Rector's Reflections

Down from the sky. It’s filling our streets. It is coming into our homes! Farmers are beginning to say, “Enough”. When my eyes see too much rain and abundant green plants, my memories take me back to the Holy Land. I rode through the desert and was happy for my water bottle. I camped in the desert and was grateful for my water bottle and the hospitality of Bedouins. When walking through the desert, the distance between life and death shrinks.

Have you ever noticed how many times water is mentioned in the Bible? The Holy Land is a dry, hot place. Water is very important. Much of the conflict between the nations in the Middle East, is about who gets to control the water. It is like that for us in our western states. We too have a history of violence when it comes to access to water. How difficult it is for damp Wisconsinites to connect water to life, and to think about fighting for it.

The backdrop for many of our Bible stories is the desert. Without water, death comes quickly. Moses strikes the rock, water comes forth and the people are saved. Are the Bible stories harder for us water logged Midwesterners to interpret? We have an overabundance of water and many of us wish it would stop! Let my basement dry. Let the corn grow. “Oh mister sun, please shine down on me”.

In the Bible, living water was water that moved. Well water was not “living water”. Living water was fresh and highly valued. It was to a people of a dry land that Jesus said, “I am the living water”. For those of us who have had enough water, we will need to look inside to the places in our hearts that are parched. There we will find what Jesus was talking about when he said that he was the living water. The folks who first heard Jesus speak those words were dry inside and out. Don’t be fooled by the water that continues to fall from the sky in Wisconsin. That water doesn’t reach the dry places of our souls.

Some who have been drenched by the water of God write songs about it. They testify to a river of life flowing out of them. One of my favorites says, “It’s beginning to rain, hear the voice of the Father, saying that who so ever will may drink of this water. I promise to pour my Spirit out on your sons and your daughters. If you’re thirsty and dry, look up to the sky, it’s beginning to rain.”

God’s water goes where it is needed and its abundance is a blessing.

Fr. Ralph+

Rector

Youth News

Hello friends . . . grace and peace to you all,

A team of students and adults have just returned from a week long Love Journey to Nashville, Tennessee. God blessed our time there and we want to thank each and every one of you who supported us through prayer, financial giving, encouragement, excitement, and recognition that God can and does move in an endless variety of ways.

If you would, please go back and read the italicized words from the previous sentence once again. Those words really sum up one of our main experiences while we were serving our neighbors in Nashville.

So many times, I have led mission trips with the understanding and intent that the goal was to “go somewhere else” so that we, as a team, could bring God to the people in that “somewhere else” place. The thing is, every time we’ve arrived “somewhere else” we have found that God was already there. And God wasn’t just there, but alive, moving, blessing, breathing, participating, restoring, and already on full display in all things. It’s almost as if the promise of the Scriptures are true when Jesus says “all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27), and when Jesus talks about the truth that in him there is a “renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:28), and when Paul says that through the blood of Christ “all things are reconciled” (Colossians), and when Peter talks about Jesus “restoring everything” . . . “all things” and “everything” pretty much means . . . EVERYTHING and ALL THINGS! God is at work in the world in ALL and EVERY THING!!

This really makes us think about the purpose of a mission trip. Perhaps when we “go” we’re actually not bringing God with us, but simply partnering with the ongoing activity of God in that place. Perhaps we aren’t there to show people Jesus but to make them aware of the ongoing and ever presence of Christ in all things in all places. For me (and perhaps for you) this is an uncomfortable statement. I like to think that I’ve got God within me and there are places that God isn’t and so I need to take God to those places. But problem is, that’s not the message of the Bible. God, through and in Jesus Christ, is already in all things and everything. It is our privilege as Jesus followers to display God to others with our lives and to make others aware of the presence of God. We make people aware of God’s presence (which was there all along) by showing them God’s love, sharing our stories of God’s love, and inviting them to recognize the presence of God’s Spirit all around.

