Easy Evangelism in Action!

Transcription

1 April 2018 The Reverend Cynthia A. Sever, Rector The Episcopal Parish of Alton has as its mission: To live and show Christ in our midst. Easy Evangelism in Action! Several times during the past year or so, I ve talked about what I call Easy Evangelism. It is our duty as Christians to spread the Gospel of Christ and make disciples. This may evoke visions of missionaries in foreign lands. If this is our vision of evangelism, then that can make those of us who are unwilling or unable to serve in that way feel as if we are off the hook as evangelists, but that is simply not true. Every one of us shares the duty of evangelism. That might bring horrifying images of parading around with signs with things like Repent! The End is Near! painted on them. This is an image that would make any self-respecting Episcopalian dive under the pew to take cover, and rightly so! One of the most important ways we can share our faith, and hopefully also grow our parish, is to invite people to worship with us or to attend a church event, and to tell them what we like about our parish, what our faith means in our lives, and/or something we think that person will appreciate about our parish, to name a few examples. Most of us don t have much experience in this, and can find it very intimidating. That s why I designed the business card-sized invitation card that has our locations and worship times printed on it. We also have a business card invitation to our PAWS services. We can keep a few of these cards stashed in our wallets, and when an opportunity presents itself, we can pass them on with a word about what difference your faith and our parish mean in your life. I recently challenged everyone in the parish to hand out one invitation card in this way, and even offered prizes to the first four Easy Evangelists. I recently spoke about our obligation to spread the Gospel and If being Christian became a to make disciples in a sermon, and I used the following quote: crime, would there be enough I have been told that at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in evidence to convict us? South Africa, when Christians were literally suffering and dying for Archbishop Desmond Tutu justice and redemption there, Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to gather his staff around him in the mornings for prayer. And often as he was closing, he would ask, " If being a Christian became a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict us 1?" Vestry member Thom Harris took my challenge and the above quote to heart, and decided to make it his mission to invite as many people as possible. As of now, he has issued more than a dozen invitations to people all over town! He thinks of the interests of the person he would like to invite, and lets that person know what he or she might appreciate about worshipping with us. Thom is going to write an article about his experiences as an Easy Evangelist for next month s Angelus. Thom and I are telling you about this, not to gloat, but to encourage you, and to offer you hope for our future as a parish. The members of the Episcopal Parish of Alton can learn to be good Easy Evangelists with practice. This will help to increase our membership, and therefore the number of us proclaiming the salvation of Christ to the hurting world around us. 1

2 Give Easy Evangelism a try. You can do it! We can do it together! Mother Cindy+ 1 The Rev. J. C. Austin, PCUSA, Following Jesus Is for Losers, Mark 8:27-38, 16th Sunday after Pentecost - Year B. September 16, 2012, EVANGELISM AND OUTREACH The Episcopal Parish of Alton has long been a faithful and generous supporter of the Crisis Food Center ministry. We support this mission by donating food and funds raised through our Lenten suppers and various projects throughout each year and we THANK YOU! We are grateful to the parishioners who faithfully ensure the food offering basket has canned/dry goods each Sunday and we THANK YOU! To those who donate their time to put food baskets together, deliver food donations or volunteer at Crisis Center, we THANK YOU! It is truly a blessing to be able to give to those less fortunate in our community, for feeding the needy is part of serving one another and as we serve others we are serving Christ. But as the number of people who depend on a food pantry to feed their family continues to rise in our area, so does the need for consistent donations. In support of our 2018 Diocesan Outreach report encouraging all Eucharistic communities to adopt Food Focus Projects, Evangelism and Outreach (E&O) is asking for your help to give a little boost to our already existing Crisis Food Center ministry. A suggestion was made to collect non-perishable items for a month at a time that fall within a designated category for that month (see below) and we thought it was a good one. We re hoping this will help kick start those of us with generous hearts but less generous memories into action by reminding us for an entire month what to buy extra at the grocery store and allow ample time for us to remember to bring our donations to church. April- Dry cereal & crackers (cold cereal, instant oatmeal, rolled oats, cream of wheat, saltines, etc.) May- Canned vegetables (tomatoes, beans, potatoes, yams, peas, corn, etc.) June- Canned fruit (applesauce, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, etc.) July- Pastas and dry beans (spaghetti, noodles, quinoa, orzo, brown/white rice, navy/great northern, etc..) August- Canned meat, stews, soups, broth, stock (tuna, chicken, chicken & dumplings, beef stew, etc.) September- Shelf stable milk (powdered milk, milk substitutes, canned milk) and baby formula October- Pancake, Biscuit, Waffle mixes, cake/cookie mixes November- Dry potato, gravy, corn bread, mac & cheese, soup, meal mixes (Rice a Roni, etc.) December- Peanut butter, jelly, honey, syrup January- Olive, canola or vegetable oil and spices February- Coffee, tea bags, instant tea, sweetener, creamer March- Nuts, dried fruit, seeds, popcorn kernels Please look in The Angelus for each month s donation category and in the weekly bulletin for another gentle reminder as well. And remember.these categories are only suggestions meant to kick start your memory when you re in the grocery aisle. Donations can be placed in the container located on the table right inside the doors to Heneghan Hall and will be delivered to Crisis Food Center on a bi-weekly/monthly basis. We THANK YOU dearly for considering a boost to your already generous support of this much needed ministry and helping the Episcopal Parish of Alton continue to make a difference to those in need within our community! On the second Sunday of each month Mary Molloy, Barb Swany, and Nick Zankl hold a service at Rosewood Care Center with as many as twenty residents attending. We thank Mary, Barb and Nick for their service. Please continue to remember in your prayers all those in need of healing. Heavenly Father, giver of life and health, comfort and restore those who are sick, that they may be strengthened in their weakness and trust in your unfailing love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen 2

