Good Samaritan, Van Gogh, 1890 - museum in Otterlo, Netherlands

Fr. Ben will not be celebrating Holy Eucharist as he has been

exposed to Covid-19 this past week.

9:15 - Adults - Morning Prayer & conversation in Pearson Hall

10 a.m. prayer service in person & streamed via Facebook Live.

Coffee hour following the 10 a.m. service.

412 resolutions were filed for the four-day 80th General Convention, which begins July 8 in the Baltimore Convention Center. In a mere 22.5 hours of legislative sessions, the House of Deputies also needs to elect a president and vice president, and both houses must approve the Episcopal Church’s budget for the next two years, which currently tops out above $100 million. Even with an extra six hours of “as needed” evening session time in the schedule, it’s going to be very tight, and probably exhausting. (Note: Kevin Babb is attending the convention as a delegate from our Diocese.)

In response to concerns about COVID transmission, far less time is set aside for social gatherings and joint informational sessions of the Houses of Bishops and Deputies than was common in the past. But each of the four days will have at least an hour of worship, as well as two-hour breaks for lunch and dinner (since attendees complained so forcefully about boxed meals). Theoretically, legislative committees can meet, especially to iron out differences as legislation makes its way through both houses, but finding time for that won’t be easy.

For comparison’s sake, the last General Convention, in Austin in 2018, considered 540 resolutions, but bishops and deputies had 11 days to do it, and 43.75 hours of legislative sessions, almost twice as much time.

The 2022 convention’s 28 committees have been holding online hearings since February to receive testimony about the 412 resolutions. Since the shortened convention timeframe was announced in mid-May, they’ve also been trying to winnow down the number of resolutions that will make it to the floor for debate, using stringent guidelines including the questions: (1) “Would this resolution require significant floor time for debate that might not be available at the 80th General Convention?” and (2) “Could this resolution be addressed at the 81st General Convention without significantly impeding the church’s ability to respond to God’s mission in the next two years? Would it benefit from more study?” ( Continued at this Link. )

New kitchen flooring will be installed by Vallow beginning Monday, July 11, but the installation of carpet tile for Pearson Hall has been delayed for a few weeks. Consequently, the parish hall furniture will not need to be moved out after coffee hour tomorrow, July 10. The installers will be working in the kitchen on Monday and Tuesday and possibly some of Wednesday so the kitchen will not be available until Thursday. Hopefully, the carpet tile will be installed in a few weeks and definitely before the end of August.

Our annual school supply collection for the Glen-Ed Pantry will take place from July 17 until July 29. Look for the basket in the Parish Hall. Consider the items below, including Target gift cards for older students to buy supplies. Gift cards can be purchased after Sunday services at the Scrip table. Needed items per the Glen-Ed Pantry:

At the other end of the card return, LL Bean cards cost us 16% less than face value.  The parishioner who purchases a $100 LL Bean card gets $100 in purchasing power, and St. Andrew’s gets $16. The scrip program makes it possible for Outreach to support events and needs outside the budget. The Rector’s Discretionary Fund uses cards, and we were able to make a $2000 contribution to the Renovation Fund for Pearson Hall.

$100 Dierberg’s cards are always available and give us 2% return. We typically have Starbucks, Panera, Kohl’s, Walgreen, Target and BP cards available in varying denominations. Gift cards make good birthday gifts for family and friends who live a distance away. They make great stocking stuffers at Christmas. An AMC theatres card can be a nice surprise for a friend. Or for oneself. St. Andrew's gains either way.

Deacon Mark has suggested that we might want to think about having a few cards from local fast food places to give to needy people we see standing at intersections. Often we want to help them but prefer that any donations go for food. Most fast food cards come in smaller denominations. Subway, Arby’s, Taco Bell, Wendy, Burger King and Dairy Queen are a few of the sites for which we can order cards.

If you have questions, please stop by the Scrip Table after the service.

-Fredna Scroggins