St. John's Enews
September 1, 2020
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The Return is an international invitation to the Body of Christ to gather in solemn assembly to pray and repent, seeking God's merciful favor upon us and our land at this historic moment. Envisioned by Jonathan Cahn, The Return will take place at the Washington Mall on Saturday (9/26) from 9 am-9 pm. The day will include worship, prayers, Scripture reading and active repentance as God's people come together on behalf of the world! St. John's will be a Naples simulcast site where people can come and participate via live stream in Sugden Hall. Would you like to be part of this event?
Join me in praying and fasting for this event starting on Rosh Hashanah (9/18)
* Email Claudia if you plan to attend part or all of the simulcast. The limit will be the first 40 people who email.
I will have schedules, prayer guides and other hand outs the day of the event.
This will be a historic moment in God's kingdom and help us live into 2 Chronicles 7:14.
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land."
Be the Blessing!
Fr. Joseph
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Sr. Warden
Protecting Parishioners and Community
I sit here with the local and national news playing in the background, but I am not able to listen with much attention to the nonsense happening in our world. Instead, I want to share the good news that is happening at St. John’s. We have taken strong action to keep our parishioners and guests as safe as possible. A deep cleaning of the parish buildings was completed before we invited parishioners back to in-person services. Secondly, thanks to our Junior Warden, the sanctuary now has ultraviolet lights in the air handlers to kill germs or viruses and ensure that we are breathing purified air. Additionally, to slow virus spread, we have removed all pew items and are printing worship materials. We share CDC and Florida Department of Health recommendations on social distancing, masks, crowd sizes and sanitizer in conspicuous view. Finally, if a parishioner feels sick, we invite them to join us via live stream. I affectionately call these efforts the St. John’s Pledge, as our commitment to making our buildings safe for all. Practicing good hygiene methods that are common sense, including frequent hand washing, sanitizing and wearing a mask when social distancing is not possible, will help protect those around you and stem the rise of infections. The parishioners of St. John’s already practice many of these precautions at our Saturday and Sunday services, and I am hopeful that we can set a Godly example in our community to do the right thing and protect each other.
Blessings and good health to all during this very trying time.
Jack Wert
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Stewardship is defined as “utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of his creation.” Christian stewardship regards the obligations of Christians managing and utilizing intelligently God given gifts. Christians are not only responsible for financial blessings provided by God, but also the spiritual gifts that are given through the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us “as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.” During these times of the pandemic, it is critical that we take a moment and thank God for the blessings we do have and the strength to succeed and to serve others even more affected than us. Together, St John’s parishioners can pull our resources together and help those less fortunate.
Stan Lane
You can mail your gift to the church at
St. John's Episcopal Church
500 Park Shore Drive
Naples, FL 34103
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Children are enjoying Sunday School. We are continuing to make Sunday School fun and purposeful for each child. Some of the lessons we have learned is to trust God, Jesus is our Friend and God is powerful.
We have started learning about the Armor of God. Some of the lessons we have learned are the Belt of Truth is to not lie, the Breastplate of Righteousness is to do good things that will honor God. Lastly, the Shoes of Gospel and Peace are to remember the gospel and follow Jesus. We will continue to learn what each piece of armor means and how we can apply it in our everyday lives.
Sunday School will be virtual through October. To stay updated with all Sunday School information, please contact me at [email protected].
Dayna Sottosanti
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St. John's Upscale Thrift Shoppe Update
The Shoppe is doing very well, and even with limited July hours, we only had a budget shortfall of $450.
We rented a second storage locker due to the number of donations received and we filled that storage unit in no time. This second unit was donated for one year and enables us not to turn away donations.
Our limited hours since reopening are 10 AM-2 PM.
Monday – Saturday. We are still waiting for all of our seasonal volunteers to return and have regular hours as we get closer to season. We are always looking for volunteers. If you can spare four hours a week or even a month, we would love to have you join our team.
Because of COVID-19, we all are learning some new things and that our old way of doing things has changed and may be gone forever. If you look at your life now, you have spent more time in the kitchen than before. You don't shop as much and your shopping spree includes going to the grocery store. You do not see your friends, neighbors or family as much as before, and going to your favorite restaurant is limited. You have learned that you can see your doctor virtually on your cell phone or computer. You have learned to do puzzles, gained weight due to lack of exercise and your travel plans have been canceled.
St. John’s Thrift Shoppe is not sure what to say or how to face the painful loss of Myra Tutwiler. She will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prays are with her family and friends. May God give them strength and courage in the days ahead. God Bless Myra.
Although we are still blessed to be healthy, we wish that those who are less fortunate get well soon. God bless all of those people who are struggling, that God will look upon them and set them free to return to their family and loved ones.
