Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Emmanuel Celebrates the 57th Anniversary of the Rev. Dr. John Ruef's Ordination to the Priesthood

Left to right - Deacon Bill Jones, the Rev. Dr. John S. Ruef, and the Rev. Dr. David Smith

On Sunday, January 27^th, over one hundred parishioners and friends of Emmanuel celebrated the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. John S. Ruef's ordination to the priesthood. Dr. Ruef was the preacher and celebrated Holy Communion, assisted by Deacon Bill Jones, along with the Rev. Dr. David Smith, Pastoral Vicar.

St. Mary’s Choir  and the Chamber Choir from Chatham Hall, under the direction of Dr. Steve Barton, provided special music renditions of A Joyful Alleluia, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and Deo Gracias.

Schools, Dioceses and Parishes served by Dr. Ruef

(Photo collage courtesy of Bill Banta)

Dr. Ruef has had a long and varied career in academia and parish ministry. A native of Chicago, Dr. Ruef received degrees from the University of Chicago (AB), Seabury- Western Theological Seminary (BD, STM, Honorary DD), and Harvard University (ThD).

His educational ministry has included teaching at The Berkeley Divinity School; as well as Principal Organizer, Education for Ministry, for the Diocese of Buffalo; Dean and President of Nashotah House; and Head of Religious Studies and Chaplain at Chatham Hall.

Dr. Ruef’s parish ministry has included serving as Vicar of the Church of the Holy Family (Park  Forest, IL); Associate, St. Paul's Church (Charlottesville, VA), and Rector (part time) at Emmanuel where he has served on three occasions, most recently as supply priest during 2007.

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Following the service, Dr. Ruef was feted at Coffee Hour in the Parish Hall.

Homily for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany - Fishers of Men

The Gospel - Matthew 4:12-23

Homily by the Rev. Dr. John S. Ruef

Fishers of Men

One might say that in Matthew’s mind what had happened up to this point in the story was prologue. Now the Messiah whom John had announced takes over. His message is the same: the Kingdom is at hand. There is no representation of Jesus baptizing anyone. After all, that was the Baptizer’s job as the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. By the time of Matthew, the Church took care of baptizing.

But Matthew also knew that there had been followers around Jesus who were not only his students but also had a hand in the announcement of the coming kingdom. I remember well the impression this Gospel passage had on one of my colleagues who had been in Germany a member of the Hitler Youth and a soldier in the German Army.

He could not stomach the notion of fishers of men. I am sure it conjured up for him the notion of the way in which young people gave mindless obedience to the Fuehrer and expected it of everyone else. The reference here is simply a way of saying that those who had been fishermen would now turn their attention to men rather than to fish.

You and I live in the Church which followed from the life, death, and resurrection of the person who spoke of fishing for men. The Church is still guided in part by the spiritual descendants of those fishermen. Some of these bishops have been saintly, and some have not. Of most, one can say that they were adequate. But regardless of character, these earthly guides have been important symbols for the historic Church. It is a Church, which in some form or other traces itself back to Jesus. It made itself known to the world through these men.

It owns all that happened during this period for good or ill. Composed of saints, sinners, and whatever comes in between, it continues at its best to point the way to the life of perfect service, which God has intended for His people from the beginning.

Emmanuel Installs Vestry for 2008

The Vestry of Emmanuel for 2008 was formally installed by pastoral vicar, Dr. David Smith, during the Service of Morning Prayer on Sunday, January 20th. As part of their installation, vestry members pledged to "faithfully and reverently execute the duties of [their] ministry to the honor of God, and the benefit of the members of [the] congregation."

Front row: Mary Hicks Heitzler, Linda Swanberg, Sharon Taylor (Registrar), and Jeanne Reynolds (Junior Warden). Second Row: Dr. Smith, John Geyer (Treasurer), Tred Hunt, and Richard Camp (Senior Warden).

The Vestry is the lay governing body of the parish responsible for the financial and administrative business of the parish.

Homily for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany - Also Rans

The Gospel - John 1:29-41 

Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith

Also Rans

The American Dream is alive and well – Horatio Alger, rags to riches, the land of opportunity. If a person is willing to work and sacrifice, there is plenty of wealth to be had.

Most of us are intrigued by the get rich quick schemes.

Late night T.V. has all kinds of methods of getting the easy money such as buying real estate with no money down, using property as collateral on other properties and building up a healthy portfolio.

One of the latest schemes has been a celebrity interviewing a couple now holding seminars on how to make a fortune by going to auctions – Buying low, selling high, taking advantage of foreclosures, and government surplus.

These people say their motive is pure and simple. They have made their money, and now they want to share their knowledge with everyone else, so that all of us can be millionaires. They want all of us to be number one, to be at the top of the heap, the king of the hill; never have to answer to anyone else...to have complete control over our economic destiny...

Part of the American dream has always been economic success, but inherent in this dream is that we all want to be number one. We want to be the best, we want the blue ribbon, and we want the trophy. There is an incredible emphasis on winning.

