Priesthood of All Believers

Last Sunday I had the opportunity and great joy to announce that Kate Maxwell and Aron Kramer are joining our clergy team at St. John’s. Kate has discerned a call to continue at St. John’s as our Associate Priest. In this capacity, Kate will preach and teach and serve at the altar, lead a newly formed Liturgical Planning Team, help coordinate adult Christian formation, coordinate and provide training for a new lay-led pastoral support network called Community of Hope, and a host of other duties. Aron will be among us as a Priest in Residence, assisting with liturgical leadership, teaching, and engaging in other ministries as he is interested and willing (he does have a full time job elsewhere!).  We are so incredibly blessed to have such gifted and giving servants among us, and I am personally grateful for their presence and assistance.

But as we add Kate and Aron to our amazing clergy team at St. John’s, I am also well aware of the fact that the church is truly firing on all cylinders only when all of our lay people claim their priesthood as well. What? Laity claiming their priesthood? ...... Continue reading here

We need your help to welcome people to our Marketfest table.

Sign up by following the link below or contact Carrie here.

MARKETFEST is coming!

Thursdays, June 16 – July 28, 2022

6:00 – 9:00 pm

St. John's will again have a table at the best community summer festival! Come see us on the south side of 3rd St. and Washington Square.

We also need people excited about who we are at St. John's to hang out at the table. Job duties include smiling, being able to hold a small paper flyer and offer it to people, and be excited to tell people about all there is to Come & See at St. John's. We will have two shifts each week. If you are able to help set up and take down that is an added bonus, but not necessary.

A Big Thank You! and more ways to help!

Hi, this is Xavier Knauss, a lifetime member of St. John's in the Wilderness Church and a Scout with Troop 89 in Mahtomedi. Thank you to everyone for supporting my Lemonade Stand fundraiser at the Pentecost Picnic! With your purchases of lemonade and generous donations, I am that much closer to reaching my goal of funding my trip to the World Scout Jamboree (WSJ) in Saemanguem, South Korea in July 2023.

The WSJ is an international Scouting jamboree typically attended by Scouts, ages 14 to 17, and adult leaders from around the world. The last WSJ in 2019 had over 45,000 attendees. The first WSJ was held in London, England in 1920 and has been held every 4 years since, in different locations around the world (with two exceptions: from 1937-1947 during WWII years and 1979 which was to be held in Iran, during the Iranian Revolution). The WSJ is a gathering of Scouts and Guides from all over the world for an exciting program of global development, peace, cultural understanding, adventure, fun and friendship. 

I will have many different upcoming fundraisers to help me with costs for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity:

• Pop-up Lemonade Stands (Summer 2022 & 2023 at MarketFest and other locations)
• Mowing & Weeding jobs (Summer 2022 & 2023); please contact me if you would like to set up an estimate (651-387-8288) 
• Gerten's Fall Mum Sales Fundraiser (ordering window July/August 2022)
• Charleston Wrapping Paper Sales Fundraiser (Sept/Oct 2022) 
• Gerten’s Poinsettia Sales Fundraiser (ordering window Oct 2022) 
• Holiday Wreath and Evergreen Sales Fundraiser (ordering window Oct 2022) 
• Reduced Price Nickelodeon Universe Unlimited Ride Wristbands (ordering window Nov 2022) 

If you have any questions or would like to be contacted to make sure you are notified of any of these upcoming fundraisers, please email [email protected]. Again, thank you for your support in helping me attend the World Scout Jamboree next year!

Wednesday, June 22nd @ 7pm

A service of Healing with Eucharist

The healing service is a Eucharist that includes the laying on of hands and anointing. Most of us need healing of one kind or another and we all know folks we care about who need healing. This service is for healing prayer for yourself or someone you care about.

Join us for the Pet Parade and

Jazz w/the Jeffrey Merrill Quartet

Sunday, June 26 following the 10:30 worship

Come celebrate the furry and not-so-furry non-human members of our families! This is THE annual occasion when you are invited to join your pet(s) in a parade up and down beautiful Clark Avenue. The parade will begin and end in the church yard of St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church. When the parade has concluded, there will be the opportunity for your pet to be blessed by one of the St. John's clergy. This promises to be a joyous way to conclude Manitou Days!

AND...following the parade we will have our first Music on the Steps for the summer! Bring your comfy camp chair and enjoy the Jeffrey Merrill Quartet, led by our very own Jeffrey Merrill of course!

The Wild John Club is back!!

Every Monday during the summer @ 5pm!

Come and join your St. John's friends for a paddle on White Bear Lake every Monday at 5pm. We meet at the sailboat rigging area, just to the left of the boat launch, at Matoska Park. Canoes, kayaks, paddle boards are all suitable vessels. If you want to join us, and need equipment, no problem! Just contact Father Art at [email protected], and he will bring an extra boat and other equipment.

Sunday Worship this Summer

This Summer, we will continue to have two Sunday services at St. John's. Our 8:00am service will be a traditional, Rite II service of Holy Eucharist. The only change for the summer for our 8:00am service is that we will be worshipping completely without use of a bulletin (like the good ole days for those of you who may remember!). Those who would like to read along as the lector reads from the Bible, may do so using the Bibles found in the pews. It is our hope that a season of dependence on the BCP will help us all gain our familiarity back with this cherished resource.

