The Bridge
December 2, 2020
The Mission of St. John’s is to be a community of God’s people who heal brokenness, build bridges, and exemplify borderless kindness.
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Holiday Safety Guidelines from Austin Public Health
Please click this button to read the latest suggested guidelines to stay safe and healthy during the holidays:
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From Our Interim Rector
It is December! Back in March when all the COVID-19 information was first breaking, we really did not even have it in our sights that in December we would not only still be coping, but that we would also be buckling down for a second wave. Some say that the second wave will ultimately be harsher than the first.
So, here we are at the beginning of the ending of 2020! We are not just innocent bystanders. We have made it to December, and the calendar not only gives us one more month of 2020; it has also given us a new year already, for we are in the four-week season of Advent.
Advent, the season that calls us not only to wait, to be patient, but also to be alert. Advent, the season that holds us Episcopalians at bay (a bit) as far as no Christmas hymns or green and red decorations until Christmas Eve. Instead, we have Advent garb either in blue (newer color) or purple (traditional color). Our only decoration in the church is the Advent wreath of three blue and one pink candle around a center candle of white. (Find an explanation of the candles in this issue of The Bridge.)
Advent is a teaching season. Not only does Advent teach us about waiting, patience, and being alert, but about two grand events: the First Coming of Christ, God Incarnate, the baby Jesus; and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, at a time we know not when. Enters in our patience, our being prepared. Our patience is stretched this year; but that is all the more reason to reach out and share the Good News—the gift of Jesus Christ to a world that is very much hurting right now.
We cannot escape this pandemic; it is affecting the whole world! While talking to some dear friends in Cancun last week, they shared the city is packed with tourists. Cancun is just as impacted with COVID as we are and they said the tourists are running around with no masks, no social distancing, and acting as if they are immune because they are on vacation. The extreme of what I used to call the “tourist guardian angel” belief, that while one is on vacation one is safe! Really? Let us pray for our world, for all people, for continued progress on the vaccine, distribution, and a gracious heart in each of us for the blessings of each day.
My blessing for this day is to be able to thank you all for being open-minded, flexible, and patient with your Interim Rector. Today, we have been together 20 months. No, we did not imagine this transition would take so long. Again, we are on God’s time, not our time. Thank you all for helping my family and I through the death of our mom. A special “thank you” to Frank and Karen for bringing mom to church each week! This past Sunday when we were back in the church, I realized that I still miss looking out at the pew where mom sat and that it is now empty for two reasons. Life marches on!
I am pleased to announce that all those boxes in my office are moving down the street (along with their owner) to St. George’s Episcopal Church here in Austin. January 1, 2021, I officially become their Interim Rector; the same day that Minerva officially becomes your new Rector. We still have Advent together: to wait, to watch and to anticipate the coming of God Incarnate and the arrival of a new year with new hopes. May God continue to bless all of you!
Faithfully,
Ann+
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Building Bridges and Healing Brokenness
Although this was submitted for the Memory Book (and you will see it again there), it seems important to remind all of us of one of the many reasons we love St. John's - "the warmth, grace, and good-will that are hallmarks of St John’s."
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"The second Sunday I came to St John’s, I sat in the section farthest from the choir and lectern. It seemed a good place from which to observe whatever transpired. Here is what happened:
- I sat in Roger and Ruth’s regular seat, which they politely ignored and sat elsewhere.
- Anne Reed entered with a cup of coffee at the Peace and hugged a lot of people with coffee in hand, then exited before the Eucharist, still holding the un-drunk coffee.
- After the service, as I waited for others to leave, Elaine Jackson, wearing a vestry badge, made her way to my spot and asked, “Am I supposed to know you?” I smiled, said no of course, and explained.
- Sheri Rasmussen, in matching green sweater and pants, came to ask for contact information. We agreed to meet at the Starbucks in Randall’s that week so she could find out more information for the newsletter. I had to call and cancel later. We rescheduled—twice. She was gracious and agreeable through it all.
Little did I know when I arrived for that service that in one Sunday I would witness the warmth, grace, and good-will that are hallmarks of St John’s."
Catherine Turner
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Stepping Onto Sacred Ground
We just finished our Introduction to the Stepping Onto Sacred Ground program - five sessions of sacred dialogue. The participants in our morning and evening dialogue circles developed close relationships and experienced deep sharing about race in our society and their own lives. Here is one more comment from a participant:
- The format and structure of the dialogue circle facilitated discussion of the long history of race in our country, especially the often unacknowledged elephant in the room, whiteness, and the way it fills and shapes the air we breathe as a nation. I looked forward to each of the biweekly meetings and definitely plan to continue through the rest of the course.
