Happenings Throughout

..."A letter from the Senior Warden"...

Re*flec*tion; careful thought, especially the process of reconsidering previous actions, events or decisions. This is but one definition for the word reflection. It also in my opinion is what this parish as a whole needs to do. By the time this letter is published in the Banner, and read by members of the parish, Church of Our Saviour will have conducted a special meeting to discuss with the parish as a whole, the financial status of C.O.S. I have spoken to many people over the past few weeks, and as word of the “meeting” has got out, there are many different perspectives of its purpose and need. I have heard phrases like ‘pledge drive’, ‘beg-a-thon’ and the like. To me its purpose is as an awareness meeting. A meeting which should leave its attendees in a state of reflection, not in the course of a blame game. There will be different reactions as well. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to get caught up in any finger pointing. As an octogenarian once told me, ‘when you point the finger at someone, you still have three fingers pointing back at yourself’. If there was just one person or group responsible for the financial concern we are having at C.O.S., then this would be unique to this parish. But in fact it is church wide in many other traditions and denominations. There have been parish closings, parishes combining to make one viable parish. It is not just here at Church of Our Saviour.

In fact, despite the sad and unfortunate loss of some strong supporting and long standing members, the actual attendance numbers have increased during this past year. So why are we having the financial difficulties currently? Is it the economy? Maybe. But there have been tough economic times in other years and decades and parishes have flourished and grown despite what the economy is doing. Like myself, many of our new members have joined the C.O.S. family from other traditions. Other traditions where although there may be weekly giving to the church, it is not the situation where the budget is based on the weekly donation of the parishioners.

So yes, we should talk about pledging and what it means to this parish and its livelihood.

A pledge to Church of Our Saviour is a commitment to give a certain amount of money each year to help the church operate and grow in ministry and mission. These gifts are critically important to the life, work and ministry of Church of Our Saviour. Almost 100 percent of the money we spend comes from annual pledges and gifts – C.O.S. has no sizeable endowment to draw on for operating expenses, programs and ministries. So without a pledge commitment, we run the risk of a deficit budget, just like we have been and having it increase with each passing year.

Committing to a regular program of giving, and then fulfilling the commitment, is a type of spiritual discipline that many find helps them feel closer to God and more closely linked to our community. Many people also find pledging an important part of their own spiritual growth.

So let us all reflect on just how much Church of Our Saviour means to us.

Remember, it is in giving that we receive, and that all of us involved would not be, if we did not believe that this challenge for our church represents an opportunity for all of us to grow individually and spiritually as a strong parish family.

Warmly,

Randy King

Senior Warden

Christian Formation: Registration and Christian Ed. Information

Christian Formation (Church School) begins Registration Sunday, September 12^th. Classroom instruction will resume on September 19th in the basement of the Parish House.

Church School is held during the 10 a.m. service from September until June.

Preschool through grade 2 attend children’s chapel in the Parish Hall at 10:00am.

Children in grades 3 through High School have classroom instructions from 10:00 am to 10:30 am.

At 10:30 they will be lead by an Acolyte to the church to attend the church service.

First Sunday of the month is family Sunday, and there are no classes for grades 3 through High School. Preschool will have regular classroom time. Grades 1 an 2 will attend children’s Chapel and then be lead by an acolyte along with their teachers to the church service at 10:30 am.

Children’s sermons are preached during the service on the 1^st and 3^rd Sunday’s of the month

Commissioning of teachers will take place on September 12th at the 10:00 am service.

Our wonderfully talented and gracious teaching staffs who are returning for the academic year are as follows:

Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rita Besegai

Kelly King

Preschool & Kindergarten . . Robert Studley

1^st Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Stagliola

2^nd Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wanda Brides - Hays

3^rd and 4^th Grades . . . . . . . . . Cindy Charette

5^th and 6^th Grades . . . . . . . . . Lauren McQuillan

Jr. /Sr. High School . . . . . . . . Randy King, Kevin Lynn

The church Halloween Party will take place on October 23rd in the Parish Hall from 3:30pm to 5:00 pm.

