In this Edition:

• This Sunday  
• Upcoming Community Forums
• Diocesan Confirmation Service - April 29
• Mission Area Gathering
• Remembering Amara Strande
• Cinco de Mayo Variety show - sign up!
• Newcomer Brunch
• Beacon Interfaith Housing
• Faithful Innovations
• Job Posting - We're seeking a part-time Sexton!
• Beckmann's Bike Brigade
• MCSQ Concert
• Justice Collaborative Event
• Wonder Women Happy Hour
• Loaves and Fishes
• Women's Camping Trip

Have an announcement you would like to share in this weekly email?

Send it to office@stdavidsparish.org before noon on Monday to be featured.

Note, this is an updated deadline as we continue to grow our active ministries and communications, we need more time to put together this email! Thank you!

Church this Sunday

8:00 and 9:30 service of Holy Eucharist

There will be Children's Time during the 9:30 service.

We will continue to Facebook Livestream the Sunday 9:30 service and upload to YouTube to accommodate those who choose to stay home.

10:45-11:30 Community Forum

State of the Vestry, with our Wardens, Allison Ferro and Diane Curley

Upcoming Community Forums

Sunday, April 30

State of the Vestry, with our Wardens, Allison Ferro and Diane Curley

Sunday, May 7

Youth Led Sunday - World Cafe style discussion about children and youth ministry

Sunday, May 14

Social Time (Mother's Day)

Sunday, May 21

Newcomer Celebration Brunch

Sunday, May 28

Social Time (Memorial Day Weekend)

Sunday, June 4

Safety Plan 

Diocesan Confirmation Service - April 29

You are invited to attend the service of confirmation with Bishop Craig Loya at St. Mark's Cathedral at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 29th.

Two of our own at St. David's will be getting confirmed. Please hold Chloe Johnson and Owen Kuyper in prayer as they finish their confirmation journey and enter into a new stage and expression of their faith.

Our own Roger and Monica Stratton will be offering their music for the service!

Mission Area Gathering

Beloved in Christ,

All Episcopalians living and worshipping in the Central Western Metro areas of the diocese are invited and encouraged to attend our spring mission area gathering!

Each spring, we gather in mission areas across the diocese to meet one another, pray together, share stories, and hear from the Bishop and our Council representatives. This year, our gatherings will focus on being rooted in Jesus. We'll hear from the Bishop and have a chance to share with one another about the ways that faith-based relationships have helped us grow our faith. These gatherings will connect us as one church in many places across the diocese, inviting us into deep conversation and sharing. 

All clergy, lay delegates, and lay leaders of faith communities in the Central and West Metro mission areas are encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Central & West Metro Mission Area Gathering

Saturday, April 29, 9am-12pm

St. Mark's Cathedral, 519 Oak Grove Street, Minneapolis

Register here.

Following the mission area gathering, a celebration of Confirmation for folks from across ECMN is scheduled at the Cathedral at 2pm, all are invited. You can learn more here.

AGENDA

Refreshments will be served beginning at 8:30am

Welcome and Introductions

Everyone shares their name, faith community, and what you love most about Spring in Minnesota.

Dwelling in Scripture

Story Sharing and Discussion

Bishop Loya will offer 2 stories that reflect the importance of small groups in his own faith formation journey, and we will reflect together at tables on a time in your life in which a small group of people was meaningful to your growth and development.

Faith Community Sharing

Each faith community will have a chance to share what they’re longing for, wondering about and where they are experiencing green shoots of life and growth in their community. Faith communities are also encouraged to reflect on small group ministry in their congregations - what they have tried, and what small groups have yielded.

Noonday Prayer

Please register today, and share this invitation widely with those in your communities! You can find a bulletin insert to help share this invitation more widely by clicking here.

Faithfully,

Your Mission Area Teams

Remembering Amara Strande

For the past several years, we at St. David’s have been praying for Amara Strande, daughter of The Rev. Dana Strande, in her struggle with cancer. It is with great sadness that we share the news that Amara died last week. See below for information about her funeral arrangements.

