Many thanks go to those who helped to "Clean and Green" the historic church last Saturday in preparation for our Christmas services: Penny and Dave Parker, Tom and Marie McDermott, Marcia Evans, Elise Crawford, Linda Schrey, Steve Busch, Dick Griffith, John Tucker, and Carol Hancock.
The Church Office will be closed on Friday, December 24 and Monday, December 27 so staff can have time with their families.
Bishop Ted Gulick will be making a Bishop's Visitation to St. John's on Sunday, April 3. If anyone wishes to be confirmed, received into the Episcopal Church from another denomination, or renew their baptismal vows, please let Carol know as soon as possible. Classes for confirmation candidates will need to start in January.
Many thanks go to one of our Ministry Partners, the Seventh Day Adventists, who volunteered to paint the parish hall. We provided the paint and they provided the labor. It looks wonderful!
Volunteer needed - We need someone to staff the nursery during the 4:00 PM service on Christmas Eve. If you can help, please let Carol know. Otherwise, we will not have a nursery available for the visitors and families who would like to use the nursery for their small children.
IT’S CELEBRATION TIME!
Are you tired of being couped up at home? Are you ready to see your St. John’s friends and have a chance to catch up? Here is an opportunity to see each other at an Epiphany event to celebrate many of our blessings at St. John’s. We are hoping that the 2022 New Year will see us getting back to our normal lives. The Vestry would like to recognize Juliette Faulding for her 10 years of service at St. John’s, as well as celebrate the reduction of our mortgage to below $1M. Join us in the St. John’s Parish Hall on Friday, January 7, at 6:00 pm. We will share a potluck dinner, beverages and conversation. Please sign up on the link below to let us know how many are coming and what you might like to bring. The Vestry will provide the dinnerware and beverages.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EAAAB2DA6FC1-epiphany
As part of our continuing community outreach, we will collect and deliver items to the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter. They provide crisis intervention, stable housing, and supportive services to homeless families and victims of domestic violence. They are located nearby and currently house up to 12 families onsite, 12 families in hotel sites and serve over 40 families in their prevention and rapid rehousing programs. The following items are in need year-round as these families transition into permanent housing.
Household items
Trash cans, Shower liners (new only) ,Shower rings, Toilet bowl cleaner and toilet brush
Laundry baskets, Laundry soap, Toilet paper, $25 gift cards to Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe’s
Kitchen
Cutlery, Flatware, Cooking utensils, Measuring cups/spoons, Mixing bowls, Tupperware sets, Pot and pan set, Broom and dust pan, Dish soap and sponges
Linens (new only)
Twin, Full and Queen sheet sets/comforters, Towels, Bath mats
St John's Christmas ornaments for sale - If you need additional ornaments for your Christmas tree, or need a gift for a friend, a St. John's Christmas ornament might be the perfect gift. Ornaments are available in the church office for $10 each.
And we also have St. John's tee shirts for sale for $15. Most sizes available.
Vestry Candidates Needed - On February 6 at 12:00 noon on ZOOM, we will have our Annual Parish Meeting where we will be electing new members of the Vestry. Three of our current Vestry members will be completing their three year terms. Six people will remain on the Vestry so we can elect up to six additional members. If you would like to have more information about the work of the Vestry, please feel free to talk with a member of the Vestry (listed on the back of the bulletin each Sunday) or to attend one of our meetings on Zoom. Just let Carol know ahead of time so she can send you the link. The Vestry currently meets on Zoom on the third Sunday of the month at 7:00 PM. Vestry members must be confirmed communicants in good standing.
The pictures of the aftermath of the tornadoes that ripped through Kentucky and several other states two weeks have been heart wrenching. The devastation is indescribable. Episcopal Relief and Development has set up a disaster fund to help those who have lost everything. If you would like to help, please go to www.er-d.org . Monetary donations of any size will be greatly appreciated. Please keep those who have been devastated by the tornadoes in your prayers.
Did anyone happen to pick up a plastic bag with paint brushes and rollers in it a week ago Sunday? It was in the church office near David Thompson's desk. If you picked this up by mistake, please return it to the church office. It has an important receipt in it and some items that need to be returned to the store. Thanks!
The Bishop's Learning Series: My Story; Our Story; The Story
How fiction and poetry can take us deeper into our faith
Clergy: Thursdays at 4 p.m., January 12 - March 16.
Lay: Wednesdays at 3 p.m. January 12 - March 16 OR Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. January 13 - March 17.
As human beings we make meaning through story. Stories are how we connect with one another. When you are introduced to a stranger, you begin with your story: “Where I am from; what I do; what are my passions” and so on. In addition, the deeper truth can often only be reached through story. We know this from reading the gospels. People asked Jesus a complicated question, and he answered with a story: “Once there was a man who had two sons…”
This online series of classes is intended to deepen our awareness and our reservoir of story and image. We will read short stories and poems and use them as the way to go deeper into the Good News and how we encounter it in our lives. The class is not an English class but a Theology class that uses fiction and poetry as the doorway into the mysteries of our faith. If you wish to join the class, please email Anita Lisk and indicate if you are clergy or lay. Read the full class description