St. John's Episcopal Church, Mankato MN |
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ALLELUIA! WELCOME TO THE GREAT FIFTY DAYS OF EASTER |
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Easter is the central feast of the Christian year, not a one-day feast but a 50-day celebration, beginning with the Great Vigil of Easter Eve and extending to the Day of Pentecost (this year Sunday, May 23).
We celebrate resurrection: Christ risen not just two thousand years ago as if the resurrection were a once and finished event, but Christ rising now, a continuous happening, God’s ongoing re-creation of God’s church and the world. Jesus did not come back from death to a life that would end in another death – he went on, through death, to a new order of living that would never die. Easter invites us to enter that new order of living in the here and now.
Fifty Days – a luxurious length of time for rejoicing in the presence of the risen Christ among us and the Easter good news entrusted to us. Throughout these days we have but one mission: to be signs of resurrection, serving the world in Christ’s name, looking and working toward the time when all is Easter and no one is thirsty or hungry, neglected or ignored, without a bed in a home, hurting or grieving alone, when the earth’s waters, fields, forests, and air will be restored, clean and fresh as Eden.
Sunday by Sunday in the Great Fifty Days we find ourselves strengthened and encouraged for our mission by the words of Scripture, our shared prayers, our communion with Christ and one another in the consecrated bread and wine that feed us with his very life, and the fellowship of this, our Easter community.
Source: Christ Episcopal church Tacoma WA (submitted by Cindi Brickson)
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Please join us for Morning Prayer, Coffee Hour and Announcements at 9:30am.
Meeting ID: 892 3690 8727
Passcode: 552574
OR Phone in at +1 312 626 6799
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Compline and Chat
Wednesdays at 8 pm via Zoom.
Please join us on ZOOM for a short Compline Prayer service on Wednesday evenings beginning this week at 8 PM. Compline (or Complin) is the final prayer service of the day. The word is derived from “completion”. We will offer a short (15 minutes) prayer service and a time to visit with each other. The following ZOOM information will be a recurring check-in link. A wonderful way to prepare for a good night’s sleep and say thank you for your day. Hope to see you there.
Zoom link for Compline:
Meeting ID: 874 7394 0711
Passcode: 043830
OR Join by phone +1 312 626 6799
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Wednesday Night Faith Formation
In the first century, Jesus of Nazareth inspired a movement. A community of people whose lives were centered on Jesus Christ and committed to living the way of God's unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial, and redemptive love. Before they were called "church" or "Christian," this Jesus Movement was simply called "the way.” Our vocation is to live as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. The deep roots of our Christian tradition may offer a path. For centuries, monastic communities have shaped their lives around rhythms and disciplines for following Jesus together. Such a pattern is known as a "Rule of Life. “Walking The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life” outlines a Rule for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. Join us on Wednesday night before Compline as we explore this path. (Reading the book is optional.)
Come, join the discussion!
Starts April, 7th and runs for 8 weeks. Wednesday nights at 7 pm.
Meeting ID: 874 7394 0711
Passcode: 043830
OR Join by phone +1 312 626 6799
It can be purchased/downloaded at many booksellers and on Amazon: Click Here
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UPCOMING Worship Schedule |
Worship Team: Rev. Cindi Brickson, Ann Clark, Steve Deeren, Margo Druschel, and Nickie VanStelten. Mary Schuldt, Organist
Readers: Candace Black, Rick Robbins, Margo Druschel, Steve Druschel, Tim Secott, Joan Hertel
Tech Team: Tim Secott, Steve Druschel, Margo Druschel, Jen Drganc
Please let one of the Worship Team know if you would like to share your skills and talents.
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Tiny Congregations are the Seeds of the Future: Reopening Plan from the Worship Team
These are two action items from the Worship Team that is intended to move us toward our goal of being happily back in church altogether again.
1) We are going to be able to open the church to a tiny congregation each week. Because the Covid rates in our area are still quite high, we are limited to six "units", in other words, six groups of one person, two related people or a family. Nickie and Meg will be working through the church directory, calling people to see if they want to attend the service in person. If you don't get a call the first week, keep in mind that we will be calling different people each week until we work all the way through the directory and start again. And for those who are part of this special congregation, remember to make your responses as loud as possible since you are speaking for all of us.
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2) As we get ready to resume normal church services, we are changing the Zoom service schedule. The service will be held first, starting at 9:30, with the coffee hour to follow.
Starting this Sunday, the Zoom connection will open at 9:20 with the church service starting promptly at 9:30. You will be asked to enter the service space in silence, preparing yourself for worship. Please immediately put your Zoom on mute. Following the service, we can all gather, by way of the same Zoom call, for coffee and chat, just like the old days.
See you Sunday!
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St. John’s, Mankato is excited to announce our new website. Please save this link to your bookmarks to have all the news and information you want about St. John’s. Please note the web address is new: StJohnsMankatoMN.com
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Join the Prayer Chain!
All are invited to this important ministry. Please reach out to Rev. Cindi if you are interested or have questions.
revcindi@stjohnsmankato.com612.998.5136
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Presiding Bishop Curry was invited to give a message to Minnesota at the ECMN Compline service on Tuesday night (after the verdict in the Chauvin trial was announced), April 20th.
Here’s the link to his powerful words in case you missed it.
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Vestry Updates:
The next Vestry Meeting will be Thursday, May 18th, at 6:30pm. All are welcome please contact Jen or Tim for the zoom link.
At our April 15th meeting, Vestry spoke about the reopening of the church extensively. They asked the worship committee to keep moving forward with the reopening of the church. As you can see from the Worship Team’s announcement above things are looking up. Of course, the positivity rate in Blue Earth County is continuing to hamper our efforts. Keep your masks on and wash your hands. When a vaccine is available for you, please take it.
Vestry members:
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Pastoral Care
If you are in need or know someone in need of pastoral care, please reach out to our Companion Priest, The Rev. Cindi Brickson at 612-998-5136 or revcindi@stjohnsmankato.com. To be added to the prayer list please contact Connie Miller at admin@stjohnsmankato.com or call her directly at 612.237.0940.
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St. John’s Prayer List
Please pray for Gay, Andy, Bill, Ricci, Barbara,
Marcia, Mary, Mara, Jordin, Elsie, Elizabeth, Kate, Mary, Jason,
Wendy, Ann, Wayne, Swede, Jim, Libby, Bernie, Don, Anne, Mary,
Judy, Joan, Kylie and Amy.
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mary Babcock (04/02), Barb Partridge (04/02), Jill Fischer (04/13), Andrew Westberg (04/08), Marcia Olauson (04/14), and Barbara O'Brien (04/15).
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Mike and Jane Kearney (04/25).
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