Each and every ministry at St. George is vital to the spiritual life that takes place here, and we look forward to your reports about how your ministry has done God’s work in 2018. The reports will be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting in January. The reports will not be due until December, but we wanted to remind you in plenty of time to let you gather your thoughts and any materials. Contact Keith if you have any questions at kearle@saintgeorgechurch.org. Thank you!
Please join us for our Annual Christmas Luncheon on Saturday, December 8, 2018, at Oak Hills Country Club at 12:00 PM. The cost is $32.00 for the meal, coffee or tea, and dessert.
Call Martha Bastian at 210-341-5286 or Barbara Simon at 210-696-3546 no later than Thursday, December 6, for your reservation. For any other questions, please call Martha Bastian.
Submitted by Stephen Dodwell
For the past ten years, I have worked for Habitat for Humanity, building houses in San Antonio. The experience has enriched me in that I now know how to build a house and can handle many of my own household repairs and help my friends and relatives. More importantly, I have had the experience of seeing people who have never lived in a house move into a Habitat house and become a home owner.
On Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of each week, I work as part of a week-day crew (4-9 folks) under the supervision of a site manager. The tools and materials are on site when the crew arrives, and we complete tasks, such as framing; putting insulation and siding on the exterior; installing windows and doors; and finishing interior and exterior trim. Habitat has contractors do foundation, plumbing, electrical, sheet rock, and roof work. Job sites are very organized, which means in a single work day much progress is made.
San Antonio has one of the most active Habitat programs in the country (55 houses a year), and we construct entire subdivisions of houses. The one I am working on now will have 125 houses. I have worked in four different subdivisions and have seen many people become homeowners. Through a “sweat equity” program, future homeowners contribute 300 hours of work in Habitat houses, sometimes their future house or other houses. One relative or friend can donate hours to the future homeowner’s sweat equity. Because most of the future homeowners work during the week, I do not see them during my weekday work; however, Habitat hosts events in which homeowners are introduced. I find it very gratifying to hear the stories of the new homeowners, many of whom have lived in apartments and never in a house. To see the smile of a child who will get her first bedroom is very gratifying.
Large groups (as many as 200) work as volunteers on weekends, painting exteriors, cleaning up sites, and putting the finishing touches on houses. If you want to volunteer on a weekend or weekday, phone Habitat for Humanity and register. Then come on out to a site. You don’t need tools, although some volunteers do bring their own tools. No particular skill is needed; you will be assigned tasks and taught how to do them. Before you know it, you will realize you know how to build a house. That’s a great feeling.
Another way you can contribute to Habitat is by donating your cabinets, counter tops, doors, etc. when you are renovating your home. Phone Habitat, and they will send a crew to your home to carefully remove and reclaim your items, which will be sent to a warehouse or a salesroom and sold to the public. Proceeds benefit the Habitat for Humanity program.
I am eager to talk about my work as a Habitat volunteer, so stop me at church, and I will help you connect with the program. https://www.habitatsa.org/
Submitted by Jennie Dietrich
Most of you know me through my parents, Grumpy and Granny Pat. As parents, they made a significant impression on my life, and St. George was a big part of that starting around 1972. In my late teens, my mom and I rarely saw eye to eye. In the mid-1990’s, we found a common love of card making using rubber stamps and the images provided by a company called Stampin’Up!. Believe it or not, this hobby brought us back together and allowed us to start seeing eye to eye again. We found common ground again. Granny Pat often thanked my friend who introduced us to the craft for making our relationship whole again.
Granny Pat then turned this mutual love we had into a gift of giving back to St. George and all its members. She would tell the story something like this. Every year she and Grumpy would get these pre-fab cards with little to no flair in them from the church wishing them a Happy Birthday. Given the beautiful cards we made together for birthdays of our friends and other holidays, the pre-fab cards really did simply end up in the trash. Somewhere along the line, she volunteered to make birthday cards for the church, how hard could that be, right? Then she “voluntold” me that I would be helping her. That first meeting we made a grand total of 10 cards, most of those who joined us made just one. We were so proud. We talked, we laughed, we cared, all together, at once, in the hope that we would bring joy to the lives of others.
