Weekly Postings
March 4 - 13, 2016
In This Issue
TUES. 5:30 PM
Evangelism

WED. 5:30 PM
Outreach

THURS. 12:00 noon
Building & Grounds
Last Week at Saint Paul's


Saint Paul's Dr. Seuss Team "Reading Across America"
at our partner school, Craig-Houghton Elementary.


 
This Sunday March 6
  Our Schedule This Sunday      
             
8:00 AM
Holy Eucharist Rite I
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Continental Breakfast in Tyler Hall
9:45 AM
Youth Confirmation Classes

10:00 AM
Christian Formation Classes for all ages
11:00 AM
Holy Eucharist Rite I
with the Saint Paul's and Canterbury   Choirs
Following the 11:00
AM Service 
Lemonade on the Lawn
5:00 - 6:30 PM
EYC at Saint Paul's
5:30 - 6:15  PM
Celtic Evening Prayer and Communion
The lessons for this Sunday are Joshua 5::9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; and Luke 15:1-3,11b-32.
Rector's Discretionary Account
It is the tradition of Saint Paul's Church to designate that cash offerings and designated checks on the first Sunday of each month be deposited into the Rector's Discretionary Fund. These funds are used to help minister to the needy within our community, to help further the work and ministries of the church when other funds are not available, and to support programs and institutions within the parish and community that minister to those in need. Your generous non-pledge cash or designated check gifts on the first Sunday of each month and gifts directed to the Rector's Discretionary Fund help to support and further these ministries.
Inquirers' Class -- ALL who wish to learn more about the Episcopal Church are invited to attend this class held on the Sundays in Lent, February 14 - March 20, at 10:00 am in the Chapel, and led on alternating weeks by Frs. Muir and Jenkins. The class is open to newer parishioners and those who have been here for a long time too!
15th Annual Empty Bowl Luncheon
Sunday, March 6, 11 AM - 2:30 PM
Our Sunday school classes created ceramic bowls for the 15th Annual Empty Bowl Luncheon.  The event is a joint project of the Augusta Jewish Community Center (AJCC) and the Golden Harvest Food Bank. Modeled after the soup lines of the Great Depression, Empty Bowl was created to "Ending Hunger Together," featuring a large assortment of soups, breads, and desserts, donated by generous local restaurants. Attendees receive a student- created bowl. This year there will be a very special event for the kids, as they help recreate the tale "Stone Soup," which is so appropriate for the theme of the day. The event takes place on March 6, 11:00  AM - 2:30 PM at the Legends Club located at 2701 Washington Road.  All proceeds benefit Golden Harvest Food Bank and the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Hope to see you there!  

Presale Tickets:
Adults - $20 in advance ($25 at the door)
Children (2-10 yrs.) - $5 in advance ($7.50 at the door)
For advance tickets call 706-736-1199 or for more information.
 EYC (Youth Grades 6-12)
Every Sunday, 5 - 6:30 PM, Youth Room
Middle School and High School EYC will meet from 5-6:30 PM Dinner is provided! Over the next several weeks our curriculum will be based on the original Star Wars Trilogy. We will enjoy viewing a portion of the films and then break up into groups for reflection. Please join us as we engage pop culture, film, "the force", and faith!  Contact Ranie Neislar   for more information.
Next Week March 7 - March 13
Tree Dedication in memory of  The Reverend Dr. Mary-Kathleen Blanchard
March 8, 11:00 AM, Saint Paul's Churchyard
You are cordially invited to join Augusta Woman's Club for the dedication of a Camellia Japonica in memory of The Reverend Dr. Mary-Kathleen Blanchard who has been remembered by Mary Speir through the gift of a living tree. The dedication of the tree will be Tuesday, March 8, at 11 AM in the Churchyard.
Tuesday's Music Live 
Tuesday, March 8, 12:00 noon
Tuesday's Music Live continues its 28th season Tuesday, March 8 with a free concert by Misuzu Tanaka, Piano and Maksim Shtrykov, Clarinet. Lunch reservations can be made online or by calling the Box Office, 706-722-3463.
LENTEN WEDNESDAYS: Searching for Sunday
Wednesdays, Beginning February 17, noon-1 PM, Tyler Hall, 
BYO lunch

Lent is the time when we intentionally prepare for the pinnacle event of our faith's proclamation on Easter Day, "Alleluia, the Lord is Risen!" This season of Lent, rather than "give up" something--like sweets--we invite you to "take up" the practice of meeting in community to take an honest look at our relationship with God and with God's Church in a conversation shaped by author Rachel Held Evans's beautiful book, Searching for Sunday, and led by our clergy. We will meet in Tyler Hall at noon on February 17th and each Wednesday following until Holy Week. While we enthusiastically recommend Evans's book (available at Amazon or Cokesbury ), reading is not required to participate in these discussions. So bring a lunch, an inquiring heart, and a healthy sense of humor.