Vince Lombardi former coach of the Green Bay Packers said, “Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing” and “Show me a good looser and I’ll show you a looser.”

Homily for the First Sunday after the Epiphany - The Voice

The Gospel - Matthew 3:13-17

Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith

The Voice

In the world of psychoanalysis, people with this problem are called “delusional,” and often times, delusional behavior is a by-product of some other problem like paranoia or schizophrenia.

One of the most common symptoms of a delusional person is that they hear voices. Strange sounds in their heads that tell them to do things the person would not otherwise do. The voices can be so compelling, so convincing, and so authoritative; the person hearing them could not possibly disobey their commands.

Such cases are rare and very extreme; however, as many of us know, the line between mental health and dysfunction can be very thin. I dare say most of us here today at one time or other thought we were going mad – or at least believed we were being pushed to the edge of our ability to withstand any more turmoil.

And in those moments, we realize just how thin the line is between psychosis and sanity when someone asks us, “have you ever heard voices?”

The Pruden Parish Press for January 2008 Now Online

The January 2008 issue of The Pruden Parish Press, a periodic newsletter containing news and information for parishioners and friends of Emmanuel, is being published this week. The current issue includes:

• a profile of Dr. David Smith, Pastoral Vicar,

• reports from the recent Congregational Meeting,

• a calendar of Parish events for January through March 2008, and

• a letter from Dr. Smith, Pastoral Vicar.

Click here to read the January issue online.

Earlier issues may be viewed at The Pruden Parish Press.

To receive future issues by mail, please call or email the Parish Office.

Homily for Epiphany - Scandal at the Stable

The Gospel - Matthew 2:1-12

Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith

Scandal at the Stable

As roles go in the annual Christmas pageant, most girls want to play Mary, and no boy wants to be Joseph, mainly because every girl wants to be Mary, and inevitably whatever boy gets tapped to be Joseph must suffer a barrage of embarrassing taunts from his peers:

“Joseph and Mary sittin’ in a tree, kissing. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Joseph with a baby carriage.”  The Joseph role was always left to the last boy who arrived at rehearsal, thus prompting an alarming display of never before seen punctuality.   

Being a shepherd was okay, but the costumes were always drab and shepherds got relegated to the background, playing third fiddle to the Wise men and the angels.

Naturally, the role every boy wanted was to be a Wise man.  They had, by far, the coolest costumes, usually some fancy brocade number with a spiffy turban….not to mention the gifts. 

At least the Wise men got to carry something, and their entrance was usually accompanied with much pomp and fanfare…..the taped music would have trumpets blowing and all the shepherds would offer a little genuflect as the Wise men approached the manger. 

Yes, the Wise men were the best.

Because of the Magi's routine inclusion in Christmas pageants right alongside the shepherds and angels, we have come to expect, and even welcome them.  They add a dash of color with their royal blue garments embroidered with gold foil. They provide a whiff of the exotic through their peculiar Persian ways. 

We really don’t know how many there were. We have based our assumption of three on the number of gifts….and their names.  Melchior, Gaspar, and Baltasar were more than likely imagined by St. Bede the Venerable, an 8^th century English monk

But for Matthew's original readers, the story we read today was a shock.

He intended nothing of this sort of royal treatment to emerge.  In fact, the presence of the Wise men in the story was outrageous, and the first readers would have known that.

January - March Calendar Now Online

Emmanuel's Online Calendar has recently been updated for upcoming events through the 2008 Easter Season including:

• Jan 6 - Epiphany

• Feb 1 - Annual Diocesan Council Meeting Begins

• Feb 5 - Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Supper

• Feb 6 - Ash Wednesday - Imposition of Ashes

• Mar 16 - Palm Sunday

• Mar 20 - Maunday Thursday

• Mar 21 - Good Friday

• Mar 23 - Easter Sunday

Visit the Online Calendar for additional details and other events.

Emmanuel's Online Calendar has recently been updated for upcoming events through the 2008 Easter Season including:

• Jan 6 - Epiphany

• Feb 1 - Annual Diocesan Council Meeting Begins

• Feb 5 - Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Supper

• Feb 6 - Ash Wednesday - Imposition of Ashes

• Mar 16 - Palm Sunday

• Mar 20 - Maunday Thursday

• Mar 21 - Good Friday

• Mar 23 - Easter Sunday

Visit the Online Calendar for additional details and other events.

Emmanuel Welcomes Dr. David Smith as Pastoral Vicar

Nearly 60 parishioners and friends of Emmanuel welcomed Dr. David Smith and his wife Jane for today’s celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Dr. Smith, on his first Sunday as Pastoral Vicar, was the preacher and led the service. The Rev. Wilson Carter was the celebrant for the Eucharist.

Following the service, parishioners continued their welcoming of the Smiths during an extended Coffee Hour in the Parish Hall.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Smith.