Posted on Nov 17, 2016 in General | Tags: election
St. David’s Episcopal Church in Bean Blossom, Indiana was recently vandalized. The Reverend Kelsey Hutto from St. David’s posted the following on Facebook:
“Sometime Saturday night St. David’s Episcopal Church in Bean Blossom was vandalized. Three tags were painted on the outside of the church – a swastika, “Fag Church” and “Heil Trump.”
We are disappointed that our safe haven has been vandalized but will not let the actions of a few damper our love of Christ and the world. We will continue to live out our beliefs and acceptance of all people and respecting the dignity of every human being. We pray for the perpetrators as well as those who the derogatory marks were directed at.
We will move forward continuing to be the love of Christ in the world.
Any one is welcome on the sacred ground of the church. This act was an act of separation. Separation of us from each other and a separation from God which is the definition of a sin.
We pray for unification with God, with God’s people and with ourselves.
This is only one image of a worldwide phenomenon in which we are dividing ourselves and the world from God.
We hope and pray that as the days and weeks continue we find a way to bridge this division from God and each other and ourselves.”
Bishop Cate Waynick responded to the incident:
“Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
By now you all know that St. David’s, Bean Blossom, was vandalized this weekend with a symbol of intimidation, language demeaning of GLBT persons, and praise of the President-elect. While it is deeply disturbing to be on the receiving end of such vitriol, it is also an opportunity to be very clear, with ourselves and the world around us, that we take seriously the commandment of our Lord to love one another with the same love God lavishes on every person – no exceptions.
We do not know who is responsible for the vandalism. What we do know is that the kind of language used during the recent Presidential campaign has emboldened some people to become openly abusive and insulting. Our option as faithful people is to be sure we don’t respond in kind. The Episcopal Church will continue to welcome all people, to seek and serve Christ in the world around us, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being – even those who deface our buildings. Our buildings can be marred by anger and hatred – we will not allow our hearts to be defiled.
Our hearts and our doors remain open to everyone, as we pray for the wisdom and courage to remain faithful disciples of Jesus.
Faithfully,
“
St. David’s has received an outpouring of love and prayers and has turned their messages of support into “wallpaper” that can be seen and enjoyed by the entire congregation. Mother Kelsey was interviewed by CNN today about the recent events. You may watch the video by clicking
HERE. The graffiti will be left on the walls of St. David’s until November 30th, at which time a special event will be held for all those who wish to support St. David’s. The members of Holy Family Episcopal Church stand with Mother Kelsey and the people of St. David’s during this difficult time.
We pray for peace and offer a welcoming place for all.
Posted on Oct 31, 2016 in Fellowship, General, Worship, Youth Group |
Several youth group members took an overnight camping trip to Turkey Run State Park in mid-October. The day began with a 6-mile canoe trip down Sugar Creek. The weekend was one of the last of the season with beautiful weather, so they enjoyed time around a campfire and ended the weekend with morning prayer.
Posted on Oct 31, 2016 in Children, Daughters of the King, Fellowship, General, Worship |
On October 9th, seven of the Mary & Martha Jr. Daughters of the King picnicked at and hiked through Ritchey Woods in Fishers. It was a beautiful afternoon as their co-directresses led them on a nature walk and discussed the day’s homily. The event ended with a discussion of upcoming activities and plans for the rest of the year. For more information about our Jr. Daughters of the King chapter, please contact Ruth Everett or Kristine Canter at mmjrdok@gmail.com.
Posted on Oct 24, 2016 in City of God, General, Outreach, Troop 199 | Tags: Landscaping
As the final piece of our City of God expansion project, Fishers Boy Scout Troop 199 held a day of service in early October to install landscaping on the church grounds. Scouts, adult leaders, and families spent 300 man hours installing plants, mulch, and stone on the property under the leadership of Mark Keys. Allisonville Nursery provided the landscape design and planting materials for the project. Holy Family wishes to extend sincerest thanks and appreciation to Troop 199, Allisonville Nursery, and all who helped make this project such a success.
Posted on Oct 15, 2016 in General, Worship | Tags: pet blessing
Posted on Oct 7, 2016 in General, Outreach | Tags: Haiti, Hurricane Matthew
On Thursday afternoon. October 6th, Father Mike was able to contact Father Jean Michelin in Haiti. Father Michelin and his family are safe following Hurricane Matthew, but there have been some deaths and injuries sustained among the parishioners of the seven churches he serves. At the time of our communication, they were still assessing the damage.
Father Michelin reports that a number of his schools were significantly damaged, including reports of some damage to the St. Andre School in Mithon, which was built by the Diocese of Indianapolis. Father Michelin has sent several photos of school damage. Father Michelin has asked for our prayers as they assess damage and begin recovery efforts.
