Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, Hopkinton, New Hampshire

2011 Advent Season at St. Andrew’s

Julie Miller — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:24:19 +0000

Saturday December 3, 11am to 2pm
Contoocook Artisans Fair in the Parish House
Be sure to get your Holy Hot Dogs with Christmas Red Ketchup

Sunday December 4
Holy Eucharist at 8am & 10am
Gingerbread cookie decorating during Coffee Hour

Friday December 9, 7pm to 9pm
Youth Open Mike Coffee House
All are welcome to participate or attend

Sunday December 11
Holy Eucharist at 8am & 10am
11am – 1pm Confirmation Class & Youth Outreach visit to Emergency Shelter

Sunday December 18
Holy Eucharist at 8am
10am Christmas Pageant in the Great Hall

Saturday December 24, Christmas Eve
5pm – Children’s Service & Holy Eucharist
8:30pm – Carol Sing
9pm – Festive Eucharist, The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Presiding

December 25, Christmas at St. Paul’s Church, Concord
10am Holy Eucharist, The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Presiding

Sunday, January 1, 2012, 10am
Special New Year’s Day Service and Celebrate Anew Brunch

Sunday January 8
Wintergreen Worship at 8am & 10am
6pm Annual 12th Night Dinner

We hope you will join us for these special occasions during this Holy Season
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 354 Main Street, Hopkinton, NH

St. Andrew’s Chosen for National Clergy Renewal Program Grant

Julie Miller — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:10:12 +0000

As part of its National Clergy Renewal Program, Lilly Endowment Inc., a private philanthropic foundation, has awarded a $36,775 grant to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. This grant will support a three-month sabbatical for the Reverend Kevin Nichols, as well as a parish-wide Outreach Mission Project.

The Parish Renewal Project grant provides funds for St. Andrew’s to discern and design a long term, parish-wide outreach mission. The hope is this effort will lead to a permanent outreach mission project for the parish. Additionally, Kevin will embark on a formal study and research project entitled “Authority, Leadership, and Accountability – Lessons from Rome, Canterbury, and New Hampshire”. Interviews, travel in the United States, England and Italy, and a period of reflection and rest will form the core of his sabbatical time from May 23, 2012 to September 4, 2012.

Please see our November 2011 for more details.

November 2011 Newsletter

Julie Miller — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:59:56 +0000

November 2011 newsletter

A Nichols’ Worth – Fall 2011

Websexton — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:44:36 +0000

A Nichols’ Worth
by The Reverend Kevin Nichols

In the face of the unknown, Lord, have mercy.

In the face of peril and apprehension, Lord, have mercy.

In the face of mighty winds, thunderous sounds, strong rains,
and surging waves, Lord, have mercy.

In the face of complete uncertainty, for our loved ones,
here or elsewhere, Lord, have mercy.

In the face of our own vulnerable mortality, Lord, have mercy.

For the strength that God alone can give us, Lord, have mercy.

For all that it takes to keep our children calm and safe, Lord, have mercy.

For faith that can move mountains and remove all fear, Lord, have mercy.

This litany is adapted from one written by The Reverend Thomas Weitzel, specifically for the hurricane and tornado seasons. It resonates with all of us because we recently endured a rare hurricane threat here in New Hampshire. While “Irene” may have chosen a path less perilous than originally feared, her remarkable force touched places much too near our loved ones and friends. For me, the Vermont communities of Brattleboro and Ludlow evoke childhood memories; on this day my heart remains connected with them both, but is heavy with sorrow and concern.

Storms of all forms and varieties are a daily threat, particularly those without meteorological forecasting and preparation; the “storms” I truly fear and resent are called “illness, “ “betrayal,” “injustice,” “violence,” and “loss.” Many a storm on the horizon can bring us back to our core. Where is God in all of this? Who is the God that I pray to when devastation beyond my imagining occurs? The more difficult questions about storms – those storms we might have created or made more intense by our action or inaction – also need to inhabit our prayers and reflections.

