June 10, 2022

Jazz Vespers on Saturday

Our monthly Jazz Vespers service will be held this Saturday, June 11, at 5 p.m. in the Sanctuary (and online). Don't miss this spectacular service featuring music by Dianna Hughes (vocals), Michael Anthony (guitar), Maren Hatch (bass), Joe Chellman (drums), and Robert Lah (piano). Message will be delivered by Rev. Dr. Scott Sharp. Click the button below to watch the service live and online from home. 

Mountain Cathedrals Moonlight Walk on Saturday

Let us enjoy the cool of a moonlit evening in the Sandia foothills near the base of the Sandia Peak Tram, including good views over Albuquerque. Meet at St. John's east parking lot at 7 p.m. or at the Tramway lot at 7:30 p.m. (fee for parking). We'll head southeast, then south along Trail 365, which is not closed at this time. Return to the trailhead by 10 p.m. and the church by 10:30 p.m. The route is easy to moderate (initial climb of ~150 feet, then some up and down on sandy surface). Bring water, flashlight/headlamp and possibly a snack. This is three days ahead of the full moon, so it should be high enough in the sky to illuminate the trail once the daylight fades. Thank you to the Tram employees who pointed out this option!  

Consider Ps. 119:55: I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law. Please join us for this hike of meditation, wilderness, and time apart from our normal schedules. Contact organizer Mike Furnish for questions at 505-440-7292 or mdfurnish@comcast.net.

Youth News

Real to Reel: This Sunday from 3-6 p.m. is the movie, CLUE. Will you come as Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard or maybe Mrs. Peacock?

Wednesday Youth Hang Time: Will NOT meet this Wednesday, June 15, but keep your eyes open for a cool new location with treats the next Wednesday.  

Youth Mission Trip to Sacramento Camp: July 10-16. Registration forms are located online on the youth page. Cost is $325 and scholarships are available. A $50 nonrefundable deposit is due by July 1 to reserve your spot. 

Vacation Bible School: Coming soon, from June 27-30! We have invite cards at the Hospitality center. Cost is $15 and there are scholarships available. 

Joy Singers Gospel Sing Along June 13 & 20

June 13 and 20, 10:00 am in the choir room, the St. John’s Joy Singers will be hosting an open to all gospel singalong. Mostly gospels plus a few oldies. Accompanying the singalong will be guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass and our internationally known jazz pianist, Jim Ahrend. Everyone is invited to come join this select group of musicians who are so special they are yet to be named. For more information about Joy Singers please contact Therese Macali at tmacali@stjohns-abq.org.

Asbury Pie Parties Start June 14, Fruit & Freezer Space Needed

Asbury Pie parties will be held Tuesday evenings in June and July from 6 - 8:30 p.m. in St. John's Kitchen. For more information, or to organize your own pie party, contact Jenn Shields at 505-450-9978 or jennshields200@yahoo.com. Click here to see a printable invitation. Pie party dates: June 14, June 21, June 28, July 12, July 19, and July 26. We are in need of fruit and freezer space this summer. Please let Jenn know if have either or both available.

Friendship with Christian Sisters on June 22

New this summer! All women are invited to attend Friendship with Christian Sisters. Come connect with other women of all ages in an informal setting for a time of fellowship and snacks. Wednesdays in the summer from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. in St. John's Narthex. This event is sponsored by the Women's Ministry. For questions, contact Donna at donnabruce@comcast.net. Click here to see the event flyer.

Let the Rummaging Begin!

Once again, we're approaching rummage season, and our United Women in Faith (formerly UMW) is gearing up for another "big one" the last week in July (sale will be held July 29 and 30). Your discards mean funding for the many mission projects we support, and there are more "needs" than ever before in our community. Due to lack of storage space at the church, we cannot store items in advance of the sale, so please hold your donations until the last week in July when we'll offer three days for donation drop-off at the Family Life Center. There are also a few restrictions on the type of items we can accept, so please go to the Hospitality Center for a copy of our rummage sale information sheet. Thanks for your support!

Work Together Weekend

Our Work Together Weekend is quickly approaching! Daryn DeZengotita from Work Together People will be meeting with congregational leaders, community members, and other visioneers and strategizers June 23-25 (Thursday-Saturday) here at St. John’s. We are excited to gather around a design-thinking model and explore creative ways that St. John’s can expand its ministries into our community in deeper and more meaningful ways, or, just as critically, where we can start new things, develop new partnerships, or connect with others in new ways.

On Thursday evening, June 23, we will gather at 6:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center for a light meal and introduction to the weekend’s work: “Inspiration, Imagination, Innovation, and Improvisation.” This is a terrific opportunity for everyone and anyone to gather in community and get a “taste” of what might be possible for our ministries, programs, and outreach. If you would like to join us for this gathering, please register using the "RSVP For Welcome Dinner" button below, or contact Joy in the Church Office, we’d love to have you take part in this conversation!

Additionally, if you would like to be part of the workgroup that will be meeting Friday and Saturday to dig deeper, dream, and strategize, please let Pastor Randall know as soon as possible so that you can be invited to the team and receive the preliminary/suggested readings and prep work!

As always, we ask for everyone to be in prayer for this work.

New Business Manager at St. John's!

We are pleased to welcome Jamie Davidson to the St John’s staff, succeeding Janice McCrary as the Business Manager.  

