Mary’s. We offer our gratitude

and appreciation for her during our transition pro-

cess. We have been richly blessed by her special gifts,

her friendship, guidance and wisdom. Lord, please

guide and walk with Lynne as she continues on to the

new phase of her Christian journey. Amen.

Page 2 H a p p eni n g s

By Sarah Tierinni & Valerie Huestis

Your help is needed to make St. Mary’s

26th Annual May Fair — on Saturday, May

13 — a rousing success! Please consider

volunteering! Please sign up to volunteer

by using Sign-up Genius through email,

visiting www.stmarysct.org (under upcom-

ing events tab) or using sign-up sheets in

the narthex .

Help Needed for Set Up on May 6

This year’s Parish Wide Set Up of Neill

Hall Tag Sale will take place on Saturday,

May 6, from 10 to 11 a.m. We are seeking

volunteers to help move boxes! Typically

we do this after the services on Sunday, but

do not want to interfere with Pastor

Lynne’s farewell coffee hour. Please con-

sider coming for that hour to help.

Bake for Bake Sale Table

Please consider baking some goodies for

the fair’s popular bake sale table! Cookies,

cakes, coffee cakes, muffins, pies, breads,

bars and other treats are always in de-

mand. Please label your baked goods and

note whether or not they contain nuts.

Best times to deliver your baked goods

are up until 6 p.m. on Friday, May 12, or

by 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13.

Professional Kitchen for Bakers’

Use

Dotti Cannon of BROWN SUGAR CA-

TERING has offered her licensed kitchen

space to any May Fair bakers. We will

meet the morning of May 11 and have a

fun time of fellowship and food prep. If

you’re interested, speak with Beth Bick-

ley.

Volunteers Needed Day of Fair!

We are seeking volunteers in the follow-

ing areas on the day of the fair, May 13.

Set-Up @ 7 a.m. – A group is needed to

set up tables outside and move books,

plants, grill and kids/sports booths.

Making Sales – Please consider helping

at a booth this year! We are especially in

need of sales people at the Tag Sale in

26th Annual May Fair Needs You! Neill Hall and the Kids/Sports booth

outside. Even an hour can help!

Clean-Up @ 2 p.m. – A group of pa-

rishioners is needed to help the Boy

Scout Troop break down tables and re-

pack boxes. After a long day it is helpful

to have fresh legs to help!

Attention Students!

These volunteer opportunities are great

options for students who need to com-

plete community service hours. Please

see Valerie or Sarah to have necessary

forms filled out and signed!

NEW: Sneak Peak for Volunteers!

This year on the Friday before the fair

(May 12) from 5 to 7 p.m. we are holding

a sneak peek and early shopping at the

Tag Sale portion of the May Fair. We

will have a cashier on hand and any

worker is welcome to stop by and get the

early bargains! It is our small way of

saying “thank you” for your support and

hard work.

Church School Observes Earth Day On Sunday, April 23, St. Mary’s Youth

Group and Church School took part in an

Earth Day Clean-Up Project.

The young people participated in pulling

weeds, trimming shrubs, raking and

planting in the gardens in front of the

Williams Building, the building housing

the parish office.

V o l u m e 9 , N u m b er 5

By Deacon Emeritus Karen Fedorchak

May is Mental Health Awareness Month,

and once again St. Mary’s will have a

Virtual Walk Team to support the NAMI-

CT (National Alliance on Mental Illness

Connecticut Chapter) Walk 2017.

NAMI’s goals are to educate, support and

advocate for the mentally ill.

The walk will be held in Bushnell Park on

May 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donations

from the walk will help support pro-

grams for the mentally ill, their families,

relatives and the public.

Donations Invited

On May 21 at the 9 a.m. service, St.

Mary’s will have a Collection Sunday. All

cash and checks designated for the

Page 3

Show Support During Mental Health Awareness Month

NAMI Walk will go to NAMI-CT. Dona-

tions can also be sent/delivered to the

church office throughout May.

Make checks payable to: NAMI CT

WALK 2017. On the advice line of the

check, write: For St. Mary’s Church

Team, Manchester.

May 13 Film Screening

NAMI Manchester and Center Congre-

gational Church are raising funds for

the walk by presenting a film titled

“Pack up Your Sorrows: A Story of Illness,

Hope & Transformation” on Saturday, May

13, at 7 p.m. at Center Congregational

Church. The film, about living well with

mental illness, includes conversations with

authors, neuroscientists, advocates and

teachers. It features singer and songwriter

Meg Hutchinson, who will be present and

answer questions. A reception will follow.

Admission is $10. To reserve your tickets,

call Center Congregational at

860.647.9941.

Questions? Call Deacon Emeritus Karen

Fedorchak at 860.649.5659.

By Donna Indomenico

All of us remember Charlie Brown and

his friends, especially little Linus carrying

his security blanket around with him.

That is the premise behind the Linus Pro-

ject coordinated by Jane Perrin last

month at St. Mary's. Women from our

parish and local communities came to-

Quilts for Comfort:

St. Mary’s Hosts Linus Project

gether to work on colorful, cheerful

quilts for children at Connecticut Chil-

dren's Medical Center and for other

children who need comfort, such as

those affected by natural disasters.

You can view the 62 quilts in Ander-

son Hall.

It was day of shared fellowship and

wonderful accom-

plishment. The

Linus Project is

scheduled once a

year and is held at

our church. You

might enjoy partici-

pating next spring.

From left, Jane Perrin, Eileen Christensen and

Roberta Howing participated in the Linus Project.

At left, putting finishing touches on Linus Project quilts, are (L-R) Donna

Indomenico, Rita Brown, Jane Perrin, Elaine Reynolds, Miriam Gustow,

Ruth McElraevy and Pat Hancock.

Photos courtesy of Andrea Burr

Visitors are always welcome!

Worship Schedule

41 Park Street Manchester, CT 06040

S t . M ar y ’s Episcopa l C hur ch

Phone: 860-649-4583 E-mail: sandy@stmarysct.org

God cooks; we share the feast!

Sundays

7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist*

8:40 a.m. Adult Forum

9:45 Godly Play and Church School

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist*

11:30 a.m. Rite 13/J2A

Tuesdays

7:00 p.m. Evening Prayer

Wednesdays

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Healing Prayer

*Please note exceptions: On May 7 and 21,

there will be ONLY ONE SERVICE, at 9

a.m., for special parish celebrations.

Parish Register Updates

Burials:

Brent Lee Cunningham, 4/8/17

Baptism:

Enzo Reece Kwame Sintim (son of Barbara Adu-Baffour

and John Sintim), 4/16/17

Easter 2017