Thursday Announcements-March 6, 2025­­­­
 
ERIN’S EPISTLETTES

An Invitation to upcoming events at Calvary Lutheran Church:
Calvary Lutheran Church would like to extend an invite to local congregations for two upcoming events. We'll be hosting a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Feed on March 4
​and the church will also be the site of an upcoming performance of the University of South Dakota's award winning Chamber Singers. 
More about the Chamber Singers here: https://starherald.com/news/local/usd-chamber-singers-to-present-tour-concert-in-scottsbluff/article_481a5eb2-f2f3-11ef-8d12-03cdceb02e9a.html.       
Thank you,
Maunette Loeks
Calvary Lutheran Church
 
Recent Worship Engagement
Sunday Worship
Average for February: 49
Three-Month Average (December, January & February): 50
Midweek Worship in February: Best Attended Services
Midday In-Person Eucharist: 4
Evening In-Person Eucharist: 0
Evening Prayer on Zoom: 3

 __________________________________________________________
Ministry Teams, March 9, 9am
Musician                     Barb Becker
Media Team                Charlie Kennedy
Ushers                         Alena Kennedy, Kathy Shambaugh
Acolyte Master           Clark Wisniewski
Acolytes                      Monica Shambaugh, Josie Weiss
Lector/Intercessor     Clark Wisniewski
Eucharistic Minister   Santana Tamarak
Altar Guild              Judi Widmaier, Connie Schingle, Jeane Anderson
Coffee Hosts          Monica & Kathy Shambaugh

Upcoming Events at St. Francis:
United Thank Offering (UTO) boxes & envelopes available in Narthex
Community Lenten Lunch, Tuesday @ the Vine UMC, Scottsbluff 12pm
Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library
Soup, Stations & Eucharist Wednesday, Supper @ 5:15pm, Stations @ 6pm
Evening Prayer on Zoom, Wednesday @ 7:15pm
Men’s Bible Study Thursday @ 8am, Library
Discipleship Group, Thursday @ 12pm, Library
Sunday Eucharists, March 16, Saint Francis, Scottsbluff @ 9am
Good Shepherd, March 16, Harrisburg @ 11:30am
Saint Hilda's, March 16, Kimball @ 2:30pm
 ____________________________________________________________

​From the Office—Ann’s Announcements
 
Birthdays
Charlie Kennedy                  March 9
Sammy Masid III                  March 9
Landon Parrish                    March 9
  Charlie Selzer                      March 11

​

A Message from Mary

I am honored and humbled to be called and selected to serve you as your Senior Warden.  My commitment to you is that I will work collaboratively with my fellow vestry members and Reverend Erin to create a vision and plan of action that reflects God’s dream for our congregation.
As we discussed in the Annual Meeting, we face significant challenges relative to insuring our church’s continued viability in the future.  It will take all of us, moving forward in the same direction, to safeguard the legacy of St Francis Episcopal Church and make certain God’s mission and vision for her are sustainable.
To that end, at the Annual Meeting, we determined the need for a formal Stewardship Committee to focus on our financial resources and congregational engagement.  This will be a special committee under the Vestry.  Five people have already stepped forward to participate.  I extend my personal invitation to you to join us on this journey.
Consider Paul’s words to the church in Rome: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”  (Romans 12: 4 – 6)
I ask you to prayerfully consider what gifts you have to offer to this important committee.  If you are able and willing to participate, please let me or Reverend Erin know.  (You can contact me at 303-514-2820.)  If you are unable to participate at this time, I ask you to lift up the work of this committee in your talks with God.

God’s Peace, 
Mary
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here's the previously published information on Project Resource. If you're interested in participating in our newly formed stewardship committee or this program, please contact Senior Warden Mary Bowman or Rev. Erin.

• From their website: "Giving of oneself financially unlocks a part of our hearts where God can do incredible work, both in us and through us. As part of our baptismal covenant, we believe we are called to reconcile ourselves to one another and to God. Fundraising is not a means to an end. Rather, fundraising as ministry is a radical act of reconciliation; a process that can both draw the giver closer to God and repair an unjust world. Project Resource provides the tools to inspire radical generosity and engage faith communities in this life-changing work."
• The program is hosted by the (Episcopal) College for Bishops.
• Classes gather on-line for an hour and a half every Sunday over five weeks.
• Saint Francis will cover registration costs.
• For more information, please visit their website at https://project-resource.org/. 