Jamie attended Sandia High School and the University of New Mexico and has over 30 years of office and business management experience. She will be working in parallel with Janice during the month of June as we transition, so please be sure to stop by and welcome Jamie to the St John’s family (or send her a note at jdavidson@stjohns-abq.org) and thank Janice for her exceptional service.  

On another staffing note, we are sorry to say goodbye to Ricardo Castillo, our bookkeeper, who has left St John’s to pursue other opportunities. We are grateful to Ricardo for his contributions. Janice will be acting as the bookkeeper in the interim while we find a replacement.   

Visitors, We Have a Gift for You!

We are thrilled to have guests at our church! As an expression of our thanks, we have a hot/cold mug for first-time guests and new visitors to St. John's. We hope they will become a part of our church family, and have included information about connecting at St. John's in each mug. If you are a guest (or you notice a new visitor in our pews), please visit the hospitality desk before or after services to receive this gift. 

Now, the rest of you are special too! If you would like a St. John's hot/cold travel mug, they are available at the Hospitality Center for a suggested donation of $5.

We want you to know that these mugs were special-ordered from a company in Georgia so that we could be sure they were ethically sourced. The cups themselves were cast in the USA, where they were also printed.

Virtual Hospitality Team Needed

Online, livestreamed worship is something we moved to out of necessity during the pandemic but is something that we will carry forward as part of our regular services of worship. We are wanting to build a core team of “online greeters”—volunteers who are willing to engage in chat and comments with others during our online services. If you worship online with us regularly (or at least fairly often) and are willing to help us engage with the hundreds of folks who are part of our online community, please let Pastor Randall or Pastor Tiffany know. This is uncharted territory for many congregations, but we are eager to learn how to love God, love others, and change lives in new ways!

Social Concerns: Gun Violence

Please accept our apologies for the incorrect area code provided last week while asking you to call Washington. It is 202, not 203 (full number to call to and demand action to prevent gun violence and enact lifesaving gun legislation is: 202-224-3121).

This week, we're including a link to a piece from Church and Society, with Christian information on the subject as well as an easy way to petition your Senators on upcoming votes for legislation around this subject. You may want to petition other Senators too! 

Thank you,

Dennis Scherlacher, Social Concerns Committee

June Special Offering: Ministries to Refugees 

The number of refugees all around the world seems to only increase. People from Afghanistan and Ukraine are the latest, and we have a number of opportunities to help those who are settling in New Mexico.

We may donate items (see article below) and/or donate funds. We are partnering with Lutheran Family Services, the group currently coordinating refugee resettlement in Albuquerque. As the Bible tells us, "God loves foreigners and gives them food and clothing, and you too must love foreigners for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt." (Living Bible- Deuteronomy 10:18)

Afghanistan and Ukraine Refugee Supplies and Furniture Needed 

Lutheran Family Services, the local organization that is helping to settle Afghanistan and Ukraine refugees in Albuquerque, is in need of the following supplies which we will collect in June:

• Cleaning supplies: dish soap, paper towels, laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner (Ajax, Comet, 409, Clorox spray, etc.)
• Kitchen: trash cans (13 gal), trash bags (13 gal)
• Furniture: tables, side tables, couches, chairs
• Other items: mops, shower curtains, toilet paper, alarm clocks

Some of these items are duplicates with what we are collecting for Silver Horizons this month. If you have a preference where your item(s) go, please tag the items with "SH" (for Silver Horizons) or "Refugees". Otherwise, we will divide duplicate items equally between the two organizations. Thank you so much for all you do for those in need!

June Collection for Silver Horizons 

Our partnership with Silver Horizons continues to grow and blossom . . . thanks to the generosity of all of you! It's a win-win situation for us and for them. Silver Horizons regularly supplies food items for our Mobile Food Pantry clients, and our Zuni Weekend Meal Bag Project. In turn, we collect non-food items for the clients of Silver Horizons, since their grant money can only be used to purchase food. During the month of June, let's make a major push to be extra-generous to Silver Horizons with the following items: dry and canned cat food, deodorant for women and men, laundry detergent, dish detergent, paper towels, shampoo, and disposable razor blades. New, unopened products are requested. Please place your donations in the wire bins located in the Hospitality Center. Thank you!  

New Testaments ("First Nations Version") for Good Medicine Way 

This past week, Casey Church shared information with St. John's about the new church start, Good Medicine Way, the only United Methodist Native American Church in the Albuquerque area. This church is attempting to bring a Christian Gospel message through broad Native American cultural understandings. 

During the month of June we will be collecting donations to purchase the "First Nations Version, an Indigenous Translation of the New Testament", (in English, by Native Americans, for Native Americans, and all English speaking people) for Good Medicine Way Church.

There are several ways you can give: 1) drop cash or checks into the blue box on the Hospitality Center (only there on Sunday mornings), 2) place your cash or check in the offering plate on Sunday mornings, 3) mail in your check to the church office (2626 Arizona NE, 87110) or 4) give online. In all cases, please make your check out to St. John's UMC and indicate "New Testaments" on your check memo field, envelope or on-line giving. Once again, thank you, St. John's for your generosity! 

Prayer Quilt Recipient 

Wanda Neely is the recipient for the prayer quilt currently on display in the Hospitality Center.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer) for Wanda: "Father God, we pray that you will bless Wanda with your loving care and renew her strength as she recovers from surgery. Amen.”