A letter from the Wardens to the Parish:

July 8, 2014.

Dear Parishioners, past Parishioners and friends of St. John’s Church in Salisbury, CT, Joyfully, the Wardens and the Vestry of St. John’s announce the appointment of the Rev. David F. Sellery, to become our “Priest-in-Charge”, as of August 1, 2014. After in-depth deliberations, the Vestry asked the Diocese of Connecticut for a Priest-in-Charge rather than an interim priest, the difference being that after a three-year period, a Priest-in-Charge may become the permanent Rector. Fr. Sellery’s last parish was on Long Island. His experience in urban and suburban ministry is extensive. An impressive list of qualifications makes him highly suitable for our parish. His lovely wife, Jane Muir Sellery, is a family therapist, and they have two young sons, Robert and William, who will attend the Salisbury Central School.

Instead of having another supply minister for the services on July 27th, Fr. Sellery will preach on that Sunday at one service for all, at 10 a.m. Please join us for a rousing welcome! We invite you for a celebratory reception in the Memorial Garden after the service. (As Father Sellery is driving back and forth from Long Island on that day, the 8 a.m. service will be cancelled.)

Fr. Sellery’s curriculum vitae appears on Page 3 of this Parish Newsletter. A church-wide welcoming reception for the entire Sellery family will be held at a later date in September.

Sincerely yours,

Letter from the Wardens p. 1 Sunday school report p. 5 Feed your Neighbor p. 8 Introduction of The Rev. David F. Sellery to the Parish

p. 2 Poem by Bo Niles p. 6 Review of “Proof of Heaven” by Eben Alexander, M.D.

p. 9

Letter from The Rev. David F. Sellery p. 3 Louise Lindenmyer’s Haiti blog p. 6 Calendar p. 10 Thanks for Supply Clergy p. 4 Birthdays & Life in the Parish p. 8 Socks for “Soles” program p. 10 Thanks for garden beauty p. 4 Excerpt from Michael Pollan’s

“Second Nature” p. 11

THE PARISH NEWSLETTER St. John’s Church, Salisbury, Connecticut 06068

Gaile Binzen, Editor Lisa Richards, Layout Design July/August, 2014 Paul Bacon, Art Director

| 2 From the Vestry:

We are delighted to

introduce the Rev. David Sellery, who will become the Priest-in-Charge at St. John’s, starting with worship at the 10.00 am service on Sunday July 27th, 2014.

Fr. Sellery has had a distinguished career, beginning as Curate at St. Thomas’ Church, Fifth Avenue, New York from 1994 to 1999. During that time he also served as Chaplain to St. Thomas’ Choir School, the world-renowned choir of boy choristers. From there, he served as Priest-in-Charge at Saint Bartholomew's in White Plains, New York, and recently as Rector of St. Peter's By-the-Sea Episcopal Church on Long Island.

In parish work he has developed curricula for child and adult religious education, and has used film and television media to expand his audience. Fr. Sellery is the recipient of the Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Communicator Award of Excellence, and the Bronze Telly Award for his role as Executive Producer for Gate of Heaven and The Chance of a Lifetime, which aired on PBS.

Fr. Sellery has also excelled in using new media to increase outreach beyond church doors. His electronic media ministry reaches tens of thousands of readers weekly. He currently runs a website, “davidsellery.org,” through which he runs a blog, posts podcasts (Fr. Sellery Presents This Week’s Focus) and refers readers to his Twitter (@FrSellery) and Facebook accounts.

One of his core ministry programs while at St. Peter’s By-The-Sea was the establishment of an area Faith and Light ministry (an International interfaith ministry) to serve the spiritual, social and recreational needs of people and families who are coping with developmental disabilities. Fr. Sellery was instrumental in coordinating local resources to help young families fractured by the strain of constant care-

giving; a challenged young man deal with the loss of a parent; and siblings trying to understand and cope with disability in the family.

In addition to his significant parish work, Fr. Sellery served as the Director of Institutional Advancement for two of New York's premier not-for-profit organizations, focusing in the areas of community development and healthcare. While working in the areas of portfolio and investment management, Fr. Sellery continued his active ministry, while serving as visiting clergy to parishes in Connecticut and Long Island. He later returned to full-time parish work, where he brought enhanced administrative, communications and stewardship skills to his work.

Born in Norwood, MA, he was educated in public schools in Darien CT, Malvern PA, and Woodland Hills, CA. He majored in English Literature and received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1989; Masters of Divinity from General Theological Seminary in New York in 1992; and Certificate in Appreciative Transitional Ministry and Certificate in Appreciative Coaching via The Clergy Leadership Institute in 2014.

