This year's St. John's Fathers Camping Trip is this weekend, November 13 and 14, at Lakewood Retreat, 25458 Dan Brown Hill Road, 34602 in Brooksville, FL. Don't miss this popular St. John's tradition! Contact Kaivon Madani with questions and to RSVP. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and your email in case plans change due to weather.

Metropolitan Ministries invites St John’s parishioners to log in and help pray for the thousands of volunteers who help #SpreadHope and the 50,000 expected families who will find #Hope as they pass through Metropolitan Ministries’ holiday sites this season. The event will be held from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. on Monday, November 16 via Facebook Live. Register for Metropolitan Ministries’ Facebook Live and join in prayer with other partner churches as the annual food distribution begins by clicking here to see the Facebook event.

Pandemic or not, it’s time to bring holiday cheer to the children and families at Cornerstone Kids!

There are some changes to our format this year, given that fewer folks are attending services in person. Those attending services may sign up for the Giving Tree between services this Sunday, November 15 and next Sunday, November 22. If you don't attend services, you can visit the parish offices next week, Monday through Thursday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to sign up.

You can join this effort in one of four ways: buying gifts for the children, buying gift cards for their parents, buying food and/or paper products (plates, cups and plastic forks), or by transporting the items to Cornerstone Kids at St. James House of Prayer.

Call MC Jenkins with questions at 503.4605. Thank you!

Next Tuesday, November 18, at noon, Love INC will offer a virtual orientation called Love INC 101. St John's is a founding member church of Love INC, and several parishioners already volunteer.

Interested parties should log in at 11:55 a.m., then the program will run from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. The program will focus on Love INC's differences from other charitable efforts, as follows:

Difference # 1: Mobilizing Christian churches, their members and resources

Difference # 2: Transforming lives through trained church members

Difference # 3: Putting God’s love in display with mission-moment love stories.

To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/love-inc-of-metro-tampa-lunch-learn-tickets-58312168265.

Questions? Please call Michael Doyle from Love INC at 466.9166. If you are interested in supporting Love INC as a volunteer or donor, contact Deacon Kathleen at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org or 785.9400.

2020 is already one for the history books, and we haven’t yet finished writing its story. How shall we look at these cataclysmic events through the eyes of faith? Where is Christ leading us in this moment, and how will we find the strength to follow?

To assist in understanding, the Diocese of Southwest Florida is offering a two-evening online event entitled Grace in a Year of Trials. The free Zoom event, intended for congregations in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, will discuss the events of 2020 with leading bishops and clergy from across the Episcopal Church.

Speakers include Atlanta Bishop the Rt. Rev. Robert Wright; Virginia Assisting Bishop the Rt. Rev. G Porter Taylor; the Very Rev. Randolph M. Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral; and the Rev. Winnie Varghese, priest at Trinity Wall Street and author of Church Meets World. The hour-long events will take place on November 16 and 17 at 7:00 p.m.

For more information, including on how to register, click here.

The season of Advent begins on Sunday, November 29 this year. There are meditation books available to guide your personal prayer and study during this season of waiting in hope: The Wondrous Mystery: An Upper Room Advent Reader; and O Wisdom: Advent Devotions on the Names of Jesus. If you attend services in person, you will find copies available in the church. Or you may contact the parish office at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org to receive a copy by mail or just stop by the church during office hours Monday through Thursday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

St. John's annual Advent program will begin on Monday, November 30. This year we will offer a four-week series based on Dr Amy-Jill Levine's book, Light of the World. We will meet via Zoom on Mondays November 30 and December 7,14, and 21 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Our St John's clergy members Fr. Michael Cannon, Fr. James Reho, Fr. Don Goodheart, and Deacon Kathleen Moore will each lead a session. Mark your calendar and plan to join us! Details will follow soon.

This week's Ministry Snapshot video features our Adult Christian Formation ministries. Thanks to Michael Eachon and Deacon Kathleen Moore who speak about the ways we both learn more about our faith and build community through Bible studies, book and video series, and more!

Check it out on our YouTube channel! You can view past videos there too. While you're on our channel, subscribe!

St John's is one of 15 churches that are members of Love INC of Metro Tampa, an organization dedicated to helping our neighbors in need. Love INC has an opening for a Help Center Coordinator in its office at the Portico in downtown Tampa. This position oversees the recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteer Resource Navigators; maintains client records; and assists the Executive Director to sustain relationships with member churches and community agencies. The position is currently 25 hours per week, Monday through Friday with the planned goal to increase to 40 hours per week in the first quarter of 2021. If you are interested or know someone who might be, contact Deacon Kathleen Moore at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org or 785.9400.

The moms will meet tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom. Contact Sarah Bricklemyer to get the link!

We are currently casting the St John’s annual Christmas Pageant for children 3 years old through 5th graders! This year will obviously look very different than our photo here from last year, but we are planning to put together an online pageant video to share with the congregation.

We need volunteers for the main speaking roles (Mary, Joseph, Readers, Three Kings, etc.), as well as Shepherds, Angels, and Animals. We will set up times to pick up costumes and film the parts (depending on each family’s comfort level). We also need families to sing the Christmas carols. Please let us know if you would like to participate by contacting Children's Minister Ayana Grady.

This week’s Sunday School curriculum (for all classes) can be accessed here, along with the weekly cartoon videos.

Also please contact Children's Minister Ayana Grady if you’d like to opt-in for our December at-home Sunday School packets!

