A Prayer for Peace Among the Nations (BCP 816)

Let us pray in this time of conflict for the countries of Russia and the Ukraine,

Sunday, March 27, 2022

9:00 am

Please join us for our sung celebration of Holy Eucharist at 9:00 am in the church.

Come, pray, sing, receive Holy Communion,

and join us for fellowship following our liturgy.

now and for ever. Amen.

Joshua 5:9-12

Psalm 32

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

St. John's website: saint-johns.org

St. John's YouTube Channel: St. John's YouTube Channel

We have migrated from Facebook to YouTube for live streaming our services. Please visit our St. John's YouTube channel at

St. John’s YouTube Channel, and make sure to click the Subscribe button! While you will be able to watch our livestreams without subscribing, you may not be able to chat unless you’ve subscribed. Be sure to check out everything that is currently on our Channel - and we will be expanding the content in the months to come!

On Sunday morning, please visit our website at www.saint-johns.org and click on the Livestream photo of our church to watch our Eucharistic liturgy at 9am!

or email or call the office (maria@saint-johns.org; 619-422-4141) with your requests:

The Labyrinth is a spiritual tool and can be walked as a pilgrimage for repentence: a shedding of worries and concerns; reaching a place of meditation and prayer; and finding union with God and the healing forces at work in the world.

Come to walk on your own; brochures of guidance will be provided.

For more information and to Register, click here

Fasting 

Please consider giving of your excess in order to clothe those who go without.

See the table in the narthex or the article in our E-Newsletter for details.

If you wish to have clothing collection bags sent to you, contact Maria in the

church office.

Along with the prayers and reflections for each station, you will find artwork from former St. John's students.

Attached is the link to the prayer booklet:

Rev. Cathey invites you to participate in one of St. Bart’s most attended formation programs is a Lenten program called Lenten University. This year it will take place on Thursday evenings during Lent from 6:30 to 7:30 via Zoom. This year our overall theme will be “The Call to Hospitality.” Speakers will offer a 30 – 40-minute presentation followed by an opportunity for questions and conversation around the evening’s topic. At the end of the meeting, Rev. Cathey Dowdle will be hosting the sessions and offering a short period of prayer to close the session that is optional for both presenters and attendees.

March 24: Our Call to Hospitality to Children and Young People, Charlette Preslar

March 31: Our Call to Hospitality to Immigrants, Troy Elder

April 7: How Do We Live into Our Call to Hospitality, TBD

Weekly: Weekly Calendar

Join Zoom Meeting: Zoom Link

Today, we have one of the most famous parables in the entire Bible. It’s the story of the man with two sons. It is one of Jesus’ most original tales. We normally refer to it as the Parable of the Prodigal Son or sometimes as the story of the Forgiving Father. Actually, it could better and more properly be called the Parable of the Prodigal Father. His prodigality (lavishness) is much more evident than is that of his son. The father was extremely prodigal with his money when he so easily handed it over to his wayward son. Generally the inheritance would have been conferred on him only after his father’s death. The father’s “prodigality” is also shown in his total forgiveness if his son when at last he decided to return. It’s one of Sacred Scripture’s most wonderful commentaries on the relationship of God to his people.

No one is rotten to the core. Every person instinctively responds to God’s call. There is no helpless soul, for the soul is God’s implanted hope. Jesus sees promise in his strange friends; He was not blind to their needs. The prodigal son, the tax collector and the sinners were in fact lost ones. But Jesus befriends them; He comes in search of the sinners, awaiting their return. God has become incarnate to seek us in our looseness. He comes out like a Father who waits for the return of his beloved son. God’s love is so great, His forgiveness is unbelievable. It defeats all human calculations. God wants to reclaim every prodigal son and rejoice over him at his return. But do we ever take the risk and pain of going to the other side of the track when we falter? Can we, like the prodigal son, make a return to the Father?

