From the Rector
From Lent into Eastertide

My dear parishioners and friends of St. Paul's,
This is being written only five days into Lent. It can certainly be said that we are off to a good start, with a good Ash Wednesday and a good First Sunday in Lent. I am delighted by the response to the rector's forum for our Lenten enterprise, as well as the dynamic and imaginative start that we have had on Fridays in Lent with Fr. Humphrey's presentation on Narnia; I hope a similar enthusiasm will surround our Trinity Institute for Christianity and Culture offering on Wednesdays.

Holy Week
The beginning of April finds us at the end of Lent and right before Holy Week.

I think it could be said that I place many eggs in the Holy Week basket! I really do believe it is the source and goal of the whole liturgical year and in so many ways of our whole life and witness together. The usual Holy Week schedule will obtain, and I call your attention to it, printed elsewhere in this Epistle. As always, I would draw your particular attention to the three evenings of Maundy Thursday, April 13, Good Friday, April 14, and Holy Saturday, April 15. These are the so-called Triduum Sacrum or the Three Holy Days. They represent for us not only the acting out of the Paschal Mystery but provide us also with the very means of participation in that mystery.

Each year, I take the risk of saying that if anyone makes a commitment to come to all three evenings without exception, with an open heart and an open mind, they will be changed and transfigured at the end of that experience. The liturgies for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are at 6:30 PM, and the Great Vigil of Easter is on Saturday, at 9:00 PM. The latter is the liturgy of the year, from which all other liturgies stem. This is the Lord's Passover, and just as practicing Jews believe that they participate in their saving event in the Passover, so we believe that we participate in the event that saves us, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in this Passover, as at every Eucharist. Every Eucharist we celebrate stems from this one liturgy. I am delighted that we will have an adult, a child, and a baby to be baptized at that service. This year, we have the home team preaching with no visiting preachers or bishops, and so Fr. Humphrey will be in the pulpit on Palm Sunday and Easter Day and I shall be celebrating and preaching for the Triduum.

Eastertide
After Easter, Fr. Humphrey will be away on a mixture of study leave and vacation to undertake some academic work at Cambridge University in England. You can read about his plans elsewhere in this Epistle.

By way of advance notice, a couple of important dates for May: The Bishop of Washington, the Rt. Rev'd John Chane, will make his official visitation to the parish on Ascension Day, Thursday, May 25, at a Solemn Pontifical Mass at 6:30 PM. At that time, he will confirm our candidates from our Pilgrims class as well as receive some into this branch of the Catholic Church and to receive the reaffirmation of others' baptismal vows. A reception will follow to honor the Bishop and the candidates. I am delighted that the Bishop is able to come on Ascension Day.

As I have consistently said, the Feast of the Ascension is to Easter what the Feast of the Epiphany is to Christmas. Without the Ascension, Easter makes no sense, and it is therefore of the essence. This parish is relatively good in our observation of Ascension Day, but there is always room for improvement! I hope that the Bishop's presence on such an important day underscores its essential character. And I hope that everyone will make every effort to be present at that Mass, albeit on a weekday evening.

The other notice I would like to give is that of the Annual Meeting of this parish, which will be scheduled after the 6:00 PM Mass on Wednesday, May 31, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Please watch the bulletin board and parish notices for announcements regarding deadlines for nominations and the usual requirements for the posting of the provisional and voters list.

Let me just end by saying that this comes with my prayers for continued blessings in Lent and for a transfiguring Holy Week and Easter for us all, individually and corporately.

With love in the crucified and risen Christ,
Andrew Sloane+

Fr. Humphrey to Take Study Leave

Over four weeks, from after Easter through just before Ascension Day (April 21-May 23), I will be in residence at Westcott House, an Anglican seminary of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where I will undertake university-based research on conflict, discernment, and reconciliation within Anglicanism. This is but one phase of a larger project already underway. It is expected that I will take several more months after my return to the United States to put my work in order for publication. I intend to complete the initial phase of research and publication by the end of 2006. Thereafter, the future progress of this project depends, in large part, on how my research and writing is received in the wider Anglican Communion.

I'm fortunate in my supervisor
At present, my research in the United States is being supervised via e-mail by the Rev'd Prof. Daniel W. Hardy, a senior member of the faculty of divinity at Cambridge. During my time in Cambridge, Prof. Hardy and I will meet regularly to review my progress. I know of no other scholar who has written as extensively on Anglican ecclesiology and who is in the position to supervise research students. He is the author of Finding the Church: The Dynamic Truth of Anglicanism, and he has had a significant impact upon the most current scholarship in the area of Anglican ecclesiology. With a strong background in political philosophy and theology, Prof. Hardy is particularly attuned to the ways in which the ecclesiastical sphere informs the socio-political world and vice versa. I feel very fortunate, therefore, that he is both willing and able to supervise my project.

