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Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church
C R O S S R O A D S
Homecoming
Staff Directory
Rector
The Very Rev. Andy Jones [email protected]
Associate Priest
The Rev. Dorota Pruski [email protected]
Music Director
Ken Stancer [email protected]
Children’s Ministry
Ruth Kearley [email protected]
Nursery Coordinator
Kirsten Tatum
Treasurer
Mark Koch [email protected]
Parish Administrator
Dorie Turpin [email protected]
Program Year Schedule
Begins September 20 8:00 a.m. Said Eucharist
9:00 a.m.–Noon Nursery
9:30 a.m. Christian Formation
10:30 a.m. Choral Eucharist
11:30 a.m. Coffee Hour
Wednesday Morning
7:00 a.m. Said Eucharist
Homecoming 2015! Sunday, September 13
Said Eucharist at 8:00 a.m.
Choral Eucharist at 10:30 a.m.
Please join us in the Parish Hall
on September 13
between services and during coffee hour
to launch our program year,
view the plans that Groth Design
and Findorff Construction
have developed for us,
and celebrate many of our ministries
of worship, service, learning and fellowship.
Church School and Christian Formation
will resume on Sunday, September 20.
1833 Regent Street Madison, WI 53726
(608) 233-3249
www.standrews-madison.org
2
Follow Jesus, Into the Neighborhoods, Travel Lightly…
Last June these words became the unofficial theme of the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church
as we gathered in Salt Lake City Utah. Follow Jesus into the neighborhoods and discover that God is alive
and well beyond the walls of our church. We don’t go expecting to bring God to the people who have not
ventured through our doors. We go with a sense of curiosity and wonder, knowing that God is already there,
living, moving, breathing; and hoping to help celebrate with and embrace the people and the movement of
the Holy Spirit we find! We travel lightly, holding what we have to offer in hands that are open, not
grasping, with our palms upturned, one placed over the other, knowing that this gesture is one of offering
and receiving. We don’t go imposing our sense of the Holy, our tradition, or our practice but listening first
to the stories of the Holy that others have found and how it has shaped their individual and common lives.
We do all this because this is what Jesus did and what Jesus would have us do…
Follow Jesus, Into the Neighborhoods, Travel Lightly…
This is an exciting time to be an Episcopalian. In response to the call to follow Jesus into the neighborhoods
we elected The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, to be our next Presiding
Bishop. For many years Bishop Curry has been calling us to become part of the “Jesus Movement,” a
movement that continues to change the world.
It is remarkable that for the first time in the history of the Episcopal Church a Presiding Bishop was elected
on the first ballot. Bishop Curry was elected with more than twice the votes of the other three candidates
combined, garnering 121 of the 171 votes cast. Reports from Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, where the
Bishops were sequestered for the vote, are that many of our Bishops were in tears as they recognized the
power of the Holy Spirit at work and the historic mandate that has ushered Bishop Curry into office.
It is also significant as we commit ourselves to following Jesus into the neighborhoods that we have, for the
first time, called an African American to serve as our Presiding Bishop. A predominately white
denomination we have called, not a token, not a symbolic adornment to demonstrate our political
correctness, but a dynamic, challenging, and visionary leader to help us find our way, as part of the “Jesus
Movement” into neighborhoods where we have we have been conspicuously absent for a long time…
It is exactly Bishop Curry’s dynamism and his voice that have me so excited. In the Episcopal Church the
House of Bishop’s elects the Presiding Bishop. Their selection then comes to the House of Deputies for
confirmation. Part of the intrigue leading up to the election, at least for me, centered around the spectrum of
candidates from which the Bishops would be making their choice. Would they call the academic, the
traditionalist, the administrator…
I am excited that the strengths of the person they chose lie in his voice, his ability to construct and
communicate an attractive and compelling narrative, his ability to energize and unite a community around a
common vision. I am excited that the person the Bishops have called to lead the church for the next nine
years is a charismatic leader who is not afraid to proclaim the name of Jesus and who does so regularly, with
passion, and with conviction. I am excited because our Bishops have chosen a Presiding Bishop who will be
able to lead us into the neighborhoods, while calling us to travel lightly, as part of the Jesus Movement, the
movement we all join every time we renew our baptismal covenant.
This is indeed an exciting time to be an Episcopalian. But we need to remember and take to heart something
our own Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Steven Miller, said at the post General Convention gathering at St Dunstan’s.
The excitement, the potential of this moment will come to naught if we don’t join the movement! We
should be excited. But we should be excited at the possibilities, the opportunities, that this moment holds
open for us: the Diocese of Milwaukee, the Episcopal Community in Madison Wisconsin, Saint Andrew’s
Episcopal Church, and all of us, followers in the Jesus Movement!
3
As we begin another program year at Saint Andrew’s, not insignificantly the first program year of our
second century, we will be looking for ways to follow Jesus into the neighborhood looking for expressions,
manifestations, and incarnations of the Holy. We will be looking for ways to grow and expand our vision of
community. We will be looking for ways to offer ourselves, with our hands open and our palms turned up,
to the people around us, knowing that the giving and receiving that this simple act engenders may very well
change us in profound ways that we have yet to imagine…
“Imagine.” That’s a great word with which to end. It is an exciting time to be an
Episcopalian. It is an exciting time to be a member of Saint Andrew’s. The Holy
Spirit is calling us to Follow Jesus, Into the Neighborhoods, and to Travel Lightly.
We should all pray that the Holy Spirit will “imagine” through us!
Peace,
Andy+
“First, We Give of Ourselves: Giving in Gratitude”
Dear Friends in Christ,
How do you live and give in gratitude? This will be the theme of this year’s Annual Giving Stewardship
Campaign. How we live and give in gratitude is a topic of discipleship and stewardship. It is a question that
implores us to pause amidst our busy lives to consider how richly God has blessed us, how we receive these
gifts, and to what extent gratitude guides our living and giving.
