​Thursday Announcements
 July 29, 2021
 
FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
1)    COVID is back in the news, nationally and locally. We continue to watch developments but for now we are keeping the status quo – masks optional for vaccinated people in worship and indoors meetings, congregational hymn-singing, fellowship and small groups are able to meet in-person. If, however, delta variant infections and hospitalizations continue to rise in Scottsbluff County, we may be forced to take a step back in the weeks to come. The best thing you can do to keep our church family safe is to get vaccinated if you have not yet done so. They are safe, effective, free, and readily available.

2)    GREAT NEWS! Trudy Schnell and Amy Meyer have volunteered to lead our Youth Group (13-18 yr olds) this year! I am so excited to see where God is leading our team! If you have a young adult in your family, I hope they and you will make time to engage in this ministry. We couldn’t have a Youth Group without adult leaders, that’s for sure, but the bigger truth is we can’t have Youth Group without youth. By my count, we have 20 kids in our church ages 13-18, and I know they are super busy between school and sports and clubs and friends and family obligations but we are putting together what we think will be some fun and faithful programming that will absolutely be worth your investment of time. Stay tuned for more announcements soon!

3)    We are looking for Delegates to the Diocesan Annual Council Oct 21-23 in Lincoln, NE. Expenses paid! Exciting business meetings! Excellent worship! Amazing traveling companions! Who’s in?? Call the office or text me at 308-765-1535. So far, I have one of three delegate spots filled.



​​ANN’S ADDITIONS

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​​Thursday Announcements
 July 22, 2021
 

FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

1) Tomorrow our Men’s Bible Study begins again after our long Covid-related layoff. We will meet every Friday at 8:00 A.M. in the Rae E. Whitney library next to my office in the parish. Coffee is provided. This is a low-stress, friendly, fun gathering where we catch up, read some scripture, and talk. Questions and opinions are the norm but nobody gets too agitated because we’re all just there to enjoy the company and learn from each other. Come and join us?
 
2) Sadly, our 8:00 A.M. organist, Tami Lippstreu, is leaving us September 1. We will miss her gifts and her grace and her presence terribly. She has been a true blessing to us. This means we have one organist for our early service and for now we will have music twice a month at 8:00. If you know of anyone who would be willing to serve the other two Sundays, either organ or piano, will you contact me and I will reach out to them? For a long time we had no music at the early worship, then Jamie came to us and when he moved Nancy and Tami came in. Who will God bring next? Do you know the someone who might be interested?
 
3) We continue to ask for volunteers to teach and help for Godly Play (ages 5-10) our new Pre-Teen Group (ages 11-12) and Youth Group (13-18). God may be calling or nudging you toward volunteering. If so, will you pray about it a little more? We need a number of committed adults to help with our youth programming this year. You can make a difference.
 
4) This year’s Diocesan Annual Council will be held in Lincoln, NE, Oct 21-23. We are allowed three lay delegates and the parish covers the cost of registration, hotel, and meals, and transportation to and from. Rooms are double occupancy.You can see more details on the diocesan website here: https://annualcouncil.episcopal-ne.org  This is a great way to get more involved with your larger church family, and a great way to meet good folks from across the state. If you are interested, will you let me know soon so I can make arrangements?

 5) EFM is Education For Ministry — which is being offered via Zoom once again this year. One of our parishioners is taking the course and getting rave reviews. It is not a small commitment of time, but I can absolutely promise the return is worth the investment. Here is more information including contact information for the leaders, both of whom I know personally and I cannot think of two more gifted teacher and mentors. We will have partial scholarships to assist with tuition (which covers all books and materials). 

The Diocese of Nebraska offers Education for Ministry (EfM), a 4-year study for adults, meets for 36 meetings per year via Zoom.  This Zoom-based group serves primarily Western and West Central Nebraska plus small churches.  Registration deadline is August 9, and we will start in late August.  The co-mentors are Sandra Squires at sksquires@cox.net and Mother Judi Yeates at motherjudi@earthlink.net.  The group meets on Sunday afternoons for 36 weeks, and we are looking for new members to join the group.  The cost for a full year of tuition which includes 5 books is $380, averages about $10 per session. 

Please contact either of us if you have questions.
Sandra Squires                                                      Mother Judi Yeates
Co-mentor and EfM Coordinator                            Retired Priest
                                                                                               Diocese of Nebraska                                              Diocese of Nebraska                                                                                                                                                                           sksquires@cox.net                                 motherjudi@earthlink.net                                                   
 
ANN’S ADDITIONS

Happy Birthday!! 

