Dear One’s of St. C’s, 

We have a couple of things happening at St. Columba’s that I want to make sure everyone is aware of.  The first is that this Sunday at St. Columba’s we will once again be offering wine as a part of our Eucharistic meal.  It is a joy to offer this again.  We are going to wait on offering juice.  The alcohol and the silver chalice offer some protection against germs.

From my sermon on July 4th, ”I would like us all to think about what it will be like to share a cup once again. After a year of not sharing food and being careful who we even share air with. How do you feel about sharing this cup, once again? Does it remind you, in a new way, what a truly vulnerable act this sharing of a common cup is? Some of you will not be ready, some of you will be upset we aren’t offering it today, some of you will go home and do a little research about sharing a drink and spreading COVID. I want you to take the next week or two to decide which of these groups you fall in. I know it is part of our service that many have missed and long for its return, and I am excited to offer it again soon." 

If you are not ready to share the common cup, it is okay.  The sacrament is sufficient with only the bread and it is here to nurture us in our faith and draw us closer to God and one another.  The cup will be ready and available when you are.

The other things that I want you to be aware of are the building projects that are happening right now.  The first is on Erskine Hall.  Marie Vendettuoli has graciously offered to head this project.  Carmen and Stephen Olfert took on all of the preparation work to get the walls ready to paint.  Marie Vendettuoli, Anna Pringle, Val, Chad, and Erik Rawlinson tackled scrubbing and cleaning the walls.  Marie Vendettuoli, Tracey, and Kevin Coleman have helped with beginning the paint job. We need to finish the paint job and then add the trim.  As we begin gathering again for fellowship events it will be so wonderful to have our Erskine Hall back in working order - better than ever!!  Can you even remember the old rug that was there before!?  Thank you everyone for your help!

The next building project that you may or may not be aware of is that we are replacing all of the windows in the narthex.  We have received a grant from the Diocese and it will cover all of our costs.  We have a signed contract and the windows are ordered.  I will give everyone more updates when the windows have arrived and we know when the work will begin. 

The last building update is on the Memorial Garden.  For those of you who do not know the Memorial Garden has been a work in process for many years!  We currently have an artist who is casting old stain glass windows from a church who had to close its doors.  The stain glass windows were given to us and Lia Louwen has been casting them.  All of the windows are now done and ready to be put up around the garden.  We have everything in place for this to happen.  I will let you know when this date is set!

(Example of stain glass window cast)

Those are all the ongoings at St. Columba’s I wanted everyone to be aware of.  I hope everyone is having a delightful summer.  The weather this past week was just perfect.  I keep breathing in the fresh, crisp air, and thanking God for this beautiful earth we get to call home. 

Blessings!

Meghan