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Weekly eNews
October 4, 2024
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Responding to Hurricane Helene
News & Guidance from Our Diocese
As the storm has passed, and the damage done by Hurricane Helene becomes increasingly clear, we understand the depth of desire to help. We share that feeling with you. There are a multitude of ways both individuals and churches can help.
What’s most helpful is to respond to the needs as requested by those on the ground in affected areas, and to use the distribution channels being organized or already in place. Do not self-deploy. This is a request we are hearing from every organization with whom we have been on a call this week.
The Diocese of North Carolina has created a page we are updating as needs and relief opportunities develop. There you'll find information, updates, links, volunteer opportunities and more.
We encourage you to visit this page often to stay up to date.
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The greatest needs at this time are prayer and financial support. If you are in a position to give, we offer these for consideration:
Thank you for the outpouring of love, generosity and prayer for those affected by Hurricane Helene.
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Join Us for Celebration of Creation Sunday!
Each Sunday we worship in person and online. We are always glad when you worship with us. Nursery care is available during worship, and we offer activity bags to keep little hearts and hands engaged. After worship, join us for Coffee & Conversation in the Parish Hall.
This Sunday we celebrate Creation Sunday in our 10 a.m. worship with special liturgy and music. After worship, all are invited to the Parish Hall for coffee and our first Community Conversation of the program year. Phelps Sprinkle, CEO of Peacehaven Community Farm, along with Peacehaven core members, will share about the farm’s history and current phase of growth. “Let’s Be Different Together” is Peacehaven’s motto, and their vision is one of abundant resources for learning, growth, and connectivity: “This abundance is for people of all abilities. We do not own it and are called to give it away.”
At 3 p.m., you're invited to return with your well-behaved pets for our annual Blessing of the Animals. We will gather on the front lawn to share God’s love with the creatures who love us through life’s ups and downs. Attire for pets: leash or carrier.
All are welcome! Bring your neighbors and friends.
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Adult Confirmands Meeting
Sunday, Oct. 6, 11:15 a.m. (Cloister)
Our Bishop’s Visitation is November 10. Come meet with the clergy right after worship this Sunday if you are interested in being confirmed, received, or reaffirmed on that date.
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Parents’ Living Compass Class—Come Meet Our Peacehaven Guests this Sunday
Sunday, Oct. 6
Right after Worship (Parish Hall)
We will resume our ongoing Living Compass Class for Parents next Sunday, October 13, right after worship. This Sunday we invite all to join in welcoming our guests from Peacehaven Community Farm. The Living Compass is a model that invites us to attend to our mind, heart, strength, and soul. In a small group setting, we are invited to create a space of rest, contemplation, deep conversation, and compassion, while learning to better care for ourselves as we care for our kids. We meet in the Library through October 27, concurrently with the Confirmation for Youth course, and childcare is available. Facilitated by Anna Taylor and Rev. Ginny Inman.
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Youth Confirmation Class—Come to the Peacehaven Community Conversation this Sunday
Meet in the Parish Hall after Worship
this Sunday, Oct. 6
Our Youth Confirmation class will join the Peacehaven Community Conversation right after worship this Sunday. Come to the Parish Hall, grab your lemonade, and prepare to learn more about God’s love at work in our community with your church family! Our classes run through October 27. If you have questions about Youth Confirmation, email Martha Chaires.
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EYC St. Andrew's Creation Care Glow-Up (Workday) & Pizza!
Sun. Oct. 6, 5-6:30 p.m. (Herman Hall)
Bring work gloves if you have them.
Our church campus is looking a little under the weather lately because of all the.... weather. The playground is covered in sticks and limbs, the garden needs some TLC, and lots of other spots around our wonderful church grounds need a little loving—so let's give it to them! This is a great opportunity for those who are earning Service Learning Hours, and also for anyone who loves pizza, because we'll be feasting on that for dinner. Come wearing clothes that can get dirty, and if you have work gloves, please bring them (we will have a couple of pairs to spare, if needed). See you from 5-6:30 this Sunday!
Please email Martha Chaires with any EYC questions.
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Our Giving Pledge Campaign
Begins October 13
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May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5–6
Our annual Giving Campaign for 2025 kicks off next Sunday, October 13. This year’s stewardship theme, “Together,” invites us to reflect on our connection with one another as the Body of Christ, a movement of people following Jesus.
St. Andrew’s has a long history of coming together in times of difficulty and hardship and times of joy and celebration. For over 130 years, the Holy Spirit has woven thousands of lives together in this faith community as we have fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, and been transformed by God. During our Together campaign, all are encouraged to reflect on how we can give of our time, talent, and treasure to celebrate and share God’s love together as a community of faith and followers of Christ.
