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                                                                  JUNE 2003

The Gryphon’s Roar St. Mark's  Newsletter
A message from  the Rev. Battle Beasley
DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER
People and Places
Renderings of Hafiz Know the True Nature        
Ecuador Mission News

The Gryphon's Roar

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The Reverend Battle Beasley      

                                                                                      

Dear People of God,

As we come to the close of the Easter season, celebrate the feast of Pentecost and enter “ordinary” time in 

the Church calendar I hope each of us will continue to celebrate the “new creation’s” we are in Christ Jesus. 

It is hard to stay on a mountaintop experience and truly I don’t think that’s where we are called to stay. And 

yet so often when we leave the mountaintop we lose or forget the vision we experienced. When we are in the 

valley of day-to-day humdrum existence we tend to dismiss our experience of the mountaintop. The 

experience of being the beloved of God, God’s New Creation for the healing, redeeming, blessing of God’s 

world. 

Each Sunday is a little Easter a reminder of our Christian hope, the sure and certain hope we have in the 

living God. As we celebrate that hope and promise each Sunday so might we Celebrate ourselves, each other 

and all creation at least once a day during the week. Celebrate yourself as God’s new creation each day that 

you might hold fast the vision given us during the Easter season. Celebrate each other and all God’s creation 

to make present the experience of our loving God for at least a moment in each day we are given. Celebrate 

our healing, redemption and blessing so that others might come to rejoice in the splendor of God’s love for 

them, that God’s name might be glorified even in our “ordinary “time.

God's Peace, 

Battle  + 

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Know The True Nature

Know


      The true nature of your
               

Beloved.
          

In His loving eyes

You’re every thought, word and   movement

          Is always, always

                beautiful.


 

From: The Subject Tonight Is Love, poems of Hafiz; versions by Daniel Ladinsky. Printed by permission

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DIOCESAN CYCLE OF PRAYER

Each month we will be publishing the Calendar of Prayer for the Diocese of Tennessee.  It begins on the first Sunday of Advent, 2002 and runs through Year B of the Eucharistic Lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer.

 

SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY – June 1, 2003

            St. Barnabus Church, Tullahoma

 

PENTACOST SUNDAY – June 8, 2003

            Korean Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit,

Nashville

 

TRINITY SUNDAY – June 15, 2003

            Holy Trinity Church, Nashville

            Trinity Church, Clarksville

            Trinity Church, Winchester

 

PENTACOST II – June 22, 2003

            Grace Church, Spring Hill

 

PENTACOST III – June 29, 2003

            St. Peter’s Church, Columbia

 

PENTACOST IV – July 6, 2003

            St. Andrew’s - Sewanee School, Sewanee

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ECUADOR MISSION NEWS

 

Frank Brannon, Holly Granger, Elizabeth Gregory, and George Kurz will be part of the July 2003 Diocesan Medical Mission to Ecuador.  They will arrive early just to visit our companion mission, Santiago Apostal, St. James the Apostle.  Plans are for Holly and Elizabeth to stay overnight in La Pila while George and Frank return to Guayaquil to attend the ECW convention.  How about that for gender role reversal?  The truth is that Holly and Elizabeth want to play with the children instead of attending meetings! 

 

The Vestry approved disbursements of Designated Ecuador funds as follows:

 

$650.00 - A years worth of vitamins for 65 people in our         companion Mission

 

$200.00 - “Seed” money to purchase goods to bring back and sell at profit

 

$230.00 - Fees to hire a van & driver to get to and from La Pila

           

These expenditures will deplete the funds St. Mark’s saved for our companion mission program last year.  But guess what?  The weekend of our Ecuador Supper, just over $950 in contributions replenished that fund!  AND look for a vitamin packaging party in June.  We have to separate 23,725 one-a-day vitamins into 30 day, individual zip lock bags

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Work Day a Big Success!

 We wish to thank all who turned out for the Work Day on Saturday, April 19th.  Major accomplishments 

were made.  The shed was painted.  The brush all around the shed was cut down.  A trench was dug and 

pipe was laid to drain the lake at the back of the property and keep it dry in the future.  Brush was cut 

down across the front of the property.  Hooks were hung in the utility room and the Junior Warden, Greg 

Hall cooked breakfast for all (with help from his wife, Tricia, and Frank Brannon).  I hope that I didn’t 

miss anything.  THANK YOU!!

 

DEDICATION

On Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003,  the new flower pedestals were dedicated.  They were made especially 

for St. Mark’s by Steven Failor.  We want to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Steve for the wonderful 

gift.  They truly look beautiful and make the altar flowers stand out.  

Thanks, Steve

 

SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK

Battle received a letter from Janee K. Day at the Second Harvest Food Bank thanking St. Marks for it’s 

generous donation of $100.  Janee’s personal note at the bottom of the letter says, “Thank you so 

much! We are grateful for your generous support.”

On that same note, Kitty McKee reported that we have since donated 270 lbs of food at #1.68 per lb 

totaling  $453.60.  This was over a two month period.  As Kitty says, “If we really try hard, maybe we 

could do that in one month!”  Keep up the good work!!

 

Graduations

Kim Winters (daughter of Sandy and David) completed Navy Basic Training on April 25.  She is in 

technical training for the next 12 months at the Military Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA 

where she is learning foreign language for Naval surveillance as a CTI (Cryptologic Technician, 

Interpretive).  Kim graduated from Belmont University in December 2001 with Bachelor's degree in Fine 

Arts.

Norman and Ann Baker are proud to announce that their granddaughter Shannon L. Baker will graduate 

May 11, 2003 from Mercer University at Macon, Georgia.  Also, she has been accepted at Washington 

University where she will pursue a degree in sociology.  Many of you will recall her Father, Norman 

Baker and Tammy were very active at St. Mark’s.  He was Senior Warden when Bob Dedmon was Vicar, 

now Canon.

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