St. John's 2025 Vestry Election: Announcement of Nominees

At our Annual Meeting on Sun., May 4th, we will elect our Vestry Class of 2028 as well as our Lay Delegates to the Diocesan Convention. Please review the nominees' bios here. Hard copies of the document will be available at the Welcome Centers this weekend. Any questions about the election should be directed to the Vestry Nominating Committee at VestryNominations@stjohnsec.org.

You are eligible to vote if you…

† have been a member of St. John’s since Nov. 4, 2024

† are at least 16 years old

† have made a pledge to St. John’s for 2025 or are otherwise “known” to the Treasurer

† attend worship regularly at St. John’s

Why the Church?

Dear Friends,

In Godly Play we teach the children a little rhyme about Lent that includes this line, “Purple is the color of preparation.” Amid the many images of Lent, preparation is an ancient and important one. It has been my delight to share teaching responsibilities with Anna Loomis in our Lenten Episcopal 101 series, reacquainting people with their Episcopal heritage. Baptismal preparation is also part of Lent at St. John’s. During Eastertide we will have five baptisms. Last Saturday, three adults and a baby participated in baptismal instruction for baptisms that will take place on Mother’s Day and the Day of Pentecost.

While we spend a lot of time talking about baptism as a sacrament, a point of entry into the church that by the power of the Spirit confers full membership in the body of Christ, what I enjoy more are the questions and conversations sparked by this class. One that was asked on Saturday was, "Why the church?" I get it. On most Sundays in a culture of mostly non-believers, there are lots of alternatives to Sunday worship, coffee hour, and formation. While adult candidates for baptism and parents on behalf of young children make the renunciations and affirmations as individuals, not long afterwards a question is asked of the congregation, “Will you do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” and the answer is a pretty hearty, “We will.” We then make our baptismal covenant as a community alongside the candidates for baptism.

In other words, for better and for worse we as the church commit ourselves to being the support system, the safety net, and the household of God for ensuring that the children and adults who are baptized always know that we are there for them in prayer, in ministry, in care, in worship, in formation, and in outreach, helping them to hear as we do the call of God in Christ and being prepared for ministry and mission. Made up of broken and, at times, sinful human beings, we might not be our first choice of folks to take on this awesome responsibility. We are, however, the choice of Jesus Christ, who comes to us by the power of the Spirit, to equip us for this work. As one of our participants noted, this is not work to be done all by oneself.

As Lent draws to a close, pray for those to be baptized in the Easter season. Pray also for this community that we may not only welcome, but faithfully guide those who have come to us to be “Christ’s own forever.”

God’s peace and keeping,

Mary+

The Rev. Mary Sulerud

Interim Rector

Easter Flower Donations

Last call to make a memorial donation that will help us decorate our worship spaces for Easter. Give in remembrance, in honor, or in thanksgiving for someone special. For a $50 donation, we will remember your loved one with a listing in the Easter bulletins. With Easter so late this year, we hope to add seasonal plants and flowers to our traditional Easter floral display that can be planted afterward. Following our Sun., April 27th services, the flowers will be delivered to our sick and homebound parishioners, keeping the sunshine going. Please complete this form by April 7, 2025, to have your donation and your loved one listed. Payment options are listed at the bottom of the form. You may also donate using an Easter flowers donation envelope at the Welcome Center. Thank you! If you have questions, please contact Kathy Young at kyoung@stjohnsec.org.

The Easter Baskets for ARC of Howard County & The Kirk P. Gaddy Youth & Community Center have all been adopted! But you can still participate! Donate to our special collection to purchase grocery gift cards to go in the Easter baskets. You may donate in person on April 5th & 6th with cash or check (payable to St. John's Episcopal Church; Please mark "Outreach collection" in the memo), or you may donate online at https://bit.ly/SJEC-GiveNow (Fund=Outreach Ministry; Memo=Special Easter Collection). Thank you for your support!

SUNDAY, APRIL 13

ONE WORSHIP

11:00 A.M.

HISTORIC CHURCH

Click here to RSVP for Maundy Thursday.

Share Your Talents in All Saints Hall

Are you a singer or musician who would like to serve in worship as a member of the ASH Band? We'd love to have you! The ASH Band plays every week at the 9:00 a.m. service in All Saints Hall from September to June. The band plays a variety of music from the past sixty years of praise and worship music, and consists of singers, guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers. Membership is open to all ages. Rehearsals take place Sunday mornings before the service, from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m., with occasional weeknight rehearsals scheduled as needed. Contact Scott Geist at AllSaintsHallBand@stjohnsec.org.

Life & Theology of Howard Thurman: April 6, 10:10-10:50 a.m., Auditorium

Hosted by Deacon Ruth

Palm Sunday: No Youth or Adult Connect (April 13) Children's Connect will meet at the normal time of 10:10-10:50 a.m.

