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Weekly News, October 26, 2017

THIS is a plain-text version of the Weekly News - for the full (and much prettier version click here)

Weekly News of St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Damascus, MD View this email in your browser

Weekly News, October 26, 2017 ------------------------------------------------------------

Explore our Community - Sunday 8am and 10am

“Let us go forward in Christ's name as a community of faith; to grow in faith through worship, witness and love for one another and our neighbor” — St. Anne's Mission Prayer ------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to St. Anne's Episcopal Church, an inclusive community of faith located in Damascus, Maryland (http://saintannesdamascus.net/location) , the "northern star" of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (http://www.edow.org/) . We invite you to establish roots in the rituals, tradition, and fellowship of the Episcopal faith. All are welcome!

Your Support is VITAL to ensure our future! ------------------------------------------------------------

Income as of End of September: $278,879 Expenses: $280,041 Deficit $1,162

Pledges are about 5% ($14,000) behind from the summer. - this makes it difficult to stay current on our bills!

We are projecting a deficit for the year of at least $30,000 - don't forget to submit your estimate of giving for 2018 and please PRAY about increasing your giving for 2018!

Enter your 2018 Pledge Here! (http://saintannesdamascus.net/living-out-our-mission-pledge)

Living Out Our Mission ------------------------------------------------------------ How close are we to our goal for 2018?

Goal for 2018 Pledges: $323,134 Commitments as of Wednesday, October 25: $ 24,800

Right now, commitments amount to 7.67% of the goal of this year’s Living out our Mission Pledge campaign.

We can reach this goal if every family or individual who committed to supporting St. Anne’s last year were to increase their weekly contribution by ONLY $19 per week. Not so bad, is it?

It gets even easier if those who were not able to contribute last year or are new to St. Anne's can make a commitment for 2018.

Let’s keep the momentum growing! If you are ready to make your commitment, complete and mail your paper Living Out our Mission Pledge form (and thanks in advance for the envelope and stamp!) to our address below, fold and staple it and drop in the offering plate this Sunday, or go online to securely make your commitment here: http://saintannesdamascus.net/donate/ click on Living Our Mission at the top of the page!

To those of you who have already committed to supporting St. Anne’s in 2018 – THANK YOU!

Tim Pacey Generous Giving Campaign

Social Media Concept Update ------------------------------------------------------------ After seeing some of the videos featuring people, that of course were not our own people, two different parishioners stepped forward to check with some contacts they have to see if they would create some personalized footage. This would allow us to use our own people on any social media ad! Stay tuned - we may have parish video shoot in our future...in the meantime -feel free to take a look at these other ideas - which don't need to be as specific as having our own parishioners in them...

Communion (https://slide.ly/promo/share/59e9fc467a97fd0c317b23c9)

Life's Challenges (https://slide.ly/promo/share/59ea7a94b5729852727b23c8)

Lost (https://slide.ly/promo/share/59ea73c5b57298386e7b23c6)

Why You Should Go To Church Part 3 ------------------------------------------------------------ The following is reprinted from the blog The Art of Manliness and authored by Brett and Kate McKay (although this article is for women as well as youth). The blog created in 2008 has grown to be the largest men's interest magazine on the web. This is a really good article and offers some incredibly valid reasons why belonging to a faith community and attending regularly makes a difference in people's lives. It also offers some great points for EVANGELISM! It is long - so I will be reprinting it here in sections over the next couple weeks. Although if you want to read it in it's entirety just check out the blog (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2017/04/14/go-church-even-youre-not-sure-beliefs/) . By the end of the article you will see how, in the authors' view

"regular church attendance functions as one of the best keys for anyone wishing to create a flourishing life — not just the religiously inclined, but even agnostics and atheists as well."

Now on to the article PART 3!!

The Benefits of Regular Church Attendance ------------------------------------------------------------

For those who are already religiously affiliated, the purpose of church services is obvious: to worship God. Yet for more than half of this nominally faithful demographic, this raison d’etre is seemingly insufficient to compel their butts into pews each Sunday. Thus for them, the “secular” benefits of church attendance outlined below will hopefully add another layer of motivation for going.

For the “spiritual but not religious” crowd, I invite you to consider these benefits in light of the possibility that spirituality may in fact thrive most when given a little structure — a prism for focusing one’s feelings, intentions, and thoughts in a more consistent and fruitful direction.

And for the agnostics and atheists, who will surely be the hardest to convince(!), I propose looking at church like something of an anthropologist — seeing it as a common organizing principle of society, weighing whether it might not just be the best possible vehicle for meeting universal human needs, and contemplating the idea that one can admit to having those needs, and rationally accede to fulfilling them through this particular channel, without wholly assenting to their theological foundations.

