This Saturday's Harvest Party live auction includes a spectacular Hawaiian holiday retreat on the North Shore of Kauai. All are invited to attend . . . and to bid! Tickets on sale here.
10.17.19
Connect to God 

Busy.

That is the number one response I get when I ask someone how they are. It is also the number one response I give people when they ask how I am. Sometimes I’ll say, “Busy, but good busy.” It’s an acknowledgement that being busy isn’t really a desired state, but I’m occupied by things that I find important and valuable, and, for better or worse, I agreed to do. 

One of these days I’ll get up the courage to say, “overwhelmed” when someone asks me how I am because that is actually how I feel sometimes. Like many of us, I’m overcommitted to things I want to do and a bit exhausted by all the things that are competing for my attention--most of which I have allowed to compete for my attention. So I was intrigued when I saw a tweet with the headline, “Being Busy Is Eliminating the Joys of Shared Free Time” with a link to an Atlantic article by Judith Shulevitz , author of The Sabbath World . Honestly, Twitter is the least satisfying way I regularly spend time, but every now and then there is a gem. Shulevitz says, “The hours in which we work, rest, and socialize are becoming ever more desynchronized.” The busier we are the more alone we can become and nobody's happy about that. 

As a priest I spend a lot of time thinking about and working on creating spiritual community. Church is one of the only intentionally intergenerational communities left in our society. But it is getting harder and harder to create that community on Sunday morning. The Episcopal Church has lost 25% of its Sunday attendance over the last 10 years. The number is 29% for the Bay Area. Shulevitz writes, “Time-use studies show that weekends continue to allow more socializing, civic activity, and religious worship than weekdays do. But Sundays are no longer a day of forced non-commerce—everything’s open—or non-productivity.” Almost every week I talk with someone who says they wish they were at church more often but have been too busy with other things. As one parishioner put it, “the flesh is willing but the calendar is weak.” I sometimes think the most important thing the church could do at this moment is our society is to help people be less busy. The joy of God is a human being fully alive. Sabbath rest and community are critical to living God’s will for us. Rev Ginger has started responding with, “how can we support you in the midst of being so busy” when people say that can’t participate in some church activity due to being busy with other things.

I want to be clear, I have no interest in making people feel guilty about picking other activities over church. Indeed, I wonder how we can make church the activity worth picking. But the larger issue is how can each of us look at our lives and the world and say, as God did at creation, it is good. It is worth remembering that sabbath is the goal. God’s invitation is to shape our lives around Sabbath, not shape Sabbath around our lives.

There is a saying I heard in Malawi, Africa that, “Americans have watches but Americans don’t have time. Most Africans don’t have watches, but Africans do have time.” 

So, how are you? Are you busy? Too busy? Do you have time? How can the church support you? 

A hospice nurse has written about the top five regrets of dying patients. One of them is “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard,” and another, “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.” Together, let us foster a spirituality and community that helps eliminate these regrets.
The Rev. Chris Rankin-Williams, Rector
Connect to Community
St. John’s Harvest Party: This Saturday Join your fellow parishioners this Saturday, October 19 from 6-10pm in the Parish Hall for a festive gathering of exceptionally tasty food, a well curated bar, amazing experiences to purchase and a chance to celebrate the season with this special community. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online , after the 9 and 10AM services, by calling the office (415) 456-1102 or emailing Emily McFarland, Director of Stewardship.

Baptism Class: This Sunday Required for those desiring to be baptized and for the parents of children preparing for baptism, and is also open to those who are just curious about the meaning of the sacrament. The class will focus on the meaning of baptism and on how to integrate faith into your life (and the life of your child). We'll also talk through the logistics of the baptismal service. A short (approximately 1 hr.) online course follows this session. Sunday, October 20, 11:30am-12:30pm in the youth room. Please RSVP to Rev. Ginger. Nursery care will be available.

Monday Bible Study: Every Monday, The Rev. Ginger Strickland, Associate Priest, leads a great group of St. John’s parishioners in Bible Study from 1-2:30pm in the Youth Room. All are invited to join us - no previous experience reading the Bible is required! The reading for next Monday is Genesis 6-7. 

Dinner Church . . . Breaking the Silence on Death: This Tuesday  Fresh questions for our next gathering this Tuesday, October 22, 6 to 8pm in the Parish Hall. Consider this question, "Before I die, I will . . . What will you miss? Where would you like to be when you die? This fall, we’ve started a series of conversations about death that is a meaningful exchange that illuminates how to live well to the end. Our aim is to change the way we die, one conversation at a time. Open to all. If you missed the kickoff, no worries! Each is a stand alone session, Join us to talk about death over a delicious homemade dinner. Suggested donation is $10 a person. What better place to talk about death than at church?