This Sunday, St. John's EYC will meet in the Parish Hall, socially distanced with masks required. Middle Schoolers (6th through 8th graders) will meet from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and High Schoolers (9th through 12th graders) will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Invite your friends!

We can’t miss out on our Annual Tacky Christmas Party/White Elephant Gift Exchange! Come dressed in your wackiest Christmas gear, and bring a wrapped present worth no more than $15 to exchange. We will be sure to stay safe, possibly with one adult leader opening each gift, and only distributing the final choices at the end! Don’t miss this fun St John’s EYC tradition!

The Women’s Mid Morning Bible Study continues their fall study of some of the general letters or epistles using the commentary The Early Christian Letters for Everyone: James, Peter, John and Judah by N. T. (Tom) Wright, as their study guide. They will meet next on Tuesday, November 17, and will be focusing on 1 John 1:1 - 2:29. Sally Thompson will be the facilitator.

It is a virtual class, using St. John’s Zoom, and will begin at 10:00 a.m. to allow time for greeting one another prior to the lesson. The lesson time will be 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Classes are on alternate Tuesdays with the final class scheduled on December 1. The class is open to all women in the Parish and invited friends.

For more information about the study, contact Pat Wilson at patwilson68@tampabay.rr.com or

245-9562 or Joan McKay at mckayjhm@aol.com. Email Joan to get the Zoom link.

The Sunday Adult Formation Group meets via Zoom each Wednesday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Generally, each session includes a short presentation followed by group discussion. Topics are suggested by the group. The group is currently involved in a study of The Meaning of Mary Magdalene by Cynthia Bourgeault.

All are welcome; if you have not previously attended the Wednesday afternoon sessions, contact Deacon Kathleen at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org or 785.9400 for the login information.

Contact Laurie Lawther at llawther@stjohnstampa.org to set up.

Go to www.stjohnstampa.org and click on "Give Now" on the right side of the top blue bar. The church now has the ability to accept credit and debit card payments, along with checking/savings account payments. To make a pledge or pay in some other way, click on "Stewardship" in the top website menu.

In the 'To' field of the text type 73256, then in the message, type SJE. You will receive a text back immediately with a link to complete the payment.

Laurie is available to walk you through any of these methods by email at llawther@stjohnstampa.org or call her at the parish offices at 259.1570. If you prefer, you may also call John Edgar in the parish offices and he will fill out a pledge card for you.

November 12, Caroline Shepard, Susan Straughn, Benjamin Horan, Christian Orebaugh, Valerie Hamm

November 13, Betty Carroll, Rick Eckhard, John Giordano, Dottie Hilton, Fred Schrils, Fred Tellekamp

November 14, Katie Cassedy, Zena Hoskins, David Malizia, Katherine Morales, Kavanagh Kane

November 15, Charles Hobby, Benjamin Osborne

November 16, Bradford Spring, William Swanson

November 17, Charley Greacen, Megan Nolan, Austin Kefauver

November 18, Joan Lochridge, Bill Brown, Obi Pederson

The Men's Interactive Bible Study meets every Thursday at 11:45 a.m. to study the readings for the coming week and for fellowship. Email John in the parish offices at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org for the link to join.

The Holy Eucharist (Rite II), 10:00 a.m., Church, on Facebook Live, and our website

Bulletins and other resources are available here. 

Click here for the readings, St. John's follows Track 2.

The Contemporary Women's Bible Study (CWBS) group is doing a weekly virtual study on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. This is a Zoom meeting, so if you are interested in participating, you will need to register. Contact Deacon Kathleen at 785.9400 or kmoore@stjohnstampa.org; or Sally Thompson at tampasal@gmail.com or 254.3009.

The group meets by Zoom from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. If you would like to join them, contact Deacon Kathleen at kmoore@stjohnstampa.org for login information.

St. John's continues to stream our 10:00 a.m. services on Facebook Live on Sundays. Access the stream at our page at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnstampa/. The stream is also live on our website.

The audio for sermons is here. New sermons are uploaded by Monday each week. Bulletins for Sundays are here, each week's bulletin is uploaded to this page by Saturday. Click here to find the readings for this coming Sunday (St. John's follows Track 2). You can also see Sunday services on our YouTube channel, they are uploaded each Sunday by mid-afternoon.

The parish offices have reopened. Regular hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, however most staff and clergy are still working from home, so please make an appointment with the staff or clergy member you wish to meet with to be sure they are available. Email us at parish@stjohnstampa.org or call 259.1570 to speak with John Edgar if you have questions.

Fr. Reho invites you to join the School for daily chapel services on the School's YouTube channel. For safety, students will have chapel in their homeroom via video for the time being. A reminder that the sermon is geared to children, but is no less enjoyable for that fact. The link is the same every day: www.stjohnseagles.org/daily-chapel, the services become live each morning at 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday. You can also access the Chapel Book here if you would like to follow along.

Our clergy and staff stream evening prayer daily Monday through Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on Facebook Live. Intercessory prayers are invited in the comments during the feed or email us.

Nightly compline is offered by the brothers of the Society of St John the Evangelist on their web site at www.ssje.org.

If you have any questions or trouble using the online services noted above, please contact Lee Lowry by replying to this email, or John Edgar at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org. You can also contact the clergy member or parishioner who is the contact for each ministry. 

If you are someone who is able to help your fellow parishioners with errands and other means of support, please contact Fr. MIchael at mcannon@stjohnstampa.org. Conversely, if you are a parishioner who needs help, please also contact Fr. Michael at email at mcannon@stjohnstampa.org or by phone at 864.320.7116. He will match needs with resources so we are able to help one another in Christ's name.