TONIGHT!!

Rocket Notes to God 6:00 PM

The Rev Ernesto Medina, who formerly served in our diocese, has received a special grant to help people of all ages practice basic rocketry builds and launches, and has invited St Augustine's to participate! 

Thursday, April 11th, 6:00-7:45 pm: Rev Ernesto will bring rocket kits and lead us in some basics of preparing them for the launch day! We can write notes to God to put in our rockets to "Let our prayers rise like incense" to God (Psalm 141:2). We'll have pizza dinner on hand to fuel us as we prepare for launch! Adults, youth, and children are welcome to participate, and build a rocket together as a family, but we ask that if you have children participating, you plan to stay with them this evening. RSVP's to Fr Ben (rector@sainta.net) are requested to help us know how many kits to prepare, though we'll plan for a few extras.

Saturday, April 13th, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Site TBD: Near Bellevue and Papillion

Come join us as we launch rockets! Rev Ernesto will be coordinating with other trained launch officers. We will gather at a sod farm near Bellevue and Papillion – specific site TBD as we get closer to the event. We will hear special rules about when and how to launch rockets, and watch our rockets and notes launch throughout the morning. Feel free to join for the fun and spectacle, whether you'd like to make one or not!

Special Collection for April

In April our special collection is designated to purchase a 7 week supply (estimated cost $500) of milk for Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn (COPE). Our own Dough Boys coordinate the delivery of 25 gallons of milk per week to COPE as they have for the last 28 weeks. In total, they have delivered 875 gallons of milk to help families and individual experiencing food (and milk) insecurity.

In March we raised $873.30 to benefit United Thank Offering (UTO). If you forgot to bring your “blue box” to our ingathering on April 7, you can still drop them off at the church office. Thank you everyone for your generosity!

Brown Bag Bible Study has Resumed Upcoming dates are: April 30, May 7,

May14, May 21

Tuesday's at 12:00 PM

Our next Tuesday Bible Study will cover the Book of Acts. The Acts of the Apostles is a bit of a "sequel" to the Gospels ... specifically, it's believed to be written by the same author as Luke, and scholars sometimes refer to them together as "Luke-Acts." Our sessions will be a chance for us to learn about the growth, witness, and decisions of the early church, and the lives of some key figures like Peter and Paul. Feel free to bring a brown-bag lunch and join us as you're able!

Topics:

April 16: Luke and Acts (read Acts 1-2)

April 30: The Beginning Church (read Acts 3-6)

May 7: Peter, Philip, and Stephen (read Acts 7-12)

May 14: Paul Part 1 (read Acts 13-15)

May 21: Paul Part 2 (read Acts 16-28)

You can also join the Weekly Zoom Meeting (same link each week)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84255401735?pwd=ZzF1Z2dWelVkRVUrR1JGMWpQQThpQT09 

Meeting ID: 842 5540 1735

Passcode: 591804

Looking for Voter

Registration Volunteers

Training April 16, 12:00 PM

There is a group of Episcopalians who are conducting voter registration drives. We are looking for volunteers to join us at the drives. The next online training is April 16 at 12:00 pm. This is a very rewarding endeavor. Contact Pam Wright, Deacon Rebecca or Barb Hall for details. 

Walking the Mourner's Path

Sundays, April 14-June 2, 3-4:30 PM

We will be offering a small group of Walking the Mourner's Path this coming Spring on Sunday afternoons. This workshop is for those who have lost a loved one and would like to honor and remember them in a faith setting. This small group will create norms together and use a workbook to guide conversations, so you will have a safe setting with the same group throughout, and don't need to worry about knowing where to start or what to say. This is a good place for processing grief and remembering a loved one with trusted others. Mother Ruth Tomlinson, Mother Lisa Aguilar, Deacon Rebecca Smith, and Don Hoes will be our facilitators for this session. The group is open to friends of the parish as well if you know someone who would benefit. For more information, please contact Mother Lisa or one of the other facilitators.

