SBE Weekly eNews

October 31, 2025

🎄 After months of planning and hard work, one of our biggest community events of the year is almost here! Join us on Saturday, November 8, for St. Bart’s 45th Annual Holiday House Market — a North Augusta tradition that brings joy, fellowship, and help to those in need. Every dollar raised supports our outreach ministries to the hungry, the lonely, and the struggling in our community. Come, shop, eat, and share the blessing! 🕘 Breakfast & Market: 9:00 a.m. | 🍲 Lunch: 11:00 a.m. | 🎁 Silent Auction & Local Artisans All Day📍 St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 471 W. Martintown Rd

This Christmas Eve, we’re forming a special Christmas Choir for the 11 PM traditional service — and we’d love for you to be part of it!

Our Organist and Choirmaster, Jessie Jones, needs 9 singers (6 women + 3 men) to make the church ring with joy.

✨ No experience required
🎵 Singing one anthem + Christmas carols
📅 2–3 rehearsals in December (date TBD)

Help us make this holy night even more beautiful. Sign up or contact Jessie Jones today! ([email protected])

Join us for a special brunch with Brenda Martinez, who leads a long-standing healthcare ministry in Ecuador that St. Bart’s has faithfully supported over the years. Brenda will share inspiring stories and updates about her ministry’s impact on local communities and the lives it touches. The brunch is free and open to everyone in the St. Bart’s community. To help us plan for food, please sign up on the sheet in the Parish Hall. Brenda will also have handcrafted items from Ecuador available for purchase — perfect for Christmas gifts that support her ministry and the people she serves. To learn more about Brenda and her work, visit: 👉 https://sendmelord123.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-healthy-outside-starts-from-inside.html

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Pumpkin Patch such a wonderful success! From unloading pumpkins to greeting visitors, reading stories, and hosting our community Pumpkin-Palooza—your time and energy brought joy to so many. Because of your efforts, every dollar raised will go to support local needs in our community. ✨ Cleanup Help Needed: Please plan to stay after church this Sunday to help us clean up the patch. Many hands make light work, and your help will be greatly appreciated as we wrap up this amazing season!

This Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m., we will have something very special — a Children’s Christmas Pageant at St. Bart’s! We’re so excited to bring the Nativity story to life together. If your child or grandchild would like to take part — in any role, big or small — please let Fr. Joseph ([email protected]) know by November 10th. We’ll keep it simple, joyful, and filled with the spirit of Christmas. Come be part of the fun — and help us celebrate the story of Jesus’ birth in a way only our kids can!

Wonderful Wednesday – November 12 | 5:00–6:30 p.m. We’ll share a potluck dinner and a thoughtful discussion of Heart of Champions (2021). Starring Michael Shannon, this inspiring drama follows an Ivy League rowing team transformed by a coach who challenges them to discover teamwork, resilience, and true leadership. 👉 Please watch the movie in advance. For those who can’t, we’ll host a showing in the Parish Hall at 3:00 p.m. on November 12 before the dinner and discussion. Bring a dish to share and come ready for food, fellowship, and conversation led by Fr. Joseph. All are welcome!

Dear Friends in Christ,

Two unfolding crises are calling us to live out our baptismal promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.”

1. Supporting Our Neighbors Facing Food Insecurity
Due to recent government funding cutbacks and the potential loss of SNAP benefits, one in six of our CSRA neighbors is now facing food insecurity.
Our ministry partner, The Community Ministry of North Augusta (CMONA), is preparing to meet a growing need for food and essential assistance in our community.

If you would like to help, you can:

• Call CMONA directly at 803-279-5771 to arrange a donation, or

• Place a check in the offering plate this Sunday with “CMONA” in the memo line, and we will ensure it reaches them.

Together, we can make a profound difference as we live out our call to love and serve God and neighbor.

2. Supporting Those Impacted by Hurricane Melissa
Meanwhile, people in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which brought devastating wind and flooding earlier this week. Episcopal Relief & Development is already responding, providing emergency aid and helping communities begin the long process of recovery. You can support their vital work by giving through this link:
👉 Episcopal Relief & Development – Responding to Hurricane Melissa

May we continue to be a people of compassion and hope, trusting that even small acts of generosity bring light to those in darkness.

Thank you for all you do!

This fall, join us for an engaging 12-week Adult Education series using Current – Seeking God Together, a curriculum designed to help us reflect deeply on faith and life in conversation with Scripture and one another.

Each week invites us into meaningful dialogue about God’s presence in today’s world—an opportunity to listen, question, and grow together. We will meet in the Parish Hall at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday, beginning September 7th (Kickoff Sunday) and continuing through Christ the King Sunday (November 23rd), just before Advent begins.

The rhythm of the morning will flow from Centering Prayer at 8:30, to our study time at 9:00, and into the 10:00 a.m. service. Whether you are a longtime member or new to our parish family, this is a wonderful chance to connect with others, share stories, and seek God’s wisdom for our lives today. All are warmly invited—bring your curiosity, your questions, and your hope.

All are invited to join us in the Adult Education Building after church this Sunday as we discuss inviting, welcoming, and connecting at St. Bart's. For any questions, contact Sandy Zeller, [email protected]. 

Join us for Celebration Sunday, our annual stewardship ingathering, as we come together in gratitude for all that God has given us and for the life we share in this parish community. Following the 10:00 a.m. service, we’ll continue the celebration with a parish-wide potluck luncheon in the parish hall. Please bring a favorite dish to share—something savory, sweet, or somewhere in between! This special day is a time to give thanks, to offer our pledges for the coming year, and to celebrate the many blessings of our shared ministry. Come rejoice in faith, fellowship, and good food!