The beginnings of my interest
My interest in the topics of conflict, discernment, and reconciliation predates the current controversies in the Episcopal Church. I trace the beginnings of my interest in these issues to the summer of 1992. It was the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, and during that time I, with a small group of laymen, lived with the Benedictine monks of Mt. Saviour Monastery in Elmira, New York, as a part of their Monastic Experience Program. In between the daily round of seven services, we read and discussed Esther de Waal's classic Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, in which I was introduced to the centrality of the vows of stability, obedience, and conversion of life as the legacy of the Benedictine tradition to Christianity. I later learned of the Benedictine influence on the Prayer Book.

When I entered the discernment process for the priesthood, however, I was disturbed to learn that much of this heritage had been obscured in the institutional structure of the Church. In response, I gathered a group of friends and edited a collection of essays entitled Gathering the NeXt Generation: Essays on the Formation and Ministry of GenX Priests (Morehouse, 2000), which addressed the need for deeper and more open discernment in the calling of persons to ordained ministry, centered in the Prayer Book's articulation that the essential mission of the Church is "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ" (BCP p. 855) -- which is echoed in St. Paul's own mission statement, printed on the back of every service leaflet and on nearly every parish publication (including the bottom of the box on page 2 of every Epistle). After Gathering the NeXt Generation was released at General Convention 2000 in Denver, the book had a measurable impact on diocesan ordination processes and was formative in the discernment of many younger people to ordained ministry.

Through my work on Gathering the NeXt Generation, I realized that I could be a constructive agent for change in the Church. The experience deeply affected the way I thought, talked, and wrote about the Church. Editing those essays opened my eyes to the wider spectrum of issues facing the contemporary Church, and I began to wonder what I might be called to do in response. I began to examine those conflicts that threaten to tear apart not just the Episcopal Church, but the worldwide Anglican Communion, and I came to the conclusion that I can contribute best to the Church through a vocation that combines sacramental ministry with teaching, writing, and consulting on issues of conflict, discernment, and reconciliation.

I recently met Esther de Waal for the first time. We had a long conversation about my project, and I was reminded thereby of the mysterious way that God has continued to shape my vocation for the edification of the Church. The moment appears to be just right to pursue my research further, and I am grateful for the support and prayers of those who know firsthand of the riches to be found within the Anglican Communion.

What about St. Paul's?
But what does this mean for St. Paul's, one may ask? First off, you mustn't worry that I will be lured away from St. Paul's by the charms of Cambridge, for Anne and I in fact chose to come to St. Paul's instead of my undertaking full-time research for a Ph.D. there or anywhere else. After a long and difficult process of discernment, we came to the conclusion that God was calling me to continue to hone my skills as a parish priest and that there could be no better place to do that than at St. Paul's, under the mentorship of Fr. Sloane and within the microcosm of the Anglican Communion to be found in our pews every day of the week. It is my hope that through this research, my ministry among you over the next several years will be enriched. I will miss you while I am away, and I ask for your prayers as I undertake this work on behalf of this branch of Christ's holy Catholic Church. [NJAH+]

C.B. Wooldridge and Jenny Brake at the Parish Mardi Gras Party

Parish Mardi Gras Party Huge Success

The parish Mardi Gras party on Saturday, February 25, was a huge success. Thanks to all who attended and worked so hard to make it a glorious event.

The party was sponsored by the Commission on Mission as a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief. The event cleared approximately $2,700, with another $650 received shortly afterward. The total will be matched by money from the Carwithen charitable trust fund. This money will go to the Episcopal Relief and Development fund for a program of hurricane victim relief being administered through the Diocese of Louisiana.

By March 20, the party was just $150 shy of its $3,500 goal -- but it is not too late to make a contribution. Contribute before the end of March, and your contribution will be added to the total amount to be matched from the Carwithen fund. Make checks payable to St. Paul's and indicate "Katrina" on the memo line.

Canterbury Club Receives Official GWU Recognition

The Canterbury Club, supported by St. Paul's, St. Mary's, and St. Patrick's, is a group of George Washington University students who seek fellowship with each other and to grow in our walk with the Lord. Originating as a small group of students who attended St. Paul's, we have grown substantially in the past few months to include people from all three churches.

We have just recently gained status as an official student organization on campus. This means that we can advertise on campus, plan more events, and join other student organizations in their events. In the coming months, we plan to become more active in service projects and search out new ways in which we can grow closer to God. We will continue to meet each Tuesday at St. Paul's and hold special events at St. Mary's, with outreach to the Mt. Vernon campus next door to St. Patrick's in the future.

