March 2004

Dear Friends,

Peace be with you. It was wonderful to be back in church this week after vacation and ear infections that kept me away for another week and a half. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, notes, e-mails, and get-well wishes. It meant a lot.

St. Anne's is blessed with so many people who carry on and make things run smoothly no matter what. Thank you all for the extra work and the warm welcomes you extended to the supply clergy. Thank you to Harvey Hopkins for leading the Ash Wednesday services a the Congregational Church and here. Thank you also to Pete Jeffrey for leading Morning Prayers at both services on the first Sunday of Lent. You will agree, I am sure, that we are truly blessed to have these worship leaders.

The Lenten season is an opportunity to renew our relationship with Jesus by entering into a predictable rhythm of worship, prayer, study, fellowship and service. It doesn't just happen. St. Paul warns that we must stand firm because there are too many of life's demands that call us away from our Sabbath time.

St. Anne's offers many opportunities to get in a rhythm of spiritual disciplines. Please don't hesitate to bring a friend to any of the services. Each Wednesday at Noon there are Ecumenical Lenten lunches at the Congregational Church followed by short worship services led by different clergy each week. Each Friday evening during Lent at 7:30 PM there are services of the Stations of the Cross.

Faithfully,

Peggy

May 2004

Dear Friends,

Peace be with you. The services on Easter Sunday were glorious in every way. Thank you! Thank you! To the Altar Guild, the Acolytes, the Choir, the Youth Group and to everyone who participated. The beautiful patriotic afghan made by Gloria Baldwin was marketed by Pat Simpson. The winning name was Edna Rideout. Congratulations! Because of these efforts the organ fund and the account for Sam Cote's mission trip to Honduras is $732 richer.

People have been so generous. Thank you Jen Bristol for the gift of a computer and all the equipment that goes with it. It will be used to keep the church's financial information. Thank you to Dick Edgar for upgrading the counter's room and the entire system. We have had a donation of new carpeting for both atriums and the overflow and Al Westerlund had painted both rooms.

We look forward to Recognition Sunday. This year the service will be led by the church school students of Lisa Kinser's class. This day also recognizes the efforts of the acolytes and the church school programs.

The next Alpha course will be offered Tuesday mornings at 9:30 AM beginning on May 11. If you are interested, please sign the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board, which is outside the overflow. You may also contact Rev. Peggy.

As an extension of the first Alpha program, we are offering another mini-course: "Welcome to the Episcopal Church". It is designed for longtime members as well as newcomers to the church. It will meet on Wednesday evenings beginning on May 5.

A new columbarium is being ordered for the Memorial Garden as almost all of the niches have been sold. For those of you who are new to St. Anne's, the Memorial Garden is for the Cremains of members and their families.

It is amazing to me that the Explorer's Preschool has been here two years. They are feeling some competition and would like to be able to use the playground. However, the playground cannot be used as long as the swing set is there. (It does not meet state regulations with respect to space and ground base.) Therefore, we will be giving the swing set away on Recognition Sunday. Each parent of our current students will have an opportunity to enter their names in a raffle. One name will be drawn to determine the winner.

As this newsletter goes to press, I am preparing to go to Richmond, Virginia from April 26 - May 3 for a CREDO (Clergy Reflection, Education, Discernment, Opportunity) conference. It is almost fully funded by the Church Pension Fund and is intended as an enrichment for clergy. During my absence pastoral emergencies will be handled by the Rev'd Tom Barrington of All Saints Church in Chelmsford.

As always, I look forward to hearing of your dreams and visions for St. Anne's.

Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!

Faithfully,

Peggy

June 2004

Dear Friends,

Peace be with you. The rains falls softly as this is written - a sign of warmer weather to come - a hope of a slower pace - a promise of rest and relaxation. To that end, this will be the last newsletter until the September issue goes out. In the meantime, programs for the coming year will be planned. We will all gather for fellowship in a variety of ways: a Creative Memories workshop on June6, the Strawberry Festival and Flea Market on June 19 and the Gold Tournament on June 26. More information about these events can be found in the Upcoming Events link (on the left-side navigation menu).

