The Weekly Sunday Bulletin of St. John’s Episcopal Church |
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There Is No Place Like Home
This week, we read the story of the Prodigal Son, in Luke 15: 11-32. Most of us are most familiar with this parable, but the lectionary actually takes us back to the beginning of Luke 15: All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Jesus goes on the share two parables depicting loss. The first, is the parable of the lost sheep. If even one out of the hundred is lost, the Good Shepherd of us all will leave the other ninety-nine and go search for the one who is lost. When found, there is much rejoicing and celebration. The message to the Pharisees and Scribes is that there is more joy in heaven over just one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine who believe they are righteous and need no repentance. The second parable is about a lost coin. “…there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15: 10. These parables say much about the character of God, whose love pours forth in measures we cannot even comprehend. They clearly remind us that God’s grace is sufficient for us, that we can rest in the safety of God’s arms if we are willing to turn and return to God when we have strayed – even like lost sheep – and we have all erred and strayed.
The parable of the Prodigal Son takes our lostness a little further. When we allow the words of our confession to flow through us – the words that say, “we have sinned against you in thought word and deed”, God, as represented by the father in this story, will not just rejoice when we turn toward him, but will actually run towards us. We, in fact are met on our way home by a loving and forgiving God.
In the rabbinic literature of Pesikta Rabbati, the story of turning and returning is summed up like this:
“A King had a son who had gone astray from his father on a journey of a hundred days. His friends said to him, ‘Return to your father.’ He said, ‘I cannot.’ Then his father sent word, ‘Return as far as you can, and I will come the rest of the way to you.’ So, God says, ‘Return to me, and I will return to you.’”
We are in Lent, a time when we are called to quiet our minds and search our hearts. Where is it that we are being blocked from returning – returning to our loved ones, returning to church, but most of all returning to God. May we continue our Lenten journey with open hearts knowing that our most loving and gracious God is already celebrating our homecoming!
In God’s love,
Deacon Claire Mis
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The Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Readings
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Join us for Sunday Worship at 8am and 10am in the church or remotely on Zoom and Facebook.
8:00 am - Rite I Morning Prayer
9:45 am - Sunday School meets in the Guild Room and also on Zoom
10:00 am – Rite II Morning Prayer with Music
The Music
11:30 am – Rite II Holy Eucharist with Baptism
The Hymns
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SAFE PRACTICES FOR IN-PERSON SERVICES & EVENTS |
We are so happy to welcome people into the church for in-person worship. As we increase the number of people allowed in the church, we can all do our part to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy:
- Masks are recommended. Disposable masks are available at the back of the church;
- Social distancing. Please maintain a safe distance between your group/family and others;
- Sanitize hands upon entrance. Dispensers are available at the back of the church;
- Service bulletins and reading inserts are available at the back of the church.
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HOLY EUCHARIST WITH BAPTISM - MARCH 27TH AT 11:30 AM |
On March 27th, Fr. Duncan will be helping out at Trinity Northport as celebrant for their 9:00 am service. So, on that day our 8:00 am service will be a Rite I Morning Prayer and the 10:00 am service will be a Rite II Morning Prayer.
For those who wish to receive Holy Communion at St. John's on March 27th, we have added a Rite II Holy Eucharist with Baptism at 11:30 am. This service will be in the church and on Zoom:
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All are welcome at Morning Prayer. We meet Monday through Friday at 9:00 am via Zoom.
Our short prayer service is followed by some fellowship and discussion. Feel free to join us occasionally to listen and pray, or come more often to participate as a leader or reader, and to start your day with your focus on Christ and a deeper connection with your friends at St. John's.
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FUNERAL INFORMATION FOR WARREN RAY VALENTINE |
Sunday, March 27
Wake from 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Monday, March 28
Service at 11:00 am
St. John’s Episcopal Church
12 Prospect Street
Huntington, NY 11743
Luncheon to follow at the church in the Great Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to any of the following organizations:
Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation, Inc.
3300 Beltagh Ave
Wantagh, NY 11793
St. John’s Episcopal Church
12 Prospect Street
Huntington, NY 11743
WSHU Public Radio Group
5151 Park Avenue
Fairfield, CT 06825
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Bible Study meets on Mondays at 6:30 pm and Tuesdays at 11:00 am. The topics covered on Monday will also be covered on Tuesday of the same week.
We have begun a new program on Paul's Letter to the Philippians using the writings of N. T. Wright.
