On Sunday, May 20, we will dedicate and bless our new columbarium. A columbarium is a wall of niches to hold the ashes of the deceased. Christians have a long history of burying their dead close to their places of worship. It is a way to remember that we are part of the communion of the saints. Death does not terminate love or community for by his death Jesus overcame death, not just for himself but for all people.
When you experience the loss of a loved one, please let the clergy know immediately so our church family may respond appropriately. If you, as part of your end-of-life or estate planning, are interested in purchasing a columbarium niche, we can help you with that as well.
First St. Michael’s Heritage Dinner
Saturday, May 12
6:30 pm
Honoring Vic Niemeyer
faithful servant and steward of St. Michael’s
Join us for an Italian themed dinner with great desserts
Childcare provided with pizza dinner for the kids
Please sign up on bulletin board in church entryway
Hosted by St. Michael’s June 17 thru 24
The IHN network provides families in difficult circumstances with a place of safety and protection while they start to regain their lives.
Please help make our church into a comfortable and welcoming place for the IHN families to live while they stay in our Education Wing. Volunteers are needed to help set up the living spaces, provide food, act as hosts at dinner time and overnight, and to then help get everything back to normal for Sunday school at the end of the week. Remember that Safeguarding God’s Children training is required for carrying out any hosting duties.
Sign up now to volunteer!
Contact Lesley Margerrison if you need more information or have questions.
Membership at St. Michael’s
| We have started a new approach to acknowledging membership at St. Michael’s. We are being very intentional about recognizing new members. You may have noticed that on Sunday, March 25, we welcomed at the altar five new members into the family of St. Michael’s.
In our Episcopal tradition any baptized* person worshiping in a congregation is considered a member of that congregation. However, in our 21st century culture where “inherited” denominational affiliation is breaking down, we are finding value in intentionally inviting people to join our family. This is St. Michael’s way of saying, “Welcome; we’re glad you’re here; you’re family.”
Of course, one can be a member of St. Michael’s without ever presenting oneself at the altar, but we are learning that this communal welcome during worship has meaning to many.
We will next have a “New Member Recognition and Blessing” on Sunday, June 10. If you would like to be part of this, please contact Mary Healy .
This act of welcome does not replace the sacrament of confirmation or reception by the bishop. Preparation classes for confirmation and reception will continue to be offered, and the sacrament of baptism will be offered regularly. If you have any questions about membership in the church, including our “New Member Blessing,” baptism, confirmation or reception by the bishop, please talk to Janne or me.
*We also appreciate folks who are not baptized but attend worship and are valued parts of our family.
– The Rev. Robby Vickery, Rector |
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The Episcopal Church has developed excellent programs for the prevention of sexual abuse of children and for the prevention of sexual exploitation of adults.
- Safeguarding God’s Children is required training and certification for all church volunteers who supervise children or youth, including upcoming programs such as Interfaith Hospitality Network; Summer Sunday School, and Vacation Bible Camp.
- Safeguarding God’s People is required training and certification for all leaders of all adult ministries, small groups such as Sisters! and “Brothers”, prayer groups, Bible and other study groups, commissions, general leadership such as all vestry members as well as all Stephen Ministers and other pastoral leaders.
- All church staff are required to be trained and certified in both programs.
To participate in either of these trainings, you must first complete a face-to-face interview (see below). Following this interview you will receive an e-mail from the Diocese of Texas inviting you to complete the certification process. Upon the completion of this two-week process, you can then sign up for a particular training time. Note that you cannot sign up for or attend training until the certification process is completed.
For Safeguarding God’s Children: Please contact Debbie Vickery or the Rev. Janne Osborne to schedule an interview.
For Safeguarding God’s People: Please contact Mary Healy or the Rev. Janne Osborne to schedule an interview.
For your planning purposes, trainings in both programs are scheduled at St. Michael’s on May 20 and additional dates are being planned — details when you interview! Note that you can get the whole certification process underway with your intake interview; after certification is complete, you’re ready for a future training. |
Come garden with us!
Some produce is now ripe for the picking and will be used to supplement both the St. Michael’s Food Pantry and the St. James Episcopal Church Neighbor to Neighbor program. To help with the garden, please sign up at the entryway bulletin board or contact Beth Michaels for more information.
Feed your neighbor, feed your soul.
First Heritage Award Honoree: Vic Niemeyer
The Vestry and Stewardship Commission have collaborated on a new award at St. Michael’s which we are calling the Heritage Award. Each year we wish to recognize a parishioner who has exemplified for at least 10 years at St. Michael’s true servant ministry. The recipient will be honored at a parish-wide dinner and will designate a charity to which gifts may be made in his/her honor.
I am pleased to announce that the Vestry has voted Vic Niemeyer as the very first recipient of the Heritage Award. Vic is a regular (when he can get a ride) at the 7:45 am Eucharist. Indeed, for years he was the chalice bearer at that service. For decades Vic has nurtured our church family, the wider Austin community, and the global community with his time, talent, and treasure. When asked what charity he would like to designate for gifts in his honor, Vic picked El Buen Samaritano, the Episcopal outreach ministry in south Austin that he and St. Michael’s have supported for years.
