Welcome
…to the Episcopal Church in Sevierville
“Our Mission: Joyfully serving God, each other and our community in all our endeavors, both personal and public, with love, patience and understanding.”
St. Joseph’s is a church community with approximately 60 families making their home here. When you stop by for a visit and worship with us, you will quickly notice that our parish always has the welcome mat out. Our welcome is genuine and real. We happily open our circles of friends and families to all who are looking for a sense of “community” and “belonging”. We come from a wide variety of faiths, baptisms and up bringings, but truly believe everyone is welcome at the banquet table.
Some of us have lived in Tennessee for a lifetime, while others have discovered the riches of God’s Grace in East Tennessee from other parts of the world. In Sevierville, Tennessee, we blend our talents, our backgrounds and our faith into the wonderful parish known as St. Joseph the Carpenter.
Announcements
The Vestry Retreat brought many new ideas to the table, everyone seems to be bursting at the seams with excitement and fresh thoughts. As Steve Petty, Senior Warden said there’s way too much to cover in one announcement time, so be sure to watch the bulletin, email, website and bulletin boards as everything develops and unfolds.
Four major topics were discussed at the Vestry retreat:
St. Joseph’s Priest ~ Outreach Partner
Internal and External Communications ~ Church Growth
For the next few weeks we will highlight information on each of these areas from our Sr. Warden, Steve Petty.
Internal & External Communications - One of the most compelling messages from the parish in October was that communication needs to be enhanced and expanded at St. Joseph’s. A communications plan was presented to the Vestry by Bev Jones. It includes a plan for internal communications to become more thorough, consistent, and accurate. Bev will be the hub of those communication efforts and will ensure consistency of information among all those who participate in communicating important information to the parish. Nikolette Edge will be in charge of transmitting information from the Vestry to Bev after each meeting. Internal information will include the weekly e-mail, bulletin, bulletin boards, web site information for members, and prayer chain. The plan also includes improved external communication by making better use of St. Joseph’s web site information for non-members, Facebook page, The Mountain Press, and church sign. We are looking for someone who will volunteer to manage the church sign on a weekly basis. We are also looking for those with writing skills who might be willing to write an occasional article or editorial for the Mountain Press. Let us know if you are interested in either task. See the Vestry bulletin board for more details about communications.
The beginning pieces of the new communication team will center around the Message Center bulletin board. The bulletin board just inside the Parish hallway door is now titled Message Center There we will post info about our communication team, our most current directory information, where you can check and correct your mailing address, phone numbers, emails, birthdays. The Vestry bulletin board will still be in the Parish Hall with minutes and reports to share.The other part of our new communication effort is “St. Joseph’s News & Reminders”
This is the name of our new weekly e-mail sent out by Bev Jones every Monday. If you have not gotten the first five newsletters and want to receive them via e-mail, please do the following:
1. Check your spam folder to make sure they are not being blocked.
2. Add StJosephSevierville@yahoogroups.com to your contact list to ensure your computer allows these e-mails into your inbox.
3. Check the Message Center bulletin board inside the parish hall door to make sure we have your current e-mail address. Write the correct one there if we don’t.
If you cannot receive this information by e-mail or prefer not to, please do the following:
1. Mark through your e-mail address on the “Message Center” bulletin board so we don’t make the mistake of thinking you are receiving it.
2. Pick up a paper copy of St. Joseph News and Reminders email in the back of the nave the following Sunday, OR give your name to Anne Kratochvil so she can mail you a copy on Wednesday each week.
First report from new Vestry Communication liaison, Nikolette Edge about the retreat activities is the appointment of our leadership team, and people who will be heading up various ministries this year:
Senior Warden – Steve Petty
Junior Warden – Ed Trenholm
Co Treasurers – Doyle Jones and Richard Dalton (non Vestry)
Clerk Jim Rugh (non Vestry)
Ministry Leadership
Worship – Betty Vickers
Parish Life Linda Deveroux and Anne Kratochvil
Stewardship Kitty Manscill and Barbara Post
Outreach – Ed Trenholm, Linda Deveroux, Jim Rugh (non Vestry)
Membership and Pastoral Care: Louise Rugh, Anne Kratochvil
Communications: Nikolette Edge, Betty Vickers , Bev Jones (non Vestry), andL isa Gibson (non Vestry)
If any parishioners not on the Vestry feel called to help in one of these areas please talk with the appropriate ministry leader, and they will rejoice in having you help on their team!
We do still have a yoga class at church. We are now meeting 9 – 10 AM each Wednesday morning, Our instructor, Tammy Hearn does an excellent job with new comers, come check it out. Cost is 6.00, a bargain considering a Knoxville yoga class costs 10 – 15.00.
The Fulbrights would like to invite you to a new happening beginning Feb 1, 6 PM – Brews and Views, at Smoky Mtn Brewery in Pigeon Forge. There are plans to meet there on the first Wednesday of each month. A casual setting for social interaction, and just talk about whatever comes up. That night is 1/2 price burger night, and Bob and Anne Kratochvil say they brew a fine cup of coffee too. Good times with some St. Joseph’s folks, sounds like a win win. Delegates to the Diocesan convention on February 10-11 are Jim Rugh, Rick Brown, and Nikolette Edge. Alternates are Jeanne Tredup, Lisa Gibson, and Steve Petty.
Feb 21 Mardi Gras Potluck supper on Shrove Tuesday is at 6:00 p.m. Join us in the Parish Hall. Festive attire and a party attitude recommended, for more details or to offer help contact Anne Kratochvil or Linda Deveroux
Calendar of Events
Jan 29 Sunday Night Out 6:00 pm
Feb 1 Brews and Views – 6:00 pm at Smoky Mtn Brewery, Pigeon Forge
Feb 10-11 Diocesan Convention
Feb 15 Vestry Meeting 6:00 pm
Feb 21 Mardi Gras Potluck supper Shrove Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Feb 26 Sunday Night Out 6:00 pm