Thank you to all who have supported us in the past and continue to do so now. Great things are happening and we are growing. It is my prayer (and I hope that of others) that God will continue to work through us and that we will continue to grow in the future. [KM]

Save the Date:

Annual Plant Sale

St. Paul's second annual plant sale to benefit Honduras will be held Saturday, May 13, and Sunday, May 14 (Mother's Day).

Special order request forms will be available.

Special events will include demonstrations of creating fountain gardens and flower arranging.

Available plants: Bedding plants, hanging plants, herbs, and tomato plants.

Eastertide Organ Recital, Friday, April 28

Friday evening, April 28, Jeremy Bruns from St. Thomas, Fifth Avenue, will present a festive Eastertide organ recital on St. Paul's renowned Schoenstein organ.

Jeremy Bruns is the associate organist at St. Thomas Church in New York City, where he trains and conducts the junior choir, coordinates the Sunday organ recital series, and holds primary responsibility for accompanying the choirs. Mr. Bruns studied with David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, earning his M. Mus. in performance and literature and the Performer's Certificate. He has won prizes in major competitions, most recently being awarded third prize in the 2003 Dallas International Organ Competition. He was also one of four North American finalists chosen to compete in the 1998 Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition and was second prize winner in the 1993 International J.S. Bach Organ Competition held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Bruns has been featured on the nationally syndicated radio show Pipe Dreams and has performed numerous recitals, including engagements at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London; Canterbury Cathedral; Washington National Cathedral; St. James' Cathedral in Toronto; Grace Cathedral in San Francisco; Methuen Memorial Music Hall; the Church of the Advent, Boston; Trinity Church, Copley Square; Old West Church in Boston; and other venues in the United States and England. Don't miss this fine young performer in concert. Admission is free; there will be a free-will offering. [MD]

Diocesan Resolution in Memory of Fr. Pollen

Our rector, Fr. Sloane, and our former rector, Fr. Martin, submitted the following resolution, which was adopted by the Diocesan convention in January.

Resolved, that the One Hundred and Eleventh Convention of the Diocese of Washington give thanks to Almighty God for the life and ministry of the Reverend Joseph Shelton Pollen, Jr., and convey to his family the condolences, prayers, and best wishes of the people of the Diocese. Fr. Pollen entered into eternal rest on April 29, 2005.

The Rev'd Joseph Shelton Pollen, Jr., was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts, with his younger brother, Maurice, sons of Joseph Shelton Pollen, Sr., and Nellie Gaskin, who were originally from Baltimore, Maryland.

From earliest childhood, Fr. Pollen felt a strong vocation to the priesthood, which was confirmed and nurtured by his active participation in the life and work of the church at St. Bartholomew's Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father was organist and choirmaster. The death of his father cut short his university education at Morgan State University, and he returned to Medford to tend to his family, his mother and brother, and began a long career employed by General Electric.

He continued an active lay ministry at St. Bartholomew's Church, organizing several groups, and as a lay reader and assistant to the rector, Fr. Kenneth Hughes. Upon the death of his mother, he was able to complete his university education and begin to fulfill a lifelong calling to the sacred ministry. He graduated from the General Theological Seminary and was ordained to the Diaconate by the Bishop of Massachusetts. His entire ministry was at St. Luke's Church, Washington, D.C., first as curate, then associate rector, and, after the death of the rector, Fr. William Van Croft, Fr. Pollen was called to be rector. Upon his retirement, he was invited to assist at St. Paul's Parish, K Street, Washington, where he served until his death, April 29, 2005.

Fr. Pollen was known for his preaching, and on many a Sunday it was said that there were few vacant seats in the pews of St. Luke's Church. His tremendous humor and strong personality endeared him to young and old alike and made him one of God's delightful characters. His powerful sermons made a congregation laugh at one moment and weep at another.

He inherited his father's love of music as an organist and as a supporter of the best traditions of church music, as St. Luke's was well-known for its splendid choir. While at St. Luke's, he not only enriched its worship, but developed and expanded its ministries into the community. He spent many years as the chaplain to Boys' Village in southern Maryland. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Prevention of Blindness Society and was a delegate to the Special General Convention in Houston in the late 1960s.

He was one of the founders of the Union of Black Episcopalians and president of the (diocesan) Black Episcopal Clergy Association. He had a deep and abiding love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and appreciated his membership in the Society of Mary.

His life and ministry touched the lives of so many, not only parishioners of St. Luke's and St. Paul's, but the seminarians, now priests, who worked with him benefited from his insights and devotion. His tremendous humor, often expressed with a straight face, is remembered back to his seminary days, and his friends often refer to his quips as "Sheltonisms."

February Vestry Meeting Notes

At its February 21 meeting, the Vestry discussed plans for a time and talent campaign, along the lines of our annual parish stewardship campaign, to encourage volunteerism in the parish. Susan Moore and Chip Heath are preparing a report of job descriptions for all the various volunteer ministries in the parish.

