Dear Friends in Christ,

A few weeks ago I saw a wonderful exhibit from the Israeli Antiquities Authority, and I hope you will find the time to see it also. It's at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, until August 10th, so you have plenty of time. Although it is only one (large) room, it has very special things from ancient Palestine. First, there is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls: a Psalms scroll, in which you can clearly see how the name of God is written in a different script (i.e. "font") from all the other words. Then there are small votive altars which may be 3 or 4000 years old, from a time before the Hebrew people settled in the land. From the first century, there are some remarkable pieces of glass: bowls and vessels of various kinds. And there is a beautiful glass mosaic panel from the 4th century AD, discovered just outside Caesarea Maritima, which used a glassmaking technique with gold, never found anywhere else. Because of the crosses on the mosaic tiles, and the size of the panel, archaeologists wonder if it was from the home, or church, of the Bishop of Caesarea. Those who attended the Lenten series, What Happened between the Testaments, will find this especially interesting.

We celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Our Daily Bread on Saturday evening April 5th, with 188 volunteers, donors and friends sharing an excellent dinner in Cowans Hall. Rector Emeritus Bill Cowans was present to give the Grace, and to supplement Gage McKinney's narrative history of Our Daily Bread. Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves spoke about the importance of giving back the blessings we have received, and commended us as an example for newer efforts to meet the needs of a community. The Board of ODB managed to surprise Gage McKinney with the Bread Loaf Award, well deserved for his long support of the program. Our Daily Bread has served more than 750,000 meals, and has never missed serving on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.

May will be a month of several significant events. First, we will have our World Peace Village on May 3rd and 4th: this is an event to tell your friends and neighbors about, because it is an educational experience about the message of peace in 6 religions of the world. We will have brochures for you to give to people who might be interested, and we are advertising this event outside the parish, through diocesan communications, the Santa Clara County Council of Churches, and with neighborhood flyers. Each of the six displays has information about the religion, religious objects, and a separate table with simple hands-on projects to do on the spot. The hands-on projects can be done by children 5 and up, as well as by adults. Take note of the last evening of our "Living Peace" series, when we will have Stanford professor Fred Luskin, to speak about forgiveness and peace. His book Forgive For Good, has received much acclaim, and is the basis for the Stanford Forgiveness Project. He will sign copies of his book at the end.

You may already know that “[a]n obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in Ethiopia (and many other developing countries) is a hole between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby's head against the mother's pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. … This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell. … An obstetric fistula can be closed with intravaginal surgery. If her surgery is performed by a skilled surgeon, a fistula patient has a good chance of returning to a normal life with full control of her bodily functions. … At the Hamlin Fistula Hospitals, it costs US$450 to provide one woman with a fistula repair operation, high-quality postoperative care, a new dress, and bus fare home.” <http://tinyurl.com/5lxueq >

Join us in an stimulating series on what it means for us to “live peace.”, Wednesday evenings, 7:30 in the library:

A discussion about peace-making between nations, taking the conflict between Israel and Palestine as a starting point.

The Rev. Connie White, Director of the Victim Offender Reconciliation Project of Monterrey County. How can people find peace and reconciliation in the most difficult of circumstances?

Bridge parties are held, usually the 2nd Saturday evening of each month, from 7–10 PM, in the Disciple’s Room of the Education Building at St. Thomas Church. The dates for 2008 are: May 17 (3rd Sat to avoid Mother’s Day), June 14 and July 12.

43 months to our Centennial (December 2011)

It’s time for our Parish Picnic again! The picnic site is at Washington Park in the reserved area by the playground. Festivities will begin immediately after the 10:30 service, so dress casually that day.

We will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs hot off the grill. Drinks will also be provided. Please bring any of the following side dishes to share:

• Snacks or appetizers
• Salads
• Desserts

Upcoming Activities:

• Spring Green Potluck, May 18^th - (Details in April Newsletter)
• Parish Picnic, June 1^st, after 10:30 am service at Washington Park – (See details above)

On March 23rd, St. Thomas saw yet another delightful and delight-filled Easter Sunday! For the children’s sermon, our young members helped recreate the story of the resurrection, acting as the cave and stone, soldiers, angel, multiple Marys, and the bearer of the Jesus doll. Special thanks to all our young actors!