Several people trained in the BeFriender ministry program are designing a Newcomer's packet, which will detail all programs and contact people at St. Anne's. These materials will also be available in upcoming newsletters and in the narthex of the church.

The Endowment committee has again announced that scholarships will be given to members and their families. Application forms are in the narthex in addition to the one in this issue. Completed forms must be submitted by July 31 and monies will be available for the fall.

Many of you have requested updates on the financial health of the parish. The Finance committee is preparing a PowerPoint presentation for you at coffee hour on June 6 just before the Creative Memories workshop. With the exception of the diocesan assessment, all our bills are paid to date. We are mindful, however, that fewer people attend services during the summer. Please make every effort to keep up your financial offering.

Next time you are here, please walk down to the atriums of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. They have new draperies and carpeting. When classes resume, we will host an open house for the next class. Thank you to Ron Desmarais, who has made this fine program available to all children, ages 3-9. If you would like to be a part of this ministry, please contact him through the church.

During the next month, we will be replacing some of the material on the bulletin boards. If you have dated material on them, would you please remove it so we can start anew in the fall?

The Alpha course was a great success. Thank you, Cindy and Steve Hopkins for your leadership. Another course is planned for the fall, but the dates have not been set yet. The follow-up to Alpha is a short course entitled "Welcome to the Episcopal Church" - for all members new and old. It has sparked some dynamic conversations on Wednesday evenings. We will also be making available another course in the fall called "The Purpose Driven Life".

Because of an active M.O.M.'s group, we are now blessed with several toddlers who have a difficult time staying within the bounds of the overflow area. We are looking into different ideas for gates and reconfiguring that space for toddler age children. If you have any ideas, please let Peggy know.

Next Sunday, May 30, is Pentecost. It's the birthday of the church; for the tongues of fire that fell upon the whole congregation "and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the spirit gave them the ability." (Acts 2). In honor of this day, please wear colors of the spirit if you can - red, yellow or orange.

Faithfully,

Peggy

September 2004

Dear Friends,

Peace be with you. I hope that despite the rainy weather this summer that you have been able to find a time of refreshment and renewal in the slower pace,

There is a lot of excitement in the air in anticipation of the new beginnings. A new Alpha course, a new Bible study for those who have completed "Welcome to the Episcopal Church" called "The Purpose Driven Life". The annual Welcome Back Brunch will be held on Sunday, September 12 at 9 AM. In addition to the church school registration, our new cookbook will be introduced; it is entitled "The Happy Cooker". Members of various ministries will be on hand to answer any questions that you might have about them. A professional photographer will be a guest. And there will be an open house in the new decorated atriums of the Catechesis o the Good Shepherd program.

The following week, on September 19, a group of BeFrienders will be commissioned. Their ministry will be to reach out to newcomers.

This year the All-Parish Event will be held at the Masonic Hall on October 23 during the dinner hour. As a special part of the evening, a professional magician has been hired who specializes in entertaining families. So...please mark you calendar for the whole family.

There have been several fair workshops to date. This year we will celebrate St. Anne's upcoming 115th anniversary by call the fair: "A Good Old-fashioned Christmas Fair". Please plan to come in Victorian clothing and save some room for homemade relishes and other preserves at the food table. There will be a lot of other new ideas as well. The fair date is December 4.

If you haven't been in Bixby Hall lately, you will notice a brand new floor which is very lovely. IN addition, several folks have pooled their money to purchase new lightweight tables and some chairs. Thank you very much for your generosity and care of our church building.

At our last vestry meeting, Lorene Patch spoke on behalf of the need for more help in the Thrift Shop. If you feel called to give a couple of hours a week at the Thrift Shop, please contact Margaret Westerlund.

There are probably things that I have forgotten to write about, but you can see that we are all off to a fund and busy start of the new year. I look forward to seeing you all together again.

