Sunday Schedule
February 28 | The Second Sunday in Lent
Join us on Sunday, February 28. Worship will be livestreamed from our sanctuary at 9:00 a.m. Worship will be posted online on Facebook, YouTube, and our Worship Page. If you would like to be put on the list for attending services as space becomes available, please write here. We are able to open these services to 15 people each week on a rolling basis. Visit www.stjohns-dc.org for more information.
Virtual Coffee Hour
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom

Join us Sunday at 10:00 a.m. to socialize, catch up, and talk about the service. Send a message here for the link to participate.
Bible Study
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom

The Bible Study led by Jack Reiffer will be held on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. online via Zoom. Please contact Jack Reiffer for the link to participate.
Youth Group for Grades 6-12
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom

The youth will meet on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom. Please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder for more information.
Speaker Series
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. | Online via Zoom
Part 3 in a 3-Part Series on Andrew Johnson.

Join us Sunday, February 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., for a discussion led by Brenda Wineapple, author of The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation. She will speak about the book, concluding the series on Andrew Johnson. Following the discussion, there will be opportunity for Q&A.
Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link for the meeting.
Pathways Through Lent
St. John's Church has successfully created and evolved many elements of its ministries during these months of the pandemic. For Lent this year, we are encouraging everyone to take advantage of the several weekly gatherings and postings as part of our Pathways through Lent. Weekly prayer services, Holy Habits podcast, Sunday gatherings and worship, the messages we get from our clergy—all of these combine to offer opportunities for reflection, gathering, and prayer. We are also publishing parishioner reflections on Monday and Friday mornings.
Sung Compline
Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. | Livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

New this year during Lent: sung compline by the St. John's Choir on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. The service will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. For more information, please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder.
Lenten Reflections
Sent as email Monday and Friday mornings.

If you were subscribed to the reflection list-serv in 2020, you should automatically receive these again this year. If you would like to begin receiving the devotions this year, please subscribe here.
Spoken Compline
Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom.

Compline is a service for the completion of the day or night prayer. Click the button below to join us at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays for this peaceful liturgy as our day ends. Click here for a copy of the Tuesday spoken compline bulletin. For more information, please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder.
Centering Prayer
Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m. | Online via Zoom.

Centering Prayer is a form of Christian prayer that allows us to experience God’s presence within us. Join us as we quiet our mind and begin our day with 20 minutes of silent prayer together. No experience needed. Contact Thom Sinclair for more information or for the link to participate.
Holy Habits Podcast
Sent as email Saturday mornings.

Holy Habits is a podcast from St. John’s, Lafayette Square journeying through Lent. In these conversations, we explore the disciplines we need to live our faith here and now. This is an exploration into the shape of a life well-lived, that is, a life oriented to receiving the gift of belonging in God’s life. The Holy Habits podcast will be sent to the same list as our weekly eNewsletter The Word. Click here to subscribe. 
The Latrobe Young Adult Fellowship
Wednesday, March 3, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom
The Latrobe Young Adult Fellowship, an active and engaged group of adults primarily in their 20s and 30s, invite you to join us for a Zoom fellowship. Spring is almost here! Light a candle and join us for a Lenten prayer service. Afterwards, catch up with how everyone is doing with the pandemic winter and their plans for spring. We will meet online via Zoom on Wednesday, March 3, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder with questions or to be added to the Latrobe email list.
Spring Adult Inquirers' Class
Thursdays | March 4, March 11, and March 18 | 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom
The 2021 Spring Adult Inquirers’ Class will be held via Zoom on three Thursday evenings, March 4, March 11, and March 18, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Rector, the Rev. Rob Fisher, will lead the class. The sessions are designed for those who wish to find out more about St. John’s and our ministry, as well as for those who are seeking baptism, confirmation, reception into the Episcopal Church, or reaffirmation of baptismal vows, as well as weddings and baptisms. Our faith, the history and tradition of the Church, and the spiritual life of the Episcopal Church, and of St. John’s, will be explored. The Zoom sessions will include breakout groups that provide a relaxing, engaging way for participants to get to know each other. 

