The Messenger E-News

Facebook Livestream @ 10:00 AM

Easter worship service schedule

8 AM - Rite I

9 AM Coffee Hour

10 AM - Rite II

with choir and Sunday School

Visit our virtual worship page for the Sunday Bulletin

Access Rev. Jill's Sermon Podcast here

YouTube Livestream @ 10:00 AM

Holy Hikers is BACK!

Join us Saturday, April 18 at 9 AM – we will meet at Ridley Creek Park’s visitor center lot (at Parque Mansion).

Upcoming Events @ St. John's:

See Sunday's Lectionary here.

Holy Hikers

Saturday, 4/18 @ 9 AM

Earth Day @ Saint John's

Sunday, 4/19

Literary Ladies

Sunday, 4/19 @ 12:30 PM

WWJB?

Tuesday, 4/21 @ 6:30 PM

Women's Potluck Dinner

Wednesday, 4/22 @ 6 PM

Yoga Class

Wednesday 4/22 @ 7 PM

Chester Eastside Meal

Thursday, 4/23 @ 5:30 PM

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"Sneaker Sunday" - wear your sneakers and walk the property to see the Penn Oak tree and the location of the first church and much more with Rev. Jill at 9:15 am Sunday 4/19!! Return to the Parish Hall for refreshments provided by the Green Team and learn more about being sustainable!

Reflections from the Rector

"The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it" Psalm 24

The Bible is full of descriptions and passages about the gift of this beautiful world that God has given to us: from the first pages of Genesis and the two stories imagining how God created the universe, through the parables that Jesus told using imagery of fields of wheat and grass.

Our Book of Common Prayer also lifts up in prayer and praise God's glorious creation. My favorite Eucharistic Prayer begins on page 369 with its language of "vast expanse of interstellar space, the galaxies, suns, and planets in the courses, and this fragile earth our island home." We use this prayer during our unofficial Season of Creation in the fall and in April for Earth Day. But there are more prayers than just the "Star Wars prayer" in our BCP: eight prayers are listed towards the back of the book for God's natural order including Joy in Creation, Harvest of Lands and Waters, and For the Beauty of the Earth.

When I was in high school my friends teased me for my (somewhat) zealous care for our world - trying to reduce the amount of trash I created, recycling, worried about the growing hole in the ozone layer...I was "tree-hugger Jill" - a bit of an outlier in the consumer-driven 80s. But now, working towards being sustainable and environmentally aware is moving into the mainstream. Our friends at Maris Grove told me over lunch about how easy it is for them to participate in composting their food waste, using a company that picks up tons of waste each month. A small step with big impact.

This Sunday, Saint John's will once again celebrate God's beautiful creation as our worship lifts up Earth Day in prayer and hymns. The Green Team will host Coffee Hour and have information tables. And I will lead a walk of our property at 9:15 that will include the original site of our 1702 structure, and down to our historic Penn Oak (pictured above).

Wear your sneakers and come ready to celebrate the Beauty of the Earth.

Blessings,

Rev Jill

Seeking

Pastoral Care Chaplain:

Rev. Terry Dinovo

Rev. Jill announced at the Annual Meeting that my position was elevated to 10-12 hours a week along with a new title, Pastoral Care Chaplain. My focus will be on providing pastoral care to the Saint John’s community through hospital visits, home communion and spiritual counseling. I will continue to preach and celebrate the Eucharist once a month and you'll see me at some (though not all) parish events.

Also, I now have with an office in the Parish Hall Building that I share with the Choir. My contact information is provided online as well as in Sunday bulletins. If you wish to visit me at church, please call to arrange a time.

I look forward to serving Saint John’s as together we live out Christ’s command to love and care for one another.

We Believe:
Exploring the Episcopal Church

Interested in learning more about what being an Episcopalian is all about or want to be confirmed or received? Classes start April 26 @ 11:15 AM and run for 6 weeks. All seekers, wonderers, and learners are welcome to attend! Two upcoming dates for diocesan Confirmation: June 6 and Sept 26.

Contact Rev. Jill if you are interested.

Thursday Bible Study

Join us as we study Bible stories that lift up our matriarchs of faith.

Meeting on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month at 10:30.

View the full schedule of readings here.

Growing

Yoga Sessions

Join us for weekly yoga sessions Wednesdays through May 20 at 7pm in the Upper Room. Volunteer lead, and free to all. Bring a mat or beach towel.

Women's Potluck

Join us Wednesday,
April 22 at 6 PM - bring a dish
(purchased or home-made)
to share.

Saint Johns at the Blue Rocks

Reserve your seat at the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball game. The game is Friday, June 5 at 6:30 pm. The price of the tickets is only $13 per seat. Fireworks will follow the game and parking is free. Invite your family and friends to join us. We are sitting behind home plate, just below the press box. Last year 100 parishioners, family and friends attended. Let's break that record. See Steve Long between the services during coffee hour to reserve your tickets or email him at SWLong@comcast.net

Serving

Adopt a Highway Road Cleanup

The Green Team will be conducting our next road clean-up, taking place Saturday, April 25 at 9 am, through PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway Program. We will supply reflective vests, trash bags, and caution road signs as we collect trash along a a two-mile stretch of Concord Road, from Overfield Lane to Baltimore Pike. All we need is YOU! Please consider donating one hour of your time to show the love to our community and our neighbors. Signup here.

Spring Property Cleanup Day
Saint John's will hold it's annual Spring Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 25 from 9 AM - 1 PM. Come for any amount of time you can. Many hands make light work. Bring yard tools and gloves if you have them. Youth are welcome too!

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first held on April 22, 1970; because there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day to force this issue onto the national agenda.

Earth Day is celebrated to raise awareness about environmental issues such as pollution, deforestation, climate change, and endangered species. It encourages individuals, communities, and governments to take action to preserve and protect the Earth's natural resources.