1

Newsletter

NOVEMber 2017

Saint Thomas

Episcopal Church 889 1st South Street

P.O. Box 1175

Clarkdale, AZ 86324

928-634-8593

saintthomas889@gmail.com

Vicar – The Rev. Grayce O’Neill Rowe

Senior Warden – Barbara Evans

Junior Warden – Jim Gemmill

Music - Judy Torigoe

Treasurer – Lee Worthen

Parish Administrator – Shirley R. Pogany

Bookkeeper – Jeremy Thurman

2

Therefore, since we are receiving a

kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us

be thankful, and so worship God

acceptably with reverence and awe.

(Hebrews 12:28)

3

In this Edition

News from our Vicar

Senior Warden’s Corner

ECW Happenings

Twice Blessed Thrift Store

A Word from our Treasurer

2017 Diocesan Convention Highlights

Did You Know

Notes from your Parish Administrator

Mission Statement of St. Thomas

Announcements

Serving on Sundays

October Celebrations

Prayer List

Photos

Mission Statement Ballot

4

News from our Vicar,

The Rev. Grayce O’Neill Rowe

As we near Thanksgiving Day, I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to live among you as your Vicar. This Newsletter is filled with information about the many activities in which this small, yet amazingly energetic congregation is engaged. As we each participate here at St. Thomas and as we gather with friends and family, please keep the words of this prayer for Thanksgiving Day in your hearts. Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.

5

Senior Warden’s Corner with

Barbara Evans Golly gee! Where has the time gone? We had our

usual slow summer and expected to ease into fall with a

somewhat larger congregation and a few fall events to

occur. Well, that didn’t exactly happen.

We started off in September with the Diocesan

Convention and jumped into October with the Blessing

of the Animals. We also started the process of

investigating the possibility of having a food bank here at

St. Thomas. This is still a work in progress but we will

keep you posted.

Now, we are in the throws of November and our

Mission Thanksgiving Food Drive has begun.

We must not forget the Fix the Floor Fundraiser

that is still going on. As Rev. Grayce stated in church, we

have been blessed with a marvelous benefactor. The Rev.

Deborah Gamble from Cincinnati, Ohio came to visit,

along with her daughter, on Sunday, October 15th . Both

were welcomed guests in church and at coffee hour. Rev.

Deborah spoke to Rev. Grayce and myself about wanting

to gift us monetarily with whatever the remaining

balance was for the funds needed to meet our goal of

getting the kitchen and bathroom floors in Parish Hall

replaced. What a wondrous blessing!! God is definitely

shining down on St. Thomas! So, we are currently in the

process of getting some bids for the job and when we

have a definite estimate, we will let Rev. Deborah know.

We are very grateful to our own St. Thomas folks who

have already given to the floor fund and at last count,

6

that total is $1557.16. This too is a wonderful gift to St.

Thomas!

As a longtime parishioner and now as your

Senior Warden, I am profoundly proud to be in your

company! ECW Happenings from

Barbara Evans, ECW Chair ECW is willing to work with the MOST/LOST

Event Planning Committee and to assist in whatever is

needed for all outreach projects.

We sent a congratulation card to Saint Paul’s

Episcopal Church in Tombstone, Arizona for reaching

their 135 year birthday. We included in the card our

apologies for not being able to join them in the

celebration but the distance is just too far to travel for

our older congregation.

We sent $50 to the Interfaith Ecumenical

Services Planning Committee to help pay for the pies

they will serve at their coffee house.

Our Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Old Town

Mission has begun so please remember to bring food to

be blessed before we give it away. We only have until the

19th of November, so keep the food donations coming.

Needed food items are displayed in the Narthex.

Twice Blessed Thrift Store News from

Store Manager, Barbara Evans The Thrift Store seems to be having more traffic

lately. Hopefully, this increase in more customers is due

to the new sign. We still need donations because even

our regular customers want to see new things for sale.

We would love to have more donations of jewelry, tools,

pocket knives, baseball collectible cards, and any and all

knick-knacks. Thank you for your continued support!

7

A Word from our Treasurer,

Lee Worthen 'Tis the Season Well, not yet The Season, though there’s a whole

lot of people out there who expect you to think so, and

want you to start doing something about it. Have you

noticed what’s showing up on grocery store shelves, the

seasonal changes in decor at any number of retail

chain/department stores, and even the menus of your

favorite restaurants? Why, just in recent weeks a

shopping mall in Phoenix made the news by having their

holiday decorations up and ready for all to Deck the

Halls, proclaiming that research shows that people love

shopping to Christmas music playing in the background,

no matter the time of the year.