Fr. Sellery’s wife Jane Muir Sellery is a family therapist, a clergy search consultant, and doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at New York University. She and her husband and their two youngest boys (Robert, 8 and William, 5) will take up residence in Salisbury in August. We are truly blessed to have such a dynamic family come to join us at St. John’s and lead us forward on our mission to grow spiritually in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to reach out to others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Vestry of St. John’s Church,

Salisbury, Connecticut

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And the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me. I still live my human life, but it is a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 Dear Members and Friends of St. John’s Church: Jane and I are grateful for the confidence the Wardens and the Vestry have placed in us by your calling. All our visits and particularly last weekend have introduced us to a parish that is vibrant and confident in its mission and hopes for the future. We joyfully join in the St. John’s journey of faith in the confidence that only Christ’s love can give. I realize that there is always a natural caution created by the arrival of someone new and unknown. I hope to spend a great deal of my time listening to you. I want to know your stories – your joys, sorrows, hopes and fears -- as you are comfortable sharing them. I want to share mine with you, as you care to hear about them. I want to share with you the Good News of Jesus Christ as I live it. I want to learn and be blessed by your encounters with Christ. Whatever this next year holds for us all, I assure you that everything we do will be done together and will be guided by the love Christ promises to those who come together in his name. I pray that together: we find and worship God with a renewed depth and integrity; we become better stewards of both the great legacy and exciting potential of St. John’s; we welcome all who come through our doors –- and that they will be drawn through those doors by the example of the love we show to them and to each other. I again humbly thank the Rector, the Wardens and the Vestry for the opportunity to serve you. They represent St. John’s at our very dynamic best. And I pledge to repay their selfless hard work in kind. Above all, I thank you, my new brothers and sisters in Christ, for your warm welcome to the St. John’s family and for your kind invitation to journey together. To serve as your Priest-in-Charge will be a privilege, an honor and a profound responsibility. I take it on with all that I am and hope to become with your help and God’s grace. Wishing you a blessed summer, and I am looking forward to seeing you very soon, Faithfully yours in Christ’s love,

The Reverend David F. Sellery

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We are so grateful . . . The Vestry and the Parishioners of St. John’s would like to express our gratitude to all the kind

“supply” clergy who filled in at St. John’s while we were searching for an interim rector. Many were the requests for copies of their sermons, and great was their advice and comfort while we were feeling a little bit “lost in the wilderness.” We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

The Rev. Canon Lance Beizer

The Rev. Adam Greene The Rev. Sherry Hardwick-Thomas

The Rev. William Loring The Rev. William Lowe The Rev. David Owen The Rev. Peter Sipple The Rev. Heidi Truax

The Rev. E. Walton Zelley

(Drawing of garden by Paul Bacon)

A Garden is a Lovesome Thing . . .

Paul Bacon made this sketch in 2011, before the Memorial Garden became a reality; he was drawing from landscape designers’ plans. If you come to the garden (behind the Parish House) this Sunday to meet the Rev. and Mrs. David Sellery, you’ll see (through the crowd) how beautiful it is now – truly an oasis of peace in the middle of a busy space.

The Vestry would like you to know that we all have Susan Wood to thank for the garden’s

present wonderful and weedless beauty. Susan has been working there all summer, and you can see that she truly has two green thumbs. Thank you, Susan!

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Sunday School Report, June 2014

The final day for Sunday School this year came on Pentecost Sunday. Over the year many children have dropped in from time to time, but two children, Shane and Brooke Stempfle, have been committed participants and I would like to acknowledge their accomplishments at this time.

At the start of Epiphany Brooke Stempfle, working in collaboration with others, set out to design a

game for younger children called, “The Donkey’ s Journey.” This game is based on a children’s book of the same title which follows the life of a donkey who carries Mary, the baby Jesus, and eventually the young boy Jesus on his travels from Nazareth, to Jerusalem and Egypt and back again. One player moves the donkey, while another player moves the soldier who is searching for him.

Once this project was complete, Brooke, working in collaboration with others, set out to answer the question, “Who is St. John?” We discovered that there were three or four St. Johns who crop up in the New Testament, and that there are probably more questions than answers about the lives and actions of all these Johns. We created three paper “stained-glass” windows, one for St. John the Baptist, one for St. John the Evangelist and one for St. John, the Apostle, son of Zebedee and brother of James.

