St. Andrew's Mission Statement
The mission of St. Andrew's Church is to show forth powerfully the love of God in Christ, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, by means of worship, fellowship and service to all who come to us, to those whom we seek out and to one another. Corporately, we will grow in numbers and in tangible and intangible resources. Communally as well as personally, we will grow toward the full maturity of Christ.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Transition Team planned a great send-off for Fr. Chris
Well, the party’s over. We had music (Oh, those wonderful St. Andrew‘s Minstrels!!); we had serious talks and funny talks and every kind of talk in between; we had lots of hugs, and we had a few tears. This is exactly what a retirement party is supposed to be -- a culmination of memories, laughter, tears, and shared affection. Chris, Lisa and Katie were on the receiving end of enough love to last them a long time. We had the help of many artists. Wendy Mitchell’s rendition of Chris’s lawn chair retirement was fantastic. Dawn Eggenberger did her usual splendid decorating job and the photo blown up to life size that greeted guests was fantastic and Randy Arsenault was the best of the best emcees. What FUN!
Sunday, Aug. 10, was Fr. Chris’ last day on the job at St. Andrew’s. More festivities were planned. The morning began with everyone in one place, the 8-o’clockers and the 10-o'clockers joined at 9:30 am for a grand send-off to the Bergs. Love once more reigned and honor came their way.
After all the love and the honors are completed, it will be up to us, the people of St. Andrew’s to keep the honors to Chris’ legacy coming. We can do this by cooperating with one another in all aspects, by doing everything in our power to continue the wonderful programming Chris has
led for 21 years. By making sure our Seekers and our Squeakers go on, by making certain that the altar is dressed each Sunday morning, and the Church School is operating and the LEMs are in their places to help with the Eucharist and the lectors are ready to read. We can continue honoring Chris by making sure there are ushers at each Sunday service, by giving Mike and Harry and The Minstrels a well-deserved and encouraging pat on the back for jobs well done and by helping Fr. Bob and Deacon Marlyn in any was they need. We can make sure we honor Chris by helping our visiting priests and our interim priest and finally our new priest feel welcome and at home in the place, which I have found to be the warmest church in Oakland County (or at least the warmest I’ve ever attended!).
The party was not the end of the Transition Teams job. We will make sure you get the Companion each month. We will make sure that your questions are answered as we travel this new road together. We will make sure that visits are made to the ill and shut-ins of our parish. It is our job, along with the Vestry, to make sure all that’s mentioned above, plus anything else that may pop up as we go along, gets done.
Thus, if you see a need, please let us know about it. Our members include Carole Wollard, Mark Taylor, Francine Klein, Bill Foster, George Rogers, Marcia Bottomley, John Ferris, Jr., Judy Rowcliffe, Matt Jenkins and myself. We stand ready and willing to help in any way we can.
Charlotte Wall on behalf of the Transition Team