Calling All Acolytes!

Acolyte Sign up Information: October 26, 2010, there will be an Acolyte training class after the 10 am service. Acolytes help the priest in the celebration and worship of God. It is a wonderful ministry of our youth as well as young adults. The Acolytes at COS help with all the services and special liturgies, gather several times for training and generally have fun as a group of youth ministers for the parish.

The program is open to all interested youth grades 4 through 12

and adults who would like to serve at regular worship and

special festivities.

A Sign-up Sheet is at the back of the Church.

September Birthdays

9/03 – Edward Hill 9/03 –Doreen Ann Lacombe 9/07 – Mary Compton

9/07 – Kevin OHara 9/12 – Annette Delano 9/13 – Mary Kate Lee

9/14 – Lucia Nash 9/15 Hunter Cooney 9/17 – Carlee-Sue Choate

9/19 – Fr. Dave Milam 9/21– Joseph Balliro 9/23– Gracie Hart Reed

9/24 – Virginia Cahoon 9/25 – Millard Cassady 9/26 – Linda Vasiladis

9/27 Amanda Faidell

October Birthdays

10/02 – Randy King 10/02 - Ursula Hill 10/06 – Keira McQuillan

10/10 – Linda Jo Kirschner 10/11 – Bradley Gardner 10/13 – Stephen Lee

10/15 – Wayne Besegai 10/16 – Matthew Stagliola 10/18 – Susan Remillard

10/19 Robert Letendre Jr. 10/24 – Katherine Lynn 10/26 – Joan Thomas

10/27 – Brian Brides 10/29 –Janice Sperry 10/31 – Craig DiGiorgi

The Prayer Chain

For those wishing to add names to the prayer list, please notify Natalie Atkins

or contact the Church office at 508.947.1900.

Cathy Carol Tracy Rachel Jane

Gary Marlene Loretta Bob Kate & Bill

Carl Manny Bill Sally Lisa & Acacia

Olga Ann Dave Chad Wilkinson Family

Ken Darrel Jeanne Jane Whittty Family

Christo Chris Paul Vincent Lisa & Eddie

Sarah Kurt Alice Gloria Bob & Barbara

Mary Elaine Alex Ginny Margaret & Bob

Mark Myrna Gerrald John Thomas Patrick

Joyce Stefanos Ken Jan John & Agnes Sissy

Theo Bobby Anna B Nick Barbara & Joe

Lori P. Jack C. Dick Elmore Clayton & Alice

Walter Paul Eleanor Sandy & Harold

We also pray for all who serve their county especially those in harm’s way. We remember especially Christopher and Kathy serving in Afghanistan: Peter and Mike who are in Iraq.

Blessing of the Pets – October 3^rd at the 10 a.m. Service

Calling all Pet owners! This year the Feast of St. Francis falls on Sunday. The Worship Committee would like to invite all pet owners to an outside service for the celebration of the Eucharist and a special Blessing of the Pets. The service will be at our regularly scheduled time of worship at 10 a.m. Outside service if the weather is good, if not please bring a stuff animal or picture of your pet.

The Choir

We are back to our schedule of regular services and programs. Regularly scheduled Choir rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, September 15th. The Treble Choir, which is open to children Kindergarten-8th Grade will rehearse from 6:45 pm-7:15 pm. The Chancel Choir, which is open to 9th Graders-Adult, will rehearse from 7:30 pm-8:30 pm.

The Treble Choir will sing on Family Sunday, which is the First Sunday of every month. They will sing for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 3rd at the 10 am Service.

The Chancel Choir sings at the 10 am Service on Sunday from September through June with warm-up beginning at 9:15 am. They will resume singing at the 10 am Services on September 12th. In addition to the Sunday Services, the Chancel Choir also sings for special services throughout the year.

Any member of the parish is welcome to join! If you have any questions, please see Beth Anne Young.

