Giving thanks for God s abundance

The Episcopal Presence in the Iowa Great Lakes Area November~December 2017 2011 23rd Street - P.O. Box 85 (712) 336-1117 St. Alban s Website: www.stalbansepiscopalchurch.org E-Mail Address: stalbanschurch@qwestoffice.net Facebook: Facebook.com/stalbansspiritlake Giving thanks for God s abundance I am sorry to interrupt my intended theme of the Giving thanks for God s abundance Anglican patterns of prayer immediately after starting it. I promise you it will resume soon. However, something happened last weekend that I feel called to share with you. Last weekend we had a revival at St. Alban s. When future bishops and priests look back on our record of services, I truly believe that they will see that the service noted as revival inaugurated something special at St. Alban s. For those of you who helped us prepare for revival, thank you for your help. For those of you who attended the revival, thank you for your courage to try something new. For those of you who could not attend, thank you for your prayers. After the Gull Point service in July, we met with our brothers and sisters from Emmetsburg to imagine what revival in our community might look like. One of the ideas we had early on was to combine our Sunday services after the revival so that we could witness three people be baptized. It made sense to me and those gathered that if the revival was about remembering our baptism, we could not pass up on opportunity to support people desiring initiation into the fellowship of Christ. It was with such a spirit that I found myself in Emmetsburg with many of our St. Alban s family. Very graciously, Cathleen Bascom invited me to baptize one of the three. A spirited young man named Austin said he would give me, the rookie priest, the honor of baptizing him. As I prayed through that moment, what I saw was a young man becoming a disciple. I saw a someone who was knitted together in his mother s womb give his life back to the creator. I saw a child baptized into the abundant life of God. As we move toward a season of thanksgiving, dreaming, and stewardship, I cannot imagine a better image. God has given us much. I have been taught by many of you what it means to live into the life of abundance Christ promises. I have seen volunteers come out of the woodwork to support causes about which they knew little. They served because Christ promised to be among them. I have seen people rally with financial support around various needs in our community. They gave to the church because God the Father gave them everything they had. These insights were not mine, but yours. Starting this journey with St. Alban s has been a great gift. As we begin to discern how we might pledge our time, talent, and treasure to this great church, I invite you to think about Austin at the fount in Emmetsburg. He gave his life to God because God had given it to him. He gave his life to God because he was grateful for the fellowship and support he found at his loving church home. He gave his life to God because he knew that if God can feed 5,000 with a few fishes and loaves God could do even greater things with his young life. In the weeks to come I invite you to give thanks to God for a great year at St. Alban s. I invite you to dream Continued on page 2

November~December Dates to Remember Nov 1 All Saints Day Nov 2 All Faithful Departed (All Souls Day) Nov 3 St. Hubertus (Hunter s Mass) Nov 23 Thanksgiving Day Nov 30 St. Andrew the Apostle Dec 3 First Sunday of Advent Dec 17 Greening of the Church and potluck Dec 21 St. Thomas the Apostle Dec 24 Christmas Eve service 9 pm Dec 25 Christmas Day 10 am Dec 26 St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr Dec 27 St. John, Apostle and Evangelist Dec 28 The Innocents Birthdays about what God might be calling us to in the coming year. And, finally, I invite you to be enticed by what the God of abundant life could do with your generosity. Wishing You Every Blessing, Father Tom+ MANY THANKS Thank you to all who made Revival 2017 a worthy offering to our God. We could not have done it without you whether you baked cookies, put together prayer stations or greeted at the door. Thank you! CARE CENTER SERVICES St. Alban s will be providing worship services on Sunday, November 26, for Hawkeye Care Center at 2 p.m. and Welcov Assisted Living at 2:45 p.m. Please contact the Shivelys if you are able to attend! Nov 11 Nov 14 Nov 15 Nov 16 Nov 23 Nov 27 Nov 27 Nov 27 Dec 3 Dec 10 Dec 12 Dec 14 Dec 16 Dec 19 Dec 24 Dec 26 Dec 27 Dec 28 Dec 28 Dec 29 Dec 31 John Barrow Bob Schneider Bob Finney Dick Lineweaver Terry Shively Rachel Bare Bob Petersen Payton McShane Elizabeth Ward Roy Stroud Peggy Gustafson Ryan Bare Don Twentyman Jan Boyd Sue Ackley Isabelle Tufty Lisa Baxter Steve Heaton Mitzi Porter Jock McDonald Jeff Christie OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD St. Alban's has been packing shoe boxes for children around the world since 2001. The goal this year is to get the whole church involved in a variety of ways. Please check the Operation Christmas Child display area in the Fellowship Hall to see how you can help. 1. Pack your own shoebox by using a plastic box on the display table choose your own gifts and personalize it for a boy or girl. 2. Donate supplies see How to Pack a Box insert need to be donated by October 29. 3. Donate money for supplies or shipping which can be done by putting OCC in memo of check. 4. Get involved and "PACK A BOX" with us on November 12. Prior to coffee hour you will be able to pick a box and go through an assembly line to choose gifts for a child, then have treats. Five minutes of your time will bring joy and a blessing to a child. DO NOT INCLUDE THESE ITEMS! Candy; toothpaste; used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures; chocolate or food; seeds; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks; drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans. Thank you to all who support our youth!!

