The Emmanuel Way A monthly publication of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, Virginia August
2012
Meet Pam Webb
The Rev. Pam Webb has been selected to be our interim rector. Let’s welcome the Rev. Pamela C. Webb into our Emmanuel Family. She will be serving as our interim rector. In a recent letter to our Emmanuel Family, Beth Colmery, our senior warden stated, “I am pleased to inform you that the Rev. Pamela C. Webb (Pam) has accepted the Vestry’s call to serve as our Interim Rector beginning September 1. Pam currently serves as Interim Rector at Emmanuel at Brook Hill Episcopal Church in Richmond. She has been an ordained priest for eighteen years and was in Chuck Mullaly’s class at the Virginia Theological Seminary.”
Who is Pam Webb? In a recent email, she stated, “I have always been an Episcopalian and was blessed to be brought up in several Episcopal parishes. My father was with US Steel so we moved many times when I was a child. One of the very first things we did after a move into a new community was to locate an Episcopal parish to which we could belong. I regularly attended worship services and Sunday School, sang in children's choirs and was a regular at EYC when I was in high school.” Pam has a love for teaching as she explains, “I have always loved working with and teaching children of all ages. I was a Sunday School teacher, EYC advisor, a teacher and then Director of a Pre-school at my parish and eventually was the Director of Religious Education at another parish in Birmingham, Alabama. I am a teacher who is always learning. I have taken EFM and become a Mentor and I have led many workshops, retreats and adult Christian Education programs. I have always found that I learn as much if not more than the people whom I teach.” Pam is a traveler. She states, “I say that I must have a ’gypsy’ gene in my DNA because I have moved so often throughout my life. I may be considered a bit "weird" in that I love to move to new places and meet new people. I have found that there are very good people wherever I go and that there are incredibly blessed Episcopal parishes everywhere. I have been so blessed to have served in some of these places.” Pam plans to form a transition bridge as we work to discover what the Lord has in mind for the future of Emmanuel, Greenwood Parish. She says, “Times of transition can produce anxiety in parishioners so my first goal when I come to Emmanuel is to establish trust within the parish. I want to assure everyone that things will be well taken care of in the parish, services will be done in a prayerful way, pastoral calls will regularly be made, and the ministries of the parish will continue with my support. I also will encourage your parish to begin to have a vision for the future God would have for you. Interims are a good time to try doing some things in new ways,
but this must be done carefully to maintain the stability of the parish.” Her thought is, “God has brought us together for this time of transition and I look forward to getting to know you and to exploring how God would have us minister together this year. Emmanuel is a wonderful parish that is blessed with many gifted and faithful members. I want to encourage each of you to pray about new ways that you can serve God in your parish. I have absolutely no doubt that God will bless all of us in ways we can not even begin to imagine in this time of transition.” Pam describes her family with, “I am married to Dan Webb, who is from Kilmarnock and is a commercial architect in Newport News. Our "permanent" home is in Williamsburg. I have a daughter, Tricia Skelton, who teaches 6th grade in Opelika, Alabama, a son, John Skelton, who is a professor at a University in Perugia, Italy, and a son, Matthew Skelton, who is a musician in Boston, Massachusetts. She concluded our conversation with, “It is also interesting that Chuck Mullaly and I were classmates at Virginia Theological Seminary and graduated together in 1994. While we were in Seminary we both served at Good Shepherd in Burke. Now, Chuck and Leith are retiring to Williamsburg, which is where Dan and I plan to retire one day!”
Shrine Mont Committee Shrine Mont reservations are due by August 22nd!!!! Registration forms are in parish hall or in the office. Have you signed up yet? During our transition period, what better way to stay connected and feel the love and peace of the Emmanuel Way? Come to Shrine Mont, our parish weekend retreat!!! The dates are August 31stSeptember 2nd. We will have a great weekend of fellowship and fun to include a square dance Saturday night, and a special meet and greet Friday night. Our interim rector, Pam Webb and her husband, Dan, will be there to
2 get to know us and offer us an opportunity to get to know them. Please sign up ASAP. Please contact Kathleen Haden with any questions
[email protected].
Rector’s Reflections
The Rev. Charles F. Mullaly, Jr.
