April 7, 2023

Good Friday Worship Tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Join us for a beautiful and somber Tenebrae service, with music by the St. John’s Chancel Choir with strings and organ. Service will be at 7:30 p.m. in our sanctuary and live online. Click the button below to watch the livestream from home.

Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil Tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The Prayer Vigil on Holy Saturday will be available to the church from 7-8:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. This is a self-guided prayer experience to help you spend these hours keeping watch with Christ.

Easter Sunday Worship Services

Easter Sunday Traditional Worship– 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary

Experience the joy of the resurrection, featuring the Sonrise and Chancel Choirs with the UNM Faculty Brass Quintet, organist Jim Ahrend, and percussionist Micah Harrow. Use the buttons below to join us online.

Easter Sunday Contemporary Worship - 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center

Celebrate the empty tomb with Gil Flores and the Abide Praise Band. Use the button below to join us online.

Women's Bible Study Signs and Wonders

Starts on April 11

The next Women's Bible Study will be on the book Signs and Wonders, a Beginner's Guide to the Miracles of Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine. Class details:

• April 11 - May 16 (6 weeks), Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., IN-PERSON
• Facilitator: Dara Bell
• Register by emailing Susan Perry at teachersusan@comcast.net, signing up at the Hospitality Center on Sundays or calling the Church Office (505-883-9717)
• Participants will purchase their own books



In Signs and Wonders: A Beginner’s Guide to the Miracles of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine explores selected miracles of Jesus in historical and theological context. For each miracle, she discusses not only how past witnesses would have understood the events, but also how today’s readers can draw meaning from Jesus’s words and actions.

Mobile Food Pantry on April 15

At our March food pantry, 29 volunteers helped to organize and distribute 2500 pounds of food to 48 households, which included 56 seniors, 47 adults and 41 children!

Our next Mobile Food Pantry is Saturday, April 15. Volunteers arrive 9:00 - 9:30 a.m. and distribution begins at about 10:15 a.m., depending on the time the truck arrives. We are usually finished by noon. If you would like more information, please contact Debby Smith at 505-554-4238 or dysmith0427@gmail.com.

Roadrunner Food Bank has designated April as National Volunteer Recognition month. Roadrunner is the largest non-profit dedicated to solving food insecurity in New Mexico. You can learn more about this worthy volunteer opportunity by clicking here.

Sunday Lunch: Thanksgiving in April Turkey Feast on April 16

Let us continue to give thanks for our Risen Lord! The St. John’s Food Ministry is inviting everyone to a Thanksgiving in April Turkey Feast on Sunday, April 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Family Life Center. No reservation required. Just $12 for adults, $6 for ages 12-17, $3 for ages 5-11, and under 5 is free. Give thanks for Food, Fellowship and Fun. A donation basket will be out if you would like to buy a meal for a person experiencing homelessness—we will be taking 180 meals to feed 180 food insecure people at HopeWorks at the end of the month.

We need volunteers to help put on the lunch. If you are available, please sign up using the button below. If you have questions, text or call Nancy Douglas de Baca at 505-238-5895.

Orientation/Reorientation Class: "Learning About St. John's" Starts Soon

What:

  Class 1: Christian Beliefs (April 16, 2023) 

  Class 2: Methodist History and Beliefs (April 23, 2023)

  Class 3: St. John’s Programs and Organization (April 30, 2023)

  Class 4: Where do I fit in? What can I contribute? (May 7, 2023)

When: Each Sunday 6-7:30 PM

Where: Rooms 149/151 

Who: Anyone (visitors, prospective members, new members, old members) who want to know what we believe and do as members of St. John’s congregation.

How: Interactive discussion

Contact: Jack or Carol Nuzum (jcnuzum@juno.com; 505-265-5241) Call or email Jack or Carol soon so we can plan or sign up Sunday in the Hospitality Center.

Sweet Jazz Fundraiser on April 30

The Sweet Jazz fundraiser benefitting Family Promise is Sunday April 30. Tickets are available for purchase ($25) from Family Promise or from Jenn Shields here at St. John's. Enjoy an afternoon of live jazz, sweet treats, and a Silent Auction in comfortable seats with great acoustics. See the attached flyer for more details. For questions or tickets, contact Jenn Shields at jennshields200@yahoo.com or 505-450-9978. 

Record-Breaking Fish Fry: A Look at the Stats

We broke several records this year at our Lenten Fish Fry, including the total number of meals served and overall attendance! At our final Fish Fry of the year held on March 31, there were 658 meals served (our best ever!), over $500 was donated to Steelbridge/The Rock from our tip jars, and 147 people volunteered to help put on the event. There will be a celebration in the Family Life Center on May 20 at 5 p.m. to celebrate all the hard work that went into making this possible.

While this last Fish Fry was a record-breaking Friday, it is perhaps even more impressive to take a look at the season overall. This Lenten season at our Fish Fry dinners:

• 3,350 meals were served
• $1,888.26 was donated from our tip jars to Steelbridge/ The Rock
• 759 volunteer shifts, including volunteers from our Youth, Boy Scouts and Mandy's Farm

Thank you to Wayne Shirley, Tim Nuzum, and everyone who helped to make this Fish Fry season a success!

