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Breath for All
There are plagues in the air that are making it difficult to breathe and threatening to our lives. One of them is new (or "novel") and biological. We've named it Coronavirus. The other has been with us this whole time. We call it racism and white supremacy. Both of these plagues have the potential to divide us, to bring out the worst in us, to kill us. "I can't breathe." Those words, spoken most recently by George Floyd-his last words-horrify me. The deadliness of our collective and sinful injustice and inequality has been laid bare. The disproportionate death and suffering visited on the poor, the elderly, and people of color are on full and unavoidable display. These plagues-biological and societal- are lethal to our bodies, our minds, our spirits, and our nation. But they don't have to be. There is another way. This Sunday, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Holy Comforter. John tells us that Jesus appears to the disciples late on that first Easter and does this: "He breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:22) How can we celebrate breathing in the Spirit of the Risen Christ while others are not able to breathe at all? How can we pretend to be about the work of forgiving sins and being reconciled if we fail to look honestly at what is constricting the ability for all people to breathe freely? We must acknowledge the sin of racism, greed, and injustice before it can be forgiven. Until we do, it will be retained in all of its continuing violence and lethality. This is, of course, frightening and overwhelming. It is threatening and uncomfortable. And it is necessary both as Americans and as Christians. All the better for us to hear Jesus' command: "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is the breath of God that breathed life into us at the beginning, that breathed resurrection life into Jesus, and continues to be offered to us and our world today. Come Holy Spirit. Breathe new life into us and send us out to do this work of reconciliation so that everyone is free to breathe the sweet air of liberty and justice. Peace, AJ+ This prayer from today's email from Sojourners may be helpful in the work facing us in the days ahead: As we face together this unprecedented season, let love fill all our hearts, so that the greatness of our nation continues to break open before us. Draw every American, we pray O Lord, into the values of courage, duty, honorable action, self-sacrifice, generosity, neighborliness, responsibility, and mercy, which are the hallmarks of our country. Give us courage, O Lord. Hear our prayer. A Heads Up about This Sunday, The Feast of Pentecost You might want to get up and dressed and "tuned in" for our on-line service at 8:00 am this Sunday. We'll be using a slightly different liturgy, but it will still be available only on Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/staugmet Spirit-led people have to be ready at a moment's notice to respond to the opportunities God gives us to love, witness, and serve I understand it's tempting to show up at your convenience and however you're dressed. However, this particular Sunday would be a good time to dress and show up at 8:00 am. Wear red if you have it! Or white-a symbol of your Baptism, that why Pentecost is also known as Whitsunday (White Sunday) because we will be renewing our Baptismal promises. Pentecost Homework Since it's the Feast of Pentecost -- the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church -- please send a photo of you and/or your family dressed in your Spirit-inspired best. Maybe it's a fire-engine red hat. Or those red pants your spouse only allows you to wear on Pentecost. Maybe it's something that makes you think of birthdays. As we are also celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit, we'd also love pictures of doves! The link below gives some instructions on how to fold an origami "peace dove." If you like to fold crosses on Palm Sunday, you'll enjoy this too. Make as many as you like. Send your photo or photos to Kate Smith to be included in our Pentecost service (May 31, 2020). Or, you can attach them here using the form you can find at: www.staugustinesmet.com/Pentecost Moving UP St. Augustine's would like to celebrate our parishioners that are moving up to the next chapter of their lives. If you have a student moving from PreK to Kindergarten, Elementary to Middle, Middle to High, or a High School, College, or Trade School Graduate, please send us their picture using the form found at the link below, or email to Kate Smith. Be sure to include a short note about their accomplishment. If you have a "moving up" that is not included here, please go ahead and send it. We want to celebrate and wish our congratulations and Blessings on all the paths forward. Please make sure to get it to Kate before June 3rd. www.staugustinesmet.com/graduates Dial In Access for May 31st, 2020 If you or someone you know will not be able to access Facebook on Sunday, you can still "dial in" and listen to the service. Simply dial 1-888-958-7272 and then enter this access code (good only for May 31): 100479815
