Our clergy and staff wish you all a wonderful 2021! Although the turning of a calendar page is no guarantee of positive change, we have great hopes that this year will be a good one. We also thank our parish family for their support for St. John's in every way during 2020. From your generous financial gifts, to your adaptability as we navigated the crisis and found new ways to worship together, to your prayers for health and discernment for our team, you enabled us to continue the work of the church. We appreciate you!

Today, of course, is the Feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Pictured is our own St. John's creche with the addition of the Magi.

In light of the pandemic, the Vestry has approved voting for 2021 Vestry candidates by mail. If you would like to receive a ‘Vote-By-Mail’ ballot, please email the parish office at jedgar@stjohnstampa.org or call us at 259.1570 as soon as possible. 

We will hold an-in person annual meeting in the Parish Hall on Sunday, February 14, but there will be a limit of 50 people in attendance so we can be physically distanced. The meeting will also be also broadcast via streaming services. Stay tuned for more information soon.

We welcome Simon Morley and our Quartet back this weekend! The 10:00 a.m. service this Sunday, January 10 will be a Rite I Choral Eucharist.

Love INC will hold an upcoming Lunch & Learn event on January 20 at 11:45 a.m. Click here to learn more!

Plans are being made for a clergy-led Zoom series for the five Wednesdays in Lent entitled On Forgiveness. The Wednesday evening sessions will begin February 24, the Wednesday after Ash Wednesday. Stay tuned for more information!

St. John’s Enquirers Class is an important formational opportunity for all parishioners seeking to deepen their faith. Led by Fr. Cannon, this 10-week course delves into several critical topics through which we understand our faith. Holy Scripture, the Book of Common Prayer, sacraments, prayer, worship, mission, doctrine, and church history will be taught and discussed. The idea is for each participant to come to and strengthen their own faith by better understanding the teachings of the church and its instruments for faithful practice. This course is open to anyone who wants to deepen their faith. All will benefit from the content discussion and group fellowship. This course is required for adults seeking to be baptized, confirmed, or received into The Episcopal Church, and anyone wanting to make a public reaffirmation of their faith. The class begins Sunday, February 7 at 12:30, probably on Zoom until it is safe to gather in the parish hall. The class is free of charge. Please contact John Edgar or Fr. Cannon to enroll.

We are in need of Sandwich Sunday Hosts for the upcoming year. Available dates are February 21, March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 22, September 19, October 17, November 21, and December 19.

Hosts can assemble lunches at their own homes, and deliver them to Faith Cafe the next day like the O'Brien family did here (thanks, O'Briens!). Costs are reimbursed by the parish. Contact Cindy Martin if you can help.

St John's EYC for 6th through 12th graders is back for a combined Outdoor EYC this Sunday, January 10! We will meet from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. outside of Connelly (Discovery) House. Join us for fun and games to kickoff a great 2021. Bring a chair (and a friend!) and remember, masks are required.

Please let us know if you'd like to receive our February at-home Sunday School packet by contacting Children's Minister Ayana Grady at agrady@stjohnstampa.org.

This week’s Sunday School curriculum for all classes can be accessed here, along with the weekly cartoon videos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u7d5oknaitgzazj/AAABpgzaI9b2k636v1KOhF_va?dl=0

The Adult Formation Group meets via Zoom each Wednesday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Topics for study and discussion are suggested by the group, which is currently involved in a study of Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene.

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.

January 7, Preslie Price, Louise Krikorian, Harry van Loveren

January 8, Kate Compton

January 9, Sadie Saunders, Art Severn, Oliver Lacktman

January 10, Nancy Burchill, Andrew McIntosh, Lacher Polins, Skye Bryant

January 11, John Marston, Brody Kellar, Margaret Drumsta

January 12, Linda Scarritt, Max Hunt, Charlsey Roman, Eliina Lick, Kirt Thomason

January 13, Paul Dolcimascolo, Rick LeVarge, Miriam Lykes, George Wiegand

Choral Eucharist (Rite I), 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.

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.