WEEKLY UPDATE
A Note from the Rector
Dear St. Paul’s,

Diocesan Convention is a funny thing. Picture a hotel ballroom full of priests and other church nerds, wearing nametags, carrying binders, discussing resolutions, voting on budgets, speculating about bishop elections, praying, singing, and gossiping. It could be the opening scene of a Coen Brothers movie. It can be stultifying. And it can be holy.

Last weekend, at the 224th Annual Convention of our Diocese, it was poignant to bid farewell to the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston when he resigned as Bishop of Virginia, as he had announced he would, and it was exciting to see our own Christie Thomas elected to the Standing Committee on the first ballot. But the highlight was when our neighbors from Trinity Church on Preston Avenue achieved parish status after 99 years as a mission congregation.

Parishes are financially self-sustaining and make annual contributions to the diocesan budget, whereas missions receive support from the Diocese to carry out the work of the Church in communities that are unable to support a parish. Trinity was founded in 1919 as a “mission to the colored,” and its people have played an outsized role in proclaiming the Gospel in Charlottesville ever since—before, during, and after the Civil Rights era. When several dozen Trinity parishioners processed behind their banner to the front of the hall as the whole convention sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Richmond Marriott ballroom was transformed. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It wasn’t just moving; it was holy. Congratulations, Trinity. We are humbled and honored to be in fellowship with you. May God bless your ministry abundantly in your second century and beyond!

You can read more about Convention here and explore the life of the Diocese here.

- Will

The Rev. William Peyton
This Sunday at St. Paul's
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
(Readings: Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 / Psalm 127 / Mark 12:38-44)

8 a.m. – Holy Eucharist in the Chapel (quiet, traditional)

9 a.m. – Feasting on the Word: An exploration of this week's readings in preparation for the 10 a.m. Eucharist. Parishioners, friends, and visitors all welcome. (library)

9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Nursery Care: birth - kindergarten (Sunday school wing)

10 a.m. –  Holy Eucharist with Choir (festive, intergenerational)

11:15 a.m. – Adult Forum: A Foundation for the Future: Stewardship 2019 (parish hall)

11:15 p.m. – Sunday School: pre-K - 5th grade (Sunday school wing)

11:15 a.m. – Youth Groups: 6th - 8th & 9th - 12th grades (Sunday school wing)

5:30 p.m. – Evening Eucharist in the Chapel (informal, candlelit)

6:30 p.m. – Canterbury Sunday Supper: Casual meal and conversation, free and open to all undergraduate students (lounge)

Music Notes

Music of Remembrance

This Sunday’s music will feature several selections offered in tribute to the centennial of the end of World War I (November 11, 1918). The prelude includes Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, arranged for organ. This was commissioned in 1942 by the Cincinnati Orchestra – at that time, the U. S. had entered into WW2, and the piece was used to rally Americans against imperialism. Originally scored for horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba and percussion, Copland used it just three years later as the theme for the last movement of his Symphony No 3. The second organ prelude is Edward Elgar’s Nimrod (from the “Enigma Variations”) – this poignant piece is often used to remember the dead and the fallen. It is particularly popular in Britain and Commonwealth countries on Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).

The anthem is Souls of the Righteous by Welsh composer Geraint Lewis, which the choir offered for All Saints’ evensongs last week. This piece is subtitled ‘In memoriam William Mathias’ and was composed for the Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of Mathias, which was held at St Paul’s Cathedral on November 20, 1992.
Upcoming at St. Paul's
Friday, November 9, 5:30 p.m. – UVA Vietnamese Student Association's Phofest (details below)

Monday, November 12 – Federal Holiday (office closed)

Monday, November 12, 9 p.m. – Compline (chancel)

Tuesday, November 13, 12:15 p.m. – Holy Eucharist (chapel)

Wednesday, November 14, 3 p.m. – Tea at Westminster Canterbury with the Rev. Mark Wastler and the Rev. William Peyton

Wednesday, November 14, 4:30 p.m. – Contemplative Prayer (details below)

Wednesday, November 14, 4:30 p.m. – Junior Choir Rehearsal (choir room)

Wednesday, November 14, 5:30 p.m. – Evening Prayer (brief, informal, all ages)

Wednesday, November 14, 6 p.m. – Dinner for all (parish hall)

Wednesday, November 14, 6:15 p.m. – Canterbury Fellowship Gathering (Canterbury house)

Thursday, November 15, 7:30 a.m. – Bible Study (library)
Contact Jody Lahendro: jdl7d@virginia.edu

