The Saint Barnabas Connection
Pentecost ~ Summer 2013
The Newsletter of Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Episcopal Church
13 West Bates Avenue, Villas, New Jersey 08251
609-886-5960 ~ www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
 
From Pastor Lisa
Over the past couple of weeks as I have been
recovering from my wrist surgery, I picked up
and read a little book that I had bought some
time ago. The premise of Anne Lamott’s book,
Help, Thanks, Wow is “that there is something to
be said about keeping prayer simple.” I think
that Ms. Lamott is on to something here. It is in
our human nature to want to complicate things –
to overthink things. And our prayer lives are not
exempt from this propensity.
Since prayer is such an integral part of who I am,
it really got me thinking about how I might
incorporate the principles of the book in my own
prayer life and how it might affect how I
personally pray. What if we were able to retain
the things that are at the heart of our prayers
while worrying less about the words we use to
pray? Is it possible for us to allow ourselves to be
less hung up on how we pray and be more
focused on why we pray? Could you imagine
how incorporating simplicity and honesty in our
prayer lives might affect the ways in which we
offered ourselves and our prayers to God?
It is impossible for us to understand so many
things – why certain people get sick, what
causes natural disasters such as tornadoes to
level one house while leaving the neighboring
property unscathed, and how it is that people do
such horrific things to one another. It sometimes
is hard to find the words to pray for things that
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we cannot accept or understand. There is really
only one word that we need to pray – help. God
knows those things that reside in the deepest
parts of our hearts – God knows the details. We
don’t need to be able to articulate them.
If you sat down at the end of the day to write a
list of all of the things that you experienced for
which you wanted to show God your gratitude,
would you be able to do it? Could you
remember all of the little things like the sounds
of the seagulls in the afternoon, the company of
friends and family, or getting the close parking
space at the Shop Rite in the pouring rain? A
simple one word prayer is all you need to offer to
God in order to express your gratitude – thanks.
As Anne Lamott tells us there is one third great
prayer that we can offer in times of great grief or
unexpected wonder. One last single word
prayer that we can exclaim when help or thanks
is not enough to convey the emotions welling up
inside of us. The final word that sums up the
chaos and beauty of the world around us and the
enormity and generosity of God’s grace and love
for us. It is the word that is uttered when there
are no words left that can convey the intensity of
the emotions that well up inside of us – wow.
And there you have it. The only three words we
really need to know in order to pray:
Help. Thanks. Wow.
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find ourselves faced with death. It is natural for
us, even as people of faith, to question or even
fear what happens to us or our loved ones when
that final moment of our earthly lives has passed.
It is impossible for us truly to understand those
things that we have not yet experienced.
Therefore, in our search for understanding, we
turn to the life and words of Jesus Christ to help
bring us clarity and hope in times of pain and
loss.
Dot
Dorothy R. Yoast, age 90, of Villas passed away
peacefully on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at her
home. Dorothy was born June 16, 1922 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter
of the late Joseph A. and the late Emma
(Reimer) Foley. Dorothy was a charter member of
Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Episcopal Church
and a longtime member of the Altar Guild there.
She was predeceased by her husband, Raymond
E. Yoast Sr. on January 24, 1996. Dorothy is
survived by her son Raymond (Rosemary) Yoast
of Vineland, New Jersey; her son Joseph Yoast of
Forrest Park, Georgia; her son John (Deborah)
Yoast of South Dennis, New Jersey; 10
grandchildren; and 5 great grandchildren. There
was a viewing and funeral service on Tuesday,
April 23, 2013 at Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay
Episcopal Church. Interment was private.

A Celebration in Thanksgiving
For the Life of Dorothy Regina Yoast
Pastor Lisa’s sermon
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Often times, as human beings, we wrestle with
the idea of what awaits us in our future. We
struggle even more so with that idea when we
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Jesus is the tangible presence of God in the
world – the part of God that we can truly relate
to – a man who was born, who lived and who
died. Someone that the disciples were able to
talk to, to touch and to see. Yet it sometimes
remains difficult for us, as human beings, to grasp
how are we able to experience God now that
Jesus has ascended to his place with the Father
in heaven. Where does that leave us and those
that we love?
In his revelation to John, Jesus tells us that the
home of God is among mortals. That God will
dwell among us and that death and crying and
pain will be no more. That he will wipe every
tear from our eye. And while in our hearts we
know the way to that dwelling place is through
Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, our
struggle to understand and even to believe Jesus’
words can continue. But that is okay.
Jesus’ words in our Gospel reading this morning
seek to answer that question – to help those of us
who remain in our earthly bodies understand
that through our experiences of Christ in this life
– whatever those experiences may be – we are
able to experience God through an eternal
relationship with the Father that goes even
beyond death.
