Angel Tree, the ministry where children of those incarcerated are given gifts at Christmas in the name of their parent(s), has been supported by St. John's for many years. Once again, it's that time of year, but in 2020, nothing is quite the same. We'll be having a “drive through” Angel Tree this year! You'll have two opportunities to pick your Angels, between 10 am and noon on Saturday, November 14th, and the same time again on Saturday, November 21st,. Volunteers will be in the east parking lot of the church in front of the entrance to the Family Life Center. There, in the comfort of your car, we'll provide you with information about the children, and suggestions for the gifts you so generously provide, year after year. A gift of clothing, and a gift for fun, with the suggested amount to be spent on each remaining at $20. You'll pick your Angel, (although not from the tree) and go off to do your shopping!

The individually wrapped gifts, with the “Angels” attached, will be returned via another “drive through” event at the same location, on Saturday, December 5th, once again between 10 am and noon.

If you are not comfortable doing the shopping during these covid-19 days, but still want to support the program, you can pick your Angel, and give us the $40 at that time. Volunteers will do the shopping and gift wrapping for you.

Should you be interested in volunteering in some way to help with this ministry, please call Kathy Scherlacher at 505-823-6692.

Each year this Christmas-time ministry brings great joy to the children and the love of Christ to their parents, and this year, perhaps even more, as we all deal with the pandemic. Thank you St. John's for your time, your gifts, and your support of Angel Tree.

St. John's Missions Team is answering an urgent call from COMMUNITY OF HOPE, a new church development of the NM Conference, to help provide non-food needs. As the winter months approach, many of the people who receive meals from Community of Hope are also in need of warm items to battle the cold weather. So, on Saturday, November 21, from 10 am - 12 noon, we will host another drive-in, drop-off at St. John's east parking lot and collect any of the following items:

Men's XL Coats or Jackets (new or gently used)

Men's XXL Coats or Jackets (new or gently used)

Blankets

Hats

Gloves

Scarves

If you have any of the above items (gently used) that you are no longer needing, or go shopping this month, or have products delivered to you, or just want to order some of these items on-line, think about the Community of Hope needs. We’ll collect all these items on November 21st!

If you’d rather give $$ instead of buying the products yourself, you can bring it that night, mail it to the church, or go to the St. John’s online giving. Be sure to write "COATS" in the memo field of your check.

The Missions’ Team thanks you so much for your generosity!!!

   Once again interested St. John's church members are invited to participate in our program of providing Christmas food boxes to needy families served by the John Marshall Community Center in the south Broadway area of Albuquerque. The Center will be reaching out to families in the area who use their services. The need is tremendous and our participation is much appreciated. This year’s timeline looks like this:

 

*by Sunday, December 13, 2020, or sooner, commit to Jack Nuzum (tel. 265-5241, jcnuzum@juno.com) as to the number of boxes which will be provided and by whom. There is a suggested LIST OF CONTENTS for the boxes that Jack will provide. Click this LINK for the list, or ask Jack to send it directly.

 

*on Saturday, December 19, 2020, bring the completed boxes to the west side of St. John’s between 8 and 9:00 AM. Empty boxes are available if needed. Call Jack on how to pick them up.

Rev. Craig Cockrell, Superintendent of the Albuquerque District, will bless us with a sermon on our Commitment Sunday as we conclude our Vital Congregations series and as we bring our gifts before God for 2021. Please mail your General Fund commitment card directly to the church at 2626 Arizona St. NE, 87110 OR email card information to treasurer@stjohns-abq.org. We will dedicate our gifts this Sunday in a time of commitment. This week we are also celebrating a Baptism! See you at our live-stream services at 9:30 and 11:00 am.

Updated Unplugged: Afternoon Retreat Following the Governors’ PHO, we have transformed the Unplugged afternoon retreat from a group gathering at Elena Gallegos, to guided personal retreat outside and at home. Let us still commit to go out doors and connect with God in our backyards and on a neighborhood walk this Sunday November 22. Registrants will receive an email containing links to a series of contemplative spiritual practices created by Pastor Kelly, Susan Brumbaugh, and Jarrod Conyers that will serve as a guide along our separate yet collective contemplative endeavors. Please sign up HERE.