More copies of the book, Paul for Everyone: the Prison Letters by N. T. Wright will be available in the Parish Office on Thursday, January 6th. It is also available at amazon.com in paperback or Kindle versions:
We are also referencing an online program, "Paul and His Letter to the Philippians" at Udemy.com. Here is the log in information if you would like to review them before we meet:
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LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS WANTED |
St. John's is a member of the Huntington Greening Fellowship. We are looking for a volunteer to represent St. John's. Are you interested in the environment? Are you able to help St. John's partner with local faith and environmental organizations to be better environmental stewards?
HUMuS: Huntington Mobilization for Sustainability wants to train you to become a local environmental leader. As a a Huntington Greening Fellow you will:
- Connect to local environmental organizations
- Meet other people in Huntington who want to help the environment
- Learn how climate change affects us on Long Island
- Help your organization, workplace or your home go Green
- Learn how you can influence local and state policies
Dates: March 13 – May 22, 2022
Commitment: 7 meetings (on Zoom; alternating Sun/Thur nights), + 1 Sunday afternoon in-person field trip (outdoors)
Please contact Coral in the Parish Office to sign up for the next training series. |
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ST. JOHN'S CHOIR REHEARSALS |
St. John's Adult Choir will meet on Thursdays at 7:30 pm in the church to prepare for Holy Week.
If you are interested in joining our choir, please contact Alex Pryrodny, Music Director, for more information at rurikbird@gmail.com. |
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LENTEN SERIES - "LIVING BEYOND BORDERS" |
Tuesdays in Lent via Zoom
March 29th & April 5th
All are welcome to join us:
6:00 pm - Stations of the Cross
6:30 pm - Evening Prayer
7:00 - 8:30 pm - Program*
The Rev. Canon David Ulloa Chavez, Canon for Border Ministries for the Diocese of Arizona, will lead a five-part series referencing the book The US Immigration Crisis by Miquel de la Torre (copies are available in the Parish Office for a suggested contribution of $25). For our 2022 Lenten Series we will partner with St. Francis in the Valley.
Week 4 - March 29: please read Chapters 6, 7 and Conclusion. We will reflect on and discuss question 1 from chapter 6, question 1 from chapter 7 and question 3 from the conclusion.
What has amazed you?
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ST. FRANCIS IN THE VALLEY |
NEW DATE for MISSION TRIP to Arizona
October 24 – 31 2022
OUTREACH is sharing Christ’s love with all our neighbors!
Save the date:
Meeting for those hoping to go on the mission trip:
Tuesday, May 17th
7:00 p.m.
All are welcome to attend
Join Zoom Meeting:
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Thank you to all who gave to the special collection we had for our sisters and brothers in Ukraine. Through your generosity, we were able to send $686 to the Ukrainian Red Cross. Our Prayer Shawl Ministry also provided 14 blue and yellow prayer shawls which will be sent to Ukraine through St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church in Riverhead.
Our music director, Alex Pryrodny, researched some reputable organizations providing support to the Ukrainian people at this time. If you would like to offer your support, please visit these following websites:
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By Dave Lasek, Thrift Shop Secretary
As you all know we are the hands and feet for God’s work. We are so very blessed with our volunteers. With out them St. John’s would not have the ability to serve our community. During the Christmas break, we had the hallway painted and lighting upgraded there and one other room. The hallway is now a art gallery, yes, repurposed in an amazing way. The cost was $2,525 for the work done and was completely paid for by the thrift shop. We were getting so many compliments on how friendly and inviting the thrift shop looks. We invite you to stop by and see for yourself.
Year-to-date the shop has total sales of $7,522.63. We just paid our sales tax liability for 2021 in the amount of $1,065.97. Also we have made $6,000.00 in donations so far this year to St John’s. Plus, we distribute vouchers to various organizations in the community. We donate our children’s clothing and some of our other overflow of clothing to Christ Church in Brentwood. And as we say, we are sure we have something that you don’t need but would love to sell to you! Thank you for your continued support of St John’s thrift shop.
.”Help us to shine the light of Christ on others “
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MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH |
By Heather Kress, RR&SJM Chairperson
In many of our prior articles, you’ve read about one group or another arriving in the United States – whether the Latinos, the Italians, the Africans – and how poorly they were treated. Even our own indigenous people, found here by the European settlers, fared no better. The same pattern continues with women who have been here as long as men and have shared in men’s journeys of exploration and conquests, working alongside them, but never as equals.
