Grace Notes

The Newsletter of Grace Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 18, Casanova, Virginia 20139       (540) 788-4419        November 2007

 

­­Dear Ones at Grace,

 

I don’t know about any of you, but this is my favorite sea­son of the year.  I like winter because I love snow!  I like spring because the flowers bloom and the air warms after the cold.  I like summer because it presents a more relaxed time of year (at least it used to).  But my favorite season is autumn!  It has a lot to do with the colors and the temperature, both of which have been a little off this fall, but I love it all nonetheless.  Yet as I reflect on it, I see it also has something to do with the cycle of life in which autumn represents the harvest of bounty.  A time for feasting and joy and the remembrance of blessing.  As I re­flect on this, I am greatly encouraged by something I once read.  “In heaven, it is alwaies Autumne.”  A marvelous thought!

 

Marvelous to think what it means!  My understanding is that we will be in a state of perpetual harvest and blessing and feasting and joy once we reach the hereafter with God.  The best of fine things which God generously gives.  The season we are now in is our foretaste of things to come.  A reminder now of what we have to look forward to then, as well as a season to enjoy and give thanks for what we already have!  The things which God has so graciously given us and over which we have been placed as stewards.

 

When we think of stewardship, we usually think of money because that’s most of what gets focused on at this time of year.  Then we hear also about the importance of time, talent and treasure and how we need to give all of these to God for His use.  Stewardship, however, is really about the management of something on behalf of another.  In our case, it is about how we manage, on God’s behalf, everything which God has given us, which is everything we have.  One of the things I like about preaching at Thanksgiving is look­ing at the Thanksgiving Day text in Deuteronomy 8.  Verses 17 and 18 are especially appropriate regard­ing all that we have.  Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.”  But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth¼”  So whatever we have, we ultimately have because God has given it to us, whether directly or indirectly.  And all that God has given to us is what God wants us to manage well on His behalf.

 

Managing all that we have is far more than simply giving a little back to God.  It is that!  It is about man­aging our resources so that we can give back to God at least 10% of our financial resources, but it is really about using all that we have to serve His kingdom.  Stewardship is about living our whole life in such a way that we are continually serving, bearing witness to, and walking with God whether anyone is watching or not.  It’s not something we do.  Stew­ardship is a way of life!

 

Each of us has received so much blessing in this life and continue to be blessed.  Please take time to re­flect upon and give thanks to God for all He has given to you.  We hear it each time we celebrate the Eucharist.  “It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and every­where to give thanks to You, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” (BCP p. 361)  Why not work on making it your personal habit to give thanks to God for all things, often!  And take time to reflect on what you will give back to God through a pledge to Grace Church as we come to Ingathering Sunday November 18.  Such pledges to help us plan financially for year 2008 and I am asking you to consider and decide not just what you will give in year 2008 but how you will live in 2008 as God’s steward of all you have received.

 

Blessings in Him who loves us so very much,

Jim+

 

               E.C.W. News

     Madell Day, ECW President

 

                    Bazaar

 

The Annual Christmas Bazaar by the Episcopal Church Women will be held on Nov. 3^rd, from 9 AM to 2 PM.

Craft items, baked goods (e.g.: cakes, cookies, pies, rolls), silent auction items. White Elephant table items, and flea market/yard sale items are all needed.

Anyone with donations can bring them to the Parish Hall on Wed., Oct. 31^st afternoon because there is no space to put things until the tables are set up after the “Center” lunch.

 

                Ruritan Dinner

 

The next Ruritan Dinner (a money maker for Grace Church) will be on Thursday, Nov 8^th, at 7 PM.

Your help is needed to serve and clean up afterwards. Please call Madell Day (347-3086) or Doris Pearson (347-3404) for more infor­mation,

 

                     Musings

                by Madell Day

 

Find The Gold In Your Gold­en Years

 

I retired in 1987 after work­ing for 45 years. But my retirement did not mean the end of my productive life. As a matter of fact, retirement was a time to draw closer to God, and to rededi­cate myself to call upon the tremendous resources, some of them untapped, that God had given to me. I hope my contri­butions can continue as long as I live. I try to practice the spiritual principles suggested in Philippians 3:13 “forgetting these things which are behind, and reach­ing forth into those things which are before.” Here are three tips that might help.

