July 2014 Newsletter - St. Andrew`s Presbyterian Church

Vol. 8, No. 7
St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church
14311 Wells Port Dr.
Austin, TX 78728
512-251-0698
staopen@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.staopen.org
Elders
George Brown
Helen Eisert
Mary Graf
Robert Guy
Matt Hiland
Steve Landsman
Heather McLeod
Karalei Nunn
Linda Rowold
Allison Thompson
Brian Ward (Clerk)
Steve Weikal
Youth Elder: Wil Nichols
Pastor
Rev. Jim Rigby
Jrigby0000@aol.com
Ministerial Assistant
Rev. Ilene Dunn
Idunn1@att.net
Minister of Spiritual Life
Babs Miller
babs-miller@sbcglobal.net
Director of Children’s Ministry
Rev. Karen Gaudet
gaudet.karen@gmail.com
Director of Music Ministry
Rev. Tom Mitchell
6forpoppy@gmail.com
Church Administrator
Wendy Valdez
staopen@sbcglobal.net
Volunteer
Congregational Nurse
Donna Rutherford
rutherfo@earthlink.net
Treasurer
Peggy Rackley
Rackley@swbell.net
Youth Leader
Rev. Katrina Shawgo
kshawgo@gmail.com
Accompanist
Marilyn Rucker
marilynrucker@gmail.com
July 2014
The AGAPE
Newsletter
July Sermon
Schedule
July 6
Babs Miller will be preaching.
Sermon Title: “Living an Intentional Life”
July 13
Rev. Katrina Shawgo will be preaching.
Sermon title: “All the Things We Hate about Millenials
Including Social Media Which is Just the Worst”
July 20
Rev. Tom Mitchell will be preaching.
Sermon Title: “How Can We Sing Our Songs”
July 27
Rev. Ilene Dunn will be preaching.
Sermon Title: "Feed Them Yourselves"
SAPC Library is again giving away
donated books to clients of our SAPC
Food Pantry. At the last "Book Pantry", 90 books were given away to 25
clients. Book donations are needed,
especially cookbooks, kid's books,
landscaping/gardening books, and
books in Spanish. Please leave any Book Pantry donations in the Library, behind the door in the designated area. Thank you!
C o n g r e g a t i o n a l h e a l t h
m i n i s t r y
July 2014
Getting regular exercise during these long hot summer days can be a challenge.
Researchers are now telling us that one of the worst things for our body is
prolonged sitting. Studies have found that sitting for long periods of time can
lead to increased levels of blood cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar as
well as increased inflammation and fat stores. Those who sit a lot, regardless
of their overall physical activity level, have higher mortality rates, especially
from cardiovascular disease.
The key word is “prolonged.” If you find yourself sitting at a desk all day or sitting in front of the TV
for many hours, you need to break-up the prolonged sitting by getting up and taking a 5 minute walk
every couple of hours. Researchers found that those partaking in “screen-based entertainment” for more
than 4 hours a day tend to have a heart attack or stroke more frequently independent of other risk factors.
The best advice is to get up every few hours and walk around the room, pace or climb some stairs for 5
minutes. Whether at work or at home, try to break the pattern of inertia. These short breaks can give
you more energy and mental clarity. Give it a try! And....keep up the other regular exercise you are already doing. Both help to improve your overall health. If regular exercise is not part of your routine
now, it is never too late to get started.
Love and Blessings,
Donna
Be faithful in small things because
it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Theresa
S u p p o r t
&
A s s i s t a n c e
w i t h
L i v i n g
W i l l s
Suze Miller, church member, Licensed Social Worker and former Director of Texpec (Texas partnership
for end of life care) will be available in the Library on Sunday July 13th from 9:30am to 10:30am to
help you better understand, execute or update a living will and health care power of attorney. Having
these documents complete is necessary for everyone at ANY age. Do you have your info and is it up to
date??
You need to update all of this information when:
The 5 D’s......
Decade – you start a new one
Death – a loved one dies
Divorce – or other major family change
Diagnosis – with a serious medical problem
Decline – a significant decline or deterioration in an existing health condition
Stop by and talk with Suze. We will have supportive materials for you in the lobby that Sunday.
P o i e m a b o o k
s t u d y
More information about the next Poiema Study
Group meeting will be coming in the eNews.
Young Adults Happy Hour
Tuesday, July 8 at 5:30pm
At The Flying Saucer
815 W. 47th St., Austin, TX
M e d i t a t i o n
g r o u p
For more information, contact Katrina
Shawgo at kshawgo@gmail.com.
St. Andrew’s Meditation Group meets from 6:157:15pm each Wednesday. Meditation can help restore harmony and quiet restless minds, while
leading us to deep insights. All are welcome to
join.
ATTENTION YOUTH!!!
O v e r e a t e r s
A n o n y m o u s
Saturday, July 19
1pm-3pm
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.
Playland Skate Center
8822 McCann Dr, Austin, TX
For more information, contact Katrina
Shawgo at kshawgo@gmail.com.
L e t t e r
W r i t i n g
S o c i a l J u s t i c e
i n Ac t i o n
C a m p a i g n
Travis County now places 5th in the country in
deportations. You can notify Sheriff Greg Hamilton that you do not want our elected officials to
support the dubious practice of ‘detaining’ immigrants based on requests from ICE. Visit our
website at http://www.staopen.org/our-ministries/
social-justice/ for more details on our letter writing campaign.
To read more about the City Council’s latest act io ns o n immigr at io n, vis it ht t p:/ /
www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2014-0627/council-slams-s-comm/.