Book Groups at St. John’s! Last chance to sign up for one of our six-week long Book Groups. Please email Rev. Ginger to join in!
  • Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. Sundays from 1:30-3pm in the youth room.
  • Richard Rohr, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. Thursdays from 5-6:30pm in the youth room.
  • Joan Chittister, In Search of Belief. Sundays from 11:30am-1pm in Ginger’s Office
  • Joan Chittister, In Search of Belief. Tuesdays from 6:30-8pm in Ginger’s Office

All Souls' Day Dinner: November 2 For All Souls’ Day celebrate the lives of your loved ones who have died. We’ll share a meal to honor them on Saturday November 2 from 6-8pm in the Parish Hall. You’re welcome to bring a photo of your loved one and a candle in glass. Dinner provided by the Dinner Church crew. Suggested donation of $10 per adult, $5 for kids. All ages welcome. Bring your favorite memories to share as we honor those who’ve passed and touched our lives. Place reservations here.

St. John’s Tennis Fest: The tennis tournament has been rescheduled for the spring.
Connect to Service
Interfaith Street Chaplaincy: This Tuesday provides weekly support and community to homeless people living outside. This Tuesday, October 22, St. John’s will cook and serve the meal - and then join our guests in eating and sharing. If you’d like to help, please email Paul Clark . We’ll need cooks at 2pm and servers at 5pm; all the work happens at First Presbyterian in San Rafael. Children are allowed with parental supervision.

Make a difference during this time of division Do you care about the housing crisis in Marin? Do you want to work toward making our mental health care system more affordable and accessible? Do you wonder how our county is going to address the rapidly growing aging population? Are you worried about our increasingly divided political discourse? Do you want to make an impact in the local community where you live? Join St. John’s members for the Marin Organizing Committee Convention on Sunday, October 27th from 3 to 5pm at the Marin Civic Center Exhibit Hall. We are celebrating 10 years of building citizen power and announcing a renewed agenda of issues for the coming years. Come be a part of making history. Please contact Rev. Ginger to let us know that you are coming. 

Outreach Fair: November 3 Wondering how you can serve alongside the poor in our community? Wondering how to get your children involved in service? Join us for our Outreach Fair. Representatives from each of our outreach ministries will be present to tell you all about their work, answer you questions, and help you to get started. This is a great event to invite friends and neighbors (and kids interested in service hours) to attend! Join us from 11:30am-12:30pm on Sunday, November 3.

When am I scheduled? Check Ministry Scheduler Pro (MSP) To view the volunteer schedule for October thru January, click here.
Connect to Children
Children’s Ministry Newsletter: Click  here. For For more Children’s Ministry information, email Sandra Pathik, Director of Children’s Ministry.

Nursery Care is available for kids under 3yo & under, during the 10AM Sunday Worship Service . We have a paid worker who takes care of the kids. We also encourage parents of nursery kids to volunteer at least one time. 

Sign Up for Christmas Pageant starts November 3rd. Parents who would like their kids to participate in the Christmas Pageant can start signing up 1st Sunday of November. Kids in Sunday School will have priority for speaking parts in the Nativity play. 

