From the Priest in Charge

for February 2024

Let’s take a quick look back at 2023 and what’s been happening here at St. John the Divine since our last annual meeting:

In FEBRUARY, we hosted Fr. Kevin’s retirement party which was well organized and coordinated. One hundred thirty-five persons attended.  

We began plans for our Wednesday Lenten programs, with dinner preceding the programs. I presented an Inquirers Class and Fr. Carl led a class based on the book, “Life Transformed – The Way of Love in Lent.”

On Sundays, Don began announcements of the status of a search for a new rector.  

MARCH

A prayer for the Vestry is now read at the beginning of the Prayers of the People and will be read every Sunday until the Search Committee begins its work for the new rector.  

APRIL

Programs in Holy Week are successful. Stations of the Cross at Dayspring is well attended and the program of the Seven Last Words is well received. Many describe the Easter Sunday services as “wonderful!”  

Church attendance is picking up. There is lots of interest now in our jewelry shop, thanks to Barbara and Jackie and their team.

Connie Minnoe receives a beautiful engagement ring!

MAY

We continue Blood Pressure screening after the services.  

On Pentecost Sunday, balloons are used, in lieu of incense, to signify the Holy Spirit since many parishioners are allergic to the incense.  

Our outreach at Aston Gardens continues to grow.  

JUNE 

On June 4th (Trinity Sunday), Lay Eucharistic Ministers are commissioned at the 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. services.  

June 13 marks the Rev. Paulette Diehl’s 36th anniversary of ordination as a Deacon and my 42nd anniversary as a Priest.  

Sharon Van Loan begins planning for an open house for members of the congregation to see the new Healing Center. ( That happens July 9) Spectrum is setting up service and some landscaping work is yet to be done.

JULY

July 2nd is the last Sunday for the choir before they go off on summer hiatus.

As a patriotic observance, festive balloons and an ice cream station is featured. At Aston Gardens, a party around the pool precedes the evening service. Leftover food is taken to The Lord’s Lighthouse.

AUGUST

D. J. Holt’s is added to the bulletin as Cantor. 

The Jewelry Ministry donates the cost of the framing of our new Bishop’s portraits to be hung in the Fellowship Hall, the Banner Building, and the Healing Center. They also purchase a keyboard for the 6:00 p.m. service, a deck chair for the Healing Center, an Aspergillum and bucket for the church and donate $100 each to the Wimauma Outreach and the Air Conditioning Fund.  

SEPTEMBER

The Bishops dedication of the Healing Center is followed by a dinner after the service.  

OCTOBER

The Diocesan Convention is held October 5-7.

A prayer for our Search Committee is added to our liturgy.  

NOVEMBER

John Gentry will initiate a CPR class for parishioners.

Staff and lay leaders are reminded of the requirement to take the “Safeguarding” course.  

Stewardship preparations have begin. 

DECEMBER

Monthly breakfasts between services continues.

Dec. 10 is Stewardship Sunday. Only one service is held followed by a meeting and lunch. 

The Jewelry Ministry donates $3,000 to the church and $100 to the Lord’s Lighthouse for their Children’s Christmas Party. They also donate wreaths and a Chrismon tree for the nave, and Yoniece makes 40 white and gold Chrismons to adorn the tree.  

A large number attend both the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

Father Lee

Sr. Warden Report

First, I want to thank the vestry, finance committee, the staff and everyone for your support in 2023. Taking on the additional administrative task of the rector has filled much of my time during the past year. The office staff made my job much easier by taking on some of the load. I had hoped to have more time to assist church leaders to understand and use more functions in realm, but lack of time for training did not allow this to happen. 

Fr. Kevin announced he was retiring as of February 28, 2023. SJD needed a priest-in-charge for spiritual needs and the sr. warden would oversee the administrative duties. Fr. Lee consented and we proceeded to make a few changes in services and related activities. We hoped the few adjustments would be for the betterment of SJD. All services, bible studies, and Jewelry Thrift shop continue.

