Read St. John's 2024-2025 Annual Report

Christ Our Mother

Dear Friends,

I am will be forever grateful to 20th century Medieval scholars and the poet T. S. Eliot for reviving interest and enthusiasm for Julian of Norwich, 15th century mystic and theologian. From reading Julian, I was plunged into a transformation in my thinking about God, as Father and Mother, and Christ exemplifying the mothering of God in action. What I learned from that reading was that the maternal face of God was good set against evil in ways that would bring about the reconciliation of creation to God. It was, and is, a face always of divine love.

In my own life and struggles to be a mother, it offered me a particular way of grace, especially when our daughter was a teen. At some point, I realized that my entire focus was on taking every action possible to be sure that our daughter was an extraordinary student and got into an excellent college. In a moment of prayer, I realized as I faced this bored, restless, totally put out with school as presented person that this whole anxious work was my dream for her because I had been denied access to that great college. It was not hers for herself. To love her as Christ loved her, I had to put away my dream and leave space for her dream.

On Mother’s Day this year, we will celebrate two baptisms at 9:00 a.m. in All Saints Hall, and one at 11:00 a.m. in the Historic Church. One of the most important promises we make as a community of faith is to do all in our power to support these children in their life in Christ. This is our invitation to love these children as Christ our mother does by giving them a place, a space, and a community full of people who will not only show how we work at being and doing good in the world, but also offer permission to dream of their own path to reconcile the world to God.

With God’s help, I know we will.

God’s peace and keeping,

Mary+

The Rev. Mary Sulerud

Interim Rector

Annual Meeting Wrap-Up

Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Meeting last Sunday. If you missed it, here are the highlights:

ELECTION

• Vestry: Paul Casasco, Rick Conover, Tim Loomis, and Dawn Rea were elected to serve as the Vestry Class of 2028.

• Lay Delegates to the Diocesan Convention: Ann Rasenberger, Brian Stone, and Sharon Weston-Dawkes were elected to serve as Lay Delegates — St. John's voice at the Diocesan Convention in November 2025.

THANK YOU

• We recognized the outgoing Vestry members for their years of service: Becky Daugherty, Lucy Eldridge, Tom Goss, and Doug Hall (Doug will remain in leadership as Treasurer), as well as Junior Warden Geoff Walker.

AWARDS

A St. John's tradition, special parish awards are handed out at the Annual Meeting. We celebrated the winners of the following awards:

• Thomas Cranmer Award: This award was introduced in 2018 to honor a person who shows a deep commitment to prayer. Named after the first Archbishop of Canterbury and father of the first Prayer Book, the award holds up a member of our community who models a life of prayer. Awarded to Amy Stalder

• St. John's Cross Award: This award is given to the member of the parish who, in the last year, has helped us fulfill our mission to bring everyone to a closer relationship with God and each other in Jesus Christ. Awarded to Joan Fox & Biz Merkey

• The St. Francis Creation Care Award: The St. Francis Creation Care Award is given to a parishioner who places “the care of God’s Creation at the heart of our common life.” By putting this belief into action, this parishioner acknowledges Creation Care as an act of prayer and discipleship. Awarded to Cindy Osorto

• St. John's Award: The St. John’s Award is presented each year to a parishioner who gives of themselves, exemplifies the Spirit of St. John’s, and lives our mission in the community. Awarded to Gordon Knox 
• St. Jude Award: This new award will be given as appropriate to the parishioner(s) who revitalize a ministry or initiative in the life of St. John’s parish. Awarded to Brian Comber & Ann Rasenberger

ANNUAL REPORT

If you missed our previous email containing the 2024-25 Annual Report, you can access it here. If you prefer a hard copy, please contact Kathy Young at 410-461-7793 ext. 113.

Many thanks to Phil Stackhouse for sharing photos of the meeting.

Newly elected Vestry members

Retiring Vestry members

Award winner Joan Fox

Award winner Ann Rasenberger

Creation Care Fridays

Preparations are underway to get back in the gardens, starting Friday, May 9th, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. On Fridays, we offer fellowship time after we wrap up gardening. Bring a beverage or lunch and join us in Rose Hill for a respite. We realize this isn’t always the best time for people, so we are looking for ways to meet you when you are available.  Would you consider adopting a garden of your choice to work in when it’s convenient for you? The Creation Care Team will familiarize you with the native plants in your garden, then you set your own schedule. You might consider inviting family and/or friends to join you to make it more fun. You need not commit to a full two hours; whatever time you have, we have a need. We’d love your company! It’s as simple as emailing creationcare@stjohnsec.org for more information.  

