St. John's Enews
October 1, 2020
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October is St. John's stewardship month and I'm grateful for your generous giving. We'll be gratefully giving thanks to God in the gift of our heart, time, talent and treasure. To be grateful means to appreciate or receive with kindness, as well as taking time to express thankfulness. Are you a grateful person by this definition? If not, please take time to list out God's many blessings in your life. Next, verbally express thanks for each person or area listed, remembering that every listing is a gift from God. This is stewardship's foundation-Gratefully giving to God our heart, time, talent and treasure, since he has given us all things in Him! Please watch your mail for St. John's stewardship letter at the start of October and return it as soon as possible. We celebrate the honor of gratefully giving to our Lord! May the following song link bless you!
Gratefully,
Fr. Joseph
P.S.-While we're on stewardship, some people have received emails appearing to be me, requesting gift cards, etc. for me or someone else. Simply delete them since I would never send something like this.
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Stewardship is defined as “utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of his creation.” Christian stewardship regards the obligations of Christians managing and utilizing intelligently God given gifts. Christians are not only responsible for financial blessings provided by God, but also the spiritual gifts that are given through the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us “as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.” During these times of the pandemic, it is critical that we take a moment and thank God for the blessings we do have and the strength to succeed and to serve others even more affected than us. Together, St John’s parishioners can pull our resources together and help those less fortunate.
Stan Lane
You can mail your gift to the church at
St. John's Episcopal Church
500 Park Shore Drive
Naples, FL 34103
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Vestry Nominations
The Vestry Nominating Committee will be meeting in October to select 3 Vestry candidates. Vestry nominee qualifications include:
- St. John's communicant in good standing.
- 18 years or older.
- Demonstrates committed Christian life through Embracing God, Loving our Neighbor and Serving the World!
- Makes recorded contributions to St. John's.
- Affirms St. John's mission and bylaws.
- Committed to completing 3 year Vestry term, with regular and special meeting attendance, as well as provide parish leadership.
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Thanks For All The Ways You Lead And Guide Our Church
Clergy Appreciation Day on the second Sunday in October reminds us to recognize the work of ministers, pastors,
and priests. Express appreciation for the ones who have been there for you in life's most important events.
We give thanks for Fr. Joe, Janet and family for their presence, guidance and dedication to St. John's!
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Our Sunday School class has been learning virtually the past couple of months and it is going well! We have continued learning about the Armor of God. Each week, we learn about a new piece of armor and add that piece of armor to our own personal Armor of God dolls. The following is a take away message about what we have learned for each piece of armor.
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The Belt of Truth reminds us not to lie.
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The Breastplate of Righteousness helps us remember
that we need to do the right thing and honor God.
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The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace are to protect our feet
and God is always with us everywhere we go. We also
need to be peaceful with others.
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The Shield of Faith reminds us to always have faith in God.
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Helmet of Salvation God protects our minds and helps us make right decisions.
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The Sword of the Spirit reminds us that God’s words will be able to tell us what is good and what is bad.
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Prayer holds all of our armor together. By talking to God, we can do amazing things. Nothing is too big or impossible with prayer.
We offer two classes on Sundays to ensure all children are receiving age appropriate curriculum. The first class is for the younger students and our second class is for our older students. If you are interested in joining or would like to stay updated on all Sunday School information, please contact me at [email protected]
Dayna Sottosanti
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St. John's Thrift Shoppe
Outreach Ministry of
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. John’s Shoppe is one of the parishes’ largest ministries. We offer quality “nearly new” men and women’s clothing. We have furniture, home accessories, artwork and jewelry.
Due to the COVID-19, we reduced our hours and are open six days per week from 10 AM to 2 PM. The Shoppe is truly one of God’s wonders. For the past thirty-five years, we have been able to provide local charities with funds so they can help those in need. We do ask that you wear a mask when you visit the Shoppe. We have volunteers that give their time freely and we receive donations from generous people.
To continue our giving to those in need, we need more volunteers. Volunteering at the Shoppe is sharing and giving. When you go home, you know you have helped those in need. Any free time that you may have to volunteer at the Shoppe would be appreciated.
Contact James or Donna at 239-597-9518 about giving your time to volunteer or giving donations.
The location of the Shoppe is at 14700 Tamiami Trail, North Naples, FL. We are located right past the Mercedes car dealer on the right-hand side going North in the Tamiami Square Shopping Center. It is easy to find as we are located right next to the Pewter Mug Restaurant.
We look forward to the day when we will be able to return to our regular hours from 10 AM to 5 PM.
God bless all of you and stay healthy. Thank all of you for your continued support.
St. John’s Thrift Shoppe Board
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After many years of leading Stitches of Love, Bonnie has decided to step down. She has inspired numerous women to join this group that knits and sews wonderful items for people all over the world. You may find some of these colorful creations in a children's NICU or a third world country. The number of items offered over the years has increased to encourage even more people. One of my joys was to have the St. John's family, along with Stitches members, bless these items in the Sanctuary before they were sent worldwide. Please pray for Jane Kindorf and Mary Frances Aiken as they lead Stitches of Love this coming season.
Fr. Joseph
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I want to express my appreciation to Becky Jarrell for her Pastoral Care work at St. John's as she resigns from this position. During her time here, Becky developed a flower ministry, bringing beautiful bouquets to people wherever they were. I would often see them on my pastoral visits to the same parishioners and they enjoyed receiving them. Becky would also call and counsel people, have input into the prayer list, email prayer concerns to intercessors, as well as other activities. We give thanks for Becky's Pastoral Care ministry to St. John's.
