“Blessing of the Pencils” this Sunday!

Are you getting ready to go back to school?  Be sure to be at church this Sunday, August 26, when we recognize all students, teachers, and other school personnel.

We have very special St. Michael’s pencils for everyone and will include prayers for the new school year.

See you Sunday!

Getting Out the Word

Two Saturdays ago four vestry members, including me, met at the church, shared some breakfast tacos, said a prayer, and then set out to place door hanger flyers on over 300 homes in a local neighborhood.  The flyers shared that our food pantry is serving about seven families per week and asked folks to support it by dropping off non-perishable food items.  The flyers also told a little about St. Michaels (e.g. service times, web address).

While we were parking our car, a woman walking her dog was going right past us.

One of us greeted her, “Hey, may I give you a flyer about our church’s food pantry’s need for donations?”

She:  “What church?”

Flyer hanger:  “St. Michaels Episcopal”

She:   “My husband made the cross for that church”

Sure enough, I had not recognized her in the big hat and sunglasses, and it has been years since they worshiped with us, but it was Linda.  Her husband, a gifted artist, had found the right cedar tree at our old site (the shopping center where the Grove Restaurant is now) and made it into the big cross that is behind our altar.  He made it so that in Lent, instead of having to veil the cross as most Episcopal churches do, we can simply turn it around to the “plain” stripped cedar side.  He also made the little processional cross (used in Lent) that inserts into the middle of it.  Linda asked for a handful of flyers and placed them on her neighbors’ doors.  We took this as a sign from the Lord that we were being obedient in spending a warm Saturday morning walking around the neighborhood.

So, what have been the results so far of our efforts?  Nobody has come to worship from that neighborhood (yet), but several have dropped off food.  St. Michael’s family has good programs but is a too well kept secret.  We must get out the word.  We must plant seeds and trust God to give the sun and the rain.  (Sun we have been getting enough of recently; more rain would be great.)  Or, to use the St. Augustine quote from the Youth Group Mission Trip T-shirt 2011 that I went on, “God provides the wind, but man [sic] must raise the sails.”  Amen!

– The Rev. Robby Vickery

Please take our Survey – We need Your Opinion!

In preparation for our upcoming capital campaign, the Vestry has engaged Horizons Stewardship Co. to conduct a survey. The results of the survey will be used to set strategy and make preparations for a capital campaign beginning this fall. The church needs and welcomes your feedback whether you have been coming here 30 years or 3 weeks.

To take the survey, please go to surveymonkey.com/s/StMichaelsAustin. The survey takes about 5 minutes. Thank you for your feedback.

To read more about the history behind and the need for this Capital Campaign, see Father Robby’s post below.

Why Another Capital Campaign?

1. The gift of land from the Diocese of Texas
2. Help with interim financing from the Diocese of  Texas
3. A good selling price for the previous site
4. A good mortgage
5. A sacrificial capital campaign

1. Completely pay off the commercial mortgage  (~$420,000)
2. Secure enough funds at interest to cover future payments on our Crump loan with a remaining balance of $130,000. We do not
   want to pay off this loan as it is at 2%, and we have it for the next 13 years. This loan will help finance future expansions.
3. Build up the major maintenance reserve. Now that our  facility is ten years old, it is important to hold some funds in reserve
   to offset costs of keeping our facility looking beautiful and running smoothly. Attempting to fund general and capital maintenance projects from
   our operating fund is simply not feasible and could potentially impede our ongoing mission and ministry.
4. To tithe on the proceeds of this campaign to [recipients to be determined in consultation with the congregation]. Jesus said, “To whom much has been given, much will be  expected.”   God has blessed St. Michael’s that we might be a witness to his coming kingdom to the whole world.

Healing Prayer

I want to keep encouraging people to take advantage of the prayer station available during the administration of Holy Communion.  I will confess that I do not understand much about why and when God heals or not, but I take seriously that in the presence of God and of God’s Son, Jesus, people have become whole, in biblical times right up until today.  Healing does not have to be spectacular.  The following was shared with me by parishioner Michael Donegan this past Sunday, and I asked if I could share it with the wider congregation:

Recently I developed a mole on my eyelid just below my eye. It grew rapidly to the point that it obstructed my vision and several people remarked on it. “You ought to have that looked at.” I called my dermatologist to see if I needed to see the eye doctor instead and they agreed that that would be good. But having had these things removed with burning and freezing, the idea of that happening near my eyeball was not something I relished. So when I was at church and my daughter Rachel was on the prayer station, I went to her and said, “What I want is for this thing to just go away.” So, she prayed for me and on Tuesday morning it was completely gone leaving not a blemish.  I really felt kinda silly praying for such a small thing when others have bigger problems, but I’m glad I did.

