July 29, 2022

United Women in Faith Rummage Sale Today & Tomorrow

United Women in Faith are holding their Annual Rummage Sale on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 in the Family Life Center. SALE TIMES: Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. 

All funds raised are donated back into the community. This is the sale of the year with everything from sports equipment, furniture, household items, clothing, linens, crafts to boutique jewelry and clothing. Cash and checks only. 

Youth Events

July 31 - Last Reel to Real: The last Reel to Real of the season will be this Sunday, July 31 from 6-9 p.m. (PLEASE NOTE THE TIME/LOCATION CHANGE) and we will be meeting at the Reese's home (12428 Chelwood Trl NE) for a swim party and to watch Moana! Please bring island worthy snacks and come enjoy our last Reel to Real of the summer. 

August 13 - Solid Ground Kickoff: Youth Kickoff for Solid Ground will be August 13 from 4-6 p.m. and it will be 'Adults Versus Youth' Water Wars, so come ready to get we​t! We are inviting all the youth parents to please come and join us. There will be a very quick Fall informational meeting during the youth time.  

Help Provide Sunday Snacks: Would you like to help provide snacks for our youth Sunday nights? We have a growing youth group and would love for friends in the church to help to provide a snack and drinks for the youth! If you are interested, please contact Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org and there will also be a sign up at the Hospitality Center!

Nursery & Children's Church

Starting this Sunday, July 31, the Nursery will end its summer hiatus and be open again (in Room 138) at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Come and meet our interim nursery manager, Ashley Kulek! The Nursery is available for newborns and children up to five years old for the 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. Parents are welcome to drop off their children and pick them up after service ends.

Children's Church is available for school age children in the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services. Children join us for the first part of worship and then are dismissed at the offering time for children's worship. We will be concluding our Explorers series this Sunday and next Sunday children will stay in worship for a back to school blessing and communion (but there will be Communion bingo with prizes!). 

We are getting new windows in the education side of the building and it will be a few months process. Please be patient as we get creative with rooms for the preschool and other classes these next few months!

Quintessence Concert This Sunday!

Join Matthew Greer and the Quintessence Summer Choral Festival and Orchestra for the New Mexico premiere of Jocelyn Hagen's extraordinary multi-movement cantata "The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci." The concert will also feature music by Zanaida Robles, Karen Marrolli, Tim Takach, Reena Esmail, Morten Lauridsen, Bob Chilcott, and others. Tickets are $10, and are available at quintessence-abq.com.

CPR/First Aid and Safe Sanctuaries Trainings on August 3

CPR/First Aid training (9 to 11 a.m.) and Safe Sanctuaries training (11 a.m. to 12 p.m.) will be offered August 3. If you are an usher, CPR training is a very important training to have. If you are interested in being trained in CPR, the cost is $40, but the church can cover this cost as well. 

If you cannot attend this class, there will be more opportunities to attend Safe Sanctuaries training coming up this Fall. Please contact Tiffany Hollums at thollums@stjohns-abq.org to sign up for CPR/First Aid or the Safe Sanctuaries training! 

Asbury Cafe Events in August

August 4, 11 & 18 - In-Person Asbury Cafe Training: There are in-person Cafe training classes in the Library (room 231) on Thursdays - August 4, 11, and 18 at 6:30 pm. Please attend if you plan to volunteer at the Cafe as there are changes this year at the Cafe.

August 9 - Extra Pie Party: There will be an extra Pie Party on Tuesday, August 9 at 6 p.m .in the kitchen and Family Life Center. Freezer space still needed!

All of August - Sign Up to Volunteer at Asbury Cafe: Every Sunday in August, sign up to work at the Cafe and bake pies. The sign-up table will be outside of the church. For more details on sign ups contact Dave Young at dajsover@wans.net or Blake Reese at bdreece55@gmail.com.

For questions, more information, or to volunteer freezer space, contact Jenn Shields at 505-450-9978 or jennshields200@yahoo.com. 

