November 11, 2022

Memory Café is Back on Saturday

We’re back! Memory Café will resume on Saturday, November 12, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the SonShine Cafe. This monthly meeting is for people with memory loss and their family caretakers. We are still looking for people to assist in planning and help with meetings. For more information, contact Sharon Jensen at 505-323-7522 or ssmjens@aol.com.

Thanksgiving Turkey Feast This Sunday

The St. John’s Food Ministry is inviting everyone to a Thanksgiving Slow Roasted Turkey Feast with all the Fixin's on Sunday, November 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Family Life Center. No reservation required. But a love of from scratch pumpkin pie, apple pie, or green chile apple pie is a plus!! Just $12 for adults, $6 for ages 12-17, $3 for ages 5-11, and under 5 is free. Give thanks for Food, Fellowship and Fun. A donation basket will be out if you would like to buy a meal for a person experiencing homelessness—we will be taking 180 meals to feed 180 food insecure people at HopeWorks at the end of the month.

We need volunteers to help put on the lunch. If you are available, please sign up.  If you have questions, text or call Nancy Douglas de Baca at 505-238-5895.

Mountain Cathedrals Hike November 19

to San Lorenzo Canyon

San Lorenzo Canyon is one of the classic walks of central New Mexico, but not widely known. It reminds me of the Escalante Canyon system (Utah) in miniature. The canyon itself is a fairly level walk except for one short scramble, so is easy to moderate. However, as in life, there are many tempting detours. Let us phrase this differently: There are many optional short side trips that offer interesting scenery. Perhaps we can make time for a couple?  

Logistics: Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the St. John's UMC East Parking Lot to carpool or drive alone to the hike (which is about 70 miles south of Albuquerque, mostly on I-25). Plan to return to the church by about 2:00 p.m. Bring sturdy walking shoes, trekking poles if you have them, lunch, water, sun protection and enthusiasm!

Please join us for this hike of meditation, wilderness, and time apart from our normal schedules.

Organizer: Mike Furnish, 505-440-7292; mdfurnish@comcast.net

Save the date: The next Mountain Cathedrals hike is planned for Saturday, December 17.

Hanging of the Greens Celebration November 20

Please join us November 20, 2022 to prepare our facility for the season of Advent! 

Come and go as your schedule provides. Work, eat and have some fun with the St. John’s community, and start the season of Advent in church creating a beautiful space for people to feel welcome, and to worship! 

A light lunch will be served. 

The following is the Schedule of events and locations throughout the church building! 

• 10:30 a.m. (following Abide): begin set up/staging for FLC-side of the building, banners, greens in FLC, wreath fluffing / fixing / hanging. 
• 12:00 p.m.(following Traditional Service): quickly put away banners, altar cloths, etc. 
• 12:45-ish: Chile and cornbread lunch  
• 1:30-ish: Decorations continue around FLC area and): banners, greens in Sanctuary, decorations for Narthex, Music wing 

Sign-up sheets can be found in the Welcome center as well as in the FLC.  An approximate number will be needed for Tim to know how much food to make! 

Youth Fall Retreat November 18-20

Youth Fall Retreat to Sacramento Camp is November 18-20, 2022. Cost is $150 per camper, and there are scholarships available!

Access the packing list using the following link: Fall Retreat Packing List 

To receive the youth updates or information, please email Pastor Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org. 

New Advent Bible Study Beginning

November 22

Women's Advent Study: The Angels of Christmas, Hearing God's Voice in Advent by Susan Robb

• November 22 - December 13 (4 weeks), Tuesdays, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.,  IN PERSON
• Facilitator: Dara Bell
• Register by emailing donnabruce@comcast.net

This Advent study explores the angelic visits surrounding the birth of Jesus with Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds in a four-week Advent experience. The participants will explore the visits and dive deep into the history of the angel Gabriel and other angels in the Bible. The messages of the angels hold meaning for listeners both then and now. Pastor Randall will also preach an Advent sermon series on this book. Some copies of the book ($13 each) will be available in the Hospitality Center for purchase.

No Mobile Food Pantry This Month

Unfortunately, we have to cancel our November 19 Mobile Food Pantry. Roadrunner Food Bank will be busy with the Fall Letter Carrier’s Food Drive. They do need volunteers for this event so I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. You can participate by leaving a bag of non-perishable food at your mailbox and/or volunteering at post offices throughout the city: 2022 Fall Letter Carrier’s Food Drive.

For questions please contact Debby Smith, 505-554-4238, dysmith0427@gmail.com.

Chef Tim Will Cook Your Thanksgiving

Turkey or Ham

Do you not have time to cook the turkey or ham this year for Thanksgiving? Are you feeding scores of people and your oven won’t fit a 24 lb turkey? Have Chef Tim slow roast your turkey or ham for you. Please provide a $40 contribution with your own turkey or ham and bring to the kitchen Sunday, November 20 or contribute $60 and Chef Tim will get the turkey or ham. 

