St. Andrews Episcopal Church - Wellesley, Massachusetts

CHRISTIAN LEARNING
“Who Wants to be Episcopalian? -- A Living Faith for Growing People”

Want to learn more about what it means to be an Episcopalian in today’s church and world? If so, then whether you are a life-long Episcopalian or are a recent newcomer to St. Andrew’s, this “basics” course is for you. Our sessions will touch on the fundamentals of Episcopal theology (yes, it does exist!), church organizational structure, worship and liturgy, and, of course, the Book of Common Prayer. Together we will both explore the rich traditions of the Episcopal way of being Christian, as well as reflect on our experiences of being part of an Episcopal Church community. There will also be lots of time for your questions!

If you are interested in being Confirmed or Received into the Episcopal Church this spring
(on June 7th), please plan to attend these sessions and speak with Edie or Chris.

            May 11th         A Living Church: Organizational Structures for God’s Mission

            May 18th         Episcopal Ethics: A Different Kind of Moral Theology

Follow your nose and gourmet tastes to the Parish Hall today to the Senior High Youth Group sales table. You will find two items that make wonderful gift ideas; sample and buy organic fairly traded coffee at $10 per bag, and delicious fairly traded, organic, extra virgin olive oil from the Holy Land - $20 per 750 ml bottle. Buy more than five bottles of the oil and get a discount to $15 per bottle! Proceeds will help fund SHYG mission efforts for 2008. Your purchase in itself is a true gift of peace and goodwill to the small family farms and communities which produce these items.

SABBATICAL PLAN: I will be on sabbatical (including a month of vacation) from May 4 until September 2. For those who remember the last one (2002) it may seem that six years have flown rather swiftly, as indeed they have. They have been action-packed and eventful years, and I very much look forward to the opportunity for reflection, more reading and writing, and some research (on theocratic experiments in Geneva, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salt Lake City) and travel. During my absence Edie, Chris and Karen, along with the Wardens and Vestry, will be covering my normal responsibilities, and I am very grateful to them and to you for this gift of restorative time. I will look forward to rejoining you right after Labor Day, and will report on my experiences. (Addison Hall)

SAPAS CONCERT
Friday May 16 at 7:30 p.m.
featuring Only A Capella
Fretless Voices
Variasians
Mudville Madrigal Singers
Peking and The Mystics

Joan Onofrey – Collages

Church School TEACHER SIGN UP

for NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR!

Our Church School is one of the largest ministries of our parish, and one that touches over 200 people every year! It is a ministry of the entire parish, and we invite anyone in the congregation to participate as a teacher/assistant, whether or not you have (or have had) children in the school. Teaching in the church school is a rewarding experience for the teacher, as well as for the students. It is an opportunity to reconnect with some of the Bible Stories that may have faded, and to think about your own Christian discipleship, as you help in the formation of our community’s children.

As a reminder, parents with children in the church school are expected to volunteer to teach/assist at least every-other year. Unlike regular school, Church School is a co-operative, meaning that everyone shares in the work. The Church School Committee and the Clergy pledge to make the teaching experience formative for the teacher, through providing training,
fellowship opportunities, mentoring, good curriculum resources, and classroom management support. We ask you to pledge your time and effort. Each grade level needs a teaching cohort of five teachers to trade off lead teaching and assisting responsibilities. You do NOT have to teach your child’s grade level, if you would prefer to teach a different level (though, of course, you are welcome to teach your child’s class). Teaching our children about God's love for them as the unique and wonderful people they are is probably the most important give we can give our children! Please consider becoming part of this ministry offering this special gift next year.

To sign up as a teacher/assistant for next year, please contact Rev. Chris Wendell, Susan Jackson Roer, or any member of the Church School Committee. Thanks for your participation!

Youth Group Car Wash Fundraiser, Saturday, May 17th in the Parking Lot 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.!
Help support the 2008 Youth Mission Trip to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi by bringing your car in for a top-notch exterior wash by the dedicated high school students preparing for the trip. This summer we’ll be going down to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and to learn about the journey of recovery and restoration in that part of the country. Thanks for your support helping us get there!

WELLESLEY’S WONDERFUL WEEKEND PICNIC and fireworks occur on Sunday, May 18th . This is a joint undertaking of the Interfaith Committee and Kiwanis organization. Mark your calendars so you can attend and have a good time.

MAY THURSDAY BOOK STUDY
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 22 at 10:30 a.m. The book to read is “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the story of one woman’s search for everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia

Stewardship Update
With summer around the corner, it’s a good time to remind everybody that St. Andrew’s expenses don’t take a holiday when school lets out! Please make sure that your gifts or pledge payments are current and up to date, and if possible, prepay through the summer months if you will not otherwise be able to donate during July and August. Our pledge payments through the first quarter are running $12,000 behind budget, so timely payments are most appreciated. And, if you haven’t completed your 2007 pledge payments, it’s not too late – just notify Ruth when you make a payment that it is for 2007.
As always, we are very grateful for your faithful support of St. Andrew’s many missions.

Our 2008 Stewardship campaign has made significant progress, but is still short of our 2008 goals of at least 340 pledges totaling $727,600. As of April 23 we have received 272 pledges or gifts, totaling $676,680. If you haven’t yet made a pledge for 2008, we need to hear from you as soon as possible! We especially invite and encourage those of you who are new to St. Andrew’s to strengthen your bonds to our community of faith through a pledge of your support via time, talents and financial resources.

Green pledge cards are available at the rear of the church and in the church office. Pledges can also be phoned in to Ruth at our parish office
(781-235-7310) or made online at www.StAndrewsWellesley.org/Pledge_OnLine.htm.