Pledge commitment packets will be available to be picked up before and after worship next Sunday. Packets that are not picked up will be mailed the following week. Our ingathering will be October 27, when we will celebrate after worship with a festive reception.
May we give generously and joyfully together so that St. Andrew’s can continue to grow in Christ’s love and make that love visible in this church, this community, and this world.
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Announcements & Calendar Info | |
Join Us for a GVG Lunch
Oct. 11 at 12:00 p.m.
Green Valley Grill
All are invited to an informal lunch gathering at Green Valley Grill on October 11 at 12 p.m. We look forward to sharing food and fellowship with friends of St. Andrew’s. Please RSVP by noon the day before to Jonathan Stephens at 615-480-3804 or by email.
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Episcopal 101: An Introduction (or Refresher!) to the Episcopal Church
Sundays, 11:15 a.m. (Cloister)
Oct. 6: Adult Confirmands Meeting
Oct. 13-27: All Interested Participants
Are you new or new-ish to the Episcopal Church? Or maybe you've been here a while but still have questions or are looking for a way to deepen your faith? Join us for Episcopal 101, a class on the basics of the Episcopal Church. All are welcome—no matter how long or short a time you've called the Episcopal Church home—or if you aren't sure yet if it feels like home. We will explore the faith, beliefs, history, structure, and practices of the Episcopal Church, with plenty of space to ask questions! Led by Spencer Musick, Rev. Ginny Inman, and others. Those seeking to be confirmed, received, or reaffirmed by the Bishop on November 10 will need to attend a meeting on October 6 at 11:15 a.m. in the Cloister.
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Have You Heard? EYC is Heading to Costa Rica for Next Summer's Mission Trip!
Signup Date: October 15, 2024
Trip Dates: June 17-24, 2025
This year St. Andrew's EYC will be heading south to serve our neighbors in Limon, Costa Rica, June 17–24, 2025. Signup and initial deposit of $500 is due October 15. Financial assistance is available. All interested youth and chaperones are asked to check their passports to make sure they are current and get them renewed ASAP if need be. You can find more information about this trip at the link below. Please contact Martha Chaires with any questions.
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Women of St. Andrew’s, Sign Up for Connect in Community
Thursday, Oct. 17, 7 p.m. (Parish Hall)
At our women’s retreat earlier this year, one of the collective hopes was for more intentional time together. In response, Connect in Community will be a quarterly gathering for all women in our parish, a time for deepening our relationships with one another and our faith. Sarah Chowning will help shape our first gathering on Thursday, October 17, 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. We’ll talk in small groups with time for prayer and song. Please sign up below and, if you’d like to, sign up to bring a dessert to share. We are so excited to be together!
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Deck the Halls Next Steps—Trim Our Giving Tree with Gift Cards
There are so many ways to help with Deck the Halls between now and the actual event on December 7! In addition to donations of wine, ladies’ accessories, and candies, the Giving Tree needs your help. Deck the Halls shoppers will pay $20 to select an envelope number from the tree, with the promise that the matching envelope will contain a gift card or cards worth at least $25. You can reach out to any business with a request for a gift certificate or card in any amount. (Please encourage extravagant generosity!) Make your list of prospects now, and Carolyn Hackett can supply tax exemption letters and colorful flyers explaining the event for them. If you’re a little uncertain about how to make a request, she will gladly coach you. Carolyn can be reached at 336-706-1583 or by email.
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Help Feed Our Growing Youth Community! Cooks & Sponsors Needed for Two Sundays
Our EYC is growling—oh wait, that's just their stomachs! But St. Andrew's youth community is also growing, and we need the help of our parish family to feed them! One of the best parts of our regular Sunday evening meetings is having the chance for youth and advisors to sit down and share a meal. It gives us all a chance to slow down, connect, and have great conversations and build new friendships at the end of busy meetings full of service, learning, team building, and more. We have two Sunday dinners between now and December that haven't been planned yet, and we would love your help. If you are interested in sponsoring or preparing a meal for the EYC, please reach out to Martha Chaires for more information.
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Sign Up for Coffee Hour—We Have Openings Next Sunday & Beyond
Please visit the refreshments signup sheet in the Parish Hall. There are many open dates awaiting a generous sponsor like you. All snacks are appreciated.
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Affordable Housing Advocates Needed
Affordable housing is growing in Greensboro! We have an active meeting schedule for housing in Guilford County and Greensboro. St. Andrew’s has been involved in advocating for livable, viable, and affordable housing for families with children, houseless people, and senior citizens. We are looking for those of you who are passionate about helping with this cause and who can meet bi-monthly on Tuesday afternoons as we follow up on what is shared in the various housing meetings. If you are interested in this work, please see Deacon Pam or Virginia Haskett for more details.
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Christians’ Responsibilities in Elections—Please Visit the Advocacy Table in the Parish Hall
"It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that it is the church's responsibility to help get souls to the polls." - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.