Look for more details about Vic and the dinner in coming newsletters, but block out Saturday, May 12, 6:30 pm for a great parish celebration of ministry. |
Long ago, on a hill, three trees reached up to the sky and dreamed of the wonderful things they would do. All were cut down, and each in turn believed that their dreams had come to nothing. Then, when their rough timber played its part in the life of Jesus, everything changed. Experience this Easter transformation when Choristers present “The Tale of the Three Trees” during the 9 am & 11 am worship services this Sunday, April 22.
Please join your fellow Episcopalians for an evening of small group conversations that will bring together members from different Episcopal churches. The evening will begin with a simple meal in parishioners’ homes or churches or meeting spaces across the Diocese of Texas. Each dinner will have a host, a moderator, and 8-12 participants.
Sharing how we experience our faith deepens our spiritual lives and helps others recognize how God is at work in their lives. On this evening of Sharing Faith, it is our hope that you will experience a deeper understanding of your own faith as a Christian disciple and as an Episcopalian.
For more information, check out the information provided at the Diocesan link. Or contact the St. Michael’s Dinner Coordinator, Mary Healy. Online registration is available so register now!
Registration deadline has come and gone. However, if you wish to attend one of the Faith Sharing Dinners, please contact Mary right away!
| If you are graduating from high school, college, university, or graduate school, please let St. Michael’s know because we would like to honor you.
Please email Mary Conkling and tell her two things:
- from where you’re graduating
- what your future plans entail
A special recognition of all the graduates will happen Sunday, May 13 at the 9 & 11 am services. |
St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School will hold a Yard Sale on Saturday, April 28 from 7 am to Noon featuring BABY AND CHILDREN’S clothing, books, furniture, toys and more. The event will take place in the Education Wing of the church.
If you have gently used children’s clothing, toys, books or baby items that you would like to donate, please drop them off at the Preschool entrance between 9 am and 1 pm on Thursday, April 26 or Friday, April 27. Please Note: We do not have the storage space to receive items before April 26th.
A special event in conjunction with the Yard Sale will be a SILENT AUCTION featuring items for all ages! Don’t miss out on the great deals. For more information please contact Elizabeth Flanagan or Dana Carvalho.
The St. Michael’s Book Group will meet on Wednesday, April 25, at Trianon in Westlake to discuss Jennifer Haigh’s novel Faith.
We are gathering at a NEW time, 2:30 pm. Please join us and bring a friend! All are welcome.
Contact Jackie King if you have questions.
May 10, Serrano’s Red River, 6:30-9:30 pm
Benefiting Camp Allen’s Summer Camp Ministry
Starry Nights Austin has become a tradition for gathering Episcopalians in the greater Austin area.
Come join us for a night of fun under the stars, while celebrating the ministry of some wonderful Episcopalians. The event benefits children who need financial assistance in order to attend a life-enriching week at Camp Allen. Everyone is welcome to join the fun, and tickets start as low as $75 for dinner, drinks, a live auction, and live music.
This year we will be celebrating the lives and ministries of: The Rev. Robby Vickery, Carrielu Christensen, and George McGonigle. Please join us as we give thanks to these three great Episcopalians who have given so much to our congregations, diocese and institutions.
To purchase tickets for the event visit click here or call (936) 825-7175.
Forty-eight thousand of our Central Texas neighbors look to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas as their hunger safety net – 20,000 of them are children.
Come join your fellow St. Michael’s parishioners as we volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank Saturday, April 28. We will sort food and enjoy fellowship from 9:00 am to Noon. Volunteers can be as young as 8. Any individual youth volunteer between 8 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult (21 or older).
Sign up on the bulletin board in the church entryway. Questions? Contact Alice Hall, Outreach Coordinator.
We have had a few parishioners ask whether St. Michael’s pays a merchant fee on their E-Giving transactions. Many folks choose to use a credit card for their giving so they can accumulate points or miles or whatever perk their card of preference is offering, but they also want their whole donation to make it to the church. They have asked how much the merchant fees are so they can increase their gift by the amount of those fees. This not only negates the merchant fee to St. Michael’s, but also reaps the giver a few more points!
So, we wanted to let everyone who uses E-Giving know the current credit card fees so any adjustments deemed necessary by the individual giver can be made. Currently, MasterCard, Visa and Discover all incur a 2.75% fee, while American Express is 4.00%.
As a reminder, if you are using E-Giving with a credit card and aren’t collecting miles or points, there is an ACH option available which does not incur the card merchant fees. These transactions are deducted directly from your checking or savings account and can be one-time or recurring just like credit card payments.
Please note that a Debit Card will incur the same fees as MasterCard; it is not treated as an ACH transaction.
For further information or any other E-Giving questions, please contact Steve Hamilton in the church office.
On Sunday, May 20, we will dedicate and bless our new columbarium. A columbarium is a wall of niches to hold the ashes of the deceased. Christians have a long history of burying their dead close to their places of worship. It is a way to remember that we are part of the communion of the saints. Death does not terminate love or community for by his death Jesus overcame death, not just for himself but for all people.
Special Events | Mary Healy May 16, 2012 | 
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