We invite you to join us on Sunday, September 19, for worship. Please see below for a complete list of Sunday services and events.

Church doors open at 7:30 a.m. Free valet parking will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We look forward to welcoming you to worship, either in person or online. Visit www.stjohns-dc.org for more information. 

Nursery care is available from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Sunday in the Godly Play Classroom #2 located on the second floor of the Parish House. Our Nursery welcomes infants and children up to age 3. Please register your children here. Reminder: Masks are required for all children over the age of two.

• Children's Worship Bulletin 1

• Children's Worship Bulletin 2

Church School will return on Sunday, September 19 at 10:00 a.m. on the second floor of the Parish House. For more information, please contact Katherine Raab, our volunteer Church School coordinator.

10:00 a.m. | In person in the Parish House Third Floor Conference Room

To attend by Zoom, please contact Jack Reiffer, who leads the class, for the link.

12:15 p.m. | In person in the Parish House Third Floor Conference Room

Please contact Carolyn Crouch, EFM mentor, for more information.

At Confirmation, the baptized make a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to live out their Baptismal promises (Book of Common Prayer, page 412). Confirmands go through a period of learning, prayer, and discernment leading up to the service where a bishop will pray and lay their hands on them asking for strength from the Holy Spirit. This year, we've made a clearer and simpler path for Confirmation Classes. Confirmands are required to be in seventh grade or higher, commit to attending six classes, one retreat, and participating in one parish activity. Please register here by September 19 to participate. Click here for the Confirmation brochure. For more information, please contact us here.

(New time) 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

If you would like to be baptized, confirmed, or received into membership in the Episcopal Church at St. John's, join the 2021 Fall Adult Inquirers’ Class. The two-day class will meet on Saturdays, October 9 and October 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Rev. Rob Fisher, Rector of St. John’s, will lead the sessions. Anyone – newcomer or longtime parishioner – interested in learning more about our Christian faith and life, the Episcopal tradition, and the ministry of St. John’s Church, is invited to attend. For more information or to register, contact Kaye Edwards at 202-347-8766, ext. 317 or by e-mail here. Those who participate in this class, or have completed another inquirers’ class, may attend a Service of Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows at Washington National Cathedral on Saturday, November 13.

(New date) Sunday, October 10, after the 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services

Would you be interested in exploring the intersections of modern science and theology this next year? Dr. Tony Tambasco, husband of parishioner Anne Stewart and Emeritus Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, has graciously offered to facilitate a study group and discussions. We expect to meet virtually by Zoom, and an organizational meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. The text we will use is John F. Haught's Science and Faith: A New Introduction, Paulist Press, 2012. The church has a few copies, and it is readily available for order online. If you are interested in joining, please email Joanne Hutton, with Science and Theology study group in the subject line.  

(New date) Saturday, October 23, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

St. John's clergy and lay leaders will be hosting a morning of prayer, retreat, and training, followed by lunch, for all who currently serve or who would like to be trained to serve in the Sunday worship services. This includes crucifers, acolytes, lectors, chalice bearers, flower guild, ushers, livestream broadcasters, and greeters. If you are interested in learning more about helping with any of these roles, please join us October 23. Click here to register. Please contact Holly Sukenik for more information.

In lieu of resuming our Sunday Parish Lunch tradition in the dining room, and in order to comply with Covid-19 safety and health guidelines, St. John's is requesting hosts for informal lunch hour receptions outside, on the plaza, after the 11:00 a.m. service. Your help is needed to offer this fellowship opportunity featuring fingerfood on the plaza. Hosts may be reimbursed for expenses or receive a tax receipt. To sign up, select a date, and receive guidelines, please contact Holly Sukenik. 

Building Community: Outdoor Social Gatherings

We recommend that you set and advertise a limit (e.g., space is limited so the first 20 responses will be accepted.). If you are interested in hosting, please contact Holly Sukenik.

The Parish Choir is a group of dedicated volunteer musicians who provide choral music for the 9:00 a.m. worship service and for special events throughout the year. The choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:00-8:30 p.m. with a light dinner provided at 6:30 p.m. There is a straightforward voice trial prior to joining, but the main qualifications are a commitment to the schedule and enthusiasm for serving our church through its music ministry. Please be in touch with Brent Erstad, Director of Music and Organist, to learn more.

Soon you will receive a letter from me with a pledge card, though of course we welcome online pledges. As we continue the process of regathering, even while the delta variant constrains our activity, let us all hope that 2022 brings us all together with the resources to expand our ministries and strengthen our community of faith. Thank you in advance for considering a pledge!

