Living Christ in this World
July 19-25, 2020
|
|
THE BANNER:
Beginning Sunday, July 19, in-person worship will take place outdoors on the Wydown Playground at 8 AM and 10 AM in accordance with the Bishop's request. Maximum capacity is 40 attendees to maintain social distancing and registration is required to assist with contact tracing if necessary. Register online for the
8 AM service
or the
10 AM service
or by calling 314-721-1502. Masks are mandatory and seating will be provided. Sunday worship will continue in this manner for the foreseeable future. The Sunday 5 PM service is discontinued. Online worship is available Sunday at 10 AM at
csmsg.org
.
|
|
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
SUNDAY, July 19
8:00 AM: Holy Eucharist I (outside)
10:00 AM: Holy Eucharist I (outside)
10:00 AM: Online Service
11:15 AM: Youth
Sunday School via Instagram
8:00 PM: Compline:
Fr. Peter and his family pray Compline via Zoom daily at 8 PM. Compline is the last of the four Daily Offices and includes prayers that are always timely, but even more so given this season of uncertainty. Compline takes about ten minutes to pray, and its focus is on resting in the peace of Christ. To join Compline via Zoom, please email Fr. Peter at
psperopulos@csmsg.org
,
or
Laurie Brown at
laurie@csmsg.org.
MONDAY, July 20
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
9:00-9:45 AM: Women's Bible Study Live. Download the computer program Zoom onto your computer or phone and e-mail
marty@csmsg.org
to receive the Zoom invitation on Monday mornings.
TUESDAY, July 21
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
12 Noon-12:30 PM: HS Girls Bible Study Live.
All High School Girls and CSMSG Alums are invited to join on Tuesdays from 12 - 12:30 PM via Zoom. Please e-mail Marty at
marty@csmsg.org
for a Zoom invitation.
WEDNESDAY, July 22
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
|
|
THURSDAY, July 23
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
FRIDAY, July 24
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
SATURDAY, July 25
8:00 AM: Morning Prayer
12:00 PM: Yoga Class via Zoom
|
|
FORWARD DAY BY DAY
The
Forward
Day by Day
daily devotion for disciples booklets are now available. Please email your mailing address to Laurie Brown at
laurie@csmsg.org
if you would like a booklet sent to you. The
Forward
Day by Day
daily devotions can also be found
online
.
|
|
STEWARDSHIP
BE ON THE LOOKOUT:
Would you like an easy, secure, and quick way to support CSMSG? Try Text to Give on your mobile device! If you know how to send a text message, you can make a gift. Click
here
for a few quick steps. Thanks for your generosity as we continue to serve and care for each other.
THANK YOU! Thank you for honoring your 2020 pledge. Thank you for continuing to mail in checks, schedule your pledge payments online or use Text to Give. Thank you for paying off your pledge early to avoid cash-flow contraction. Thank you for paying more of your pledge in the first half of the year than in years prior. Thank you for making additional contributions to CSMSG above and beyond your pledge. Thank you for generously contributing to the Pat Johnson (Patricia Mary Johnson) Assistance Fund. Thank you for EVERY SINGLE penny that has been deposited into the church’s bank account so we may continue to care and serve each other. Thank you for your Stewardship. Our Stewardship is one part of our response to Jesus’ proclamation that God’s kingdom is near.
If you have any questions about making a financial contribution to CSMSG, please contact Alexis Posnanski, Director of Stewardship and Giving, at
aposnanski@csmsg.org
or at 314-518-1478.
|
|
FROM THE CHOIR ROOM
.....
Synergy
– noun
.....
Syn-er-gy / si-nər-jē
.....
the interaction or cooperation of two or more
.....
organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a
.....
combined effect greater than the sum of their separate
.....
effects.
This term became a popular buzzword in the fields of business, marketing, education, and many others in the past few decades. It was voted as
“
most annoying marketing buzzword of 2019
.”
And although it might have become trendy to the point of annoying in recent history, the idea of “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” dates back even further:
.
....
Concerning the challenge we just faced about how to describe things in numbers and
.....
definitions, What is the reason for a unity/oneness? For however many things have a
.....
plurality of parts and are not merely a
complete aggregate
but instead
some kind
.....
of a whole beyond its parts
, there is some cause of it since even in bodies, for
.....
some the fact that there is contact is the cause of a unity/oneness while for others
.....
there is viscosity or some other characteristic of this sort.
– Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book 8
I remember a music theory professor in my undergraduate discussing the idea of synergy as it relates to music. If one voice or instrument producing one pitch is hypothetically quantified as 1 unit, and another voice or instrument layers in another pitch, the harmony created is not a simple 1+1=2 equation. The resulting harmony produced, to the human ear, is something different and unexpected, creating an almost inexplicable 1+1=3 situation. The effect is changed depending on the distance between the two notes and can be expanded exponentially when you put together a symphony of instruments, or a choir of voices.
All of this to say - I am in a unique and blessed position. Every Tuesday for the past several weeks, I receive around 20 individual sound recordings from CSMSG singers performing their individual part of a hymn. These brilliant and talented musicians are taking the time to isolate in a bedroom, garage, or closet to sing unaccompanied into their phones or computers. A process that, even for the best and most trained among us, is painstaking and often uncomfortable. But once all of these individual tracks are layered together, synced, and mixed – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
You might feel like me – sitting in your living room on Sundays, watching the service on your laptop, feeling disconnected from your congregation. When that feeling of isolation starts to affect my state of worship, I think back to those individual recordings. All of us in separate cities and states, in our bedrooms and garages, singing into phones, come together in this strange and new way to create our art. The same applies to however we worship – at home or in person – we are one family with one purpose. Even in a pandemic, in our strange and stressful times, when we praise and pray together – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
John McDonald
Assistant Professor of Music Education, McKendree University
Tenor in the CSMSG Choir
|
|
FAITH IN ACTION
Masks Urgently Needed - Handmade or Purchased
Church Service League (ECW) is organizing a collection of masks to be donated from the Last Days Apostolic Church distribution center to 65 North City and North County African-American churches.
How You Can Help:
Order masks online and send to parishioner Becky Zaccarello at 24 Carrswold Dr., Clayton, MO 63105.
Make masks to donate. Video instructions are available on
YouTube
or you may download instructions
here
. Either elastic strips or cloth ties are acceptable. Once completed, contact Alison Wiedle for pickup at
arwiedle@sbcglobal.net
or call/text 314-307-8300.
HUNGER MINISTRY
-
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1. Trinity Episcopal Church
(600 N. Euclid, St. Louis MO 63108)
Food donations are accepted on Tuesdays from 10 AM to 1 PM and Thursdays from 2 to 3:30 PM. Requested items include: canned chicken, canned fruit in 100% juice, chili with beans, Vienna sausages, tuna in vacuum packs, creamy peanut butter in regular size jars and in individual packs, saltine crackers, powdered milk, cereal, regular or individual size.
Monetary donations also are accepted. Contact Rev. Barbi Click at
barbi@trinitycwe.org
or 817-312-4430.
2. The Last Days Apostolic Church
Food and monetary donations are accepted on Sunday mornings at CSMSG, on Sundays from 4 to 4:30 PM on the Ellenwood side of CSMSG, or at Becky Zaccarello's house, 24 Carrswold Dr. Clayton, MO. Online grocery orders also may be sent to Becky's house. Please call Becky at 314-494-0788 for details.
Items requested include: masks (purchased or handmade), peanut butter, jelly, stews, canned meats/fish, soup, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, ramen noodles, rice mixes, pasta, pasta sauce, canned vegetables, tomato products, toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizing items, plastic wrap, soap, dish & laundry soap, plastic bags, fruit cups, cereal protein bars (no chocolate coating), beef jerky, tuna pouches, individual snacks, lotion, bottled water, individual juices, manual can openers, body wipes, deodorants, travel toothbrushes & toothpaste, orange juice, lunch meat, cheese, cereal for adults (no peanut butter), half- gallon milk, feminine products, Chef Boyardee or Dinty Moore products.
Vehicles and drivers are needed. To volunteer to deliver donations, contact Alison Wiedle at
arwiedle@sbcglobal.net
or call/text 314-307-8300.
3. Gateway 180
(1000 19th Street, St. Louis, MO 63104)
Monetary donations accepted.
4. CSMSG Hunger Ministry
Thank you to all who made monetary donations. In July a total of $10,000 was donated to Ascension Food Pantry, Trinity Episcopal Church, Saint Peter & Paul Community Church and Holy Cross Episcopal Church. To make a donation or to volunteer, please contact Becky Zaccarello at
b.zaccarello@gmail.com or
314-494-0788 or Alison Wiedle at
arwiedle@sbcglobal.net or
314-307-8300.
|
|
CAN YOU HELP MAKE MASKS?
