ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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Thursday Announcements for October 22, 2020

10/22/2020

 
FATHER MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
1) As announced yesterday, Vonnie Rubottom’s funeral service has been
moved to Bridgeman Funeral Home in order to accommodate a larger number
of guests. The family invites you to attend, beginning at 1:00 P.M. It will be an
Episcopal service.


2) Last Saturday the diocese-wide Annual Council was held via Zoom, and it
was certainly much different than years past. What it lacked in fellowship and
collegiality, it made up for in brevity. Two takeaways: first, the Bishop and
Trustees have done a great job managing the diocesan finances during
this difficult time. 2020 will not have a dramatic effect on the overall
financial health of the diocese, and 2021’s budget is realistic and doable.
Second, we continue to be led by an extremely capable, energetic, and
visionary Bishop and staff. Here is a link to the Bishop’s annual address, which
will give you a clear sense of what I mean by
that. 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4uwstlw7ffkm24w/Bishop%27s%20Annual%20Council%20Address.mp4?

 
3) As you know, we are closed again for public worship due to the surge in local
COVID-19 cases. This rise in cases is more sudden and dramatic than the one
last summer, and by now most of us have seem a direct impact on our lives –
either ourselves or someone we know and love has been diagnosed with the
disease or quarantined due to close contact. Our church is not immune so we
continue to do everything we can think of to keep you safe, including
following the Bishop’s guidelines around public worship, which I fully support. 

 
Here are the highlights of our policy:
  • Using the data on the Healthynebraska.org website, we will be open when
  • the 7-day average number of cases in our region us below 20.0, and closed when it is above that threshold.
  • Being open for public worship means gathering together in the sanctuary and parish hall are allowed with masks and social distancing.
  • Being closed for public worship means only groups of 10 or fewer may meet together in the building, also with masks and social distancing.
  • Indoor weddings and funerals are subject to the same criteria.

 4) All of this is a hardship for sure. I don’t like it one bit and I know you don’t
either. But because I know it is the right thing to do I willingly abide by it and
enforce it here. So far our region has not been hit as hard by the virus as
others, but that seems to be changing these last few weeks. It would break
my heart if any of you fell seriously ill from this disease, so I pray that you will
protect yourselves and those you love by following the simple steps of wearing
a mask, keeping your distance, avoiding inside face-to-face meetings when
possible, and using good hand hygiene. These are the best tools we have at
this time to avoid increased spread. No doubt a vaccine and treatments are on
the horizon, but it may be another year before they are widely available and
working. So for now, do what you can to protect yourself and others. It is an act
​of Christian witness keep others safe, even when it is inconvenient or difficult.
Happy Birthday!!                               Happy Anniversary
Sandy Gibson     October 17              Christian & Stacy Bach   October 24
Josh Halstead     October 22             
Samuel Selzer    October 22
Haley Sauer        October 25
Al Williams          October 27
 
Prayer Requests: The prayer request sheet is still just outside the office
in the church and is updated weekly. Anyone may still email your prayer
requests to me at stfrancis@allophone.com. If you do not have email, just
call the church and leave a message. Since, I am back in the office, the
requests must be received on by Wednesday at the latest, for them to be
included in the Sunday Bulletin for that week. If the request is received 
after Wednesday, they will be added to the next Sunday Bulletin. We will
follow the same process and keep the names on for two weeks. Once the
prayer request is received, it is added to the prayer list and then I email
the names to have them added to the Prayer Chain and to the Daughters
​of the King.

 
***Daily Devotion for Thursday October 22, 2020***
The Great Commandment
The 5 Steps – Pause * Listen * Think * Pray * Go
Pause
Take a moment to breathe, to reflect on the past day, and to pray:
Did I search for happiness in things or in my relationship with the Creator?
Did I find ways to express my love to God and those around me?
God, open my heart to be more like Christ.

Listen
The truly happy person doesn’t follow wicked advice, doesn’t stand on the
road of sinners, and doesn’t si
t with the disrespectful. Instead of doing
those things, these persons love the Lord’s Instruction, and they recite
God’s Instruction day and night!

Psalm 1:1-2
Think
I don’t know anyone who does not want to be happy, yet experiencing
happiness in this crazy world is a real struggle for many, including myself
at times. We often experience moments of feeling happy when we see
cute puppies, get invited to the big party, get a good grade on a test, get
lots of “likes” on social media, or have a good hair day. But what about
happiness that is lasting, happiness that doesn’t go away when thing
don’t go our way?
Psalm 1:1-2 says that those who are truly happy love the Lord’s
Instruction and recite it day and night. They stay away from people and
situations that will bring them down and pull them away from God. They
seek God’s guidance through scripture and prayer and stay on the right
path.
Will it be easy and will everything go our way? No way. But we can be
assured that God loves us and will see us through. And that, dear friends,
gives me a deep sense of happiness that the world cannot take away.
Stella Perrin

Pray
God, help me to see that following your way instead of doing things my
way is best and is the path to being truly happy. Give me eyes to see
beyond the circumstances around me and trust that you are working to
bless me. Amen.

Go
Go,
Offering yourself fully to God, faults and all,
Believing that God loves you without reservation,
As you seek to love God and the world with all that you are.
 
***For those of you that would like to access these devotionals daily, you can go on this website: www.d365.org
 
Gina’s Office Hours
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday  9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Thursday  9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

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    Rev. Erin Rath

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Contact Us

St. Francis Episcopal Church
14 E 20th Street

Scottsbluff, NE 69361
​P.O. Box 1201


stfrancis@allophone.com

​(308) 632-4626

Service Times

Sundays 9 AM
Wednesdays 6 PM


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  • Home
    • FAQ
  • Who We Are
    • Clergy and Staff
  • What We Do
    • Worship
    • Service
    • Sermons
    • Children and Families
    • Discipleship
    • Music & the Arts
    • Pastoral Care
    • Weddings
    • Baptism
    • Funerals
  • Experience For Yourself
    • Sundays
    • Programs
    • Membership
    • New To St. Francis?
    • Participate in Worship
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