This Week's Announcements |
|
Our Schedule of Services:
Here is our schedule;
more information may be found by downloading the bulletin.
Friday May 13:
11:00 am Deacon Pat's Memorial Service
Sunday May 15:
8:30 am In Person Eucharist
9:40 Sunday School
9:40 Campaign News Meeting (Parish Hall)
10:30 am In Person(also streamed virtually) Eucharist
Wednesday May 18:
12:00 pm Midday Prayer
|
|
Deacon Pat Sheldon's Memorial service will be held St. Augustine of Canterbury Church in Elkhorn, NE on Friday, May 13th, 2022 at 11:00 AM, presided by Bishop Scott Barker. A reception in the church hall will follow.
Deacon Pat has been a member at St Augustine since 1990 and was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 1997, serving here since then. She has been involved and active in many ministries, including the Ruth and Naomi chapter of the Daughters of the King, here at St Augustine's. She has been irrepressibly faithful to her sense of a call to be a spiritual companion wherever she is, with the powerful recent example of starting and leading a weekly prayer service in the assisted living community where she most recently resided...though this work has probably more often been felt simply through her attentive and prayerful companionship in her many friendships over years of caring for all the people God put in the path of her life. She will be remembered fondly for her infectious smile, joy, empathy and positivity. Please CLICK HERE to view the obituary.
|
|
|
Opportunities to Get Involved |
|
Vacation Bible School back at St. Augustine! Sunday, June 12-Tuesday, June 14 from 5:30 PM-7:30 PM. We will have dinner at 5:30 followed by lessons, crafts & music. If you would like to help by planning, teaching, playing music or organizing dinners, please contact Kate. Cost is $10/child or $30/Family, but as always, we do not want price to be a reason to not attend, we will work with any family that needs assistance. Please register HERE
Our last day of Sunday School before Summer break is Sunday, May 22. We will have an end of year party during our normal Sunday School time, and weather permitting, we will bust out the giant slip n slide after 10:30 service!
Camp Canterbury July 18 - July 22, 2022
Youth entering 4th grade through 2022 high school graduates are invited to join us at Camp Canterbury! Registration is now open, please CLICK HERE to register Scholarships are available. If you plan to use scholarship for payment, just close out of the Paypal screen that pops up when you are done registering and contact Fr. Ben
Parent Survey for youth of all ages
As many of you know, we held a parent meeting this year to go over goals of our Youth and Family Programming, to ask how things are going, and what we can do better in the future. We discussed adding new opportunities, such as a kid's church service, completely run by our youth (with some help of course), and opportunities for fellowship with parents and families. We have created a survey that would help us have a better idea of how to move forward with some of these ideas in the coming year, and would love for you to help us by taking a moment to fill it out! Please CLICK HERE for the survey.
|
|
|
|
|
Our Youth Group is collecting Toiletries for COPE kids to have for the summer. We are hoping to collect enough to pass out to 50 children. We have extended our deadline! Please have donations here by Sunday May 29. There is a tote for donations next to the Narthex Table.
We are looking for:
-Deodorant-unisex
-Feminine napkins
-Toothpaste
-Bars of soap
-Shampoo/Conditioner
-Razors
-Shave gel
-Combs or Hairbrushes
|
|
|
Please join us for a Deacon Pat Sheldon and Senior Grounds Steward Del Morgan “Spring Remembrance Mulching Party” at St. Augustine’s Hitchcock Memorial Garden and Prayer Walk/Quiet Garden to be held on Saturday the 21st of May.
Mulching wheelbarrows will start rolling at 9am but early arrivals will be allowed. We will have some wheelbarrow races with partner teams. We just might have Father Ben and Mark compete against each other.
All parishioners are invited to this first time church event. Even if you are unable to push a wheelbarrow or spread mulch, your mature assistance is needed to direct and root on the efforts of our younger/middle age mulchers. Some type of lunch and drinks will also be served.
Let’s take the time on this special day to spruce up the church’s garden and remember the work of our beloved Deacon Pat and our Garden Guy Del put into our church to make it a special place for all to visit and enjoy time with family or friends.
~Announcement & photo by Jim Keepers, Church Garden Steward
|
|
Jim has been active in Cope starting in 2004 with serving breakfast to the English-speaking classes. He’s volunteered 2012-2014, at which time he started serving on the COPE board until he was hired as Executive Director in February 2016.
