Tuesday, January 31, 2012

D.O.K. Training


The Daughters of the King will host a training and spiritual growth opportunity three Saturdays during Lent.

The sessions will be lead by Deacon Bette and will incorporate both the DOK training and additional study material on prayer. They will begin at 9:30 a.m. with coffee and a snack and end at around noon with a light Lenten lunch. The dates are Saturdays, February 25, March 3 and March 24. Participation in any or all of these sessions does not obligate anyone to become a Daughter of the King.

Lenten Study

During Lent our Adult Education class will read Lord,Teach us to Pray, a six week study of the Lord’s Prayer. The class will begin on February 26, 2012 at 9:15 a.m. in the Conference Room. 

For more information and to order the book for $13, contact Father Whit or attend our Nooma Class, where we will discuss getting ready for this new class.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Poster to Raise Money for Shelter


As most of you know, two teams from St. Alban’s help feed people at the Refuge of Hope each month. Charles Smith manages the shelter's money and co-ordinates the many other churches and businesses in our area that work at the shelter.

In the Faith & Values section of the January 28, 2012 edition of The News Star, Hope Young has written a wonderful article about a poster created to raise money for the Refuge of Hope or Desiard Street Shelter. You can find the article here.

A member of Jesus the Good Shepherd’s Just Faith group, Elaine Elias, said they came up with the idea after another member, Lynda Cookston, saw a similar poster.

The "Do You Know Him" poster is a collage of photos taken of people at the DeSiard Street Shelter. In the photos, each person holds a piece of cardboard with a word written on it. Arthur Morgan, who runs the shelter, took all the pictures. The men are actually holding a word that they chose.

Elias said the posters are for sale and 100 percent goes to the shelter. The 36-by-24 inch posters are mounted and $80, 14-by-9 inch unmounted posters are $10 and note cards are $1.50. To order posters, contact Elias at 323-3144.

You can also support the work of the shelter by contacting Charles Smith or Father Whit.

Note: Photo of poster and portions of this post taken from The New Star article linked above.

Edit: St. Alban's will soon have the poster on display in the 36-by-24 inch size. We will bless it before we hang it - stay tuned for more information.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Nooma Comes to Our Adult Education Class



Nooma® is coming to our Adult Education Class in February. St. Alban's Adult Education Class will kick off again with a three session course prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. We will meet on February 5, 12, and 19 at 9:15 in the Conference Room.

Nooma® is a series of short films promoting spiritual perspectives on individual life experiences. The series features pastor, Rob Bell. The name Nooma comes from a phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma (πνευμα) meaning wind, spirit, or breath. Each film is about 10 to 14 minutes long and related to real-life situations. Each short story covers a specific topic - usually by relating various experiences from a Christian perspective. We will follow the video with a group discussion of the issues raised. Please make plans to join us!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Bishop's Visit

The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson, III Bishop of Western Louisiana, will make his final visit to St. Alban’s on January 29, 2012. The Bishop will preach at 8:30 a.m. and preach and celebrate at 10:30 a.m. Between the liturgies, we will have an informal forum with the Bishop in the conference room.

  Following the 10:30 Eucharist, we will have a reception in McLean Hall. Don’t miss this wonderful day! 

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Annual Meeting and New Vestry Members

St. Alban's had its Annual Meeting on January 15 following the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist. It was a wonderful meeting! We approved our 2012 budget, honored a few folks who serve the church along with our retiring Vestry members  - Vicki R., Sue N., Reece L. and Ben M. We elected their replacements and our Delegates to Diocesan Convention.

Newly elected Vestry members are Mark S., Grace H., Bill H. and John R. Then to top it all off, we had a wonderful BBQ and potluck lunch. It was a grand day!

St. Alban's Alphabet


Be on the lookout here and in The Banner for photos of the St. Alban's Alphabet. Today, we begin with the letter "A." Can you find this around our church?

Credence Table

St. Alban’s has a new Credence Table. A Credence Table is a small side table in the sanctuary of a church which is used in the celebration of the Eucharist. It is the place where the water, bread and wine are kept prior to consecration.

Our old Credence Table was modified, refinished and mounted by Reece L. We blessed it on January 1. It is wonderful to use and very convenient.
Take a look next time you are in church!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Annual Meeting Reminder



St. Alban’s Annual Meeting
Sunday, January 15
following the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist.
Join us as we elect new Vestry Members,
Convention Delegates and approve our Budget.
There is a Parish Potluck luncheon after meeting.
John will provide the BBQ and
we bring the rest.
Make plans to attend!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Kneeling Needlers' Quilt Raffle


The Kneeling Needlers are at it again! This time they have made a quilt. It is constructed from the scraps of all the blankets that they've made so far. The scrap quilt is beautiful, colorful and made with love! Raffle tickets will be sold for one dollar a piece and we will draw a winner on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany (right before Lent). All the monies collected from the sale of the raffle tickets will go to buy more fleece for more blankets!

Donations to this ministry are also accepted....

Photo above - Needlers Jane and Becky hold the quilt.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Epiphany on the Bayou - Reminder

It's almost time for our Epiphany on the Bayou party. See you at 6:00 p.m. on January 6, 2012 at the Jacka's home. Bring your favorite Cajun dish, eat King Cake and have fun, fun, fun!

Bring the whole family!


May Christ's light shine in you and be manifest to the world!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Features

You can now view the current edition of The Banner and the current "Rota" (rotational schedule of ministry assignments) from St. Alban's weblog. Both are in a pdf format and can be viewed online, downloaded or printed for your use.

Take a look at the sidebar on the right hand side of this page. Next find the BLOG ARCHIVE - below it are the sections labeled "THE BANNER" and "ROTA" and under each section is a link to the current month's Banner or Rota. Just click on the link and you're there!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Deacon's Sermon and Travel

Deacon Bette has posted her Christmas Day sermon on her sermon blog. You can read it here.

Deacon Bette will be traveling from early Friday, January 6, until Thursday noon, January 12. She will be in Chicago first to see a Lyric Opera performance of The Magic Flute, and then off to Honolulu to present a paper at the Hawaii University International Conference on the Arts and Humanities. Travel mercies will be much appreciated!

Painting - "the word was made flesh" by Chris Shreve