weekly letter

April 30, 2008

 

Greetings to all!

 

Thursday, May 1, is the Day of the Ascension of the Lord as narrated in the book of the Acts and in the Gospel of Luke (see the lessons for Sunday).  Father Thomas Keating reflects on the "grace" of the ascension.

 

     The grace of the ascension enables us to perceive the irresistible power of the Spirit transforming everything into Christ despite any and all appearances to the contrary.  In the misery of the ghetto, the battlefield, the concentration camp; in the family torn by dissension; in the loneliness of the orphanage, old-age home, or hospital ward...the light of the ascension is burning with irresistible power.  This is one of the greatest intuitions of faith.

(from Heart of the World)

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, May 4, the Ascension of the Lord, Holy Communion:

     Acts 1:1-11

     Ephesians 1:15-23

     Luke 24:44-53

 

REFUGEE FAMILY ARRIVES:  An Iraqi mother and her two daughters are scheduled to arrive in Lexington on Thursday, May 1, to be begin life in their new home.  An apartment has been secured; furniture and furnishings are being gathered.  You can help by providing furniture/furnishings, being available for transportation, and other ways! Contact Nelson Barnes (255-9389 or 559-0013 or nb@nelbar.com) for more information or to volunteer.  Thanks to all who are working hard to welcome our new neighbors.

 

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, May 4, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  This Sunday's conversation will focus on "The Ascension of the Lord" (see lessons above).  Feel free to join the conversation, enjoy a cup of coffee or just listen in.

 

HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS REBUILD: Walnut Hill Vestry has partnered with Grace Methodist Church (Lucedale, MS) to help equip a dormitory building to be used by volunteer workgroups engaged in ongoing post-Katrina rebuilding.  Walnut Hill's particular commitment is to underwrite the H/VAC system for the living quarters of the dormitory.  Total cost of the project is $6,000, of which the Vestry has committed $3,000 from money on hand.  Gifts toward the $3,000 balance are now being received ($650 has been received to date).  Checks may be payable to Walnut Hill Church, designated "Mississippi".  For more information regarding this project, check out the bulletin board in Trinity Hall and/or contact Lyle Hanna.

 

Recognizing Graduates:  Sunday, May 18, promises to be a special day as we will be recognizing graduates in the Walnut Hill family.  We do not want to overlook anyone.  If you know a young person or adult related to Walnut Hill who is graduating this spring (high school, college, graduate school, vocational school, etc.), please contact the church office, so that we might be sure to acknowledge them all on May 18.

 

Spring Potluck:  The spring potluck is coming on Sunday, May 18, after worship.  It is always a delicious event.  Mark the date on your calendar.  We need a volunteer(s) to help with the few, but important, arrangements for the potluck.  Please contact the church office for more information or to volunteer.

 

Thanks, news, etc...

     *Thanks to...John Ragland and Barb Waldmann-Ward for recent work on the church grounds; Mary Ann and J. W. Davis, Maggy and Bill Patterson, and Marian Congleton for providing our after worship refreshments last Sunday; Natalie Watt for working with the youth last Sunday.

     *Andy and Cindy Sigmon and Griffin Phillips visited Walnut Hill last Sunday on behalf of Cathedral Domain and Camp Burnamwood.  Thanks to a generous Sunday offering, the Domain and Burnamwood will each be receiving $1,450 from Walnut Hill to support their important ministries.

     *We celebrate with Barbara and Chris Bohmer the birth of their grandchild, Nicholas Wendell Steede, to parents Brook (Bohmer) and Scott Steede.

 

Peace to all.

 

Mike Ward

weekly letter

April 23, 2008

 

Greetings to all!

 

For your post-Earth Day reflection, consider these thoughts from Dr. Matthew Sleeth who, along with his family, changed from an average consumer lifestyle to a more earth-friendly lifestyle.  He writes about the experience in his book, Serve God, Save the Planet.

 

     I am frequently asked about the nuts and bolts of living a less consumptive lifestyle:  "How exactly did your family make a change?"  I have tried to relate some of the steps we took, but the most important change is not the automobile you drive or the house you live in.  What we need most is a change of heart.

