St. Hubert's Episcopal Church

Thursday Lectionary Study

 at 10:00 a.m. continues via ZOOM. If you would like an invitation, please let Denise know and she will see that you are included! We'd love to see you! denisemiller@sthuberts.net

Dear Parish Family, 

As I write you today, I have been in self quarantine since last Wednesday, when my son, Matt, began to show symptoms of coronavirus.  He had arrived home from managing a congressional campaign Monday evening, and had been isolating from us in order to rejoin the family 'bubble.'  John, Geoff and I are all fine, yet this is a wake up call to us all.  As the holidays approach, you will be making the same decision as I had to make:  how do we embrace, welcome and integrate our loved ones as the holidays approach?

I urge you to use extreme caution as it is the loving thing to do, both for yourself and those closest to you.  Even in religious communities, those arriving at the door to lead the life of a monastic are shown the boundaries of hospitality, rather than an open embrace.  Boundaries are loving and most necessary as we see cases of coronavirus mount and a rise in hospitalizations.  Given the current state of testing, we have no choice.  Matt waited 4 days to receive his test results--positive in his case.  Had he not isolated we might all be ill.  Fortunately, his case is not severe and he sounds chipper.  That is never to be taken for granted since we know this virus affects people differently.

As the holidays approach, our desire to return to normal and to celebrate family traditions is understandable.  These gatherings come at great peril, however, to us all.  Think of the pilgrims and indigenous people on that first Thanksgiving, or of Mary and Joseph in the manger.  Trust me, their holidays (holy days) were far from ideal, so we in 2020 are in good company when our holidays are altered.  Perhaps it is in that altered set of celebrations that we will find a heightened meaning and a more realistic set of expectations. 

I have been managing holidays along with The Regathering Committee and The Vestry since our last gathered indoor worship, held on March 15th.  Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, which has been celebrated online, or outdoors.  My prayer for each of you is that your faith has deepened by 2020's travails and that the pandemic has shaped your view of what is truly important in God's sight; and not just our own.  

Faithfully,

Dan

READERS NEEDED!

Gwynne Young is planning a remote Sunday School for our children this Fall. Part of her dream is for parishioners to record short book readings that will be shared with the kids during each week. If you have the desire to read enthusiastically and the ability to record yourself and follow simple instructions to upload your reading, you are needed. Call Gwynne at 440-488-1322 or email at gwynnesburg@msn.com. Thanks!  

Thanksgiving Day ZOOM Worship -

a brief service at 10:00 a.m.

Link will be sent to all on November 25.

St. Hubert's Building Continues to be Closed

Although Governor DeWine  has opened the State of Ohio for businesses, the Diocese of Ohio continues to recommend that "in-building staffing be minimal and on a drop-in basis as necessary to maintain essential operations."  Therefore we at St. Hubert's continue to work remotely.  We are in the office only to collect mail and to keep the operations of the church in order.  Voicemail is checked each day, and email works too.  Worship and all gatherings continue to be cancelled or postponed with your health in mind.

 Deacon's Dismissal  

(Musings from The Rev. Josh Butler) 

Before I could rightly claim to be a churchman, a friend asked me to help out at a church supper. This was a sit-down dinner for hungry neighbors. They served good food on china dishes. That evening, I washed all those dishes and stared at the damp walls of my basement bailiwick. On one wall, these words were hand-painted: “Feed the hungry; Give water to the thirsty; Welcome the stranger; Clothe the naked; Care for the sick; Visit the prisoner.” I thought, “If I ever find a church that believes that, I’ll join up!” And so I did. 

Food Ministry Dates:  

St. Hubert's Online Directory

Remember, that we have an online directory with up to date contact information.  To log on to this, go to www.sthuberts.net and click the MEMBER LOGIN button in the top left corner. Your user name is your name with no spaces, i.e. danschoonmaker. Your password is peace (unless you have changed it). "We're well, you and yours be well also!"

FLOWER FUND

Thanks to all who have made contributions to The Flower Fund.  We have been acknowledging our loved ones, honored or remembered, weekly by listing then in this email. We also acknowledge them in the bulletin for worship online and in-person worship gatherings on the lawn. In the absence of an altar, flowers are being sent to parishioners who are shut in or alone, are celebrating a momentous occasion, or in recognition of a service they may have bestowed upon St. Hubert's or others in the community.

