Good Friday Evening Service

The month of April starts with Maundy Thursday. It seems a fitting time to explain Maundy Thursday. On Thursday of Holy Week, the action started to escalate in Jesus’ life. Prior to Thursday, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, Mary anointed Jesus. Then the next day, Jesus entered into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry that we celebrate as Palm Sunday.

The day after, Monday, he cleared the Temple. Tuesday, he debated the religious leaders. He also taught his disciples about the meaning of his death and resurrection. Wednesday was a quiet day that we call Silent Wednesday. However, on this day, Judas began his arrangements to betray Jesus.

All days in Holy Week are important, but on Thursday the action began to rise.

Thursday was a momentous day in Jesus’ life. The night started pleasantly. He ate Passover dinner with his disciples. At that dinner, Judas betrayed him by leaving the meal and meeting the chief priests to arrest him.

At that dinner, Jesus instituted the Communion. He gave us the sacred love feast of sharing in his body and blood. During the dinner, he washed his disciple’s feet and taught about loving others through service. Also, at that dinner, he prophesied that Peter would deny Jesus when Jesus needed him most.

Later that same night, Jesus and the disciples prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus wrestled with God. He submitted his will to his heavenly father’s will. He knew what was to come, and he willingly submitted to the ordeal. After his prayer, a mob came to arrest Jesus.

Judas signaled to arrest Jesus with a kiss. Jesus was then arrested. In the wee hours of the morning before the dawn of Good Friday began, they took Jesus before the chief priests, the elders and the scribes for the first trial he would endure on the way to the cross.

Thursday was a significant day in the life of Jesus. It was the beginning of the passion of Christ. For us today, we begin the preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. Without Maundy Thursday, we would not have Easter Sunday.

As you observe Holy Week, may you know God’s love for you through Christ’s willing gift.

Pastor Anny+

Consecrated wafers are now available for Communion at Home. The wafers are carefully prepared, representing the consecrated Body of Christ.

Extensive provisions have been made to keep the wafers safe from the COVID-19 virus. Gluten-free wafers are available upon request.

You may drive by and pick up communion wafers at the church on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. A Licensed Eucharist Minister will dispense the wafers in a container for you to use during our Sunday online live-streamed service.

Our hope is that this taste of heaven, the Body of Christ, will sustain you, heal you and give you hope through difficult times.

Invite * Welcome * Connect

Please join Pastor Anny in the next Walk Talk series beginning Sunday, April 11^th. The focus will be on the Invite Welcome Connect book by Mary Foster Parmer, which includes stories and tools that will help transform our approach to congregational development and growth. It calls us into a ministry that encourages us to share our faith with others in new ways. The Walk Talk series will be offered Sundays 8:45 - 9:30 a.m. and again 3 - 3:45 p.m. We hope you will join the conversations about Invite Welcome Connect. 

April 10^th

Natalie and Kara

mommy.cooper1@gmail.com

ksdiaz22@gmail.com

We are starting FISH Youth Group in-person again! We will be partnering with St. James Episcopal Church and Lincoln United Methodist Church to form a corporative youth group that will rotate among our churches.

The group will meet on the first Wednesday of the month from 5-7 p.m. Our first meeting is Wednesday, April 7^th at 5 p.m. at St. James Church located at 479 L St, Lincoln, CA 95648.

The weekly meetings that are currently held on Zoom will be put on hold for a few months. Our Youth Leader, Virginia Genato, is finishing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has asked to take a little hiatus to finish her degree. We will start weekly youth group meetings with Virginia in the summer.

Questions? Contact Pastor Anny at anny@staugustineepisocal.com

The Rev. Dr. Portia Hopkins was guest preacher and celebrant at St. Augustine on March 21^st. Rev. Portia was a member of St. Augustine. Our church sponsored her journey to ordination.

She was ordained by Bishop Meagan in December 2020. This was Rev. Portia's first visit back to St. Augustine since her ordination. She was presented with a beautiful stole created by Christine Hohmann. Pastor Anny blessed the stole prior to the presentation.

Rev. Portia's first call is as the Assistant Rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Sacramento.

Dear Friends,

A special thank you to all who participated in the FastPrayGive Lenten study program. This is a wonderful curriculum developed by Andy Morris working with Wesley Men's part of The United Methodist Church. Andy is also a Community Coordinator in Nashville, TN for Rise Against Hunger (RISE). I hope everyone will take the opportunity to reflect on world hunger.

Our meal-packing event is coming fast. It is scheduled for Saturday, May 1^st at 1 p.m. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, you will need to register to attend at:

Find out why we say, “It starts with a meal." We help people today meet their nutritional needs with a meal, but we also use the meal to help bring transformational development to the community they live in through education, better health and agricultural development.

Thank you and God bless you and your gifts!

Jim Quinney

jimquinney@gmail.com

Cursillo is a three-day weekend in Christian fellowship. Cursillo is the Spanish word meaning 'short course.' The weekend will help you more richly experience your faith and encourage a spiritual life that is filled with joy, hope and enthusiasm.

 forejack9851@gmail.com 

Online Giving - Electronic Donations

Between 35% and 40% of our monthly giving is being donated online. Visit the St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church website at:

Click on the 'Donate' button. Follow the screen instructions to create an online profile. You can make one-time donations and also set up recurring gifts. You can use credit cards and build your points and miles. You will have the option to help offset the credit card processing fees.

