July THE CHRIST CHURCH CONNECTION The Newspaper of the Mother Church of the Dakotas July & August 2021 NEWS FROM PASTOR KWEN SANDERSON The “Good News”(?) of Sin- Romans 3:23- “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” When you translate our language of “Sin”, it is another way of saying, “I am an imperfect human being.” Which gives me permission, that when I have messed up, and made mistakes, their spiritual message is, “Welcome to the Human Race.” When I ministered at the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, the inmates discovered that Romans 3:23 meant that their specific sin, even though it landed them in prison, was a reminder that they were part of the sin of the Human Race. As a colleague liked to remind people, “We are all equal, at the foot of the cross.” In the Friday, June 18, devotion of our “Forward Day by Day” devotional, the author, Keith Gogan, made the insightful observation. “God will act; God will make things better. However, God will not act without us. We humans are both the problem and the solution.” Right from the beginning, with Adam and Eve, how was God going to care for his created world? By Adam and Eve. How did sin enter the world? By Adam and Eve. Yet, It is a continuing theme that runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; God has committed himself to work through people, even though people are the ones who create the problems. In the church, we have a high-sounding doctrine called the Incarnation. Simply put, it says that in Jesus of Nazareth, God carried out salvation through this man, Jesus. Jesus is the reminder to all of us that the main way God chooses to act is through human beings. What does this have to say to us at Christ Episcopal Church? God is working, in this time and place, through us people. But, in this time of Pentecost, we are reminded that it may be our words and actions that are doing God’s work, but, it is the energy of the Holy Spirit that gives us the initiative, energy, and creativity to carry out God’s specific plan for us, in Yankton SD. We humans are doing the work, but it is the Holy Spirit that energizes us. That is why prayer, Scripture reading, worship, sacraments, and meditation are essential faith practices; they are the conduit through which the energy of the Holy Spirit comes to us. Where there is inspiration, there will be perspiration; the two work together. July & August 2021 DID YOU KNOW? Christ Church received the following article about Grant Marsh, early owner of the Olde Rectory, sent by a descendant, Dana Parker of Cypress, CA, He included a cash donation. Dana saved me the time of writing this history and I wanted everyone to have an opportunity to read it. He also, included this picture of Grant Marsh taken in our Missouri Riverside Park. I am sure most of you have seen it. Gert B. Grant Marsh (May 11, 1834 - January 1916) (also known as Grant P. Marsh, and Grant Prince Marsh) was a riverboat pilot and captain who was noted for his many piloting exploits on the upper Missouri River and the Yellowstone River in Montana from 1862 until 1882. He served on more than 22 vessels in his long career. He started his career in 1856 as a cabin boy and continued his career for over 60 years becoming a captain, riverboat pilot and riverboat owner. During his career he amassed an outstanding record and reputation as a river steamboat pilot and captain.[1] His piloting exploits became legendary and modern historians refer to him as “Possibly the greatest steamboat man ever”, “possibly the greatest [steamboat pilot] ever”, “possibly the finest riverboat pilot who ever lived”,[4] “the greatest steamboat master and pilot on both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers”. After the discovery of gold in Montana Territory in the early 1860s, the Missouri River was the major artery for freight and passengers to go from “the states” to Fort Benton, the head of navigation in the territory. The last 300 miles ran through the unsettled prairie and the remote Missouri breaks. As a riverboat pilot on the upper Missouri River Marsh contended with migrating buffalo herds, hostile Indians, and violent windstorms, along with underwater hazards from rapids, snags and sandbars. In the 1860s and 1870s The Yellowstone River, a tributary of the Missouri in the Montana Territory, penetrated deeply into an area dominated by the Sioux, Cheyenne and Crow tribes. From 1873 to 1879 Marsh piloted shallow draft paddle wheel riverboats making pioneer voyages up the Yellowstone River in Montana, in support of several military expeditions into Indian country. In 1875, he made the highest upriver ascent of the