     Let's say that because of reading this book, you decide to change the lightbulbs in your home to compact fluorescents.  The primary motivation may be your growing concern about the fumes from a power plant, or your desire to help a third-world asthmatic, or your hope to decrease a neighbor's chance of getting cancer.  Or you may want to have a bit of extra cash to put in the collection plate.  But what is really happening is a change of heart.  You move over and make more room for God...

     There is much work to be done if we are to hand our great-grandchildren a world as good as the one we got.  It will take many changes and even sacrifices.  Now that the church is taking up the biblical mandate for creation care, I have great optimism.  I pray that we will all keep in mind what is important, and that we will carve "God is love" on the tablet of our hearts.  We are commissioned to do God's will on earth through loving acts of faith.  With God, all things are possible.

 

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, April 27, the Sixth Sunday of Easter:

     Acts 17:22-31

     1 Peter 3:13-22

     John 14:15-21

 

IN MEMORY: Walnut Hill member Ed Czerwinski departed this life in the morning of April 23.  Ed's survivors include is his wife Mary, and his daughter and son-in-law Joanne and Tom Blanck.  Service arrangements are pending.  We offer our prayers of thanksgiving for Ed's life and our prayers of intercession for Mary and family.

 

Saturday Coffee:  Walnut Hill men are invited to gather for coffee this Saturday, April 26, 8am, at Panera's (Richmond Rd).  Feel free to stop in for as long or short a time as your schedule allows.  No rsvp required.

 

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, April 27, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  Our focus for the day will be "Camp Ministry", as we will talk with guests from Cathedral Domain and Camp Burnamwood.  Feel free to join the conversation, enjoy a cup of coffee, or just listen in.

 

REFUGEE MINISTRY: Walnut Hill Church is co-sponsoring a refugee family scheduled to arrive in Lexington on May 1. Our family (a single mother and two children) is from Iraq. Particular help moving furniture and supplies will be needed early next week as we prepare an apartment for their arrival.  For more information and/or to volunteer your time and other resources, please contact Nelson Barnes or check out the Walnut Hill Church website (www.walnuthillchurchky.org).

 

HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS REBUILD: At its recent meeting, the Walnut Hill Vestry agreed to a partnership with the Grace United Methodist Church (Lucedale, MS) to help Grace Church equip a dormitory building to be used by volunteer workgroups engaged in ongoing post-Katrina rebuilding.  Walnut Hill's particular commitment is to underwrite the H/VAC system for the living quarters of the dormitory.  Total cost of the project is $6,000, of which the Vestry has committed $3,000 from money on hand.  Gifts toward the $3,000 balance are now being received.  Checks may be payable to Walnut Hill Church, designated "Mississippi".  For more information regarding this project, check out the bulletin board in Trinity Hall and/or contact Lyle Hanna.

 

Peace to all.

 

Mike Ward

weekly letter

April 16, 2008

 

Greetings to all!

 

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the United States this week.  Few people, if any, are more identified with the Church than the Pope.  His visit is an occasion to consider what the Church is and what the Church is to be about,  and that not only the Roman Catholic Church, but the whole Church in its many forms and traditions.  Kathleen Norris offers some observations about the Church as we experience it.

 

     Church is other people, a worshipping community.  The worship, or praise of God, does not take place only when people gather on Sunday morning, but when they gather to paint the house of an elderly shut-in, when they visit someone in the hospital or console the bereaved, when the Sunday school kids sing Christmas carols at the nursing home.  If a church has life, its "programs" are not just activity, but worship.  And this is helpful, because if the Sunday morning service falls flat, it is the other forms of worship that sustain this life.  When formal worship seems less than worshipful - and it often does - if I am bored by the sheer weight of verbiage in worship - and I often am - I have only to look around at the other people in the pews to remind myself that we are engaged in something important, something that transcends our feeble attempts at worship, let alone my crankiness.

