What's happening this week at St Francis Episcopal Church

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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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