The Bridge

January 13, 2023

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

Here are two members of St. John's who are interested in serving on the Vestry

HENRY WELLES

I began attending services regularly at St. John’s Episcopal Church in May 2018. I sing in the choir, participate in adult Christian education, and store empty garbage and recycling cans for future use. A retiree from Texas government, I spent decades as an adjunct instructor with Park University. I have degrees from Centre College and the University of Texas at Austin. I consider my marriage to Sandy Welles for more than 40 years to be my proudest achievement. We have two adult daughters.

MARY ANNE O'BRIEN

Here are the three St. John's members who are interested in serving on the Diocese Council

CATHERINE TURNER

Perhaps you don’t know me. I am a window and a former teacher with long-ago degrees in English from Penn State and UT-Austin, now retired from one of the high schools in a suburban district near Houston, I like to travel. I love St John’s.

Probably you already do know me from somewhere around the church—Altar Guild, Thursday Bible study, greening of the church—or in some previous group like the refugee ministry or a Scared Ground study group. I like to learn and I like to fill in the unintended gaps around St John’s, the spots where there is a need and no one is filling it. One of those gaps is often in the delegation that St. John’s sends to Diocesan Council each February.

I would be honored to serve again as one of St John’s delegates to Council in February. We sit, we listen, we pray, we vote, we eat. We do it all again the next day. I’m good with that.

CARLOS LUGO

My name is Carlos Lugo I was born in Acapulco Guerrero Mexico. I am 40 years old and I have a family that is everything to me, my wife that I've been married for 22 years and 2 children. I have been an Episcopalian for 13 years, I am a reader, I am part of the council, I like to support the Spanish Music and in everything that my gifts can, I love music, technology and I really enjoy playing soccer, I firmly believe that as parents we have a great mission and this congregation helped me guide my children in love, compassion, and respect for other human beings.

SANDRA WARD

As a cradle Episcopalian, I was raised in a solid environment, infused with the spirit of the Lord and just pure faith. Although, my mother was raised in the Baptist faith, she converted to Episcopalian and was determined to raise her children as such.

I have a B.S. Degree in Computer Information Systems.

I joined St. John’s in 2005. From that day forward, I hit the ground running, head first into an active church congregational life. I have and continue to participate in a number of ministries. I have served on the Vestry for at least three terms, from 2007 to the present. I served as Sr. Warden under Rev. Matt Sedona; currently I serve as a Verger; Eucharist Reader and on the Media Team as a Zoom Host.

Currently, I proudly serve as President of our Daughter’s Of The King church chapter. I participate in our Pastoral Care Ministry. I am a facilitator for Sacred Ground, as well as, a member of our Racial & Social Justice Team.

Stewardship Campaign

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.

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

Parish Annual Meeting,

Sunday January 29

St. John’s Annual Parish Meeting will be held in the church on Sunday, January 29, at 11:30 AM. The meeting will be hybrid, and you may use the 10:30 AM service Zoom link to participate remotely. Please plan to plan to be there to learn about our accomplishments in 2022 and our plans for 2023!

WE WILL HAVE A MODIFIED SERVICE SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

9:30 AM- Holy Eucharist– Rite I with Music

11:00 AM– 11:30 AM Coffee and Fellowship in the Narthex

11:30 AM– 12:45 PM Parish Annual Meeting in the Church

1:00 PM – Santa Eucaristía Rito II

1-on-1 Training with CTI, Monday February 6

St. John’s members are invited to join CTI on Monday February 6th from 6-7:30 pm for a training on conducting individual "one-on-one" meetings - a key organizing tool to listen to one another, build and strengthen relationships within an institution.

For more information contact Monique Vasquez, monique@centraltexasinterfaith.org, 520-248-8853 or RSVP here. Location to be determined.

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 Narthex 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.

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

9:45 a.m. - Sunday

Sunday Morning Bible Study will resume this Sunday, January 15. The class starts at 9:45 am in the Church Sanctuary (Nave).Mother Minerva will lead lectionary Bible Study.

Please contact Mother Minerva for more information.

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 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

10:00a.m. - Thursday

"Good Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise” — without more emergencies, Thursday Morning Bible will resume on January 19, at 10:00 a.m. in the narthex and via Zoom. We will be continuing with Bible Women, aiming to complete the book before any more problems arise. Thanks to Bill Cox for enabling us to Zoom from the narthex and Mary Anne for continuing opening doors and turning on equipment. Pray for clement weather and equipment free of bugs!

Meeting ID: 821 5253 7149

No passcode is required

Zoom Link to Thursday Morning Bible Study

Please refer to our website www.austinstjohns.org 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.