As we receive and share the gifts of God in gratitude, we do so in the spirit of our theme verse from 2nd
Corinthians 8:5 where the Apostle Paul describes the grateful giving of the Macedonian Christians as “giving
of themselves.” “Giving in Gratitude” is the delight of sharing what God has first given us.
There are two principles that lie at the core of our giving. The first is that our giving in gratitude is a joyful
and faithful response to God’s giving of Jesus Christ and the grace-filled life that comes through Him. The
second is that the ministries of our congregation can remain bold and vibrant in sharing God’s grace by what
we do in Christ’s name for our members and community.
This fall, each one of our members is being asked to prayerfully consider how they can give in gratitude. In
your prayerful contemplation, you are invited to consider sharing a tithe (10% of one’s income) as your
grateful response to God’s giving. If you are not currently able to tithe, prayerfully consider increasing your
present giving by 20%. In other words, if you are presently giving $50 per week, a 20% growth would be
$60 per week. We are praying that the overall growth in giving this fall would be an increase between 15-
20%. Just think of what we could do if we were blessed in this way!
Please put two important dates on your calendar. Saint Francis’ Day, October 4th, is the day we plan to begin
this year’s Stewardship Campaign. Please plan to be in worship as we celebrate God’s blessings with our
expressions of gratitude. And please plan to attend the Sunday Forum in the Parish Hall from 9:30 – 10:45 as
we explore how to keep our ministries bold and vibrant in the coming year. The second date is “Celebration
and Commitment Sunday” when we will offer our gifts of gratitude to God on All Saints’ Day, Sunday
November 1st. Over these next few weeks, please enter into a time of prayer considering how you can give
of yourself, give in gratitude, and grow in sharing your gifts in response to God’s own giving, especially
God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and His life-giving love for each of us.
In Gratitude,
Fr. Andy Mother Dorota Sara Siegmann
Rector Associate Priest Stewardship Chair
4
Entertaining Angels
Hospitality has a look to it, and sometimes it looks like a toaster. A
few years ago, I was in Myanmar (Burma) with several seminary
classmates. We traveled all over southern Myanmar and also to
Thailand for four weeks, meeting leaders in the Anglican church as
well as NGO leaders working for the safety, health, and well-being
of Myanmar’s vulnerable ethnic minority groups.
One of our visits was to the diocese of Hpa’an in southeastern
Myanmar. [As an aside, the 7-hour bus ride to Hpa’an is a story in
and of itself. Ask me about it later if you’re curious.] As soon as
we arrived, we went to the diocesan compound where we were
greeted by the bishop, his wife, and a large group of lay and clergy
members of the diocese. We were in the middle of introductory presentations when I started to feel ill. As is
typically the case when a traveler encounters bacteria her body does not know how to fight, I spiraled into
misery pretty quickly. I was given a ride back to my room immediately and didn’t leave it for another day
and a half.
The Burmese people are some of the most hospitable, generous people I have ever met, so from the moment
I left the diocesan compound that evening, a group of women began trying to send all kinds of food to me
through my classmates. Knowing food was the last thing I wanted or needed, a friend of mine tried her best
to redirect the women’s persistent efforts, and she refused their food offers as much as possible.
Finally, however, I began feeling better enough to be able to keep down plain, dry toast. My friend
communicated this good news to the women, who, as it turns out, were even more persistent than my friend
had realized. Less than an hour later my friend found herself at my door, laughing as she handed me a bag of
sliced white bread and an old Philips toaster still in its original packaging.
Like I said, sometimes, hospitality looks like a toaster.
What has hospitality looked like for you? How have you been overwhelmed by the care and generosity of
someone whose goal was simply to make you feel comfortable and at home?
And who has shown you hospitality in a church, perhaps even at St. Andrew’s? I would venture to guess that
those of us who remain connected to a faith community do so in part because someone, somewhere along
the way, made us feel welcome. Someone made us feel at home in church.
Living in a college town, we are used to the revolving door that brings people into the city and sends them
back out again. Whenever folks walk through our red doors, we can do our part to ensure that for however
long or short our guests are with us, they feel comfortable and at home. Hospitality can look like many
things: wearing a name tag, introducing yourself, helping newcomers navigate our liturgy, inviting them to
join you downstairs for coffee hour, connecting them to other members of our community, and remembering
someone’s name. And if they seem a little under the weather, you could always try giving them a toaster.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:1)
With love,
Dorota+
5
Library Corner: Book Recommendations from the
shelves of the St. Andrew’s Parish Hall library
On the “New Arrivals” shelf of our library are six copies of a book we have been
blessed to own since this past winter, The Saint Helena Breviary. This beautiful
breviary, or daily office liturgy book, was developed by the Order of Saint Helena, a
religious order for lay and ordained women in the Episcopal Church based in North
Augusta, South Carolina. The core values of the OSH include prayer, hospitality,
service, tradition, and innovation. These values are on full display in their breviary.
The Saint Helena Breviary began as a translation of the psalter from the Book of
Common Prayer. The OSH community chants the psalms as part of their worship,
and as frustration over the masculine language in the psalms grew, the community developed a translation of
the psalter that included non-gender specific language while maintaining the poetic and singable quality of
the psalms. The Saint Helena Psalter was accepted and published by Church Publishing in 2004, which led to
more innovation and excitement in the OSH community for how to faithfully blend Episcopal tradition with
expansive language and imagery.
What has emerged is a prayer book that is equally committed to tradition and innovation. The structure of the
liturgies and most of the prayers come from the Book of Common Prayer with adjustments made for
inclusive language. In certain antiphons and canticles, the community experimented with broader ways of
imaging God based on Scripture, the mystics, and the wisdom of other monastic traditions.
This breviary has been made public by the OSH as a gift to the church at large so that anyone can join in
these prayers. The Sisters intentionally chose language that is both traditional and new, expressing the
concerns of our time, and praising God, “Source of all being, Incarnate Word, and Holy Spirit.”
The Saint Helena Breviary is available for borrowing under the same guidelines we use for all our library
materials. Simply sign out the book using the notebook to the right of the bookshelves, and return it within a
month so that others may enjoy it, too. If in the course of your time with this breviary you find that you need
some help learning to navigate its many prayers and seasonal selections, do not hesitate to ask Mother
Dorota or Father Andy for assistance.