Starting the Church’s program year as we have just endured a storm is strangely helpful for me. It reminds me to remain focused on that which is truly important and of God. As ever, the need for community resonates in my heart and mind; I am convinced that storms cannot be endured if we hunker down alone and in isolation … for by their very nature storms make us dependent upon one another and invariably call us together as one.

God of all love and hope, we ask you to touch our confusion,
anger, loss, and even despair.

Allow our hearts to be grateful for your gifts to us of resilience,
strength, and conviction.

We lift up those who have suffered injury, damage, or loss;

we ask you to comfort them with your healing love.

As we continue through this turbulent season, help us always

to place our hope, our fears, and our trust in you. Amen.

This is a Nichols’ Worth.

Kevin+

Please join us for one of the many events scheduled in coming days,
as we welcome among us Katie Solter and her family.
What a gift it is to have them among us!

St. Andrew’s Dinner Gatherings

Julie Miller — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:21:06 +0000

Back by popular demand, the St. A’s Dinner Gatherings are resuming! Enjoy the opportunity to get to know others in the parish family over a friendly pot-luck dinner.
Fall dates are: Sat., October 15,
Sun., October 23,
Sat., October 30th,
Sun., November 13,
Sat., November 19,
Sun., Dec. 4 and
Sat., December 11.

For information, or to sign up to attend or host, stop by the Dinner Gathering display at Coffee Hour or contact Audrey Knight (228-0192, knight03@comcast.net), Patti Gerseny (746-3751, pmgerseny@aol.com), or Lisa Brown (224-0364, lisab752@gmail.com)

Community Contra Dance!

Julie Miller — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:14:30 +0000

Come join caller Carolyn Parrott and fiddling friends for an hour of country dancing. Admission is free.

All ages welcome, no need to bring a partner, just yourself and a readiness to meet people, have fun, and get some exercise. Feel free to bring goodies to share.

(No black-soled shoes that woud leave scuffs please.)

Samaritan Outreach Fund: Expanding Support of Our Community Work

Julie Miller — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:06:27 +0000

For the past five years, St. Andrews has awarded gifts from our Samaritan Fund every June and December to local, national, and international charitable groups. Now, in addition to these twice-yearly gifts, St. Andrew’s will support our parishioners’ volunteer work and our own communities by dedicating half of each month’s loose plate offering to a local nonprofit. October’s beneficiary is Second Start, an alternative high school and adult literacy and career-training center in Concord, NH.

It’s up to parishioners to choose these nonprofits, and the nominating process is simple. Fill out a Samaritan Fund form (blank forms found in narthex of church) and submit it to the parish office by the third Sunday of each month. The Committee will review requests and present their recommendations to the Vestry at their monthly meeting. For more information, contact Karen Jantzen (dzzp@aol.com) or Chris Miller (miller5529@comcast.net).

Summer Services

Julie Miller — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:07:56 +0000

From Sunday, June 26 through September 4th, we will be having one Sunday Holy Eucharist Service at 9:00 am. We will continue our Wednesday Holy Eucharist at 6:00pm.

Our New Assistant to the Rector

Julie Miller — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:05:35 +0000

It is with gratitude to God that I announce the calling of Katie Solter as our new Assistant to the Rector. Our Assistant Search Team deserves special thanks for their careful deliberations in the search for our second Assistant to the Rector. Additionally, I wish to thank our terrific vestry for their confidence and leadership during this process.

Katie will begin her ministry at St. Andrew’s on September 1, 2011. She has been contracted to work part-time initially with the hope that we can transition her towards full-time as our budget allows. Katie will graduate from Andover-Newton Theological School, Newton, MA, with a Masters of Divinity in May. She has an extensive background in education in teaching, administration, and coaching and is passionate about many areas of parish ministry. During seminary, she served as a chaplain intern at New Hampshire Psychiatric Hospital in Concord, working with adults, adolescents, and children, and was most recently a chaplain intern at Havenwood-Heritage Heights Retirement Community. In the summers, she serves as chaplain for the Advanced Studies Program at St. Paul’s School, Concord. Additionally, she lives on the campus of St. Paul’s School with her husband Tom and their three children, Riley (13), Theo (9) and Dulaney (3). We welcome the Solter family and look forward to Katie’s ministry among us. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Kevin+