Yellowstone River in the Josephine arriving at a point just above present day Billings Montana. Grant Marsh is most often referenced by historians for his exploit in 1876 as the pilot of the Far West, a shallow draft steamboat operating on the Yellowstone River and its tributaries, which was accompanying a U.S. Army column that included Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry. The army column was part of the Great Sioux War of 1876, and its most noted battle was the Battle of the Little Bighorn, often known as “Custer’s Last Stand” on June 25-26, 1876. After the battle, from June 30 to Ju]y 3, 1876 Grant Marsh piloted the Far West down the Yellowstone and the Missouri Rivers to Bismarck, carrying fifty-one wounded cavalry troopers from the site of the defeat of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He brought the first news of the “Custer Massacre” which was disseminated to the nation via telegraph from Bismarck. Most noteworthy in riverboat lore, Grant Marsh set a downriver steamboat record, traversing some 710 river miles in 54 hours. After railroads brought about the decline of riverboats on Montana rivers in the 1880s, Marsh continued to work as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi and the lower Missouri working on ferries, snag boats, and hauling bulk loads. He remained a steamboatman until his death in 1916 at the age of 82. Grant T. Marsh Statue Wikipedia July & August 2021 July & August 2021 FIRST SUNDAY WITH FR. MIKE NEWAGO Fr. Mike Newago’s first Sunday with us will be July 18th ! This will be a Holy Eucharist service with Fr. Mike as our celebrant. Following the service there will be a Meet and Greet, which public has been invited to attend. NEW ADDRESS CONGRATULATIONS COLLIN Sandy Cope and Ken Smith have moved! Their new Matt and Karen Michels recently attended their address is as follows: son, Collin’s graduation from Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. He completed a 4 year residency in 805 West 3rd Street Emergency Medicine and served as chief resident Yankton, SD 57078 his last year. Collin and his wife Jill are moving to Madison, WI where he will start a one year fellowship THANK YOU at UW. A huge thank you to Steve Adamson and all others who volunteered their time and energy to help clean up the Olde Rectory gardens! There were many overgrown weeds and volunteer trees that needed removal. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and the gardens look beautiful! COOKBOOKS AVAILABLE We have many copies of “Recipes and Remembrances,” our 150th Anniversary Celebration Cookbook, available for just $5 each. If you would like to purchase a copy, please contact the church office at: 605-665-2456 or email [email protected]. SUICIDE PREVENTION WALK Bridging Yankton, Pathways to Hope, Help, and Healing will host their Suicide Prevention Walk on Saturday, August 7th, 2021 at Riverside Park in Yankton. Registration along with a pancake feed sponsored by Thrivent Financial will begin at 8:15 AM with the event beginning at 9:30 AM at the Amphitheatre. There is no cost to participate. More information can be obtained by following the Bridging Yankton Facebook Page or emailing [email protected] Please join us and feel free to create a team. July & August 2021 July July 9 Gail Houfek Janelle Tacke 7 Ken Smith & Sandy Cope 14 Angeline Mondragon Bernard Kubal Rick Wilson August 16 Megan Mondragon 17 Kathy Wright 11 Ron & Lavonne Lorenzen 18 Brynlee Luke 26 Dick & Dawne Unruh 19 Dean Caton 20 Dr. Jo Neubauer 22 Jane Hawk 25 Herb Robertson If your birthday or anniversary was left off our list, please contact August Cathy Unruh at 665.2456 or email [email protected] 1 Pat Michels 4 Nina Freidel 7 John Keyes Nolan Neubauer-Keyes 13 Erin Neubauer-Keyes 20 Carolyn Gilster 28 Bobbie Kleinschmit July & August 2021 VESTRY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES MAY 30, 2021 Members Attending: Shann Doer, Steve Adamson, Dawne Unruh, Janelle Tacke, Ron Mugge, Sandy Cope, Treasurer Dick Unruh, Pastor Kwen Sanderson Opening Prayer delivered by Pastor Kwen Sanderson Approval of the minutes for 4/25/21 was moved by Dawne, seconded by Steve. The motion carried. Treasurer’s Report: Donations have been trending downward the last 4 or 5 Sundays and have not gone back up since opening the church. We are still taking in enough to pay the bills. We have not received the refund from MidWest Alarm. Our investments continue to increase thanks to the thriving market. The cost of the brick repair was less than anticipated. A separate fund-raising savings account has been opened. There was a last-minute change on the housing for Father Mike.