“In Search of our Kneeling Places.” by Ann Weems

In each heart lies a Bethlehem,

an inn where we must ultimately answer

Whether there is room or not.

When we are Bethlehem-bound

We experience our own advent in his.

When we are Bethlehem-bound

We can no longer look the other way

Conveniently not seeing the stars

Not hearing angel voices.

We can no longer excuse ourselves by busily

Tending our sheep or our kingdoms.

This advent let’s go to Bethlehem

And see this thing that the Lord has made known to us.

In the midst of shopping sprees

Let’s ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.

Through the tinsel

Let’s look for the gold of the Christmas star.

In the excitement and confusion, in the merry chaos,

This Advent, let’s go to Bethlehem

And find our kneeling places.

In the Advent season, we wait in joyous expectation for the birth of Christ. We shift our attention from worrying about the problems that face us to a crude manger in Bethlehem, where all of God’s promises are fulfilled. We shift from thinking about scarcity to the abundance that we have from God. Please take time to relax in this busy season and journey with all of us at St. John’s to Bethlehem.

Some see the Coming of God as a time of trial when folks were swept away by the waters of the flood or when they will be left behind on the field. I see the coming of Jesus as an achievement of perfect love. My expectation for all of you is that you will feel a love so deep you could scarcely even imagine it. Perhaps until then, you will turn from the notion of penalty and punishment to the hope of everlasting love with our Lord. “How very little can be done under the spirit of fear” Florence Nightingale once said. It is for this reason that we have changed our color from purple to blue. Purple is the color of a penitential season when we try to stop sinning. It is a very masculine perspective that the threat of punishment will get us to behave. Blue is the color of hope. We turn (despite the darkness) to the eternal love of God. In this season of hope we will look to feminine perspectives of motivation through and towards love. Advent is a time when we love each other as Christ loves us. It is a time when we remember those who we love by giving them our kindness and attention. Please take the time to visit with your family, co-workers, and friends. Advent is a time when we give of ourselves to others as Christ gave of himself to us. We bring about the coming of the kingdom of God by looking beyond ourselves. We pray for one another and help the poor and needy where we can. I ask each member of St. John’s to draw closer to the love of God in the coming year.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

Nothing can separate you from God’s love, absolutely nothing! God is enough for time, God is enough for eternity. God is enough! - Hannah Whitall Smith

The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love. - Julian of Norwich

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable…and receives the impossible.” – Corrie Ten Boom

"The key is for you to discover what you love to do, what you were created to do, and then do it for the people around you with love. That is the abundant life, dear girl, no matter where in the world you live." — Robin Jones Gunn

“It is well.” - The Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4:26)

Join us for Sunday Worship at 8:00 am and 10:00 am in the church or remotely on Zoom and Facebook.

8:00 am - Rite I Holy Eucharist

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83803451202

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos/

Bulletin: Rite I Advent

9:40 am - Sunday School meets in the Canterbury Corner

10:00 am – Rite II Choral Eucharist

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86739553648

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos

Bulletin: Rite II Advent

The Music

Processional Hymn: H 56 vs 1-2 O come, o come Emmanuel 

Gradual Hymn: 68 Rejoice, rejoice believers vs 1-2

Offertory anthem: Expectans, expectavi Dominum from Oratorio de Noël by Camille Saint-Saëns

Leslie Valentine, mezzo-soprano

Christine Dore, piano

Latin text: Expectans expectavi Dominum, et intendit mihi

English translation: I waited patiently for the Lord: and He inclined unto me, and heard my calling

Communion Hymn: Taize #12 “Wait for the Lord”

Recessional Hymn: LEVAS 12 We're marching to Zion

Our 2023 Stewardship campaign is well underway. Pledge cards have started coming in and online pledging is growing. Thank you so much for your generous spirit and continued support of the ministry of St. John’s. 

• Please turn in your 2023 pledge card if you have not done so already
• Please make sure your 2022 pledge is up to date 



We will begin preparing our 2023 Budget, and pledges are vital in that process.

All are welcome to make and take home an Advent wreath with Fr. Duncan on Sunday, November 27th after the 10 am service in the Great Hall. Candles, greens, and rings will be provided. If you have a ring from a prior year, please bring it with you to reuse or drop it off at church for another family.

Support St. John's Youth Group and add that Christmas touch to your home with Christmas wreaths and flowers from the Youth Group's annual Christmas wreath and flower sale!

Order forms are available at back of the church and online:

CHRISTMAS WREATH ORDER FORM

Please give your order to a Youth Group member in the Great Hall or return it to the Parish Office by Tuesday, November 29th. 

You can pick up your order in the Great Hall on Saturday, December 3rd from 10:30 am to 1 pm or on Sunday, December 4th between or after the services until 12 noon.

Giving is at the heart of what we do at St. John’s

Until Sunday, December 4th

Our adopted family of four includes single mother, Marines, who recently had open heart surgery and is unable to work, along with her three children, Carlos, 16, Joelis, 10 and Joseph, 10.

There will be a poster board in the Great Hall for you to select a gift you’d like to offer. In addition to wrapped gifts, the family would accept and appreciate gift cards. 

Please wrap each gift in holiday wrapping paper and label it with the first name of the child or adult from this household and place in the box in the Great Hall, or in Deacon Claire’s office.

Any questions, please contact Carol Goldbaum or Deacon Claire.

Advent Retreat with Fr. Anthony Jones - Saturday, December 10th. Join us for breakfast at 9:00 am. The program will follow.

REGISTER FOR THE ADVENT RETREAT

If you are interested in exploring your spirituality and deepening your connection to others, consider joining us. For more information please contact Patti Aliperti at silverymoon33@yahoo.com. All are welcome! 

Our 3-week Advent series will focus on the early history of slavery in Huntington. It begins on December 6th with a presentation by Craig Townsend, the Diocesan Historian in Residence for Racial Justice and Director of the Parish Histories project, followed by two other programs on December 13th and December 20th. 

Join us (Zoom only):  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84931783406

6:30 pm - Evening Prayer

7:00 pm - Program

8:00 - Closing Prayer

This Christmas remember your Loved Ones, or offer Special Thanksgivings, by making a donation for this year’s Christmas Poinsettias. 

Forms are due on Wednesday, December 14th

Order forms can be found at the back of the church and on the St. John's website or by using the link below:

ALTAR GUILD CHRISTMAS POINSETTIA ORDER FORM

If you are unable to download and print the form, you may send an email with all the necessary information to Coral (cfreas@stjohnshuntington.org) in the Parish Office and send your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild" with "Poinsettia" written in the memo to:

St. John's Church

Attn: Altar Guild

12 Prospect Street

Huntington, NY 11743

On December 8th at 7:00 pm, please join us for a special Blue Christmas Healing Liturgy - a safe and loving offering of prayer and healing.

As we have move through Advent: a season of preparation and expectation, we begin to see lights on houses and trees throughout our community. There is a sense of hope and joy in the air as we hear many of our favorite Christmas songs play over and over on our radios or in the shopping malls. But joy is not everyone’s experience at this time of year.  

Isaiah 40:1 says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says God.”

There are moments in our lives when we need comfort: tough times when we yearn for consolation. The suffering people who looked for the long-awaited Messiah were given a hope-filled image of God in the writings of Isaiah. It expresses the belief that no matter what happens to us, God will be there to comfort and support us. 

Christmas can be a time for many who need that reassurance and comfort. Perhaps we are grieving over the loss of a loved one, struggling with illness, or have experienced the loss of a job. We wonder how we will get through the holidays. 

Blue Christmas, a service of wholeness and healing is a safe and loving time for those seeking comfort, hope and wholeness, shared in the good news of “God with us: Immanuel!”

The Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus presents “A Visit from St. Nick and a Rockin’ Holiday” – a wide-spanning musical revue of yuletide favorites and a fabulous glitter-flecked musical retelling of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Showtime is 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington. $25; tickets available online at ligmc.org/concerts and at the door.

In place of Evensong this December, we will be having a traditional Lessons and Carols service at 7:00 pm on Thursday, December 15th. We will have readings that point us to the Christ Child being born, preparing us for Christmas, along with hymns – led by our choir and Artist-in-Residence, Alex Pryrodny. We hope you join us for this wonderful and holy prayer time to prepare for the annual remembrance of the newborn king. 

Take a joyous break from the holiday rush and join us for our annual concert of Christmas songs, carols and stories. Join us in the Great Hall afterwards to meet the artists and enjoy some Christmas cheer. Tickets are $20, $10 for children.

PRESALE TICKETS ONLINE

Contact the Parish Office for more information at (631) 427-1752 or info@stjohns1745.org.

Sing Noël is our most anticipated concert of the year and is attended not only by members of our parish, but by many friends and acquaintances in our community. Your help is needed to share the joy of this Christmas tradition here at St. John’s. For the reception, we need finger food donations and beverages, and help setting up and cleaning up. Perhaps you could get a poster or two from the back of the church and hang them in a local business you frequent. But, most of all, please join us for some Christmas music and stories and to share a cup of cheer! Please see Leslie Valentine to offer your help or email leslieval@aol.com.

SING NOEL POSTER

There will be a Christmas Pageant rehearsal on Saturday, December 17th from 9:00 am to noon. The Christmas pageant will be presented at the 10:00 am service on Sunday, December 18th. Invite your friends and family to celebrate with us!

To sign your child up and to offer your talents to help make this a very special day, please see Christine Dore (doreivory@optonline.net).

Bible Study meets regularly Mondays at 6:30 pm and on Tuesdays at 11:00 am on Zoom with Fr. Duncan and Fr. John.

Monday Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83373971746

Tuesday Zoom link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82553627635

Advent Bible Study - Join us in Advent beginning November 28th as we read and discuss Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge.

1. Introduction--densely packed yet easily accessible and worth one evening--pp. 1-33
2.  Waiting and Hastening the Kingdom Yet to Come (3 sermons)--pp. 75-94
3.  Waiting and Hastening the Kingdom Yet to Come (3 sermons)--pp. 95-114
4.  The Universal Grip of the Enemy (3 sermons)--pp. 115-133

Wednesdays & Thursdays at 12 - 1pm

To continue to be welcoming neighbors in the village, St. John's Church opens its doors to Huntington during the week!

On Wednesdays - Noonday Prayer will start at 12:15 for any who are interested in attending this brief in person service.

On Thursdays - The sanctuary will be open for individual prayer and quiet contemplation. On December 8th and 22nd, Alex, our Artist-in-Residence, will play meditative, restorative music.

If any one feels called to join in this ministry and help expand it, please reach out to Fr. James at jreiss@stjohnshuntington.org . All are welcome!

St. John's Thrift Shop is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays, 12-3pm.

HELP! Volunteers continue to be needed - If you wish to become a volunteer, please contact Mary Beth Dieterle, (631) 427-1752, ext 106.

Donations welcome. We accept donations of new or gently used clothing, accessories, and household items. Please no books, furniture, out-dated electronics, or damaged items.

Just a reminder that all parish events and building use must be submitted to the Parish Office. Notices for events to run in the Chalice, to post on the website and social media must be received by the Parish Administrator by noon on Tuesdays. We are looking to finalize the fall calendar to coordinated our many events and start to spread the word about all the great programs and ministries here at St. John's.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ST. JOHN'S CALENDAR

If you would like to remember a loved one or give thanks for an important event with altar flowers or Perpetual Light, please complete an Altar Flower Form and return it to the Parish Office with your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild."

ALTAR FLOWER ORDER FORM

Altar Flowers will not be available during Advent. Please remember your loved ones on Christmas Eve with a poinsettia.

We pray for Richard, Barbara, Edward, Christine, Fred, Ana, Patti, Cole, Luke, Cassandra, Valarie, Danielle, Amy, Kate, Cheryl, Anne, Carmen, Lou

We have begun a new prayer list in Advent. Please send your prayers or updates to prayers@stjohns1745.org or call Coral in the Parish Office, 631-427-1752, ext. 101.