"Incarnation" is a new 5-session Advent and Christmas study by Adam Hamilton, bringing a message of hope in the context of this complicated season of pandemic and elections. What can we learn from the names used for Jesus by the prophets, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels? Let us reflect together on the significance of the Christ child for our lives and for the world today. This Zoom study will be held on Monday mornings (Nov. 30, Dec. 7, 14, 21 and Jan. 4), with a 10:00 am study led by CLM Mike Furnish (mdfurnish@comcast.net) and Tuesday evenings (Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22 and Jan. 5) at 7:00 pm led by CLM Joe Marshall (jmarshall62@gmail.com). Please contact either leader if interested. The study book can be purchased from Cokesbury.com.

Would you be interested in submitting a daily devotional for the Newsletter? If so, send an email to Pastor Pam at prowley@stjohns-abq.org!

Please include the following items when writing a devotion:

A Focus Word or Phrase

A Scripture (it can simply be referenced)

The Body of the Devotion (one page is a good guideline)

A Prayer or a Spiritual Practice

St. John’s will live-stream a worship service on Sunday morning at 9:30 am (Contemporary) on the Abide Facebook page and 11:00 am (Traditional) on our Youtube Channel. We hope you’ll worship with us! (Pastors Pam and Kelly will lead, along with Shea Perry, Jim Ahrend, and Matt Greer). We hope that you’ll participate by singing and praying at home! Any questions? Email Matt at mgreer@stjohns-abq.org.

Missing getting together with your St John’s family after church? Join us in the virtual Sonshine Coffee Zoom immediately following the 11:00 am Worship. Church Leadership Team members starting with Jim Hickman will be hosting with the Pastors Pam and Kelly joining if they are available. Zoom registration is HERE.

The class always welcomes new faces, whether they wish to become permanent members, are interested in a particular study, or need a Sunday School family while on temporary assignment in Albuquerque. We typically alternate between modern books and books of the Bible. We are currently nearing the end of I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me, by John Ortberg. Contact Regina Hunter, drhunter@nmia.com, to be added to the invitation list on Sundays and to learn of the next book.

Christian Classics Sunday School Class is meeting by Zoom at 3:30 PM on Sundays. We are studying The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault. Contact Jack Nuzum at jcnuzum@juno.com to join in.

Here are opportunities of ways you can help out during the Christmas season. We KNOW you CANNOT support all these organizations, so please pick and choose where your passion leads you!

Because of Bethlehem, Love is Born, Hope is Here, an Advent Study by Max Lucado, led by Karen Tidler

To better streamline all the ways we communicate, the Youth Group has adopted the Slack app to merge and integrate the our direct messaging, digital calendar, Zoom account, and all our online documents. It is easy to join the threads that apply just to you. Join in here: bit.ly/joinumyfslack1

Summer is past, and as we get back to school? Our Solid Ground youth group will resume meeting every Sunday at 4:00-5:15PM with new games, discussions, and faith-building activities plus new features of the student led Soap Box and Top 5s. Log-in. at: bit.ly/Fall2020UMYF (case sensitive).

While we are not yet allowed to sing together, stay informed about the activities of the Sonrise Youth Choir, including weekly Zooms on Thursdays at 4:00 pm (Jackbox games!!), and musical workshops in the Fall! Email Shea at sonrisechoir@gmail.com!

The announcements below include using the program "Zoom" to group-video chat. You can find a tutorial on how to use Zoom HERE!

Join St. John’s Music Director Matthew Greer as he talks about what’s going on in the music ministry, and about music he loves. Click here to join the session!

There are few more perplexing issues for people of faith than that of unmerited suffering. We understand when good people prosper and evil people suffer. But what about when good people suffer for nothing that they did? That is Job's situation and the book that bares his name is a complex examination of the issue.

Join us for a Zoom study of this book (for four weeks) and then the delightful Old Testament stories of Ruth and Esther the final two weeks. The Bible study will take place on Mondays, October 19-Nov. 23, 2020, at either 10 AM or 7 PM. You may join either class or jump between them. If interested, or if you have questions, contact Jack Nuzum at jcnuzum@juno.com or 505-265-5241. Jack will be leading the discussion and will send out a Zoom invitation before each meeting.

