Supper Clubs

Are you interested in getting together for dinner with a group of friends from St. Paul's> Contact Jo Sloan or Anne Reasons and let them know! We are forming new groups for Supper Club and we would like to include you!  Just answer a few simple questions and we will place you in a group:  What night do you prefer? Do you want to dine in or dine out? Do you prefer potluck?  Please call Jo or Anne.

Conversations About Prayer

This cathedral-wide event for people 5-105 through May 11.  The conversation starter will appear in the Sunday bulletin and on St. Paul's website.

You have four ways to participate--pick one or try all four!

• Talk--Tuesday evenings from 7-8 pm in the Undercroft

• Email--anytime--St. Paul's email address

• Blog--anytime on Cathedral website (read responses at any time)

• In writing--anytime--put your thoughts in a box in the Guild Hall

The more often you respond, the more chances you have to receive on of the $25 Cokesbury gift cards offered to one adult and one young person by St. Paul's Youth Ministry.

Cathedral Arts Series

Evensong on Sunday, May 18, at 4 pm
 The Howells Scholars will join the Cathedral Choir for this final program of the season.
Bring a friend and enjoy the service! A wine and cheese reception will follow in the Guild Hall.

Singles & Doubles

We will be getting together on Friday, May 30, at John and Kathy Kemper's home.  Please RSVP to Sue Wittmack with the dish you would like to bring. There is a $2.50 donation to cover the cost of your beverage.  And mark your calendars for the June 14 picnic at 4 pm at John and Judy Spence's farm.

Retired Guys Bible Study

Some time ago a group of retired guys from St. Paul's got together to study the Bible. They have requested that the study continue and would like to extend an invitation to any retired "guy" out there who would like to join them. There is lots of fun, talk, digression, and sociability. If you are interested, here are the particulars:

Place: Diocesan House (Mills House)
Time: 9-10 am pm Thursdays
Pre-requisite:  a desire to build relationships, have fun
to be social--oh, and a desire to learn about
the Bible and "other things"!
Facilitator: Fr. Tom Gehlsen

AIM

Waters of Hope, a project to raise money for chlorinators and deep water wells for the people of Swaziland and the Sudan, has been the recipient of our basket collections this month.

Clean water is an absolute human right that more than a billion persons live without every day. Shockingly, 4,400 children under age 5 die each day from dirty drinking water that is infested with water-borne diseases (United Nations).  Medically, clean water can do more than vaccinations, antibiotics and immunizations combined. While the bike ride is finished, you can still make contributions to Waters of Hope through the Diocese of Iowa.

H2O Conserve Website
This new website allows you to actually calculate how much water you use so you can begin to assess your "water footprint." Cutting down on how much water we use in our homes and yards is the most important step we can take to reduce our water footprint. But our consumer and lifestyle habits also have a big, although less obvious, impact.

To assess your water footprint, go to http://www.h2oconserve.org/home.php?pd=index
To learn how to reduce water use at home, go to http://www.eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm
To find water-saving products, go to http://www.eartheasy.com/shop/water_save.htm

Iowa Interfaith Power & Light

This statewide organization based in Des Moines mobilizes the religious community to become leaders in the fight against global warming. Launched two years ago, IIPL gave birth to the "Cool Congregations" stewardship program.  The group is now seeking its first full-time Executive Director to lead the educational outreach and advocacy for global warming solutions, develop partnerships with utilities on energy efficiency goals and continue the expansion of the Cool Congregations initiative.  A complete job description is posted on the information bulletin board by the back door.

Interested in joining the SwaziCelebration?

  The Diocese of Iowa is planning a trip to Swaziland during the last part of October 2008 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Diocese of Swaziland. For information, go to www.iowaepiscopal.org, click on EVENTS, scroll to October, where you can link into the sign0up sheet to indicate your interest in receiving SwaziTrip 08 details & updates, directly contact Ron & Toni Noah, Mission Trip Coordinators, at harimau@thenoahs.net for information.

Plastic Bags - Re-Think Attitude
Be Cool!

Every year, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide.  That's a lot of bags! Over one million bags are used every minute, and they're damaging our environment. Of those 500 billion, 100 billion are consumed in the United States alone.  That means every person uses 83 plastic bags every year. That a bag per person every 4-1/2 days. Bags release toxins into the ground water from landfill sites, stay in the environment for hundreds of years while they break down, and waste energy in the manufacturing process. Re-think your attitude! Use cloth re-usable bags for all types of shopping.  Look for "green" bags for sale on-site now. Re-use large plastic sacks whenever possible. Refrigerate food in containers. Think cool.

Resource: Plymouth's newsletter, "Contact" dated 2/6/07 (Volume 28, Issue 6, p. 3)