St. Paul's Episcopal Church |
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This Week's News Highlights
Our Service This Week
Holy Eucharist on Facebook and for those in person will be at 8:30AM on Sunday. See below for how to attend by either mode of participation. Please consider the current state of the pandemic in making your decision about attending this service, or any other, in person. Facebook Live continues to be a safe and meaningful way to join in worship each Sunday.
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The Flowers of St. Paul's This Spring
No news is, sometimes, good news indeed. The parish is doing well. An increasing number of parishioners have received vaccinations. The Search Process is moving forward. So, in celebration, this week's "news" section features some photos from what is blooming on campus this season. Remember, the gardens and grounds of the church are open every day of the week for meditation and prayer.
Below are an Aloe bloom, Lignum Vitae (the "tree of life"), Locust Berry, Sweet Joe-Pye weed and Golden Thryallis. Thanks to Tom Ford for the photography.
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Search Committee Progress Report
The Search Committee has completed several fruitful virtual interviews and expects to invite one or two candidates to visit Key West and St. Paul's after Easer, if not before.
Beyond noting the general progress, the work of the Search Committee is entirely confidential. So let us all unite in prayer and thanksgiving, trusting the committee in this important work.
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Please Buy A Brick and Build a Legacy
Brick sales are going well! Please consider joining in this project. You can order your brick(s) here.
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Sunday's Service
Join us Sunday for Holy Eucharist at 8:30AM. Sign up in advance to attend in person (see above) or join us on Facebook.
To join via Facebook, go to the church Facebook page at the appropriate time and look for the window showing that "St. Paul's Key West is now live". Click on the window. (You may need to refresh the page a few times if the "live" window does not appear promptly at the appointed time.)
Did you know you DO NOT need to have a Facebook account to view the service or visit our Facebook page? Simply use the Facebook page link to go directly to our Facebook page (even if you don't have your own Facebook account). Follow the directions above.
You can open or download the bulletin for the Sunday service here.
- Your name and the names of any family or household members who will attend with you.
- Your email address
- Your cell phone number
Email is greatly preferred, but reservations can also be made by calling the church office at 305-296-5142. If nobody answers please leave a message with the information.
(Walk-ins will be accommodated if space allows but please pre-register whenever possible.)
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Junior Warden's Report
By Greta Philips-Ford
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Please join us Saturday at the church from 9AM until 11AM to work on projects (safely distanced, masked and often outdoors on the church campus).
The Volunteer group has several projects ongoing to date.
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These projects include repainting the benches at the church; finalizing the linen closet; weeding the garden; re-hanging the lights in the Garden; replacing the sign on the |
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corner of Eaton and Bahama Street; repainting the Labrinith and replacing the rotten wood on the Historic Rectory porch. |
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This Saturday's work will be mostly odds and ends from the prior weeks projects. But our next big group project that we will need volunteers will be Saturday, March 20th. We will gather at the new Rectory at 3435 Riviera Drive and start spring cleaning/sprucing up the Rectory for the upcoming interviews. (Note. This is in new town, not the church campus. Street parking is available.)
(To reiterate, this coming Saturday is at the Church, on March 20 at the Riviera rectory.)
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Senior Warden's Report
By Ray Warren
A few reminders. If you know of somebody who was getting the Epistle (this newsletter) and who suddenly is not getting it -- or if you cease to see it each Thursday evening, please look in the "spam" or "junk" email folder. Various email programs, from time to time decide that a regular newsletter must be "spam."
Hotmail is particularly aggressive in moving the Epistle to spam. And Gmail sometimes classes it as an "update" or "promotion" (special Gmail folders).
You can also help to avoid the "spam fate" by opening the newsletter each week, even if you don't read it right away (or at all in its entirety). Opening it regularly tells your email program that it is not spam.
We don't automatically add people who begin attending services to this list. So, if you know somebody who might want to receive the newsletter advise them to sign up on the church webpage or email the editor.
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Don't forget, we have a NEW challenge. A couple has made a commitment of $500 toward a new flagpole for the church contingent on raising $500.00 from others. Let's do it! I'm in. Together we can continue the progress toward restoring our property as a premier corner in old town Key West. To contribute to this effort send your check with "Flagpole Fund" on the memo line or in the "instructions to seller" in your online contribution.
