Don’t miss the opportunity to buy RAFFLE TICKETS right now so that I might have the honor of taking you to lunch! The SILENT AUCTION begins this Sunday. You can spend all week outbidding your friends and family for your favorite activity, item, or service! You can enjoy the VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION from the comfort of your home on September 18th! Tom will no doubt entertain us and you all are welcome to participate in the friendly competition of the live auction. 

Please remember those who need your daily prayers. Prayer requests may be sent to [email protected].

The Prayer List can be accessed here.

Before you can bid, you will need to register at: https://ourfundraiser.link/FallGala2021. This is case sensitive. Since this is a new event, you will need to register even if you participated last year.

Click here for more details on how to participate.

On Sunday, September 19 after the 10 AM service there will be Acolyte training for both current acolytes and new acolytes. It is time to welcome new recruits, brush up on your skills and learn new ones. If you are interested in this ministry please contact Peter.

Sacramento-based KCRA3 News has compiled a list of organizations aiding people affected by the disastrous Dixie and Caldor fires in the northern half of California. Generally, organizations request monetary gifts rather than in-kind items. The charities, including the Red Cross, offer many kinds of support, including housing for the displaced, care for animals fleeing the fire, and care for firefighters and other first responders. Learn more here.

On Sunday, August 29, sixteen years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Ida made landfall in the same region. This Category 4 storm brought flooding and damaging winds that caused a loss of water to hundreds of thousands and a loss of electricity to over 1 million people. Episcopal Relief & Development is working closely with the Diocese of Louisiana and other regional partners in what will be a long-term response. Your generous gift will help alleviate suffering for the most vulnerable residents impacted by Hurricane Ida. Please visit episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief to make a gift today.

If you are interested in learning more about this ministry and providing support please click here..

On Saturday, August 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the southwest portion of Haiti. This devastating earthquake was followed by Tropical Storm Grace on Monday night and much of Tuesday. More than 1 million people, including more than half a million children, have been impacted by the back-to-back disasters, and the death toll is close to 2000. Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners are responding immediately with direct assistance to vulnerable households in the region, as partners plan long-term recovery. Your generous gift can provide assistance to help people in the wake of these disasters. To assist in these efforts, visit episcopalrelief.org/haiti-relief.

The Peace & Justice Committee invites you to participate in the Episcopal Church’s Sacred Ground series, a film-based dialogue series on race and faith. This year, our newly formed committee is focused on educating ourselves and interested others in our congregation in peace and justice issues in our community. This series is one way in which we will do that. We also plan to invite guest speakers from different organizations starting in the fall. The second session will be on 9/15 from 5-6:30 p.m. If you didn’t make the first session, you an still participate.

• Sacred Ground is a sensitive, prayerful resource that creates space for difficult but respectful and transformative dialogue on race and racism.

• It invites participants to walk back through history in order to peel away the layers that brought us to today, reflecting on family histories and stories, as well as important narratives that shape the collective American story.

• It holds as a guiding star the vision of beloved community – where all people are honored and protected and nurtured as beloved children of God, where we weep at one another’s pain and seek one another’s flourishing. 

Everyone is welcome to participate. We ask you to watch the video and read the recommended documents prior to the discussion sessions, but if you can’t finish the pre-work, please feel free to join us anyway. Please click on this link to sign up for the Zoom discussion sessions and we will send out the invitation a day or two before we meet.

Here is the link to the materials we’ll be discussing. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground/welcome

The case-sensitive password is: ThisIsSacredGround

The Peace and Justice Committee will also be sponsoring a Zoom meeting with Irvine’s Mayor Khan on October 4 from 5:30-6 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from the mayor about our local peace and justice issues.

We will be meeting virtually for our book group at 11 AM on Weds. We will be discussing the book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham. The book is widely available.If you would like to be part of this group, please contact the office and we will add you to the group. Newcomers are welcome. Noonday Prayer follows the Book Group Meeting.

Upcoming Food Bank dates are Wednesday, September 8; and Monday September 15.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 3:00 p.m., currently via Zoom. Prayer Shawl news goes out monthly to all interested. Some ministry members who cannot attend the monthly meeting knit or crochet shawls and prayer cloths at home. If you are a newcomer to Prayer Shawl, please contact Sharon Brooks at [email protected]. 

The Men's Group meets virtually on the third Saturday of the month. Please contact Peter is you are interested in joining.

In a time of uncertainty, it can be challenging to find time for quiet and reflection. All are welcome to join Stillpoint in a half hour of Centering Prayer any weeknight from 5:30-6. A link and more information on the practice is available at stillpointca.org/still-points. 

In his recent letter to the Diocese, Bishop Taylor has asked us to pray that vaccination rates will pick up. If you have not been vaccinated and are looking for a vaccine site near you, you may use this link and simply type in your zip code: https://www.vaccines.gov.

Orange County has the third largest Asian population in the country and Irvine has the largest number in the county. The rise in hate crimes against those of Asian heritage is alarming and unacceptable and we can do our part to stop such acts. California Penal Code 422.55 defines a hate crime as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim. This includes:

The City of Irvine has created a portal to report hate crimes. If you become aware of a possible hate crime, you can call the Irvine Police Department to report it or complete the report on the portal: https://records.cityofirvine.org/OnBaseWebClientStdUF/UnityForm.aspx?key=UFKey

If you know of someone in our church family who is sick, in the hospital or in need of pastoral care please notify the office or clergy.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office via phone 949-559-4699 or by email [email protected].

The Rev. Peter Browning, Vicar

Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church