Our 10:30am service will be using more contemporary language. For the first half of the summer, the eucharistic prayer will be taken from the Anglican Church of South Africa while the second half of the summer will be spent using the prayer from the Anglican Church of Canada. We hope that these seasonal changes will be helpful to you as you connect with God and each other in prayer and worship.

Don't forget our Outdoor Worship Sundays

July 17 in the Church Yard

August 14 at William O'Brien State Park

September 4 in the Church Yard

Parish Coordinator

We are doing some staff restructuring at St. John's, and we have created a new position that we are calling Parish Coordinator. We have invited and encouraged all current St. John's staff to apply for this new position if they are interested. We are also inviting all parishioners who may have an interest in serving in this capacity to apply. Below you will find links to pdf downloads of the posting announcement, position description and application. All application materials must be received (NOT postmarked) in the Rector’s Office by 5 pm, June 13, 2022.

Women's Summer Bible Study: Philippians

Paul's 'friendship' letter to the believers in Philippi is warm, personal, and full of memorable passages. What hope, encouragement, and examples can we find for our lives today? 

Join us for 6 sessions Tuesdays:

June 14, 21, 28; July 12, 19; August 2 

10-11:30 a.m.  

If you can't commit to all the sessions, come when you can - with your favorite version of the Bible and a notebook and pencil if you like. We'll meet on the 'back porch' at 2181 2nd St. White Bear Lake. Questions? Sylvia 612-710-5901

Register now!

Our Second Annual All Parish Camping Trip at William O'Brien State Park

Mark your calendars now for August 11th - 14th.

Click here to register.

We ask for registration so we know who to expect for meals, and space, and so we can send release forms for any youth or children coming.

We highly suggest if you want an RV site or your own tent site to reserve as soon as possible. It fills up quickly.

Yes, we will start on Thursday night, come for all or one or two nights, or just join us for the day!



Great fellowship, games, swimming, boating, and fantastic food! Last year a group took a field trip to Taylor's Falls for a great afternoon of rock climbing. And an incredible Eucharist together in God's cathedral to end the weekend. 

We have two of the group sites, right next to each other. There is plenty of space, with a fire pit and picnic tables. There is no electric, it is a "pit toilet" and of course water available right next to the site!

Breakfast Food Drive for June

St John In The Wilderness is having a food drive event for the White Bear Food Shelf during the month of June.

Breakfast is an important meal and that is the theme for our food drive!

We will continue to collect items throughout the month of June. Please drop off your donations in the north entry by the welcome table.

Ideas for donations:

Cereals, granola bars, pancake mixes, fruit and applesauce cups, peanut butter(not JIF), honey, canned hash, dried mixes for hash browns, canned meats, or any other item YOUR family would enjoy for breakfast. Gluten free items are always needed.

Habitat for Humanity Dates

This summer we will be working on a build located at 255 2^nd St. N, Bayport, MN on July 20^th – 22^nd from 8:30-4 PM.

To volunteer for the build, go here. All volunteers must be at least 17 years of age and follow the covid protocol and safety rules outlined on the volunteer website and commit to working the full days shift. Each volunteer will be responsible for their own food and drink while at the build.

For more information or questions, please contact George Gorbatenko at (651) 216-4125 or [email protected].

Weekly News and a Weekly Message from Bishop Loya

The Episcopal Church in Minnesota also has a weekly e-news, where you can read a message from Bishop Craig Loya, (or sometimes a special guest author), and read about what is happening in the Episcopal Church in MN and beyond! A great way to stay connected and learn about our church outside the walls of St. John's. 

To receive the ECMN news go here, scroll to the very bottom right and sign up.

Parish Family Prayer List



Bill N, Charlie R, David G, Diane R, Greg B, Holly, Jan G-T, Janet K, Janni K, Jeff W, Jeffrey C, Karla C, Kathy S, Kimberly, Kevin O, Larry K, Lorna C, Marcella S, Marilyn K, Mark K, Melissa S, Nancy H, Pat P, Rick S, and Members of the Armed Forces.

For those who are mourning.



Click the button or email prayer@stjohnwilderness to request prayers and to be added to the parish prayer list. The list is renewed monthly.

Morning Prayer & Compline

Join us on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8 AM for morning prayer and

Monday and Friday evenings at 8:30 PM for Compline.

Both prayer services are held via Google Meet. All are welcome.

Our current Health & Safety Protocols

• St. John’s encourages all of its members to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.
• If one feels sick or has the typical symptoms of Covid-19, we ask you to worship with us online.
• Masks are optional while inside all parish buildings for those who are boosted and vaccinated. For those who are unvaccinated and for your own protection, we recommend that you worship with us online or that you continue to wear your mask while inside our buildings. If conditions change and we experience another surge of Covid-19, we may have to alter our protocols and ask our members and guests to wear masks once again.
• Contact tracing will continue, and we ask all those entering the church to sign our Contact Tracing Form.
• While seated in the Church or in the Parish Hall, we recommend that all maintain an appropriate physical distance from those outside of your household.