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Savannah Ponder
August 18 Preacher | Postulant for Holy Orders
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One of our key staff members at St. John's is
Savannah Ponder
, who oversees our ministries to children, youth and families. Since arriving here in the fall of 2018, she has been deepening our programs for kids and families, and I am thrilled to see the traction she's been able to get with the help of many great lay ministers and parents. You may not be aware that Savannah has a Master of Divinity degree (the three-year degree that is required for almost all clergy) from Duke, and this year she will be getting an Anglican Studies degree from Virginia Theological Seminary while remaining on staff here.
Happily for us and for her, Savannah is a Postulant for ordination in the Diocese of Washington. If all goes well with her mutual discernment, she will be ordained as a transitional deacon, and then will become a priest relatively soon. It is a blessing that we have her on our staff doing important work which will grow in meaningful ways as she will likely step into a clergy role in time. I have invited her to be our preacher this weekend, as we have had a tradition of seminarians in the pulpit at St. John's from time to time. I hope you will be able to be here this Sunday to listen to what she has to say and to support her as she gives her first sermon at St. John's.
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Potluck Suppers with our New Rector!
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St. John's will continue its popular parishioner potluck suppers into the Fall! The Rev. Rob Fisher and Sarah Wood plan to attend. The potlucks are a wonderful opportunity both to meet our new rector and to connect with fellow parishioners. If you are interested in hosting one,
please contact Holly Sukenik
or 202-332-2952
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Sunday, September 1, 4:00 p.m. (Labor Day weekend)
Cathedral Heights, NW Washington, DC
Family and kid friendly event (pool available)
Hosted by Pamela and Patrick Venzke
Saturday, September 21, 6:30 p.m.
SW, Washington DC
Hosted by Carolyn and Nelson Crouch
Tuesday, October 15
Penn Quarter, Washington DC
Hosted by Cay Buser
Sunday, October 20, 5:30 p.m.
Alexandria and S. Arlington, VA
Hosted by Gay and Bob Pasley and Nancy and Frank Klotz
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The Parish Choir, a dedicated corps of volunteer musicians who provide musical leadership for Sunday morning services, welcomes new members. Midweek rehearsals are most Thursday evenings from 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., with a light supper of sandwiches provided at 6:30 p.m. There is a straightforward voice trial for admission, but the main qualification is your interest in serving St. John's in its music program. The Parish Choir uses the Rule of St. Benedict as a guide for serving together in a community of faith and ends most rehearsals with a service of Compline in the nave. Additionally, the singing season is divided into "Quarters," which are focused commitments of eight to ten weeks.
If you would like to join for the "Fall Quarter" beginning with breakfast, a retreat, and sung midday prayer with the Rev. Rob Fisher on the morning of Saturday, September 7, please be in touch with director of music Michael Lodico.
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Please join us on Saturday, September 28 at 10:00 a.m. to welcome and celebrate the new ministry of the Rev. Robert W. Fisher. Bishop Mariann Budde will preside at the service. A reception will follow at
The Army and Navy Club
on Farragut Square.
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St. John's Refugee Committee
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The St. John's Refugee Committee would like to thank the congregation for the incredible outpouring of support over the past few weeks to support the efforts of the committee to prepare an apartment for an incoming refugee family. The family is settled in their new home, and expressed tremendous gratitude for our welcome. For more information about how to become involved with future efforts, please contact Jessica Sanchez.
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September 12 & 14 | St. John's Book Club Events
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Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 p.m., Trip to the Theater
Please join the St. John's Book Club for an outing to the play Assassins at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA on Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 p.m. Last year, we read Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard, about the assassination of President Garfield, and the play Assassins looks nine assassins in history, including Garfield's. We have secured a block of group tickets at the discounted rate of $88.60 per ticket. If you are interested, please contact Janet Edmond by August 18, 2019.
Thursday, September 12 at 6:45 p.m.
The St. John's Book Club will resume its monthly meetings on Thursday, September 12. We will meet in the second floor teens classroom at 6:45 p.m. to discuss The Overstory by Richard Powers. If you love to read, please join us for an evening of discussion and socializing. Questions? Contact Leila Taaffe.
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September 15 | Parlor Series Season Opener
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 5:00 p.m., Togo West Parlor
Soprano Tory Wood with pianist Joy Schreier perform Art Song
Tory Wood, from Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula, sings in the St. John's Choir and is a member of the Washington National Opera Chorus. Joy Schreier is pianist for the Cathedral Choral Society and received her doctorate in accompanying from the Eastman School of Music. They will perform art song by Donizetti, Handel, Reynaldo Hahn, Joaquin Rodrigo, Schubert, and Richard Strauss.
The Parlor Series offers an hour of ticketless, free entertainment followed by a light reception in the newly-renovated Togo West Parlor in the Parish House.
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Starting September 29 | Host a Sunday Parish Lunch
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September 29, 2019 - May 17, 2020
Sign Up to Host A Sunday Parish Lunch!