As we approach Election Day, we will all have opportunities to persuade others to go to the polls. We may encounter obstacles to success, of which the most talked about these days is feelings that elections are not secure, are vulnerable to manipulation, or are "rigged." The Advocacy Table in the Parish Hall has a display of highly reliable information about election security in North Carolina, including some fact sheets that you may take with you. Please visit the table to arm yourself with persuasive facts.
Who is on your ballot this November 5th?—Early Voting Begins October 17
Before you head for the polls you will want to learn more about all of the candidates on your your ballot. Often, we aren’t familiar with down-ballot candidates for North Carolina and local offices and judgeships or what they stand for. These positions greatly affect our day-to-day lives on issues such as education, reproductive rights, health care and gun violence / public safety. To see a sample ballot for your precinct, go to the State Board of Elections at https://vt.ncsbe.gov, click on “voter search,” and enter your information. You can then search for their web pages to make sure they will support the issues you care about.
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Remember Your Burgundy Bags
Help St. Andrew's feed the hungry!
Our weekly Burgundy Bag food donations are an outward and visible sign of St. Andrew’s mission of “feeding the hungry.” Each week, our donations are delivered to One Step Further Food Pantry to support their vital efforts to relieve food insecurity in Greensboro.
If you do not have a bag, please pick one up when you are at church for your household to use going forward. Bags can be picked up and dropped off in the Sanctuary narthex and the hallway by the Chapel.
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To learn more about St. Andrew's Mission & Outreach efforts, contact Doug Sanecki. | |
Most Needed Food Items:
- rice
- pasta
- beans (dried and canned)
- canned vegetables
- canned meats and fish
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Your Gifts Sustain Us
Thank you for your generous gifts to St. Andrew's. If you have questions about your giving, please email Ray Marsh, Bookkeeper or leave a message at 336-275-1651, ext. 3. Ray is in the office on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
To make a new gift or pledge payment:
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Donate at abundant.co/standrewsepiscopalch/give.
- Use the “Abundant Giving” app, choosing "St Andrew’s Episcopal Church" in Greensboro.
- Mail a check to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Bookkeeper, 2105 W. Market St., Greensboro, NC 27403.
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The Corner Farmers Market
News from Western NC
Remember to visit the Market on Saturdays, 8a.m.–12 p.m.
(St. Andrew's Kensington Parking Lot)
Today we are including an excerpt from the Corner Market's weekly newsletter from market director Kathy Newsome.
Our hearts are in the hills...
As news reports trickle down the mountains, the staggering toll of Helene's destruction is becoming more clear every day. It's impossible for us to fully grasp the impact from here. As we heard from our loved ones living to the west, kids in college, family along the Blue Ridge, we could breathe a sigh of relief. But the down stream effects will unfold for months and years.
This job has taught me to be more aware (and appreciative) of where our food comes from. Here are some early reports on the storm's impact on agriculture in our region.
After flying over the area this Monday, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler reported:
“Around anything that flows water, there is mass destruction. And, you know, we’ve been familiar with hurricanes in eastern North Carolina, but this is different, to kind of put it in perspective. It’s the damage. It looks more like tornadoes. I mean, it’s utter water flow, utter devastation. Buildings are gone. We’ve lost a lot of lives so far. So it is totally devastating for ag up here, the only really good farmland there is in the mountains is of course the river bottom. So that’s what forged away. Is pitiful, and apple trees that have been there for a long time blown out of the ground. So we got a lot of pieces to pick up to get these people back on their feet, and it’s not going to be an overnight thing. This is a marathon.”
The Corner Farmers Market delivers the goods each Saturday. Sign up for their super newsy newsletter for weekly details (visit their website to sign up). Follow them on Facebook too. And come visit this Saturday!
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Those impacted by Hurricane Helene:
A Prayer for Those Working to Rebuild
Compassionate God, source of all comfort, we pray for the people
whose lives have been devastated this hurricane season.
Bring them comfort, we pray.
Protect the vulnerable.
Strengthen the weak.
Keep at bay the spread of disease.
Have mercy on all those working to rebuild.
