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January 12 - January 21, 2024

Lessons for this Sunday

The 2nd Sun after the Epiphany

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Joyful Baptisms

FROM THE RECTOR

Dear People of Saint Paul's,



I had a friend in Chicago who was on a one-woman mission to convince all Christians that church polity and governance were interesting, fun, and even cool. I'm not sure that I'm quite willing to devote myself fully to that mission, but I truly believe that this deeply faithful friend is right that these things matter deeply. Our by-laws, budgets, and plans are stories of who we think we are and where we think we are going. These stories shape who we are and where we go, and so of course they are essential.


Two years ago, the vestry devoted three adult formation sessions in January to preparing us for the annual meeting. Last year, those sessions returned by popular demand. This year, by popular demand the three sessions have been reduced to two. But the two sessions we have planned to prepare us for the Annual Meeting are exciting and impactful. This Sunday at 9:30 in the Berlin Room, we will articulate a vision for downtown parish ministry that the vestry has been working with over the last year. This isn't delivering a vision that you'll sign for on receipt; it is expanding a conversation that has been going on in the vestry for months and is now ready to grow into the full parish. We'll talk together about where we think we're going as a parish and how we're going to get there. None of us want a monologue, so please come with your full self to help us grow as a full church.


On Sunday, January 21 at 9:30, we'll present the budget that will by then have been approved for 2024. We remain better-resourced than most churches throughout the world and throughout Christian history. And, we continue to face significant financial challenges that we'll need to meet in the coming years. Please join us again that Sunday as we read the story of our work this year through the numbers of how we'll fund that work.


God bless you, and I'll see you Sunday!

Eric+


FROM THE ASSOCIATE RECTOR

Two Outside Events


There are a couple of one-time events that are happening in Augusta that might be of interest to Saint Paul’s. First, is the documentary A Case for Love which is a heartfelt, yet personally challenging movie inspired by the teachings and writings of Bishop Michael Curry. The documentary will only be shown throughout the U.S. on Wednesday, January 23, 2024, at select theaters for one day only. To attend, please click this link where you will find the locations nearest you and have the ability to purchase tickets. I will be attending the 4:25pm showing at the Regal Theater on that day. I encourage Saint Paul’s to find the time to attend a showing. Several of our past and future formation opportunities during the 2023-24 program year support our vision and equips us as we continue to move forward in love in our call to become a beacon of light for downtown Augusta. I believe this documentary will be a valuable resource as we navigate our journey together.


The next event is a personal invitation to join me and my family to watch the Lander University vs. Augusta University basketball game on January 24, 2024, at 7:30pm at AU. My son #14 Noah Dunn is a Guard/Forward for the Lander Bearcats MBB. Tickets can be purchased at the door. I will be there and hope that several others from Saint Paul’s can join me to cheer Noah and the Bearcats to a win!


Epiphany Blessings,

Kimberly+

EVENTS THIS SUNDAY | January 14

The Nursery will be open Sun, January 14

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

We are pleased to announce that the Saint Paul’s nursery is open for children 6 months to 4 years of age. The nursery will be available this Sunday morning beginning at 9:00.

Sunday Worship Schedule for 01/14/24


8 AM Rite I

11 AM Rite II

11 AM Facebook Live

11 AM YouTube Live

5:30 PM - Celtic Evening Prayer and Communion

6:30 PM - Compline + Sit and Wait (Chapel)


All of our Sunday worship services are in-person.

Continental Breakfast

Sunday, 9 - 10 AM Tyler Hall


Busy morning? We have a continental breakfast this Sunday. Donations accepted.

Sunday Forum

A Vision for Downtown Parish Ministry

9:30 AM, The Berlin Room


This Sunday, at the first of two Vestry sessions in preparation of the Annual Meeting, we will articulate a vision for downtown parish ministry that the vestry has been working with over the last year. This isn't delivering a vision that you'll sign for on receipt; it is expanding a conversation that has been going on in the vestry for months and is now ready to grow into the full parish. Come with your full self to help us grow as a full church.

