When I think of being rooted in abundance, the first image that comes to mind is my grandmother. In my small hometown in Zacatecas, my grandmother’s house was where everybody went for a meal or a listening ear. Her table served not just food but wisdom. My people were poor, but there was always enough. We learned how to give what we had for the good of everyone. I was taught that giving meant more than just giving money. My grandmother taught me to give myself fully to God.

My roots are my cultura. In Latino culture, it’s never about the individuals or the immediate family but about being rooted in each other. My grandmother’s life was hard, but she was so connected to God, the earth, and all that is holy. Being in Austin, where I teach at the Seminary of the Southwest, has called me to grow closer to her and her lessons. I felt disconnected from anything familiar for the first few months here. I didn’t yet see that God was planting me in a new place and that something new was growing within me. Now I know that my colleagues here are also my people. I feel my roots taking hold of the land here, and I will trust God. If my grandma can do it, so can I.

Trees are an image of stewardship of abundance and not just survival. Communities of color and poor communities in the Episcopal Church are sometimes treated as “poor people” who can’t give. We must switch that mentality and consider these communities’ newly planted trees. They will not grow overnight, but if we care for and nurture them, these communities will thrive and plant deep roots. The roots will be interconnected in a community of love of God and neighbor where there is always enough for everyone.

​The Reverend Nancy Aidé Frausto is Director of Latinx Studies, Seminary of the Southwest.

Questions for Reflection:
Talk about a time when you were planted in a new place or a new position.
How did you find a root structure to ground you?

Worship with us this week in our Sanctuary
Sunday, September 24 - 17th Sunday after Pentecost

• The Rev. Jorge Pallares will preside and preach
• Service in English: 10 a.m.
• Service in Spanish: 12 Noon.

Wednesday, September 27, 6 p.m. - Evening Prayer Service

Church Prayer List
We pray for Michael our Presiding Bishop and David our Bishop. We also pray for Joseph our President, Gavin our Governor, and Eric our Mayor. Please remember in your prayers Stan, Rita, Sandy, Bob, Dunnie, and the students at Mesquite High School.

Cathedral Livestream
As an alternative for those unable to attend our Sunday services in person, St. James Episcopal Cathedral offers a livestream of their service.
Link: www.youtube.com/@StJamesEpiscopalCathedral/streams

Welcome Corps Interest Session #3
Saturday, September 23, 3 p.m. (note the date change)
at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 Las Flores Ave. 
Enter through the door marked “Welcome Corps Meeting”.The Welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for communities across the country to welcome refugees seeking freedom and safety in the United States. For questions contact Jackie Brennan, jbrennan@pacbell.net.

Stewardship Campaign continues through Sunday, October 8

United Thank Offering Ingathering: Sunday, September 24
United Thank Offering (UTO) Blue Boxes are available to pick up in the Lobby. From now until our in-gathering on September 24, we encourage parishioners to take one Box home and consider using these as part of our spiritual practices; for example, whenever you identify and give thanks to God for your blessings, place a bill in the UTO Blue Box. At the end of September, when the Blue Boxes are collected, the donations received will fund grants for Episcopal ministries and partners all over the world. There are several ways to participate with UTO. To find out more, click here for their website or check out UTO's online brochure.

Food Ministry Dates

• The Thrift Store Co-Op is open every Wednesday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• ​Tuesday, September 26: Food Pantry is open 9-11 a.m.
• Monday, October 16: CAPK Senior Box Day, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Next Bishop's Committee Meeting, Wednesday, September 27, 7 p.m.

Orange Shirt Day - Sunday, October 1
On Sunday, October 1, we encourage members to wear orange shirts in remembrance of the 200,000 victims and survivors of indian boarding schools.

October Events
* Sunday, October 1:    Saint Michael’s Sunday, potluck lunch at 11 a.m. (after the 10 a.m. service)
* Saturday, October 7: Bilingual Blessing of the Animals Service in the Courtyard, 2 p.m.
* Sunday, October 8:    Francis of Assisi Sunday

64th Annual Convention of The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin
November 10-11, 2023 at Episcopal Conference Center Oakhurst (ECCO)
This year's theme: Called to Be...a Community willing to turn
Register online at https://www.diosanjoaquin.org/annual-convention
​Registration deadline: October 27, 2023

Please Give
Mail your pledges and offerings to:
St. Michael's Episcopal Church,
PO Box 1630, Ridgecrest, CA 93556

​Contribute to the church online at:
https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z9KQ/home

I am the daughter of the longtime stewardship chair of the church I grew up in. My home parish of St. James, Roanoke, is like a taproot for me. It’s where I went to Sunday school, youth group, and served as an acolyte. People in invested in me and gave me leadership opportunities. As an Asian American queer from the south, I never thought of God as judging me. I have been watered by living waters of people who’ve nurtured me. I pledge every year to my church because I want to tend and water others.

