February, 2004 Calendar In This Issue: A Sermon on the Occasion of The Feast of the Epiphany Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras Fighting Fundamentalism Lenten Series: Meeting Women Mystics The Christian Journey: A seven week Lenten Class and Retreat Are You New to St. A's? Vestry Candidates Statements What's a Pre-loved Book? Feasting and Fasting: the Lenten Observance

by Brandy Beirne
I am committed to St. Augustine's and the fellowship we have here. I love the liturgy, the pastoral care, being a chalice bearer and getting to know more of our parish every week. I enjoy the opportunity to serve God in such a capacity. Not only does serving on the Vestry enhance my spiritual journey, it is a way for me to give back, to serve this great church that has taken such good care of all of us. I enjoy being on committees, planning and helping with events and working on the challenges and opportunities we have at our church. We have so many gifts and this wonderful home we have here grows and gets better and better all the time. I hope I can continue to be a part of that process.

by Christa Buswell
Ok, I bake and I sell books. That much you know about me. What you may not know is that I work with the Newcomers' classes. I do that because it is very important to me to reach out to more people, so that they, too, may experience the joy St. A's has brought into my life. I would like to see this church grow and flourish. As a member of the Vestry, I would view outreach, publicity and public/community relations as a high priority. Equal in importance only to building strong bonds of fellowship and community among all of our members. On the Vestry or off, I will continue to do all I can to help us reach the goal of making St. A's a true church home for all. A home that "includes all people as we share the grace of God…" Want a campaign slogan? Here goes: I'll get us a working kitchen because hospitality always includes food.

by Peter Haight
During the last few years, I have most enjoyed supporting the community life at St. A's: Vestry, Finance Committee, Transition Committee, men's group dinners, Corazon trips, repair projects, fundraising and TeleCare.
For Gretchen and me, St. A's has been the central avenue for spiritual growth during the 10 years we have been members of the parish. On the Vestry for about 5 of those years, I have periodically served as treasurer and warden.
Our community is experiencing "newness of life" in many areas, and I look forward to continuing on the Vestry and supporting its mission in every way possible.

by Judith Lyons
I would like to serve a second three-year term on the Vestry because my first three-year term was inspiring, challenging, humbling, and loving. We made several hard decisions and then allowed ourselves to imagine the future. We prayed, argued, laughed, ate and prayed some more. I am particularly interested in the Columbarium Project and I would like to help bring it to a reality. St. A's is my home. I love St. A's. I love the people. I would like to continue to be of service.

Editors Notes: We will be electing four persons to full, three-year terms. Ms. Beirne & Ms. Lyons & Mr. Haight are seeking re-election to the Vestry; Ms. Buswell has not served on Vestry previously.

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