FROM THE RECTOR

November is a very busy month. We begin the month with the celebration of All Saints’ Day on the 1st (which we will observe on Sunday the 6th) and at end the month with the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the first season of our church year. Thanksgiving and the Feast of Christ the King fall within these two dates. Our church calendar is clearly not in sync with our secular calendar. Nonetheless, we do not seek to separate ourselves for the world around us, we simply seek to remember that we are part of God’s creations. 

So, even though Christmas has been commercialized and stores began stocking up before Halloween for their holiday sales, we can find solace in our observance of Advent. It is a time for reflection and prayer, it is a time to prepare to receive the Christ child.  

I was visiting with a member who told me that St. Paul’s is her safe place. When she comes here, she said she is able to escape the ugliness of the world and experience the peace. We all need a place to recharge – especially from Halloween until New Year’s Day. Not only is it a busy time of year but life can continue to throw us one challenge after another. 

I’m reminded of this often; there is a reason God came to live among us in the person of Jesus. Being a Christian does not free us from human temptations. Being a member of a church does not keep us from sinning. Church does offer us a place to confess our sins, repent, and try again to live the life God calls us to live. Something which can be difficult to do when the advertisements of sales continuously lure us to be a consumer of goods. 

Some suggest the “real world” where “we live and work and have our being” is separate from our practice of faith. It is not. The real world needs to be where we practice our faith. Church may be our “safe” place, but should never be seen as separate from our lives. Rather it is where we can still our minds and regroup. It is a place to pray, but it is not the only place to pray. Prayer helps us to see God in the midst of all the chaos of this life. Prayer helps us to experience peace, not only in our safe place, but also in the darkness which sometimes surrounds us. Prayer can open our eyes so that we can see the beauty of God’s creation.

As we move deeper and deeper into the commercialized Christmas Season, it is my prayer that our observance of Advent will help us prepare for the birth of Jesus. We can certainly enjoy the secular observance of Christmas activities while we use the Advent liturgy and tradition in our church, in our homes, and in our prayer lives. May these practices help us, as the prophet Isaiah tells us, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Blessings,

Jim+

Family Violence Prevention Candle Light Vigil

-Mike Mundy

Family Violence Prevention of Batesville held its 34th annual candlelight vigil October 25 at St. Paul’s. The vigil is held each October to mark the nationwide observance of domestic violence prevention month.

The event is to remember the victims of domestic violence and to bring public awareness to the prevalence of the problem. The program consisted of the clothesline project where t-shirts representing each victim and statements from the victims’ family members are presented. There were cutouts and stories of those who died last year over the state due to domestic violence.

Speakers addressed topics of law enforcement, the judicial system and being survivors of domestic violence. The program ended with candles being lit in the darkened room while the names of the 42 victims from age 5 months to 64 years old who were killed this past year were read.

Participants were asked to blow out their candles in response to questions about being victims, families of victims or even just acquainted with someone in that situation. The few candles left burning at the end showed how prevalent the problem of domestic violence is.

HISTORY PIECE OF THE MONTH

From Worthy of Much Praise

Fitzhugh-Yeatman Wedding – February 1934

Check Worthy of Much Praise and you will see many mentions of the Fitzhugh and Yeatman families because they have been a part of St. Paul’s for many years. The most recent Yeatman to attend regularly is Carter Fitzhugh Yeatman, son of Frances and Gray Yeatman. He and his wife, Donna, now live in Chicago, and soon will be moving to New York City. He remains a friend of St. Paul’s and is with us in thought and spirit. His brother, Gray Yeatman, was a good friend of mine.

There have been so many memorable weddings over the years at St. Paul’s, some small and simple and some quite elaborate, but all resulting in a happy couple. Refer to page 159 in Worthy of Much Praise, and you’ll find a photograph of Frances Fitzhugh and Gray Yeatman. Following is the newspaper account of the wedding, furnished to us by Carter Fitzhugh Yeatman. It gives a glimpse into the attention given to weddings of the past:

