Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Wednesday

July 1, 2020

REFLECTING ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Romans 12:6-8

I Corinthians 12:4-11, 27-31

Ephesians 4:11-12

I falter where I firmly trod,

And falling with my weight of cares

Upon the great world’s alter-stairs

That slope thro’ darkness up to God,

I stretch lame hands of faith and grope….

Evening Prayer, Twenty-Seventh Day

A Diary of Private Prayer, John Baillie, 1949

I was a student nurse, when I was introduced to A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie. This little book has morning and evening prayers for each day of the month, and I kept it close for many years.

I didn’t realize how important this particular prayer was in my life, and why I prayed it often, especially during some tough times, when I felt my faith weaken. I never considered my faith a gift. I assumed when I read Biblical passages about spiritual gifts, that as a nurse, I had been given the gifts of healing and compassion. But I was curious; I had never taken an inventory of my spiritual gifts, as our pastor Pam Rowley had encouraged us to do, so I took the plunge. And was I surprised at the results!!

There are twenty spiritual gifts derived from Paul’s letters identified in the scriptures noted above. Healing and compassion are on that list. When I read the results of my inventory, after having responded to the 60 statements presented, (which took no more than 15 minutes of my time,) the results showed that even though healing was mentioned, as were some other gifts, the gift of FAITH was at the top!

So, according to this inventory, the strongest spiritual gift I’ve been given by God is my faith. Since this discovery, I have begun to explore this gift of faith. I remember as a child that I would read my Bible and pray when I was afraid. As a nurse, especially in my chosen field of Oncology, I have called upon my faith to anchor me in times of distress, fatigue and when facing dilemmas. During recent years, I realize that my faith has become stronger when I’ve had to confront some very difficult situations in my life, and I am less inclined to pray John Baillie’s prayer. I realize now that this gift of faith has grown, so that I can use it and other gifts to serve others and to give me strength during these current challenges all of us are facing and for whatever future circumstances might bring. Now the compelling words of Mark Miller’s song,” I Believe” have become especially meaningful:

I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.

I believe in love, even when I don’t feel it.

I believe in God, even when God is silent.

Anonymous Jewish Poem

Some folks have taken the Spiritual Gifts Inventory more than once and have seen their strongest gifts change. Others have yet to be involved in this journey. Because this experience has been so valuable for me, it is my hope that many others will discover and explore their spiritual gifts.

–Carol Dolan

WEDNESDAY PRAYER SERVICES

Wednesdays

8:00 am & 7:00 pm

Please join us on Wednesday mornings and evenings for a worship service of praise and prayer. Both services will take place in the Memorial Garden of St. John’s on the west side of the building. These services are designed to be thirty minutes and will be led by Certified Lay Ministers, Larry Luna and Joe Marshall. Please bring your own lawn chairs and sit six feet from your neighbor. In an effort to keep all of us safe and healthy, masks are required. THESE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND EVENING SERVICES will continue for the summer (at least that is the plan now).

"MUSIC FROM ST. JOHN'S"

LIVE-STREAM CONCERTS

Wednesdays at 12:00 pm

Join us for a new series of concerts live-streamed from the St. John's sanctuary! Concerts are a benefit for Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. musicatstjohns.org

July 1 - 12:00 pm

Lara Manzanares

July 8 - 12:00 pm

Gil Flores

July 15 - 12:00 pm

Ingela Onstad, Michael Hix, & Amy Greer

DRIVE-IN COMMUNION SERVICE

Wednesday, July 1

7:00 pm

Come receive communion in your car on Wednesday, July 1 and gather in safe community to worship and praise God. We encourage you to bring your own elements (bread & juice). If you do not have your own elements, we will provide individually-packaged elements. We will gather in the east parking lot of St. John's (2626 Arizona Street NE).

#photosfromhome

Reminded me of Lamentations 1:1 “How deserted lies the city once so full of people...” for all who mourn for cities and people everywhere.

Peace,

-- Kelly

#PHOTOSFROMHOME

A CALL FOR SELFIES AND AT-HOME PICTURES

Hi there! I love showing you photos of what we are doing at the church, but what I think would be an even more amazing thing to share is a picture of you! Send me pictures and/or videos of you/your family/your pets/your garden/your cooking/etc with a short description, and I will share them here and compile them for a project! communicate@stjohns-abq.org

-- Shea Perry, Communications Director

A LETTER FROM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Dear beloved of St. John’s,

For several months, the St. John’s Leadership Team has been discerning when we might be able to start opening the facility for in-person worship services. And while we would love to throw the doors open and welcome everyone back just as before, the reality of the pandemic requires that we be cautious and take things step-by-step.

