Saturday E-news December 19, 2020 |
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The front page of the website will always have a link to join Worship via Zoom or via YouTube, or you can continue to click the links here in the newsletter.
Both Zoom and YouTube offer the opportunity to type in comments and prayers during the worship service.
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The passcode is faithec
To join by phone:
iPhone one-tap
US: +16699006833,,86417722967#,,,,,,0#,,8218115#
Dial
1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 864 1772 2967
Passcode: 8218115
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Oops!! The Coffee Hour is this week! Sorry!
The Hospitality Ministry will host the Coffee Hour this month. Please join us following the 10 a.m. worship service.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 860 0669 2414
Passcode: faithec
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,86006692414#,,,,,,0#,,0765500#
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 860 0669 2414
Passcode: 0765500
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Extravagant “Yes”
This Sunday we gather for Lessons & Carols, and in the coming week, we begin our celebration of Christmas (Remember, we get to celebrate for 12 days!).
One of the reasons Lessons & Carols is special to me is that I consider it my anniversary of coming to Faith Church. Three years ago this Sunday, Katrina and I came to Faith Church to check you out😊 We had some fear and trembling, having heard a thing or two about El Dorado County that might be less than ideal for a couple of gay girls! But meeting you put us at ease and helped me to say “yes” to how the Spirit was leading me and leading us as a congregation.
The last three years have not exactly been easy. We bid farewell to precious people, for a wide variety of reasons, including death. And in the past year, a long-term goal of greater online presence became an almost overnight reality! We have supported each other and our communities beyond the church through this pandemic, through tremendous social and political unrest, through devastating fires, and so much more. We have done this imperfectly. And we have done this beautifully.
Through all this challenge (and no shortage of blessing, too!), we have continued to say “yes.” You might think, “Heck no! I’ve grumbled more in 2020 than in any other year!” But the kind of “yes” I’m talking about does not require the absence of grumbling, the absence of fear, or the absence of grief. The kind of “yes” I’m talking about is the kind modeled by Jesus and by his mother, Mary. This “yes” is an extravagant pouring out of oneself no matter the circumstances.
This “yes” to God does not come through renunciation and attempts to be pure or perfect. It comes through authenticity and extravagance. John the Baptist and Jesus (and I suspect Mary) were criticized for this spiritual extravagance, for this messy, freewheeling largeness of spirit. They dined; they drank; they danced; they loved; they lived fully; and they slid across home base having used everything they’d been given.
Lessons & Carols is about storytelling through scriptural readings, prayers, and songs. Lessons & Carols tells the story of humans longing for liberation and clinging to Light even in the darkness of winter. Storytelling is not fundamentally a form of entertainment; it is a form of spiritual work. Stories are not distractions from the mess of life. Stories are messy life manifesting meaning. Stories illumine life from the vantage point of the transcendent. Stories point us toward “yes” even while we grumble or tremble.
As you listen to the story again this Sunday, I encourage you to locate yourself within the story. Who are you and where are you in the story? And who is with you? How can you tell the story of your life in a way that is not distracted by mess, but instead illumined by meaning and the vantage point of the transcendent?
The story told of Mary in Scripture includes her response to the angel Gabriel, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Here are you. Here am I. What is our response to the messengers God is sending? How might our lives reflect an extravagant “yes”?
Rev. Sonya Reichel
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To make a monetary donation using your bank account or credit card Click here and choose Holiday Offerings from the drop down menu. You can also mail a donation to:
Faith Episcopal Church
PO Box 966
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
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Virtual Christmas Eve Service
& Children's Pageant
Thursday, December 24
5 p.m.
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Don't let COVID dampen your Christmas spirit! Join us for a Family Christmas Eve Service complete with choir music and Children's Pageant!
We will live stream our service the normal ways, via Zoom or YouTube. The links never change and are on the website and at the top of all of our Saturday E-News emails.
We are grateful for Rosie Sabado, our Music Director, and the entire Music Ministry for their continued dedication to providing beautiful music for us during virtual worship. A hearty thank you to M.C. Abajian who adapted the Children's Pageant to be virtual this year and to Matt Abajian who created the final video. A big thank you to members of the Video Ministry who make the beautiful slides for our virtual worship.
This year, you have the gift of worshiping on Christmas Eve with family and friends who may be far away, so be sure to invite them!
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This year we are pre-consecrating communion and making it available for pickup before our service on Christmas Eve.
To help us prepare, please complete the form below to let us know if you need delivery or if you'll be picking it up from the church. Thank you!
