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Sunday, September 15 is the Seventeenth Sunday

after Pentecost.

Service at 10:00 AM, Holy Eucharist

Find this week's readings in the bulletin.

THIS SUNDAY: Welcome Back Sunday! If you have been around the Episcopal church for a while, you may have heard of the Blessing of the Backpacks. This tradition is usually celebrated in early September before students return to school!

This year at St. John's, we are going forth with a twist on that tradition. Please bring your purses, backpacks, fanny packs, briefcases and pockets for a blessing. You will also be invited to participate in collecting something special to put in your purse, backpack, pocket, etc.!!!

Also, this is a Sunday when you can invite a friend or neighbor who you feel might benefit from the wonders of our faith community. Tell them what this community means to you and how you are lifted up by the beauty of our music, the inspiration of our prayers and the loving outreach we participate in together. We will have nametags for them and put on a shine on our welcome of newcomers on this day. 

Can’t wait to see you as we gather more fully. Marya+ 

Starting September 18 - Lectionary Based Sermon Roundtable, Wednesdays 12-1:30

Starting last February, a small group of parishioners met for 12 weeks in the study and exegesis of scripture while learning how to provide effective and supportive sermon feedback.

Join us now as we continue to support the preachers at St. John's each week by engaging in an in depth discussion of scripture for the next Sunday, before they preach. We will start each meeting with prayer and a review of the homily from the previous Sunday. This enables us to not only hear for ourselves what God may be speaking, but also encourages us to share our insights with the preacher before and after they preach!!!

Final Evening Prayer

at Niles Beach

Wednesday, September 18 at 5:00pm

Please join St. John's on Wednesday, August 28 for Evening Prayer at Niles Beach, Gloucester. Fellowship and food (bring your own food and chair) will begin at 5:00 pm. (Note, we'll begin earlier than previous services because the sun is setting earlier!) Evening Prayer will begin at 6:00 pm. All are welcome!!

REMEMBERING LYNN RUNNELLS Story Hour, Sunday, September 22 after Coffee Hour Those of us who knew and loved Lynn Runnells will gather to share a story of her love in the world. Bring a bag lunch and join us!!

ALSO: On Sunday, October 20, after coffee hour, we will gather to make a shrine in Lynn's honor (making shrines was a gift she gave to this congregation). On All Saints Day, November 3, we will display her shrine along with other shrines and photos you bring to honor the saints in your life. 

Next summer, a memorial service will be held to celebrate Lynn's life.

THE FLOWER GUILD

“You should place yourself in the way of beauty every day,” so says Cheryl Strayed’s mother in the best-selling book, Wild. Coming into Saint John’s church on Sundays is definitely one way to experience that statement. Every week parishioners and visitors can view the beautiful arrangements that decorate the altar and worship space, but that doesn’t just happen. A good amount of effort goes into preparing the church every week throughout the year.

For the past five years, Rosemary Sullivan, along with co-chair DeeDee Bedford, has organized and executed the work of the Flower Guild. This includes weekly arrangements for worship services, decorations and additional flower work for holidays such as Christmas and Easter, which includes ordering flowers and other essentials based on the season (e.g. palms for Palm Sunday).

There are a lot of moving pieces that go into making this work, with Rosemary steering the ship with an able-bodied crew. For Advent and Christmas, the Ms. Fixits help to hang the nut wreaths, and install the Advent wreath above the altar. They also hang the greens outside the church for the annual Middle Street Walk. On Christmas Eve, the worship space is transformed into a burst of cheer with setting up the Nativity Scene, switching the wreaths to green, and displaying a myriad of flowers, all adding to the joyous Christmas services.

Read the whole article here.

NORTHSHOREMEN BARBERSHOP CHORUS Join us on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 7:00pm for an evening of entertainment! The Northshoremen Barbershop Chorus will be giving a concert to benefit The Open Door (50% of ticket sales will go directly to The Open Door). General Admission: $20  Senior Discount $15 For more info, check out this video or download the flyer.

BUCK-A-BAG! It's that time again! The Regal Rummage is having their end-of-season Buck-A-Bag sale on all clothing, shoes and accessories. SATURDAY, September 14 is the LAST DAY! Find AMAZING deals!!

September is Hunger Awareness Month, and The Open Door continues to be a significant force in helping to meet the needs of the Cape Ann community. In the first six months of 2024, The Open Door has served 957 MORE people and had 4,452 MORE household visits than the same period in 2023. In 2023, the food pantry distributed 1.98 million pounds of food. Saint John's has made significant contributions to The Open Door over many years, and continues to do so with weekly collections of items every Sunday (look for the basket at the rear of the church). This week, the following items would be greatly appreciated: healthy cereal, oatmeal, granola bars (for kids' school lunches), bread mixes, and flavored rice. Many, many thanks.