Can't make it to the class?
1Book1Diocese  Searching for Sunday  will be our Lenten Book
Each week in Lent, starting on February 10th), we will add a reflection on the section for the week to the website:    1book1diocese.georgiaepiscopal.org.

You can take part by adding your comments on that reflection as well as your thoughts on the questions posed there and on anything you want to share on reading  Searching for Sunday.
Charitable Rollover Permanently Extended
If you are age 70 ½ or older, you may now instruct your IRA custodian to transfer any amount, up to $100,000 directly to Saint Paul's Church.  This distribution would not be included in your taxable income (but could fulfill any required minimum distribution requirements) and would not produce an income tax deduction.  This outright gift must come directly from your IRA custodian to Saint Paul's Church.  Gifts may be made at any time in 2016 and in future years without expiration.  For more information, please contact Monty Osteen.
Easter Lilies and Music
 
Easter Lilies are placed in the church and are enjoyed throughout the Easter season, and additional professional musicians enhance our Easter services. If you would like to contribute toward the cost of Easter music, or give an Easter lily, please return the form found in Sunday's bulletin to the Parish Office. Requests may also be made on the website, by e-mail to mailbox@saintpauls.org, and through the Saint Paul's App no later than Sunday, March 20th.
Open Sundays for Altar Flowers and Easter
April 10 and 24 are open Sundays for altar flowers. If you would like to sponsor the flowers in thanksgiving or memory of someone special, please contact Lynn Mays or Clint Carroll. Additional offerings this year for Easter Sunday: Altar Flowers - $200 or Narthex arrangement - $50.
 
Daylight Savings time begins March 13
Spring Forward Next Sunday. Daylight Savings Time begins March 13th. Be sure to turn your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

Easter Egg Hunt Candy Requested
by Sunday, March 13, Tyler Hall 

T he Children, Youth, and Family Committee is asking families to drop off a bag of candy to be placed in eggs for our Annual Easter Egg Hunt by Sunday, March 13. There will be a box in Tyler Hall marked as the drop off point. Your candy donations are appreciated.

Second Sunday Birthday Celebration
Sunday, March 13, Following the 11:00 AM service, Tyler Hall

On the Second Sunday of each month, ALL are invited to gather in Tyler Hall following the 11 o'clock service for a brief but joyful celebration to honor our old and young souls whose birthdays fall in that month. On Second Sundays, our usual after-service gathering on the front porch will relocate to Tyler Hall.  If you enjoy baking and would like help provide celebration goodies, then please  contact Fr. Jenkins .
The 1916 Fire of Downtown Augusta, Sunday, March 13
Historic Augusta Presentation, Berlin Room 2:30 PM
Concert, 4:00 
PM, 
 followed by a reception in Tyler Hall 
A special concert commemorating Augusta's Great Fire of 1916, that destroyed much of downtown will be given by Keith Shafer on Sunday, March 13, at 4:00 pm. The program is free and will be preceded by a lecture and slide show presented by Erick Montgomery, Executive Director of Historic Augusta, Inc., at 2:30 pm in the Berlin Room. Included on the concert program will be the premiere of "Phoenix," an organ work commissioned by Leslie Lambert Jones and composed by William Bates, which commemorates the events surrounding the fire and recovery from it. A reception follows in Tyler Hall and child care will be available.
Looking Ahead 
Manna Pantry
Friday, March 18,  3 - 5 PM, Tyler Hall 
Saturday, March 19, 9:30 AM - 12 noon, Tyler Hall
Manna Pantry at Saint Paul's Church provides a box of food six times a year to those in our community who need this supplemental assistance. Our next Manna Pantry is scheduled Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19. Food ordered from Golden Harvest Food Bank is delivered to Saint Paul's on Friday evening. Manna Pantry volunteers unload the truck, organize the food, and assemble boxes for recipients Friday evening from 3 until 5 pm. Recipients are registered and served on Saturday morning from 9:30 am until 12 noon. Volunteers also help carry boxes to cars. Families with children and youth are welcome to join parishioners of all ages serving this ministry. For more information or to volunteer, contact Anita Tanner.

Make a Palm Cross

Sunday, March 20, 9:00 AM - 10:45 AM
For many years it has been the tradition at Saint Paul's Church to create Palm Crosses from palm fronds to be worn on Palm Sunday.   This year Palm Crosses will be made on Palm Sunday, March 20 in Tyler Hall.  Please drop in, as your schedule allows, beginning at 9:00 AM  until 10:45 AM . All materials and friendly instructors will be provided.  
Saint Paul's Book Club
Thursday, March 24, 10:00 AM, Tyler Hall
Saint Paul's Book Club is pleased to announce the author of next month's book selection, Karin Gillespie, will lead the discussion of her new book Girl Meets Class Thursday, March 24, 10:00 AM in Tyler Hall. New members are welcome for one book or the entire season. Contact Anita Tanner for more information.


