From Father Don

Living our Calling

March 2016

In this edition...

Page 4-5

Swine Club serves and shows Page 3

Jack wins big Page 6

Cluster service

September 2016

Amy Boeck Administrative Assistant (937) 653-3497 nmvec@ctcn.net

Sally Johnson Chronicle Editor

(937) 653-3801 sljohn@ctcn.net

The Olympic Games displayed breathtaking accomplishments realized

through training and conditioning, relentless practice and periodic assessment.

Spiritual exercises and daily practice can, likewise, strengthen our efforts to live

the Christian message. To that end, Father Don offers suggestions for honing our

awareness of how personal interactions can be more fulfilling.

The Parade of the Night

The Olympics opened with an impressive procession. Father Don suggests

that each evening we form a mind’s eye procession---a parade of faces---of peo-

ple with whom we came in contact that day. As each image appears, ponder the

following:

1. Was I indifferent or patronizing?

2. Was I honest, or did I try to impress?

3. Was I outwardly friendly while harboring inner hostility?

4. Was I genuinely empathetic or superficial?

5. Was I kind; did I bring a moment of happiness?

6. Was I generous with my time; did I exemplify and

encourage a hopeful outlook?

Con’t on page 2

Father Don Duford Home phone 937-738-2216 Cell phone 248-227-9725

frduford@yahoo.com

2

Beatitudes revisited

It isn’t easy to share the private and deeply-personal. We may open the door a crack, but

keep the safety chain fastened. For further meditation on personal relationships, Father Don

adopted one of scripture’s most beautiful poetic forms to create Beatitudes for Those Who

Care.

Blessed are those who care and are not afraid to show it;

they will let people know they are loved.

Blessed are those who are gentle and patient;

they will help people to grow as the sun helps buds to blossom.

Blessed are those who have the ability to listen;

they will lighten many a burden.

Blessed are those who know when and how to let go;

they will know the joy of seeing people find themselves.

Blessed are those who, when nothing can be said or done, do not walk away but

remain to provide a comforting and supportive presence; they will help the suf-

ferer to bear the unbearable.

Blessed are those who are not afraid of sacrifice;

they will sing for joy on the day of the harvest.

Blessed are those who recognize their own need to receive graciously;

they will be able to give all the better.

Blessed are those who give without hope of return;

they will give people an experience of God.

Cool in the pool

Father Don, Rev. Nancy, Isaac Murray

Families and friends of Epiphany and the newly-christened Urbana Family Medicine and Pediatrics, for-

merly the Well-Child Clinic, didn’t break any Olympic records during the annual pool party, August 5, but

matched the vigor and enthusiasm of the Rio swimmers. Angela Murray reports that Father Don and Reverend

Nancy attended as well as Diane Kremer, Paddy Barr and daughter, Jackie, Angela and son, Isaac, Kathy from

Urbana Pediatrics and Ed Hardin, Epiphany’s Junior Warden and Outreach Coordinator. Photos by Angela

Paddy and Jackie Barr Isaac loves the waterfall

Pigs get a lot of bad press in the Bible. But, contemporary pork pro-

ducers like Jack Wing and the Fine Swine 4-H Club have created a new

porcine persona for this much maligned animal. One of Jack’s swine en-

tries in the Champaign County Fair was judged Grand Champion Overall

Market Barrow---the ultimate award in that category.

The handsome, pristinely-groomed winner was a 262-pound cross-

bred hog from Nott Showpigs Farm at Woodstock. Early on Jack pre-

dicted that if any of his hogs was going to take home the crown, it would

be this one. The vision of an educated eye.

Another of Jack’s entries won Reserve Grand Champion in the

County-Born-and-Raised-Barrow open class and he took third place in

Overall Junior Fair Market Barrow competition. Whew! But don’t turn

the page yet. Jack’s years of practice in the show ring paid off with a sec-

ond place in the Senior Showmanship category. What a way to end a 12-

year 4-H career!

As impressive as these achievements are, Jack put competition in perspective during an interview with Ur-

bana Citizen Reporter Joshua Keeran. Humbly acknowledging the honors, Jack said they must be shared with

his Dad, John Wing, who, in his time, raised and showed hogs and has, from the beginning, advised his son’s

endeavors. “We bonded over our shared passion,” Jack said, “and it has been our way of spending time to-

gether.” Jack ended his Citizen interview with an earned insight:

“It’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulders when you take on a project like this, but it teaches you a lot,

and it’s a great life lesson. You often find yourself out in the barn until midnight or 1 a.m., hoping praying eve-

rything will work out. You just have to trust that hard work pays off in the end like it did for me.”

Jack plans to enroll at Wilmington College this fall. His work ethic, his faith and his family’s steadfast love

and trust will serve him well.

3

Jack Wing soars to new heights at the Champaign County Fair

Land o’ Goshen

Glorious Goshen Park at Mechanicsburg is the site

of the Cluster’s annual fall picnic Sunday, September

25, under the vaulted roof of the shelter house/chapel

on the hill. The worship service will begin at 10 a.m.

with Father Don celebrating.

