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Good blustery, but warm day to you!
First, I want to thank and give thanks for Anna Hiers, Maggie Reinberger, Roger Schwenke, Deacon Christina, and Mother Nikki for representing St. Gregory the Great at the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta 116th Annual Council at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta today and tomorrow. There they will undertake the business of the diocese on our behalf. As our delegates, they will attend meetings, vote on a number of resolutions, on proposed changes to the Canons or Constitution, for candidates for elected positions, and on the proposed 2023 diocesan budget. This evening they will celebrate with the Council the 10th anniversary of Bishop Rob Wright as Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta. A couple of our delegates will sing with the Annual Council choir at the worship service this afternoon. When you see them, please recognize Anna, Maggie, Roger, and Mother Nikki for giving their considerable time and effort for our church this weekend.
Our Treasurer, Les House, prepared the handy table, below to illustrate our progress toward meeting our 2023 basic operating budget of $441,783. As of last Tuesday, the 8th, 88 households in our parish pledged $291,610, nearly two-thirds of what the parish needs. In-gathering Sunday was October 30, but there seemed to be some confusion about the use this year of letter-size pledge forms, that were mailed to each household, rather index card-size cards, that we’ve used for the last couple of years. The forms are still available (in gray church envelopes) near the offering plate by the choir; or you can give or mail your pledge to Kendall Kookogey, our Parish Administrator, or slide it under her door on Sunday; or if you’ve set up an account on Realm, part of our church management software, you can make your pledge online. If you haven’t already, please prayerfully contemplate pledging your financial support for St. Gregory the Great. Some parishioners contribute money regularly without pledging, but it’s impossible to commit to continuing or expanding the programs of our ministries, basic cost of living raises for our outstanding staff, and engaging in contracts for the maintenance of our buildings and grounds without knowing what our revenue will be. If you pledge, then find you need to change your pledge, simply let Kendall know that.
Thank you! Grace to you and peace from God.
Jane Hudson
Senior Warden
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Vestry Nominees for 2023-2026
The Nominating Committee is very pleased to announce the three parishioners who have graciously and generously accepted the call to be nominated for the Vestry: Kate Avinger, Joe Barrett, and Shelby Welch. Please read the brief autobiographies below that the nominees have prepared to introduce themselves to you who may not know them. They will be presented as a single slate for you to vote on at our Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 15, 2023, after the 10:30 serivce.
In the meantime, please introduce yourselves to the nominees, if you’re unacquainted, and get to know them before the election. According to our ByLaws “The Vestry is the Board of Directors of St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Inc. The Rector and Vestry members are the agents and legal representatives of the parish in all matters pertaining to its property, both real and personal, its fiscal affairs, and the relationship of the parish to its clergy.”
The Vestry Nominating Committee this year is composed of Amelia Ross, Anthony Garner, Eddie Bennett, LeeAnne Krause, Nikki Mathis (ex officio), and me. Our initial charge was to identify, with help from our congregation, some parishioners who meet the requirements to participate on St. Gregory the Great’s Vestry. Our second task was to invite some of the qualified parishioners who were presented for nomination to join the Vestry for a three-year term, 2023-2026. The Committee was able to accomplish its mission during two in-person meetings and just a few email exchanges. I want to express my appreciation to the Nominating Committee’s members for their time and effort and their thoughtful contributions. It was a pleasure working together with you.
Kate Avinger
I got some Presbyterian and Methodist “churching” up to age 8. I learned the basics of Christmas and Easter but never felt like a part of a church community. I was culturally Christian, but basically agnostic in my teens and 20’s. It was my wife, Gina Defalco, who started gently encouraging me to consider the Episcopal church when we got together in 2003. It took a while to turn me into a church-goer! I have many reasons to love the Episcopal church, but what really stole my heart was the openness and warmth of the St. Gregory’s community. The watershed moment for Gina and me was the 2013 commitment ceremony of Alice Mohor and her dearly departed Nancy Hobart. When Gina attended and brought me back news of the standing-room-only enthusiasm of the church, we knew we had found our church home. Since then, I’ve helped out as a shepherd for the kids’ Sunday School and Children’s Church, been a stage mom for several of the Christmas pageants, and generated content for online church for both children and adults (with the help of my wife and kids). Most recently, I gave
my October 2nd speech on why I pledge to St. Greg’s, expressing my gratitude to the people of St. Greg’s for showing me what it is to be an integral part of a church community. (Check it out on YouTube, if you haven’t seen it already. It starts after the peace, at 59:29).