The words of Jesus in John’s Gospel this morning
acknowledge that our eternal relationship with
God is something that is difficult for us to
understand and accept. He acknowledges the
fact that even though in our hearts we believe
that we and those we love go to our Father’s
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house after our earthly death, we are still often
afraid about what awaits us.
Jesus offers us comfort and assurance in his words
this morning. He tells us - “Do not let your hearts
be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling
places. If it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?”
Jesus has gone to his Father’s house to prepare a
place for you, for me and for Dorothy. My
dwelling place, your dwelling place and
Dorothy’s dwelling place is unlike anything
prepared for anyone else – it is for each of us as
individuals who come to an understanding of our
Lord and Savior in our own way. It is a place
filled with those things that personally speak to
us of God’s love for us and our love for him. We
all see God in different ways and through
different things and I believe that will be
reflected in that space that God has set aside for
us to reside in his heart.
When I arrived here a year and half ago,
everyone – and I mean everyone – told me that
that they couldn’t wait for me to meet Dot. My
impression as the new priest was that this lady
must be really be one of those people who lives
at the heart of the church. And my impression
was right. I can’t say that when I met her she was
exactly as I had envisioned her to be. From what
everyone had told me, Dot was a formidable
presence – and yet when I first saw her there
stood this slight and gentle woman. And yet in
her gentleness was a conviction and a
stubbornness that belied her physical
appearance. Every week – sometimes several
time a week – she would say hello to me as she
walked pass my house on her way to the church
or to Gaiss’ market never deterred by the
weather or the pain in her legs. Every holiday I
would find her in the kitchen using the step
ladder to change the curtains using her walker
as a support. I would offer my assistance to help
and tell her that I didn’t think it was a good idea
for her to be up on that ladder and every time
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she would acknowledge me and then promptly
ignore me. She took great pride in making sure
that the church was immaculately set for every
service – especially baptisms. Until it had
become too difficult for her to sit and stand – she
never missed a Sunday – always standing in the
back of the church with the clicker in one hand
and the bulletins in the other. And no matter
how many bulletins we had, she always
encouraged people to share them making sure
that the last person to walk through the door
would have one. And when she could no longer
make it to church – she continued to serve God
and the congregation of Saint Barnabas – by
helping the other ladies of altar guild prepare
the palms for Palm Sunday and folding and
stuffing the Sunday bulletins right up until the
Sunday before she died.
For me, I loved our visits together. I would bring
her communion but for her it was more about the
conversation and her having a chance to show
me her sunflower collections, her Campbell soup
memorabilia and the decorative items that her
husband Raymond had made. Each birthday
and holiday, without fail, I would receive a
handwritten card in Dot’s impeccable
handwriting, to celebrate the occasion.
For Dorothy, the dwelling place that God has
prepared for her in heaven may well be filled
with sunflowers, and palms, and Campbell soup
kids. One thing I know for sure is that all the
curtains and decorations will match and that her
beloved Raymond will be there to greet her. But
most of all, in this dwelling place created just for
her – a place that she arrived at with the
assistance of God and those six white horses, our
beloved Dorothy is surrounded by the great love
that God holds for her as a beloved child of God.
Amen.
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Elouise Josephine Worthington was baptized on
Sunday, April 28, during our 10 AM Eucharist.
We welcome Elouise into the family of Jesus.
Elouise's parents are Rhiannon and Daniel
Worthington from Villas. Congratulations!
The Reverend Susan E. Cushinotto is now with us
as deacon at Saint Barnabas Church. Welcome,
Sue!
Easter Seals staff and clients recently began
using our hall on Wednesdays and Fridays. We
welcome our new guests with open arms! Easter
Seals provides services, education, outreach, and
advocacy so that people living with autism and
other disabilities can live, learn, work and play
in our communities. Easter Seals clients and staff
use our hall for various programs and activities.
As a thank you for use of the hall, staff and
clients help keep our church and grounds neat
and clean.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
The Reverend Canon William ‘Chip’ H. Stokes,
rector of Saint Paul’s Church in Delray Beach,
Florida, has been elected as 12th bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.
“I am humbled beyond expression and deeply
honored to have been elected as the 12th bishop
of New Jersey,” he said. “I am grateful to the
people of the diocese for their confidence,
support and prayers. I am grateful above all to
God in Christ who has called me and walked
with me throughout my journey.”