 
Given we're well into the season of winter storms, this seems like as good a time as any to remind folks of how closure decisions are communicated, be it on Sunday or during the week. The information will be communicated in the following ways:

• Emailed to those on the list to receive the weekly enews.
• Texted to those who have a current cell number on file. As messages are sent through the system we use to schedule worship volunteers, it will not come from a number with a 308-area code. So you know it's legitimate, we'll sign off with a notation that the message was "sent via MSP."  For those with access to MSP, you'll see you're a part of the Weather Cancellation Notice group. 
• Posted on the home page of our website
• Posted on our Facebook page
• Posted to KNEB's website (Because we don't have control over how quickly our information is posted or how long it's left up, we encourage you to check our website or Facebook page first.)

 ​
Sunday Worship...
November month-end average: 57
December month-end average: 61
January month-end average: 47
Christmas Eve Attendance (both services): 103
November-January Low & High* Sundays (Excludes Christmas): 33 & 69
 
Midweek Services in January...
Midday Eucharist, best attended: 0
Evening Eucharist: Not offered; Holiday & Diocesan Event
Zoom Evening Prayer, best attended: 3
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ministry Teams, March 2, 9am

Musician                       Nancy Meier
Media Team                  Stephanie Schingle
Ushers                          Greg & Collette Suhr
Acolyte Master             Clark Wisniewski
Acolytes                        Walker Anderson, Will Schaaf, Travis Iron Shell
Lector/Intercessor       Jim Petitt
Eucharistic Minister    Jan Johnson
Altar Guild              Judi Widmaier, Connie Schingle, Jeane Anderson
Coffee Hosts          Collette Suhr, Sarah Schaaf
 
Upcoming Events at St. Francis:
Eucharist at Good Shepherd, Harrisburg, March 2 @ 11:30am
Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, March 4
Ash Wednesday Services, March 5 @ 12:15pm and 6pm
Men’s Bible Study Thursday, 8am, Library
Discipleship Group Thursday @ 12pm, Library
Holy Eucharist at St. Francis @ 9am, March 9
Prayers for Healing following Worship, March 9

​Thursday Announcements-February 20, 2025­­­­
 
ERIN’S EPISTLETTES

A Message from Mary
​
I am honored and humbled to be called and selected to serve you as your Senior Warden.  My commitment to you is that I will work collaboratively with my fellow vestry members and Reverend Erin to create a vision and plan of action that reflects God’s dream for our congregation.

As we discussed in the Annual Meeting, we face significant challenges relative to insuring our church’s continued viability in the future.  It will take all of us, moving forward in the same direction, to safeguard the legacy of St Francis Episcopal Church and make certain God’s mission and vision for her are sustainable.
To that end, at the Annual Meeting, we determined the need for a formal Stewardship Committee to focus on our financial resources and congregational engagement.  This will be a special committee under the Vestry.  Five people have already stepped forward to participate.  I extend my personal invitation to you to join us on this journey.

Consider Paul’s words to the church in Rome: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”  (Romans 12: 4 – 6) I ask you to prayerfully consider what gifts you have to offer to this important committee.  If you are able and willing to participate, please let me or Reverend Erin know.  (You can contact me at 303-514-2820.)  If you are unable to participate at this time, I ask you to lift up the work of this committee in your talks with God.

​God’s Peace, 
Mary
______________________________________

Thank you to all who attended our Annual Meeting February 9. I appreciate your questions and ideas and remain open to continued conversation. 

• As we work together to reduce our deficit, I ask your focus be on improving processes rather than criticizing people. Our processes, especially those related to communication, need work. The involvement of the people of our parish will be critical in finding solutions to our challenges, financial and otherwise. Most importantly, relationships between people are foundational to our shared ministry work. It's important those relationships are positive and encouraging. 
• Hard copies of the Annual Meeting report packet are available in the narthex. Let the front office know if you'd like a copy mailed to you. 

