Matthew’s Musingscopleyparish.org/epistle/201412.pdf · a Halloween Haunted House to the...

The Epistle The Church of the Resurrection December 2014 - January 2015

1

The past few weeks have been

quite a whirlwind and this is a good

time to take stock of what we have

recently accomplished.

It hardly seems a month ago that

we began to set up the hall for our

Halloween Haunted House. I am

deeply grateful for Craig's leadership

and hard work as well as the many

volunteers who joined him in setting

up, enacting, and taking down the

Haunted Hall. This year we made a

distinct leap from the last year's set

up. We doubled the number of

rooms from three to six (all without

the room separators we removed for

Bingo), we had over a dozen volun-

teers who were children in the

neighborhood (we didn't even have

to go looking for them- they showed

up willingly because they remem-

bered the last year's Haunted Hall),

and already by Saturday evening we

exceeded our profits from the previ-

ous year. Many people commented

that our Haunted Hall was certainly

professional quality.

The next week was another signa-

ture event on our calendar. Many

thanks to Judy and Galib for their

work and investment in the Night at

the Races. With over 40 people partici-

pating, the evening was a grand suc-

cess. Again, I am grateful to all those

members who gave of their time set-

ting up and taking down this signature

event.

The visit of Canon Slater was a

positive and affirming time. He was

impressed with the warmth of the con-

gregation as well as our energy in wor-

ship and outreach. In addition, his

meeting with the vestry affirmed that I

as the priest in charge have developed

a strong and reliable working relation-

ship with the vestry, and that this coop-

eration is bringing forth important

ideas and projects that reach out into

the community. The canon left with

some advice: allow the new parish

leadership to develop and define their

own roles.

Touching on the change in parish

leadership, I want to thank the depart-

ing leaders as well as those who are

stepping in to new roles. Many thanks

to departing people's warden Christine

and I am grateful that Mary Lou is tak-

ing the warden position. Many thanks

to our departing vestry members:

Carol, Herb, and Nancy and congratu-

Continued on page 2

The monthly

Newsletter

of

Copley Parish,

located at

Bridge and

Anchor Drives

Joppatowne, MD

410-679-8700 (O)

443-610-8533 (C)

craigmatthew3801

@gmail.com

[email protected]

“A Bridge to the

Future, Anchored in the

Past”

Sunday Worship:

8 AM

Holy Eucharist

Said Service

10 AM

Choral Eucharist and

Sunday School

Tuesday Worship

7 PM

Office Hours:

Wednesday and Friday,

9 to noon

Epistle Editor

Dani Rice

Ricepaddy2@

comcast.net

410-679-4249

Deadline for

February

01/20/15

December 2014 - January 2015

The Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal)... where everybody is someone and Jesus is Lord

www.copleyparish.org

Matthew’s Musings

December 2014 - January 2015 The Church of the Resurrection The Epistle

2

Much of the workshop was spent sharing ideas

and stories about what creative purposes different

parishes came up with all over the Episcopal

Church. Parishes all over the country were opening

day care facilities for children and the elderly,

hosting exercise classes, renting out space for a

bed and breakfast or functions like quinceaneras,

and many more ideas. Imagine the pride I had

when Canon Slater bounded over to my table to

tell me that the head of the ECBF had glowingly

told the story of a parish she visited which offered

a Halloween Haunted House to the community. He

cheered our parish on since we were already doing

that.

The point is that we are doing that and much

more. With all the events and outreach we are do-

ing, I can tell you assuredly that we are on the

right track. We are doing what we ought to be do-

ing. Our leadership change will revitalize our par-

ish. Our events will give us greater financial secu-

rity and purpose for our hall. Projects like the

prayer shawl ministry, Reading Buddies, and St.

George's Food Pantry outreach are the backbone of

our mission: To feed the hungry, comfort the sor-

rowing, to instruct others. I am delighted to say

with confidence, that we are doing what we ought

to be doing and our next agenda is to consider how

to build on our successes and make new and crea-

tive inroads in serving and reaching out to the

communities of Joppa and Edgewood.

In your charity, please remember those who

need our prayers especially: Helen, Clara, Pat and

Karl, Herb and Barb, Louise, and Joann and Ed.

lations to Kathleen and Linda (our new parish regis-

trar). Incidentally, the remaining vestry members

are Pam, Diane, and Ken.