Chip said the Diocese of New Jersey is a part of
“the deep history” of the Episcopal Church. “It is
an overwhelming thing to be brought into that
history through this election,” he said. “The
diocese is made up of a rich and wonderful
variety of people. The diversity of the diocese is
one of its great strengths and beauties. The
people of the diocese understand well the very
real challenges that face the church today. My
experience of the clergy and lay people of the
diocese is that that they are faithful, hopeful and
up to any challenges as we allow the Holy Spirit
to lead us ‘right onward.’ I look forward to
getting to know them and to journeying with
them hand in hand as we all respond to God’s
call to us to love and serve one another, the
communities in which we are placed and the
wider church and world.”
“Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you.”
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Page 4
From Maureen Kersch, Senior Warden
We held our Easter egg hunt on Saturday,
March 30. About 25 children attended. We hid
987 eggs. The children had a wonderful time
finding them. A special thank you goes to the
person who donated six beautiful Easter baskets
which were our grand prizes for the drawing.
Our turkey dinner was on Saturday, April 20.
We fed 96 people. Our Mother’s Day breakfast
buffet was on Saturday, May 11. We served 40.
Our hoagie sale was on Saturday, May 25. We
assembled 396 hoagies. Our Father's Day
breakfast buffet was on Saturday, June 15. About
45 people came.
I want to thank all who help with our events.
Without you, Saint Barnabas Church could not
do the work that it does. The dinner and the two
breakfast buffets earned us about $850 profit,
and the hoagie sale $1400.
I also would like to give a special thank you to
all who participated on Saturday, May 18 for the
spring clean-up. Hazmat suits have been ordered
for next year's spring cleanup to prevent the
poison ivy that folks got this year!
Sincerely,
Maureen
From Leslie Flick, Treasurer
To all who are saving ink cartridges and bringing
them to church, a big thank you. You saved our
church about $150 so far this year. We were
able to purchase several boxes of copy paper for
bulletins, a new program for our computer, and
other needed supplies. Please keep them coming!
The Saint Barnabas Cares Food Pantry thanks
those who drop off food in the narthex. We run
on donations of food and money from
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organizations, schools, and individuals. This time
of the year, some of these sources of food slow
down until mid-fall, so any help given is
welcomed. If anyone would like to know how the
pantry works and maybe help for 1 and 1/2
hours on Tuesday evenings, please contact me at
609-886-2625.
On the Saturday before Easter, Saint Barnabas
and Saint Mary's joined together to pack 100
food boxes and had a great time trying to 'beat
the clock'. We do this each Thanksgiving and
Christmas also. Come join us!
The income from our spring turkey dinner,
Mother's and Father's Day breakfasts, and
hoagie sale helped defray the everyday costs of
keeping our doors open. A big thank you to all
who worked and to all who came and ate.
Remember, we will hold our summer bazaar,
lunch and kids fair on Saturday, July 13. We
need tons of baked goods for our food table. We
will have another hoagie sale on Saturday,
August 24. Also, the men hold their annual endof-summer breakfast on Saturday, August 31.
Remember, help is needed setting up, working
the day of the breakfast, and cleaning up. Let me
know soon!
The Episcopal Women in Cape May County
held their semiannual get-together here at Saint
Barnabas. Mother Susan of Saint Mary’s in Stone
Harbor was the guest speaker and did a
wonderful job entertaining us. The five churches
participating provided sandwiches and fabulous
desserts. All had a great time and exchanged
ideas and companionship. These churches
provide hot lunches each Wednesday
throughout the winter at The Branches. During
the summer months, Saint Barnabas provides
bagged lunches in June and August. Saint
Mary's provides lunches in July and September.
Help is needed. Please contact me!
Thanks,
Leslie
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A Typical Week at Saint Barnabas Church
Every day: TGIF! – Today God Is First!
Some Weekly Events at The Branches
Which May Be of Interest to You
Sunday -------------------------------------
The Branches
Village Shoppes of Rio Grande
1304 Route 47 – Store A-H
Rio Grande, NJ 08242
8 AM – Holy Eucharist, Rite 1
(A quiet, contemplative service.)
9 to 10 AM – Coffee Hour and Fellowship
9:15 AM – Christian Book Study and Discussion
(Currently, Unabashedly Episcopalian by
Andrew Doyle.)
10 AM – Sunday School
(Children join the congregation at the Peace.)
10 AM – Holy Eucharist, Rite 2 with Prayer for Healing
(Making a joyful noise!)