Christian Meditation Workshop: Sat., May 10,

10-11:30 a.m.; Rose Hill

The Ministry for Mental & Spiritual Wellbeing invites you to this casual and experiential workshop, where we will explore Bible verses that reveal secrets of Christian meditation. There will be time to practice meditation, for sharing, and questions as well. All ages, as well as beginners, are welcome. Coffee and tea are available. (Resource book: Christian Meditation by James Finley). Please email Karen Ferguson at Wellbeing@stjohnsec.org to register.

The "Bagzilla Project" Continues

After a VERY successful inaugural run, in which we (the church, the school, and the Miller's Grant Senior Living Community) collected over 1,000 lbs. of plastic film in just four months and earned ourselves a Trex bench, we officially kicked off "Bagzilla 2025" last week in celebration of Earth Day. Teri Salmons and her friend, Bagzilla, reintroduced the project at services on April 27th. For those of you familiar with the project, please continue to bring your qualifying plastic film into the collection boxes located in the Historic Church, the school, All Saints Hall, Resurrection Chapel (great for weekday drop-off), and at Miller's Grant. For those of you not familiar with the project, please read more here. This year's project is being managed by Parish Day School students, led by faculty member Lauren Landsman, and the church's Rite-13 youth.

New in Quick Links

Have you ever wanted to sign up for an event or initiative but couldn't find your Blessings e-news to access the link? Now you can find a link to all ongoing and upcoming "Sign-ups and Registrations" in the Quick Links box on our home page at www.stjohnsec.org. Never miss out on participating!

Click here for the Shrine Mont Amazon Wishlist. The retreat at Shrine Mont is Memorial Day weekend, so please make your purchases so they arrive in time. Questions can be directed to Kate Funderburk at ShrineMont@stjohnsec.org.

Please sign up to join the "DRC Meal Crew" on Wed., May 28th at the Day Resource Center, by serving food or donating food items for the meal. Those experiencing food insecurity are always so grateful! Learn more here. Questions can be directed to Sharon Runge at sharon@kenyaconnect.org.

Have you heard the buzz?

St. John's 2nd Annual Bee Social promises a BEE-u-ti-FULL evening of fellowship and fundraising. The goal is to have fun while raising money to support St. John’s ministries. At this Adults-only event, we will have Silent Auction baskets, a Wine Pull, and delicious food catered by Clarksville Caterers. (If you have dietary restrictions, please be sure to list them on the registration form.) Bring your own preferred beverages (alcoholic or non-alcoholic). Water, ice, and sparkling water will be provided. Tickets are $40/person (open seating) and $280/table of 8 people (reserved seating). Tickets can be purchased with a (corrected) hard copy form or online. We hope you will join us and bring your friends!

Tickets are on sale now through May 30th! No tickets will be sold after May 30th and will not be sold at the door. Get your tickets today before they sell out. Last year was a great success and tons of fun! Buy tickets now!

Besides buying tickets, how else can you help?

Donate items for our themed silent auction baskets: This year, we will be handling silent auction donations differently. Instead of having Commissions coordinate and fill entire baskets, we are seeking individual items that the Bee Social Committee will use to create the themed silent auction baskets.

Volunteer at the Event: We would love it if you could help with tasks before, during, and after the event. (Since it is a fundraiser, volunteers will still need to purchase tickets.

Click here to volunteer and/or donate items for the Silent Auction.  (Auction items will be at the top of the sign-up. Scroll down for volunteer opportunities.)

Questions should be directed to Jen Walker at BeeSocial@stjohnsec.org.

The Rummage Sale is St. John's largest Outreach fundraiser! Your support of the Rummage Sale benefits the organizations listed below. Please clean out your closets, volunteer, tell your friends, and shop!

Organizations that receive money:

The Kirk P. Gaddy Youth & Community Center

   (formerly known as Collington Square)

The Children's Home

Kenya Connect

The Grassroots Day Resource Center

The UMBC Retrievers

The Howard County Food Bank

The Bea Gaddy Family Center

The Refugee Ministry

Rise Against Hunger

Luminous

Organizations that receive unsold items:

Success in Style

Powell Recovery Center, Inc.

A Home of Our Own

AMVETS

Springfield Hospital

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

The Houston Family

Jim

Williston "Pickett" Johnson

The Johnson Family

Julian

Kathryn

Kelly

John Kreft

Tom Loughran

Glenda Lovchik

George Maestri

Pat Merson

Charles H. Miller

Mary Nelson

Tim Nunley

The Nwosu Family

Kathy O'Dunne

Charles Osmond

Mary P.

Heather Paris

Kathy Phelan

Beverly Polk

Jean Purcell

Richard Rabb

Roland Russoli

Dennis Supik

George Tolen

Alicia Townsend

Debby von Uffel

Dan Weston-Dawkes

Jonathan Weston-Dawkes

Carter Yates

For those who have died: Chuck Robbins

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.