The vestry was charged with the responsibility of preparing the documents required to call a new rector. Three subcommittees were formed, survey, compensation, and document preparation. The survey committee selected and reviewed the questions. The survey was then made available to the congregation. The conclusions were reviewed by the survey company and presented to the vestry. We then completed the documents for the Diocese to review. While this was going on, members of the parish were invited to complete an application if they were interested in being on the search committee. We had about 15 people who expressed an interest and 9 people were selected to represent our congregation. The search committee started in early fall and passed 2 names to the vestry for consideration in December. The vestry interviewed one (the other 7 withdrew his name for consideration). The vestry felt the one was an outstanding candidate, and we started the process of the call for the new rector. This process is going into 2024. An announcement is forthcoming.

We have had several new members who have involved themselves in ministries. As a result, we have reactivated Daughters of the King and a couple of small groups. There has been Interest in doing some fundraisers. Reactivating the men’s and women’s fellowship groups should occur prior to the fund raising efforts as they over see these activities.  

Ministries in current need of volunteers:

Altar Guild - setup and cleanup after services. Training and certification required.

AV Booth - training of use of camera and slide presentation operation.

Welcome - Serve at welcome station and door greeters.

Eucharistic ministers – Serve at the altar.

Eucharistic visitors – visit home, bring communion.

Ushers – all services.



We are looking forward to our new rector and the enthusiasm he will bring. 

Blessings,

Don Fisher

Sr. Warden

Do you know of someone who would like prayer

or

Would you like to be a part of our Prayer Team?

Contact:

Barb Gingrich at 813-633-5649 or barinscc@gmail.com

Or

Val Bryant at 813-352-1207 or vjb350@aol.com

From the Desk of the Jr Warden,

First of all I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope your year will be filled with blessings.

2023 was an interesting year at St John the Divine. Lots of changes and yet not so many. 

First of all I would like to thank many people who have helped out over the past year which made my time as Jr Warden much easier than it could have been. John Gentry and Dennis Accardo have been a huge help and I just want to recognize them as well as others for their assistance in many projects around the church grounds and the building.

Now on to 2024, which will be full of changes and hopefully be embraced by all of you. I am going to go beyond talking about the maintenance and up keep of the buildings and put my Vestry, Endowment Committee, Finance Commitee and Stewardship hat on, so please bare with me.

As you all know last February Fr. Kevin retired and we needed to form a search commitee to find a new rector. There were many hours put into this procedure and along the way many things discovered. At the beginning of the year we got a new Treasure and after looking over the operations of the church we found that we were not in the best financial position to be looking for a new rector, however we proceded on and have come up with a candidate we feel can do the job, but in order to do this there are going to have to be some changes. Anyone who has been in business knows when this happens there are one or two conditions that have to be met. These are to increase revenue (stewardship) and or decrease expenses. You heard us all speak at the Stewardship Service Step Up Program which is the increase revenue portion. Hopefully all of you have examined your giving and are able to help out at this level plus step up to a higher level than previously taken. The next level is up to the finance commitee and vestry to go over all of our expenses and see what we can do without or at least cut back on.

This is where Stewardship comes up again. What can we all do to help around the church to eliminate or at least cut back on ourside services that we use. Stewardship is not always about how much money you donate but also what all of us can do to help out around the church to cut back on expenses. Just a short example. We have our cleaning service come in 3 times a week. Possibly with your help we could do what is necessary on a daily basis and just use them once a week. There are others as well such as our lawn services etc. We just need to examine all areas of expense and come up with a plan. Your input is valuable, so please let us know.

Getting our new Rector may depend on it.

Blessings

Steve Van Loan

Jr Warden

Ramblings of an Over-Caffeinated, Sleep Deprived, Child Rearing, Millennial:

SJD’s Video Offerings 2023

Hello Everyone! We had an eventful 2023, and have much to talk about, so let’s get started!



• Current Achievements – Since offering videos online with YouTube in May of 2018 we have 44,841 views! In 2023 we totaled 6,790 views with Live Streams making 3,928 of those views. We are seeing Live Streams becoming less of the main source of views as they only made up 58% of all view in 2023.

• Most Popular Videos – The Top 10 videos of 2023 were half Live Streams with a mix of sermons and New Rector Call Status videos. Special mention to SJD’s Live Stream for Good Friday 2023 as our most viewed video of 2023 at 298 views. Though normally a popular service, 2023’s Good Friday included many guest preachers that may have garnered supplementary views to this Live Stream.