In my secular life, I’ve been a licensed psychologist with Positive Outcomes, working with children, adolescents, families, and the occasional adult, for over 15 years. I specialize in work with trauma survivors and LGBTQ folks. When I meet an LGBTQ teen client with religious trauma, I am pleased to tell them about St. Gregory’s and that Christianity is not necessarily synonymous with rejection and oppression. I am blessed to be the wife of Gina, who has pointed me in the direction of truth and growth so many times, and who nominated me to the vestry. She’s served as co-leader of youth group and on the discernment committee of the recently ordained Will Drosos. I am the proud mom of Gavin (13), who acolytes, and Vanessa (11), who recently edited the Christmas pageant script to eliminate confusing language. This is truly my family’s church home. I am so proud to be an active part of our church community. St Gregory the Great is where my children and I were baptized, and where I was confirmed. St. Greg’s is where I learned that I am God’s hands. I’m excited to start my next adventure in service as a member of the vestry!
John Barrett
After retirement, Linda and I moved to Athens (actually Oconee County) in 2016 to, of course, be closer to grandchildren in Madison and Tucker. We landed at St. Gregory about a year later. We love to travel, and we have a cabin in Tennessee, so we haven’t had a stellar involvement record since we joined our fellow parishioners here at St. Gregory. It really feels like it is time to change that.
Prior to moving here, we lived in Jonesboro, Georgia, attended Church of the Nativity in Fayetteville, and were both employed by the Federal Government (I was with the FAA, and Linda was with EPA). We were confirmed into the Episcopal Church at Church of the Nativity in 2003. I served on the Vestry and a Rector Search Committee. Linda and I were co-chairs of the Stewardship Committee. I sang in the choir for many years, and I served as an acolyte when there was a particular need. I also completed Education for Ministry, graduating in 2012.
We were United Methodists before our coming home to the Episcopal Church. I served in a variety of ways, Lay Leader, Staff/Parish Committee, choir, and youth and adult Sunday School teacher.
I grew up in Atlanta, attended a large Baptist Church (still processing some of that), graduated from Sylvan Hills High School, joined the Navy, and got hooked on seeing the world. I attended several universities (including UGA), finally negotiating a degree from Georgia State University. Our daughter, Stacy, and her husband, Carl, live in Tucker. Their son, David, is a freshman at North Georgia Technical College in Clarksville. Our son, Lee, lives in Athens, and his daughters, Elle and Carson, attend Morgan County High School.
Shelby Welch
I am a lifelong Georgian, having been born in Toccoa and living in several areas around the state. I was an English teacher and School Counselor for 33 years before retiring to care for my elderly parents in their last years. I met my husband, Jeff, at our first teaching job, and we have three amazing children and four delightful grandchildren. All of us “bleed red and black,” since both Jeff and I and all of our children are UGA graduates!
While I grew up in the Baptist faith, I felt as though I had “come home” when I started attending the Episcopal church with Jeff while we were dating. We attended Emmanuel in Athens when we first married, but we shortly moved to Social Circle, and we attended Church of the Good Shepherd in Covington. Our whole family was very active there, including serving on the Vestry, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, acolyting, and layreading. Later, we moved to Fitzgerald in south Georgia, where once again we enjoyed a very active church life in tiny St. Matthews Episcopal Church. Our family of four (Nathaniel was in college) learned to do everything for the church, since we normally had only 10-12 people at a Sunday service. On a normal Sunday, Toni took care of the altar, Amelia was the acolyte, I was the organist, and Jeff was layreader, Eucharistic Minister, and Senior Warden.
We’ve been here at St. Gregory’s since 2003. I have led children’s music, taught Sunday School, sung in the choir, and been active in Parish Life. It is such a joy to have our youngest daughter, Amelia, son-in-law, Caley, and grandchildren, Jeffery and Kitty, become active in St. Gregory’s too! Jeff and I live in Lexington and enjoy retirement by growing fruits and veggies, keeping up our seventeen acres, making jams and jellies, and hosting family gatherings.
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Clerk of the Vestry
Chrissy Moffitt has served as Clerk of the Vestry for St. Gregory the Great for more than three years, exceeding her responsibility and our expectations. Please thank Chrissy, for all she's done for the Vestry and for our church.
I want to introduce you to Anna Thornton, who will be our Clerk of the Vestry beginning in December. I've asked Anna to tell you about herself, so that those of you you don't know her well, can get to know her. Jane Hudson
Anna (Lester) Thornton comes to us by many avenues. With hometown being Winterville and Oglethorpe County, she has lived in places like New Mexico, Colorado, Alabama and-for many years-Wyoming. “Thursday’s child has far to go,” and life has offered a myriad of opportunities. Anna was born and bred in the United Methodist Church, accepting Christ and being active in the church from an early age. She “married into” the Baptist church and worked with the Woman’s Missionary Union under the auspice of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, volunteered with United Methodist Women as a young adult, and was employed in church administration in both Alabama and Wyoming.