A Love Letter This is my last letter to you before my retirement. It is probably both the easiest and the most difficult one I have ever written. Easy because I can freely tell you how much I truly love you each…difficult because it means that I am leaving the parish family that I love most dearly. When you become a priest no one tells you how much you will love your people. No one tells you how devoted you will become to the people you serve. I will never adequately put into words how much you each mean to me. You have been at the center of my heart for over 14 years. You have been my focus and my purpose. What an indescribable blessing it has been for me to have walked with you on your personal journeys. These have included your happiest and your most tragic times. I have watched you blossom from a faith-filled parish of warm and welcoming people at the western side of the Diocese of Virginia to a parish that is booming with energy and enthusiastic
The Emmanuel Way evangelism that invites friends and neighbors to join you at church! Look at our children! 134 kids under the age of 16 are on our rolls. What a sheer joy it is to watch our young ones march off to Children’s Worship! I’ve had a dad tell me: “I see the Holy Spirit in my children. They come to Emmanuel knowing that everyone loves them!” I’ve had strangers say:”I love the way restless children can be in the pew and people just smile.” I had a mother share that her children will wake up and ask: “Is today Sunday? Do we get to go to church?” I believe that children see the world in a pretty honest pure light. You have shown children and their families that they will find honest Christian love and care here. All this has become a tangible part of my joy in serving as your rector. You have embraced all this change and yet have done this while never losing your humility or sense of humor. This truly is a parish family with all sorts and conditions of people, young, not so young, comfortable and struggling human beings all welcomed, accepted, supported and celebrated in this community of faith. There is absolutely no limit on how you will continue to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ and serve the community in His name. The great thing about you is that you know that God lives in your midst and that He is working in your lives. God answers your prayers. God directs what you will continue to do at Emmanuel, and we are all so blessed because of that. Emmanuel has people who care. More than one person has told me that they have seen the face of God in your eyes. Emmanuel has people who step up and fill the void when one of our leaders retires. Emmanuel has a Vestry that works to consensus. Emmanuel is a very special little corner of God’s world. You and your many ministries will live on in my heart always. This parish family will continue be in my daily prayers. This was, in fact, my easiest and my most difficult newsletter to write. May God bless you most tenderly, Chuck 2
August, 2012 Chuck and Leith’s New Address: 103 Dundee Williamsburg, VA 23188 (H) 757-345-6538
[email protected]
Bishop Visits Emmanuel First
The Right Rev. Susan Goff Less than 24 hours after her consecration as Suffragan*Bishop of Virginia, Susan Goff visited Emmanuel for her first service as a bishop. Bishop Goff was consecrated on Saturday, July 28at St. Paul’s Richmond by the Most Right Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Goff admires Chuck’s cross following the reception. At Emmanuel, the bishop formally received several folks from Emmanuel into the Episcopal Church and renewed the Baptismal vows of
3 others. Emmanuel was both excited and honored to welcome Bishop Goff and her husband, the Rev. Tom Holliday to Emmanuel.
Chuck, Bishop Goff, Tom (Bishop’s husband) and Deacon Don talk at the reception. * “Suffragan bishops are elected by both clergy and lay delegates of a diocese to assist the Diocesan Bishop. Bishop Goff was elected to succeed the Rev. David Jones who retired in January, 2012.
Disciples Kitchen Report By Amanda Poor We served 100 chili lunches in June! Thanks to all who contributed food for all these meals. We will be serving lunch on August 20, and breakfast on Saturday, September 15. If your children will be needing community service time, this is a great opportunity.
The Emmanuel Way more than three weeks Leith and Chuck will say goodbye and head for their next life’s adventure in Williamsburg. We will all miss them deeply, but we can take heart knowing that the love of the Emmanuel family will always bind them closely to all of us. And so now we have truly begun to enter our period of transition. Yes, it is a time of some anxiety, but also a time of celebration for what we have accomplished, with God’s grace during the past fourteen years, and, importantly a time of excitement that lies ahead of us. Beth, the Vestry and the Interim Rector Selection Committee have brought us a wonderful and loving servant of God in Pam Webb. I very much look forward to serving with her. During the past several weeks Chuck and I have spent time together discussing and thinking about the continuing pastoral and healing needs throughout the parish. It is my hope that as we continue through the summer and into the fall that if anyone in the Emmanuel family has a pastoral concern or issue where you think I might be helpful that you will call upon me. I am here for you 24/7. In the meantime please continue to have a joyous and safe summer wherever your travels may take you. And Deede and I will see you at Shrine Mont. With God’s Blessings, Don
Send an email to Amanda Poor,
[email protected], to get on the list for reminders as the dates approach.
Vestry Report
Deacon Don’s Message
All too soon, we will have bid Chuck and Leith farewell and sent them on their way with our love and blessings. Now it is time for us to welcome our Interim Rector, Pam Webb who will begin her time with us on September 1. Pam and her husband Dan will be attending our Shrine Mont weekend, and I know that many in our congregation will take advantage of this opportunity to get to know her.