Shane Stempfle, working with others from time to time, set out in January to discover the

components and origin of the New Testament. We read about the Synoptic Gospels and St. John. We learned about the unknown Gospel, or The Book of Q, and the Gospel of St. Thomas, discovered in 1945. Then we followed the harrowing tale of Paul, his persecution of Jesus, his conversion, and his subsequent travels and letters, spreading the Christian faith and documenting the teaching of Jesus for generations to come. Shane recorded his findings on note cards and as answers to questions, which at some point he plans to use for a written or oral report.

Sunday School will begin again in the fall, for children ages four to fourteen. Where we will go

and what we will discover remains to be seen!

Garrett Richardson Church School Teacher

| 6 ANNUNCIATION I sit. I kneel. I pray. I read. Palm out or hands crossed I am haloed, demure in blue. By reputation, I spin and sew, Draw water from a well. A tall lily (or olive) is offered To me by the kneeling angel The hovering angel The angel who stands Solemn with great wings In an archway or door. A dove flies overhead. I find all this quite curious, I, A simple teenage girl , Ready to marry in a village Where even papyrus is rare. I read, they say. But where Would I find a book? A lecturn? A prie dieu? Where a bed draped in silk? When the angelic ambassador Told me what to expect, It is said I did not question Motive or method But simply bent my head Freely, meekly accepting

The engendering Spirit While singing a Magnificat In the language of the men Who killed my child - The language of the city That would translate him Into chapters and letters In an 'infallible' Book - While never acknowledging How I clung to the love Of home and dear husband, With a love that would outlast The lifetime of this boy Who grew up with us, Then left us—and died, To be re-imagined, As I have been, In painting upon painting, Word upon word. A poem by Bo Niles, sister of Wendy Thorne-Forsyth Bo has been concentrating on writing poetry, especially poems of faith, since her retirement. She and her husband, Bill, live in New York City.

Louise Lindenmyer’s latest blog from Haiti

Members of St. John’s have been supporting much needed medical services in Haiti since the time of Rev. Jim Hyde in the ‘Sixties and ‘Seventies. Louise Lindenmeyr and her health center in Anse-a-Pitres is our latest cause. Louise lives in Salisbury and sends blogs to www.llindenmeyr.blogspot.com whenever she visits Haiti. Here are some excerpts:

I returned to the Haitian/Dominican border a week ago - the first part of my month here involves teaching my colleagues at the health center in the little town of Anse-a-Pitres how to do cervical screening for cancer using a simple technique involving vinegar, a headlamp and cryotherapy for positives. This month we did 105 cervical screenings in 4 different towns, making our total count in the last year 575. Jeanne is now

| 7 in charge of continuing the screenings and teaching staff. Many thanks to the donors for this project. We will be bringing the trainings to the southeastern towns of Belle Anse and Thiotte in the next year.

This week I am doing three didactic

workshops for promoters, doctors and nurses and next week will be doing practical training with patients coming to the clinic for screening. Dr. Mary Gratch, a friend and OB/GYN from NYC is joining me to do a training on pelvic ultrasound at the same time. Cluster-teach Haitian style!! It has been an arduous job translating Spanish PowerPoint presentations (175 slides), courtesy of an American organization that does similar trainings in Central America called Grounds for Health, as well as other training materials into Kreyol with the help of my Haitian nurse, Jeanne. My search for an organization that does similar work to partner with has been in vain. Few non-profits access this far corner of SE Haiti, so the lone wolf continues to roam the hills . .

The three ring clinical circus I brought to

Sant Santè Anse-a-Pitres has packed up and headed out - I'm super pleased with how the trainings have gone, and relieved that they are over. I began last week with the didactic part of cervical screening, followed by 4 days of practical application. The nurses were engaged and are on their way to becoming proficient. Jeanne will supervise them in continued learning in my absence.

The biggest feature was the captivating performance of Dr Mary Gratch, who dedicated a week's precious vacation, away from St Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, to teach the docs and nurses here how to use the ultrasound machine that has been collecting a generous layer of red dust since it arrived here 3 years ago. No one had any clue how to use it. The word spread fast and the clinic has been packed with big bellied women for the last 4 days. Mary taught staff how to judge dates, head and placental position, moms could see the little baby's heart beating, with directions ricochetting around a hot, crammed room in three languages. She is a rockstar!! This can give the providers and families here a chance to do advance planning for

perinatal emergencies like breach, placenta previa, fetal non-viability, etc. Just as a note, the first two births I saw here before Mary came produced dead babies, for a variety of reasons, most being total lack of prenatal care.

The UN Peacekeepers who were living

next door to the clinic since the expulsion of Aristide in 2004 moved out about a year ago, so the land and the existing buildings have been lent to the clinic for the meantime. Problem is, there is no power there so the resident handymen have had to jerry rig a series of generators, solar invertors, twisting bare wires into ridiculous contortions and risking electrocution and the destruction of the fragile sonography unit. The machine is way tougher than we thought however, and behaved miraculously. None of this drama was prepared for before Mary and dozens of large women were waiting as 9:00, 10:00, 10:30 drifted by. Mary was a supa-troopa, Gras a bondye.