I am deeply grateful to Jim for his service for

going on 20 years as property warden. I am also

delighted to give him a break and allow Ronnie to

take the burden off Jim's shoulders. When she left,

the only piece of advice that Dr. J. insisted on was

that I ought to give Jim a rest. His job has become

simply too burdensome or too long and he, of all

the parish leaders, deserved his hiatus as soon as I

could find someone to take the load off. Ronnie is

our new property warden, with responsibility for

the parish building and the grounds. I know that Jim

still has an interest in several projects, including the

display cases in the narthex, the computer network,

as well as the cemetery. I'm sure we'll still see Jim

cutting tree branches outside when the temperature

warms up, since I think this sort of work is his true

love.

I announced the changes in parish leadership at

the annual meeting. They were embraced and ap-

plauded there and ratified by the first sitting of the

new vestry. I also spoke of the Episcopal Church

Building Fund (ECBF) workshop I attended the day

before.

The ECBF recently reinvented itself to focus on

building up congregations and to serve as a re-

source for congregations trying to come up with

alternative uses for their old buildings. To me the

real takeaway of the workshop was two processes:

first, to brainstorm and think creatively for repur-

posing our parish plant; second, to evaluate these

various ideas and perhaps put them into place.

continued from page 1

Matthew’s Musings II


3

Our deepest sympathy to Kathy Grumbach on the death of her sister, Edith Graham.

Edie died on November 8th, af-ter a lengthy illness. She was just a few days short of her 81st

birthday. Pat reports that Karl is doing

very well with his pulmonary therapy. Making good progress and wishing he had started it

earlier. Nancy Neal, who attends the

8:00 service, has been home bound for several weeks. Please remember her in your prayers

and drop her a note - or give her a buzz. Clara Lema was admitted to

the hospital on Monday, No-vember 24th, for back surgery

(ug! no fun) and is progressing “as well as can be expected” as they say in the medical world.

Nancy Anderson and her sis-ter, Pat Parkent, along with

three other members of her Fly-ball team, No Speed Limit, won the Division 10 championship

at an international Flyball tour-nament held in Indianapolis the weekend of October 16th.

Nancy was running her sister's dog, Tejano, at the tournament

hosted by the North American Flyball Association. Flyball is a performance dog sport that is

somewhat similar to a dog relay race. A team of four dogs and their handlers run against an-

other team. As the first dog is released, it must run and clear

four jumps and reach a box at

the end that contains a ball. The dog must trigger the box which causes the ball to spring

from the box. The dog must catch the ball and run back with it over all of the jumps

past the starting point. The races run by Nancy's team usu-

ally last between 18 and 20 sec-onds. Definitely not like this dog!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/

11/19/golden-retriever-dog-fails-obedience-test-video_n_6186890.html

Speaking of dogs, Carmen

Klement called to say her dog had died at the age of nineteen. Those of you who remember

Carmen know that Monkey had been her only companion for

the last eleven years. Her ad-dress is available if anyone would like to send her a card or

note.

Money

Matters

Pledge Sheets

were handed out at

the Annual Meet-

ing, and most were

turned in, although

a lot of folks were

not in attendance.

Our “bare-

bones” budget for

the year is $81,350,

and the pledges re-

ceived to date come

to $34,070, which

leaves us with a

short-fall of

$47.280.

So, the question

is, what are we go-

ing to do about it? If

you have not turned

in your pledge,

please do so.

The wolf has

been at our door for

so long the county

wants us to buy him

a license.

We can’t live on

fundraisers and

Redner’s tapes,

folks.

Parish News and Notes


4

continued to grow. Regular food drives, food do-

nations and cash donations are becoming a fixture

at our church to support St George’s Food Pantry.

Moreover, we continue to become a centerpiece of

the community through various events at our

church. Some have been long standing fixtures

like AA and Boy Scouts, while others are new

outreach like health screenings and haunted

houses. Getting our kitchen up to code and our

hall clutter free have made us more of a public

venue. However, while we had successful en-

deavors, there were some unsuccessful attempts at

bringing great ideas to life; all of which have

given us valuable knowledge for the future but

caused some friction in the short term.

There is one alarming change that cannot be

ignored. We are in a downward trend and the im-

pact is being felt in many areas. The change in

age demographics has left us with fewer young

children in the parish, so we no longer have aco-

lytes and adults have taken on the role of crucifer.