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 The Vestry and Staff of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church are committed to meeting the spiritual needs of our community during these difficult days. In order to do this, we need your input and insights. Please complete a short survey by clicking on the link below. The survey should take approximately five minutes. Please consider this a "pulse-check"-- a way of getting a sense of what is helpful to you, as well as what you may be ready for in the days ahead. We obviously can't promise to meet every need, expectation, or timeline, but your input will be tremendously helpful as we make decisions going forward. Thank you for your continued faithful support of St. Augustine's and one another! St Augustine's Episcopal Church Congregational Survey Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.” That’s how the Second Letter to the Thessalonians begins: with a recognition of growing faith and increasing love. I wonder if these strange days—days we didn’t desire or choose—may have brought us a deepening faith and an expanding love for one another. This is my prayer and hope: that this unrequested fast and odd Eastertide may nevertheless strengthen our faith and accelerate our love; that even in the midst of fear, suffering, sickness, injustice, and death, we will make our song, “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!” As you have no doubt heard, Louisiana and Jefferson Parish are moving into Phase One. Bishop Thompson, in consultation with the clergy, healthcare specialists, and the wider Church has decided that even though the Governor has allowed indoor, in-person worship to resume (with many requirements), our Diocese will not. That is to say, we will continue for the time being with Morning Prayer via FaceBook Live. I fully support this decision. I also recognize that it is likely disappointing news for some of you. Nevertheless, the most important thing is the safety of our congregation. Given our average age and the dedication of our parishioners, opening the doors would put people at unnecessary risk. To paraphrase “Field of Dreams,” if we have church, you will come. It would also put volunteers and staff at risk. And the worship service would be an oddity that would disappoint those looking to get back to “normal.” There would be no Communion, no choir, no coffee hour, no sharing of the Peace, no Christian Education, restrictions on the number of people, those present would all be in masks, ushers would “police” people, and many would be left out. Keeping people safe and being as inclusive and welcoming as possible are the cornerstones of St. Augustine's. It’s not time to get back together. Yet. Well, if not now, then when? That’s a good question. It helps to have a landmark to steer towards. The Bishop will revisit the decision after the next set of guidelines come out in the first week of June. Additionally, the possibility for outdoor worship begins on May 24th. To be honest, the Vestry and I are not looking favorably at the prospect of South Louisiana summer heat with no fans while wearing masks—while still having no music, no choir, no coffee hour, etc. Please prepare for on-line Sunday worship for the coming three Sundays: May 17th, May 24th, and May 31st. It helps me to think of this as an offering of sacrificial love. We say (and I believe) that we are all in this together. Then let us gather again when we can all be there together (or at least as many as possible). Until such time, let us offer up our disappointment as an act of love towards our neighbor. An ever-increasing love made possible by our ever deepening faith in the One who loves us and gives himself for us. Peace be with you, AJ+ Worship for Sunday, May 17, 2020 We will stream our worship service live via FaceBook at 8:00 am. The Spanish-language service is "live" at 9:30 am. The link is: Www.facebook.com/staugmet/ The bulletin for the English service is attached. Following the service at 9:30 am, we can have some "coffee talk." See below.  We have a new Link for the Zoom Coffee Hour. Please contact us for the link and other details. "See" you at Coffee Hour!