 
Around the time of the Annual Meeting, there's often an increased interest in church administration. A few related reminders: 

• With the exception of executive session (which happens very rarely), Vestry meetings are open to members of the parish. 
• These meetings generally happen on the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Scheduling information, including exceptions to this pattern, will be communicated in the enews and the Sunday bulletin. It can also be found on the calendar on our website. 
• A binder of vestry related documents, including agendas, minutes and financial reports is available for check-out from the library. This information goes back to the beginning of my tenure and will continue to be updated after every meeting. I'm happy to print out or email any of this documentation on request. 

 
Here's the previously published information on Project Resource. If you're interested in participating in our newly formed stewardship committee or this program, please contact Senior Warden Mary Bowman or Rev. Erin.

• From their website: "Giving of oneself financially unlocks a part of our hearts where God can do incredible work, both in us and through us. As part of our baptismal covenant, we believe we are called to reconcile ourselves to one another and to God. Fundraising is not a means to an end. Rather, fundraising as ministry is a radical act of reconciliation; a process that can both draw the giver closer to God and repair an unjust world. Project Resource provides the tools to inspire radical generosity and engage faith communities in this life-changing work."
• The program is hosted by the (Episcopal) College for Bishops.
• Classes gather on-line for an hour and a half every Sunday over five weeks.
• Saint Francis will cover registration costs.
• For more information, please visit their website at https://project-resource.org/. 

 
Given we're well into the season of winter storms, this seems like as good a time as any to remind folks of how closure decisions are communicated, be it on Sunday or during the week. The information will be communicated in the following ways:

• Emailed to those on the list to receive the weekly enews.
• Texted to those who have a current cell number on file. As messages are sent through the system we use to schedule worship volunteers, it will not come from a number with a 308-area code. So you know it's legitimate, we'll sign off with a notation that the message was "sent via MSP."  For those with access to MSP, you'll see you're a part of the Weather Cancellation Notice group. 
• Posted on the home page of our website
• Posted on our Facebook page
• Posted to KNEB's website (Because we don't have control over how quickly our information is posted or how long it's left up, we encourage you to check our website or Facebook page first.)

 
Recent Worship Engagement Trends:
Sunday Worship...
November month-end average: 57
December month-end average: 61
January month-end average: 47
Christmas Eve Attendance (both services): 103
November-January Low & High* Sundays (Excludes Christmas): 33 & 69
 
Midweek Services in January...
Midday Eucharist, best attended: 0
Evening Eucharist: Not offered; Holiday & Diocesan Event
Zoom Evening Prayer, best attended: 3
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ministry Teams, February 23, 9am
Musician                      Nancy Meier
Media Team                 Steve Trickler
Ushers                         Nancy Kepler, Judi Widmaier
Acolyte Master           Clark Wisniewski
Acolytes                      Erin Cawiezel, Allie Cawiezel
Lector/Intercessor     Jack Webb
Eucharistic Minister   Santana Tamarak
Altar Guild                 Collette Suhr, Ann Peterson, Jane Sayre
Coffee Hosts             Christie Shaver, Barb Manasek

Flowers:
Ron & Ann Salomon     In thankfulness for all of God’s blessings

Upcoming Events at St. Francis:
Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library
Vestry Meeting,Tuesday, February 25 @ 6pm
Evening Prayer on Zoom, Wednesday @ 6pm
Men’s Bible Study Thursday, 8am
Discipleship Group. Thursday @ 12pm
Eucharist at Good Shepherd, Harrisburg, March 2 @ 11:30am
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, March 4
Ash Wednesday Services, March 5 @ 12:15pm and 6pm

​A Message from Mary

​I am honored and humbled to be called and selected to serve you as your Senior Warden.  My commitment to you is that I will work collaboratively with my fellow vestry members and Reverend Erin to create a vision and plan of action that reflects God’s dream for our congregation.

As we discussed in the Annual Meeting, we face significant challenges relative to insuring our church’s continued viability in the future.  It will take all of us, moving forward in the same direction, to safeguard the legacy of St Francis Episcopal Church and make certain God’s mission and vision for her are sustainable.

To that end, at the Annual Meeting, we determined the need for a formal Stewardship Committee to focus on our financial resources and congregational engagement.  This will be a special committee under the Vestry.  Five people have already stepped forward to participate.  I extend my personal invitation to you to join us on this journey.

