May 5, 2023

New MexiChords Concert on Friday and Saturday

New MexiChords present their spring a cappella show, "Heritage of Harmony," with two concerts on Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 6 at 2 p.m., here, at St. John's main sanctuary with special guest quartet, "High Priority". Tickets at door for $15. Join us as we celebrate the roots of the uniquely American music style of Barbershop Harmony! 

Family Promise Parking Lot Sale on Friday and Saturday

Family Promise is holding a Parking Lot Sale this Friday and Saturday May 5 and 6 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their office at 1516 San Pedro Dr. NE. Items are from 2 Amazon Stores that are closing and donating the sales to Family Promise. Please come and shop, all proceeds benefit Family Promise's shelter program. Click here to see the event flyer.

Memory Café Meets on Saturday

Memory Café Albuquerque is celebrating spring and Mother’s Day on May 6, from 1:30-

3 p.m. in the Sonshine Café. This is the first meeting on our new schedule. In the future, we will meet the first Saturday of each month from1:30-3 pm. St. John’s Joy Singers will bring special music and there will be a visit by Patricia Newman and the High Desert Therapy Dog. We will also do a little gentle stretching and, of course, eat great snacks! Click here to read our flyer for more information.

Memory Café is a supportive fellowship for anyone affected by memory loss/Alzheimer’s and their caring partners. For more information (505) 323-7522 or ssmjens@aol.com.

Online Safe Sanctuaries Training on Saturday

Kevin Johnson of Discipleship Ministries will facilitate Safe Sanctuaries Basic Training via Zoom, Saturday May 6, 9:00 a.m. - noon. This class is open to everyone in the NM Conference. Click here to register.

Jolly Elders Meet on May 10

The next Jolly Elders meeting will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 10 in Rooms 245-257 at St. John's UMC. The speaker will be Senior Pastor Randall Partin who will talk about his recent trip to the United Kingdom during February and March. He will talk about what happened during his past renewal leave trip where he traveled the Pilgrim’s Way from Winchester to Canterbury in England. All members of St. John's and friends are welcome to attend.

Help Family Promise Host Week in May (14-21)

We need your help for Family Promise host week from May 14 through May 21.

Family Promise is a national program that supports homeless families in cities across the United States including Albuquerque. For six weeks during the year, St. John's is responsible for meals brought to the Montgomery site. In addition, we are asked to stay on site for two hours to give relief to the permanent staff. If you would like to pair up with someone to provide a meal and stay for two hours, please contact Jenn Shields or Linn Furnish.

To volunteer, sign up at the Hospitality Center, at the Abide service, or contact Jenn at jennshields200@yahoo.com / 505-450-9978 or Linn Furnish at swimsew@comcast.net. To see more information about Family Promise click here.

Lenten Fish Fry Dinner Celebration on May 20

• Saturday, May 20
• 5 - 7 p.m.
• Family Life Center

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all the volunteers, staff and pastors who made this year's Fish Fry Dinners a huge success! Let's gather for a time of fellowship to celebrate the successful completion of the dinners; Wayne will share some record-breaking statistics. This year's Celebration is a potluck, so please plan to bring a dish to serve at least 6 - 8 people with hearty appetites. All drinks, plates, napkins and silverware will be provided by the Food Ministry team. We hope to see you there!

Sign up for CPR/AED/1st Aid Class on June 10

St. John's is hosting a CPR/AED/1st aid class on Saturday, June 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  This course offers life saving information/training that applies to everyone. You need to attend the entire time, with a short lunch break, to complete the course. 

Cost is: $60.00 + tax including the card and textbook or $25.00 + tax for no card and no textbook. Sign up by email to Linn Furnish RN at swimsew@comcast.net or call 505-884-6626.

Richard Heise Has Passed

Dr. Richard Heise, founder of St. Francis Animal Clinic, passed away peacefully on Sunday April 23. Dr. Heise founded the clinic just southeast of St. John's at Menaul and Florida in 1958, before Coronado Center existed. His family wishes to thank the many individuals from St. John's who entrusted their beloved pets to his care. Please keep Richard in your prayers. His funeral will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 8 at Annunciation church, 2621 Vermont St. NE. Others familiar with the history of this clinic note that "he believed that everyone should be able to afford to have a pet. He did not charge for his expert care what he should have or could have charged ... because he loved the pets he cared for and the people who brought their pets to him."

Email Bible Study: Under-Complexifying

In his Easter message, Pastor Randall cautioned us against under-complexifying the resurrection. Many other biblical and theological topics are routinely under-complexified, but each topic is too complicated to be discussed in one week’s study tips in the email Bible study. Part I of “Under-Complexifying” will address a few questions about one such topic, the nature of God. We aren’t likely to find answers, but maybe we’ll expand our appreciation of God’s complexity. 

“Reading Our Bible Together” originated in 2007 at St. John’s and is our largest and longest-running Bible study. A scripture passage and a brief study tip are distributed to most participants by email five days a week. The study tips are made available outside our walls through an archive at www.daily-bible-study-tips.com, where they are accessed daily by readers throughout the world. Answers to reader questions and other supplements occasionally come out on Saturdays. Pick up a study guide in the Welcome Center, or write or call Regina Hunter at drhunter@nmia.com or 294-2877 to receive daily study tips by email.