Hard Sayings of the Bible and the BCP
Are there parts of the Bible that you don’t read because they are too difficult or you can’t make sense of
them? Perhaps you have a hard time reconciling those passages with the idea of a God who loves all of
God’s children unconditionally and without exception. Are there parts of our liturgy, the words in the Book
of Common Prayer that we say each week, where you mouth the words or quietly bite your tongue? If it feels
like this is speaking to you, take heart. We have all been there, and some of us still are! So what to do?
In good Episcopal fashion we will gather together to talk about it. We will meet at the Sunday Forum five
times over the course of the coming year to examine, interpret, disassemble and reassemble some of those
difficult passages. In the process we will also develop some tools we can use when we find ourselves
bumping up against the text.
If there is a particular Bible passage or part of the liturgy that you have always struggled with, we would
love to know about it. Email them to Mother Dorota or Father Andy and nominate them for discussion at one
of our five gatherings!
Join us at 9:30 in the Parish Hall on October 11th for our first “Hard Sayings” Study!
The Full Sunday Forum Schedule is available on the St Andrew’s web site at:
http://www.standrews-madison.org/exploring-your-faith.html
6
Senior Musings – What is Your Purpose?
I generally take my lunch to work and spend my few minutes of down time scanning the headlines of the
New York Times. Occasionally, I take the time to read articles of interest, including the Opinion Pages.
In May, David Brooks’ column caught my eye. In it, he asks “What is Your Purpose?” and encouraged
readers to answer the question, how they found their purpose and post the response on his blog.
Brook laments the decline of turning to moral leaders to answer this question, including public
theologians – Reinhold Niebuhr, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, John Dewey – and the subsequent
waning of public discussion about how to live life well. In short, he writes, “there are fewer places in
public where people are talking about the things that matter most.”
In reading Brooks’ follow-up posts, I was struck by his finding that a key common theme was that many
people seemed to find their purpose by striving for the “small, happy life.” As numerous writers
commented, their focus wasn’t on doing something big or amazing or being famous. Rather, they
focused on small, everyday opportunities to be kind, to be generous to have a “small font purpose.”
Thousands of individuals identified their purpose as simply to live life well and live it fully.
I found my purpose many years ago while working for a D.C.-based organization. A year or two after I
arrived, I was asked to staff an education committee on school readiness, i.e., helping ensure that young
children have the foundation and skills they need to succeed in school and, subsequently, in life. After
meeting with the co-chairs and developing a game plan, I was asked to prepare a briefing paper on what
the research and early childhood experts said about effective strategies for achieving the goal. After the
first week of work, I knew exactly why God led me to Washington, D.C. and have spent the last two
decades working to implement policies and interventions to better support healthy development in our
youngest citizens with a special focus on minorities and those in poverty. My second purpose, as I
indicated in my musings for Lent, is to live life well, to pursue the “small, happy life.” The new program year at St. Andrew’s offers another opportunity to think about our purpose. As Brooks
asked in his original column, “What is the purpose of my life? How do I find a moral compass so I can
tell right from wrong? What should I do day by day to feel fulfillment and deep joy?” I encourage you to
share your thoughts with family, friends and colleagues – to talk about the things that matter most. Or,
use the questions to create more intentional relationships with those you know but don’t know well. If
you would like or are so inclined, feel free to send me a note, [email protected]. Like Brooks,
I’ll summarize what I learn and share in the next Crossroads without attribution.
With God’s Grace and Joy,
Linda McCart
Your Senior Warden
Summer Schedule ends after Labor Day This Sunday is our last Sunday on our summer schedule. Beginning Sunday, September 13, our schedule
will return to the following:
8:00 a.m. Said Eucharist
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Nursery open
9:30 a.m. Christian Formation for all ages
(begins on Sunday, September 20)
10:30 a.m. Choral Eucharist
11:30 a.m. Coffee Hour
7
Safeguarding God’s Children
From the Children's Charter:
“To love and protect children, in the church and in the world,
especially children who are in danger.”
In the Episcopal Church and at Saint Andrew’s we are committed to making our church a safe place for
children and adults, where we can share and express the love of God to and for one another in
appropriate and life-giving ways….
It is an unfortunate truth that the church is a place that abusers target. We want to think the best of
everyone, to trust the people who come among us, and to assume that we are all here for the same
reasons. It is our desire to be open that makes us vulnerable. A parish that is vigilant, that is trained in
recognizing warning signs, and that has a clear process for screening volunteers and potential employees
is a much less attractive place for potential abusers.
The Diocese of Milwaukee uses a program that helps in the training for preventing and responding to
child sexual abuse in everyday life and in ministry. The training provides a basic understanding of the
dynamics of child sexual abuse, how to recognize signs that a child may have been abused, and what to
do if you have concerns about a person's behavior toward a child or youth, or if you suspect that a child
or youth has been molested. It also guides you through steps to prevent child sexual abuse in church and
other organizational settings.
In the Diocese of Milwaukee all Clergy, Lay Employees who work with or supervise children or adults,
members and officers of the Vestry, and all volunteers (including Church School Teachers and Youth
Leaders) who regularly work with children are required to complete the Safeguarding God’s Children
Training. That training is being offered September 19th at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church. If you are
among the folks who need to take this training, you should have already received an email from Ruth
Kearley or Mother Dorota.
The Diocese of Milwaukee also requires that we perform background checks on the folks in the
categories listed above. The diocese has engaged Intellicorp to provide those checks for its parishes.
This year we are going to ask everyone included in this list to fill out the simple paperwork that will
allow us to come into compliance with this important church policy.
Finally, no one wants to be afraid to share
appropriate love and affection with our children.
Establishing clear boundaries allows all of us to
interact with children without fear that our actions
will be misinterpreted. It also allows us to respond
to behaviors that are cause for concern by pointing
to commonly accepted norms. The following page
of Safe Church Procedures identifies these norms.