Music Notes

Our Offertory Hymn for Sunday is Lord, You Give the Great Commission. It is a skillful writing of Christ's Great Commission "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(Matt. 28:19-20, NIV)

Jeffery William Rowthorn (b. 1934) skillfully weaves a quotation from Christ's ministry into each stanza:

"Heal the sick and preach the word." (Matt. 10:7-8)

"In my name baptize and teach." (Matt. 28:19)

"This my body, this my blood." (Matt. 26:26-28)

"Father, what they do forgive." (Luke 23:34)

"I am with you to the end." (Matt. 28:20)

A brief refrain invokes the Holy Spirit to empower the work of the church in its ministry.

The text, commissioned by the students of the 1978 graduating classes of Yale and Berkeley Divinity Schools, first appeared in a collection edited by the poet, Laudamus: Services and Songs of Praise (1984), a hymnal supplement used at Yale Divinity School.

Jeffery William Rowthorn (b. 1934) was born in Wales. His education includes the institutions of Cambridge, Oxford, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Cuddeson Theological College, Oxford. He was ordained as a priest in 1963 and served as curate and then rector of churches in London and Oxford.

I look forward to hearing your wonderful singing!

Your Friend,

John Churchwell

Vestry Notes for September 2024

* The Vestry approved an increase of $2,000 in the budget for the Music Ministry. The increase is necessary since money that was going to enhancements on special feast days in the past is now going to organ maintenance and piano tuning (which were previously provided in-house). Our Music Ministry is a form of outreach and evangelism, providing special music on feast days such as Pentecost and attracting new church members. The additional funds will be used to support the choir in their musical growth and provide funds for instrumentalists and supplemental singers for special occasions.

* The kitchen renovations are almost complete and now await hardware and special screws, magnets, and hinges, along with a final visit from the health inspector. Discussions are under way about developing a marketing plan to attract vendors looking for kitchen facilities to prepare their specialties. The target date for completion is mid-October.

* This fall, St. John’s will offer “Aging Is Changing,” a five-part program prepared by the Episcopal Church and designed to be incorporated into the life of congregations. “Aging Is Changing” was developed to help clergy and lay leaders identify issues of older adults, their families, and caregivers, and to identify existing local, state, and national resources that might be helpful. It also includes best practices from sixty congregations around the Episcopal Church. This resource is aimed at changing the perception that older adults become less useful as they age. It highlights the potential of this generation and signals us to remember that as Christians, we are called by God. We will offer the program, facilitated by Sarah Larson, on four alternate Sundays after coffee hour for about an hour. We invite you to bring a brown bag lunch and join the group!

* On September 22 after coffee hour, we will hold a “story hour” to honor Lynn Runnells. Please come prepared to share your story with us. Additionally, on October 20 after the coffee hour, we will collectively create a shrine in honor of Lynn Runnells.

Prashan De Visser, President and Founder of Global Unites, Youth Movement for Conflict Transformation, to speak at Gordon College, Wed. Sept. 25, event begins at 5pm.

Prashan de Visser, a 2008 graduate of Gordon College, started the Sri Lanka Unites youth movement to stand against violence, hate, and prejudice as well as looking for an equal Sri Lankan identity. This peace movement captured the hearts and minds of international diplomats resulting in a global offshoot and sister organization in 2014, Global Unites. On Sept. 25, Prashan will visit Gordon College for an event with a 5:00 meet and greet/book signing, (you can buy his book Phoenix Generation ahead). At 6:00, he will present a documentary about Global Unites (see the trailer). Click here to see the official invitation, including times and address.

The Cape Ann Climate Future Film Festival will take place at the at the Gloucester Stage Company, at 267 East Main Street on Saturday, October 5. Doors open at 2:00 p.m. for a light reception catered by Meat & Sweet, featuring local barbecue and dessert favorites. The program runs from 3:00 to 5:00 and will include a series of ten short films from four continents, which “explore the artistic and human response to climate change,” as noted by the festival’s producers. There will be a community discussion of the films at the end of the screening. We anticipate vigorous conversation following the films. Tickets are $20 each. For more information, download the press release.

Science Training Encouraging Peace

Sunday, Sept. 22nd at 3 p.m. at the AVC - the Annisquam Village Church and Temple Ahavat Achim welcome Dr. Allen Taylor and Kim Kronenberg to share the remarkable story of the STEP (Science Training Encouraging Peace) program, which brings Israeli and Palestinian scientists together to work in pairs. There will be speakers via Zoom who have participated in STEP. For more information, email avchurch820@gmail.com.