It cannot be ignored that the size of the parish is

on the decline. While we are always welcoming

of new members to our parish family, we are

missing familiar faces for various reasons, some

of which are beyond our control. The irreversible

effects of an aging congregation are just a small

contributor of the issue and we need to look

within to reverse the trend. Fewer members leave

us with less hands to get the work done and a de-

crease in finances to meet the budgetary require-

ments. Fewer people are on the Rota, less folks

are helping out with building and grounds upkeep,

and it is hard to get the few members to volunteer

for Vestry and other positions. The trend is evi-

dent during Sunday services as more pews go va-

cant. If this trend continues, it will not be a ques-

tion of will we close our doors, but when.

When we searched for a new priest, we were

“looking for a dynamic person who will provide

direction and encourage spiritual growth, increase

the population of the church, and lead us to finan-

cial stability. Our church family extends through-

out multiple counties and we are looking not only

For the short period that I have been Rector’s

Warden there have been many ups and downs here

at Copley Parish. The important thing to note is

that we are marking the second anniversary of Fr

Matthew D'Amario as a pastor. He is the third we

have had since my coming to this parish who, be-

ing younger, brings a different perspective and ex-

periences. My appointment this past year was a

big change to the leadership structure. It was made

not because of poor performance of my predeces-

sor, but out of the need to change things up and

give people a break. It has become evident that

people have worked in church positions longer than

they worked for a single company during their ca-

reer and probably working harder. It is time for

people to step up and lend a hand.

Unfortunately, this year was marked by an in-

crease in unfounded rumors about what was being

done or not be done to our church. I have heard

that there was a move to make us more like a

Catholic church, we were creating a hospitality

committee, and the Outreach Warden was making

decisions about the facilities. Most of these rumors

were based on personal opinion, fueled by the mis-

interpretations of electronic mail. This was the

leading cause of much turmoil and many of these

situations could have been averted. Hopefully, this

chapter in our history is closed.

This year has also marked many transforma-

tions. The grounds have changed with the moving

of the sheds and the removal of the old pine tree

out front. Neither of which we had a choice; Har-

ford County ordnance dictated the sheds be moved

and Mother Nature that the tree come down. On

the interior, Cliff Tacie re-lettered the plaques over

the altar, the hall had a drastic makeover, the secre-

tary’s office rearranged, the conference room has

been reconfigured to better accommodate its meet-

ings function and we are currently working to get a

better display of historic Joppa Town.

In the area of outreach, we continue to make

great strides on as a part of the community. We

partnered with Riverside Elementary School to cre-

ate a reading program to benefit children that has

From the Rector’s Warden


5

for a leader but an active member in our

community. We want our new rector to

be friendly, approachable , and compas-

sionate; Have a love for children and

family; And most importantly, be open

to change.” This is what we wanted;

this is what we advertised in our parish

profile in 2010. We have that person,

but the only way he can get the job

done is with the full support and co-

operation of each member of this par-

ish. It isn’t big things that are hurting

us; it’s an overabundance of small

things.

Stephen

Like Model Trains?

The Mason Dixon

Large Scale Rail-

road Society will

have a display in

Bel Air Town Cen-

ter. (Where Chili’s

is.) November 28,

29, 30, from

12:00pm to 8:00pm.

Thursdays and Fri-

days from 5:00pm

to 9:00pm. Satur-

days noon to 9:000

and Sundays from

noon to 5:00

Christmas Eve

and Day - CLOSED

New Years Eve

and Day - CLOSED

Last run date will be

Saturday, January

10, 2015.

The trains change

weekly, so go often!

See more about

them on their web

site:

www.mdlsrs.com

We Are Rolling up the Carpet

From the Rector’s Warden, con’t.

From Karen & Ken Hawley

For the past three decades it has been our privilege to share Christmas Eve with

you at our annual Open House. That first Christmas spent in Maryland, with our

family so far away, you gave us the sense of "home". That Christmas

without walls, floors, or heat - you came again. Then

there was the Christmas where the eggnog

was unaccountability overly spirited,

and the ones marked by sing -a-longs.

Remember the broccoli soup on the ceiling?

All these memories are joyful and each of

you have become a precious part of our family's

Christmas tradition. It is with deep regret that the time

has come to roll up the carpet. Health and time constraints have taken their toll

and, alas, we are no longer able to host this gathering.

