Each Lenten season, as a church community, we focus on a spiritual practice together. Many of us have our individual disciplines and practices for Lent, but it is very meaningful to have a spiritual practice that we are all nurturing and developing. In the past few years, we have engaged in Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer, Sabbath rest, the examen, and other spiritual endeavors. This Lent, we will practice Visio Divina. Each week, we will take the sermon text from Sunday, picking an image, painting, or photograph that we might find in a book or through Googling that scripture. Here are the steps for Visio Divina:

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 at srmortimer1@gmail.com.

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!

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

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

Solid Ground Returns In-Person Inside Incredible! Students, the wait is over: Join us in the Youth Center at Church on Sunday, April 11th 4:00-5:30PM. We will celebrate! More details forthcoming, but remember to wear your mask and stay apart 6 feet. We plan to keep a live Zoom link running simultaneously for live remote access.

Confirmation schedule changes. Remember, Confirmands, that this Sunday, March 28th , we will not meet on Zoom for class; please attend on of the St. John’s worship service online in the morning at 9:30 or 11:00; join us for our Tome Hill hike in the afternoon, and remember we do not meet at all on Easter Sunday, April 4th.

Tomé Hill Pilgrimage This Sunday. Students, families, and any other adventurous pilgrims that would like to join us on our Palm Sunday hike up Tomé Hill, meet us in the East Parking lot @4:00PM; To keep social distance, we will caravan and not share rides, stay 6 feet apart, and wear masks. Bring a sack dinner, bottle of water, sunscreen, walking stick, sanitizer, hat, and your mask. The hike is moderate and at times very steep, so wear good shoes. We will be back by 7:30PM

St. John's Preschool program will be hiring a new Director. If you might be interested and would like to request the position summary, duties and requirements, please email the Interim Preschool Administrator, Susan Perry at PreschoolDirector@stjohns-abq.org. You can also view the job description HERE.

Are you sprouting seeds indoors for planting in the spring and summer? If so, would you consider sprouting a few extra vegetable seeds to donate the plants to the Garden Ministry to fill our garden beds this summer? Or maybe you would be willing to plant an extra tomato, pepper, squash, etc., in your garden and donate the produce from that plant to St. John's Food Ministry to help defray costs of feeding the homeless in Albuquerque? Any way you can help out is appreciated!

Contact: Tim at tnuzum@stjohns-abq.org., Donna at donnabruce@comcast.net or Regina at hamptonmason1@msn.com.

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.

Olivia (Livi) Shaw (6-year-old friend of Dara Bell) is the recipient for the prayer quilt on display for March 23 - April 5.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer): “Father, we ask that you shower Livi with blessings and health for a speedy recovery from brain surgery. 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