The St. Augustine's Episcopal Parish Mission Statement
Our mission is to worship God, witnessing to Jesus Christ by serving the
community
and the world in which we live, all through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Upcoming at St. Augustine's
Parish Forms Greening Committee with High Hopes
By Ted Brookes, Elizabeth and Fletcher Davis
St Augustine’s may become only the second parish on Whidbey Island to qualify as a greening parish. By a unanimous vote the vestry approved the process at its March 27th meeting.
What is a greening parish? Read on! It’s a parish that cares about God’s creation and finds ways to honor our Creator by honoring God’s creation and help us all to become better environmental stewards.
Ted Brookes presented a call to better awareness of God’s creation as spelled out by actions of the last Diocesan Convention, by the call from our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and our Diocesan Bishop, Greg Rickel, together with the widespread consensus that global climate change may be the leading ethical issue of our day.
Elizabeth Davis then offered a clear outline of the steps necessary to gain recognition as a greening congregation from Earth Ministry, a national organization headquartered in Seattle that advocates for a sustainable future. St Augustine’s has now accomplished the first three of their eight steps. Next steps include: develop a mission statement, develop an annual plan, carry out the annual plan, evaluate how it was carried out, and celebrate the accomplishments.
Fr Fletcher Davis noted a number of parish activities the parish is now doing in the greening direction, including the blessing of animals each year on St Francis Day, the use of china cups and plates (instead of styrofoam or paper) and cloth table coverings, recycling office paper, Earth Day sermons each spring, together with the six week program on Christianity and the Environment last fall and a quiet day focused on increasing our awareness of God’s glory in creation, and hosting the annual retreat of the Diocesan Committee on the Environment last June and again this June. Half a dozen parishioners attended the recent Healing Our Planet Earth Conference.
Members of the initial Parish Greening Committee include Arnell and Dick Hall, Grant Heiken, Mary Vaughn, Bob and Ethyl Waters plus the three who made the presentation to the vestry. Diane Divelbess is the vestry liaison for the committee, which will report regularly to vestry and parish.
Watch for dates of coming Parish Greening Committee meetings. You are welcome at every meeting!
May Adult Forum Schedule
May will usher in another exciting and informative month of Adult Christian Education forums. The first two weeks will feature DVDs on Protestantism as part of our continuing series on the "Great Religions of the World." This will be followed by two sessions in which three special guest speakers will be talking about religious and political tolerance in a region of the world where there is little acceptance of other faiths or political views.
Specific forum dates, subject matter, and presenters are as follows:
4 May Christianity, Part 3, Protestantism. This DVD will trace the beginnings of Protestantism in the 15th Century in Western Europe and take us through its various permutations and tribulations into the 18th Century. The key differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the various Protestant denominations are discussed in detail. The role of the laity versus the clergy, interpretation of the Eucharist, significance of Baptism as a sacrament, and the liturgy in the language of the people are highlighted issues that both divide and unite Christians of different persuasions. Ted Brookes presents.
11 May Christianity, Part 4, Protestantism. This DVD is largely dedicated to the evolutionary development of various Protestant denominations in the United States, covering the period from the 17th to the 20th Century. The religious diversity of the 13 original colonies, despite an Anglican dominance, gave rise to religious tolerance and freedom throughout the country. The great influence the 4 southern colonies had on the development of religion in the United States, particularly the evangelical movement, as well as the emergence of various Christian offshoot denominations during the settlement of the west are discussed in detail. Special emphasis is placed on the role of music and hymns in the protestant movement, and the role of "free will" as espoused by the Methodists and Baptists versus "predestination" as preached by the Presbyterians. Ted Brookes presents.
18 May Jim Lander, J.R.'s dad, is a retired Human Resources executive, who was an advisor with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in Riyadh for 8 years. SABIC is the second largest company in Saudi Arabia after ARAMCO. Jim was an active member of the Anglican community that met in the British Embassy. He worked with the workforce of a Dutch company that was purchased by SABIC, and was also the primary contact for the U.S. Embassy with U.S. workers employed by SABIC. Given his unique employment perspective and experience, Mr. Lander welcomed the opportunity to give us an inside look at what it means to be a Christian living in a Muslim country.
25 May Two Palestinian graduate students (one Muslim and the other Christian), who are in doctoral programs at the University of Washington, will give us a unique perspective of what it is like to grow up and be educated in Ramalla in the West Bank. Ahmed Al-Noubani and Ziad Zaghrout will talk about their life experiences and the influence political unrest and Israeli occupation have had on their lives. Hopefully, they will also share their hopes and expectations for the future with us.
Vacation Bible School
Pilgrimage: Seeking the Kingdom of God
August 11th to the 15th
 This August our young people ages 4 to 14 will be invited to go on pilgrimage! We will visit 5 Medieval pilgrimage destinations: Rome, Canterbury, Santiago de Compostela, Dunfermline (Scotland) and Croagh Patrick (Ireland). During this time we will learn about the lives and legacies of a saint.
More of the program will be announced in the weeks to come. Right now- put the dates on your calendar and let the office know if your young people are going to join our journey.
Building Committee Report
The Building Committee has been very active in the last several months and your survey answers have been vitally important in helping us take the next steps. A total of 110 surveys were returned through January 31st. There was a clear preference for a new parish hall and space for education; in general, the narthex, administration, and nave were marked as lower priorities. You mentioned a number of additional priorities, including parking, ADA (handicapped access) facilities, and the demolition of the current preschool building. Approximately one-half of the surveys included comments as well as rankings, and they will be helpful in making later decisions. More details about the survey will appear in the March Light. As we continue this process, we well be keeping you informed through both the Sunday bulletins and the Light.
The Rack Sale
February 23rd
 The 11thannual Rack Sale, sponsored by the ECW, was a great success. We had more clothing donated than ever before. We had more people waiting for the sale to start at 9:00 a.m. than ever before. Our preliminary accounting shows that we raised just under $2000. Leftover items have gone to Good Cheer for their clothing sale, with a further truckload going to La Iglesia Episcopal de la Resurrección in Mt. Vernon. If you missed the sale this year, make a note to check next year about this time for the 2009 sale.
More pictures of the sale are here.
Sabbatical Material
A summary of the conclusions of the second workshop, "Living into the 8th Day", is
here.
Nigel's journal and an index to his photo galleries from his travels remain online, but they have not changed since his return.
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