Merry Christmas...

Jim and Dani Rice invite you to The Annual

Rice Paddy Open House on Sunday, December 14th, 2014

12124 Philadelphia Road from 2 until 6 PM

Come When You Can Leave When You Must

410-679-4249


6

The Church of the Resurrection. I have been proud

to be trusted with this vital ministry and happy to

work with so many helpful and caring members

over the years but enough already!

I am pleased with the way our church is pre-

sented to the public with our beautiful buildings and

grounds and I know that your new Property Warden

Ron Young will continue to work with you in main-

taining things in good order.

I will be available to assist in the various goings-

on but will not be ‘in charge’ any longer. Retire-

ment! What a great thing to look forward to!

Jim Rice

Hello!

I am honored to have been appointed to the

position of Property Warden. My plan is to con-

tinue to keep the high standards and quality of

the upkeep of the church as my predecessor Jim

Rice.

Ron Young

Good-bye! It is with mixed feelings (angst, joy, glee, hap-

piness, etc.) that I at long last (20 years give or

take) relinquish the title of Property Warden to

store, ask them to purchase something to donate,

and then thank them warmly when they leave.

JoAnn needs at least two more volunteers for the

day. This is an awkward day, but the girl Scouts had

the entire month of November booked, so here we

are. To volunteer, please call JoAnn at 410-598-

8088, or Dani at 410-679-4249.

Also, Holy Trinity, Churchville, will hold their

annual Breakfast With Santa from 8:30 to 11:30 on

the 6th. (You can eat breakfast and still make it back

in time to shop at the Bazaar and help JoAnn.) In-

formation is on the table in the narthex.

December 6th is going to be a very busy day!

We will be having our annual Christmas Ba-

zaar and Bake Table at the church beginning at

10:00.

At the same time, Joann and friends will be

at Redner’s from 10:00 until 1:00, collecting

canned and non-perishable foods for St.

George’s Food Pantry. St. George’s feeds over

300 families each month, so this is a very im-

portant part of our outreach.

Meet, greet, and be grateful! Say Hello to

your friends and neighbors as they enter the

December 6th

From the Grounds Up

Cookie Baking and Tree Lighting

Come join us Dec. 13th for baking Christmas cookies, singing Christmas carols

and lighting the Christmas tree! Bring your own ingredients at 10:00 and the

kitchen will be available for all who wish to enjoy the fellowship of common

baking! Christmas music will be playing and we will also be singing Christmas

carols together. When darkness falls, around 5:30, we will make our Christmas

tree on the flagpole. Come join the Christmas fun!


7

Service Rota - December 2014 Altar Guild - Nancy Anderson, Barbara Baker & Pat Rawlings

If you are unable to serve on your assigned Sunday, it is your responsibility to find a substitute and

contact the church office (410-679-8700) so the correct name will appear in the bulletin.

Chief Usher: Jim Rice 410-679 Lay Readers: Dani Rice 410-679-4249

December 7

Crucifer: Paula Sanders

O.T. Dorian Burton

LEM JoAnn Geier

Prayers Ken Grumbach

Ushers Albert & Clara Lema

December 14

Crucifer:

O.T. Christine Caines

LEM JoAnn Geier

Prayers Gene Wilkinson

Ushers: Amanda & Tony Roman

Please see the Website for the

Christmas Eve Rotas.

A note to the folks who read

The Prayers of the People:

A copy of the Prayers, with all the blanks filled

in, can be found on the

Welcome Table in the narthex,

to the right of the large cross.

To find out what you will be reading go to:

http://www.lectionarypage.net/

Use the RCL list.

December 21

Crucifer:

O.T. Christine Moser

LEM Ken Hawley

Prayers Dani Rice

Ushers Dani & Jim Rice

December 28

Crucifer:


LEM Dani Rice

Prayers Kathy Grumbach

Ushers Carole Kehring & Jim Rice

January 4

Acolytes: Paula Sanders


LEM JoAnne Geier




8

December 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Teresa

Kowalczyk

3 4

Rebecca

Meyer

5 6 Bazaar 10 AM

Food Drive

10 AM

(see pg 6)

7Advent II 8 9

Judy Kawaja

Carole

Kehring

10

St. George’s

Noon - 3 PM

11

Dot Czisny

Vestry 6 PM

12 13 Cookie Bake & Tree

Lighting

(see pg 6)

