Siena Sage
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A publication to promote our mission: "In community, love God, love others, serve both."
Physical address: 10435 Double R Blvd. • Reno, NV 89521
Mailing address: P.O. Box 17831 • Reno, NV 89511-1033
December 2021
PRAYER LIST
Carol D., Russ, LaJuana, Alison, Peggy, Lynda, Jay, Johnnie, Gail, Carol L., Hazel, Marlene and the Sam family, Sharyl, Sue and Victoria
SUNDAY SERVICES
10 a.m. Sundays
~ and ~
8:30 a.m. on the
1st & 3rd Sundays (Dec. 5 and 19)
NOW INDOORS
VESTRY & OFFICERS

The Rev'd Thomas Blake
Priest-in-Charge

The Rev'd Marla Assan
Priest Adjunct
________

Kevin Goss,
Senior Warden
Charlie Dickinson,
Junior Warden
Richard Curtis 
Todd Kodet
Carol Lacy
Kris McCain
Georgia Tachoires,
Clerk
Sally Dickinson, 
Treasurer
______

CONTACTS

Stewardship Chair
Lajuana Bryan
462-1700

JumpStart Kitchen
Kris McCain

Prayer & Recovery Ministries
Joann McKeeman
815-4637

Lectors & EM's 
Anne Towner 
827-3784 
  
Altar Guild  
Linda Stetzell 
826-8585 

Lap Quilts for Seniors
Amy Heintz
851-1026 

Senior Bundles
Linda Kodet linda@spacekodet.com

Children's Blankets
Carol Dyer
702-496-8595

Hosts, Greeters
& Oblationers
Sally Dickinson
______________

IMPORTANT LINKS




Plastic & PayPal available
If you'd like to use a credit or debit card to donate to St. Catherine's, or PayPal, please go to our website and click on the Donate button, or use this link: 
HELP UPGRADE OUR TECH 

Donations are welcome for Phase Two of this fundraiser.

Phase Two:
• TV#1
• TV#2
• FM Transmitter
Total: $890

Phase One, COMPLETE:
• Camcorder
• HDMI Switch with USB
• HDMI to ethernet
• Tripod
• Camera Wall Mount
• Computers
Subtotal: $3385
Thank you to all who made Phase One happen!
TREASURER'S FINANCIAL UPDATE
CHOIR RECORDING SESSION
SING WITH THE CHOIR
New voices are always welcome—please join us!
Friday, Dec. 10 at 4 p.m., in person at the church.
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK

St Catherine’s kindly requests your participation in a survey! Please click on link below:
Quilt Block
NEXT QUILTERS MEETING: JAN. 19

There will be no Quilter's group meeting in December, so that you may spend time with your families. The Quilting Group will resume in the new year on Wednesday, January 19th at 10 a.m. at the church. Have a blessed holiday.
Get together at church for Chair Yoga on Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m. All levels welcome! The cost is $5. If you'd like more info, email Lajuana: lajuanabryan@gmail.com.
CAMP GALILEE'S 2022 SEASON

The Camp Galilee schedule for Summer 2022 is posted and online registration is open. Use this link to take a look and schedule your summer. Please call 775-749-5546 if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you up at our lakeside retreat center in 2022!
Father Tom's December Message
Advent, which means “coming,” is a season of waiting and expectation. We prepare to celebrate Jesus’ first coming, and simultaneously we await Jesus’ second coming. We rejoice in God’s kingdom as it has already been realized, even as we anticipate God’s kingdom as it will one day be fully realized.

Waiting is not always easy. It requires patience. Sometimes it feels like we’re going against the grain of our culture, and that’s because we are. Even as our culture is immersed in Christmas songs, we insist on singing Advent hymns. Our culture likes neat categories; faith often leads us into places of ambiguity: in-between places, already-but-not-yet places, wilderness places.

I’m a linear thinker, so the non-linear trajectories of faith can be challenging to me. I identify with the first disciples who put down their nets to follow Jesus. They were setting down what was familiar to them in order to journey along unknown paths. They knew they were supposed to be on the journey, but there would be lots of surprises along the way. So it is also with us. We put our trust in God who sees the whole picture that we—for the time being—only see in part. We are Advent people. So here’s an Advent parable.

When a quarter century ago I was accepted into the ordination process, one of the first things I did was learn everything I could about all the Episcopal seminaries. There were eleven Episcopal seminaries at the time, of which, per direction of my bishop, two were not an option (and also per direction of my bishop, non-Episcopal seminaries were not an option). 

