Friday
February 19, 2021
Dear beloved of St. John’s,

To the church that is at the corner of Arizona and Phoenix, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! This is a salutation much like Paul wrote to Corinth, a community struggling with some issues. Our beloved church community named St. John’s UMC has been in the midst of “struggles” too, in a season called COVID.

I would like to inform you that in the past few days, we have discovered that we have two positive COVID individuals in our staff. Your SPRC Chair, Karen Tidler, and our staff supervisors have made a few determinations:

We are asking the staff to remain at home for the next seven days. They have been given instructions should they begin to become symptomatic. All of the staff will be required to take a test after the seven day period, and show negative results before they will return to the church building. During this period of time, all staff members will continue to work and provide our ministries from home, via Zoom, or other media platforms.  

Our staff has been absolutely amazing during these months of COVID, and I know that you join me in thanking them for all of the wonderful and creative ways in which they have inspired us, and continue to make ministry happen at St. John’s! Please hold us all in your prayers!

The building continues to be closed and the Leadership Team is in prayer and discernment about the near future (look for more to come in the e-disciple!). We will “see” you this Sunday at the 9:30 and 11:00 live-stream services, as the worship and ministries of the church continue to flourish and nurture us all.

Grace and peace through Jesus Christ, whom be the glory forever!
Pastor Pam
ORIENTATION CLASS: LEARNING ABOUT ST. JOHN'S
“What is special about being a Methodist?” “What is going on at St. John’s?” “Where do I fit in?”

These are key questions that newcomers ask about our church and we are having a Zoom orientation class to discuss the answers. Visitors and new members are the primary focus for the class, but those who have been around awhile are invited to reorient and re-energize themselves by entering the discussion. It's a great place to get to know others at St. John's as well.

  The class will take place four Thursday evenings at 7 PM. The first class will start Thursday, March 4, 2021, and we’ll end on Thursday, March 25. We will meet on Zoom to get acquainted and discuss the topics (our Christian faith, Methodism, St. John’s, where's my place.)

  To register for the class and for any questions, contact Jack and Carol Nuzum at 265-5241 or jcnuzum@juno.com.
MONDAY MORNING MUSIC WITH MATT
Monday, February 22 | 9:00 am
Join St. John’s Music Director Matt Greer on Mondays at 9:00 am, for a discussion of things coming up in the music ministry, and talks with special guests. This Monday, February 22, Matt will talk with Ivan Conrad, operatic bass/baritone and former St. John’s Music Ministry intern. Link HERE.
Lent at St. John's
MOUNTAIN CATHEDRALS
Mountain Cathedrals – The Del Agua Canyon Trip scheduled for Saturday, Feb 20 has been POSTPONED.
The canyon may be briefly renamed as Nevada due to the recent storms!

Moonlight Walk in Bosque near Campbell Road (Easy)
Saturday, Feb. 27 | 6:00 – 8:30pm
Many people are astonished by how bright the moonlight can be and how easily our daily business fades away under such illumination. This time is set aside for several Lenten themes.

Moonrise is about 6:45 during twilight. Meet at the church (east parking lot) at 6 or at the trailhead at 6:20. Please RSVP to Mike Furnish, mdfurnish@comcast.net. If you are interested in leading a devotion, please let me know!