 

1. Plan your retirement. Many people long for the time they won’t have to go to work. But how many people plan for it? A person can’t fill each day with leisure activities. God has built into us a need to be purposeful. Retirement is a perfect time to explore new and interest­ing ways to be productive. I know  retir­ees whose prayer lives have been en­hanced. Those people have more time to spend talking to God. I also know retir­ees who spend their time passing along their values to the young people, whe­ther by teaching Sunday School or reading Bible stories to grandchildren.

Before you face retirement, plan for it. Resolve to spend more time with loved ones, including God. Plan to make each day a legacy to your life. Put your energies into pursuing some fruit­ful and interesting program that will enrich your last years. People who retire and do nothing just about sign their death sentence; not of body, but of the spirit.

 

2. Live your life and forget your age. People often say that each year, when spring comes and the air is soft, when the ground grows warm under the sun, and the trees begin to leaf, they say to themselves: “I’m getting old now. There won’t be many more springs for me.” What a foolish way to greet spring or autumn, when the leaves begin to fall!

True, no one can be sure that he or she will see one more spring or fall, but brooding on this transitory nature of one’s existence on earth will not help. Leave that to God. Your years are in His hands. Take the years He give and be thankful for them Extract from every fleeting moment the joy and pleasure it offers. Utilize each day to the fullest, being glad for what it does bring. Each day is a gem to enjoy for its own value. Savor the loveliness of the present.

Don’t dwell on your age. Let your attitude be that you are ageless, capable of starting a new life. If you sit in a rocking chair, staring at the four walls, thinking about the nay hard years you’ve been in this world, your bones will ache, you’ll feel old and lethargic, your motivation will die.

Instead, get out, spend some time with young people. They’ll invigorate you. Meet lively friends for dinner. Begin a mild exercise program. You are no older than you will admit to yourself. Live so people will never think of your age when they are with you. Be ageless. Keep your mind alert, your faith in God strong, and time will deal easily with you.

Many great people have the ability to forget age and continually live on what I call the positive principle.

 

3. Enjoy yourself. The Apostle Paul tells us to “Rejoice ... and again to say re­joice.” If an old person has not learned the art of happiness, eh or she should at once start trying to enjoy himself or herself. To rejoice is a duty he or she owes the rest of the world as well as themselves.

Use your retirement years to re­view your spiritual, mental, and per­sonal life. These “Golden Years” can be joyful and productive - if you open yourself up to adventure and opportuni­ties for fulfillment that God has in store for you.

 

                   Oh What A Party!

 

Dear Grace Church and Friends:

I want to thank everyone for the lovely birthday party that was given for me on Oct. 12^th. My Grace church family and friends in Casanova, Catlett, Midland, Beale­ton, Warren­ton and Winches­ter. If I have missed anyone, I am sorry. OK, yes, the Chipps from Ft. Belvoir.

Thank you for the gifts and cards and just being there for me. Each of you is very special to me.

Thank you. Only the warm­est of thanks will do for people as special as all of you!

 

With a grateful heart.

Madell

                                                                        Grace Church                     November 2007

 

 

* = Birthday        #Anniversary

 

        HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

Nov 1                                        Jean Goad

Nov 2                                  Mark Lindsey

Nov 4                                    Bob Hartsell

Nov 5                                    Paul Dawson

Nov 7                                  Bryan Jacobs

Nov 13                                       Sue Payne

Nov 16                            Matthew Cirillo

                                           & Peter Cirillo

 

Nov 18                            Fr. Jim Cirillo

Nov 19                       Jason Woodward

Nov 24                                Jeff McCord

 

   HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO:

Nov 1              Adrian & Jean Hensley

Nov 24            Ralph & Doris Pearson

Nov 25                           Jeff McCord &

                                      Martha Toomey

 

                                    Grace Church Serving Schedule -- November 2007