This weekend St. Anne's will be making room for 35-40 employees of the sister facility to our local nursing home, Rehab Center of South Georgia to rest and sleep in our Parish Hall when not on duty caring for their patients who are being evacuated from Brunswick to the Tifton nursing home facility. Meals and places for showering will be managed in the nursing home facility, and the evacuees will be bringing their own personal belongings and bedding. 

They will be arriving on our campus Thursday afternoon with a departure date unknown at this time. 

We are asking for the generous members of St. Anne's to consider being a volunteer on site, available in 4-8 hour shifts during the day (all day Saturday and possibly Sunday afternoon) and 2 volunteers to spend the night (Friday and Saturday nights) to be available for any unforeseen needs of our guests that may arise. We are also asking for some to bring an offering of soft drinks, bottled water and simple snacks or fruit we can offer them during their off-work time. 

Our guests will need to sleep during their off time, some during the day so they can work night shifts, so traffic in the parish hall should be kept at a minimum while they are on our campus, affording them the best opportunity possible for sleep. 

Please contact Emily in the office or Rev. Ellen to sign up for day or overnight shifts to stay and to bring snacks, so we can coordinate our efforts of hospitality.  

Prayer for Travelers  

O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel during this storm; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey's end; through Jesus Christ out Lord. Amen.  

Book of Common Prayer

 

St. Anne's has been blessed with beautiful grounds and terrific facilities. Over the past few years, we have realized that these blessings are not our own but should be shared with others. Cub Scout Pack 366, Family Promise, hurricane refugees ( see above): when we say yes to any of these, we are saying yes to God.

Now, a new opportunity to say yes has arisen.

Last month a young pastor named Juan Piñeda visited my office. Juan has a small congregation, Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Latinoamericana, which currently meets in a storefront next to Dairy Queen. As you can imagine, that setting is less than ideal for their ongoing worship needs. 

One day Juan happened to meet a St. Anne's parishioner who said, "You should ask our priest if our church could allow you to use our facilities." He did just that, and from the very start it seemed like a good fit. After conferring with the wardens, the vestry, and our diocesan office, we have decided to say yes and to welcome Pastor Juan and his congregation to use our facilities on a weekly basis .

Their weekly schedule will include:

• 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays: Bible Study in Ministry Center room 102
• 7-9 p.m. Fridays: Worship in Little St. Anne's
• 2-4 p.m. Sundays: Worship in Little St. Anne's, Sunday school in the Ministry Center, and occasional use of the Parish Hall

All financial offerings from Iglesia Pentecostal Unida will be used to a.) offset the cost of utilities and b.) go toward the Building Fund for the Ministry Center.

If you happen to see Pastor Juan and his congregation on our grounds, please extend a warm welcome. God has blessed us richly. What a blessing it is to welcome others to share in it with us.

Stewardship season is upon us, a time to reflect on how each of us can support the work of the Church and give back to God a portion of what he has given us.

Pledge cards are being mailed out this week. The Stewardship Committee asks that you prayerfully consider your pledge in the coming days, and return your card by October 30 by mail or by collection plate. Thank you for your love and generosity.

Spiritual Poetry: A Doorway Into Thanks

Poet and spiritual writer Mark Nepo has said that "poetry is the unexpected utterance of the soul." The same words we use to go to work and to school, to do the dishes and pick a fight, can become charged with Spirit. How this happens is a mystery; yet when it does we can see opening before us what Mary Oliver calls "a doorway into thanks."  This week Mark Richardson will lead this class which meets in Room 206 of the Ministry Center in looking at a selection of poems that are charged with a sense of spiritual life, including this one by Oliver: 

Praying

 It doesn't have to be the blue iris,  it could be 

weeds in a va cant lot,  or a few 

small stones;  just 

pay attention,  then patch 

a few words together and don't try 

to make them elaborate, this isn't 

a contest but the doorway 

into thanks, and a silence in which 

another voice may speak.

------------------------------------------------

Pilgrim

Our series called  Pilgrim is produced by the Episcopal Church and includes prayer, scripture and discussion as we explore more deeply the basics of the Christian life through the promises of our Baptismal Covenant found in the  Book of Common Prayer.  Reverend Ellen Richardson will lead this session  in Room 102 of the Ministry Center which asks "Do you repent of your sins?"  

St. Anne's Annual Parish Meeting  will be held immediately following Eucharist in the Parish Hall. The primary purpose of the annual meeting is to elect four new Vestry members and to hear reports on the mission and ministry of the Parish from the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry. This year's Vestry nominees will be published in this Sunday's bulletin.

 

Adopt a Mile this Saturday

Come join your fellow St. Anne's parishioners this Saturday, October 8, as we do our part to keep our community beautiful by picking up roadside trash on our mile of Whiddon Mill Road between I-75 and Carpenter Road.  Bring your garden or work gloves.  Trash bags and grabbers will be provided.  

Meet at 8:30 am in the parking lot of the Georgia Museum of Agriculture. Come spend an hour getting your exercise being good stewards of our world!

Family Promise of Tiftarea will meet at St. Anne's on Monday, October 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ministry Center, Room 102. Family Pro mise is a 501c3 organization dedicated to keeping children with their family while helping the family to become sustainable.   Please come, and invite your friends.

 

Remember: In the event of a scheduling conflict, lay ministers are responsible for finding their own replacements and for notifying the church office of changes.

Want to see further ahead? A full schedule showing several weeks in advance is viewable at www.stannestifton.com/schedule.

St. Anne's celebrated the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, considered the patron saint of animals, on Wednesday with a Blessing of the Animals in our Memorial Garden.  See more photos from the event at:

St. Francis Blessing of the Animals