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January 18, 2023

EMAIL AND TEXT SCAMS: The text that went out asking for gift cards is a very common scam. Every priest at St. Bart’s has had it happen including their new rector within two weeks of his arrival. First for me here, but I’d experienced it in Va Beach although that was email. They’ve switched to texts. It is called spoofing. We did change all of our passwords for our Icon database which has all of our information about the parish. Please know that I would never ask for gift cards or money via a text. Whenever you get one of these check the email address if there is one or look to see what the phone number is.

PARISH ANNUAL REPORT: Thank you to all who attended our Parish Annual Meeting. If you were unable to attend, click here to download a copy of our Annual Report where you are then able to watch the recorded Zoom meeting.

SAVE THE DATE-THE BISHOP IS COMING: Bishop Monterroso will be making his visit to our parish on SATURDAY April 29 at 5:00 p.m. He will be baptizing and confirming members at that service. If you would like to be received or confirmed in the Episcopal Church please contact Mark. There will be a confirmation class during Lent in preparation during the 9:15 formation time.

CHRIST THE KING: Wendy’s parish Christ the King will be using our parish hall this Saturday for an all church retreat with members of the Mission Amplification team to chart plans for their future.

SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN: Sunday School and Children’s Chapel will meet this week.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL: Will meet this week and continue our work on the parables.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Will meet this week, looking at the readings for the following Sunday.

WEDNESDAY HEALING SERVICE: The Wednesday healing service will meet Wednesday, Jan 18 at 11:00.

January 16, 2023

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

We have received several notices from the parish that they are receiving a text saying that they are Rev. Mark Wilkinson and requesting gift cards. Please note that this is a scam. Please do not reply and block number. I will never text or email a request for gift cards or money of any sort.

Faithfully,
Fr. Mark

January 11, 2023

PARISH MEETING JANUARY 15: Please join us this Sunday for our parish meeting where we will elect our new vestry members and here reports from the wardens, treasurer and myself. Vestry candidates are Jason McKey, John Johnston and Kevin Joyce. Click here to learn more about our candidates. If you cannot attend in person a zoom link will be sent out in the Friday newsletter.

SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN: Sunday School and Children’s Chapel will meet this week.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL: Will not meet this week because of the parish meeting. Class will resume Jan 22.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Will meet this week, looking at the readings for the following Sunday.

WEDNESDAY HEALING SERVICE: The Wednesday healing service will meet Wednesday, January 18th at 11am.

THOMAS DOYLE FUNERAL: The funeral for Larry and Virginia Doyle’s son, Thomas, will be held at St. Paul’s this Saturday at 11am.

January 4, 2023

BACK TO NORMAL: This Sunday all our usual Sunday and weekday activities resume.

GATHERING PLACE: Gathering Place has moved to the first Thursday of the month so we will be hosting this tomorrow. We are down a couple of volunteers this week so if you would like to help, please let Iris Poteet know

SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN: Sunday School and Children’s Chapel all start this Sunday at 9:15am and at the 10:30 am service.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8th at 9:15am, picking back up with the parables.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Will resume January 10th, looking at the readings for the following Sunday.

WEDNESDAY HEALING SERVICE: The Wednesday healing service will resume next Wednesday Jan 11 at 11:00.

WEDNESDAY THEOLOGY LUNCH: The Wednesday theology lunch will also resume next Wednesday. If interested in joining, this is via zoom at 12pm on Wednesdays. We will be listening to an interview by Renee Brown with Richard Rohr. Please email me for additional information and invitation.

PARISH MEETING JANUARY 15th. Save the date for our parish meeting where we will elect our new vestry members and here reports from the wardens, treasurer and myself. Vestry candidates are Jason McKey, John Johnston and Kevin Joyce. More information next week.

December 28, 2022

A BIG THANK YOU: I cannot begin to express my thanks for all the people who made Christmas Eve and Day such a success. Jason and all of our musicians were wonderful Christmas Eve and I appreciate those extra folks who decided to join the choir for the night. Extra singers are always welcome. Thank you to the altar guild for making the sanctuary look so wonderful.

THANK YOU FOR COMING: We can have wonderful services, but it is your presence that really makes the difference. We had the largest Christmas attendance since 2019 before the pandemic. Over 200 of you came this past weekend. That’s up by over 50 people and attendance on Sunday’s overall is up 25% for 2022 from 2021.