3 RECTOR S WARDEN I recently had a meeting with Mother Cindy to discuss the year in review. We discussed both the positive activities and challenges the parish has going into the future. She voiced her concerns and aspirations for the parish moving forward. I conveyed to Mother Cindy some of the concerns and ideas from parishioners that have been articulated to me. Mother Cindy asked that if any parishioner has concerns or questions about parish operations to please contact her for discussion. It seems perhaps some parishioners have been sick or suffering from stress or turmoil and have been overlooked. I would like to ask parishioners to please contact Mother Cindy or the office to make them aware there is a need. It is hard to respond to the needs of the parish if they are not aware of them. Never assume that Mother Cindy or other parishioners know that someone is sick or in need of assistance. Jeff Dunnagan Rector s Warden CONGRATULATIONS Richard and Judy Napp recently celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary at Trinity Chapel VESTRY COMISSIONS Evangelism and Outreach Commission: Beth Speich:* speichbeth@aol.com Marti LoRusso: marti.lorusso47@aol.com Diana Enloe: denloe5003@charter.net Parish Life Commission: Marti LoRusso:* marti.lorusso47@aol.com Thom Harris: dogula60@gmail.com Beth Speich: speichbeth@aol.com Finance and Insurance Commission: Jeff Dunnagan:* jeff4u@gmail.com Education Commission: Mimi Almonroeder:* diamondzoe@charter.net Jean Downey: jldowney1@charter.net Chuck Drennan: chuckin8or@aol.com Property and Maintenance Commission: Martha Fisher (StP):* MarthaLFish@aol.com Harold Green (Trinity)* Chuck Drennan: chuckin8or@aol.com Jeff Dunnagan: jeff4u@gmail.com Public Relations & Publicity Commission: Diana Enloe:* denloe5003@charter.net Thom Harris: dogula60@gmail.com Liturgy and Music: Dan Plate:* rublev8@gmail.com Carl Slaughter: .carl.slaughter@gmail.com Mimi Almonroeder: diamondzoe@charter.net Phone numbers for members of Vestry can be found on the back page of the Angelus each month. Feel free to contact commission members with any questions, comments or concerns NEEDLEPOINT KNEELERS The cushion below shows the iconic flour mill on the riverfront in the center with the Episcopal Shield on the left and the Spiritus Gladius banner on the right. Also shown are logos from Alton s industrial past: Peavey Mills on the left and Pepsi on the right. We have no clues as to who did this beautiful work. Part V of on-going series 3 Photo by Carl Slaughter

