Church News January 2014
St. Paul’s church balcony renovation and restoration -When St. Paul’s church was built, we did not have the safety standards that exist today. St. Paul’s balcony rail was replaced in this past month resulting in a safer place to sit and move around. The very short wooden rail was replaced with a higher see-through metal railing that allows more visibility for worshipers. It also allows people in the church a clearer view of the St. Paul’s window dedicated in memory of J. C. Oldt almost 100 years ago.
Please stop by and see the new rail. St. Paul’s appreciated Julene Market’s assistance in making sure this important structural repair could be completed. The balcony renovation was part of a larger project to strengthen the building and reinforce the structure.
The church was built following the plans by famous architect Richard Upjohn. Jay Cooke provided Upjohn’s book of plans to St. Paul’s. Hundreds of churches across the country were built with the same plans in the mid-1800s. Many of them have added rods to strengthen the structure. M R Ulrich Engineering, Inc., of Toledo, will return in the spring to add some ventilation fans to make the building more comfortable in the summer months.
St. Paul’s Church Annual Meeting-St. Paul’s annual meeting and potluck will take place Sunday morning January 12th. The meeting begins with the regular 10:30 a.m. The congregation members will vote on the 2014 budget and elect two vestry members. Jeanne Burgess is completing a three-year term. Judy Ruggiero, who has served since 2008, is completing a second three-year term. The majority of Episcopal Churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio hold their Annual Meetings in early January.
St. Paul’s Continues Epiphany Tradition-For the third year, St. Paul’s invites everyone to participate in the Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Door. This is a custom of gathering in places of residence or work to ask God’s blessing on those dwellings and upon all who live, work and visit there on January 6th, at the start of the season of Epiphany. The twelfth day of Christmas, January 6, commemorates the three Magi (Wise Men) visiting the Christ Child with their gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.
In Europe, many families gather in their homes to celebrate this feast with friends, food, singing, and gifts. It is at these Twelfth-Night celebrations “Chalking the Door” is observed. Traditionally, we remember the names of the Magi as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. During the chalking of doors, the first letters of these three names — C, M, B — are inscribed on the door frame. Some suggest the C M B may also stand for “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” meaning “May Christ bless this dwelling.” These letters are written between the numbers of the year. This year we will use chalk to write: 20 C M B 14.
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