For all these groups stand to benefit from the myriad social, psychological, physical, mental, and spiritual benefits church attendance has to offer.

Greater Social Support ------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone who’s graduated from college and headed out into the real world can tell you one thing: making friends in adulthood is dang hard.

It’s quite a bit easier though, if you go to church.

Experts say that two of the three keys to fostering friendships (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/04/17/how-to-make-friends-in-a-new-city/#friendship) are “repeated and unplanned interactions” and “a setting that encourages vulnerability.” Church amply provides both.

You see the same people every weekend, without having to plan to see them (and trying to sync your crazy schedules to make a meet-up happen). “Repeated and unplanned interactions” obviously happen in the context of things like work and the gym too, but church has the added benefit that its participants don’t just feel moved to get to know people if the mood strikes, but consider themselves duty bound to foster a tight community; they see fellowshipping as part and parcel of the whole purpose of church. Principles of love, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, charity, confession, and unity underpin congregants’ efforts to get to know each other, and even if they don’t always succeed in being animated by these lofty impulses, such virtues still function as touchstones and ideals that inform their relationships. In other words, church provides a “setting that encourages vulnerability” in a way few others can match.

Church isn’t just a good place to make some buddies either, but to simply extend and deepen your bench of social connections as well. As The New York Times reports (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/luhrmann-why-going-to-church-is-good-for-you.html) , “A study conducted in North Carolina found that frequent churchgoers had larger social networks, with more contact with, more affection for, and more kinds of social support from those people than their unchurched counterparts.” Getting to know different people, from different walks of life, widens the roster of people you can call on should you find yourself looking for work, or needing advice, or beset with a familial crisis.

In a time of greater isolation and shrinking social circles, when people lack face-to-face contact and have few they can turn to when in trouble, churches provide a last bastion for intimate, close-knit community.

A Chance to Remember/Reorient/Reflect/Re-center ------------------------------------------------------------

There are a lot of things that sound great in the abstract — things I think will work in theory, but don’t pan out in practice.

I want to believe that I can still be just as productive if I don’t plan my week. But I’m not.

I want to believe I can get just as strong without counting my macros. But when I don’t watch what I eat, I just get fat.

And I want to believe I can be spiritual without being religious, without going to church – because how seemingly great would it be to have a robust spiritual life without having to take on any of the time-requiring responsibilities and inconvenient disciplines required by attaching your beliefs to an institution?

But alas, through experiment and experience, I’ve found that I simply can’t maintain my spiritual life on as high a plane without giving it some structure.

We all feel like we hypothetically should be able to keep our moral compasses pointed north, our minds on deep matters, our hearts looking for ways to help others in the absence of external check-ins and prompts. But day-to-day life has a terrible way of intervening with our best intentions: we sacrifice ethics on the altar of convenience; we pay attention to what’s urgent instead of contemplating the infinite; we turn increasingly inward, and end up thinking far more about ourselves, than others.

The reality is that we’re forgetful creatures who need regular tune-ups to keep our course. Without such, earthly, immediate concerns crowd out everything higher, something even research (http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/) bears out: folks who are not religiously affiliated are less likely than those who are to think about the meaning and purpose of life.

Weekly church attendance invites us to reflect on our gratitude for the good things in our lives, reinforces our moral values, fosters reverence and humility, and re-focuses us on our larger purpose. It’s a chance to re-center and re-orient our lives.

There is, after all, only so far you can get off track in seven days. (continued next week)

Parish Conversations - Contrary to What you may think - THESE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH STEWARDSHIP! SO.... ------------------------------------------------------------ Don't Forget to sign up for one of the Parish Conversations!

These conversations are meant to help the vestry continue to plan our future as a community of faith, and to help keep us growing! It's really important that we have your input and we hope that you will be able to make one of the sessions that are graciously being hosted at homes of parishioners. The conversations will last approximately 2 hours and will be facilitated by members of the Vestry.

You will see signup sheets in the parish hall for the currently scheduled sessions - each session can hold 10-12 people. Currently scheduled sessions are as follows: * 10/27; 7pm - Reed and Peggy Owens Hosting - Damascus - FILLED * 11/3; 7pm - Shane and Cindy Lippert Hosting - Clarksburg * 11/5; 1pm - Tom Warfield and Robin Mustain Hosting - Germantown * 11/8; 7:30pm - Bettianne Quinn Hosting in Multi Purpose Room at St. Anne's * 11/12; 2pm - Bill and Chris Mathews Hosting - Ijamsville * 11/18; 3pm - Bryan and Victoria Imhoff Hosting - Clarksburg

What makes you feel good about contributing to St Anne's? ------------------------------------------------------------

We are looking for people willing to stand up and tell us – in 2 to 3 minutes at church services during our giving campaign to start in late October – how they answer this question. Doesn’t matter if you have been giving to St. Anne’s for a month, a year, a decade or most of your adult life. Your answer may get others thinking about giving in a way that they had never considered before!

