THE CHRIST  CHURCHER

April 2013
RECTOR’S NOTES
Our Easter services this year were splendid and were
well attended. My thanks to our altar guild, our
flower guild (the birds were especially delightful!),
our acolytes and ushers, our staff, our property managers, volunteers, the “A Team”, and to Michael
Trinder and our superb choir who put it so much
extra time. What a great job everyone did to make
the liturgies as beautiful as they were.
T
he ferns bordering the road
Are like tender creatures:
They barely push up from the ground,
Curled in a spiral, and yet
Right now they are ready for their loves
Alternate and green, more intricate than ours.
I can’t tell you how many times I hear people in the
community comment on our church and how beautiful it is, especially as the April thaw comes and the
first flowers are planted. We have much to be proud
of. Be sure to show off our church by inviting friends
and neighbors to come join us and share with us in
worship and the Good News of the gospel: Alleluia.
Christ is risen!
Their germs chafe at the bit,
Tiny males and tiny females,
In the rusty sporangium.
They will erupt at the first rain,
Swimming in the first drop,
Eager and agile:long live the bride and groom!
We are tired of winter. The bit
Of frost has left its mark
On flesh, minds, mud and wood.
Let the thaw come and melt the memory
Of last year’s snow.
-
From Primo Levi’s “The Thaw”
Come April I think of this poem by Primo Levi. I
suspect I am not the only one who is now tired of
winter and chaffing at the bit, eager for the ferns and
their rusty sporangium to do their thing, by helping
breaking the dark spell of a season whose season has
left its mark and whose demise I can only cheer. I am
wearied as I am by heavy clothes and boots and endless cold feet and shivering.
Not only do we celebrate the bride and the groom of
spring, but fittingly our liturgical year (in these northern climes) mirrors nature in the triumph of God’s
power over what seemed lost and hopeless, given us
an image of that power which can deliver us as well.
Christ is risen indeed, which gives us the hope and
assurance that we, too, are raised with him to new life.
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you leave. Not everyone has made it out alive.
Things are different for celebrities—there are
many perks for them—though the pressure to
remain is intense, and some, at least, appear to
have felt intimidated by it and others actively prevented from “blowing,” or even forcibly been
brought back. Or smeared, or charged with heinous crimes, or hounded relentlessly. It gave me
new sympathy for Katie Holmes, though Wright
does not refer to her evidently carefully-managed
escape in his book. However, he does mention
Tom Cruise and his exalted position in the organization repeatedly. The “creep factor” that has
been an ongoing problem for Cruise is only intensified after you read this book! The questions this
book raised for me are those created by a religion
in which revelation leads to the abuse and manipulation of its followers through fear losing their
“souls”—not the word Scientology uses, but it
has the same general meaning.
ASSOCIATE’S NOTES
I
have read or am reading several books that I
think people might find of interest, and I thought
I’d bring them to your attention.
The first is called Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence
Wright. I had read a few things about Scientology before this, including a long article in the New
Yorker by the same author a year or two ago, but
this book gave me a much better sense of the real
insidiousness of Scientology than anything I have
ever read before, probably because it is far more
in depth. I knew L. Ron Hubbard had been a
science fiction writer, though I had never happened to read anything by him. This seems surprising to me, as before he died he had written
about a thousand books, and I devoured science
fiction as a child and adolescent. (However, admittedly many of his books seem to be aimed at
people interested in Scientology, and the rest
seem to have been the sort carried as pulp fiction,
not in libraries.) In any case, I was aware that he
had inaugurated Scientology as a “scientific” religion that was more like an ethical system, and
had a vague idea that after he died it had become
something more sinister. The book makes it apparent that the sinister aspects were woven into
the warp and woof of Scientology from the beginning, and that his heirs only continue to apply
his methods of what I can only describe as mind
control. What is staggering is how successful it is.
