Austin Public Health is encouraging everyone to wear a mask and stay at home as much as possible. With that in mind, if you are not vaccinated or you are at high-risk because of medical issues, we encourage you to come to the 10:30 service via Zoom. The Zoom link is also provided further down below.

Meeting ID: 879 9502 6837

The Waiting Room is enabled for this event and is monitored by the Host of the day.

Please note: In order to minimize background noise, everyone except those people who have an active role in the service will be muted. You are invited to put personal prayer requests into the "Chat" to be read at the appropriate time during the Prayers of the People.

The video recording of the 10:30 a.m. English 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).

Donations: We learned from RST that the immediate need is for VISA cards, hotel cards, and financial donations. For the moment, there are two ways to make a financial donation:

2)   Use this link to the Refugee Services of Texas - Austin web page: Refugee Services of Texas, click on “Amazon Wishlist” and select the appropriate VISA card amount. For your convenience, click here to go directly to the wish list: RST Wishlist

Refugee Shed: RST placed a hold on receiving furniture and household goods until they assess what they may need. In the meantime, we need to clear out the items in the Refugee shed to make room for the items that will be needed the most by refugee families. We scheduled a workday to inventory and assess which items will be kept, donated to Goodwill, or thrown away. We would like to empty the shed as much as possible to make room for new donations.

Needs: We need plastic bins to organize the items in the shed. We need a couple of trucks (and their drivers) to haul items to either Goodwill or the dump.

Contact Person for the Workday: Mary Anne O’Brien graciously offered to be the contact person for this event.

For general information, contact Deacon Victoria or Laurie Williams.

Saturday, October 2; 8:00-11:00 A.M.

The vestry and the diocese have approved the proposed new bylaws for St. John's. At this meeting the congregation will vote on the proposed new bylaws. The bylaws are available here (St. John's Proposed Bylaws). A summary of the changes is here (Summary of Changes).  

To participate in this meeting join us on Zoom at (Parish Meeting). We have scheduled the meeting at 11:45 a.m. so people will have enough time to get home if they are worshiping in person.

If you have questions, please contact Elaine Jackson.

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

As the weather becomes more comfortable, this would be a good time to join the grounds crew as they continue their efforts to keep the St. John's campus looking great! They start about 8:00 a.m. and finish about noon.

If you have questions about this ministry, please contact Hal Hughes.

If you are interested in obtaining a bed for you and your family, please contact Patty Arnold.

September 15 kicked off National Hispanic Heritage Month. It runs thru October 15. For those of you unfamiliar with Hispanic Heritage Month, it is a time when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States and celebrate the group's heritage and culture. Hispanic Heritage Week was initially approved by President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period.

Latino/Hispanic ministries in the Episcopal church continue to grow rapidly. We are known for our love of great food made with wonderful spices and fresh ingredients, our colorful textiles, our happy music and our culture centered around familia. If you have ever attended an Episcopal service in a largely Latina/Hispanic congregation, you know that we extend familia to anyone within our reach. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 because several Latin-American countries celebrate fiestas patrias – national holidays celebrating their independence) we want to introduce some of the work being done by líderes around the church.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. Proverbs 31:20 

"Eternal God, hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. There is a profound humanitarian crisis. Countless people, mostly women and children, are now fleeing and vulnerable. The lives of many are now endangered. The hopes of many are forgone. Send your Spirit, Lord, to rally the resolve of the nations of the earth to find pathways to save human lives, protect human rights, and to resolve the hardships of those seeking refuge, asylum, and safety. Hear our prayer for the peoples of Afghanistan. This we pray as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen."

The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations has released an Action Alert to Evacuate and Resettle our Afghan Allies (click here or the button below to read the action alert).

For other ways to support The Episcopal Church’s efforts to resettle and provide direct assistance to our Afghan allies, please visit Support our Afghan Allies

Cases and hospitalizations continue to increase in Travis County as new variants, such as the Delta variant, spread throughout the community. For Stage 5, High-risk vaccinated people as well as for partially vaccinated and unvaccinated people, private indoor gatherings are not recommended at all, with or without masks.

Full recommendations and to see the new Risk-Based Guidelines charts regarding actions for vaccinated and unvaccinated/partially vaccinated individuals please visit the City of Austin COVID-19 website. 

Free COVID-19 testing is provided by CVS Minute Clinic and Walgreens (click on the name to access more information).

Although the third dose of Moderna (and second dose of J&J) COVID vaccines has not yet been approved (except in certain cases), there is a lot of discussion around this subject. For an in-depth look, use this link:

The CDC has approved an additional COVID shot for cancer patients and immunocompromised people. Auro Pharmacy has notified us that they are giving this additional shot to eligible people (cancer patients and immunocompromised people) who had the Moderna vaccine. There is a questionnaire which must be completed to determine eligibility.

 (512) 206-3150

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 call Deacon Victoria (512-297-5953) or email Mthr. Minerva (RevMinerva@austinstjohns.org).

Please visit our website (Austin St. John's)

You are invited to send photos and stories about yourself, your family, and our parish for inclusion in The Bridge. As we come back together, let's share our experiences! Please send your ideas, stories, and photos to Fay Jones, (newsletter editor) by 12:00 pm on Wednesdays.

9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I

10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II hybrid (in-person & Zoom)

 1:00 p.m. Santa Eucaristía, Rito II

For more information about St. John’s Episcopal Church, please visit our website at www.austinstjohns.org