January 2015 - Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

Holy Trinity Church School News
A Message from Kristen
☺ January Family Service is CANCELLED this year
as it falls on Epiphany. Family Service will resume
on February 1st
☺ Church
School 2015 begins on Sunday, January
4th at 9:15am and after dinner on January 7th for
Wednesday programing.
☺ Church
School Meeting Join us on January 25th,
Rm 210, 8:30am to talk about upcoming programs &
events, including the VBS Theme. All teachers, assistants, subs, and behind the scenes helpers are
welcome!
Episcopal Summer Camp at Camp
Weed!
Rising 3rd - 12th Graders, who's ready for
Summer Camp!?! It’s not too early to think
about camp, especially if you are interested
in scholarships. The Episcopal Diocese of
Florida has one of the best summer camp programs. Each week is dedicated to a particular age group, tailoring
the camp experience. There will be Archery, Canoeing, swimming
in the pool as well as worship time in the beautiful Mandy's Chapel. Contact Kristen Bryant for more information.
In the Anglican tradition of 12th Day, please dress up in
your favorite, king, queen,
princess or knight’s clothing.
Epiphany is an ancient church
festival celebrating the magi’s
visit to the Christ Child
(Matthew 2:1-12). It is kept on
January 6. Epiphany is also called “Three Kings’ Day”
and “Twelfth Day”—the latter name because January 6
is twelve days after Christmas; the eve of Epiphany is
called “Twelfth Night.”
Wednesday Night Dinner and Programs
Join us for Vacation Bible School
July 6—July 10
Children ages 4yo through 6th Grade
welcome to attend!
RESUMES JANUARY 7th
Wednesday fellowship dinners and programming for
all ages continue each Wednesday night at 5:30pm in
the Parish Hall. Children will meet in the Room 210
and youth will be in the Youth Room (217).
Youth & Children Programs
Children & Youth (Children’s Chapel)
 Jammin for Jesus—Bring your instrument, voice
or just hands to clap along as we learn the music
from Camp Weed youth programs
 Infant/Toddler (Room 119) childcare is offered in
Room 120 starting at 6:15pm
2015 VESTRY BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENTS
Randy Akerson I was born in 1951, and raised as a child in the tiny rural village of Vasa, Minnesota, known for many years as the
most Swedish place in America. I have preserved my membership in the Lutheran church there, where my family has been members
for four generations, since emigrating from Sweden. This makes my membership here at Holy Trinity something in the nature of
dual citizenship.
After a mostly idyllic childhood and adolescence (seeing Lee Oswald murdered live on TV was a serious trauma to a 12
year old kid), I graduated from high school in Red Wing, Minnesota, and attended Macalester College in St. Paul. I attended Mac in
order to take political science courses from Hubert Humphrey, who joined the faculty after leaving the vice presidency. Between the
extremely conservative circumstances of my childhood, and the even more extremely liberal politics and social mores of Macalester,
I arrived at adulthood very much a mixed metaphor, and remain so.
In 1976, I married my wife Janet, and moved to Gainesville. In 1977, I purchased a small restaurant called Burrito Brothers, and have owned and operated it ever since. I have found it to be both a fulfilling and an exhausting career choice.
I have participated in parish work days and I have been a long distance hiker for most of my adult life. Recently, I presented two Wednesday night programs at Holy Trinity describing my 1100 mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago from south central France to northwest Spain.
I would bring a businesspersons skill set (I hope) to a position on the vestry, tempered by my firm belief in the teachings of
the synoptic gospels and the Sermon on the Mount. I think that these teachings of Christ, while sometimes difficult, are the responsibility of us all, not only as individuals, but as a parish, and as a worldwide church.
Nancy Toman Baldwin Education: I U –AB, MS I was Senate chaplain and president of the YWCA; Pacific School of Religion; Miami U., TCU, UF EdD and JD, Danforth Fellow U. of Georgia
Employment: Teacher Ohio, Texas –Literature, Creative Writing, Speech, and Drama; UG – Chaplain/Coordinator of Religious Affairs; UIllinois – Director of YWCA, Dorm, International House, Dining Hall; UF Laboratory School PKY – Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Counselor; Counselor and Attorney at Law dealing primarily with families, elderly, and
needy.
Fletcher, who is a law professor and active attorney and I have had apartments and homes around the world – London, Mexico City, Montpellier, Warsaw, Kiev, Cambridge, Rio, Shanghi, I find myself drawn to observe and participate in schools,
evensongs and 8 o’clocks, court hearings- libraries- learning, listening, counseling, worshipping, sharing.
I grew up Lutheran having participated in two years of Saturday catechism classes, Jr and sir choir. When one of my
disbelieving UGA students from became the priest at the Chapel, my family and I moved from University Lutheran to the
Chapel where we found John T, Taylor S. and Jeremy H. ever so exciting. When John left, we moved to Holy Trinity and
have been regular 8 o’clocks for more than 30 years. Both Leland and Fletcher III were married by Jeremy at Holy Trinity.