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I don't "preach" in these columns because I'm not qualified. I'm not a member of the clergy and have no license to speak for the church. But, to adopt a saying by a real Protestant preacher in my old home state, here is
"just a thought, not a sermon", shared as one layperson to his fellow believers.
A pivotal moment in Jewish history happened when the Babylonians destroyed the first temple (the only place then authorized for ritual sacrifices) in 597 B.C.E. and carried away the leading citizens and clergy to Babylon. Suddenly the old ways of doing things could not be done and the people had to adapt to a reality outside of their usual way of thinking.
Eventually the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and the temple was rebuilt (only to be destroyed again). But, in the period of upheaval, the synagogue came into its own as a different kind of worship experience and Jewish life was changed forever.
Sometimes I wonder if the (hopefully now receding) pandemic is like our own exile. We hope to fully "return" soon. But will we be changed by our "exile" from normal life? Should we return unchanged? Can we build something even better than what was temporarily lost?
Challenging thoughts as we move into the next phase of regathering and re-establishment of our traditional patterns of worship.
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Progress, but we can do so much better
Thanks to the 31 families that have pledged to support St. Paul's this year as we prepare to welcome a new Rector and continue the regathering process. We need to double that number.
If you have not done so already, please join in affirming your commitment to St. Paul's today. Every person counts. You can find more information about pledging here.
Thank you.
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Contacts:
Church office phone: 305-296-5142
Church mailing address: 401 Duval Street, Key West FL 33040. Pledges and offerings can be mailed here or made electronically at the church giving page.
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Music During the Pandemic
You can find prior recordings of many past concerts and musical offerings on St Paul’s Facebook page, or on YouTube.
Look for the next edition of the popular monthly Facebook live concert at noon on April 1st.
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We Pray Each Day
Daily Morning and Evening Prayer is being offered on Facebook Live at 7:30AM and 500PM on weekdays.
Thanks to Bruce Hagemann, Lisa Laskow, Mary Simmons, Samantha Hall, Sarah Hall and Tim Peterson for volunteering to officiate at these sacred moments.
To join in the prayers via Facebook, go to the church Facebook page at the appropriate time and look for the window showing that "St. Paul's Key West is now live." Then click on the window.
"Like" us and turn on live notifications to get a reminder whenever we are offering prayers.
Please pray this week for healing for
Brittany (Sherri Hodies’ daughter), Beth and Jon Peterson (sister-in-law and brother of Tim), Al (Kitty Robert’s partner), Peter Nanos, Chuck Hammond, Joseph Lyles, Joseph Allen Pyles, Danny Sweeting
We pray for the departed and their loved ones
"Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servants"
(Send your prayer requests to Tim@stpaulskeywest.org for future publication and to be included in the Sunday service. By default requests will be listed for four (4) weeks. But if the need continues, please let us know.)
We celebrate these March Birthdays
Dana Dickinson 3/1
Angie Canterbury 3/2
Lemuel Roberts 3/3
Leighton Conaty 3/4
Sam Dickson 3/6
Tiffany Albury 3/8
Iain Wilcox 3/8
Bud Halldorson 3/9
Sandy Lee 3/9
Dave Holfinger 3/12
Stryker Lavoie 3/12
Piper Acevedo 3/16
Marilyn Williams 3/17
Kevin Hernandez 3/18
Alex Lavoie 3/18
Maxwell Mungall 3/20
Susan Birrell 3/21
Bruce Hagemann 3/21
Jane Payne 3/21
Harrison Simmons 3/22
John Sangston 3/23
Pamela Albury 3/24
Susan Crandall 3/24
Nicole Marius 3/25
Dean Schott 3/26
Carol Burnham 3/30
Ricardo Montano 3/30
Andrea Mungall 3/30
(If your name is missing from this month's birthday list please send a note to info@stpaulskeywest.org so we can add it.)
We Celebrate March Anniversaries:
Noe & Derek Nelson 3/6
Michael & Lorri-Ann Guay 3/17
John & Lorilee McDaniel 3/17
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Reminders
Sunday school is canceled during the virus emergency.
Back issues of The Epistle are available here.
Send questions and comments to the editor of this newsletter here.
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Tel. (305) 296-5142
Pastoral Emergencies (317) 414-4194
Office closed during the virus emergency
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