Women's Ministry Blog

At last, summer is here having officially begun on June 21st although many of us had already declared it’s beginning the day “school let out”. That wonderful feeling of breaking away from the daily routine and demanding schedules! As a child the dismissal of school for the summer meant piling the family into the Ford station wagon and off for a road trip, or if lucky boarding the Santa Fe Chief train to visit grandparents in Chicago. Summertime meant a new bathing suit, bare feet or sandals, lightening bugs, watermelon, snow cones, cookouts, sleeping late and not having to go to bed at a certain hour….and celebrating the 4th of July with a fireworks display!

Summertime does bring a sense of freedom. It allows us to have that pause of time one sometimes needs to relax, regroup or refresh. We all welcome this pause whether for a few days or a few weeks to catch up on reading, travel, sport participation or just doing nothing sitting back and listening to the sounds of summer…a brief pause, breaking away or time out.

While school may be out for some it does continue for others as I clearly witnessed this past week at St. Andrew’s. You might even say that I was “caught in the act” for I had declared myself out of school for the summer, ready to find that great beach book, relax taking my days as I called them. In other words I was breaking free from routine and being somewhat responsible. There are fewer meetings. The Messenger deadlines are every other week instead of weekly and the parish office closes at noon on Fridays during the summer, however after having been caught in the act I have learned that SCHOOL IS NOT OUT AT ST. ANDREW’S.

It was a warm and humid Sunday morning with a predicted temperature of 98 degrees with a heat index between 100° and 105°. The forecast was predicted to continue throughout the week. You could say that the weather was rather oppressive, but my day was planned: attend the beginning 8:45 Beth Moore summer study of “Breaking Free” prior to the 10:00 service followed with the adult education session “Unpacking the Sermon”. A stop at the bookstore to find that great summer reading and then a relaxing swim with the grandchildren for fun and to escape the heat. The perfect summer day!
    
Interesting that the topic for Beth Moore’s Breaking Free video presentation was focused on “oppression”, and how the people of God can be very oppressed by the enemy. This study does not center on the journey of a certain biblical figure but on you and me. We are the main characters and will be shown how we can break away from those “things” that can captivate us.

A Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for him or her.

The themes come from the Book of Isaiah because it is a book about the captivity of God’s children, the faithfulness of God, and the road to freedom. Other books of the Bible will be referred to during the study showing us various biblical characters. As I sat watching the video, I could not help but notice that every chair had been filled with members and a few non-members of all ages, men, women and a few teens. SCHOOL WAS NOT OUT FOR THEM. These people had come to be fed.

Father Clark’s sermon (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10) caused one to reflect on the disconnection between this life (physical) and the life to come (spiritual). He spoke of God’s purposes as being both eternal and intentional and concluded to challenge us as adults to look at summer time not only as a time to take off one’s shoes and go barefoot, but as a time for growth, learning and development with a need to attend “Summer School”. Caught in the act again with another viewpoint of how to spend my free time! This was further confirmed as I sat attired in my sleeveless cotton dress and open-toed shoes listening to others dig deeper into the depth of Father Clark’s sermon during the Adult Education “Unpacking the Sermon” session. The circle of chairs in Moncrief Hall was filled with about 26 attending, another reminder of the continued desire to be fed, to further their knowledge and understanding. SCHOOL WAS NOT OUT FOR THESE PEOPLE nor was it out for Judy Mayo and John List who were busy working on staging for the upcoming July VBS or for Dr. Erlandson who is preparing the youth for the July Mission trip to Belize or Candace Bawcombe and the choir members who were having a bake sale in the hallway to raise funds for their trip to England in July or for our Rector who was away in Charleston having been asked to give the sermon for our newly appointed Ministry Associate, Dean McKeachie at his farewell service nor for the AV members hosting the Meet and Mingle in McFarland Lounge, nor for all the other volunteers in the nursery, Sunday School areas and gift store. SCHOOL WAS NOT OUT FOR ANY OF THESE PEOPLE as they continued to worship, to serve and to learn.

Yes, this particular Sunday found me caught in the act making my own rather selfish summer plans. When I later joined my grandchildren at the pool and was placing lotion on their flawless skin for protection from the sun’s burning rays I paused reflecting on what God had revealed to me on this day through what I had witnessed and experienced during the morning at St. Andrew’s. I was grateful that I had been caught in the act, and that I was able to see that school is really never out. There is always more to learn, areas that need development and plenty of room for growth. The summer reading I was searching for was right before my eyes with Beth Moore’s Breaking Free as well as another reading recommended by a friend that day.
Enjoy your summer pause, go barefoot, sleep late, listen to the summer sounds, relax, regroup,
be refreshed, but don’t let yourself get caught in the act..Attend “Summer School”. Wear sunscreen. One needs protection. Protection from those “burning rays” that can sometimes catch you off guard.

By Marsland Moncrief
The 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition concluded this past weekend following two weeks of entertaining Fort Worth with musical performances beginning with 29 competitors from 14 countries, and concluding with six finalists.  By the time the finals arrive, the audience has clearly chosen their favorites and this competition was no different.  Twenty-year-old Nobuyuki Tsusii of Japan had captured the hearts of the audience the first time he performed and continued to do so throughout the competition.  Tears streamed down faces as this young man was led off the stage, turning to smile at the audience and then returning for an encore, grasping for the piano edge for guidance before his bow.  Yes, he had mastered the musical pieces and rendered a winning performance, but there was more to why this young man had left the audience, jurors and conductors emotionally spellbound.  Nobuyuki Tsusii is blind and has been since birth, but despite not having sight he has allowed his other senses to guide him.  It can easily be said he plays by ear.  Can you imagine being led on stage to the piano bench, making the bench adjustments, having no sheet music for reference and then having to place your hands with the precise placement on the key board?  Not to mention performing with the legendary Takacs Quartet and concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra where “sight cues” are the only means of communication between the pianist and the conductor and string players.  
    How does he do it?  I do not know anything about this young pianist’s spiritual life, but after having watched him perform these past two weeks with such confidence and command at the piano, I do know that he is playing with faith and by faith….that is all he has that gets him out on that stage in front of hundreds of people.  What an example he is for us of hope for those who strive for excellence overcoming handicaps or any other obstacle in life.  
    James Conlon, the guest conductor, who led the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra through the finals said, in his closing remarks at the Awards Ceremony, “that sometimes the real competition should be, and is, within ourselves.”  Being blind since birth and striving to be a pianist would allow one  certainly to endure a competition within oneself.  Bob Schieffer commented in his address at the Awards Ceremony, “that sometimes one’s talents can help to unlock something in us that will give us a greater vision.”
    So, to Nobuyuki Tsusii, we thank you for showing us that one can overcome obstacles, winning the competition within, giving us a greater vision, a vision that comes from walking (or playing) by faith and not by sight.
    And to our beloved Alann Sampson, member of St. Andrew’s, whose leadership and vision as Chairman of the Van Cliburn Foundation has provided our community and the world with the beauty of music, we thank you.
      “ Beauty is the echo of God.”
                              Alann Sampson
BRAVO!  THE VOTES ARE IN.  NOBUYUKI TSUSII WAS AWARDED THE FIRST PRIZE GOLD MEDAL SHARED WITH HAOCHEN ZHANG OF CHINA.