4 EDUCATION COMMISSION The Education Commission has not met formally yet in We are planning to meet on Sunday, April 15 after coffee hour. Look forward to some new ideas surfacing this year in education! Feel free to submit any ideas you have to one of the Education Commission team: Mimi Almonroeder, Jean Downey and Chuck Drennan. If you would like to become involved with the Education Commission, we invite you to join us. Family Fun Night was held Sunday, March 18. Families began the evening with dinner provided by the Grandma Gang consisting of delicious cauliflower cheese soup and varieties of bread and cheese. Afterwards, six large seagrass baskets were filled with purchased food items that will make an entire meal. Then, six white paper bags were decorated to become Easter Bunnies. Each family wrote a special pray and attached the prayer to the bag. Mother Cindy shared facts about local and world hunger. We sang Rejoice in the Lord and plan to rejoice and sing it again on Easter morning prior to the service at St. Paul s. Lynn Hoffman and Mimi Almonroeder delivered the beautiful baskets to Crisis Food Center on Tuesday, March 20. We appreciate the generous donations received so that the baskets could overflow with food for six families. Jean Downey, Mimi Almonroeder, Branden Drennan, Maya Grassle, Simon Grassle, Destiny Drennan, and Donovan Stone working on the Easter baskets. ALTAR FLOWERS There are great opportunities for you to share your blessings by giving the gift of altar flowers to commemorate a birth, anniversary, or memorial of any special occasion. It s easy. Pick a Sunday and deliver your check for $76 to the church office. Please include your name, who you are honoring, and the type of flowers you prefer. You are welcome to ask someone to join you when donating flowers. This way you would only be paying for half the cost. If you can only afford one flower, that is fine. We welcome you to honor a loved one. Nancy Weiss-Hayes BOOK CLUB Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler has been chosen for the Book Club s April reading. Pulitzer Prize winner and American master Anne Tyler brings an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare s most beloved comedies, The Taming of the Shrew. Join us on Wednesday, April 25 at 9:30 am at LuciAnna s new location at 607 East Broadway, Alton. Please let Mimi Almonroeder know if you will be joining us so we have space reserved for everyone. GUILD OF GRACE In April the Guild of Grace, along with the Evangelism and Outreach Commission, will begin collecting items for the women and children of Oasis Women s Center. This is an ongoing project of our parish. They request nonallergenic soaps for both women and children, along with any toiletries you wish to donate. The Guild of Grace will meet on April 12 at Gentelin s on Broadway at 6:30 pm. Please join us as we talk about new projects for the coming year. Call Barbara Ulffers ( ) by April 9 and let her know if you plan to attend. GARDENERS NEEDED Property and Maintenance Commission is requesting volunteers to work in the garden. The garden is beautiful but it needs help to stay that way. Show us your Green Thumb! 4

5 April Birthdays 6 Alex Harris 17 Tom Fisher 7 Boyd Sever 18 Michael Cox 8 Martha Fisher 19 Ben Moyer Alex Cox 21 Tim Eagleton 11 Dana Eastman Amber Hayes 14 Kay Durham 28 Natalie Plate 15 Rosalie Elkins 29 Kaylie Donaldson O God, our times are in your hand; Look with favor, we pray, on your servants, As each one begins another year. Grant that They may grow in wisdom and grace, And strengthen their trust I your goodness All the days of their lives; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Vestry Rector s Warden: Jeff Dunnagan Parish Warden: Marti LoRusso Clerk of the Vestry: Linda Dunnagan Treasurer: Jasper Fisher Mother Cindy Sever Mimi Almonroeder Jean Downey Chuck Drennan Jeff Dunnagan Diana Enloe Martha Fisher Harold Green Tom Harris Marti LoRusso Dan Plate Carl Slaughter Beth Speich Jasper Fisher, Treasurer OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON Monday, April 2 Deadline for the May Angelus is April 23 St. Paul s Church The Episcopal Parish of Alton Trinity Chapel 10 East Third Street Alton, Illinois State Street Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-1:00 pm Telephone: epialton@episcopalalton.org Rector: rector@episcopalalton.org Website: Facebook: Facebook.com/episcopalalton Angelus Editor: moyerb@charter.net 5