St. Nicholas Choir (age 5 - grade 2)

Canterbury Choir (grades 3-9)

Sundays, 9:25 - 10:00 AM


The Canterbury Choir (children in grades 3-9) and the St. Nicholas Choir (age 5 through grade 2) will meet this week as scheduled.


If you or any family or friends are interested in the choir program, please email Director of Music, Keith Shafer or call (706) 724-2485 ext. 215.

Meet Saint Paul's (grades pk4-5)

Sunday, 10-10:45 AM

St. Patrick's Room, CMC


This Sunday we look forward to welcoming our Saint Paul’s Warden, Cameron Nixon, and our Junior

Warden, Erick Montgomery, for our monthly “Meet Saint Paul’s”

Middle School Formation grades 6-8

Sunday, 10-10:45 AM

St. Benedict's Room, CMC


Formation classes for Middle School continue this Sunday! Elizabeth Lindroth will be leading our class this semester. For more information contact Elizabeth.

Celtic Service

Celtic Evening Prayer and Communion

with Prayers for Healing

Sundays, 5:30 PM


Celtic Evening Prayer and Communion is a candle-lit service that emphasizes the contemplative side of worship, features some of Augusta’s best Celtic musicians, and offers prayers for healing for those attending, for others, and for the world. Come as you are and enter into a place of rest, prayer, and reflection.


Laura Tomlin is our guest musician this week.

Sit and Wait

Sit and Wait Meditation Group

Sundays, 6:30 PM, Chapel 


Sit and Wait will follow the Celtic Service at 6:30 PM. The format will follow An Order for Compline from the Book of Common Prayer (page 127-135). The focus of the service will be the appointed Rule of Benedict for the Day. At the end of Compline, a twenty-minute sit will follow, and everyone will leave in silence.


Please email Suzanne Pursley-Crotteau or contact by phone at (706) 910-9331 for further information.

EVENTS NEXT WEEK | January 15 - January 21, 2024

Parish Office Hours

Monday, January 15, 2024


The Parish Office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

EYC (Episcopal Youth Community)

Grades 6-12

Sunday, 4-6 PM, Off-site (The Hilliard's)


EYC Meets Monday for a bonfire. Please note the change of date.


Join us at the home of Jim and Linda Hilliard, 105 Whiskey Rd., North Augusta, SC). For more information contact Elizabeth Lindroth.

Open Altar Flower Sunday


January 21 is an open Sundays for altar arrangements. If anyone would kindly like to sponsor a Sunday in honor or memory of someone or “many” someones, please contact the Parish Office at mailbox@saintpauls.org. The normal charge is a minimum of $100.

LAST CALL

Sign up for a Foyer Dinner Group

For groups meeting January, February & March


Each group of 8-10 people meets once a month for three months (January, February, and March). Groups gather for a simple meal and relaxed conversation in group member’s homes. Generally, the host provides the main dish and others bring the rest of the meal (appetizer, salad, side, or dessert), but groups can be organized in many other ways. We will schedule new groups for spring. Sign up beginning next week. Fr. Biddy will organize the groups and send information by the first week of January to get you started. For more information, contact ebiddy@saintpauls.org.

SIGN UP FOR A FOYER GROUP

New On-line Formation Offering

The Wounded Healer

Tuesdays; January 2 - February 6

7:30–8:30 PM


Our online formation book studies continue in January with The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen. Books are available from many book sellers or in the Narthex this Sunday and the parish office during the week ($15 donation). Sign up on our website. “In this hope-filled and profoundly simple book, Henri Nouwen offers a radically fresh perspective of how we can best serve others.”

Register for the class

Senior Lunch

Wednesday, January 17, Noon, Tyler Hall


Join us for lunch Third Wednesdays each month, at 12 Noon in Tyler Hall. Just a relaxing social time. Lunch is provided but donations welcome. Please sign up in the Narthex on Sunday mornings or on our website using the link below.

