Beloved in Christ at St. Philip’s,
I hope the summer months are offering you all respite. I know many of you are traveling, my family and I will be very soon, and my prayers are with you as you journey. I wanted to utilize this space provided me by our monthly publication of The Curate to bring you up to date on our current position and guidance regarding COVID-19 moving forward. In short, our county numbers are trending downwards. We have been at the “moderate” level of community transmission since May 19th, with several days at “low” throughout (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view). And, each day the number of vaccinations is up. This is all very good news for us!
I’ve been happy to see more of you joining us for in-person worship as we make positive strides within our community. It is such a pleasure having you with us and hearing your voice among our collective worshipping voice as we respond and sing to the Lord! You will have noticed that most things have returned to their former state within worship. A few things, however, have not. Most notably we are not yet utilizing the altar rail for communion or sharing the common cup. These facets of our worship will return when we reach a sustained “low” level of community transmission. We are continuing to provide some socially-distanced seating for those that desire it and masks remain optional for those that are fully vaccinated.
Lastly, it is my prayer and hope that as we come to the end of the summer we will be able to safely gather for fellowship and a meal together on St. Philip’s Sunday, August 15th. Now, if you consult the Church calendar, you’ll find the Feast of Sts. Philip and James on May 1st. I was hoping to save that special day for a time when we could gather in worship and around a table for a feast. That should be a great day to kick things off for the Fall semester. We’ll celebrate the 162nd birthday of St. Philip’s with a Holy Eucharist; bless teachers, students and their backpacks at the beginning of the school year; and share a lunch in the Parish Hall. Please sign-up to bring a side dish at
Contact the church office if you would like assistance. Following St. Philip’s Sunday, we’ll resume Wednesday Evening Healing Eucharist and Sunday Morning Christian Formation. It should be a great time to be an Episcopalian in Palestine, Texas.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Fr. Justin Briggle
There will be no DOK meeting for the month of July.
The next meeting will be Sunday, August 1st at 11:45 a.m. in the Parish Hall.
There will be no SMG meeting for the
months of July and August. The next meeting will be Monday, September 20th at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
There will be no ECW meeting for the months
of July or August. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 14th, in the Parish Hall.
July Birthdays
13 John Cox
17 Jackie Gragg
23 Sparky Kolstad
24 Pat Delany
24 Mary Nichols
28 Joan Strominger
29 Jesus Garcia-Castillo Jr.
30 Dan Raney
July Anniversaries
5 Bill & Caron Fraser
5 Ronald & Joan Strominger
18 Billy & Sara Minton
27 Gary & Kathy Thomas
18 Billy & Sara Minton
27 Gary & Kathy Thomas
30 Bill & Kathy Stites
May 2021 Year to Date
Beginning Balance $93,450.93 $83,409.68
Income $12,869.66 $86,947.95
PPP Loan Funding $6,868.87 $19,554.13
Total Expenses $17,688.50 $94,410.80
Ending Balance $95,500.96 $95,500.96
Ushers - July 2021
Curt Winkler.
Ushers - August 2021
To be Announced.
Altar Guild Schedule:
July 2021
Jun 26 – Jul 2--------Team 3 Alex Nemer, Vicki Winkler
Linens: Vicki Winkler
July 3 - July 9--------Team 4 Sara Minton, Kathy Stites, Hilda Garcia-Castillo
Linens: Jeanette George
July 10 - July 16-----Team 1 Nancy Waggoner, Sherry Snow
Linens: Joann Evans
July 17 - July 23 ---- Team 2 Becky Myers, Cathy Summers, Julie Law
Linens: Kirsten Knippers
July 24 - July 30------Team 3 Alex Nemer, Vicki Winkler
Linens: Vicki Winkler
July 31 - Aug 6 ------Team 4 Sara Minton, Kathy Stites, Hilda Garcia-Castillo
Linens: Jeanette George
Lay Minister Schedule:
July 2021 Reader/Server
Sunday 7/4 10:30 a.m. Pat Redding
Sunday 7/11 10:30 a.m. Carol Ann Chidlaw
Sunday 7/18 10:30 a.m. Sparky Kolstad
Sunday 7/25 10:30 a.m. Scott Nicholson
Please consider contributing for
Altar Flowers on a Sunday morning in Thanksgiving for an anniversary, birthday, or other blessing or in memory of someone. Contact the church office to sign up for your Sunday.
Please sign up using the following link to bring a side dish!
Wednesday Evening Healing Eucharist will return in-person on August 18th. Mark your calendars! Live-streamed Wednesday Evening Prayer is taking a break. If you're
interested in learning how to pray the Daily Office, contact Fr.
Justin Briggle.
The Greeting Card Ministry got off to a great start in June! Let us know if you're interested in brightening someone's day.
