Newsletter - Saint Alban's Episcopal Church

September 2008

Mark 12: 38-44 Stewardship

Here she is again: The widow who goes up to the temple treasury to put in
her two cents. Every year she shows up at stewardship time. Teachers and
preachers love to point and say, “Look at her! Truly I tell you, she has put in
more than all the others.”
That is not literally true, of course. In terms of quantity, many people in that
line put a lot more money in the temple offering. Certainly she has earned a
reputation through the centuries as a good example of sacrificial giving. Yet
I have a hunch this anonymous woman would be embarrassed by the
recognition she has received in thousands of stewardship sermons.
The fact is, this woman is one of the nameless saints in the Gospel of Mark.
She stands in the same company with two other anonymous women. The
first had a hemorrhage, and touched the cloak of Jesus to get well. The
other anointed Jesus for death by breaking open a costly bottle of perfume.
Like them, this woman comes out of he shadows for a moment and then
disappears just as suddenly. We don’t know much about her. Was she old
or young? Did she have a house full of children or did she rock an empty
cradle? We don’t know where she lived, what she did with her days, or
what kind of support she received from the extended family. Mark suggests
only three details: First, she was a widow. Secondly, she was poor. And
third, she gave everything she had as a gift to support her place of worship.
Genesis 28: 22 calls us from the very beginning to give 10% to the Lord;
Lev 27:30 says the tithe of the land, whether it be the seed of the land or
fruit of the tree is the Lords; Proverbs 3:9 tells us Honor the Lord with thy
substance…
What person if given a $100.00 would not give back $10.00 if asked…
A friend in Washing DC told me the story of a Deacon in his church who
was concerned because there was a widow in the church who had six
children. He had looked at the records and saw where she was giving $4.00
each Sunday. She must be stopped; she needs it for food for her children.
She needs to know she is under no obligation to give.
Not being very wise my friend said he went to her home and told her she did
not have to give. As he talked to her tears welled up in her eyes, and she
said, “I want to tell you,” That you are taking away the last thing that gives
my life dignity and meaning.”
Jesus noticed she put in all she had…
A beggar in India sat by the road every day. He heard the Maharaja was
coming the next day with his royal ant rage’. The beggar decided to arrive
early. He did. He sat by the road and soon heard the music and acclamation
as the royal group approached. The beggar edged further out onto the road.
Soon an official at the head of the arriving company approached. The beggar
held up his empty sack. The official said “Wait” and went back to the
enclosure in which the maharajah sat. Soon he returned. “His highness asks
that you give him a gift of what you have.” The bigger was stunned. Slowly
he pawed through his meager supply of corn and handed over five pieces.
The official thanked him and returned to the royal one with the corn. He then
returned, took the beggar’s small pouch of corn and gave it back to him. “His
royal highness returns your gift.”
That night, after the whole affair, the beggar went home, angry, to his poor
space beneath a bridge. He muttered curses about the maharajah. He took his
small sack of corn out and began to prepare his meager supper. But wait! He
noticed a glint in the corn. He pawed through the corn and drew out a nugget
of gold. Pawing more frantically now, he drew out another nugget of gold,
then another and another, until he had five gold nuggets. He pawed
frantically, looking for more, but only five pieces of gold. Then the beggar
slapped is forehead. “He gave me one piece of godly for each piece of corn I
gave him. I gave only five. What a fool I am. I would be rich man if I had
given him all I had.”
The beggar was a fool because he was not free. He was holding back,
keeping his grain in reserve. He had put his faith in the harvest of his labor
rather than in the grace of God. On the other hand, what really made the
widow stand out above the crowd was the fact she was “free.” She was not
enslaved by her possessions.
-God only asked for 10%...will you trust him to bless you abundantly?
-He wants to prove to you how much he loves you…
-People give according to their faith
Fr. Rex Chambers, Rector

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Poems

Much to my surprise, I’ve decided that I like poetry. Thanks to Walt Disney many of us, and

surely most of our children, know and love Winnie the Pooh. But did you know that A.A. Milne

wrote FOUR books in that series? Two were books of poems for children, “When we were very

Young” and “Now we are Six”. I loved, and still do, these books and the poems therein. Today I can

still recite some of the poems. Here’s one:

Vespers

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,

Droops on the little hands little gold head.

Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!

Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God bless Mummy.

I know that’s right.

Wasn’t it fun in the bath, to-

night?

The cold’s so cold, and the hot’s so hot.

Oh!

If I open my fingers a little bit more,

I can see Nanny’s dressing-gown on the door.

It’s a beautiful blue, but it hasn’t a hood.

Oh!

God Bless Daddy—I quite forgot.God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood, and I like in bed,

And pull; the hood right over my head,

And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,

And nobody knows that I’m there at all.

Oh!

Thank you God, for a lovely day.

And what was the other I had to say?

I said “Bless Daddy,” so what can it be?

Oh! Now I remember it.

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,

Droops on the little hands little gold head.

Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!

Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God Bless Me.

Some poems speak to me, some don’t. Poetry has the ability, like the Bible, to speak to us

individually, just what we need to hear.

Being a dicotomus math/English lover I learned to not like poetry in high school. The

mathematician in me wanted to always get things “right”. The literature lover in me, loved to let the

words speak to me personally. In English class, if the teacher’s “correct” interpretation of the poem

didn’t jib with mine, I was “wrong” and I couldn’t tolerate that.

I have a Lenten devotional book “Ashes to Easter” that I love. It has a Bible verse, a poem, a

short commentary, and a couple challenging questions. I love the poems in that book. I’m saying all

this to introduce you to a poem from another daily devotional book about “Saints”. It’s very

informative, but no, not much poetry. The other day I ran across this poem by John Donne, the 17

century English author, who wrote, among many other things, “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise

Regained”. (Both poems too long and too deep for my simple mind.) However, let me share:

A Hymn to God the Father

Wilt thou forgive that sin where it begun

Which is my sin, though it were done before?

Wilt thou forgive those sins through which I run,

And do them still: though still I do deplore?

When thou hast done, thou hast not done,

For, I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin by which I won

Others to sin? And, made my sin their door?

Wilt though forgive that sin which I did shun

A year, or two: but wallowed in, a score?

When thou has done, thou has not done,

For, I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun

My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;

Swear by thy self, that at my death thy Sun

Shall shine as it shines now, and heretofore;

I have no more.

I’m not sure I agree with agree the theology of the first line, but the sins of which he speaks,

are my sins. GOD DOES FORGIVE ALL OUR SINS.

Lainie said “short is good”. Sorry Lainie, I ignored your advice.

God’s Blessings and forgiveness on each of you.

Janice

Treasury Notes

The Sword

Operating Account actuals for 2008

Pledges for 2008: 30 households, $79,584.00. Paid pledges to date: $16,466.20

March 2008

Budgeted Income: $7,048.67 Actual Income: $7,904.75

Budgeted Expenses: $11,459.92 Actual Expenses: $8,433.40

January – March 2008

Budgeted Income: $21,146.01 Actual Income: $19,719.03

Budgeted Expenses: 34,379.76 Actual Expenses: $22,324.14

statement unless I know it’s from you – so please put it in an envelope or let me know after

church so I can mark it accordingly.

3 households are currently paying their offering via

checking accounts and have given it rave reviews. Please see below for more information.

The March report is posted in the Parish Hall on the bulletin board by the kitchen.

f you put cash into the offering plate it won’t be reflected on your pledge or givingAutomatic Withdrawal from their

Safeway

Proceeds continue to go to our Building Fund. Albertson’s Preferred Customer links are

available, too. Please contact me if you would like to have Albertson’s donate to the Youth

Group.

and King Soopers Gift Cards are always available for purchase. See related article.

Easy ways to keep your pledge to St. Alban’s on track:

Automatic Withdrawal

you would like to have your regular offering automatically withdrawn from your checking

account please fill out an Authorization Form that is in the Parish Hall. It's easy! It can also be

cancelled at any time.

You can also utilize your own

mailing address: PO BOX 697, Windsor, CO 80550. Your checks will be sent automatically to

our PO Box and they will get placed in the Sunday offering plate. Some bill pay programs can

set up bank to bank transfers – check out if yours can do that.

from checking accounts. This is a free service offered by our bank. Ifon-line bill paying program if you have one. Please use our

Visa, MasterCard

group fundraisers, etc. Please see me after church on Sundays if you want to use this form of

payment. We are charged a 2.1% (2.6% for rewards cards) transaction fee plus a nominal

amount per transaction but are more than happy to offer this option!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!

members for your commitment to St. Alban's and for supporting our ministries!

970-412-9389,

and Discover cards are accepted for offerings, grocery gift cards, youthThank you to ALL of ourLainie,lfpeltz@comcast.net