St. Paul's Episcopal Church |
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This Week's News Highlights
Our Service This Week
Holy Eucharist on Facebook and for those in person will be at 8:30AM on Sunday. See below for how to attend by either mode of participation.
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Advance Sign Up for Services No Longer Required
In consultation with the parish re-opening committee and ushers, the Wardens have decided to end the practice of requesting advance notice from those wishing to attend the Sunday service (and any other services that may arise.)
In accordance with diocesan requirements, we will STILL need to have contact information for each person attending. Over the course of the past nine months, however, we have recorded the proper contact information for around 100 people. These persons names will be printed on a list for the ushers. The usher will merely check off the names.
If you arrive and your name is not on the list, you may be asked to fill out a form with contact information one time. Your name will be added to the list and you will not need to fill the form out at subsequent services.
If you are a regular supporter of the church with an account number (formerly an envelope number) and are not on the list (perhaps because you have not returned recently) tell the usher. If your name can be found in the church directory, there will be no need to fill out the form.
Since we re-opened for in person worship last August we've only had capacity issues once - at Easter. With many of our seasonal members returning to their summer homes we don't anticipate safe capacity concerns in the near future.
So, no need to notify the office in advance. If you wish to attend a service, please come. But remember that masks are still required and social distanced seating is still in effect.
This Sunday is TRUE Fund Sunday
The first Sunday of each month includes a special appeal for designated contributions to the TRUE Fund. April was Easter Sunday, so the TRUE Fund was somewhat lost in the shuffle last month. But the need for emergency outreach in Key West is as daunting as ever. The TRUE Fund (Toward Relief of Unexpected Emergencies) has a long history at St. Paul's and is a major outreach for our parish.
If you wish to contribute to this special fund be sure to mark your check for the "TRUE Fund". If you use our church giving page, be sure to note "TRUE Fund" in the "instructions to seller" space provided in the electronic giving interface.
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We (Almost) Have a Priest!
The work of the Search Committee has been completed and the next chapter of life at St. Paul's is about to begin. The Vestry issued a formal call to the new minister. The candidate has accepted and papers have been signed.
The Bishop has asked us to hold off making a formal announcement of the new ministry until a few more administrative details have been addressed. We expect that to happen within days. So, stay tuned. But be of good cheer. St. Paul's will welcome its new Rector soon.
Installation of New Rector is Tentatively Planned for Saturday, June 5th
Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 5th. The time will probably be 5:00PM, but may vary a bit (an hour or so either way) as details are worked out. Our Bishop, the Right Reverend Peter Eaton, will be here to formally welcome and install our new rector. Details to follow.
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Restoring and Preserving St. Paul's One Brick At A Time
A new set of bricks, representing love, remembrances and faith as expressed by parishioners, was recently set in the Memorial Garden. (The latest grouping is pictured.) Please consider joining in this project. You can order your brick(s) here.
Proceeds help preserve our iconic church and grounds for future generations.
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Sunday's Service
Join us for Holy Eucharist at 8:30AM on Sunday in person or join us on Facebook.
To join via Facebook, go to the church Facebook page at the appropriate time and look for the window showing that "St. Paul's Key West is now live". Click on the window. (You may need to refresh the page a few times if the "live" window does not appear promptly at the appointed time.)
Did you know you DO NOT need to have a Facebook account to view the service or visit our Facebook page? Simply use the Facebook page link to go directly to our Facebook page (even if you don't have your own Facebook account). Follow the directions above.
You can open or download the bulletin for the Sunday service here.
You no longer need to pre-register to attend a Sunday services. If we do not already have your contact information you will be asked to fill out a contact information form one time (only) to be added to the list of persons for whom we have such information.
Please remember that masks are still required, there is no congregational singing (though there will be beautiful organ music and a solo by the cantor) and socially distanced seating will be in effect. We look forward to seeing you!
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Junior Warden's Report
By Greta Philips-Ford
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The Volunteers will gather this Saturday at 9AM and work on cleaning and prepping Holy Innocents Hall for touch-up painting for the arrival of our new priest.
Our big project this month– matching funds! We received a challenge from one of our parishioners to raise $4,000 – which will then turn into $8,000.00!
If we can raise $4,000.00 by the end of May—the benefactor will match the amount! These funds will go towards the “re-lighting” of the windows in the Sanctuary and other needed and long deferred projects (see below).
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While most of our windows are lit with natural sunlight, some of them are actually placed so as to never receive natural light. The plan is to replace all of the fluorescent lights backing the stained glass windows with LED fixtures, replacing the light fixtures at the entrance to the Church on Duvall Street; finishing the lighting/sprinkler system in the Memorial Garden and erecting the new flag pole.
Please mark your checks as "May Challenge" to support this effort. And if you use the church giving page to
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contribute, please note "May Challenge" in the "instructions to seller" part of the giving platform.
It is going to indeed be a challenge, since many of our seasonal members are heading north for the summer. But the work is vital and will pay dividends for many years.
As you know, LED lighting is much more reliable and energy efficient than fluorescent lighting. Your investment now will help us maintain financial strength in the coming years.
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Senior Warden's Report
By Ray Warren
Writing Our History Together
I am bursting with happiness and so much want to write about our new priest. The search committee did a great job for all of us. But there are procedures to follow, and we Episcopalians are all about proper order. So it may be a few more days before we can announce the new rector. Just know that I think you will be pleased.
By the time the new person is formally installed by Bishop Eaton it will have been about 10 months since I began my role is the "ecclesiastical authority" (the secular administrator) for St Paul's. It's been a long, long haul and I won't deny to you that I am tired. But I am also more grateful than ever to be part of such a wonderful community.
