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News
New consecration outcome New Consecration Sunday on Nov. 7th was the culmination of our stewardship program and it was wonderful to see so many of you in church in person on that day.A huge thank you to all those who attended and completed Estimate of Giving cards as well as those of you who couldn’t attend but have already mailed back your cards. For those of you who still have cards at home, please return those to us asap as it really helps the Vestry in planning our church outreach activities for 2022 to know what gifts are being provided. This year, we challenged you to think spiritually about stewardship and answer the question, “What is God calling me to give?” It is my honor to report that more than 50 percent of you ‘stepped up’ in your giving for 2022 and at this stage I can report that the total amount promised is now over $124,000, which is more than a 11 percent increase over last year! My personal thanks go out to the stewardship committee for this year -- Barb Anderson, Douglas Colmery, David Rothoff, Karl Roshong, Cara Warren -- and to Fr. Phil for all his guidance. I would also like to thank those parishioners who gave personal witness and assisted with our various “temple talks,” Demetrius Carrothers and Susan Phillips. I trust that you all enjoyed your freshly made sandwiches from Deli Ohio that were provided as a celebration of New Consecration Sunday. I had the turkey bacon avocado and Wendy had the spinach apple brie, both of which were very tasty! Hopefully, in 2022 we will be able to have a catered lunch and gathering of our church family in person. Until then, stay safe, healthy and happy. Yours in Christ, Steve Johnson Stewardship Committee Chair 
Pete Taflan fellowships with fellow members of St. Paul's.
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Happy 100th, Pete!
If you’ve heard that Pete knew Philander Chase personally, somebody’s kidding with you. But Pete did turn 100 on Wednesday, November 24th!!! And even if he can’t tell you much about the founder of the Episcopal Church in Ohio, he may regale you about his nearly 70 years at St. Paul’s. During that time, Pete has been part of just about every social, community and organizational facet of St. Paul’s life. He has served on the altar. He has served as Mister Fix-It around the building while junior warden. He was often involved with youth activities. And rare is the social event he’s missed in all these years. When money has been an issue – namely, the scarcity of it – it has been Pete to the rescue. So prized has been his understanding of dollars and cents that when he hinted at retirement a few years ago, the vestry bestowed on him the title of treasurer emeritus (and financial adviser emeritus and everything emeritus) just to make sure he’d not be too far away when money matters nagged again. Indeed, he remains loyally tethered to church life as a member of the church’s long-range planning committee, while also helping out as a member of the 150th anniversary planning committee. Sunday, you’ll find Pete in his customary spot in the back pew, where he and wife Lennie so often worshipped. Lennie passed away on Jan. 27, 2018, but daughter Deborah joins her dad on many Sundays. (Son Peter lives in North Carolina.) Pete and Lennie arrived at St. Paul’s in 1953. He was a veteran of WWII and Korea and retired from the service at the rank of lieutenant colonel, the reason people today still call him “The colonel.” He landed a job as a sales executive at Dyneer Corp. She was a nurse. Like many young couples, they anchored their life to their faith, and that meant many church-related functions. Adults enjoyed each other’s company at dances and dinners and bowling. Kids had baseball and basketball, choir and scouting. The church even had its own theater program. “We were right in the middle of everything,” Pete said in our newsletter not long ago. “We were really the epitome of the area. Everybody knew St. Paul’s. And the activities within the church—we had everything. An adult choir, boys’ choir, girls’ choir, a basketball team (which was one of Pete’s personal favorites). We had a Boy Scout troop. We put on plays. We thrived in pretty much every respect.” But what really attracted him to St. Paul’s “was the sense of peace … as well as the architecture and atmosphere, the Book of Common Prayer.” As the suburbs beckoned in the mid-to-late 1950s, many church members followed. City populations declined as young couples could find affordable housing in the townships. As inner cities hollowed out, churches struggled financially and saw fewer worshipers in the pews. Churches like St. Paul’s worked hard to redefine themselves but have had trouble keeping up with the changes required by an increasingly secular society. This church has been retro-fitted many times to meet community needs: after-school children’s programs, food pantry and Meals-on-Wheels, an in-house clothes store, support to substance abuse programs, community music performances, not mention Thanksgiving Baskets. Not long ago, Pete offered his theory: “I think it’s an ‘I know’ mentality.” he said. “I know everything, so there’s no need to look anywhere else for answers.” For Pete, the most compelling answers have often been found right here at St. Paul’s. |
Ted Milton Dunbar, 1925-2021