Our daughter Leland is an attorney and also the director of religious education at St. Johns. She and Bob have 3 sons who
have each been acolytes. Our 1/2 daughter SunJi, an attorney attended Holy Trinity with us; she has continued her participation with her two daughters in Shanghai. I serve as a greeter and as a server for Interfaith HH. I am the Past- President of the
8th Judicial Circuit Bar, Chair of Law Week, Law Project Grace Marketplace, Keep Alachua Beautiful Board, Past-President
of City Beautification Board, Bent Twig, and Pleasant Place Boards.
I am pleased with the multifaceted services of Holy Trinity; I am interested in their continuing and expanding; I appreciate the varied uses of the facilities and the attempts to diversify. I would work toward the inclusion of the breakfast people, the expansion of the Cuba program & into other countries, involvement with internationals and the school
Sandra Fox Fackler, Ed.D.
As the only child of two missionaries, I understand the privilege of commitment to holy service.
I am currently serving on the Vestry and seek to continue this service to Holy Trinity and our parishioners. I have been blessed to be
an Episcopalian for the past 14 years. I was confirmed at Holy Trinity and also have been a member of St. John’s Cathedral while on
a University of Florida assignment in Jacksonville.
I am passionate about Holy Trinity’s Outreach programs and its service in diverse aspects of our community. I am honored
to be a part of a parish of dedicated members who come together from all walks of life to worship in one accord. I am proud to be a
member where voices are heard and I am dedicated to reverently listening to and responding to members’ needs and concerns. I am
interested in expanding our programs for children and youth while enhancing our programs for all ages, especially our seniors. I
have felt love and acceptance at Holy Trinity and want to return this support by giving back of my time, talent and treasures.
I am retired from the University of Florida Foundation. For 25 years I was a professional fundraiser in charitable organizations and in higher education, most recently as Senior Director of Development for the University of Florida. Before coming to UF, I
was Major Gifts Officer at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where I also completed my doctoral work in higher education
administration with a specialty in philanthropy. I have completed three years of Education for Ministry here at Holy Trinity. I am
currently chair of the Stewardship Committee, have served on the Finance Committee, have been an usher for the past three years
and have been involved in IHN. I am honored to be a candidate for the Holy Trinity Vestry and look forward to working with you to
expand our mission in God’s service throughout our community.
Jay Lauer, Jr. I was nominated to serve the people of Holy Trinity on the Vestry. I was raised in the Episcopal Church and have
been at Holy Trinity since the early 1970s, although I did not attend very often from my late teens to my mid-thirties. I am 58 years
old. I have one daughter and four grandchildren. I have been employed at Publix for the past twenty years. I enjoy cycling and
Continued on page 10
VESTRY BIOS cont’d.
being outdoors.
At Holy Trinity, I am involved with the streetside breakfast, I serve as a lector, and I am a member of the adult team for the
youth. I have also helped with IHN and have served on the Board of Directors for Holy Trinity child Caring Center.
If I should be elected to serve on the Vestry, I promise to do my best. I will be available to the people of Holy Trinity, and
I will take your concerns and ideas to the rest of your Vestry.
Marilyn Wolf Peterson Originally from Pensacola (St. Christopher’s), where I had taught Spanish for some 5 years (FSU-BA and
Middlebury College-MA), I joined Holy Trinity and its choir in 1973 as a freshman law student at UF (JD in 1976). I ended up practicing law in Gainesville, first as an assistant Alachua County attorney, next with the law firm of Scruggs & Carmichael, and then as
a solo practitioner and mediator with my own firm, specializing in family law and international child abduction cases. Holy Trinity
became my anchor of sanity and serenity throughout those 40 years of “jungle out there.”
In 1982 I married the love of my life, Donald L. “Pete” Peterson. We were never blessed with children of our own, but I
claim as my own and share Pete’s two children and two grandchildren with my favorite “wife-in-law” Reeta. My out-of-town brother and two sisters remain family close, and I am blessed to be called “Aunt Mar” or “Auntie Granmere” to a multitude of nephews
and nieces. My outside interests include golf, Gator games (and on occasion, Seminole games!), water sports, cooking, and travel.
But Music, the universal language, has been a mainstay and avocation for me and my family. My favorite pastime is songharmonizing and playing the piano by ear at parties.
I had been “inactive” for several years at Holy Trinity when my beloved Petesy died in 2006. Shortly thereafter, a new Rector came to Holy Trinity, the Rev. Louanne Loch. As a rather young widow with retirement in the wings, I returned to HT and embraced Louanne’s gentle HT suggestions to fill the void in my life at that time. I rejoined the choir under the magnificent direction of
Dr. John T. Lowe, Jr., became Chair of the Parish Life Commission, joined the Cuba Committee ministry with multiple trips to Cuba, and a little later, became Chair of the newly instituted Good Shepherds ministry. I have been HT’s delegate or alternate delegate
to the Diocese of Florida’s conventions over the past 5 or 6 years, attended Cursillo #131, and became HT’s liaison to the Diocesan
Cuba Committee. In 2010 by the grace and touch of God, I became and now serve as the volunteer liaison and interpreter for Griselda Delgado, Episcopal Bishop of Cuba, for many of her trips to America and England.