People sign “billion year contracts”, sometimes at
age 6 or 7, and join the Sea Org, which is basically a kind of semi-enslaved “clergy.” The members
of Sea Org can at any time, on a seeming whim,
be raised up or knocked down, and being
knocked down may include anything from cleaning bathrooms with your tongue to being beaten
and a host of unpleasant choices in between. Sea
org members may work for years for a salary of a
few dollars a month, eating poor and scanty food,
in exchange for free “auditing,” which is how one
progresses in Scientology. If you try to leave, you
get a bill for all your auditing that may amount
to hundreds of thousands of dollars—if they let
So that leads me to another book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon
Krakauer. This explores the other end of the theological spectrum, in one sense, but the parallels
between the polygamous Mormon fundamentalism depicted in this book and Scientology were
striking. The manipulation and abuse of followers—or those who resist—through the use of
“revelation” and the threat of eternal damnation is
incredibly disturbing. Krakauer in not gunning for
Mormons per se—though his exploration of the
early history of the sect is eye-opening, to say the
least. Joseph Smith apparently practiced polygamy
secretly for years—along with some of his top
aides—before that particular “revelation” was
delivered to his followers, and although the Mormon church later abrogated it, the language in
which it was given by Smith—that it was an eternal command of Almighty God—accounts for its
ongoing popularity with various Mormon splinter
groups. I did not know until I had read this book
that there is a town of 5000 polygamists in the
most hard-to-reach part of Arizona in which girls
are routinely “married” to much older men at ages
like 12 and 14. And that they believe if they refuse, they will be damned for all eternity.
(Continued on page 3)
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(Continued from page 2)
He does not shy away from thornier issues, like
autism and schizophrenia, where the love is great,
but the heartbreak may also be correspondingly
great—and, in the case of schizophrenia, not
something one anticipated, as it does not usually
manifest until early adulthood.
The focus of Under the Banner of Heaven is two
mainstream Mormon brothers who converted to
fundamentalism and became convinced not only
of the rightness of polygamy, but of the need for
women to be utterly subservient to men. When
the wife of one left him, with their six children,
because he became frighteningly violent, he
blamed Brenda, the outspoken wife of another of
his brothers who had encouraged her to leave.
The two brothers killed Brenda—and her 15
month old daughter—by slashing their throats,
and believe they were doing so at the command
of God. The two books together raise interesting
questions about religious tolerance, as well as revelation and scripture—how do you know what is
“true religion”? Even—what is “church”? Should
Scientology be a tax-free zone? Read the book to
see what happened when the IRS tried to prove it
wasn’t a church!
All of these books are making me think, and I
would be delighted, if anyone reads any or all, to
hear your reactions to them.
Judy Buck-Glenn
COMMUNION CLASS
The third book is called Far from the Tree, by
Andrew Sullivan, and it deals with the situations
of families who have a child who differs from the
norm in ways that they never expected. The author got interested in the question because he is
gay, and he was well aware of his own family’s
struggle to accept his sexual orientation. But he
explores deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome,
autism, schizophrenia and other conditions that
upend families’ expectations. He is well aware of
the struggles and sorrows, but also the resilience
of love and hope that often shines through despite everything. It is an enormous book—I am
four hundred pages into it and am not even halfway—but it is a book that will make you think
about issues you might never have previously considered. Should deaf children get cochlear implants, or should they be raised to be “proudly”
deaf? Wouldn’t the world be the poorer for it is
we lost that unique language, “Sign”? Should
parents undergo amniocentesis to eliminate the
possibility of giving birth to a child with Down
syndrome, or dwarfism—and might they not
thereby miss out on a surprising way to find love?
There is a signup sheet on Judy Buck-Glenn’s door for
children who wish to attend the Holy Communion
Class on Wednesday May 1 and Wednesday May 8.
Classes begin at 4 PM and end at 5:15. It will be led
by Judy Buck-Glenn and Cheryl Huber.
Children attending can be of any age from 5 and up.
They only need to be able to sit for an hour and to
read on a second grade level. Baptized persons of any
age, including very small children, are welcome to receive Communion in the Episcopal Church. This class
is simply intended to instruct children more fully
about the sacrament, even if they are already receiving
Communion.
