January 19, 2024

Josh's Jottings

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all." - Dale Carnegie

One of the ministries that offers profound witness and love to members of our church, as well as the community, is the We Care group which offers support and community to caregivers. As I have visited with a few members of this group, they have expressed gratitude for the hope and the comfort they feel as they share with others who are caring for family members and others during difficult stages in their life. Caring for another through a chronic health issue, health crisis, or at end of life, is an extraordinary act of love, one that demands more of most people than they often have to give. We Care is a place just for the caregiver to come share, listen, be heard, support one another, grieve, and find others in the same place. In that sense, We Care is a place where caregivers give care to one another. 

I am writing to you about We Care for two important reasons. First, if you have become a caregiver recently and you need a place to come and find respite, now is a great time to join. You will find a community of understanding. Second, Fay Barz and Rachel Perovich, who have lovingly shepherded the We Care group for the last several years, are ready to hand leadership of the group to some new leaders. They are willing to work with these new leaders to ensure continuity of care and make the transition a smooth one for everyone involved. If you feel called to help this group, particularly if empathy and care are among your gifts, please contact the church office or contact Fay or Rachel. 

I am grateful for this group and the care that it offers. It is one visible sign of the love that exists in our community at St. John's. 

Best wishes to you this week, 

-Josh 

Memory Café

Saturday

The next meeting of Memory Café Albuquerque is this Saturday, January 20, at 1:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m. in the SonShine Café at St. John’s United Methodist Church. This is not our usual meeting date, due to a scheduling conflict. We will be back on the regular schedule in February.

We have a busy afternoon planned for our Memory Café friends. Randall Perez will be bringing us 60’s and Country music and Norm Falk will share his African Safari. And it’s January, which means football and our annual snowball toss!

Memory Café meets the first Saturday of each month at 1:30-3:00 p.m. in the SonShine Café. It is a supportive fellowship for anyone affected by memory loss/Alzheimer’s and their caring partners. Meet and share with others on a similar journey. This is not a drop-off event. For more information contact Sharon Jensen at (505) 323-7522 or ssmjens@aol.com. 

Mobile Food Pantry

Saturday

Our next Mobile Food Pantry is Saturday, January 20. Volunteers arrive about 9:00-9:30 a.m. and distribution begins at 9:30 - 10:00 a.m., depending on the time the Roadrunner Food Bank truck arrives. We are usually finished before noon. For more information, please contact Debby Smith at 505-554-4238 or dysmith0427@gmail.com.

Souper Bowl 2024 is Saturday, February 3, from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. This is a yearly fundraiser for Roadrunner Food Bank. Enjoy savory treats from local restaurants, a live band, the ability to select the People’s Choice restaurant winners, and a silent auction. For more information click here. 

Pretzel Day

February 3

Save the date for the annual Pretzel Day event, held on Saturday, February 3, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at St. John's Family Life Center. This is a great activity for all ages. Come make pretzels (including gluten free), hear their history, and make Lenten crafts. You will have your crafts and your pretzels to take home and enjoy!



Questions? Linn Furnish 505-884-6626 

Lenten Fish Fry Dinners 2024

Lenten Fish Fry Dinners start soon at St. John's! Chef Tim and his crew will serve up fried or baked fish and all the fixings every Friday night in the Family Life Center starting February 16 until March 22, six Fridays, from 4 - 7 p.m.

Because of the increase in food costs, the ticket prices this year will be $16 for an adult and $8 for a child, 10 and under. Reservations are not required and gluten-free menu options will be available.

Wayne Shirley will be in the Hospitality Center beginning Sunday, January 21, with volunteer sign-up sheets, advanced tickets you can purchase to give away to family and friends, donations you can make for fire and police dinner tickets and to answer any questions.

Come on out and get your "fish fix" and enjoy the fellowship! Contact: Wayne at jwshirleyabq@gmail.com.

Fish Fry Food Coordinator Position

Thursday Afternoons

We are looking for a person willing to fill the Thursday Afternoon Food Preparation Coordinator position. This person would recruit volunteers and oversee the preparation of washing and cutting up vegetables, putting butter in cups, making and putting tartar sauce into cups, washing all the fruit for the fruit cups, washing the baked potatoes and wrapping them in aluminum foil and any other food preparation needed. This is for the six weeks of the Fish Fry, beginning February 15 and ending on March 21, 1 - 4:30 pm. Contact Wayne at jwshirleyabq@gmail.com.

Fish Fry

Price Increase

Have you checked your utility bills lately? What about your insurance bills? Gas prices? Food prices? Eating out prices? EVERYTHING has gone up due to inflation. The cost to offer Fish Fry dinners is no exception so we are increasing the cost of the meal this year. We still feel that the $16 per adult cost which includes fish, 3 sides, beverages and dessert is a bargain! And, at the end of the Fish Fry dinners, after supplementing the Food Ministry community meals budget, whatever is left over is given to Albuquerque non-profits who serve the food insecure. Everybody wins!

St. John's UMC

Foundation

The St John’s UMC Foundation was approved by the senior pastor and charge conference in 1986. It was incorporated as an independent body in that same year. The St. John’s UMC Foundation is governed by the board whose purpose is to manage the endowments established for long-term growth and support of the church’s ministries. When you donate to St. John’s UMC Foundation via a gift, memorial, or in your Will, you help to ensure the mission of St. John’s, “Loving God, Loving Others, and Changing Lives”, continues throughout the years.