Other near-future trips planned:
Saturday, March 20: Location TBD (morning; easy)
Palm Sunday, March 28: Joint trip with the Youth to Tomé Hill (afternoon; moderate).
Easter Sunday, April 4: Sunrise walk to Travertine Falls outside of Tijeras (5:30 meetup; moderate).
WEEKLY LENTEN ZOOM STUDY
Tuesdays February 16 - March 30 | 7:00 pm
Weekly Lenten Zoom Study, based on the book Wind in the Wilderness: A Lenten study from the Prophets (D. J. del Rosario; available from Cokesbury). Tuesdays at 7 PM, led by our Certified Lay Ministers, beginning Feb. 16th. The chapters: Building a skyscraper, Sticks and stones, Worst baby names ever, Nine words that changed everything, Present in the waiting, A taste of the good life, and If a tree falls in the woods... . The first chapter raises interesting questions about when we find ourselves in a deep hole as the Israelites did during the Exile and how the experience changes us, drawing on texts from Isaiah 9 and 53. It goes from there. There are daily Scripture readings as well. To register please contact Michael Furnish (mdfurnish@comcast.net ). We are exploring continuing this after Easter with Adam Hamilton’s The Walk, led by Joe Marshall, CLM.
ROAD RUNNER FOOD BANK - added services
Thursdays, February 25 | 11:00 am
The added drive-through food distribution is for February only and will be on Thursdays, Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25, at 11:00 am at Highland High School. Find more information on the RRFB Webpage.
DATABASE UPDATE
Over the next several months we will be calling to update our contact information in our Shelby database. We know you get lots of crank calls but this isn’t one of them. When we call, we will want to verify your address, phone numbers, email addresses and birthdates. The caller will identify themselves as being from St. John’s and updating Shelby.
UMW SPIRITUAL RETREAT
Saturday, March 6 | 9:00 am
Plan to join us on Saturday, March 6th, at 9 a.m. via Zoom, as Dee Dee Heffner leads us in our Conference-wide UMW Spiritual Retreat entitled, "Into the Light". Among other activities, Dee Dee will help us explore Biblical themes of light that shine a light on Deaconesses and Home Missioners who "share the light" of Jesus through their wide variety of ministries. The retreat will consist of breakout sessions, and attendees will receive an email, asking them to have several items available during the Zoom event. There is no fee to attend, but a registration form must be submitted no later than March 3rd, in order to receive the Zoom invitation. To receive a registration form by mail or email, please contact Mary Beth Spletzer at 508-4829 or mbspletzer@gmail.com. We hope you'll join us for "Into the Light"!
Sundays | 9:30 & 11:00 am
St. John’s will live-stream a worship service on Sunday morning at 9:30 am (Contemporary) on the Abide Facebook page and 11:00 am (Traditional) on our Youtube Channel. We hope you’ll worship with us! (Pastor Pam will lead, along with Shea Perry, Jim Ahrend, and Matt Greer). We hope that you’ll participate by singing and praying at home! Any questions? Email Matt at mgreer@stjohns-abq.org.

Sunday Community Activities: Click HERE to view all Sunday School Classes & groups! Join us in the virtual Sonshine Coffee Zoom immediately following the 11:00 am Worship with church Leadership Team members hosting. Zoom link is HERE
VIRTUAL PRAYER QUILT
Betty Jones is the recipient of the prayer quilt on display for February 5 - February 18.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer) for Betty “Lord, you are Holy above all others, and all of the strength that Betty needs is in your hands. Amen."
FEBRUARY SPECIAL OFFERING: Covenant with Missionaries.
  February is the month we have the opportunity to support United Methodist Missionaries. As past recipients have retired, we have two missionaries to introduce.
    First, Desiree Segura-April. She lives in Honduras with her husband (also a UMC missionary) and son Nikolas. She is a Resource Person for Children at Risk Ministries in Latin America and the Caribbean. She partners with churches and other organizations to provide safe places for children to experience holistic and creative Christian education.
   Our second missionary is Dr. Belinda Forbes. She and her husband (also a doctor) and their two daughters live in Managua, Nicaragua. She works with Accion Medica Christiana (AMC), a Nicaraguan Christian Medical group, which specializes in health and development in impoverished rural communities. As a dentist, Dr. Forbes works with a community based primary dental health program where she also mentors volunteers and interfaces with AMC's international partner organizations.
   So this month, we have the opportunity to help people who don't have access to medical and dental services, and to help children who need a safe and loving place in the midst of often chaotic lives to learn about God's love. Please give generously.
STEPHEN MINISTRY
Stephen Ministers are members of St. John’s who have gone through 50 hours of training to provide high quality, confidential Christian care to individuals experiencing a crisis or life challenge such as divorce, grief, job loss, hospitalization, relocation, or loneliness.

How does someone get a Stephen Minister?
If you or someone you know could benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister, please call the office 505-883-9717 or email stephenministry@stjohns-abq.org
Contact Us
www.stjohns-abq.org
(505) 883-9717
2626 Arizona St NE | Albuquerque, NM 87110
Office Hours (call only): Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Questions? Contact Shea Perry at communicate@stjohns-abq.org