Mandi Rice is a candidate for the priesthood in the Diocese of Massachusetts. A board-certified chaplain, Mandi served most recently at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston. She has also interned at Emmanuel Church, Boston, and been a seminarian at St. Margaret's Church, Washington, D.C. She recently completed coursework in Anglican Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary.

A formative experience in Mandi’s life was traveling throughout the U.S. to interview nearly 100 fellow LGBTQ+ people about their religious and spiritual lives. This work eventually led her to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned her Master of Divinity in 2018. She completed a chaplaincy residency with specialized training in trauma-informed spiritual care.

Mandi's other interests include yoga, writing, painting silk scarves, and learning languages. (Ask her about Papiamentu!) She is married to David Waters, who works at Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood — Mandi's hometown. Together they care for dozens of plants and a cat named Fig.

What's a postulant, you ask? Mandi's not yet ordained but, this time at Emmanuel is a last step toward being ordained, field experience under the tutelage of ordained clergy. Her email is MandiMRice@gmail.com.

MARCH 3 FORMATION

This Lent, Bishop Deon tasked several diocesan Religious to develop a Diocesan Rule of Life.

On Sunday, March 3 at 9 am, John Dotson, a diocesan Religious and member of the third order of St. Francis, will join us to explain what a Rule of Life is (and isn't). Click here to read more about developing a rule of life. We encourage to read about this new diocesan project!

This is a great opportunity for a Lenten discernment.

WHAT'S UP @EEC?

Next Wednesday, our Fellowship Dinner will be catered by a new organization that was featured on KSDK as part of Black History Month. The Rize Event Center opened last December, the latest project of Betsey Mitchell, a Black entrepreneur. The Rize is a full-service catering and hospitality facility located near the airport. While Betsey credits her mother for her love of cooking and many of the recipes, she points upward and says that “The author of this story with me is the Most High.” A sign on her wall reads: “I trust the next chapter because I know the author.” Betsey is a former educator and knows Webster Groves well; she earned a Master’s Degree from Webster University and worships at one of Webster’s churches.

LENTEN DONATION DRIVE

During Lent, many of us are accustomed to giving up something we enjoy. Sacrificing can help remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the space created can help strengthen our relationship with God. Alternatively, sometimes choosing to abstain from something we enjoy can seem meaningless. Instead of “giving up” some Episcopalians choose to “get into” and take action toward helping others during Lent. What about combining these two ideas?

Beginning February 14th, we are challenging the Emmanuel community to donate items that could be of use to others. We will have 40 boxes on the Parish Hall stage. The boxes are 18" x 14" x 12 and all donations need to fit inside a box. Please, no fragile items. Clothing, toys, small household items, shoes, etc are all welcome. Please contact Katie Gregston with questions. All items will be donated or repurposed. Donations accepted through Easter Sunday or until all boxes are filled, so don't delay!

WOMEN OF EMMANUEL

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Sunday, February 25 4-6 pm Window Glow with snacks! We'll hear stories of some of the special windows at Emmanuel. This will also be your last chance to buy raffle tickets for the Harvest Wind quilt.

If you are not able to be there but are interested in signing the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom Petition we'll have a drive & sign set up outside at 3 pm.

Tuesday, February 27 at 11:30 Dutch treat lunch at Mike Duffy's Bar & Grill on Jefferson in Kirkwood. Note: this is a new location!! We moved because Weber's is closing permanently Sunday, February 25!

Feel free to bring a friend to either event!

JUSTFOOD TRUCK HAS A PLAN!

The JustFood Truck will begin serving food on Saturdays at Christ Church Cathedral in March. They plan is to have teams of 4-8 from several parishes who will commit to cooking, greeting and serving people in downtown who need a meal Members of Christ Church Cathedral will host the 1st and 3rd Saturdays and are looking for teams to do the 2nd, 4th and 5th Saturday mornings. Starting at 9 am, they will service for 1-2 hours. At this point, Emmanuel is looking to know how many are interested in this ministry. If you are interested in joining a team, please let Deacon Jerre know.

EQUITY & JUSTICE @EEC

EQUITY & JUSTICE PILLAR

Sharing Equity & Justice opportunities does not imply that Emmanuel or our clergy are taking a position.

Donna Erickson and Janet Dobbs have completed volunteer training in order to collect signatures for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom Petition. The petition is the result of a coalition of agencies seeking to put an amendment (to the Missouri state constitution) on the general election ballot in the fall; an amendment which would guarantee safe and legal abortions and access to the full array of reproductive and healthcare options currently denied to women by the state's abortion ban (in effect since 2019.)

Donna and/or Janet will be available at Wednesday evening Fellowship dinners and at the 10 am Sunday services if you'd like to know more or to sign the petition. They will also hold a drive & sign event on Sunday, February 25 from 3-4 pm. To sign you must be a registered voter in Missouri. Signatures are due May 31, 2024. If you'd like to read more click here a link to the Missouri Constitutional Freedom website.

EQUITY & JUSTICE PILLAR

Diocesan organizing, and again does not imply Emmanuel or our clergy are taking a position.

The Diocese of Missouri has been able to invest in a legislative rapid response system called Voter Voice. Voter Voice allows all of our missioners and missioner groups to set up automated letter writing campaigns directly to Missouri legislators and other government officials, in keeping with our mission areas, our Baptismal Covenant and our mission as a church. Much like other rapid response networks with which you might already be familiar, Voter Voice makes it easy for Episcopal advocates to communicate with elected officials in Jefferson City on a range of issues on which our diocese has taken a position and to expand our network of Episcopalians engaged in advocacy for justice and peace.

If you are interested in taking action, two Alerts from the Diocesan Gun Violence Prevention Mission Group have been set up in Voter Voice. You will be asked to enter your contact information and select the issues on which you are willing to take action. As legislation related to those issues advances in the state capitol, you will receive emails with background on the issue, talking points, and a sample letter which you can edit to make it more personal, and send automatically to your elected officials. The Diocesan Gun Violence Prevention team looks forward to increasing advocacy in Jefferson City and living out our Baptismal Covenant and our church mission! Thank you!

HB 1440 - Keep Guns out of Schools

and/or

HB 1708 - Keep Guns out of Churches

MARCH 3 CHURCHES TOGETHER FOR JUSTICE MEETING

Emmanuel is part of "Churches Together for Justice" here in Webster and most, if not all, of the churches in (CTJ) also belong to Metropolitan Congregations United. At their annual meeting of Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU), the group divided into regional clusters, ours being WG/Kirkwood areas. At that meeting, they discussed some areas of concern for our region and the March 3 meeting will be a continuation of that discussion and organizing churches for action

The meeting is being hosted by Peace UCC, in Wehrli Chapel on the Eden Seminary campus. The meeting will run from 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM. In this meeting, we will be talking about how to address the gap between identifying issues and building power around those issues. In other words, beyond raising awareness, what would it take to actually organize to change policy?

If this is something you are interested in, please take a moment to RSVP using this link. If you are unable to attend but would like to be part of Emmanuel's Equity and Justice team, please email Mimi Shipp.

DIOCESAN NEWS

Diocesan Gathering...

HEALING IN THE HEARTLAND

The Revival was canceled but, the diocese is bringing in special guests for an event on Saturday, March 16 10 am to 4 pm. at St. Timothy's Episcopal in Creve Coeur.

The Diocese of Missouri is bringing in local, national, and international speakers to share stories and discuss what we as Christians can do to heal the divides in our often polarized society.