CHRISTMAS DAY: Speaking of attendance, I was delighted at the attendance on Christmas Day. If you enjoyed that service and would like to see it offered again next year, please let me know. If you want a service Christmas morning I am happy to offer one.

LESSONS AND CAROLS: January 1st will be Lessons and Carols with a Eucharist at 9:30am. Come join us in singing all the wonderful Christmas Carols and hearing the full Christmas story. I will tell two of the passages and other lectors will read the others.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8th picking back up with the parables.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Will resume January 10th

PARISH MEETING JANUARY 15. Save the date for our parish meeting where we will elect our new vestry members and here reports from the wardens, treasurer and myself. Vestry candidates are Jason McKey, John Johnston and Kevin Joyce. More information in January.

OFFICE CLOSED: The office will be closed Monday and Tuesday, January 2nd-3rd. Normal days/hours of M-Th 9am-2:30pm will resume next week.

December 21, 2022

CHRISTMAS EVE AND DAY: See above for our times for services. Jason has wonderful music planned for both services with a group of his singers from TSU who will perform at 4:30pm and 7:30pm. My sermon will be an original story that I have written that tells the story of the birth of Jesus from the viewpoint of the angel Gabriel. I hope you will enjoy it. We will be livestreaming the 5pm service. Sunday morning we have one service at 9:30am and will hear the Prologue to the Gospel of John. So what does that have to do with Christmas? Come Christmas Day and find out. Christmas Day will be a Rite 1 service and will not be livestreamed.

CHILDCARE CHRISTMAS EVE: The nursery will be open for the 5:00 service.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have good start of $250k towards our goal of $372k. We are more than 68% to our goal. Keep those cards coming in. The Finance Committee would like to be close to a budget at our December 21st Vestry meeting.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8th picking back up with the parables.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Will resume January 10th

WEDNESDAY HEALING SERVICE: Will resume January 11th

OFFICE CLOSED: The office will be closed Monday and Tuesday, December 26th-27th and will also be closed Monday and Tuesday, January 2nd-3rd. Normal days/hours of M-Th 9am-2:30pm will resume the following week.

December 14, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have a good start of $235k towards our goal of $372k. We are 64% of the way to our goal. Keep those cards coming in. The Finance Committee would like to be close to a budget at our December 14th meeting.

A BIG THANK YOU FOR LAST SUNDAY: I can’t to say thank you to several people for keeping the ship afloat last Sunday. In 18 years of parish ministry this is the first Sunday I have unexpectedly had to miss. First of all to Stacey, Laura and the Fellowship Committee for pulling off the pageant and dinner in challenging circumstances since I was not the only one felled by cold/flu/covid. We had several families who had one or all of the above this weekend. Stacey and Laura do so much work that many of us do not see so please thank them when you see them. Then thank you to Harlan and Joyce for helping pull off Sunday morning services and of course to the Rev. Mary Wilson for pinch hitting at 10:30. It’s great to know that this church has such dedicated people.

BLUE CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 18 AT 5:00: See above

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:00 in the Conference Room or on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

December 7, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have a good start of $223k towards our goal of $372k. We are 60% of the way to our goal. Keep those cards coming in. The Finance Committee would like to be close to a budget at our December 14th meeting.

ADVENT QUIET DAY: The Rev. Wendy Wilkinson will lead us in an Advent Quiet Day Saturday, December 10 from 9-12:00. This will be a morning of guided meditations and prayer time. Step out of the rush of the season and focus on preparing for the birth of our Lord. We will meet in the nave to begin the day. Please bring materials to journal. If you have a rosary you may wish to bring that as well.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: The Christmas Pageant and Dinner will be Sunday December 11. Families with children who want to participate in the pageant please email Laura Babbitt to let her know you are planning to attend and what part your child wants to play in the pageant.

BLUE CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 18 AT 5:00: This service is designed for people who have experienced some sort of loss that makes the “festive” part of Christmas somewhat problematic. This can be a death or loss of a relationship anything that makes Christmas a bit of a challenge. If you have a friend for which this is true, invite them to come.