In that spirit, we are happy to announce that it is our intention to begin worshiping together in person, on a limited basis, beginning Sunday, August 2.

On that day, we will welcome the St. John’s community to a new worship service, which we are calling “Celebration.” This service will have a blend of traditional and contemporary elements, and will be held in the Family Life Center each Sunday at 9am.

Because space will be limited, prior reservations will be required, and we will have a team of volunteers who will check worshipers in, and seat them according to social distance protocols. (Families may sit together, of course!) Masks will be required for all worship attendees.

Also beginning August 2, the Abide service will be livestreamed at 10am, rather than 9:30. The traditional service will continue to be livestreamed from the sanctuary each Sunday at 11am.

In short, we will have three worship services each Sunday morning: one will be in person at 9am, and two will be online, at 10 and 11am.

We are all eager to be back worshiping together again, and we are thrilled about this first step toward reuniting the St. John’s community. This will be a new way of gathering, and we ask for your patience and grace as we work to make certain that the St. John’s family can begin to worship again together, while remaining as safe as possible.

We do want to let you know that this is, of course, a temporary schedule for all of our worship services as this is only phase 1 of our long-term plan for the church. We will be giving you more specific details regarding the execution of this alternative way of worshipping in the coming weeks. There will be no Sunday School or childcare during these gatherings, only worship for now. As we are able and time progresses, the leadership team will be modifying and adapting what we can do with the building usage.

We know you also are aware that the COVID-19 protocols are somewhat fluid and could alter our plans as we get closer to August 2nd. So, watch the announcements every Sunday morning during your worship hour and read your daily Disciple Connections for the latest updates.

Thank you for your patience and trust in our discerning and prayerful work. It is truly an honor to serve you and this church family we call St. John’s. May God bless all of you!

In Christian unity and love,

St. John’s Leadership Team

Rev. Dr. Pamela Rowley, Rev. Kelly Giese, Janice McCrary, Matt Greer, Mark Dodd, Karen Tidler, Jim Hickman, Jack Thompson, Larry Luna, Rachelle Luna, Doris Bowen, and Linn Reece.

A CALL FOR DAILY DEVOTIONALS

Would you be interested in submitting a daily devotional for the Newsletter? If so, send an email to Reverend Dr. Pam Rowley at prowley@stjohns-abq.org!

DRIVE-IN WORSHIP SERVICE

Saturday, July 4

7:00 pm

Come and worship in your car on Saturday, June 20 and gather in safe community to worship and praise God. We will gather in the east parking lot of St. John's (2626 Arizona Street NE). please consider bringing either toilet paper, dry beans, pasta, rice, or dry cat food. These items will be given to Silver Horizons for their senior clients.

July 4 Rev. Dr. Scott Sharp

July 11 Rev. Dr. Todd Seelau

July 18 TBD

July 25 Rev. Dr. Randall Partin

JOIN US FOR WORSHIP LIVE-STREAMED FROM THE SANCTUARY

Sundays

9:30 & 11:00 am

St. John’s will live-stream a worship service on Sunday morning at 9:30 am (Contemporary) on the Abide Facebook page and 11:00 am (Traditional) on the homepage of the website . We hope you’ll worship with us! (Pastors Pam and Kelly will lead, along with Shea Perry, Jim Ahrend, and Matt Greer). We hope that you’ll participate by singing and praying at home! Any questions? Email Matt at mgreer@stjohns-abq.org.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS INVENTORY

Over the next five weeks we are exploring our spiritual gifts in our sermon series, Discovering our Spiritual Gifts. Please take a few minutes to discover your gifts by taking the Spiritual Gift Inventory from Discipleship Ministries of the UMC HERE. At the end of the inventory, you will have the opportunity to print out the results. Keep that list and pray over your spiritual gifts as you discover how to use those gifts for the kingdom of God.

Youth News

SUMMER YOUTH GROUP ZOOM

IT IS SUMMER, and we have a new series for students exploring new games, discussions, and faith-building activities every Sunday from 4:00-5:15PM! Go to: bit.ly/Summer2020UMYF (case sensitive) password if needed is 233374. NEW SUMMER URL

YOUTH NETFLIX PARTY

The Reel to Real 2020 Season continues this Wednesday @:1:00PM. Make sure you are: 1. are using Google Chrome on a computer, 2. are logged into Netflix, and 3. Have downloaded the Netflix Party app. We will email and text out the unique URL address to join the party at 12:45 that day. This week’s feature film about a young boy trying to overcome great odds to fulfill his dream of competing in the national go-karting championship, “Go Karts” (PG)

Online Classes

ZOOM TUTORIAL

The announcements below include using the program "Zoom" to group-video chat. You can find a tutorial on how to use Zoom HERE!