I can point to 2 stories I heard from those willing to get up and talk about their reasons for giving that have been the great inspiration to us to commit our financial support of the faith community we have been a part of (including St. Anne’s of course)over the past 20 years or so. I know how important it is to hear people speak of reasons for giving in their own words. So please devote some thought and prayer to doing this, and if you are willing to do it, call or text me at 240-620-2441, email me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or see me in church.

Finally, if you have thoughts to share but speaking in front of the congregation terrifies you, not to worry. By next week, we will provide an opportunity for you to share your thoughts in writing or electronically on What makes you feel good about contributing to St Anne's, that we can share anonymously with the rest of the congregation.

Tim Pacey Giving campaign chairperson

Did You know? ------------------------------------------------------------ Did you know that St. Anne's posts on Facebook most weekdays, with pictures, news and stories about our parish and our world? If you want to be sure to see all our posts, click "like" on the St. Anne's Facebook page right under the cover photo, and also change the setting for the page to "see first" as shown below. That way you won't miss a single thing!

Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day) ------------------------------------------------------------ All Souls Day (November 2) is a time when we particularly remember those who have died. The prayers appointed for that day remind us that we are joined with the Communion of Saints, that great group of Christians who have finished their earthly life and with who we share the hope of resurrection from the dead.

Join us for a Spirit Filled Taize Style Service

Thursday, Nov. 2 7:30pm in the Sanctuary

St. Anne's Book Club: Books and Brunch! ------------------------------------------------------------

The St. Anne's Book Club will meet on Saturday, November 4 at 11 a.m. at Jean Hampton's home for books and brunch.

All are welcome! Please RSVP to Jean by Wednesday, November 1 if you plan to attend.

The book: A Piece of the World, by Christina Baker Kline https://www.amazon.com/Piece-World-Christina-Baker-Kline-ebook/dp/B01G1FFH6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505043024&sr=8-1&keywords=a+piece+of+the+world

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s mysterious and iconic painting Christina’s World.

"Later he told me that he’d been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn’t like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won’t stay hidden."

To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.

As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.

Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.

And looking ahead: The book after this one will be Tea Girl on Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Girl-Hummingbird-Lane-ebook/dp/B01HMXRVL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505043214&sr=1-1&keywords=tea+girl+of+hummingbird+lane

Cathryn Conroy

St. Anne's Community Concert Series Presents ------------------------------------------------------------ Tom Rohde Nov 19th 4:30pm

Classical guitarist, Tom Rohde, specializes in playing Classical, Brazilian, and Spanish music. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, earning a Master’s Degree with honors in classical guitar performance, he has done extensive research of Brazilian music. Thomas Rohde, guitarist, has performed throughout the United States, Brazil, and Taiwan as a soloist and chamber musician. Select performances include the 92nd Street Y in New York City, the Spoletto Festival in Charleston, SC, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Ryles Jazz Club and the Regattabar. He has performed with the New World Symphony, the New Bedford Symphony, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Cathedral Task Force ------------------------------------------------------------

For the next few month the Cathedral Task Force is gathering information from the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (AKA - EDOW). We would like to know your thoughts on the questions below. Listening Sessions are on the calendar and they are : October 30th at Grace Church in Silver Spring, and November 1st at the Cathedral in DC. The time of the sessions are 7pm to 9pm. If you find you cannot get to a Listening Session, please feel free to answer the questions and share your thoughts with us. Please look for the survey on the EDOW website: edow.org. We hope to have it online very soon. If you want to send your thoughts to an email then you can use mine: [email protected].

1. What is the relationship between your congregation and Washington National Cathedral (AKA - WNC)? 2. What would you like the relationship to be/what are the opportunities for your congregation and WNC to collaborate and share resources? 3. The founding charter and tradition charge it to be a House of Prayer for all People, the chief mission church of the diocese, and a great church for national purposes, in all of these things working to promote religion, education, and charity. Is that a role that the Cathedral is serving? 4. What is WNC's role in public square? 5. What might the WNC do that it isn't currently doing?

Thank you for your time and attention to this concern. Thank you and may peace be with you, Pam Brewer

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