Family Ministry has lots of plans to keep our children and youth busy this summer. During those hot summer mornings, we’ll offer Summer Workshops in place of Sunday School. Workshops are offered by various parishioners covering a wide variety of topics and will begin on June 8th.

On Sunday, April 6th, the inspiring voice of the young resounded through St. Thomas’ sanctuary as the junior high and high school students took over 10:30 worship. It was our annual celebration of the Youth Sabbath, and it was as uplifting and refreshing as ever.

C.J. Gomez delivered a thoughtful and beautiful sermon. Francesca Tan and Douglas Castillo served as Acolytes; Sara Shirazi assisted as usher; and Evony Avilar and Nadia Castillo gave the readings. Evony also assisted in selecting the music.

FINANCE REPORT: Jim Cobb discussed the January financial statement. January was a lean month. Pledge income was lower than budget. One additional pledge has been received. Total pledges are 115. There was some additional expense for the panel restoration project. Some changes needed to be made to enable the use of the blue hangings during Advent season. There was a discussion about the recent problem with the rats around Cowans Hall. It was recommended that ODB not leave extra breads on the courtyard and be more diligent about keeping the areas secure from infestation.

Jim reported that approximately $1,500 had been received from St. Thomas parishioners and designated for the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund.

PLANNED GIVING: The Finance committee has discussed the plans for the Endowment Fund and the next step will be to establish the Endowment Fund Board.

SOLAR PANELS: Joe Gutierrez reported that discussions are in progress. At the present time there are no definite plans, but some questions need to be considered. How much money will it save?...How much cost would be involved over “x” years?...Would the panels limit the use of any buildings in any way?...Is this the right time to do this project?

AMAZON.COM: Some time ago Vestry voted to make use of this fundraiser by putting a link on our home page, but nothing happened. The Vestry agreed to start it now.

Dave Morris continues to handle “welcoming bread”. He could use more support.

It was also mentioned that Coffee Hour preparations could use more support.

There were discussions about having events for 20-30 (age) group.

RECTOR’S REPORT:

A kit is being prepared for each parishioner to receive on Palm Sunday. It will contain things to do at home every day of the week during Lent.

Services will be held in the evening on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

There will be two services on Good Friday. At noon there will be Stations of the Cross. and the Passion Story will be told at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday evening the Easter Vigil will begin at 8:00 p.m.

A Vestry Forum will be held after all three services on April 20.

ODB 25^th Anniversary Dinner will be April 5. Bishop Mary will be attending the dinner.

We said a glorious farewell to Dorothy Marion Blank on Friday April 18th. She and her family came to St. Thomas in 1954; she served on the Altar Guild, in the Bell Choir, the Monday Counters, the Library Committee, and the Newcomers' Committee, and was member and Treasurer of the Church and Synagogue Library Association. She died in Virginia, and is interred in our Columbarium.

We are pleased to report the birth of a new grandchild to Ruth and Jim Rowe: she is Payton Koehler Rowe, born to Kristin and Paul Rowe. Most likely, she will be baptized here on Pentecost Sunday.

We drove to San Andreas for two reasons, to attend the memorial service for Clay Walker and to attend a service with special guest, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The “new” diocese of San Joaquin held a special convention in Lodi on April 19, elected their new bishop, The Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb, retired bishop of Northern California, and held the investiture the same day. Earlier in the week, Fr. John Shumaker had asked the Presiding Bishop if she would come to San Andreas for a service. Everyone was thrilled she would accept (the average weekly attendance at St. Matthew’s is about 35 people).

On Sunday April 20, Ann Walker and I attended the 2:00 PM Evensong at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. The church was filled to capacity with 6 clergy participating in the service alongside the Presiding Bishop.

Clay’s service was held on Monday, April 21 at St. Matthew’s with The Rev. Fr. John Shumaker officiating. It was a lovely requiem mass with approximately 250 people in attendance. David and I were pleased to have Mel and Ruth Hoffman, Keith Giles and Jim Cobb join us for the service.