The Bridge
January 29, 2021
The Mission of St. John’s is to be a community of God’s people who heal brokenness, build bridges, and exemplify borderless kindness.
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Annual Parish Meeting
On Sunday, January 31, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., St. John's will convene the Annual Meeting (via Zoom). This will shortly follow the 10:00 a.m. service of Morning Prayer and so please just stay on that Zoom meeting. The link to attend the service and the Annual Meeting is here and will also be sent out on Saturday in the service reminder email.
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You may also join the Parish Meeting by telephone -
dial (346) 248-7799 and enter the meeting ID when prompted.
Meeting ID: 879 9502 6837
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Please note: Everyone except those people who have an active role in the meeting will be muted. This is to minimize background noise. |
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To protect the participants from any possible "trolls" who might try to interrupt our worship and fellowship, the Waiting Room is enabled for this event. The Greeter will admit you to the meeting as quickly as possible. |
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From Our Rector
I am excited to see all of you at our annual meeting on Sunday, January 31 at 11am. It will be an opportunity to learn what St. John's has accomplished in the last twelve months and begin thinking about what we would like to focus on in the next twelve months. The leaders who will be presenting at the annual meeting have been working hard on their reports and their presentations. We even had a rehearsal to make sure we were prepared! The annual meeting will be in both English and Spanish and I ask for your patience during this experiment. As we grow as a community with different languages, we will learn together how best to include all our members so they can fully participate and bring their gifts to the church.
The work ahead requires all of us to work together. It is an honor to have so many dedicated leaders that give of their time, talent, and treasure. I am especially grateful for the members who will serve as the vestry. I am also excited to announce that Paula Foy will be the Senior Warden. Together with God’s help we can live into our mission.
Minerva Camarena Skeith+
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Our New Vestry Members and Senior Warden
At the Parish Meeting, our new vestry members, Maria Caballero, Alfonso Hernandez, and Sandra Ward, will be ratified and installed. Welcome to this important ministry!
Also, Mthr. Minerva will introduce Paula Foy as our new Senior Warden! Congratulations, Paula!
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Greetings! My name is Maria Caballero. I began attending St. John’s in October of 2017. I was drawn to the friendly and welcoming hospitality extended to all, as well as the various ministers and outreach opportunities in the local community. I was received into the Episcopal Church at St. John’s on July 1, 2018. I joined the Order of the Daughters of the King in 2019 and enjoy being in fellowship with the other Christian women who participate. I have a daughter, April, who lives in Seattle, Washington, working as the Executive Assistant to the Office of the Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. I work for the State of Texas Human & Health Services, Hospital Services Section, providing support to the state hospitals use of the electronic medical record system. In my spare time, I enjoy crafting, reading, baking and spending time with family and friends. I am putting my name forward to become a member of the Vestry to get more deeply involved with the church community. I believe St. John’s is in an exciting time of transition, ready to welcome a new Rector, and stand ready to serve. |
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Hello, my name is Alfonso Hernandez and I am proud to be part of St. John's. I’ve known the Episcopal Church for about 10 years and been part of St. John's for 3 years. I am a member of the music ministry. Previously I was a member of the Vestry at San Francisco de Assis in Austin. |
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I'm a lifelong Episcopalian, with a B.S. degree in Computer Information Systems. For a number of years, I worked for the government in the Human Resources arena. The majority of my career was spent in Telecommunications, as a Project Manager.
My life with St. John's Episcopal began in 2005. Being a part of this amazing "church family" continues to be spiritually rewarding. Here are a few of my past and present activities at St. John's.
- Second generation 'Daughter's of the King' member (2005-Present).
- Serve as a Verger and am a current member of the VGEC - Verger's Guild (2015-Present).
- Serve on Pastoral Care/Eucharistic Visitor Ministry.
- Member of UBE (Union of Black Episcopalians); focusing on understanding racial tensions in our country and the harmony of "ALL" people (2010-Present)
- Member of the, newly formed, "Racial Justice Team" at St. John's (2020).
- Vestry (2007-2009 & 2014-2016).
- Served at Diocesan Council (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014).
- Senior Warden under Fr. Matthew Seddon (2016).
- Served as a certified Safeguarding God's People Instructor (2015-2019).
- Coordinator for the Ushers & Greeters Ministry (2008-2019).
- Served on the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Executive Board, under Bishop Doyle, for one term (2017- 2019).
I have dedicated my heart, my care and my talents, with and for my St. John's family. "God Willing", I will continue to assist in keeping the continuity of our Blessed sanctuary. And, I would be truly honored to serve on your Vestry for the 2021-2023 term.
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Hi Folks! I am honored to serve Mother Minerva and St. John’s as Senior Warden of the Vestry for 2021.
As I stated in my Bio when I ran for the Vestry, from the minute I walked into the sanctuary at St. John’s, I felt welcomed. Now that I know more about all the ministries and activities, I am humbled by the many dedicated folks I see who quietly work to further the mission of St. John’s.
Now, two years later, in my new role, I look forward to learning even more. John Williams (SW for the last two years) has shown me the way (thanks, John!).