As we read again this parable of divine mercy and forgiveness, we are reminded of the lyrics of a modern religious song: “I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have loved you and you are mine.” We may have spent much time, effort and money getting ourselves into trouble as did the son in today’s parable. Regardless, we can be assured that God will gladly spend much more to get us out of it. He is truly a Prodigal Father to us all.

Questions to ponder:

How do you interpret the term ‘Prodigal Father’ in your words?

Have you ever been in such experience?

Is your love unconditional?

The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. Throughout Lent, come along with us as we explore Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, produced by Hillary Raining and Jenifer Gamber. You can find resources mentioned below at iam.ec/lifetransformed or by scanning the QR code above to the right.

Today’s Practice: Watch the Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining’s video at iam.ec/lifetransformed for Week 4. The topic is based on the practice “Bless” and is titled, “A New Heart and a New Spirit”.

Read: Ezekiel 36:24-28

Today’s Prompt: Practice lectio divina with this scripture.

Read: Luke 15:17-24

Today’s Prompt: How do others experience the love of Christ through you?

Read: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.”

Today’s Prompt: What can you say “no” to so you can say “yes” to prayer, rest and joy?

Read: “Six days shall work be done; but the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work: it is a sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements.” - Lev. 23:3

Today’s Prompt: What challenges are you facing today?

Read: “And you will have confidence, because there is hope; you will be protected and take your rest in safety.” - Job 11:18

Today’s Prompt: Create a prayer representing how you seek to serve God and follow Jesus.

Read: “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” - Matt. 5:15

Today’s Prompt: Where do you find joy and passion?

Read: “They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’” - Luke 24:32

Sunday School is now available. Children ages 4 and up are welcome to come and learn about the Word of God with Heather Wallace.

Child Care is available during our Sunday Services. Ana, the daughter of Alex Valdez-Beer, will be staffing our child care room.

Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? If you'd like to receive the assessment and information on how to get the results, please contact Diane Gustafson (diangus15@aol.com or 619-253-7298).

Please hold the Trader and Vasquez families in your prayers during this difficult time.

St. John's has four Lay Eucharistic Visitors who are commissioned to bring Holy Communion to anyone requesting a visit.

As we carefully gather in person at St. John's, we would like to remind you that we are here for you!

If you, a family member, neighbor or a friend are interested in celebrating a significant event in your spiritual life, please know that you are welcome.

We would be honored to be a part of your Baptism, Holy Communion, Quinceañera Marriage, Renewal of Vows or Anointing of the Sick.

At St. John's, no matter who you are or where you are on your spiritual journey - you are welcome here

If you have a pastoral emergency when the parish offices are closed,

please call 619-301-0724 or email revroger@saint-johns.org

The Creation Justice 101 - Quick Info Meeting is today or tomorrow on either Thursday, March 24th or Friday, 25th. We’ll go over the Creation Justice 101 Program - a program helping us on the journey of restoring faith, justice, and creation! Engaging congregations in faith-based conversations for practical applications of environmental healing and justice, in church and home contexts.

Information Meeting:

Sign up here for the upcoming Creation Justice 101 Program - Information Meeting.

Thursday, Mar 24 at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET

– or –

Friday, Mar 25 at 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET

If you are not able to attend either time, a recording of the meeting will be available to all who register.

 

For any additional questions please email: becky@creationcarecollective.com

Each day of Lent, you are encouraged to think of someone less fortunate as you look in your closets and drawers. Remove one item from your closet that you no longer wear or need and put it into the appropriate bag.

We will provide labeled bags to separate the items by Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s items. (If you need a bag mailed to you, please let us know) Men’s items will go in a black bag, Women’s items in a white bag, Children’s items in a gray bag labeled “Children’s”. At the end of the forty days, donate these items to St John’s so that we may share them with clients of Episcopal Community Services - Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC) and Father Joe’s Villages.

The following items are needed:

St. John's Outreach Committee meets monthly to discuss our parish Outreach activities.