The Rev. Deacon Donald Cady
Dear Friends in Christ, It is hard to believe the summer season is almost half over; however, it is still harder to believe that in a little
By Beth Colmery Senior Warden
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August, 2012 A number of people have asked me to explain the role of Interim Rector and how this role differs from the more traditional permanent Rector role. I will try to explain. We are in a time of transition as we search for our new Rector. Throughout this time Pam will be primarily responsible for all parish matters. In addition, she will be guiding us through the transition, and will focus on key components that distinguish her role as Interim Rector from that of our future and more permanent Rector. First, there are specific tasks to accomplish. Pam will help us come to terms with our history, that is, where we have been and what aspects of our history we want to keep as we move forward. She will help us form and clarify our identity by forcing us to identify who we are now and what we want to be in the future. We will examine our current leadership structure and search for ways to raise up new leaders and empower them to help us move into the future. Pam will also help us reflect on our relationship with the Diocese of Virginia and how we can strengthen our ties with the Diocese and the Bishop. Pam will lead and guide us as we reflect upon our commitments to current and new directions in ministry. However, and this is an important point to bear in mind, Pam will not be directly involved in the search process itself. This is a tall order indeed. It is not a “one size fits all” process. The transition period and the search process will most likely take twelve to eighteen months. The process, however, does have a time limitation. The Interim Rector will leave when we call our new Rector. Finally, Interim Rectors receive very specific training designed to accomplish the multitude of tasks in the defined period of time. This training enables them to recognize and deal with the special challenges and demands placed upon them and the congregation during the transition period. Pam has chosen the interim form of ministry; she will not be a candidate for our permanent Rector position. I hope this brief explanation is helpful. I look forward with anticipation to focusing our efforts on
4 the goal of discerning God’s will for us and responding to our discernment of God’s will in calling our new Rector. Yours in Christ, Beth
“Bishop Bob” A remarkable man of God and an incredibly gifted story teller, Bishop Bob Atkinson died on July 4th in his adopted home of Florida. For more than a decade Bob & his wife Rosemary worshipped at Emmanuel. We were all so truly blessed to have them both as regular members of our Emmanuel Family. Bob preached the Gospel through stories much the way our Lord worked through parables. Bob’s stories were detailed and often used clever and catchy alliteration to help us remember his points. Rosemary has a gift for welcoming new folks and typed big sections of the Emmanuel Cookbook. Bob’s funeral will be held here at Emmanuel on SATURDAY, AUGUST 4th at 1pm followed by a reception. We expect bishops, clergy and lay people from all over to attend so come early to get a seat! (Chuck guesses that Bob has been entertaining Thomas Jefferson and John Adams (who also died on July 4th) with his marvelous stories.
Chuck’s Service of Departure is August 12 Chuck and Leith realize that many of their Emmanuel Family will be on vacation on August 12th but really hope to say a heartfelt farewell to all of you who will be in town. Please come on Sunday at our regular 10 am service for this special celebration. Our diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston will preside and Leith’s brother, the Rev. Andrew Merrow, will preach. Our former associate rector, the Rev. Sarah Kenny Gaventa, and our parishioners; the Rev. Chick Carman
The Emmanuel Way and the Rev. Jane Sigloh will also participate in the service.
August, 2012
The Emmanuel Way Mission Statement The Emmanuel Way, the official newsletter of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood Parish, will strive to communicate with, enlighten, and entertain the members of the parish in strict compliance with the official word of church doctrine as set forth by the rector utilizing the Style Sheet of the Diocese of Virginia. The newsletter shall be published monthly on or before the 1st day of the month of issue. The publication shall not be published during the month of July. The deadline for submissions shall be the 15th of the month preceding the month of publication. The primary role of the publication shall be to promote upcoming activities, report past activities and accomplishments of the church and its members, and carry an official church calendar of the month, as well as, become a recorded history of the church by the archival of all past issues.
The Emmanuel Way 7599 Rockfish Gap Turnpike Post Office Box 38 Greenwood, Virginia 22943 Email:
[email protected] Website: emmanuelgreenwood.org Phone: 540-456-6334 James E. Crosby………….. Editor Julia Shields . . . . . Editor Emeritus
The Greenwood Grapevine reports Margaret Hrabe reported that Quarantine: The Loners written by Lex Hrabe and Tom Voorhies under the pen name of Lex Thomas came out in Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide on July 10th. It is the first volume in a dystopian trilogy in the young adult fantasy/fiction market. Lex, son of Margaret and Rick Hrabe and a former Emmanuel acolyte, will be coming to Charlottesville for the Virginia Festival of the Book next March. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Alexis, and two daughters, Isadora and Wallis. You can view the website for Lex‘s and Tom’s book at http://www.lex-thomas.com/ . 4
This is an image of the book cover.
Sunday School Teachers are still needed We are still looking for a few good women and men who are willing to teach Sunday School to our wonderful children. We are blessed with many good teachers, and each class is run by a team of teachers so that we can have fun and teach and learn together. This also means that when someone needs to miss a Sunday, it is an easy one to cover. Please consider teaching, and be in touch with the office if you are interested. You can call the office or send an email to
[email protected] or call 540456-6334 for additional information or to put your name on the list.
Bishop Goff at Don’s Ordination.
The Emmanuel Way
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August, 2012
Saturday, August 4, at 1 pm at Emmanuel: Funeral for the Right Reverend Robert P. Atkinson (Emmanuel’s own beloved “Bishop Bob”)
Sunday, August 12, at 10 am: Chuck’s last Sunday at Emmanuel & The Service of Departure August 22: Deadline for signing up for Shrine Mont August 31 through September 2: Shrine Mont dates for this year
Emmanuel Way
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Post Office Box 38 Greenwood, Virginia 22943
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