(from Amazing Grace)

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, April 20, the fifth Sunday of Easter:

     Acts 7:55-60

     1 Peter 2:1-10

     John 14:1-14

 

Grounds Work Day - Our Grounds Chairman, John Ragland, has called a work day for Saturday, April 19, 9:00am.  There is plenty to do, so join us for as long or short a time as your schedule allows.  No special tools or skills required. We will be working "unless its pouring down rain".  Contact John if you would like more information regarding the work to be done on Saturday.

 

Sunday Conversations resume this Sunday, April 20, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  This week's conversation will focus on Bible study related to "Earth Day".  Feel free to join the conversation, enjoy a cup of coffee, or just listen in.

 

A Host (s) is needed to provide our after worship refreshments this Sunday, April 20.  Refreshments need not be elaborate, just something simple to gather around as we visit after worship.  Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday's refreshments.  Use the sign-up sheet in the foyer to volunteer for a Sunday later in the spring.

 

BREAKING NEWS!! Kentucky Refugee Ministries has assigned a refugee family to Walnut Hill for sponsorship.  Details are still being received, but here is what we know now. Our family (a single mother and two children) is scheduled to arrive in Lexington on Thursday, May 1.  Our family's country of origin is Iraq. For more information and/or to volunteer your time and other resources, please contact Nelson Barnes.

 

HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS REBUILD: At its recent meeting, the Walnut Hill Vestry agreed to a partnership with the Grace United Methodist Church (Lucedale, MS) to help Grace Church equip a dormitory building to be used by volunteer workgroups engaged in ongoing post-Katrina rebuilding.  Walnut Hill's particular commitment is to underwrite the H/VAC system for the living quarters of the dormitory.  Total cost of the project is $6,000, of which the Vestry has committed $3,000 from money on hand.  Gifts toward the $3,000 balance are now being received.  Checks may be payable to Walnut Hill Church, designated "Mississippi".  For more information regarding this project, check out the bulletin board in Trinity Hall and/or contact Lyle Hanna.

 

Thanks, news, etc...

     *Thanks to...Dick Shore for his presentation at our recent Men's Dinner;  Ruth Sharrard for her "second Sunday" remarks regarding Walnut Hill's meaning in her life; Nell Horman and Amy Trail for their work with the children; Nell & Mark Horman and the children's choir parents for last Sunday's after worship refreshments; Lee Tucker for hosting this week's Women's Guild meeting.

     *Alexandra Rose Wallen, daughter of Joanne and Jody Wallen, received the sacrament of Christian Baptism during morning worship on Sunday, April 13.

     *Cynthia Priem, recipient of the Walnut Hill Church Ecumenical Scholarship, will be preaching for the chapel service at Lexington Theological Seminary on Tuesday, April 22, 11:30am.  Walnut Hill members are invited to attend.

 

Peace to all.

 

Mike Ward

weekly letter

April 9, 2008

 

Greetings to all!

 

Gratitude is an important aspect of life, as suggested in the following poem by Eileen Caddy.

 

             Give thanks for everything you have,

             For everything you receive,

            And for everything you are going to receive.

            Never cease to give thanks,

            For this positive attitude towards life-

            The very act of giving thanks-

            Draws the best out of you,

            Helps to keep your heart and mind open;

            Helps to keep your awareness expanding.

            The more blessings you count,

            The more they increase.

(as found in Woman Prayers)

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, April 13, the Fourth Sunday of Easter:

     Acts 2:42-47

     Psalm 23

     1 Peter 2:19-25

     John 10:1-10

 

*The next Walnut Hill Men's Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 10, 6pm, at Joseph Beth Bookseller's Café.  Our special guest for the evening will be Dick Shore who will speak regarding the mining practice of mountaintop removal, stream quality and related issues.  

 

*A Host(s) is needed for our after worship refreshments this Sunday, April 13.  Refreshments need not be elaborate, just something around which to gather as we enjoy fellowship with each other.  Use reply email or contact the church office (263-5304) if you would like to host or co-host this Sunday's refreshments.  Use the sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer to volunteer for Sundays later in the spring.