We have raised about a third of the $12,000 we need to finish the clinic, as we wait for 501 (c) 3 status, please write me at llindenmeyr@gmail.com to find out how you can make a tax-deductible donation now. Our new, improved website will be up and running in a few weeks - I'll be in touch. Our motto, created by the founder of the clinic, Fritz Regis (last guy on the left) is: LOVE PEOPLE!

The Hispañola Health Partners team is

meeting today in Pedernales to travel to Jacmel where we will further strengthen the collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Health for our community health center in the mountain region of Marjofre. Many of you have generously donated to this cause, thank-you, thank-you.

bye for now, Louise

Support for Louise’s clinics can be donated through St. John’s Church, Salisbury, CT 06068.

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JULY 5 Lillie Mikesell 14 Peggy Bolmer 17 Laurie Dunham 19 Wendy Forsyth 20 Stephanie Alvarez 22 Peter Miller 23 David Hannegan 24 John Blum

AUGUST 9 Bradley Wenrtz 14 Kurt Stampfle 17 Fa Liddell George Vincent 19 William Zeekas 20 Maria Felix Umana 23 Valarie Lenis 24 Lynette Vanderwarker 26 Sophia Harris Nancy Rathbun Annie Vanderwarker 30 Candice Barker Laura Werntz

LIFE IN THE PARISH

Jennifer Bolmer, daughter of Michael Bolmer, granddaughter of Peggy and Steve Bolmer, graduated from Northwestern University on June 19. She plays the violin and was a music major.

Patricia Maggio’s eldest grandchild, Isabella, of Brooklyn, was married on the most beautiful day in June – the 14th – at Long Branch in Millwood, Virginia, to Andrew Martell, of New Milford, Connecticut. They met at Georgetown University, from which both graduated in 2009.

Another granddaughter, Madeleine Rose Maggio, is returning from her first year in graduate school - the Jacques LeCoq School of International Theatre, in Paris. And yet one more – Alice Maggio – is director of BERKSHARES this summer – the local currency in Berkshire County that gives everyone a break on local products. So let’s all buy them!

Lisa and David Richards will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary August 12th. They will be celebrating at Mohegan Sun with Alan Jackson and with their family at Cape Cod. Richard Cortese (1949-2014) passed away on July 1st after a long illness. A memorial service was held at St. John’s on July 7th, 2014. He was a much loved and trusted member of the Vestry.

“May the souls of the departed rest in peace”

FEED YOUR NEIGHBOR EVERY WEEK – OWL’s (Older Women’s League) Kitchen has a new name- The Corner Food Pantry. Founded in 1990 and located on the first floor of St. Mary’s Church in Lakeville, for more than 20 years volunteers have been serving households in the tri-state area. Donations are needed every week to keep up with demand. Non-perishable food items are always needed, especially diapers and manufacturer coupons for them. Other items needed: pasta, sauce, canned tuna, cake mixes, fruit juices, ground coffee, sugar, flour, cooking oil, soups, canned meat and beans, crackers, ketchup and healthy breakfast cereals. Please leave them in the grocery cart in the narthex every week.

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Book Review by Gaile Binzen

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander, M.D. Simon & Schuster Paperback, 2012 . This is an extraordinary book. Extra-ordinary.

Many people have testified to having had Near Death Experiences, (NDE) and most of us have heard their stories – doctors particularly. But here we have a description of such an experience given by a leading American neurosurgeon – the last person you would expect to hear from on such a subject. On November 10, 2008, Dr. Eben Alexander went into a seven-day coma, caused by a very rare case of bacterial (e. coli) meningitis, which “attacks the outer surface of the brain” (everything that we use every day and night) “while leaving the deeper structures intact.” What he experienced while in this coma is described in this book, Proof of Heaven, and because of the length and depth of his coma, he “saw,” “heard,” or anyway “experienced” things that he can never forget, and that no one else has lived to tell – Dr. Alexander life having been saved by cutting edge medical treatment. “. . . in my case, the neocortex was out of the picture,” he says. “I was encountering the reality of a world of consciousness that existed completely free of the limitations of my physical brain.”(His italics.)

You would have to read the book to find out what he learned from this experience. He was spiritually lackadaisical before his illness, but here is what he says now: “The universe has no beginning or end, and God is entirely present within every particle of it. Much – in fact, most – of what people have had to say about God and

the higher spiritual worlds has involved bringing them down to our level, rather than elevating our perceptions up to theirs. We taint, with our insufficient descriptions, their truly awesome nature.”

