1. Financial Peace University
2. Daughters of the King
3. Brotherhood of St. Andrew
4. Bread Ministry
5. Altar Guild
6. The Food Pantry
7. The Prayer Shawl Ministry
8. St. Elizabeth's Guild
9. Stephen Ministry
10. Cursillo
1.
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Eliminate your debt, stay out of debt and build your wealth by enrolling in Dave Ramsey's 13 - week course and graduate from Financial Peace University. Enrollment brings a Lifetime Membership which includes all of your class materials for only $99.50 (retail price is $199) when you order through St. Mary's Episcopal Church. DO NOT order individually or you will pay more. Lifetime Membership entitles you to retake the course, or any part of it, as often as you like for FREE. With your membership your spouse and teens living in the home may attend with you. Contact Fr. Jim at St. Mary's Episcopal Church to enroll in this life changing program or for more information. You can also find more information by clicking on Worship to the left and then click on Reflections from the Rector.
Benefits of attending FPU
- The average family pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 during the 13 - week period.
- Financial stress is reduced.
- Couples begin to communicate about money, priorities, goals, and more.
- Singles are empowered and encouraged to find accountability partners.
- Families begin to live out the biblical principles because application is emphasized throughout the class.
- Families discover the power of generous giving.
2.
The Daughters of the King (DOK) is an international order for women who commit to a rule of life, consisting of daily prayers, service and evangelism. We pray for the spread of Christ's kingdom! We pray for spiritual growth and guidance for the Church, our parish, and its ministries, clergy, parishioners, and all requests made known to us.
Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month. We gather in the Parish Hall at 9:15 A.M. for a bit of fellowship, Morning Devotions, a brief business meeting, updating of our prayer list and a short program.
The Chapter provides snacks and juices for the Sunday School and sponsors the parish-wide drives for school supplies in the fall, and hats, mittens and scarves at Christmas for the children of Chelwood Elementary School. In addition, at the Annual Epiphany Home/Pot Luck new underware and socks are collected for the children at Joy Junction (a local homeless shelter for families). Our motto says it all:
For His sake...
I am but one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.
Lord, what will you have me do?
The President of the DOK is Edla Allpass.
3.
The purpose of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is to spread Christ's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is dedicated to the disciplines of Prayer for the spread of Christ's kingdom, especially among men and youth, and for God's blessings upon the labors of the Brotherhood; Study of the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, to attain a better understnding of how to follow Christ and bring others into his kingdom; and Service.
Brotherhood activities include:
- Prepare and serve the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
- Perform repairs and maintenance on the Church as required
- Sponsor an Ice Cream Social in August
- Arrange for a night at the Isotopes baseball park in August
- Provide financial assistance to selected charities
Membership in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew is open to all men and youth. Our meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at 7:30 A.M. in the Parish Hall. Please join us for a short service, breakfast, a devotional, and business meeting. The Brotherhood Officers for 2010 are Patrick Petracca (Director), Troy Gray (Assistant Director), Norm Dowdy (Secretary), and Art Allpass (Treasurer). www.brotherhoodofstandrew.org
4. Bread Ministry
The Bread Ministry is a membership development ministry at St. Mary's. Bread is a daily basic staple of life in all cultures and, as such, a universal symbol of hospitality. In Old Testament days, bread is mentioned as a gift to newcomers. Melchizedek brings out bread and wine for Abram (Genesis 14:18), and the wandering Levite is careful to offer bread to his host's servants (Judges 19:19). In the Gospels, Jesus used bread at the Last Supper to represent his body, which is the Bread of Life.
Joyce Tripp is the coordinator of this ministry. She, along with Janet Kellogg, and Susie Davis, deliver loaves of bread, baked by Anne Malmstrom and Pam Bonahoom, to first-time visitors to St. Mary's. Attached to each loaf of bread is a card thanking those to whom it is given for choosing to attend St. Mary's and to please accept the loaf as a symbol of friendship from the parish, with hope they will join us again.
If you feel moved to join this ministry, volunteers are welcomed to bake bread and make deliveries. For more information call Joyce Tripp or call the office at 293-1911.
5.
The Altar Guild is responsible for caring for the Altar vessels and preparing the church for worship at Mass, baptisms, weddings, funerals, and any special services. The contact person for the Altar Guild is Dorothy Bokan.
6. The Food Pantry
Every Thursday from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. in the Office Conference Room bags of groceries are distributed to needy families. Approximately 15 bags of groceries are given out each week. In 2007 806 bags of groceries were distributed or a total of 2,644 people helped.
