Joy; I think that's the only way I can describe it.

It's precise, to the point, and well, absolutely true. When you guys made me stand up in front of the congregation to receive the card and scholarship I was more than surprised. as far as rewards and recognitions go, I've never received one so heartfelt and so amazing as the scholarship from the church. I am so terribly blessed to have a church family like I do at St. Phillips that would do such a thing. Even the slideshow hit me pretty hard. I've been at St. Phillips for nearly my whole life and this was quite possibly the only time (and hopefully the last time, haha) I have ever cried there. The tears were embarrassing, but the love I felt from the congregation was more than I can describe in words. No matter how many times I say thank you, it will never feel like it was enough. This has truly been the most wonderful gift I have ever received and I am so happy that I will be able to go to (at least) my first year of college! Countless thanks and God bless, Ben Williams

Typical Sunday at St. Philips?

I am always amazed and blessed when God drops in and says, pay attention. We know Hes always there/here so possibly I should say, Im always amazed and blessed when I pay attention. Last Sunday Id finished my initial prayer and waited for the processional hymn when Pat Ballard rushes in excitedly and tells me theres a whole gang of kids in the Narthex* ! Well, what am I suppose to do? I did resign from Sunday school over a year ago. She was so insistent and how could I say No, Im busy praying so I join her in the Narthex* to find a young couple with six children, dressed in Sunday best from ages four to eleven. We clomp downstairs and I have them turn all the lights on; unlock the cold Sunday school room, Mt Olive (which Simeon recognized as a landmark from the Bible). They all sit down, we say a thankful prayer and Honor is thankful that they didnt get hurt in Joplin, Mo and another that their Dad has a job. We then read a story about Molasses and Butterscotch, two cats who are distressed because they family has moved and the cats cant find their toys. But, the kids help them adjust, just as God helps us. By then I have found some foam leaves, glue and paper (all items provided by Pat Betchley) to make book marks, and then they discover the Easter bags packed by Scott and Suzy that have little chicks in them. Now its time to go up for communion so I tell them they can just fold their hands and get a blessing. Since they were use to Pentecostal service they told me they have grape juice and bread. I explained about our wine and wafer that sticks in your mouth. They thank me and Abigail says good-by to Grandma**

A second pay attention. A young man sitting in back kept watching all this commotion of comings and goings with the kids and he kept looking at me and me thinking Oppshe came to pray and all he gets is commotion. He greets me after the service Peggy James? Yep Bill Gibbs from fifteen years ago at St. Philips when Mike Jarvis was rector. He tactfully said my hair color had changed and updated me on where he is and his job search. Greatanother person searching for something other than our material world!

*Greek word meaning fennel, cane, casket hmm. Definition a vestibule leading to the name of the church ** Someone with white hair and wrinkles.

Bible Study Group(s) News:

Wednesday at 4 PM Group: Today is our last study in the book of James. Next week, June 29, we will start a new study book "Great People of the Bible". It will include people starting from the old testament to the new testament. The first four studies start with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and the last three studies ending with Mary, Peter, and Paul. Wednesday Morning Group: We have finished our study of the Psalms and will take a break for the rest of the Summer. When we begin again we will be doing Bible 101.

Congratulations to Charles (Charlie) Forbes!

On June 29th, a larger than usual group gathered to celebrate the midweek Eucharist. The celebrant was caught off guard, not knowing that so many would show up! But, those who were there knew it was a special day. It was the 58th Anniversary of our own Charlie Forbes ordination to the priesthood! Congratulations Charlie!

Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in Their 20s and 30s. By Mike Hayes. 2007.
This book from the Diocesan Resource Center is a practical guide on ministering to two distinct generations of young adults, Generation X and Millennials, by considering specifically the recent historical, societal and technological changes affection them. The author, Hayes is the associate director of the Catholics Paulist Young Adult Ministries. Chapter titles: 1. Identifying Young Adults: Would You Know a Young Adult If You Fell over One in the Aisle? 2. Whats Working Well in Young Adult Ministry? Ministry Superstars of the Modern Age. Three things that take precedence: 1. Young adults often assume the can Google Godinstant gratification is a click away in all areas of their life. 2. Information OverloadHas the church been in touch with the YA culture or just providing a quick fix? 3. There is to be no sweeping generalizations but how do they see the world, and how they make sense of their own existence. Im on Chapter 2, so maybe next month Ill have some important content. Peggy James

From Rev. Marys Desk

I am SO proud of our St. Philips family! We set out to provide a gift for our lone graduate this year (see front page) and your generosity overwhelmed him (and me!)! We gave Ben Williams a gift of $3,215.00 towards his first year of study at Seattle Art Institute. We may be small in numbers, but we are HUGE in heart. I couldnt be prouder to be serving as your Rector. My thanks to all of you, including the Hospitality Committee whose last Cupcake Sale proceeds went to this gift. God bless and keep you all Pax, Rev. Mary

Bishop s Visitation - August 28th! Anyone want to be Baptized? Confirmed? Received? Re-Affirmed?????
Every couple of years we have the official visitation from our Bishop. Our turn is August 28th and we ve scheduled it to be our Annual Parish Picnic as well!