• Technical Issues – In October, we suffered our worst technical difficulty when our AV BridgeMix crashed. Often referred to as the Brains of the AV media output, when it crashed, we could not get Cameras or Audio to stream. This caused us to not have a Live Stream on October 1^st. Thanks to Howard Roshaven’s help, we were able to produce a workaround for the remainder of the month, until we had the AV BridgeMix repaired and reinstalled for November. The next few services saw us work out issues with the system, but we are now happily back to normal.

• Volunteers – I wish to thank past & current AV Booth volunteers and restate our need for more help in the Booth. We have some new volunteers joining us and learning from Howard Roshaven how to work the sound, but we have no one to volunteer at Cameras. So, if anyone wants to learn, I am eager to teach.

• Final Notes – As always, I encourage all to view our Website, follow us on Facebook, get connected on Realm, and Subscribe to our YouTube. We want to interact with the congregation on these platforms and grow them. Thank you for all the support you have shown our Ministry. 

Thank you all for your support,



Tristan M. Warner

Media & Tech Specialist

A Happy and Prosperous New Year!

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ. We are in the month of February, the shortest month of the year. Yes, it is a leap-year so there is an additional day. The month of February has always fascinated me. As a child, I often wondered how does a child born on February 29th. celebrate his/her birthday. As I wondered, I felt sorry for them as they would only have a birthday celebration every four years whilst I had one every year. As I grew older, I realized that was not the case. 

So, what do we as Christians at Saint John the Divine do this month of February”? On the 13th we celebrate the feast of the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first priest of African descent ordained in the Episcopal Church in America. The next day, the 14th, we have Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the penitential season. Many of us come to the church on that day for the imposition of ashes. For the next forty days we are expected to participate in some form of Lenten discipline. Whether it be fasting, abstinence, prayers, or any other intentional self-denial. Some churches walk the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent leading up Good Friday. At Saint John the Divine we walk the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday at Daysprings. Also, beginning at 12 noon, on Good Friday, we recite the seven last words of Christ. This takes the form of seven people giving a homily dedicated to each of the seven words.

During the season of Lent, our church sponsors a Wednesday discipline in the afternoon, beginning with soup or salad followed by two classes, whose sole purpose is guiding the participants on their Christian journey.

Regardless of your faith tradition, try your best to do something rewarding this Lenten Season. 

My sisters and brothers, I wish you and your family a Healthy and Prosperous 2024. 

In God’s Grace and Peace,

Aubrey V. Thompson

Head Verger

GRIEF SUPPORT FEBRUARY 2024

Grief and Depression

Grief occurs in stages, including depression. The depression stage of grief is marked by sadness as the reality of the loss sets in. Signs of depression in this stage of grief include sadness, regret, loneliness, difficulty functioning, changes in sleep and appetite, and social withdrawal.

If you’re grieving the loss of something or someone you cared about, you may find yourself feeling sad and low. Everything may feel bleak and hopeless, and you may not feel like doing things you once cared about. You may feel overwhelmed and find it difficult to get out of bed and go about your day the way you did before.

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. Many people have similar experiences when they grieve a loss, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, an idea, a sense of control, or anything else that had meaning to them.

So, what are the symptoms of grief? Feeling sad, empty, or numb, feeling overwhelmed by the requirements of daily life, experiencing despair and hopelessness, Sleeping or staying in bed all day, crying often, experiencing a cascade of sadness with every reminder of the loss, thinking that others will not understand your loss, believing that your grief will overwhelm others, withdrawing from other people instead of letting them help you, Feeling tired and low on energy.

What can you do about this and how can you help yourself? It’s important to accept support from friends, family, colleagues, spiritual leaders, and others who have been helpful in the past. Withdrawing from people often makes feelings of depression worse. Work on accepting all the emotions that come up. No feeling is right or wrong. Self-judgments like "I shouldn’t be feeling this way now" can make feelings of depression worse. 

Experiencing a loss is painful and difficult, and you may find yourself experiencing symptoms of depression. These symptoms are part of a normal reaction to a loss and generally fade with time. However, if you find yourself unable to cope with the loss, you can seek help!

The Grief Support Group at Saint John Divine offers more than just discussions for those who have lost someone. Grief is a natural process. It isn't a disorder or an illness. You may be grieving about anything you've lost, whether it's a loved one or a job or something that had meaning for you.



We meet every month on the 2nd and 4th Mondays at 10:00 AM in the Dons Room in the Banner building. When you feel the need, we can be there for you.

