Our first Virtual Coffee Half-Hour was a big success! More than 25 parishioners gathered on Zoom to learn a little more about each other and enjoy fellowship!

Our Conversation on Mental Health last week was attended by 30 St. John's parishioners! Lots of perspectives and healthy practices were shared. It was recorded, so those who couldn't make it can still reap the benefits of the conversation. Visit our YouTube channel to see it, and while you're there, subscribe!

The Annual Women’s Retreat, sponsored by the Contemporary Women’s Bible Study group, is scheduled for Saturday, September 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For those who feel comfortable gathering in person, we have reserved a large space at the Franciscan Center that will allow for social distancing. For those who would prefer to participate from the safety of home, there will be several opportunities to Zoom in over the course of the day. If you are interested in participating, please contact Deacon Kathleen Moore at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org and let her know your preference.

On Tuesday, September 22, the Women’s Mid Morning Bible Study will continue our fall study

of some of the general letters or epistles using the commentary The Early Christian Letters for

Everyone: James, Peter, John and Judah by N. T. (Tom) Wright, as our study guide. Father

Charles Connelly will guide our discussion of James 3:13 - 5:19.

It is a virtual class, using St. John’s Zoom, and will begin at 10:00 a.m. to allow time for

greeting one another prior to the lesson. The lesson time is 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Classes are on

alternate Tuesdays with the final class scheduled on December 1. The class is open to all

women in the Parish and invited friends.

For more information about the study, contact Pat Wilson at patwilson68@tampabay.rr.com or

245-9562 or Joan McKay at mckayjhm@aol.com. The Zoom invitation will be sent to all those

who receive meeting reminders from Joan McKay. To be added to that list, email Joan with

your request. We hope you will consider joining us this fall.

On October 11, the flowers at the Chapel altar are available. If you would like to take this opportunity to honor a loved one and support our parish, please call 259.1570 or email us.

Every week at St. John’s, parishioners support our liturgical ministries by sponsoring the flowers at the church and chapel altars as well as the candle in the sanctuary light. Parishioners can dedicate the flowers to the memory of a loved one or in thanksgiving for a blessing in their life. Keep an eye on the Compass and Scroll for opportunities to sponsor the altar flowers and candles and be sure to contact the church office if you are interested. The suggested donations for each opportunity are: Church Altar Flowers - $50, Chapel Altar Flowers - $35, Candle in the Sanctuary Light - $15.

Due to COVID-19 and the requirements of social distancing, Rally Day has been postponed. We will keep you updated. In the meantime, please be on the look out for exciting announcements and opportunities about our ministries!.

You will recall that last week, Simon let us know about the work done to our organ. We invite you to send an email of thanks to Reuter, the company who did it and charged us far less than the true cost. Their email is pipeorganinfo@reuterorgan.com.

Whilst Reuter made the new pipes, the voicing, tonal finishing, tuning and day to day care of the organ is actually in the hands of our own organ techs, Ron and Joe. If you'd like to show your appreciation to them, email Simon and he will forward.

As you are aware, Covid-19 has meant that congregational singing worldwide has been suspended, given the potential for the spread of the virus in this form. Many parishioners have told me how much they miss the singing of hymns. A couple of years back, we held a Parish Hymn Sing on a Sunday afternoon that proved to be very popular, and included hymns that had been requested by our folk, be they old favorites or lesser known hymns from the hymnal. If you have missed the singing of hymns in church and would like to hear one of your favorites and join in at home, please let me know by email or phone at 397.1012 or smorley@stjohnstampa.org. The quartet that are singing for our Sunday morning services will record them to be broadcast at a date in the near future. Please let me know of any requests by September 15th.

6th through 12th graders and parents! St John's EYC youth group is coming back in person this week! St John’s EYC Kickoff will be a combined EYC for 6th through 12th graders with an Outdoor Game Night on Sunday, September 13, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. All of our games will be socially distant (but lots of fun!), and masks are required. Please bring your own chair, water, and dress for messy games! We are so excited to welcome you back.

After September 13, St John's EYC will continue to meet every Sunday afternoon with safe distance and masks required at all times. We will meet most Sundays in the Parish Hall, with an Outdoor EYC on the 1st week of each month (October 4th, November 1st, and December 6th). Middle Schoolers (6th through 8th graders) will meet each week from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and High Schoolers (9th through 12th graders) from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. We will not be serving dinner for the near future. There will be individually wrapped snacks and drinks available, but please plan to eat dinner either before or after youth group!