The Safe Church Procedures will be displayed in
all of our Church School and Youth Group
classrooms.
If you have any questions or concerns, please
contact Ruth, Mother Dorota, or Father Andy.
8
A Report on the Campus Development Project
On August 23rd the Vestry met for a special meeting at 11:00 am to
receive reports from the Construction Liaison Group: Mary
Hasting, Ray Sanna, Fr. Andy, Joe Clark of Groth Desgin Group,
and Luke Hutchins of Findorff Construction.
A description of the costs of deferred maintenance and three
options for development of our campus were presented.
The deferred maintenance list includes repointing and cleaning the
stone exterior of the existing building, replacement of the windows
in the education wing, replacement of both the shingled pitched
roof and the flat roof, replacing the boilers and upgrading the
heating plant, asbestos testing and abatement, electrical upgrades,
and adding ADA compliant hardware to our exterior doors. The
cost for this work comes to $407, 665.
With the reality established we looked at three design options.
The first option includes deferred maintenance and significant remodeling of the existing space but does not
include any additional square footage. This option would include a remodeled Parish Hall with new finishes
and dropped ceiling. It would include an expansion of the kitchen into what is now Ruth Kearley’s office. It
re divides the current Nursery into two rooms allowing the Worship Center classroom currently at the south
end of the second floor of the Education Wing to move downstairs. It would reconfigure the office space on
the second floor of the Education Wing to accommodate space for Ruth Kearley and Mother Dorota
allowing Ken Stancer to move his office into the “Hobbit Hole.” This option also accomplishes the deferred
maintenance and creates a new “monument” sign in front of the church. It does not improve the entrance to
the Education wing and, because there is no new square footage in this option, it does not allow us to install
a modern elevator. This cost for this option is $1,060,429.
The second option adds a small, 2,400 square foot, addition to the north end of the Education Wing,
accomplishes no remodeling of existing space, and does minimal deferred maintenance. This addition adds
space for a modern elevator and adds a handicap accessible restroom on the Parish Hall level. This option
does not replace the boilers or upgrade the heating plant. It leaves the current kitchen “as is.” It replaces the
shingled pitched roof but not the flat roof and it replaces the windows in the Education Wing. The cost for
this option is $1,284,202.
Both of these options fall within a budget that includes only the funds raised through our recent capital
campaign. Option One gets us refinished space, upgraded mechanicals, and a renovated kitchen but does not
improve accessibility through the addition of an elevator nor does it improve the “welcome” one experiences
entering the building through the Education Wing doors. Option Two gets us that improved sense of
“welcome” and the accessibility provided by a modern elevator positioned at a main entrance but it fails to
address many of our deferred maintenance needs and it does not upgrade the kitchen, a central component of
our hospitality ministries.
We also looked at a third option. This option adds a 3,000 square foot addition on the north end of the
Education Wing bringing the Ed Wing entrance out to the same plane as the front of the Nave. It includes
the elevator. It provides space to add an office for the Parish Administrator at the north end of the second
floor hall allowing the administrator to greet people when they enter the building. It adds a lobby area to the
both the Parish Hall and upper levels of the Education Wing. It adds an accessible restroom to the Nave
9
level of the building and two restrooms, one of the accessible, to the lower level. It remodels the Parish Hall
and adds the upgraded kitchen. It reconfigures the Nursery and the upstairs offices. And it replaces the
boilers, upgrades the heating plant, replaces the roofs, addresses the other deferred maintenance issues, and
adds a sprinkler system. There are economies of scale built in to this third option so that the cost for this
work is $1,900,000. This figure is $600,000 above what we raised in the Capital Campaign.
We began the meeting with a specific question:
“Should we explore the feasibility of borrowing funds – beyond what was raised in the Capital
Campaign – to help ensure that our space meets our needs as we move into our second century as
the Body of Christ at 1833 Regent Street?”
After an hour and forty five minutes of presentation and conversation as motion was made that the Vestry
explore the feasibility of borrowing funds at a level that would allow us to build option three. A clarifying
question was asked and the Vestry said that the motion did not include the possibility that we would explore
raising more than the money required to build option three effectively placing a ceiling on the debt we are
wiling to consider. The motion passed unanimously.
There are lots of questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks. What terms can we get from a
commercial lender? Can we borrow from the Diocese of Milwaukee and get better rates? How will we
make the interest payments that accrue in the period between the completion of the work and our final
payment on a loan? Will we seek to pay off the mortgage through a second capital campaign or by asking
that we increase our giving to the annual operating budget and paying off the loan as part of our operating
costs?
We will not be making a decision about borrowing to build until the Vestry meeting at the end of September.
Plans of building options will be presented at Homecoming on September 13th and the parish will have time
to review and offer feedback prior to and at that September 30th meeting. In the meantime, the conceptual
plans for option three are in the Rector’s office. Please stop in on Sunday morning and take a look.
These are exciting times for Saint Andrew’s. We have been working towards the remodeling, renovation,
and development of our campus for a long time. The finish line is in sight. Keep thinking, discerning and
praying, and "Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Peace,
Andy+
St Francis Day Celebration!
This year St. Francis Day falls on a Sunday!
Join us on October 4th as we celebrate stewardship of all creation.
We will use the propers assigned for St. Francis Day.
We will kick off our annual Stewardship Campaign with a
presentation during the Sunday Forum – 9:30 – 10:15a.m.
We gather in front of the church at 2:00 pm to bless our animal
friends!
We will have a banner on the front of the church inviting our neighbors to the blessing of the pets. Come
join us!
10
Dear Church Geek,
The other day someone asked me where I go to church. When I told
them St Andrew’s on Regent Street they said, “Oh yeah! That pretty
little church with the red doors!” That got me to thinking. It seems to
me that most of the Episcopal Churches I have been in have red
doors? Why is that? Is there some rule in the “Historical
Documents” section of the prayer book that says what color we can
paint our doors?
