Dear Beloved of St. John’s,

St. John’s Leadership Team is so pleased to announce that with new COVID cases down in New Mexico, and especially in Bernalillo County, and with more people getting vaccinated, we can safely begin reopening the church. Many decisions have been made by the Leadership Team in the past days, and we wish to relay them to you. Please keep in mind that we will be reopening incrementally, beginning with the Family Life Center on Palm Sunday, March 28th.

We are eager for those of the St. John’s family who are comfortable gathering for worship, youth activities, or in small groups to begin doing just that! Listed below are dates and areas of the church that will open in stages:

Live-stream worship services, Zoom classes, and some outdoor activities will continue to be available for those not yet ready to participate in-person. Continue to look in the E-Disciple for links to attend services. We are grateful and praise God for the tools and technology that have enabled us to continue the ministries of the church during this difficult time and into the future!

It is important that we relay to you the safety guidelines that will continue to keep us safe and healthy.

As suggested by health and government officials, we will practice the following safety guidelines:

(Look for registration guidelines coming soon and follow those instructions.)

In the event that you cannot register to attend church, there will be some chairs set aside for “walk-ins” as long as they last, following all of the above requirements.

We are celebrating that a reopening of St. John’s is around the corner and we are looking forward to being in physical space once again! We thank you in advance for following guidelines to help ensure everyone’s safety and well-being. Please join us in continued prayers for wisdom and discernment.

Grace, peace, joy, and love,

Pastor Pam and St. John’s Leadership Team

Matt Greer will be on vacation Monday. Monday Morning Music With Matt will resume on March 29!

For more info email tmacali@stjohns-abq.org

Beloved, we are celebrating Palm Sunday together in community and in physical space once again! It has been a very long year, but we have stayed healthy and have endured through a pandemic. Praise be to God!

We are easing into a reopening with worship in the Family Life Center first and then in the sanctuary. The installation of the new HVAC system is almost completed, and efforts are underway to prepare cameras and needed electronics to continue the live-streaming of services. We will reopen incrementally over the next weeks. Please look for announcements in the E-Disciple and on the website about worship in the sanctuary, youth and children’s ministries, and small group meetings and studies. We will do our very best to communicate effectively as new “openings” occur and as we follow safety protocols to ensure optimal health for all of us and our guests.

Thank you for your steadfast prayers, your compassion and understanding, and especially your faithfulness in all regards during these difficult circumstances. “Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4). We have persevered and endured, keeping our faith, friends, and we will soon be together again!

Blessings and peace in Jesus Christ, our Lord,

-- Pastor Pam and the Leadership Team

 As you know our Pastor Pam has received a promotion and will be leaving us the end of June to be the El Paso District Superintendent. SPRC is planning ways to celebrate her ministry and at the same time help our new pastor Rev Dr. Randall Partin to get acquainted with us. This is one way we’d like to do that but we need to get started on it.

We would like for you to introduce yourself and your family to the new pastor! Some of you already know him but due to social distancing precautions, many of us will first meet Pastor Randall virtually. The SPRC Welcoming Committee is asking each member and family to create a short document introducing yourself and your family members and sharing a little bit about yourself and a picture. This will be a great resource for Pastor Randall who wants to get to know all of us so please participate. What would you like the new pastor to know about you?

We’d love a current picture but if you prefer you can reference a picture from the directory. Please send your document to SPRC@stjohns-abq.org or mail it to SPRC -New Pastor 2626 Arizona St. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110. We would like to have it by April 1st.

Please keep it short, no longer than one page. If you have questions or would like help need putting your document together, please feel free to contact Stan Mortimer.

Please join us Saturday, March 20th for a stroll through the volcanoes we all know from Albuquerque’s west horizon. In the spirit of our Lenten journeys, we will focus less on reaching mountaintops (the Park Service doesn’t allow summiting the main volcanoes anyway) and more on what is along the way. In this arid landscape, as in our lives, there are surprises and wonders for those who look for them. Please RSVP to Mike Furnish, mdfurnish@comcast.net. If you are interested in leading a devotion, please let me know!

Easy to moderate: 2.5 – 3.4 miles, some up and down, fairly even footing.

Meet at the church (east parking lot) at 8:30 or at the Volcanoes Day Use Area parking lot at 9:00 (when it opens). There is a restroom at the trailhead parking area.

Palm Sunday, March 28th Joint trip with the Youth to Tomé Hill (afternoon; moderate).

Easter Sunday, April 4th: Sunrise walk to Travertine Falls outside of Tijeras (5:30 meetup; moderate).

April 18th: Moderate hike (Canon del Agua near Placitas?); save the date

May 15th: Moderate hike; save the date

We may add a couple of easy or strenuous hikes in here – please let me know if you’re interested!

We are very happy to announce the return of the St. John's Bach Project! Join us Saturday, March 27 at 5pm MDT for a livestreamed concert featuring vocal and instrumental works of J.S. Bach, with soprano Ingela Onstad, baritone Michael Hix, cellist Joel Becktell, and keyboardist Kristin Ditlow. Live on our YouTube channel!

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

What their pantry needs:

Monetary donations welcomed: bring to drive-in, drop-off event; mail to the church; online giving

Please write "CASA ESPERANZA" in the memo field of your check

United Methodist Women will meet on Thursday, April 1st, at 10 am on Zoom. This will be an Easter-themed meeting, led by Carol Wiggins. Please bring the following items to the meeting: a cross; a decorated egg; and a bunny/rabbit. Also, please be prepared to tell us about an Easter activity that you enjoy. We will be playing Easter Bingo; a blank Easter bingo card and other instructions are included in the March issue of the UMW newsletter, or contact your circle chairperson. Carol would like to make a Google slide consisting of a collection of photos of past family Easter activities, so if you'd like to share one, please send it as a .jpg attachment to Carol's email: carolwiggins@aol.com, or contact Carol at 321-0603, if you have questions. To receive the Zoom link for this meeting, please contact Regina Hampton at hamptonmason1@gmail.com. Everyone is welcome to join us!

  Lent is the time of preparation, a time of sacrifice, a time of renewed focus on God, a time of giving.

Traditionally at St. John's, the Lenten Offering goes to support many and varied local ministries. In the past we have supported such ministries as, the Ramp Project, Mobile Food Pantry, Hopeworks, Asbury Pie Cafe, Wesley House, McCurdy Ministries, Barrett House, Silver Horizons , lunch bags for the homeless and many more.

   During the pandemic this past year, St. John's has been very generous in supporting ministries that help our community, the need being greater than ever this year. So as we think of Jesus great sacrifice for us, may we sacrifice in our own small way and continue to give generously to those in need.

Paul and Lois Volchansky (friends of Joyce and David Apple) are the recipients for the prayer quilt on display for March 5 - March 18.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer): “Lord, we place Paul and Lois before you and ask for your blessings of peace and strength in their lives. Amen”

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.

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

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