Anna’s academic and professional background is as diverse (a nice way of saying crazy) as her travels. Educational endeavors have included education and psychology (University of Wyoming), and-most recently-a return to agriculture and animal science. She recently made the humbling decision to return to the University of Georgia after 30 years and “finish what she started” by completing a degree in Agriculture. It is never too late to learn! Professionally, Anna has served in the Cooperative Extension Service (fourth generation Georgia 4-H alumnus and third generation to work with Extension) and in the realm of behavioral health and special education.
After returning to Georgia a few years ago, Anna has pursued still other avenues such as running a small cake decorating/baking/catering business, serving as a support professional for adults with special needs, and returning to college. She has taught herself gardening, landscaping and yoga-just to name a few-and currently lives near Winterville with her dog/fifth child, Tank. Anna has four children, Carrie (and Curtis) in Washington, James (and Courtnee) in Wyoming, Will (and Jordan) here in the area, and Jonathan, who currently serves in the Navy and is stationed at Kings Bay, Georgia, as well as eight grandchildren.
The Episcopal Church has been in Anna’s heart for many years, and she was led to return to this faith and call Saint Gregory’s home a few years ago. She has been devoted to an ever deepening and intellectual study of the Bible and the Anglican Communion and hopes to not only serve her local congregation and community but the world through her gifts and talents. “There are three stages to our walk as Christians-if we choose it,” she says, “to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, to endeavor to be Christ-like, and ultimately to become as Christ. But it all begins with a single step, and the determination to take that single step and add steps to it. Every day is a new day! Get up, show up, and the Lord will take care of the rest.”
I’m not telling you this because I’m in need, for I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance. I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty. Philippians 4:12-13 TPT
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ADVENT OFFERINGS
This Advent Season your Adult Spiritual Formation Group is offering a program over three Thursday evenings with guest speakers from our wider community to share their work in what we call building Beloved Community. Invoking the Advent themes of Revelation, Journey and Restoration, and inspired by our learning through Sacred Ground, we invite direction along paths our neighbors have taken in pursuit of racial justice.
December 1: Revelation
A selection from Athens Vignettes: A Dialogue with the African American Community by Dr. Roshaunda Breeden and directed by Dr. Freda Scott Giles will be presented by Dr. Giles to illustrate the local history of Linnentown, the Baldwin Hall remains, exploring the relationship between UGA and the Athens African American community, and the impact of urban renewal.
December 8: Journey
Jubilee Partners will come to share their experience of ministry caring for those on the journey of immigration who face challenges unimaginable to most of us.
December 15: Restoration
From the Friends of Brooklyn Cemetery, formed in 2006, we will learn about the work of family and community restoration to honor African American ancestors and the historic community which surrounded their final resting place first established in 1882.
Each evening will begin with a simple meal of soup and bread at 6pm in the Education Building. The presentations will begin at 6:30 following a short meditation and opening prayer, and then be followed by a time for reflection, questions and small group discussions, ending at 7:30. Please join us and invite your friends and family. Also, please notify the church office if you require the Nursery to support your attendance.
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Praying with Pictures:
Contemplative Christian Practices with the Tarot
Have you considered entering this brand new church year (Advent is the beginning of it, yay!) with a brand new spiritual practice? If you are intrigued by the symbolism and puzzles in the parables of Jesus, love to worship through the symbols offered in our liturgy, and hear God speaking to you through the symbolism of dreams, the beauty of creation, music, visual arts and stories, then this Advent class may be for you!
Mother Nikki will offer a 3 part workshop series (these classes are interactive, not lectures) on Sunday mornings at 9:15am at Adult Formation (in the parish hall), designed to explore communing with God through the symbolic pictures offered in the tarot. Contrary to popular opinion, this 78 card deck of both archetypal and daily life images is neither so much in modern times, a tool for fortune telling or occult practice, so much as it is a means to pray without words … akin to the contemplation or writing of the intricate and symbolic artwork of a religious icon. The tarot is now much more often used as a tool for Christian mysticism and the deep work of self-awareness and growth in spiritual formation, than for other pursuits.