In the May 8 session the children will be instructed in
what to do at the altar, and they will get to taste unconsecrated bread and wine. If your child has never
taken Communion, it is important not to miss this
class, but other arrangements for this instruction can
be made if there is an emergency.
Children in the class come as a group to the altar to
receive the sacrament first on Mother’s Day Sunday at
the 10:00 service. This year Mother’s Day falls on
May 12. We also invite family members and godparents to come up with the child. We will make other
arrangements for your child if you are unable to attend
that service.
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Wednesday, May 1st. There was some discussion as to
who should be trained – i.e., the staff, Vestry and ushers at a minimum – which may require more than one
session depending on the maximum number allowed
per training. Cheryl noted that with regard to minimum age, the response was that if they can pay attention and follow instructions, they can be trained. It
was decided that Father would initiate an on-line survey identifying the proposed dates to determine the
best date for majority availability. He will then distribute an email advising of when the training will take
place.
Vestry Notes
The Vestry of Christ Church met on Thursday, March
21, 2013. Father Tompkins presided and the meeting
opened with prayer at 7:10 p.m. The February minutes
were unanimously approved as presented.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Carol King presented the Financial Report for month
ending February 2013 noting the following:
Income was ahead $2,848 for the month; and behind $821 year to date. Carol noted that
there was a significant pick up in pledge payments, that we are currently only behind by
$185, and overall we are doing well.
Expenses for the month were over by $19, and
over by $822 year to date.
Property Committee Report
Bill Graham reported that Robert and Lynn White
had received the quote from Front Line for Landscaping totaling $2700 and that it includes the mulching.
Bill indicated that he had received a quote from
Jowder, but had not yet opened it.
The financial report was unanimously approved as presented.
A motion was made and unanimously passed authorizing the Property Committee to spend up to $2800 for
landscaping services.
Carol then presented the Finance Committee recommendation regarding re-balancing of the short term
investment account. The committee had met with
Christ Church’s financial advisor and with his guidance, presented the following: Merrill Lynch will rebalance the short term investment account to mirror
our Grayson Fund account, setting the equity portion
of the account at 60% and the bond portion at 40%.
(This reflects a rebalance of the fund from the current
set at 35% equity; 64% bonds).
Bill also indicated that the committee was waiting on a
second quote for the electrical upgrade and panel replacement; and that the hand sanitizers were installed
and working. Father reported that the washing machine had broken and the quote of $500 to fix or
$599 to buy new was investigated. This procurement
did not need Vestry approval as it is below the $1,000
threshold.
Update on the Vestry Website
Father Tompkins presented progress on the website
with a demonstration of the format and types of information that will be uploaded. Each member will receive a password in order to access the information.
The website will effectively replace the cumbersome
Vestry books.
A question was raised regarding the performance of the
Grayson Fund. It was noted that at the end of 2012,
the fund had realized a 10% gain.
A motion was made and unanimously passed accepting
the rebalancing of the short term investment account
based on the Finance Committee above recommendation.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE PARISH
Ken Mobley reported on a bus trip that he is coordinating to New York City now scheduled for April
20th. The trip will feature stops at Ground Zero,
Lunch near the Cathedral (on own) and St. John the
Divine Cathedral. The cost will be $38.00 and the
trip will be 12 hours (7AM to 7PM). A flyer will be
distributed at Sunday Service.
NEW BUSINESS
New Committee Chairs
Betsy Kirkpatrick presented the nomination of Judy
Yorke as Chairman of the Personnel Committee, replacing Ollie Rhine whose term was expiring. A motion was made and unanimously passed approving Judy
as the Personnel Committee Chair for the next three
years.
Father reported the Mike Huppman would be presenting the proposed By-Law changes at the next meeting.
