Church Calendar | Realm Log-In | Deacon Schedule | Usher Schedule | Greeter Schedule | Men's Shelter Sign Up | Room in the Inn Sign Up | Basketball Schedule

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

by Dennis W. Foust, Senior Minister

The song, ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ provides our theme for this year’s Advent. The song was written in October of 1962, as a plea for peace during the Cuban missile crisis. Focusing upon the Nativity Story, the song begins with a night wind asking a little lamb, “Do you see what I see?”

Let me tell you SOME of what I am seeing during these weeks of Advent.

• I am seeing you remember and celebrate why St. John’s is so important in your lives.
• I am seeing evidence of your spiritual growth.
• I am seeing you retouch the meaningful traditions of this season.
• I am seeing how this city and this world are different because of your active faith.
• I am seeing you continue your celebration of our centennial year.
• I am seeing our youth express servant faith and learn how it makes them feel to give.
• I am seeing our children find new enjoyment in singing and learning about music.
• I am seeing our young families open their lives to a renewed children’s ministry.
• I am seeing our young parents realize how a children’s ministry shapes their family life.
• I am seeing a positive, energetic, and holistic children’s ministry take root. 
• I am seeing our parents of young children desire to dedicate themselves to God.
• I am seeing our youth make a relational connection with a sincere, loving youth minister.
• I am seeing parents of youth encourage their youth to become more involved in ministry.
• I am seeing our chancel choir renew its strength as they lead us in inspiring worship.
• I am seeing our new members become assimilated into church life.
• I am seeing our Deacons, Sunday School teachers and resource teams lead well.
• I am seeing our young people make decisions to follow Jesus. (Baptism on January 8.)
• I am seeing you meet in person and over Zoom to move the ministry of St. John’s forward.
• I am seeing you express your missional impact on our community.
• I am seeing you serve immigrants, feed those who are hungry, and shelter the homeless.
• I am seeing our basketball league shape the lives of children, youth, and families.
• I am seeing our Messaging and Media Resource Team move us into an expanded future.
• I am seeing our ministries of congregational care provide compassion in numerous ways.
• I am seeing you welcome guests with warm hospitality each Sunday.
• I am seeing you embrace your role as Charter Members of Our Second Century.
• I am seeing you invest in your energies and financial resources in our future.
• I am seeing you build a better world.
• I am seeing a wonderful church staff provide positive and professional ministry with you.
• I am seeing you renew yourselves to your Sunday School Ministry Groups.

Beloved, I see so many more expressions of godliness, goodness, and discipleship.

Please know that I am watching – and I like what I am seeing.

This Sunday, December 11 we celebrate Joy Sunday through the gift of music! Our normal worship service will be augmented by the singing of multiple anthems, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. Also, worship will include readings written by our members and staff reflecting the true nature of the season of Advent and the spirit of Joy!

Join us in person and online at 10:30am.

You can find past worship services and bulletins here.

Opportunities for Children and Youth this Month

Children's Ministries:

• December 11 at 11:30am: Children on Mission at Baby Bundles: Immediately following worship, our children will gather in the Church Lounge for a pizza lunch. After lunch, we will offer a prayer of commissioning for our Baby Bundles donations, load up our donations, and head over to the Baby Bundles warehouse, where we will pack bundles. We will polish off the afternoon with a sweet ice cream treat. Please let Kheresa know by Friday, December 9 if you will be joining us for lunch and to pack bundles. You email her at kharmon@sjcharlotte.org or at 910-890-3392.
• December 17 at 12pm: Light the Knights Festival Fun Day for Children, Youth, and Their Families at Truist Field. Register on Realm or here.

Youth Ministries

• December 17 at 12pm: Light the Knights Festival Fun Day for Children, Youth, and Their Families at Truist Field. Register on Realm or here.
• December 18: Youth Christmas Party starting at 4pm and ending at 7:30pm; We need a few parents to come and help! Let Haley know if you can come and help.



First, we want to say thank you to the people of St. John’s for your faithful support of the Roof Above men’s shelter located at 1210 N. Tryon Street.

On the third Friday of each month, St. John’s provides an evening meal to about 250 men served by the shelter. The menu doesn’t change and it’s a favorite with the men—chicken, green beans, potato salad, rolls, and homemade banana pudding.  

The meal is served cafeteria style. Each month, then, we need 3 – 4 volunteers to act as servers. We also need at least ten banana puddings. The men love that pudding!

We will be serving a meal on December 16 and each third Friday after that. If you can help serve or provide a banana pudding, please click below!

Servers – please plan to arrive at the shelter by 5:30pm. We usually finish serving by 7pm. After serving, the volunteers sometimes go to a nearby restaurant for fellowship and a meal.

Banana pudding – please bring your pudding to the St. John’s kitchen by 4pm on Friday when we are serving. Jim Keesee or Lynn Bishop will pick the puddings up at 5pm for delivery to the shelter.  If any volunteer server would like a ride to the shelter, please meet Jim or Lynn at the Broach Hall entrance when they pick up the puddings.  

To sign up to help serve a very welcome meal to 250 hungry men, please click on the button below.