The Food Bank is able to do this through generous cash contributions and food item gifts by the parish. Additional funding comes from a grant from the Northwest Deanery of the Diocese of the Rio Grande as well as from the Mary and Martha Society of St. Mary's, St. Mary's Outreach Committee, Deacon Sam's Discretionary Fund, and Albertson's Parish partnership.
The Food Pantry is directed by Chuck Boulware and Julie Goetz
7.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry is a ministry of love. The shawls cannot be bought, but are gifts of the heart from the knitter (as a representative of the congregation, sharing in the pastoral care of the Church here and afar) to the recipient. The clergy and members of the congregation suggest names of potential recipients and shawls are given out as they become available. God the Holy Spirit is in charge of supply and demand - we are not. As the facilitator of the shawl ministry at St. John the Divine in Houston said, "The shawls are representative of God's grace to all of us - freely given and impossible to buy."
In 2009 over 15 prayer shawls and 22 lap blankets were given away to deserving individuals in the Albuquerque area and around the state. The PSM is funded through its members' and parishioner's donations. We have one meeting per month held on the 2nd Saturday at 10:00 A.M. We meet for fellowship, prayer, and knitting in the Bride's Room and all interested persons are welcome!
Contact the Parish Office if you would like to become a part of this compassionate ministry. You may also contact the National Prayer Shawl Ministry at www.shawlministry.com.
8. The St. Elizabeth's Guild
The Saint Elizabeth's Guild is an organization in the church made up of women that get together the first Thursday of the months of February, April, June, September, November and December in the Parish Hall at 1:00 P.M. Each and every woman of the church is invited to attend this wonderful experience each month. The meetings include discussions, guest speakers and wonderful desserts. The guild set its goals of worship, study, service and fellowship, and most of all the deepening of the spiritual lives of its members. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was choosen as its patron for her generous spirit and outreach to others.
9.
Made whole through the Cross of Jesus
Stephen Ministry is a complete system of training and organizing lay persons for caring ministry in the congregation. It increases significantly the number of congregation members equipped to provide quality Christian care so that fewer of those in need "fall between the cracks." It enables those who receive care to grow in a deeper relationship with our Lord. It builds a strong and supportive ministry team between pastor and lay people who together bring God's care to others and enables the entire congregation to grow as a warm, loving, nurturing community. Stephen Ministers provide ongoing Christian care to people experiencing a wide range of life needs or crises, including the hospitalized, the terminally ill, the bereaved, the elderly, the disabled and handicapped, those in job crisis, the lonely, the inactive, the shut-in and home-bound, new members in our church or community, those in spiritual crisis, those going through separation or divorce, those facing life transitions, single parents, and many others.
Stephen Ministries began in 1975 when the Rev. Dr. Kenneth C. Haugk founded the organization as a result of his work in the church. He realized that he could not do all of the ministry by himself and, so, came up with a program to help spread the ministry in his church. The success of this effort brought him recognition in the community and before too long other churches were asking him to help them. This led to the formation of Stephen Ministry.
On June 2, 2010 St. Mary's was enrolled as a Stephen Ministry affiliated parish. Mary Stearns will be trained as a Stephen Leader in July and join Fr. Jim to lead this ministry in the parish. We anticipate training our first group of Stephen Ministers in the fall (August through November). We will update this entry as time goes on. For more information you can talk with Fr. Jim and visit the Stephen Ministries website at www.stephenministries.org and www.stephenministries.org/ssdownload for articles and resources.
The Meaning of the Stephen Series Logo
The logo's most dominant feature is the cross of Jesus. It reminds us that Christ is at the center of Stephen Ministry and all Stephen Ministry relationships.
The broken person behind the cross symbolizes how we are all broken people, broken by our own sin and imperfections.
The whole person in front of the cross signifies the wholeness we encounter through the transforming power of the cross of Jesus. It is only through Jesus and his life, death on the cross, and resurrection that we, who are broken people, are made whole.
The circle is a symbol of God's eternal and never-ending love for us. God's love surrounds us, holds us, heals us, with the cross of Jesus at the center of that love. For it was Jesus, God's Son, who allowed himself to be broken on the cross to save us from our sin and give us the opportunity to be restored to wholeness through him.
The Stephen Series logo tells the story of a care receiver's journey from brokenness to wholeness through the transforming power of the cross of Jesus. It serves as a simple reminder that it is not the Stephen Minister who restores a person to wholeness. Rather, it is only through the cross of Jesus that a person can be made whole.
10.
Cursillo (pronounced coor-SEE-oh) is a spiritual renewal movement in The Episcopal Church. Cursillo is, basically, a short course in Christian living. Through it we come to understand what is fundamental as a Christian and how to live that out. It can be a wonderful means of coming to a personal relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ. Learn more about Cursillo by visiting our Related Links below this page.