Announcements for Sunday, March 4, 2018

Little Free Pantry
Donations from the parish are welcome.  Put them in the box in Vail Hall. The pantry was generously donated by Gustavo Gutierrez and Janie Glade, a long-time friend of Annunciation, who will also maintain it.  DONATION GUIDELINES: Food should be in easy-open containers that don’t require a can opener. We also need travel-sized toothpaste, toothbrushes, small packs of wet wipes and diapers, Ensure for infants and adults, and small packets of dry food such as cereal.

Stock the Little Free Pantry Competition
We need to donations for the Little Free Pantry, so through Lent we are doing a competitive drive to restock the Pantry. See above for details on the types of donations needed. If you are a musician or sit on the the Narthex side on the church, you are on the GOLD team. Everyone else on the Jena St. side of the church, you are on the BLACK team. You earn one point for your team per item donated to the pantry during Lent. Which team is the most generous?

Want to join Annunciation?
Would you like to join Annunciation? The short answer is join one of the small group. During Lent, small groups will discuss what it means to be an Episcopalian and what it means to be a member of Annunciation. The small groups will sponsor people when Bishop Morris Thompson comes on Sunday, March 25 to confirm and receive anyone into the church. Anyone seeking to transfer their letter from another Episcopal Church will also be recognized through this process. See Fr. Duane for more details.

Small Groups Meeting Schedule
Karen & Avery’s Group:  March 7 & March 14, 6:30pm in Vail Hall
Rosanne’s Group: March 22, 6pm in Vail Hall
Maureen’s Group: March 7 & March 21, 10am in Narthex
Annette’s Group: March 7 & 21, 6pm in Vail Hall

Second Collection: Fr. Diaz
Today’s second collection goes to aid Fr. Diaz’s work in Honduras. Fr. Diaz is priest over 35 Episcopal (Anglican) churches and missions in two areas of Honduras. Annunciation has supported Fr. Diaz and his predecessor for over five years. Please give during the regular offering using the envelopes in the bulletins.

Easter Memorial
Easter will be observed at Annunciation on April the 1st.  If you would like to honor departed loved ones or offer thanksgiving, please fill out the Easter Memorial form included with the bulletin.  The deadline for submitting the form is March 25 (Palm Sunday).


Parish Administrator Out of Office
Karen Hall, Parish Administrator, will be out of the office this Friday, March 9th. Please get any announcements you have in to her by 2pm this Wednesday.

Last Lent Hurrah: Crawfish Boil on Holy Saturday. 3/31 3p-5p at Annunciation
We will end the penitential season on Saturday, March 31 from 3p-5p with a crawfish boil. Everyone is invited to a fun time with crawfish, beer, and/or tea. Invite your friends! At 5pm, we will light the new Easter fire in a short 15-minute service and mark the beginning of Easter. A suggested donation of $12. See Annette Sisco for more details.

Flower Memorials
If you would like to donate flowers for the altar, please contact the Altar Guild director, Suzanne Fontan, at (504) 430-6879 or sfontan@entergy.com. The suggested donation is $40.

Prayer Requests
Prayers for health are requested for Robin Yeager, Hazel Rue, Linda Guillory, Chris Miller, Doug Kuylen, Julie Zitzmann, Noel Prentiss, Reggie Majarrez, Arthur Escalante, Roland Hoffmann, Peter Waring, Al Bemiss, Jack Smith, and Carol Kerrigan.  Prayers for safe travels: None. Prayers for the repose of the soul:  Leslie Graf and William “Billy” Graham.  Prayers for birthdays: Traci Christen (02/27), Sadie Whiteside (03/01), Jasa Gruver (03/02) and Elizabeth Gruver (03/03). To request prayers by Wednesday, contact Karen Hall at Karen@AnnunciationEpiscopal.com or (504) 895-8697 ext. 1.  

Father Duane's Sermon 2/25
In today’s reading, we hear God call Abram and Sarai and give them a new identity. He changes their name and establishes a relationship with them. God also seeks to establish a relationship and identity with us in baptism, as we learned last Sunday. So what is confirmation? Is it necessary if we are baptized? Why does a bishop confirm when a priest can administer most other sacraments? We continue our five-part sermon series on the sacraments and how this relates to being Christian, a follower of Christ. The sermon is based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and was preached by Fr. Duane Wiggin-Nettles at Church of the Annunciation, with a similar sermon preached at Mt. Olivet Episcopal Church. https://www.buzzsprout.com/62936/650658-being-christian-confirmation

Announcements follow the service in Vail Hall!
In order to allow for more community announcements, parishioners are now invited to make announcements directly after the service in Vail Hall, over coffee and pastries. A bell will be rung to signal when announcements are starting. Wanted: News of local civic events, family milestones, updates on former parishioners, charitable causes seeking support, PSAs, etc. Announcements are also wanted for this newsletter! Please contact Karen Hall to have your news published at (504) 895-8697 ext. 1, Karen@AnnunciationEpiscopal.com. The DEADLINE for new announcements is Wednesdays at Noon to make the Sunday Weekly News.