Fr. Joseph
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Park Shore in 1964
Magnificent Australian pine trees grew in a thick beach front forest that extended from Le Mer condos all the way past Clam Pass to Vanderbilt Drive. Foxes, raccoons, opossums, wild hogs, turkey, tortoise, bear and deer were the only residents of what was to become Park Shore. There was no Pelican Bay, just natural growth. No Gulf front high rise condos. No Naples Grande Resort. No Ritz Carlton. No Artis Naples. A walk through the breeze caused whistling of the Australian Pines was an experience in peace and quiet, treading on a thick dark carpet of their leaves. Many pelicans found protected roosting in these trees. The neighborhood extended from Anchor Road to the South, Tamiami Trial to the East, Seagate Drive to the North and the Gulf to the West. Bay front home sites were available for as little as $15,900. Interior lots were prices at $7,200.It was here, in this idyllic environment, that St. John's Episcopal Church found its home. Praise the Lord!
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Come join us for Joy will be given away Wednesday mornings. The serving of Joy begins at 10 am. This is a coed Bible study gathering and we meet in Brewster Hall. Our resource is God’s Word with questions from “Philippians Shining with Joy” by Steven J. Lawson. Facilitated by Joan McCarthy 331-625-2196.
Women's Bible Study begins Monday (10/12) at 10 am in Sugden Hall. Questions? Please contact Jan Eveleigh at
239-682-5339.
Stitches of Love Season begins Friday (10/16) at
10 am in Brewster Hall. Please contact Jane Kindorf @ 630-542-1243. Mary Frances Aiken @ 239-450-3199.
Men's Bible Study starts Wednesday (10/21) at 7:30 am in Brewster Hall. Bring your own coffee. Plenty of room to distance. We continue our study of Matthew. Please contact Skip at [email protected].
Order of St. Luke begins Wednesday (10/28) at 10 am in Brewster Hall. Please contact Vickie Bauch at 239-249-0957.
St. John's worship services meet Saturday 5 pm and
Sunday 10 am with up to 125 people at each service.
Enews deadline is Friday (October 9th)
Columbus Day: The office is closed Monday (October 12th)
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Avow Presents Virtual Coffee With Vets
Meetings via zoom are held Fridays
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. These meetings give local Veterans an opportunity to share memories and experiences, and engage in general conversation. For any questions please contact Mark Beland 239-285-9300, [email protected]
Click below on direct zoom link to the meeting:
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St. John’s WiFi system is updated. All buildings including Brewster Hall have WiFi connection.
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Turn your clocks back 1 hour on Saturday evening (10/31). |
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New Members: N/A
Transfer: N/A
Deaths: N/A
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Click on the "Click Here" button below to see log in instructions.
If you need a refresher course on how to upload the Instant Church Directory, simply click on the Download Document button below and you will see three different pages on how to load the directory. One is for iPhone, iPad and any iOS device. The second is for Android & Kindle devices. The third is for logging in from a computer.
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Betsy, Linda, Jim, Pera & Katalina, Debbie, Chloe,
Bob, David, small businesses,
St. John’s Parishioners and Families
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See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
When I was born, my mom and dad were not together, so my grandmother pretty much raised me until I was seven years old. When she was murdered, I went to live with my mom and stepdad. I was not very welcome because I wasn’t from his blood. His family called me the bastard child. The men in my step family chased me and tried to get me alone. When I told, no one believed me. They said I was a liar. The first time a guy pulled me out of my bedroom window, I escaped. My mom said I’d just dreamed it, go back to sleep. But when she saw my pillow thrown to the other side of the camper trailer where we lived, she believed me, but the chasing continued until I was fifteen. That’s when I got taken. One of my dad’s sisters saw me get kidnapped and didn’t do anything about it. She told everyone that I ran away and so no one came looking for me. I didn’t know that was why no one came until more than ten years later!
At every stop sign, the guys asked me, “Do you want to go back home?” “Please take me back,” I begged, but they just laughed at me. The place they took me, people were doing all kinds of dope. From the very first day, the guys told me if I tried to leave or if I told anyone, they’d kill me. “Do what you gotta do,” I told them. My life couldn’t be worth much. My own mother wasn’t even looking for me. She didn’t care. Why should I? The father of one of my kidnappers found out about it and asked his son what he was doing. He said, “I’m not doing nothing. She’s my girlfriend.” The father took me back to my mom and my stepdad’s trailer and said, “Look, my son took your daughter. They’ve been going out.” The whole time his father is telling the lie his son told him, his son’s pressing a gun against my back, whispering, “I’ll kill your family, burn their trailer, but I’ll take you out first.” My mom had all my stuff packed. I started crying and wouldn’t let go of her hand, but the guy yanked me back, and she let me go.
For ten years I was held prisoner, beaten, drugged and sold. I still can’t talk about most of it. I became a drug addict. (God has since set me free from addiction!) Four of my five children were born into that life. Most people walking around in the world don’t like to think that there are people like me enslaved in their own town. I don’t blame them. It’s too horrible to think about. But I am one of a precious few that got out. It had to be God because of how many tried to do the same thing I did and they don’t make it. They get killed. God gave me the opportunity to still be here. If it weren’t for him, I’d be dead. When God called me into ministry, he told me, “Take a good look at all the people out here in the darkness of this world: they’ve been kidnapped.”
Only He can set us free!
Marisol Lozano
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Be Filled with Pentecostal Power from the Holy Spirit! |
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St. John's Episcopal Church| 500 Park Shore Drive Naples, FL 34103 | 239.261.2355| [email protected] | http://www.stjohnsnaples.com
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