At the time of the Bishop s visit a number of things take place....He inspects the Parish Register of services; he meets with the Vestry; and, he is available for things only the Bishop can do. These include 1. Confirmation, where adults (anyone 12 and up) are invited to Confirm their commitment to their Baptismal Covenant. It involves some education/training in advance! 2. Reception, where those who have been confirmed in another tradition, specifically Roman Catholic or Lutheran are Received as confirmed members of the Episcopal Church. And 3. Re-Affirmation, where anyone who wishes may ReAffirm in front of the Bishop and congregation their Baptismal vows and receive a blessing.

One more thing, the Bishop is also happy to Baptize anyone at the time of his visit, especially this visit where the Baptism would take place in the Stilliguamish River~

If anyone is interested in more information in these Rites, please contact Rev. Mary as soon as possible!

Arial view from Google Maps of Peggy & Phil James property!

Pay attention to Sudan (Commentary from Episcopal News Service)

By Jesse Zink, June 29, 2011 [Episcopal News Service] Last September, I met a man named Cimbir in Juba, Sudan. He was beginning his third long year away from his wife and family, studying at Bishop Gwynne Theological College, a seminary of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. One of the few mementos he brought with him from home was a picture of an open grassy area. This, he said, was where his home had been until it was burned down during Sudan's long civil war. He had fled to Khartoum where he lived as a refugee for many years. Now, with peace on the horizon, he is intent on returning home once again, building the church, preaching a Gospel of reconciliation and restoration, and helping his parishioners settle into their new lives. The home Cimbir showed me is in the Nuba Mountains, a region just on the northern side of the north-south border and one that has long had a tense relationship with the Khartoum government. For the last few weeks, bombs have again been falling on Cimbir's home. Unknown scores of people are being killed and hundreds of thousands more displaced as United Nations' peacekeepers stand by impotently. The destruction, concentrated in Southern Kordofan state, which the Nuba Mountains are part of, is immense. The few outside observers remaining in the region have compared the killing to a "Darfur redux." Initial reports indicate the military targeted people based on their ethnicity, Nubans like Cimbir especially so. Meanwhile, world leaders and media have largely averted their gaze. Sudan is in a fragile position as it prepares to split in two on July 9. Southerners, who have fought two long civil wars with the north, voted overwhelmingly and overwhelmingly peacefully in January to secede from the north. Now, as independence day approaches, the north is ratcheting up the military pressure on the south. In late May, the northern army seized the disputed Abyei region. That move and the recent attacks in Southern Kordofan are thought to be part of an attempt by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to bolster his own position and provoke the south into responding militarily, thus giving him a pretext to deny the legitimacy of southern independence. As these geopolitics play out, however, countless numbers of people are dying, the suffering is growing, and no one is paying attention. No one, that is, except the church. The church primarily the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Roman Catholic church is the country's largest nongovernmental organization with a presence in even the smallest and most remote villages. When bombs began to fall in the Nuba Mountains and northern soldiers began rampaging through the streets of Southern Kordofan's capital, it was church members who used their networks to alert the outside world what was happening. They did this even as they bore the brunt of the attack. The new cathedral in the town of Kadugli was burned and several priests and church members were among those killed.

July Schedules: Date

July 3

Reader
Mike Wray Bob Tichbourne

EM
Sharon Billings Diane Jones Mike Wray Janice Saulewicz Larry Wilson Pat Wilson Bob Tichbourne Susie Halsey Diane Jones Sharon Billings Janice Saulewicz Mike Wray

Altar Guild
Susie Halsey Jacquelyn Trout Sharon Billings Emily Wade Susie Halsey, Fred Janet Labdon Dorothy Armstrong Jacquelyn Trout Sharon Billings Fred & Emily Susie Halsey Janet Labdon

Counters
Jim Wilson Larry Wilson Carolyn Forbes Corleen Wilson Pat Wilson Dorothy Armstrong Bob Tichbourne Diane Jones Christina Foster Pat Ballard Larry Wilson Jim Wilson

July 10

Larry Wilson Pat Wilson

July 17 July 24 July 31 August 7

Charlotte Champers Carolyn Forbes Scott Halsey Sharon Billings Susie Halsey Jim Wilson Bob Tichbourne Larry Wilson

July Birthdays
July 1 July 1 July 3 July 7 July 13 July 28 July 31 Corleen Wilson Arleen Stuvland Sarah Craig Carl Hollister Sondra Sakala Carol Wray Mary Allen

&

Anniversaries
July 1 July 8 July 9 Charles & Carolyn Forbes Lloyd & Jacquelyn Trout Todd & Joelle Mahlum

Ben Williams cutting his Grduation cake!

