Our campaign to fund the Church for 2021 and complete the Stone, Sash, and Sound work has begun, with pledge cards to be blessed Sunday, November 15. If you have not received a mailing – a letter from the Wardens and Rector, a brochure explaining the campaign, a pledge card and a return envelope — please email Pam Green to request this material.
One factor in deciding what you wish to pledge should be how important the Church has been and is in your life and the life of your family. The following reflections from a couple of our younger members speak eloquently to that.
What St. Elisabeth’s Has Meant to Me
What does hanging from a high tree branch with a bunch of friends have to do with St. Elisabeth’s Church? It’s one of my favorite memories of being a kid at St. E’s! After church, John and I would dash across the south lawn and take turns hanging from a tree limb with other St E’s kids. I’m almost sixteen now and our favorite branch has long since been cut down, but sometimes it feels like we’re still doing that at St. E’s. Whether we are hosting homeless people at Family Promise, feeding strangers at Soup Kitchen, or marching for Black lives, we’re taking risks, being adventuresome, and doing it together with friends.
Although St. E’s has been a place for new adventures, it has also been a place where I’ve felt at home, especially when the whole church gets together for special activities like making Advent wreaths or watching movies together. One of my favorite memories is making Advent wreaths. After the first Advent service of the year, everyone hurries into the Guild Hall and is greeted by the Christmassy smell of fresh evergreen branches ready to be snipped and styled to create perfect wreaths while inhaling the scent of the Lake-Lesperance’s famous quiche. Rushing to find the most beautiful bows, pinecones, and juniper berries before they are all gone, we work away as the excitement and joy spread through the room. The fireplace blazes as the advent wreaths take form, reflecting each family’s creativity and taste. Not only has Advent wreath making been a memorable activity that I will cherish forever, but it has also helped me understand the significance of advent wreaths and the meaning behind the Advent season.
St. E’s has always been a place that pushes me beyond my boundaries, but it also feels like a second home. Life wouldn’t be the same without it!
Kind regards,
Lizzy Arnell
Friends,
In the summer of 2006, I was baptized in St. Elisabeth’s Episcopal Church. Ever since then I have walked those same hallways and seen countless other religious journeys begin. Every single baptism I have ever seen, and every memory relating to religion always ties back to this single church. This place and the people that attend will always hold a special place in my heart as people who shaped me into who I am at this moment. Every single one of them I have always looked up to, whether it be a fellow acolyte or a mentor during confirmation, they all won’t be forgotten.
One day, when I’m old and gray, I will look back to these times of my youth. I will think to myself, what a wonderful place this was. This wonderful community always helps each other out even during tough times, mourns the loss of those we know so well, and welcomes the next generation into their arms. All the people here, we all share a special bond of sharing this space. That bond is essential to a happy and fun environment to learn about the way to live life through Christianity.
On a test, if a teacher asked me “If I say St. Elisabeth’s, what comes to mind?” This question only has one answer. I would respond with absolute and utter joy. “Why this answer?” I hear you ask. Have you ever been somewhere and immediately when you step in you want to go again and again, that is the only way to describe attending St. E’s. No experience has ever had any negativity to it, nothing. Something about this combination of people, leaders, and mentors just works together. I don’t understand how it all works but it just does. To end this, I would just like to say thank you to all those who I have met while in this truly amazing church, all of you are special in my heart.
All the best,
Duke Baur