14 Advent

III

Rice Paddy

Open House

2 - 6

15 16 17 18 19 20

Louise

Strausburg

21Advent

IV

22

Mike

Woodfield

23 24Paula &

Gary Sanders

Family

Service 5:00

Choral Ser-

vice 10:30

25 26 27

28

Virginia Ches

Annie

Hendricks

29

Pam Reiter

30 31 The Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal)

410-679-8700

Office Hours Wed & Fri 9- noon

Tuesday 7 PM HC - Said Service

Sunday 8 AM HC - Said Service

10 AM - Choral Eucharist, Sunday School & Nursery


9

Service Rota - January 2015 Altar Guild - Dulcie Carey & Dani Rice

If you are unable to serve on your assigned Sunday, it is your responsibility to find a substitute and

contact the church office (410-679-8700) so the correct name will appear in the bulletin.

Acolyte Head: Ken Hawley 410-852-0003 Chief Usher: Jim Rice 410-679-4249

Lay Readers: Dani Rice 410-679-4249

January 4

Crucifer: Paula Sanders


LEM Joann Geier



January 11

Crucifer:


LEM JoAnn Geier

Prayers

Ushers:

A note to the folks who read

The Prayers of the People:

A copy of the Prayers, with all the blanks filled

in, can be found on the

Welcome Table in the narthex,

to the right of the large cross.

To find out what you will be reading go to:

http://www.lectionarypage.net/

Use the RCL list.

January 18

Crucifer:


LEM

Prayers Kathy Grumbach

Ushers

January 25

Crucifer:

O.T.

LEM Dani Rice

Prayers

Ushers Carole Kehring & Jim Rice

February 1

Acolytes: Paula Sanders

O.T.

LEM JoAnn Geier




10

January 2015

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8

Vestry 6 PM

9

Ron Meyer

10

11 12 13 14

St. George’s

Noon - 3:00

15 16 17

18

Ellen Tacie

19 20 21 22 23

Rebecca

Smith

24

Ron Young

25 26 27

Tim Meyer

28 29 30 31

Tony Roman

The Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal)

410-679-8700

Office Hours Wed & Fri 9- noon

Tuesday 7 PM HC - Said Service

Sunday 8 AM HC - Said Service

10 AM - Choral Eucharist, Sunday School & Nursery


11

Ever wonder how long it takes to burn off those

Holiday calories? Well, thanks to Heath.com, you

don’t need to wonder any more. (However, you

may not like the answers.)

Giant Turkey Leg:

Over 1,000 calories -

enough for three

meals. Run the Tur-

key Trot 5K run -

and then run it three

more times.

Glazed Ham: Good choice! A three ounce slice is

only 120 calories. Go hiking for 15 minutes.

Store Bought Stuffing: one-half cup has 150 calo-

ries. Run it off in 15 minutes.

Green Bean Casserole: Only 120 calories, but a

total sodium bomb. Volunteer at St. George’s for a

half an hour.

Sweet Potato Casserole: Sweet potatoes are good

for you. Brown sugar and marshmallows are not.

Ski downhill for 35 minutes to burn off 250 calo-

ries.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy: Oh! Cream and but-

ter and salt! Yum. 230 calories for 3/4 of a cup. Do

jumping jack for 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie: Actually one of the better choices.

Limit yourself to 1/8 of a pie and you

can ice skate it off in 45 minutes.

Apple Pie: Apples are good, but the

added sugar and fat don’t help. 300 calories per

slice. Build a snowman for an hour.

Pecan Pie: You don’t want to know. Sugar, eggs,

corn syrup, and pecans? Shovel snow for an hour

and 15 minutes.

Burn Those Calories!

St. George’s Winter Gear Give-Away

In addition to Christmas Food, St. George’s will be giving out much-needed winter

clothing on December 10th.

If you have items which your children - or you - have outgrown, or just gotten tired of

wearing, please bring them to the church before that date. A bin will be provided in the

narthex. While we are primarily looking for gently worn children’s clothing, items for

adults are also needed and welcomed. Coats, jackets, mittens, gloves, hats and scarves.

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it,

is like wrapping a present and not giving it.


12

The Epistle The Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal)

Bridge and Anchor Drives

P.O. Box 222

Joppa, MD 21085-0222

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