September 6, 2019

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Our Sunday School Launches This Sunday Many have been working behind the scenes all summer to prepare. We are using a curriculum called, Brick by Brick , which uses Legos to tell Bible stories. Imaginative play is the best way to learn.

We have seven teachers. They have been trained in our curriculum and in safety procedures. Most of us went to St. Columba's in Marathon to learn from the Rector there. The rest are being trained this week in Key West.  Also in August we spent the day along with many other community organizations at The Kids Show at the middle school to promote our Sunday School. We talked with more than a hundred parents about our new Sunday School.

The parents were interested, and our Lego table was one of the most popular tables at the event. Some kids played for hours, a very good sign.  The room in Holy Innocents Hall is ready. The carpet has been cleaned, the room has been spruced up and decorated.  On this Sunday, September 8, we will celebrate children at 9:30 with a liturgy designed for their participation. Afterwards, there will be a bouncy house, face painting and snacks for kids. Parents and children can tour the room and sign up for the classes that begin the following Sunday.  Please make a point of showing appreciation to Michelle Garcia. Her leadership has been essential in this effort. She has recruited others, empowered them and equipped us to begin this new initiative. We are in her debt. We still need your help. It's not too late to sign up to teach. We need donations to defray the costs of this launch. We need you to invite friends, family and neighbors. And most of all, we need your prayers for this initiative. May God, "without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy," bless these efforts and help us bless children in Key West.  Thanks, Fr. Steve xxxxxxxxxxx steve@stpaulskeywest.org P.S. We need Lego sets from our Amazon wish list. You can help by clicking the below link to order Lego figures: https://www.amazon.com/…/2MODO8QLFL…/ref=bnav_topnav_lists_1 Ship to: St. Paul's Church xxxxxxxx 401 Duval Street xxxxxxxx Key West, FL 33040

Sundays Beginning Sep 22, at 8:30

Now that our Sunday School for kids is getting going, it is time to turn attention to the Adult Form. As I wrote last month, we never graduate from this school. Spiritual growth is always continuing education.  The topic beginning in September will be Spiritual Practices and Spiritual Growth. I am delighted that Susanne Woods has agreed to teach this with me. This summer's forum used the Way of Love curriculum developed by the Episcopal Church, but we found that, while it raised good general points about types of spiritual practices, it was pretty thin on the actual practices themselves. So Susanne and I will be choosing a group of practices that interests participants. Then we will explore them in detail, actually practice them together, and consider how these practices shape and transform us.  The Adult Forum will start up again on September 22, but at a new time. It will take place  between the services , starting promptly at 8:30 AM, ending at 9:15. Note that this is a change from the forum time this summer. By rescheduling it between services, people from both services can participate and coffee hour after the second service can be uninterrupted.

Bishop's Hurricane Appeal In light of the devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas, SE Florida Diocese Bishop Peter Eaton is asking all parishes to contribute to relief efforts that will direct critical aid to individuals and families. He has set a goal of $50,000 to raise by next week. See Bishop Eaton's appeal here

Hurricane Prep at St. Paul's xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx By Fr. Steve

This is my first time living in a hurricane zone. I know that much of this will be familiar to you, but it is all new to me. I am working to get up to speed on hurricane preparedness.  Two weeks before Dorian formed, the staff and Vestry took a close look at our Hurricane Plan. We reviewed it and made a few changes. We then began to get caught up on what we needed to have in place at the beginning of the season. We started just in time! For we were soon thereafter "in the cone" of Dorian.  Here is some of what we have done: Taken a video of all of our interiors Planned for how to back up all electronic files and then did it Labeled essential files and records to be moved to higher elevations Clarified expectations Created checklists for the preparation of all buildings and the grounds Located all shutters and hardware  Secured a contractor to do preparations  Recruited volunteers to be ready to do the final work to secure St. Paul's in the event of an evacuation order Once we were in the cone of Dorian, we realized that if there were an evacuation order, parishioner volunteers would have limited time to give. We decided to put up the shutters for the second floor and hard to reach locations, so that if we had to evacuate, we could complete the pre-hurricane plan in approximately two hours with volunteers. After all, we all have our own homes and families to worry about.  Many thanks to Terry Garcia, our Junior Warden. He has been through this many times and brings both wisdom and a cautious approach to this sensitive issue. Thanks to the Vestry for working on this. Thanks especially to Tim and Isabel for going above and beyond expectations to oversee initial preparations. While this season is nerve wracking for this hurricane newbie, I am comforted by the care our leaders have shown in the past two weeks.

Music Notes xxxxxxxxxxxxxx By Tim Peterson

Southernmost Chamber Music Society (SCMS) operates under the St. Paul's umbrella as part of our cultural mission to the Keys community. St. Paul's provides SCMS with a performance venue and serves as a vehicle for donors to make tax deductible contributions. In return, SCMS attracts a broad pubic following to St. Paul's and also makes a generous annual contribution towards our church's operating expenses. Starting this month, as a courtesy, all parishioners will receive the SCMS newsletter. In July, SCMS purchased a movable 10' X 12' platform so that concert artists will be elevated and thus more visible during their performances. The platform has arrived and is now set up in the parish hall in readiness for the upcoming performance season which begins Nov. 21st. See photo here After a reconditioning, the 7' Yamaha grand piano should be back in church in about a week Chancel Choir starts up on October 20

Know Your History

When and for which of the 4 St. Paul's churches was our chime of bells produced? Separate from St. Paul's, what is the recent and very important commission the bell foundry received? XX Answers XX  Also of interest, see Angel Voices , a history of our bells.

Expanded Email List We have been reviewing our electronic mailing lists for accuracy and completeness and found that several of those lists could be consolidated. This has resulted in a single considerably expanded list, even after removing duplicates. However, some on the list may be outdated or inactive entries. Others may go to recipients by mistake or to those who no longer wish to receive St. Paul's emails . Over the next few months, we'll further refine the list. In the meantime, if you prefer not to receive our emails, scroll down to the bottom of this email and click, "Unsubscribe" to be removed from our list .

Reminders Adult Forum starting Sep 22 at 8:30, between services Get the Sunday Bulletin   here   and always on our  website The Epistle  is a monthly May - Oct and weekly Nov - Apr Back issues of  The Epistle  available  here Send questions and comments to the editor  here

Tel. (305)-296-5142 | Pastoral Emergencies (317) 414 4194 Email: info@stpaulskeywest.org | Visit our website Office Hours: M – Th | 8 – 3 PM, Closed 12 - 1 and Fridays ‌