None of us know for sure what will happen in 2021 due to the Pandemic, but I’m confident that St. John’s will continue to be the vibrant community that I saw when I first came to our church. With Mother Minerva’s leadership, great things are still to come!
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"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants"
Special thanks to our outgoing Vestry Members: Will Neer, Frank Rukovena, and John Williams.
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A Message from John Williams,
Outgoing Sr. Warden
It has been a very eventful 2 years for me as Senior Warden. When I started, we had lost our Rector and were getting by with supply priests, with our Deacon, Staff and volunteers drinking from a firehose of church management and organization duties. We brought on an Interim Rector, Ann McLemore, at Easter time 2019. Little did we know that it would be another 21 months before we would call Minerva Camarena Skeith, our new permanent Rector, and that during most of 2020 we would be operating during an unprecedented pandemic! Thanks be to God, however, we have come through the experience unscathed, and in many respects stronger and wiser for the experience.
Despite the pandemic, we were able to continue worshipping together, first by FaceBook stream and most recently through Zoom meetings. Thanks to the ongoing generosity and financial gifts of many, many members, our financial stewardship remained strong during this challenging period. This has allowed us to support the operations of the church and its paid staff, and to help church and community members in need.
Thanks to the magic of technology, we have maintained community and continued our training as Christ’s disciples through Zoom fellowship opportunities, Zoom Christian education classes, Zoom small group gatherings, and Zoom meetings to carry on the planning and execution of our church ministries.
We took up the challenge to respond to Martin Luther King’s call to Become Beloved Community. We formed a Racial Justice Team to lead these efforts. We incorporated anti-racism in the renewal of our Baptismal vows last summer with Bishop Ryan. We also began a serious study of the harms of racism through our Sacred Ground Dialogue Circles, and our Vestry adopted a formal statement opposing racism.
None of this would be possible without the hard work, dedication and leadership of our church staff and volunteer leaders. I want to extend my fervent thanks to the members of our Vestry, and in particular our all-World Junior Warden Hal Hughes, for their unflagging support of the church’s mission. I want equally to thank our staff members, Fay Jones, Philip Riley, and Alfonso Hernandez, our Deacon, Victoria Mason, and our Interim Rector, Ann McLemore, for their dedication, their long hours of work and the imagination they contributed to our efforts. These are truly servant leaders.
Many other volunteers made special contributions to our success by supporting our worship, church business and financial operations, participating as leaders of on-line classes, and participating in diverse ministries. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I want to especially acknowledge two of our volunteers, Bill Cox and Marvin Rasmussen. Without Bill’s non-stop efforts to provide website, Facebook and Zoom technology support, as well as his non-stop efforts to plan and prepare to carry out all aspects of our worship, we simply could not have succeeded this year. In much the same manner, Marvin worked tirelessly to ensure that all church financial issues were addressed in a timely manner, while he also contributed ongoing expertise and dedication to our technology development efforts. I know I speak for all our members when I say, “We could not have done it without you!”
Finally, I am excited beyond measure that we now have Mother Minerva among us as our permanent Rector! She is a smart, energetic and caring pastor who is a perfect fit for our bilingual family. I look forward to the coming year, where we continue to learn together how best to “do church” in these trying times. In the longer term, I look forward to being part of a unified, energized effort by our members to make St. John’s a church on a mission to be a loving, Christ-like resource to our community and our world, a church that is focused on healing brokenness, building bridges, and exemplifying borderless kindness.
John Williams, Senior Warden
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COVID Safety Guidelines from Austin Public Health
Please click this button to read the latest suggested guidelines to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic:
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We understand how frustrating it has been to get registered for and actually obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. We hope this information about websites for local and contiguous counties will be helpful. It is often easier to find availability if you don't mind driving a bit.
Currently groups 1A and 1B are authorized to receive the vaccine in Texas.
There have been technical issues that further complicate matters due to the sheer volume of people attempting to access the websites. Please try to be kind, patient, and persistent. Check these websites often. Be flexible about when and where you can go, if possible. Ask questions about accessibility if necessary. The people who are working to get us all vaccinated are doing the best they can, and deserve our understanding.
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It is suggested that you check one or more of these websites every day because once they get the vaccine they will open the registration and it is on a first come first serve basis. Good luck. Follow these links to look for COVID-19 vaccine availability locally and in contiguous counties:
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Austin Public Health
HEB
https://vaccine.heb.com/scheduler
Walgreens
No Registration Information
CVS
Not Yet Available in Texas
Randall's Pharmacy
https://www.randalls.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html
Travis County https://covid19.austintexas.gov/
Bastrop County
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7WM5XBB
Blanco County
http://covid.nbcems.org/
Burnet County
http://www.burnetcountytexas.org/upload/page/0271/Burnet%20County%20COVID-19%20Vaccine%20Providers%2001-22-2021.pdf
Caldwell County https://vaccine.caldwellcountync.org/
Hays County https://www.haysinformed.com/
Williamson County
http://www.wcchd.org/COVID-19/vaccine.php
For more information from Williamson County: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/29/williamson-county-covid-vaccine-how-get-help-signing-up-coronavirus-shot/4311010001/?utm_source=statesman-Afternoon%20Update%20for%20Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline&utm_term=list_article_thumb
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Sunday Worship at St. John's
We will celebrate Morning Prayer via Zoom.