Update on the
PC(usa) Gener al A ssembly
The civic center in Detroit was busy as a bee hive during the Presbyterian Church (USA) meeting
of the General Assembly. Thousands of people had gathered from across our nation and from all
around the world. Some were commissioners, delegations from every presbytery in the United
States, who could vote on the issues which would be debated. Others were “observers”: some
were non-Presbyterians representing other religious bodies, who could vote in an “advisory” capacity, but not with official voting status; some were college students (young adult delegates,
“YADs,”) whose vote also was in advisory capacity; others were presbytery and synod officials
without vote; some were seminary presidents and administrators without vote, some were newspaper and television personnel who would report on the issues and subsequent votes. Some of the
observers were there to speak at gatherings of the various committees, their speeches for or against
an issue the committee was considering; others were there representing various denominational
agencies and various groups connected to our denomination, who also might speak at committee
meetings; others were simply people who are interested in the issues before the church and were
there to watch and listen; others (like Jim) were there to begin gathering support for future issues
(in Jim’s case, the Inclusive Language overture); others were there as “General Assembly groupies”
– it’s fun to see old friends and catch up with news in their lives.
Several dozen large rooms were set up for committee meetings, which would take place
Sunday night through Tuesday. A huge room was set up for the “plenary” session, which would
begin on Wednesday, with a special section set up for the voting commissioners, the rest of the
room available to observers and media personnel. Next door to the plenary room was another huge
space, an exhibition hall where various groups had booths. Since I was there as a member of the
board of directors of More Light Presbyterians, I spent most of my time working in the MLP booth.
And that’s where I met her.
She stopped by the booth on Monday morning, a young woman who’ll be a college sophomore in the fall. “I agree with almost everything your group stands for,” she said, “except for one
thing. I think gay people should resist themselves and remain celibate.” She told us that she was
struggling with her sexual orientation and had decided that celibacy was the only moral option.
None of us argued with her or tried to convince her to see things differently, though it was
hard not to do that, at least it was hard for me! Mostly what we did was listen with compassion and
support. Some of the people working in the booth had been in that place, knew first hand that
struggle. Other of us – allies – had experienced only vicariously her struggle, as over the years
we’d listened to and felt the angst of many who were trying so valiantly to get to know and love
themselves.
While one or another of us spent time with her, the rest of us were answering questions,
sharing resources, etc. And we were handing out bright knitted stoles woven in rainbow colors,
stoles symbolizing hope and love and freedom. I hope that one day she’ll discover how right and
wonderful her own selfhood is, and how beloved she is. I hope that one day she’ll be free.
From Rev. Ilene Dunn
Saturday, August 9, 5:00 PM - The 9th Annual St. Andrew's Variety
Show. Whether you are a singer, instrumentalist, poet, actor, dancer, storyteller, jokester, puppeteer, magician, mime, or other, The St. Andrew’s Variety Show is an exciting opportunity to share your gift and experience the
joy of entertaining (and being entertained by) others. Signup will start in
July. Admission will be free.
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 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 Group, please email Peggy Stoll
(peggyleestoll@yahoo.com) and you will be
added to the group e-mail list. Movie title,
time, and theatre will be emailed on Thursdays (usually).
www.facebook.com/StAndrewsAustin
St. Andrew’s
Garden Project
The St Andrew’s garden is growing! The
garden team works on projects each Thursday evening between 6-8 PM. Any food
that is prepared is given to homeless attending the Thursday Shower Ministry.
All are welcome to join.
C o m m u n i t y o u t r e a c h
Fo o d p a n t r y
M i n i s t r y
u p d a t e
e v e n t
Krista Keosheyan brought the Book Pantry back to our clients after a
long hiatus. She gave out 95 books to 25 clients. If you have any
books you’re willing to give up, please donate them to the St. Andrew
Library. Krista will determine which books to bring to Book Pantry.
The clients are particularly interested in cookbooks and children’s
books.
The first catered breakfast tacos meal was very successful. We had
enough food for everyone and no one complained about the change in
menu. We even had some tacos for vegetarians and some for people
allergic to eggs.
The June 14th COME/Pantry fed 48 adults and 5 children for a total
of 53 people. They enjoyed breakfast tacos, bananas, juice, and coffee. Our clients took home food for 103 adults and 51 children for a
total of 154 people. We gave out 17 bus passes, had 6 new clients sign
up and 5 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.
May 2014 Financial Report
Total Income
$225,266
Total Expenses
$165,466
For a complete set of financial statements, send an
email request to St. Andrew's Treasurer, Peggy
Rackley at Rackley@swbell.net.
b i r t h d ay s
&
a n n i v e r s a r i e s
Birthdays
July 1
Justin Grady
July 5
Gaye Kopas
July 7
Steve Landsman
Donna Greenlee-Klass
July 8
Heather McLeod
Joseph Underbrink
July 9
Tod Adamson
Ruth Garcia
July 10
Linda Cook
Marcelle Elaze
July 11
Tonya Hiland
Melanie Goss
July 12
Kate Fitzpatrick
July 13
Chase Walker
July 21
Tara McMeans
July 22
Frank Sloan
Lynn Thomas
Rev. Ann Rosewall
July 23
Sandy Olphie
July 24
Tiffany James
July 25
Emily Linner
July 27
Amy Blackmon
July 28
Anne Mele
Raj Ramachandran
July 30
Chelsea Roff
Anniversaries
July 12
Walt & Margie Herbert
July 13
Joe & Karolyn Reedholm
July 16
Timmi Kuykendall
Mary Graf
July 14
Bill & Mary Miller
July 17
Randy Cauley
July 22
Douglas & Robin Brown
July 20
George Johnson
Santi Rocha
July 25
Irene Brice & Chris Lintz
Tom & Chaille Fuquay
If you would like to be removed from the AGAPE Newsletter mailing list, please contact Wendy Valdez at 512-251-0698..