The Transition Center of St. Louis is in need of masks if you can help, please contact Laurie Brown at
laurie@csmsg.org
.
|
|
CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
Compassion Camp
For the next several weeks, Children’s Ministry is providing families with an At-Home/Virtual Vacation Bible School program from Illustrated Ministry called Compassion Camp. This program is designed to help families explore what it means to have compassion for ourselves, for others, and for the world.
Each family registered for Church School should have received a package containing a Family Pack of short readings and reflections along with simple activities using basic materials found in your home as well as some we provided. If you did not receive a packet or need additional materials, please email
Mary Beth Tipton
. View the Children’s Ministry E-news for
Compassion Camp Week 2: To the Neighbor
.
|
|
Ella’s Sunday Song Event
Join us on Wednesday, July 29 at 5 PM for a Zoom event featuring St. Louis authors Irene and Nicole Franklin reading and discussing their book, Ella’s Sunday Song. The book tells the story of six-year-old Ella, who is set to perform as the soloist in her church on Sunday. During the short trip from her grandmother’s lap to her choir director’s piano, Ella realizes she has to break a code in order to hit all the right notes. This children’s picture book introduces the Spiritual, a musical art form that emerged from centuries of slavery in the United States. Following the reading, Irene and Nicole will play a video of a Spiritual performance and will take questions from participants. For more information, including how to register, visit the Children’s Event page of the
website
.
|
|
YOUTH MINISTRY
Looking for ways to connect while we’re apart?
Tuesday Girls Bible Study: All High School Girls and CSMSG Alums are invited to join on Tuesdays from 12 - 12:30 PM via Zoom. Please e-mail Marty at
marty@csmsg.org
for a Zoom invitation.
Sunday School
at 11:15 AM Sunday mornings on Instagram Live!
|
|
FIND US ON INSTAGRAM
Sunday School - Sunday mornings @ 11:15 AM
HS Girls Bible Study Tuesdays NOON
|
|
PARENT LINK
THURSDAY MORNING PLAYGROUP:
Parents of newborns to preschoolers will meet at 10:30 AM on Thursday,
August 6
via Zoom.
Please email
marty@csmsg.org
to receive a Zoom invitation for this gathering.
FAITHFUL GENERATIONS:
Join this class on Sundays at 1 PM via Zoom.
There will be no formal agenda during July, and all are invited to join.
Please email
marty@csmsg.org
if you would like a Zoom invitation
|
|
SATURDAY YOGA CLASS
Saturdays at 12:00 PM
Parishioner Michelle Gurrola Burks teaches a free, 55-minute class via Zoom at noon.
Michelle has attended the 8 AM service at CSMSG for 18 years. She and her husband Jack were married at the church 3 1/2 years ago. She has taught yoga for 20 years and can be found at IMAYOGAGIRL on Instagram where she leads yoga challenges. Michelle is a Lululemon ambassador.
Yoga has many health benefits including decreasing stress, relieving anxiety, improving sleep quality and more. A yoga mat is helpful, but not necessary. A non-slippery spot and bare feet will work fine, too.
If you are a new participant, email
laurie@csmsg.org for the Zoom invitation. For those of you who joined us last Saturday, the Zoom information remains the same.
|
|
ISOLATION MEMORY BOX
The pandemic has turned out to be a defining moment for CSMSG, and once the dust begins to settle the church will have a key role to play as the shock of the disease and isolation wears off and parishioners begin to process their experiences. Bringing those two pieces together, we would like to collect "journal moments" (for lack of a better term) from the congregation to compile as a time capsule of sorts for future generations. Families are encouraged to contribute a photo and short message to capture a specific memory/experience -- loneliness, homeschooling, empty shelves, exercise routines, etc.
The idea behind soliciting moments from parishioners is to reflect the day to day realities of individuals and families in isolation, and to provide another way to bring the congregation together by using these challenging times to inform future generations.
|
|
HELP BRING MORE SMILEs TO CSMSG
Support CSMSG every time you shop at
Amazon.com
by using AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know and use…low prices, vast selection, and convenience, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to CSMSG!
Here’s the scoop: To shop at AmazonSmile, simply go to
smile.amazon.com
. On your first visit to AmazonSmile select Church of St. Michael & St. George as your charitable organization to support. Do this before you begin shopping, and then every eligible purchase you make at
smile.amazon.com
will result in a donation to CSMSG.
Thanks for getting your Smile on with CSMSG!
|
|
|
|
Be on the lookout for a phone call from Church Receptionist Becky Arthur and other staff members as we update our Realm directory. Now, more than ever, we need up-to-date email addresses and phone numbers. Thank you in advance for your help!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
