St. Augustine’s is joining forces with three Episcopal churches in Evanston (St. Luke’s, St. Mark’s, and St. Matthew’s) to participate in this program together. It will begin in September, with five sessions in the fall and six in the spring. Discussion groups will be made up of people from the four parishes. The hope is to have in-person meetings, but there will probably be hybrid and/or Zoom options as well. 

Next Sunday, June 26, we will share in a joint, 5-parish lakefront worship service with our neighbor Episcopal congregations in Evanston (St. Andrew’s-Pentecost, St. Matthew’s, St. Mark’s, and St. Luke’s), held at 10:00am at Evanston’s Elliott Park (the Lakefront at Hamilton Street). This joyful celebration will include shared leadership from the 5 parishes. No service will be held on-site at St. A’s on June 26. We are looking for a few parishioners to help serve as ushers and greeters at the lakefront service, alongside counterparts from the other parishes. If you are available to serve, please contact Nadia.

June 26th Open Plate Collection: The June 26th open plate collection (donations not specifically designated for one of the five churches) will support the local reparations effort in Evanston. Funds will be directed to the Evanston Reparations Community Fund, the fiscal agent for Reparations Stakeholders of Evanston. This fund was created to augment the City of Evanston’s vital, history-making reparations effort, a first step in mitigating the generational harm done to Black people in our country and in our community since their founding. You may contribute by giving cash or by writing a check to the Evanston Reparations Community Fund. Please consider giving generously.

We will transition to our summer worship schedule starting July 3:

Even though the choir is on hiatus for the summer, we still have a need for special music to enhance our Sunday 9:30am (10:00am starting July 3rd) Eucharists. Prelude, Offertory, and/or Communion music is needed each week, and we would be pleased for you to participate in whatever way you would like. If you have a musical gift that you would like to share with the parish, please contact Martin Kehe, our Associate for Music (music@staschurch.org).

Our June collection will be delivered to St. Cyprian's Food Pantry in Chicago. In addition to regular food items, they would also appreciate donations of books, pet food, shoes and household items. Your donations can be left in the hallway by the Community Events bulletin board on Sunday mornings or during regular office hours (Tues-Wed-Thurs, 8:30am-4:30pm). Donations must be in sturdy bags and contain no glass. Thank you for your generosity! Questions? Please contact Mary Jacobson or Martha Jacobson.

The next meeting of St. A's book group will be held on Thursday, July 14, at 7:15pm. We will discuss A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza. The meeting will be held both in the parish lounge and on Zoom (pw: lacroix). Everyone is welcome, even if you haven't participated in one of our previous meetings. The only requirement is that you have read the book, or at least a good portion of it before the meeting. Contact: Sue Nebel.

Starting July 3rd, Lemonade on the Lawn will be held at 9:15am on Sunday mornings between the 8:30am and 10:00am services. This will enable attendees of both services to share in coffee, lemonade and fellowship together. If you would like to sign up to host Lemonade on the Lawn, please click here or email our Parish Administrator, Theresa Kimball. For Hosting Lemonade on the Lawn guidelines, please click here. If you have further questions about hosting, please contact Martha Jacobson. Please consider helping with this fun, easy and welcoming fellowship this summer!