Easter Sunday: No Children, Youth, or Adult Connect (April 20)

Spring Small Groups Forming Now

Registration for the next meeting of small groups is open! These groups will meet after Easter for six weeks: April 28th-June 6th. Please complete this form to join. Questions should be directed to Georgi Funderburk at gfunderburk@stjohnsec.org.

Howard County Concert Odyssey Presents Bridging the Gap String Duo

This highly acclaimed American string duo, featuring violinist Peter Wilson and double bassist Aaron Clay, offers a unique voice to many musical styles by uniting instruments from opposite ends of the string family while performing music of the classical tradition, jazz, big band, folk, film music, popular song, and even funk. Tickets

Courageous Conversations: Wisdom for Changing Times

How do we live courageously in 2025? In the face of racial and religious bias, we keep coming together. Howard County Faith Communities invite you to participate in Courageous Conversations to Recall, Renew, and Reclaim the wisdom we hold in our community. Learn more about the events planned for April 22nd (Recall), April 29th (Renew), and May 6th (Reclaim). Registration is required.

May 4: Combined Worship (9 AM) & Annual Meeting including Vestry Election (10 AM); J2A Bake Sale

May 18: Senior Recognition (Seniors: complete form)

June 7: 2nd Annual Bee Social

June 13 & 14: Rummage Sale (Drop-off June 8-11)

October 11: Oktoberfest

Need An Emotional Wellness Check-in?

Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times. St. John's Ministry for Mental & Spiritual Wellbeing recommends the National Institutes of Health's Emotional Wellness Checklist. If you 'd like to participate in or learn more about the Wellbeing Ministry, contact Karen Ferguson at Wellbeing@stjohnsec.org.

Supporting Education in Kenya

Last Saturday was not just a beautiful day weather-wise, but also a beautiful day of people coming together to support education in Kenya. A total of 475 individuals were registered (live and virtual) for Kenya Connect's 11th Annual 5K Race/Walk, with 225 completing the LIVE race that begins and ends at St. John's. A number of St. John's parishioners and friends participated, including Rev. Peter Gachira (below, top left) and Mike Runge and Amy Sachs (below, top right), as well as Rev. Kristofer Lindh-Payne, Canon to the Ordinary for Leadership, and Rev. Dina Van Klaveren, Canon for Stewardship and Development (pictured bottom right with Rev. Peter). Kenya Connect partners with 71 schools and serves roughly 18,000 children (and their parents) and 500 teachers. The race netted about $30K. Congratulations to parishioner Sharon Runge, Executive Director of Kenya Connect USA (below, bottom left), and her team!

From the Korean Congregation

Our Korean congregation joined many other Korean Episcopalians this past Sunday at the Philadelphia Cathedral to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in Korean. We were told that this was the first Korean-language Eucharist ever held at the Cathedral. It was a meaningful and historic moment for all of us.

Please keep the following people in your prayers:

Andy

Deb Avant

Jacyn Baker

Steve Belknap

Ron & Judi Bonig

Jim Bruce

Trish C.

Al Cooke

Leslie Edmonds

Kristin F.

John Furda

Sunny Good

Marti Guillet

Shawnnee Holmberg

The Houston Family

Julilan

John Kreft

Tom Loughran

Glenda Lovchik

Pat Merson

Charles H. Miller

Mary Nelson

Tim Nunley

The Nwosu Family

Kathy O'Dunne

Charles Osmond

Heather Paris

Kathy Phelan

Jean Purcell

Richard Rabb

Ruby Reilly

Chuck Robbins

Roland Russoli

Clay Shiflet

Dennis Supik

Alicia Townsend

Debby von Uffel

Dan Weston-Dawkes

Carter Yates

For those who have died: Sally Marietta; Larry Knox

Our community shares the compassion of prayer with members and beyond. To have someone included on our prayer list, you may: Contact the Parish Office by phone; or Email your prayer request to Tracey Stone at tstone@stjohnsec.org. Names will remain on the prayer list for 30 days. After the initial 30 days, if you wish to have a name stay on the list, please re-submit your request.

Help fellow parishioners find you in the Parish Directory

After converting to Realm, all member profiles were made private. That means if you don’t adjust your settings, you do not appear in the church directory. Step-by-step instructions to edit your profile are available for the computer and the Realm Connect app. Set Your Privacy Settings in Realm

In addition to making an Annual Pledge to St. John's, you are invited to:

1.) Mail your check to the Parish Office: 9120 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042.

2.) Visit the St. John's website under "Give."

3.) Text "SJEC" to 73256. You will receive a reply with a link to a secure site to complete your transaction.

4.) Donate via Venmo: @StJohnsECMD

5.) Leave a lasting legacy to St. John’s through a planned gift in your estate plan. Visit https://www.stjohnsec.org/planned-giving for more information.

Questions should be directed to Kathy Hahn, Finance Director, at khahn@stjohnsec.org.