Our Mission is to Love and Serve the Lord

Transcription

1 Priest-in-charge Father Lee Stephens (918) Senior Warden & Treasurer Steve Raiber (918) Junior Warden Chuck Dougherty (918) Vestry Clerk Amy Conner (918) The Keys September, 2017 Our Mission is to Love and Serve the Lord Steve Parsons (918) Sudi Beck (918) (918) (918) Diane Zike (918) Parish Secretary & Keys Editor Constance Nwaogu (918) St. Peter s Episcopal Church 9100 E. 21 st Street Tulsa OK Please submit articles for the October issue to stpetersepiscopal@tulsacoxmail.com by Friday September 22 nd

2 Dear St. Peter s Family, Thank you for being so welcoming to Lynda and me. After twenty years at St. Luke s in Bartlesville, we have been somewhat adrift without a faith community. Just providing supply in different churches was not enough for us though I was glad to help. We are starting to feel like we are a part of the St. Peter s Family and we are very grateful. My original intent in coming to St. Peter s was to make as few changes as possible and simply get in step with the parish. After six weeks, I have observed two areas that need some attention and I want to help. I shared these with the Vestry and they have agreed. First, I want to make our liturgy more visitor friendly by changing the Sunday bulletin. Things will be condensed so we will have fewer inserts in the bulletin and make it easier to follow the service. This will mean using the Book of Common more, but I can help that process. Some of these changes come out of Lynda s and my experience as visitors in our first few weeks. Your feedback will be helpful. Second, St. Peter s has a beautiful worship space simply wonderful! Everything is maintained in a nice way and people faithfully fulfill their responsibilities. However, the outside needs some help. Steve and Joani mow everything each week and that is a big task. Still, we need to give some attention to trimming, pruning and weeding so the outside will look more inviting. Steve announced a work day on Saturday, September 16 th. I plan to be there with tools in hand. I hope you will join us. Blessings, Fr. Lee+ Stewardship As followers of Christ, we are called to be good stewards. But what does that really mean and what are the implications? A steward is someone who takes care of something that has been entrusted to them. So, part of being good stewards is realizing that everything that we have is a gift from God that he has entrusted to us. Our job is to take care of them, so that those gifts bear fruit and grow the Kingdom. Then we are asked to return 10% to God from what we receive on the gifts that He gave us. Although money seems to be the focus of many stewardship campaigns, that 10% is not limited to monetary donations. We are called to give of our Time, Talent, and Treasure. St. Peter s is in desperate need of your Time and Talents. I appreciate all those who have been dedicated to serving the many ministries at St. Peter s and I am happy to see new acolytes, lay readers, and chalice bearers. I know that the Altar Guild and Ushers could still use more help. The Choir will be starting up again in September and is always looking for more wonderful voices. We would also like to have people volunteering to host the fellowship time after service each week. One area that has been critically understaffed for the past few years is the maintenance of the church grounds. While I understand that many members of our congregation are not physically able to do a lot of the grounds maintenance, there are many smaller tasks that could be taken on to help lighten the load. The amount of rain that we have had this year has required that we mow the entire lawn every week and I have tried to keep up with trimming and edging as time allows, but there is never enough time to get it all done. We have several gardens that need attention, as well as the playgrounds, and most of the trees need to be trimmed. To try to help catch up on these tasks, the vestry is asking that everyone who is able to please join us starting at 9:00 am on Saturday, September 16 th to help make our church home look the best that it can. Please bring any lawn or garden tools that you may have to help. Steve Raiber, Senior Warden

3 Having a Positive Attitude and the United Thank Offering One of my favorite books is, Nothing is Worth More than this Day, by Kathryn and Ross Petras. The book has 337 quotations to help us develop and maintain a positive attitude. A positive attitude keeps us happy, gives us more energy, and helps us appreciate and celebrate life to the fullest. The following five inspirational quotes from the book are intended to fill us with optimism and happiness. 1. Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Henry David Thoreau, naturalist/writer. 2. Everyday is a gift a new beginning bound out of the bed with the enthusiasm of a child. Joyce Moon, artist. 3. I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things I play with leaves, I skip down the street and run against the wind. Leo Buscaglia, professor/writer. 4. Life isn t about waiting for the storm to pass it s about learning to dance in the rain. Viviane Greene, writer. 5. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul. While you are enjoying the four seasons, embracing life enthusiastically, dancing in the rain, and celebrating life, look at our final quote which comes from the United Thank ministry. This quotation encourages us to nurture the habit of thanking God daily for all our blessings while placing an offering in our little boxes or UTO envelopes; Your change through prayers brings great change in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sharing the blessings of thanksgiving and love,. Shawl Ministry The prayer shawl ministry meets twice a month, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon. Bring your knitting needles or crochet hook, or a quilt or comforter to work on. We also work on other churchrelated sewing projects. You do not have to attend Shawl Ministry meetings to take part. You may work on a project from home, too. Speak with Nancy Lofton or. Beginners are welcome. Make St. Peter s Beautiful Saturday, September 19 th Starting at 9:00 am Come join us to help clean up the lawn, gardens, playgrounds, trees, etc. If you can t work outside, you are welcome to work on the church or parish hall.

