Dear People of St. James’,
What a week! I write to you as Austin and Texas as a whole struggle to return to normal after this winter storm. It will take a while, and I hope you will join the city in conserving water.
I want to thank staff and volunteers who made tons of phone calls, recorded updates, and scoured Facebook to check in on St. Jamesians across the city and beyond. We were able to be of timely assistance in a number of cases, and we have developed a list of expected needs going forward. If you find yourself in a difficult situation in the coming days as pipes unfreeze and water continues to be a problem, please reach out by calling the office and leaving a message or filling out this form. We may be able to connect you with a St. Jamesian with the resource you need in your area. We are also preparing to assist folks who may have trouble paying heightened utilities bills through Welcome Table, and we have some other resources for assistance through clergy discretionary funds. If you are struggling, please contact me (rector@stjamesaustin.org or call the office and leave a message on my line).
Our staff has been working nonstop this week, so, instead of having a separate Lenten Packet Pick-up event, we will have packets for all ages available after in person Sunday services (8 am, 10:30 am, 4 pm, and 5 pm) and at the office on Monday and Wednesday from 10 am – 2 pm.
I am hoping I am not speaking too soon, but we don’t believe that there have been any damages to the church property. We will have to wait a week or so before we can do outdoor services in the grove again because of the post-snow slush and mud.
That means that when we resume in person services this weekend on the first Sunday in Lent, we will be using our indoor protocols in the sanctuary. Services will be distanced, masked, and small, with no congregational singing. Extra precautions will be taken regarding cleaning and reduction of high touch items, and the services will be shorter than usual. These same precautions have been our guide for funeral services to this point, and they have been implemented more extensively in other congregations. We feel confident that we can work together to rigorously implement these precautions in order to worship together safely and joyfully (in a Lenten way).
We are hoping to continue our work helping people get connected with vaccination appointments this week. If you are struggling with this, please contact the church office.
I think that’s all the big stuff. On a lighter note, I celebrated two years of being with you, the people of St. James’, this past Thursday. Year 1 was the Year of the Episco-Party, a time of great celebrations: with the Presiding Bishop, with The Rev. Bill Miller’s return for the 25th Jazz at St. James’, with the naming of the Bertha Sadler Means Endowment at the Seminary of the Southwest and building of the Pauli Murray Scholarship Fund, with the ordination of The Rev. James Harrington. Year 2 was the Year of the Pandemic and Online Evangelism. I am a little nervous about Year 3 starting off with a big destructive deep freeze, but I don’t think that accurately symbolizes where we are as a community. In spite of the challenges of pandemic and political fragmentation, St. James’ continues to offer a warm welcome and a seat at the table to all who seek the life and love of God there. May this year of regathering renew God’s Spirit within so that we may walk together on the pathways of justice and peace.
I am grateful to get to walk with you!
Rev. Eileen