CELEBRATE BISHOP GATES Come together in gratitude and celebration for Bishop Alan M. Gates and Tricia Harvey and 10 years of Episcopal ministry among us as Bishop Gates prepares to retire this fall.

Sunday, Oct. 6, 12-4, New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston. Come for all or part of this family-friendly celebration and reception. Aquarium admission is included, 12-5. All are welcome! Click here to RSVP by Sept. 20.

SIGN UP NOW! Join in celebration with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. God willing and the people consenting, The Rev. Julia E. Whitworth will be ordained and consecrated a Bishop in the one holy catholic and apostolic Church and 17th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon Street in Boston. Reception to follow the service.

All are welcome! Clergy: Red stoles.

Seating is available as capacity allows. Register to attend, watch the livestream, or join a watch party: ww.diomass.org/consecration

FEW TICKETS LEFT to attend the event in person.  

Evensong with Seating of Our New Bishop Our new bishop will be seated at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont Street, Boston on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 5:00 p.m. All are welcome! RSVP for Oct. 20 requested here.

September 15, 2024

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, 10:00 AM

Download the bulletin to see who is participating in the liturgy.

SIGN-UP IN THE PARISH HALL! We always need people to contribute funds for the weekly burning of our sanctuary lamp and for altar flowers. Pick a date that has special meaning for you (anniversaries, birthdays, etc.)! We also always need donations of any kind for the Open Door food bank (no expired items or glass containers please). And don't forget about helping provide lunches for the Action Shelter so people can have something to eat on Sundays!

Sign up in the parish hall for future dates for flower and lamp, Action Sandwiches and coffee hour.



CONTACT MARYA (Priest-in-Collaboration) at mdecarlen@comcast.net or 978-590-1642

Join us for Zoom Coffee Hour, aka Reliable Joy! 

Reliable Joy meets Sundays at 12:30. 

Use this Zoom link to join in. Meeting ID: 873 3272 1412

Passcode: 01930 Dial by location: 1 646 558 8656

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Sundays               

• 8:30 - 9:15 am Choir rehearsal (Sept. through June)
• 10:00 am Sung Eucharist

Mondays             

• 9-noon Church open for prayer and meditation
• 9-noon Ms. Fixits Women gathering to tend to the fabric of the church

Tuesdays

• 9-noon Church open for prayer and meditation
• 4:30 pm Women's Cursillo Reunion Group (1st and 3rd Tuesdays)

Wednesdays

• 7 am Men's Bible Reflection, (Bible study) 
• 9-noon Church open for prayer and meditation
• 10 am to 2 pm Thrift Shop and Regal Rummage Open
• 7 pm Fish City AA

Thursdays    

• 9-noon Church open for prayer and meditation
• 7 - 8:30 pm Parish Choir rehearsal (Sept. through June)
• 7:00 pm AA

Fridays

• 10 am to 2 pm Thrift Shop and Regal Rummage Open

Saturdays             

• Action Shelter Lunch-Making, Carolyn Stewart
• 10 am to 2 pm Thrift Shop and Regal Rummage Open
• 7 pm Big Book AA 

St. John's Intercession List: Abby Baxter, CoCo Baxter, Isaiah Woods, Nancy Neschis, Francisco Lococo, Clayton Dyett, The People of the Middle East, Jim LaBelle, Eric Leibowitz, Ruth and Gabriel Leibowitz, Anna and Isabelle, Ondine, Don Baker, Mandy, Nina Ziv, Marjorie Frontiero, Hope, Brie-Anne Martel, Patty Reed, Marjorie Fergusson, Laurie Menard, Jeremy, Lucy,  Gaëlle K., Sean G., Josh R., Sean, Alexis Morris, Charlie Bishop, Lyn Brakeman, Sarah Clifford, Ace Torrence and Family, Jacoby, Jay Featherstone, Isabelle Higgins, Christopher Antonuk, Miranda Featherstone and Family, Marsha White, Claire Stahler, Carole Secrest, Chris Klosterman, Sereda Feener, Alex Furth, Simeon Teitelbaum, Miriam Teitelbaum,  Len Berry, Ellen, Wayne Martin, Ernie Runnells, Jack Ketchopulos, Michael Rocha, Liana and Joe Webb, Anne Sullivan, Linda, Malcolm Henderson, Emelia Currier, Danny, John Fleming.

Contact prayer list manager: Joan Gorga 978-283-5926 or jmgorga@yahoo.com

Please notify Joan Gorga if there is any change with the people on this list. Thank you.