Thanks again for your continued support of the Roof Above men’s shelter.

Jim Keesee & Lynn Bishop

Jim’s cell – 704-576-3670

Lynn’s cell – 704-302-4920

For the 2022-23 season, St. John's and our partners at Caldwell Presbyterian Church will again jointly host 8 homeless neighbors vetted by Roof Above within the Room in the Inn program, often referred to as RITI, on 9 Friday nights.

St. John's will host at St. John’s on the third Friday from December to March.

RITI hosting at St. John's will begin on Friday, December 16, 2022 and run through Friday, March 17, 2023. Just as information, St. John's members are needed to drive our van for BOTH churches on all NINE Friday nights and the following Saturday mornings. The signup list linked below includes van driver signups for ALL NINE Friday nights/Saturday mornings.

Right now, we need at least 5 more people to help on December 16!

Please contact Dale Johnson at 704-454-8931 or Alice Wirz at 704-222-6208 if you have any questions on any of these tasks.

Thank you for your support for Room in the Inn at St. John's!

The annual Christmas Mailbox for St. John’s Neighbors and Friends is located at the main entrance in the gym foyer. There you will find a mailbox with boxes for each recipient, new blank Christmas Cards, and a list of friends and seniors to whom you can write.

A list of recipients is also included as an attachment at the button below.

Please place your cards in the community mailbox by worship on Sunday, December 18. The collection of cards for each senior will then be delivered by a pastoral deacon, a staff member, or other volunteer during the next week. Out of town recipients will have their cards mailed in one bulk envelope.

Make Merry Memories at Truist Field!

All children, youth and families are invited to meet Haley and Kheresa for the 2022 Light the Knights Festival at Truist Field on Saturday December 17 at noon.

The outfield is now an ice skating rink and snow tubing hill. There will also be light shows, live entertainment, holiday treats, Christmas trees, shopping, Santa, snow, and more!

We will MEET AT TRUIST FIELD (324 S Mint St, Charlotte, NC 28202-1465) at 12pm on Saturday, December 17. All attending can buy tickets at Truist Field upon arrival.

Register on Realm here today.

Coats and Blankets for Children and Adults

Our mission partner, ourBridge for Kids, is collecting new and gently used coats (all sizes), blankets, and other warm clothing for immigrants and refugees served in their programs. If you would like to participate you can bring your items to St. John’s anytime from now until Sunday, December 11, and we will transport them to the ourBridge location where they will be distributed at a gathering on December 15. 

Please leave your items in the alcove at the main entrance of St. John’s.

Have you and your family turned in your Christmas ornament for the Centennial Christmas tree?

Please bring a Christmas ornament related to the Christmas story with your family name and individual names written on it, the year 2022, and place it on the tree.

The ornaments will be kept and used for future Second Century Christmas celebrations with any additional ornaments added by new (or current) members.

Please see the display in the hall outside of Amanda’s office of Christmases Past at St. John’s. 

Face Masks in the Nursery

We are, as Paul so eloquently penned in his letter to the church in Colossae, holy and beloved children of God, who are clothed with compassion and kindness. We are compassionate people committed to caring for all of God’s children, especially for the most vulnerable of ones. Some of the most vulnerable children in our congregation are our infants and toddlers.

In a compassionate effort to ensure the health and well-being of infants and toddlers in this season of sharing, we will resume wearing face masks in our nursery during Formation Hour and Worship Care, beginning Sunday, December 11. Disposable face masks will be available for volunteers who serve with our children.

Prayers, Thanks, and Celebrations

• Tarsha Williams, Martha Brown, Barbara McElwey, Betty Herr, Margaret Falls
• Sympathy to the family of Ken and Judy Sanford for the passing of Ken’s sister Elaine Whisenant.
• Sympathy to the family of Pauline and Steve Carter for the passing of Pauline’s sister Charlotte Whitcomb.
• Sympathy to Carol Drye in the passing of her aunt

Minister On-Call Schedule

• Dec 5-11: Lee

Financial Ministry Plan Update



• Commitments as of Wednesday, December 7 – 119 for a total of $741,312

Staff Contact Information

• Haley Blackwell, Minister for Youth & Young Adults - 620-515-3558 (cell)
• Rev. Dennis Foust, PhD, Senior Minister - 704-359-7234 (cell); 704-333-5428, ext. 12
• Rev. Lee Gray, Minister for Congregational Care - 704-451-1309 (cell)
• Kevin Gray, Minister for Music and Worship - 803-524-0287 (cell)
• Rev. Kheresa Harmon, Minister for Children & their Families - 910-890-3392 (cell)

• Mallory Brown, Media Coordinator - 704-477-3349 (cell)
• Chloe Hall, Children's Choir Director
• Noel Lance, Organist
• Dr. Matthew Manwarren, Associate Organist
• Amanda Morrison, Ministry Coordinator - 704-333-5428, ext. 11
• Lydia Olmstead, Weekday School Director - 704-333-5428, ext. 39
• Jill Rackley, Church Administrator - 704-333-5428, ext. 20