Online Worship for Sunday, May 10, 2020
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
10 am - Morning Prayer on Zoom
Join us for Morning Prayer on Zoom and we will (once again) attempt to live stream to the St. Bede's YouTube page.
If the live stream does not work,
we will post the recording to our YouTube page later.
8 pm - Compline on Zoom
End your Sunday by joining others from St.Bede's
in the quiet evening prayer form known as Compline.
We usually take a few moments at the end to catch up as well.
Information about how to join
Morning Prayer & Compline on Zoom
will be sent out in a separate email
and will be posted to the St. Bede's website
by Saturday afternoon.
There is always a call-in (from a regular telephone) option for
all worship, fellowship, and meeting opportunities
that are offered on Zoom.
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Announcing our New Junior Warden
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Calling all 2020 graduates!!
We are honoring all of our graduates on Sunday, May 24th and want to make sure that you are included. If your name is not included on the list below or if we are missing any information, please reach out to Beth Cannon or Muriel Diguette and let us know where you are graduating from and either where you are studying in the fall or what degree you are graduating with and what your plans are for the future.
Here is who we have so far:
High Schoolers:
Emma Brantley - Marist -
Ashton Busch - The Tapestry School
Tyler Busch- Lakeside High School (going to Valdosta State)
Bryce Cannon - Decatur High School (going to Georgia State University)
Jaden Patterson - Druid Hills High School (going to Agnes Scott)
Matthew Tate - Lakeside High School -
College:
Sylvia Abraham - Georgia State University
Seminary:
Colin Brown - Candler School of Theology of Emory University
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St. Bede's Virtual VBS 2020 - The Way of Love
We're anticipating a fantastic virtual Vacation Bible School this summer--for the whole family! We will offer a weekly bilingual Zoom meeting every Monday from June 15th through July 27th.
The meeting will also be uploaded to the "St. Bede's on YouTube". There will be stories from the Bible, crafts, activities, and music, all in the comfort of your own home. The theme of the VBS is "The Way of Love". Register your planned participation below.
We also need volunteers to act as virtual storytellers, to help edit videos, and to help in other ways. See below for volunteer opportunities and please watch an example of the video created by St. Bede's members for last year's VBS about "The Parable of the Sower". You can also watch another video for creative inspiration. More information and details about volunteering will be shared with those that are interested and able to help.
Click below to access the forms:
We can't wait to see what St. Bede's/San Beda will create as we walk the Way of Love together! So hurry and grab a story (or song) before they are all gone! Please contact Alyssa (404-579-6768, [email protected]) or Carmen (678-927-7200) by email, message or WhatsApp to get started!
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Vestry Establishes
Community Emergency Assistance Fund
In addition to all of the wonderful ways that the Community Engagement Team is leading us in supporting community ministry partners (locally, churchwide, and globally) during this critical time, the Vestry has established a Community Emergency Assistance Fund to help people within the greater St. Bede's community with food assistance during the current public health crisis. This fund will be administered confidentially by the clergy in a similar way as their normal discretionary funds, but will be used exclusively to help with food assistance during this crisis.
If you would like to contribute to this fund you may do so through
Realm Giving and selecting "Community Emergency Assistance Fund" from the "Fund" drop-down menu. You may also mail a gift to St. Bede's designated for "Community Emergency Assistance Fund".
If you have questions about this offering to the greater St. Bede's community or if you are in need of food assistance or know someone who is, please contact either the Rev'd Caroline Magee or the Rev'd Fabio Sotelo.
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Virtual Nuevo Amanecer 2020
Nuevo Amanecer (New Dawn) is a bilingual biennial conference of Hispanic ministries that brings together latinos and anglos from around the United States and other Hispanic countries. It takes place at Kannuga, NC. This year, because of the Coronavirus we will be hosting a Virtual Nuevo Amanecer May 12 thru May 14. One of our main speakers this year is Presiding Bishop Most Rev'd Michael Curry.
Meeting schedule is Tuesday from 1:00pm to 2:30pm; and Wednesday and Thursday 1:00pm to 3:30pm. The cost is free but in order to fully participate you must register. Registration deadline is May 11th.
Nuevo Amanecer 2020
Nuevo Amanecer es una conferencia bienal de ministerios hispanos que reúne a latinos y anglos de todo Estados Unidos y otros países hispanos. Cada año nos reunimos en el Centro de Conferencia en Kanuga, Carolina del Norte. Este año, debido al Coronavirus, estaremos ofreciendo un Nuevo Amanecer virtual del 12 al 14 de mayo. Uno de nuestros oradores principales este año es nuestro Obispo Primario, el Rev'd. Michael Curry.
