 About
a thousand people make up St. Bartholomew's parish, and
preserving a sense of extended family is very important to
us. We invite everyone to linger for a cup of coffee after
church, come to a Wednesday class, join us for Sunday breakfast,
and participate in one of the monthly social gatherings called
Foyers Groups.
Small-group activities are
the way we get to know each other better. Drop in on an adult
education class, sing in one of the choirs,
or take part in our book group. Join the Brotherhood of St.
Bartholomew's, one of the women's spirituality groups, or the
"Bummers" recreational softball team. Activities
for children and youth provide a ready introduction to
age-related peer groups and then build connections among
parents. Though the people of St. Bartholomew's are
proudly diverse, inclusive, and strong-minded, we are not
"about" political correctness. Rather, this
congregation seeks to reflect fully the eloquent complexity of
God's creation and strives to be a loving and safe community
that respects and cares for each person.
Parish Life is an internal ministry to foster,
nourish and sustain a cohesive community among the diverse people of St.
Bartholomew’s. To fulfill this mission, events that focus on establishing
and building community are planned including Foyers, Epiphany dinner, Lenten dinners, Easter breakfast and receptions
for such special events as St. Bartholomew’s Day, Christmas Eve,
clergy comings and goings, bishop visits and funerals. Reservations to
most events are necessary.
The Parish Life Committee
has recently been instrumental in the hiring of St.
Bartholomew's Kitchen Manger, Michael David Ross who will oversee all
events requiring food.
The Parish Life committee consists of 12
members including the persons in charge of coffee hosts, Foyers, funerals,
and special events. Please contact John
Ford or Mary
Kimberly Parish Life co-chairs to
assist or for more information. |
"Radical
Hospitality," Embracing our Difference through Dialogues on
Racism
A Summary of Recommendations from St. Bart’s Parish Weekend
In the leading article in
the April 5 newsletter, assisting priest Sipo Mzimela drew our
attention to the ongoing work that St. Bart’s is attempting as
we seek to be faithful to breaking down the walls of racism,
which means building the Body of Christ. The following is a list
of recommendations he indicated would be published to further
this work. They were developed in September 2003, during the
last session of our parish weekend. The earlier part of the
weekend involved the participants dialoguing on their
experiences of racism.
- Increase diversity
across all strata of the church
- Develop relationships
with other parishes and / or other denominations
- Increase sense of
welcome outside building/ in person-to-person / in parking
lot/ through signage, visibility, accessibility,
attractiveness of property
- Choose missions that
address power inequities
- Include children and
youth in all aspects of church life
- Give opportunities
for education/self-reflection on regular basis
- Explore church
services to create a variety of times and a variety of
styles/ formats
Include music of other cultures
- Have liturgy printed
in service sheets
- Develop
congregational awareness around welcoming/assisting visitors
- Live out the Gospel
through the practice of active anti-racism and true humility
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