The Bridge

September 9, 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.

Warden's Corner

Warden's Corner

I hope everyone is doing well here at St. John’s. I just wanted to thank all of you wonderful believers in Jesus for your continued support. It has meant so much to me the way you have reached out to me after the sudden passing of my beautiful bride Deborah. Your continued prayers have lifted me up and made it possible for me to move forward. Thank you so much.

On another topic I want to congratulate you on your continued support and pledging in these very trying times. As part of the Stewardship committee and as a Vestry member I just want to say thank you. Whether you place monies in the plate or you pledge the gift is always welcomed. Your support allows us to continue our ministries here within the church and outside the church. Thank you again.

I want to let you know what is happening with the Jamacia festival which will be on Oct. 15 from10am to 5pm. We are in the process of organizing the various activities which will take place. We will have music, food, games and a raffle. This should be lots of fun and I urge you to get involved. We will need many hands to bring the festival to fruition. If you are interested in getting involved you may reach out to me. My cell phone no is 512-7913823. I will do my best to with everyone help to make this a great event. Maria Angie is making us a flyer so be on the lookout. God Bless you all.

Steve Kriechbaum

Notices and Activities

A Brief History of the Jamaica Festival

How did a church festival get the same name as an island nation in the Caribbean?.

The name itself is old and mysterious. Indigenous people living in the Jamaican islands already had a name for their home when Christopher Columbus first arrived. They called it Xaymaca. The word has been in use for a long time. That word has other meanings in Spanish. For one, jamaica is the name of the hibiscus flower. And the name of an herbal tea made from dried hibiscus.  “Agua de jamaica” is the name for hibiscus tea in Spanish.

For unkown reasons a jamaica (hah-MY-kah) has come to be known as a church fundraising event in the form of a fair or a street festival. Jamaicas are popular in Latin countries and in various parts of the US, particularly those with a Southwestern flavor. In some churches the event is linked to a celebration of Mexican Independence Day in the fall or Cinco de Mayo in the spring. Rosalinda Rodriguez observes that Jamaica is the word used for a kermes (festival) or fundraising sale for a charity: that word is used to say that it is like a fresh, voluntary activity, which can be as rewarding as giving a drink of water from that same plant ,since the flower of Jamaica has a beautiful red heart color and is used for several things: water, tea, quesadillas, jams.

 At St. John’s the Jamaica (Hah-MY-kah) festival has been a BIG fundraising event each fall (except during COVID). In years past, it was named Fall Festival or Fiesta, and is now called the Jamaica Festival. Everybody in the church pitches in and helps prepare, set up, run the various events, and clean up afterward. Food, drink, fun, and sweets are sold at modest prices. There is a Cake Walk. Watching the children have fun is part of the entertainment for adults.

What to do: 

• Say “yes” when asked to help with advertising, make signs, sell tickets (used in place of money), donate baked goods, help setup booths, tents, or equipment; direct parking, work a shift at one of the events, or the biggie—clean up late Saturday afternoon and reassemble for “Sunday normal.”
• Invite your family, friends, neighbors with children—anybody who might like to get out of the house on a pretty October day.
• Hang out at the Jamaica Festival for a bit. We are all workers, participants —and hosts to the neighborhood. You belong here. So do I. This is OUR thing!

When is the 2022 Jamaica Festival? 

Saturday, October 15^th from 10 am – 5 pm. 

* Photo of Hibiscus flower, tea, and dried for from Wikipedia

Welcome Luis and Marie Rivas

Luis is a Middler (second-year student) at Seminary of the Southwest here in Austin, TX. He is married to Marie, and they live in North Austin with their 2-year-old poodle, Bear. Aside from being a seminarian, Luis is a craft coffee aficionado, a tech enthusiast, and when it is not too hot outside, an enjoyer of hiking trails and disc golf.

Before going to seminary, Luis worked as the Youth Minister at St. Michael’s in West Austin, where he first worked with Mother Minerva. “I am excited to join St. John’s community and experience a multi-cultural, neighborhood parish. I believe the future of the church is as an expression of local community-building and as reflective of the growing diversity in our society, so I am honored to walk alongside St. John’s for the next two years and learn from the ways in which this community embodies these two characteristics.”

New Christian Education Offering Sundays

Aug 28-Oct 2

St. John's Adult Christian Education team is presenting a six-part series based on Welcome Homeless, a book written by Austin philanthropist Alan Graham with Lauren Hall. Graham started Mobile Loaves and Fishes to feed the Austin homeless. He also helped organize Community First! Village to give shelter to homeless Austinites. Each hybrid session will occur from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m on Sundays starting August 28th.

This Sunday, September 11 -- We will have stories and Bible verses related to two homeless people profiled by Graham.

September 18 -- stories and Bible verses related to two homeless people profiled by Graham;

September 25 -- Update on St. John's team working on affordable housing;

October 2 -- Speecial Guest,  Walter Moreau from Foundation Communities 

Diocesan Initiatives in Spanish Ministry

The diocese will soon add a Spanish version of the Diolog newsletter, in addition to establishing a stronger Spanish web presence. The goal is to also increase subscribers from Spanish-speaking congregations. To subscribe to our Spanish publications, please click the button below. 

Neighborhood Walk September 17th

We will be walking the St. John's neighborhood on Saturday, September 17th from 9 am- 12 noon to introduce ourselves to our neighbors. We will get to know them, and they will get to know us, and we will have an opportunity to let them know about upcoming events in October. Stay tuned for more information to come.

Blessing of the Animals October 2nd

Sunday, October 2nd from

3:00-4:30 pm we will have our annual blessing of the animals. The service will begin at 3:15 pm.

The Bishop is Coming October 9th

The Bishop will be at St. John’s on Sunday, October 9^th. Classes for those interested in baptism, reception or confirmation will be on Sunday, September 11^th, 18^th and 25^th from 2:30 – 3:00 pm. If you have questions or would like to sign up, please contact Mother Minerva.

Daughters of the King Installation

St. John’s Woman at the Well Chapter of the Daughters of the King will install four new members on Sunday, October 23^rd at the 11am and 1pm services. If you are interested in learning more about the Daughters of the King contact Lisa Shirah-Hiers.

St. John’s Talent Show

St. John’s will hold our annual talent show on Sunday, October 23^rd at 6pm in the church sanctuary.  Come share your talents and bring ice cream to share afterwards!

Sunday Morning Christian Education

St. John's Adult Christian Education team is presenting a six-part series based on Welcome Homeless, a book written by Austin philanthropist Alan Graham with Lauren Hall. Graham started Mobile Loaves and Fishes to feed the Austin homeless. He also helped organized Community First! Village to give shelter to homeless Austinites. Each hybrid session will occur from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Meeting ID: 840 2173 3267

Passcode: 295084

Cornerstone Literary Circle -

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Ann and Glenda are hosting the next book.  It comes in 3 formats.

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century 

Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook – June 30, 2020  by Alice Wong 

Our hosts have provided a syllabus for this. So if you have not been part of Cornerstone before, but would like to join us as Ann Foxworth and Glenda Born host the reading, please contact Laurie Williams so that she can send the syllabus to you.

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

We will study the lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday:

• Amos 8:4-7
• Psalm 113
• 1 Timothy 2:1-7
• Luke 16:1-13

The class meets via Zoom: