Advent is a time for preparation of the arrival of Jesus Christ and Christmas, but it is also a time when we deeply miss those whom we love but can’t be with due to the Covid Pandemic. We feel emptiness in the pit of our stomach that never seems to go away. This feeling is very palpable during the holidays. We long for those days when we were together.

Last week, I set the stage for our reading from Isiah: Jesus Christ came from heaven to live a fully divine and fully human life. God knows what it feels like to be lonely because Jesus cried out on the cross the prayer that we say from time to time. “Why have you forsaken me,” Jesus exclaimed when he felt separation from God. Mark’s Gospel says, “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mark 1:2-3). You will notice an echo in the Old and New Testament readings today. The voice of God cries out through the prophets and through the Gospel. “Prepare the way of the Lord.” God comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ that we might know the way, the truth, and the life. There is lots of darkness and loneliness in the world, but God comes to bring us light.

Advent is the time of the year that we prepare for the coming of that light. It is the hope of something better to come that marks this time in history. The hope is that a light will come in our darkness. A messiah will soon come that will rid God’s people of this terrible separation that they feel. I wish it was just as easy as opening a present on Christmas morning. To prepare the way of the Lord, we must surrender to God's control. We need to be intentional about preparing for the coming of the Lord. We need to carve out some time for prayer and worship. Faith just doesn’t arrive on Christmas Eve. In many ways the rush and the push of the holidays makes it even more difficult to come into the nearer presence of God. The need to make room for God in our lives is a particular challenge for us on Christmas. The challenge is to get our lives aligned with God. Once we have made a decision to put Christ number one in our lives, we do not have to deal with the constant conflict of interests. The one who was born at Bethlehem will be the Lord of our lives, if we are willing to make room for him. All else that crowds our lives is measured by the standard of God’s love and falls short.

A defining event in the history of Judaic history was the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and the exportation of its inhabitants. As the Babylonians conquered Israel, the people of God were given the stigma of being punished for their sins. They were devastated by the intolerance of this foreign power to their religion. Forty eight years later a new power emerged. Cyrus, ruler of the Persians, conquered the Babylonians in 539 BCE. Cyrus was a tolerant ruler. In 538 BCE, he would allow the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and Judea and resume practicing their religion and traditions, as long as that they recognized his authority. Today’s Old Testament reading comes at this point in the history of the Israel when people were longing for things to return to how they once were. “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God...” A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40.1-3).

Times are very tough for us as they were for the people of Israel. Many of us are feeling that emptiness in the bottom of our stomach. Being separated from our loved ones and our church community is difficult. Many of us are feeling the pain and anxiety that this pandemic has caused. Please quiet your heart, pray for God to come, and make room for God in your heart. God will be with us very soon and before we know it, we will all be back together.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan  

Register online: 8AM REGISTRATION FORM

8am Service Bulletin: Advent2_8am

9:15 am Service Bulletin: Advent2_9:15am

Join us on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81758513586

Alex Pryrdodny will play a special, benefit concert on December 6th at 11:45 am - immediately following the Celebration of Confirmation - to raise money for the children of Navajoland who have been hard hit by the COVID pandemic.

Join us via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81758513586

Join us via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live/

Use this link to make a tax-deductible donation:

or

Text "SJEC1745 concert" to 73256 to give using your mobile device.

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:

Meeting #: 83021762936

Bible Study meets on Tuesdays at 11:00 am via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84448323853

For those who prefer an evening Bible Study, we have a session on Mondays at 6:30 pm. 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.

The annual Christmas wreath and flower sale is December 5^th and 6^th. You can pick up your order this Saturday from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm or on Sunday from 8:30 am to 12 noon.

Contact Ford Spilsbury with any questions at 212-873-7088

To our Friends at St. John’s,

As many of you know, my name is Dan Diviney and I am the Director of Project HOPE which is a local group that was founded by teenagers. The acronym stands for Helping Other People Eat. During the past 15 years, our organization has had the privilege of carrying out this mission in a variety of ways. This year, in late March, we were moved by the Holy Spirit to do something to help those gravely affected by this pandemic in the Huntington Area.

The first thing we did was to respond to the immediate need to get food to homeless people on the streets who were hungry. Because of the generosity of Fr. Duncan, the Vestry and all of members of St. John’s faith community, I was given permission to use the kitchen off the Great Hall to cook some simple healthy meals of beans, rice and hard boiled eggs and purchased bottles of water to distribute to needy people. It was a critical first step. Because I live in an apartment upstairs at the church and especially in the beginning during the lock down, it could only be done by my wife and I in a sterile environment. Volunteer Fire Fighters brought us the supplies and delivered the meals to trusted partners for distribution.

