The Bridge

December 30, 2022

The Mission of St. John’s is to be a community of God’s people who heal brokenness, build bridges, and exemplify borderless kindness.

Events and Announcements

Dear St. Johns Community,

Merry Christmas Season and Happy New Year! Most of you have already heard that we had water lines break in the attic of the parish hall which caused a mini flood. We are not able to use our parish hall and we do not have water throughout our campus. However, I can still say Merry Christmas Season and Happy New Year! Why, you may ask. The way the community of St. John’s responded to this unfortunate event remind me of how blessed I am to be part of a faith community that is committed and shares generously of their time, talent, and treasurer.

I want to give you all an update and thank the people who are working hard to repair our parish hall and those that in the meantime make it possible to continue doing ministry.

Kevin Flegal, St. John’s Jr. Warden has worked tirelessly since Friday late afternoon. Kevin has worked with a company to extract the water from the parish hall and try to dry out most of the areas that were affected. He is working with a plumber to see when the earliest date we can get water restored to our campus. He has filed a report with our insurance and will be meeting with the adjuster and a contractor next week. He has done this right in the middle of the Christmas Season when most companies and employees are closed for the holidays.

Steve Kriechbaum, St. John’s Senior Warden, has been stepping in helping Kevin and the rest of the teams. Mike Davis and Hal Hughes, members of the Building and Ground Committee deserve special thanks. Mike Davis found the water leak when he came to the church grounds to inspect our building for damage. Thanks to Mike’s attentiveness, the parish hall was spared from even more damage. Hal Hughes came over right away and turned off the water with a special tool. They supported Kevin during those first hours to assess the damage and come up with a game plan and are still providing support.

Meanwhile, our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service continued as planned. The choir led by Philip Riley once again provided our liturgy with beautiful sound and voice. The Altar Guild led by Catherine Turner had done all the set up before the water line broke so everything was ready for Saturday evening. With the Altar Guild ready to improvise, they brought in water to take care of the vessels after each service and be ready for Sunday’s Christmas Service. The vergers led by Bill Cox and tech team of course rose to the occasion. They were there ready helping everyone and making sure that our technology was ready to accommodate those who were joining virtually. They even set up a temporary office in the choir room.

Although the church office was scheduled to be closed through Tuesday, January 3rd, the vestry and treasurers are making sure that pledges and donations are being recorded and deposited. Marie Angie, our parish administrator, is working with the liturgical team to make sure we are ready for Sunday Service to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name.

We will continue to carry on and serve our community which is the St. John’s way. Please thank the people who are caring for our property and continuing to do their ministry during this time, and please pray that we will be able to repair our parish hall soon and restore water to our buildings.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday and serving with you as we start a new year together.

Blessings,

Mother Minerva

Important Announcement

On Sunday at 2:15 p.m there will be an emergency kitchen cabinet clean up. The cabinet wall between the refrigerator and the sink needs to be accessible to repair the damage in the men’s bathroom. This requires the top and bottom cabinets on that wall to be emptied.

Please come and collect any items that you might have left in the kitchen and would like to have back. There are many items in these cabinets that the church has not used in many years. This clean up will be an opportunity to sort through the many items that have accumulated. Items that are not needed at the church will be donated.

REMINDER:

If you are interested in serving in the St. John's Vestry or representing St. John's at the Diocese Council please email Mother Minerva at revminerva@austinstjohns.org by

December 31st.

Stewardship Campaign 2022

We are very thankful for the generosity

If you haven't already pledged please fill out a form from the narthex or parish hall, or press the button below. If you need any assistance please talk to Maria Angie.

Please bring your pledge card on Sunday or mail it to

P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493

Fill out a pledge card here!

Save the Date

The Epiphany of our Lord, January 5

The Epiphany of Our Lord, is the traditional end of the Christmas Season. We will observe the Epiphany on the evening before, on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m, with a hybrid Holy Eucharist service.

Baptism of our Lord Celebration,

January 8

We will have our traditional Trifles and Rosca Party after the

11:00 a.m. service and 1:00 p.m. service. Join us as we sample some traditional and not-so-traditional but always delicious treats! If you have never made a trifle, or if you have and wish to use your imagination, please feel free to bring your creations to share. We will have “king cake” too!

Ungreening of the Church,

January 8

What goes up, must come down! We will ungreen, undecorate, put the church back to "normal" Sunday, January 8th at 2:00 pm. We invite any and all who can be with us to help - many hands make light work. We will especially need "strong young men" to climb ladders and carry boxes back to the Annex.

Our Community

Farmshare Austin

Sunday, from

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Come shop for fresh, delicious, and affordable fruits and vegetables, local eggs and honey, and a variety of pantry staples!