Cluster congregants’ favorite entrees, side dishes,

salads, breads and desserts will be eaten al fresco in the

midst of the lovingly tended Eden of Champaign

County. There is every amenity, abundant parking

space and assistance for those with limited mobility.

Let us savor the distinctive feel, fabric and fragrance of

the changing seasons; creation is never boring!

Jack and his Grand Champion

Market Barrow. Photo courtesy

of the Urbana Citizen

Prayers for Bessie Fox

We have received word that long-

time Our Saviour congregant and

beloved friend Bessie Fox suffered a

stroke August 29. She was taken by

Careflight to Miami Valley Hospital

in Dayton. Father Don went imme-

diately to see her and reports that,

while she was not able to speak, she

was alert and his handclasp was

very gently returned. Bessie is a

nonagenarian and needs all our

prayers for a full recovery.

Trading barn clothes for bright tees, eight members of the Fine Swine 4-H Club and their advisor Jodi

Compton, hosted the July Community Meal at Our Saviour.

They served fried chicken from Castle’s Country Restaurant, potato salad, stewed pears, brownies and

chocolate chip and no-bake cookies to about 45 guests. Cold beverages were provided by the church with

Hemisphere Coffee Roasters donating coffee as they do for every Community Meal at Our Saviour.

The full membership of the swine club numbers 17. They meet weekly at Our Saviour. Advisor Jodi and six

members of the 4-H club attend Our Saviour: Charlie and Cecilia Bradford, Will Boeck, Leo Compton Grace

Rozmus and Jack Wing. Jodi succeeds John Wing as club advisor.

Community meal hosted by Fine Swine 4-H club

4

Mallory Blakeman, left, and Morgan

Heizer welcome guest Amy Zook.

Kay Keller is served from the 4-H

buffet.

Community Meal regular Kay

Miller accepts chicken from

Charlie Bradford.

Club members: (l to r) Cecilia Bradford, Charlie Bradford, Leo Compton, Mallory Blakeman, Mor-

gan Heizer, Elizabeth Dumolt, community volunteer Cindy Jenkins, Elyse Wilson and Will Boeck

5

Jodi reports that all placed well in their respective classes at the Cham-

paign County Fair with Jack’s triumph setting a high standard for future pro-

jects and personal character. Amy Boeck disclosed a heartwarming post-fair

story. Swine Club member Morgan Heizer donated all the proceeds from the

sale of her pig to cancer treatment for a young girl in Mechanicsburg. Morgan

has richly blessed her friend while fulfilling the 4-H pledge of hearts to greater

loyalty and hands to larger service. The Holy Spirit is surely at work here.

Our Saviour members pose at the fair for photographer

Amy Boeck: (l to r) Leo Compton, Cecilia Bradford,

Grace Rozmus, Will Boeck and Charlie Bradford.

Will Boeck’s pig gets good care during

the fair.

Leo Compton models another

4-H project; the plaid per-

fectly matched at every seam.

It was a joy to see Jim and Karen Boian once again

occupying the fourth pew from the front on the Gospel

side of the sanctuary at Epiphany August 14. They

moved to Miamisburg earlier this year and it was a

treat to have them among us, if briefly. They said they

are “settled in” and beginning to feel at home in their

new neighborhood, not far from their daughters and

grandchildren. Jim confided that he’d been waiting

for some little nudge of confirmation that their deci-

sion to locate in this place was the right one. When

one of his neighbors turned out to be his third grade

teacher he said, “That’s it! We’re home.” May God

bless Jim and Karen and their new home and all who

find love and peace there.

At several Cluster events, Larry Rammel of Our

Saviour has entertained with mellow guitar and

vocal music. He doesn’t have to be asked, but just

turns up with a smile

and a song! Most

recently he surprised

organizers and

guests at Epiphany’s

August Community

Meal. It’s Larry’s

special gift and we

are indebted to him

for sharing it so

freely and so well.

A surprise visit Larry makes music

Joint service and luncheon

6

Returning to academia

Our Saviour hosted a Cluster worship service and potluck luncheon

July 31; an occasion for introductions and personal exchange with the

Dufords. Father Don celebrated at the 10 o’clock service assisted by lay

reader Amy Boeck, acolyte Leo Compton and ushers Bill and Jim

Westfall.

Organist Sam Zook and trumpeter Keith Ward collaborated on a glo-

rious opening voluntary, sensitive service music, hymn accompaniment

and a soaring postlude. It is the Cluster’s good fortune to have organists

Sam and Sharon McCall and serious young musicians like Keith Ward.

Mrs. Kay Duford received a warm welcome. She met Cluster mem-

bers with grace and charm, chic in a becoming coral and white ensemble.

A sumptuous buffet was arranged and served by members of Our Saviour.

Father Don adjourned the event with a blessing, bringing full circle a day

of prayer and praise for Father Don and Kay Duford and the life and min-

istries we share.

