WEEKLY E-NEWS

AUGUST 24, 2023

Bulletin for Sunday, August 27 at 8:00

Bulletin for Sunday, August 27 at 10:00 (Enriching Our Worship booklet)

(Backpack Blessing at the this service!)

Supplement for August 27 at 10:00 (includes reading & music scores)

Prayer List

Emmanuel on Facebook

Emmanuel on YouTube

AUGUST 27

8:00 Holy Eucharist Rite I

9:00 Coffee time in the parish hall

10:00 Holy Eucharist Rite II Enriching Our Worship

Emmanuel Calendar Link

Homecoming & Community Matters

Last March your vestry participated in a retreat by Partnership for Renewal, a non-profit agency dedicated to church health and vitality. The retreat is offered in two phases. Phase One was the leadership (vestry) retreat. The second phase of the PfR process involves the whole parish community.

In this second phase, we ask the whole parish for their Core Values and Spiritual Gifts. The goal is to discern what gifts God has brought into our parish community through the people present in this moment of time.

Then we will offer the opportunity to connect those gifts with the ministries of the church at the Ministry Fair at Homecoming, Sunday, September 17. God may be equipping you now differently than in previous years because the world we serve is different and we must be responsive to it. Each person will receive their own results. Please take a look at your results and see where God may be leading you to serve. For example, at their retreat, the vestry took the surveys and one member scored highest on Faith, Leadership, and Teaching. This points to a connection with Christian Formation.

Knowing how God is equipping and leading us enables us to serve in ministries that bring us joy and meaning, rather than staying in ministries out of habit and feeling drained in them. The results may be surprising – that’s part of the fun of this. What is God doing in you and why? How can each of us respond to God?

Here’s an example of an aggregate of the spiritual gifts from another church’s vestry. The areas where most people responded are highlighted enabling the leadership to focus on connecting those gifts to ministries in the church. This concept is expanded in Community Matters to the entire church community.

As we discern what God’s purpose is for Emmanuel in this moment, knowing who brings what gifts enables the church leadership to focus resources and attention on those areas where the gifts are most present. God has brought those gifts to us for a purpose. The church and ministry leadership reflect on the spiritual gifts that rose up in highest quantity and work to ensure that there are institutional structures available to enable expression of these gifts.

The Core Values and Spiritual Gifts tools must be done online in order to track the results. Anyone who struggles with online forms will be paired with someone who can help them. We are also scheduling time to do this as a group after church one Sunday. Look for that information in an upcoming newsletter.

Community Matters includes our children, whose wisdom is often overlooked. We offer a spiritual gifts discernment tool for children that employs images instead of words, to help them discern and share their spiritual gifts. This will be done as part of their Christian Formation ahead of the Community Matters at Homecoming.

The Spiritual Gifts assessment looks long at first glance but it goes quickly. It’s meant to be something you allow the Spirit to do in you. Let the answers flow freely and quickly. The results may surprise you!

The deadline for completing these is Wednesday, September 13 so we can Talley them up to present at Homecoming. Please contact your staff or clergy with any questions. Thanks in advance for your participation in our community discernment! I look forward to what God will show us!

Valori†

If you'd like a PDF of this article with links, click here.

Valori† is out of town until September 9 so, if you have questions re: Core Values or Spiritual Gifts Inventory, please email Allison Williams or Mimi Shipp.

Women of Emmanuel (WOE)

Post Covid Fall Kickoff

Let's get together and re-acquaint! We know some of you have stayed away due to Covid. We'd love to have you back, and feel free to wear a mask.

So much has happened since 2020, we miss you and want to catch up! Join the sisterhood on Wednesday, September 6 at 6 pm! Just bring yourself, your daughter, sister, aunt, friend, neighbor! Let us know soon if you need childcare (on the rssvp).

Questions? Contact Donna Erickson

RSVP? Contact Katie Gregston or click here for the RSVP form.

DIOCESAN PILLAR UPDATE

The Justice & Equity Pillar is a group that advocates for programs and organizations that focus on racial equity, unhoused resources, affordable housing, gun violence, voter registration, and education equity to name a few.

As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has stated, social justice and advocacy engagement is the work of Episcopalians to build community networks for justice by connecting and mobilizing people “from the pews to the public square”  That is not only a tall order, it can be overwhelming to know where to start! 

If you are interested in getting involved, the first step is to know where your passion lies. Are you passionate about racial justice, healthcare equity, voting rights, children and youth, gun violence, etc.? Once you know your passion(s), there are several ways to plug into this group. First, come meet with the group. Our next meeting will be Sunday, September 10 at 11:30 am after the 10 am service. We will outline at that meeting our core initiatives. Or you may contact Mimi Shipp or Lee Nelsen to get an update. We will have information tables at the Homecoming Ministry Fair on Sunday, September 17 where you can ask questions and gather information.

Currently there are three groups that some of our team meets regularly with or participates in programs. They are:

• Churches Together for Justice. This group meets on Wednesdays (7-8pm) via Zoom to discuss issues and make plans together for advocacy or action events. This group organized our recent Gun Awareness Sunday.
• Metropolitan Churches United (MCU) focuses on school to prison pipeline, environmental justice, prison reform and the sacred vote. This group informs many of our advocacy initiatives.
• Every Friday at 6 pm members of our group stand on Lockwood Avenue in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of all races and colors. Attending this Friday evening event also allows you to meet others and learn from them what is percolating.

Our initiatives are not just Emmanuel, we are also informed by ministries of the Diocese of Missouri and The Episcopal Church. Both provide resources for engagement in justice and equity. Some resources you might like to know about are a brief document on “From the pews to the public square” and a graphic about “becoming a church that looks like Jesus”!  

This weekend is Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park. 10 am to 9 pm Saturday and Sunday. Festival of Nations is a celebration of music, flavor, art, and culture from around the world. It is an amazing event produced by International Institute of St. Louis.

The International Institute assists immigrants and refugees new to our country and region. Many recent immigrants end up in low wage jobs, many times due to language barriers. Our friends from MCU will be at the festival explaining the minimum wage ballot initiative and collecting signatures. Come support all the cultures and workers!

Episcopal Relief & Development

Our building is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm.

Please call or email us for more information about any of our offerings.

314-961-2393 or www.emmanuelepiscopal.org

mshipp@emmanuelepiscopal.org