Read "Word a Day" Lenten Series by Pastor Tiffany Hollums

Pastor Tiffany Hollums decided that each day during Lent, she would choose a word to prayerfully reflect upon. She is sharing her Lenten reflections here and hopes to inspire our readers to join in her journey. Click the button below to read the latest articles in this series.

DAY 36: POWER

Readings:  Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 71:1-14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, John 12:20-36

Reflection:  

Jesus redefined power.   What the world saw as weakness was God revealing His power.  And God is still doing this today-in us.  What the world might see as weakness—-to God it is strength.  When we love when the world expects hate.  When we forgive the unforgivable.  When we give out of our poverty.  That is the power of God at work in and through us.

Caterpillar or Butterfly by Dee Billops

During Lent there is time for reflection, for prayer, and a time to reassess one’s life. Are we on the path chosen for us by God or just cruising along on one’s own? I think of the caterpillar, content to crawl along a branch, looking for tasty bits of leaves or berries, no cares in the world, no stresses. Life is sheltered, good, content to be in this small world in which it has been placed. But for the caterpillar to be transformed, to reach its full potential, it must spin a cocoon around itself, sleep, and wait for a new beginning. The caterpillar could resist its calling to become a butterfly and stay a caterpillar, secure in its little world on the branch. But if it did not give in to the cocoon, it never would see and feel the life of a butterfly.

 As a caterpillar, its life is circumscribed, but safe. As a butterfly, the individual gets to see the larger world, from up above, all its beauty and awesomeness. By becoming a butterfly and fulfilling its potential of spreading pollen from one flower to another, it helps the world renew itself and leave the world better than when it arrived on the earth. It also gets to taste the sweet nectar and aroma the flowers produced, something unthinkable to a lowly caterpillar. By allowing itself to fulfill God’s plan for it, the caterpillar is rewarded in unimaginable ways and gets to soar to the heavens... Click here to read the full article.

Joie de Vivre Visual Arts Ministry Presents Visio Testimonium Passionis Christi

St. John's Visual Arts Ministry Presents Visio Testimonium Passionis Christi (a visual testimony of the Passion of Christ) for Lent 2023. Follow the passion of Christ and his journey to the cross from his return to Jerusalem, crucifixion, ressurection, and his ultimate victory. This exhibit (in St. John's Sanctuary lobby) offers the viewer an opportunity for meditative and prayerful reflection which brings the prophecies of the Old Testament to the good news of our redemption through his sufferings and sacrifices. Paintings in this exhibit are by Paul Chandler. For more information, click here to visit the Visual Arts Ministry webpage.

Youth Prayer Vigil on Saturday, April 8

Youth Prayer vigil will be Saturday, April 8 from 9 p.m. to Easter Sunday morning. There will be a nocturnal egg hunt starting at 9 p.m. and then we will take shifts praying through prayer stations until Easter Sunday. We do need parents to sign up for hour shifts. For more info contact Tiffany at thollums@stjohns-abq.org.  

Sonrise Choir on Easter Sunday

Sonrise Choir helps lead the 8:15 a.m. Easter Sunday service! Call time is at 7:30 a.m. For information or questions contact tmacali@stjohns-abq.org.

Summer Events

Youth Bells: The Youth Bell Choir will begin in the summer on Sundays before youth group. Updates coming soon! 

Sacramento Mission Trip: The youth mission trip will be July 23-29. Be on the lookout for some exciting news on this trip coming very soon.

April Special Offering: St. John's Youth Mission Trip

St. John's youth will be heading to El Paso July 23-29 to do mission work in the area, for example, organizing and running a Vacation Bible School. They will stay at Tobin Park UMC where they will also prepare their own meals. 

The cost will be $200-$250 for each youth and sponsor who attends. The Missions trip will not only benefit the children of El Paso but our own youth as well. They will leave their comfort zones and then experience the joy of serving as the hands and feet of Christ in a new place. Let us give generously.

Zuni Weekend Meal Bag Project

Our St. John's Missions' focus for this month is the Zuni Weekend Meal Bag project; we'll collect the following items, in single-serve sizes: shelf-stable white and chocolate milk, microwavable cups of Chef-Boyardee pasta with meat, vegetable cups (corn, green beans, peas, carrots), and nut-free granola or cereal bars. During the latest delivery of meal bags to Zuni, the students of the Zuni Community Service Committee helped unpack our cart and expressed their appreciation for the meal bags, so "Thank-you, St. John's", on behalf of the Zuni students! Please remember that if you'd prefer to give a monetary donation to this project, please make checks payable to "St. John's UMC", with "Zuni Meal Bags" on the memo line.   

St. John's United Methodist Church

2626 Arizona Street NE | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110

Office Hours (call only): Monday - Thursday, 9a.m. - 4 p.m.

Friday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

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.