Most importantly, since “coming home” to Holy Trinity in 2007 and serving in mission with so many fellow parishioners, I
have rediscovered the vibrant and reciprocal Love of Christ that is shared in and with my HT church family. I cherish this large
downtown church, the people in it, and its current balance of profound ministries that are healing the wounds of history, celebrating
diversity, and building a culture of peace. I want to be a part of the solution to any mundane but serious problems that may hamper
the continuation or enhancement of HT’s ministries. I want and would be honored to serve our family as a member of Holy Trinity’s
Vestry.
Todd Reeger
My name is Todd Reeger, and I would like to introduce myself and ask for your support in becoming a
member of the Vestry at Holy Trinity.
I was born and raised in Gainesville, FL and am happily married to my wife, Jennifer. Together we have one daughter,
Emily who is 16. I work for UF Health Shands Hospital in the Information Technology department.
I joined Holy Trinity in 2008 and quickly realized I had a calling to do more within the church. I am currently serving as a
Youth Leader, Acolyte Master, Usher, and a Good Shepherd. I have also assisted the Cuba Committee and the Archive Committee
when there was a need.
My favorite part of being an IT “Geek” is using my problem solving and process improvement skills. I have found that these skills
carry over into other areas of my life and that these skills can be of use to further the mission of the church. My main focus, if elected to the vestry, would be to develop a multi-generational outreach to attract more families. We have a growing youth presence
within the church and bringing in families will help to further grow our future congregation. Youth may be the future leaders in our
church, but we cannot lose sight that they are a part of the church now.
Another goal, if elected, would be to develop Holy Trinity’s presence and recognition within the community. I look forward to having the opportunity to further serve the church and will be happy to discuss more of my ideas with the congregation.
Holly Smith
Have you recently seen two blonde children genuflecting all the way down the aisle to receive Eucharist? Well,
they're mine. Yes, I'm THAT woman. My family and I have come to view Holy Trinity as our second home. We've come to love
our church home and the people in it. I'm running for Vestry because of that love for our church family. My name is Holly Smith.
My children, Ranger 7 and Vita (Sissy) 5 attend Micanopy Cooperative School. They are amazing people and I'm so grateful that I
get to share our days together. My husband, Jason, works as a professor for the College of Forest Resources and Conservation at
UF. Before I had children, I was a Special Education teacher. Now my time is devoted to raising my children, supporting my husband, volunteering at school, and keeping up with our mini farm.
I currently teach the 3rd and 4th grade class during Education Hour on Sundays. The children I've met and their families
are dear to me. I want this church to continue to serve them (and they to have the desire to serve in it) as they grow up into the fine
young men and women that I know they will become. Being on the Vestry would allow me to represent their interests in a very
direct way. I believe young families are the life blood of the continued growth of Holy Trinity. The energy and life that children
bring to their home church is unmatchable and I believe should be encouraged. As a Vestry member, I would hearten a continued
bond between the wonderful traditions that our church has always had while fostering a desire in our young families to participate in
these traditions. We have so much to learn from each other. If I'm elected to the Vestry, I will be open to communication between
members of our church and the decisions the Vestry makes that affect them. Our church truly is the hands and feet of Christ. I tell
people, with pride, about our church and the amazing things it does in our community and for its own members, young and old.
Thank you for this opportunity for me to be a larger part of that.
VESTRY BIOS cont’d.
Bob Stripling I grew up in Gainesville in the First Methodist Church, up the street from Holy Trinity. I was a member of the
Holy Trinity Scout Troop, and had close ties with Holy Trinity as a boy. I have always loved this Church; and my wife, Sylvia, and
I made it our Church home a few years ago. We are very attracted to the liturgy and music here. Our interest in helping continue the
excellent tradition of Holy Trinity has led us to see how we could serve. Sylvia is now on the Board of Holy Trinity Episcopal
School. We are both attorneys, and have practiced for many years in the area of Civil Trial Law. I am a Board Certified Civil Trial
Lawyer, and a Federal and Florida Certified Mediator. I have practiced in Gainesville since 1970, after serving as a law clerk to a
United States District Judge in Jacksonville. During my career, I have litigated numerous complex cases, some of which involved
issues regarding Church law. My experience has included the analysis of complex rules, regulations, policies and procedures of private and governmental organizations. I am now limiting my practice to the mediation of civil disputes, and have had experience mediating cases involving Church employment issues. I feel that this background could assist the Church in dealing with some of the
issues that we face. I hope that there will continue to be strong support for the Church School, and that I can be of assistance in
helping deal with some of the legal and business issues facing the Church and the Vestry. If I am called, I will be happy to serve.
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