January 2015 Newsletter - St. Andrew`s Presbyterian Church

Vol. 9, No. 1
St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church
14311 Wells Port Dr.
Austin, TX 78728
512-251-0698
[email protected]
Website: www.staopen.org
Elders
Dan Christensen
Helen Eisert
Mary Graf
Robert Guy
Matt Hiland
Steve Landsman
Andy Mauney
Heather McLeod
Karalei Nunn
Linda Rowold-Brown
Allison Thompson
Brian Ward (Clerk)
Youth Elder: Chandler Dixon
Pastor
Rev. Jim Rigby
[email protected]
Minister of Spiritual Life
Rev. Babs Miller
[email protected]
Ministerial Assistant
Rev. Ilene Dunn
[email protected]
Director of Children’s Ministry
Rev. Karen Gaudet
[email protected]
Director of Music Ministry
Rev. Tom Mitchell
[email protected]
Church Administrator
Wendy Valdez
[email protected]
Volunteer
Congregational Nurse
Donna Rutherford
[email protected]
Treasurer
Peggy Rackley
[email protected]
Accompanist
Marilyn Rucker
[email protected]
Administrative Assistant
Jessica Jimenez
[email protected]
January 2015
The AGAPE
Newsletter
2014 was a stellar year for St. Andrew’s. We witnessed many exciting developments including:
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Building improvements
Purchase of energy efficient commercial appliances
St. Andrew’s Food Pantry partnership with the Capital Area Food
Bank
Offering of onsite laundry services for our Thursday Night Homeless
Ministry
Co-sponsoring the Wells Branch Solar Energy Fair
And most importantly….we hired a new Associate Pastor, Crystal Silva
-McCormick.
We would like to thank the fantastic Session members, who’s leadership
made 2014 a success!!! Session members, George Brown, Steve Weikal
and Wil Nichols will be going off Session, Steve Landsman & Allison
Thompson will begin new terms and on January 18th (10:45am service)
Dan Christensen, Andy Mauney and Chandler Dixon will be ordained and
installed as the newest additions to Session.
So what‘s coming in 2015?
 Crystal Silva-McCormick will be joining us to begin work with our
youth and young adults.
 The front doors of the building will be replaced with beautiful handicap
accessible doors.
 We will reach out to other community churches & organizations to provide assistance to the St. Andrew’s Food Pantry & Thursday Night
Homeless Ministry.
 The Building & Grounds Committee will research the benefits of replacing the parking lot lights with LED bulbs to become even more energy efficient.
Thank you for your support and generosity throughout 2014 and we look
forward to our journey together in 2015.
O r d i n a t i o n
&
I n s t a l l a t i o n
o f
E l d e r s
The 2017 Class of Elders will be ordained/installed on January 18th at the 10:45am service.
A n n u a l
C o n g r e g a t i o n a l
M e e t i n g
The Annual Congregation Meeting will occur during the 10:45 service on January 25th. The pastor’s
terms of call will be presented.
T e n
Y e a r s
o f
O p e n
E a r s !
Yes, it’s true. 2015 will be the tenth year of Open Ears Concerts at St.
Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. In honor of this occasion, here are some
Open Ears fun facts:
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Our first concert was held on October 9, 2005 and the proceeds
benefitted people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
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Open Ears Concerts is a monthly non-profit concert series that
explores the intersection of Art, Spirituality, and Activism.
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We present diverse genres and styles of music in an alcohol free,
family friendly, listening room environment.
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Open Ears Concerts has presented over 60 shows and over 150
artists.
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We have a potluck meal before each show.
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Open Ears Concerts is self-sustaining via ticket sales and an annual fundraising event. No operational funds from St. Andrew’s are used toward the concerts, but the concerts have contributed to
sound system improvements for the church.
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Several St. Andrew’s members and regular visitors first became aware of St. Andrew’s by attending a concert.
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Open Ears performers have included recipients of Grammy, Country Music Association, Americana Music Association, Juno (Canada), Meteor (Ireland), and ARIA (Australia) music awards, as
well as a finalist on NBC’s The Voice and an Austin Film Festival Audience Award winner.
