St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Newcastle, Maine

Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers for immediate work on the Caledonia Lane, Bristol, house.  Opportunities to help include active construction, greeting volunteers, preparing lunch and/or snacks for volunteers, working with the prospective homeowners.  If you can help, please contact Michele at 386-5081.  A St. Andrew’s work day will be held in September, date to be determined. Contact Carol at 563-3980 if you are interested.

Help build Hope as you build a Home.

Saturday, July 31st from 9-2:  St. Giles Country Fair
Rt. 126, Jefferson,   www.stgilesjefferson.org.

Saturday, August 7 from 9-2:  Bristol Church Fair & Art Show
Congregational Church of Bristol, Rt. 130, Bristol Mills.

Please see the fliers on the bulletin board for more details.

Sunday, July 25th there will be a Haitian art sale in the atrium from 9:00am to 1:00pm to benefit the children of Haiti.

We set the  metric for the success of this year’s Fair as participation.  And we achieved that fully.  The degree of participation was matched by the ease if not joy with which it was expressed.  That was a remarkably satisfying experience for all of us.

There’s a dynamic relationship between generosity and gratitude.  Generosity elicits gratitude and gratitude engenders generosity.  It’s not always clear which comes first because of the abundance of both.  You are not only a generous group, you also generate much gratitude.  Thank you so much for your participation ~ Rob Flory

Updated Fair total:  $19,950

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY announces two important upcoming dates.  On Wednesday, June 23 there will be a Volunteer Kickoff Meeting in the Undercroft from 5:30-6:30 pm.  This will be a time to learn about opportunities to work on the Bristol house and about other ways to support the Habitat mission.  Then on Saturday, June 26 a Ceremonial Groundbreaking will be held at 9:30am at the building site on Caledonia Lane (off Bristol Road about 1 mile north of the school).  Come meet the Younker family, see the site and enjoy some delicious refreshments.  FMI, Carol Hartman 563-3980.

Volunteering for Habitat isn’t all about building or baking pies.  Other volunteer opportunities are available for those of you with other talents.  Since the affiliate will be starting several new homes this summer and fall, 2 in Brunswick and 1 on Coggins Road, Bristol there is an immediate need for more members to serve on the Family Selection Committee and on the Family Advocate Committee. Both these committees work directly with applicant families and the partnership families.  Volunteers are also needed in several areas to help with the fall fundraising event which will feature an auction of creatively constructed and decorated birdhouses.  This is a great opportunity for folks with organizational skills or those who are at all artistic. And, of course, more volunteers are always welcome to work in the ReStore located next to the Habitat office in Bath.  For more information or to volunteer for any of these activities, you may contact Michele at the Habitat office, 386-5081.

The Caledonia Lane home is now underway, finally. The Steve and Amy Younker family has been selected for the home and they are now busily working on their “sweat equity” hours.  Come to our next pie sale, July 3, and meet Amy.  I will be organizing a work day at the house site for a Saturday in September.  Anyone interested can let me know or see the sign up sheet which will be posted in the Atrium when the date is determined.  Those who wish to work at the site as a single volunteer should call the Habitat office and speak to Michele.

The Spring Walk, held in Bath on May 2, raised nearly $25,000.  Walkers from St. Andrew’s, who raised just over $500, included Ann and Kelley Kash, Marie Arnold, Linda Archambault, John and Carol Hartman.  Not a bad showing, but I know that we can do better next year!

Look for the new Habitat banner coming soon in the Atrium.  Since we are a Covenant Church and encouraged to have a banner on display, one is now being constructed by our own quilter extraordinaire, Sarah Houghton.

For more information on local Habitat activities, please contact Carol Hartman, 563-3980.

We will be following a DVD series from the “Great Courses” series entitled “Great World Religions”. Meeting times are every other Thursday at 3:30 in the Parish House from April 1-June 10th, and will continue this fall.

Friends–

Some of you have expressed particular concern about the two villages St. Andrew’s has supported, Figaro and Gros Morne. We have had no direct word about them, but both villages are far to the north of Port-au-Prince–a 6 or 7-hour drive–and we have reason to hope that they suffered little or no damage. On the other hand, the two schools we have supported, St. Vincent’s
School for the Handicapped and Holy Trinity Music School (home of the Petit Chanteurs, who have visited Maine) are both in the capital and have likely suffered grave damage. The timing of the quake gives us hope that the schools were both closed at the time, but of course, all of those living in
the capital were at risk.

What we do know is that, given the magnitude of this disaster, of the 9 million residents of Haiti, probably virtually everyone suffered some kind of loss, be it family, friends, or property. We continue to pray for all of Haiti and trust God to help them find light in the darkness.

As I mentioned yesterday, we are urging all who can to contribute to Episcopal Relief and Development, the Episcopal Church agency that is already on the ground in Port-au-Prince and able to provide direct aid with your help. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL CHECKS FOR HAITI PRESENTED AT SUNDAY’S OFFERING SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO “EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT,” and
we will forward them directly to ERD. I do hope you will present them at the offering, however, rather than sending them independently to New York,
so that we may reach out together as a community of faith.

Faithfully,

Frank

Please consult your email in the event of bad weather or the possibility of a cancellation of services. Email is the most efficient way for us to reach almost everyone in the parish, although closings will also be posted on the local ABC, CBS, and NBC TV affiliates.