Signed,
Seeing Red
Dear Seeing,
While those Historical Documents (pages 864 – 878 of the BCP) do have a lot to say about the way we
worship and come together as the church they don’t say anything at all about the color of our doors. The
truth is that the red doors are a custom or tradition for which several explanations have been offered.
Some say that the red represents the blood that the Hebrew people smeared on their door lintels as a sign
to the angel of the Lord at the Passover. Others will tell you that it represents the blood of Christ
through which we all enter into worship. Some say that it represents the blood of the martyrs.
I found this answer, quoted without attribution, in several places. I like it because it combines elements
of all the other explanations…
“In the earlier days of the church it was understood that a soldier could not pursue an enemy that had
entered through the red doors of a church. The red doors were a symbol of refuge and sanctuary for all
people who entered. To all concerned the red on the doors signified the blood of Christ that had been
shed so that all who came to him could be saved. Anyone who passed through those doors was safe as
long as they stayed behind them.
Over time, Christian people began to see the red doors of the church as symbolizing not only physical
refuge and safety, but spiritual refuge as well. The blood of Jesus, and of the Church's martyrs, that the
red doors of the church symbolized, would protect you from evil, both physical and spiritual. The red
doors spoke to the world of holy ground that existed inside those doors, space that had been purged and
made clean by God's Holy Spirit. Today people choose to paint their church doors red for many of the
same reasons that churches did centuries ago.”
Signed,
Geeky
Dear Church Geek,
I have noticed that a lot of priests sign emails with a + after their name. Why do they do that?
Signed,
Nonplussed
BCP
11
Dear Nonplussed,
When someone signs their email to you with a +, consider yourself plussed! And by that I mean blessed!
That plus sign is a cross, and it is meant to serve as a sign of blessing. Signing one’s name with a cross
originated back when letters were a primary form of communication and took days to deliver. The cross
communicated that the letter was sent with the sender’s blessing.
In the Episcopal Church, our sacramental theology and ecclesiology identify the pronouncement of
God’s blessing as part of the priestly and episcopal vocations, so today the + is often used by bishops
and priests for the same reason: to communicate a blessing when signing their names. Bishops who use
the + put it before their name and priests who use it write it after their name. To learn more about why
the cross goes before a bishop’s name, you’ll have to ask the Church Expert; I’m just the geek!
One final note: The use of the + says nothing about one’s holiness or status. By virtue of our baptism we
are all equally members of the Body of Christ, each of us a sinner and a saint, regardless of ordained
status. Rather, the + is simply used by some priests and bishops as shorthand for “Blessings, Their
name.” And it saves them eight extra characters!
Blessings,
(See what I did there?)
The Church Geek
Outreach Chapel Team Did you know that on the first Tuesday of every month a dedicated group of Saint Andrew’s
parishioners goes to the Coventry Village Retirement Community to celebrate the Eucharist? Anywhere
from 40 – 65 residents come to their chapel to hear the word of God and to receive communion.
Fr. Al Burkert, The Rev. Leigh Vicens, and a group of committed, caring members of Saint Andrew’s
instituted this monthly service several years ago and it is still going strong.
We have parishioners who arrive early to visit and take communion to people who can’t get to the
chapel, who read and lead prayers during the service, who administer the paten and the chalice (serve the
bread and wine), who greet the residents as they arrive, and who play the piano for the service.
There are a lot of Episcopalians at Coventry Village, including our own Bob Spencer. Standing at the
door of the chapel as people leave the oft-repeated refrain is, “Thank you so much for coming. This
feels just like home!”
Are you free at 3:00 in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of the month? Would you like to help create
that sense of “home” for the faithful community at Coventry Village? Email Ginny Wolfe at
[email protected] We have a great team who will show you the ropes, get you ready, and help you
become a part of a remarkable community!
Homecoming Sunday, September 13 Welcome home! Sunday, September 13 is the day we return to our program year schedule and celebrate
the start of a new year. In addition to having ministry tables set up in the Parish Hall after each service,
this year we will also share schematic drawings from our architect for our campus development project.
Please mark your calendars and join us for this exciting day as we celebrate ministry and opportunities at
St. Andrew's.
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Not a parent?
Keep reading anyway!
This article is about our community at Saint Andrew's!
While rummaging around the Internet this spring, I encountered an
incredible document: the Children's Charter for the Church*. Adopted
by General Convention in 1997 after seven years of theological and
practical work, the Children's Charter is grounded in scripture and the
covenant we make with children as they enter the fullness of the Church
through baptism. The Charter is both a vision and a call to accountability
for what it means for the Church to care for children, to minister to
them, and to receive their gifts of ministry.
To receive children's gifts of ministry. What might that look like? One of the three charges under this
heading is this: To be a community where children and adults know one another by name, care about
one another, and work together to follow Jesus' teachings and do God's work. To have a child know
your name, care about you, and work side by side as a follower of Jesus is to receive the ministry of a
child.
Here is another way to express this charge: We receive you into the household of God. Confess the faith
of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood. These are the
words of welcome and invitation that we as the household of God extend to the newly baptized,
including children (BCP, p. 308). How does a household manage without knowing one other by name
and caring about one another? How well do we carry out the baptismal invitation to confess, proclaim
and share, as adults and children together?
We have four particular opportunities this program year to strengthen our household bonds and to work
together, children and adults, to follow Jesus' teachings and do God's work. As the full Saint Andrew's
community, we will • make Advent wreaths (Nov 22) • go caroling, with the option to meet Saint
Nicholas (Dec 6 afternoon) • prepare for Lent (Feb 7) • celebrate Pentecost (May 15). Look for details in
the Friday emails as the dates approach. As the household of God at 1833 Regent Street, let us practice
receiving the gifts of ministry from our children!
*The Children's Charter is just a few bullets on a sheet of paper, though it's still too long to reproduce in
the Crossroads. Look for a copy on the Children's Ministries bulletin board.
Ruth Kearley
Children's Ministries Coordinator
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
1833 Regent Street
Madison, WI 53726
(608) 729-4050
www.standrews-madison.org
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Let Them Wear Nametags!