Sunday School Thanksgiving Party on November 17th @ 10AM. Kids are invited to a special celebration of God’s goodness during Sunday School. Nursery (0-3 yo), Class Hope (PreK-Gr2) & Class Faith (Gr3-Gr5) will have separate celebrations.
Connect to Youth
Summary of Sunday 10/20/19
  • Confirmation - Class #6 - Teach us to Pray @ 8AM in the Youth Room!
  • Junior High Church School @ 9AM - we'll be meeting at 9AM in the youth room. Bagels too!
  • Senior High Church School @ 10AM - lectionary based discussion on today's gospel. Donuts too!
  • Espresso Hr - after church, youth will be making drinks in the Parish Hall. If you are new to SJR, please come by for a free drink.
  • Mountain Biking! w/ Rev. Chris - meet at 12pm after church. We'll bike from church for 2 hrs. Bring bike, helmet, water, snacks, and money for meal.  This waiver will need to be signed by guardian before participation.
  • Evening Youth Group @ 6-730pm: Movie and dinner, please RSVP!
Quick Reflections and Misc:
  • Confirmation had a great time going through the scriptures, reinforcing the notion that the bible is not like Harry Potter that can be read straight through but rather a collection of stories like a filing cabinet. Many, many different voices are represented. Also, we went over some bible basics about how to look things up. It was a very interesting class with a lot of good questions asked.
  • Junior High: we did a lectionary based discussion on Gospel. It consisted of us acting out various facets of the scene with impromptu costumes, sound effects, and music. Drama is really one of the best activities with youth. Stretching them and getting a ton of laughs in the process.
  • Senior High: we reflected on a fascinating video by VSauce Michael Stevens. It was an exercise of probing the Greater Good and the "Trolley Problem". The episode was about expanding moral decision making. As AI in cars gets more sophisticated, how do we make tough choices? The "Trolley Problem" had thus far never been tested because of the need for the study environment to pass an ethics review board. They managed to do this by carefully screening participants and then creating a virtual situation where no one was hurt. The premise being, do you switch a track from 5 people to 1 person to minimize the loss of life. This echoes a possible AI decision to avoid a 2 person crash by deciding it's better to crash into only one person. Our resulting conversation was fascinating and I wish we had more time.
  • Evening Youth Group: we watched the coming of age teen drama Book Smart. It is a well written, bawdy female teen comedy. It skewers the notion that everyone doesn't have layers beyond first perception. It also nuances teenagers' decision making on the road to success. One reviewer called it the film best made for any teen who stayed home on a Friday night to watch a Ken Burns documentary. Note: there is one extended coming of age scene that we fast forwarded through.
  • Lastly, keep up with gender neutral pronouns. If you would like to know more, check out this KQED/NPR article.

Good Will Camp @ St. Dorothy's Rest:  (Please let Tom know if you are interested!)
  • November 8-10 (Grades 6-12) Come for a weekend away at St. Dorothy’s! Together we’ll enjoy the peace found in the redwoods, do arts & crafts, talk, reflect, pray, make new friends, and do service work on St. Dorothy’s property and community work in the surrounding area. (This is a great event if you need to fulfill service hours/volunteer requirements from school!)
  • Please register here. We (St. Dorothy's) are committed to never turning anyone away for lack of ability to pay. We DO have scholarships available and if needed, the registration form will take you to our campership application.
Pizza Club Families (Pre-Youth Group, 3rd-5th grade)
  • Pizza Club (3rd-5th graders) our next one will be Tuesday (10/22) from 6-7:30. Note time change, most families were able to arrive by 6pm. Pizza, games, fun, and dessert! Please bring $5 to help cover cost of dinner.
  • Harry Potter Day at Grace Cathedral – November 16 For kids 6 and up (open to all youth Harry Potter Youth Fans regardless of age). This will be a day celebrating all things Harry Potter, culminating in a Harry Potter Service.  Details can be found here. Please email Tom if interested in attending.
Connect to Music
Ross Arts at St. John’s: October 27 Ross Arts opens its new season on Sunday, October 27, at 3pm in the Parish Hall. Special guests from Seattle will be Joseph Gottesman (viola), Yuka Gottesman (piano), and Hana Gottesman (violin), joining SF Conservatory Professor Paul Hersh and St. John’s Music Director David Montgomery. The program features two major works: Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae on two songs by the renaissance master John Dowland, as well as J.S. Bach’s delightful Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major. The concert is a free event. All are welcome to enjoy the music and a glass of good California wine (also gratis). A freewill offering will be announced, and donations will go towards maintaining this tradition at St. John’s.

St. John's Choirs for Adults & Teens
  • Our Chancel Choir is open and welcoming to all high-schoolers and adults who enjoy singing. The choir meets in the Parish Hall every Thursday evening from September to June at 7pm. Email David Montgomery, Director of Music for more information.
  • The Children’s Choir meets every Sunday from September to June after the 10am service for a short practice in the Sanctuary while parents enjoy coffee hour. Rehearsals this season will begin on Sunday, September 22. This group is for 2nd through 6th graders and sings approximately once a month at the 10am service, as well as for Christmas and Easter events.  
Sundays
8am: Eucharist in the Church
9am: Family Eucharist in the Parish Hall
10am: Eucharist in the Church
& Sunday School
Mondays
Tuesdays
7.15am: Meditation in the Chapel
2nd & 4th Tuesdays 
6pm: Dinner Church in the Parish Hall 
2nd Thursdays
Noon: Eucharist in the Chapel  
Contact 
St. John's Church 
PO Box 217 
14 Lagunitas Road 
Ross, CA 94957

415.456.1102