El horario es martes de 1:00 p.m. a 2:30 p.m; miércoles y jueves de 1:00 p.m. a 3:30 p.m. La conferencia es gratis pero es necesario registrarse para participar en todos los talleres. La fecha límite para registrarse es el 11 de mayo.
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An update from El Refugio:
As many of you probably read in the e-news two weeks ago, the Community Engagement Committee disbursed funds from its budget to help struggling non-profit agencies who minister to people in need. Amilcar Valencia, Executive Director of El Refugio, sent me an e-mail to thank us for our donation, and he answered questions we had about how life for the inmates at Stewart Detention Center has changed. What follows are excerpts from his e-mail:
"Thank you so much for always thinking of us, our friends detained at Stewart and their loved ones. In answer to your question about the number of detainees who have been infected, we know only about the numbers ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) publishes on its website. Currently, there are 11 confirmed cases. We know that ICE is not testing people; that is why the number is low. In a facility where more than 40 staff have tested positive for COVID-19, the number of detained individuals will have to be much higher. This a tactic ICE is using to avoid more scrutiny. Every day since March 19, we have been hearing from detained people through phone calls that many people are sick, that they have flu-like symptoms, and are not receiving proper medical attention. A person that is represented by SPLC tested positive for COVID-19, was taken to the hospital and then was sent back to the detention center the same day. All the people we talk to feel scared and frightened. A person I talked to told me 'I don't want to die here.'
We don't know when visitation will resume. For now, we keep asking people to write letters of encouragement to people in detention. We keep putting money into their commissary accounts. We are collecting masks to send care packages to the families who contact us. Let us know if you are interested in any of these activities. We can coordinate with you and St. Bede's members."
A letter to an inmate is a tremendous morale booster in this time of fear and real danger. If you are interested, please contact Claudia Fedarko at
[email protected]
, and she will send you the guidelines for letters and a sample that El Refugio has put together. If you would like to make a donation to help with their good work, go online:
https://www.elrefugiostewart.org/donate/
or send checks payable to El Refugio to: P.O. Box 3996, Decatur, GA 30031.
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Let's Stay Connected
In the season ahead, we would love for any of our members to share any personal reflections, poetry, or stories of hope that will keep us connected and lift our spirits. You can send them to: [email protected] and we will offer these in the weekly e-newsletter or on Facebook.
This week we received the following offerings:
Muriel Diguette offers a reflection on visiting:
Back Yard Visiting in the Time of a Pandemic
When you go visiting here in the South, it means you are welcomed into a friend's home with a big hug and a glass of sweet tea. But in the time of this coronavirus pandemic, all of that has changed. Most people are not visiting at all. Most are very serious about staying very far away from family and friends, and are opting for phone calls and written messages sent in the mail. But when you have a good friend who has been completely alone in her house for seven weeks (and counting), who has not even gone out to the grocery store, and who has not seen a human face in real time, you think about what it would mean to make an in person visit during the virus.
My dear friend, Nina Daniel, is just that good friend who had been alone ... completely and utterly alone ... for seven weeks. We talked on the phone at length but it just wasn't the same as visiting in person. I suggested a back yard visit to her. Nina had to think about it. It would mean breeching the protocols she had been living under for all those weeks. Fortunately she decided it was a good idea.
I presented Nina with "the rules":
- I would not be entering her home, which meant I made sure I wouldn't have to go inside to use "the necessary room".
- She was not to offer me anything to eat or drink during our visit.
- When I arrived I would come around to her back yard and she would have two chairs standing six feet apart.
- And of course we would not hug hello or goodbye.
These rules are so antithetical to our usual way of visiting, but after having been apart under the cloud of a serious pandemic for seven weeks, we did not find "the rules" at all difficult to follow. This was just a visit ... a pure and simple, bare bones visit. It was what we both needed. We sat in the beautiful weather and talked for two hours, about all manner of things. We talked a lot about what "sheltering" was meaning to each of us, and how we were managing to get through it. For Nina it has meant being totally alone; for me is has meant more togetherness than we've ever experienced before with the two men in my life (my husband and our adult son who lives with us). We reminisced about our beloved Green Bough, wondering when we will be able to get back there. We talked about our dear church, St. Bede's, and about books we have been reading. It was incredibly life giving for each of us. We have met this way twice so far, and we will continue doing so.
So I urge you to make a back yard visit in this time of coronavirus ... or a driveway visit ... or a park visit. Just because we have to keep our distance, it doesn't mean we have to starve our souls for human companionship.
