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Upcoming course at CDSP by Sr. Pamela Clare

fabienne — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:28:27 +0000

Sister Pamela Clare, CSF, a member of the community of St-Francis, has been a longtime member of Holy Innocents. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Arizona and is on the faculty of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP).

From September 6 to October 22, she will give an online course open to all, titled “Leadership in Ministry: Social Issues and the Church’s Response.”

“What is social ministry? How do we go about doing this ministry which flows from our baptismal covenant? This is a practical course designed to help prepare lay leaders, deacons, and others to be leaders in the Church’s social ministry. It will address major social issues facing our society – poverty, health issues, racism and violence – and analyze the Church’s response to these pressing challenges through discussion and reflection on interviews, social agency site visits, and readings provided by the instructor.”

The cost is $190 for individuals, $150 per person for groups of 3 or more. Deadline to register is August 30. If you are interested in registering and/or learning more about this course and other CDSP offerings, please follow this link http://www.cdsp.edu/center_online.php

Protest Quran burning by Florida church

fabienne — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:45:07 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for listening to my words today about the church in Florida that is planning to burn the Quran on September 11th. I am really grateful for your positive support, and suggestions of other ways we can respond to this church

As I mentioned, my sister – who is a blogger – is collecting as many messages of love and peace as she can to send to the church. Her hope is that she can inject this church with something powerfully positive.

Here is the link to her plan:

http://www.chookooloonks.com/blog/2010/7/31/photobomb-2010.html?lastPage=true#comment9190026

(This page also has a link to an article about the church and its plans.)

I hope you’ll participate, if you can.

Best,

Natalie Walrond

Announcement regarding our priest-in-charge

fabienne — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:34:15 +0000

Dear Holy Innocents Community,

The Bishop’s Committee met on Monday evening (July 12) with Bishop Marc Andrus and Canon Michael Barlowe to discuss the transition at Holy Innocents, and we’re excited to announce some long-awaited next steps.

When Rosa Lee, Davey, and I met with the Bishop before Lent to discuss Rosa Lee’s departure and transition, we were informed that there were two alternative paths in front of us:

1) An interim priest could be appointed, during which time we would do a self-study and then engage in a search process: a process that could take 12-24 months to complete.

2) A priest-in-charge could be appointed by the Bishop for a one-year term, during which time we would do a self-study and then engage in a discernment process to determine if this ministry arrangement was mutually beneficial. If after that year, it was decided that things were good, we would move forward, calling that priest-in-charge to be our vicar; if it was decided that things were not working out, we could move forward with an interim/search process model as described above.

After much careful thought, the Bishop has suggested, and the Bishop’s Committee has accepted, the priest-in-charge model.

The benefits to this are substantial. A priest-in-charge is exactly as described, fully functioning as priest in our parish. Without having to have an interim or series of interims, Holy Innocents can begin a relationship and a discernment with a clergy team immediately. Also, this model significantly minimizes the pressure of an extended transition, allowing us all to welcome and focus on a fixed point.

That’s part one.

Part two is equally exciting. There are three congregations nearby in transition simultaneously: Holy Innocents, St John the Evangelist, and El Buen Samaritano. We have been asked to join in an area ministry collaboration with these sister parishes. For us, this means a single priest in charge for Holy Innocents who is in a close team with the lay and ordained leadership of El Buen Samaritano and St. John’s; all the other volunteer priests across the three congregations, and at least two deacons. This exciting ministry team will work together in collaborative ministry. This gives us a chance to get to know and work more closely with our brothers and sisters down the street as well, possibly opening up new ministries and opportunities yet to be discovered. We already have our shared Julian Pantry with St. John’s – this collaboration will build on that strong ministry foundation.

For our part, we have a half-time salary in our budget which will pay for our half-time priest-in-charge. A deacon will be assigned to Holy Innocents which will not represent a cost to our budget. We have also been asked to form an “Area Ministry” team comprised of lay leadership which meets independently of the clergy and Bishop’s Committee (but which will work in alignment with them). This group will meet regularly to discuss challenges in collaborative ministry, identify and propose collaborative ministries, and keep our congregation true to area ministries. The other two congregations involved have been asked to form a similar structure. We will be asking all of you to think about who from our community might serve on this VERY important committee. We are very excited that this group will help to chart our future together.

