You can use a credit or debit card to pay your pledge to St. Catherine's, or even PayPal. Please go to our website and click on the Donate button, or use this link:
Get together at church for Chair Yoga on Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m.The cost is $6. We have an average of 10-13 attending. Please join us and invite your friends. Like more information? Email LaJuana Bryan: lajuanabryan@gmail.com
ALTAR FLOWERS
Dedicate altar flowers in thanksgiving for someone, or in honor or memory of someone, and they will be mentioned in our Sunday service booklet. To sign up, select a date, or request more information, please click: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5SVMHR8
We can now benefit St Catherine's when we buy something on Amazon via its "Smile" program. They will donate 2 percent of the purchase price for all your purchases to the charity of your choice.
Click on "Smile" at the top of the Amazon website and choose St Catherine of Siena Episcopal Church as your charity. (Or use this LINK.) Two percent of your purchase will go to St Catherine's, and it could really mount up. Thanks to Sally Dickinson for setting this up!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We really need to expand our volunteer list! Are you willing to learn more about being one of our Greeters, Technical Assistants or Coffee Hour Hosts? If so, please contact Sally Dickinson at 775-853- 7850. Thank you!
FINANCIAL UPDATE FROM OUR TREASURER
From the pen of our Interim Priest ...
Dear Sisters and Brothers and Friends of St. Catherine’s,
I wish to thank everyone for their warmth in welcoming me as your Interim Priest. I have been assigned by Bishop Elizabeth and contracted through your vestry with a part-time ministry (20 hours a week) in assisting you with a transition process.
Scheduled weeks in advance with my second Sunday, after our morning Eucharist, we held a parish meeting to address our present challenges. It was well attended, and we experienced hopefulness and excitement for our next fifteen years. We had an opportunity to note many of our strengths as a parish in south Reno, as well as begin to prioritize thoughts for immediate action in the next several months.
Realizing our financial challenges, our lease, and our loss of full-time pastoral leadership with Rev. Tom Blake’s departure, we were able to address these challenges with optimism as we spoke of the many options that are there before us. A Property Search Committee was appointed to begin immediate exploration and investigation into our options. Following is a summation of our meeting.
I want to thank Rev. Marla Asson and Sally Dickinson, especially, for their participation in the presentation in assisting us to examine our financial situation. We are grateful to all who attended and for voicing your thoughts for a common vision and direction.
As with all of life, we confront challenges. Together with our faith and openness to God’s will, we will be led to an exciting future. God is richly blessing us as we grow in faith and mission together.
Blessings, William+
St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church Community Meeting: Sunday, July 17
8.Great music leadership (they commended Kevin Murphy)
9.Survived Covid and the shut-downs
10.Mutual respect and love
Priorities(not in any particular order at present)
1.Stay in south Reno (major development next major block down to develop a second “downtown Reno”)
2.Deal with the lease – goes to 12/2023 and increases to $75K for the year
3.Continue outreach ministries
4.Focus on the senior population
5.Communication – promotion and public relations
6.Need a full-time priest
7.Eventually examine doing Latino ministry
8.Potential of sharing present space with another denomination or church
9.Examine unconventional and other denominal spaces in the area for opportunities for sharing space
10.Prioritize growth and gaining new members
Property Search Committee appointees to begin researching options for a ministry home are the following: Alison Gordon, Chris Goss, Beth Osborne, Charlie Dickinson, and Revs. Marla Asson and William Stomski. As needed we will also identify people with particular gifts to assist us to promote this work and mission.
St. Catherine 2022 Mid-year Budget Analysis
A Message from our Bishop …
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust.
It means to have a, "firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something." To use it in a sentence: "Relations have to be built on trust." (Oxford Languages)
When trust is broken it is hard to repair the damage. It takes a whole lot of love and forgiveness and... maybe, most importantly... humility to remember we are all broken in some way. So we try again. And again. And again.
At the same time the world is complicated so establishing and rebuilding trust is hard. But as my friend the Rev. Donna Mote (preacher at my ordination and consecration) says, "God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good."
When there is conflict in churches we seem to wonder why. Churches, after all, are supposed to be filled with Christians. But we go back to the truth: we are all broken in some way. A church leader I follow, Carey Nieuwhof, write this week in his blog about three ways to keep church conflict low and passions high. You can read it here. Note the third point: Choose Trust. Just like Christian joy, trust is a choice.
And so we enter into new relationships praying and hoping and working for trust. When that doesn't work out so well for us, we regroup, pray, and enter the fray once more. Because the Kingdom of God is more important than our hurt feelings or wounded egos. In the Kingdom of God we respect the dignity of every human being. In the Kingdom of God we work toward a future full of hope.
The Church (big "C" – as in all of us) must lead the way in being a place where people can live knowing they are safe and loved. Sometimes that means old habits must go away. Sometimes that means we need to look anew at how we are to be in the world. This work can be hard but it is so important! Ultimately, we create a new space, a new dynamic where we can move forward trusting in God's grace and one another.
As the definition says, "relations have to be built on trust." Let's work to trust one another – particularly when we don't want to. That is what makes us followers of Jesus.
Faithfully,
+Elizabeth
A Thank You Note from The Rev. Tom Blake …
Dear Members and Friends of St. Catherine’s,
The poodles and I have arrived safely in Connecticut, and we are settling into the Rectory. I wanted to express my thanks for the wonderful send-off you gave me – the kind words, the gifts, and potluck, and all. Please know what an honour and privilege it was to serve among you these past few years. You remain in my prayers.
Faithfully, Fr Tom+
(49 Elizabeth Street, Branford, CT 06405)
The Five Finger Prayer
On Sunday, July 24, Dr. Stomski in his sermon on Prayer, made a reference to the Five Finger Prayer that he would teach the Children of St. Joseph’s School in Boynton Beach, FL. Many of you have requested a copy of that prayer. It is stated below.
The Five Finger Prayer
(Plus Silence)
(Hold up thumb)
“Glory to God as the angels sing,”
(Now hold up thumb and pointer)
“Thanks be to God for everything!”
(Add middle finger to others)
“God forgive me as I forgive others.
(Add ring finger)
“Bless my sisters and my brothers.”
(Spread out all five fingers and raise up high)
"Last of all,"
(Hand on heart)
"O Lord, bless me,"
(Fold hands in front, bow head and close eyes)
"As I make my prayer to Thee. Amen."
NOTES FROM THE VESTRY
Bishop Elizabeth Bonforte Gardner will celebrate the Eucharist with us on August 28 at the 10 a.m. service. She is joining us to commemorate 15 years as a Parish, and she will be opening the arms of the church to receive LaJuana Bryan, and Joe Noury into our church community. A potluck will follow the service; please sign up in the entry way to help.
The Ragtime event at Trinity was a big success. Fun was had by all.
Sign-ups for the movie/game/potato bar are low. If this is a bad time due to summer plans we will try it again in the fall.
Callie Swanlund is the presenter for “find your spark and nourish your soul” at Galilee Retreat Center, Sept 2-5. Registration forms are available in the entryway.
Catherine’s Corner Book Club resumes on the second Tuesday in September, at 1:30 p.m. Our book selection is “The Alchemist” by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. Please join us.