Posted on Sep 26, 2016 in Christian Education, General, Outreach | Tags: Second Helpings
On Sunday, September 25th, Holy Family welcomed two representatives from
Second Helpings in Indianapolis. Nora Spitznogle
, Director of Programs (shown at left), and Adriane Rios, Manager of Volunteer Services, led our Christian formation hour for adults and all children and youth in second grade and higher.
Each day, Second Helpings volunteers and staff rescue prepared and perishable food from wholesalers, retailers and restaurants — preventing unnecessary waste. That rescued food is used to create 4,000 hot, nutritious meals each day that are distributed to 80 social service agencies that feed people in need. The Second Helpings Culinary Job Training program trains disadvantaged adults for careers in the food service industry. This helps eliminate hunger at its source. More than 600 adults have graduated from this program, and Second Helpings alumni are now working in Central Indiana as cooks, executive chefs, business owners and culinary instructors.
During the presentation, Holy Family congregation members were introduced to the services provided by Second Helpings and suggested potential new ways that they may connect in order to offer support.
During the month of September, Holy Family congregation members collected pasta and spices to donate to Second Helpings. The donated items, as well as those who work with Second Helpings, were blessed by Father Mike during our 10 AM service. For more information about Second Helpings, please visit their
website..
Posted on Sep 20, 2016 in General, Worship |
The Holy Family Congregation prays over seminarian, Patrick Burke during the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, September 18, 2016. Next Sunday, Patrick will begin a new phase of his training to become an Episcopal Priest by completing a field education assignment at All Saints Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Unfortunately for us, Patrick’s field education experience will take him away from Holy Family for nearly one year and perhaps beyond that. Please continue to pray for Patrick, his wife Cheryl and their daughter Lexi, as they adjust to this major trasition in their lives. – Father Mike+
Posted on Sep 15, 2016 in General, Outreach, Worship, Youth Group | Tags: Boy Scout, Eagle Scout Project
Ian Johnston and Thomas Canter
In the summer of 2016, Holy Family gained two major improvements to the church grounds by way of Eagle Scout projects. Two members of the Holy Family Youth Group hold the rank of Life Scout with Troop 109 in Fishers and chose their home church to fulfill their Eagle Scout project requirements. Both scouts led volunteer teams of youth and adults from the church and Troop 109 in order to complete their projects.
In July 2016, Thomas Canter made improvements to Holy Family’s outdoor chapel area.* He created a gravel path from the parking lot to the outdoor chapel in order to make it handicap-accessible and more convenient for all congregation members.
He also added landscaping around the outdoor chapel with burning bushes, arborvitae trees, dwarf Korean lilacs, and mulch. The final piece of Thomas’ project was building a large, wooden cross for the altar area. The outdoor chapel is used several times a year by small groups within the church as well as the entire congregation.
In August 2016, Ian Johnston built a tool shed for the Holy Family Community Garden. The garden was established in 2011, and a portion of the produce grown is donated weekly by gardeners to a local food pantry. The shed project included building a platform base, then constructing and installing the shed.
The shed will hold the lawn mower, trimmer, hoses, and other supplies needed to maintain the garden area. It will also provide the community gardeners a place to store their personal tools throughout the growing season.
Holy Family wishes to thank Thomas, Ian, their families, and all volunteers for their hard work and dedication to improving the church grounds.
* The outdoor chapel altar and benches were completed as a Girl Scout Gold Award project by Holy Family Youth Group member Ellen Everett in 2015.
Posted on Sep 11, 2016 in General, Outreach, Troop 199, Worship | Tags: 9/11
On Sunday, September 11, 2016 Holy Family held a special 9/11 Remembrance prayer service. We prayed for all those effected by traumatic events such as disasters and terrorist attacks.
Father Mike said special prayers for first responders who perished on, and in the days following, the attacks on 9/11/2001.
Prayer for First Responders
God of the selfless,
God of the strong and the brave,
Grant a perfect rest among the souls of the righteous
To those who died in service to others
during the 9/11 attacks,
May their dedication to protecting life
serve as a shining lamp of love
And the works of their hands
bring us all merit in heaven.
Bless the souls of all who have died to save others,
Civilians and professionals,
The trained and the untrained,
In every age and in every land,
Men and women who answered the call of honor, duty and service.
May their memories be sanctified with joy and love.
May their souls be bound up in the bond of life,
A living blessing in our midst. Amen.
Following the playing of TAPS by Aaron Lackner, Father Mike also prayed for current first responders, blessing them in their daily acts of courage and bravery. Local first responders were honored during our Community Block Party with a VIP sticker, gift, and free lunch for their entire family.
Our prayer service was attended by members of Boy Scout Troop 199 which is chartered at Holy Family. They provided the color guard for our service as well.