Monday -----------------------------------11 AM – Daughters of the Sons of Italy
(2nd Monday of the month)
6 PM – Narcotics Anonymous
7 PM – Vestry
(3rd Monday of the month, normally meets at
The Branches)
Tuesday -----------------------------------6 PM – Saint Barnabas Cares Food Pantry
7:30 PM – Nar-Anon Meeting
Wednesday --------------------------------10 AM – Easter Seals
6 PM – Narcotics Anonymous
6:30 PM – Adult Choir Practice
7:30 PM – Yoga for the People
Thursday ----------------------------------10 AM – Holy Eucharist (or Morning Prayer)
with Laying On of Hands for Healing
6:30 PM – Drum Circle
(2nd Thursday of the month)
7 PM – Doll Club
(3rd Thursday of the month)
Friday -------------------------------------"Pastor Lisa’s Sabbath"
10 AM – Easter Seals
7:30 PM – Narcotics Anonymous
Saturday ----------------------------------No services or events presently are scheduled.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Narcotics Anonymous Open Meeting on
Sundays at 11 AM
Yoga for Seniors on Mondays at 11 AM
Bible Study with Pastor Lisa on Mondays at 6
PM
Noonday Prayer on Wednesdays at Noon
On-The-House Lunch on Wednesdays at 12:15
PM
Hope for the Rejected / Youth for Christ Bible
Study on Thursdays at 8 PM
Coffee and Conversation, Computer Assistance,
and Internet Access on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM.
A freewill offering for Yoga for Seniors is
appreciated. Other events are free.
The Branches is a “partners-in-ministry” effort by
Saint Mary's Church, Stone Harbor, and Saint
Barnabas by-the-Bay Church, Villas, to bring the
presence of our churches into yet another part of our
county. The Branches is located in the Villages
Shoppes mall in Rio Grande. For more information
about
The
Branches,
please
visit
thebranchesriogrande.org.
Also, next to The Branches are Saint Mary’s This ‘N’
That Thrift Shop and Saint Mary’s Heavenly
Scavengers furniture annex. Proceeds benefit local
families in need throughout our community. Hours
are 10 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Saturday. These
shops are closed on Sunday.

If your ministry or organization would like to use the
Saint Barnabas Church hall or The Branches, please
contact Pastor Lisa or Peggy Stephens at 609-8865960.
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FYI
 We gladly visit parishioners unable to join us
for worship. Please contact the church office so
that we may plan visits.
 A Federal Privacy Act (HIPPA) prohibits
hospitals from notifying non-family members
including clergy about patients. If you know of
any Saint Barnabas parishioners who are
hospitalized or if you know that you will be in
the hospital, please contact the church office so
that visits can be arranged. Thank you.
 Do we have your email address? If you would
like to receive periodic important email
announcements from Saint Barnabas Church
and our newsletters via email, we will be happy
to include you. Simply contact our office at 609886-5960 or [email protected] with
your email address. You need not be a member
of Saint Barnabas Church to be on our email list.
Also, please know that we do not share our email
list with anyone, nor do we sell it.
 Now we don’t want to sound morose here…
Some folks have specific requests for the kind of
funeral they want for themselves, for example
type of service, songs, scripture readings, special
directives, and so on. You are most welcome to
keep these instructions on file here at church.
Just stop in the office. We have an easy-to-use
form to help you record the information.
 We invite our snowbirds and summer
parishioners to share in the worship ministry of
our church. You are most welcome to be a
summer altar guild member, reader, acolyte,
greeter, usher, choir member, and so on. We also
welcome summer help with our other ministries
such as our food pantry. We will be most grateful
Please contact the church office if you are able
to lend a hand.
 The Saint Barnabas “free library” is up and
running in our parish hall. It is open whenever
the church, hall, or church office is open and
operates on the honor system. New and used
book donations to the library also are
appreciated.
 Speaking of books… All are welcome to join us
for our Sunday morning book discussions during
coffee hour in the parish hall. We start at 9:15
and go to 9:45. We previously discussed People
of the Way – Renewing Episcopal Identity by
Dwight Zscheile. Presently we are reading
Unabashedly Episcopalian by Andrew Doyle
 If you have not done so, please check out our
drum circle at 6:30 PM on the second Thursday
of each month in the parish hall. A drum circle is
people sitting in chairs arranged in a circle
making spontaneous music on drums and other
instruments. Studies show that drumming speeds
up physical healing, boosts the immune system,
and has a calming effect. A drum circle also is a
fun way to bring people together through music.
Adults and children are welcome. We have
extra drums too, if you need one.
 Are you a visitor to Saint Barnabas, a summer
parishioner, or a Saint Barnabas winter
snowbird? If so, our Sunday bulletin
announcements, newsletters, and other
information of interest are posted year-round on
our website: www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
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Keeping God’s Children and People Safe
Good Shepherd Home
Cameroon, Africa
We at Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Church are
committed to seeing that our church is a community
of safety and health for all people. The Body of
Christ, the Church, must be a place where adults,
children, and young people find the love and
blessing of God, and where no one might be hurt.