Ted and Frances Dunbar were mainstays of St. Paul’s and each other’s lives. They were married for 67 years until her death in 2015, and no one doubted it when he described her as the love of his life. But he was proud of other things as well, including his son, Ted, daughters Elizabeth Toth, Janice Farley and Barbara Dunbar (a missionary in Japan), nine grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He often shared pictures and stories of them all with his St. Paul’s family as he headed out of Sunday service. But he also had plenty of time to listen to the stories of others. Ted was a World War II veteran, who entered the U.S. Coast Guard at age 17. Throughout his lifetime, he demonstrated an “uncanny knowledge of all sea-faring vessels.” He served in the Pacific Theater on the troop transport USS Callaway and after more than three years, was honorably discharged as a Water Tender Petty Officer First Class. He and Frances participated in yearly Callaway reunions all over the United States. Ted spent 57 years as a steam boiler operator, retiring from the VA Clinic in Brecksville. A member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, he loved researching the history of World War II and Canton. “He was known for his humor, kindness, work ethic and being the family fix-it man,” his obituary recalled. |
Charles A. Morgan Jr., 1921-2021 Like Ted, Charles Morgan was a World War II vet who served in the Pacific theater and loved the water. He’d worked his way through Case Western Reserve University with the Interlake Steamship Company and joined the Marines at the start of the war, earning his wings at the Naval Air in Corpus Christi, Texas. During the war, he was a captain, squadron leader and decorated dive-bomber pilot. After earning his law degree at the University of Michigan, he specialized in labor mediation and arbitration and was known over his nearly 60 years of practicing law “for his calm reasoning and resolution skills.” His community service included the boards of the Deuble Foundation and Aultman Hospital. He and his wife Mary (Polly) were married for 67 years until her death in 2010. He is survived by children Brian of Massillon and Megan Morgan of Takoma Park, Md., four grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. |
If you have any news to report, concerning any aspect of life at St. Paul's, please be sure to report it to Peggy at stpaulsoffice@att.net
Also, please have your announcements to the office by Monday morning
for publishing in the weekend's bulletin.
Below: St. Paul's Newsletter, October 2021, courtesy of M.L. Schultze and Rick Senften.
Former Newsletters
October, 2021
September, 2021
Letters from the Bishop
March 21, 2021
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Thank you for sustaining your heroic efforts to maintain parochial community as we continue to combat the coronavirus. I share everyone’s longing to return to in-person gathering. The numbers are finally trending in a positive direction, as a result of adherence to the protocols requested and required by federal, state, and local government agencies. Just last Thursday, the first four of the 48 counties in the Diocese of Ohio have turned from red to orange, one of which is home to an Episcopal congregation. At the same time, a number of epidemiologists are expressing caution about a potential surge at the end of March from the variant strains currently being diagnosed across the country. While we monitor that possibility, we can begin to consider the possibility of return to in-person gathering for worship, formation, and governance.
To that end, the decision of whether in-person gathering for worship, formation, and governance is safe and appropriate will return to parish leadership for services and events beginning on the 5th Sunday in Lent, March 21. This will give every congregation time to consider carefully and thoughtfully what will be best in their specific context.
No congregation is required to return to in-person gathering and no communicant is expected to participate if and when it does. The parochial responsibility for making this decision in no way implies that in-person gathering is necessarily appropriate. The decision of whether to participate is an individual obligation that concerns one’s own health and that of others.
No member of the Clergy is required to participate in in-person gathering for worship, formation, or governance at this time. Members of the Bishop’s Staff will not be expected to visit parishes for gatherings of any sort until the county in which they live and the county in which the parish is situated are at Level 1 or 2 (Yellow or Orange, respectively) and the staff member has received a COVD-19 vaccination or otherwise feels secure.
To every extent possible, all vehicles for “virtual” participation (Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, etc.) should be continued and enhanced.
In carrying out this responsibility, it will be critically important for clergy and lay leaders to give serious consideration to a range of available data and guidelines. These include:
Beginning the 5th Sunday in Lent (March 21), parishes resuming in-person gathering must:
A pre-recorded, online worship service for the Second Sunday of Easter (April 11) will be made available to all congregations by the end of this month. The hope is that this will provide a modest break in responsibilities following Holy Week and Easter.