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This year’s series promises to be the best yet, with several inspiring artists already booked, a renewed focus on the Activism portion of our mission, and potential expansion into visual arts
events.
Our next show is Saturday January 24, with Beth Wood and Tom Faulkner. Beth Wood is a modern-day
troubadour and believer in the power of song. Her exceptional musicianship, crafty songwriting, and commanding stage presence have been winning over American audiences for sixteen years. Beth’s music is a
soulful, organic, intelligent, barefoot, high-energy communication of joy. Tom Faulkner blends "...slices of
rock, blues, Cajun and Tejano with his soulful voice... Faulkner crafts an opus as individualistic as the territory that inspired it..." (The Dallas Morning News). Beth and Tom first performed together on the Troubadour, TX television show and have performed many co-bill shows to great audience accolades.
This show will help raise awareness for equine assisted psychotherapy and physical therapy. Staff from
area organizations will be in attendance to present information about their programs and services.
Doors open and potluck begins at 6 pm. The show starts at 7 pm. $15 suggested donation, but no one will
be turned away.
S o l a r
E n e r g y
Home solar combined with a small battery, of say 5-8 kWh can make you self-sufficient for about 90% of
the day. Germany has installed over 10,000 of these combinations to allow more renewables to be part of
the grid..many at St Andrews have installed them.
The Wells Branch Solarize group is working towards group education and discounts and they have broadened the scope to Wells Branch "area", so anyone within 2 miles of Wells Branch could be included in
this effort. There will be installations done in the next few months. If interested contact Shelley Palmer
at 512-4238150 or email the team at [email protected]. Read about this effort at http://
wellsbranchsolar.blogspot.com/
S t .
A n d r e w ’ s
G o e s
C a r b o n
P o s i t i v e
Awe-inspiring things can happen when you step out of the carbon bubble and go carbon positive! Thank you St Andrew's for reducing our church's energy demands by
temperature adjustments, more efficient equipment, a bike rack, LED lighting, door
closing and tree planting.
Since we couldn't offset all of our carbon emissions, we sponsored Savings Species.
This organization purchases acreage, saving endangered species in the heavily forested
tropics. If you would like to learn more about Saving Species, visit their website at
http://savingspecies.org/projects/current-projects/saving-species-colombian-orchids/.
What a whirlwind year 2014 was for the newly formed Hospitality
Committee! Between March and December, the Hospitality Committee served weekly beverages and snacks for 43 Sundays. The
committee focused on healthy snacks for all, featuring gluten-free
items, low sodium items, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, and seasonal offerings.
Enlisting help from the congregation, many committees and individuals helped "host" Sunday mornings as well as providing the
snacks. Signing up to bring snacks was made easier by using a Google spreadsheet on the St. A's web site.
Procedures were established, and now anyone can make coffee in
the large and small urns, in the Bunn coffee maker, or quickly heat water for tea by reading the posted instructions. Compostable coffee cups, cold beverage cups, and small snack plates are now being used to be
more environmentally conscious.
It's not easy serving 175-200+ people on any given Sunday! Hats off to committee members Carol Emmer,
Janelle Howe, Betsy Landaker, and Christine Wortham. A special shout-out goes to Marilyn Rucker for bringing cookies every Sunday and to Leslie Harper for her dedicated kitchen help almost every Sunday.
Serving Sunday snacks is a labor of love for the Hospitality Committee which prepares a welcoming space
for meaningful connections at St. A's. Thank you for a successful 2014! Everyone's help is needed in 2015
for this to continue. Please say 'yes' when asked to participate.
Thank you!
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE
O v e r e a t e r s
A n o n y m o u s
There is an Overeaters Anonymous program
meeting at St. Andrew’s every Tuesday
from 6:00pm—7:00pm starting July 8. If
you would like more information, contact
Yvette at 512-990-5035.
C l e a n i n g U p t h e
H o l i d a y
D e c o r a t i o n s
On Sunday, January 4, the Worship Service Committee will be cleaning up and putting away the
Advent decorations. If you’d like to help, please
stay after the 10:45am service.
