The Second Sunday in Lent
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Reminder: Spring Ahead
Please don't forget to spring forward on Saturday night by one hour! We hope you will change your clocks so we won't miss each other on Sunday morning, and hope to see you at your usual service as we join together for the second Sunday in Lent!
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8am I Holy Eucharist
9am I
Holy Eucharist
10:00am I
Intergenerational: Palm Sunday Banner Making
10:45am I
Holy Eucharist
2pm I Funeral Service for Jim Beattie
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Parish Hall & Sanctuary
10am I
Intergenerational Palm Sunday Banner Making
Come help create a new banner for the Palm Sunday Procession! Children and adults will trace outlines of their hands on green felt, which will become the various leaves of palm fronds. Don't miss out on this fun activity!
2pm I Funeral Service for Jim Beattie
Join us for the celebration of Jim's life at 2 p.m. at St. John's. Interment will take place at Northford Cemetery, Northford, Connecticut, on Monday, March 9, at 11 a.m.
Jim and his wife, Sharon Bonney, have been members of St. John's for a number of years. Please keep Jim, Sharon, and Jim's sons, James, Philip, Marc, and their families in your prayers. May Jim's soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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Parish Discernment Transition Team
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Deadline: Sunday, March 8th
As part of St. John’s transition process, we will be holding parish discernment discussions within the month of March. The goal of these sessions is to gather your thoughts on the past, present & future of St. John’s. The discernment committee has chosen the following dates. All meetings will be at St. John’s.
Children & young adults from grades 6 – 12 will participate on 3/22. There will also be a discussion at Essex Meadows in the Terrace Room from 4 – 6 PM on Thursday, March 19th. Extended childcare will be provided beginning at 8 AM on the Sundays and as requested for the Saturday & Monday dates, and the adult forums will be pre-empted on 3/22 and 3/29.
Our discernment discussions on Sunday, March 22nd, will form part of the Liturgy of the Word and will be followed by a modified celebration of the Eucharist prior to lunch.
You can sign up now in the church narthex or electronically via Eventbrite. We want to hear from as many of you as possible. Please sign up for one of these dates and share your ideas for St. John’s future serving God and our neighbors!
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Discernment Workshop
Saturday, March 14
- Light breakfast served
- Discernment
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Discernment Workshop
Monday, March 16
- Light supper served
- Discernment
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Discernment Workshop
Sunday, March 22
- 8AM Eucharist
- 9AM Liturgy and Discernment with Light lunch following
- No 10:45 Holy Eucharist
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Discernment Workshop
Sunday, March 29
- 8AM Eucharist
- Discernment pre-empts 9AM service and refreshments following
- 10:45 AM Holy Eucharist
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…”love your neighbor as yourself.” - Leviticus 19:18
Join us on Wednesdays, March 4 through April 1
Soup Supper, 6 p.m.
Lenten Program, 7 p.m.
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Wednesday, March 11 - Rabbi Marci Bellows, Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, Chester
Rabbi Bellows shares with us her perspective on the rise of Anti-Semitism in our world and in our local area. Come and be enlightened about the sorrow and fear that comes out of anti-Semitic actions and words.
Wednesday, March 18 - The Rev. Tracy Johnson-Russell, Rector of St. Monica's Episcopal Church, Hartford
Tracy is one of the founders of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA) and a leader in the Faith Based Initiative (FBI) of Hartford. She has started a program for children in Hartford's North End called My Place Hartford. Come and hear her experience of loving neighbor where she's planted.
Wednesday, March 25 - Valarie Stanley, Senior Warden at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, New Haven
Valarie is a longtime faithful member of St. Luke's and is part of the core leadership team of ECCT's Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation Network. The people of St. Luke's and Trinity-on-the-Green are working toward reconciliation from years ago acts of racism and separation. Come and learn about the St. Luke's story as one of the oldest African American Episcopal Churches in the U.S.
Wedneday, April 1 - St. John's members involved in ECCT's Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation Network
Come and be part of exploring the question, So What? After hearing more about loving your neighbor, so what do we do individually or collectively as a community to love our neighbors, no matter who our neighbor is?
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Some of our parish went on a field trip to the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany to visit for Cathedral in Bloom. To read more about the Cathedral in Bloom, visit
here.
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Left: Louis Bower Bannister, (
Verger of All Saints Cathedral
), and Richard Lammlin, (
Verger of St. John's Episcopal Church, Essex
).
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Our special offering envelopes for Easter flowers and music is upon us! If you choose to make a gift, please let the church office know if you are doing so in memory of a person, in thanksgiving for a person, and/or a special event. Also, please let the church office know if this contribution is for Easter flowers and/or Easter music by writing it on the envelope or by including a note. The deadline to hand in your offering for recognition in the Easter bulletin will be Sunday, April 5th.