At Saint Barnabas Church, our 2013 mission
outreach program is Good Shepherd Home.
Quarters and other coin offerings placed in the
“tree of hope” in our church help Sister Jane
Mankaa and her work with orphaned children.
We all are aware of the reports in the media of
incidents of sexual misconduct in churches. Many of
these tragedies have involved children and young
people. While the Roman Catholic Church and
many secular agencies and institutions have been
caught up in trying to address the damage done to
children by sexual predators, the Episcopal Church is
not immune to this scourge in our society and we
must take measures to address it honestly and
forthrightly. Our church has repeatedly upheld our
mandate to be a haven of safety for all.
The Good Shepherd Home for Children is
located in the North West Province of
Cameroon, an area in West Africa where an
estimated 50,000 children are orphaned. Over
100 of those children have found a home at Good
Shepherd where they are sheltered, fed, clothed,
educated and most of all, loved. Sister Jane,
founder of the Home, does not turn any child
away. The children truly live in a loving family
environment with a hundred brothers and sisters.
Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Church has a longstanding commitment to protecting our children. All
staff members working with children receive
mandated training designed to help prevent child
sexual abuse. We have been active in promoting
healthy practices not only because we think it
prudent to exercise due diligence, but also because
God calls us to care for these little ones. It is the right
and proper thing to do.
Sister Jane is the Superior of The Benedictine
Sisters of Bethany, a religious community of
women living in Cameroon, West Africa under
the leadership of the Anglican Church of
Cameroon. Their life is one of prayer, worship,
and work.
Thank you for your support of Sister Jane and the
orphaned children.
Should you ever have any concerns, please do not
hesitate to speak with Pastor Lisa or, if you prefer,
directly with a diocesan representative:
The Reverend Henrietta Lavengood
(856) 783-4200 ext. 8, [email protected]
The Reverend Charles Lochner
(732) 513-0783, [email protected]
The Reverend Peter Stimpson
(609) 924-0060, [email protected]
The Reverend Paul S. Rimassa
(609) 462-0028, [email protected]
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 8
Luther Seminary's Communion Bread Recipe
Here is a well-known, well-used, and well-loved
recipe.
Sift dry ingredients (important!) together three times:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cups white flour
1 & 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 & 1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir in 4 teaspoon oil. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients together until dissolved:
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons very hot water
(minimum of 180 degrees F)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons molasses
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
Dough should be slightly sticky. Do not knead.
Divide into four balls and flatten each into a 1/4 inch
thick disk. With a knife, score the top of each loaf
into eight pie-shaped sections, so that the sections
can be more easily broken off while serving.
Alternatively, you could score a cross onto the loaf.
Potato Chip Cookies
 8 ounces. (1 cup) unsalted butter, room
temperature
 ½ cup granulated sugar, more for shaping
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 cups all-purpose flour
 ½ cups chopped pecans (optional)
 1 cup finely crushed potato chips
Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in a
large bowl until creamy and well blended, about 4
minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the
vanilla and mix until blended. Add the flour, (pecans)
and potato chips and mix.
Shape heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and
arrange on baking sheet. Grease the bottom of a glass
with butter. Dip the butter into shallow bowl of sugar
and press the dough to shape cookies.
Bake 10 – 12 minutes until cookies look dry on top
and the edges are golden brown.
Our thanks to Jim Stevens for sharing this handeddown recipe.
Lay the loaves on a baking sheet. Bake at 350
degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush
the tops of the loaves with oil. Bake an additional 58 minutes. Let cool.
Yield: four 8 ounce loaves. Each loaf serves 60-70
people, depending upon the size of the piece given.
The loaves freeze well.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 9
Garrison Keillor on Episcopalians
We make fun of Episcopalians for their
blandness, their excessive calm, their fear of
giving offense, their lack of speed and also for
their secret fondness for macaroni and cheese.
But nobody sings like them.
Episcopalians believe their Rectors will visit
them in the hospital, even if they don’t notify
them that they are there. Episcopalians usually
follow the official liturgy and will feel it is their
way of suffering for their sins. Episcopalians
believe in miracles and even expect miracles,
especially during their stewardship visitation
programs or when passing the plate.
Episcopalians feel that applauding for their
children’s choirs will not make the kids too proud
and conceited.
If you were to ask an audience in Des Moines, a
relatively Episcopalianless place, to sing along
on the chorus of “Michael Row the Boat Ashore,”
they will look daggers at you as if you had asked
them to strip to their underwear. But if you do
this among Episcopalians, they’d smile and row
that boat ashore and up on the beach! …. And
down the road!
Episcopalians think that the Bible forbids them
from crossing the aisle while passing the peace.