 

*The Walnut Hill Working Group is in session this Sunday, April 13, 10am in Trinity Hall.  Members and friends are invited to gather as we talk about "Inviting and Keeping Youth, Young Adults, and Families."  Feel free to join the conversation, enjoy a cup of coffee, or just listen in.  Nursery care will be available for infants and small children. The Walnut Hill Working Group is an ongoing series of open conversations on the second Sunday of the month focusing on issues of importance for Walnut Hill's life and ministry.

 

*The Walnut Hill Women's Guild will meet on Monday, April 14, 1:30pm, at the home of Lee Tucker (3216 Saxon Drive) for fellowship, Bible study, and refreshments.  This month's study continues the series based on the book Ten Gospel Promises for Later Life as we consider the chapter, "Forgiveness Is Always Offered."

 

Thanks, news, etc...

     *Thanks to...David Sharrard for emergency flood control work; Phil Bloomfield for preparing the Communion elements; Amy Trail for her work with the children; the Choir, Cory Sharrard, Ruth Sharrard, Linda and Nelson Barnes for their assistance during worship; Lee Sturtevant and Tom Ward for our after worship refreshments; Transylvania Presbytery's General Presbyter Richard Smith for his visit to Walnut Hill ...last Sunday.

     *The Vestry will meet this Sunday, April 13, 9:30am, in Trinity Hall.

 

Peace to all.

 

Mike Ward

weekly letter

April 2, 2008

 

Greetings to all!

 

Spring break is travel time for many families.  Henri Nouwen reflects on the notion of travel and life.

 

     Traveling - seeing new sights, hearing new music, and meeting new people - is exciting and exhilarating. But when we have no home to return to where someone will ask us, "How was your trip?" we might be less eager to go. Traveling is joyful when we travel with the eyes and ears of those who love us, who want to see our slides and hear our stories. 

     This is what life is about.  It is being sent on a trip by a loving God, who is waiting at home for our return and is eager to watch the slides we took and hear about the friends we made.  When we travel with the eyes and ears of the God who sent us, we will see wonderful sights, hear wonderful sounds, meet wonderful people...and be happy to return home.

(as found in Bread for the Journey)

 

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, April 6, the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Holy Communion:

     Acts 2:36-41

     1 Peter 1:17-23

     Luke 24:13-35

 

A Special Guest:  This Sunday, April 6, we welcome a visit from the Rev. Richard Smith, newly installed General Presbyter of Transylvania Presbytery.  Rev. Smith will bring greetings from the Presbytery and participate in the liturgy.  Mike Ward will offer the sermon for the day.  Rev. Smith's visit affirms our ongoing covenant relationship with the Presbytery of Transylvania.

 

Sunday Conversations regarding the lessons for the day (see above) continue this Sunday, April 6, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  Feel free to join the conversation, enjoy a cup coffee, or just listen in. 

 

*The next Walnut Hill Men's Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 10, 6pm, at Joseph Beth Bookseller's Café.  Our special guest for the evening will be Dick Shore who will speak regarding the mining practice of mountaintop removal, stream quality and related issues.  Contact Gene Brockopp (268-2045) or use the sign up sheet in the Sanctuary to rsvp.

 

*The Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass is organizing several interfaith dialogue groups for the spring.  These groups (10 persons each) are by invitation and will include participants from various religious traditions who will gather on three occasions for a meal and guided conversation.  Walnut Hill has been invited to nominate two persons for this program, one of which has been selected. One seat remains open for the group that will meet on Thursday evenings (April 24, May 8 and 22), 6:30pm – 8:30pm;   Meeting location to be announced.   Contact Mike Ward if you would like to participate in this program.

 

Thanks, news, etc...

     *Thanks to...The Rev. Canon Johnnie Ross, from the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, for his visit with us last Sunday; David Sharrard for his service at the organ; Amy Trail for her work with the children; Nell & Mark Horman for their assistance during worship; Shirley & Bill Riley, John Saunders, Natalie Watt, David Morton, and Barbara Waldmann-Ward for our after worship refreshments.

     *Copies of the 2008 roster of Members and Friends have been prepared and are available for pickup in the Sanctuary.  Thanks to Jim and Lee Tucker for their effort in preparing the 2008 roster.

 

Peace to all.

 

Mike Ward