Introducing Parish Pay for Online Credit Card Donations
You can now make donations and pledge payments to St. Andrew’s via credit card through Parish Pay, a web site that handles online donations for a large number of churches. You can view our parish page by going to www.ParishPay.com and entering our zip code (02482) in the search field. From there you can easily set up your account information and make recurring or one-time pledge payments or direct donations to several funds including General Endowment, Outreach, and Property.

Note that both Parish Pay (a private firm) and the credit card companies take a bite out of these transactions totaling $1 plus about 3% of the amount given. Donors are still credited for the full amount they give, but not all of it reaches St. Andrew’s. While we are happy to receive funds from any channel, this makes Parish Pay less efficient than direct payments or online bank transfers (e.g. Bill Pay). Look for more information soon on this new channel for electronic giving.

Holly Boland Recognized as St. Andrew’s “Outstanding Young Church Woman”
Each year the Church Women United of Wellesley organization recognized outstanding high school aged women who are leaders in their communities of faith. This year, one of St. Andrew’s high school seniors, Holly Boland, will be honored as part of the group. Holly has been a leader at St. Andrew’s for several years, helping to coordinate youth group activities, participating on the youth mission trip, serving as an acolyte, being involved in youth-led worship, and in other ways. Everyone is invited to join Holly, Edie, her family, and others at special service on Thursday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Wellesley Hills. Please let Edie know if you’d like to come!

St. Andrew's Walks in Love for Hunger
"Walk in Love, as Christ loved us..."
Last Sunday, 31 adults and children from the St. Andrew's community braved the rain and cold to participate in the 40th annual Walk For Hunger event, to raise awareness about food scarcity here in the Commonwealth. Over 40,000 people walked this year, despite the weather -- showing our solidarity with those who do not have reliable access to food. In addition to our walkers, many other parishioners demonstrated their compassion for hungry people through their prayers, by dropping off walkers in Boston, and by contributing to the $8,000 raised! Our gift was combined with others from throughout the state for a total of just less than $4 million dollars heading to hunger relief programs in our state. Many thanks to our team captains, Joanna Horobin and Cam McCormack. We plan to walk again next year: with a goal of having over 40 walkers and raising over $11,000!
MAY MISSION OF THE MONTH:
CONCERN FOR WOMEN

May is the month of Mothers’ Day and to celebrate moms and women everywhere we will focus our Mission of the Month efforts on Concern for Women. We have several events scheduled that place a particular emphasis on issues for girls and women, so please mark your calendars and make time to join us in these discussions, efforts, and activities.

Millennium Development Goal #3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

May 11: Mother’s Day – Celebrate the important women in each of our lives and pray for the mothers of those whose children or families are in distress around the world.

May 18: El Hogar and Our Little Roses Forum – We will be having a forum after the 10:00 service to update the parish on the status of these two Honduran orphanages that we have supported for many years. We will be hosting former St. Andrew’s parishioner Melissa von Stade Colina, who will speak of her family’s recent trip to Our Little Roses. Our own Steve Taylor, who is on the board at El Hogar, will speak about his recent trip there and share his pictures and stories. It is an especially exciting time for El Hogar as they adjust to the recent addition of girls to their mission. Please make an effort to join us for their stories and to hear the exciting updates.
Volunteer Dates – Sign Up Now!
May 14 – Salvation Army Dinners: Volunteer to help serve a meal in Framingham. See Tim Phillips to sign up for this important mission work appropriate for adults and children 8+.

June 7 – On the Rise: EXCELLENT FAMILY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! This Cambridge crisis center assists women to meet many of their needs. We need about 15 people to help out on Saturday morning June 7 from 9-12. We will perform whatever tasks are needed – yard work, painting, sorting donations, administrative work, etc. Please contact Peter Lull for more information or to sign up.

June 14 - Greater Boston Food Bank: St. Andrew’s will be sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank on Saturday morning June 14 from 8:45 – 12:00. No heavy lifting! The volunteers sort, inspect, and repackage donated items (standing required). Must be 16 years + to participate. Please speak to Peter Lull or Chris Wendell for more details.

July 14 – 18 – St. Stephen’s Summer Camp: We are once again preparing meals for this week in July to support the efforts of our sister parish in Boston’s South End. We need volunteers to shop for food, help make sandwiches, pack snacks, or help on the Friday picnic and outing. See Catherine Drum or Chris Wendell for more details and to join the team.

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Wellesley Food Pantry: The Wellesley Food Pantry serves more than 140 clients right here in our community. The WFP is currently at a low ebb of contributions. You can help by bringing in donations and placing them in the collection bins in the Narthex; from there, volunteers will transport the goods to the WFP for distribution. There is currently a need for meals in a can, as well as for other non-perishable items. Please consider donating pasta, canned meats, peanut butter, cereal, ready to eat meals, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, and other appropriate, healthy food items.

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“Hey, Buddy – Can You Spare a Car?”
St. Stephen’s has hired a site coordinator for its summer camp. The problem is that they need transportation to fulfill their duties. St. Stephen’s has asked if anyone has a car that they could use for the months of July and August to address this need. Please speak with Catherine Drum or Peter Lull if you can help them address this issue. Thank you.

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Salvation Army Dinners: St. Andrew’s serves meals to homeless clients of the Salvation Army in Framingham. Our next date will be May 14 (Wednesday) and July 8. This is an opportunity for families with children 9+ years old to pitch in to help. The time requirement is 4:00 or 4:30 – 7:15 pm on the day of service. If you are interested in participating, please contact Tim Phillips (timphillips59@yahoo.com) or Peter Lull.
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To receive email updates and the newsletter St. Andrew’s In Action about Outreach activities or for more information about Outreach programs, please contact
Peter Lull at (781) 235-6171 or at StAsOutreach@verizon.net.

The Outreach Committee meets once a month; the next meeting will be on
Monday, May 19th at 7:30 p.m.