Many Episcopalians are bred from childhood to
sing in four-part harmony, a talent that comes
from sitting on the lap of someone singing alto or
tenor or bass and hearing the harmonic intervals
by putting your little head against that person’s
rib cage. It’s natural for Episcopalians to sing in
harmony. We are too modest to be soloists, too
worldly to sing in unison.
Episcopalians are willing to pay up to one dollar
for a meal at church.
When you’re singing in the key of C and you
slide into the A7th and D7th chords, all two
hundred of you, it’s an emotionally fulfilling
moment. By our joining in harmony, we somehow
promise that we will not forsake each other.
I do believe this, people: Episcopalians, who love
to sing in four-part harmony are the sort of
people you could call up when you’re in deep
distress. If you are dying, they will comfort you. If
you are lonely, they’ll talk to you. And if you are
hungry, they’ll give you tuna salad!
Episcopalians believe in prayer, but would
practically die if asked to pray out loud.
Episcopalians like to sing, except when
confronted with a new hymn or a hymn with
more than four stanzas.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Episcopalians drink coffee as if it were the Third
Sacrament.
Episcopalians feel guilty for not staying to clean
up after their own wedding reception in the
Fellowship Hall.
Episcopalians still serve Jell-O in the proper
liturgical color of the season and Episcopalians
believe that it is OK to poke fun at themselves
and never take themselves too seriously.
And finally, you know you are an Episcopalian
when:
-
It’s 100 degrees, with 90% humidity, and
you still have coffee after the service.
You hear something really funny during the
sermon and smile as loudly as you can.
Donuts are a line item in the church budget,
just like coffee.
When you watch a Star Wars movie and
they say, “May the Force be with you,” and
you respond, “and also with you.”
And lastly, it takes ten minutes to say goodbye . . . .
Garrison Keillor attends Saint John the Evangelist
Episcopal Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
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On June 9, members of Saint Mary’s Church in Stone
Harbor and Saint Barnabas Church celebrated the
Eucharist at the Cape May County Park and Zoo. A picnic
and games for the kids followed. Thank you to all who
helped make this event possible and to all who took part.
Thanks to Gary Rousseau for taking and sharing photos.
More photos are on our church website.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 11
Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Church
A History of Our Early Days
The wild blackberry bushes that once grew profusely
on the corner of Rutgers and Bates Avenues in the
Villas well over 50 years ago helped establish an
Episcopal mission in the late 1940s. Despite the
thorns and brambles, the blackberries were picked
and made into jams, jellies, and pies that were sold to
help raise money for the new church.
The Wildwood Villas, as the neighborhood then was
known, stretching along Delaware Bay, was a
thriving community in the 1940s. Small summer
bungalows sprang up quickly along with some yearround homes on the streets that branched off
Bayshore Road, the main street through the town.
Low taxes and affordable housing attracted families
from the Philadelphia area, anxious to enjoy the
shore lifestyle, especially during the summer.
In the months after the end of World War II, the
country still faced gasoline shortages and
conservation measures often meant that people in the
Villas could not get to an Episcopal church in Cape
May or the Wildwoods. The idea of a new Episcopal
church in the community started to take shape.
Bertha and William Garner, parishioners of Saint
Thomas Church in Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, and
residents of West Delaware Parkway in the Villas,
and Charles Leslie Carr from Saint Simeon’s by-theSea in North Wildwood, often talked about a mission
church for the Villas and by spring 1946, the Very
Reverend William Charles Heilman, rector of Saint
Simeon’s, had given his permission.
The first service was held on Sunday, June 16, 1946,
the Sunday closest to the Feast Day of Saint
Barnabas, the name given to the new parish. Since
the mission was so close to Delaware Bay, the name
was expanded to Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay.
During those early years, services were held at the
Villas Fire Company, which, at that time, was located
on Bayshore Road between Atlantic Avenue and
Delaware Parkway. Volunteers arrived at 5 o’clock
on Sunday mornings to set up chairs, start the heat in
cold weather, and do other needed chores before
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
church school from 11 a.m. to noon and services from
noon to 1 p.m. Hymnals and prayer books were
donated by Saint Simeon’s and on most Sundays
services were conducted by lay readers. Once a
month, Father Heilman or another priest would come
to celebrate the Eucharist.
The congregation worked diligently raising money
for a church and when a tract of land at Rutgers
Avenue and Bates Avenue just off Bayshore Road
became available in 1948, the church had enough
money for a down payment. The transaction included
a six-room house, a two-car garage, and a chicken
house for $6,000.00. Two rooms were combined into
one room for an auditorium and the rest of the house,
the residence for visiting priests, was quickly
transformed for services each Sunday.