Log in and have coffee (or tea) and chat with Pastors Pam and Kelly! Zoom link HERE.

Meet by zoom with Pastor Pam for a 30 minute spiritual practice every Thursday afternoon. We will explore different ways to pray, to commune with God, to nurture our spiritual lives with Christ through the Indwelling Holy Spirit. Space is limited, join the class HERE.

You are invited to join Pastor Pam for Meditations on the Birth of Jesus, a thirty minute class employing Lectio Divina (Divine reading of scripture) and Visio Divina (Divine “seeing” of scripture) as we explore the birth narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The meditations will include works of art as we “gaze” upon the Christ Child. Classes will be held on Thursdays, December 3, 10, and 17 by Zoom at 1:30 pm No registration is needed. Find the Zoom invite link in the e-disciple on the first day of the meditation.

A few weeks ago, Matt began the announcements by saying, “In this particular time ... we feel sometimes like we’re a community in exile...” Well, we always have been, and always for the same few reasons: new opportunities; ostracism; spiritual renewal; the necessities of our profession; or escape from pursuit, persecution, or conditions. St. John’s email Bible study will begin a new topic on November 16 to visit with some of the individuals and communities that went before us in the faith, both as exiles and as refugees. To receive daily study tips by email, write or call Regina Hunter at drhunter@nmia.com or 294-2877. If you prefer to study on your own, download the study guide HERE.

Anyone is welcome--no experience is necessary. (And, yes! It's okay for Christians to meditate.) If you want to learn more prior to starting, the sessions will be similar to ones she leads and records on YouTube. Each session will be hosted on Zoom. HERE is the zoom link. Please contact Susan Brumbaugh, counselor@stjohns-abq.org, or 505-506-6716, if you have questions.

Richard Batt is the recipient for the prayer quilt on display for November 9 - November 22.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer) for Richard: “Father, we ask that you shower Richard with blessings and health for a speedy recovery from surgery."

With the Church currently closed, the prayer shawls have taken up residence with Hunt and Ann. They are actually quite comfortable in the coolness of their new home but they would love to be of comfort to someone in need of God’s love. Please contact Ann at mapalook@comcast.net or 768-7013 if you would like a shawl. If you call, the basket will await your visit in their courtyard. Blessings -

How we support you and your family in prayer during this difficult time? Prayers for health, employment, peace? Please send your prayer requests to the Prayer Team: mapalook@comcast.net or submit them on our website HERE.

It is hard to get out and many people shouldn’t. Is there something you need delivered from the store? If we are able to help, we have a few volunteers who would like to serve as Go-fers for people who need something but cannot get it on their own. Please pass any requests on to Jarrod at c.care@stjohns-abq.org

The St. John's staff includes a licensed mental health counselor who is available to meet virtually (using a smartphone or computer) in a secure online platform during these anxious times. If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally, counseling is available. Click here or contact Susan Brumbaugh at 505-506-6717 or counselor@stjohns-abq.org for more details about session and cost information. Susan also has a Youtube Channel with mindfulness tips HERE.

   This month by giving to UMCOR we have a way of helping people and communities devastated by disasters. This year UMCOR is helping Louisiana communities recovering from not one but two hurricanes, Laura and Delta! And UMCOR is known for sticking around for the long haul after the headlines are gone and the world has moved on.

      This year, of course, we are also faced with the world wide disaster of Covid 19. Through the Sheltering in Love Campaign, UMCOR and Global Ministries have collaborated with health care professionals, missionaries, disaster management coordinators and faith leaders to help folks from the Philippines to Pennsylvania. UMCOR has helped isolate communities of Brazil who may receive no other help as well as the unemployed and hungry in the big cities of the US.

  St. John's people have been so very generous in helping those in need in New Mexico. Through UMCOR we can broaden our reach. Please give generously any time in November.

In accordance with the New Mexico Department of Health order, our facility will be closed until further notice. We will keep you apprised as things develop.

Your St. John's pastors and staff are still very much on the job, and are available to you during this time. Please reach out to us if we can help you in any way!

www.stjohns-abq.org

(505) 883-9717

2626 Arizona St NE | Albuquerque, NM 87110

Office Hours (call only): Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm