Sunday, September 23, 18th Sunday after Pentecost

The Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m., Rite I, Fr. Pence officiating
The Holy Eucharist, Rite II, Fr. Hoffman officiating

Church School at 10 a.m.; childcare available 9:45 a.m.
The Collect:
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. A men.

This week’s lessons: Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, or ; Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 54; James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37

The Epistle:
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8a
The Gospel |Mark 9: 30-37

Jesus and his disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me .”
The week of September 23

Sunday, 8 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite I
Sunday, 9 a.m., Choir rehearsal
Sunday, 10 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite II; Church School
Childcare available 9:45 a.m.

Monday, 6:30 p.m. Girl Scout Troop 816
Tuesday, 10 a.m. Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Wednesday, 8 a.m., The Holy Eucharist, Rite II; no yoga class at 8:30 a.m.
Welcome to Our New Rector, Fr. Joel Morsch!

THE REVEREND JOEL JAMES MORSCH
(commonly known as Fr. Joel)

Fr. Joel is a gentle and kind soul and listens intently to what someone is saying to him. He is the person everyone says they want: 20 years of parish experience, but a “young” priest. Fr. Joel may not be fresh out of seminary, but he brings a youthful energy that is apparent as soon as you meet him. Fr. Joel has a wife (Barbara, who is a business organizational consultant) and grown children. A daughter and her family live in Bloomington, Illinois – as Fr. Joel jokes, “Close enough to visit, but not close enough to be called upon to babysit long-term.”

Fr. Joel lived, worked and volunteered in St. Charles, Illinois in the business world for 23 years before heeding God’s call to go to Nashotah House Seminary. (Sidebar: he was a student assistant to Fr. Ralph while in seminary.) He graduated in 1998.

After ordination, he went to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Naperville, Illinois as Associate Rector from 1998 until 2002. In 2002, he was called to the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Franklin, Tennessee as Rector. This was a large church in an affluent town. He served in many functions in the Diocese, including teaching a Diocesan Canon 9 Liturgics Course. He was in Franklin, Tennessee until 2006.

In 2006, he was called to Christ Church, Bradenton, Florida, where he stayed until August of this year – 12 years in a very large and wealthy congregation. He had assistants, so most of his work was administrative in the parish along with some pastoral care. He was heavily involved in fund-raising and being the “project idea person.” He was very active in Diocesan responsibilities and local ecumenical groups. On one of these, the Manatee Religious Services, he served as President.

According to Fr. Joel, his main reason for resigning from Christ Church, Bradenton, was to be freed from the administrative burdens of a large parish so that he could “get back to doing what I was ordained to do: preaching, teaching and pastoral care.”
We on the Search Committee believe that the members of St. Andrew’s have been truly blessed in that we were seeking a “parish priest” at the same time that God called Fr. Joel to get back to being that parish priest he wanted to be. Fr. Joel and Barbara plan to live in our community, and we are excited to welcome them to their new home.

-Sharon Hoffman and Brian Pezza for the Search Committee

[Editor's note: Father Joel anticipates being with us at St. Andrew's by mid-November per K. Babb.]
A Priest of St. Andrew’s and an Allegation of Murder

Father Robert A. Martin served St. Andrew’s at a difficult time in its history. The mid -1930s marked the midst of the Great Depression and St. Andrew’s, which had at last made the transition from mission to parish in 1926, reverted to the status of a mission, due apparently to an inability to pay the diocesan assessment. Martin was forced to leave St. Andrew’s in 1935, and the church was without resident clergy until 1938.

Martin eventually secured a call from Louisiana, where he was confronted by a very different problem. The following is what Father Thomas H. Whitcroft, St. Andrew’s rector from 1960 to 1963, reported that he had been told by Father Martin many years later:
“One Thanksgiving morning, the Senior Warden ‘bushwhacked’ and killed a black man on his way to Mass. It was public knowledge, so the next Sunday he [Martin] publicly excommunicated the man, who appealed to the Bishop (the law, then, was not pressing the murder charge). The Bishop reinstalled the man on the technicality that he [Martin] had not contacted the Bishop (which he should have done). At any rate, Father Martin quit and, since World War II was starting, took a job in a munitions factory.” According to Whitcroft, Father Martin later accepted a call to a church in Vincennes, Indiana (probably St. James).

I queried the archivist of The Diocese of Louisiana on this matter. She informed me that Father Martin was admitted to the diocese on June 18, 1941 and served as priest-in-charge in three churches: St. John’s of Laurel Hill; Grace of St. Francisville; and St. Mary’s of Weyanoke, all three in the southeastern part of the state. Martin’s resignation is dated March 15, 1943 and was accepted by Bishop John Long Jackson. In regard to the alleged murder and its aftermath, the archivist wrote: “I reviewed the annual Convention Journals of 1942, 1943 and 1944, as well as the Executive Committee Minutes and the Standing Committee Minutes to no avail. We do not have any correspondence from Bishop Jackson’s records, which are very few.”

An official cover-up? You decide! –Jim Weingartner
Announcements

Kudos to Meals on Wheels Volunteers
The Outreach Committee thanks the following individuals for volunteering to deliver Meals on Wheels: Mary Bohn, Walter Bohn, Miriam Burns, Mary Caspers, Liz Edwards, Bob Hulme, Pat Hulme, JoAnn Nabe, Lyndia Pezza, Pat Rudloff, Marilyn Sieber, Marilyn Strangeman, and Kay Werner. -Outreach Committee

United Thank Offering Fall Ingathering this Sunday
The fall UTO ingathering at St. Andrew’s will take place September 23 rd . The United Thank Offering Mission Statement calls us to action.
“Put gifts into the Blue Box with thanksgiving, prayer and generosity.
Take blessings out of the box for grants serving the church’s mission.”
 -Jane Weingartner

ECW to Meet October 3 at 7 p.m.
ECW will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, in Pearson Hall. All women in the parish are invited. This is an important planning meeting. We are particularly hopeful that younger women will participate. -Velma Schmidt

Book Club Meets October 15
The next Book Club meeting is Monday, October 15, 1 p.m., Pearson Hall. Our selection for October is Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward and for November it’s No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
-Pat Rudloff

Volunteers needed for Coffee Hour in October, November, December
Thanks go to Elizabeth Donald and Jimmy Gillentine for hosting Coffee Hour on September 16th. The following Sundays still need volunteers: October 7 and 21, November 11, 18 and 25 and December 16, 23, 30. Please email Pat at silverlining6@charter.net the date you are taking.

Thanks again to all who have volunteered this year! -Pat Rudloff
 The St. Andrew's Week-End Updat e , a weekly emailed newsletter, is designed to keep parishioners up to date on church activities. Please send news items to Editors Marianne Cavanaugh and Jane Weingartner by 11 a.m. on Tuesday to have them appear in the following Friday's newsletter.