Meeting regularly in prayer deepens our awareness that God wants to spend time with us, no matter how or where we do that. We would love to have you join us for our Centering Prayer time:

Chris Deering (916) 484-9195 or lmalex@mac.com 

 Steve Mershon at (916) 768-6933 or steve.mershon@icloud.com

Google/Android: 

Once the COVID-19 restrictions are lessened, and we can begin to bring more people into the church, there will exciting things to look forward to for this ministry.

In the meantime, this month we welcome two new members to St. Augustine, Debbie Hughes and Ava Moore. If you see them at church, make sure to greet them with a St. Augustine hello.

If you wish to become a member of the Welcome Team, please let Paulette know. If you would like to attend the Newcomer meetings, the 4^th Sunday of the month at 3 p.m., also contact Paulette.

Paulette Schloetter

bps54@aol.com

        Prayer Shawl Ministry ~ Craft Club

As we are not meeting in person during the pandemic, we invite members to join the Zoom Craft Group meeting at 11 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month. The next meeting is on April 10^th. We are looking for a time that may be more popular and a name that reflects that the interests of the group - whether to make crafts and/or just hang out to visit. Email me with ideas at gnave@aol.com.

The Gathering Inn Hosting team continues to prepare its famous "barrel chicken" with all the fixings for our homeless brothers and sisters. With a limited number of volunteers, and always following COVID-19 safety protocols, we prepare the food and send it off to be served at a church that is equipped to house The Gathering Inn guests. Please continue to pray for those who are less fortunate.

Rick & Janice Stenzel

The Gathering Inn is now fully open and functioning normally. They are still following strict COVID-19 protocols. Hopefully they will be able to open the medical clinic soon.

TGI is able to take donations of gently used clothes and HE laundry detergent. Beth Sulc will pick up the donations at church and deliver them to TGI.

Questions? Contact Beth at: bethsulc@gmail.com

The Outreach Ministry team is beginning the planning for our fall fundraising event. This year's event will be on Saturday, October 2^nd. Watch for more information in the coming months. If you are interesting in helping with the fall fundraiser, we would love your assistance.

For more information, please contact Peggy Doyle at: newpeggy09@yahoo.com

Special thanks for all the staples we received during our Lenten in-gathering. The shelves look great. I am so happy several of you have become regular weekly givers bringing a specific item or two. This really helps to know what to plan for each week. The donation for Week 6 is noodles.

Please drop off your items in the shopping cart at the church. Jim Quinney will deliver the donations to the St. James Pantry.

Thank you for your continued support of this important ministry. If you would like to become a consistent grocery cart patron for the pantry, please contact Jim at:

jimquinney@gmail.com

We are working on plans for a special visit here by Pastor Fiefie in October. Pastor Fiefie is the Priest-in-Charge and supervises the school at St. Luc in Thomassique, Haiti.

We are coordinating this trip with St. Stephen’s in Alabama.

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Lincoln and their generous grant, the students now have restored clean water for drinking and washing and for food preparation.

Enrollment is exploding. It is now up over 135 students. We are also developing plans to travel to St. Luc, likely after Thanksgiving and before the Christmas break for the children in Haiti. Dust off that passport, if you are interested.

Please visit our Haiti Education and Development Corporation website headcorp.net for updates about the school. We urge you to consider contributing today. Your gift helps to provide each student with improved nutrition, a safe place to grow and develop and education for a better life.

Most importantly, your gift is showing the love Jesus commands us to give one another. These are our neighbors, our brothers and sisters, our children in the larger family, God’s Family!

“Lemons into Lemonade!” is the theme for the Sunday, April 11^th Daughters of the King meeting. Penny Hart will present pandemic survival with serious and humorous anecdotes! 

To participate in the April 11^th meeting, visit the church website, click on Small Groups, and DOK, to enter Zoom.

Questions? Contact Carol Ann Hackley, DOK president, tchackley@yahoo.com

At the March 27^th meeting, the Executive Director of the Brotherhood, Tom Welch, was our guest speaker. He talked about the Discipline of Prayer… one of the three disciplines (Prayer, Study, Service) of the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood is planning their annual fundraiser Bingo Night for November 13^th. Depending upon COVID-19 restrictions at that time, the event will either be virtual or in-person.

Their next meeting will be Saturday, April 24^th at 9 a.m. via Zoom. 

St. Augustine volunteers work at the St. Vincent de Paul kitchen on the third Thursday of each month. They volunteer from approximately 9:15 a.m. until 1:45 p.m., helping prepare meals for those in need.

Approximately two to three hours of standing are involved. All food is provided, and no cooking experience is needed.

Our volunteers for the upcoming session April 15^th are Jack Dillon and Rick and Janice Stenzel.

Other volunteers for St. Vincent de Paul include Jack Dillon, John Redmond, Deidre and Rob Shonk, Catherine Beckman, Jim and Stephanie Tilton, Jim and Carla Dolislager, Rick and Janice Stenzel, Steve Broce and Kathryn Jordan.

Please contact Rob Shonk if you are interested in working in this important ministry: robshonk1976@hotmail.com or 916-599-1218.