The Bridge

June 2, 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

The William's Farewell Party

June 3, 2023

Everyone is invited to a party honoring our good friends Laurie and John Williams, tomorrow, Saturday, June 3, starting at 5:00 PM. We will meet at Steve Kriechbaum's home, 12633 Cinchring Lane. Bring a dish or beverage to share, along with many good wishes for Laurie and John.

Juneteenth Kickoff

June 4, 2023

This Sunday, June 4th, The Rev. Valerie Mayo, Director of Becoming Beloved Community at the Seminary of the Southwest, will be our guest preacher and teacher. Please join us to learn more on what it means to be a beloved community and how we at St. John’s can continue our commitment to become a beloved community.

MINISTRY OF THE WEEK

Hispanic Choir

The Hispanic Choir ministry at St. John’s Episcopal Church seeks to share the word of the Lord through beautiful music. The Hispanic Choir is open to individuals, families and musicians that would like to praise and worship God during the 1:00 pm Spanish Service. We also enjoy joining our talents with the choir during special services and other events. You can contact Alfonso Hernandez at 512-579-6598 to join this ministry.

2023 Summer Camps

AUSTIN GIRLS’ CHOIR DAY CAMPS

May 30-June 2 (advanced) and

June 5-9 (general)

Camps will be held in the Parish Life Center of Ascension Lutheran Church

For more information click here: https://www.girlschoir.com/summer-camps/

The Episcopal Church has a Rite of Reconciliation (Confession). Please use this button to schedule an appointment with

Mother Minerva for Reconciliation.

Schedule a appointment here

Pauli Murray Scholarship Fund

We will celebrate the Feast Day of Pauli Murray on Sunday, June 25. The offering collection on that day will be dedicated to the Pauli Murray Scholarship Fund of the Seminary of the Southwest. In addition to the Sunday offering, you may make a donation by sending a check or making an online donation. In the past two years, our donations have amounted to more than $700 to $900.

The scholarship fund expands opportunities for low-income African American students and other students of color to attend the Seminary in preparation for priesthood in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The scholarship provides financial support for living expenses for these seminary students.

The scholarship fund is named for the Rev. Pauli Murray (1910-1985), a woman of truly remarkable energy, vision, and accomplishment. She was a pioneer and groundbreaker in many different fields of endeavor. She was an early civil rights activist. Her life included many “firsts” – including the first African American woman ordained to the Episcopal clergy, a co-founder of the National Organization for Women, and the original author of legal arguments later used to desegregate public schools in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The candles in the Mary's corner are free to anyone.

Feel free to use them as needed.

Save the Date

Family Afternoon

June 11, 2023

Our next Family Event will be on Sunday, June 11th at 2:30 p.m. The goal is to have family friendly events once a month which will range from educational activities to fun activities. This event will allow us to get to know each other better and for our kids to have a good time. We will have food and a soccer match for everyone to join. Come and join us celebrate all the Wonderful Father’s!

Neighborhood Follow up Meeting

June 13, 2023

On June 13, at 6:30 p.m. the St. John's Action Teams will be coming together with people who attended our neighborhood meeting to develop concrete next steps to address some of the issues that were raised in the neighborhood walk and at the neighborhood meeting. If you are interested in working to address issues important to our community please join us. If you have any questions contact Mother Minerva at revminerva@austinstjohns.org

Birthday Bash

June 16, 2023

Our Birthday Bash potluck lunch celebration will be held Friday, June 16 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Note that the location has changed since we do not have use of the Parish Hall. Michael and Susan Davis invite everyone to their home:13109 Broughton Way. We are just north of Parmer lane. So bring a dish to share and come to an overdue celebration. The Davis's will provide plates, silverware, and napkins. It would be advisable to car pool from the church parking lot at 11:15 a.m.

Juneteenth Field Trip

June 17, 2023

As we continue our celebration of Juneteenth, on Saturday, June 17, we have a great field trip planned. Last year we had a fun and educationally charged experience during our visit to the Carver Museum. Their displays tell the story of the true Black American Texan experience, as the history evolved over time.

Because the exhibits change often, we're going back again. This year will be a bit different because the museum is hosting a Live Art Show with local artists displaying and talking about the inspirations behind their art pieces. It should be a festive occasion. We will all meet at the church to carpool over at about 3pm.

Choir Potluck and Hymn Sing,

June 22, 2023

Everyone is invited to join the choir for a potluck supper followed by lots of singing of old favorite hymns, June 22 starting at 6:00 PM.

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.

Let's also be good stewards of our land and recycle! There will be signs in the Narthex with items that are recyclable.

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

Go to our website to download the 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. - in person in the church (nave).

This Sunday, June 4th, The Rev. Valerie Mayo, Director of Becoming Beloved Community at the Seminary at the Seminary of the Southwest will be our guest preacher and teacher. Please join us to learn more on what it means to be a beloved community and how we at St. John’s can continue our commitment to become a beloved community.

A WALK THROUGH PROVERBS

STARTING JUNE 11

with Fr David Beer

You probably know a few proverbs such as “Many cooks spoil the broth” or “Look before you leap.” In this class we’ll look at the Old Testament book devoted to such wisdom: the Book of Proverbs. This book consists of seven collections of short sayings from different periods of ancient biblical history. The book teaches practical wisdom for all of us at every stage of life, using everyday illustrations to convey moral, ethical, or spiritual principles.

We’ll discuss the origins of the proverbs, their authors, and their meanings for us today. We’ll also see how they differ at times from what we usually think a proverb is. Bring your bible (any version) and look forward to discussing how these sayings relate to us and our world. I look forward to seeing you! Fr David

Please contact Henry Welles for more information.

Cornerstone Literary Circle -

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Cornerstone will take a break for 2 weeks. We will not meet on May 31st or June 7th. When we return on June 14th we will be reading and discussing Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.

Please contact Laurie Williams for more information.

Zoom Link to Cornerstone Literary Circle

Meeting ID: 865 2855 1870

Passcode 446185

Wednesday Night Bible Study

7:00 to 8:30 p.m. (Please note the time change)

To commemorate Juneteenth, the Racial & Social Justice team is hosting the Wednesday night classes with presentations 0n Restorative Justice.

We're excited to announce two guest speakers for this series: The Honorable Cliff Brown, Presiding Judge for the Travis County Criminal Courts, and Mr. Eddie Mendoza, Consultant for Restorative Justice.

Class Schedule:

June 7 - Theology of Restorative Justice, Deacon Victoria
June 14 - "One Man's Story", Ms. Paula Foy
June 21 - Reconciliation & Forgiveness, Mr. Eddie Mendoza
June 28 - Restorative Justice in Travis County, Judge Cliff Brown

The class meets via Zoom:

Zoom Link to Wednesday Night Class

Meeting ID: 886 3246 7047

Passcode: 980365

Please contact Henry Welles for more information.

Thursday Morning Bible Study

10:00 a.m. - Thursday

Thursday Morning Bible Study continues in our hybrid format at 10:00 a.m., via Zoom and in the narthex. We begin meeting the women of the New Testament and will hear what these women have to say to us. We will find many of them more familiar than the Old Testament women were, and look for both similar and very different themes.

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 the Parish Office.

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.

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!

Fill out a pledge card here!

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.