God Bless all of you!
St. John’s Thrift Shoppe Board
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Brewtser Hall
James Henry Brewster, Jr. was born on May 28, 1906 in Weston, WV. His father owned a timber and sawmill business. They are descendants of Elder Brewster of the Mayflower settlers and Episcopalians by faith. James received a law degree from West Virginia University and then married June Langfitt. James and June resided in Weston where James practiced law as the County Prosecutor. He also was a Captain in the Army Reserves and was called to active duty in 1940. He had assignments in North Africa, Europe and the United States. He remained in the Army until 1947 when it became part of the new U.S. Air Force.
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Come join us for Joy will be given away Wednesday mornings. The serving of Joy begins at 10 am. This is a coed bible study gathering and we meet in Brewster Hall. Our resource is God’s Word with questions from “Philippians Shining with Joy” by Steven J. Lawson. Facilitated by Joan McCarthy 331-625-2196
St. John's worship services meet Saturday 5 pm and
Sunday 10 am a with up to 40 people. Join us in person or via live stream!
Garden of St. Francis: Is St. John's Pet Memorial for your animal's cremains. You can contact Claudia for more information.
St. John's will participate in "The Return" during September.
This is a national call to repentance and revival by Jonathan Cahn and other religious leaders. Stay tuned for details and please register for The Return!
Labor Day: The office is closed Monday (September 7th)
Enews deadline is Friday (September 11th)
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New Members: Jack and Donna Painter, Kyle and Annie Hagstrom
Transfer: None
Deaths: Myra Tutwiler
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Parish Secretary
The “St. John’s Directory” has grown over the past years and the drawers that were once filled with directories are long gone as we have welcomed online “Instant Church Directory” readily available at your fingertips. Member and login instructions are provided below as you click on the link. In order to keep the directory up to date we suggest that you please forward updated contact information, address changes and pictures if not seen in the online directory to: [email protected]. A few members have received an email request for pictures that can also be uploaded into Instant Church Directory directly from your computer or phone.
It is a blessing to assist you and I look forward getting to know all of you as I transition into my position.
Claudia Trejos
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Click on the "Click Here" button below to see log in instructions.
If you need a refresher course on how to upload the Instant Church Directory, simply click on the Download Document button below and you will see three different pages on how to load the directory. One is for iPhone, iPad and any iOS device. The second is for Android & Kindle devices. The third is for logging in from a computer.
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Darren, Marty, Pat, Pamela, Betsy, John, James, Linda, Doug, Walter, Jim, Medea, Dick, Pera & Katalina, Debbie, Bob,
small businesses,
St. John’s Parishioners and Families
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Praise Report
God Pours out His Spirit!
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“Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who has loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither the lower ranks of evil angels
nor the higher, neither things present nor things future,
nor the forces of nature, nor height nor depth,
nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God which
rests upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:37-39 (WNT)
My mother lay on her hospital bed in the dark as I put lotion on her feet. There wasn’t much else I could do for her. Thankfully, the morphine dulled the pain in her cancer-ridden body. She was dying.
“That feels good,” she told me.
“I’m glad,” I replied. I wanted our last moments together to be good ones. A wall erected when I was a child still stood between us—tall and wide and thick—though neither of us acknowledged it.
Ten minutes passed before my mother spoke again.
“Forgive me,” she said quietly.
“Whatever could I have to forgive you for…” I began. But I knew.
“For not stopping them. For letting them hurt you.” she said..
When I’d tried to talk to her in the past, she shushed me and said things like: “I can’t take you to the hospital. The police will put him in jail.” “Your father will have a heart attack.” “He’ll kill your brother.” “You’re disturbed.” “That’s just craziness.”
Not only had she not intervened, my mother had instigated the abuse by putting me in the line of fire: complaining to my father that I didn’t practice scales on the piano, by insisting I clean my brother’s room…
The old scenes flashed back, but they no longer hurt. As I became an adult, I’d begun to see my mother’s fearfulness, to understand her.
“I forgive you,” I said, but stopped myself from saying more. The time for all that had long since passed.
“I…I…I didn’t love you enough,” she whispered.
My mother was telling the truth.
Her fear had kept her from loving me enough to protect me, but she had loved me enough to make sure I went to church, and that’s where I met someone whose love is perfect and casts out all fear, whose love is more than enough not only for me, for all of us.
A Grateful Believer
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Be Filled with Pentecostal Power from the Holy Spirit! |
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St. John's Episcopal Church| 500 Park Shore Drive Naples, FL 34103 | 239.261.2355| [email protected] | http://www.stjohnsnaples.com
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