Nearly New Shop

As September approaches, the Nearly New Shop will be taking in consignments for the fall season filling the shop with “nearly new” clothing for infants, toddlers, boys, girls, teens, women and men. The shop receives new merchandise every week so the selection is always changing. Please consider coming into the Nearly New Shop for your back to school shopping for the kid’s and maybe something for yourself at reduced rates. We also have household items and accessories. The Nearly New Shop is open every Thursday from

10:00 am until 4:00 pm and from 7:00 pm 9:00 pm. Please share in our ministry by telling your friend’s, neighbors and coworkers!

Craft Fair Workshop Dates

We will be holding two craft fair workshop dates in the upcoming months.

Wednesday September 22^nd 6:30-8:00pm we will begin to make “skis” that will later be decorated with a seasonal swag also we will make the frames for the cemetery blankets.

Our second night will be October 20^th 6:30-8:00pm on this night we will finish any projects not completed and make some snow people. No experience is necessary and many hands make light work.

Sunday October 24^th following the 10am service we will have a craft fair meeting to firm up the luncheon menu and to set up the work schedule for the fair.

We will start to take donations for Grandma’s attic table starting the week of November14th. Please direct any questions concerning the fair to Pattie Stagliola 508-946-4708.

Please Help Our Raffle

This year at the craft fair we will be raffling off a “gift card tree”. This will be a small tree with many gift cards attached to it. I am looking for gift card donations for the tree. Several businesses and parishioners have generously donated already.

Once all the gift cards are received a list will be compiled with all the info to put on the raffle ticket. I will also accept a cash donation in which I will purchase a gift card with.

All donations need to be received by September 30^th so the raffle tickets can be made and distributed by October 15^th.

Gift cards and donation money can be sent to the office or put into the collection plate attention Pattie Stagliola.

Dear Janet Nichols Scholarship Committee & Church of Our Saviour:

August 2010

Thank you so much for the generous amount of money for the Scholarship.

The church has always been such a huge part of my life and through it all, I don’t know where I’d be without the close knit community of Church of our Saviour. Thank you all for everything especially for helping my family in some difficult times. God Bless.

Sincerely,

Rachel Gunning

Dear Father Dave & Parishioners,

Thanks so much for giving me a generous Scholarship! I truly appreciate your help and it will definitely assist in my pursuit to one day become a dermatologist! Also, thank you for my beautiful Bible and Prayer Shawl! Both of these will be coming with me to college in September.

Thanks again,

Lindsay Johnson

Take a look at our Outreach Programs……..

Spare Change Program

The Outreach Committee is proposing a new fundraising program called “Donate Your Spare Change”. Beginning the first Sunday in January of 2010, we are asking parishioners to drop your loose change into the specially designed lockbox located in the back of the Church for the period of January 2010 until May 2010. The purpose of this latest project is to raise funds so that the Outreach Committee can continue on with existing projects such as “Have a Heart for Seniors” and “Stock the Freezer” campaigns. We are also looking forward to building a budget so that we may fund some other projects that come our way. Outreach would like to cook meals ourselves to stock the freezer as our turnout has been low over the last year. This will enable us to make delicious and nutritious meals to anyone in the Parish that could use one.

Food Card Program Continues…..

During Lent, a suggestion was made that we could help others by trimming our own grocery list and menu planning and buying a grocery store gift card with the difference. The gift card would then be donated to COS to have on hand to share with anyone in our community who might need a little help. Since there was a good response to this idea, the Outreach Committee would like to extend this program beyond Lent and create a year-round opportunity for parishioners to help others in this way.

Gift Cards of any dollar amount can be brought to the parish office during regular business hours, dropped in the collection plate at any service, or given to Fr. Dave or any member of the Outreach Committee. Any requests for grocery cards will be, as always, kept confidential. In these difficult financial times, one can never be certain about not being on the receiving end of needing help. How grateful we are to have brothers and sisters in Christ who care about the well-being of others.