We will continue our ongoing collections for:

Reminder: To make the process more efficient, Please donate only amber-colored prescription bottles with the label removed. For a quick and easy way to do this at home, watch this short video: Label Removal Video

You may also bring your items to church during our weekday office hours, Monday through Thursday from 9am to 3pm. Ring the doorbell, and you will be buzzed in to leave your items outside Nale Hall.

If you do not feel comfortable driving, please contact the parish office, and we will find a volunteer to pick up the items from your home.

Please click on the following link or visit the St. John's website (www.saint-johns.org) for more information on our Outreach Ministries:

For almost the entire time that Rev. Roger has been at St. John's we have been in a pandemic with part of that time being shut down.

Rev. Roger would like to provide an opportunity for any members of the parish to "get to know him".

On Wednesday mornings from 10:30-11:30, following Morning Prayer and Bible Study,

Rev. Roger will be available in the Rev. Jack and Sarah Tolley Memorial Library for a visit. This is time to get to know him, ask him questions, and learn about his vision and dreams for the church.

If you would like to host a Sunday, you may sign up on the poster in Nale Hall or by calling or emailing Maria at 619-422-4141 or maria@saint-johns.org

Refreshments should be individually portioned or wrapped, or served by a server who is the only one touching the serving implements. Coffee and Clean-up are done by our Sexton, Ryan Attaway.

This is our Centennial year, culminating in our Centennal Liturgical Celebration with the visit from Bishop Susan Brown Snook on Sunday, September 18. There are a number of special events being considered. If you are interested in helping with any of these projects, please notify Maria Love in the Office: 619-422-4141/ maria@saint-johns.org

or Diane Gustafson: 619-253-7298/ diangus15@aol.com 

The Centennial Planning Committee will meet in Nale Hall on Sunday, March 27, after the service. We have many exciting things planned: Italian Dinner and Opportunity Drawings, Ice Cream Social, Parish Cookbook, BBQ and Chili Cook-off, and the Centennial Dinner on September 17. If you are interested in any of these events, please join us on Sunday.

And if you're not sure what you're interested in, come along and we'll suggest something.

Centennial Cookbook

We are going to publish a cookbook of favorite recipes in honor of St. John's Centennial. Our call for recipes will come soon, but right now we are looking for help in putting it together. Nancy Painter is Editor of the cookbook. If you would be interested in any of the following, please contact Nancy: 619 422-7792/ buddys@cox.net. Much of this work can be done from your home. 

Join us for Wednesday Morning Prayer and Bible Study

on Wednesdays at 9:30 am as a Zoom meeting.

Please contact Rev. Roger ( revroger@saint-johns.org)

The Morning Prayer guide can be found here:

The leaders of the Prayer Quilt Ministry would like to remind

you that there are many quilts available for anyone in need

of prayer and support. This important ministry brings comfort and healing to many people who are suffering with illness.

Please contact Diane Gustafson directly (diangus15@aol.com)

or through the office (maria@saint-johns.org).

All the women of the parish are invited to discern becoming a member of the Daughters of the King. If you have any questions, please contact Lynn Young (208-695-7735) or Linda Dennehy (619-429-4747).

If you have a special prayer request for Daughters of the King, you are invited to fill out a prayer card, found in the narthex. Drop your prayer request in the church-shaped box or in the offering plate. These requests are confidential and are separate from our printed parish prayer lists.

We would like to acknowledge and pray for anyone celebrating a birthday and/or anniversary in the coming week. Please let us know by Thursday of the prior week so that we can get it in the Sunday liturgy. If you have a picture of you that we could post for your birthday and/or a wedding photo or current photo for those celebrating an anniversary, please email it to us - it would be great to allow everyone to see you.

Today and every day include some time for prayer, for yourself,

for your church family, and for those in need.

Matt Jensen, Drew Shorkey, Cody Crossland, Cameron Ronie, Chariti Paden, Mark Stanfield, Sean Robinson, Jonathan Martinez, TK Nguyen, Christopher Lindshield, Timothy Lindshield, Jeremy Colton, David Sanchez, Jonathan Baldera, Nick Wyatt, Daniel Getreu, Jamal Warner, Matt Hernandez, Devon Strunk, Taylor Harrold, Jorge Zuazua, Katherine Milam,

Sebastian Morales, Richie Lebron, Andrew C. Dugger, Dan and Chelsey Nayaradi,

and Roberto Johnson and the crew of USS Essex.