Come Be Servers for the Zuni/Preschool Teacher Appreciation Lunch August 5

The Zuni/PreSchool Teacher Appreciation Lunch is back in person this year! Each year, St. John’s invites all the staff at Zuni Elementary—located right across the street—and the staff at St. John’s Preschool Plus to a free lunch organized by the Food Ministry and  Children’s Ministry, with school supplies from the United Women in Faith. 

We need front of the house servers to help with the meal from 10:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. on Friday, August 5. The serving duties include setting tables, serving drinks, serving the plated lunch, busing tables, and cleaning up, as well as eating with the teachers, getting to know them, and showing them radical hospitality.

Servers will meet in the Family Life Center on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. for a briefing, and serving and clean-up should be finished by 1:15 p.m.

Click here to sign up.

Teachers thrive when they have support from the community. So please help us be good neighbors and show love to those who have been called to help educate our children. For more information, contact Chef Tim (tnuzum@stjohns-abq.org).

Back to School Blessing August 7

There will be a back to school blessing next Sunday, August 7, in all 3 services. Students and teachers, bring your backpacks and receive a special prayer and blessing for the new school year! 

Come One—Come All! Family Choir is Back!

Are you a shower crooner wanting to go public? Have you ever wanted to try out choir at St. John’s? Family Choir is for you! August 7 and 14 at the 11 a.m. service, the Music Ministry will be offering a just for fun choir experience for ALL ages. Children, youth, and adults are all welcome. Rehearsal begins at 10:15 a.m in the sanctuary, and anthems are easy and fun. For more information contact mgreer@stjohns-abq.org.

Here’s What We’re Singing:

August 7 | Assurance arr. John Ness Beck 

Combining Phoebe Knapp's enduring hymn, Blessed Assurance with J. S. Bach's, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, this classic choral anthem is one of the true gems from the library of John Ness Beck. See a PDF of the music here.

August 14 | Seek Ye First arr. Douglas E. Wagner

This blockbuster setting features two classic canons cleverly brought together by Douglas Wagner, "Seek Ye First" by Karen Lafferty and Pachelbel's Canon in D. See a PDF of the music here.

Plan a Walk to Emmaus in August or September

The Walk to Emmaus is a 72 hour cloistered weekend dedicated to spiritual growth and Christian teaching. Consider what can happen with this much time to focus on the grace of the Lord! There is a Men's Walk to Emmaus scheduled Aug. 4 - 7 and a Women's Walk September 8 - 11 at Inlow Baptist Camp south of Tijeras in the Manzano Mts. If you have gone on a Walk before, this would be an opportunity to sponsor someone who has not. If you have not, and would like more information, please contact Linn or Mike Furnish at 505-884-6626.

Register Now for Online Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers 

Do you provide care for a loved one with a chronic illness or disorder? You are not alone.

Being a family caregiver is stressful and can lead to total exhaustion and burnout. If caregivers do not take care of themselves, their own health is in danger.

The Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers provides education and support, at no cost, for family caregivers of people with chronic illness. The program teaches stress management strategies and ways to cope better with the stress of being a caregiver.

We welcome you to join other family caregivers for a 9-week session that lasts for 90 minutes/week. We have been doing online classes using Zoom, and they have been a huge success.

New classes start Tuesday, October 4, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. If you are interested in participating, contact Sharon Lewis at 830-377-1484 or slewis2@unm.edu. If you have questions or would like general information about this program, you may also contact: Carol Dolan, RN, a Stress-Busting Program facilitator at 505-235-6206 or carold@lobo.net or Linn Furnish, RN, Parish Nurse at 505-884-6626 or swimsew@comcast.net. Click here to download and share the event flyer.

Thank You to Don, Beth and our Mobile Food Pantry Volunteers!

This month, our Mobile Food Pantry, in partnership with Roadrunner Food Bank, served 46 households in need of support. Thank you to all the volunteers who make our Mobile Food Pantry possible, and a big thank you to Beth and Don Zerwekh for faithfully serving this ministry as our Program Coordinators for so long! Debby Smith is our new Coordinator and would like to welcome anyone who would wants to join this group in service on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Our next Mobile Food Pantry will be held on August 20. Contact Debby for more information by phone at 505-554-4238 or by email at dysmith0427@gmail.com. 

