January 27, 2023

Services for Vernon and Betty Easley

Betty Easley passed away on January 13, 2023. Her husband, Vernon Easley, passed away on January 23, 2023. A visitation is planned for both of them on Friday, January 27 from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at French, located at 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, 87112.

A service for Betty will take place on Saturday, January 28, at 10:00 a.m. in St. John's Sanctuary. A service for Vernon will be planned at a later date. The Easleys were members of St. John's for 65 years and all are welcome to come celebrate their lives.

Omelet Bar Mix and Match on Sunday

The next Omelet Bar Mix-and-Match is going to be a week later than usual in January due to a busy schedule on the fourth Sunday. You can get a made to order 3 egg or egg white omelet that you can choose to fill with a generous selection of meats and veggies plus a piece of toast with jam or butter. All for just $7 per omelet with a drink included! Omelet Bar is in The SonShine Cafe between 7:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. Bring a friend and enjoy a quality, made from scratch breakfast and great conversation around the cafe tables with folks from all 3 Sunday services! 

We need volunteers to take money and be a runner—no running required. Use the button below to sign up to volunteer. If you have any questions, text or call Nancy Douglas de Baca at 505-238-5895.

Safe Sanctuaries Training January 30

Safe Sanctuaries training will be held on Monday, January 30 from 1-3 p.m. in the Library upstairs (room 231). Please RSVP to Tiffany (thollums@stjohns-abq.org) so we can have a training manual for you. This training is required every year for those serving with youth, children, or vulnerable adults. We will have more training dates at various times coming soon. 

Memorial Service for Susan Cockrell February 3

Susan Cockrell, wife of former pastor Rev. Craig Cockrell, has passed away. A memorial service will be held for Susan in St. John's Sanctuary on Friday, February 3, at 11 a.m. There will be a reception immediately following the service in the Family Life Center. If you would like to send Rev. Cockrell a condolence card, please send it to the New Mexico Conference office at 11816 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112--5614.

Family Pretzel Day February 4

Come, twist with us... pretzels, that is! Our United Women in Faith is hosting Family Pretzel Day on Saturday, February 4, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Family Life Center. Each person will receive enough ready-to-twist dough for three pretzels. We'll learn the significance of pretzels in the Christian Lenten season, as well as participate in a craft. To ensure that we have enough dough for all participants, reservations are required no later than January 31. To make reservations, please contact Linn Furnish at 505-884-6626 or swimsew@comcast.net. Be sure to include the number of reservations you need. All children must be accompanied by an adult. We'll be "rollin' in the dough" on February 4, and we hope you'll "rise to the occasion" and join us! Everyone is welcome, so please invite friends and family members.

Congregational Care Meeting February 5

The next Congregational Care Group meeting will be held on Sunday, February 5, in the Library (room 230) immediately following the 11 a.m. worship service. For questions, please contact Tiffany Hollums at thollums@stjohns-abq.org.

Women's Bible Study Nothing Wasted, God Uses the Stuff You Wouldn't Starts February 7

The next Women's Bible Study will be on the book Nothing Wasted, God Uses the Stuff You Wouldn’t by Kasey Van Norman. Class details:

• February 7 - March 14 (6 weeks), Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., IN-PERSON
• Facilitator: Barbara Stanfield
• Register by emailing Susan Perry at  teachersusan@comcast.net, signing up at the Hospitality Center on Sundays or calling the Church Office (505-883-9717)
• Participants will purchase their own books

Do you ever wonder what God could do with your regrets, sorrows, failures, or broken past? Have you ever been confused about why God would allow something to happen? Perhaps you feel your story is either too scandalous or too boring to be used by God in a powerful way. In this Bible study, Kasey Van Norman presents God as a mixed-media artist who knows exactly how to use all the unlovely pieces, gracefully gathering the broken bits and scraps of our lives to create a masterpiece of redemption. Kasey takes the pressure off of outing our past, instead revealing God as the perfecter of everything that brings us shame or pain. God does not care if we are the reason for or the recipient of our messes--he wants us to understand the magnitude of receiving his grace and trust him to transform our pain into something glorious! With God, nothing is wasted.