Scott Hunter, Steve Magill, Gary & Shirley McCarren, Ann Lindshield, the McClure family, Christy and Mike Gollihur, Linda Longoria-Neff, the Nicholas family, Cheryl Sulier, Nancy Stewart, Katherine Tullmann, Yolanda Nichols and Judith Hutchinson.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the clergy and people of St. John's in Fallbrook.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for the Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma).

In the Military Cycle of Prayer, we pray for all Vietnam Veterans.

Lynn Young, Senior Warden

aaaaaa208-695-7735

aaaaaalynnyoung2786@gmail.com

Tom Brzeczek, Junior Warden

--------619-481-1256

--------trbrz2014@gmail.com

Jane Ferguson, Clerk

Bill Cheney, Treasurer

Diane Gustafson, Recorder

If you had a medical emergency at church on Sunday morning, would the ushers or church staff know who to contact? If you would like to add someone to St. John's emergency contact list in case of such an emergency, please contact Maria in the office (619-422-4141 or maria@saint-johns.org). Please provide your name, the name of your emergency contact, their relationship to you and their phone number. Any information you provide will be stored carefully in order to protect the privacy of your contact's information.

As our staff are now fully vaccinated, we are permitted to open our parish office.

Masking and social distance should be maintained when visitors are present.

The Parish Office will be open 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Thursday.

Please call the parish office if you have any questions or concerns

(619-422-4141) or email info@saint-johns.org.

Rev. Roger will be working half-days in the office on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday; and all day on Wednesday and Friday. He will be available by appointment. Please call the office (619-422-4141) to schedule an appointment.

In case of a pastoral emergency, Rev. Roger may be reached on his cell phone at

619-301-0724.

If you receive a suspicious email from an address that seems to be Rev. Roger or another parishioner asking for a favor, it may be a phishing attempt. Scam emails mimic addresses we are familiar with and are very often full of grammatical errors.

Rev. Roger will never email you asking for funds or financial support by way of gift cards. If you receive an email that seems suspicious, do not open it or respond to it. Delete it immediately.

Phishing is a cyber attack that uses disguised email as a weapon. The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need - a request from their bank, for instance, or a note from someone in their company - and to click a link or download an attachment.

Your weekly newsletter highlights important events at St. John's Episcopal Church. You can also find news about St. John's at www.saint-johns.org.

We welcome your feedback, photos, and news items. Contact Maria Love at (619) 422-4141 or info@saint-johns.org

Specific needs will change as the crisis evolves. As of right now, there is a need for food, water, and shelter. Please consider partnering with Episcopal Relief & Development in this response.

Please click the button below to donate:

Chris Tumilty, EDSD Director of Communications

For sponsorship and ticketing contact Andrea Muir at amuir@ecscalifornia.org.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is changing life for all of us. You may feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, bored, depressed, lonely or frustrated in these circumstances.

Find resources to connect with real people that can help, here.

Love calls us to care for our neighbors and for our enemies. Love calls us to attend to those in prison, to those who are homeless, to those in poverty, to children, immigrants and refugees.

What would love do? To you, who so generously support the transformative work of Episcopal Relief & Development, love calls you to continue to sow seeds of lasting change

Visit Episcopal Relief and Development: One Thousand Days of Love to see how you can help.

As part of our ongoing commitment to creating a safe haven for everyone, our diocese trains people in the prevention of misconduct and encourages all to report misconduct. All reported incidences are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly and confidentially. If you believe you have experienced misconduct of any kind, please contact Mr. John Seitman, (jseitman@pacbell.net), 858-793-4555 or Ms. Equilla Luke, (aequilla@icloud.com), 760-583-0485.