PARKING LOT LIGHTS: There has been an issue with the parking lot lights. Monday the electricians were here and diagnosed a failed contactor box that needs to be replaced. That has been ordered in the meantime the lights are on 24/7 because the box is what connects the lights to the photo sensor. So they are either on or off all day and night. We decided to leave them on for security reasons and for those who use the building at night.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:00 in the Conference Room or on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

November 30, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have a good start of $223k towards our goal of $372k. We are 60% of the way to our goal. Keep those cards coming in.

ADVENT EVENTS: This Sunday is St. Nicholas Sunday at 9:30. The good saint will be joining us in the parish hall this week. Come join us for his visit, pictures, and a craft. Don’t forget to leave your shoes in the narthex during the 10:30 service.

ADVENT QUIET DAY: The Rev. Wendy Wilkinson will lead us in an Advent Quiet Day Saturday, December 10th from 9-12:00. This will be a morning of guided meditations and prayer time. Step out of the rush of the season and focus on preparing for the birth of our Lord. We will meet in the nave to begin the day. Please bring materials to journal. If you have a rosary you may wish to bring that as well.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: The Christmas Pageant and Dinner will be Sunday, December 11th. Families with children who want to participate in the pageant watch for an email this week from Laura Babbitt.

BLUE CHRISTMAS DECEMBER 18th at 5:00pm: This service is designed for people who have experienced some sort of loss that makes the “festive” part of Christmas somewhat problematic. This can be a death or loss of a relationship anything that makes Christmas a bit of a challenge. If you have a friend for which this is true, invite them to come.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8th

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:00 in the Conference Room or on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

November 23, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have a good start of $210k towards our goal of $372k. We are 57% of the way to our goal. Keep those cards coming in.

ADVENT EVENTS. Please check out the schedule for Advent activities on Sunday morning, Wreath Making, St. Nicholas, Pageant and Parish Christmas Dinner listed below.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: The Christmas Pageant and Dinner will be Sunday December 11. Families with children who want to participate in the pageant watch for an email next week from Laura Babbitt.

ADVENT QUIET DAY: The Rev. Wendy Wilkinson will lead us in an Advent Quiet Day Saturday, December 10 from 9-12:00. This will be a morning of guided meditations and prayer time. Step out of the rush of the season and focus on preparing for the birth of our Lord. We will meet in the nave to begin the day. Please bring materials to journal. If you have a rosary you may wish to bring that as well.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:00 in the Conference Room or on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

ALL SUNDAY SCHOOL Will resume January 8.

SAVE THE DATE: ANNUAL PARISH MEETING will be held on January 15.

November 16, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have good start of $196k towards our goal of $372k. We are more than half way to our goal. Keep those cards coming in.

ADVENT EVENTS. Please check out the schedule for Advent activities on Sunday mornings, Wreath Making, St. Nicholas, Pageant and Parish Christmas Dinner listed below.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: The Christmas Pageant and Dinner will be Sunday, December 11. Families with children who want to participate in the pageant watch for an email next week from Laura Babbitt.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS WEEK: We will continue with our series on the Parables of Jesus. See you at 9:30 on Sunday! Adult Sunday School will not meet November 27 or December 4.

CHILDREN/YOUTH SUNDAY SCHOOL: This Sunday will be the last gathering until January 8, 2023.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Tuesday Bible study is back at 9:00 in the Conference Room of on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings. We will meet the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

WEDNESDAY EUCHARIST AND THEOLOGY LUNCH WILL NOT MEET NOV. 16.

November 9, 2022

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: Thank you to all who turned in their pledge cards. We have good start of $121k towards our goal of $372k.

CALLING ALL ACOLYTES: We have been very short on acolytes and a few people, one in particular, is serving every week. Please let Christie know what Sundays you are available!

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS WEEK: We will continue with our series on the Parables of Jesus. See you at 9:15am on Sunday!

VESTRY NOMINATIONS UPDATE: We have three volunteers for the three open spots on vestry. The nominations will be approved by the vestry next week and the election will occur in December. Names will be officially announced after the November vestry meeting.

COUNCIL DELEGATE NEEDED: We need a new person to serve as a delegate to Diocesan Council Feb 24&25. Like vestry this is usually a 3 years term. St. Paul’s pays all the expenses involved. This year council is in Galveston.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: Tuesday Bible study is back at 9:00 in the Conference Room or on Zoom. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

WEDNESDAY EUCHARIST AND THEOLOGY LUNCH WILL RETURN MEETING NOV. 16

November 2, 2022

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATION: Sunday we will celebrate All Saints. If you didn’t get a chance to do your prayer flag you can still contact Jennifer or me in the office and we can make one for you to remember those “saints” in your life that have died.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: In Gathering of pledges is this Sunday Oct 6. Please bring your pledge cards this Sunday.