4 St. Martha s Altar Guild Teams: Fourth Sunday: & Robert Horton- Aug. 26-Sept. 1 First Sunday: Donna Horton, Amy Conner, Margaret Ekey- September 2-8 Second Sunday:- Sally & Dale Olah- September 9-15 Third Sunday: - September Fourth Sunday: & Robert Horton- September First Sunday: Donna Horton, Amy Conner, Margaret Ekey- September 30- October 6 Altar Guild Auxiliary, helping with set-ups/clean-ups whenever possible: Nick Miller, Sherry Smith, JoAnn Waugh. Any church member may join in. Come up and ask what needs to be done. Officers: Co-Directors: Scott Walters & Robert Horton Treasurer: Sacristan: Dale Olah Clerk/Secretary: Donna Horton Flower Chair: Linen Chair emeritus: Wanda Dougherty (We have an opening for a new Linen Chair.) Co-Chairs of Special Events/Holidays: Donna Horton & Next Altar Guild meeting: Sunday, October 29th, after church (elections for officers) Next Wine Ingathering: Sunday, November 19th (Sheffield Cellars Gallo Tawny Port) ChurchNext video class on September 17th, after church Please join us in the parish hall for the next installment in a new series being offered through ChurchNext*: Crossing Thresholds, with Roger Ferlo and Suzann Holding. There are few resources that equip us better for crossing life's thresholds than the Book of Common. Life's milestones, the joyful ones and the sorrowful ones, deserve respect, dignity, and grace. In this class, Roger Ferlo and Suzann Holding explain how the Book of Common helps us cross the thresholds of baptism, reconciliation, marriage, and death. Our presenters for this video course are Roger Ferlo and Suzann Holding. Roger A. Ferlo is the president of the Bexley Seabury Federation and professor of biblical interpretation and the practice of ministry. Suzann Holding is lecturer in practical theology at Bexley Seabury. This course is part of a series on the Book of Common, brought to us by our partners at Bexley Seabury Federation, an Episcopal center for learning and development. Bexley offers online and in-person classes for everyone at its Chicago, IL and Columbus, OH campuses. For more information, visit *The ChurchNext classes are provided for the benefit of Oklahoma s Episcopal congregations by the Diocese of Oklahoma.

5 St. Peter s Community Clubhouse St. Peter s Community Clubhouse is a new outreach program that will offer social, recreational and informative opportunities for our community as well as members of St. Peter s, and will increase use of the parish hall during the day. The first event will be a Sing-Along led by Constance Nwaogu, our Choir Director, on October 3 rd from 12:30 2:30 pm. This is a free activity open to the community and to members of St. Peter s. Refreshments will be provided. This will also be an opportunity for participants to assist in decisions about which future activities or programs are most desired and would attract the most attendees. We Need You! Do you have a suggestion for an activity and/or could lead a program? Can you help recruit presenters? We could use your help to prepare publicity and materials. Would you like to be a greeter or host/hostess? Just like any activities we need those special people willing to set-up and clean-up. Purchase or help us provide refreshments and supplies Please participate any way you can! Everyone in the congregation is invited to participate in this new outreach. The Community Recreation and Resource Committee meets after on Friday mornings. Ideas, suggestions and offers of volunteer help, as well as refreshments and supplies are definitely welcome. Contact committee members: Constance Nwaogu,, Walter Cox and Diane Zike. Current list of possible events/activities: Recreation Games Day Crafts Book reviews/readings Book Fair/Exchange Information Wills Funeral planning Gardening Physical Therapy List Update Time to update St. Peter s List. We will clear the list for next month. If you would like to request prayer for someone or some issue please fill out a prayer request in the church or call ( ) or (dzike@att.net).

6 September 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Labor Day 13th Sunday after Pentecost th Sunday after Pentecost th Sunday after Pentecost Shawl Church Next th Sunday after Pentecost 6:00 PM Vestry Meeting 9:00 AM Men's Breakfast 9:00 AM Grounds Clean-Up Shawl Service Schedule for September 2017 Acolyte Chalice Lay Reader Ushers Counters Altar Guild Sep 3 Glenda Caldwell Dale Olah Glenda Caldwell Glenda Caldwel Amy Conner Donna Horton Sep 10 Steve Beck Steve Beck Steve Beck Dale Olah Sep 17 Jeanette Otero Jeanette Otero Russell Hanks Chuck Dougherty Donna Horton Donna Horton Steve Beck Sep 24 Steve Beck Steve Beck Steve Raiber Steve Raiber Chuck Dougherty Joani Raiber Steve Raiber Amy Conner Steve Parsons Diane Zike Chuck Dougherty Sudi Beck Donna Horton Margaret Ekey Amy Conner Dale Olah Robert Horton Robert Horton

7 ST. PETER S PRAYER LIST September 2017 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 All those affected by natural and man-made disasters everywhere All those who serve our country All those affected by war & violence All those that protect and serve in police and fire departments Children at risk for blindness Christians and Muslims in Nigeria Peace in the Middle East The homeless & hungry in our world The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma Our Companion Diocese in Uruguay St. Peter s Church & parish family Growth for St. Peter s Bishop Ed & Debbie Father Lee & Lynda Father Papini Adam Olah Ashley Alexa Betty Lou Semple s family Bill M Brenda Terry Bridget Carissa Cissy Constance Darlene & Trygve David Diane Dolores Kaplan & family Donna & Hairold Dorothy & Glen Dr. Jeanne Ezra Georgia F James Gatton Jeannette Josh, Ashley & Jay Kathy Lee Leigh Linda Norris & family Lori Appleby Maliheh Maurita Max Megan Nazi Ghol Shawl recipients Ray Rhys James Scott Sharon Sherry & Russell Sherry Dossey Shirley Steve Brown Susan and Joseph The unemployed everywhere Wanda Please help keep the List updated. If you have names to be added or deleted please fill out a prayer card (available in the church), or contact Diane Zike or dzike@att.net Thank you.