The Bridge
August 26, 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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From Our Interim Rector
The Bridge comes out on Wednesday in English and El Puente, in Spanish, on Fridays. A lot can happen between Monday (when I write this letter) and Wednesday, not to mention Friday! Yet there is a particular “day after” energy about writing this the “day after” Sunday. I want to share some of the energy, good news, with you and hear about your thoughts.
I can only imagine how much you all miss coming to church and worshiping together on Sundays, catching up at coffee hour, thinking about the conversation in adult education. The members of the 1:00 service I know, dearly miss worship, a grand meal together every Sunday, times for families to come together, and the youth hanging out with Fay and Victoria. I miss all of you, too.
Those of us who put together the live-stream every Sunday realize more and more how much we look forward to gathering, and worshiping by live stream in the chapel. These are big, deep, and very long steps towards being able to gather again in the church. These steps may be all different sizes, but we are moving through this virus and in the process, doing our best to keep everyone as safe as possible.
In the next couple of weeks we are going to take another step. We will be offering Holy Communion on Sunday afternoon, around 1:15 pm with no more than 10 people, counting the celebrant. We checked and the outdoor chapel, deck, and benches are shady at that time. The service will last about 20-25 minutes, no frills. We will alternate, English one week and Spanish the next. Reservations will be required. We will still be live streaming at 10 in English and noon in Spanish from the Chapel. The outdoor service will not be recorded. Masks will be required, social distancing practiced, and you might want to bring your own chair or else stand. There will be no coffee hour.
This is one of those “baby steps” that really is a big step! If you have any questions about this upcoming new service, contact Senior Warden John Williams, or me.
Another new service will be happening this Sunday, Aug. 30, when Bishop Ryan is with us for an official, Episcopal visit! She will be live streaming with the regular Sunday team. She will also be participating in the Zoom coffee hour at 11:00 and meeting with the vestry at 2:00 by Zoom. A special part of this service will be the opportunity to, as a group, as a church community, reaffirm our Baptismal vows. Classes to prepare us continue to be available at 7:00 (tonight) Wednesday, in English; a Spanish series can be accessed online on the Spanish website. With bishop visits comes the request for offerings. All offerings so designated on Sunday, August 30, will go to Bishop Ryan’s discretionary fund. You can do this by check or electronic donation; instructions can be found below in this week's issue of The Bridge, and will be made available in the Saturday service reminder.
Blessings to each of you this week!
Ann+
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Meet our Bishop Kathryn (Kai) Ryan
On Sunday, August 30, 2020, Suffragan Bishop Kathryn M. Ryan will visit St. John's! During her visit, she will lead the congregation in Reaffirmation of Baptismal Promises, as we have been preparing for the last several weeks. Please join in the virtual celebration at 10 a.m. and 12 noon. Bishop Kai will also be present for the 11 a.m. coffee and fellowship, and will meet virtually with our vestry at 2 p.m.
Here is how Bishop Kai introduces herself:
"I came out of the delivery room at the Miners’ Hospital in Raton, New Mexico and into the font at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Life in the Church reveals the rhythms of God’s grace and guidance for me. The youngest of four daughters, I attended public schools in Albuquerque. Enjoying athletics, I competed in gymnastics, track, and cross country. My life in Christ and my leadership gifts were nurtured, while a youth, in camping ministry, the Happening movement, and parish committees, including one that resettled a refugee family. On receiving my B.A. at Sewanee, I returned to Albuquerque to gain employment experience required before seeking ordination. At Sewanee, I met Tim Ryan, and we married in 1989. We have two children, Ned, 22, and Eleanor, 16. After an MDiv at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, I spent 20 years in parish ministry, including 14 years as rector of Ascension, Dallas. There I learned from brothers and sisters of other cultures how to lead a multi-ethnic community. Since 2014, I have served as Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Texas, leading the ministry staff in its work to implement the diocesan vision."
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Please use our online donation system to donate to Bishop Ryan’s Discretionary Fund.
Use the “Donate to St. John’s” button on the austinstjohns.org web site or scan this image to go to our online giving portal. Please use the “Other” category and list “Bishop’s Discretionary Fund” as the purpose of the donation. If you prefer, please mail a check to the church office and list “Bishop’s Discretionary Fund” in the memo line of the check.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
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Our Baptismal Covenant and Reaffirmation of Faith
In preparation for Bishop Ryan’s visit to St. John's on August 30, please join us tonight at 7 pm. This week, we will finish our study of the Baptismal Promises and look at how these promises are lived out in our daily life. The class will also include a special discussion of how these promises can help us confront racism.