CALLING ALL ACOLYTES: We have been very short on acolytes and a few people, one in particular, is serving every week. Please let Christie know what Sundays you are available!

VIDEO MINISTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP: We are looking for 2 additional people to run the livestream on Sunday at 10:30. This is not difficult to learn and is an important evangelism tool as well as a connection with those who cannot attend church.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS WEEK: We will continue with our series on the Parables of Jesus. See you at 9:15am on Sunday!

VESTRY NOMINATIONS ARE NEEDED: We are approaching the time of year when we need volunteers to run for vestry. We need three people to replace those coming off in January. That election will be in December. Please give prayerful consideration about serving in this important way.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY WILL RESUME NEXT TUESDAY: Tuesday Bible study is back on November 8th at 9:00am in the Conference Room. Join us as we look at the coming Sunday’s readings.

WEDNESDAY EUCHARIST AND THEOLOGY LUNCH CANCELLED NOV. 9: I have been invited to a lunch meeting for the partners with Hutsell Elementary from 11:30am to 1:00pm on Wednesday. I’m excited to be part of this conversation.

October 26, 2022

NEW VESTRY MEMBER: Thank you to Barbara Cloud for stepping up to replace Sarah Martin who has moved to Virginia. Barbara was voted in as her replacement last Wednesday and will finish out her term as well as stepping in as the Clerk of the Vestry.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY/WEDNESDAY SERVICE TAKES A BREAK: With cataract surgery and follow-up appointment for Wendy on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings next week, the Tuesday Bible Study and Wednesday Service will not meet next week and will resume on November 8th and 9th.

October 19, 2022

MARK AT CLERGY CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK MONDAY – WEDNESDAY: Every fall the bishops hold the Fall Clergy Conference at Camp Allen. This is a chance for us to meet as a group to discuss the business of the diocese as well as several workshop opportunities. All active clergy are required to attend.

ADULT CHRISTIAN FORMATION: Will meet this Sunday at 9:15. We will begin an 8 week series on the Parables of Jesus.

VESTRY NOMINATIONS ARE NEEDED: We are approaching the time of year when we need volunteers to run for vestry. We need one person immediately to replace Sarah who has moved to Virginia. Then we need three people to replace those coming off in January. That election will be in December. Please give prayerful consideration about serving in this important way.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY TAKES A BREAK: With my trip to Scotland and then cataract surgery for Wendy on two Tuesday mornings, the Tuesday bible study will not meet during the month of October.

NEW PICNIC TABLES: We have put a couple more picnic tables under the trees by the Franz Road entrance. There are families that use them every afternoon during afternoon dismissal. Just another step in making us a welcoming place for the neighborhood.

October 12, 2022

MARK OUT OF TOWN: Wendy and I will be in Scotland and England Oct 3-14 for my younger son’s wedding. Jennifer will be able to reach me in an extreme emergency. I do have a backup priest for any pastoral emergencies. Contact Jennifer for assistance if needed.

ADULT CHRISTIAN FORMATION: Will meet this Sunday at 9:15.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY AND WEDNESDAY NOON SERVICE TAKES A BREAK: With my trip to Scotland and then cataract surgery for Wendy on two Tuesday mornings and follow-ups on Wednesday, the Tuesday bible study and Wednesday Noon Service will not gather during the month of October.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN: See the Stewardship Page

October 5, 2022

THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO HELPED OUT: Thanks to all of you who turned out to assist with the Fall Festival. It was a great day and we had lots of positive feedback from those who visited.

ADULT CHRISTIAN FORMATION: Sunday School for adults will not meet this Sunday.

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY TAKES A BREAK: With my trip to Scotland and then cataract surgery for Wendy on two Tuesday mornings, the Tuesday bible study will not meet during the month of October.

NEED AN AV PERSON FOR SUNDAY: We need 2 new volunteers: We need to replace one of our AV folks who help with the Sunday livestream. We could also use at least one more person to free up some of the regular volunteers. This is not complicated once you’ve done it a couple times. Email either Mark or Stacy if you can help out one Sunday a month.