Thank you for your donations and continued support.

Gifted Hands Ministry

…. COS Prayer Shawl ministry is thriving! We have several participants sharing their time and talent to create these beautiful shawls. We all meet on Monday evenings in the parish hall from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm and share with each other our progress on our latest prayer shawl. While we have received many donations of yarn, it is quickly being used up faster than we can keep it on hand. If you are able, please consider donating to this wondrous mission either in the way of yarn or a monetary donation. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning how to knit or crochet shawls or a seasoned crafter, who is able to share in this ministry. If you have any questions, please contact Ursula Hill at (508)947-4903 or Julie Siderwicz at (508)923-3543.

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Prayer Shawl Request

The COS Gifted Hands Prayer Shawl Ministry wishes to reach out to all who are in need of blessings or prayers in our parish community. Some needs for blessing or comfort may be illness, bereavement, serving in the military, birth of a baby, graduation, anniversary, or a family challenge. If you wish to request a prayer shawl, please fill out this form and leave in the Parish Office or place it in the collection basket.

You may also contact Julie Siderwicz at 508-923-3543 or Ursula Hill at 508-947-4903.

Name of Recipient ________________________________

Your Name______________________________________

Your Phone Number _______________________________

Phone numbers are needed to get information for the delivery of the shawls. Thank you!

A RADICAL RECTOR (part 2)

The first rector of Church of Our Saviour, William Bayard Hale, was the driving force behind the construction of our church building and the growth of the early congregation. His tremendous self-confidence, tireless eloquence, and passionate vision did much to give direction and force to the hopes, commitment, and generosity of Mr. and Mrs. James Earl Peirce and the other members of the fledging Episcopal congregation forming in Middleboro in the 1890s. This article introduces a remarkable set of sermons preached by Rev. Hale at St. Paul’s Church in Boston on the Friday noons of Lent in 1896, and published under the title The New Obedience in 1897.

In the first sermon, “The Authority of Truth,” Hale sketches changes in values and intellectual outlook from ancient times to his own age, critiquing the modern obsession with innovation and the shallow self-indulgence of “The New Learning.” He urges instead (p. 14):

Let us hold up... something New, which is yet stern and royal, worthy to command large souls,--a New Obedience to the Truth of Almighty God.

This Truth is not an abstraction to be understood and discussed, but a command to be obeyed and acted on in every aspect of life, however uncomfortable the consequences (pp. 20-21):

We shall discover that the literal and heroic acceptance of Christ’s words as meant to be obeyed, will force us to profoundly modify the conduct of our individual lives, and to be prepared for far-reaching changes in society, which is now organized upon principles directly contrary to those proposed by Christ.

Hale challenges his hearers to imagine a world in which every person’s skills and knowledge are directed fully and obediently, without reservation, towards the will and kingdom of Christ, and vividly describes the urgent yearning and readiness of his times (p. 22):

The world is tumultuous with undefined hopes; murmurous with inarticulate expectancy. The vision upon men’s souls of an ideal society, is stirring them with divine discontent. That vision is of nothing else than of that for which Christ taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” and the New Obedience looks for nothing less than its peaceful and steadily more perfect realization as the fact becomes recognized that Jesus Christ was a social teacher, and that He gave literal, plain, explicit and exact directions for social conduct.

Each Friday for six weeks Hale fearlessly explored those “plain, explicit and exact directions for social conduct.” Watch for them in the next Banner!

Gretchen Umholtz, Parish Historian

Vestry Retreat

October 2nd from 9-2 there will be a joint Vestry Retreat with Christ Church of Swansea and Church of Our Saviour. Church of Our Saviour is the host. The guest speaker is still to be determined.

Adult Ed: Bible Study

Adult Ed. returns on Sept. 22nd with Bible Study at 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Washburn Library. We have bibles but you are encouraged to bring one that you are willing to take notes in. We will be studying the book of Genesis.

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