We will continue to utilize Zoom for these meetings. The link will be sent out with the regular Tuesday Christian Formation emails, and can be found on our website.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Fay Jones by email (fay@austinstjohns.org).
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Generosity Changes Everything
To be a Christian Steward is to strive to be a faithful disciple of Jesus, a zealous proclaimer of his message and a responsible caretaker of all the gifts and blessings given daily by the loving God, our creator and sustainer. Jesus Christ calls us to love, follow, know and proclaim him in the world without regard for the difficulties and resistance we experience. The faithful Christian Steward responds generously to the call out of gratitude and joy.
St. John’s Stewardship Team
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Building Bridges and Healing Brokenness
As I wander the sidewalks and trails here in Sunset Valley, I am seeing more and more people out walking and biking. I am also noticing that more people are willing to make eye contact, and even exchange greetings as we pass. Some are masked, some are not, some - like me - pull up their masks when encountering another. This article really caught my attention a few days ago, and I thought I would share it. Enjoy, and smile with your eyes - I will be smiling back! Fay
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Compassion begins in the Eyes
Peter W. Marty
Our eyes serve as windows into the world. They’re what allow us to take in and interpret sights. But eyes serve as more than receptors to help us see and make sense of the world. They’re also meant to be seen. They communicate something of who we are and what we’re feeling. There’s a reason we tend to look first at a person’s eyes before their other facial features. The whites of eyes provide valuable information for what someone is thinking or might do next. If you doubt this feature, take note of what your own eyes look for the next time you pull up to a stop sign at a busy four-way-stop intersection.
Jesus said to a crowd one day that “your eye is the lamp of your body,” and the healthier that eye is the more light there is within you. Lamps don’t receive or interpret anything from people sitting nearby. They illuminate surroundings. They give off light. When German theologian Helmut Thielicke spoke of all compassion as beginning in the eyes, he was talking about what eyes project and give off, not what they absorb or receive. Let’s think about this function of eyes.
Take the example of Judge Craig Hannah, who presides over a model opioid crisis intervention court in Buffalo, New York. Hannah’s commitment to helping channel nonviolent opioid offenders away from jail and into successful recovery involves one simple strategy ... Once their name is called, defendants must walk up close to his bench for a one-on-one talk ... Hannah wants to look each addict in the eye, talk personally with them, and keep them from falling off in their recovery by assuring them with his own eyes that, in his words, he’s “working and caring for them.” [As an aside - the Judge I work with in Drug Court does this as well.]
Or, take the example of St. Louis, Missouri, county prosecutor Wesley Bell, who was recently assigned to investigate whether or not criminal charges should be brought against former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown in 2014. As it turns out, and as Bell informed the Brown family, there wasn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed or that a self-defense claim could be disproved. Recognizing that the family hadn’t received the victim services and the “dignity and respect they deserved” from the prosecutor’s office, Bell met with them personally ... “I’ve looked them in the eye and let them see what we did.” Bell’s behavior with the family that day signaled compassion, which, let’s remember, always begins in the eyes.
It’s tough during the current pandemic to enjoy deep and extended conversation with other people, given all the social restrictions. But even with masks on, we still get to see each other’s eyes. And those eyes send out valuable cues about life—everything from corner wrinkles indicating a smile to tears of sadness to expressions of true compassion.
Peter W. Marty is editor/publisher of the Century and senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. Aug 26, 2020 issue
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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 Chapel:
- 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 281603516#
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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Speak out on Social Justice
During this time when we all spend a lot of time at home, an easy and effective way to support social justice is to get in touch with your government representatives on issues that matter to you as a Christian and a concerned community member. The Episcopal Public Policy Foundation makes this really easy. You can sign up for email alerts on issues that the Episcopal Church believes it important to speak out on, at this link:
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When you get an email alert, you can read about it, decide it you want to weigh in, and if so, there is a "take action" button you can click on that takes you to message board set up to contact your federal government representatives through a prepared email. You can also instead write your own message.
Check out the Episcopal Public Policy Network as an easy way to let your elected representatives know the views of its Episcopal constituents!
John Williams, Senior Warden
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Virtual Coffee and Fellowship:
Bring your own beverage and treat of choice
Join us for our Virtual Coffee and Fellowship on Sunday beginning at 11 am! Bishop Kai Ryan will join us this week! 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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Note that the Waiting Room is enabled for this meeting, so somebody logged into the St. John’s account must be present to admit people into the meeting. This is to protect the meeting participants from any possible "trolls" who might try to interrupt our fellowship. The meeting facilitator will admit you to the meeting as quickly as possible. |
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Giving at St. John's
People have asked how to continue their giving as the ministry of the Church continues.
There are several ways you can continue to give:
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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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 Chapel for the streaming of 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)
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