-Nelson Barnett

Fitzhugh-Yeatman

The marriage of Miss Frances Eglantine Fitzhugh, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carter C. Fitzhugh and Mr. Gray Edwin Yeatman, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Edwin Yeatman, also of Batesville was beautifully solemnized Thursday afternoon, February 8, at 2 o’clock at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Batesville with the Rev. Elnathan Tartt Jr., officiating in the presence of a large and fashionable assemblage. The chancel of the church was elaborately decorated with ferns, tall floor baskets of Easter lilies and many seven-branched cathedral candelabra hearing lighted white tapers. Preceding the ceremony, a program of nuptial music was presented when Mrs. Ruth Johnston, organist, and Miss Dorothy Mae Glenn, violinist, played “Schubert’s Serenade,” and “Liebestraum.” Mrs. Charles W. Maxfield Jr., sang “I Love You Truly” and “Because” was sung by Miss Kathleen Casey. Mrs. Johnston and Miss Glenn played Wagner’s “Lohengrin” for the entrance of the bridal party and “My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice,” softly through the service. The bride, who was given in marriage by her father, was lovely in her wedding grown of white satin fashioned along slender lines. The long sleeves were puffed above the elbow and flared over the hand. Her veil of illusion fell from a coronet of orange blossoms over the long, wind-swept train and she carried a shower bouquet of bride’s roses and lilies of the valley. Her only attendants were her mother, as matron of honor, and Miss Elizabeth Gray as her maid of honor. Mrs. Fitzhugh was handsomely gowned in an afternoon model of wine velvet with matching accessories, and she carried a colonial bouquet of Souvenir roses and contrasting sweet peas. Miss Gray wore an afternoon frock of Alice blue moss crepe with matching accessories. Her colonial bouquet was pink roses and sweet peas. George Yeatman served his brother as best man. Groomsmen were J. Conway Hail, and James L. Rutherford of Batesville, Gainor Duffey of Pine Bluff, and Davis Fitzhugh of Augusta. Immediately following the ceremony, a reception was held at the home of the bride for members of the families and close friends. Later the couple left for a short wedding trip after which they will make their home in Batesville. The bride is a graduate of Arkansas College and Northwestern University. She is a graduate from the Department of Speech of Arkansas College and was outstanding in that department at both institutions. She is member of Alpha Psi Omega, national honorary dramatic fraternity and Tri Delta sorority. The groom attended Arkansas College and is a graduate of Washington and Lee University where he was a member of Sigma Nu. Both the bride and the groom are members of families well known throughout the state.

The invitation reads: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carter Fitzhugh request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Frances to Mr. Gray Edwin Yeatman on Thursday, the eighth of February nineteen hundred and thirty-four at two o’clock in the afternoon, St. Paul’s Church Batesville Arkansas.

Some of our Episcopal Church Women who attended the Fall Gathering that was held at St. Frances in Heber Springs. From left to right: Jo Cargill-Krug, Sarah Drake, Ellen Massey & Terri Crawford.

OTHER NEWS:

PUB THEOLOGY

Pub Theology will now be held the first Tuesday night of each month. Our monthly Pub Theology meeting is being planned for Tuesday, November 1st, at 6:00 pm at Fox Creek BBQ in their private room. The casual dutch-treat dinner is now designed to promote discussion on a theological topic before dinner. If you’re able to come, we would love to have you and bring a guest or two!

CHURCHMEN’S CLUB

The Men’s Group is selling their annual smoked turkeys for $35.00 each. Tickets are available for purchase in the office, from a member of the Men’s Group or online. If purchasing online please choose Men’s Group for the fund and put ‘Turkey Sale’ in the memo line. Turkeys will be available for pick up at the church on Saturday, November 19th from 8:00 am to 10:30 am at the College Street Entrance.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN

Our next ECW meeting will be November 8th at 6:00 pm at Jo Cargill-Krug’s home.

CARE TEAM

St. Paul’s Care Team met October 30 to plan fall activities. Mark your calendars for December 4th when we will have a Parish Pot Luck dinner. The annual Christmas Parade down Main Street is planned for December 10th and the greening of the church will be done December 21st.

The next meeting of the Care Team will be November 20th at 6 p.m. at the church.

CHRISTMAS GREENERY

The Christmas greenery order has been placed and will arrive shortly after Thanksgiving. In order to meet the minimum order requirement, we had to order extra 22-inch evergreen wreaths. Anyone wishing to purchase wreaths for decorating can call Jo Cargill-Krug at 870-613-6981 to reserve one. The wreaths will be $35.

CHRISTMAS PARADE

Main Street is set to have their Christmas parade on December 10th. If anyone would like to volunteer to be part of building the float and/or walk alongside the float and hand out candy please contact the Bittles or the Mundys. We will also have singers on the float and if you wish to be part of that, please contact Kristian Ameigh. 

ECW BOOK PROJECT

Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses II, the second volume of meditations on the Sunday scripture readings by the women and friends of the Arkansas Episcopal Churchwomen has been released and is available to pre-order.

A limited supply of books were handed out at the Fall Gathering of ECW held recently in Heber Springs and a new shipment of books will be arriving soon. The books are $20 each plus shipping and can be reserved by contacting Jo Cargill-Krug at 870-613-6981.

Members of St. Paul’s who contributed to this volume include Sandy Barnett, Kaye Starling, Suzanne Magouyrk, Ellen Massey, Cathy McDonald, Terri Crawford and Jo Cargill-Krug.

The first volume of the book, Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses is available through Amazon now.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTER SCHEDULE

Altar Guild: Pat Mason, Jo Cargill-Krug & Melissa Taverner

EPISTLE STAFF

Jo Cargill-Krug, Editor

Fr. Jim McDonald, Publisher

Nelson Barnett, St. Paul's Historian

Katie Janke, Layout & Design