Sarah Williams                                 July 26
Steve Shaw                                      July 28
Alyson Anderson-Saenz                   July 29
Mardell Schnell                                July 31
Judith Widmaier                               July 31
 
Happy Anniversary!!
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Chris & Jane Kelley                        July 30
 
Prayer Requests ** Please make sure your request is received by Wednesday of each week. You may call (308)632-4626 (leave a message), email stfrancis@allophone.com or mail to:
St. Francis Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 1201
Scottsbluff, NE 69361


Forward Day by Day Booklets
We have the Forward Day by Day’s for August-October in regular and large print. If you would like any of these mailed to you, please email or call the church.
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FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
1) THANK YOU to all who have gave so generously at our last week’s special collection for Camp Canterbury Scholarships! We are very near our goal of $1,500. If you haven’t donated yet but would like to help us meet our goal, you can do so by shopping this weekend at our Christmas in July Sale, where part of the proceeds will go to our Camp Fund. Again, my sincere thanks for helping send our kids to camp again this year. It means everything, and I am so grateful for your generosity.
 
2) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED — Our kids/youth programming starts up again soon, and we are looking for a few more volunteers to assist. Specifically, we are looking for a couple more teachers and helpers for our Godly Play class (ages 5-10), four to eight teachers and helpers for our newest Pre-Teen Group (ages 11-12), and a couple to lead our Youth Group (ages 13-18). This seems daunting — recruiting this many volunteers in a church our size — but our young folks absolutely deserve our best efforts. Will you consider going outside your comfort zone just a bit and helping us teach and serve the youth of our parish? You can volunteer by calling the office (308) 632-4626, or emailing Ann at stfrancis@allophone.com
 
3) MEN’S BIBLE STUDY begins again Friday, July 23rd at 8:00 A.M. in the library. Good coffee and great fellowship provided and no prior experience reading the bible is needed. All we do is read and talk and I promise you won’t meet a nicer bunch of guys. 
 
4)  CATECHISM CLASSES for youth ages 13-15 will begin in September. You can sign your young person up by following this link: https://saintf.breezechms.com/form/6745a319 

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ANN’S ADDITIONS
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Happy Birthday!! 
Trudy Schnell                         July 19
Gary Larson                           July 22
Adam Moreno                        July 23
 
Happy Anniversary!!
Jennifer & Mindy Baird           July 16
Donald & Kathy Graham        July 18
John & Jamie Selzer              July 20
Kevin & Monica Lehr             July 23
 
 Prayer Requests ** Please make sure your request is received by Wednesday of each week. You may call (308)632-4626 (leave a message), email stfrancis@allophone.com or mail to:
St. Francis Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 1201
Scottsbluff, NE 69361

Forward Day by Day Booklets
We have the Forward Day by Day’s for June and July in regular and large print. If you would like any of these mailed to you, please email or call the church.

​FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
1) THANK YOU to our new Gardening Group, who are already making a huge difference in the health and beauty of our plants around the church! What a wonderful way to use your gifts, and what a blessing to the parish and to the community.
 
2) Special thanks also to Greg Suhr, who spent yesterday fixing the water supply to both the front and back gardens. As water is essential to life, faithful volunteers are essential to any living and growing and thriving church. We are so blessed to have all of our wonderful volunteers. Without all of you our ministries would wither and die.
 
3) Don’t forget this Sunday is Camp Collection Sunday! We are sending five amazing campers and two incredible adults to Camp Canterbury by Lincoln on July 19-23. We need to raise a total of $1,250 this week and next to cover the total cost of our group. A portion of that will be donated by the ECW and their Christmas in July sale July 17th, and the rest from our special offering this Sunday. Please be generous, it is for the worthiest of causes — helping kids form lifelong relationships with God and one another. 

Happy Birthday!!
 
Adam Haack                          July 9
Daniel Harvey                        July 9
 
Happy Anniversary!!
 
Erica & Brian Croft                July 10
 
Prayer Requests ** Please make sure your request is received by Wednesday of each week. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message), email stfrancis@allophone.com or mail to:
St. Francis Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 1201
Scottsbluff, NE 69361

Forward Day by Day Booklets
We have the Forward Day by Day’s for June and July in regular and large print. If you would like any of these mailed to you, please email or call the church.

ECW
     
The ECW will be hosting their “Christmas in July” Bazaar on Saturday, July 17th from 8 am to 3 pm.  A portion of the profits will be used to help with the tuition of our youth to attend Church Camp.
     We need your help.  We are asking you to donate gently used Christmas decorations and Flea Market items you would like to find a new home for.  No clothing please! You can bring your donations to the Parish Hall tables on the East wall, starting Monday, July 5th.  Ann Salomon, our church secretary, will be in the office Tuesday-Thursday, from 9 am- 1 pm.  You can also call Barb Manasek  436-7767 if you need another drop off time.
     We also need bakery goodies to sell.  They can be dropped off either Friday, July 16th or by 8 am on Saturday, the day of the Bazaar.  We appreciate any help you can give us.