The legacy of family roots me in abundance. I was raised on stories of woman in my (Japanese & Korean) family who were boundary crossers. My ancestors crossed oceans because they had to. My parents were married not long after the Loving v. The State of Virginia case, so that was a boundary crossing too. They taught me that love is more powerful than racism: they showed me that you do what you think is right even when it’s hard.

I’m so motivated by wanting to do right by my ancestors. Both my family, and also my chosen/queer ancestors, some of whom died just so that I could live. Right now I work for Showing Up for Racial Justice to mobilize white communities for racial and economic justice. We don’t have to be divided by racism. Like tree roots, we can be a network of solidarity.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds me “blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.” (Jeremiah 17:7). I am rooted in God, and in the belief in an abundant creator. I would stake my life on that.

Questions For Reflection:
How do your practices of generosity come from and through your family heritage? What habits were ingrained in you?

​Grace Aheron is the Communications Director, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), former ESC intern, and cradle Episcopalian.

Worship with us this week in our Sanctuary
Sunday, September 17 - 16th Sunday after Pentecost

• The Rev. Jorge Pallares will preside
• The Rev. Deacon Cathy Kline will preach
• Service in English: 10 a.m.
• Service in Spanish: 12 Noon.

Wednesday, September 20, 6 p.m. - Evening Prayer Service, Eve of St. Matthew, Evangelist

Church Prayer List
We pray for Michael our Presiding Bishop and David our Bishop. We also pray for Joseph our President, Gavin our Governor, and Eric our Mayor. Please remember in your prayers Stan, Rita, Sandy, Bob, Dunnie, and the students at Mesquite High School.

Cathedral Livestream
As an alternative for those unable to attend our Sunday services in person, St. James Episcopal Cathedral offers a livestream of their service.
Link: www.youtube.com/@StJamesEpiscopalCathedral/streams

Welcome Corps Interest Session #3
Saturday, September 23, 3 p.m. (note the date change)
at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 
633 Las Flores Ave. 
Enter through the door marked “Welcome Corps Meeting”.The Welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for communities across the country to welcome refugees seeking freedom and safety in the United States. For questions contact Jackie Brennan, jbrennan@pacbell.net.

Stewardship Campaign, Sunday, September 17 – Sunday, October 8

Food Ministry Dates

• The Thrift Store Co-Op is open every Wednesday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Monday, September 18: CAPK Senior Box Day, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, September 26: Food Pantry is open 9-11 a.m.

United Thank Offering
United Thank Offering (UTO) Blue Boxes are available to pick up in the Lobby. From now until our in-gathering on September 24, we encourage parishioners to take one Box home and consider using these as part of our spiritual practices; for example, whenever you identify and give thanks to God for your blessings, place a bill in the UTO Blue Box. At the end of September, when the Blue Boxes are collected, the donations received will fund grants for Episcopal ministries and partners all over the world. There are several ways to participate with UTO. To find out more, click here for their website or check out UTO's online brochure.

Next Bishop's Committee Meeting, Wednesday, September 27, 7 p.m.

Orange Shirt Day - Sunday, October 1
On Sunday, October 1, we encourage members to wear orange shirts in remembrance of the 200,000 victims and survivors of indian boarding schools.

October Events
* Sunday, October 1:    Saint Michael’s Sunday, potluck lunch at 11 a.m. (after the 10 a.m. service)
* Saturday, October 7: Bilingual Blessing of the Animals Service in the Courtyard, 2 p.m.
* Sunday, October 8:    Francis of Assisi Sunday

Please Give
Mail your pledges and offerings to:
St. Michael's Episcopal Church,
PO Box 1630, Ridgecrest, CA 93556

​Contribute to the church online at:
https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z9KQ/home

Saturday, September 16, 3 p.m. at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 Las Flores Ave.
Enter through the door marked “Welcome Corps Meeting”.

​Saturday, June 3, 3 p.m. at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 Las Flores Ave.
Enter through the door marked “Welcome Corps Meeting”.

​The Welcome Corps is a new service opportunity for communities across the country to welcome refugees seeking freedom and safety in the United States. For questions contact Jackie Brennan, jbrennan@pacbell.net.

​Saturday, May 13, 3 p.m. at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 Las Flores Ave.
Enter through the door marked “Welcome Corps Meeting”.