Covering the 2018 budget bases As we reach the end of another year and we start thinking about 2018, I have been looking at the church s budget. Father Tom has written about stewardship and sharing our gifts with the church. But why do we need money and how much do we need? Before we make a pledge to the church, where does the money get spent? I have developed an expenses budget for the church for 2018 and reviewed it with the vestry and we need nearly $160,000 to keep the church running. So, where does the money go? The following graph shows the breakdown of major categories. From this, staffing expenses is clearly the church s biggest expenses. Staffing includes Father Tom s salary The Wider World is for us looking out and includes items that are evangelical in nature. A major part of this is our diocesan assessment ($8,640); we are part of The Episcopal Church and we support it through our pledge to our diocese and its activities. This category also includes our advertising in the local papers, study and teaching expenses, and the costs for our offsite events like the Queen II sailing and the services at Gull Point. Utilities costs are for gas, electricity, water and sewer, and telephone. Travel, Meetings, and Education covers the costs for attendance at conferences, conventions, and meetings. It also includes reimbursement of expenses incurred by Father Tom. Office expenses include office and music supplies, mailing costs, dues and subscriptions, and computer running costs. Other expenses include gifts and ecclesiastical supplies. Thank you for your contribution to help St. Alban s. John Barrow, Treasurer Upper Des Moines Adopt-a-Family On the second Sunday of Advent, December 10, the youth of St. Alban s will go shopping for gifts for their adoptive family, a project sponsored by Upper Des Moines Opportunity. They will return to St. Alban s and wrap beautiful packages to be delivered to their family. and his benefits of insurance and retirement. This category also includes the salary for the secretary, Carol, and for the organist. The next biggest expense is for Maintenance and Repair. We have to pay for snow removal, lawn care and maintenance, and cleaning of the building. This category also includes repairs to the building and infrastructure, and property insurance on the church s buildings. Community Table Meal St. Alban s will serve at Community Table on the Okoboji Bible Conference campus located at the corner of Hwy. 71 and Broadway in Arnolds Park, on Thursday, December 14, from 5:30-6:45 p.m. Folks from St. Alban s are invited to volunteer to help prepare food, set tables, serve, clean up, etc., but most of all share God s love at this event!! All are welcome to come and enjoy good food, friends and a time of fellowship.