St. John's will hold A Conversation on Grief on Zoom on Tuesday, October 6 at 4:00 p.m. Details to follow.

The Sunday Adult Formation Group continues to meet via Zoom each Wednesday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Generally, each session includes a short presentation followed by group discussion. Topics are suggested by the group. This week, the group will discuss a video: N.T. Wright and Francis Collins: A Christian Response to the Coronavirus. The conversation can be found at ntwrightpage.com or at biologos.org.  

All are welcome; if you have not previously attended the Wednesday afternoon sessions, contact Deacon Kathleen at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org or 785.9400 for the login information.

Contact Laurie Lawther at llawther@stjohnstampa.org to set up.

Go to www.stjohnstampa.org and click on "Give Now" on the right side of the top blue bar. The church now has the ability to accept credit and debit card payments, along with checking/savings account payments. To make a pledge or pay in some other way, click on "Stewardship" in the top website menu.

In the 'To' field of the text type 73256, then in the message, type SJE. You will receive a text back immediately with a link to complete the payment.

Laurie is available to walk you through any of these methods by email at llawther@stjohnstampa.org or a phone call at 259.1570.

September 10, Don Goodheart

September 11, Mimi Leroy-Marler, Karen Chastain, Charlie Williams, Charlcy Griffin

September 12, Scott Lowke, Rob Norton, Jill Wankelman, Elizabeth Pento, Patrick Whittlesey, Charlene Whittlesey, Olivia Hasselbach, Meaghan Robertson, Cora Collins, Caroline Collins

September 13, Greg Hearing, Tom Reed, Ansley Graff

September 14, Mary Beth Carastro, Kate Graves, Monica Tappan, Jerry Williams, Ken Walker, Jacqueline Thomson, Chris Carnahan

September 15, Mary Jo Shenk, Barbara Taylor

September 16, Paul Carastro, Mollie Dolcimascolo, Bill Henry, Eleanor Johnson, Cora Littlewood, Jake Littlewood

The Men's Interactive Bible Study meets every Thursday at 11:45 a.m. to study the readings for the coming week and for fellowship. Email John in the parish offices at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org for the link to join.

Choral Morning Prayer, 10:00 a.m., at Church and on Facebook Live.

Bulletins and other resources are available here. 

Click here for the readings, St. John's follows Track 2.

The Contemporary Women's Bible Study (CWBS) group is doing a weekly virtual study on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. This is a Zoom meeting, so if you are interested in participating, you will need to register. Contact Deacon Kathleen at 785.9400 or kmoore@stjohnstampa.org; or Sally Thompson at tampasal@gmail.com or 254.3009.

The group meets by Zoom from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. If you would like to join them, contact Deacon Kathleen at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org for login information.

St. John's continues to stream our 10:00 a.m. services on Facebook Live on Sundays. Access the stream at our page at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnstampa/.

The audio for sermons is here. New sermons are uploaded by Monday each week. Bulletins for Sundays are here, each week's bulletin is uploaded to this page by Saturday. Click here to find the readings for this coming Sunday (St. John's follows Track 2). You can also see Sunday services on our YouTube channel, they are uploaded each Sunday by mid-afternoon.

The parish offices have reopened. Regular hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, however most staff and clergy are still working from home, so please make an appointment with the staff or clergy member you wish to meet with to be sure they are available. Email us at parish@stjohnstampa.org or call 259.1570 to speak with John Edgar if you have questions.

Fr. Reho invites you to join the School for daily chapel services on the School's YouTube channel. For safety, students will have chapel in their homeroom via video for the time being. A reminder that the sermon is geared to children, but is no less enjoyable for that fact. The link is the same every day: www.stjohnseagles.org/daily-chapel, the services become live each morning at 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday. You can also access the Chapel Book here if you would like to follow along.

Fr. Connelly streams evening prayer daily Monday through Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on Facebook Live. Intercessory prayers are invited in the comments during the feed or email Fr. Connelly.

Nightly compline is offered by the brothers of the Society of St John the Evangelist on their web site at www.ssje.org.

If you have any questions or trouble using the online services noted above, please contact Lee Lowry by replying to this email, or John Edgar at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org. You can also contact the clergy member or parishioner who is the contact for each ministry. 

If you are someone who is able to help your fellow parishioners with errands and other means of support, please contact Fr. MIchael at mcannon@stjohnstampa.org. Conversely, if you are a parishioner who needs help, please also contact Fr. Michael at email at mcannon@stjohnstampa.org or by phone at 864.320.7116. He will be matching needs with resources so we are able to help one another in Christ's name.