Weekly Worship Service
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Worship via Zoom with Coffee Hour to follow—10:00am
This will be the fifth Sunday of Easter and we’ll be hearing one of the ECMN
Eastertide sermons, given by The Rev. Kerri Meyer. The Rev. Kerri Meyer and her
spouse, Dr. Jennifer Blecha, are cultivating an agrarian ministry on their organic farm in
Hutchinson. The vision of Good Courage Farm called her back home to Minnesota after
having been ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of California and serving as
Associate Rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Everything
that used to be a hobby for her has now become her livelihood, so there’s not much she can say about pastimes any more. Kerri has a fondness for animals that are black and
white, which almost makes up for nothing else in life being that simple. Hospitality is
part of Good Courage’s charism, so Kerri and Jen want you to know that everyone
reading these words is warmly invited to come out for weekday morning prayer with
coffee and pie, a Sunday afternoon nap in a hammock, or a weekend farmstay complete
with chores and fresh eggs.
- First Reading: Acts 8:26-40 Phillip proclaims the good news of Jesus to the
Ethiopian Eunuch - Second Message: Will be screen shared
- Gospel: John 15:1-8 I am the true vine and my father is the vine grower
For the Zoom worship service on May 2, 2021 Click HERE
If asked for a passcode, enter 657179
If asked for a meeting ID, enter 915 5954 9145
To join by cell phone only (voice only, no video),
call: 312-626-6799
Enter Meeting ID 915 5954 9145
If asked for a passcode, use 657179
For the Service Bulletin – Click HERE
For the Music Bulletin – Click HERE
Worship Team
What’s New?
- To listen to the “State of St. Mary’s” given by our Wardens, Jim DeLuca & Caroline Kaker, Click HERE.
- “Up to the Mountain” performed by Maggie Brickson, Click Here.
- Thank You video presented at the end of the Annual Meeting. Thank you Julie P. & Laura-Lee B. for making this happen! Click HERE.
- The uncut version of the Thank You videos if you would like to grab a bowl of popcorn or other snack. (unedited version ~30 minutes), Click HERE.
If you have a hankering to put your thoughts about liturgy in the pot (on the Team, that is!), now is a good time to join the Worship Team. We’ll soon be planning Pentecost and then the long “Ordinary Times” season, running from May 30-November 21. All thoughts, all perspectives are welcome. Our next meeting is Saturday, May 8, 5-6pm. We’re meeting about every other week. If you’re interested, Click HERE.
Feedback is welcome!
We welcome your feedback and recommendations about worship services.
Click HERE to give feedback. Thanks!
Join the Saint Mary’s Re-Gathering Team!
Are you looking forward to a time when we can once again gather in-person? Are you interested in being a part of a Team to help make that happen?
As we work towards approval from ECMN of our Saint Mary’s “Plan for Re-Opening for Physical Worship”, we also need to work out the internal logistics of holding in-person indoor and outdoor gatherings. We are looking to expand our Re-Gathering Team to include:
- Technology coordinator(s)
- Volunteer coordinator(s)
- RSVP coordinator(s)
- Safety Trainer for all Volunteers and Building Users
- Cleaning coordinator(s)
We are looking forward to creating a complete and vibrant Team to help make this happen. We would like to assemble this Team as soon as we can to be prepared when the time is right.
If you are interested in joining the Re-Gathering Team or have any questions, please email regathering@saintmarysepiscopal.org.
Now Easy Online Giving on Saint Mary’s Website
Now you can quickly and easily donate to Saint Mary’s online via credit or debit card, or by bank account! Our new, secure online e-giving program, established in conjunction with Vanco, is now available on the front page of the St. Mary’s website. Simply go to the website and click on “Contribute” in the heading or scroll down and click on “Give Online 2021 Stewardship” and you will be able to quickly make online donations. You can also use the following link: https://secure.myvanco.com/YNB0.
The Vanco e-giving service allows you to direct your giving to several different funds on either a one-time or recurring basis. One-time gifts involve three easy steps. If you want to establish recurring donations, such as weekly or monthly pledge donations to our general fund, you will need to set up an account through Vanco, which is also easy to do.
Credit and debit cards have a 2.75% administrative fee attached to each transaction, and payments via a bank account include a 1% fee. You can choose to cover these fees with your donation. Of course, you still have the option of mailing in your donations or setting up auto-pay through your bank, options which do not have administrative fees.
Following is a link (Click HERE) to instructions for donating through our new e-giving site, including screen shots and written instructions. Check out our giving site now on the Saint Mary’s website or at https://secure.myvanco.com/YNB0, and thanks for your donations, regardless of how you choose to give!
If you have questions or need more information, feel free to contact Rex Holzemer at rexaholzemer@gmail.com or 651-308-4895.
Annual Meeting Finance Update
Rex Holzemer, Treasurer, presented information at the April 25th Annual meeting regarding the 2020 budget and the budget and household pledge trend lines from 2018 to 2021. The documents shared at the meeting are included in the following link:
Click HERE for the 2021 budget document shared at the meeting.
Click HERE for the document on St. Mary’s UBS Investments shared at the meeting.
The 2021 budget has a projected deficit of ($23,232). As of March 31, 2021, pledge income is approximately $16,000 above budget. However, this is due in large part to parishioners who have paid half or their full annual pledge in the first three months of the year. We expect that the 2021 annual deficit may actually run even higher than projected, possibly closer to $30,000 once a permanent rector is hired and salary and benefits for the position are finalized.