The Card Ministry at St. George has grown; everyone gets a card. That can be more than 50 people a month between birthdays and anniversary cards, which are signed and sent out. The ladies who come out and help me make these cards are not expert craftsman or specialists in paper crafting, but just ladies (and occasionally a man here and there) who want to bring joy into the lives of others. All are welcome, and we all hear back from members of the church about how special the handmade card they received was to them. We hear about how we have brightened someone’s special day.
Granny Pat passed away a year ago this October. In the last year, not a single month has been missed, and the ministry continues to grow. The ladies still gather, we still talk, giggle and sometimes complain about the world. But sitting in the St. Mark’s room, making cards, you can hear Granny Pat in your ear telling you to add more layers, every card needs more layers. Please come join us, no experience or talent of any kind required; everything including love is provided.
Submitted by Jane Ahuero
My path to Magdalena House was not a straight line, but such a rewarding destination I could never have imagined. When my grand girls were still in elementary school, they brought home a flyer about a presentation the San Antonio Police Department was giving on human trafficking, and recruiting techniques that were being used in our city. It was staggering, and too overwhelming to believe. Our city is a hub. Yes a hub, and the numbers take your breath away.
I started focusing on the battered women’s shelter as a ministry, but this is a temporary shelter, at best, and though it meets an immediate need, it does not solve many problems. Through the Diocese, I heard about a home right here in town that provides a long-term residential plan to provide the tools for living independent lives for the residents, and fell in love with the concept. There were few rules for living there (at the time only one house that would hold 4 women and two of their children each), but one of them was to attend a life enrichment program held on Tuesday nights.
I volunteered to help care for the children while their mothers attended these classes. I quickly fell in love with both the children and the mothers. Since I first began, they have added two new homes and now house, not four but twelve families. I have been there long enough to see eight women “graduate” and establish homes for themselves and their children. Three of the women are now working as volunteers in the community because they want to give back, as one of them put it “I want to give back to the place that gave me life.”
I truly believe one of the best ways we can serve others is to keep ourselves educated and informed. This is an excellent source for informing ourselves on what is truly a national epidemic. Be sure to watch the video. http://texasatt.prod.acquia-sites.com/initiatives/human-trafficking.
The 2018 Adopt A Needy Family project has begun! For over 12 years, the St. George community, through our middle school service organization, the Beta Club, has participated in this Christmas gift-giving project. Each year, we adopt nine families with the goal of providing a few special gifts, some Christmas decorations and items of true need. The St. George community has earned an incredible reputation for always going above and beyond in providing needy families with Christmas joy. Click here to read about our 9 adopted families.Ornaments are available for selection on the bulletin board in the Gathering Area hallway. The ornaments specify the gift item, as well as the name, gender, and age of the person who will receive the gift. All unwrapped gifts with paper ornament attached are due no later than November 30.
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In addition to gift sponsorship, the Beta Club would greatly appreciate donations of gift boxes (shirt size and larger), tissue paper, pre-made bows and Christmas wrapping paper. The nine adopted families also have a variety of larger needs, such as bicycles, beds, microwaves, etc. Click herefor specific larger needs.
The Adopt A Needy Family program is a wonderful opportunity for St. George to give back as a community, and we hope that you will prayerfully consider participation.
Thank you for your continued support,
Your 2018 AANF Coordinators
Michelle Matthews-Kasson, Rudy Davila and Tinker Notzon, aanfstgeorge@gmail.com
It’s time for our Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive in partnership with the Beta Club at St. George School, we are collecting donations of food for the San Antonio Food Bank and for Christian Assistance Ministries. Food collected for CAM will be boxed along with donated turkeys to create full Thanksgiving dinners for the clients at CAM. Donations can be dropped off at the collection table in the Narthex by Sunday, November 18. Contact Marti Nodine for more information: martisatx@aol.com. Click here for food items needed.
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When: November 18
Time: 3:00 PM
Where: The Commons Room of the St. George Leadership Center
We are very proud to present the next event in the St. George Fine Arts Series. The Pearl Trio, made up of our own pianist, Vivienne Spy, violinist Karen Styles, and cellist Barbara Paddock George will be performing some of the greatest classical repertoire for trios. All are members of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra!
Donations at the door will benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).