The first small gathering of a church community that I experienced was right after I graduated from college. I attended Trinity on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut. A sweet group of older folks, including a former teacher of mine, invited me to join them. We met once a week in our homes for some food and prayer.

I was nervous about hosting them at my tiny apartment. It was only one room! Folks had to sit on the floor, but they seemed to love it. And after they came and prayed with me, my apartment felt somehow more like my own.

During this season in which we pray about our giving, we will be gathering in small groups to talk about what the Cathedral means to us. At these gatherings, I want you to experience the kind of unconditional love and support that being in a community provides. Walking with others is an essential part of the Christian life. Jesus walked with twelve disciples. Find your people. In this increasingly isolating world, you must find each other to understand what church is all about: God in community, and loving God and your neighbor as yourself. Find each other, and let’s Gather to Give. I can’t wait to see you there!

Kate+

Last year we had 342 pledging households. Together they pledged $1,349,354.28. We hope to have 350 households pledging this year with a 1% increase to reach $1,362,849.28. We currently have 91 households that have pledged $386,330. We are still hosting Gather to Give parties. Help us reach our goal by attending a party and sending in your pledge by October 31.

NOTE: Masks are mandatory at all services. See new guidelines.

Dr. Marilynne Robinson will discuss her new novel, Jack. Jack is the fourth novel in the Gilead series. Robinson currently teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. She has served as a deacon, and sometimes preaches, for the Congregational United Church of Christ. This conversation will not be recorded, so if you're interested be sure to register below and join the conversation tonight.

Please join us in welcoming Rev. Gary Jones Sunday, October 24. Gary has been a priest for 36 years, serving in inner-city and suburban parishes in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He helped establish Urban Ministry Centers in Knoxville, TN and Charlotte, NC, and he served as the bishop’s Canon for Social Ministries in Tennessee. Gary has also been a member of the Fellowship of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE), the oldest Episcopal monastic order, where he first learned ancient Christian contemplative practices and the ministry of spiritual direction. He recently retired from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, a very large and socially engaged parish known for its beautiful worship, both ancient and new, and its many ministries to the larger community, including:

A tuition-free, Episcopal Middle School in Richmond’s most vulnerable part of town;

A speaker series that has included Mary Oliver, Jon Meacham, Martin Laird, Harvey Cox, Jane Hirschfield, and Barbara Brown Taylor;

And environmental stewardship ministries that include a weekly Farmers Market, weekly Community Meals for all, a popular Café, weekly food distributions throughout the city, a campus powered in part by solar panels, and regular recycling and energy-saving efforts for the larger community.

In retirement, Gary is especially interested in assisting parish churches with contemplative practices, small group ministries, and rethinking the ministry of the church for the 21st century. Gary and his wife Cherry have three adult children in Boston and Richmond and two golden retrievers.

Your Outreach Council is pleased to announce an updated Family Promise Volunteer training, facilitated by Mark Landschoot, Executive Director of Family Promise of Jacksonville. The training will take place on Monday, November 15, 2021, from 6:30-8 p.m., in three formats. You may attend in person, in the Busey Conference Room, via Zoom, or if that date/time doesn’t work for you, you may watch the video of the training at your convenience. All volunteers who will interact with our Family Promise guests (when we return to on-site hosting) are asked to attend this training, and fill out an updated Volunteer Information form you will receive at the training. We will send it to our virtual participants electronically. Please contact Lynn Doiron at 904-703-0847 (call or text) or lynnsdoiron@gmail.com to sign up.

Our Parish bylaws provide a nominating process for the five (5) upcoming vacancies on the vestry as well as two (2) Delegates to the Diocesan Convention. Nominations must be submitted and qualified by December 1.  The election will be held at the Annual Parish Meeting in February.

Qualifications for Vestry members (5 to be chosen): A Vestry nominee must be a communicant of St. John’s Parish in good standing for a period of at least 12 months prior to election.  The nominee must be actively involved in the ministry of the Parish; must actively support the Parish by pledge or subscription; must be willing to accept active leadership, including responsibility for decision making that represents the entire Parish; and must be willing to invest the time necessary in the ministry of leadership, including attendance at worship, Vestry meetings and other scheduled Vestry activities, special events, and satellite activities. In addition to the qualifications contained in the bylaws, the Vestry believes that nominees for service for the next three-year term should possess special skills, gifts and talents in visionary and strategic thinking, be courageous, and have skills in fiscal planning and policy.

Diocesan Convention Delegates (2 to be chosen): The Delegates will have two-year terms.  The Alternate Delegates have a term of one year if their service is required.

Please give the future leadership of the Cathedral prayerful consideration and contact any of the following Nominating Committee Members for submission of names for consideration by the committee: Martha Greene, Jayne Hill, Joe Kincart, Laura Lane, Jane Lester, John Sefton and Faye Wisner. It is critically important that you obtain the permission of your nominee before submitting his or her name to a Nominating Committee member.

Do you know someone who would like to receive Dean Moorehead's morning devotion in the inbox? Copy and share the sign-up link below! https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/X90apMA/devotion

St. John's Cathedral offers many ways to get involved. Take a class. Join a Bible study or book discussion. See the complete list of offerings here.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see content as we add it!

6 p.m. Yoga (Megan Cochran and Laura Lane) Cummings Chapel

6 p.m. Art in the Art Room with Jean Dodd and Fr. Lou Towson

6:15 p.m. Jesus's Provocative Stories: The Parables Busey Conference Room and Zoom, led by EfM cohort members

Oct. 20 - The Sower

Oct. 27 - The Wheat and Tares

Nov. 3 - The Mustard Seed

Nov. 10 - Lost Sheep & Lost Coin

Nov. 17 - The Prodigal Son

Dec. 1 - The Rich Fool

For information on any course offered by St. John's Cathedral, contact Michael Corrigan.

Please include the date that you would like the flowers on the altar and any words for the dedication when you send in your donation. Thank you! For more information, contact Teresa Mason.

The Diocesan Profile tells the story of the Diocese of Florida and what the clergy and laity of the diocese are seeking in their IXth Bishop.

Read our summary, download the full profile, and if you feel God calling you to submit a name to this process, please do so using the Nomination or Application Forms at the link below.