SIGN UP HERE

Why Dr. King's Message Still Matters

16th Annual Interfaith Celebration

Featuring Jon Meacham

Wednesday, January 17, 7 PM


The Progressive Religious Coalition of Augusta invites you to the 16th annual “Keeping the Dream Alive: Why Dr. King’s Message Still Matters” interfaith worship service. This event will be on January 17 at Sacred Heart Cultural Center. Gathering Music will commence at 6:30 PM, the service will start at 7:00 PM. Pulitzer Prize Winner and bestselling author Jon Meacham will be the keynote speaker. This is an interfaith celebration which includes music by Davidson Fine Arts Chorale and a play scene by the Augusta Junior Players.

Compline - ZOOM

Wednesdays, 8 - 8:15 PM

Meeting ID: 595 177 454
Dial-In: (646) 876-9923

Password: Email the Parish Office to request.

Compline is a beautiful, simple, and quiet service to end the day together in prayer with God. This service is led by members of the parish using an on-screen bulletin so everyone may pray together.

Following the prayers, those who gather through Zoom have an opportunity for a mid-week visit.

Mid-Week Eucharist

Thursdays, 11:30 AM


A mid-week Eucharist in the Chapel begins at 11:30 AM. Lunch in the Berlin Room follows at 12 noon with a weekly Bible study (more information below.) Join us as your schedule allows: Come for Eucharist and lunch, lunch and Bible study, or stay for all three. (So that we may honor mid-day schedules, lunch is scheduled for 15 minutes and will continue through the Bible study conversations.)

Lectio at Lunch

Thursdays, 12 Noon, Tyler Hall 


Every Thursday in Tyler Hall you’ll find a lunch combo that can’t be beat! We offer a tasty meal with a generous helping of fellowship, plus a lively discussion arising from the Gospel of Mark. Our text is N.T. Wright’s Mark for Everyone which takes this Gospel in small bites, reflecting on each week’s reading with relevant and important insights. We finish promptly at 1:00 PM and invite you to join us as your schedule allows. You may bring your own lunch or share in the meal provided. Donations accepted.


Questions? Contact Kitty Gordon.

Quiet Morning

Saturday, January 20, 9:00 AM - 12 PM, Chapel


The Daughters of the King invite you to a spiritual morning of quiet solitude 9 AM- 12 noon. Bring “prayer tools” such as your bible, journal, or anything used for meditation. Led by The Rev. Kimberly Dunn. For more information contact Suzanne Pursley-Crotteau.

Zentangle Drawing Workshop

January 20, 9:30 AM-12 noon, The Berlin Room


Join us for a meditative drawing class on January 20th, 9:30 AM-12 in the Berlin Room. Art educator Martha Arrington will lead you through the steps of this relaxing drawing method that anyone can do as long as they can write their name. $30 includes all materials and supplies. Contact Martha Arrington to sign up marthaarringtonart@gmail.com

Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul

Beginning January 21, 4:15-5:15 PM, The Berlin Room


Join us for a new Sunday afternoon formation gathering which precedes the Celtic Service. The clergy will lead a discussion of John Philip Newell’s Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World. Books are available from many retailers and in the Narthex. Donation $15-20. A schedule of gatherings will be available.


LOOKING AHEAD

Dates for Your Calendar


January 28 - Annual Meeting

February 11 - A Super Bowl of Chili Fundraiser

February 12 - Convocational Absalom Jones Service

February 13 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

February 14 - Ash Wednesday

February 17 - Master's Table Soup Kitchen

February 18 - Bishop Logue's Annual Visitation

February 18 - Guided Labyrinth Walk

Tuesday's Music Live Returns

Tuesday, January 23, 12 noon


Tuesday’s Music Live 35th season continues Tuesday, January 23, at 12 noon, with a free concert by Scott Joplin with Scott Kirby. More information by calling the Box Office, (706) 722-3463 or tuesdaysmusiclive.com.

Caregivers' Support Group

Thursday, January 25, 3:30 PM


Caregivers’ support group will meet Thursday, January 25, 3:30 PM in the chapel. This group provides support for people caring for people they love (our first thought is ailing spouses, aging parents, children who need extra attention, and other relations of mutuality in which one-way care has grown), but anyone who is a caregiver for another is welcome. Contact Fr. Eric for more information.

Manna Pantry

Saturday, January 27, 8:15-11:30 AM

Tyler Hall and West Parking Lot


Manna Pantry provides a box of food six times a year to those in our community who need this supplemental assistance. With your help we will unload the groceries from Golden Harvest, pack food boxes, reload the truck, and deliver all food boxes on Saturday. Sign up for the Manna Pantry Team using the link below. For more information contact Melissa Friedman .

SIGN UP TO SERVE

OTHER RESOURCES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

A Few Notes on the "Management" of our Prayer List


Our official prayer list is an important part of our community of prayer, organizing our prayers for our beloveds. In order for our prayer list to be effective, we must all stay connected to the list, so we ask that you contact the parish office to update us on the status of your prayer request with a quick email monthly.


Twice a year the parish will begin a new prayer list: July 1 and January 31. Of course, it is fine for a name to remain on our list for an extended period of time; we ask that you simply email the parish office to let us know you’d like a name (new or continuing) to be added to our new list. 

Summer Mission Experience


Mission dates - 7 days scheduled June 6 - June 13, 2024


You are invited to join Saint Paul’s parishioners, family, and friends on a mission experience this summer to Ecuador, June 6-13, 2023. Please prayerfully consider joining us as we reach out to people in need and serve as the hands of Christ.


An information sheet is available here. If you would like additional information about Quito, Ecuador, the mission work, and trip details, please contact Gene or Rose Helmich, or call 803-640-3405. The deadline to join the trip is January 31, 2024.

VESTRY NOMINATIONS


The Vestry Nominating Committee is seeking candidates whom you believe would make outstanding Vestry members for Saint Paul's. If you'd like to suggest someone, including yourself, please contact retiring Senior Warden Cameron Nixon. Prior to nominating someone else, please discuss with them their interest and willingness to serve in this role.


VESTRY RESPONSIBILITIES

The basic responsibilities of the Vestry are:

  • to help define and articulate the mission of this congregation
  • to support the church's mission by word and deed
  • to support the clergy in furthering the mission of Saint Paul’s
  • to ensure effective organization and planning
  • to manage resources and finances
  • to attend monthly vestry meetings and annual vestry retreat
  • to serve as liaison to assigned parish committees


We expect to elect for three full three-year terms. If the new senior warden comes from the current vestry, we may have an additional unexpired term to fill.


MINIMUM CRITERIA

To be eligible for the Vestry, a nominee must answer "yes" to all of the following questions.

  • Have you been confirmed or received in the Episcopal Church?
  • Do you regularly attend worship services at Saint Paul's?
  • Are you a pledging member of Saint Paul's?


CANDIDATE PROFILES

Each nominee slated to run for election to the Vestry will be invited to share a profile with the parish via our regular parish communications including the weekly newsletter.


A Note on Eligibility: Those eligible for election are those “confirmed adults in good standing eighteen years of age or older enrolled in the Congregation” (Canon 2.1). Those eligible to vote in an election are “those confirmed adults enrolled in the Congregation who are in good standing and who have reached the age of sixteen” (Canon 2.3). Those already in the process of being confirmed or received and otherwise eligible, are eligible to run and vote while waiting for the bishop’s next visit. If you are interested in being confirmed when the Bishop visits next year, please contact Fr. Biddy.


Saint Paul's Faithfulness

as of 12/20/2023


Offerings Pledged this Week $13,942.31

Pledged Offerings Received this Week $19,737.90


Total Expenses to Date $1,043,009.94

Total Income Received to Date $1,022,333.04

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JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

Are we missing your birthday?
Please contact the Parish Office to update our files.
Saint Paul's Church www.saintpauls.org
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