The Vestry also named a nominating committee to recruit candidates for the Vestry election at this year's Annual Meeting. The committee consists of outgoing Vestry members David Chase, Jerry de Michaelis, Deb Loucks, and Phil Schlatter, plus Matthew Leddicote. This year's Annual Meeting will be held on May 31.

David Schnorrenberg reported on behalf of the Building Improvements Committee regarding our ongoing struggle to get building permits issued by the District of Columbia. The elevator permit is especially slowing the process down. Geoffrey Peckham reported on the status of the search for an owner's representative to oversee construction. The BIC hopes to have a contract to present to the Vestry by the next Vestry meeting.

The Treasurer's Report gave an update on pledges to date. So far, $781,834 have been pledged for the year. This represents an almost 11 percent increase over 2005. January expenses were over budget, but most of the excess was due to quarterly payments that are made in January.

The Vestry approved the naming of Ed Stephenson as assistant treasurer for the Commission on Mission.

Finally, the Vestry discussed how to ensure that expenses stay within budgeted amounts. Phil Schlatter distributed a memo that reiterated the current Vestry policies regarding approval of expenses. The Vestry agreed that expense approval should be the responsibility of the Vestry stewards for each ministry area, who will be responsible for implementing procedures for expense approval within their areas. [AMN]

What Is Gift Planning?

Gift planning encompasses a variety of ways that gifts can be made to the Church from accumulated resources. It usually involves financial or estate planning; however, it is not reserved for the wealthy.

Gift planning is a means by which anyone concerned with the wise use of his or her personal resources makes a considered choice about their ultimate disposition.

In general planned gifts are made through:

a bequest in a will;

a life income gift such as a pooled income fund, a charitable gift annuity, a charitable remainder trust or charitable lead trust;

gifts of special assets (real estate, closely held stock, life insurance).

Gift planning establishes a way for a donor to provide for family members while remembering the church as well. It often enables the donor to provide more for his or her heirs and to make a larger gift than thought possible. It often reduces taxes.

Planned gifts are either outright gifts (e.g., gifts of appreciated securities, real property, personal property, etc.) or deferred gifts (e.g., charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts).

Our parish can help parishioners understand and arrange for planned gifts. For information on planned giving, please contact:

Planned Giving
St. Paul's Parish
2430 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Or contact the parish office at 202-337-2020 or by e-mail at adminasst@StPauls-KSt.com.

The Importance of Holy Week

We repeat here Fr. Sloane's explanation of the importance of Holy Week from the April 2004 issue of the Epistle.

In Holy Week, we see the most important and potent days of the Christian Year. They will have absolute priority in our corporate life together, and I urge you all from the bottom of my heart to make them a priority in your own lives.

Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The palm procession with which the liturgy begins enacts that entry into Jerusalem by the Lord, where those standing by waved palms and shouted "Hosanna!" The liturgy of the palms rightly begins at a place apart from the church itself, and we will make our way up to the church in our procession from Washington Circle. As we enter the doors of the church, we make that place our Jerusalem for the coming week.

The liturgy of the palms is always slightly chaotic -- I'm sure the first one was -- and breathes a certain excitement. The hymns are spirited and uplifting, and we have the advantage of brass players to cheer things along and keep us singing as we process. The Mass that immediately follows the liturgy of the palms is of a very different character. It is a Mass of the Passion, and so it prepares us for the events that we shall be commemorating in the days ahead. Please check the schedule elsewhere for Holy Week, and please note the starting times and places! (See page 12.)

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday offer two Masses each day at 7:00 AM, and 6:00 PM, and these too are by way of preparation for the great Triduum Sacrum, or "three Holy Days," of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday -- days that are at the heart of the Paschal Mystery. On Wednesday evening the ancient office of Tenebrae ("shadows") is sung to plainsong and melody, punctuated by the singing of lessons and the dimming of candles. Following the singing of the unearthly miserere with its high Cs, there is a great crash and the emergence of a solitary light foreshadowing Jesus' death and resurrection.

Maundy Thursday
The principal liturgy of Maundy Thursday is in the evening at 6:30 PM. The word "maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning "commandment" -- "a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another." The Mass is celebrated in white vestments and begins with all the customary glory of a Solemn Mass, including the Gloria, during which bells are rung.

Following the liturgy of the word, 12 people will gather in the choir on chairs, and they will remove their socks and shoes so that the celebrant may wash their feet. This obviously recalls one of the central actions of the last supper -- in John's Gospel the central action -- of Jesus' girding himself with a towel, taking on the role of the servant, and washing the disciples' feet. As he put the new commandment into action, so we do the same. These rites in these days prove to be no mere commemorations, but means in fact of our very participation in these saving and defining events.