Scott
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Outside Work Day - Saturday, December 5
We will be having an Outside Workday on Saturday, December 5. Because of the safety guidelines for public health, our Jr. Warden, Hal Hughes, said “we need people to show up, but not too many!” Hal has promised to make assignments which will keep everyone appropriately distanced. Please wear a face covering / mask while you are on the St. John’s grounds.
We need to rake a lot of leaves and only have one or two rakes, so if you would like to do that, it would help if you bring your own tools. Also, if you would like to do any weeding, it would be helpful if you brought your favorite tool since we have only a few trowels.
The tasks to be tackled are:
- Mowing and edging – approximately 2 hours
- Raking leaves – approximately 1 hour
- Weeding and cleaning the Labyrinth – approximately 1 hour
- General clean-up – approximately 1 hour
More hands make light work! Please use this button to register.
We have two "sessions" - 8-10am and 10-Noon
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The workday will have projects beginning at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 5. Hal will provide coffee and donuts outside. The restrooms will be open, but we ask that you do not gather inside the Parish Hall. |
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Advent Wreath Traditions
During Advent, children at the mission school Rauhes Haus, founded by Wichern in Hamburg, would ask daily if Christmas had arrived. In 1839, he built a large wooden ring (made from an old cartwheel) with 20 small red and 4 large white candles. A small candle was lit successively every weekday and Saturday during Advent. On Sundays, a large white candle was lit. The custom gained ground among Protestant churches in Germany and evolved into the smaller wreath with four or five candles known today. Roman Catholics in Germany began to adopt the custom in the 1920s, and in the 1930s it spread to North America.
Advent wreaths are circular, representing God's infinite love, and are usually made of evergreen leaves, which "represent the hope of eternal life brought by Jesus Christ". Within the Advent wreath are candles representing the four weeks of the Advent season with increasing light as we approach the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Three of the four Advent candles are either purple (traditional) or blue (modern), with the fourth being rose. There are two traditions regarding the symbolism of the candles:
(1) the Christian concepts of hope (week one), peace (week two), joy (week three) and love (week four). Rose is the liturgical color for the Third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday (from the Latin word meaning "rejoice ye"); it is a pause in the penitential spirit of Advent. The rose-colored candle for 3 Advent is sometimes called the “Mary candle,” symbolizing her joy at the approaching birth of her child. The white candle in the center, known as the Christ candle, symbolizes the arrival of the Savior and the beginning of the 12-day Christmas Season. It is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
(2) Another interpretation states that the first candle is the Messiah or Prophecy candle (representing the prophets who predicted the coming of Jesus), the second is the Bethlehem candle (representing the journey of Joseph and Mary), the third represents the shepherds and their joy, and the fourth is the Angel's candle, representing peace.
Based on church tradition and information from Wikipedia
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Labyrinth Community Garden Fundraiser
Our Labyrinth Community Garden is participating in the #SeedMoneyChallenge, a 30-day fundraising challenge and we could really use your support TODAY! In addition to keeping the funds we raise from individuals like you, we have a chance to win a challenge grant of up to $600 from SeedMoney based on how much we raise over the course of the 30-day period running from Nov 15 to Dec 15.
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St. John's is turning 60! |
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Here is the answer to this week's trivia question:
This final week’s question asked about the communion kneeler shown here. The icon represents St. John the Evangelist, our namesake saint. St. John is often represented with a chalice and a serpent; referring to an unsuccessful attempt to murder him using poisoned wine. The legend states that when John said a blessing over the wine, the poison formed into a serpent and slithered out of the chalice, making the wine safe to drink.
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There are many more "trivial" details about St. John's which can be found on our website under the tab "Who We Are - History". |
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Thanks to those who sent stories for our 2020 Memory Book! The book will be published in early December in time for our 60th Anniversary.
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Sunday Services at St. John's
We are finding different ways to worship.
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Our Sunday services are being live streamed from our Church:
- 10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer in English
- 12:00 noon Morning Prayer in Spanish
There are two ways for you to participate in our Sunday services:
- Go to Facebook Live. No login is required to attend the service, but you must log into your Facebook account to comment or to view other comments. Click this button to attend the service using Facebook:
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- Call 1-888-958-7272 and, when prompted, enter an access code to listen to the service on your telephone. For the English language service, the access code is 261848237#.
In both cases, the live stream for each service will begin approximately 5 minutes before the start of the service.
