Thursday Announcements for April 8, 2021

FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
1) Daughters of the King is an Episcopal women’s group devoted to the study
and practice of prayer within a local small group setting. Call Beth McKibbin at
(308) 641-3993 for more information or to join. The time commitment is minimal
but the rewards for individuals and for the parish are immense. I am strongly
encouraging the women of this parish to take a look at this. It is life-
changing and parish-changing. I know this for a fact. 

2) WE DID IT! After a year of COVID restrictions and online-only worship, we
had an extremely successful and moving Holy Week and Easter gathering
both online and in-person, and it was spectacular to be back together with
you again! Thank you so much to everyone who made these services so
special — our administrative staff, assisting clergy, musicians, acolytes,
 readers/intercessors, eucharistic ministers, ushers, A/V techs, cleaning crew,
and, of course, those who attended and participated at home or her at the
church. It’s been a long, long season of isolation and disappointment, but we
are moving toward a new and glorious future that is only now becoming clear. I
am excited for this parish!

3) Recent 7-day moving average number of local cases is at 5 — the lowest I
have seen since tracking it. Let’s hope this trend continues. Get your
vaccines, keep masking and distancing. We are finding a new normal, and it
seems pretty good.

4) For the past year we haven’t had any in-person programs, but that’s about to
change. In a few weeks I plan to return to in-person bible study with one or
more groups, while keeping at least one online zoom study that has included
some from outside our region. I think this new hybrid model will be important
in programs as well as worship. More announcements on this later in April.

5) If you or your child volunteers in any role on Sundays for worship, we will
continue to manually schedule these roles through April, but later in the
month will go back to sending electronic requests for availability and
scheduling volunteers through our online Ministry Scheduler Plus (MSP)
program. So watch for that email somewhere around the April 15th and be
sure to put in your availability for May. Just one more way things are
returning to normal in this parish.

6) The Bishops’s Visitation is Wednesday, May 19th and we will celebrate
Holy Eucharist that evening at 6:00 P.M. If you or your youth are planning to
be Confirmed or Received this year, please make sure Gina or I have your
name on our list of candidates. Right now I have Beth M., Gary and Karen L.,
and Linda R. as adults, and Max M., Nate K., Victoria S., and Elliot S., as youth.
​ Am I missing anyone?

Gina's Announcements 
Happy Birthday!!
Ann Peterson              April 8
Hadlee McKeehan      April 10
Barb Manasek             April 14

LOST AND FOUND 
Found – A case for glasses was found after the Maundy Thursday
Service.
Lost – A single key on a keychain with silver decoration.

Prayer Requests ** Please make sure your request is received by Wednesday
of each week. You may call (308)632-4626 (leave a
message), email [email protected] or mail to:
St. Francis Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 1201
Scottsbluff, NE 69361

Forward Day by Day Booklets
We still have some of the Forward Day by Day’s for February, March &
April in regular and large print.
We just received the Forward Day by Day’s for May, June and July in
regular and large print. If you would like any of these mailed to you, please
email or call the church.

NATIONAL ALL IS OURS DAY – APRIL 8
​Observed each year on April 8th, National All Is Ours Day takes us along
three views of appreciation.
Either celebrate both approaches
to the day or pick the one that
best suits you. 
The first approach to the day can
be looked at as a time to reflect on
all of the beauty of nature and all
the wonderful things in life. Rarely do
we have the time to explore all that
nature offers us. Something as simple
as the variety of birds that inhabit a local
park or backyard can surprise us. Venturing
further out, we can discover our National
Parks or trail system. Whether we look up
to the skies or closer at the new spring blooms,
taking in our surroundings is a spectacular
gift to enjoy. 
The second way to celebrate the day is
by appreciating everything we have. Even
when we don’t have much, what we do have is
a blessing. This approach encourages
counting those blessings and avoiding
thinking about the things we do not have.  
A third way to view the day is by sharing all that we have. Regardless of what we have,
sharing it seems to make tough times easier when we all work together. The greatest
times and the greatest things in life are those that are shared.
No matter which approach you take to celebrating the day, it’s an excellent way to
refocus negative energy into a positive purpose. Enjoy the beauty that belongs to
everyone, count those blessings or share all you have to make tough times easier.

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