Address correction JP and Sam Rozmus are both attending Wright State University this

year, living on campus. Classes began August 29. JP is majoring in

anthropology. Sam is as yet undecided about his major, but it’s early

days. Both have demonstrated their capabilities in school, church,

home and community and will be a credit to Wright State.

The address for former Epiphany

congregant Janet Cartwright that

was published in the August issue

was missing her apartment number.

Here is the correct address:

Janet Cartwright

8160 Sunset Lane

Apt. 616

Sylvania, OH 43560

Clockwise from top right: Larry

Rammel introduces his grand-

daughter Alisa to the Dufords;

Our Saviour organist Sam Zook

and trumpeter Keith Ward relax

after their musical endeavors;

Marilyn and Vincent Foulk pack

up after the bountiful potluck;

Father Don does some table hop-

ping to meet guests from both

parishes.

Cross country Our Saviour’s Sophie Boeck will again lend her talents to the Mechan-

icsburg High School cross country team this fall, and will be joined by

her brother Will and cousin Grace Rozmus. The teams look to be

strong contenders. Sophie’s fifth place finish at the recent Urbana meet

gave the girls’ team a second. The Mechanicsburg Middle School boys’

team placed fifth. Good luck to all our Cluster athletes this fall!

In teaching is immortality

7

For young Christians

We honor our teachers and students beginning another academic year. Your lives will be forever joined.

Educator/ poet Jesse Stuart wrote, “Teachers live on through their students; in teaching is immortality.” It

was so for him.

In 1923, at age 16, Jesse Stuart left high school and earned 25 cents a day to help support his family. They

lived on a small, hillside farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Jesse kept studying on his own and in

another year, qualified for a “second class” teaching certificate. He was hired to teach the first eight grades in

a one-room school near his home.

Classes were held only a few months a year. Children were needed to work and there was no money to

buy coal to heat the school in winter. On a July morning, Jesse grasped the bell rope and the melodic call to

classes doubled back over itself through the hills and hollows.

About 35 pupils showed up. Some were older and bigger than Jesse. Only a few had worn, often coverless,

books. Most were barefoot, not by choice. Two of the tallest boys were 18 and still in the first grade.

Education was Jesse’s passion. With more training, he could have taught in a modern school for a living

wage. He well knew the poverty and deprivation of this hardscrabble life, but he loved the people and the

natural beauty of the mountains where he felt the kinship of all creation. It spelled opportunity---his opportu-

nity---to grow and to grow others.

It was tough going. Jesse heard 54 classes recite daily, made assignments, graded work, painted the

schoolhouse, kept the toilets sanitary and the yard clear of rubbish and glass splintered by vandals. He won a

brutal fist fight with a man determined to close the school.

Knowledge wasn’t all Jesse fought for. “There must, above all, be character education,” he said, and set an

unswerving example. Tested nearly beyond human endurance, Jesse filled the stunted minds with the ideas of

great men, great achievements, great possibilities and trained them to know and love the cycles of nature.

The story has a happy ending. Jesse never stopped learning and teaching---finally at colleges and universi-

ties around the world. His poetry and prose were published. He was named Poet Laureate of Kentucky. The

greatest struggles produce the greatest victories. And opportunity abides in the humblest circumstance. Here

is an excerpt from The Seasons of Jesse Stuart, an autobiography in poetry published posthumously by

Archer Editions Press.

A Poet Sings

I cannot sing tunes that great men have sung.

I cannot follow roads great men have gone,

I am not here to sing the songs they’ve sun,

I think I’m here to make a road of my own.

I shall go forth not knowing where I go,

I shall go forth and I shall go alone,

The road I’ll travel on is mud, I know,

But, it’s a road that I can call my own…

Jesse Hilton Stuart

1907-1976

Sept. 4 Regular service schedule, Rev. Donald Duford, presiding

Morning Prayer, Epiphany, 8 a.m.

Sept. 5 Labor Day

Sept. 11 Regular service schedule, Rev. Donald Duford, presiding

Patriot Day

Sept. 12 Vestry Meeting, Our Saviour, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 18 Regular service schedule, Rev. Donald Duford, presiding

Sept. 19 Bible Study, Cindy Heffner’s, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 Worship Committee Meeting, Our Saviour, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 21 Community Meal, Epiphany, 5-6:30 p.m.

Sept. 25 Cluster worship and picnic, Goshen Park, 10 a.m.

Sept. 26 Cluster Council Meeting, Epiphany, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 28 Community Meal, Our Saviour, 6 p.m.

Mark your calendars for September

THE CHRONICLE

A publication of the Northern Miami Valley Episcopal Cluster

230 Scioto St.

Urbana, OH 43078

1333 N. Main St.

Urbana, Ohio 43078

The Cluster at the fair

Attention Epiphany congregants! The combined breakfast of the Morning

Prayer group and those who worship at 11 a.m. has been rescheduled

for 9 a.m. Oct. 2. Bring a favorite breakfast food to share.