P o i e m a
S t u d y G r o u p
Poiema study group will meet in January.
Watch the eNews for more details. Barbara
McCarty at 512-468-4012
or [email protected].
M e d i t a t i o n
g r o u p
St. Andrew’s Meditation Group meets from
6:15-7:15pm each Wednesday. Meditation
can help restore harmony and quiet restless
minds, while leading us to deep insights. All
are welcome to join.
F r i d a y
N i g h t
M o v i e
G r o u p
If you are interested in the St. Andrew’s Movie
Grou p, p leas e e ma il Pe gg y St ol l
([email protected]) and you will be added
to the group e-mail list. Movie title, time, and
theatre will be emailed on Thursdays (usually).
A n n u a l F i n a n c i a l
R e v i e w
It’s that time of year again! As we wrap up
our financial records for 2014, we’re looking
for a volunteer with the knowledge & experience to perform a financial review. We’re
hoping to have this done in the first part of
2015. If you’re interested in volunteering,
please contact Wendy Valdez at 512-251-0698
or [email protected].
T h a n k
N e w
P r o g r a m f o r
4 t h & 5 t h
G r a d e r s
We're launching a new children's chapel
program called "Think & Wonder" just for
4th & 5th graders! Beginning on January
4th, the 4th & 5th graders will have a
separate children's church experience
twice a month on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of
each month. This will allow them to develop a deeper connection to the chapel
lessons. They will remain in their program through the end of the service to allow for more time to explore and act on
what they're learning. Please join us as
our 'tweens’ receive a unique program all
their own on January 4th.
Y o u f o r S u p p o r t i n g
G i v i n g T r e e
t h e
Thank you to all who helped with and contributed to the Christmas Giving Tree this year. This Christmas,
you helped 17 different families from the Workers Defense Project to have food and children’s presents for
the holidays. These are families suffering because of unfair employer practices like wage withholding, benefit denial, and workmen’s compensation denial. All who delivered can tell you stories of delighted children and many a heartfelt thank you. Gifts were given to 44 children.
Each family received between $90 and $100 for groceries.
In addition, the Giving Tree supported giving an additional $300 to the
Salas family whose home was destroyed in a fire around Thanksgiving.
This will help Filemon, the head of the Salas family and an influential
Workers Defense Project activist, to feed his family while caring for his
oldest son who is still hospitalized with injuries from the fire.
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Thanks to all who brought gifts for the children.
Thanks to all who donated to provide these families with groceries.
Thanks to everyone who delivered gifts on the 23rd and 24th.
Your contributions and help support these families during the holidays.
Thank you to all for your support of the St. Andrew’s Giving Tree and
the Workers Defense Project.
C o l d W e a t h e r
S h e l t e r N i g h t s
If you would like to volunteer to help with our
Cold Weather Shelter Nights for the homeless,
please contact Ed Kopas at
[email protected] or 512-659-9880.
November 2014 Financial Report
Year To Date
Total Income
$405,509
Total Expenses
$349,004
For a complete set of financial statements,
send an email request to St. Andrew's Treasurer, Peggy Rackley at [email protected].
Did you know you can view committee reports
and Session minutes by visiting our website at
www.staopen.org/stayinformed ? Check it out
and see the great work that the committees have
been doing. Another resource page we offer is
www.staopen.org/Session.
www.facebook.com/StAndrewsAustin
R e v .
J i m
r i g b y ’ s
b l o g
Stay up to date with Jim’s latest blog postings by subscribing to his blog. You can do this by going to
www.jimrigby.org/feed .
F o o d p a n t r y
u p d a t e
COME/pantry clients received
two Christmas gifts from St.
Andrew’s congregation. Bags
of oranges and grapefruit
(totaling 480 lbs.) were distributed. (Thanks to Matt Hiland
and his fellow employees for
bagging them for us.) Target
$25 gift cards were also given
to pantry clients.