Anyone can leave a gift, no matter how big, or how small, to the Foundation and be assured your gift will make a difference in the continuing efforts of St. John’s UMC. We ask you to prayerfully consider gifting to the St. John’s United Methodist Church Foundation. If you have any questions about the St. John’s UMC Foundation, or how to include it in your Will, please contact Jamie Davidson at JDavidson@stjohns-abq.org or 505-883-9717.

Nursery Help Urgently Needed

We are in desperate need of folks to help in the St. John's nursery on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. If you have current Safe Sanctuaries training and enjoy working with our youngest kids, here are a few ways you can help.

1. Volunteer 1-2 Sunday mornings a month during the 9:30 and/or 11:00 a.m. services

2. Volunteer 1-2 Wednesday evenings a month from 6:15 - 8:15 p.m. during Chancel Choir rehearsals

3. Apply to be a paid Nursery worker on a regular schedule for Sundays and/or Wednesdays

If we can get a group of 6-8 volunteers/workers, then we can create a rotating schedule to help cover the needs of our families with children ages 6 weeks through 4 years old.

Please contact Angela Lybarger at (505) 250-3875 if you would like to help with this part of the Children & Family Ministry at St. John's.

Alta Mira will be offering a 6 week training on

Parenting with Love and Logic® 

Parenting with Love and Logic® is a way of working with children that puts

parents back in control, teaches children to be responsible, and prepares young

people to live in the real world, with its many choices and consequences.

March 5, 2024 through April 9, 2024

Classes will be held in-person every Tuesday from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

$45 per person

$65 per couple

Parenting with Love and Logic® workbook and training certificate included.

Please click the link below to register. Click the Training tab at the top of the

page and then Parenting Classes. Select the Special Courses tab to register.

https://altamiranm.org/services/parenting-classes/

The class has availability for 20 people.

Questions? Please contact Ann W. Fenton afenton@altamiranm.org or (505)366-2163

 Love and Logic ® is a registered trademark of the Love and Logic Institute, Inc.

Alta Mira Specialized Family Services Inc. is a 501(c)(3) ©2023 All rights reserved.

1605 Carlisle Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87110-5619 | 505.266.0801

Security Awareness

We would like to remind you to be aware of potential scams imitating Pastor Josh. If you receive a text or email from a sender claiming to be Josh or staff from St. John's asking for a favor, delete and block the message.

Know that neither Pastor Josh, nor anyone else at St. John's, would ever solicit for gift cards or money through individual text or email.

Parents Day Out

February 10

Children's & Family Ministry will host a Parents' Day Out on Saturday, February 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Kids in grades Kindergarten through 5th can hang out with us at St. John's for games, crafts, food, and a movie. Who knows what fun shenanigans we can create! Stay tuned for more information & and RSVP date.

(Note: We hope at some time in the future to be able to expand this opportunity to include infants & preschoolers too, depending on the availability of nursery care workers.)

Prayer Quilt Recipient

Jamie Gonzales (friend of Jean Jones) is the recipient for the prayer quilt currently on display in the Hospitality Center.

If you pass through the Hospitality Center this week, please tie a knot in the quilt while praying for Jamie. Won't be in the Center this week? No worries. Either way please pray this prayer (or your own prayer) for Jamie: "Heavenly Father, we ask that you bless Jamie with courage and hope and may she find solace in your loving embrace. Heal her in body, mind and spirit. Amen.”

Coats and Jackets for Zuni Elementary

Brrrr, winter has arrived! I, personally, would rather stay in and stay snuggly, but there comes a time when I must venture out. So, off to the closet I go to grab a jacket or coat. This is something I take for granted.

Some of the children at Zuni don't have that same benefit and often arrive at school without a coat or jacket. Let's do something about that! During the rest of January and the month of February, we'll be collecting new or gently-used coats and jackets, sizes 6X - 14. Please bring your donations and place them in the bins in the Hospitality Center.

Questions? Donna at donnabruce@comcast.net

January Special Offering

St. John's Youth Mission Trip

In July, our youth are headed to Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana to volunteer with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Every year more than 2,000 volunteers prepare approximately $4 million in relief supplies for shipment from Sager Brown to disasters all over the US. We can start the new year by helping the youth in their fund-raising efforts for this trip. Please give generously.

You may place your check in the offering plate with Youth Mission Trip in the memo line, or donate on the church website designated as Youth Mission, and memo as Trip.

Hygiene Items for Silver Horizons

We're starting off the new year collecting hygiene items for Silver Horizons during the month of January. These items include, but are not limited to, any of the following: toothpaste, mouthwash, men's and women's deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, lotions, men's and women's razors, and shaving cream.

Silver Horizons is committed to helping struggling seniors (age 50+) in Albuquerque, and from Santa Fe to Belen, and the grandchildren many of these seniors are raising. The goal at Silver Horizons is to do more than help “keep the lights on” or help a struggling senior “survive”. They work to help seniors feel safe and secure…and remain in their own homes. They work diligently to improve the quality of life of seniors in our community.

You may leave your donations in the wire basket in the Hospitality Center.

Our worship services are livestreamed so you can watch them from home. To watch a worship service live, click on the service that you would like to watch on Sunday morning at its scheduled time.

St. John's United Methodist Church

2626 Arizona Street NE | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110

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

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

Pastor 24-Hour Hotline | (505) 312-3763

Pastoral care is available for after-hours emergencies. Please send any congregational care needs to Rev. Molly Shannon at care@stjohns-abq.org as we all work together to love one another well.