Recorded video from both services will be posted on the
St. John's YouTube channel later in the day so that you can replay a service at your convenience. Links to the YouTube recordings will be posted on our website (www.austinstjohns.org).
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Holy Eucharist on the Porch
Limited in-person worship will continue this Sunday, with an outdoor Holy Communion Service at 1:15 PM. This week's service is in Spanish. The service will be held on the lawn in front of the Annex.
Remember: Please bring a chair - chairs are not provided!
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Pre-registration is required; please click the button to register. Please register for only one Sunday service at a time so others will have an opportunity to attend.
If you need to cancel your reservation, please return to the registration site or text Fay Jones at 512-626-1771.
In case of inclement weather, this service will be cancelled.
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Sunday Morning Prayer services at 10:00 AM in English and noon in Spanish will continue to be live streamed on Facebook. No login is required to attend the service. |
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Virtual Coffee and Fellowship:
Provide your own beverage and treat of choice
Join us for our Virtual Coffee and Fellowship on Sunday beginning at 11 am! This 30 minute opportunity to visit with friends you haven't seen in a while will be a separate Zoom meeting so you will need to use this link to join:
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To protect the meeting participants from any possible "trolls" who might try to interrupt our fellowship, the Waiting Room is enabled for this event. The meeting facilitator will admit you to the meeting as quickly as possible. |
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An Amazing Gift from an Amazing Artist
Ruth Beer's oil paintings are now available at half price to St John's members, with ALL proceeds going to St John's Church. You can go to Ruth's web page to see her paintings by clicking this button:
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There are several ways you can continue to give towards the mission and ministry of St. John's:
Mail your check to the Church: St. John's Episcopal Church,
P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Go to your bank's website and set up direct payment - the bank will send a check directly to St. John's using this address:
St. John's Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Use this link to learn more about online giving: Click here
Use this button to go directly to our online giving portal:
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To those who have returned your giving intention for 2021 -
Thank You!
If you have not already done so, please return your giving intention (pledge) card for 2021 to the church as soon as possible.
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A Message from Farmshare Austin
"As the year is beginning to wind down, I just wanted to reach out to all our market partners to make sure everyone is aware of our home delivery service. Community members within certain zip codes (listed below) are eligible for free grocery delivery through Curbside Delivery. Customers can either order online at www.farmshareaustin.org/curbside-delivery or call the SFC Help Desk at 512-910-5860 to place an order. Fresh produce as well as healthy grocery items are available, and customers can pay using debit/credit card, cash, SNAP/ EBT / P-EBT, or Double Up Food Bucks."
Eligible zip codes:
78702, -04, -23, -24, -25, -27, -41, -42, -44, -45, -47, -53, -54, -58, 78612, 78617
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Operation Blue Santa
We will not be able to have our Angel Tree this year, but you can still help those in need by donating to the Blue Santa program.
The Blue Santa program has changed this year due to the COVID pandemic and they are giving out toy gift cards to eligible children between infant and 14 years and food gift cards to approximately 12,000 families. Please click this button to go to the Blue Santa website if you wish to make a donation.
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Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Assistance Program
"The Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Assistance Program provides up to six months of full rent payment for income-eligible Austin renters who have experienced a COVID-19-related income loss. Applications are open.
More eviction information, help with paying utilities and related housing services are available on the Housing Resources webpage."
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Caring for Each Other
If you, or someone you know, need prayer or would like to be contacted by the church, please contact the Reverend Ann McLemore at 769-257-2377 or RevAnn@austinstjohns.org to add names to the Prayer List.
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Need Help?
If you find that your situation is causing financial, spiritual, or emotional difficulties, or if you are in need of food, do not hesitate to call Deacon Victoria (512-297-5953) or Rev. Ann (769-257-2377).
We are a church family; when a family member needs assistance we want to try and help that member.
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Only Rev. Ann and essential support staff will be in the Church for the streaming of services and outside for the in-person Holy Communion services as we continue to follow the direction of government officials and the guidance of our Bishop.
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All meetings and activities at St. John's are temporarily suspended.
Ministry continues. All St. John's meetings will be held virtually (via Zoom).
We will post a notification here, on Facebook, and on our website when this restriction has been lifted.
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Fay Jones, Editor (fay@austinstjohns.org) |
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St. John's Episcopal Church
P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Virtual Sunday Services
10:00 am in English (Facebook and website)
Mediodía en español (Facebook y sitio web)
In-Person Holy Communion
1:15 pm Sundays
On the lawn in front of the Annex
Alternating weeks: English and Spanish
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