Consider Paul’s words to the church in Rome: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”  (Romans 12: 4 – 6)

I ask you to prayerfully consider what gifts you have to offer to this important committee.  If you are able and willing to participate, please let me or Reverend Erin know.   If you are unable to participate at this time, I ask you to lift up the work of this committee in your talks with God.

God’s Peace, 
Mary
​_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Thank you to all who attended our Sunday's Annual Meeting. I appreciate your questions and ideas and remain open to continued conversation. 
  • As we work together to reduce our deficit, I ask your focus be on improving processes rather than criticizing people. Our processes, especially those related to communication, need work. The involvement of the people of our parish will be critical in finding solutions to our challenges, financial and otherwise. Most importantly, relationships between people are foundational to our shared ministry work. It's important those relationships are positive and encouraging. 
  • Hard copies of the Annual Meeting report packet are available in the narthex. An electronic copy can be downloaded from the homepage of our website through next week. 
  • I'll make another announcement when the minutes of the annual meeting are available. Thank you, Stephanie Schingle, for your willingness to take this on. 

 

• Around the time of the Annual Meeting, there's often an increased interest in church administration. A few related reminders: 
  • With the exception of executive session (which happens very rarely), Vestry meetings are open to members of the parish. 
  • These meetings generally happen on the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Scheduling information, including exceptions to this pattern, will be communicated in the enews and the Sunday bulletin. It can also be found on the calendar on our website. 
  • A binder of vestry related documents, including agendas, minutes and financial reports is available for check-out from the library. This information goes back to the beginning of my tenure and will continue to be updated after every meeting. I'm happy to print out or email any of this documentation on request. 

 
 

🎶🎵🎶 Liturgical Notes 🎶🎵🎶 
January/February 2025 ~ by the Rev. Erin Rath
Sunday, January 12 marked the beginning of a new season in the church year: Epiphany. The day of Epiphany recalls the wise men's arrival, with gifts in hand, at the manger which cradled the infant Jesus. It comes immediately after the short season of Christmas, often called "the twelve days of Christmas," so named for the twelve days between Christmas Day and the celebration of Epiphany. In many Christian cultures, particularly in the Orthodox world, Epiphany is the primary day of celebration rather than Christmas. The light and insight the star above Bethlehem gifted the wise men, which ultimately led them to Jesus' cradle, become common themes of this season. These themes are mentioned throughout our current prayers of the people, which were composed specifically for this season. Though the six forms of the Prayers of the People provided in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) are worthy of regular use and reflection, I do not feel they address these themes as explicitly as this season and the needs of our time call for. The instructions (often referred to as rubrics) at the beginning of the Prayers of the People in the BCP not only allow for but encourage prayers to be composed beyond the bounds of the forms printed therein. The only requirement is that any composed Prayers of the People include the topics listed in the rubrics (see BCP page 383).  
In addition to the Book of Common Prayer, Enriching Our Worship 1 (approved in 1997 and published in 1998) provides extensive liturgical resources for morning and evening prayer and Eucharist. Seasonal blessings are provided in the Book of Occasional Services (originally published in 1979 and most recently revised in 2018). In this current season of our shared worship life, in addition to utilizing the contemporary form of the Lord's Prayer, we're using a post communion prayer from Enriching Our Worship 1. (We used a different post communion prayer from Enriching Our Worship 1 during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.) The blessing being used this season is from the Book of Occasional Services, as are most of the lengthier blessings utilized over the course of the liturgical year. We'll take a closer look at some of the theological themes brought out by the various post communion prayers in a future Liturgical Notes. If you have a topic or question you'd like addressed in an upcoming Liturgical Notes, please let me know. To those who've read to the end, I thank you for your interest. 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Ministry Teams, February 16, 9am
Musician                       Nancy Meier
Media Team                  Charlie Kennedy
Ushers                          Monica Shambaugh, Jamie Selzer
Acolyte Master             Clark Wisniewski
Acolytes                        Charlie Selzer, Elliot Selzer
Lector/Intercessor       Bill Mann
Eucharistic Minister    Jane Sayre
Altar Guild               Collette Suhr, Ann Peterson, Jane Sayre
Coffee Hosts           Diane Morrison, Nancy Kepler

