Dear Hearts and Gentle People,

Kristi, the girls and I had just deplaned in Seattle and we were waiting for our bags to come down the chute.  A woman standing next to me said, with an accent so thick I had to ask her to repeat herself several times before I could figure out what she was requesting, “Sir, could you help me with my bag?”  I overheard a man standing on the other side of me mutter, just loud enough for me to hear, “foreigners.”  His tone of voice made it very clear that this was not meant as a compliment.

It seems like almost every time I wander through Vail or Beaver Creek village, I have the good fortune to run into someone from some far away place.  Germany, Mexico, South America, Asia, Russia…the list is endless.  That’s part of the richness of this little corner of the world we call home.  But, as my “friend” at the airport reminds me, not everyone sees the mix of cultures in such a positive light.  That got me to thinking, just what kind of a world do we privileged Americans live in?  Consider the following parable.

She begins her day when the clock radio made in Japan plays music composed in Mexico. She goes into the bathroom and washes her face with soap invented by those living in ancient Gaul, as her husband steps out of his pajamas, a garment originating in the East Indies, and begins to shave, a masochistic rite first practiced by the priests of Sumer and made a little less unpleasant by using a razor made of steel, an iron-carbon alloy discovered in Turkestan.  She dons a wardrobe designed originally in Egypt, and adds a throat scarf, the vestigial remnant of a shoulder shawl worn by those in 17^th century Croatia.

Then she goes downstairs to breakfast and has a cup of coffee made from beans grown in Colombia.  She eats a banana from Guatemala, and sprinkles her cereal with sugar from India out of a pewter container made partly of Bolivian tin.  She unfolds a napkin of cotton grown in Zaire, and picks up cutlery compounded of Zambian chrome, Canadian nickel, and Peruvian vanadium.

Then, she goes off to work carrying a briefcase made of leather from Nepalese mountain sheep, in a car manufactured in Sweden, fueled by gasoline pumped in Kuwait.  She carries an umbrella invented in China, pauses to purchase (with coins first used in ancient Lydia), a Wall Street Journal, whose editorial appears to be written by an 18^th century Scotsman named Adam Smith.

She scans the day’s news, set in Arabic characters on a Chinese invention (paper), by means of a process begun by a German named Gutenberg.  She cringes at the antics of those dreadful foreigners, and thanks a Hebrew God in an Indo-European language that she is, in a decimal system developed by the Greeks, 100% American, a word derived from the name of an Italian explorer sailing under a Portuguese flag.

Come to think of it, if I ever have the opportunity to meet my friend in the airport again, I think that I’ll hand him this little article and tell him, “Foreigners?  I thank God for them!”

Peace to you, beloved, and may your summer be rest-full and re-creative,

Pastor Scott

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FREE COMMUNITY SUPPERS

Volunteers Needed!

Free Community Suppers are being offered on Thursday evenings from 6-7pm at Trinity Church.

Our congregation is sponsoring the meal once a month.  Volunteers are needed to help setup and serve as well as provide food.  If you can bring an entree/casserole, salad or dessert, please contact Chris Heiden at 390-5095. Thank you! 

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Survey Says . . .

Earlier this year, around 100 members of Mt. of the Holy Cross participated in our online survey regarding worship and attendance.  Pastor Scott and Council members read the results with interest and discussed the thoughtful comments that many of our members gave.  We learned that many of our members enjoy our current worship services and times and many are also looking forward to new opportunities as presented by the Edwards Interfaith Chapel.  Our Council and those closely involved with the plans for the Edwards Interfaith Chapel have used the responses to carefully consider our best opportunities for future programs and worship services.  Thank you to the majority of our members that participated in this valuable survey! 

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YOUTH NEWS – Summer Calendar

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WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Your youth are getting more and more excited about our upcoming mission trip to a Navajo Reservation in New Mexico.  25 of your youth will get to work with the people on home construction and repair as well as lead a day camp for the children there.  This trip will cost approximately $425 per student (80% of this goes to construction material).  We are looking for people who would be willing to sponsor a student or a portion of a student.  This is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids and we could use all the help we can get!  Thanks for helping with this!  Please contact Kim in the church office 476-6610 to donate or make your checks to Mount of the Holy Cross with "Youth Mission" in the memo line.  Erik

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 Please Pray For . . .

Loved Ones of Roy Johnston – Passed away June 10^th in Florida.  Diane Johnston

Rob Schnelle – the Vail Village UPS guy who is suffering from debilitating joint pain.  Kim Law

 Mary Litterer – Suffering from arthritis and overall pain.  Kim Law’s stepmom.

Joyce Adams – Kim Law’s mom.  Recently diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis.    

 Helen Owens – Tom Owen’s mom.  Advanced stages of Alzheimer’s.

 Maureen & Cheney Burke – Their newborn baby girl died.  Locals/Constiens

Loved Ones of R. Scott Reiter – Gypsum man killed in a rafting accident.  Constiens

Bill (Kiwi) Killen - Cancer.  Jeanne Nedrelow   

Carla – Cancer.  Chemo no longer effective.  Pray for a cure and to live a normal full life.  Norma Broten

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Michele Hovey – Open heart surgery last week.  Local/Friend of the congregation.

 US Military & their Families - Metcalfs

 Emily Ewing – a mission worker in Slovakia.  Pray for a safe and productive mission. Member/Niq

 Thomas Walsh –Local teen who has been battling cancer.  Latest tests show he is cancer free! 

Andrew Claymon & Family – Local teen who passed away from cancer.  Mullen

Prayer requests can be made by calling (476-6610) or emailing the church office (mtholy@vail.net),

or on the “Who’s Who in the Pew” on Sunday mornings.

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HOSTS NEEDED!

& JULY HOST COORDINATOR NEEDED!

If you would like to host a worship service or help with coordinating the month of July, please contact Kim Law in the church office. 

We would also like a list of readers for each service, who are willing to be asked at the last minute!  Thank you!

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NEW PICTORIAL DIRECTORY!

We are excited to announce a new pictorial directory of our church family is being organized!  Please participate! 

+  All you need to do is have your picture taken and meet with a portrait consultant afterwards.  You receive an 8x10 photo and a directory FREE!

+  Photos will be ready for Christmas and you can purchase your Christmas cards and envelopes this way!  Easy and simple!

+ Pets welcome!

+  This program is available at no cost to the church budget.

+ Photo dates are:  Thurs., Sept. 23, Friday, Sept. 24 & Saturday, Sept. 25

+ Call 1-800-866-2263 and schedule your appointment today!

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The Samaritan Counseling Center is having its

Summer Solstice Celebration

The celebration is Sunday, June 27th, from 6pm to 10pm at Vail Christian High School. Tickets this year are only $60 and will include dinner, entertainment by Beth Swearingen, a cash bar, a wine tasting and a scotch tasting, and an exciting silent auction. This year, we are particularly celebrating our donors and partners who make our work possible. Last year, everyone danced late into the night, so come join us for an evening of fun for a great cause. Email Elizabeth Myers at emyers@samaritan-vail.org or call her at 926-8558 for tickets.