The market accepts cash, credit, debit, SNAP, and Double Up Food Bucks.

Coffee and Fellowship

The parish hall is open for coffee and fellowship after each Sunday service!

Thanks to our volunteers who make the coffee, set it up, and clean up after.

If you would like to bring snacks, you are invited to do so, and to take home left-overs and dishes after coffee hour.

Worship at St. John's

Our Sunday morning worship and education schedule:

8:30 a.m. - The Holy Eucharist Rite I (English)
9:45 a.m. - Adult Christian Formation Class
11:00 a.m. - The Holy Eucharist Rite II (English)
1:00 p.m. - La Santa Eucaristía Rito Dos (Spanish)

To participate in our virtual Sunday services, you do not need to have a Zoom account or download Zoom. Simply click the link to join.

Zoom link for 11:00 a.m. service

Meeting ID: 879 9502 6837 No passcode is required

Click here for the Online Bulletin

You may also join the service by telephone - dial (346) 248-7799 and enter the meeting ID when prompted. Meeting ID: 879 9502 6837

The video recording of the 11:00 a.m. service will be posted on the St. John's Facebook page, YouTube, and the St. John's website later in the day. Additionally, recordings of the English and Spanish sermons will be available. Links to the recordings will be posted on our website (www.austinstjohns.org).

Christian Formation

Sunday Morning Christian Formation

Sunday Morning Bible Study will be cancelled until further notice.

Cornerstone Literary Circle -

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Cornerstone Literary Circle is taking a brief hiatus for the holidays, but will start up again January 4th with a gripping new work by Javier Zamora entitled Solito. The New York Times reviewed this book in September and October this year. The Times said, “Zamora writes in such a way that you never forget that this harrowing journey is being experienced by a child … In telling this story from a child’s perspective, describing his surroundings with plainness, presenting his survival without bluster, he reveals the true horrors of migration.”

If you would like to join us for this book discussion, please contact Laurie Williams.

Zoom Link to Cornerstone Literary Circle

Meeting ID: 865 2855 1870

Passcode 446185

Wednesday Night Bible Study - 7:00 p.m.

We return to our regular schedule on January 4th and will study the lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday:

The class meets via Zoom:

Zoom Link to Wednesday Night Class

Meeting ID: 886 3246 7047

Passcode: 980365

Thursday Morning Bible Study

We will return to our regular schedule on January 12th and will meet in person and via Zoom on Thursday, at 10:00am.

For more information, please contact Elaine Jackson .

Link to Thursday Morning Bible Study

Meeting ID: 821 5253 7149

No passcode is required

Please refer to our website www.austinstjohns.or or to the Christian Formation email sent every Tuesday for more information and links.

Ministries

Wednesday Morning Grounds Crew

For more information about this ministry, please contact Kevin Flegal.

Labyrinth Community Garden

To learn about how our Labyrinth Community Garden serves the community, or for information about obtaining a bed in the Garden for you and your family, please contact Patty Arnold.

Card Ministry

St. John’s Episcopal Church is starting a new card ministry that will involve sending handwritten cards to our members who are suffering illness and/or bereavement.

Please let Henry Welles, Sandra Ward or Christi Crow know if you have a need or if you know of someone who does. Thank you.

Caring for

Each Other

For Prayer and Pastoral Care

If you find that your situation is causing financial, spiritual, or emotional difficulties, or if you are in need of food, do not hesitate to email Mother Minerva.

We are a church family; when a family member needs assistance we want to try and help that member.

Click on the link below for Prayer for Ukraine.

Prayers for Ukraine

Donations

Please visit our website (austinstjohns.org) for other ways to make a donation.

Please send mail to the Church post office box:

St. John’s Episcopal Church

P. O. Box 81493

Austin, TX 78708-1493

If you are having problems with the online donation system, please contact the treasurer at Treasurer@austinstjohns.org and someone will help you resolve the problem.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO ST. JOHNS. THANK YOU!

Gathering Policy

Masks are optional on the St. John's campus. The CDC guidelines highly recommend that all persons who are not fully vaccinated wear masks while indoors. Thank you for your cooperation in these efforts to keep our St. John’s community safe and healthy.

Austin-Travis County's COVID-19 Community Level is currently low.

For more information: Austin Public Health

Submit to the Bridge

You are invited to send pictures and articles to the Bridge! Please note the deadline: Noon, Wednesday preceding the Friday of publication.

Send to mariaangie@austinstjohns.org with "For the Bridge" in the subject line. Be sure to note the date of the issue in which you want to publish the information or article.