St Johns Ross | Connect

Services

Sundays 

8am: Communion with spoken word & organ music  

9am: Family Service held in the Parish Hall  

10am: Communion with choral & organ music, nursery care, and Sunday School.

 

Tuesdays

Dinner Church: 6pm 

 

Thursdays  

Noon: Eucharist w/Healing Prayers

 

This Sunday

October 4, 2015 

The Ninteenth Sunday  

after Pentecost   

Hymns

Hymnal 405

Hymnal 385

Hymnal 406

Hymnal 428 

          

Readings: click here 

St. John's Episcopal Church
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Contact
St. John's Episcopal Church
PO Box 217
14 Lagunitas Road
Ross, CA 94957

phone: 415.456.1102
Vestry
A list of current vestry members is available here.


Friends:
 
My wife returns today after a month of travel, most of it conducting research in Malawi, Africa. While I am grateful for the experiences she had I'm really looking forward to her return. As much as I have appreciated having a month with just me and my son (our daughter is in boarding school), I have developed a deep appreciation and respect for single parents, especially those who also have jobs (parenting is its own kind of work). I've done the solo parent thing for a couple weeks before, but a month was a different experience entirely. I can't believe how much time is spent driving one child to and from school, the gym and friend's homes. I don't do well in slow, school and commuter traffic and can't wait to share the load with my wife when she returns-a luxury many single parents do not have. And then, of course, there is all the shopping, cooking and cleaning-though I must admit our home looks very much like two men are the only people who have been in it for a month. I'm grateful that my son has done some of his own cooking and been understanding that I can't always leave work based on when the school day ends.
 
Join me in offering a prayer for all single parents. If you are a single parent, I don't know how you do it, but you do because you have to and you love your kids.  May God bless and sustain you.

God's Peace,
 
The Rev. Chris Rankin-Williams, Rector 
email Rev. Chris
--
Bring your pets to church! This Sunday, October 4, is the Feast of Francis of Assisi. Our annual Blessing of the Animals services will be held at 9am in the Parish Hall and at 10am on the lawn.  
 
 
St. John's Women's Group The theme for October's meeting is 'A Circle of Crafters.' Come for an evening of creating and sharing creative ideaswhether you are crafty or not. Maybe you'll discover a new talent or maybe you'll leave with an idea that a crafty friend could make, and you'll certainly have fun! Bring an idea to share (a pattern or a photo would be great), a craft already made, to show others, materials to pool, a project under way to demonstrate, a recipe for seasonal baked goods that could be made for sale, or your imagination. Materials will be supplied so that during the evening we can make Christmas cards together, but we hope that we can each leave with an idea for something we could make during the following month to donate for the boutique and a file of ideas to share with the whole parish.
when: Monday, 10/19, 7p-9p 
where: St. John's Parish Hall, 14 Lagunitas Road, Ross 
cost: free
contact: email Jane Heath
about September's meeting: click here  
 
St. John's Men's Group  This fall our guest speakers are women in our parish who have distinguished themselves in law enforcement and the Judiciary. The Rev. Jan Heglund, chaplain for the FBI, the San Rafael Police department, and the First Responders Network will be our guest speaker October 24th. The Hon. Lynn O'Malley Taylor who served as a Marin County Superior Court Justice will be our guest November 14th. October 10th we will have our traditional Men's Group breakfast, fellowship, and discussion on topics of interest to all. Also, please mark your calendars for Saturday, October 31st for a mountain bike ride to Lake Lagunitas for sunrise service and fellowship. We hope you can join us this Saturday and for other events this Fall and Winter. RSVP's welcome but not required. For more information, email Paul Clark, Keith Granger, and/or Christopher Lewis.
 
UTO Pennies, nickels, and dimes don't go so far these days except with United Thank Offering. When gathered together they can move mountains . . . maybe not that but they do a lot to help the needs of Episcopal churches and institutions worldwide. The collection is a reminder of our daily blessings. St. John's will have its Ingathering of coins, dollars, and checks on Friday, 10/11. Our new youth representative is parishoner Sarah Euchner. She will present our check to the Bishop at Diocesan Convention on Friday, 10/16. Please make checks out to St. john's with UTO in the memo line. Let's do it up right! For more information, call Mary Jane Chetelat at 415.456.3641. 

