WEEKLY MESSAGE
from Fr. Ripp
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Opening St. John's
One of the difficult realities of our lives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is that our governmental leaders are trying to navigate a way to keep people safe and get our economy and lives back on track. I am acutely aware that there is almost a no-win situation for them. They either put people in harm's way by allowing them to be exposed to the virus or they perpetuate the joblessness that is affecting so many people by keeping them at home. I pray that no matter what they decide that we all make decisions that are based on Jesus’ call to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mark 12:31).
And I am also reminded of the words of the writer of Hebrews 10:25 which says, “Let us not stop meeting together as some are in the habit of doing.” The opportunity to worship together has been taken from us by this communicable virus. And although our governmental leaders are opening up certain businesses, St. John’s will NOT BE OPENING until after the Bishop gives us permission and our leaders are prepared. And when we do open, our corporate worship will be very different because we are anticipating that there will be many regulations that we must follow in order to keep everyone safe.
Just this week, Linda Lund, Senior Warden, and I were in the sanctuary taking measurements. When we follow the six-foot social distancing rule we are only able to use every third pew. That means that there are only 12 pews available for the congregation. And when we follow the six-foot rule, only two people who are not of the same household are able to occupy one pew. So at a minimum we would have 24 individuals and perhaps up to 40 if several families of four or more sat together. And our readers and acolytes will not be able to sit in their regular seats either. Only four people will be able to serve up front with me being one of them. After each service we will have to do a thorough cleaning before anyone can come in for the second service. While recently visiting with one of my pastor friends, he said that it would likely be a better worship experience watching online for a while until we get a report that we are able to ease some of these restrictions without compromising people’s exposure.
I tell you all of this not to discourage you but to help curb any expectations that you may have. We will not be able to come together again like we did before the shutdown for quite some time. Only God knows when that will be but I am confident it will happen again. And there is no word from Bishop Reed about a safe way to distribute communion to those who are not able to come to church. My hope is that we will continue to improve our online worship and that this virus will come to an end sooner rather than later. In the meantime, please know that our staff, vestry, and safety team will be working on all that needs to be done to open up safely.
In Christ,
Ripp Hardaway
Rector
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OUR PEOPLE AND PARISHIONERS | All About Our People
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MAY ANNIVERSARIES
Brent and Maureen Bullock 5/5, Carl and Mary Bourgeios 5/18, Tom and Marjorie Nolan 5/21, David and Shannon Drichta 5/22, Larry and Karen Shumway 5/22, Robert and Janet Harris 5/27, Bennie and Kathy Bock 5/29, David and Kathy Simmons 5/29, Charles and Kay Keigley 5/30
BIRTHDAYS
| April 30 - May 6
Sandra Byron 5/1, Bill Campaigne 5/1, Jan Harrison 5/1, Bryan Nilsen 5/1, Claire Shepherd 5/2, Jami Wendel 5/2, Brent McGuire 5/3, Peyton Strand 5/4,
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Coffee Hour with Fr. Ripp | Cinco de Mayo at 2:00 p.m.
You're invited to the first ever virtual coffee hour with Fr. Ripp! Not a coffee drinker? No worries, grab a drink of your choice and join the Cinco de Mayo fun scheduled for Tuesday, May 5 from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. This is a come-and-go Zoom event that's an opportunity for the people of the church to talk with Ripp live and visit with others who want to connect. Stay five minutes or the entire hour, it's up to you!
Topic:
Coffee Hour with Fr. Ripp
Time:
May 5, 2020 at 02:00 PM Central Time
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID:
867 0435 3451
Password:
865685
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WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
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COVID-19, Outreach, and Virtual Resources
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WORSHIP & CLASS SCHEDULE
| Live Streaming on Facebook
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- Worship and Prayers Sunday, May 3 | 8:45 a.m.
- Family Devotions Sunday, May 3 | 10:00 a.m.
- Children's Chapel Sunday, May 3 | 2:00 p.m. NEW TIME
- Noonday Prayers Monday-Saturday | 12:00 p.m.
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Virtual Altar Flowers given by God
Picture sent in by Pam Reitz
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Facebook Live
- Daily devotions with Fr. Ripp and guest leaders at noon (Monday through Saturday)
- Sunday worship with Fr. Ripp at 8:45 a.m.
- Sunday Family Devotions with Fr. Ripp and Ms. Cheryl at 10:00 a.m.
- Children's Chapel at 2:00 p.m.
The prayer and worship videos will be saved and uploaded to the church
website under the "Videos" tab located in the header menu and also on the
YouTube channel. Viewers are not required to have a Facebook account to view the live stream. Visit
St. John's Facebook Page, ignore the prompt to create an account, and then view the live stream and saved videos.
For assistance viewing any of the streaming services, contact the St. John's Communications Coordinator, Marjorie Nolan, by texting or calling (832) 729-3966.