Amara was a talented and passionate musician. If anyone is interested in singing with the choir for this event, contact Roger Stratton (rstratton@stdavidsparish.org).

Thursday, April 27, 2023

4-7pm Visitation

7-8pm Stories of Remembrance

Friday, April 28, 2023

12:30pm Visitation

2:00pm Commendation for Eternal Life. An Ecumenical Breaking of the Word and Bread Service

3:30 Burial to follow at the church cemetery.

3:30 Reception and Fellowship

All events will be held at

Guardian Angels Catholic Church

8260 Fourth Street North

Oakdale, MN 55128

651-738-2223

Livestream available at https://www.guardian-angels.org/funeral/

Memorials to the family

Variety Show on Cinco de Mayo

Youth Led Sunday - May 7

Join us for worship, May 7th at the 9:30 service, for a special youth-led service.

Youth grades 6-12 will be preparing and practicing to share their favorite songs, readings, baked goodies for coffee hour, and leading us in the forum. We'll even have our own Owen Kuyper preaching the sermon!

This Sunday will also be the day we celebrate our high school graduates. Please join us in this celebratory day!

Newcomer Welcome Brunch - May 21

In Luke 9 Jesus says, If the people there do not welcome you,

Shake the dust off your feet when you leave

 As a testimony against them.

And so we welcome all who come to our doors. Twice each year St. David’s welcomes all newcomers and also all our old friends to a welcoming brunch in the undercroft after a Sunday service. In May, on the 21st we invite all of you to join us as we welcome newcomers, visitors, and new members.

We need help in planning, preparing and serving this brunch. We're also looking for more folks to join the Newcomer Ministry Team for upcoming efforts. This would be a not-too-demanding commitment and even the shortest or smallest contribution of your love and time would be appreciated.

Please email Gervaye Parent at GJP1963@yahoo.com for suggestions, questions and to volunteer. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

If you are a newcomer, visitor, new member, or returning-after-time-away member, in the last year, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/aMhtfmi1Bpah2KmU6

Beacon Interfaith

Beacon Interfaith Housing in Hopkins!!

Vista 44 Groundbreaking and Reception

May 3 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Many people at St. David’s have supported the proposed housing development in Hopkins called Vista 44.  It has been several years in the planning process and is about to become a reality! 

Here is the Beacon invitation:

“We are excited to be creating 50 new homes for families at Vista 44 in Hopkins! Please share in the celebration with us at a groundbreaking program for Beacon’s newest family supportive housing, followed by a reception nearby.

Speakers will include Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho, Hennepin County Commissioner Chris LaTondresse, and Anjuli Cameron from the Metropolitan Council.

Your pre-registration is appreciated so we can ensure there are ample refreshments at the reception.  

https://www.beaconinterfaith.org/event/vista-44-groundbreaking-and-reception/

If the weather is nice we will meet at the Vista 44 construction site, located at 44 - 12th Avenue S, Hopkins, MN 55343 for a program, before moving to a reception at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, MN 55343. 

In the case of inclement weather, we will meet directly at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. An email will be sent at least an hour prior to the event if we are activating this inclement weather plan.

If you have any questions, please contact Heidi Mastrud at hmastrud@beaconinterfaith.org. 

Faithful Innovation

By now you are familiar with the parish activities connected to our involvement in Faithful Innovation. The Lenten Program, “What might God be Up to At St. David's?” is complete and we are turning our attention to the next phase, getting out into our neighborhood. But did you know that we are supported by a whole network of diocesan and interdenominational innovators? 

The St. David's guiding team is being trained and inspired by Blair Pogue, Canon for Vitality and Innovation with ECMN. In addition to diocesan support, our guiding team is connected to Luther Seminary's Faith+Lead team, a group that provides an ecosystem of resources. (find the link at Luthersem.edu), 

Three Members of this Faith+Lead team at Luther have just published a book, Leading Faithful Innovation, Following God into a Hopeful Future by Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, Tessa Pinkstaff.  