The Speaker Series will be held in-person on the following Sundays in the Church or Togo West Parlor from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. After the discussion, there will be opportunity for Q&A. There will be no livestream Zoom option. An audio recording will be available in the weekly newsletter The Word and the Speaker Series recording page of our website here the week after each talk.

September 26: Ruth Marcus, Deputy Editorial Page Editor at The Washington Post. She will speak on Politics and Policy in Washington.

October 3: Elizabeth Rule, Director of the AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy, Washington, DC’s only university-based research center dedicated to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian issues. She is also a Professor at American University. She will speak on Native American History and Contemporary Indigenous Experience in DC and Beyond.

October 17: Mike Molina, Head of School of the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, Washington's only tuition-free, Episcopal school which serves families east of the Anacostia River. He will be speaking about the urgent opportunity to make generational impact through investment in the potential of African American boys by sharing his own journey from troubled youth to Yale Law School graduate.

October 24: Dr. Rebecca Carter-Chand, Director of the Programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She will speak on Religion and the Holocaust.

For more information and the schedule, visit the Speaker Series webpage here.

for the Season of Epiphany. Sponsorship Cost: $500.

please contact Director of Music, Brent Erstad.

The next dates for Baptism and required pre-baptismal classes with the clergy are as follows: 

Please note that the parents or grandparents of children being baptized must be active, pledging members of St. John’s. Adults interested in baptism for themselves must attend the Rector’s Adult Inquirers’ Class and be active, pledging participants in the life of the parish. If you are interested in having a child baptized, or in baptism for yourself, please contact Kaye Edwards.

St. John’s is looking for a Director of Communications (new) and a Program Assistant, which are much needed part-time roles on our staff. While we do not hire parishioners, you can be helpful by spreading the word. The job descriptions are posted here (new) and here. 

Click here to listen to past Sunday Sermons and Speaker Series.

If you would like to visit a loved one in the columbarium, please contact us here to arrange a time for your visit.

Our Prayers are requested for the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially:

Those who are sick, recovering or grieving:

From our parish: Eve Atkeson, Rob Fisher, Susan Herrington, Nelda Johnson, Susan Lewis, Jimmy Lowe, and John More.

Friends and family of our parish: Barbara Virginia Abalos Branes (Joanne Hutton), Barton Edwards Bruce (Kaye Edwards), LaKeshia Bryant (GeeGee Bryant), Wendy Addiss Dellar (Joanne Hutton), Karl Dornemann (Deb Dornemann), Bobby Doyle (Alex Pappas), Reagan Eudy (Alfred Thesmar), Jimmy Gallagher (Joanne Hutton), Frances Givhan (Gay and Bob Pasley), Elaine Gravatt (Margo Wiegenstein), Linda Young Gsell (Rick Young), Nancy and Neil Guard (Kate Benner), Valerie Hart (Emily and Jason Ornstein), Courtney Jordan Hillman (Erika Northcutt), Vera Hyncik (Holly Sukenik), Charles Jones (GeeGee Bryant), Tom Kiernan (Joanne Hutton), Chase Lasbury (Garrett Russo), Melanie Markiewicz and William Markiewicz (Matthew Taylor), Tammy McCleaf (Matthew Taylor), Kathryn McGraw (Mary and Carl Raether), William Scott Miller, Jr. (Johnathan Miller), Britt Neff (Julie Neff-Lippman), Judy Nicola (Cynthia Walker), Wendy Paeth (Margo Wiegenstein), John Perry (Joanne Hutton), Pearson Reynolds (Kerri Stelcen), Susan Roberts (Kaye Edwards), Cawley Scott (Robyne Johnston), Scott (Marta Cook & Cal Trepagnier), Mark Sissman (Mead Sissman), and Ann Tusa (Will Morris).

From our parish: Jeanne Grimmett and Marcella Odom.

Those who are in the hospital:

Friends and family of our parish: Julie Howell (Cynthia Walker) and Marsha Bonnet (Kerri Stelcen).

Friends and family of our parish: Ora Jackson (Wande Johnson).

Friends and family of our parish: David Williams who died September 14.

Those who were born:

From our parish: James Andrew Azzarello who was born September 10.

Those in our parish celebrating a birthday this week:

Those in our parish celebrating an anniversary this week: Leo Lex and Ryan Bishop, Anne and Cliff Elmore, Tammi and Bob Hoback, Elizabeth and Bayne Johnston, and Eleanor and Peter Odom.

For those on the front lines, especially: 

Friends and family of our parish: Janie Abernethy (Elizabeth Lewis and David Abernethy), Sandra Brown (Becca Brown), Nathan Cobb (Livy and John More), Chris Gardner (Ann Gardner), Yee Houston (Quin Woodward Pu), and Marta Kochanska (Livy and John More).