A Note from Carol Chidlaw on Daughters of the King:
I’ve asked Father Justin to let put in a little plug for our Daughters of the King chapter. Maybe you already know a little bit about us, but I’d like to encourage the women of St. Philip’s to give some prayerful consideration to joining us. You can talk to any of us here to tell you how.
We are about to begin a new year in September. Our annual election of officers is at the August meeting. Our hard-working outgoing President, Deborah Morton, is stepping down and at this meeting we’ll elect a new President and prepare for a new year.
So this is a really good time for you to apply to become members. It isn’t an instantaneous process, as in organizations where all it takes to join is to sign the membership roster and deliver your dues check. No, joining DOK requires a period of discernment, usually about three months, during which a prospective Daughter prays, studies, learns all she can about this Holy Order before she makes that final commitment to a prayer life that will see her through the rest of her life.
For DOK IS a Holy Order, not a club or a fund-raising channel. We take vows. We live by a Rule of Life that seeks daily to walk with God as our guide. Each Daughter promises to make a conscientious and constant effort through her life, words and deeds to reach those who are longing (whether they know it or not) to know the love of Jesus Christ.
On a personal note, I have deeply felt the abiding prayerful practice of my sister Daughters, when I learned of my son’s battle with Covid19. I have never been as scared, or alone, as when I heard my son’s voice on the phone, barely able to talk or breathe, tell me how sick he was. I had nowhere to turn … but my sister Daughters. I called someone immediately, who put out the prayer call. Throughout that long, sleepless night, I literally FELT, as if they were in the room with their hands upon me, those women holding me, praying with and for me. It was as real and palpable as anything I have ever felt. At last, I slept; my son made it to the hospital. Ultimately, he recovered completely … and so did I, from the trauma of thinking I would lose my only child, my only living remaining family member.
Do not be afraid. Many of us Daughters of the King live very ordinary lives. We are young and old and somewhere in the middle. We go to work. We take care of our families and our daily tasks. Who we are before we become a Daughter and after we take those vows may look very similar. No, we (you) don’t have to spend hours every day on our knees praying aloud with amazing eloquence. (Although, of course, I do!) For prayer, we have learned, is a state of being, not just a physical or verbal position. A Daughter’s life is a prayer born or acted out of love.
No special spiritual attributes are needed to become Daughters of the King – only a sincere desire to draw nearer to God and to help others do the same. Through membership in our Order, we are strengthened through prayer, helped to learn through study, and we find community with other Daughters.
Are YOU called to become a Daughter of the King? Come. Join us.
June 2021 Junior Warden Report:
· 2 Jun 2021 - Met with Gary Cooper, Plumber re: moving the water heater out of closet in Paris Hall Kitchen. He recommends consulting an electrician to ensure correct breaker to disconnect power first.
Scheduled Music Store technician to bring amplifier back and re-install in Paris Hall. Will come 7Jun 2021.
· 3 Jun 2021 – Braley’s delivered new extension ladder. Scheduled to meet with Peace Of Mind electrician and Kim (carpenter) on Friday 4 Jun 2021. Also purchased 19 LED tubes and 7 “U” tubes from Elliott’s Electric
Supply.
· 4 Jun 2021 - Kim looked at and evaluated West Door of Narthex. Much damage noted. Discussed several ideas for repair/replace. She will develop a plan and submit for approval. Electrician, Shaun, here to retrofit LED lights to Parish Hall. He used new extension ladder to remove cracked CFR light bulb in North Choir loft cannister and replaced with LED bulb.
• 7 Jun 2021 - Met with Jerry, technician from Music Store and Fr. Justin to re-install repaired amplifier in Parish Hall. Tested system. Brought water bottles with Episcopal Shield to be give out to Vestry for branding and use with new filtered water dispensing units. Report of water seepage in Narthex again, fans applied.
Phillip O. Morton, RN, Junior Warden St. Philip’s Episcopal Church
Rector: Fr. Justin Briggle jbriggle@stphilipspalestine.com Cell: (512) 799-9365
Parish Assistant: Ginger Brown Treasurer: Melissa F. Cox
Sexton: Martín Rodríguez Organist/Choirmaster:
Vestry Members
2021
Bill Fraser
Phillip Morton, Jr. Warden
Tucker Royall
Bob Snow
2022
Barbara Kolstad, Sr. Warden
Pat Redding
Mike Tisdale
Nancy Waggoner
2023
Melissa Cox, Treasurer
Alex Nemer, Clerk
Vincent Salaz
Joan Strominger
Normal Office Hours: Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m.
Closed Federal and Occasional Church Holidays
Phone: (903) 729-4214 Fax: (903) 729-8691
YouTube: bit.ly/stphilipsyt
Facebook: www.fb.com/stphilipspalestine
Email: office@stphilipspalestine.com Website: www.stphilipspalestine.com
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