June 2020 Newsletter
St. Matthias’ News: I pray everyone will have a blessed Pentecost season. Here’s the latest on our plans to reopen. Since the Diocese has not extended the suspension of in-person worship services, the decision to reopen is now on the individual parishes. On May 17, 2020, the Bishop’s Committee approved the "Phase II Reopening Plan for St. Matthias and it’s been submitted to the Diocese for approval.
Our reopening date is still dependent upon: the Diocese approving our plan for phased reopening, the Bishop not extending the diocesan suspension beyond this date, and the current local and state health statistics related to Covid-19 as monitored by our Bishop’s Committee.
I understand the frustration of not having in-person services and ask for your patience. We continue to provide online Sunday Morning Prayer, Wednesday Evening Prayer, and Children’s Story time on our Facebook page. While we may not be meeting in person, I’m happy you all have been part of our services by watching them online since March. I pray this makes it a little easier not being in our church building knowing you are watching with other members of our St. Matthias family as well as friends from Germany, and across the country. If you can’t watch the services live, they can be viewed anytime on our St. Matthias Facebook page.
We are looking at our next online POSM event in June. Meg is remarkably busy finding fun family activities.
We continue to make deliveries to the Hospice Thrift Store, Women’s Shelter, Food Pantry and HANK (Helping Abused and Neglected Kids). Thank you everyone who donates items especially during these times.
Thank you everyone for continuing your pledges to support St. Matthias. We already have two families using the online Tithe.ly account, if you need a link it’s on the website. You can mail a check to St. Matthias, P.O. Box 682, Devine, TX 78016, or utilize our new secure online giving portal (https://tithe.ly/give?c=1404414) account, that will probably be the best option for those that want to use it. We’ve already tested it and it works great!
For some personal news, I will graduate from the Iona Seminary and become ordained to the Deaconate June 13th, 10 am at the Camp Capers amphitheater. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we were limited on who can attend the smaller venue. The graduation/ordination will be filmed and available online through a link on our St. Matthias Facebook page. I want to thank you all for your prayers the past three years as I undertook this new journey.
From the Diocesan website: Pentecost, Trinity Sunday. Pentecost occurs on the fiftieth day after Easter. On this day, we remember the power of the Holy Spirit descending and empowering Peter to preach in such a way that thousands were baptized and came to believe in Christ. During the Season of Pentecost, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to fill us and send us out so that we may witness in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Trinity, the perichoresis (dance) of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. During the Season of Pentecost, we grow through our scripture readings and discover what it means to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work of Christ in the world.
Blessings, Dexter Lesieur