Call in for Sunday's Service Unfortunately, Facebook has moved this feature from the “testing” phase to the invisible phase. It is no longer available. Kate and Jeremiah are continuing to look for this offering. We will let you know if it becomes available. Updating the Parish Database Perhaps you've been wanting a parish telephone directory? Or wondering how you could get a phone number for a parishioner you miss seeing on Sundays? Or maybe you have some extra time on your hands and this would be the perfect time to update your information so that we can publish a directory at some point with up-to-date information? If so, click on this link and register and then update your information. If you've already registered but forgot your password, you can ask them to set up a new one. Or, email Jamee at jgmeisner@bellsouth.net with your updated information. If we all take the time to register and update our information though, we'll all be able to contact one another. https://onrealm.org/StAugustinesEpiscopalChurch/Account/Register Link to Diocesan Resources If you would like to read any of the Bishop’s letters or other resources regarding COVID-19, please go to this website: https://www.edola.org/guidelines-for-the-coronavirus-covid-19/ Update on COVID-19 Isolation I'm not sure if it's the weather or the duration, but I'm finding it more difficult to observe the stay at home order. Perhaps it would be easier for us if we knew when the quarantine would be lifted, at what date we will return to church, and what those services will look like. But the honest truth is that we don't. No one does. We can influence the outcome (by staying at home, washing hands, wearing masks, etc.), but we can't control it. That lack of control is both frightening and frustrating. We see it boiling over in the news, in our country, perhaps even in our own lives. I'm reminded of something Scott Stoner wrote several weeks ago: Keep the problem the problem. It's an adage from his career of counseling couples and families. If you're feeling angry with your spouse or your kids, your Governor or your Rector (gasp!), remember that the problem is this pandemic. At the root of all of this suffering, fear, hardship, grief and frustration is a virus. Dealing with that virus is where we should be focusing our energy and our attention, our prayers, and our concerns. Keep the problem the problem. We still do not know when we will be able to return for in-person worship. The Diocese presented updated guidelines this week. You can find those along with guidelines from the Fire Marshall' s office at www.edola.org. I can't tell you when we'll be back, but I can assure you that things will look dramatically different than the last worship experience we shared at St. Augustine's. It's important to manage our expectations-both in terms of timing and substance. Until then, let us look for the Grace that is always present in our lives. For now, there is Grace to be experienced in the solitude. A Blessing of Solitude May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul. May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe. May you have respect for your own individuality and difference. May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening. May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride and expectation with which God sees you in every moment. - Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O"Donahue Peace, AJ+ Worship for Sunday, May 10, 2020 We will stream our worship service live via FaceBook at 8:00 am. The Spanish-language service is "live" at 9:30 am. The link is: Www.facebook.com/staugmet/ The bulletin for the English service is attached. Following the service at 9:30 am, we can have some "coffee talk." See below. Please email if you need an invitation to the Zoom meeting. Some tips from Catherine: When it is time for the meeting, you can click on the link above. You will enter a "waiting room" and I will admit you to the meeting In the bottom left corner of the screen you will be able to control if I hear you or see you. The default I have set up is that I see you but you are muted. If you cannot hear me speak, you will need to go to the bottom right corner of your screen and click on your volume to turn it up. This can also be done with your keyboard. If you need to do something on your computer while zoom is on, you can click in the upper right hand corner just to the left of the red x. That will minimize or maximize your screen. If you call in from your phone, I don't know how it will look, but I know it is possible. For educational purposes, you may want to sign in from both your computer and your phone to see how it looks, but then turn the sound off on one or the other or it will make a high pitched noise like a microphone next to a speaker. NOTE! Never take your computer into the bathroom with you and ALWAYS warn your family members that you are on zoom so they don't walk near the camera unaware. See you Sunday! Call in for Sunday's Service If you or someone you know does not have access to internet, they can listen to Sunday's service over their phone by using this access code: 839279657. The phone number to call is: 1-888-958-7272 Forward day by Day Copies of the most recent "Forward Day by Day" have been placed in the bin by the gates at the parking lot side of campus. Please help yourself, but like my grandmother used to say at the "all-you-can-eat buffet: "take all you want, but need all you take." Updating the Parish Database Perhaps you've been wanting a parish telephone directory? Or wondering how you could get a phone number for a parishioner you miss seeing on Sundays? Or maybe you have some extra time on your hands and this would be the perfect time to update your information so that we can publish a directory at some point with up-to-date information? If so, click on this link and register and then update your information. If you've already registered but forgot your password, you can ask them to set up a new one. Or, email Jamee at jgmeisner@bellsouth.net with your updated information. If we all take the time to register and update our information though, we'll all be able to contact one another. https://onrealm.org/StAugustinesEpiscopalChurch/Account/Register |
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