As the Mass continues, the "tone" is lowered gradually. The Eucharistic Prayer commemorates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, but obviously does so in the shadow of the looming passion and death of the Lord. (Thus our full-fledged, joyous commemoration occurs on the Feast of Corpus Christi on the Thursday or Sunday following Trinity Sunday.) By the end of the Mass, things are quite somber and quiet. There is no blessing given -- interestingly, there will be no dismissal until the end of the first Mass of Easter at the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday, underscoring the continuous nature of the liturgies on these three days.

A Procession of the Blessed Sacrament moves slowly and quietly to the ancient words and tune of the Pange Lingua (Hymn 329), through the nave to the Angel Chapel. As the church has become our Jerusalem, our upper room on this night, so the chapel will become the garden of Gethsemane where the Blessed Sacrament reposes all night on an altar surrounded with candles and flowers and trees and plants. There the faithful will come throughout the night to "Watch one hour" with the Lord before his Passion. The liturgy ends with the rather shocking stripping of the altars as the choir sings the penitential Psalm 22, and the church itself is readied for the events of the Lord's passion and death the next day.

Good Friday
Good Friday commemorates the Passion and Crucifixion of the Lord. In previous and more clearly Christian times and cultures, these commemorations would take place at midday, mirroring the historic events themselves. In our contemporary culture, it is not easy to escape the workplace and the schedule of the city makes no allowance for religious observances during the day. Thus at noon we shall have very simply the Stations of the Cross as, appropriately, we walk the Way of the Cross with the Lord at the hour of his Passion and death.

The principal liturgy then is strangely yet conveniently in the evening, which does not tie in with the details of the story! Nonetheless, we all should make every effort to seize the opportunity of the convenient hour and make it a priority to be with the local Christian community of which we are part, as together we commemorate the mighty acts by which we are saved. The Good Friday liturgy is unique in the course of the year. It is the only liturgy that begins with the sacred ministers prostrating themselves on the floor of the sanctuary. There is no use of incense, and words and gestures are kept to a potent minimum. At the heart of the liturgy of the word is the solemn chanting to ancient tunes of the passion according to St. John; the preacher expounds on this in "preaching the Cross" before each of us is invited to draw near to a cross that has been presented to us along the nave by a deacon at three stations: "behold the wood of the cross whereon was hung the world's salvation."

It is interesting to note that on the following day, at the Vigil, the paschal candle will be presented at the very same stations -- when life has come in the place of death. To the extraordinarily moving words of the reproaches, the congregation comes forward one by one to kneel at the foot of the cross and to venerate. See how these liturgies call for us to use our bodies, our hearts, our whole selves as the events of our redemption are addressed to us.

Holy Communion is received in the form of the bread only from the Sacrament reserved overnight at the altar of repose, and the rite ends in a stark silence and unceremonial departure. Much of the music is unique to Good Friday, including the tones of the solemn collects where we draw the needs of the church and the world into the work of the Cross. Take note of the dates of the authorship and composition of the hymns that are sung. For 1,500 years, Christians have used such words and tunes to proclaim the Lord's death until he comes!

Easter
The liturgy of the year is the Great Vigil of Easter on the Night of Holy Saturday. It could be said that all other liturgies find their seed in this one liturgy. It is the Christian Passover -- the saving and defining event for the Christian community. And it is certainly the most spine-chillingly dramatic service of the year.

The Vigil begins in the silence of darkness of the tomb. A new fire is lit, from which is lit the paschal candle. As the darkness of the church is dispelled by this one true light, the deacon three times proclaims "The Light of Christ" -- to which we respond, "Thanks be to God." The new light and life of the Resurrection has come. The magnificent Exsultet is then sung -- a hymn of praise to the candle, the symbol of God's saving power. Here we hear words and tones that are among the most ancient in the life of the church. And then we go back to the beginning of the story, to creation, as readers read a series of readings from the Old Testament that pave the way for the revelation of the saving event of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We wait and listen carefully in silence and darkness as the amazing story of God's gracious patience unfolds.

The climax of the story telling becomes the rite of baptism when those who have been preparing will be baptized, and we shall all renew our Baptismal covenant. In Baptism, we believe we participate in Jesus' death and resurrection as an eternal reality available in our time and space; and never is this more powerful than on the night, when we in fact keep the Lord's Passover and the paschal mystery once more enters our time and space. On the way to the font, the whole Christian Church -- militant, expectant, and triumphant -- is invoked in prayer for those being baptized, and we all put flesh on that reality by our own presence and prayers.

As if things could not get more exciting, there then follows that pregnant and silent pause, redolent of excitement and anticipation, as the altar candles are lit by the servers in preparation for the first Mass of Easter, which will suddenly burst forth and light and sound at the proclamation of "Alleluia! Christ in risen," and the transformation of the rite and of the church I pray become signs of the transformation and renewal in the resurrection of Christ in our own souls and lives corporately and individually.