As time went on, into early April, the need kept growing. So, we implemented a massive fundraising campaign and started to order milk, eggs, rice, oats and beans to be distributed throughout the town at various pantries and designated drive up distribution spots.

Next, through the company my son works with, Greentop, we were able to secure USDA food boxes for the past 16 weeks. We distributed approximately 1500 USDA produce per week for six weeks (valued at $20 per box or $30,000 per week) and then 4000 USDA mixed boxes (valued at $50 per box or $200,000 per week). This has had a tremendous impact on our local community.

Project HOPE has never had a paid employee. It has always been -- and still is -- a fully volunteer organization. Prior to this year, our largest annual spending never exceeded $25,000. Through the grace of God, this year, through the pandemic, we have raised and spent more than $150,000 dollars to feed the hungry in Huntington. God is so very good.

We have recently partnered with a new company Whitson Foods that has the next USDA grant which should help us bring food to the needy for the remainder of 2020. Please continue to pray for all of our first responders, healthcare workers and those that have been sickened or died from this horrible virus. Thank you for all the prayers, time, talent and treasure that you have shared with me and the Project HOPE volunteers, including Fr. Duncan and his wife Barbara.

God Bless you all!

Dan Diviney

The ECW has adopted a family from St. John's Hospital. This year in lieu of presents that have in the past been donated , we are being asked to provide a monetary donation, because of Covid 19.

Please make your checks out to:

"ST. JOHN'S CHURCH" and in the memo please mark it "ADOPT A FAMILY."

You may mail your check or place it in the donation basket at the back of the church on Sundays or drop it off at the office. Thank you all! You have always been more than generous to those in need.

All donations should be received by Sunday, December 13th.

Please join us for our next ECW Meeting on Sunday, December 13th at 11:45 am. We will be deciding how to distribute the funds raised from this year's Harvest Fair.

There will be limited, socially distanced seating in the Guild Room. Masks and registration required. Registration is limited to 12 in-person attendees.

All are welcome to join via Zoom:

 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84791523382

Please let Ms. Christine know ([email protected]) by this Saturday, December 5th, if you will be participating, and which part you would like to read:

We just received a generous donation of $1,000 from the Huntington Rotary Club to purchase essential personal care products for those who use access our local food pantry.

St. John’s has been actively providing food staples to the many food pantries within our community – especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. There continues to be a significant food insecurity need, however, many of us may not realize that individuals who receive benefits, from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cannot use those benefits for a large list of items that most of us consider essential.

Take a look at the following list and you will see that all items are essential for daily living and for overall health benefits.  As you continue to drop off other essential items in the bins outside the church office on Prospect Street, please consider including the following items. Of particular need are items found in #7:

All are welcome to join us for our Advent Series on "Celtic Christianity" on Tuesdays in Advent via Zoom. We will begin with Evening Prayer at 6:30 pm. The program will be from 7:00-8:00 pm. Each week will feature a different speaker:

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86098960228

On Saturday, December 12th from 9:30 to 11:30 am, St. John's Spirituality Group will welcome Leslie Valentine, certified mentor for EfM (Education for Ministry) via Zoom. Leslie will present "Rop tú mo baile - Be thou my vision: contemplating the wonder, reverence and awe of this 8th century Irish hymn"

Thank you so much for your generous spirit and continued support of the ministry of St. John’s. Please turn in your 2021 pledge card if you have not done so already. We will begin preparing our 2021 Budget, and pledges are vital in that process.

Text SJEC1745 STEWARDSHIP $[Amount] to 73256.

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 system. 

Or send a check made payable to "St. John's Episcopal Church" to 12 Prospect Street, Huntington, NY 11743.

Text SJEC1745 PLATE $[Amount] to 73256.

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, CJ, George, Nichole, Roelie, Tom, Nelly, Marty, Irene and Jim, Debra and Carol, Bette, Justin, Hagai, Cassie, Bill, Amy, Kate, Fr. John, Amelia, Gladys, Christian, Jane, Diane, Robert Boise, Simon, May, Johanne, Katherine, Martha, Kathy and Harry, Susan, Ursula, Tyler, Allison, Al

Please submit your prayers to [email protected].

For pastoral care and prayer, please contact Fr. Duncan or Claire Mis, directly.

If you would like to remember a loved one or give thanks for an imporant event with altar flowers or Perpetual Light, Please complete an Altar Flower Form and return it to the Parish Office with your check made payable to "St. John's Altar Guild."