The Word from St. John's Church (Week of April 5, 2020)

Help us celebrate Palm Sunday

Submissions due by 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 2

Help us celebrate Palm Sunday and the commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem!

Record a video of you and/or your family waving palms or branches found near your home to be shared in our virtual Palm Sunday liturgy.

Instructions:

Find palm fronds near your home if possible or choose a good looking branch to wave.
Get dressed in your Easter best!
Hold your phone horizontally and shoot a 20 second video of you and/or your family waving palms or branches. Have fun!
Submit your video by clicking on the button below no later than 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 2.

Click here to submit your video

Join us on YouTube this Palm Sunday

Sunday, April 5

Worship with us on Palm Sunday, virtually! Click on the YouTube image above to participate. There will be music, prayer and preaching. You may choose to participate at your usual service time (7:45 a.m., 9:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.), or any other time you like. Feel free to share the link with others.

Book Group

Thursday, April 2 at 6:45 p.m. | Online via Zoom

The St. John's Book group will meet on Thursday, April 2, at 6:45 p.m. via Zoom to discuss The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming by David Wallace-Wells. If you love to read, please join us for an evening of discussion and socializing.

For more information and for links to participate, contact Leila Taaffe .

Reflections and Updates from the Rector

Click on the image below

Bible Study

Sunday, April 5 at 10:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom

The Bible Study led by Jack Reiffer will meet at 10:00 a.m. online on Sunday via Zoom . Please contact Jack Reiffer and the Rev. Jane Hague for the links to participate .

St. John's Youth

Sunday, April 5 at 10:30 a.m. | Online via Zoom

The youth will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday via Zoom . Please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder for the links to participate .

Children's Program

Sunday, April 5 at 12:00 noon | Online via Zoom

The children's program will take place at 12:00 noon on Sunday via Zoom . Please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder for the links to participate .

Noonday Service

Monday to Friday, 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. | Online via Zoom

In keeping with St. John's tradition to have worship every weekday, we will meet via Zoom for a noonday prayer service from 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m., led by both clergy and lay leaders. There will also be an opportunity during this service to share your intentions and petitions. (Limited to 100 people.)

Click here to join the Noonday Service

Meeting ID: 769 172 375

Click here for a copy of the Noonday Service Bulletin

Click here for a copy of the Book of Common Prayer

Theology in Troubled Times

Friday, April 10, 7:00 p.m to 7:45 p.m. | Online via Zoom

In this period of pandemic, nothing seems quite as it was, and much seems unsettling. To address the issues and concerns that some of you may have -- and where God may be in this -- we are offering a course to explore "theology in troubled times", led by the Rev. Will Morris, beginning Good Friday, April 10. Please contact the Rev. Will Morris for the links to participate or for more information.

Pastoral Care

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our St. John's community in many ways. St. John's parishioners have expressed the desire to help their neighbors during this difficult time. Please use this form to let us know if you:

Can provide support for someone in need or
Are in need of support.

We will do our best to connect those in need with those who are able to help. If you are not comfortable using this form, please send us an email at help@stjohns-dc.org with your name, contact information and details of the type of support you can give or the support you need.

In addition to this direct support from parishioners, our Rector, the Rev. Rob Fisher, has an emergency fund for those who may be in need of financial assistance. If you are in need of financial assistance or would like to contribute to the emergency fund, please reach out directly to the Rev. Rob Fisher .

Prayer List

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

Those who are sick or recovering:

From our parish: Judy Campbell Bird, Nelda Johnson, Neil Wilson, Bob Patchell, Alfred Thesmar, Dace Vidins, and Jeff White.