DIVINE JEWELRY’S JANUARY SALE A HUGE SUCCESS

We sold out of a lot of merchandise! So…. now we are turning to you in hopes you can help us replenish our inventory. This time of year finds me going through my closet and jewelry boxes cleaning out and getting ready to donate items never used in 2023. Hope you’re doing the same. The sale resulted in our being extremely low on necklaces, earrings and rings. We are also in need of purses particularly “better” brands. We have also decided to try a few pieces of clothing. Keep in mind our shop is very small and we cannot bring in clothing racks. We are looking for jackets and tops. We can only display 4 or 5 items so please choose only your best. By the time you read this, we will likely have made another sizeable donation to SJD Operating Fund and with your help, we are looking forward to continued donations throughout the year. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have a congregation so supportive. Almost everything in our shop was donated by you and of course we can’t forget our weekly shoppers, you know who you are 😉. A special thank you to our devoted volunteers. Thanks again for making this SJD Fundraiser such a success.

Barbara Gentry

Winnie Wright Celebrates 100th

On January 14th after 10:00 service, the congregation had the pleasure of celebrating with Winnie. We heard there was a huge party for her the night before and we expect she was celebrating a third time at the Aston Gardens service. Turning 100 and still being a party animal, WOW! Thanks to Ronda O’Farrell for providing the beautiful cakes and to top off the celebration Winnie was invited to choose a gift from Divine Jewelry. A wonderful time for a wonderful lady. Blessings Winnie.

Parish Life Commission

Daughters of the King

This group has been inactive for several years but was recently revived by new parishioner Debra Middleton. She has recruited new members and begun holding regular meetings.

Divine Jewelry Thrift Shop

The shop’s doors opened on March 8, 2023. Since that time, we have been able to fund numerous projects within the church and several SJD community outreach projects using funds generated by the shop. Projects we funded our first nine months were smaller in scope, but much appreciated by the various ministries. We finally built up a nice “nest egg” and now can make more substantial donations to SJD. Our first was in November when we donated $3000 toward payment of utility bills. We will be donating another $3000 shortly. Our congregation has been a HUGE support by donating merchandise and even becoming regular customers.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Gentry & Jackie Winder

Faith Community Nursing

Our church is part of the Faith Community Nursing network sponsored by the Bay Care System. We conduct blood pressure checks after both Sunday morning services on the last Sunday of each month. Parishioners are very appreciative of this opportunity.

Fellowship

Kitchen Crew: The crew had a busy year: we catered six funeral receptions, and provided numerous birthday, anniversary, and good bye cakes. We hosted numerous events including a reception for the Bishop’s visit for 110 people, a Stewardship Sunday luncheon for 115 people, Lenten Series Soup Suppers, and a summer potluck. We continue to hold weekly Sunday coffee hours (except for the six Sunday Breakfasts provided by the breakfast crew) and on Easter Sunday, we provided hot cross buns and deviled eggs. We also completed an extensive inventory of the kitchen and parish hall to comply with a Vestry request to document our assets. And we already have four scheduled functions during January including two 100^th birthday celebrations.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Gentry

Breakfast Crew

The parish breakfasts, held monthly during the “in season” months, are very popular because of the convenient timing (between worship services) and the delicious menu items that include hearty, hot entrees, and numerous side dishes.

Good Shepherd Ministry (GSM)

The Good Shepherd Ministry is designed to fulfill the part of SJD’s mission statement aimed at “caring for God’s people.” GSM is a team consisting of twelve members and four helpers who are willing to visit or phone parishioners on a regular basis. We reach out to parishioners who might be unable to attend church and/or need assistance. We meet on a monthly basis to be sure parishioners’ needs are being met. During this year we assisted, called, or visited more than twenty different parishioners. We share resources and connections with other outreach groups in the church. This year we developed a new flyer for the information table, periodically placed information in “Divine Details” and developed pew cards for parishioners to make referrals. We have met with Fr. Lee to ask for guidance, and we are exploring connections to the Healing Center, the Grief Support group, and various community resources.

Respectfully submitted, Ronda O’Farrell

Grief Support Group

The Grief Support Group is a highly active group, meeting twice a month. It gives wonderful support to anyone facing a loss, be it loss of a loved one, loss of a pet, loss of connectedness, or feelings of isolation. Everyone is welcome to come.