Episcopal 101 for Children (grades 1-5) Wednesday's, beginning

April 17, 6:20-7:00 PM

During our Wednesday evening programming, all children grades 1-5 are invited to participate in Episcopal 101. We will gather for four weeks, beginning April 17^th from 6:20-7:00 PM to learn about the mystery of baptism as an outward sign of our Christian faith. If your child is a in Boys Scouts of America or Girls Scouts, this class will fulfill the requirements to earn the Religious Emblem: God & Me.

The Power of Story & Danger of Absence April 19, 7:00 PM via Zoom

DioNeb's Racial Reconciliation Commission invites you to a special Zoom presentation by Dr. Ferial Pearson. Dr. Pearson will use storytelling as a vehicle for learning the importance of representation in learning empathy and broadening perspectives, and how the absence of such representation leads to bigotry and discrimination. You can learn more about her and register for the event here.

Details Near Resurrection

Sunday, May 5, at Coffee Hour

About five minutes in, last summer's blockbuster Barbie movie has its protagonist heroine break expectations by interrupting her plastic-smiling friends to ask, "Do you guys ever think about dying?"

Most of us really do prefer not to dwell a lot on those details. However, when it comes time to hold a funeral and celebrate someone's life, one of the most frequent things I hear is gratitude that someone made plans and left instructions.

On Sunday, May 5th, please feel free to join us after each service for a chance to talk about some of the things we do at the end of our lives. We'll have funeral planning instructions for memorials here at St Augustine's, comments about what sort of documents it's helpful to keep organized for family, information about legacy planning, and information about hospice medicine and palliative care. We want to give you a chance to fill out your Details Near Resurrection, either that morning or as a take-home packet you can think over and bring back to church.

Camp Sunday

May 5, in-between services

Registration for Camp Canterbury opens on the first Sunday of May (May 5) at 7am. The theme for camp is Holy Misfits: We'll be hearing stories of unlikely people that God called into the story of God's people, and celebrating our gathered misfits as well!

Registration is first-come, first-served.

Questions may go to our camp director, The Rev. Ben Varnum. This year, we also want to let families and youth know we'll have campers check-in any cell phones they bring to help us be in the moment at camp. Phones will be locked up and returned to campers at Thursday rest hour.

Campers should arrive July 15 at 3pm, and pickup is July 19 at noon. Adults interested in being counselors should contact our camp director. Please keep camp in your prayers as we prepare for another great year!

Visit With A Veteran has Raised it's first $1000!!

 Recognizing the importance of community and growing up enjoying the stories of his two veteran grandfathers, 82-year-old Donald Sattem, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and 99-year-old Lester Rygg who served in the Navy during WWII, Elkhorn South High School Junior Peter Rygg has launched a project to add two Veterans benches to St. Augustine’s Hitchcock Memorial Garden and Prayer Walk as a place where veterans and non-veterans can gather to share time and stories with one another and the youth of our community.

The purchase, installation and the reception for the two benches are estimated at $5,000.00. A local non-profit 50 Mile March, which raises funds for organizations dedicated to helping veterans, will match bench donations up to $2,500.00. We have until June 1 for matching donations. Donations can be made directly to St. Augustine or online at the Visit with a Veteran Facebook or Instagram pages. Mark check Memo Line – Visit with Veteran.

A dedication ceremony for the Veteran benches will be held on Sunday, 10^th November 2024 after the 10:30 service.

All St. Augustine Veterans are asked to contact Jim Keepers so you can be invited to the bench dedication. Please list rank and branch of service.

Please contact Jim or Peter if you have any questions.

Let’s support Peter’s project 100 percent.



Submitted by Peter Rygg & Jim Keepers

Let Us Serve You

During COVID, the Daughters of the King kicked off a service for individuals who may need an extra hand. This service continues to be available if you need a ride, groceries, a meal or anything else. If you need something, contact Barb Hall at 907-759-4692 or email her and she will locate someone to assist you.