So, methodically, I put each one of the remaining nine onto either my “No List” or my “Maybe List.” Five ended up on the No List, and four ended up on the Maybe List. I applied to and was accepted at all four on my Maybe List, and eventually I had enough information to transfer two from my Maybe List to my No List, which left me with two on my Maybe List.

The problem was that I was absolutely torn between those two. I exhausted Pro and Con lists and Cost-Benefit Analyses, and still couldn’t decide. Weeks went by and I still couldn’t decide. I sensed that time was drawing near for me to decide one way or the other. Though I had started the process calmly and collectedly, I was starting to feel anxiety. I longed for resolution, for neatness, for a sense of feeling settled again.

One day, at my wits’ end, I decided to make the decision as arbitrarily as possible: by flipping a coin. There. The decision was made. I promptly typed two letters: accepting the offer from one seminary and declining the offer from the other. I delivered them to the Post Office and returned home, delighted that finally there would be resolution.

However, almost as soon as I arrived home from the Post Office, the phone rang and I answered it. It was the Dean of the seminary to which I had just turned down in a letter. He wanted to tell me how much he really wanted me to go to his seminary. My heart sank. If he had called about half an hour sooner (or if I had planned to leave for the post office about half an hour later), I would have had my answer. 

I told him what I had just done, and I also told him that I felt I needed to stick with the decision. To this day, I’m not sure that I made the right decision, although it’s a moot point now. God made the best of my decision. I still wonder, though, what if?

Sometimes it’s hard to wait patiently. Sometimes we miss things that are right in front of us, things for which we should have been alert, things God wanted us to see and behold. Sometimes we get things right, sometimes we don’t, and thankfully God is working his purpose out regardless.

Twenty-five years later, I’m glad we are Advent people in contrast to the surrounding culture. I’m amazed at the holiness we can find in these already-but-not-yet wilderness places. I’m in awe that, from where we stand, awkward and confusing as it may sometimes seem, God is profoundly near.

Fr Tom +
CHRISTMASTIDE
at St Catherines

Friday, 24 December 2021
Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Christmas Vigil Mass: 4:00 pm
 
Sunday, 26 December 2021
The First Sunday after Christmas Day
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two: 10:00 am
 
Monday, 27 December 2021
Feast of St John, Apostle and Evangelist
(at-home devotional resources to be emailed)
 
Tuesday, 28 December 2021
Feast of the Holy Innocents
(at-home devotional resources to be emailed)
 
Thursday, 30 December 2021
Feast of St Stephen, Deacon and Martyr (transferred)
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two: 10 am

Saturday, 1 January 2022
Feast of the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
(at-home devotional resources to be emailed)
 
Sunday, 2 January 2022
The Second Sunday after Christmas Day
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two: 8:30 am
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two: 10 am
 
Wednesday, 5 January 2022
(If circumstances permit, and someone would be willing to host, we will consider a Twelfth-Night Celebration. Contact Fr Tom if you have ideas or suggestions).
 
Thursday, 6 January 2022
The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two: 10 am
Thursday morning Eucharist services begin at 10 a.m.

A Eucharist service will be held at 10 a.m. on five Thursdays this month:

2 Dec: St Andrew, Apostle (transferred)

9 Dec: Ambrose of Milan (transferred)

16 Dec: Dorothy L. Sayers (transferred)

23 Dec: St Thomas, Apostle (transferred)

30 Dec: St Stephen, Deacon & Martyr (transferred)
You're invited to a Cleaning Day: Dec. 19

Please join us as we get together to tidy up the church (rearrange chairs, vacuum, and clean widows) on Sunday, Dec. 19 after the 10:00 a.m. service. Thanks for your help!
Join Fr Tom for coffee & conversation

Drop by the Starbucks coffee shop on South Meadows Parkway for a chat or conversation with Fr Tom during the following times:

Saturday, 4 Dec: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, 11 Dec: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 18 Dec: 10 a.m. to 12 noon
St Nick
St Nick's Helpers: Grab a 'tree' gift tag and help a neighbor

By Sally Dickinson

This year we have 4 families from Double Diamond Elementary School (DDES) who could use some help this Christmas. We will help make Christmas a bit brighter for 14 children. Tree gift tags are in the entryway at church with a wish from each of these children. Feel free to take one or more gift tags! Please limit the cost of each gift to $30. 

If you'd like to participate in our St Nick's ministry but are unable to come in to pick up a gift tag, you can send a donation check to church with "St Nicks" in the memo section of your check and we will do the shopping.