There is no more thrilling and powerful few hours in the whole course of the liturgical year. To miss this is to miss the celebration that is the heart of everything else we do and are in this place. I would go so far as to say that if we have not experienced the Great Vigil of Easter, we shall never fully grasp what we are involved in the rest of the year. It is, in other words imperative, and I know you will all make it so. And so the Principal Mass of Easter is the first Mass of the Vigil. Everything that follows on Easter Day is icing on that cake. Three Masses follow that morning(!), though each year I am mystified by the unexcitable and somber quality of the early Low Mass -- surely there can be no such thing as "Low" on the Queen of Feasts -- but there it is for the moment. Processions and all the bells and whistles at 9 AM and 11:15 AM.

Greetings from Honduras

It has been quite a month since I left all of you at St. Paul's, with lots of both good and bad. The good news is that almost everything is getting better all the time. Adjusting to living in the Third World was not all easy at the beginning, but the smiles and hugs from the school kids are making it all worth while.

Getting here
The day I arrived, we had really hard rain, and we almost could not land in San Pedro Sula -- it took the fifth try before the pilot could see the runway. He was afraid he would have to land in El Salvador, but after the fourth try said he would "hang around" as long as he could and see if it cleared at all. After a full hour of being over the airport, we finally landed on the fifth try. It turns out we were really lucky, as I heard that the next day (when it was still raining hard) the same flight had to land in El Salvador to refuel and returned to Houston. They would not let anyone off, but some forced their way off in El Salvador -- I think I would have been one of those!

Because of the heavy rain and bad roads, we were not able to drive from San Pedro Sula to Tela the day I arrived, so I stayed with Barbara from the office of the Honduran Diocese in San Pedro Sula that night, and she drove me to Tela the next day. School was closed for two days because of the rain -- the tropical version of snow days! After the two days of rain, we ended up in the hottest weather of the year, which I understand will last until something like August! I have only been to the beach once, but hope to start getting there more often as I get more into a routine.

We have a cute little house that I share with a young teacher (Nick) from Indiana. He's a very nice guy who is taking a year off to teach here before he goes to grad school at Yale. He has been here since August and has a lot of friends, so he goes his own way a lot, but is good company when he's around.

Unfortunately, the house is not close to the school -- too far to walk routinely (close to two miles), so I usually ride with a neighbor who is the school secretary. About a week after I arrived, I bought a bike and was going to ride it to school sometimes as I got used to it and the traffic, but it was stolen on Tuesday from our locked yard with a high wall around it! We went to the police station and reported it (the receipt included the serial number), but I doubt there is any hope of getting it back. I'll probably buy another soon. However taxis are really cheap -- it costs only 15 lempiras (less than $1) to ride anywhere in Tela. They just keep picking up people as they go and apparently make money, although gas is very expensive.

Challenges...
Sometimes I'm not sure that I'm doing much good here, as I struggle with the difficulties of getting children to work hard. The little kids are as cute as can be, it can really take a lot of energy to keep their attention when they are in a group. I'm teaching an hour (or sometimes two hours) a day in each of four classes: kindergarten, preparatory (a year between kindergarten and first grade), first grade, and second grade. Each of these classes has a full-time teacher as well, so with the littlest ones we're actually team teaching, but with the two older groups, I do reading, phonics, spelling, or grammar with them by myself.

Once a week, I try to record the children's reading in both first and second grade -- I think it was the first time they ever heard their own voices, so there was a lot of laughter as they got used to it, but I think its helping their pronunciation a lot. The Honduran teachers teach in English, but some of them have strong accents, and I think this is where I will be able to do the most good for them.

...and rewards!
Tela is a small town, and one meets a lot of people quickly. When I walk down the street downtown (or even in my small neighborhood), I frequently hear "Hello, teacher" or "Ms. Jo" from many little voices -- all of the kids at Holy Spirit School know me, even if I don't know them. Also, teaching about 75 children in four classes means that I do know a lot of the children. When chatting with someone in a store, I frequently learn that they are related to someone at the school. It is also a small enough school that I have met quite a few of the parents and chat with them frequently at the school or on the street. The mini market in my neighborhood is run by the family of a boy in second grade, and his little sister is in my kindergarten class, while the family of another of my second graders runs a little neighborhood restaurant.

Some of my new most prized possessions are birthday gifts from the kids. A small top that you punch out and put together (a prize from a package of some snack) came from a five-year old girl who folded it up into a piece of paper on which she had drawn pictures for me (all sealed with a piece of masking tape). From the second grade boys, I got several hearts cut out of pink or white paper with messages like "Happy Borday" (this was not the time to correct spelling!) or "from your secret friend." I have gotten several small prized packages of cookies that we all buy at the "cafeteria" -- actually just a refreshment stand where two women make and sell a few different snack items. (Favorites are tajadas (banana chips topped with meat or bean sauce -- served like nachos) and baleadas (tortillas filled with meat or beans).) Besides that, after the second graders had sung "Happy Birthday" to me, they also showered me with stickers (another prized possession to kids everywhere), which decorated the front of my shirt -- I felt a bit like a Christmas tree!