Our beloved Parish Lunch tradition resumes on Sunday, September 29. Your help is needed to make it happen. Participate in one of the best fellowship opportunities at St. John's. Make new friends - both members and visitors - and catch up with old friends. We encourage individual members, families, and groups and ministries of our church to host lunches. Working with family and friends is FUN! It takes at least two people to pull it off. So, ... Talk to a friend - or two or three - about joining you to host a Sunday Lunch. The more the merrier! Hosts may be reimbursed for expenses or receive a tax receipt as you choose.
There will be no Parish Lunch on the following dates: October 27 (Marine Corps Marathon), December 1 (Thanksgiving weekend), December 22, December 29, January 5, April 5 (Palm Sunday), April 12 (Easter Day), and May 10 (Mother's Day).
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October 5 & 19 | Fall Adult Inquirers' Class
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If you would like to be baptized, confirmed, or received into membership in the Episcopal Church at St. John's, join the 2019 Fall Adult Inquirers' Class. The two-day class will meet on Saturdays, October 5 and October 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. both days. The Rev. Rob Fisher, Rector, 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 encouraged to attend. For more information or to register, please contact Kaye Edwards, Assistant for Church Growth.
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 2.
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Summer 2020 | Youth Pilgrimage to Kwasa College in South Africa
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Rising ninth-twelfth graders are invited to contact Savannah Ponder to apply to participate in a pilgrimage to The Kwasa College in Springs, Gauteng, South Africa. This pilgrimage will happen next summer. Kwasa is an educational center for children age three through grade five. St. John's has had a long relationship with Kwasa, both supporting their ministry financially and sending volunteers to visit the community. The Rev. Sharron Dinnie, the rector of Kwasa, has warmly invited St. John's youth to return to Kwasa next summer to build relationships, serve with the school, and learn more about their ministries with children. The requirements leading up to this pilgrimage would be participation in the following: monthly group meetings for prayer, faith formation, and fundraising planning, hosting parish-wide fundraising events leading up to the trip, and leading one presentation at St. John's after the trip.
If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Savannah Ponder, Assistant for Ministries to Children, Youth, and Families by September 1. |
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REMINDER: Be Vigilant Against Continued Whaling/Phishing Scams
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Email Whaling/Phishing Scams Persist -
Be Aware and Don't be a Victim!
Again, community members have received messages purporting to be from the Rev. Rob Fisher, asking for favors and gift card purchases.
These emails are not from Rob!
Rob and the rest of the staff at St. John's Church will never email anyone asking for gift card purchases. Treat this as a red flag and report it to staff immediately.
Any email from clergy or staff will have an address that ends with stjohns-dc.org.
Common phishing/whaling attempts use very similar looking email addresses from free services like Gmail or Yahoo.
Please do not open any suspicious emails that may come from any account. Delete them immediately. If you are unsure, please contact the Church Office (202-347-8766) for assistance.
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Just Eat It; Wasting Food Matters
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Imagine carrying four full shopping bags home from the grocery store. When we get home, we immediately toss one into the garbage pail. That's the equivalent of what we consumers do (commercial establishments often toss up to 40%), at a time when nearly one in six Americans faces hunger, many of them children. Some food gets discarded because "sell by", "best by", "use by" dates have expired. These are not government mandates-except for baby formula, the government does not set expiration dates-but rather industry prescribed dates, beyond which nutrients are alleged to decline. Industry uses them as inventory control but also has an interest in having us buy more to replace "obsolete" items. Tossed food wastes all the work that went into getting it, plus the water, fertilizer, transport, storage and packaging resources, quite apart from the cost to our pocketbooks when we throw away what we have already bought and paid for.
What we can do:
First check with a member of St. John's Refugee Committee to see if it can be used.
If not, turn to:
- Measure our own food waste: how are we doing? Plan for and buy only what we need, and before tossing, look, smell, and taste. "When in doubt, use your snout." Much can be determined to be still tasty. Compost non-meat organics or use them for vegetable stocks.
- Savvy consumers look (and ask) for seconds on fruits and vegetables that might be slightly bruised or misshapen. The errant parts can be cut out while our wallets are beefed up.
- St. John's Care of Creation Group
In coordination with the Care of Creation Group's efforts to stop the use of items, such as plastic shopping bags, that are harmful to the environment, St. John's has produced reusable tote bags with the St. John's logo. Please contact the office or see a greeter on Sunday mornings to pick up a bag for your use.
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Those who are sick or recovering:
From our parish:
Krista Becker, Teresa Huettner, Nelda Johnson, Bob Patchell, Gordon Richmond, Robin Schwartz, Dace Vidins, and Samuel Watson.
