The Weekly Sunday Bulletin of St. John’s Episcopal Church |
|
In August of 2014, Susan and I sat in the packed church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Oxford and listened raptly to Baroness Caroline Cox speak about the persecuted church and the forgiveness extended by those persecuted to those who tormented them, sometimes to the point of martyrdom. Rather than comment, I will let these brief synopses speak for themselves and I hope that the witness will compel us to come to grips from within, not just as theory but in practice, with our Lord's command to forgive those who sin against us as we have been forgiven.
On the night before he was murdered, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached his “I have been to the mountain top” sermon.” His last words were “I have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The Rev. Fleming Rutledge preached on Dr. King with these words: “It was not human happiness that he felt. It was not human hope that he held. It was not human promises that he trusted. It was God that he trusted, the God who makes a way out of no way. He trusted that God's glory would be shown forth in his weakness as he 'shared in the sufferings of Christ.'”
In October 2000, 21 year old Pastor Liu Haitao was beaten to death by the police in Henan province, China.
As he died, suffering injuries from torture, as well as denial of medical treatment, he told his mother: “Mum, I am very happy, I am fine. Just persist in our belief and follow him to the end. I am going now, Mum. Pray for me.” His final word before he died was a very weak, but unmistakable 'Amen.'
In the historic Armenian land of Nagorno Karabakh, Baroness Cox met a man who had vowed revenge for the death of a child, but when the opportunity arose he broke his vow. An American responded by saying that for the first time he understood what was meant by “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”; thank you for the dignity you have shown.” The man responded, “Dignity is a crown of thorns,”
In Jos, Nigeria, the Most Reverend Benjamin Kwashi was away from home when militants came to kill him so instead they brutalized one of his sons and his wife. After visiting his wife in hospital he wrote that “we praised God that we had been found worthy to suffer for his kingdom; and we prayed that all Gloria's pain, humiliation, and anguish would be used for his kingdom, his glory, and the strength of his church.” Then he gave this challenge to the wider Christian Church: “If we have a faith worth living for, it is a faith worth dying for. Do not you in the West compromise the faith for which we are living and dying.”
Finally, the following poem, written by David Aziz, is a chilling illustration of “faith and forgiveness which shines like a light in the darkness.” The poem was published in a pamphlet entitled The Coptic Christmas Eve Massacre: A Youth Perspective—Please God, be our Guide, You decide/You are there as I die and my mother cries./I was looking forward to the fata,/But now I'm getting colder and wetter./l lie on this blood-stained road,/With my lifeless body on show,/I wanna be free, I wanna be free,/I wanna be free from this body, ye/I wanna be free, let my spirit roam free,/Lord please receive my spirit from within me,/I am filled with lead but I survive,/And though I am dead I am still alive,/I don't hate those who shot me so please don't be bitter (bold mine),/'Cos life with Christ is much better./But this is for the best,/When your faith is put to the test,/But it's all over now and I rest,/I said it's all over now and I rest,/...I can rest.
There are many other illustrations in Baroness Cox's little book The Very Stones Cry Out and, in its own way, each story cries out: How ready am I to respond to my Lord's command to forgive? How ready are you?
-Fr. John+
|
|
SUNDAY WORSHIP - HOMECOMING SUNDAY |
8:00 am - Rite II Morning Prayer in the Garden of Blessings (weather permitting).
Face masks, social distancing, and registration required. Limited to 25 people.
8:00 am - Rite II Morning Prayer
https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live/
9:15 am – Rite II Morning Prayer with Music
https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live/
10:15 am - Sunday School via Zoom
11:00 am - Rite II Morning Prayer in the Church
Face masks, social distancing, and registration required. Limited to 25 people.
5:30 pm - Taize Prayer Service via Zoom
|
|
Please join us for a ZOOM coffee hour this Sunday at 10:00 am. Grab a cup of your own coffee and a snack, share some time with your friends at St. Johns. This will be an informal remote gathering where we can enjoy each other's company. Join Zoom Coffee Hour:
|
|
Join us at 5:30 pm this Sunday for Taize Prayer, a candlelit, contemplative prayer service using beautiful music and silence to find inner unity with God.
Join via Zoom:
|
|
Join us at 9:00 am for Morning Prayer, Monday - Friday, via Zoom (New Meeting #):
Please follow along with Mission St. Clare
|
|
Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 pm, there will be Harvest Fair planning meeting via Zoom.
The Annual Harvest Fair plays such a vital part in St. John's outreach in the community. While we cannot expect to hold our usual crowds in the building, we are looking for new, creative ways to offer some of our favorite highlights in person and remotely.
|
|
We are beginning a new Sacred Ground series on Saturday, September 19th at 9:00 am.
Sacred Ground is a film-based dialogue series on race and faith led by Billy Kiley presented by St. John's Racial Reconciliation & Social Justice Ministry.
Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. The 10-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect European American histories.
|
|
ST. JULIAN OF NORWICH & THE 3 PLAGUES |
Saturday, September 26th, 9:30-11:30am via Zoom. St. John's Spirituality Group welcomes Thomas Petriano, Ph.D., to present a program and reflection on Saint Julian of Norwich and her survival through 3 plagues, highly relevant during this time of COVID-19.