Friday, March 10, except for kindergarten and preparatory classes, the school was shut down for their annual science fair with everyone from first through eleventh grades participating. I got to be a judge for the grade school and had a good time -- I even got a small gift (each of the judges received a small candy basket made from the bottom of a Coke bottle) from one of the sixth grade groups, which made purses, hammocks, and other items from recycled trash. I called the basket a bribe, but had to give this group top marks for their age group in spite of it.

All of the children had to be able to explain their project in both Spanish and English to visitors: parents and students from other schools including the Roman Catholic school across the street from Holy Spirit and Tela American School. There are a lot of schools in this little town, and several are bilingual, with a lot of the teaching in English. It turns out that much more Spanish is used at our school than I was led to believe, and the English needs a lot of improvement, so I have my work cut out for me. That's one of the reasons I asked to work with the youngest children, trying to start them out speaking correctly.

By the way, everyone here loves to sing -- in church it gets quite lively -- very much as Tina, John, Geoff, and I learned last summer in Protección. Also, the children love their music in kindergarten and preparatory, and they learn a lot of English via songs like the Alphabet (ABCs) Song. I wish I could bring a few of them back with me to help get our Cathechesis of the Good Shepherd kids at St. Paul's to sing more.

This week (March 12-18), I'm away from Tela starting on Sunday afternoon in San Pedro Sula to hook up with members of the Washington Diocese Honduras Committee, who are known to some of you at St. Paul's: Collie and Betsy Agle, Tom Cooke, and Dick Marks. We will spend the week visiting the towns in Santa Barbara and Comayagua, including Protección, the real goal of my accompanying them. I will send a report on the status of "our" health clinic there soon.

We're looking for videos
I would like to put in a request to anyone who may have children's videos (VHS or DVDs, used or new) that you would be willing to donate to us at the school in Tela. Perhaps your children have grown out of them or you have converted to DVDs -- any donations would be gratefully received. Please collect anything you can and save them for me. You can give any tapes to me when I'm there in April (preferably on Palm Sunday, so that I can make plans to mail them to myself or get them into my luggage). I will be at St. Paul's starting on Palm Sunday, April 9, for all of Holy Week, and through Easter Sunday, leaving to return to Honduras early Monday morning (April 17), where classes will start again on Tuesday, April 18.

If you don't get mass e-mails from me as often as I promised, it's partly because I don't get access to the internet every day, and it's hard for me to send things to all of the addresses I'm supposed to correspond with because without my own system I can't easily make the lists of addresses that I want to. I'm at an internet cafe now, where it costs only 20 lempiras (just over $1) for two hours, and it's only three short blocks from home. During the week I can also often use a computer at school, but there is not always time. We've been busy putting up bulletin boards, correcting papers, etc. Perhaps I'm too old for this! However, I think everything is already easier after a month than it was at first.

My e-mail address is jastelzig@yahoo.com, and, for those who prefer, the local address is:

Jo Stelzig
Holy Spirit School
Apartado Postal 71
Tela, Atlantida, Honduras

My local Honduras cell phone is 504-932-31-64.

Wishing you all the best, and hoping many of you will consider coming to Honduras with the group coming down in late July -- perhaps you could come to Tela for a day to visit "my" school. You can get full details on the plans for the trip from Geoff Suiter or John Presley, the co-chairs of our parish Honduras Committee. [JAS]

Parish Birthdays

1 Ann Korky; Frederick Sherrer
2 Ruth Kriz
3 Robert Berrien
4 Marie Barnes; Patricia Robl; Theresa Hollingsworth
5 Charles Zakaib, III; Peter Laugesen; Lydia Bakke
6 Calvert Whitehurst, III; Richard Mason; Kyle Bruin
7 Michael Robinson; Matthew Whalen
8 Kenwin Benn
9 Tracy Burnette; Olivia Berrien
10 Merlin Packard
11 Barbara Hollinshead
12 Paul Winick; Chika Okwesa
13 Mark Pierzchala; Douglas Colmery
14 James Melton; Sara Lee Menzer
16 Patrick Kalk; Annie Darden
18 Walter Rhinehart, Jr.; Dylan Molineaux; Laura Dame
19 Bonnie Perry; R. Clark Cooper
20 Catherine Pearson; Catherine Bunn
22 Bruce Lawrence
23 David Sheppard
24 Stephen Patrick; William Darden
25 Fr. Joshua Aalan; Jeffrey Coulter
26 Paul Darmstadter
27 Fr. Andrew L. Sloane; Dirk Heron
28 Elaine Kelley; Ellen Perry
29 James Kiefer; Lynne Walker