Pick up in the kitchen: Thursday, Nov. 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. For more information, contact Chef Tim at 505-883-9717 x 141 or tnuzum@stjohns-abq.org.

Congregational Care Team Meeting Cancelled

Congregational Care team meeting for November is canceled but we will meet Sunday, December 3 at 1 p.m. in the library upstairs.  

Food Ministry Announcements

Food Ministry Team Members Needed: Are you interested in the intersection of Food and Faith? Do you have a heart for finding and feeding the food insecure who don’t know when or where their next meal will be? Would you like to help facilitate community building over a shared meal outside the walls of St. John’s and also inside the walls? Chef Tim and the Food Ministry Team would like you to join our team. 

More specifically, the Food Ministry Team leads the volunteers at meals, finds volunteers for Omelet Bar and other events, works receptions, facilitates finances, and has fun planning and shaping the future of the Food Ministry. The team meets every other month, on the second Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in room 257 or via Zoom.  

Help the Homeless: With the Safe Outdoor Spaces homeless camp application being withdrawn, if you want to help the homeless, St. John’s Food Ministry continues to make 400 hot meals for the homeless every month that we take to HopeWorks, Community of Hope and Breaking Bread for distribution. Contact Chef Tim at 505-883-9717 x 141 or Food Ministry Chair Nancy Douglas de Baca at 505-238-5895.

Angel Tree Ministry

The Angel Tree ministry has been supported by St. Johns for many years. If you’re not familiar, Angel Tree provides gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated, in the name of the parent! Of course, it could not be done without the generosity of the people of St. John’s. You will have two opportunities to pick your “Angel” from the Trees that will be in the Narthex and the Family Life Center on November 13 and 20. Then you’re off to shop for a gift of clothing and a “fun” gift for “your” Angel, spending $20 on each gift. You can return the wrapped gifts, with the Angels attached, to church on November 27th and/or December 4. Volunteers will sort the gifts into family groups, and then make certain they are delivered to the Angels before Christmas!

If you are unable to shop, but would like to support the program, please pick your Angels, and give the volunteer at the tree your $40 contribution. Volunteers will do the shopping and wrapping for you.



Should you be interested in volunteering in some way, please contact Kathy Scherlacher at 505-918-5990.

Each year this Christmas time ministry brings great joy to the children and the love of Christ to their parents. Thank you, St. John’s, for your time, your gifts, and your support of Angel Tree.

November Special Offering: UMCOR

Gifts this month lay the foundation for UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) to share God's love when crises such as the recent hurricanes in Florida and Puerto Rico and floods in Appalachia occur. The money we give underwrites UMCOR's administrative expenses so that 100% of any gift given to a specific UMCOR project goes directly to that project.  

UMCOR is known for its quick and lasting response to crises all over the world. Please give generously.

Help Silver Horizons

Did you know we're developing a wonderful partnership with Silver Horizons? On a monthly basis, they purchase some   food items to supplement our Mobile Food Pantry and Zuni Weekend Meal Bag project, and we, in turn, collect non-food items for their clients -- items that Silver Horizons is unable to purchase with their grant money. It's a win-win situation! So, with that in mind, we're devoting the month of November to collecting the following non-food items for Silver Horizons: paper products, such as paper towels, toilet tissue, and facial tissue; hygiene items in regular sizes, such as toothpaste, shampoo, bar soap or soft soap, men's and women's deodorant, and individually-wrapped toothbrushes. Cat food (dry and canned) is also always in demand by the clients of Silver Horizons. Please be sure that all items are new and unopened, and bring your donations to the wire bins in the Hospitality Center. We'll deliver them promptly to Silver Horizons. Thank you!

Weekend Meal Bags for Zuni

Thank you, St. John's, for continuing to support our ongoing Weekend Meal Bag program for Zuni students who are experiencing food insecurity. Each week, our group of volunteers provides meal bags for 45 children, at a cost of $12 per child, per week. This equates to $540 per week, and it simply wouldn't happen without your continued monetary and in-kind donations. If you aren't quite sure which food items are needed at any given time, a monetary donation is always appreciated (please make checks payable to St. John's UMC, with "Zuni Meal Bags" on the memo line). If you enjoy shopping for meal bag food items, we encourage you to purchase any of the following individual-sized food items during the month of November: shelf-stable white and chocolate milk; oatmeal packets; cheese-and-cracker snack packs; pudding or jello cups; and nut-free granola or breakfast bars. You truly are "key" to the success of this project, and we appreciate your support! 

We're celebrating our first year packing weekend meal bags for children in need at Zuni Elementary School. Our three meal bags contain two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners and we deliver bags every week - even for summer school this year!

We have a room designated at St. John's for putting these bags together so if your group might be interested in serving in this way, please contact Donna at donnabruce@comcast.net.

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.