The Bridge

May 26, 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

Thank you all for an exciting Bishop’s visit. All the hard work that went into this celebration was well worth it. I was told that Bishop Doyle shared the good time he had at St. John’s with the diocesan staff. He was also very complimentary of the good work that we are doing living into our mission.

Our successful bishop’s visit would not have been possible without so many people’s involvement. I want to give special thanks to Maria Alonso and her team who helped organize the reception: Maria Nuñez, Lugo-Rodriguez family, Margarita Hernandez, Juan Colunga, Rafael Hernandez, Andrade family, Patricia Mata, Oscar Riojas and his daughter Liliana, Alonzo Hernandez, and Adan Saiz. Thank you also to all the people that brought the delicious food. A big thanks to the Cobos family who came out to make sure that our grounds looked their best.

The Altar Guild led by Catherine Turner had everything ready for our special feast day. Anne Faithful did a beautiful job coordinating our readers, ushers, and acolytes to give a good representation of our whole congregation. The vergers came out in full gear to help shepherd us through the various moving pieces of our special service. Thank you Sandra Ward for the special role you played. As always, the choir led by Philip Riley pulled all the stops. What a gift to have the two choirs and praise band join together for this special celebration. Thank you Alfonso Hernandez for selecting songs in Spanish that we could all sing along. I hope you all noticed how clear our sound system worked on Saturday. Thank you Marvin Rasmussen for upgrading our microphones.

Thank you also to Fay Jones for helping in the preparation of the candidates. Her knowledge of the history of the Episcopal Church and of St. John’s Episcopal Church helped our candidates gain a deeper appreciation of who we are. A special shout out to Nancy Mangham who did a lot of the behind the scene work to get our bulletins ready and even came to help mow our lawn. I am grateful for MariaAngie, our parish administrator. She helped facilitate purchasing all our supplies and coordinated between the various people who were helping with our bishop’s visit. She was often the hub helping people communicate with each other as they navigate two languages.

No bishop’s visit happens without the commitment and attention to detail of Bill Cox. As soon as the date was finalized for our bishop’s visit, Bill went to work. He worked hard to craft the beautiful bilingual service bulletin with all the moving and changing parts. Crafting the bulletin is more than simple word processing. Bill can only create the bulletin if everyone else does their part. Bill is instrumental in helping all of us come together (i.e. herds us cats) so we can all be in sync and ready for the service. Thank you Bill for your patience and always making us look our best.

It is always a risk when I start thanking people because I might forget naming someone. I apologize in advance if I left someone out. I want all of you who made this special day possible to know how grateful I am for you and all you do for our congregation. It is an honor for me to serve in ministry with you.

Blessings,

Mother Minerva

MINISTRY OF THE WEEK

Christian Formation

The Christian Formation ministry at St. John’s Episcopal Church seeks to help congregants learn and grow as best they may through exposure to scripture, the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), and tradition. Scripture is an important source of development for Christians. An easy way to think about scripture is to regard God as the principal figure in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ as the principal figure in the Gospels, and the Holy Spirit as the principal figure in the rest of the New Testament. The old and new testaments form the foundation of our faith.

Episcopalians have used (BCP) in their worship services since the sixteenth century, a span of almost 500 years. The language and liturgies in the BCP form a timeless source for Episcopalians as they practice their faith.

As members of the broader Christian community, Episcopalians are heirs to a rich history of Christian tradition expressed through art, music, literature, and in other venues. St. John’s Christian Formation ministry seeks to form its congregants in all these ways. Please contact Henry Welles at 512-565-7404 for more information.

Bring your WIC shopping list and WIC card to Mobile Market this Sunday, May/28, from 11 am - 1 pm and get $30 for fresh produce in addition to your WIC benefits. More information, visit the link or call (512) 730-1807

https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/food-access/wic-voucher-program

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

Feel free to use them as needed.

Save the Date

The William's Farewell Party

June 3, 2023

Everyone is invited to a party honoring our good friends Laurie and John Williams, on Saturday, June 3, starting at 5:00 PM. We will meet at Steve Kriechbaum's home,

12633 Cinchring Lane. Bring a dish and beverage to share, along with many good wishes for Laurie and John.

Juneteenth Kickoff

June 4, 2023

On Sunday, June 4th The Rev. Dr. Valerie Mayo, Director of Becoming Beloved Community at the Seminary of the Southwest. She 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.

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!

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 will be the last day we discuss the Book of Acts. This class will last from 9:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m. It will involve a presentation plus discussion.

Sunday, May 28 -- Acts 21:17-Acts 28:31.

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 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

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.

The Episcopal Church has a Rite of Reconciliation (Confession). Please contact Mother Minerva to schedule an appointment for Reconciliation.

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.