Friends and family of our parish: Niels Beck (Michelle Mangrum), Rachael Buckley (Chrystal Martin), Tom Burkart (Pamela Venzke), Cay Buser (Carl Ward), Ana Carases and Jacobo Carases (Kaye Edwards), Clark (Clark Ervin), Brian Cohen (Jane Hague), Carl Edwards (Lauren Edwards), Harry Davis (Mary & Carl Raether), Karl Dornemann (Deb Dornemann), Bobby Doyle (Alex Pappas), Geri Lucas Haji (Judy McKevitt), Courtney Jordan Hillman (Erika Northcutt), Lucas Hunt (Matthew Taylor), Vera Hyncik (Holly Sukenik), Edwarda Johnson (Wande Johnson), Amy Lowenthal (Andrew Tomlinson), William Markiewicz (Matthew Taylor), Tammy McCleaf (Matthew Taylor), Kevin Milstead (Andrew Tomlinson), Timothy Mullins (Jim Mullins), Zach Newton (Andrew Tomlinson), Judy Nicola (Cynthia Walker), Fred Parker (Gay and Bob Pasley), Grace Parnham (Karis and TJ Parnham), Ginger Parra (Leila Taaffe), Cawley Scott (Robyne Johnston), Zoe Taaffe (Leila Taaffe), Peabody, Mimi, Elizabeth Hutton and Rob Tinworth (Joanne Hutton), and Gabriel Van Oyen (Carolyn Crouch).

Those who are in rehabilitative care:

From our parish: Max Hudgins and Marcella Odom.

Those who are in the hospital:

From our parish: Bobbie Falk.

Friends and family of our parish: Julie Howell (Cynthia Walker), Phyllis Lambert (Will Morris), Chase Madar (Rob Fisher), Peter Meister (Thom Sinclair), Gina Robinson (Matthew Taylor), and Travis Rogers (Robert Carroll).

Those who were born:

From our parish: Anne "Harper" Duthe who was born March 14, 2020.

Those in our parish celebrating a birthday this week: Diana Brown, John Cherry, Ellie Eversole, Daniel Honeycutt, Heather Hopkins, Haley Lyerly, Nathan Miller, Joy Nathan, Chloe Neufeld, Nicholas Robischon, Chase Rynd, Chris Singer, John Staples, and Samuel Wakely.

Those in our parish celebrating an anniversary this week: Sarah and Brady Demarest, Annie and Will Simonds, and Hilary and Alfred Thesmar.

Those serving in the Armed Forces including those who are deployed, and for the Armed Forces Ministry of the Episcopal Church:

Friends and family of our parish who are deployed: Peter T. Watson (Wendy Fibison).

Pathways Through Lent

Pathways Through Lent , St. John's daily online devotional, is now live and will run through Easter Day. Published and produced by members of our greater church community, the reflections offer opportunities to meditate on Lenten themes through lectionary readings and shared experiences.

Note: if you were subscribed to Pathways in 2019, you should automatically begin receiving devotionals; if you would like to sign up for the daily email, please subscribe here .

Upcoming Baptism Date

Sunday, May 31 at 11:00 a.m.

The next dates for Holy Baptism and Class are:

Baptism: Sunday, May 31, 11:00 a.m.

Class: Saturday, May 30, 10:00 a.m.

If you are interested in having a child baptized, or in baptism for yourself, please contact Kaye Edwards.

St. John's on LinkedIn

As many of you know, LinkedIn is the top online business networking platform, with over 630 million registered members. While used primarily to list career and business interests, it also allows you to list (and link) outside interests, memberships and affiliations, including places of worship. As part of our outreach into the community and world of work, we invite you to list your membership (and roles) at St. John's, which will both allow others who might be interested in St. John's to connect with you, and also show our interest in, and relevance to, the world of work.

We have set up a St. John's LinkedIn page , and would welcome congregational participation in building out and populating the page.

To help with that or with any questions, please contact the Rev. Will Morris.

Thinking about Science and Faith

POSTPONED

The Science and Faith study group, slated to start March 30, will find a new time frame for an organizational gathering, as we move further into our new disciplines and rhythms of life. You may wish to go ahead and spend time with this text: Science and Faith: a New Introduction by John F. Haught, Paulist Press, 2012. Contact Joanne Hutton with questions .

The Care of Creation Group

Bird Walk at Huntley Meadows Park

POSTPONED

Birding at Huntley Meadows park, originally envisioned for March 28, will need to be postponed for another, safer time. Note that the park has been closed, in concert with Governor Northam's orders to limit exposure to Covid-19. We will look forward to doing this event in the future when it is once again safe to assemble.

St. John's South Africa Trip to the Kwasa Centre

POSTPONED

The St. John's mission trip to South Africa this summer will not take place due to COVID-19. Please keep the Kwasa College ( www.Kwasacollege.org ) in your prayers during these difficult times.