I’m having a difficult time getting my head

around all of this Christmas advertising. As I write this,

Halloween is yet nine days away!!! And Thanksgiving?

Guess it’s not too early to set our sights on Black Friday

since every major retailer’s ads are ready and waiting for

you at BestBlackFriday.com, complete with lists of stores

and hours for those open on Thanksgiving Day.

So, to the point of this article. We’re amid a

season I’ll call, Not The Season, a time when we’re

inundated by incessant advertising and with nearly every

possible mail solicitation one might ever imagine

receiving, coming from every angle known to hijack

compassion, coerce generosity, induce and manipulate

feelings of guilt, and tug at our heartstrings. Everything

from feeding hungry children, animal shelters, toys,

8

natural resources and wildlife protection, diseases and

health, research for this or that, relief from one thing or

another, emergencies of whatever kind, and various

annual fund drives for museums, legacy initiatives,

alumni associations, and whatever else you might have

found, or will find in your mailbox through the end of

the year. Along with all of these comes promises of free

calendars, tote bags, certificates of appreciation, surveys

and official questionnaires to complete, free gift

vouchers, limited-time offers, and bonus gifts in the

form of windbreakers, hats, lapel pins, personalized

mailing labels and stickers of all manner. You might even

be offered U.S. pennies, nickels and dimes, a bible, and

even the American flag. The multiple mailings are as bad

as the total disregard for one’s being on the Do Not Call

list. Thus, my question: At this Not The Season time of

year, when the church is drawn to consider the topic of

financial stewardship, budgets, and questions about

operational cost and keeping the church doors open, how

does a vestry, bishop’s committee, finance committee, or

church treasurer ever stand a chance?

The answer from my experience: NOT EASILY!

Our Season, (St. Thomas’ season), is clearly over

shadowed and our task exacerbated by the activities of

the Not The Season. Fierce competition to say the least!

This is especially true when church members view

church as just another charitable organization. When it

is, the act of giving is void of the essence of one’s

Christian life – ALL of me!

What might make it easier to stand a chance?

I feel the answer is to consider church as an immediate

family member. Incorporate church into your family

traditions. Make a place for the church at your table, not

just on specific occasions such as, the empty chair for

Elijah at the Passover table, the Missing Man, Fallen

Soldier, or POW/MIA table, the extra place setting on

the holiday table for an unexpected guest or traveler, but

daily, as family.

9

With the church at the table as a family member,

as with any family member, you can expect help and

encouragement in keeping on track with your

commitment to pledge financial giving on a regular and

intentional basis to ultimately reach your family’s tithe

goals.

We make a living by what we get.

We make a life by what we give. Sir Winston Churchill

St. Thomas Delegates share highlights

from the 2017 Diocesan Convention 1. Alexa Hokanson

It’s hard to decide where to begin sharing the

emotion felt while attending the Diocesan convention

this year. The keynote speaker was Becca Stevens,

Founder of THISTLE FARMS in Nashville, TN. Her

message is simple: LOVE HEALS EVERY BODY.

Becca is an author, speaker, Episcopal priest,

social entrepreneur and president of Thistle Farms. It’s

the largest social enterprise in the US led by women

survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction. Becca

was recently named a 2016 CNN Hero. She attended the

University of the South and Vanderbilt Divinity School

and has been conferred 2 honorary doctorates. She is

married to Marcus Hummon, a Grammy-winning

songwriter and they have three sons.

After experiencing the death of her father (also a

priest) and subsequent child abuse when she was

5, Becca longed to open a sanctuary for survivors and

offering them a loving community. In 1997, five women

were offered hope and healing through sanctuary,

community and employment. Twenty years later, the

organization continues to welcome home women with

free residence that provide housing, medical care,

therapy and education for two years. Residents and

graduates earn income through one of four social

enterprises. The Global Market of Thistle Farms helps

10

employ more than 1,800 women worldwide, and the

national network has more than 40 sister communities.

Standing before the convention audience

barefoot, Becca shared her story about having visited

women in prison just across the street the night before.

She shared stories (some humorous) about some of the

women who work for Thistle Farms and how they came

to be part of her success. She thanked everyone for

purchasing the Thistle Farms products for sale that day:

soap, lotion, candles, oils and among other things her

book, Love Heals.