That’s part two.

Finally, the best news of all: the Bishop has appointed Bertie Pearson as Priest-in-Charge and Joshua Griffin (Griff to the rest of us!) as our Deacon. They will exercise their positions with us in an arrangement that ensures that all the energy, ministries, and needs of our community are supported.

Bertie and Griff will be with us occasionally during the summer (Griff more so) to give us a chance to ask questions, and will be working with Davey and I closely to ensure that we all hit the ground running. At the top of our tasks together will be to roll out the structure and begin a self-study process, so that we can maximize our one-year mutual ministry discernment. This self study part of our coming year will be very important and formative for all of us.

Bertie and Griff will join us officially on September 12, as we begin our new year of Godly Play and church programs.

A note on the area ministry part of this picture — our Diocese is a pioneer in the area ministry concept, which reaches out to neighborhoods, communities, and all of God’s people (those who attend church and those who do not). The central idea about area ministry is that we are all of one body, and that we are all called to love and serve one another in Christ’s name. Bishop Marc and Canon Michael believe that Holy Innocents, St. John’s and El Buen Samaritano can become a model for area ministry in the Mission/Noe Valley area. This is a tall order, and we feel honored and moved about the confidence that the leadership of the church has placed in our little community. It’s safe to say that we also feel a little daunted about the responsibility that has been vested in us.

But one thing that we know, from our experience last summer during Rosa Lee’s sabbatical, and from our past year of transition together, is that we are a community of strength and love and faith. I believe that we know how to care for one another, and that our care for our community can only multiply and grow as we think about ourselves in an area ministry context. We look forward to hearing all of your ideas about this new vision for Holy Innocents, and about our work together in the year to come.

Davey and I, and any member of the Bishop’s Committee, are available for questions that you might have, and we look forward to this new chapter for Holy Innocents. As soon as a critical mass of us are back in town after well deserved summer breaks, we’ll get together for a parish meeting about our future together.

In peace and love to all of you, Margaret

Update from Margaret regarding the interim/the summer

fabienne — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:17:36 +0000

Hello friends. Davey and I had a very good meeting yesterday with Bishop Marc Andrus and Canon Michael Barlow. While they have not yet determined an interim or priest in charge for us, they have been thinking about us a lot and have a very clear and accurate sense of our gifts and strengths as a congregation. They plan to meet with the Bishop’s Committee next, hopefully over the summer (which might be challenging due to vacations, etc) or at the latest by early September. The goal is to have a plan for us in September.

So – we are prepared for a wonderful summer, with the help of our strong and experienced clergy team of Tom Dipko, Genie Kinney, Tim Greene, and Gary Ost. We know well how to plan for the summer, having just done so last summer while Rosa Lee was on sabbatical. We’ll be working with the clergy team on this, and will have more information for you soon.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for our meeting – we felt them! More soon, with peace from your wardens, Davey and Margaret

Rite 13 Youth Group Goes to Noe Valley Ministry

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 06:59:06 +0000

On Sunday, April 25, the Rite 13 Youth Group took a field trip down to Noe Valley Ministry, a Presbyterian church where Nehemiah, Claire, Rose, and I went to see how Presbyterians run their service. We compared many things at the Presbyterian Church to Holy Innocents, such as their communion table and our altar, the way the service runs, the way they worship, the liturgy, Sunday School, and the hymnal.
We were surprised to see that there was no such thing as an altar at the Presbyterian Church. They also have communion once a month and grape juice instead of wine. It was not upsetting that there was no communion that day. At our church there is always some kind of procession, but at a Presbyterian church, we were surprised to see that there wasn’t a procession. They had only one clergy member and a full choir that led the service.
It was very unexpected to find that an article was written by our very own Tom Dipko at the back of the hymnal. We also realized that the Word or liturgy was the most important part of the service, which explained why the sermon was very long. Sunday School and the Children’s Program were also very different compared to our church. During what would be similar to Prayers of the People at our church, we all stood up in a circle, held hands, and some people said some prayers.
It was a very interesting experience to sit in a different type of church and compare the similarities and contrasts of Noe Valley Ministry to our church. We thank the Noe Valley Ministry for making us feel welcomed when the Rite 13 Youth Group came to visit. We also thank them for visiting our church and to all who made them feel welcomed. In the future, let us continue to have these opportunities for our young children to experience as well.
~Elise Mills
Rite 13 Youth Group
May 15, 2010

Hospitality for the summer

fabienne — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:55:50 +0000

We are calling all volunteers! If you can host coffee hour once this summer, please contact Fabienne (fabienneblanc (at) yahoo.com). Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Fabienne

Wednesday night book list

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:41:16 +0000

A few Wednesdays ago, the discussion at potluck turned to books. All those presents listed their favorite book(s). It’s a good place to find your summer reading material. Enjoy!