Those who complete the class may take part in a Service of Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation on a date to be determined. Please contact Kaye Edwards to register for the class or for more information.
Book Group
Thursday, March 4 at 6:45 p.m. | Online via Zoom
The St. John’s Book group will meet on Thursday, March 4, at 6:45 p.m. via Zoom to discuss Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and the Collective Memory in the Middle East by Kim Ghattas. The story explores the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, sparked by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and fueled by American policy. If you love to read, please join us for an evening of discussion and socializing.

For more information and for links to participate, contact Janet Edmond.
Upcoming St. John's Speaker Series Events
Sundays | March 7, March 21, and April 11
11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. | Online via Zoom
March 7: Edward Watts, Chair and Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego. He will speak on why Rome's Republic fell and how it might have saved itself.
March 21: Sarah Stewart Johnson, Associate Professor at Georgetown University. Her lab focuses on detecting biosignatures, or traces of life, and is involved with analyzing data from current spacecraft and devising new techniques for future missions. She has worked on NASA’s Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity Rovers. She is also a visiting scientist with the Planetary Environments Lab at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She will speak on The Red Planet: The Search for Life on Mars.

Registration link to come.

April 11: George Will, Washington Post columnist. He covers politics and domestic and foreign affairs. He will speak on The Function of Conservatives: What they Exist to Conserve, and What Only They Can Do.

Registration link to come.
Church School for Children
There will be no Church School for Children this Sunday, February 28. Please contact the Rev. Savannah Ponder for more information.
Please click below for the Children’s Bulletin with coloring pages of stories from this Sunday’s scripture readings.
Baptism at St. John's
To give families options during this extraordinary time, and until St. John's is open for full Sunday services, the Rector will discuss options to a church service with families, including baptisms at home (and preferably outdoors) or a private baptism at the church. All baptisms must comply with health and safety guidelines. The parents or grandparents of children being baptized must be active, pledging members of St. John’s. Adults interested in baptism for themselves must attend the Rector’s Adult Inquirers’ Class and be active, pledging participants in the life of the parish.

The Rev. Savannah Ponder will lead a required pre-baptism class on Thursday, April 8, at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in baptism and would like to register for the class, please contact Kaye Edwards. 
Stewardship Update
We’re nearing the end of a strong stewardship season, though of course we’ll still accept & welcome pledges for weeks/months to come. Currently we have 326 pledges, 20 more than at this time last year and nearing last year’s year-end number of 336. We have also hit more than $964,000 in pledged dollars. Last year at this time we were nearly $50,000 less than that. And we are $20k above where we were at the end of last year’s tracking in the summer. By the way, we had 23 out-of-state households pledging so far this year, up from 14 last year. Nearly 94% of our fellow parishioners pay off their pledges in full, which is wonderful! If you haven’t yet had the chance to do that for 2020, I hope you’ll try to do so. Thank you to everyone who made all of this possible, and especially to those who were able to dig a little deeper this year, as well as those who have never pledged before and decided to join in for 2021.

If you know someone new to St. John’s who is intimidated by the stewardship process, please suggest they reach out to me here as I am happy to talk about it. This coming year we’ve mapped out the calendar so as to give us a better chance at reaching an even higher goal. A few years ago, St. John’s was regularly reaching more than $1m in pledges each year, and we think we can get back to those numbers in the near future. We also hope to offer a zoom discussion on planned giving sometime this spring, as our members often have questions about this subject. And a small team will be working together soon to improve the online giving and pledging process, as it is still a bit confusing. I should add—if you’re interested in joining the stewardship committee this year, please reach out! Please contact the Stewardship Committee here with any questions.

Toby Stock,
St. John's Stewardship Committee Chair
COVID-19 Pandemic Service and Giving Opportunities
Direct volunteer service or requests for help:

Please send an email to help@stjohns-dc.org with your name, contact information and details of the type of assistance you would like to contribute or that you need. We are matching volunteers with those requesting help for practical support during the pandemic, such as grocery shopping. 