Friday, November 16, 6 p.m. – Children's and Youth Ministries Vision Summit (details below)

Sunday, November 18 – Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Thursday, November 22, 10 a.m. – Thanksgiving Day Holy Eucharist
A Foundation for the Future – Stewardship 2019
All parishioners should have received a 2019 pledge card with a letter from the Rector in the mail last week. In 2018, more than 240 households made financial commitments to St. Paul's. Many of those were new commitments, and many more represented substantial increases over 2017. Pledge cards are especially invited at any of our services on November 18. The Adult Forum on November 11 will be an opportunity for parishioners to share thoughts and prayers on how we can challenge ourselves and each other to re-commit to our own personal practices of joyful generosity and extravagant sharing--the way to "take hold of the life that really is life."
(1 Timothy 6:18-19)
St. Paul's News and Notes
Thanksgiving Community Feast – St. Paul’s is joining Ebenezer Baptist Church and other churches and organizations in the community to provide Thanksgiving baskets of food to local families in need. Large decorated boxes have been placed at the two main entrances to the church to accept your food offerings for these families: canned yams, canned green beans, sugar, macaroni, canned milk, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and cake mix. The Community Feast event will take place on Saturday, November 17, from 9 - 11 a.m. at the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center on 4th Street NW. Our Youth Groups and Canterbury fellowship are already planning to help, and all other volunteers are welcome. Contact Ginger Meislahn (gbmeislahn@comcast.net or 434-972-2481) to learn how you can help.

Wednesday Dinner Volunteers Needed – St. Paul's provides dinner every Wednesday following the 5:30 Evening Prayer service, and each week a group of parishioners volunteers to put together the dinner. Our Wednesday evening crowd generally consists of Canterbury students, junior choir families, and whoever else shows up! The meal provides a great time of community and fellowship. We are currently working on scheduling volunteers for the spring semester and we need your help! Please consider volunteering. We will pair you with another volunteer, or you can recruit a friend or two and sign up as a team! Contact Wednesday Dinner Coordinators Pam Dennison (pddennison@gmail.com) and Rebecca Argon (rgargon95@gmail.com) to sign up or if you have any questions about this ministry.

Mutual Ministry Review – At its October meeting, the Vestry discussed the Mutual Ministry Review. A copy of the report is available here. There were more than 20 respondents and the report provides a summary of the replies. There was alignment in many of the responses, both for successes and areas of focus. The Vestry celebrated this as a sign of a healthy parish, noting the importance of having a shared sense of what success and opportunity looks like. The Vestry and Clergy will continue to use the report to inform their work going forward. There will be an additional update at our annual meeting in January. If you have questions about the report feel free to contact Junior Warden Erika Viccellio (erikaviccellio@gmail.com), who led the process and wrote the report. Printed copies of the report are available in the narthex.

African Development Project Update – The Kitui Development Center in Kenya, led by the Rev. Janet Mumo, a longtime friend of the parish, will receive a gift this month from St. Paul’s Mission and Service budget for the purchase of a good used van. Kitui is a large county; the vehicle will allow staff to oversee KDC’s many excellent programs, including hundreds of women’s savings and credit groups, programs to rescue orphans and other youth from exploitation, a mango processing plant, and a water project (see photo). Janet Mumo has visited Charlottesville twice since St. Paul’s African Development Project started its work in Kitui, once in 1998 and again in 2012. Parishioners Cindy Cartwright and Kelli Olson represented St. Paul’s at the 2017 dedication of the Kitui Rescue Center, partially funded by ADP. St. Paul’s has been involved in sustainable development in East Africa through ADP for more than thirty years, and ADP received the 2012 Bishop’s Outreach Award from the Commission on Human Need of the Diocese of Virginia.

Potluck Thanksgiving Eve Dinner – On the night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 21, St. Paul’s is hosting our annual pre-Thanksgiving dinner immediately following the 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer service. Turkey will be provided; please bring side dishes to share. Join us for this festive inter-generational event!

Schoolhouse Thrift Shop Toy Sale – The Schoolhouse Thrift Shop, a joint ministry of local Episcopal churches, is holding its 27th annual St. Nicholas Toy Sale on Saturday, December 1, from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. The shop relies on donations of new and like-new toys, games, and children's activity sets to make this low price toy sale a success. Please consider donating toys by placing donations in the toy sale box in the Chancellor Street hallway by November 27. Call St. Paul's parishioner and Thrift Shop manager Leah Wise at 434-973-2271 if you have any questions.