This book was published two years ago, and the publicity it attracted has caused Dr. Alexander to give interviews and open a website. In one interview he was asked, “What is the main thing you hope people take away from reading your story?

“That we are far more than physical beings. Not only do we continue to exist after bodily death, but our awareness functions at a much higher level once it is free from the physical limitations of the brain. At the core of our existence is a love for us far grander than we can ever imagine: the infinite, unconditional love of a Divine Creator. That love offers us the power to heal ourselves, our species, our planet and our entire existence.”

This book was chosen by St. John’s Spiritual Paths Reading Group, to be read in May/June 2014. This group meets at Noble Horizons on a Thursday evening every few weeks, and is open to all – affiliated and non-affiliated – all are welcome to come and discuss the books we choose together. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, August 21, at 6.30 pm in the Cobble Living Room at Noble Horizons. Refreshments will be served. We will discuss The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman; Scribner, New York.

Letters to the editor of St. John’s Parish Newsletter are most welcome. Comments, Poems, Book Reviews, ect. Please send them on paper to

The Parish Office, St. John’s Church, Salisbury, CT 06068, or email sjsalisbury@sbcglobal.net

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CALENDAR

SERVICE SCHEDULE EVERY SUNDAY 8:00 a.m. – Eucharist Rite I 10:00 a.m. - Eucharist Rite II

6:00 -7:00 p.m. ~ ESL Class - Meets Every Monday

7:00 p.m. ~ Drumming Circle - Meets Every Tuesday 7:00 p.m. ~ Al-Anon - Meets Every Wednesday

5:00 p.m. ~ Puentes Class – Meets Every Thursday 6:00 p.m. ~ Al-Anon - Meets Every Friday 5:30 p.m. ~ AA - Meets Every Saturday

SOCKS FOR “SOLES” PROGRAM St. John’s opens its doors to Appalachian Trail hikers offering them clean socks, a clean T-shirt and a bible for their journey. Many hikers have left messages behind and here are a few to share:

“On our way to Maine, and this pocket bible will be well used. Very thoughtful” Thank you for having a heart for wanderers! My name is “Trouble” I am from Georgia on my way to Maine. Love in Christ! Nubbins – Thanks for being open!

RareBreed and Spike: Church music really touches the heart!! We would like to thank two parishioners for donating the Bibles and the T-Shirts. If you have slightly used T-Shirts that you would consider donating for our “Socks for Soles” program, we are in need. The A-T hikers greatly appreciate a clean T-shirt and it does not matter if the T-shirt has writing or a logo just as long as it is clean. Please drop off your donation to Lisa in the office. Thank you for your help.

Please remember St. John’s in your will.

| 11 Michael Pollan remembers the scents of his childhood:

Here we give you an excerpt from a book that would interest everyone who lives in the Northwest Corner – Second Nature: a Gardener’s Education, by Michael Pollan (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1991.) The author owns a house in Cornwall, and writes of the trials and tribulations – and the joys – of gardening in that hardscrabble region. Remember Cathedral Pines? His description of its passing is elegiac today he talks of his present strawberry patch: “. . . nothing like that heavily subsidized strawberry patch Jimmy Brancato and I planted on Long Island, which depended on my mother to buy up its surplus like an obliging Department of Agriculture.

Even now, a particularly fragrant strawberry will unexpectedly call that garden to mind, complete with a picture of Jimmy Brancato bent over his hoe. As everybody knows, it is not so much the eye that summons the garden of childhood, but the nose. What memoir of childhood doesn’t at some point turn on the scent of a sweet pea or a freshly cut lawn or boxwood hedge, to leap the fence of years? Here, I think, is the deepest spring of the past’s power in the garden: gardening is one of the very few arts

(cooking is another) to make use of the olfactory sense, to harness its uncanny knack for unleashing memory. Madeleines are everywhere in the garden (and surely Proust is its guardian spirit). For me the acrid chemical smell of Ortho Rose Dust still has the power to summon an August afternoon in my grandfather’s garden. Not terribly romantic, but there it is.”

St. John’s Episcopal Church P.O. Box 391 12 Main Street Salisbury, Connecticut 06068 Phone: 860-435-9290

The Mission of St. John’s Church To reveal through worship the presence of God To grow spiritually in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ To reach out to others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Readers: Please know that this Newsletter is also available by email. Let us know if you are interested sjepiscopal@gmail.com. It is also available on the St. John’s website www.stjohnssalisbury.org