To celebrate the book launch, the Faith+Lead team at Luther presented a Webinar in which the authors, along with panelists Holly Rankin Zaher and Matt Short, discussed the hopeful work of faithful innovation.  

You can view the Webinar here:  https://vimeo.com/819909532

St. David’s is Seeking a Part-time Sexton

We are looking for someone willing to work 17-20 hours a week taking care of our building, arranging furniture as needed for services and programs.  A position description that lists responsibilities and expectations can be found on the home page of our website at:  www.stdavidsparish.org  or by contacting us at staffing@stdavidsparish.org

Beckmann's Bike Brigade

The Bike MS: Twin Cities Ride is back for another year.

The formal event will be in St. Paul on Saturday, May 13^th. Beckmann’s Bike Brigade (B^3) has decided to model after previous successful outings and will hold our own ride on Saturday, May 13^th in Minnetonka.  

For those who are newer to Westwood, we ride to support our own Dan Beckmann, who lives with MS. Through the miracles of modern medicine, Dan has been able to juggle a full work and family life despite the disease. Dan will be the first to say this event isn’t about him, it is about supporting a community of friends and family members who have been impacted by MS and working towards a cure.

For the event in May you have the option to sign up as a full participant through MS Society webpage. This allows you to fundraise on your own, yet be included as part of our greater team. Since we’re organizing our own version of the ride, you also have the option of simply showing up and riding with us on the 13^th….without formally signing up.  

This provides the opportunity for more folks to informally join the ride and simply donate to the team without paying a registration fee. My 7-year-old is planning to give it a try this year, so feel free to bring the kids and make it a family affair. This will be pretty informal, so just drop me a note chris.carda@westwoodps.com or call (612-209-2616) before the event (the day before is still not too late) for planning.

We’ll plan to meet at Westwood’s parking lot.

Westwood is where Dan Beckmann and Chris Carda Work

12701 Whitewater Drive, Suite 300

Minnetonka, MN 55343

We’ll meet at the SE side of the building for a 9:00 departure on Saturday morning, May 13^th. We’ll ride the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail to the southwest for about 7.5 miles to Lake Riley and then turn around and go back to Westwood (15ish miles total). We’ll supply Yo-Yo Donuts for all to enjoy at the end of the ride. The trail is hard-packed gravel, so plan accordingly with your bike. If it looks like a complete washout with rain, we’ll hold Sunday, May 14^th (same time and place) as a backup.

You can sign up for the team here. Our team name is Beckmann’s Bike Brigade.

If you can’t ride, but would like to donate, click here.

MCSQ Concert

Mill City String Quartet Concert

Sunday, April 30, 7:30pm in the St. David's Sanctuary

Please join us for a free concert of Martinu's "Serenata II," Puccini's "Crisantemi," and Brahms' "String Quartet No. 3." These three powerful pieces are sure to delight and lift your spirits as we welcome spring! 

Justice Collaborative Event

Please join us in the Undercroft on Tuesday, May 9 at 7pm for a discussion with Ricky Kamil from the Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative www.beaconinterfaith.org. Mr. Kamil will be discussing homelessness and race. From the Beacon website, "Encampments of people without a home are again growing. Racial disparities in housing continue to harm communities of color." Mr. Kamil will also be giving us an update on Vista 44, the affordable housing development in Hopkins that St. David's raised $13,000 to help fund. If you want to learn more about Vista 44 on your own, Beacon is hosting a Zoom event on April 26 to discuss this project in detail. You can find the info on their website, mentioned above. Beacon is also hosting a Groundbreaking and Reception for this project on May 3 at 4pm.