CPR & AED Training
Cheryl Huber has spoken with Brian Gilmore regarding
CPR and AED training dates, noting that there will be
a $5.00 fee per certification card issued. The following
dates were presented for consideration: Monday (April
8 or 22nd), Tuesday (April 23rd), Friday (April 26th) or
There being no further business, the meeting
adjourned with prayer at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Victoria Myers, Vestry Clerk
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BabyManna Collection on
Mother’s Day
BOOK GROUP
INTERGENERATIONAL MOVIE
NIGHT, MONDAY MAY 13
F
or Mother’s Day for a number of years, members
of the parish of Christ Church have been invited to
participate in the BabyManna project sponsored by
Philabundance. Philabundance is dedicated to driving
hunger from our communities, and serves the entire 5
county Greater Philadelphia region.
On Monday evening May 13 starting at 6 PM The
Book Group will have its Intergenerational Spring
Movie Night.
This year the movie is Inkheart, based on the bestselling book of the same name by Cornelia Funke.
12,000 babies are born into poverty in the Delaware
Valley every year, and many of these children will be
at risk for malnutrition, which affects brain and physical development, and can cause anemia, weakened
immune systems, depression, anxiety and aggression
and increased childhood mortality. BabyManna provides formula and nutritious food for infants and toddlers, giving these children the healthiest possible start
in life. Envelopes will be available in your bulletin on
Mother’s Day, and in the back of church the Sunday
before and afterwards.
When Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) reads a story,
the characters literally come to life. And that's a huge
problem. Mo must discover how to use his uncanny
powers to send these interlopers back to their world in
order to save ours. Mo and his daughter Meggie, with
the help of both real and fictional friends, are plunged
into a quest that confronts them with dangers at every
turn in a delightful movie for people of all ages.
The wonderful cast also includes Helen Mirren, Jim
Broadbent, Andy Serkis and Paul Bettany.
ALL ARE INVITED! We gather in the Deppich
Room at 6 for pizza and salad, and then will watch
the movie beginning at about 6:15 or so. It is 106
minutes long.
35
Flowering Hanging Baskets
Coming in May!
Confirmation Class
As a reminder: there is a signup sheet for this summer’s Confirmation class on Judy Buck-Glenn’s office
door. Please sign up so that Rev. Judy will know how
many to expect. She has to order books for the attendees.
P
athways will again be selling hanging baskets this
May. They will be available for purchase at the 5:30
service on Saturday May 4 and on Sunday May 4 at
both services, and at the services on Saturday May 11
and Sunday May 12, which is Mother’s Day Weekend.
We will also have baskets for sale at the Spring Fling
on Saturday, May 11.
The class will run for four days from Monday July 29
-Thursday Aug 3, from 9:30 AM- 1:30 PM. There
will also be some “homework”. Please plan on bringing a lunch.
Confirmation will be on some Sunday after the beginning of November—the date of the Bishop’s visitation
has not yet been set.
Both 10 and 12 inch baskets will be available. 10 inch
baskets have one kind of flower; 12 inch baskets have
three. Baskets will include flowers suitable for shade,
part sun and full sun. Unfortunately, because of downy
mildew, no reputable plant nursery will be able to offer
impatiens this year. The spores are in the air and water,
as well as the soil. The nursery we work with is providing alternative shade plants.
There will also be order forms available in the back of
church if you would like to preorder a particular kind
of hanging basket. You can also speak to Kathy
Okarski about preordering a basket or baskets. Flowers
that will bloom all summer make great and lasting
Mother’s Day gifts!
Please help support Pathways by buying a basket!
