Ministry Minute

Day by Day

"Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people."
-Acts 2:46-47
 
This quote has inspired so much: the famous song Day by Day from Godspell ( click here) the most known daily devotional ( click here) in the Episcopal Church just to name a couple of things. To me those words represent a hope and an experience that are very real and very positive. I realize that as a pastor and teach I tend to talk more about the hard times. As I mentioned in a sermon recently "the pain point is often the turning point" and that is true both to my experience and in the Bible, but there is another thing that is true to. There are very fertile seasons in our spiritual life. Times that are slow but beautiful and wonderful as we grow closer to God with each prayer, with each meal and with each day.
 
I often talk about what to do when you break your spiritual rhythm but this line is a reminder of why it is worth keeping. It is those simple practices of prayer and fellowship that lead to a glad and generous heart. For me I find God most powerfully and most consistently in those simple things. Those things that grow in significance. If you notice this line comes from the beginning of the book of Acts. It is from the story of how the church was formed. To me it is no surprise that the church is grown on these simple practices.
 
"I often talk about what to do when you break your spiritual rhythm but this line is a reminder of why it is worth keeping"
 
Questions

1.        What are the regular things you do to keep on rhythm?

2.        What has life been like for you when you have kept rhythm?

3.        How do you sustain your spiritual maturity?

All Church Announcements

Rector's 
Children and Youth Meeting
May 7th, Noon, Meeting Room
As we come to the end of the school year, it is a great time to evaluate our children and youth programs. What went well? What could go better? Rev. Les and Taylor are inviting all parents, volunteers and interested parties to join us for a meeting to check in and evaluate as we make plans for next fall. This is a supplement to the survey we recently sent out. If you want to be a part of improving these ministries please join us! RSVP to  taylor@aidanschurch.org.

Miracles in Motion Campaign
Commitment Sunday May 21st
Every Sunday is a must-see event for members of our church from then until our Commitment Sunday and Celebration event on May 21st. At our commitment Sunday we will be receiving pledges, honoring graduates, having our annual Holy Water Squirt gun fight, enjoying fabulous food and so much more.

All Hands on Deck!
Saturday May 20th
In order to make room for the church addition we will be moving our portable buildings. Before we can do that we need to remove all the hedges from alongside them. On the morning of May 20th we will be looking for at least 12 strong volunteers to join us and a tractor to get this done. Please join us to support this exciting new phase for our church! RSVP to the office at info@aidanschurch.org .  

Boys and Girls Country Spring Festival
Saturday May 6 11AM-4PM and Christian Concert 4PM-8PM
Join us for a fun time enjoying Activities, Auctions, Games, Music, Raffle, and Rides along with Food Booths and Food Trucks.
We have been asked for our support in providing 6 parking assistant volunteers for each of two shifts: 10:30-12:00 and 2:30-5:00.  Two additional volunteers are also needed for the Penny Pitch Game for each of two shifts: 10:30-1:00 and 1:00-4:00. Look for additional information and a sign up sheet in the Narthex on April 23 and 30.

St. Aidan's Women's Night
This will be our last meeting before taking a summer break
The Hidden Cellar
16518 House Hahl Road
Saturday, May 6th @ 7:00 pm
Leave your kids at home with Dad and come celebrate summer!

VBS-Registration Open
Get in gear with us for an inventive and exciting adventure July 17-21 at VBS! Our theme this year is Maker Fun Factory; kids will learn what it means that God so lovingly created us and will always be for us. Register at aidanschurch.org!
 
Youth Mission Trip
T he youth are going on their annual mission trip! We will go to Canyon Lake June 11, returning June 15. This trip is open to entering 7th graders- 12th graders. We will be doing construction and clean-up work. It will be a blast, and you won't want to miss it! The cost is $300.00 per person, scholarships are available. If you have any questions, please contact Taylor Durr.

Confirmation, Reception , Reaffirmation
Are you and adult looking to solidify your relationship within the Episcopal Church, or renew your commitment to your faith? Contact Rev. Les at revles@aidanschurch.org
 
New Options for Online Giving!
Most Efficient
Set up a recurring online bill pay with your bank. All you need is the church's name and address and you can set up your pledge payments to go out with no fees at all.
Most Convenient
Download the Tithe.ly (that is not a typo it is how it is spelled) app from your android or apple appstore. You can set up an easy giving profile and you can give from a credit card, debit card, or directly from your bank account. There are some fees associated with this service, but you can select to pay for the fees yourself if you like. You can also set up and track recurring giving through the app.

SMILE/AMAZON
We have registered Saint Aidan's on Smile/Amazon. Please find link here
Once you have linked your Amazon account there will be a donation to support Saint Aidan's with every purchase you make at no extra cost to you.

Opportunities to Serve
We are looking to expand our ranks of volunteers around worship. There are training videos now available on our website under the action tab (Liturgical Training Videos) where you can scope out what is like to be an acolyte or chalicer. One of the things we could really use help with is our sound booth. Contact  tracy@aidanschurch.org if you are interested. 


Youth Ministry

May 7: Youth led Bible Study, 12:00-1:30

May 14: No youth group, Happy Mother's Day!

May 21: Discipleship Celebration

May 28: Urban Air, 12:00-2:30 p.m. 
 
Youth group meets from 12:00 - 1:30  p.m. every Sunday, unless otherwise noted.

If you have any questions, please contact Taylor Durr at taylor@aidanschurch.org
Children's Ministry

VBS -Registration Open
Get in gear with us for an inventive and exciting adventure July 17-21 at VBS! Our theme this year is Maker Fun Factory; kids will learn what it means that God so lovingly created us and will always be for us.  Click Here

Children's Chapel
Children's Chapel is a place for children to go worship in the traditions of our faith but in a way that's geared towards kindergarten-3rd grade. It will be held at the 10:30 service and the children will return  during the Peace.  Volunteer adults and teens lead the worship and music, and children do the rest - from reading the Psalm and Prayers of the People, to lighting candles and collecting the offertory, to running the power points. Please remember to take your children to the restroom prior to the service. See you there and be ready to have fun in Children's Chapel! 

Sunday School  for Children 
Sunday School is available for all  ages  from 9:30 -10:10 in the modular buildings behind the church. Drop off prek-3rd grade in "the Gathering" between 9:15-9:30in Classroom 2 (yellow door) before they go to their classes. 4-8 are in the Church Office (blue door), and High School is in the Youth Room (last green door)

This year we are adding attendance rewards into our Sunday School program.  - Come and participate to find out more.
Worship

Sundays
 
Traditional Worship 8:00 am

Traditional Worship with Contemporary Music 10:30 am

 

Are you serving Sunday?
Click below to check the 
Sunday's readings can be found at  lectionarypage.net . We are following Track 1.  
 
Saint Aidan's Episcopal Church
13131 Fry Road
Cypress, TX 77433
281.373.3203