Rosa Lee:
His Dark Materials (trilogy)- by Philip Pullman
Something Rising (Light and Swift)- by Haven Kimmel
A Circle of Quiet- by Madeleine L’Engle

Added after the fact: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Erling:
Lark Rise to Candleford- by Flora Thompson

Judith:
Parables and Portraits- by Stephen Mitchell
Middlesex- by Jeffrey Eugenides

Cameron:
The Lord of the Rings- by J.R.R. Tolkien

Davey:
The book of Hosea (OT)
A Wrinkle in Time- by Madeleine L’Engle
East of Eden- by John Steinbeck

Rhea:
The Little Prince- by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Tim:
The Grapes of Wrath- by John Steinbeck

Allison:
A Tale of Two Cities- by Charles Dickens
The Power and The Glory- by Graham Greene

Cindy:
Suite Francaise- by Irene Nemirovsky
The Proud Tower- by Barbara Tuckman

Bill:
Cry to Heaven- by Anne Rice
Cane River- by Lalita Tademy

Sergio:
Tuesdays With Morrie- by Mitch Albom

Joel:
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly- by Jean-Dominique Bauby
The Last Temptation of Christ- by Nikos Kazantzakis

Marcus:
Three- by Flannery O’Connor
The Grass Harp and The Tree of Night- by Truman Capote
Berlin Stories- by Christopher Isherwood

Stephen:
Master and Commander- by Patrick O’Brian
Jane Austen
Willa Cather

Cynthia:
The Jungle- by Upton Sinclair
Stones from the River- by Ursula Hegi

(also mentioned:)
The Guns of August- by Barbara Tuchman
Cry the Beloved Country- by Alan Paton
Motherless Brooklyn- by Jonathan Lethem
Too Late the Phalarope- by Alan Paton
The Prince of Tides- by Pat Conroy
The Brothers Karamazov- by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I was not there on that Wednesday, so I will add my favorite books:
Un roi sans divertissement by Jean Giono (I’m sorry, I don’t think it’s been translated)
Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig
and like Rhea, I love The Little Prince

New Perspectives: how creativity opens a new way to see Scripture and Community

Joyce — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:09:38 +0000

On the evening of Easter Vigil, the warm light in St. John’s sanctuary enveloped our gathered Body and focused our eyes in a new way. All of our senses perked up: we heard Patrick bellow from the podium – “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up. . . “; we smiled as the young Israelites, dressed in bright colors and reflecting the diversity of Area Ministry, complained (even growled!) to Moses, and a Trinity of choir members instructed him from across the room; we looked up to see ten year old Jason-Moses extend his staff from the altar, and felt the wind on our faces as streamers of red and white fabric protected the people of Israel; we smelled the scent of jasmine waft in from the garden carried on a sea of blue and green silk, waved by parishioners from all four of our churches. This red sea of blue streamers, surrounding the baptismal font, challenged us to imagine a solution, allowing God to make a “way out of no way”.
Then, singing and dance. Tambourine in hand, Ariana and Elise led the youth through the sea (beyond the chariot remains of the sad Egyptians) singing in Hebrew – “Ashira l’Adonai, ki gaoh ga ah — I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously!” With their bodies and voices, these children modeled courage for us, and possibility. We saw ourselves in them, in the sea, even in the Egyptians. By embodying the Holy Story of the Exodus, we took the risk of imagination and of action. We joined together with members of other communities, other cultures, other generations, reaching beyond boundaries and communicating deep understandings. What a blessing, and a physical memory to bear future fruits of mission.
This Wednesday, on May 12, At Holy Innocent’s we will gather our Body together again for our monthly Intergenerational Potluck. In the spirit of creativity from this Easter Vigil Experience, we will walk through our neighborhood, engaging our senses. We will smell the smells, behold the colors, touch the flowers, and exchange the laughter. When we return to the fellowship hall, we will capture these impressions by creating a painted paper “mural” of our barrio – the area that surrounds our lovely church building, full of colorful houses, festive shops and cafes, vegetable markets, even murals. When we hang our masterpiece on the wall downstairs, it will remind us to keep widening our perspective to include other people, places, sounds, and tastes. It will remind us that God continues to call us in story, in music, and in the faces of our neighbors.
On behalf of our courageous youth, I invite you to join us on Wednesday night. Come eat “Sundaes on Wednesday”, and explore and create with us. It will change your perspective!
In Christ’s Love,
Joyce