In Nashville, we practiced this by collectively packing more than 14,000 lbs. of frozen meat into boxes to be shipped to needy families around Nashville and the entire region . . . we built more than 70 desks from scratch for the local school district that will serve tens of thousands of students over the next decade . .  we fed and spent time with our friends who are homeless and displaced due to the floods . . . we shared with one another where we saw God’s presence each day . . . we talked about how we as Jesus followers are to be available AND vulnerable to the needs of others . . . we studied several passages from Luke’s gospel, asking questions and discussing how Jesus was available and vulnerable to those around him . . . we engaged in the local culture by intentionally eating at restaurants that only got their food products from local growers and farms . . . we purchased food from the local farmers markets . . . we took time during each day to pray our daily “sentence prayer” as a method of spiritual formation . . . and more and more and more . . .

This was not a trip where we brought God with us so that we could give God away.  This was a trip where we lived and moved and had our being in the Way of Jesus and we attempted to faithfully and intentionally live our lives together in an effort to display the love of God with all whom we came into contact. We participated in what God was already up to in Nashville and we were blessed as a result.

Thanks again for your amazing love and support. Peace to you.

Aran Walter

Youth Pastor

Ice Cream Social

On Sunday, Sept 26th there will be an ice cream social after the service during the
coffee hour time. (In the parking lot, weather permitting.) This is a neighborhood event

intending to draw our neighbors in to meet us; not as a missionary outreach but just to
fellowship with the people who live in
St. Thomas' immediate vicinity. We just want to get the message out that we're here, you're welcome to come and we'd love to meet you. Ice cream will be free for kids and adults will be asked for donations. We will be asking for volunteers in the near future to pass out flyers in the neighborhood. Soooo - the question is " Who is our neighbor?".

AWANA

The summer party for AWANA will be Saturday, Aug. 28th from 3-7pm at the Kromenaker's house. Kids are encouraged to bring all family members and any friends that might be interested in joining AWANA. There'll be games, fellowship and plenty of food. Hope to see there!! AWANA will officially start on Wednesday, Sept. 22nd.

Children's Sunday School

Classes for pre-K through 6th grade will be starting Sept. 19th

Double Portion
Soup Kitchen and Pantry

Convoy of Hope

Appleton is one of 50 American cities the Convoy of Hope will roll into this year. 5,000 needy people from the area are expected to be served by this outreach on Saturday, August 14th from 10 to about 4 PM at Maplewood Elementary School. The Convoy of Hope eighteen wheelers arrive with the gear needed to set up food give- away stations, medical services and even entertainment. Once the Convoy of Hope provides the framework, local volunteers from churches and valley businesses will staff the event.

This will be the largest outreach ever in the Fox Cities and will offer help to thousands who cannot afford the basic necessities. 35,000 pounds of groceries will be given away, while health care professionals and social agencies will offer aid. Some of the services and items offered that day will be dental care, hair cuts, shoes and school supplies, a job fair, cook out, family photos and a kids’ carnival, to name a few. Convoy of Hope is a Christian organization and will include a prayer tent offering spiritual connections.

Please read more about it at convoyofhopefoxcities.org 1,000 volunteers are needed. Will you, your small group or company be a part of this huge outreach? Please volunteer through the web site or call Sally Covyeau, 729 0908. Double Portion guests and volunteers are a natural fit as participants and workers. Spread the news. Thanks.

Mothers' Mercy Home News

The children who have been at MMH since it opened in 2001 are growing up. In January of this year 19 children began Secondary School. Since the students not only pay tuition, but also must bring absolutely everything they will need for the school year, such as a mattress and eating utensils, the cost averages approximately $500 per student. Mothers’ Mercy Home is committed to providing an education for the children so that they may go out into the world as self sustaining adults who will make a positive difference in their communities. This year another16 children (13 boys and 3 girls) are preparing to take Secondary School exams in November and will be off to new schools in January of 2011. The financial burden is great. This year part of the proceeds from our African Dinner planned for August 13th will go toward Secondary School Fees.

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