Faithfully,

Peggy

October 2004

Dear Friends,

As you can see by the size of this edition, there are a lot of activities coming up in the near future. This year, as in the past, the All Parish Event will be held at the Masonic Hall in Billerica Center with the hope that everyone will come - whole family units. Different this year is the addition of a professional magician/comedian, who performs for multi-generational groups. Carol Cote has volunteered to make a delicious chicken dinner, which has passed the taste test in her own home several times. So…please call the church and let us know how many from your family will be attending. Commitment Sunday follows the event on Oct. 24. Commitment cards for 2005 will be available after both services in Bixby Hall.

Other invitations are also included in the newsletter as well as some new information. For the last year have been on the board of directors of the Friends of the Council on Aging (COA). It's function is to provide funding for activities that the COA wants to pursue but cannot because of limitations in the town budget. You do not have to be a senior to support it. Enclosed in this newsletter is an upcoming-events flier with a membership form if you are interested. Another two-page form from the town concerns the public lottery for housing.

Progress on the "Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Fair" is wonderful. Ideas keep flowing and many folks are thinking about wearing Victorian dress. If you have homemade preserves, please consider giving some to the preserve table. You will enjoy a new twist to an already fine time. The date: December 4 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Many folks have asked if someone could come and talk about wills. We are pleased that Atty. Diane Cohen (Wendy Kessler's sister) has agreed to come on Tuesday, October 19 at 7:30 PM. She will talk about what is important to include in a will and some of the things that we should be thinking of as well as the different type of wills. This is an important topic at any age. There is no charge for her time.

You will notice that there are several new prayer books in the pews. We can all thank the Anneacreons, who purchased them and put them in the pews. Each year they give money specifically toward a need in the church. They are a social group with a deep interest in the spirituality of St. Anne's.

Finally, something new is brewing with the acolytes. We have invited adults to join the ranks this year. Many have always wanted to be an acolyte and were not able to for one reason or another. Welcome. There will also be a few changes to the flow of movement, which should help everyone fell more comfortable.

This letter will no doubt reach you when something else should have been included and wasn't. As always, I look forward to seeing and visiting all of you.

Faithfully,

Peggy

December 2004

Dear Friends,

Peace be with you. As this liturgical year rapidly comes to a close, it is clear that we will begin again with renewed energy and hopeful expectations of the many blessings yet awaiting us personally and as a parish family in the season of Advent.

Much energy went into the design of the Newcomer's folders, which are complete and ready to be delivered to those desiring one. They detail contact people and show pictures of relationships and vitality in our growing parish family.

One of our new family units is Rev'd Jonathan and Carol MacKenzie, who retired from St. James, Laconia, NH. We are truly blessed to have them a part of the St. Anne's family. From time to time you will see Jonathan in a priestly role as the spirit moves.

The Olde-Fashioned Christmas Fair is energizing the creative talents of everyone and forcing us to think about the theme "Victorian". We chose this era to highlight the 115th anniversary of St. Anne's next year. The original church was consecrated in 1890. Please come and enjoy the Victorian creations, decorations - and even dress.

The Advent season will welcome a visit from the Rt. Rev'd Gayle E. Harris, Bishop Suffragan, on December 19. Please come out to meet her and ask anything you would like about Diocesan matters. She is warm, friendly, and very approachable.

There are some new names and ideas in this newsletter. Lynne P. offers to write letters to your little ones from the North Pole. This is a great idea and receiving such a letter will surely delight a child. Carol B. has undertaken the Angel Tree ministry during Advent. This year she wants to include teens on the list of gifts. She offers these ideas if you choose a teen angel (no pun intended!): watches, jewelry, CDs, gift certificates to various stores and baseball caps.

Please know that no Sunday service is ever complete without YOUR presence. St. Anne's is the people of God gathered together in prayer at worship and fellowship, sharing One Lord, One Baptism, One Faith. If you haven't been able to attend lately, please make a new start in the new Church year.

This comes sharing my thanksgiving for being among you.

Faithfully,

Peggy