The board will have very big shoes to fill. Please pray for the committee, board, and the next director of COPE. There will be a celebration for Jim’s service in the future.
|
|
Rector’s Book Club – with Dn Rebecca and special guest Kaitlin Reece
May 24th, 5:00 to 6:30 pm, Food Provided: The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, by Anthony Ray Hinton. Hinton was wrongfully convicted and spent thirty years on Alabama's death row before securing his release with the assistance of civil rights attorney and author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson. This event will run from 5:00 to 6:30 with food provided. The Balancing the Scales of Justice task force works within the Diocese of Nebraska to help us consider issues related to imprisonment in our diocese and state, coming at them from the foundation of our faith as Christians. This book study will be co-led by guest presenters Kaitlin Reece (chair of the Balancing the Scales group) and Deacon Rebecca Smith. Some book copies are available for free via grant funding; please contact Fr Ben for more details; we currently have 10 free copies of the book. You can RSVP here to help us plan for dinner: https://forms.gle/PZvQB1xrs9yLCok27
|
|
June 5th – a Pentecost Celebration! 10:30 combined service and Potluck Lunch
|
Pentecost is often called “the birthday of the Church,” because of the Holy Spirit coming down on the disciples and giving them the gifts they needed to share the message of Jesus with the world. This year on Pentecost Sunday, we’ll celebrate the Feast Day with a combined worship service at 10:30, and revive a church tradition from several years ago – the Pentecost Picnic! The Parish Life Committee has invited us to potluck this party, spill out from the Parish Hall onto the green space towards the playground, and share favorite recipes and meet more people from church! There will be great food and fun activities for kids.
This year, we’ll also mark milestones for our own church: the conclusion of our very strong three-year Capital Campaign: “Our Roots, Our Family, Our Future.” We’ll also have an opportunity to offer pledges for a Fourth Year Campaign, which we’ll hear more about in May, and which will help our church stay even stronger as we live into our mission to be a “growing, faithful, inclusive, and caring community committed to the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ,” and welcoming others into this community in the spirit of our “Come, Grow With Us” slogan.
We’ll hold a combined worship service at 10:30 that day (there will not be an 8:30 service) as a way to gather our whole community together. Hope to see you there!
|
|
|
Dn. Teresa (founder) just emailed, "Oh my gosh...the amount of smiles I have seen in photos... genuine photos showing that they truly are feeling loved, demonstration how love heals..."
To protect the privacy of the women, we are not able to share those photos, but please enjoy the ones we could share above.
|
|
The Outreach Committee was able to plan an amazing Spa day for the ladies living at the Magdalene House presently. Magdalene Omaha is a home that delivers hope, healing, and economic self-empowerment for survivors of sex trafficking, prostitution, and addiction through multiple programs. On Thursday, 5 women came to St. Augustine for facials, massages, haircuts and meditation, and as I write this, they have just checked in for their appointments at a nail salon for manicures & pedicures The ladies also went home with an extremely generous goodie bag organized by Deacon Rebecca.
Thanks for the donations of time and talent as well as goodie bag offerings from:
-
Beth Kujath who offered Red Aspen Dash press on nails www.redaspenlove.com/bethkujath
-
Stephanie Weaver who offered Beautycounter products www.beautycounter.com/stephanieweaver
- Lani from Glow at Salon Z who offered a gift certificate for a free haircut to each lady 402-312-3993
-
Cari Hagenmoser who offered Color Street nail polish cari.green@yahoo.com
- Maya P. who offered neck and shoulder massages from Sakoon the Spa 531-466-8200
- Rachel Sennett, Miss NE for America Strong 2022 who offered hair cuts from Seven Salon, along with her salon owner Shannon Bingham who connected us 402-934-2177
- And Ida Marie Hebrank who offered 30 minute guided meditations
If you would like to offer a donation to help with what was paid for food, facial products, manicures & pedicures please make sure your check memo line or envelope for cash say “Magdalene Spa Day” so it will go back into the correct fund. Anything in excess of what we used will go into a fund for next time. Thank You!!
|
|
|
The Vestry met for an annual retreat on April 2nd and spent time together in prayer, getting to know each other more, talking about our church, and reviewing Vestry responsibilities. We talked about some goals for the remainder of this calendar year, including celebrating the conclusion of our three-year Capital Campaign (which ends May 30th), entering into our Year Four campaign (June 1st), and doing deep check-ins with the parish over the summer and early fall time as we continue returning from covid and living into the capabilities of our new space – for ourselves, our ministry partners, and our community. |
|
The Our Roots, Our Family, Our Future Campaign
This Spring marks an incredible milestone for our parish campaign, “Our Roots, Our Family, Our Future.” May 31st, 2022 will mark a very successful completion of our three-year capital campaign. We have kept a powerful and faithful commitment to this campaign even under the surprise challenge of several pandemic years, and because of a lot of communication, hard work, and careful management, we have begun enjoying the fruits of our labor in our new spaces, with Sunday School and programs for our youth and children, new outreach initiatives and partnerships with COPE and the Magdalene Community, and many parish celebrations in our Parish Hall. We’ll be finishing the three-year campaign very strong. We’ll also be entering our Year Four campaign as a way to position our parish’s finances for strength, health, and a great capacity for ministry for the coming years, and we’ll have some opportunities to hear how things are going and look at our goals ahead in this coming month.
|
|
Through May, please keep an eye on your mail for updates and invitations around the campaign. Our parish staff and leadership will be sending on letters in the mail with some updates, info, and invitations. Please also Save the Date for:
-
Sunday, May 15th, Campaign News Meeting: 9:40-10:20 in the Parish Hall. A chance to hear about important milestones, our current strength, and goals for the future.