ZOOM YOUTH GROUP

Sundays from 4:00 - 5:15 pm

Students, come join us for games, discussion, community, and faith-building every Sunday from 4:00-5:15 pm! Go to: bit.ly/UMYFSolidGround (case sensitive) with the password: 048658

PARENTS CLUB

Mondays from 7:30 - 8:30 pm

Is distance learning with your child harder than you thought? Are the challenges of parenting in close quarters overwhelming at times? Or do you just miss talking with other parents? I know that I certainly do, so join us for Parents Club on Zoom Monday evenings from 7:30-8:30 pm! Email tmacali@stjohns-abq.org.

"COFFEE BREAK" WITH PASTORS PAM & KELLY

Wednesdays at 1:30 pm

"SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT" CLASS WITH PASTOR PAM

Thursdays at 1:30 pm

Join Pastor Pam for a 30-minute spiritual exercise. Space is limited, join the class HERE.

THE PRACTICE OF PRESENCE

Fridays from 9:30 - 10:00 am

Susan Brumbaugh, staff mental health counselor at St. John's, is offering a FREE weekly gathering on FRIDAYS at 9:30 am to practice mindfulness meditation. Each 30-minute session begins with a brief welcome, a description of the focus (e.g., breath, body, senses, emotions, thoughts), a 15-20 minute guided practice, and an opportunity to debrief and share experiences.

What is this "mindfulness" thing? | My journey to mindfulness

Anyone is welcome--no experience is necessary. (And, yes! It's okay for Christians to meditate.) If you want to learn more prior to starting, the sessions will be similar to ones she leads and records on YouTube . Each session will be hosted on Zoom. HERE is the zoom link. Please contact Susan Brumbaugh, counselor@stjohns-abq.org, or 505-506-6716, if you have questions.

ST. JOHN'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY: Theology in Popular Music - Mostly the Good

Last year’s study, “The Songs of Summer” seemed to be a hit, so we’re going to do it again. This summer we’ll listen to some popular music that sings about prayer and healing, some international music, some bluegrass and country, some great young singers who are the future of the Church, and some show tunes. Download the study guide, or sign up for daily study tips by email by writing or calling Regina Hunter at drhunter@nmia.com or 294-2877.

Congregational Care Corner

PRAYER SUPPORT

How we support you and your family in prayer during this difficult time? Prayers for health, employment, peace? Please send your prayer requests to the Prayer Team: mapalook@comcast.net

GO-FER TEAM

It is hard to get out and many people shouldn’t. Is there something you need delivered from the store? If we are able to help, we have a few volunteers who would like to serve as Go-fers for people who need something but cannot get it on their own. Please pass any requests on to Jarrod at c.care@stjohns-abq.org

ONLINE COUNSELING SERVICE AVAILABLE

The St. John's staff includes a licensed mental health counselor who is available to meet virtually (using a smartphone or computer) in a secure online platform during these anxious times. If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally, counseling is available. Click here or contact Susan Brumbaugh at 505-506-6717 or counselor@stjohns-abq.org for more details about session and cost information. Susan also has a Youtube Channel with mindfulness tips HERE.

VIRTUAL TAI CHI WITH KATHY

JULY SPECIAL OFFERING: ZUNI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

For many years St. John's has had a special relationship with our neighbor, Zuni Elementary School. For example, over the years, we have provided school supplies, backpacks, after school programs, and a Back to School Luncheon for the staff.

This year, as you can imagine, Zuni's needs are a bit different. Hand Sanitizers and wipes, kleenex and pump soap top the list! You can donate in kind on Saturday nights. (See separate article for details) Or, of course, you may send monetary donations to the church any time.

Finally, please keep the students and staff of Zuni ( and all the schools in town) in your prayers. Starting up again will be different and stressful for everyone.

CHURCH OFFICE CLOSURE

The office will be closed on Friday, July 3 due to the July 4 holiday.

ST. JOHN'S FACILITY IS CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST 2

In accordance with the New Mexico Department of Health order, our facility will be closed until August 2! We will keep you apprised as things develop.

Your St. John's pastors and staff are still very much on the job, and are available to you during this time. Please reach out to us if we can help you in any way!

Office Administrator, Debbie Brown, will be answering the phone at St. John’s every weekday from 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Please call the office if you have any concerns or pastoral care needs. Debbie will get messages to Pastor Pam and Pastor Kelly. The office number is 505-883-9717.

Give Online

www.stjohns-abq.org

(505) 883-9717

2626 Arizona St NE | Albuquerque, NM 87110

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Questions? Contact Shea Perry at communicate@stjohns-abq.org