Welcome Bookkeeper Jenna Hamilton

We are excited to welcome to the St John’s staff our new bookkeeper, Jenna Hamilton. Jenna is a lifelong Methodist and St. John’s member who attends the Abide service with her husband Ben and daughter Alanah. They became familiar with the church when Alanah attended Preschool Plus.

Jenna is from Espanola and attended the McCurdy School and Valley View Methodist Church. She went to college at UNM. Jenna is grateful to know God as her Creator and Sustainer and for the great sense of purpose she gets from being a Mom.

She remembers a Sunday service some years ago at St. John’s when both her childhood pastor, Dennis Heffner, and her college pastor, Lyle Reece, were in attendance so she feels very much at home here. Jenna is very excited to be working at and for St. John’s and we are fortunate to have her on our team.

Are You a Caregiver?

We are hoping to organically form a supportive group of people who are actively caring for loved ones. This can look differently for people. Perhaps you're someone caring for an aging parent or grandparent (either in your home, at a facility or long-distance) or are caring for someone with special needs. You may have been doing this for a while, or it's recently become a new reality. We want to offer support, meet you where you are on this journey, share, and walk with one another. 

Let's meet. We'll take a deep breath, and see where this goes. You are not alone. Our first meeting will be Sunday, August 14, at 1 p.m. in the Welcome Center (across from the Sanctuary). Questions? Please reach out to Pastor Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org or 505-883-9717 Ext. 126.

St. John's is Seeking a Nursery Manager

St. John's UMC Nursery is looking for a Nursery Manager starting in September. Our nursery is offered on Sundays during the 9:30 and 11 a.m. worship services and also during various weekly activities and we are looking for a person who loves children, loves welcoming new families, and can manage nursery staff. The position is part-time and is currently 10 hrs a week, including Sunday mornings. If you are interested, please contact Tiffany Hollums at thollums@stjohns-abq.org. 

Volunteer to Serve in the Nursery Sunday Mornings

The Nursery is always looking for volunteers to serve and help with the children. This is a wonderful way to serve every few Sundays and to be a loving and friendly face to new families and children in our church. If you are interested in serving, please contact Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org. 

From Time to Time: Old Origins for Modern Expressions

The impact of the King James Version of the Bible on modern English is hard to overestimate. Do you “stand in awe” of Pastor Randall’s preaching? Do you laugh when Pastor Tiffany repeats something that came “out of the mouths of babes”? Have you read East of Eden, A Time to Kill, or The Grapes of Wrath? All of these common phrases and titles, and many more, originated or were popularized by the King James Bible. Some we recognize immediately, and others may come as a surprise. Join the St. John’s email Bible study as we read 55 passages for their effect on our language and our lives. (Don’t worry; we’ll read primarily in modern English, with only a few verses each day from the King James.)

A scripture passage and a brief study tip are distributed to most participants by email five days a week. The study tips are made available outside our walls through an archive at www.daily-bible-study-tips.com. We each read at a time and place of our own choosing. Answers to reader questions and other supplements occasionally come out on Saturdays. To receive daily study tips by email, write or call Regina Hunter at drhunter@nmia.com or 294-2877, or you may pick up a study guide in the Welcome Center beginning July 24.

July Special Offering: Zuni Elementary School Supplies

It's hard to believe, but school will be starting again soon. So this month we have the opportunity to support our neighbors at Zuni Elementary school. Chef Tim has the back-to-school staff luncheon on the calendar, and United Women in Faith, along with this special offering, will purchase school supplies to be given to the school at that time. There may be more opportunities for continued support in the coming year, so please give generously.

Virtual Prayer Quilt

Chuck and Sharon Jensen are the recipients for the prayer quilt currently on display in the Hospitality Center.

In lieu of tying knots, please pray this prayer (or your own prayer) for Chuck and Sharon: "Loving God, we pray that you will comfort Chuck and Sharon in their suffering, lend skills to the hands of their healers, and bless the means used for their cures. Give them such confidence in the power of your grace that they put their whole trust in you, through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Pastor 24-Hour Hotline | (505) 808-1624

Pastor care is available for after hours emergencies. Any congregational care needs, please send those to Pastor Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org as we all work together to love one another well.