- 10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer in English
- 12:00 noon Morning Prayer in Spanish
- To participate in our Sunday services, you do not need to have a Zoom account or download Zoom. Simply click this button to attend the service:
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You may also join the service by telephone -
dial (346) 248-7799 and enter the meeting ID when prompted.
Meeting ID: 879 9502 6837
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To protect those participating in the service from any possible "trolls" who might try to interrupt our worship, the Waiting Room is enabled for this event. The Greeter will admit you to the service as quickly as possible. |
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Please note: Everyone except those people who have an active role in the service will be muted. This is to minimize background noise. At the Prayers of the People, you will be invited to put any prayer requests into the "Chat" and Deacon Victoria will read these at the appropriate time. |
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The services will be recorded and video from both services will be posted on the St. John's Facebook page, YouTube, and the St. John's website later in the day so that you can replay a service at your convenience. Links to the recordings will be posted on our website (www.austinstjohns.org).
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Church Photos for Zoom Background
As many of you have expressed an interest in using photos of the church as your Zoom background, Bill Cox took several pictures from different aspects and here they are! We will also continue to provide updated photos of the altar with the flowers which Catherine Turner and Sandy Welles so lovingly and professionally provide each week.
Simply right click on a photo and save it to your computer. When you are in Zoom, go to the lower left corner of the screen where you will see a little video camera with a small arrow or "carrot" - click on the arrow. This will take you to a screen where you can choose a background. Click on the + sign and browse your photos to find the one you want. Double right click the photo to add it to Zoom backgrounds, then choose that one from the array. This should give you the background you have chosen. You do not need a green screen although if the room behind you is "busy" the background may not work well.
Please Note: These instructions may be a little different for a Mac, phone, iPad , etc.
Also Note: Virtual backgrounds may not be available on some older computers or on computers that have limited processor or memory capacity. In general, the Zoom meeting software will not allow you to select a virtual background if your computer is not capable of displaying it.
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Annual Parish Meeting
This week we will use the time between the English 10:00 a.m. service and the Spanish 12:00 noon service for our annual Parish Meeting.
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Knitting Us Together
Beginning the first Sunday in February, all knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers etc. are invited to bring a project to Sunday's zoom coffee hour! We will gather every Sunday as we share time with our St. John's community.
Whether you are a member of our Loops and Stitches ministry or just interested in needle work you are welcome to join us. If you have questions, call 512-423-9935 to speak to Lisa Shirah-Hiers. Hope to see you Sunday, February 7!
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Let's Do Pancakes!
On February 16 - Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras - the day before Ash Wednesday, we traditionally celebrate with a pancake supper hosted by our Vestry. However, as we will be unable to gather together for this event, we will host a Zoom meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m. during which you are invited to have pancakes (and bacon!) in your own homes while sharing fellowship with our St. John's friends.
Those of you who have attended Pancake Suppers in the past may remember the sour dough pancakes prepared by Roger Hall. Laurie Williams has graciously shared with us a link for preparing your own sour dough starter so you can make these at home with her recipe!
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Camp Allen is offering "Spring Stays" in their hotel and cabin accommodations.
Please click on this button to access more information and register for a get-away in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
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There are several ways you can continue to give towards the mission and ministry of St. John's:
Mail your check to the Church: St. John's Episcopal Church,
P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Go to your bank's website and set up direct payment - the bank will send a check directly to St. John's using this address:
St. John's Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Use this link to learn more about online giving: Click here
Use this button to go directly to our online giving portal:
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Caring for Each Other
If you, or someone you know, need prayer or would like to be contacted by the church, please contact Mthr. Minerva (revminerva@austinstjohns.org) or Deacon Victoria (512-297-5953) to add names to the Prayer List.
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Need Help?
If you find that your situation is causing financial, spiritual, or emotional difficulties, or if you are in need of food, do not hesitate to call Deacon Victoria (512-297-5953) or contact Mthr. Minerva (revminerva@austinstjohns.org).
We are a church family; when a family member needs assistance we want to try and help that member.
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Only Mthr. Minerva and essential support staff will be in the Church for the streaming of services as we continue to follow the direction of government officials and the guidance of our Bishop.
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All in-person meetings and activities at St. John's are temporarily suspended.
Ministry continues. All St. John's meetings will be held virtually (via Zoom).
We will post a notification here, on Facebook, and on our website when this restriction has been lifted.
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Fay Jones, Editor (fay@austinstjohns.org) |
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St. John's Episcopal Church
P. O. Box 81493, Austin, TX 78708-1493
Virtual Sunday Services
10:00 am in English (Zoom)
Mediodía en español (Zoom)
In-Person Holy Communion
Suspended Until Further Notice
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