Lynnsay Buehler offers The UK Blessing she received from a friend:
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| The Blessing UK - Churches sing 'The Blessing' over the UK |
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Mostly Mysteries Book Group on Zoom
The Mostly Mysteries Book Group is continuing to meet on Zoom. If you would like to take part, please contact Connie Coralli and she will send you the link.
The May meeting will be on Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day) at 7:00 pm and the group will discuss
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena.
The June meeting will meet on Monday, June 22, and the group will discuss The Lost Man by Jane Harper.
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The Forward Day by Day booklets of daily devotions for May - July 2020 are here!
If you would like Muriel to send one to you, please call her at the parish office or email her at
[email protected]
If you would like to pick one up at the church, Muriel can leave one taped to the front glass doors in a plastic bag with your name on it. Again, call or email her at the church office.
Please note that you can also find the daily devotions on line at
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In Our Prayers
David & Marie Holly, parents of Richard Busch
Junior Abraham
Peggy Allen
, mother of Lisa Main
Dixie Snider
Ray Lampros
Suzanne Shapiro
Gwen Cordner
Arlene Means,
sister of Larry Bing
Maggie Williams
Jim Sease
Mary Rodriguez
Hollis Pickett
Dixie Snider
Beth Cannon
Margie Klein,
mother of Jody Klein
Ed Bennett
,
brother-in-law of Laura Martin
Anita Maloof
Lynn Edgar,
mother of Beth Cannon
Nancy Waring
John Branan
Kerry Penney
Patrick Newberry,
son of David Newberry,
stepson of Gretchen Berggren
Connie Aylor
Mark Ahlfinger,
son of Jean Ahlfinger
Carolyn Branan,
mother of John Branan
Andy Matia and Darryl Schwartz,
friends of Ann Foote
Brooke & Taylor Harty,
granddaughters of Nancy Waring
Jim Ohl
Bill Stegall
,
friend of Jan & Jeff Swoope
Frances Bowen
Max Carpenter
,
grandson of Sarra David
Judy Penney
,
sister-in-law of Kerry Penney
Sydney Lund
Ann Foote
Helen Abraham
Cameron Maddox
For those who have died
Bill Stegall, friend of Jan & Jeff Swope
David and Abbey Darnell, friends of Sarah Jane Ohl
DiAnne Lillie, sister-in-law of Loretta Vail
Maria Taboada, friend of Beth Cannon
We give thanks for those celebrating birthdays this week
5/10
: Muriel Diguette
5/10: Mariela Lopez
5/11 Kelcie Sellers
5/11: Emily Mendez
5/11: Ian Ortega
5/12: Beth Schupbach
5/12: Soledad Paramo
5/12: Andrew Callaway
5/14: Robert Townes
5/14: Victoria Esquivel
5/15: Taylor Graves
5/15: Judah Sali
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Blessed To Be A Blessing Pledge Campaign
Thank you to all who have so generously responded by returning your Blessed To Be A Blessing pledge card. If you haven't yet returned your completed pledge card, additional pledge cards are available in the Connect Center.
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What does Episcopal Relief and Development do?
As you may have read recently in the E-News, the Community Engagement Committee gave money to Episcopal Relief and Development. Ever wonder what does ERD do?
Episcopal Relief and Development is the relief and development arm of the Episcopal Church. ERD offers the Episcopal Church's first response to disasters and helps underdeveloped communities around the world grow and become more self-sustaining.
During this current time, ERD is offering COVID-19 webinars on various subjects each Friday. Check them out. I have found them very informative. You can also listen to past webinars links are on the website.
Nina Daniel,
Your Episcopal Relief and Development Representative
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For People with Bishop Rob Wright
Welcome to For People, a conversation with Bishop Rob Wright, spiritual leader to the more than 50,000 people in the 117 worshipping communities of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. In this podcast, Bishop Wright meets listeners at the crossroads of faith and life to explore the challenges of an ever-changing world. Listen in to find out how he expands on his For Faith devotional, draws inspiration from the life of Jesus to answer 21st-century questions.
Click on the link below to hear Bishop Wright's podcast
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EMMAUSE HOUSE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
Responding to the Needs of our Neighbors |
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Part 2 - Food -
Navigating Community Needs
Hunger and access to food is consistently an issue for the neighbors of Emmaus House. For many families, benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as Food Stamps, routinely run out before the end of the month. With no major supermarkets in the area, residents have to drive several miles to shop or pay high prices for limited goods in nearby convenience stores. Those without automobiles must carry groceries home on a bus or walk blocks with heavy bags-an especially challenging situation for older residents.
Over the years, Emmaus House has always been there to tide neighbors over, providing groceries from its food pantry to supplement other benefits.