The 2020 deficit was ($29,172). However, we were able to eliminate the deficit with the transfer of the $31,700 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to the operating budget that St. Mary’s received and which was totally forgiven. The 2019 deficit was ($23,170), but this deficit was also eliminated with the transfer of a $25,000 grant to the operating budget from the GHR Foundation. We are not eligible for a second-round PPP loan, and the 2021 deficit will most likely have to be covered from reserves in the Heritage Fund (Click HERE regarding St. Mary’s UBS Investments for more information).
From a historical perspective, in the early 2000’s, St. Mary’s started to grow gradually, but consistently, both in terms of membership and overall budget. The peak year was 2018 when our total budget was $358,339, and we had 172 household pledges totaling approximately $255,000. Since that year, both our budget and household pledges have decreased significantly. Our 2021 budget is $244,909 and we have only 57 household pledges totaling $165,813.
Fortunately, the generosity of past parishioners has left us with reserves, so that we can sustain deficits, if needed, for several years as we rebuild our parish membership. However, if we go beyond 3 -4 years at the level projected for 2021, we will severely strain our reserves in the Heritage Fund, which has covered deficits in the past, as needed.
If you have questions or need further information regarding St. Mary’s budget, please feel free to contact Rex Holzemer, Treasurer, at rexaholzemer@gmail.com or 651-308-4895.
Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care Calendar for May 2021:
Compline (All Are Welcome)
Tuesday, May 4 and each Tuesday following at 8:30pm, all are invited to pray Compline in our Zoom prayer room. We will use the Prayer Book. This is a brief form of the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed before bedtime. All are welcome. Contact Rev. Cindi for details / the link.
pastoralcare@saintmarysepiscopal.org
Healing Circle
Healing Circles help us step out of ordinary time into a safe and accepting environment in which each of us can explore our own healing. All are welcome; please contact Rev. Cindi for more information and to get the link.
Join our Prayer Chain:
Pray with and for your friends and family at Saint Mary’s
Please contact Rev. Cindi if you would like to be included among those praying for
the needs of St. Marians or if you have a prayer request. (No meeting required)
For confidential prayer requests or to join any of these events:
Reach out to Reverend Cindi Brickson at
pastoralcare@saintmarysepiscopal.org for a Zoom Link
Outreach Opportunity: The Performance Collective
Bookkeeper needed (volunteer) for an emerging group of local artists who are reimagining sustainable art practice. There are deep, systemic inequities in how and for whom performance is made in our local community. The Collective is an inclusive group of Twin Cities artist-activists, longtime leaders of the local arts community who are connected to each other through an urgent desire to advance our capability to change the world. We hold decades of producing experience, with the artistry, the curiosity, and the commitment to justice that will shape a new creative ecosystem: that sustainably supports artists and their work; where artists share investment, resources, risk, and reward; while dismantling racist, patriarchal, oppressive structures that prevent all artists from exercising full agency. We strive to open any barriers to entry for audiences, so that all can experience new voices, new stories, and build new capacities for understanding and taking action in the world. A more equitable system of performance-making can lead our communities toward equity and justice for all.
In order to take our next steps, we need someone with basic bookkeeping skills to maintain a monthly balance sheet for us and make a brief monthly report. 3-5 hours/month. For more details Click HERE or email jennieward2@gmail.com.
Mission Area Gatherings
You (yes, you) are enthusiastically invited and encouraged to attend your upcoming Mission Area Gathering. One of the recurring themes that came out of the discernment committees is that mission areas are crucial are for conducting experiments in discipleship, innovation, vitality, and story-sharing. We are called to be Christians together, and that means getting outside our faith community’s walls and finding out what our nearest Episcopalian neighbors are up to.
East Metro: Saturday, May 8 at 1pm – Register Click HERE
Healing Our City
Every morning, 8:00am
A diverse group of faith leaders from across Minneapolis have created Healing Our City, a virtual prayer tent. You are invited to join the Zoom call each day at 8am for a 20-minute prayer for healing and reflection. Click HERE to learn more and join people of all faiths, across Minneapolis and beyond, in prayer for healing and solidarity.
Relationships & Common Good
As we move through this Eastertide season, the vestry wanted to share with you, our beloved community, that we are preparing to partner with you on answering the following question: What would church look like that serves the common good for our Saint Mary’s community and strengthens our relationships? Come Easter, the season of rebirth and new growth, we will bring suggestions on how we might start to engage in community conversations around this question. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or reflections, please share them with any member of the vestry, or email our wardens HERE.
Upcoming Events at Saint Mary’s
Opportunities for Worship, Education, Choir, & Meet Ups
for the week of 4/30 – 5/6
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Worship with coffee hour to follow
10:00am
Link
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Men’s Group
7:00pm
Click Here for more details on how to join
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Caring for an aged loved one
7:00pm
Contact Rev. Cindi for details and link Click HERE
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Compline
8:30pm
Contact Rev. Cindi for details and link Click HERE
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Saint Mary’s Dinner Group
Contact Julie Thomas for more information. Click HERE.
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Thursday Evening Contemplative Service Via Zoom
Led by Erika Scheurer and Anna Clark
7:00pm
Link
Sunday School Online:
MiaLisa McFarland Millares will send out an email with readings, activities,
and links for videos and discussions to all on our Constant Contact list.
If you receive the Weekly email, you are on the list.
Visit the Saint Mary’s Calendars page for more information on what is happening.