So, where to start with women’s history - or, perhaps, more appropriately, women’s HERstory? Let’s start at the very beginning with Eve. There, in the Christian creation myth in Genesis, she was created out of the side of Adam and later infamously tempted him to disobey God and eat from the tree of knowledge of right and wrong. As punishment for this, original sin became the inheritance of the entire human race. This story gave rise to any number of assumptions, theories and rejoinders about whether men, because Adam was created first, are superior to women because Eve was created second and “from Adam’s rib”, with a categorical and enduring response that women are the “inferior” sex. All of these narratives either totally deny or intentionally forget God’s explicit statement in the same Genesis text that he created both – both men and women – in His image and his clear charge to both, to humans as a whole, to have “dominion” over the creatures of the earth. As God’s image bearers, men and women share the dignity that comes with reflecting divinity; as co-rulers over God’s creation, there is no suggestion that humans were originally created to rule over other humans. From the beginning of recorded history, however, men have misinterpreted that instruction of “dominion” to mean “domination” and have acted with impunity to dominate over all of creation, including women.
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MARCH IS ALSO IRISH HERITAGE MONTH |
"The Irish in America" by Bill Kiley
Over the past few years, you have heard comments such as these:
- Why should we care about refugees who are forced into exile by humanitarian and/or political disaster?
- These refugees are poor and disease-ridden who are taking jobs away from Americans.
- They will strain and break our welfare budgets.
- These refugees are bringing crime with them; many of these undesirables are rapists.
- They practice a religion that is alien to America, and they pledge allegiance to a foreign leader.
The above comments are not contemporaneous utterances about the various refugee groups who have recently come to America, rather, they are historical comments about the almost two-million Irish refugees who came to our country in the mid-1800s. And while there had been some Irish who came to America prior to this massive wave of immigration, the roots of most of the emigrants from Ireland can be tracked to this mid-19th century period. So, what caused this massive flight from their native country?
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Giving envelopes are here! They are available for pick up at the back of the church for those who have requested them. If you are unable to pick up your envelopes, we can make arrangements to have them delivered, just let us know.
Giving numbers are still available, so if you would like 2022 envelopes or have any questions, please contact Coral in the Parish Office.
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STEWARDSHIP: PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT |
Your stewardship is a commitment to sustaining St. John’s ministry today and going forward.
Pledge cards are available in the pews and at the back of the church. You may also submit your pledge online using our online pledge form. You may send your regular stewardship payments in the mail, leave them in the collection plate on Sundays, or set up automatic, recurring payments online.
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If you would like to remember a loved one with the Perpetual Light in Lent, please complete an Altar Flower Form and return it to the Parish Office with your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild." Flowers are not available during Lent.
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To help beautify St. John’s Altar at Easter we ask for your donation for Easter Flowers to remember your deceased Loved Ones, or in Thanksgiving for your blessings.
Please complete and return this form to the office by the DEADLINE of Monday, April 4, 2022 if you wish to have your dedication listed in the Easter Bulletin.
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"A Lenten Journey: A Christian Pilgrimage toward New Life" - This small collection of Lenten meditations was composed by now Bishop Allen Shin when he was rector of St. Johns as an offering to the members of St. John’s.
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PRAYER CONCERNS FOR ST. JOHN'S |
We pray for the sick: Liz, Harry and Christine, Hal, Richard, Barbara, Fanny, Jackie, Diana, Edward, Christine, Fred, Tom, Allison, Amy, Kate, Cole, Jennifer, Spencer, Sue, Wylie, Matt, Susan, Maggie, Tom, Olivia, Christina, Victor, Melissa, Jack, Ursula, Anita, Nancy, Peter, Patti, Shannon, Kelsey, Justin, Cheryl, Kristin
Recently Departed: Warren Ray Valentine
The Perpetual Light is given in loving memory of Bertha and Frank Lasek, and Natividad and Modesto Roman, the gift of Dave and Nelly Lasek.
The Perpetual Light is given in loving memory of Walter J. McCarthy, beloved husband, father, grandpa, and Opa, the gift of his family.
To add or remove someone from our prayer list, please email prayers@stjohns1745.org or call Coral in the Parish Office.
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St. John's Episcopal Church
12 Prospect Street
Huntington, New York 11743
(631) 427-1752
STAY CONNECTED
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