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Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
If you're looking for a midnight mass, you can join Trinity Episcopal Cathedral beginning at 10:45pm with an organ prelude and the service beginning at 11:00pm. Click here for more information. Cathedral services are streamed live on Facebook at the following link.
https://www.facebook.com/Trinity.Cathedral.Sacramento/
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It takes generosity and faith to step into a ministry. And it takes wisdom and faith to step away from a ministry. Pat Ekelund has an abundance of generosity, faith, wisdom, talent and so much more! We have been hugely blessed by her service in the office. And though we will greatly miss her and her many contributions in that work, we bless her as she steps away from this. She will not be far away. She will continue to be involved in ministries at Faith and in the local community.
“Thank you” seems so inadequate for the many ways Pat serves our congregation and supports me personally. But it’s what I can say here. And even though this will make Pat squirm, I encourage you to reach out to Pat with your own “thank you” for her many forms of service and for simply being her wonderful self among us.
We will have a bit more to say about this on Sunday. I hope you can join us.
Rev. Sonya Reichel
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A few of our parishioners are moving on to new places and adventures. Normally our congregation would gather 'round to provide a blessing for those who leave our midst, but we are unable to offer that gesture of support at this time. Please join us in saying thank you, we will miss you, and best wishes to the following families and individuals! |
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Mike and Alexandra Koroscik and their children Paige, Charlotte, & Shannon relocated to Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Paige and Shannon were active members of the youth group and Alexandra was involved as a SHARE volunteer and in the Hospitality Ministry.
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Ken and Janie Shepard have moved to Long Beach, Washington. Ken and Janie raised their family here at Faith. They were involved in many ministries during this time, were beloved leaders of Youth Ministry, and most recently, Ken participated in the Music Ministry. |
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Fran and John Thompson have moved to Eloy, Arizona where they are building a new home.
Fran was a long-term volunteer in the Administration Office at Faith, a Lector, and Eucharistic Minister. Fran and John were also members of the Mission Team.
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Charlet Burcin relocated to Fallbrook, CA. Charlet was very active in the Cameron Park Assistance League that met here at Faith. |
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Release & Renewal Service |
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Join us for a special time of prayer as we say goodbye to 2020 and invite God's blessing on the new year. The service will take place online, January 1st, at 5pm.
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The Annual Meeting will begin at 11:00am on Sunday, February 7th, 2021.
Please add our Annual Parish Business Meeting to your calendar and join us as we elect our next Vestry members and Convention Delegates. We'll also hear about the state of the parish, our annual budget for 2021, and a word from Rev. Tom about a vision for the ministry of Faith Church.
If you are interested in being a Vestry member or Convention Delegate, please complete an application and return it to Rev. Tom by January 31, 2021.
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Here is a current list of who to contact at the Church for various needs.
Staff
Treasurer
Please contact Lynne with any questions regarding your stewardship pledge, donations, etc.
Sr. Warden for the Vestry
Jr. Warden for the Vestry
The Administrative Office - available in-person by appointment
- Request to add something to the calendar
- General questions about worship, events, activities, supplies, and facility use
- Announcements for Sunday services
- E-news articles
- How to use Zoom for a church related virtual activity
- Address or contact information changes
You can always find this link on the website at Faithec.org. Scroll to the bottom of the home page to find the link for the church calendar.
You can always find this link on the website at Faithec.org. Scroll to the bottom of the home page to find the link to the Church Directory. The directory is password protected, if you do not have the password, please email the Administrative Office.
Prayer Requests
Realm (click to go to the login page)
Realm is the new system that gives you access to everything you need in just one place! You can register for programs, volunteer in a ministry, change your contact information, find contact information for other church members, sign-up for text or email notices for topics you are interested in, make a donation, send messages to people in your ministry, check your year-to-date donations and so much more. Even if you do not want to make donations online, you will want to have a Realm account for all of these other features. Contact the Administrative Office if you need to setup a new account.
Ministry Scheduler
We are not currently using the Ministry Scheduler program, due to the pandemic.
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Regular Fellowship & Other Resources |
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Regularly Scheduled Fellowship Opportunities
Young Adults Group: First and Third Fridays of the month at 7 p.m. Contact Amy Daust at (530) 313-9094.
Women's Lectionary: Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Contact Ruth Pihlaja at (916)214-3994.
Landscape Ministry: Second Saturday of the month. Contact Tim Daust at (707)333-6570
Senior Lunch Bunch: Third Wednesday of the month at Noon. Contact Fred Campbell-Craven at (530)409-7734.
Yoga: On temporary break until after the holidays. Contact Sharon Greene at (916)715-4766.
Spiritual Companions: Thursdays at 7 p.m.. Contact Susan Wahlstrom at (209)304-8321.
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You can view a Liturgical Calendar for upcoming weeks with links to the lessons for Sundays and major Holy Days from the Revised Common Lectionary (as adapted for use in Episcopal worship) at the following link:
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Need help learning how to use Zoom? Even if you have used it for a while, these tutorials can improve your experience. Click the link to see all the options.
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