Friends and family of our parish:
Bruce Anderson (Cay Buser), Niels Beck (Michelle Mangrum), Jeannie Boyd (Samuel Watson), Rachael Buckley (Chrystal Martin), John Frew Carter (Margo Arnold),Lane Carter, Kevin Chaney (Andrew Tomlinson), Laura Chaney (Andrew Tomlinson), Bill Clark (Clark Ervin), William Frew Conderman (Margo Arnold), Sambar Datta (Ashley Culbertson), Harry Davis (Mary & Carl Raether), Karl Dornemann (Deb Dornemann), Bobby Doyle (Alex Pappas), Henry Farrington (Samuel Watson), Ted Fibison (Wendy Fibison), Chantay Griffin (GeeGee Bryant and Charley Griffin), Lucas Hunt (Matthew Taylor), Edwarda Johnson (Wande Johnson), Frederick T. Kraus (Grant Kraus), John Linton (Cay Buser), Linda Linton (Cay Buser), William Markiewicz (Matthew Taylor), Tammy McCleaf (Matthew Taylor), Timothy Mullins (Jim Mullins), Judy Nicola (Cynthia Walker), Jerry O'Hagan (Lance Jensen), Jonathan A.I. Olowu (Elizabeth Leach), Ginger Parra (Leila Taaffe),
Cawley Scott (Robyne Johnston), Diane Sinclair (Pat Dalby), Henry and Sandy Welles (Donna Welles), Jim Wolter (Willy Wolter), and Kristen Wyckoff (Pat Dalby).
Those who are shut-in:
From our parish: Max Hudgins.
Those who are in the hospital:
Friends and family of our parish:
Yanira Barona (Wande Johnson), Russ Capps (Virginia Bader),
Julie Howell (Cynthia Walker), Aiden Mylnikov (Lindsey Bowen), and Travis Rogers (Robert Carroll).
Those who were born:
From our parish:
James Cooper Hailey, who was born on August 12.
Those who have died:
Friends and family of our parish
: Brian M. Edmond and Shirletta Lewis, who died August 10; and Elizabeth Carlson, who died August 12.
Those in our parish celebrating a birthday this week:
David Baugh, Eduardo González, Michael Grealy, Davis Hampe, Jan Lupton, Peter Odom, Ugo Owunwanne, Charles Schwartz, Bard Sullenger, Hadley Sullenger, and Thomas Traxler.
Those in our parish celebrating an anniversary this week:
Nancy and Frank Klotz, Katherine and Pete Kyle, Gini and Harker Rhodes, and Alexian Wines and Christopher Semkow.
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: Steve
Helmer (Sara McGanity).
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7:45 a.m.
Holy Eucharist with Homily - Savannah Ponder, Postulant for Holy Orders
9:30 a.m.
Summer Choir Rehearsal (Nave)
9:45 a.m.
Nursery opens
10:30 a.m.
Choral Holy Eucharist with Sermon - Savannah Ponder, Postulant for Holy Orders
11:45 a.m.
Hospitality Hour
Tour of the Church
(Meet at Pulpit)
1:00 p.m.
Oraciόn Vespertina
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The Speaker Series is held at 10:00 a.m. on the following Sundays in the Togo West Parlor:
September 8 Margaret Carlson, columnist for the Daily Beast. She will speak on The 2020 Elections.
September 15 Kate Andersen Brower, author and journalist. She will speak on America's First Ladies. September 22 Adam Rothman, professor in the History Department at Georgetown University. He will speak on The Civil War and Reconstruction.
September 29 Dr. Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library. He will speak on The Folger and Shakespeare. |
The next dates for
Holy Baptism are:
Sunday, September 22, at 9:00 a.m.
- Class: Saturday, September 21, at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, November 3, at 11:00 a.m.
- Class: Saturday, November 2, at 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 12, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.
- Class: Saturday, January 11, at 10:00 a.m.
If you are interested in having a child baptized, or in baptism for yourself,
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Help brighten the day of parishioners who can't be with us by taking them flowers, located in the side chapel. A card is attached to each vase with contact information. Thank you for checking to see if a delivery address is convenient for you.
Flowers need to be delivered on 10th St NE, Washington, DC; Red Clover Drive, Rockville, MD; and Summit Place, NW, Washington, DC.
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Listen now
to past Sunday Sermons and Speaker Series.
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In Case You Missed It: Welcoming the Rev. Jane Milliken Hague!
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Dear community of St. John's,
It is my great pleasure to share with you the good news that we have hired an interim Associate Rector to serve at St. John's. The Rev. Jane Milliken Hague has accepted the job and will be returning "home" to the DC area to be on staff here through next summer.
I believe Jane's presence and ministry gifts will be a blessing for us all at St. John's. She has expressed to me how thrilled she is to be joining us. Her first day will be Sunday, August 25. Please join me in welcoming her.
God's peace,
Rob+
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Join us for Worship and Special Events This Summer!
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Join us for worship at 7:45 and 10:30 a.m. The Nursery opens each Sunday at 9:45 a.m. |
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St. John's Church, Lafayette Square
1525 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
P: (202) 347-8766
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Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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