What was your name? Your face looks familiar but I haven’t seen you all summer… Hi ummm…
ummm… Hi dear this is uhhh… well of course you remember… Well how are you doing anyway? It is
embarrassing when you have forgotten someone’s name. None of us like to find ourselves in that
situation. In fact, some people will avoid getting into a conversation with you if they can’t remember
your name. No one wants to be embarrassed in that way! And it is even worse if you are new to a
group. If you don’t know anyone’s name, or worse yet, if you know you met that person last week and
they told you their name and now you have forgotten… Well you just might not come back next week!
Nametags are an important part of building community. People are much more likely to talk to one
another when they can address a person by name. When we can call a person by name we are telling
them that they are important to us. Nametags are an easy way to facilitate learning each other’s names.
They help people who are new to enter into conversations with people, and they reassure us that we have
the right name when we have been out of town for the summer and just aren’t sure.
Nametags are kept on boards in the Parish Hall near the kitchen. There is a sign up sheet for new
nametags on the round table under the boards!
"Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body
the Church. The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble" (BCP p.
298).
The Book of Common Prayer sets aside four dates as particularly appropriate for
baptism:
All Saints Day –November 1, 2015
The Baptism of our Lord –January 10, 2016
The Great Vigil of Easter –March 26, 2016
The Day of Pentecost –May 15, 2016.
If you are thinking about being baptized or have a child to be baptized please be
in touch with the clergy. While the above dates are "particularly appropriate" we
understand that they may not work for every family. We can schedule baptisms
on other dates as well. Please contact Fr. Andy at [email protected]
or Mother Dorota at [email protected] if you would like to be
baptized or have a child to be baptized at St Andrew’s.
Come to the Table on Wednesday Morning! Wednesday, “Hump Day,” that mid week moment that marks the turning of the corner, the entrance into
the home stretch that leads to Friday… What better way to get over the “hump” than by sharing the
Eucharist in a close intimate setting and participating in fellowship and conversation with your parish
family? Every Wednesday we gather at 7:00 a.m. in a circle between the altar and the organ. We read
the scriptures assigned for the day. We engage in thoughtful conversation about their meaning and
relevance to our lives. We share the Eucharist, passing the bread and the wine around the circle and
feeding one another. Then we adjourn to the Rector’s Office for coffee and bagels, an opportunity to
continue the conversation about the readings and to share the stories of the week. Come join us!
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Christian Formation begins on September 20
Beginning Sunday, September 20, our building will abound with formation opportunities for all ages.
Kids from age 3 through 1st grade meet in the classroom next to the nursery and 2nd through 5th graders
meet in the classroom in the hallway behind the kitchen. Youth meet in the basement of the Newell
Building (the red brick building just east of the church). Adults meet in the Parish Hall for the adult
forum. These offerings run from 9:30 -10:15 a.m. Children through 5th grade also have the opportunity
for 15 minutes of formation through music at 9:15 in the sanctuary, as well as a snack at 10:15 prior to
the second Eucharist service. For more information, please contact Ruth Kearley (for children's
ministry), Mother Dorota (for youth ministry), or Father Andy (for adult formation).
New Adult Formation Opportunity
Composers of Note: Johann Sebastian Bach Join us for an exciting 3 week adult formation event in October. Music director Ken Stancer and choir
member Guy Stalnaker will co-moderate and lead a video, lecture and discussion series on the composer
Johann Sebastian Bach. The year 2015 marks the 330th anniversary of the birth of Bach in 1685 and the
265th anniversary of Bach’s death in 1750. As part of the series, Madison Bach expert, Trevor
Stephenson will be a featured guest. Trevor’s presentation will address the spirituality of Bach and his
music and will include performances of selected Preludes and Fugues from the “Well-Tempered
Clavier” performed by Trevor on the harpsichord. The DVD used for the course is “Bach and Friends”
in which world-class musicians reflect on the power and genius of Bach’s music and perform his
greatest masterpieces. Come and share your own love of or interest in Bach or to learn about him and
his music and contribute to the discussion around this musical genius, whose music for hundreds of
years has been a blessing to the church
Wednesdays; October 7, 14 and 21 - 7:00-8:30 p.m. Week 1: Introduction, DVD, discussion
Week 2: The Works of Bach
Special Presentation/Performance – Trevor Stephenson,
harpsichord
Week 3: Video recorded performances, discussion and reflection
Choral Evensong
Thursday, October 22, 2015 @ 7:00 p.m. Join us as we commemorate James.
James, The brother of the Lord, also called James the Just, because of his outstanding virtue.
He was also called James the Righteous, and James of Jerusalem.
Praise for the Lord’s own brother, James of Jerusalem;
he saw the risen Savior and placed his faith in him.
Presiding at the council that set the Gentiles free,
He welcomed them as kindred on equal terms to be.
(From The Hymnal 1982, number 232 - By all your saints still striving)
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Look for this green card in the pew rack and
place it in the offering plate if you give online.
2015-2016 Concert Series
Our 5th annual concert series continues with six performances planned. This year most of the
concerts will take place on Saturday afternoons at 3:00 p.m. We hope this day and time change
will allow more people to attend, appealing to families with children or for those for whom
driving in the evening is difficult. Please join us for one or more of the performances this season.
Saturday, October 10, 2015 – 3:00 p.m.
Music for Clarinet and Saxophone (UW-Platteville Professors of Music
Performing)
Saturday, November 14, 2015 – 3:00 p.m.
UW Milwaukee Institute of Chamber Music
Saturday, January 30, 2016 – 3:00 p.m.
Rand Moore Jazz Quartet w/voice
Saturday, March 5, 2016 – 3:00 p.m.
Recital: Organist Katherine Hanford (Lawrence University Professor of Organ)
Friday, April 22, 2016 – 7:30 p.m.
Bernard Zinck, UW Milwaukee Professor of Violin
John Chappel Stowe, UW Madison Professor of Organ and Harpsichord
Friday, May 13, 2016 – 7:30 p.m.
