Adirondack Mission Newsletter for January 2016

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ADIRONDACK MISSION NEWS
PO Box 119 | Brant Lake | New York 12815

Our Mission statement:
The Adirondack Mission of the Episcopal Church is prayerfully committed to the Eucharistic worship of God, to educating ourselves, to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and to loving and serving Christ in others with our time, talents and money.

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A Year of Firsts in the Mission
This has certainly been a year of firsts for both my wife and I, since we were starting to come into the mission early in January this year at least to supply on Sundays for you, we are coming very close to our first anniversary.
In that time here in the Adirondacks we have been learning and growing into what it takes to balance the five parish churches in our mission. I am also balancing Seminary classes during the year as I work toward the priesthood and that is going well.
Some of my firsts have included running a parish annual meeting, preaching every week instead of occasionally, and running a vestry meeting instead of being a participant.
We have a new Property and Liability Insurance policy through Church Insurance Group, which is a part of The Church Pension Fund and this has saved us over $2,500.00 annually while increasing our coverage, and our Vestry and finance committee have proposed and passed a near balanced budget for the coming year. I have to say everyone has been a pleasure to work with to come to these decisions. We have also gotten one step closer to Handicap accessibility at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Chestertown as our handicap ramp nears completion.
We now have a brand new web site TheAdirondackMission.org which has been professionally designed by Marcy Moonlight Designs and Ms. Laurinda Minke in Newcomb. This along with an up to date Facebook page gives us better ways to communicate with each other the events that are happening.
Please check them both out if you have not already. We are also making ourselves more visible by joining the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce which adds us to several more web sites and Facebook pages in our larger area for summer visitors looking for a church home away from home.
We have been able to do some pretty neat projects for the community so far as well.
We have been able to resume the monthly Eucharist service at the Tri-County Nursing Home in the last couple months and are having good attendance there.
Earlier this fall we had an opportunity come our way through the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child, which is a wonderful outreach extending to children on the other side of the world who have nothing. The 54 gift shoe boxes we were able to collect get presented along with a bible message for them and their families and give them hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks to the help of Deacon Nancy Goff who did some walking around town in North Creek just before Halloween this fall we were able to impact over 200 trick or treaters, along with many parents to tour our church and see new things happening in their neighborhood.
Due in no small part to the talents of Ed Raquet and a couple of his musical friends, along with a group of talented bakers in our kitchen, we held a Coffee House Concert recently at St Andrew’s Parish hall to benefit the Schroon Lake food pantry, for which we collected $250.00.
We have also been able to donate to the operation Santa Claus programs at a few of the local schools including North Warren and Minerva with moneys from our outreach fund, giving hope and help to many local children. There is also a wonderful opportunity coming our way soon through the Adirondack Community Outreach Center who are starting a student backpack project with the Johnsburg Central School which sends home much needed food to extend the free lunch program over the weekend for those in need. You will be hearing more about that soon, and ways to participate.
On February 7th we will have a Community Service which will give an opportunity for the mission to worship occasionally as one parish and to bring us closer as a group. The only service in the mission that Sunday will be at 10:00 am at Church of The Good Shepherd in Chestertown. Please plan to attend as this will be our parish picnic of the winter. there will be a pot luck luncheon so bring a dish to pass.
Faithfully yours, John Cairns
PS… In an effort to better control our postal expenses for future mailings you could help us by letting us know how you would prefer to receive your future communications, including the regular newsletter, either thru email or by way of our new web site or Facebook page. Please simply send me an email message at john.cairns23@gmail.com and we will make that change for you. Please also verify both your mailing address and phone number(s) as this will help us to have your most current information.
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Dear Adirondack Mission Family,
I am writing to you about the regional Episcopal Medical Mission trip the Dominican Republic. As many of you know I join a group of about 30 dedicated Doctors, Nurses and others on a yearly trip to the Dominican Republic.
We visit the same small village each year and work at an Episcopal Church and school to provide much needed health care to a small Dominican Community of about 6,000. For many, this is the only health care they receive until we return. We see a mix of Dominicans and Haitians at our clinic and provide medicine for their hypertension and diabetes for the year. We also treat other illnesses and provide reading glasses.
One of the most important things we do is provide home water filtration systems for families in the village and surrounding areas. Without good water our treatment would be nearly futile. We will be hosting a fundraising dinner on January 30th at the Newcomb Fire Hall from 5-7 PM. We will be serving, chicken and eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti and lasagna as well as bread, salad and desert. All proceeds from the dinner go to paying for medicine and supplies for the trip. We are also collecting reading glasses (new or old), sunglasses and small toiletries that we distribute in care packs.
Please consider making a donation, making some care packages or sponsoring a water
filtration system for $20 that will provide clean water for a family for a full year.
For more information, contact: Kevin Bolan PA at 518-582-2068 or adkpa@aol.com. You can also mail a donation to Kevin at 4 Santanoni Drive, Newcomb NY, 12852 make check payable to St Eustace.
Thank You and God Bless You!

