July 2, 2020
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Rector's Message

Never in my lifetime has our nation needed prayer as it does today. This Sunday, we will include special prayers for our country. These are not prayers for any particular policy, and certainly not any partisan purpose. We will offer prayers that our nation would live up to its ideals and that God would guide us amid the challenges before us now.

During the American Revolution, when the Episcopal Church was formed among the churches that had been part of the Church of England, one of the first changes to be made was to cease praying for the king. Instead, our church learned to pray for elected officials, who governed not by divine right, or by coronation by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but who held authority by being elected by (some) of the populace. The church therefore was no longer in the business of legitimating the power of the crown. Instead, we began to pray for civil life, for just elections and the elected representatives and ultimately that we as free citizens would use our liberty for the good of all.

Today the work of the American project is not done. The ideals we celebrate in the Declaration of Independence were not extended justly to all. We are still trying to live up to those ideals even today. And we need to pray more than ever that we use our liberty not for selfish goals but, as Christ calls us, for the good of our neighbors. 

We have a lot to pray for this year. Join us on Sunday to offer these prayers.
Sunday's Service
Join us Sunday for Holy Eucharist at 9:30 AM on Facebook.

And also on Zoom.

To view the service on Zoom (go to Zoom.com to sign up for a free account) use this link .

If you don't have Facebook or Zoom connections, you can call into the audio part of the service by calling any one of these numbers:

312 626 6799   
929 205 6099
301 715 8592
346 248 7799
669 900 6833
253 215 8782

(Note, if you don't have toll free long distance calling you might incur a long distance charge for these numbers. )

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 can open or download the bulletin for the Sunday service here .

Improvements to the Church Campus
Under the excellent leadership of Junior Warden Greta Philips-Ford the improvements to our church campus continue. When we are able to gather again the congregation will have much of which to take notice.

Workers have been painting the porch (including the ceiling) of the parish hall, while volunteers have been painting the railings surrounding the church and the bench and pergola in front of the church office.

The recent surge in Covid cases has delayed our return to church, but there is much to admire when we return.

First photo: Ella Hall paints the front church fence. Second photo. A worker is painting the Parish Hall Porch.

Senior Warden Notes
Ray Warren
On the bittersweet (but mostly good) front, our plan to reopen the church was approved by the diocese. This means when churches are allowed to reopen, St. Paul's is good to go.

On the less than good side, the bishop has (reasonably) suspended live church services until July 31. Unfortunately, Covid-19 cases are again surging in Florida and this time the surge has reached Monroe County. Just yesterday there were 26 new cases, including 7 in Key West.

Local officials have doubled down on the requirement to wear masks, and, hopefully, the message is getting out to our tourist visitors, who, a few weeks ago were acting like it was the wild west and that the pandemic was over.

Each of us owes a huge debt of gratitude to the re-opening committee, chaired by Brian Wagstaff, for getting us to the point where we are ready to gather. Now let us pray that conditions allow it.

In the continuing effort to thank the volunteers who give so much to our parish, I offer a shout out to Phyllis Pita, Lisa Laskow, Bruce Hagemann and Mary Simmons.

In the winter season the incomparable Wendy Niven leads a group of parishioners who prepare the elements for the Eucharist and fill the candles (actually oil filled torches). In the summer Kim Grizzle-Malgrat has often filled that role. But this year, Phyllis Pita is doing it most weeks. In addition, every other week she serves as the teller, counting the funds you send to keep St. Paul's operating and making the bank deposit. Every week, without fail, Phyllis is there -- doing quiet, unobserved, but important work.

Every weekday, St. Paul's offers morning and evening prayer via Facebook. While Father Steve often does the evening service, Bruce Hagemann, Mary Simmons and Lisa Laskow handle the morning and sometimes the evening. They have a dedicated following, and it is important contribution to our community by these selfless volunteers.

We are so blessed to have good, loving people who are generous with their time and talent. Your generosity is also important, and keeping St. Paul's afloat during the storm of Covid-19 .

Pledges and contributions can be made electronically via the church  giving page . Or pledges and gifts can be mailed to the church at 401 Duval Street, Key West, Florida, 33040. God bless each of you for your support.

If you have questions or concerns or just want to reach out to me my email address is  seniorwarden@stpaulskeywest.org
Please Join in Morning and Evening Prayer

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer is being offered on Facebook Live at 730 AM and 5 PM on weekdays. Fr. Steve is offering a short meditation during Evening Prayer, Monday - Thursday.

Thanks to Lisa Laskow and Bruce Hagemann for volunteering to officiate some of the days! (And to Mary Simmons for doing so in the past.)

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.

Tim Peterson "From the Organ"

Tim continues his weekly Organ recitals and informational streaming from the organ bench on Thursdays at noon.

This has become one of St. Paul's most popular offerings. Check it out this coming Thursday.

You can find prior weeks recordings of Tim’s concerts on St Paul’s Facebook page , or on YouTube .


Know Your History

(From our resident church historian, Dave Eyer.)  

Stephen Russell Mallory (1812-1873)  part 2


US Senators were chosen by the respective state legislature, per the Constitution, until 1913. Stephen Mallory was chosen by the State of Florida Legislature as one of the two Senators in 1850 for a six year term.

Senator Mallory was assigned to the Naval Affairs Committee and quickly became committee chair. He pushed two issues, both of which profoundly improved the US Navy: 1) the retirement of officers too old or unfit to go to sea and 2) the conversion of the US Navy warships toward steam power from sail and to screw propulsion (as it is today) and from paddle wheels of the few vessels so then equipped.

Although Mallory and family were in Key West for the 1850 census, by the time of the 1860 census he was in Pensacola- his wife’s home town. He continued a relationship with Key West, however, because William Curry (1821-1896) St Paul’s member and Key West’s most prominent businessman contracted William Bartlum to build a clipper ship in Key West in 1856 that was named “Stephen Mallory”.

Mallory also continued in friendship and association with Asa Tift, another St Paul’s parishioner. More about both men later. His Senate Committee pursued the addition of 6 new screw propelled vessels in 1853 and 12 sloops of war in 1857. Under Mallory’s strong influence, the US Navy was, by the start of the Civil War in 1860, as well equipped as any in the world.

In the 1860 census, S R Mallory age 47 (the senator), wife Angela, 2 sons Stephen R Jr age 12, and AF age 7 and 1 daughter age 5 and Angela’s sister or niece Victoria Moreno age 19 are in Pensacola. More to follow. 
Reminders
Sunday school is canceled during the virus emergency.
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These communications are currently edited by Senior Warden Ray Warren. Send questions and comments to the editor   here .