Finally, if any vestry, clergyperson, or lay leader is experiencing difficulty in making these decisions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Bishop’s Staff for assistance. There is a wide diversity of perspective on every aspect of COVID-19 response, and I know that when decision-making about gathering moves from me back to parish leadership, so, too, will move some of the division and divisiveness that accompany it. The challenges of this time need not threaten our unity, rather may they bring out the best in our vocation to be Christian and exhibit, within our congregations and beyond, what it means to be the Body of Christ.
Know that you remain always in my prayers and affection.
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.
Bishop of Ohio
March 21, 2021
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Thank you for sustaining your heroic efforts to maintain parochial community as we continue to combat the coronavirus. I share everyone’s longing to return to in-person gathering. The numbers are finally trending in a positive direction, as a result of adherence to the protocols requested and required by federal, state, and local government agencies. Just last Thursday, the first four of the 48 counties in the Diocese of Ohio have turned from red to orange, one of which is home to an Episcopal congregation. At the same time, a number of epidemiologists are expressing caution about a potential surge at the end of March from the variant strains currently being diagnosed across the country. While we monitor that possibility, we can begin to consider the possibility of return to in-person gathering for worship, formation, and governance.
To that end, the decision of whether in-person gathering for worship, formation, and governance is safe and appropriate will return to parish leadership for services and events beginning on the 5th Sunday in Lent, March 21. This will give every congregation time to consider carefully and thoughtfully what will be best in their specific context.
No congregation is required to return to in-person gathering and no communicant is expected to participate if and when it does. The parochial responsibility for making this decision in no way implies that in-person gathering is necessarily appropriate. The decision of whether to participate is an individual obligation that concerns one’s own health and that of others.
No member of the Clergy is required to participate in in-person gathering for worship, formation, or governance at this time. Members of the Bishop’s Staff will not be expected to visit parishes for gatherings of any sort until the county in which they live and the county in which the parish is situated are at Level 1 or 2 (Yellow or Orange, respectively) and the staff member has received a COVD-19 vaccination or otherwise feels secure.
To every extent possible, all vehicles for “virtual” participation (Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, etc.) should be continued and enhanced.
In carrying out this responsibility, it will be critically important for clergy and lay leaders to give serious consideration to a range of available data and guidelines. These include:
- The Ohio Public Emergency Level (1-Yellow, 2-Orange, 3-Red, 4-Purple) of the county in which your parish is geographically situated. Updated ratings are released every Thursday. Extensive county-specific data is available on this site by clicking on the name of your county in the drop-down to the right of the map. (These data do not include the incarcerated.)
- The Ohio Public Emergency Level of the counties contiguous to the county in which your parish is geographically situated. People regularly cross county lines for many reasons, including church attendance.
- The Ohio Public Health Advisory System’s Summary of Alert Indicators.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 guidelines for protecting oneself and others.
- The Episcopal Church’s Toolkit for COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution.
Beginning the 5th Sunday in Lent (March 21), parishes resuming in-person gathering must:
- follow all existing guidelines regarding the wearing of masks, physical distancing, sanitizing, restrictions regarding singing by congregation or soloists, the sharing or distribution of food, contact tracing, and the use of buildings for community service ministries or by outside groups, and
- at least one week prior to resuming in-person gathering, submit this brief, online report. The purpose of this report is to facilitate communication and coordination with Mission Area deans and diocesan staff members for sharing valuable information and helpful resources and communicating best practices.
A pre-recorded, online worship service for the Second Sunday of Easter (April 11) will be made available to all congregations by the end of this month. The hope is that this will provide a modest break in responsibilities following Holy Week and Easter.
Finally, if any vestry, clergyperson, or lay leader is experiencing difficulty in making these decisions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Bishop’s Staff for assistance. There is a wide diversity of perspective on every aspect of COVID-19 response, and I know that when decision-making about gathering moves from me back to parish leadership, so, too, will move some of the division and divisiveness that accompany it. The challenges of this time need not threaten our unity, rather may they bring out the best in our vocation to be Christian and exhibit, within our congregations and beyond, what it means to be the Body of Christ.
Know that you remain always in my prayers and affection.
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.
Bishop of Ohio