Ordination scheduled Hello Fellow St. Alban's parishioners! This fall has been an exciting time at St Alban's. In addition to having Fr. Tom engaged in teaching, worship, and leadership of our church, this fall saw the dawning of an entirely new experience across the diocese, revival!! Revival is a new concept to most Episcopalians (myself included!), one that the vast majority of us are not comfortable with. This was a great experience that we shared with our sister church, Trinity of Emmetsburg. The revival service was both challenging and encouraging. In addition, we had several unique prayer stations, a few of which were healing prayer provided by the Order of St. Luke; a wailing wall where individual prayer needs could be submitted; a journey board, where we could prayerfully use yarn to reflect on our spiritual journey; and a tree of blessing. Two of these prayer stations were used as well at the Iowa convention, and were very well received. The St. Alban's/Trinity revival was a tremendous event, one that really illustrated our own Christian walk; prayer, empowerment, reflection, and prayer supplication. I would like to give a heartfelt "thank you" to all who worked so hard in the preparation of this event, and to all who participated! Glenn Preston, Senior Warden The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa approved during convention the ordination of the three candidates making application to the Sacred Order of Deacons. They are Stephen Mark Benitz, St. John s, Mason City; Sinclair Conrad Paul Ender, Grace Church, Cedar Rapids; and Elizabeth Cone Preston, St. Alban s, Spirit Lake. Bishop Alan Scarfe has taken order for the service which will be Saturday, December 16, 2 p.m., at Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Des Moines. A reception will follow. November-December MINISTRIES SCHEDULE 11/5/17 Lector: Mike Mears; Chalice: Mike Mears; Acolyte: Mike Mears; Ushers: Wards 11/12/17 Lector: Chris McDonald; Chalice: John Amsler; Acolyte: Beth Preston; Ushers: Rick Jennings, Terry Shively 11/19/17 Lector: Terry Shively; Chalice: Stevie Shively; Acolyte: Stevie Shively; Ushers: Jacque Easter, Kathy Krebsbach 11/26/17 Lector: Steve Heaton; Chalice: Steve Heaton; Acolyte: Will Heaton; Ushers: Prestons 12/3/17 Lector: John Amsler; Chalice: John Amsler; Acolyte: Beth Preston; Ushers: Joe & Elisabeth Jennings 12/10/17 Lector: Sara Early; Chalice: Sara Early; Acolyte: Will Heaton; Ushers: Rick Jennings, Terry Shively 12/17/17 Lector: Peggy Gustafson; Chalice: Beth Preston; Acolyte: Andrew Bare; Ushers: Jacque Easter, Stevie Shively 12/24/17 MP Lector: Volunteer; Acolyte: Volunteer; Ushers: Volunteer 12/24/17 HE Lector: Betsey Holzhauer; Chalice: Beth Preston; Acolyte: Jack Holzhauer; Ushers: Wards 12/25/17 HE Lector: Volunteer; Chalice: Beth Preston; Acolyte: Volunteer; Ushers: Volunteer 12/31/17 Lector: Terry Shively; Chalice: Beth Preston; Acolyte: Stevie Shively; Ushers: Amslers Remember to find a replacement if you cannot attend as scheduled. Check your schedule for phone numbers.

#AdventWord a Global Advent Calendar During Advent, we anticipate the coming of Christ, an event that awakens our deepest desires and longings. Respond to a daily meditation with images and prayers that speak to your heart and be part of a global Advent Calendar that brings us together in communion. Participants are invited to respond with an image of their own on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The result is a crowd-sourced global advent calendar that creates a sense of worldwide communion and wonder. We hope that you will consider participating and inviting your diocese to join. It is fun to see so many young people praying together. Be part of the Anglican Communion s Global Advent Calendar. It s an innovative way to engage in the season of Advent with people all over the world. Simply respond to the daily meditation emailed to you with images and prayers that speak to your heart. Your images and prayers will appear in the Advent Calendar with others from around the world. Join us as we anticipate the coming of Christ, the fulfillment of our deepest longings. To View the Advent Calendar: adventword.org For Resources: adventword.org/resources/

St Alban's Episcopal Church PO Box 85 Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360 U.S. POSTAGE November-December NEWSLETTER 2017

November 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Daylight Savings Time ends 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 All Saints Day 12 noon All Souls Day St. Hubertus Hunters Mass 5:30 pm 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Thanksgiving Day 26 27 28 29 30 St. Andrew the Apostle

December 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 First Sunday of Advent 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Greening of the church~potluck 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Morning Prayer 10 am 9 pm 31 Christmas Day St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr St. John, Apostle and Evangelist St. Thomas the Apostle The Innocents