Request a Prayer Quilt

It was brought to our attention recently (and as a reminder) that the Needle Arts Group knits and crochets prayer shawls to be distributed to someone in need of comfort and prayers. In addition, our quilting group makes prayer quilts also for those in need of comfort and prayers. The prayer quilts are hung in the Hospitality Center area for two weeks and the congregation participates by tying knots on the quilt as they say a prayer for the recipient. At the end of the two-week period, the requester of the quilt will be able to deliver the quilt to the recipient. To request a prayer quilt, please contact Doris Bowen (bowen_g@msn.com) or Donna Bruce (donnabruce@comcast.net) if you know of someone whom you think might benefit from the prayers of the congregation and would enjoy being reminded daily of those prayers through a quilt.

Give a Shawl From the Ladies Needle Arts Group

The Needle Arts ladies have a heart for those who need a little extra warmth in their lives, whether yarn or love. Every Sunday in the Hospitality Center is a basket of shawls, there for those who need to know that St. John’s cares. Don’t hesitate to share with someone. Blessings.

We Recognize our Members of Over 50 Years

God has blessed St. John's with 73 years of ministry, and in that time we have had a number of faithful members who have been with us through each new chapter. We would like to recognize those members of St. John's who are reaching 50 years of membership and beyond this year. Thank you for all of the ways that you have enriched our church community! Click here to see the list of those members.

New History Page: Sharing St. John's Memories

Using information collected by our Church Historian Norma Argo, we have created a new church history page on St. John's website. Here, you can find a brief history of St. John's, a digital version of the Memory Book written for our 50th anniversary in 2000, memories, letters and poems from church members and former pastors, and photographs.

We would love to have your memories of St. John's become a part of our history! If you have a memory of St. John's you would like to share, email your free form writing and/or photographs to Communications Director Nicole Creaturo. There are no requirements for this writing. We would love to hear your stories - long or short, and from any time period in our church.

Music Ministries Collaborate with APS Schools

This year, St. John’s Music Ministries has been involved in a very exciting project at four APS elementary schools. St. John’s music staff, including Matt Greer, Therese Macali, and Garrett Medlock, have been bringing enrichment activities to music classrooms at Edward Gonzales, Governor Bent, Sierra Vista, and Lew Wallace Elementary Schools. The project, “Sing Together Albuquerque,” is a partnership with Quintessence A Community of Singers and the VOCES8 Foundation in the UK. Albuquerque schoolchildren have been paired up with children in London to become pen pals and to learn songs together along with members of Apollo5 and VOCES8. 

Apollo5 enjoyed going to these classrooms when they were in Albuquerque in February. Click here to see them sing "The Bear Missed the Train" at Lew Wallace Elementary.

Opportunity for Academic Year Exchange Student Housing

Linn and Mike Furnish have hosted four students from abroad for the full year (three with this program), and numerous others for shorter periods, and invite other St. John's families to consider this opportunity to enlarge their horizons. Contact them (505-884-6626 or swimsew@comcast.net) for more information or use the contacts below to directly contact the New Mexico AFS team. 

AFS New Mexico is looking for Host Families for 11th-grade level exchange students who will be attending schools in the Albuquerque area. Families complete the AFS Hosting Application process, provide a bed, three meals a day, and the same care and support that they would give to their own child. AFS Students may be a part of any domestic travels your family has planned. All families are welcome and you don't have to have a teenager to host! If you are interested in such a hosting opportunity, contact Anne Downing at drdavrome@gmail.com. For more information visit www.afsusa.org/host. 

Bringing the world closer together two families at a time!

Register for Youth Mission Trip to El Paso

The Youth mission trip will be July 23-29 to El Paso, TX. There is a $50 non-refundable deposit. Total cost will be $200-$250 depending on additional activities. We will be doing a Vacation Bible school for Tobin Park UMC-we will be staying at the church also! Click here to download the registration form and return to Pastor Tiffany or the church office.

May Special Offering: Sacramento Methodist Assembly

"Come to the Mountain - Let God refresh your soul." St. John's folks have been doing that for many years. The Assembly is located south of Cloudcroft and surrounded by Lincoln National Forest. Retreats and camps and conferences for all ages are held there. Many have had profound experiences of God in that setting. Sacramento depends on our donations so future generations can continue to meet God on the mountain. Please give generously this month of May.

Hygiene Items for Silver Horizons

When you shop this month, please consider purchasing an extra item or two (or more) for the clients served by Silver Horizons, many of whom are caring for grandchildren. Specifically, we're collecting new, regular-sized hygiene items for men and women, such as: deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, bar soap, lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Please place your donations in the wire bins located in the Hospitality Center, and know that they will be gratefully received by those in need. Thank you!

Our worship services are livestreamed so you can watch them from home. To watch a worship service live, click on the service that you would like to watch on Sunday morning at its scheduled time.

St. John's United Methodist Church

2626 Arizona Street NE | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110

Office Hours (call only): Monday - Thursday, 9a.m. - 4 p.m.

Friday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Pastor 24-Hour Hotline | (505)808-1624

Pastor care is available for after hours emergencies. Any congregational care needs, please send those to Pastor Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org as we all work together to love one another well.