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| A Message From Fr. Ron Pogue |
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Thanks for putting your heart into St. John's!
Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also." - Matthew 6:21
By the end of the week, 97 households had pledged $313,628 for 2016. Seventy-nine of those pledges are new or increased, indicating growing commitment to the spiritual discipline of stewardship among our members.
You may make your pledge and review information online that may be helpful to you in taking this step in your spiritual life here.
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News, events, opportunities, and more
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Club 345 After School Program Begins Next Week!
Learn about Abraham and Sarah through games, crafts, art, Godly Play, and more!
Our after school programs are proud to be thriving ministries of
St. John's Church. Miss Margaret and Miss Catherine provide a safe, fun, and Christian week for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Club 345. We offer after school pick up from Jackson Elementary or the Activity Bus. Club 345 meets October 19-22 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. Contact Margaret Hutton at 307-733-2603 x105 or margaret@stjohnsjackson.org to join the club!
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It Makes Our Hearts Glad When...
The women's retreat was a great success with 24 women. The weekend included special classes taught by The Rev. Suzanne Love Harris, a Taize service, optional spa treatments, and great food. As one participant put it, "there is just something so refreshing about spending time together with a group of strong, intelligent women."
We had a crowd of people with glad and generous hearts on Consecration Sunday. The laughter in Hansen Hall was especially wonderful. It was a happy, spirited community of disciples who were putting their hearts into St. John's. It took a lot of work and devotion on the part of so many, so thank you to all those that helped make this a great event!
Over the course of a 90-day bra drive Browse n' Buy collected 675 new or gently used bras of all shapes, sizes, and colors to support "Free the Girls," a Colorado nonprofit that works to teach former victims of human trafficking in Africa to run their own businesses.
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Celebrate the Mexico Mission!
Please join us for a weekend of multi-cultural festivities to celebrate La Gran Familia Orphanage in Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, a mission of St. John's since 1998. The celebration begins Saturday, October 31 with a Mexican cooking class beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Hansen Hall. On Sunday, November 1 a special Taize service at 6:00 p.m. will include an All Saints' candlelight liturgy. Following Taize, there will be a festive cocktail hour and dinner with an update on the children of La Gran Familia. Families and children are welcome! All are invited to bring a memento/photo and share stories of loved ones who have died. If you are interested in helping to set up, decorate, clean up, or be involved in any way please contact Becky Strout at beckystrout@gmail.com.
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All Saints' Day Remembrance
On Sunday, November 1 during both our 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. services, we will be celebrating All Saints' Day. Our observance includes reading the names of members and loved ones who have died since the last All Saints' Day. We will also have a separate list of names of those who died more than a year ago. These names will be listed in the bulletin. If you have a name you would like to add to the list, there is a sign up sheet in the entrance to the church and chapel or you can enter the name online by clicking here. It is our hope that this special service of remembrance will contribute to your healing and spiritual comfort as we remember your loved one and proclaim our Easter Faith in Jesus, who said, "I am Resurrection and I am Life...Whoever has faith in me shall have life, even though they die."
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Why Do We Baptize On All Saints' Day?
Because when the newly baptized rises from the water, he or she enters not only in a permanent relationship with Jesus Christ, but also in a covenantal relationship with All Saints who have ever lived and worshiped Jesus Christ. If you feel called to be baptized or to have your child baptized on All Saints' Day, November 1, please contact Margaret Hutton no later than Monday, October 26 at margaret@stjohnsjackson.org or call 307-733-2603 x105. Baptism is open to all ages and backgrounds.
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Last month I had the privilege of traveling to Tanzania, Africa with four others from the Diocese of Wyoming. Press Stephens, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming, Rick Veit, the Rector of
St. Mark's in Cheyenne, Jill Smylie, a school counselor and Bishop Smylie's wife, and Linda Anderson, an elementary school principal from Worland, were my traveling companions to the Diocese of Kiteto located in Kibaya, Tanzania. The Dioceses of Wyoming and Kiteto are three and a half years into a seven-year companionship. We were asked to evaluate the projects in which the Diocese of Wyoming has financially invested, learn what projects are on the horizon, and continue to build relationships with the people of Kiteto.
The financial focus of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming is to support the primary and secondary schools. In partnership with the Diocese of Leicester, England, we have funded the construction of a new dormitory, bath facilities, dining hall, andscience lab. All four of those projects are currently under construction and should be completed soon. In o
ur suitcases, we brought items not easily purchased in Africa - a microscope, beakers, test tubes, textbooks, paper, pens, watercolors, markers, inflatable globes, and other teaching aids. We also distributed basic necessities such as shoes, toothbrushes and toothpaste - perhaps the most popular gift.
To say this trip was personally and spiritually transforming is an understatement. We worshiped and praised for hours in Massai and tribal villages, attended the confirmation of two young women, had dinner in the homes of priests and
parishioners, visited a seminary, shopped at a Massai market (where some had never seen blonde hair), and toured the eye clinic of the diocese, which treats anyone who walks through the door. Our accommodation was a house on the diocesan compound that includes a primary boarding school of 95 children, a
secondary boarding school of 98 children and the cathedral.During our stay the Mother's Union (Episcopal Church Women) had their annual meeting in which 400 women from across the diocese gathered for fellowship, prayer, and song. Imagine babies and toddlers keeping a watchful eye on their mothers while 200 school children danced, laughed, and played as African hymns sung by 400 women filled the air. I was in heaven!
My time in Tanzania was full and rich, and I am still processing the impact this experience has had on my life. For two weeks I was treated as royalty. In a country where women and children dig in dry riverbeds insearch for water, we were freely offered feasts of goat, rice, and beans. Women of the Mother's Union invited me into their drum circle and included me as one of their own. Little girls pulled me by the hand to proudly show me their dark, crumbling concrete dorm rooms. Each church we visited presented us with a Coca-Cola and a beautiful, museum-quality handmade gift.
I have recently been curious about the impact of foreign aid on third world countries. With the United States and other countries pouring billions of dollars into these countries, what is the church's role in providing aid? In the grand scheme of things, does church aid make a difference. On this trip, I quickly came to realize that in the Diocese of Kiteto, just as at Santa Maria Magdalena in Favorito, Cuba, and La Gran Familia in Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico, the church's role is vital. We are in relationship, in Christian community. Our brothers and sisters in Kiteto, Favorito, and Cuauhtemoc are hours away from major cities and would never feel foreign aid. Driving through thorny brush to reach Massai villages to worship for hours and celebrate the roof a church funded by a Wyoming church makes the relationship unique. While these countries need the billions of dollars to save millions of lives, they also need the thousands of dollars to change hundreds of lives. A relationship in Christ transcends language, skin color, and socioeconomic status. Our relationships in Christ are vital for our Church, for our brothers and sisters, and for ourselves.
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ABOUT US
St. John's Episcopal Church is a community of faith made from God; we worship and serve God, welcome all who seek to know and love Jesus Christ, and share Christ's love by serving others.
We warmly invite and welcome new members and visitors to our Church and we thank each and every one of you and are blessed by your faith and support
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