A huge thank you to Daniel Romero and Priscilla Hagerman from the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) for their incredible and heart moving presentation on April 11 about "Asylees, Refugees, and the Undocumented." They encouraged the church to develop an Immigration Justice Team that could volunteer with MCC, sponsor a refugee family, discern to learn more about immigration policies, or work to have St. David's be a Sanctuary Church. If you'd like to be a part of creating this team, email huldah.violin@gmail.com If you missed the presentation or just want to learn more you can visit https://www.mnchurches.org/ 

Huldah Niles, Chair, Justice Collaborative

Wonder Women Happy Hour

Attention all St. David’s Women! 

The St. David’s Wonder Women will be hosting a social gathering each month during the summer (weather permitting on our patios & porches & decks!) Please join us for drinks & appetizers and a time to socialize. Plan to bring an appetizer or snack to share and if you have a favorite drink, that too. Beer/Wine/non-alcoholic options will be provided. 

We hope to see you this summer! 

5:00-7:00pm

May 12th (Huldah Niles)

June 8th (Joann Allen)

July 6th (Susan Taylor)

August 10th (Ann Carda)

Loaves and Fishes

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.  I was a stranger and you invited me in. 

St. David’s is expanding our presence at Loaves and Fishes at St. Gabriel’s in Hopkins.   We will be taking the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Monday of the month in addition to our quarterly 5th Tuesday. Loaves and Fishes moved to a cook and package method so not as many volunteers are needed. Two for cooking with the L&F coordinator from 3-5 and two to package and serve from 4:30 to 6:30. 

Please contact Sue or Basil Owen to sign up. Sue’s cell is 612-716-1945. Basil’s cell is 612-716-0683 or email at bowen3@fastmail.com

Upcoming dates 

• Tues May 9th
• Mon May 22nd
• Tues May 30th 
• Tues June 13th

Wondering if you can volunteer as a family or if there are other opportunities besides St. Gabriel’s?  The Loaves and Fishes page might help you.  Volunteer – Loaves and Fishes (loavesandfishesmn.org)

St. David's Women Camping Trip

St David’s women are going into the woods again!  We’ll leave August 13 (Sunday) and return August 17 (Thursday).  We will be staying at Lake LaSalle Recreation Area.  This is adjacent to Lake Itasca. Join us for hot dogs, s’mores and great fellowship!

Susan Taylor      952-944-7241

Launa Tucker     952-935-1294

ICA Update

ICA Mission: To create a healthy and stable community for all

ICA Vision: A community where everyone has the resources to thrive

March FoodShare Campaign a Success!

Thank you for helping make the March Campaign, ICA’s largest spring food and fund drive, a huge success. Supporters raised over $240,000 and 94,000 pounds of food for ICA during the Minnesota FoodShare Campaign! The generosity of our community is truly amazing.

Astounding Statistics

At last week’s Congregational Hub quarterly meeting, Dan Narr, ICA Executive Director, shared the annual report for fiscal year 2022 (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022) which contained many astounding statistics. To highlight the significance of these statistics reported, we will share just a few a week in upcoming Weekly News, starting today. 

ICA primarily serves neighbors who live in Hopkins, Minnetonka, Excelsior, Shorewood, Deephaven, Greenwood and Woodland. During the 2022 fiscal year, ICA served:

6,924 individuals

2,572 families/households

869 new families

  47% were households with children

11% were seniors (65+)

47% visit ICA 3 or fewer times per year

2,428 neighbors per month (not including school programs)

Upcoming Events

• Stuff the Squad this Saturday - Join the Minnetonka Police Dept. as they collect donations for ICA on Saturday, April 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Minnetonka Cub Foods on Highway 101.
• Postal Food Drive on Saturday, May 13 - More information to come.

Recent note from a neighbor using ICA services: “I can’t begin to explain how blessed I am and how grateful I am to receive ICA’s help! The volunteers and staff are always so nice and helpful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Want to view the full calendar for the week? Click here to view the St. David's website complete with a calendar to keep you updated on events and offerings! Scroll all the way to the bottom to view it.