It was a profound introduction to an inspiring

ministry that coincides with the Prison Ministry of The

Episcopal Diocese of Arizona. I had no idea that Bishop

Kirk Smith had started it in 2014. I’d like to thank the

congregation of St Thomas for allowing me and others to

attend the convention on your behalf. In the words of

Becca Stevens, “The way love heals is simple and deep,

but it takes our whole lives to realize its power.”

2. Lee Worthen

As one of your delegates to the 57th Diocesan

Convention last month, I had the pleasure to present a

resolution for consideration, having been moved to do

so, after reading Canon Megan Traquair’s E-pistle

article, The Rain of Grace, and Fr. Donne Puckle’s, The

Reading of the Names, which was about the Centennial

of the Bisbee Deportation, a dark time in Arizona

history, marked on July 12, 2017. St. John’s Church in

Bisbee led a Service of Remembrance, where, in the

midst of prayers, Fr. Donne Puckle (former Vicar at St.

John's in 1967, when one did not talk about the

Deportation), with 12 members of the congregation read

out every one of the names of the miners deported that

day, over 900 read in alphabetical order, with regular

ringing of the church bell. Those names reflected the

multiple cultures and nationalities of the community:

Anglos, Latinos, Serbians, and many others. Not only

11

were these individuals deported, multiple members of

the same family were also. The hundreds of miners of

whom there were no names were remembered as well.

I felt the Service of Remembrance needed to be

put forth and held up before the diocese, not only to

recognize and commend St. John’s Church for taking

this action in marking the Centennial, but also to serve

as a reminder of how we all are called to live out, as well

as celebrate, our baptismal covenant of ministering to

people on the margins, and, that we, reflecting on the

multiple cultures and nationalities of the deported

miners, embrace the diversity of those we now minister

to, a hundred years later, and will into all time.

What is our baptismal covenant? In addition to

following the creed, it is to:

Continue in the apostles' teaching and

fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the

prayers;

Persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you

fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord;

Proclaim by word and example the Good News

of God in Christ;

Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your

neighbor as ourselves;

Strive for justice and peace among all people,

and respect the dignity of every human being,

with God's help!

3. Barbara Evans After spending all day Friday in workshops at the

convention, listening an amazing keynote speaker, having an

enjoyable dinner, sharing award time with many worthy people

and ending the day with dessert, music and dancing, we were

all ready for our Eucharistic experience in the presence of so

many.

What an experience!! As I have at past conventions,

enjoyed fully the Saturday morning church service, this

particular Saturday did not disapoint me. The regal procession

with such pomp and circumstance, with Bishop Smith leading

12

the way is hard to describe. I wanted to be a part of it. So many

clergy and staff from the Cathedral and the Diocesan clergy and

staff, wearing their extra special vestments made it all quite an

amazing sight.

Of course, there was also the music, beautifully lead

by a young man named Joel Joa. He is the Youth Director at St.

John the Baptist in Glendale. Joel is very active in the summer

camp programs at Chapel Rock. With Joel was a young woman,

a former camper at Chapel Rock and a recent high school

graduate from St. Augustime in Tempe. Also with Joel was a

gentleman from St. John the Baptist who just wanted to play

and sing with them. The fourth participant with the group was

Jimmy Diaz, who is the Director of the Praise Band at St. John

the Baptist. The Diocese sent an invitation to attend the Convention to Joel and Jimmy. We are so lucky they said yes!

They played music all through the Eucharist and sang at the

appropriate times. Watching the crowd, hundreds of loyal

Arizona Episcopalians, the Eucharistic words displayed on two

big screens was truly something heartfelt and moving. This was

not just another Sunday service Eucharist. For me, it was an

inner uplifting experience, a heartfelt meeting with God. The

loud, recurring responses from the crowd always moves me.

To top off the service, the sermon given by The Rev.

Becca Stevens, who was also the keynoted speaker, was so

inspiring and so fitting for the needs of our often violent world

that has so much dispair. It is more than one can imagine how

much Rev. Becca has done with the Thistle Farms mission to

aid women who were incarcerated in prisons.

There was an abundance outpowering of generosity at

the Convention. For example, many attendees donated to a

Chapel Rock Fund for Children of Incarserated Parents. This

fund will allow these children to attend camp at no cost to the

family.

The next step in the Eucharist was the receiving of the

Sacraments of our Lord. Participating in and watching the

unfolding of hundreds of everyday church going Episcopalians

walking to accept the wafer and the wine was a thing to behold!

The closing hymn, with hundreds of voices singing

was a feeling of both joy and sadness. I felt joy being a part of

such a beautiful experience and sadness that it had to end.