Rite 13 kids help at the Julian Pantry

fabienne — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 05:12:26 +0000

On Saturday April 10th, Rose, Chloe, Elise and I went to the Julian Pantry to help cook breakfast. My mom and I had planned the menu earlier and we shopped for the ingredients. We arrived at 8:00 a.m. and we needed to have breakfast done by 9:30 a.m. We worked hard and we cooked a delicious breakfast of muffins, bacon, oatmeal , strawberries and coffee. Someone else had brought a potato salad. After we finished breakfast, we took the leftover food outside for the people waiting in line. After that, we went inside to help with the distribution of food, while Joyce Parry-Moore and our moms cleaned up the kitchen. I chose to work at the Julian Pantry, because it makes most people happy, whether they are here to help or to receive. I encourage anyone to do it. Claire Quarterman.

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter

rosalee — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:28:07 +0000

Tonight is one of the most special nights of the year at Holy Innocents!

That same sentence could be said of EACH of these three nights, and I genuinely hope that you can be at all three. MANY of us will be, and if that is what you are able to choose, I know you won’t regret it.

• Tonight – Maundy Thursday

Our Maundy Thursday meal together is a very intimate time for Holy Innocents parishioner and a night that lots of us identify as THE night when we felt we really became a member.

We start with a pot luck (and not to worry, as always at Holy Innocents, no need to bring anything – there’s always more than enough!) followed by a time of talking together for about an hour about the past year in our lives. Personal stories of what has happened, how God is moving, where people are headed … and we conclude our meal together by making Eucharist together … A Great Thanksgiving for all God has done in our lives and in our community. All children are welcome and welcome to participate. We especially invite our Rite 13 kids to be a part of this meal and of the sharing of the stories of their lives!

As I mentioned above, this is a great night for newcomers to come and be a part of this special evening.

We begin our meal at 6:30 and the sharing begins around 7:15.

• Friday night – Good Friday

Each year Bill Keck and Sr. Jean organize an evening of reflection and contemplation on the cross involving readings, music and various stations for meditation in the darkened nave. This year it seems it will be even more moving as our readings are personal stories of members of our own congregation about times of darkness and shadow in their lives.

As always each of these times of sharing will be framed by a musical selection by a member of the choir.

This service begins at 7:30 and concludes around 9:00

• Saturday night – The Great Vigil of Easter

In Christian tradition the Great Vigil is the “feast of feasts,” the major festival of the Christian year in which we celebrate the light of Christ illuminating the darkness of our hearts and of our world. It includes the celebration of Holy Baptism and the first Eucharist of Easter. Thank you for joining us in thanksgiving for the gift of new life in Christ.

This year, our celebration is particularly special, as it brings together four congregations from the South of Market Area: St. Aidan’s, Holy Innocents’, El Buen Samaritano, and St. John the Evangelist. This joint celebration recognizes our unity in life and work, and expresses the rich gifts of our diverse communities. Tonight is a sign that we can do so much more together than we could ever do alone.

A particularly exciting piece for Holy Innocents is that Constance Williams (Lois’ daughter) is being baptized at the Great Vigil.

This service will be at St. John’s at 15th and Julian and begins at 7:30 and concludes with a FEAST. People from Holy Innocents are asked to bring a salad or a side dish! If you want to carpool to the service to avoid any issues with parking, or to have someone park your car for you when you arrive, please email jdavey3@gmail.com. There is public attended parking on Hoff Street about a block from St. Johns.

Each of these services is very meaningful and adds in its own way to the joy of Easter. I hope you can join us and I am looking forward to seeing you at as many of these services as you are able to attend!

Blessed Holy Week!

Rosa Lee+