Naeim Rahmani, classical guitarist
(UW Milwaukee, Master of Music graduate in guitar performance)
Participation in liturgy, in ritual is important.
Giving online doesn’t mean that you can’t
participate in the ritual of the offertory.
Drop this card in the offering plate
to share in our corporate act of support
for community we have found
and the work that we do in this place. Do
Yo
u G
ive
On
lin
e
to S
up
po
rt t
he
Lif
e
an
d W
ork
of
Sa
int
An
dre
w’s
?
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The 168th
Annual Convention of the
Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee
A Eucharistic People:
a community of thanksgiving
“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart,
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1
This year we are holding a one-day convention, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., at St. John’s Northwestern
Military Academy in Delafield, WI. The morning will be devoted to worship in the Academy’s
beautiful and historic Noble Victory Memorial Chapel and a presentation focused on taking the
Church into the wider community. The afternoon will be the “business” session.
Our Diocesan Convention Deputation includes: Father Andy & Mother Dorota, Don Ferree,
Suzanne Jones, Henry Peters, and Beth Wright.
Visitors are welcome and all members of the Diocese are encouraged to attend all or part of the
convention. There is no charge for visitors to convention but all visitors are asked to register.
Breakfast and lunch are available: breakfast only - $10, Lunch only - $25, Breakfast and Lunch
- $20. Registration forms are available at the church or you may email our Parish
Administrator, Dorie Turpin, to add your name to the group registration
There will be a Pre-Convention Information Session at St Luke’s, Madison sometime in
September. We will publish that date as soon as it is available. In the meantime you should
keep your eyes on the Diocesan Web Site/Diocesan Convention Page at: http://www.diomil.org/
about-us/diocesan-convention/
The 2015 Annual Meeting
Will be held on Sunday, November 15th at 9:00 am
We will gather for the Eucharist at 8:00.
The Annual Meeting will begin at 9:00 in the Nave.
The Annual Meeting will adjourn at 10:15
We will reset and begin the second Eucharist of the day at 10:30
Childcare will be available from 8:45 am to 12:00 pm.
We are trying a new format for the Annual meeting this year. We are hoping that holding the meeting
between the services will make it easier for all members of the parish to participate. There will be a
program, including children’s entertainer David Landau and a healthy snack, for our Church School kids
in the Parish Hall from 9:00 until 10:15.
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Voting and Eligibility lists and nominating forms for Senior and Junior Warden, members of the Vestry,
the Endowment Committee, Convocation Representatives and Diocesan Convention Delegates have
now been posted on the web site at: http://www.standrews-madison.org/annual-meeting-2015.html, and
on tables in the Narthex, Parish Hall and next to the church office. If you would like a hard copy mailed
to you please call or email Dorie in the office!
The deadline for nominations is October 1st. Please prayerfully consider whether you or someone you
know might be called to one of these important ministries. If you would like to nominate someone other
than yourself please be sure that you have a conversation with them before you submit their name!
An Open Invitation to Join Foyers
at Saint Andrew’s 2015-2016
We would like to invite all adult members of St. Andrew's, and especially
newcomers, to participate in small, social gatherings, which we call FOYERS.
Most likely the word "foyers" brings to mind the entrance hall of a home where
guests are welcomed. At St. Andrew's we extend that concept of welcome to mean a group of about
seven or eight parishioners, both singles and couples, who meet in each other's homes for a simple meal
and the opportunity to get to know each other better. A foyer is simply a small community within the
larger Christian community that is St. Andrew's and that brings fellow Christians together for social
interaction.
The concept of foyers was established at Coventry Cathedral, England at the end of World War II, as
one aspect of a Christian movement to bring reconciliation back to a war-torn world. Foyers were
initiated at St. Andrew's in 1987.
Each fall, foyers are re-organized to "shuffle the deck", so that participants are introduced to a different
set of parishioners. Members take turns hosting a simple meal and opening their homes once during the
course of the academic year. Each meeting is limited to two hours and there is no agenda, just
conversation over a simple meal, preferably prepared in advance so that the hostess or host is not tied up
in the kitchen. Such a meal may consist of soup and sandwich, or a casserole, a salad, cookies and a
beverage. The foyers become a group of friends sharing interests and the happenings in their lives and
just enjoying being together.
We hope that you, too, will take the opportunity to join a foyer this year, and to discover, as others have
in the past, just who those people are that you greet on Sunday morning but don't really know. And after
joining a foyer, newcomers will quickly find that they have become "old-timers".
To sign-up send an e-mail to: [email protected], typing “Foyers 2015-16" in the subject line. Please
include phone number. If you are single and you would like to be partnered with someone specific,
include their name.
There is also a sign-up sheet downstairs in the Parish Hall. Continuing foyer members should sign up
again this year.
For more information please call Jim and Kathy Sosnouski at 274-2768.
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“I’ve been sitting on the bench for 35 years” Reflections and musings on being an organist and church musician
Well, here it is again – time to celebrate something I have been doing for a long time. Playing the organ, that
is. At our regular staff meetings here at the church we discuss what themes and articles will be included in
the various issues of the Crossroads. Several times, I have indicated my desire to provide a reflection on my
activity as an organist and church musician. Well, it was time to stop promising, and start writing. Recently
I was pondering how many years it has actually been that I have been involved in the business of church
music and organ playing. This year, 2015 concludes 35 years of playing the organ for worship services at
various churches in Wisconsin.
So what led me to the organ long ago, you may ask. I know in my heart that the “seed was planted” at St.
John’s Lutheran Church in Fox Lake, Wisconsin. This is the church where my father’s side of the family
had their roots and where I was baptized. Dad, Mom and my two sisters remained there until I was about 11
years old. Now, I will confess to you that while there, I was somewhat restless as a little boy attending
Sunday school and then the worship service which followed. My parents always sat near the back (the area
reserved for families with children) and these spaces were under the balcony. I really did not like sitting in
church under the balcony and at the back. However, every so often the Sunday school students learned a
hymn to be sung at a Sunday liturgy. When we sang, we did so in the balcony directed by the pastor and
accompanied by the 8 rank pipe organ. I remember marveling the first time (somewhere around age 7)
seeing the organ pipes at the back of the church. I had heard the organ many times, but now I got to see it. I
was hooked. I had never expressed how exciting this was for me; sitting in the balcony for the service and
seeing and hearing the organ. I do know that I wanted to be placed closer to the organist at the console so I
could see what she was doing. That never happened, but I remained intrigued by all of it.