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Virtual Services from Sunday, April 26, 2020
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CHILDREN AND FAMILY MINISTRIES
| Announcements & Resources
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Hello Children and Families,
I enjoyed our first Zoom Sunday school meeting last week. It was nice to see faces, hear voices, and see projects some are working on. Please look for details to join us next week and future dates
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Flowers on the Altar (Virtual)
We are asking children to create a picture of beautiful flowers we can place on the altar. They can use crayons, paints, tissue paper, etc. and the artwork will be placed on the altar for FB live services on Sunday. After the service, the artwork will be sent to members of St. John’s. The children may include a note if they wish, but please be sure to put your name on the back of the artwork. The artwork can be delivered to the basket outside office doors during the week or text Ms. Cheryl (210) 663-8074 if you need it picked up.
Mother’s Day Video Entries
Please don’t forget to send these in!
We are asking families to send a short video (5-10 seconds) of moms/grandmas and their children doing something together with the shout out “We love...! “ It could be something you always do like reading a story together, or something you have started doing during this time like skateboarding, taking walks, cooking, etc. Send the videos to
cheryl@stjohnsnb.com
. The deadline is Sunday, May 3 at noon. The videos will be put together and presented on Mother’s Day for all to enjoy.
Children’s Chapel
This week's lesson will be posted at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. We will explore John 10:10 and the
Good Shepherd. Father Ripp and I will see you live on Facebook on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
Prayer Walk
This is a simple way to initiate prayers on a nature walk. A
pdf is available here
to help lead the walk.
A Holy Hike with Psalms for Children
This is another activity to get outside in God’s beautiful world and connect Psalms and nature. Enjoy by
clicking here
!
Hope and love in Christ,
Ms. Cheryl
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Read Ms. Cheryl's letter from last Sunday, April 19 by
clicking here
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Resources from Ms. Cheryl
Cheryl Smith, Director of Children and Family Ministries, has compiled a list of resources during this time at home. Click the link below to read. Email
cheryl@stjohnsnb.com
with questions or for more information.
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Virtual Sunday School
Join a Children's Sunday School Zoom gathering this Sunday, May 3 at 11:00 a.m. Ms. Cheryl will send the meeting info to families through email. Please join us and visit with your church friends and teachers.😊❤️
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Children’s Sunday School Zoom
“I enjoyed our first Zoom Sunday school meeting last week. It was nice to see faces, hear voices, and see projects some are working on
,”
Ms. Cheryl.
Schedule as follow:
Preschool-1st grade:
This Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
2-5th grade:
This Sunday at 1:45 p.m.
Future Summer Dates:
June 7 and June 21
Children's Chapel
Each Sunday, Ms. Cheryl, Director of Children and Family Ministries at St. John's, will provide an online Children's Chapel lesson for everyone to learn and enjoy. The lessons are available on the
St. John's YouTube Channel
and will also be posted on Facebook and the church website.
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Children's Chapel lesson from Easter Sunday, April 26, led by Ms. Cheryl
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Youth Compline Every Sunday Afternoon
Emma Kypuros, Youth Coordinator, will have weekly Compline meetings for all youth, on Sundays at 4:15 p.m. and evening prayer on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. This is a good time to get together virtually so that we may still join in prayer and community. We will be able to connect on a lot of the things we're going through right now. It's a weird and uncertain time, but togetherness and intentional times set aside to practice our faith and prayer are even more important than ever.
Emma will send the Zoom invitation link each week before the scheduled time and will hopefully see all of your faces there. Other family members are welcome too! Email Emma at
emma@stjohnsnb.com
to sign up!
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EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND DWTX
| Announcements & Updates
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Primary Camp at Camp Capers
May 31-June 6, 2020 | Grades 3-5
This session is lead by Fr. Ripp! Summer camp at Camp Capers offers people ages 8-18 the opportunity to experience the unconditional love and friendship of a Christian community through each of our 1-week sessions. Through God’s grace, Camp Capers is committed to offering fun, life-changing experiences to children and youth in a safe, Christ-centered community. Visit
www.dwtx.org
Summer Camp page for pricing, scholarship info, and more details on Camp Capers.
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Family Camp at Mustang Island
June 11-16, 2020
Gather your family for awesome fun in a Christian community led by Fr. Ripp. Surf lessons, crafts, games, s'mores, music, worship, and more. $395 for family of one, $535 for family of two, $700 for family of three, $860 for family of four, each additional child $180 and each additional adult $270. Children 24 months or younger at time of session no charge. This includes 1 room, 8 meals per person and activities. Visit
www.dwtx.org
to learn more. Questions? Contact
lynn.corby@dwtx.org
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Please read the
attached statement
from the Diocese in regards to COVID-19 and the 2020 Summer Camps schedule and payments.
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Honoring Our Medical Professionals of St. John's
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Dr. Peter Carlson MD practices emergency medicine in the ER at Resolute Health Hospital in New Braunfels. He is on the frontline of fighting against COVID-19 and keeping New Braunfels healthy.
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Caitryn Alexander is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Resolute Health Hospital in New Braunfels. She cares for and comforts critically ill patients who are unable to have visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A prayer for doctors and nurses from the Book of Common Prayer:
Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and to the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them by your life-giving Spirit, that by their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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2020 Vestry Members
Linda Lund,
Sr. Warden; Don Greer,
Jr. Warden; Jim Whitcomb,
Treasurer
Paul Anthony, Janet Guillen, Bruce Howard, Carol Lenker, Adrian Quintanilla, Tori Smith
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