Missioners Change Lives – Often Their Own – In D.R.

Teenagers and adults from St. Luke's have been traveling to a small village in the Dominican Republic for more than 10 years; the trips have left their mark.

The drive up the mountain to El Pedregal in the Dominican Republic is steep. We are in a large van and our luggage is hitched to a trailer that bumps along behind us. We are full of anticipation and excitement. For more than a few of us, this is a return to a place that has come to feel a bit like home. For others, it's a place we've heard about and seen in pictures for years. The warm sunshine in February is enough for us New England refugees to feel grateful, but it is in fact the warmth of the people that has kept so many teenagers and adults from St. Luke's Church in EG coming back for more than a decade. The expression "mission trip" conjures up images of do-gooders looking to better the lot of poorer people. But these days, people …

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5 Things You Need To Know Today

Five Things: Less Daylight, A New Minister, A New Ministry

Your guide for life in East Greenwich today, Nov. 4.

‘Fall Back’ today: Daylight Savings ended today ... just in case you missed that memo!  EGAPL Open House: Check out the EG Animal Protection League dogs and cats looking for permanent homes at the Greenwich Bay Animal Hospital from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Grief Support: This group meets in the Christ Church office condo on Sunday afternoons and is for anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. Each week there is a video which covers different topics pertinent to those who are grieving. Following the video there is time to discuss the contents with others in the group. It is a safe and welcoming environment. From 2 to 4 p.m. Ordination, Installation At Westminster Unitarian: The installation and ordination of Ellen Quaadgras, …

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Elizabeth McNamara

7:35 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thanks, Sherry!   more ›

Open Air Blessing Of Animals Celebrates Canine, Feline Friends

Animals and their humans showed up for the special service on the patio behind Swift Community Center.

They came by twos, dogs and their owners, cats and their owners, for a Blessing of the Animals last Saturday on the patio behind Swift Community Center. Everyone was well behaved – even the people – for the service, which was led by Fr. Tim Rich, rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. The Feast of St. Francis was Oct. 4. St. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals, so animal blessings are often done near that date. This was the first blessing in several years for St. Luke's and the first perhaps ever on Academy Field, but it provided a perfect spot to let the animals be animals. Fr. Tim said he plans to make it an annual event, open to all dogs and their owners.

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Elisabeth T. (Simonds) Burns, 88

Wife of the former rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Elisabeth earned her undergraduate degree from Vassar and a master's degree in library science from URI.

Elisabeth T. (Simonds) Burns, 88, died peacefully on Sept. 10, at St. Elizabeth Home. She was the wife of the late Rev. Alfred W. Burns, former rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Born in New Haven, Conn., she was the daughter of the late Bruce T. and Rosalind B. Simonds, and sister of the late Roger T. Simonds. Her parents were concert pianists; her father was dean of the Yale School of Music from 1941 to 1954. Mrs. Burns earned a BA degree in history from Vassar College in 1944, and later, a master's degree in library science from U.R.I. She worked as a reference librarian at the former Roger Williams College in Bristol from 1971 to 1989. Her favorite interests were traveling, playing golf, reading, …

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New Rector Of St. Luke’s Sees Larger Community Role For Church

The Rev. Tim Rich said one of the things he likes about St. Luke’s is it’s location right in the middle of town.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has a permanent rector again, nearly two years after the departure of Craig Burlington. Tim Rich took the job over in June after serving for nine years as assistant to New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson. Rich, 50, said he was ready to return to parish ministry, to have a closer connection with a congregation. “It was really clear I wanted to be back in a parish,” he said. Coming to St. Luke’s, however, meant uprooting his family. He and his wife, Diane (both were previously divorced) have four children between them – two boys and two girls. “At the risk of sounding overbearingly evangelical, this really tested the idea that God would not call us to a place and then abandon us,” Rich said about the decision to …

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Big Stop & Shop Donation To Interfaith Food Cupboard

Cash gift supplements store's ongoing food collection

Paula Fernandes, store manager at the Frenchtown Road Stop & Shop says her associates deserve the credit for the $4,240 check she recently presented to Chris and Steve Bartlett for the East Greenwich Interfaith Food Cupboard. Stop & Shop keeps a box for food donations prominently displayed year-round and during October and November also invites customers to make a cash donation. Sixty percent of the money collected goes to the local food cupboard and the rest to the Rhode Island Food Bank. During the Christmas season Stop & Shop added what they call a Charity Box program. Customers donated enough money for just over 100 of the boxes, which were all filled with identical food items and given to the Food Cupboard. Bartlett says that in …

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Jubilate Ringers Find Joy In Bells

The bell choir based at St. Luke's performs Sunday in a special Christmas concert at 4 p.m.

Priscilla Rigg never meant to lead a bell choir. The long-time music director at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Greenwich wasn't interested, she says now with a laugh. But fate - and some persistent bell choir supporters - intervened two decades ago. Today, she directs the Jubilate Ringers, a group comprised of members from a number of churches in the area. In addition to St. Luke's, there are members from First Evangelical Lutheran in EG, Peacedale Congregational in Wakefield, Methodist Church in North Kingstown, Free Baptist Church in Pascoag, and St. John's in Saunderstown. They rehearse every Monday morning. Over the years, their fame has spread. They perform frequently everywhere from other churches to nursing homes to community …

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A Dream Come True: One Man's Journey To Priesthood

The Reverend John Higginbotham was ordained an Episcopal priest in October.

The Reverend John Higginbotham was ordained a priest at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on October 18, 2011 on the Feast of St. Luke. Father John has aspired to be a priest since he was an 8-year-old altar boy serving Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston, where he grew up. Father John studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood many years ago after leaving the military. In the 1980s, the bishop sent him to St. Meinrad Archabbey in Southern Indiana and St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass. He left prior to Diaconate ordination because he decided that he wanted to marry and have children. “Leaving the seminary was the best decision I ever made. Many of my friends and classmates, who stayed and were ordained priests, ended up leaving …

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Extra Community Meal Draws Diners; More Planned

United Methodist Church served dinner at St. Luke's Monday with hopes of building on the single monthly meals now offered there.

The mood was festive on Monday, with people eating and talking enthusiastically, and someone playing piano in the background. Art Stenberg said, “It's good food, good company, good time.” His wife, Judy, added, “You get a chance to see people you wouldn't normally see." When asked what brought her to the dinner, Judy Earnshaw said, “It's about comradery.... It's lots of fun to meet everybody once a month and hear what everyone has been doing.” East Greenwich resident Shirley Johnson said, “I've been coming for a long time, ever since it opened here. They're very friendly here, they make you feel welcome." The dinners are free and open to the public, but donations are welcome and help offset meal costs. Until now, St. Luke's has been the …

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Classes, Meetings, Legos And A Meal

Five things you need to know about East Greenwich today, May 9.

Summer Rec Program Registration opens: Yes, today’s the day that all those envelopes submitted early are opened by the staff at the Parks and Recreation Department. If you haven’t yet sent in your registration form, get on it. Lego Day at EG Free Library: The library has new Star Wars Lego kits and is looking for building enthusiasts to breath life into them. Children age 8 and older are welcome to come between 3:30 and 5:30 today and have at it with Legos. Christ Community Kitchen: Tonight’s dinner will be prepared by none other than Dana Wronski of Greenwich Bay Gourmet and Tio Mateo’s. With an emphasis on “community,” all are welcome to this free dinner held monthly at St. Luke’s church. Brush Up Your Hebrew: Or learn it anew, at Chabad…

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