The December 13th COME/Pantry fed 54 adults
and 8 children for a total of 62 people. They enjoyed bel-vita biscuits, fruit bars, yogurt, savory
snacks, bananas, juice, and coffee. Our clients took
home food for 99 adults and 87 children for a total
of 186 people. We gave out 20 bus passes, had 11
new clients sign up and 3 people take showers.
The food pantry needs dried beans, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, ramen noodles, large bottles of juice
and individual boxes of juice, peanut butter, jelly,
canned vegetables, canned fruit, canned beans,
canned pasta, canned meats, canned soups/stews/
chili, rice, crackers, snack bars, powdered milk,
and cereal.
If you don’t have time to shop, or forget what’s
needed, you can write a check, mark it Food Pantry, and put it in the offering plate during church
service. These donations are used to purchase
milk, bread, and eggs which are given to all clients.
The COME/pantry volunteers and our clients
thank you for your generosity.
A d u l t
E d u c a t i o n
i n
J a n u a r y
January 4
Jim Rigby’s class (Sanctuary)
Survey of New Testament: Facilitated by Rev. Peggy Stoll
(Welcome Room)
January 11
Jim Rigby’s class (Sanctuary)
The History of Christianity: Facilitated by Babs Miller; Lecture series by Professor Luke Timothy
Johnson (Welcome Room)
January 18
Jim Rigby’s class (Sanctuary)
Survey of New Testament: Facilitated by Rev. Peggy Stoll (Welcome Room)
January 25
Special Class - Seeds of Christianity and Zen in the Parable of the Sower with David Zuniga & Jim Rigby
(Sanctuary)
The History of Christianity: Facilitated by Babs Miller; Lecture series by Professor Luke Timothy
Johnson (Welcome Room)
Jim Rigby’s Class
In the 9:30 Adult Class Sunday we will begin a study of the Gospel of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas
was an early gnostic Christian writing discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945.
New Class - The History of Christianity: Facilitated by Babs Miller; Lecture series by Professor
Luke Timothy Johnson (Welcome Room)
Scope of class: Whatever one may say about Christianity today, it is impossible to deny the importance
of this religious tradition in history. Beginning as an obscure sect of Judaism in the 1 st century of the
Common Era, over the course of 300 years, Christianity went from being a maligned and persecuted
superstition to the official religion of the Roman Empire. Since that unexpected turn of events, it has
never ceased being an important player in the shaping of culture and politics, above all, in Europe.
Given such historical importance, it is the more striking that ignorance both of Christianity’s internal
development and its cultural impact is so widespread by both its detractors as well as its most avid advocates. This course will attempt to provide a reliable account of Christianity’s first millennium and a
half.
b i r t h d ay s
Birthdays
January 3
Stan Harris
January 4
Tracy Geminden
Molly Schave
January 6
Pamela Wagner
Caren Wendt
January 7
Suzana Villareal
Tom Fuquay
Sandy Beck
January 8
Barbara Hilliard
January 9
Mark Dixon
James Mallory
January 10
Ann Moxley
Brian Ward
January 11
Sandra Buritica
January 13
Thomas Rice
January 14
Andrew Martin
January 15
Bowen Rotz
January 19
Roger Bilstein
David Adair
&
a n n i v e r s a r i e s
January 26
Oliver Markley
Benjamin Castellow
Lillian Castellow
William Castellow
January 27
Phil Greer
Geoff Estrada
Kelsey Keys
Hannah Chapman
January 28
Patty Martin
January 29
Angelique Elaze
January 30
Paul Flugel
Margaret Nilson
Elizabeth Marshall
Anniversaries
January 5
Wonho & Charlie Shin
January 11
Joe & Rebecca Forbes
January 15
Patrick & Erica Knisely
January 29
Bill & Janelle Howe
January 30
Brian & Margaret Nilson
Carroll & Yvette Shelton
January 21
Scott Kniffen
January 23
Christi Dreier
January 24
Darlene Bauhs
Dunstan Adamson
If you would like to be removed from the AGAPE Newsletter mailing list, please contact Wendy Valdez at 512-251-0698..