Please bring the gifts back to church by the 12th of December, wrapped, and with the gift tag securely attached. We will get the gifts to DDES on the 13th for the families. 

In addition to the gifts, we are collecting donations to provide each family with a Winco gift card so they might purchase food for their holiday meals. Thank you in advance for your generosity and help with this ministry.

Any questions, contact Sally at 775-853-7850.
HEALING TOUCH HANDS
Schedule a Healing Touch therapy session

By Vickie Wright, RN

Hi, I am Vickie Wright, I have been a Registered Nurse for more than 50 years and I do Healing Touch therapy. Those who have read "The Reluctant Healer" will have some idea of what I do.

Healing Touch is an evidenced-based, nationally-accredited Energy Medicine Therapy which activates a person's natural energy flow to enhance and support physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and healing.

Practitioners apply light or off-body touch while administering interventions with heart-centered intentionality to clear energy blockages and balance the energetic flow of the mind, body and spirit. Healing Touch reduces pain, increases mental clarity, relieves stress and anxiety supporting deep relaxation, and accelerates healing from injury, medical procedures and surgery. It also supports the healing process and a sense of well-being. 

I will do healings at St Catherine’s every other Wednesday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sessions can take from 20-40 minutes and are done fully clothes, either on a massage table or in a chair – whichever is more comfortable for you.
I am very thankful I can offer this to parishioners and their friends and family at St. Catherine's, by donation only.

To schedule a time please contact me at 775-560-9997 or vickiewright@sbcglobal.net.
Baby Bundles begins again!

By Linda Stetzell

Due to COVID issues, we were asked by Renown and St Mary’s to suspend this ministry for all of 2021 and a good part of 2020. We now can resume gathering items on the first Sunday of each month. These items are delivered to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral where a group of volunteers meets each month to prepare newborn gift bags. These gift bags are then delivered to the Post Partum unit at both Renown and St Mary’s to be distributed by staff to families who don’t always have what they need for their newborn baby when they are discharged from the hospital.

The items gifted by our membership will be collected starting Sunday, January 2, 2022. Items requested are as follows:
  • Newborn diapers
  • Wipes
  • Receiving blankets
  • Bibs
  • Onesies
  • Caps
  • Socks
  • Cute outfits
  • Crocheted/knitted blankets

If shopping is not convenient for you, we will gladly accept checks made out to St Catherine’s with a notation on the memo line of your check: “Baby Bundles.” If you have any questions, please feel free to call or text me at 775-843-8587. 
Would you like to donate Altar flowers?

To sign up, select a date, or request more info, click this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5SVMHR8

Would you like to donate poinsettias to adorn the Altar at Christmas?

To sign up or request information, click: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PCMP9RY
Bible study: the Book of Leviticus

Join St Catherine's Bible Study group at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays, in person at the church with no reservation necessary. The group is currently studying Leviticus. Contact Fr Tom for more information at thomas@stcatherinesreno.org.
Zoom book group now reading 'Let Go'
Join us as we discuss "Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship" by Casey Cole, OFM. We get together via Zoom each Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Here's your link to the online meetings:
Tele: 669-900-6833; Meeting ID: 848 9641 6369
Book Club meets Dec. 21 (and there will be cookies)
By Lajuana Bryan

Catherine's Corner Book 
club will meet only once this month, on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m., with cookies!  We will finish "A Path Appears," and then our new selection for Jan. 11 will be "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?" by Brian D. McLaren. I have ordered some used books; if you want one, let me know. Merry Christmas! For more information contact LaJuana Bryan 775-262-1700 or lajuanabryan@gmail.com.
Advent mini-retreat offered Dec. 4
St Catherine's will be hosting a half-day retreat titled "The Holy Spirit Speaks 2," on Saturday, December 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon.


Based on the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Dec. 4 retreat will focus on individual contemplative prayer (and it will be fun!).

Come connect in a special way to begin the Advent Season. To sign up or request information, click:

Although this is the second in a series of three presentations, each functions independently and there is no need for you to have attended previously. "The Spirit Speaks - 3" will be held March 5, 2022. Any questions? Contact Lajuana Bryan at
lajuanabryan@gmail.com or 775-462-1700.
Contact Us

Please feel free to call St. Catherine's at (775) 851-4168 to let us know how we might respond to your needs. If you leave a message, your call will be returned promptly.

St. Catherine of Siena Episcopal Church

Phone: 775-851-4168 
Physical address: 10435 Double R Blvd. Reno, NV 89521
Mailing address: PO Box 17831 Reno, NV 89511-1033

Copyright ©2021. All Rights Reserved.