January - March Outreach Opportunities


Click here to find the winter 2016 service opportunities. Some are year-round; others are seasonal. Check often to see how you may get involved. We invite you join us as often as you are able.

News from the Diocese of GA


Each week the Diocese of Georgia will share a bulletin insert. 
The goal is simply to spread good news through the Diocese and unite our congregations with knowledge of what everyone is accomplishing in their own communities.

We have chosen to share this information with you through the 
Weekly Postings .  An archive of the Weekly Newsletter from the Diocese, " From the Field, " is available here.  If you would like to receive the full newsletter from the Diocese, add your email address to the sign-up page on the bottom of the home page for the Diocese of GA. 

St. John and St. Mark's, Albany
  Bringing the Church to the Community

The Congregation of St. John and St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Albany, Georgia, has had a long-standing relationship with its surrounding community of Radium Springs. The parishioners of this church offer many annual outreach ministries to the community including Halloween and Christmas Block Parties, Teacher Appreciation breakfasts at the Radium Springs Middle School, and clothing drives to benefit non-profits in the area.
 
The congregation has established an intention to care for their fellow man, and in recent years has begun taking steps towards building a signature ministry out of its Parish Hall.  The original idea was to develop a cyber café.
 
Deacon Johnny Tuttle of St. John and St. Mark's shares   his initial impression of the parish, "Actually when I interviewed and first started talking to Canon Frank Logue about coming to this diocese, he described their outreach and congregation and what they were trying to accomplish. The cyber café and the block parties were both incredibly appealing to me. So I jumped on that and gravitated toward that." He adds, "They were listening to people in the neighborhood and were trying to respond to what they were hearing. One of the things that they noticed was that there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood. They were trying to provide for a need for school computers in the neighborhood."
 
After receiving some donations, the Cyber Café became a reality. The church had acquired the computers and the servers and the volunteers to make it happen. But the seats were empty.
 
Tuttle says, "When I arrived the Cyber Café had already been established and was beginning to fade. The congregation made it clear that this project didn't work out the way they wanted it to. Since the church had already established a relationship with the Radium Springs Middle School, I connected through our parishioners to set up a meeting with the school Principal. I had a conversation with him in his office about what we could be doing to get more involved with the school."

Through this conversation, Tuttle learned that several factors were playing into the lack of interest in the Cyber Café. The students at the middle school had school assigned iPads that they were able to take home at night, negating the need for a Cyber Café. In addition, the principal expressed that the school has issues getting people involved. "He basically said it is near impossible to get people to come to anything-it doesn't matter what it is. Not after school tutoring, not even PTO meetings. The only thing people show up to is something with incentive," shares Tuttle.
 
The congregation realized it needed to reassess its outreach and begin talking about how to move forward. Tuttle said, "We're going to need to go where we want to do outreach and ministry rather than demanding that they come to us."
 
This notion of taking the church to the community has led to some really inspirational ideas from the congregation of St. John and St. Mark's. Tuttle shares, "The church obviously doesn't have a lot of substantial means to lure members of the community to our ministry. But we do have a lot of retired educators in our congregation. The principal told us that it would be helpful to enter the school as mentors and tutors. So that's a direction we've begun moving towards."
 
But the church hasn't entirely given up on the idea of a Cyber Café either. Tuttle states, "On the other side of this, removed from the school, is an interest in a Prisoner re-entry program. The governor is trying to implement this program in Georgia to help formerly incarcerated people re-enter the workforce and general population. It's possible we could offer these computers as a resource to look for jobs and apartments and general needs. But that's a little further down the road."
 
It's become apparent in this congregation is determined to keep moving forward, despite the many hurtles it has face so far. "Honestly when I arrived, folks were generally disappointed that the original Cyber Cafe hadn't taken off. There's a genuine desire to be a part of this community and to offer something to the community that is substantial. I think the Cyber Café was a real try in that direction. But I think that the people here are just committed to doing what they can to become part of this community. So we're really in this position where we're looking around us and trying to match our gifts to the needs of the community," says Tuttle.
 
The truly inspiring moral of this story is that this parish is clearly going to continue working towards building a relationship with their community. "That's kind of the point. We're always learning and reassessing. The fact that we keep showing up for this community with excitement- that alone is encouraging."
 
March 2016
Are we missing your birthday?
Please contact the Parish Office to update our files.


Join us March 13 for our 2nd Sunday Birthday Celebration.

 
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