So many people came forward with volunteer work, consistent financial support and letters and words of support. I've watched you take care of each other. And I've been able to grow spiritually by interacting with so many of you.
Once the new priest is in place, my role will, at the very least, be diminished greatly. It will be his or her prerogative to keep me, or not keep me, as senior warden. But I definitely won't be the "ecclesiastical authority" for St Paul's parish. We will, at last, again have a proper leader.
If allowed, I hope I can retreat into a quiet volunteer role as an assistant to our parish administrator and our new priest. Even if retained as senior warden in the short term, in January, a new senior warden will be selected. I am completing my third and final year on the Vestry.
New voices and new leaders will come forward. And that is as it should be. St Paul's can never be a fully developed community if it depends on a handful of people to set its direction. We need to pull from and develop our bench -instead of trotting out the same players year after year. Thankfully, that “bench” of future leaders is growing.
The church is a living organism. All living things evolve and change. We've changed during these past 10 months. And we've grown from the experience - painful as it was at times. Now, with new leadership and hopefully, restrictions easing, I hope you are as excited as I am about moving forward into renewed ministry.
We are indeed a historic church in the heart of Key West. But we are as much about the future as the past. Our history continues, and we will write it together.
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If you need assistance setting up an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine, please contact the office (info@stpaulskeywest.org or 305-296-5142). The sooner we can reduce the range for variants to arise, and strive toward herd immunity, the sooner we can return to more normal activities as a community.
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Thank you!
Pledging at St. Paul's is never about securing support. We have a solid, loyal and sacrificial base of support from our members and friends. We've just not been very attentive to the traditional Episcopal practice of documenting commitments through formal pledges.
Well, despite the pandemic, we've begun to address that. Forty families have now pledged for this year and we're going to end the formal appeal. You can still enter your pledge for this year (and we'll credit everything you've already contributed toward that amount.) Please consider doing so. You can find more information and enter your pledge here.
Next winter we'll pick up and build on this year's commitments. Again, thank you to all who pledged (and who still will.)
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Contacts:
Church office phone: 305-296-5142
Church mailing address: 401 Duval Street, Key West FL 33040. Pledges and offerings can be mailed here or made electronically at the church giving page.
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Organ Concert Next Week
Our next organ recital "From the Organ", will be on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at noon. We will be streaming live on Facebook, and for the first time in more than a year, will also have a live audience.
Just as we do on Sunday mornings, we will be limited in the number of people in the nave. Masks will be required of attendees and social distanced seating will be utilized. If you have questions, please send me an email at tim@stpaulskeywest.org for more details. There is no charge for this event.
This concert will feature organists John Penkoske, Tom Scheck and Dean Warden.
Remember that you can also find prior recordings of many past concerts and musical offerings on St Paul’s Facebook page, or on YouTube.
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We Pray Each Day
Daily Morning and Evening Prayer is being offered on Facebook Live at 7:30AM and 500PM on weekdays.
Thanks to Bruce Hagemann, Lisa Laskow, Mary Simmons, Samantha Hall, Sarah Hall and Tim Peterson for volunteering to officiate at these sacred moments.
To join in the prayers via Facebook, go to the church Facebook page at the appropriate time and look for the window showing that "St. Paul's Key West is now live." Then click on the window.
"Like" us and turn on live notifications to get a reminder whenever we are offering prayers.
Please pray this week for healing for
Brittany (Sherri Hodies’ daughter), Beth and Jon Peterson (sister-in-law and brother of Tim), Al (Kitty Robert’s partner), Peter Nanos, Joseph Lyles, Danny Sweeting, Carolyn Sangston, Ed Hinkle, Cari Varela and Christina Sloan.
We pray for the departed and their loved ones
Charles "Chuck" Hammond, Kathryn Heldt (mother of Lisa McCarthy) and John Lyon
"Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant"
(Send your prayer requests to Tim@stpaulskeywest.org for future publication and to be included in the Sunday service. By default requests will be listed for four (4) weeks. But if the need continues, please let us know.)
We celebrate these April Birthdays
Jerry Poole, 4/2
Grace Highsmith 4/3
Ivan Stanke 4/4
Brad Hahn 4/5
Ashley Cook 4/8
Carol Wilusz 4/9
Kay Holfinger 4/11
Derek Nelson 4/11
Mitch Paternaud 4/12
Thomas Reeder 4/12
Joyce Seeney 4/13
Richard Griffith 4/14
Glenda Hoffman 4/17
Diane King 4/17
Sheila Barker 4/19
Chasity Wynter Cyrillien 4/19
Walter Schmida 4/19
Monica McLaughlin 4/22
Roger Sweeting 4/24
Alona Marius4/25
Damon Byrd 4/26
Laurence Marius 4/27
Stephanie Ford 4/28
Angie Mendez 4/30
Jim Schufreider 4/30
(If your name is missing from this month's birthday list please send a note to info@stpaulskeywest.org so we can add it.)
We Celebrate April Anniversaries:
Sheila and Ron Barker 4/1
Bryant Jones and Jennifer Bardy 4/11
Carol and Jeffrey Burnham 4/21
Bill and Jan Malpass 4/22
Bo and Sylvia Hicks 4/23
Chimo and Linda Acevedo 4/30
Tom Ford and Greta Philips-Ford 4/30
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Reminders
Sunday school is canceled during the virus emergency.
Back issues of The Epistle are available here.
Send questions and comments to the editor of this newsletter here.
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Tel. (305) 296-5142
Pastoral Emergencies (317) 414-4194
Office closed during the virus emergency
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