If you misplace your envelope or don’t find it in your March newsletter, these offering envelopes will also be on the back pew in the church on Sundays — or stop in to see Chelsea!
If you choose to mail in your contribution, please send it to
P.O. Box 422, Essex CT 06426. Thank you!
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Palm Sunday Procession
On Sunday, April 5th, weather permitting, we will once again process down Main Street following the bagpiper. We will need the assistance of the children to help distribute our jellybean bags to our friends in Essex. We will gather at the park across from the street at 9:00 am. Following the procession, we will head into the church for the Palm Sunday liturgy. All are welcome!
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Stations of the Cross
Once again, we will be taking the Stations of the Cross to the streets (weather permitting) will be starting in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 10th. We will again be seeking group participation and an open mind. So bring your sense of adventure and comfortable walking shoes as we recreate Jesus' final steps on this earth. If the weather is unfriendly, we will take an alternate indoor journey. All are welcome. See you then!
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After the Last Supper, when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked his disciples to wait and watch with him. Being weak and human, they kept falling asleep; Jesus asked, “Could you not stay awake with me one hour?”
Our Maundy Thursday Vigil offers time to reflect on these words, as you pray and sit peacefully in the nighttime quiet of our beautiful church, and keep watch with the Reserved Sacrament. If you would like to sign up for a one-hour time slot, please visit the sign up sheet in the Narthex or Parish Hall. Watchers arrive a few minutes before their time and knock at the front door of the church. The previous watcher will let you in. (More than one person may sign-up for each time slot.)
Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Allison Fresher at 860-463-6965 or Carol Richmond at 860-767-3979. You may also email Allison at [email protected].
Allison Fresher
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Leadership Opportunity: Flower Ministry
We are looking for someone who enjoys flowers and would like to coordinate the delivery of the St. John’s altar flowers and holiday plants to parishioners who are sick, shut-in, bereaved or celebrating a special occasion. This ministry is a low maintenance group, but it offers a significant opportunity to connect with others.
Marlene Going, who has been coordinating the holiday flower delivery for a long time and delivering altar flowers for the past few years, would like to step down from this ministry and give someone else the opportunity to take it on. If the flower ministry might appeal to you, please call Chelsea at the office, 860-767-8095 or
[email protected].
If would like to talk to Marlene about this ministry, you may phone or text her at 860-581-0533 or email her at
[email protected]
.
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SE Region & Diocesan Opportunities
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8th Annual Spring Training & Gathering
Saturday, April 18th, at 9:00 AM
Berlin High School, Berlin CT
Tickets: $15-$35
This year's workshop participant will be able to attend three different workshops and one lunch wave. Workshop topic areas include Christian Formation, Communication, Connecting & Collaborating, Essential Parish Operations, Leadership, Passion & Call, Pastoral Care, Season of Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation, Social Justice & Advocacy, Spiritual Practices, and Worship. All workshops run for 75 minutes.
Also, don't miss out on this year's early bird discount ($15) for registration, which ends on March 21st!
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Did You Miss Last Week's e-Epistle?
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If so, click the link below to catch up and not miss anything significant happening at St. John's!
Or to find out where you are on the service schedule!
You can also check out this week's lectionary readings!
To check out past sermons!
Online Monthly eNews SE Region Sign-Up
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St. John's Episcopal Church Calendar
To view all upcoming offerings, events, and church meetings,
click here
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Saturday, March 7
Men's Discussion Group: 9:00 AM
ECCT Companions in Mission Conference, St. Paul's, Riverside: 8:30 AM
Sunday, March 8
Holy Eucharist: 8:00 AM
Holy Eucharist: 9:00 AM
Intergenerational: Palm Sunday Banner Making: 10:00 AM
Holy Eucharist: 10:45 AM
Jim Beattie's Funeral Service: 2:00 PM
Monday, March 9
Jim Beattie's Burial Service: 11:00 AM, Northford Cemetery, Northford
Tuesday, March 10
Soup Kitchen: 5:00 PM
Building and Grounds Meeting: 7:00 PM
Wednesday, March 11
Holy Eucharist: 9:00 AM
Contemplative Prayer: 5:00 PM
Lenten Supper: 6:00 PM
Thursday, March 12
Holy Eucharist: Essex Meadows Health Center: 10:00 AM
Holy Eucharist: Chesterfields: 10:45 AM
Staff Meeting: 1:00 PM
Executive Committee Meeting: 6:30 PM
Discernment Meeting: 6:30 PM
Choir Rehearsal: 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 14
Discernment Discussions: 9:00 AM
Men's Discussion Group: 9:00 AM
Sunday, March 15
Holy Eucharist: 8:00 AM
Holy Eucharist: 9:00 AM
Forum: Way of Love: 10:00 AM
Holy Eucharist: 10:45 AM
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