And may our response to their suffering
be generous and bring you praise.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
— Adapted from Christian Aid, UK
(Pray - Episcopal Relief & Development)
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Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Anglican Province of Papua New Guinea | |
A statue of Lucian Tapiedi, an indigenous Papuan among the Anglican martyrs of New Guinea, appears (second from the right) along with other 20th-century Christian martyrs over the west door of Westminster Abbey. From Martyrs of Papua New Guinea (graftoncathedral.org.au | |
Britain took control over Papua New Guinea (which is the eastern half of the island of New Guinea) in 1888, and within a year Anglicans in Australia concluded that its proximity to New Guinea imposed upon it an obligation to evangelize the territory. By 1901 there were eleven mission stations along the coast. During the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II, some 330 church workers from various denominations were killed. Among them, eight Anglican missionaries and two Papuans were martyred in 1942, and these Martyrs of New Guinea are remembered on our Episcopal Church calendar on September 2nd. After the war, in 1951, the volcano Lamington erupted, destroying the Anglicans’ main mission center and their Martyrs’ School, further limiting the Church’s postwar recovery. The country is overwhelmingly Christian, but Anglicans form only a small percentage. While the Anglican Church of Australia remains supportive, the Papuans are making efforts toward self-reliance. | |
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: St. Mark’s, St. Timothy’s, and La Iglesia de la Guadalupana, all of Wilson
Those on our parish prayer list: Mary Stalter; Norma Bullock; Moira Ermentrout; Maria Wilmoth; Jimmye Olivey; Patrick and Margaret Miller; Ed Morea; Julie Dameron; Traci and Erik; Barbara Cernansky; Ella Janssen; Gabriel; Charles Claunch; Libby Eberhard; Gwen Snead; Barbara Van Cleve; David Heflin; Jeff Cummer; Charles Kelshaw; David McGraw; Maureen Morea; Carolyn Ritchie; Betty Atwell; Eva Harris; Judy Gecinger; Liz Wert; Carol Phillips; Ed Phelps; Mack Baker; Lauren; Downs Brown, Jr.; Martha and Jim Kaley; Nancy O’Donnell; Tina Sink Gangi; Florine; Vickie; Heather; Victoria; Dean Barrett; Johnetta Shablack; Doug Baker; Erik Flak; Elizabeth Nevius; Frank Tatem; Pauline Tatum; Jim Tatum; Pia; Henry, Christine, and Emily Davis-Potter; Linda Heller; Katelyn Flowers; Amelia Menston-Sambola; Rafael Morales and family; Jeannie Phillips; James; Jim and Sue Ligon; Madeline Colavito; Bob Emmaus; Hilary Towle; Cory and Jasper; Elisabeth; Renee Maness; Kayla Alford; Charlotte Lloyd; Walker Sanecki
Those serving in our military: Tom Stauffer, Paul Zeigler, Stephen Johnson, Benjamin Phillips, Kenneth Gearhart, Alex Reyes, Michael McNeil, Jordan Payne, Catharyn Nosek
Birthdays: Faye Brown, Debbie Dowd, Elisa Gearhart, Bonnie Holland, Vivian James, Shelley Kappauf, Kailey Ramirez, Leon Spencer
Anniversaries: Jai and Cathy Jordan, Rob and Marcia Moore
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Please send prayer requests to Susan Frye, Parish Administrator, by email or at 336-275-1651, ext. 1. Names remain on our parish prayer list for six weeks. Please let Susan know if you would like a name to continue to be listed. Please also contact Susan with birthdays and anniversaries for the bulletin. | |
St. Andrew's Weekly Calendar | |
Sunday, October 6
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Celebration of Creation Sunday
Worship & Children's Ministry, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary)
Conversation with Peacehaven Farm,11:15 a.m. (Parish Hall)
Adult Confirmands Episcopal 101 Brief Meeting, 11:15 a.m. (Cloister)
Living Compass Class for Parents Joins Peacehaven Conversation
Youth Confirmation Class Joins Peacehaven Conversation
Blessing of the Animals, 3:00 p.m. (Church Lawn)
EYC Together for Service & Pizza, 5-6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 8
Staff Meeting, 10:30 a.m. (Cloister)
Chapel Open for Prayer, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
EfM, 6:30 p.m. (Library)
Wednesday, October 9
ECW St. Anne Chapter Meeting, 10:30 a.m. (Library)
Hearing the Gospel, 10:30 a.m. (Parish Hall)
Prayer Shawl Ministry, 2 p.m. (Library)
Daughters of the King Class, 6:30 p.m. (Chapel)
Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m. (Sanctuary)
Thursday, October 10
Handbells Rehearsal, 2 p.m. (Cloister)
Saturday, October 12
The Corner Farmers Market, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. (Kensington Lot)
Sunday, October 13
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Giving Campaign for 2025 Begins
Worship & Children's Ministry, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary)
Coffee & Conversation, 11:15 a.m. (Parish Hall)
Adult Formation: Episcopal 101, 11:15 a.m. (Cloister)
Living Compass Class for Parents, 11:15 a.m. (Library)
Youth Confirmation Class, 11:15 a.m. (Herman Hall)
Building & Grounds Committee, 11:15 a.m. (Chapel)
EYC Together for Service @ Pathways, 5-6:30 p.m.
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St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
standrewsgso.org parish@standrewsgso.org 336-275-1651
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