Whoever Thought Old Blue Jeans Could Look So Good

Calling all old blue jeans. The Sewing Ladies of St. Hubert’s and the Cedar Central area of Cleveland have launched a new endeavor to meet a need at the Cleveland Clinic. In the Pediatric Epilepsy Unit these small patients are monitored by portable EEG units. These monitors are usually attached to their beds. However, this set-up requires the assistance of staff when the patient wants to use the bathroom or to travel to the Child Life Room. One of the staff noticed the small Darth Vader backpacks we donated filled with pajamas for the pediatric patients and thought that perhaps this idea could be adapted to make these small patients more independent and mobile. Enter Janice Cochrac, sewer extraordinaire. After much thought and the donation of some old jeans she came up with a prototype of a vest with a pocket on the back to house the monitoring unit. We are now ready to move forward. All we need now are more old blue jeans that can be recycled as cute new vests. We can cut them up to repurpose this sturdy fabric. So don’t throw those holey worn out jeans. Just drop them off on the porch of St. Hubert’s.

Thanksgiving Baskets for Marion-Sterling School

The decision has now been made that even though the Cleveland Schools are closed for in person learning, Trinity Cathedral in conjunction with St. Hubert’s Church will provide food baskets for the families of Marion Sterling Elementary School. Bags with shopping lists will be handed out at church on the next two Sundays weather providing. Additional bags will be placed in a plastic bin under the portico by the front door of the church. Our goal this year is to fill 45 bags. Trinity will be filling 55 bags for a total of 100 families being served. All filled bags must be returned to St. Hubert’s on Sunday, November 22^nd between 10:00 and 10:30AM regardless of whether or not church will be held that day. If you would like to participate in this outpouring of care for our neighbors at Sterling but are unable to physically shop and fill a bag you may send a check for $35.00 made out to St. Hubert’s Church (with Thanksgiving food Collection in the memo area) and we will shop for you. In addition to the food in the bags, a gift card for $10.00 at Dave’s Supermarket will be provided for each bag. If you will be out of town on November 22^nd but want to fill a bag before that time, please contact Bitty Dorr at 216-401-1523 or bittydorr@gmail.com and we can work out a plan for getting your gifts. Below is the shopping list in case you want to get started early. Thanks for your generous support of this endeavor.

SHOPPING LIST

1 can of cranberry sauce

2 cans of corn

2 cans of greenbeans

2 small cans (1 large can) yams

2 small cans (or 1 large can) of collard greens

1 large onion

1 box instant mashed potatoes

1 large box of macaroni & cheese (or 2 small)

1 box stuffing

1 can gravy

2 small boxes (or 1 big box) of corn bread/muffin mix

1 box of cake or brownie mix

1 container of frosting

Bring all items in the bag provided to the church on Sunday, November 22^nd between 10:00 and 10:30AM.

ONE LESS HAT TO WEAR

Over the years, Denise and I have often kidded about the many hats she wears in her position as Ministries Coordinator:  Accountant, Sunday School Coordinator, Youth Group Facilitator, Events Planner, Administrator, Construction Manager, are only some of her hats.  As of January, she will take off her bookkeeper/accountant hat as we have hired JLP Accountants to pay parish bills, produce monthly and annual financial statements and represent us at audits.  Denise will continue to manage pledges and gifts to the parish, ensuring a seamless relationship with parishioners.  Members of The Hat Committee have worked diligently to help in this transition in writing up new job descriptions based on what the parish needs as we move forward.  Leave it to Denise to shed 1/2 of the position only to be replaced by a firm of twelve!

COME JOIN A WALK IN BETHLEHEM

I know that Halloween is just over and Thanksgiving has not yet arrived, but plans are beginning for a special event to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, at Christmas time. With all the restrictions of Covid-19 we are working on a way for all of us to come together in a safe and memorable way at this special time in our church calendar. What we are thinking about is a mini recreation of the walk to Bethlehem that the shepherds took after receiving news of our Savior’s birth. It would take place on Christmas Eve around 4:30 and end by 5:00PM. There would be Angels from on high and shepherds with live sheep. The event would be all outside with our walk from the parking lot down the driveway to the “stable” (front door protocol) where Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus would greet us. Before we proceed any further with our plans, we need to know if you will be in town on that day and are interested in participating. Please send an email to bittydorr@gmail.com letting her know of your interest.

ONLINE GIVING

St. Hubert's now offers online giving through its website at  www.sthuberts.net\giving_new. (Please note the underscore  between giving _ new.) The "Give to St. Hubert's" link on this page will take you  to a secure site where you can make a pledge payment, flower donation, Dears Society donation, or a general offering using your debit/credit card, or directly from your bank.  

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