St. Matthew's Midweek Update Saint Luke the Evangelist October 18, 2018 Native American Acknowledgment As Rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew, I speak on behalf of our community that we acknowledge the traditional peoples of the land on which we stand especially the Pascua Yaqui, Sobaipuri and Tohono O'odham nations. We pay our respect to them for their care of the land. - Fr. Rick Note from the Rector On Saturday, October 13, the Liturgy Planning Committee met for the third time. The purpose of this committee is to look at our liturgies and find ways to enhance the worship experience so that we can approach God through these celebrations in the most meaningful and respectful ways. Together we unite ourselves in prayer as a people of faith, hope, and love to approach the mystery of God as revealed in Jesus. Through scripture, sacrament, and one another, we are invited to experience the presence of Christ. When the Planning Committee met, we discussed the new prayer binders which were donated by a parishioner household. At that time, not very much feedback was heard. The pros and cons were discussed. One of our goals was to get feedback from parishioners. They are new of course and they may take a little time with which to get comfortable. They save us a considerable amount of money with regard to the lessened use of paper. However, it is important that people are comfortable with the worship form the church uses. As far as these prayer binders, we will see if that is the reality.
At the Planning Committee meeting, we talked about the Feast of All Saints. A decision was made to have a Table of Remembrance where the nativity shrine exists. The table would be up for two Sundays, October 27 and November 4. Modeled after the Día de Muertos Altars erected as part of the Mexican celebration for remembering dead loved ones, the Table of Remembrance will be a place where people can place pictures of deceased loved ones as a tribute to them. I know I will have a picture of my parents and my sisters on the table. The Liturgy Planning Committee also spoke of an opportunity to remember loved ones during the liturgy on All Saint's Sunday. (All Saint's Day is November 1 and All Soul's Day, November 2 but the Feast of All Saints can be transferred to the first Sunday of November.) At that liturgy, we will have a slip of white paper inserted within the inside front pocket of the binder. Near the end of the homily, I will invite people to remove their piece of paper and think of someone living or dead for whom they want to pray. Pencils will be placed in the seat pocket in front of them. Then I will encourage people to write down the names of someone or a couple of someones on the paper. As the ushers take the collection, people can place their slips of paper. The collection including the pieces of paper will be set on the altar as our offerings.
I am excited about our Liturgy Planning Committee. Their eagerness and passion to make communal celebrations of the love of God as meaningful as possible speaks volumes of the value of our worship. Together, let us lift up the best of who we are and what we have to God! God's Peace! Fr. Rick ANNOUNCEMENTS Volunteers Needed Do you have a heart for helping immigrants? ICE is releasing or has released 180 Guatemalans immigrants from their custody to the Tucson Community since Tuesday. Catholic Community Services is providing some shelter while people are connecting with relatives who will support them until their application for asylum is heard. These released folks need to travel by bus to their relatives. Unfortunately, ICE does not provide food or provisions for the travel. ICE does provide the bus tickets. Help is needed with food and shelter while waiting and additional supplies to sustain them while traveling for 2 or 3 days or longer.
Volunteers are needed to help sort donations collected at the Ward 6 office, preparing meals, picking up donations, etc. If you or members of your group are interested, please call for more specific information and directions. Linda Leatherman Faith-based and Community Initiatives Coordinator 724-6780 office 419-2085 cell Altar Guild Recruitment The Altar Guild works behind the scenes to prepare our beautiful spaces for the various liturgies of our parish. Altar Guild members find great satisfaction and fulfillment in this vital service to our congregation. The ministry commitment is usually one weekend per month, with other services as scheduled. Particularly needed are those who are 8:00 service attendees, but of course everyone is welcome! If you would be interested in learning more about serving our parish in this way, please contact Caroline Wolstenholme at 520-548-2544 or nickandcarolinew@msn.com. Money Counters An opportunity has arisen, we are in need of Money Counters. This opportunity consists of counting all of the proceeds from collection from the Sunday Services. Counting takes place on Mondays in The morning. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity should contact: Allan Jones Telephone # 749-4368 or E-mail adjones9966@yahoo.com
ST. MATTHEW EVENTS CALENDAR Matty's Men Breakfast October 20 Matty's Men next monthly breakfast will be held in the Parish Hall on Sat., October 20 at 8:00 am. This is a great opportunity for fellowship, learn about the group's activities and talk with members about their interests in being part of the group. Please come and join us for a morning of fun, fellowship and a continental breakfast. Book Study: God's Echo October 28 Mother Ellen will be leading a discussion of the book, God's Echo by Rabbi Sandy Sasso. The book will discuss the Jewish tradition of Mid rash or probing the depths of scripture to answer the questions that you didn't know you had. It is both a serious and humorous way to analyze the text and yourself. Rabbi Sasso was the first woman ordained in her branch of Judiasim. She has written several children's books and this book for adults is written in the same charming but thought provoking style. The group will meet in the library between services on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 9:15 am. The book may be obtained on Amazon or any bookseller. Mother Ellen is planning the second meeting is Sunday October 28.
