Come Commemorate
the Birthday of the Church!

             The Christian Church is celebrating its 2005th birthday on Pentecost Sunday, May 15. We, at St. Philip's will join in the festivities by wearing red clothing and by carrying red balloons. The Gospel reading will be conducted simultaneously in a number of languages just as it was on that first Pentecost day when people spoke in different tongues (languages) and they were all understood by those who were there!

The balloons represent the tongues of flame that appeared over the heads of the twelve apostles as they gathered in the Temple to celebrate Jewish Pentecost which occurs fifty days after the "Feast of First Fruits" (17 Nisan) during which the Hebrews ate their first meal in the promised land. Jewish Pentecost celebrates the giving of the law by Moses to the Hebrews. Christian Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church!

We will have a pancake brunch and a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion and will sing "Happy Birthday" to the Church at the coffee hour following the 10 AM Eucharist.

             Barry Miller, Interim Vicar

Turn In Those Receipts!

At our Bishops committee on April 18, 2005 we were discussing the fundraising activities in the months ahead and Julie Levy requested that anyone involved in fund raising activities makes sure that they put in their claims for expenses. The discussion widened and it was pointed out that it is important that anyone spending any money for the church should put in a claim. In this way our planned giving is separated from out of pocket expenses. This is very important for several reasons.

It removes the danger of people being taken for granted and also removes the danger of seeds of resentment building up. Yes, that can easily happen over time.

Secondly, those responsible for the financial well-being of St. Philips need to know exactly where we are spending money in order to set up budgets and contingency plans for the future

So the Bishop’s Committee requests that if you are going about the church's business, please make sure that you put in your expenses with a receipt. You can speak with our new secretary, our Treasurer or any BC member who will be pleased to help you.

Francis Honey and Julie Edwards Levy,
Bishop’s Committee

Help Wanted:
Human Resources Expertise

The Bishop’s Committee is forming a small group of people that will oversee the employees of the church. We are in need of a leader for this group that has knowledge and experience in human resources. If you are such a person please consider this opportunity to serve. The commitment will not be very time-consuming, and will ensure that our practices with our employees is correct and fair. Please contact Lucy Gowan or Julie Edwards-Levy if you would like to help with this!

Lonely Boxes

Fr. Barry would like to remind everyone who has a box in the church office to please check it occasionally.

Car for Sale

There is a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback for sale in the church parking lot.  All proceeds from the sale of the car will go to St. Philip’s.  If you are interested, please call Bruce Clift.

Senior High Graduation

Celebration

Can it really be possible that our huge mass of Senior High Youth is graduating?  This group of energetic, questioning, happy, bright, noisy youngsters have grown up under the diligent tutelage of Vicky Granger-Jones, Jenny Waggoner and of course, the amazing Sally Arcarese.  These wonderful young people will be graduating from high school in June, and thanks to the spiritual grounding they have received at St. Philip’s we are sending off a group of young missionaries well equipped to deal with the challenges that may face them in college.

This does not mean that we shall be losing all our senior high youth and we shall enjoy Jeremy, Steven, Serena, and Nathaniel and all the rest of them for as long as they remain in high school. 

As part of our Pentecost celebrations we shall therefore dedicate our service on May 15th to our Senior High Youth.  Please try to be in church that day as we bless their future lives in higher education or whatever bigger and brighter projects their adult lives may bring.

Wear your reddest Pentecost red, and be ready to celebrate at our Potluck Pancake Breakfast after the 10 am service.

             In Joy,
             Lucy Gowan, Bishop’s Warden