The Bridge

April 14, 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

Several people have received an email or a text stating that Mother Minerva needs gift cards. This is a SCAM! Do not respond. Please ignore and delete these messages. Mother Minerva would never ask for anyone to buy gift cards or send her money via text or email.

Neighborhood

Walk Training,

April 17, 2023

We will be having a Neighborhood Walk Training on April 17th starting at 6:30 p.m. to prepare for our Neighborhood walk. We are hoping this training makes us feel comfortable and teaches us to be safe during our neighborhood walk. The training will take place in the Nave

CALL TO ACTION

CALL YOUR STATE REP AND SENATOR TO OPPOSE BRINGING BACK CHAPTER 313 “VAMPIRE FUND” OR ANY SCHOOL-BASED TAX GIVEAWAYS

Central Texas Interfaith and allies stopped the reauthorization of the failed Chapter 313 program in the 2021 Legislative Session. Chapter 313 is Texas’ largest corporate welfare program, which drained over $1Billion/year in potential school funding and gave it to major oil, gas, and manufacturing corporations. Now industry lobbyists want to bring Chapter 313 back from the grave, like Dracula, in the form of House Bill 5 (HB5) and Senate Bill 1926 (SB1926 ). We urge you to call your representatives’ offices today and ask them to vote AGAINST HB5 and SB1926 and any legislation that takes money from schoolchildren to line the pockets of wealthy corporations.

Use the link to find your Senator or Representative, then contact them TODAY!

Click here to find your Legislator

Central Texas Interfaith

Central Texas Interfaith and Texas IAF were front and center at the Texas legislature on Monday to testify against the harmful Chapter 313 rewrite styled as HB5. Dracula (CTI leader Ev Lunning) also stepped up to the podium to place a spotlight on the bill’s disastrous back-from-the-grave effects on taxpayers, schools, workers, and the environment.

Read the full articles here

Plan to revive Texas' corporate tax breaks adds more lucrative incentives, eases job requirements.

House proposal to replace Chapter 313 economic incentive program excludes clean energy

Upcoming Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, or Affirmation Classes

If you are interested in these classes please contact Mother Minerva

NEWCOMERS CLASS

On Sunday, April 30th at 2:30 PM new members and visitors are welcome to learn about St. John's and the Episcopal Church. This class is bilingual. We will talk about the history of St. John’s, give a tour of the campus, and share what it is to be an Episcopalian. If you are interested in the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, or affirmation please join us this Sunday.

BAPTISM CLASS

On Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. we ask anyone interested in the Sacrament of Baptism to continue the conversation. We will focus on the Sacrament of Baptism in preparation for baptisms on May 20,2023 and May 28, 2023. If you are interested in the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, or affirmation please join us this Sunday.

A message from our Seminarian

Luis Rivas

My last day will be Sunday, April 30 before the summer vacation. I will be back in August. I wish you all a very safe and fun summer.

See you in August!

Announcements

If you have a important announcement for the congregation please let Maria Angie know before Wednesday at noon if you would like it to be in the bulletins or newsletter.

Save the Date

Birthday Bash, April 21, 2023

Our Birthday Bash potluck lunch celebration will be held Friday, April 21 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 carpool from the church parking lot at 11:15 a.m.

Neighborhood

Walk,

April 29, 2023

We will be walking the St. John's neighborhood on Saturday, April 29th 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. Stay tuned for more information to come.

Kids Block Party,

April 29, 2023

Save the date for a fun-filled day of Storytime, live music, and crafts at the Central Library. Recommended for ages 3 and up. Look for a full schedule soon!

Click here for more information

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

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. - in person in the church (nave).

We will study the lectionary for this week.

Please contact Mother Minerva for more information.

Cornerstone Literary Circle -

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Cornerstone Literary Circle has just finished reading "Solito" by Javier Zamora.

The next book will be "Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent" by Isabel Wilkerson. A reviewer for the NYTimes wrote: "Wilkerson’s book is about how brutal misperceptions about race have disfigured the American experiment. This is a topic that major historians and novelists have examined from many angles, with care, anger, deep feeling and sometimes simmering wit."

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

10:00 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.