Financial Assistance: 


  • To support members of parishes in the Diocese of Washington who suffer from food insecurity and other hardships, the diocese has suspended the Annual Bishop’s Appeal for the diocesan budget and has replaced it with a Covid-19 Emergency Relief Appeal.  You can make a gift on the diocesan website at this link: https://www.edow.org/about/giving.
In case you missed it
Visiting Loved One's in the Church Columbarium
If you would like to visit a loved one in the columbarium, please contact us here to arrange a time for your visit.
Prayer List
Our prayers are requested for the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially:

Those who are sick or recovering:

From our parish: Eve Atkeson, Bobbie Falk, Barbie Harper, Susan Herrington, Nelda Johnson, Jim Mullins, Bob Patchell, Dace Vidins, and Jeff White.

Friends and family of our parish: Diane Bender (Peter Odom), Marsha Bonnett (Kerri Stelcen), Barbara Virginia Abalos Branes (Joanne Hutton), Caroline (Wendy Fibison), Harry Davis (Mary and Carl Raether), Wendy Addiss Dellar (Joanne Hutton), Karl Dornemann (Deb Dornemann), Bobby Doyle (Alex Pappas), Jimmy Gallagher (Joanne Hutton), Frances Givhan (Gay and Bob Pasley), Elaine Gravatt (Margo Wiegenstein), Courtney Jordan Hillman (Erika Northcutt), Vera Hyncik (Holly Sukenik), Tom Kiernan (Joanne Hutton), Phyllis Lambert (Will Morris), William Markiewicz (Matthew Taylor), Sherill Mason (Kaye Edwards), Betty Maudlin (Susan Welch), Tammy McCleaf (Matthew Taylor), William Scott Miller, Jr. (Johnathan Miller), Julia Morris (Will Morris), Timothy Mullins (Jim Mullins), Judy Nicola (Cynthia Walker), Wendy Paeth (Margo Wiegenstein), Ginger Parra (Leila Taaffe), Carlen Powell and Anthony Ramsey (Virginia Bader), Cawley Scott (Robyne Johnston), Ashley Sukenik (Holly Sukenik), Zoe Taaffe (Leila Taaffe), and Richard Van Horn (Kaye Edwards).

Those who are in rehabilitative care: 

From our parish: Marcella Odom.

Friends and family of our parish: Jean Hailey (Gary and Debby Hailey)

Those who are in the hospital: 

Friends and family of our parish: Alfredo Flores (Javier Obregon), James Hodges (Matthew Taylor), Julie Howell (Cynthia Walker), Terry Keeney (Richard Metzger), Chase Madar (Rob Fisher), Floyd Moye (Joanne Hutton), Owen Thomas (Kwasa Centre Partners), Travis Rogers (Robert Carroll), and Mary Seidman (Nora and Hap Rigby).

Those who died: 

Friends and family of our parish: Edith Menzel who died February 12 and Isabel Maurtua.

Those who are in hospice care:

From our parish: Jimmy Lowe.

Those in our parish celebrating a birthday this week: Ryan Bishop, William Davis, Conor Daugherty, Kenneth Faunteroy, Ben Garland, Fruzsina Harsanyi, Tonya Kirchner, John Martin, Liz Mays, Richard McCormack, John More, Lydia Olson, Sharon Park, Robin Schwartz, Alfred Thesmar, Cooper Thesmar, and Karen Zachary.

Those in our parish celebrating an anniversary this week: Adrienne and Matt Gaziano

For those on the frontlines in the coronavirus pandemic, especially:

Friends and family of our parish: Janie Abernethy (Elizabeth Lewis and David Abernethy), Sandra Brown (Becca Brown), Nathan Cobb (Livy and John More), Chris Gardner (Ann Gardner), Yee Houston (Quin Woodward Pu), and Marta Kochanska (Livy and John More).
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