When I was to begin confirmation classes (which met for 2 hours on Saturday mornings for two years) my
parents transferred to the Lutheran church in Randolph, Wisconsin which was much closer to our home. My
two sisters would follow, so mom was spared several driving miles getting us to class over the years. When
I was a sophomore in high school the church’s longtime organist was no longer able to play, so my mother
and another member of the church became co-organists. This led to mom getting a home organ so she could
practice more easily. Once that organ was in the home, I could barely stay away from it. I was a saxophone
player in school and could easily read notes in the treble clef, but had never taken any kind of keyboard
lessons. With my mom’s help learning bass clef pitches, I gradually became quite proficient at reading a
full score by learning and practicing hymns. I’ll never forgot how long it took me to learn the first hymn. I
eventually started taking piano lessons from my high school choral director and occasionally got to play a
hymn or prelude on the organ on a Sunday when mom was scheduled to play. Later, I became the pianist for
the Sunday school and accompanied them on selected Sunday liturgies. By the time I was a senior I played
organ for one service a month myself. Also, in my senior year I suggested to my pastor that our choir
(which only sang at Christmas and Easter) could be singing regularly. With some basic conducting lessons
given to me by my high school choral director, I was leading a weekly choir rehearsal. A decision to attend
college to become a music teacher was made. My piano teacher coached me on music theory and voice
along with piano and strongly encouraged me to study organ in college. Now, as a sheltered small town
farm boy I had no concept of what college organ study was, but I sure was excited to pursue it, not knowing
at the time what that would all mean for me.
During my first semester of college at UW Whitewater I substituted for one month at St. Luke’s Episcopal
Church in Whitewater. Recently, I had occasion to worship at St. Luke’s and I send regards to you all from
Father Oscar Rozo. Oscar, as many of you know became a priest out of the Milwaukee Diocese and some
of you know him. He played guitar a couple of times at St. Andrew’s several years ago. I eventually
landed a position as a regular organist in Whitewater at a Lutheran church where I served for 3 years.
19
This was followed by a position as choral and hand bell director and organist at Trinity Lutheran Church
in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
Following college I moved to Columbus, Wisconsin. While there, I was involved in choral and handbell
directing, and organ playing. I held positions in Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Catholic and
Methodist churches. I played for several weddings and funerals and in two churches I assisted in finding
a new organ. During the summers of 2000 and 2002 I had opportunity to substitute at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church in Watertown, Wisconsin. As you know, Bill Dunlop was placed there as part of his
deacon training and will continue now part time. The current priest, Mother Liz is a very good friend of
our Mother Dorota. Mthr. Liz is married to Oscar Rozo. While at St. Paul’s, I had the opportunity to
play a 21 rank historic Felgemaker tracker pipe organ, since destroyed by fire. The priest in charge at the
time was Fr. Charles Miller who was also a professor at the Nashotah House Seminary.
I became your music director and organist in August 2002, which directly followed my time at St.
Paul’s. I have been richly blessed, to be involved with the Episcopal Church and specifically to serve
here at St. Andrew’s. My heartfelt thanks for the support you have shown over these years. I am filled
with gratitude for the opportunity to play one of the finest organs in Madison and for 35 years of time
spent in church music leadership and organ playing. Solo Dei Gloria!
Sincerely,
Ken Stancer
Chancel Choir Sings at Church of the
Holy Spirit, Lake Forest Illinois
On Trinity Sunday, immediately after the 10:30 service, 11 members of the Chancel Choir--Paul and
Judith Burnham, Jeff Fillian, Marc Manley, John Mullen, Henry Peters, Guy Stalnaker, Scott, Beth and
Irene Wright, Karen Zethmayr and their Music Director, Ken Stancer, drove to Lake Forest to sing
Choral Evensong at the invitation of Dr. Don Horisberger, Organist/Choir Master of Church of the Holy
Spirit. Ken had invited Don to conduct 2 workshops for our choir, the first 2 years ago and most
recently in May, when he prepared us for our own Evensong on Ascension Day. We worked on many
aspects of singing and choral technique and the choir found his direction inspirational. The culmination
of this work was an invitation from Don to sing with his choir for Evensong on May 31st, followed by a
season ending "BratFest" where we enjoyed great fellowship with the CHS choir.
Dr. Horisberger is a nationally renowned organist and choral conductor. He directs a music program at
CHS that has been the subject of a book on excellence in church music, and the choir has sung a full
week of services at the English Cathedrals of Wells, Ely, Durham and Salisbury. He has also served as
the Associate Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus for over 20 years. To be invited to sing with
his choir is a great honor and recognition of the quality of Ken Stancer's direction and our choir's skill
and dedication.
At CHS the choir was given a tour of their magnificent facility and Nave, including their 50 rank
Harrison and Harrison organ. This organ builder is one of the world's finest, with instruments in King's
College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, Royal Festival Hall and cathedrals all over Great Britain.
Our choir will long cherish the memory of this evening as a high point of our singing and worship. To
sing some of the greatest music in the Anglican tradition with a top rank 40 voice choir and a
magnificent organ under a great conductor was nothing less than thrilling. When we finished with the
hymn "When in our music God is glorified", we had a new and powerful understanding of our calling to
be church musicians. (See photo next page)
Henry Peters
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Non-Profit Org
U.S. Postage
PAID
Madison, WI
Permit No. 1077
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church
1833 Regent Street
Madison, WI 53726
(608) 233-3249
www.standrews-madison.org
email: [email protected]
Saint Andrew’s Choir at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, Illinois.