It is not hard to go to the prayer station.  Just walk up and tell whoever is staffing it that you would like them to pray with you.  You can tell them briefly what you’d like them to pray regarding, or you can keep it confidential.  If there is already somebody being prayed with, walk up and wait your turn.  It does not take long, and it is (usually) painless. Our concerns can be physical, emotional, familial, employment, or just about anything.  God wants us lifting our concerns to him in prayer, including “team” prayer.

– The Rev. Robby Vickery

Vacations are Good!

It was good to be back at St. Michaels this past Sunday. On July 15^th I was in Galveston on vacation. My son Paul and I took in the 8:00 service at Trinity Episcopal Church there. A priest known to both of us has just recently been installed as the rector there, and it was good to catch up with her. One thing I like about the Episcopal Church is that one can pretty much count on the early service at any Episcopal church anywhere in the country to be pretty much the same, and it was. I like the blank slate which is the basic worship space of St. Michaels, but every now and then I like to worship in a space that is dominated by traditional stained glass. Trinity’s nave certainly offers such, and it is what I grew up with. Stopping for donuts on the way home we got drenched by a downpour, but the joy of my grandson when he saw that we brought donut holes for his breakfast more than made up for any wetness.

On Sunday the 22^nd Debbie went back to work at St. Michaels while I caught up on chores around the house. It felt really strange to be at home on a Sunday morning. Then we went to the 5 p.m. service at Austin Stone Community Church meeting in the auditorium of Austin High School. It was definitely different from Trinity, Galveston, but Jesus showed up there too. There was no stained glass and the sermon was by video, but there was a spirit of earnestness that touched me. The music was well done contemporary Christian, but too repetitive for my taste. I was also struck by the demographics of the service. My guess would be that at least two-thirds of the attendees were females between the ages of 16 and 29.

Look at your vacation as an opportunity to experience God in a rich variety of worship.

– The Rev. Robby Vickery

I LOVE MY LIFE.

Thoughts from the Associate Rector, inspired by Mickey Pagnotta …

About a week ago I received the link to a video made to promote awareness of people with Down syndrome. It stars Mickey, a great young man who is now 20 years old. The video was made by his sister, Emily. Their family is part of my extended family and I first met Mickey when he was one week old.

You can watch the video here.

So, the video is great. Mickey is great. So is his family. I get teary every time I watch it. And what gets me is when Mickey, near the end of the video, exclaims, in true Mickey fashion, “I LOVE MY LIFE”.

How often do we hear someone say, “I love my life”? How often do we or our children say, with enthusiasm, “I love my life”? It seems to me that we are pretty good at talking about how we might have fun doing a particular thing, or enjoy being in a particular situation, spending time with particular people. But do we love our whole life?

God loves my whole life. Your whole life. Not just the nice parts or the perfect parts or the parts that we like. Or the parts that others like. God loves all of me, all of you. God knows all that I am. All that you are. The whole thing. And still loves us. Wow.

Brothers and sisters, let us imitate God and seek to love as God does: all of who I am, all of who you are. And all the life God has given us.  May each of us, along with Mickey and with his honesty and enthusiasm be able to say,

I LOVE MY LIFE.

– The Rev. Janne Alro Osborne

“The Edge”

Outreach Needs

Food Pantry

Thank you for your generous and continued donations.  We always need the following items:

• canned meats
• canned fruits
• dried beans
• pasta sauces
• breakfast cereals
• hearty soups
• rice
• peanut butter

Please prayerfully consider making a donation today. Thank you!

School Supplies Needed for Norman Elementary

St. Michael’s is partnering with the St. James Episcopal Church Neighbor2Neighbor program to provide school supplies to low income families from Norman Elementary School.  We are making progress but still need your help towards making our goals!

• 50 new or gently used backpacks
• 50 pencil boxes
• 250 packages of #2 pencils

In addition to these three items, there is also a need for school clothes for the children:

• khaki shorts, pants, or skirts (all with belt loops)
• belts
• black shoes

And, of course, any other school supplies will be greatly appreciated!

Questions? Contact Caroline Kibler for more information.

Volunteers Needed for a Variety of Ministries

Sign up on the bulletin board in the church entryway!

• Our next Trinity Center date is August 12. Help prepare a simple meal and be part of a worship service.
• Help make sandwiches at Mobile Loaves and Fishes on the first Friday of each month.
• You can help grow and pick fresh vegetables through our Community Garden.
• Our Food Pantry always needs your gifts of canned fruit, soup, veggies, peanut butter, jelly, and canned meat.
• Perhaps you would like to work with Faith in Action to provide transportation to senior adults in Southwest Austin?