After about two years, the Diocese assumed the
oversight of the mission and the suffragan bishop
appointed Arthur Sheets, one of the first confirmands,
as the Lay Reader in Charge. Mr. Sheets served until
September 1949 and was succeeded by Fred W.
Burgess who served until his death in 1954. Early
licensed lay readers included Robert Bright and
Otto Grieseman.
The women of the church started selling building
blocks for a dollar to raise money to build a church.
That project was augmented with lawn parties,
dinners, strawberry festivals, rummage sales, and
other events until $10,000.00 had been raised and
the congregation was close to realizing its dream of a
real church building.
The cornerstone of the church was laid on October 31,
1954. As part of the ceremony, a cross, Bible, Book of
Common Prayer, and newspaper articles about Saint
Barnabas were placed in the cornerstone. The first
service in the new church was Christmas Eve with
the parishioners using candles for light and no doubt
wearing their coats since the electrical and heating
systems had not been installed.
In 1955, Harry Hart came to the mission as a
seminarian followed by the Reverend R. Lee Page,
another young priest, who was assigned to Saint
Barnabas in 1958 and stayed until 1960. With an
active membership of between 50 and 60 families,
the church had a women’s group, a men’s group, a
newly-organized acolyte group, altar guild, and
plans to start a junior altar guild.
The Reverend William W. Shelton, a 27-year-old
seminarian, came to the mission on Whitsunday
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(Pentecost), 1960. He was ordained on November 5,
1960 and spent his priesthood of 40 years at Saint
Barnabas until his death on February 27, 2000. One
of Father Shelton’s first major projects after he
arrived at the mission was the acquisition of a bell for
the church. When the bell arrived as promised from
the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the
exterior was highly polished and the interior and
clapper were painted a brilliant scarlet. The bell, a
collector’s item, was cast from silver, brass, and bronze
and had, in its day, been atop a deluxe railroad
engine.
A bell tower, 12 feet above the church roof, was built
to accommodate the bell. The belfry, a hexagonal
design with six archways, assured the bell could be
seen as it tolled. A parishioner donated the rope
suspended from the bell and inches on the bell rope
were sold and dedicated.
Under the leadership of Father Shelton, Saint
Barnabas prospered. Bazaars, dinners, and other
fundraising events helped support the church and
added to the fellowship of the mission community. In
1985, Father Shelton celebrated his 25th ordination
anniversary with a special Eucharist and dinner at
Saint Raymond, marking a quarter century of service
at Saint Barnabas.
The original Bates Avenue house served both as the
church and the vicarage until the church was built in
1954 and the house became the vicarage. Later,
property on West New York Avenue, just a few
blocks from the church, was purchased for a vicarage
and the original house was consecrated as the
Chapel of Saint Theophilus.
In 1972, the house was moved to make room for the
construction of a parish hall, built at a cost of
approximately $63,000.00, a giant leap from the
$6,000.00 the parish had invested in the Bates
Avenue house 20 years earlier. The Edith N. Carroll
Memorial Hall was dedicated on June 23, 1974 by
Bishop Albert Van Duzer, giving the mission needed
space for the Sunday School program and
fundraising projects. A small room between the
church and parish hall was dedicated as the new
Chapel of Saint Theophilus.
Time, Talent, and Treasure
Ways to Steward at Saint Barnabas Church
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Acolytes (altar servers at the Eucharist)
Altar Guild
Choir and Music Ministry
Church gardens
Church Sunday School
Church upkeep and maintenance
Food Pantry
Greeters and ushers at Sunday Eucharist
Lectors (readers at the Eucharist)
Newsletter
Parish Nurse Program
Partnership in Ministry with Saint Mary's
Church, Stone Harbor
Photography
Prayer Ministry
Press Releases and Public Relations
Stewardship and fundraising
The Branches Mission Outreach volunteers
Vestry
Visiting the sick, homebound, hospitalized,
and those in prison
Website
If you do not already, please consider lending a
hand with an activity. The work is not hard. The
results go a long way. Thank you!
The congregation of Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay
continues, as it has for more than 60 years, to work,
pray, and sacrifice to insure that the mission church
established in 1946 will continue to provide for the
spiritual and corporal needs of its parishioners and
the surrounding community.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 13
only going to lead to more violence. It’s
telling the bully that they’ve really
gotten to you.
How to Survive Bullying
Bullying is an enormous problem these days. It
affects millions of students, and it has many
worried, not just the kids on its receiving end. Yet
because parents, teachers, and other adults don't
always see it, they may not understand how
extreme and painful bullying can be for kids.