Now, with restrictions in place to avoid COVID-19, the challenges are even greater. Other food pantries in the area have closed. MARTA has reduced bus service. People have lost jobs or had their work hours cut back. And Emmaus House could no longer welcome pantry shoppers into its building to choose their food.
"Overnight we became one of few places in our area still open," said Adam Seeley, director of social services at Emmaus House. "We had to evaluate our own position-how could we have staff and volunteers serve people? We had to create a whole new model of logistical services. Client and volunteer safety are the top priority instead of efficiency."
Now clients choose from a list of available products and tell volunteers their choices. The volunteers pull groceries from the shelves, fill bags, and pass them through open doors or windows. People who need food are asked to make appointments to prevent crowding at the facilities, although some walk-ins are served.
To accommodate the greater needs caused by the virus and the limited assistance available, Emmaus House has temporarily suspended requirements for proof of residency and geographic limits on who is eligible for services.
The adjustment hasn't always been smooth, Seeley said. One complication was that, just before the COVID-19 restrictions were put in place, the Atlanta Community Food Bank-the source of much of Emmaus House's food supply-was closed for a move into new facilities.
Even though the Emmaus House pantry had to stop services for a week and a half in March because supplies were depleted and the food bank was shut down, statistics show how much demand jumped. "Things just exploded," Seeley said. Volunteers handed out 6,200 pounds of food to 184 households in less than three weeks, up from 4,600 pounds of food in all of February. In April, the numbers rose to 12,400 pounds.
"Our clients have been really understanding and patient as we've made changes as we go along," Seeley said. "That's never ideal. You like to have a plan in place before the need for it arises."
Fortunately, he said, volunteers, donors, and agency partners have come through to help.
Helping Hands
Parishioners from St. Martin's Episcopal Church are filling bags, which they call Bags of Hope, to bring every week. Other groups and individual families are making donations. And Carver Market in nearby Historic South Atlanta is also selling a version of Bags of Hope for Emmaus House. (The market itself is a model neighborhood resource, founded by Focused Community Strategies (FCS), a nonprofit organization to provide healthy foods and fresh produce at reasonable prices and to provide jobs to neighborhood residents.)
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To buy a $35 Bag of Hope from Carver Market:
Go to
communitygrounds.com/order, and select the "carry out" option. Emmaus House will pick up the bag. The grocery items include cereal, cereal bars, macaroni and cheese, flour, canned tuna and salmon, rice, beans, black-eyed peas, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and bath soap. Emmaus House will distribute the bags to individuals and families in the Peoplestown area.
Contact
Ann Fowler
at (404) 808-1864 if you have questions.
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Likewise, organizations are helping to get food out to people who can't come in for themselves. Welcoming Atlanta, a program of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' Office of Immigrant Affairs, assists new residents from other countries whose language barriers make it impossible for them to call, make an appointment, and communicate with English-speaking pantry volunteers. To serve the immigrant population, Seeley and Emmaus House executive director Greg Cole bought beans, rice, and tortillas in bulk at the Atlanta State Farmers Market so that the pantry could provide culturally appropriate food.
Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability, Inc. which works with grandparents raising grandchildren with special needs, makes sure their clients get the food they need from the Emmaus House pantry. And the 5-5-5ers, a homegrown neighborhood group in Peoplestown, receive food at the Emmaus House pantry for their neighbors and members who can't get out.
The 5-5-5ers are a steady force in the Emmaus House community. Several years ago, five women launched a group for people 55 and older. They planned to meet five times to see whether the organization would gel. They've been meeting and working together for neighborhood causes ever since.
Jane Ridley, 75, was out of breath, just arriving home from making a grocery delivery. "I have a back problem, but I do what I can," she said. Others, she said, do much more.
Rachel Harris, 71, has been on the receiving end. "5-5-5 is bringing food to me," she said. "It's slow for me to get around."
While Emmaus House is making sure its neighbors have food, its neighbors are helping Emmaus House create and maintain community, even in times of pandemic.
Volunteer Mark Laster lives in the neighborhood, works part-time at a local funeral home, and helps run the food pantry in his off time. "We try to make sure we have what people need," he said. "I try to make sure they're happy and they make sure I'm happy. We're like one big family. Customers, too."
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Several St. Bede's regulars subscribe to-
and like! - these e-publications. To stay up to date on activities throughout the
Diocese of Atlanta, sign up for the e-newsletter, Connecting.
You can also
sign up to receive For Faith, which is a weekly devotional message from Bishop Rob Wright sent by email on Fridays. To sign up for either or both,
click here
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Quick Links
To schedule events,
please contact our
Muriel Diguette
For the weekly
lectionary readings
visit:
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