Would you like to be a volunteer or to know more about St. Michael’s volunteer opportunities? Click here or contact Outreach Coordinator Alice Hall for more information.

The Bible – Read, Pray, Do It!

One of my favorite Biblical scholars is Professor Walter Brueggemann, who provides me with interpretation, insight, and inspiration and has certainly shaped my Biblical understanding. The Theology of the Old Testament is an important text book, but it is also pretty heavy reading, both in comprehension and in actual weight of the book! His “smaller” volumes are much more accessible; I like The Bible makes Sense (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2003) in which Brueggemann invites his reader to biblical understanding of the world, of life, that leads to a life of joy, wholeness, and peace. He writes:

• The model that I regard as central to the Bible … is what I call a covenantal-historical way of understanding life and faith. By covenantal I mean an enduring commitment between God and God’s people based on mutual vows of loyalty and mutual obligation through which both parties have their life radically affected and empowered. By historical I mean that these covenant partners, God and God’s people, have a vast deposit of precious memories of decisive interactions. These interactions [as presented in the Bible] run the gamut of love and hate, and affirm to us that our whole existence depends on staying seriously and faithfully involved with the covenant partner [God], even at some risk. … The reading of the Bible can offer to us ways of understanding our life that are quite different from our own ways and perhaps even in contradiction. Exposure to this literature may challenge our imagination and present to us ways of thinking and perceiving and knowing that have been denied to us by other lenses of perception. (page 10)

I invite, no urge, your faithful and informed reading of the Bible.  Join a Bible study, read Scripture daily.  Perhaps begin by simply praying one of the Psalms. Just do it!

– The Rev. Janne Alro Osborne

Enroll Now for EfM (Education for Ministry)

Education for Ministry is a 4-year program from the School of Theology at University of the South in Sewanee. We meet at St. Michael’s on Thursday evenings 6:30-9 pm every week from August through May with breaks following the school year. The class for 2012-2013 is forming now and we welcome your questions and interests in this program which explores the Old Testament, New Testament, church history and theologians. Each week, we worship, explore what the Bible says, take in what the world around us says, consider our own lived experiences, and unpack how those sources affect our beliefs.

We invite you to explore with us! Have questions, want to enroll? Please feel free to contact Sara Mullarkey or Meredith Landry.

Musical Notes for Choristers

Beginning July 22, Jean Perdicaris, St. Michael’s Choristers Director, will find herself spending a week in Louisville, KY.   She will participate in the national Choristers’ Guild Institute, a certification program for Directors of young singers in churches and church schools. Her goal is to earn Choristers Guild Certified Director of Young Singers (CDYS) recognition through completion of core curriculum in 3 summer sessions.

In the 18 months that Choristers has been in existence, they’ve sung regularly at both the 9am and 11am worship services, participated in the Chancel Choir Christmas production of Amahl & the Night Visitors, and provided our congregation with a sensational musical offering via “The Tale of the Three Trees”.  Jean will spend this intensive week with master teachers and she looks forward to implementing new strategies and skills, both nurturing the current Choristers choir program and fostering its future growth.

Choristers will resume rehearsals Wednesdays beginning September 5th. Details will come later.

The Rev. Sherry Williams is Welcomed!

On Sunday, July 15, we welcomed new deacon, long-time St. Michael’s member, the Rev. Sherry Williams at all morning services.  Sherry was ordained June 16, 2012.  Bp. Doyle has assigned her to St. Michael’s during the summer months and to St. Christopher’s during the school-year months.

Here she is being vested with a St. Michael’s gift, a green deacon’s stole.

St. Michael’s Day School Openings

“Unity in Mission” – reading group has been postponed!!!

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church will meet July 5-12, 2012, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Most likely, this 77th Convention of our church will pass the following resolution: “Authorize Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Gender Relationships.” (To see a complete list of all resolutions, please click here.) In anticipation of this, our bishop, the Right Rev. C. Andrew “Andy” Doyle, has presented a paper, “Unity in Mission,” which outlines his plan to help unify the Diocese of Texas, addressing both liberal and traditional congregations. Bishop Doyle began working with former Secretary of State James Baker in 2010 to develop the outline of this plan and has since received support for his leadership from people in our diocese who represent the broad diversity of opinion on the blessing of same-gender covenants.

Interested in our bishop’s paper?

• Download it here.
• A three-session reading and discussion group, facilitated by the Rev. Janne Osborne and vestry member Jose Carillo, was scheduled to meet Sundays, July 1, 8, and 15 BUT HAS BEEN POSTPONED – NEW DATES TO BE PUBLISHED SOON!!! Please contact Janne for information.