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Please Remember In Your Daily Prayers: Barbara, Debi, Patrick, Marna, James, Jaylan, Mel, Henry, Daniel, Fr. Michael Sowan, David, Susan, Jeff, Brian, Lee, Guy, Marshall, Carolyn, Mark, Casey, Bill Jr., Eileen, Madeline, Lynn, and our shut-ins of The Adirondack Mission.
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Why do we do what we do in church? What, exactly, do we believe?
For those who are lifelong or longtime Episcopalians, we forget that some who are new to this denomination don’t always (often?) understand “why we do what we do.” It is my hope, in the coming months, to answer questions you may have related to the worship, doctrine and polity (organization) of the Episcopal Church. And because every question is important, you are invited to ask every one of them! You can ask verbally – in person, by phone
(932-9286), by email (nlgoff@verizon.net) or snail mail (The Adirondack Mission, PO Box 119, Brant Lake, NY 12815.
John and I will endeavor to provide you the most accurate answers available.
For example, some might wonder why Deacon John and I wear stoles in
different colors. The short answer is that the color of our stoles reflects the
color assigned to the season or feast day being observed. The longer
answer goes on to explain that the church calendar is divided into seasons,
each with a particular focus and color designation:
ADVENT – our church year begins with the season of Advent and is observed
for the 4 weeks prior to Christmas. The “liturgical” (worship) color is either
blue or purple (both regal colors). Advent is a season of anticipation &
expectation as we prepare for the birth/return of Jesus.
CHRISTMAS – a short, but glorious season observed from Christmas Day until
January 6th. The color for Christmas is white and is a time of celebrating &
feasting about the birth of Jesus.
EPIPHANY – this season runs from the Feast of Epiphany (arrival of the wise
men) on January 6th until Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. The color for Epiphany is Green, representing hope and promise. The Season of Epiphany is also referred to “Ordinary time” (explained below).
LENT – lasts 40 days (Jesus fasted 40 days & nights in the wilderness during temptation by Satan) and is a season of penitence, where we intentionally examine our lives to see where we’ve fallen short in how we live and love and serve as disciples of Jesus. It’s a time when some folks intentionally give up something important as a sacrifice of thanksgiving for Jesus’ gift of life through his death; others take on special acts of worship, study or community
service as their manifestation of gratitude – all this as we journey with Jesus to the cross. The color for Lent is purple.
EASTER – Alleluia! Christ is Risen! – the most glorious, important day for Christians; if Jesus had not risen from the dead there would be no such faith called Christianity; Jesus would not be the savior of the world but merely another great prophet. But indeed, Jesus is the Son of the Living God who rose from the dead, making atonement for our
sins. Thus, the color for Easter is white or gold; a day and season filled with celebration and feasting and thanksgiving. Eastertide is observed until the feast of Pentecost.
PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter, the church celebrates its birthday and the coming of the Holy Spirit to rest upon the apostles along with a multitude of new believers from various nations who were in Jerusalem, who, because of the Holy Spirit, could understand the apostles’ testimony in their own languages (Acts 2). The color for the Feast Day
of Pentecost (and the Holy Spirit) is Red. The color green is used during the season of Pentecost which is also long and also referred to as “Ordinary time.” Pentecost closes by bringing us back to Advent and the beginning of our “liturgical calendar year.
“ORDINARY TIME” can be understood in terms of “the living out of Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life…[and] varies in length depending on the date of Easter” (Episcopal Dictionary of the Church). During these particular seasons we learn much about Jesus’ life, his teachings and his ministry.
Hope this helps. I anxiously await your questions!!

Deacon Nancy
The Adirondack Mission Churches