Jolly Elders Meeting February 8

Jolly Elders will be meeting on February 8 at 11 a.m. in Room 251. Regina Hunter will be our speaker. She first got interested in family history in third grade, around 1956. In 1960, she and her dad prepared a “family tree,” a large poster of a tree showing her father’s extended family, for her grandparents’ 50th anniversary.  She got serious in 1973, when she took a class in genealogy from Lowell Volkel, the Illinois State Archivist. Since then she has continued and extended her research to the ancestry of her children and their first cousins. She has visited libraries, cemeteries, and courthouses in 27 states and the District of Columbia. She and her daughter-in-law have taught several classes at St. John's, and she has published several limited-edition family histories for special occasions, and five drafts of her book, My Grandmother Told Me.  

Regina will discuss four ways that we can pass on our family history to our children and grandchildren through memories, photos, and stories. Bring a pencil and a photo, and be prepared to get started!

Memory Café on February 11

The next Memory Café will be held Saturday, February 11 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. in the SonShine Café. We are a lively, energized group of people from all around Albuquerque who want to meet new friends and be in community with others caring for loved ones who have any form of mild to moderate dementia. Please park in the east lot and enter through the door that has the sign, SonShine Café above it. Sponsored by the Alzheimer Foundation of Albuquerque. Contact Mrs. Jensen at ssmjens@aol.com or Coby Livingstone at 505-259-3672 for more information.

Please Help February Family Promise Host Week

We need your help for Family Promise host week February 12-19, 2023. (Note: We are having another hosting so soon because of need at the Center and also to free St. John’s for the Fish Fry. Next hosting is not until May.) 

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 or Linn. To volunteer, please check out the link to sign up: Family Promise: 2023 February Family Promise Meals or sign up in person at the Hospitality Center.

If you have questions, please contact Jenn Shields - jennshields200@yahoo.com - 505-450-9978 or Linn Furnish - swimsew@comcast.net. To see more information about family promise click here.

Church Office Hours and Weekday Entrance Location

With the start of the New Year and with new groups, programs, and activities resuming, please remember that our regular Office Hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. If you are stopping by for a visit during the day, please park on the West side parking lot off of Arizona street, using the intercom by the door on the right and Joy will be happy to let you in.

Christmas Eve Offering Update: A Letter From Heading Home

Thank you for your gift of $4,963.00 to the Holiday of Hope campaign! Our housing-first approach is a proven national model for success in caring for people experiencing homelessness, and your gift is an investment into our solution - a solution which is working!  

We provide transportation and beds nightly to nearly 450 men and women at the Westside Emergency Housing Center, bussing them from parks and pick-up locations all over the city. Our Albuquerque Opportunity Center's 86- beds are also highly utilized. Fifteen of those beds provide rest and healing for those discharged from area hospitals. We also operate a 94-room hotel for families with children to meet the ever increasing demand for family shelter. In Gallup, we are currently housing 28-families.  

Our program ABQ StreetConnect works with APD and fire/rescue workers to move people experiencing homelessness off the streets and into our care, and the care of our partner agencies throughout the city. This specialized outreach identifies, engages, stabilizes and houses individuals for whom traditional outreach methods have not worked.

Again, thank you so much for your generous contribution. You are making a positive difference in people’s lives during this holiday season!

With sincere appreciation, 

Steve Decker

Heading Home CEO

Girl Scouts Receive Bronze Award with Help from United Women in Faith

Local Girl Scouts Aubrey Wimmer and Lillian Dostal received a Bronze Award for their "Kitchen in a Box" project with help from the United Women in Faith. The Bronze Award is the highest award a 4th/5th grade Girl Scout can earn when they team up with their troop to make a difference in the community with a self-created project.

United Women in Faith took an active part in the "A Kitchen in a Box" project. As a group they donated the needed 10 sets of knives and cutting boards, which completed 10 of the 15 boxes. Individuals in their group stepped up with donations of pot sets, place settings, and many other necessary items.

Thank you to all members of United Women in Faith and the rest of the St. John's congregation for helping these 2 young Girl Scouts complete a very special project! Click here to read more.

A Note From the Church Treasurer

Financial statements for the year 2022 have been mailed out this week. Please check yours and address any questions to Doris Bowen by email at bowen_g@msn.com or by phone at 505-410-7213. 

Space Needed for Bicycle Donations

Steve Eckels, our “bike guy” is in need of a new space to store and work on bicycles. Steve has generously given out bikes for free to the community for several years. If you have a large ware-house or know of a reference that can help Steve out, please contact him at 505-321-5205 or email at beesteve1@gmail.com.

Fish Fry Dinners are Back in 2023!

Fish Fry Dinners are ON for 2023! Can you imagine once again tasting that fried fish, fresh veggies and the desserts? YUM! The dinners are on Fridays, February 24 - March 31, from 4-7 p.m., so be sure to mark your calendars! The cost is $14 per person for adults and $7 per child (10 and under). The menu will remain the same. If you want to help out at the dinners, come by the Hospitality Center to sign up beginning January 29.

ADVANCED TICKET SALES

Due to popular demand, we offer the congregation the opportunity to purchase advanced fish fry dinner tickets as gifts for people you would like to invite. These tickets will be available at the Hospitality Center beginning January 29. No reservations are needed for the fish fry dinners; you can purchase your ticket at the door. Ticket prices are $14 for adults and $7 per child (10 and under).

QUESTIONS?

For all information pertaining to the Fish Fry, contact Wayne at jwshirleyabq@gmail.com. 

Join Tai Chi in 2023

Happy 2023! Hope your New Year is off to a great start. If you want an easy way to keep a New Year’s resolution, St. John’s Tai Chi class is the answer. This class meets every Thursday in the Family Life Center from 10-11 a.m. Tai Chi does not require a particular level of physical fitness or coordination. It may be done standing or seated with some modifications. No special clothing or equipment is needed. All age groups are welcome to join us. You don't have to be a member of St. John’s to join the class. Classes are only $3 ea (payable by cash or check upon arrival). If you have questions, contact Kathleen Goodwin at  kathleen_sta@yahoo.com or 505-220-4814.

Volunteers Needed for Children's Chapel

Children's Chapel volunteers are needed for our growing group at the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services. We are so blessed to welcome more and more new families and children to St. John's UMC! We have outgrown the children's chapel and we are needing more loving adults to help serve in Children's Chapel. If you feel a tugging at your heart, love kids, like to have joy on Sunday, and love Jesus-please prayerfully consider volunteering to serve 1-2 services a month in Children's Chapel. Contact Tiffany (thollums@stjohns-abq.org) for more information.  

Feed the Youth!

We have a growing and hungry group of youth coming Sundays from 4-6 p.m. We were SO BLESSED in the fall with so many coming and sharing delicious snacks made and served with love that we want to continue this new tradition. If you or your class or small group would like to provide snacky stuff (nachos, home baked yummies, fruit, chips....pretty much anything thrills this group) for 25-30 (yes....you read that correctly!) please sign up at the Youth Snack Supper signup at the Hospitality center or contact Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org.  

Our Goal: Full Tummies!

Hungry kids learn better when their tummies are full, and that's the goal of the Zuni Weekend Meal Bag Project. The Zuni school counselor has identified 45 children at our "neighbor" school who likely suffer from food scarcity on weekends. Our weekend meal bags help address this problem. We have a team of volunteers who pack the weekly lunch bags and then cart them over to the school each Thursday for the students in need. Your donations of specific, single-size food items and/or monetary donations are keeping this program going and growing, so please keep this in mind as you shop --- pick up an extra item or two! This month, we're collecting: microwavable mac-and-cheese cups, shelf-stable white and chocolate milk, instant oatmeal packets, and nut-free granola or cereal bars. Please place your donations in the wire bins located in the Hospitality Center.  For monetary donations, please make checks payable to "St. John's UMC", with "Zuni Meal Bags" on the memo line. Thank you!

Express Your Attitude of Gratitude

As we gratefully share from our abundance, may we remember that many of the senior citizens served by Silver Horizons don't even have the basic necessities of life. This month, we're collecting new and gently-used non-food items, such as: towels, linens, small area rugs/mats, gloves, hats and scarves, jackets and coats, lap blankets, magnifying glasses, and items for grandchildren, such as toys, games or child-size gloves, hats, scarves and socks. And when you shop, why not pick up an item or two of the "always-in-demand" items for Silver Horizons like toilet tissue, disposable razors, and facial tissue. If you'd prefer that we do the shopping for you, we're happy to do so with your monetary donations (just make checks payable to "St. John's UMC", with "Silver Horizons" on the memo line). We're grateful for your help!

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.