UVA Phofest – St. Paul's is hosting the UVA Vietnamese Student Association's annual fall Phofest this Friday, November 9, from 5 - 8 p.m. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup made of broth, rice noodles, meat, and fresh herbs. Summer rolls, mango sticky rice, bubble tea, fried bananas, Vietnamese coffee, and plenty of vegetarian options will also be sold. Stop by to enjoy some authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and support a great cause. All proceeds will go towards Children of Vietnam, an organization that services children in poverty in Vietnam.
Children's and Youth Ministry Update
St. Paul's Children's and Youth Ministry Vision Summit

When: Next Friday night, November 16, 6 - 9 p.m. (dinner provided)

Who: Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, parents, and interested parishioners

Where: St. Paul's parish hall

At this vision summit we will establish long-term goals and core values for children's and youth ministries at St. Paul's. The summit’s purpose is to bring unity, energy, and most importantly, clarity of purpose to our children's and youth ministries. Everyone is welcome, while teachers, youth leaders, and parents are specifically invited and strongly encouraged to participate.

Our consultants from Ministry Architects will lead the summit and facilitate the participation of all interested parishioners.

Please RSVP to the church office: alice.fitch@spmcuva.org or 434-295-2156.

Note: Childcare is available by RSVP only.
Prayers of the Parish
Holding each other's joys, sorrows and concerns before God in prayer is a spiritual practice that characterizes our life together at St. Paul's. In our worship services we pray each other's prayers together. Outside of our time together many parishioners make it part of their daily lives to pray the prayers of the parish community. You are invited to participate in your own way.

Thanks be to God

for the birth on Tuesday of Fritz Henry Shevlin, son of Katie & Ken Shevlin and grandson of John & Stacie Reid.

for the new life in Christ of Isaiah Teubner, baptized last Sunday at St. Paul’s; and of Mary Katherine Rector, granddaughter of Mary & Steve Bevis, baptized the same day in Dallas.

for the hospitality of all who contributed to our All Saints' Sunday reception.

for the ministry of the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, XIII Bishop of Virginia, who began his retirement after last weekend's Annual Convention.

for the fellowship and music ministry of our choir and the choir of Trinity Church, Staunton, who jointly presented two All Saints’ Evensong services last week.

for the wisdom of the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Virginia in electing Christie Thomas to the Standing Committee of the Diocese.

for the courage and witness of Trinity Church on Preston Avenue in achieving parish status after 99 years of faithful ministry as a mission congregation.

for the faith and generosity of all who support the life and ministries of St. Paul's.

Your prayers are requested

for members and friends of the parish who are sick, sorrowful, or in any kind of trouble, including David Nelson, Anne, Evelyn, Robert & Dorothy, Anne, Mary Elizabeth Beck, Ruth, Guy & Mary Ann Miller, David, Lila M., the Barbour family, Ronald, Pierce, Doug, Libba, Finley & his family, Thomas, Jim, Matti, Bob, John, Tiffany Gordon, Jaimin Silman, John Ritchie, Debby Strzepek, Susan, Beverley & Bob, Lynda, Sharon, Shirley Wright, Christine & Julian, Jim, Joyce , Jason, Joy, Jane, Maggie, Margaret Ann, Nancy, Richard, Tyson Kemp.

for those preparing for holy matrimony, including Taro Matsuno & Suzannah Spaar, to be married at St. Paul's on November 17.

for the veterans of our Armed Forces this Veterans Day, and especially for veterans in our own congregation.

for Kris Roi Episcopal Church and School in Léger, Haiti, and for our growing partnership with them.

for the Kitui Development Center in Kenya, for its leader the Rev. Janet Mumo, and for our longtime commitment to supporting its work.

for the renovation of our children's and youth ministries; for Renovation Team members Eleanor Hoppe, David Litherland, Jennifer Minetree, Frank Rambo, & Leah Wise; and for our Ministry Architects consultants Mary Beth Abplanalp & Dennis Steeger.

for our city and community and nation; for the victims of racism, injustice, and oppression; and for all who serve the common good in law enforcement and the courts.

for Emmanuel Church, Rapidan and St. Andrew's, Burke, according to the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer.

for the people and ministries of the Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba and for their bishop, the Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio, according to the Anglican Cycle of Prayer.

We commend to God’s never-failing care

victims of violence and warfare throughout the world, all those who died in this week's California bar shooting, and migrants and refugees who have died fleeing danger.

all whom we love but see no more, including Julie Sayler Green (Bob and Marty Sayler's niece) and Ann Hassman (Lachlan Hassman's grandmother).