Flowers:
Jack Webb         In memory of Jack’s father, Lem J. Webb

Upcoming Events at St. Francis:
This Sunday is the third Sunday of the month, so our loose offerings will go toward the Rector's Discretionary Fund.
Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library
In Person Eucharist, Mary Chapel, 12:15pm and 6pm
Men’s Bible Study Thursday, 8am
Discipleship Group. Thursday @ 12pm
The Vestry Meeting had been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 25 @ 6pm
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday Announcements-February 6, 2025­­­­
 
ERIN’S EPISTLETTES​

A letter was mailed to Saint Francis' active members earlier this week. Please check your mailbox for this. If you think you should have received it but didn't, please contact the front office.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
DioNeb's next EfM Event, Caring for a Loved One with Memory Loss: Team Building and Financial Planning is on Saturday, Feb. 15
from 9am-12pm CT / 8-11am MT. 
The event will occur in person at St. Augustine's, Elkhorn (285 So. 208th St.) and online via Zoom.
The agenda will include three presentations, personal stories, and time for questions. It is free to attend, with a suggested $25 donation to
The Benedictine Way or the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
Learn more from the flyer and register online.

​___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
🎶🎵🎶 Liturgical Notes 🎶🎵🎶 
January/February 2025 ~ by the Rev. Erin Rath

Sunday, January 12 marked the beginning of a new season in the church year: Epiphany. The day of Epiphany recalls the wise men's arrival, with gifts in hand, at the manger which cradled the infant Jesus. It comes immediately after the short season of Christmas, often called "the twelve days of Christmas," so named for the twelve days between Christmas Day and the celebration of Epiphany. In many Christian cultures, particularly in the Orthodox world, Epiphany is the primary day of celebration rather than Christmas. The light and insight the star above Bethlehem gifted the wise men, which ultimately led them to Jesus' cradle, become common themes of this season. These themes are mentioned throughout our current prayers of the people, which were composed specifically for this season. Though the six forms of the Prayers of the People provided in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) are worthy of regular use and reflection, I do not feel they address these themes as explicitly as this season and the needs of our time call for. The instructions (often referred to as rubrics) at the beginning of the Prayers of the People in the BCP not only allow for but encourage prayers to be composed beyond the bounds of the forms printed therein. The only requirement is that any composed Prayers of the People include the topics listed in the rubrics (see BCP page 383).  
In addition to the Book of Common Prayer, Enriching Our Worship 1 (approved in 1997 and published in 1998) provides extensive liturgical resources for morning and evening prayer and Eucharist. Seasonal blessings are provided in the Book of Occasional Services (originally published in 1979 and most recently revised in 2018). In this current season of our shared worship life, in addition to utilizing the contemporary form of the Lord's Prayer, we're using a post communion prayer from Enriching Our Worship 1. (We used a different post communion prayer from Enriching Our Worship 1 during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.) The blessing being used this season is from the Book of Occasional Services, as are most of the lengthier blessings utilized over the course of the liturgical year. We'll take a closer look at some of the theological themes brought out by the various post communion prayers in a future Liturgical Notes. If you have a topic or question you'd like addressed in an upcoming Liturgical Notes, please let me know. To those who've read to the end, I thank you for your interest. 
​___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ministry Teams, February 9, 9am
Musician                        Barb Becker
Media Team                   Jack Schaaf
Ushers                           Christian & Stacy Bach
Acolyte Master              Clark Wisniewski
Acolytes                        Emma Schaaf, Will Schaaf
Lector/Intercessor       Jim Petitt
Eucharistic Minister    Jan Johnson
Altar Guild               Collette Suhr, Ann Peterson, Jane Sayre
Coffee Hosts            Annual Meeting  (Brunch hosted by the ECW)

​Flowers:
Tosh Nanbara             In memory of loved ones
 
Upcoming Events at St. Francis:
Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library
Evening Prayer on Zoom, Wednesday @ 6pm
Men’s Bible Study Thursday, 8am
Discipleship Group. Thursday @ 12pm

​​___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
From the Office—Ann’s Announcements