13

4. Convention Honor St. Paul’s Church in Tombstone was honored by the

Diocese of Arizona at the Convention for becoming the first

Distinguished Historic Mission. Several parishioners from St.

Paul’s were there to accept this recognition. They were dressed

in period costumes and passed out little black mustaches for all

to wear, transforming us into Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp

look-a-likes.

Did You Know……. What Episcopalians

Believe? Our beliefs are simple to some extent, but not

simplistic. We believe in God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of

God and in the Holy Spirit. For some, that’s not enough.

They want specifics and so, our list is small but powerful

and it is not negotiable.

*There is one God, who is a Trinity of Persons.

*The first person of the Trinity, traditionally, called the

“Father”, creator of all things at the beginning.

*Jesus Christ, the very nhuman Rabbi from 2000 years

ago, was and is the Son of God. He is the second person

in the Trinity and our Savior.

*The Holy Scriptures are the revealed word of God,

written by humanbeings under the inspiration and

guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of

the Trinity.

*The Bible contains all things necessary for salvation.

We are open and affirming, welcoming everyone.

We are all the Church together.

Barbara Evans, Senior Warden

A Brief note from your Parish

Administrator, Shirley R. Pogany There are couple of new and noteworthy items I

would like to share with you.

14

This month our Newsletter will be posted on our

website. You can find it at this web address: http://www.stthomas.azdiocese.org/

Having the Newsletter on our webiste is a

wonderful idea for many reasons. First, it saves the

church money in office expenses for paper and printer

ink because I won’t have to make so many copies now

that many of you can read the Newsletter on your

computers. Secondly, the Newsletter will have a much

wider audience. Anyone searching the internet for

churches in the Clarkdale area will come across our

website. These people will be able to see our worship

service schedules, upcoming events, the St. Thomas

Mission Statement, a brief history of the church, and of

course, the Newsletter.

Also this month, we are setting up a church-wide

email communication system in order to notify members

of the congregation about the needs of fellow

parishioners, and/or their friends and family members.

This might include a request for immidiate prayers or

some other pastoral need. We believe this system will

help us better support and care for one another. If you

would like to be included on the email list, please let

Beverly Baker know or call the church office as soon as

possible so that your name can be added to the email list.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to call the

church office.

Lastly, A Big Thank You to the Bishop’s

Committee for bringing both of these wonderful ideas to

my attention!

Mission Statement of St. Thomas

by Alexa Hokanson Early this year, members of the St Thomas

Bishop’s Committee attended a retreat for Lay Leaders at

Chapel Rock Camp in Prescott. There were workshops

and presentations given by various diocesan officials on

15

topics meant to help us better understand our

responsibilities and how to help the church manage

itself.

One of the presentations challenged us (and

every church attending) to stand up and recite, off the

top of our heads, our church’s Mission Statement.

Thankfully, with the help of modern technology, St

Thomas and others scrambled onto cell phones to

quickly look up websites to find mission statements.

When you get a minute, look on our website and see the

current statement for St Thomas. Although it’s a very

loving and inspiring statement, it is rather long. None of

us could recite it fully from memory.

The diocesan representatives at the retreat

demonstrated that their statement is brief and easy to

remember and short enough to imprint on a tee shirt.

You’ve seen slogans for your favorite restaurant or

hardware store on t-shirts so why not a mission

statement? Being able to recite the statement quickly

helps when we meet people in the community and

introduce them to the personality that is our church.

Certainly the statement should appear in our bulletins,

newsletters, correspondence, websites, social media

pages and email messages.

With that in mind, your Bishop’s Committee

recently gave thought to revising our statement to be

shorter but still very meaningful. We’ve come up with

four statements we like. Now we want the congregation

to decide which of the four will be St Thomas’ new

Mission Statement for 2018. The winner will be

announced at our annual meeting. The list of the four

statements to choose from are on the ballot forms on the

last page of this newsletter. They are also available in the

narthex. Please vote for your favorite and return your

ballot to the church office or to a member of the Bishop’s

Committee.

16

Announcements:

2017 Interfaith Community Thanksgiving

Worship – Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 330 Scenic

Drive, Clarkdale, on November 22nd at 7pm. All are

invited to attend this service. This year’s theme is

Praying for Peace for All People.

MOST – The Men of St. Thomas, (MOST), meet the 3rd

Thursday of each month at Randall’s at 8:30am. The

next meeting is November 16th.