Men's Bible Study

Friday's 8:00 AM

Join us at St. Augustine or via our Zoom Link every Friday at 8 am for men’s bible study. Please call or text Jack Ott (402) 469-1801 to get set up to receive the weekly Zoom link. Call or text Jack Ott, Bill Smith, Dave Holmquist. David Randall or Richard Krueger with questions or to receive additional information.

Newcomers Sunday!

Sunday, April 14 After Worship!

On Sunday, April 14th, we'll have a special celebration at coffee hour for visitors, newcomers, guests, and new members! Our "enhanced coffee hour" will have tasty treats, and we'll have a brief program from the church staff about some of the ways to be involved (for newcomers and longtime members alike!). We'll also be announcing some of our upcoming activities for the rest of the spring and the summer, so stay tuned and we hope to see you on the 14th!

Breast Cancer Support Group

Second Sunday's at 9:45 AM

The Breast cancer support group will meet on the second Sunday each month at 9:45 in the care room. 

If you have any questions contact Barb or Lynette. 

Personal Care/Toiletry Drive for COPE

Our Youth Group is collecting Personal Care Products for COPE(Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn) 

At youth group this week, they decorated a bin and some signs, and are ready to collect!

They are looking for:

• soap
• shampoo & conditioner
• razors
• menstrual products
• adult diapers
• toothbrushes & toothpaste
• nail files & clippers
• combs & brushes, etc.

Please bring your products and place them in or around the bin, just inside the red doors. We will take up a final collection at the Youth Led Service on April 28. Thank you!!

Church Family Dinners Continue into the New Year!

We have enjoyed spending dinner time with you all, and are excited to continue our new Wednesday Dinner tradition in after Easter!

We are always looking for more dinner planners, cookers & helpers. If this is something you think you would enjoy for one Wednesday, a year, month, or week please let us know!

If you would enjoy helping with the entire or partial meal on a Wednesday, please let Kate know. We do also have a sign up genius to pick any date to help with dinner. CLICK HERE to access that. This is a community gathering, any and all help is welcome!

Children's Storytime at Wednesday Night Dinner

Children 5^th grade and younger are invited to participate in songs, stories and God’s love! We will meet from about 6:20-6:40 PM after the Wednesday Night Dinner in one of the Sunday School rooms. If you enjoy songs and stories and are interested in working with our children during this time, please email Mtr. Lisa.

Blood Drive

Saturday, May 4

Amy Churchill, who most of you know as a beloved member of our parish living with metastatic breast cancer, is hosting a blood drive at St Augustine in Elkhorn (285 S 208th St, Elkhorn, NE 68022) Saturday, May 4. Appointments are made between 9 am and 3 pm

Amy shared this on her Facebook page before a previous drive, and we thought we would share it with you:

As many of you know, I am back on the chemo that requires me to get regular blood and platelet infusions. So far after two treatments I have needed 5 units of blood and 5 units of platelets. I will need many more. There is an extreme shortage right now. This Saturday I am hosting a blood drive at my church, St. Augustine Episcopal Church. Do you have it in you to donate? If not, could you please share this so we can get as many people signed up as possible? I truly appreciate it! And you never know, I might get some of your blood!!!

I urge you to help and sign up. If you can’t donate blood, please Forward this email to any friends and family that may be able to help.  

Appointments are scheduled in 15 minute increments(Whole Blood) and on the hour (Power Red). For eligibility requirements and to see the difference between the two donations, CLICK HERE. To schedule your donation time, CLICK HERE St. Augustine Episcopal Church should be at the top, click "see times". If you have any questions, please contact Amy Churchill

Icons in Transition Exhibit at All Saints Episcopal Church

April 14-June 9

Experience the mystery and spiritual powers of religious icons transformed into art April 14 – June 9. This is a rare opportunity to view the works of acclaimed abstract expressionist artist Ludmilla Pawlowska as well as traditional Russian icons from the Vassilevsky Monastery.

Culture Club Event

Mark your calendar for Hello Dolly! Which will be at The Omaha Playhouse the afternoon of Sunday, June 9. Group rate for these tickets will be $32, collected in early May. Please let Sandra know if you would like to join!