If you have an April birthday that was not included, or if there are any mistakes, please contact the parish office. [MW]

Parish Statistics

Transfers In: Thomas E. Morrison from the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, Florida; Alan S. Palm from St. Alban's, Washington; G.W. Anthony Smith from St. Stephen's, Culpepper, Virginia

Deaths: Mrs. Ellen McAra (February 25, 2006); Fr. Darwin Kirby (February 28, 2006); the Hon. Herbert Thompson (February 28, 2006)

Holy Week Schedule -- Principal Services

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Sunday, April 9
7:15 AM Morning Prayer
7:30 AM Blessing of Palms and Low Mass
8:45 AM Blessing of Palms, Procession from Washington Circle, and Sung Mass
The Rev'd Nathan Humphrey, preacher
11:15 AM Blessing of Palms, Procession from Washington Circle, and Solemn Mass
The Rev'd Nathan Humphrey, preacher
6:00 PM Solemn Evensong and Benediction

Wednesday in Holy Week
Wednesday, April 12
8:00 PM Tenebrae

Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 13
9:00 AM Morning Prayer
5:00 PM Confessions, Fr. Sloane
5:45 PM Evening Prayer
6:30 PM Solemn Mass and Procession to the Altar of Repose
The Rev'd Andrew L. Sloane, preacher
All-Night Vigil Before the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Garden of Repose

Good Friday
Friday, April 14
9:00 AM Morning Prayer
Noon Stations of the Cross
Confessions immediately following, Fr. Humphrey
5:00 PM Confessions, Fr. Sloane
5:45 PM Evening Prayer
6:30 PM Solemn Liturgy of the Day
The Rev'd Andrew L. Sloane, preacher

Holy Saturday
Saturday, April 15
9:15 AM Morning Prayer
9:30 AM Liturgy of the Day
5:00 PM Confessions, Fr. Sloane
5:45 PM Evening Prayer
9:00 PM The Great Vigil of Easter
with the First Solemn Mass of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Rev'd Andrew L. Sloane, preacher
Reception following in the dining hall

The Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day
Sunday, April 16
7:30 AM Morning Prayer
7:45 AM Low Mass
9:00 AM Procession and Sung Mass
The Rev'd Nathan Humphrey, preacher
11:15 AM Procession and Solemn Mass
The Rev'd Nathan Humphrey, preacher
6:00 PM Evening Prayer and Simple Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Also in April

St. Mark the Evangelist
Tuesday, April 25
6:45 AM Morning Prayer
7:00 AM Low Mass
5:30 PM Devotions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
5:45 PM Evening Prayer
6:00 PM Low Mass

Mission Calendar
Hunger/Homeless
Grate Patrol every weekend
Preparation Friday afternoons 3-5 PM
Delivery Saturday and Sunday mornings

Salvation Army dinner preparation
First Friday of each month, 5-7 PM

The Epistle
A monthly publication of St. Paul's Parish
K Street -- Washington, D.C.

Editor Alistair Nevius
Assistant Editor Allison Freeman
Desktop Publisher John Walker
Designer David McGaw
Contributors Mark Dwyer, Rhoda Geasland, Nathan Humphrey+, Kristine Merriman, Andrew Sloane+, Jo Stelzig, Melva Willis

Submissions Invited
We welcome the submission of articles, comments, and suggestions. Manuscripts and correspondence can be dropped off at the church office or e-mailed to the editors at nevius@erols.com. Electronic manuscripts are preferred. Articles accepted for the Epistle are subject to editorial revision.

SAINT PAUL'S PARISH
Washington, DC 20037-1797
phone 202-337-2020
fax 202-337-7418
e-mail info@StPauls-Kst.com
Web www.StPauls-Kst.com

Parish Staff
The Rev'd Andrew Sloane, Rector
The Rev'd Nathan Humphrey, Curate
Mark Dwyer, Music Director
Scott Dettra, Assistant Music Director
Melva Willis, Parish Administrator
Frederick Murdock, III, Maintenance Manager

The Vestry
The Rev'd Andrew Sloane, Rector
David B. J. Chase, Senior Warden
Philip Schlatter, Junior Warden
Chip Heath, Secretary
Polly Peckham, Treasurer
Jeremiah de Michaelis, Debra Loucks; Rhoda Geasland, Brian Hoyle, Matthew S. Leddicote, Lynne V. Walker; Alistair Nevius, Geoffrey Peckham, David Schnorrenberg, Linda Wilkinson

Our Mission
St. Paul's Parish seeks to restore all people to God and to each other, through Sacramental Worship and Christlike lives.

Deadline for next issue
Monday, April 10