MOST/LOST – The new MOST/LOST Outreach

Committee will meet on November 16th at 4pm. Anyone

interested in helping to plan special event at St. Thomas

is welcome to attend.

Bible Study – Thursdays at 10am in Parish Hall. We

are using the online series, The Wired Word, a weekly

study that invites us to link Scripture with the news of

the day. Please let Grayce or Beverly Baker know if you

are interested, or simply come by next Thursday. We

would love to have you join our study. Everyone is

Welcome!

17

Sunday Readings in October:

November 5, All Saints Sunday

Revelation 7:9-17 Psalm 34:1-10, 22

I John 3:1-3

Matthew 5:1-12

November 12, Proper 27

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

Psalm 78:1-7

I Thessalonis

Matthew 25:1-13

November 19, Proper 28

Judges 4:1-7

Psalm 123

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

Matthew 25:14-30

November 26

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Psalm 100

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

Serving on Sundays in November November 5:

Lector: Jeff Gerlach

Prayers of the People: Paula Burner

Acolytes: Bobby Lucas and TBA

Altar Guild: Marilyn Shreve

Coffee Hour: Sheila Boyle and Barbara Evans

Counters: Jim Gemmill and Lee Worthen

November 12:

Lector: Gordon Nichol

Prayers of the People: Sheila Boyle

18

Acolytes: Dinah Gemmill and Evan Flannery

Altar Guild: Marilyn Shreve

Coffee Hour: Dinah and Jim Gemmill

Counters: Barbara Evans and Carl Hadermann

November 19:

Lector: Jean Vickers

Prayers of the People: Gordon Nichol

Acolytes: Jean Vickers and Ian Flannery

Altar Guild: Marilyn Shreve

Coffee Hour: Jean Vickers and Bobby Lucas

Counters: Sheila Boyle and Jim Gemmill

November 26:

Lector: Sheila Boyle

Prayers of the People: Jean Vickers

Acolytes: Jean Vickers and Evan Flannery

Altar Guild: Marilyn Shreve

Coffee Hour: Tim and Celeste Flannery

Counters: Lee Worthen and Carl Hadermann

November Celebrations!

Jennifer Schauffler-Vircsik – November 1

Tim Lewish – November 17 Florence Schauffler – November 22

Jane Feinstein – November 29

19

Cary and Sarah Felix – November 25

Our Prayer List

Comfort and heal all in body, mind and spirit; give

them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring

them the joy of your salvation.

Kris Maly Stanfields Terry S. Clair Smith Walter Nelson Dakota Smith Robert Lawe Kitty Brennan Jenny Syner Skip Ruetter

Jay Burner

Leanne Worthen

Florence Schauffler

Jean Womack

Linda Walker

Carie Webb

Naomi Cornelson

Lois Wade

Beverly W. Baker

Jace Webster

Cindy Santagate

Lynda Gray

Kathern Brown

Ken Steidl

Jim Mann

Eric Hopper

Dorothy Conners

Joe Interlandi

Adrian Peterson

Zach

Wayne Fuller

Elaine Ross

Mary Jane Parke

Earl & Tina O’Shaughnessy

Dreena Erl & Family

Jodie Burnes

Dave Gilbert

Terri Nelson

Jake Baker

Sandy England

Linda Peterson

St. Mary’s of the Moonlight

Men and Women Serving in/for the Military – For protection while serving our country:

20

Jason Allred Michael Campbell Jacob Geier Zachary Geier Melissa Jones Jeremiah Juhlin Bob Jujawa Ben Jujawa Michael Shaklee Brandon Gemmill Robert Jones

Ann Henry Caleb Edgerton Rande Robinson Jesse Reeves Joshua Lawton Taylor Zale

Josh Edgerton

Mike Kellenbenz & Family

Buster Kellenbenz & Family

If you have an immediate Prayer Request, please contact Devon

Lewis at 928-210-8929 so she can call our Prayer Chain.

New Photos

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Blessing of the Animals

21

22

23

24

25

Pictures from the Arizona Diocesan Convention 2017

26

Commissioning of Eucharist Visitors,

Sunday, October 22, 2017

27

28

Have a Blessed

November

29

Mission Statement Ballot

Please help St Thomas chose its new mission

statement by circling the number of your

favorite from the list below. Vote for only one,

please.

1. Serving others in Christ’s Love for

another 100+ years.

2. Embracing all people in Christ Jesus.

3. Glorifying God through community

friendships.

4. Living His promise in service to others.

Detach this form and return to the church office

or to a member of the Bishop’s Committee.

Thank you!