Thomas Petriano, Ph.D is Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies Department at St. Joseph's College. He teaches courses on World Religions, Faith and Film, and Belief in the Modern World.
If you are interested in exploring your spirituality and deepening your connection to others, consider joining us. To find out more about SJSG, contact Patti Aliperti (silverymoon33@yahoo.com).
|
|
For those who prefer an evening Bible Study, we have added a session on Mondays at 6:30 pm. The Monday sessions will cover what was discussed the Tuesday before. Join us via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83527491169.
We are studying the New Testament, referencing N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird's The New Testament in Its World.
|
|
Come and shop GREAT BARGAINS at our Thrift Shop Yard Sale this Saturday, September 12th from 10:30am to 1:30pm in the Garden of Blessings.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Help is needed to set up beginning at 9:30 am on Saturday and to help breakdown. Please contact Nancy Feustel (n.feustel@verizon.net) if you are able to help.
|
|
FIND YOUR MINISTRY - VOLUTEERS NEEDED |
As we begin to reopen the church, please prayerfully consider volunteering for one of the following ministries:
Sunday Greeters & Ushers - contact Fr. Duncan
|
|
St. Hilda’s Guild will begin to meet again on Tuesdays at 12:00 noon via Zoom. Join us using the link below, and make sure to bring your latest project and a snack:
|
|
Help us recognize the first anniversary of Laundry Love at St. John's with a donation!
As we move forward we realize there is limited funding.... not only for this ministry.... but for so many other needs. We are asking, if you are able, would you like to support this ministry? Perhaps you are able to sponsor one load of laundry each month? The cost of one average load of laundry is $7.00 ($5.50 for washer, $1.50 for the drier).
Donations of money or laundry detergent in the form of laundry pods would be gratefully accepted. To make a donation by check, please send it to St. John's Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington, NY 11743 with "Laundry Love" written in the memo.
Thank you to all who have supported Laundry Love over the past year.
|
|
Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 6:00 pm.
Rural & Migrant Ministries invites you to attend "Cultivating Justice: Knowing Your Neighbor." This virtual event will feature Special Video Updates from Farmworkers, Messages of Hope from our Honorees, Exciting Musical Guests and a Visual Kaleidoscope of Photos and Artwork from the RMM family.
Change the world from the comfort of your own home! Eat your own food! Still get to meet a lot of interesting people!
|
|
Leslie Valentine, the Pilgrimage Leader, will present an informational session on Sunday, October 27th during coffee hour following the 9:15 service via Zoom. Please join us if you would like to learn more about this very special opportunity.
Pilgrimage to the Isle of Iona, Scotland, October 1 - 11, 2021: IONA WELCOMES ALL! Come you of great faith and you who struggle with faith; you who believe and you who doubt; explorers and questioners, adventures and contemplatives! Experience Iona without expectation. Let the sacred isle uncover what you need to see and reveal what you need to hear!
For more information or questions please contact the Pilgrimage Leader, Leslie Valentine: Phone: (516) 815-1169; Email: leslieval@aol.com
Registration in limited and will fill up quickly, so please respond as soon as possible to secure your place.
|
|
"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Cor. 12:4-7).
During this time, we ask that if you are financially able to keep making your Stewardship Pledge payments. We have set up online giving. Using your credit card or a direct payment from your checking account, you will be able to make a one-time payment or set up recurring payments.
Or send a check made payable to "St. John's Episcopal Church" to 12 Prospect Street, Huntington, NY 11743.
To text your contribution (standard text message rates do apply):
Text SJEC1745 STEWARDSHIP $[Amount] to 73256.
Your stewardship is a commitment to sustaining St. John’s ministry today and going forward. Thank you for your continuing support!
|
|
You have not pledged but would still like to give? Make a Plate Offering.
We have set up online giving. Using your credit card or a direct payment from your checking account, you will be able to make a one-time payment or set up recurring payments using our secure online syste.
Using the below form, you can choose the types of contributions you would like to make a Plate Offering online:
Or send a check made payable to "St. John's Episcopal Church" to 12 Prospect Street, Huntington, NY 11743.
To text your contribution (standard text message rates do apply):
Text SJEC1745 PLATE $[Amount] to 73256.
|
|
PRAYER CONCERNS FOR ST. JOHN'S |
We pray for all our doctors, nurses, and medical staff who put themselves at risk to care for us during this corona virus epidemic.
We pray for all our men and women serving in the armed services and all first responders who put themselves at risk every day, especially during this time. May God keep them safe and healthy, and return them home to their loved ones.
We pray for those who work for justice. May God give us all strength and wisdom to act for change when it is needed.
We pray for the sick: Kathy, Lynn, Fred, Ellen, Lucille, Frank and Theresa, Spencer and Sue, Tom and Stephanie, Peter, David, Nils, Margaret, Cheryl, Carol,Carlos,CJ, George, Nichole
|
St. John's Episcopal Church
12 Prospect Street
Huntington, New York 11743
(631) 427-1752
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