Respectfully submitted, Jackie Winder

Healing Center

The center opened earlier this year and is staffed by a team of volunteers who provide personal prayers for anyone requesting them, either by dropping by or making an appointment for a prayer session. The center is available to all SJD parishioners now and intends to be available to others in our wider surrounding community in the future. Prayer sessions last for approximately 30 minutes. This is the only center of its kind in the Southshore area.

Prayer Chain

The Prayer Chain receives 2 - 3 requests per week and consists of about 75 people who are willing to pray for those making a request. The number of requests for healing prayers varies from week to week. The requests are on our list for 2 weeks. If further prayers are needed, the requester notifies the chain. The coordinator sends an email asking for prayers to those who are participants on our prayer chain list. No phone calls are made by the parishioners who are praying. We thank God for this ministry and know He always hears our prayers.

Respectfully submitted, Valerie Bryant

Small Groups

Study Groups: Faithful Followers and the Books of Faith Club discussion groups continue to meet regularly throughout the year. Valerie Bryant began leading the Wednesday Bible study group after Fr. Kevin retired and that group continues to meet regularly also.

Foyer Groups

Foyer Groups: Nine Foyer Groups (monthly social gatherings of parishioners that take place away from the church, usually in parishioners’ homes) were established during 2023 (five groups that met January through June, and then four new groups were formed that met July through December). There were three categories of groups: Potluck Dinners, Eating Out and Games. Each group consisted of six – eight people. Signups for the next rotation are complete and there are five groups that will begin meeting in January 2024 (one Games group, two Eating Out groups and two Potluck Dinner groups).

Welcome Ministry

Our greeting program is working well, although several greeters have taken a hiatus due to health and other issues, so we are scheduling only one greeter per service, who is located at the welcome center. First-time visitors receive a packet of information on the day of their initial visit and then once a month there is a gathering of all new parishioners in the parish hall after each of the morning worship services for more in-depth information and fellowship.

Women of St John Divine (WSJD) and Men of St John Divine (MSJD)

All women of the church are automatically part of WSJD. All men of the church are automatically part of MSJD. These groups are currently inactive. 

Cursillo

Cursillo Group Weekend 149 will be at Dayspring Feb 29 thru March 3rd. There is still room for Pilgrims and Team. There are at least two groups grouping, contact Mike Magnant for details. If you or someone you know is grouping, Please tell Mike. Also Mike Magnant is the 2024 Parish Rep. We are planning monthly get togethers with the first one on the 15th of January.    

There is also a weekend planned later in the year which will be led by Annie Hunter.

Alpha

The Alpha Program which has been held in the past, is on hold as there is not a trained facilitator at this time.

February Outreach

The Outreach Committee has chosen the First Ladies Farm and Sanctuary for our February focus. The Sanctuary is a community supported “no kill” animal rescue in Riverview.

This non-profit animal rescue began with a heart for rescuing feral cats but has expanded to include other animals. Their farm now includes numerous chickens, ducks, geese and peafowl. Many of these have special needs, having survived dumping, abuse and even arson.

The name ‘First Lady” comes from the desire to honor the first ladies of the United States. Usually, their husbands, the Presidents, got all the fanfare, but we know the women worked hard, often unheralded or unnoticed. This rescue honors their legacies.

During their first year, 2018, they placed 13 kittens in homes. In 2019 they found homes for 53 kittens. In 2020 they were able to place over 300 cats in homes. They have each animal examined by a veterinarian, including spaying/neutering each one before they put them up for adoption.

Depending only on volunteers and donations, the First Ladies Farm and Sanctuary is not backed by corporations or grants. Please give generously toward their support.

To find out more, check out their website at firstladiesfarm.com.

Brenda Roshaven

Election Night Volunteering in Support of the Annual Dominican Republic Mission Trip

We are seeking up to 14 volunteers total to work in two teams at either the Ruskin Library or South Shore Library from 6:00pm until approximately 9 or 9:30pm on each of the three election days in 2024. Currently we are filling positions for Tuesday, March 19th. The work is easy and slow paced, this is a very good time to get to know other parishioners or work closely to support a cause with others. All stipends received by volunteers will go directly to support the Tampa Deanery Dominican Republic Mission Trip. 

If you are interested, please contact Katie Arp, karp.cross@gmail.com, 813-833-8102. Thank you!

Change whatever you need to change...thank you!

Katie

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