St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Ely and Tower, Minnesota
December News Items

St. Nick at St. Mary's

December 9, 2007

Holy Communion Service -- Sundays 9:30 A.M.

New to St. Mary's? Welcome-we're blessed by your presence with us today. If you want to learn more about us, you'll find information to take home to read at your leisure inside the front door or on our website. Or sign up for a member visit or our newsletter, using one of the forms in the offering plate. Or just ask any of us…our church is unique, and we love to talk about it!

Help needed putting away SERRV tables. We will be boxing items up to be sold at the college, starting at 11:30 A.M. this Tuesday. Thanks to everyone for your help with the fair!

Our next Adult Education meeting will be held on Sunday, January 14, after a potluck brunch immediately following worship. Topic to be announced. All are encouraged to attend; a movie will be provided for children in the back room.

EFM (Education for Ministry) will meet on Tuesdays, 9-11 at the Front Porch.

The next meeting of the Adult Forum will be on Wednesday, January 2, noon at 1st Pres., discussing Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. Call David Kess for "cheat sheets," and more information. Newcomers and drop-ins are welcome!

The next Bishop's Committee meeting is Wednesday, December 12, 6:30-7:30. Everyone interested in the short- and long-term planning for the church is welcome to attend. At this meeting, we will approve the final outcome of our visioning process. Please give other agenda items to Peter in advance of the meeting.

Our final visioning session last Sunday resulted in the following 3-5 year focuses. These are goals we feel we need to work toward, rather than current strengths and emphases (such as our continued commitment to social justice). These goals are in draft form and will be sent to the Bishop's Committee this Wednesday for final approval. Your comments/ questions are welcome!

Bring people to Christ
(not a public mission statement, but what we want all our intentions to do)

    Vision Focus
  • We intend to live out our baptimsal call to ministry.
  • We will do this by implementing a program of total ministry.
  • We will give our individual gifts for ministry, our time, and our financial support.

    Vision Focus
  • We intend to work with the big questions.
  • We will do this by educating children, adults and inquirers through Christian education, EfM, book group, via media, discussion group, and other open-ended programs.
  • We will give our time and intellectual energy.

    Vision Focus
  • We intend to worship creatively.
  • We will do this by mingling tradition and imagination and by exploring scripture together.
  • We will give open minds to different paths.

    Vision Focus
  • We intend prayerfully, carefully, and concretely to explore the future of the Tower Church.
  • We will do this by evaluating the potential growth of the Tower community, analyzing building needs, and deterniming the viability of an Episcopal community in Tower.
  • We will give time to analyze this at monthly Bishop's Committee meetings.

    Vision Focus
  • We intend to explore options for worship space in Ely as we grow.
  • We will do this by establishing a committee to that end.
  • We will give time, prayers, and ideas to achieve.

If you have any announcements, news, reports, good web links, or other items of interest to the church community that you would like to include in this bulletin, please e-mail or call them in to Mary-- groenima@hotmail.com or 365-3364.

From 101 Reasons to Be Episcopalian
"Because it's one religion where laughing at our own absurdities is a basic spiritual discipline and we're invited to rejoice in how much we have still to learn of God instead of how much we know." L. William Countryman, Diocese of California

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