6
APRIL BIRTHDAYS
3
Rohan Bordas
Abigail Chappelle
Melissa McQuade
Paul Watkins
4
21
Eric Cline
Meghan Geiser
Milena Myro
Jimmy Modesti
Ethel Ross
23
Kylie Elliott
James Gilson
6
Natalia Kunze
Bill Whaley
25
Rodger Abrams
Kathy Klee
8
Rosalie Hayes
26
Claire Webber
Kerri Whitaker
9
Bill Cousin
Pamela Smith
27
Gerry Martz
10
John Shemeluk
28
11
Thomas Blake
Kenneth Clark
Eleanor Humes
Janis Conner
Madisyn Marsich
Walter Stretch
29
Adam Cline
Cheri Gilson
Ava Hopkins
Matthew Malone
Rose Winstanley-Trefz
30
Alex Hollar
Al Humes
Alex Shannon
12
Nancy Canon
Dean DiFilippo
Savannah Roney
13
Ann Bonner
Elijah Chappelle
16
William Keller
Patrick O’Neill
17
Jeff DiBlasi
Matthew Stretch
19
Jan Iannacci
20
Candice Lunari
Heather Watkins
7
58
April 2013
10
April 2013
Spring Fling
Christ Church Episcopal
104 Nevin St Ridley Park
Saturday, May 11 2012
9:00AM-2:00 PM
White Elephant
Baked Goods
Moon Bounce
Hanging Baskets
Hot dogs/soda/soft pretzels
Mission Statement
The mission of Christ Church is to be a caring community of individuals seeking to be better
persons and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ within the Episcopal Tradition. We share the
Gospel:
1) through meaningful and joyful worship;
2) through educating and nurturing the youth of our congregation;
3) through a family spirit of loving fellowship and acceptance;
4) and through welcoming support groups and community
organizations to use our facilities.
Vestry Members
CHRIST CHURCH OFFICE
610-521-1626
The Rev. Douglas Tompkins, Rector
ext. 22
The Rev. Judith Buck-Glenn, Associate Rector ext. 24
The Rev. Wm. Musselman, Rector Emeritus
Ted Bickish, Organist
ext. 23
Mary Lou Patton, Secretary/Admin Assistant ext. 21
Kathy Okarski, Pathways
ext. 25
Robert & Lynn White, Property Managers
ext. 26
Gerry Martz, Financial Secretary
ext. 28
Church Office Hours: M-F, 9—1:30
www.ChristChurchRidleyPark.org
Bill Graham 302-475-9429
Michael Huppman
534-1292
Betsy Kirkpatrick
362-0442
John Rubillo
Ken Mobley
543-7314
Carol King
461-1262
Nancy Mobley 543-7814
Edward Dougherty
484-953-5473
Amy Lovenguth
484-494-4448
Janice Kordowski 534-7663
Mike Barnard 521-1311
Cheryl Huber 522-0732
Michael White 551-2384
Judy Yorke 61-521-3022
Horace B. Griffith, III
520 Chester Pike
Norwood, PA 19074
610-586-2142
Griffith Funeral Chapel
Serving the community since 1898
Cline Home Services
F. KIRK ADAMS
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Six East Hinckley Avenue
Suite 201
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania 19078
Wayne A. Cline
Registered Representative
208 East Rose Valley Road
Wallingford, PA 19086
Tel.: 610-657-9107
Fax: 610-566-3067
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (610) 521-8800
Fax: (610) 521-5868
Cell Phone: (610) 476-6918
E-Mail: [email protected]
Custom Woodwork * Closets * Decks
Doors & Windows Installations * Kitchen Refinishing
Flooring * Painting * Drywall and Spackling
Handyman Services * No Job Too Small
Licensed and Fully Insured
Adam Cline
610-457-9672
[email protected]
PA 094719
Michael Capozzoli
Vice-President
Capozzoli Catering
801 Morton Ave. Folsom, PA 19033
610-532-5704 1-800 .643-8981 fax: 610-532-2590
For over 60 years, serving the Tri-state area
www.CapozzoliCatering.com
YI CLEANERS & ALTERATIONS
610-521-1483
LISA YI
121 SELLERS AVENUE
RIDLEY PARK, PA 19078
INTERESTED IN LISTING
YOUR BUSINESS HERE?
CALL THE CHURCH
OFFICE AT (610) 521-1626
(610) 521-9977
(610) 521-5455
Fax (610) 521-9541
Bill Graham, owner
CHRIST CHURCH
Episcopal
104 Nevin Street
Ridley Park, PA 19078
Bill Graham’s Service Center
Auto Repair
State Inspections & Emissions
109 E. Sellers Ave
Ridley Park