The Busy World is Hushed October 30, 2018 An opportunity has been presented to Matty's Angels by Clyde Kunz. A friend of his is a director and is presenting a play, The Busy World is Hushed by Keith Bunin at the Invisible Theater. If you are interested in attending the play on October 30, 2018 the price is $15 a ticket. This is a group rate for groups of 10. Please let Kathy Nelson know as soon as possible if you are interested. (520) 207-7188 and knsunflower@cox.net. An exact count is required and payment is needed prior to the event. Smile...Happiness looks good on you! Fall Men's Retreat "The Journey Within" On behalf of Bishop Smith, the men in the Diocese of Arizona are invited to attend this year's annual Fall Men's Retreat "The Journey Within", November 16-18, 2018 at Chapel Rock Camp & Conference Center. For more information or help registering for this event, please contact Serrena at 602-254-0976 or serrena@azdiocese.org. Thank you, Roberta Hancock Events Coordinator Bishop's Office
COMMUNITY EVENTS INFORMATION Arizona General Election Arizona General Election: November 6, 2018 Last Day to Request a Ballot by Mail: October 26 Mail in Your Early Ballot by: October 31 Last Day to Vote Early: November 2 On October 10, the County Recorder's Office will begin mailing ballots to your home if you registered to vote by mail. The last day to request an early ballot is Friday, October 26. Please study the candidates and their positions on the issues as well as the ballot initiatives and then fill in your ballot and mail it back to the Recorder's office. The deadline for mailing back the ballots is Wednesday, October 31. You can get information from the Pima County Recorder's Office: https://www.recorder.pima.gov/regvote. Election Day (November 4) On Tuesday, November 6, congregants who have registered to vote but did not vote by mail will have a last chance to vote for candidates in the General Election who can address issues that are important for so many of us. Access to health care, the quality of public education, immigration and availability of training for jobs where employees earn a solid, living wage are among some of the most important concerns. The candidates are vying for state and federal offices, judges are also competing to be elected, and there are several ballot initiatives that affect us all. The Arizona Secretary of State website offers voters a chance to study the candidates' position and to examine the ballot initiatives: https://azsos.gov/elections.
M.A.C Info Sheet Programs and Resources Available to Veterans November 14, 15 Events Operation Boots to Business information at DMAFB on November 14, 15 for B2B Training class. For more information contact Lydia DeYoung at 335-3929 or email address deyoungl@cochise.edu. Or Margaret Evangelesta, Dir. at 335-2923 email address evangelestam@cochise.edu. Help save lives. Join Tucson Samaritans Every year nearly 200 people die in a disaster region near the Arizona- Mexico border. There have been over 2,000 known deaths in the last decade. Every day, Tucson Samaritans travel to the desert carrying water, food, and medicine. We drive back roads and hike trails looking for people in distress. Think you might like to join us on a desert trip? Come to a training session and find out. Led by experts from several fields, our monthly training includes a fascinating economic and political history of the borderlands, an overview of legal and medical issues, and descriptions of what to expect on a Samaritan trip. Please bring a gallon of water and join us for one of the next sessions. We appreciate your RSVP: please leave your name and phone number in a voice or email message at 520-549-8903 or sam.southside@gmail.com.
Where: Southside Presbyterian Church 317 W. 23rd Street, Tucson When: Sunday, November 4 Sunday, December 2 Sunday, January 6, 2019 From 1:30-5:00 pm Questions & RSVP: 520-549-8903 Website: www.tucsonsamaritans.org E-Bulletin Announcement Procedures Procedures for Submitting Announcements to the E-Bulletin and/or Sunday insert Submit to the office or via email to caroline98@centurylink.net, parish01stmatts@outlook.com and copy to saintmatthewsrector@live.com no later than Tuesday at 4 pm for the weekly e-bulletin and/or Sunday Bulletin. Identify yourself and the reason for this particular St. Matthew event or activity. Activities and Events other than St. Matthew's require the approval of the Rector. Include how long to run the announcement. The announcement will be printed as you submit so make sure everything you want to say and how it is to be said is in the announcement. Do not forget to place in your announcement the name of the contact and that person's contact information if a response is requested.the announcement may be edited for space requirements. Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew 9071 East Old Spanish Trail Tucson Arizona 85710 (520) 298-9782 stmatthew.azdiocese.org Instagram: Saintmatthews_Tucson Mailing address PO Box 17116 Tucson, AZ 85731