Friday, August 30, 2013

Update

This weekend we have worship at 8:30 am and 11:00 am.
The Church office will be closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Tuesday, Sept 3 at 7:00 pm is All Committee Night --  2014 Program for Ministry budget planning sessions.

Wednesday, Sept 4:
  • 5:45 pm Laudate Handbells will rehearse at their new day and time!
  • 6:00 pm Wednesday Night Supper -- menu is our back to school special -- "Reading, Writing & Ravioli" -- choose from meat or cheese ravioli, sauce, mozzarella sticks, salad, garlic bread, and dessert. Come join us!
  • 7:00 pm is the Senior Choir rehearsal
Barrels of Joy! During the month of September, the Katherine Circle, in cooperation with Genesis Home, is reaching out to homeless Durham families. Through the "Barrels of Joy" program we will be collecting body wash, toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels and wash cloths. If you have new, unopened and unused items you could donate, look for the blue "Barrels" by the bulletin boards upstairs -- in the hallway and the atrium. Thank you -- Everyone!




Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Updates

Wednesday, Aug. 21
  • 6:00 pm Wednesday Night Supper -- come for soup (Turkey and tomato) and grilled cheese sandwiches and salad with a variety of dessert. If you can assist - Contact Karen Hassett
  • 7:00 pm Pastor's New Member information class -- meet in the Conference Room
  • 7:00 pm Preschool Meeting in the Library
 
SPARK NEEDS:
- Sunday School leaders are needed to guide children through the rotations
- Snack Coordinator is needed to set up weekly snacks for the children.
If you can assist with either of these, please contact Diane Archer at aim@stpaulsdurham.org or 919-417-3762.

Sunday, August 25
  • Worship at 8:30 and 11:00 am
  • New members will be received
  • Blessing of the Backpacks at both services
  • 9:45-10:45 am Conversation in Trinity Hall -- "Future of Campus Ministry at Duke," Pastor Anderson leading
 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

My Icon -- Tina's Personal Experience

My Icon --  Tina's Personal Experience
Aug 15, 2013

Tina Bessias has offered to share her experience with the Icon Workshop last week. Enjoy!

     I’m still processing the extraordinary experience of the last week, when I was a student in an intensive, six-day iconography class through the Prosopon School in New York.  Byzantine-style icons have been part of my life for the last thirty years, partly because they’re omnipresent in Greece and partly because my brother-in-law and a good friend are both iconographers.  Icons are not part of my religious practice, though, and I’ve never really had the chance to learn about them in any depth.  Thus the experience of studying and creating an icon took me into new religious and artistic territory.
     The teachers of last week’s class, Tatiana and Dimitriy Berestov, came from New York to teach at my church, St. Paul’s Lutheran.  They are Russian immigrants who combine deep faith with knowledge of the history and art of icon writing.  In a remarkably quiet, gentle manner, they led a class of twenty teenagers and adults through a series of 22 steps from a blank board to the contemplation of a completed image of St. Michael the Archangel.
     It was, among other things, the most compelling nonverbal activity I can remember being a part of.  Since my world usually revolves around speaking, reading, writing, and responding to others in all those linguistic forms, it was quite a departure to work quietly in the company of twenty other adults.  No one ever told us not to talk, but there was little need or desire to do so.   It was also a great chance to be the student who wasn’t able to take everything in, who heard instructions but forgot them, who sometimes needed extra help to keep up.  The tone of the class was gentle, caring, and patient.  Everyone was there by choice, and everyone was fully committed to the experience.  I wish I could reproduce those circumstances for my own students.
     So here it is: my icon of St. Michael the Archangel.  Nearly everything about it is flawed, yet it’s very special to have “written” it (as we say in this field!).  It’s also gratifying to have begun to learn how to “read” an icon: to understand some of the symbolism, to see the many layers that compose it, to contemplate it as window onto another world.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Parish News & Notes, August 13

Parish News & Notes, Tuesday, Aug 13

Pastor Anderson is attending the 2013 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA taking place in Pittsburgh, PA, Aug 12-17. The theme is "Always Being Made New." The Assembly is electing a presiding bishop and a secretary. It is also considering:
  • the adoption of the proposed ELCA Social Statement "Hearing the Cries: the Church and Criminal Justice"
  • memorials brought by synod assemblies over the last two years
  • the approval of a capital campaign to support both existing and new ministries of the ELCA in years to come.
Assembly news and updates can be viewed at http://blogs.elca.org/assemblynews/

We are looking for a few more volunteers to work at the Community Kitchen this Saturday, Aug 17. St. Paul's sends volunteers to prepare and serve lunch the third Saturday of every month from 10:45 am to approx. 1:30 pm. This is a great way to get to know other members of the congregation, while serving those in need. If you are interested, please contact Holly Hogarth at 919-971-3309 or hkhogarth@gmail.com.

Also on Saturday, SPAM (St Paul's Adult Ministry) is having dinner at the Carolina Ale House at 6 pm. There will be childcare available at the church for those with little ones. Please email Heidi Tarrant at heiditarrant@gmail.com if you can attend and if you need childcare.

IHN Guests will be at St. Paul's Aug 18-25. Sign-ups are still going on to fill spots to provide food, transportation to and from the day house, dinner/evening hosts (5:30-8:30 pm) and overnight hosts (at least 1 female, 8:30 pm to approx. 6 am) for each of the days. Stop by the table in the atrium to sign up!

NEEDED:
Adult SPARK leaders to serve on a part-time basis
SPARK Snack Coordinator to set up weekly snacks
Please contact Diane Archer, aim@stpaulsdurham.org or 919-417-3762 if you can assist or have questions.

Sunday, Aug 25 - Students and teachers of Preschool through College are invited to bring their backpacks, book bags, briefcases, and friends for a special prayer and blessing at the 8:30 and 11:00 am worship. Begin a new school year with prayer and thanksgiving for the gifts God gives us to grow in wisdom, grace, and learning.

Sunday, Aug 25 we will also be receiving new members to the congregation of St. Paul's. There is one more new members' class taking place on Wednesday, Aug 21 after the Wednesday night supper.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Icon Workshop Article

Parish News & Notes, Aug 8

"Icons not just about paint" -- Thank you Durham Herald-Sun for the wonderful article appearing in print Thursday, Aug 8. The Icon Workshop led by Dimitriy and Tatiana Berestov, teachers from the Prosopon School of Iconology in New York, has been going on in our Whitesell Hall this week, with 19 students in attendance.  

If you would like to peruse the article, here is the link:  http://www.heraldsun.com/lifestyles/x135061404/Russian-Orthodox-iconographers-teach-workshop-at-St-Paul-s-Lutheran

Meet the Iconographers on Sunday, Aug 11 at 9:45-10:45 am in Trinity Hall for conversation time. Pastor Anderson leads the discussion.