-
Sunday, June 5th, Our Roots, Our Family, Our Future Celebration! Stay tuned for details about our celebration this morning.
|
|
A LibraryReads top ten pick, this debut novel is the first of a trilogy about WWII.
A library book bag is on the shelf in the fellowship hall. You are welcome to check out a book to read and join us for our discussion on Tuesday, May 31, at 11:30 a.m. at the church. Zoom connection is also available. For questions, please contact Sandra Squires at sksquires@cox.net.
|
|
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday is posted to the French consulate, but her world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement.
Ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, responds to an ad for a government medical position and finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
The lives of these three women intersect when Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten. (Excerpted from Amazon.com)
|
|
|
Friday, May 13
-
8:00 AM -Men's Bible Study
-
11:00 AM -Deacon Pat's Memorial Service
Sunday, May 15
-
8:30 AM -Eucharistic Service in person
-
9:40 AM -Sunday School
-
9:40 AM -Campaign News Meeting
-
10:30 AM -Eucharistic Service in person & via Facebook Live CLICK HERE
Tuesday, May 17
-
6:30 PM -EFM (Contact Jack for Zoom Link)
Wednesday, May 18
|
|
-
May 19 COPE Classic Golf
-
May 21 Mulching Party
-
May 22 Rector's Book Club
-
May 22 Last Day of Sunday School Party
-
June 5 Pentecost Celebration
-
June 12-14 Vacation Bible School
|
|
|
May 12th, 2022
A Place to Rest?
I’m seeing a lot right now about burnout and transition. It makes plenty of sense to me: folks have made their way through the last few years of sickness and quarantine by way of a number of strategies, ranging from battening-down every hatch on one extreme to a sort of belligerent rolling of the dice, come-what-may on the other. Even the most adamant rejection of any adaptations to our roiling times takes emotional energy, though. Every decision has had an extra layer or two.
That said, it feels like we’ve more or less emerged into a world that’s easier to navigate than the last few years have been. Vaccines provide us shielding and options, and many people have developed a familiar relationship with a mask that’s a bit more like an umbrella – something to have at hand when it’s needed or helpful. Doctors have better clarity about medications when someone does get sick, and have experience handling surge conditions … even if our broader culture might still need to do some discernment about how much we adapt to help out if and when those arrive again. The virus and its variants aren’t gone, but our tools are better and the risks are different: broad swaths of people are in an emergent season. Decisions might still have extra layers here and there … but the layers aren’t as dire or urgent.
I keep getting an image (possibly because of our abbreviated Spring – you saw that go by in the window real fast, right?) of a bear leaving hibernation (almost certainly because I like bears). They come out ready for exercise, food, and a season of active life after a long slumber denned up against conditions in the broader world.
But they also emerge exhausted. Hibernating takes it out of us, too, as it turns out. With Easter just barely in the rear-view mirror, I can’t help but wonder if the stories of Jesus eating with his disciples in the days after the resurrection aren’t just there to prove that he wasn’t a ghost (ghosts don’t eat, friends!), but might also have been because the dude needed a snack.
Seems to me that one thing the church can and should be doing right now is providing a place of peace for the tired bears on Sunday morning. I know sometimes it’s a challenge to just haul our ursine selves out of bed and over to the Sanctuary … but I’ve been praying a lot recently about how I can help God’s people be nourished and encouraged when they gather here.
There’s a lot of food to be found at church. There’s the Bread of Life itself set forth on the Table that Jesus invites the whole human family to come gather around for nourishment and belonging. There’s the encouragement we hear from Scripture. When we’re at least a bit faithful, there’s food for thought. And there’s coffee hour snacks, which include cookies and cakes often enough that more than a few of our younger children (my toddler daughter very much included) will bolt for the counter as soon as possible after worship to see what’s set out there.
So if you’ll allow me to, let’s poke the bear, here. In a season of emerging, emerge here a bit. Let the bear come and rest and eat. Let’s shake off some of the hibernation and remember how we’re meant to wander in the beauty of God’s creation and amongst our fellow … well, bears, I guess. If you’re still feeling a bit sluggish, come where you are loved, and be better known. We’ve got some great parties to throw and some great love to show our neighbors, and that’s worth waking up from the cave for.
|
|
St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church
285 S 208th Street
Elkhorn, NE 68022
402-289-4058
Church Communication and Announcements
Those of you who need to share information with the parish, please be sure to send it to parish@sainta.net as well as ministries@sainta.net Jay and Kate will need to have this information by Wednesday at 10:00 am to be included in that week's communication for bulletin and newsletter. We appreciate your support.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