Save the Date for Advent Quiet Day on Saturday, December 12, 8:45am-4pm. Treat yourself to a day of quiet, prayer, and Eucharist beautiful  St. Columba's Retreat House in Inverness. Led by Rev. Jan and Rev. Ginger. Signup details to come.

Connect to Real Life 
Revelation resumes! Our study of Revelation resumes this Thursday, October 1 from 7-8:30pm in the YoothRoom. If you haven't been able to attend previous classes, feel free to email Rev. Ginger and she can send you summaries of the materials we've covered so that you can jump right in.

Second Thursday Lunch in October All are invited for a luncheon in the Fireside Room following the noon Eucharist on Thursday, October 8. We are looking forward to a conversation with Anna Thorburn (granddaughter of Sally McKee) on Honor Flight, an organization that flies veterans to Washington, DC to visit the memorials there.  

Sign up to serve the R.E.S.T Program! 
Since 2009, St. John's has been a part of the Rotating Emergency Shelter Team, a group of congregations and non-profit organizations that provides food and shelter on a nightly basis for 40 men and 20 women in Marin through the winter months. 
Each Monday night from November 9 to April 19, St. John's has committed to prepare, serve and share a meal with 20-40 people that are guests of the program. After preparing the meal, we will serve the meal at San Rafael First Presbyterian (men) or Marin Health and Wellness Center (women). This has been an enriching and moving way for adults and kids to give back to the community and help those in need. We need leaders, cooks, servers and coordinators to help with communications and logistics. To sign-up online, click here or contact Keao Caindec, REST Coordinator at 415-307-7324 or via email
   
Family & Friends Camp out
St. John's is having a church campout on October 17-18, 2015 at Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. Mountain bike ride, hiking, fishing, dinner, campfire program, star gazing, breakfast, outdoor Sunday service. Family fun for all. Local easy access, 'car camping' in B.Y.O. tents or under the stars. $20/person includes dinner, breakfast, and overnight campground fee. To register or for more information,
email Pat Townsley.

Are you 60 or older? Marin County needs your input.  The County Department providing federal and county funding to a wide variety of services to older adults in Marin is distributing a survey to understand the needs and concerns of older adults. This will guide the county board in determining the county's goals, activities, and funding priorities for the next four years. You can also complete this survey for someone over the age of 60 who lives in Marin and is unable to do so.  Complete the survey online here. Paper copies of the survey are available also in the church office. 
Tradition1
I am not particularly tech savvy.  If some device breaks or doesn't work, I call my brother, who is responsible for all the technology in my life.  In return, I am in charge of choosing gifts for mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and female bosses at all relevant holidays.  
 
But despite my Luddite tendencies, I am a big fan of social media - particularly as a tool in spiritual life. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and whatever else the kids are using these days (Meerkat? Is that a thing?) can be annoying time drains.  But they can also be used for good.  

Social Media can be a source of daily inspiration: articles on world events, reflections on scripture, prayers, meditations, online sermons. Christians have always needed resources to give inspiration and structure to their daily prayer lives.  A Medieval lord might have a "Book of Hours" that offered set prayers and beautiful drawings.  Biographies of the saints were long considered essential devotional items.  As literacy became more widespread, books of daily scripture readings and collections of sermons became popular.  Radio and television have offered daily reflections. 'Forward Day by Day', a book of daily devotions, is immensely popular (and available in the back of the church). There is a long tradition in Christianity of seeking a snippet of daily inspiration.

Social media is a great way of getting just that kind of inspiration. And if you follow St. John's on social media - Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram - we hope to start providing just that sort of inspiration. Just a little something to help you connect spiritually for the day.  

Because spirituality isn't just for Sundays. ~Rev. Ginger