(Pay Attention to Sudan continued)

As South Sudan prepares for its formal transition to full independence, the scale of the challenges it faces even apart from the tenuous relationship with the north is overwhelming. The new country is slightly smaller than Texas but lacks almost all critical infrastructure hospitals, schools, and paved roads. More than 90 percent of its people live on less than a dollar a day and an Oxfam report concluded a teenage girl has a greater chance of dying in child-birth than completing primary school. The government is overwhelmed and is spending its money on arms in case it needs to defend itself from further northern aggression. In the midst of this stands the church, which across the country is building schools, digging wells, running innovative agriculture projects, and training ever more leaders like Cimbir to carry out this work. Refugees returning from two decades of civil war are building hopeful futures thanks to the work of the church. But the church needs the support of the outside world to ensure peace is secured. As the attacks in Southern Kordofan show, the church can sound the warning and few listen. This is unusual. The world has a history of acknowledging the church's witness for peace. Desmond Tutu won a Nobel Peace prize for his opposition to apartheid. El Salvador's Oscar Romero is carved into the wall of Westminister Abbey. In Sudan, that support is nowhere to be found. Cimbir graduated from seminary early this month. His wife and children fled the bombings and are now displaced in Khartoum. Cimbir has been reunited with them but it's a long way from home and the violence is continuing. As I read reports of the destruction in Southern Kordofan, I am reminded of Cimbir's eagerness to return home and the plans he has to rebuild his home, his church, and his community. Sudanese like Cimbir can take the lead in rebuilding their shattered country but only if we first begin paying attention.

-- Jesse Zink is a student Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and the author of Grace at the Garbage Dump: Making Sense of Mission in the 21st Century, which will be published by Cascade Press in 2012. He blogs at http://jessezink.wordpress.com.

Needed! Our stalwart Vestry Clerk, Scott Halsey, has resigned...and we need someone to fill this vital role! Anyone interested in learning more, or taking the post, please contact Mile Wray - Sr. Warden, Janice Saulewicz Jr. Warden, or Rev. Mary.

From Episcopal Relief & Development

Sudan

Northern troops invaded Abyei on May 21, 2011, taking over the city and causing an estimated 20,000 Southern Sudanese residing there to flee. This unrest in Abyei, which is situated on the border between Sudan and the soon-to-be independent state of Southern Sudan, is raising concerns locally and internationally about a possible reprise of the civil war that ravaged the country for decades between 1955 and 2005. The Episcopal Church of Sudan is responding to the humanitarian needs of internally displaced people from Abyei. On January 9, 2011, Southern Sudan participated in a referendum that concluded the five-year Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed in 2005 after close to five decades of civil war. It is widely expected to result in the creation of a new, independent nation in Southern Sudan. This new state will be endowed with rich resources oil, abundant fertile land, timber and its people but the long civil war has left the country with virtually no infrastructure and very limited healthcare and educational services. Episcopal Relief & Development supported the efforts of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) to hold public meetings about the referendum. These meetings, held by ECS diocesan bishops, promoted the value of registering and voting, and helped local residents understand the process and possible outcomes of the vote. Creating clarity was important to ensure widespread participation, especially in areas such as Western Equatoria, where 170,000 people have been displaced by the terrorist activity of the Lord s Resistance Army. Sudan s national infrastructure is weak. With few roads and limited mobile phone and radio coverage, it was challenging to get out information about the referendum to eligible voters. The Church in Sudan is one of a small number of organizations whose local connections are both deep and wide, giving it the unique ability to contribute in civic education and peace building in this exciting but uncertain time. The Church covers the entire country, but is mainly concentrated in the predominantly Christian south, where 20 of the Church s 24 dioceses are located. SUDRA (the Sudanese Relief and Development Agency), the relief and development arm of the Church in Sudan, was established in 2006. Its mandate is to build the capacity of the Church and facilitate diocesan projects that serve and improve the lives of those living in poverty.

Alleviating Hunger and Improving the Food Supply

approximately 24 agriculture resource agents will be trained over the next three years (one for each diocese) following a three-month training course, each resource agent will establish a model garden to demonstrate agricultural techniques the agent will train communities in sustainable land management, focusing on household gardens which can provide families with nutritious food and needed income

Creating Economic Opportunities and Strengthening Communities

vocational training center for men and women in the Diocese of Lainya need for skilled construction workers and carpentry in area is high new construction will help build local infrastructure and provide income for workers

Responding to Disasters and Rebuilding Communities

preparing SUDRA to meet uncertainties that face Sudan training of staff to include needs assessment, identifying vulnerable individuals or communities, organizing logistics, utilizing networks for response when needed equipping SUDRA to mobilize wider emergency response empowering communities to create plans to deal with catastrophic events.

Save & Recycle!

Plastic shopping & grocery bags make perfect pet do-do pick ups! Now that we are officially asking our neighbors who use the back 40" (I m going to start calling it St. Philip s Green!) to pick up and clean up after their pets we have installed a bag for them to get plastic bags and a receptacle to leave their deposits . Please bring your plastics bags for us to use!

Thanks, Rev. Mary

Try out a Labyrinth.... Our Labyrinth team is going to lay out a labyrinth in Painters Tape on the floor of the Parish Hall very soon so all can try it out before we make the final decision about putting in a permanent one on the St. Philip s Green. Watch for the notice in the Parish Sunday Bulletin!

Have you wanted to learn how to Use a Computer?

The Library is now equipped with a Laptop for public use. Anyone wanting to learn some basics, like email & internet use, please sign up for lessons!

St. Philips Episcopal Church 431284th St NE Marysville, WA 98270

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