Following the works of Brittany Muller (author of the book, The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Guide to the Cards) and Lindsay Mack (founder of Soul Tarot, a spiritual formation process using “heart centered tarot learning for transformative growth),” we’ll explore the following:
December 4: Where is God in the Tarot? Christianity’s relationship and roots in relation to the Tarot
December 11: Where am I in the Tarot? Interpretation, meaning, and basics for prayer with the Tarot
December 18: How is God conversing with me and what do I hear through the Tarot? Finding your Personal Prayer Practices with the Tarot
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THANKSGIVING FOOD COLLECTION
for ATHENS EMERGENCY FOOD BANK
The next time you're in church, please pick up a paper grocery bag with the shopping list attached, fill it with the items requested by the Food Bank for their clients’ Thanksgiving dinners, and return it to St. Gregory’s any weekday or Sunday through November 13th. We have missed doing this the last few years due to Covid; but we have an opportunity once again to support this important ministry in our community. If you need assistance with shopping or pick up of your purchases, call Marge Massey, 706-255-2145. Thank you.
“If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.” Isaiah 58:10 MSG Bible
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SPIRITUAL FORMATION COMMITTEE
The Spiritual Formation Committee will meet after the 10:30AM service this Sunday, Nov. 13, in the room next to Kendall’s office. Anyone is welcome to join!
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MOVIE NIGHT
This month, on Friday, Nov. 18, we will be watching Best of Enemies (2019), directed by Robin Bissell. “Based on a true story — civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, NC over the issue of school segregation.” Join us in the parish hall and enjoy some popcorn and soft drinks - or bring a blanket and a picnic dinner! The movie begins promptly at 7pm.
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The Altar Guild Needs You!!
The altar guild is looking for new volunteers! You will be trained! Please contact Barbara Dean at 706-354-4269 or via email.
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CALL FOR NEW ARTWORK FOR CARD MINISTRY
Saint Gregory's is blessed with many artists of all ages and we are looking for new artwork for our 2023 cards. The Card Ministry sends cards to members of the congregation who are bereaved, in need of encouragement due to illness or circumstance, and for birthdays for folks 70 and older and 18 and under. If you have a work of art that you would like to share please send a jpeg file to Jenifer Borg. We will choose a two images for each category for 2023. Images should be photographed and submitted at 300 dpi. The deadline is 11/20/22. We look forward to seeing your artwork!
Email to jeniferaborg@aol.com
Please put Card Ministry Submission 2023 in the subject line.
Include your name, the title of the artwork, the dimensions of the work in the email.
Attach your jpeg file, 300 dpi Please email submissions by Nov. 20, 2022.
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ACT presents Jekyll & Hyde
Come to the Morton Theatre between Nov. 10-13 to see Jekyll & Hyde. Melinda Jones and Kendall Kookogey (and the whole Bono family!) will be participating. Thursday-Saturday, November 10-12 at 7:30PM and Sunday Nov. 13 @ 3PM.
Tickets are on sale at www.mortontheatre.com or 706-613-3771.
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delight
red and yellow
and orange hue
leaves are falling
on nature’s cue
with abandon
they freely play
on a cloudless
bright sunny day
gliding to rest
upon the ground
then lifting up
to blow around
and spin and dance
then rest till when
another breeze
blows past again
alice mohor
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If you're in your 20s or 30s and would like to stay up to date on events for your age group please reach out to Wade McGlamery, 770-624-4837, to join our group chat. | | |
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Instructions for Live Streaming
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Near the time for service, underneath our channel logo, you will see our video for that day, with the word ‘live’ on it. The page will look like this:
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If you don’t immediately see the video that says ‘live’, (for instance, if you opened YouTube before the service begins) keep refreshing it.
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When you see the video square that says ‘live’, click on it.
Welcome to worship!
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Meeting Opportunities
Parish community offerings via Zoom or in person:
*Community Yoga is back for fall (Aug. 10 – Nov. 30, 2022), Wednesdays, 5:15-6:15 PM; the 4th Wednesday of every month will be Chair Yoga. Parish Hall or Zoom, Passcode: 509230. Come thrive with us! Email Anna Hiers for more information, or just show up! The class is free; donations to the church are welcome. *Please bring a yoga mat*
Hebrew Reading meets on Zoom every other Wednesday from 11am-1pm. Contact Joel Hunt!
Stacie Court hosts "Let's Chat!" for women of the parish. The days and time vary, and not everyone can join every time, but everyone is welcome to join whenever they can! Email Stacie!
* St. Gregory's Book Club meets the first Friday of the month in Parish Hall @ 7PM ongoing for the foreseeable future (we will meet Nov 11 this month). Email Lois Alworth if you are interested in participating.
*Threads of Prayer meets on the 1st Tuesdays of the month @1PM! We'll meet outside if the weather is good and inside the Christian Ed building if the weather is bad. Email Annette Bates if you are interested in participating. All knitters and crocheters welcome!
*Men's Group: 9AM on Saturdays. 1st & 3rd Saturdays at St. Gregory's library and 2nd & 4th & 5th Saturdays at the Somerville's house ! Email Peter Rice
* group(s) meeting in person
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