Two of the main reasons kids are bullied are
because of appearance and social status. Bullies
pick on the kids they think don't fit in, maybe
because of how they look, how they act (for
example, kids who are shy and withdrawn), their
race or religion, or because the bullies think
their target may be gay or lesbian.
4. Be confident. It’s important to remember
that everything the bully says is really
just a reflection of their own insecurities.
This is not an excuse for the bullies, but
it’s a reason not to internalize the nasty
stuff they say about you.
5. Be strong. You can’t always control the
things that people say or do, but you
always can control the way you respond
to those things. So think about ways to
feel your best and be true to yourself and
to celebrate the wonderful person that
you are [and the wonderful person God
made you to be].
6. Speak up. Talk about the bullying to
teachers, school counselors, your parents,
your friends – anyone that will listen.
Many teens attempt and some actually commit
suicide as a result of bullying. Studies show that
gay and lesbian teen suicide attempts are four
times that of straight youth.
7. Surround yourself with people who
support you. Really, who has time for
people who do not love or respect you
for who you are? Build your
relationships with people who lift you
up.
Here are some hands-on, practical tips to help
kids handle bullying.
Effectively handling bullying takes courage.
You can do it!
1.
Ignore the bully and walk away. It’s not
cowardly. In fact, it takes tons of guts and
it is one of the strongest things you can
do.
Sources: Teens Health (on-line). Also, thanks to
blogger Davey Wavey for allowing us to
summarize suggestions in his You Tube video,
How to Survive Bullying!
2. Don’t get angry. Don’t make their anger
your own. If you get upset, you’re
basically telling the bully that they
have control over your emotions. Don’t
give your power away.
3. Don’t fight back. Physical force isn’t
going to solve anything. And violence is
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 14
Saint Barnabas Church
Where All Are Welcome!
We extend a special welcome to those who are
single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt
poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special
welcome to those who are crying new-borns,
skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few
pounds.
We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea
Bocelli or . . . can’t carry a note in a bucket.
You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,”
just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care
if you’re more catholic than the pope, or haven’t
been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.
We extend a special welcome to those who are
over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers
who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer
moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, treehuggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food
eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or
still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having
problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you
don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there
too.
If you blew all your offering money at the dog
track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special
welcome to those who think the earth is flat,
work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because
grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced or
both. We offer a special welcome to those who
could use a prayer right now, had religion
shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in
traffic and wound up here by mistake. We
welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding
hearts … and you!
A Prayer
Thomas Merton, 1915 – 1968, was a monk at
Gethsemane Abbey near Louisville, Kentucky.
At a very difficult period in his life, he penned
this prayer that has been a help to many people:
O Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going,
I do not see the road ahead of me,
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and that fact that I think
I am following Your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe
that the desire to please You
does in fact please You.
And I hope I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire to please You.
And I know that if I do this
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for You are ever with me,
and You will never leave me
to make my journey alone.
Source: Stuff Christians Like
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Page 15
Kids Fair (9 to 11 AM) and Bazaar, Rummage
Sale, Bake Sale, and Luncheon (9 AM to 1 PM)
July 13, Saturday
Hoagie Sale
August 24, Saturday, 9 AM to 2 PM
Summer Breakfast Buffet
August 31, Saturday
Spaghetti Dinner
September 21, Saturday
Turkey Dinner
October 12, Saturday
Holiday Bazaar and Bake Sale
November 9, Saturday
Dinners are from 4 to 6 PM. $10 for adults and $4 for
children. Kids under 6 eat free. Takeout available.
Breakfasts are from 8 to 11 AM. $7 for adults and $3
for children. Kids under 6 eat free. Takeout available.
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Saint Barnabas by-the-Bay Church
13 West Bates Avenue
Villas, New Jersey 08251
609-886-5960
www.SaintBarnabasVillas.org
Holy Eucharist on Sundays at 8 and 10 AM
Prayers for Healing during 10 AM Eucharist
Sunday School at 10 AM
Holy Eucharist (or Morning Prayer) with Prayers
for Healing on Thursdays at 10 AM
The Reverend Lisa A. Hoffman, Vicar
(609) 435-5543
Pastoral emergencies (908) 907-1264
The Reverend Susan E. Cushinotto, Deacon
Mr. Anthony Navarra, Music Minister
(609) 889-0667
Mrs. Peg Stephens, Church Secretary
(609) 770-7345
Mrs. Maureen Kersch, Senior Warden
(609) 425-1317
Mr. Larry Stephens, Junior Warden
(609) 206-9358
Mrs. Leslie Flick, Treasurer/Food Pantry
(609) 886-2625
Mrs. Rosemary Hilvert, Sunday School
(609) 884-7909
Mrs. Doris Dorsett, Altar Guild
(609) 889-0356
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