Barbara Brown Taylor, calls this display by Mary "an act so lavish that it suggests another layer to her prophecy: there will be nothing prudent or economical about the death of this man, just as there has been nothing prudent or economical about his life. In him, the extravagance of God's love is made flesh. In him, the excessiveness of God's mercy is made manifest." We heard last week about the extravagance of the father who celebrated the return of the prodigal son by giving him the finest robe, a ring, and the fatted calf. The point of last week’s Gospel is that the radical love of God is unfathomable and God’s mercy is unbounded. I love the extravagance of our faith during the next couple of weeks. Please try to be a part of it. We pray for the joy and hope of the Lord to fill our hearts. I give thanks to all of you who will work so diligently in the coming weeks. We could not do what we do at St. John’s without you.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes back to the place where he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Extravagant moves like bringing people back from the dead are bound to get noticed and Jesus is now considered dangerous and a serious threat to the status quo and the powerful men that benefit from keeping things as they are. We are six days before the Passover and just a few miles from Jerusalem. Jesus knows that his days are numbered and only hopes that his disciples can grasp the situation.

Martha cooks up a nice dinner and Jesus sits down with Lazarus. Mary does her disappearing act and comes back with a costly bottle of sweet smelling ointment that was used for burial. Mary anoints the feet of Jesus and wipes them with her hair. Mary is extravagantly showing her love of Jesus on one of his last few days.

Let us each show hospitality and grace to all those who will visit us over the holiday. On Palm Sunday, our confirmation class will read the passion. Bishop Wolf will be with us at the 10:00 service. Please gather in the Parish Hall before the service so we can process with our palms into the church. On Maundy Thursday, we will have a Seder at 5:30PM on Zoom and at 7:30PM we will have our “normal” Maundy Thursday service with footwashing and the stripping of the altar. On Good Friday, we will have Stations of the Cross at 7:00PM and Good Friday service at 7:30PM. Easter Sunday will be in in the Garden of Blessings at 7:30AM. We will light a fire and bring the light of Christ into our church. The family service is at 9:00AM with an Easter Egg hunt after the service. At 11:00AM we will celebrate Easter with the St. Augustine’s Steel Drum Band. Please join us in person or on zoom for all services except the Seder. 

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83803451202

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos/

Bulletin: Rite I HE Lent

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86739553648

Facebook Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/stjohns1745/live_videos

Bulletin: Rite II HE Lent

Forms are available in your service bulletin, at the back of the church, in the Parish Office, or using link below to download. Please complete and return this form to the office by the DEADLINE of Wednesday April 6, 2022 if you wish to have your dedication listed in the Easter Bulletin. 

All are welcome at Morning Prayer. We meet Monday through Friday at 9:00 am via Zoom.

Our short prayer service is followed by some fellowship and discussion. Feel free to join us occasionally to listen and pray, or come more often to participate as a leader or reader, and to start your day with your focus on Christ and a deeper connection with your friends at St. John's.

Join us via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86041146543

Pan-A-Praise will be at St. John's on Easter Sunday for the 11:00 am service.

We are hoping to show our brethren from St. Augustine's a true St. John's welcome and appreciation for joining us on Easter Sunday by providing lunch for them before they head home to their families. If you would like to help prepare food, please the Parish Office or Fr. Duncan know.

Bible Study meets on Mondays at 6:30 pm and Tuesdays at 11:00 am. The topics covered on Monday will also be covered on Tuesday of the same week.

Zoom Link for Mondays at 6:30 pm - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83373971746

Zoom Link for Tuesdays at 11:00 am - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86748694503

We are studying Paul's Letter to the Philippians using the writings of N. T. Wright. 0664227880/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_4YJ5B9RVN6F86D0PK404?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We are also referencing an online program, "Paul and His Letter to the Philippians" at Udemy.com. Here is the log in information if you would like to review them before we meet:

Join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81128312524

The Rev. Canon David Ulloa Chavez, Canon for Border Ministries for the Diocese of Arizona, will lead a five-part series referencing the book The US Immigration Crisis by Miquel de la Torre (copies are available in the Parish Office for a suggested contribution of $25). For our 2022 Lenten Series we will partner with St. Francis in the Valley.

Week 5 - April 5: We hope to do a virtual visit with Sr. Lica from the Casa de la Misericordia in Nogales Mexico. This will be an opportunity to pull all of our thoughts together.

Alex Pryrodny, St. John's Music Director and Artist-in-Residence, will be playing at this Ukraine solidarity and fundraising event.

Thank you to all who gave to the special collection we had for our sisters and brothers in Ukraine.

Through your generosity, we were able to send $686 to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

The ECW will contribute $1,000 to the Ukraine effort.

Our Prayer Shawl Ministry also provided 14 blue and yellow prayer shawls which will be sent to Ukraine through St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church in Riverhead.

Please email the Rev. Canon Suzanne M. Culhane, Canon for Stewardship, with any questions you may have.

Faithfully,

11:00 am – Rite II Choral Eucharist with St. Augustine’s Steel Drum Band, Pan-A-Praise

St. John's Youth Group is asking for donations of plastic Easter eggs and candy to fit in the eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt.

If you would like to contribute, please drop off your donations at the Parish Office during the week or bring them to church with you on Sunday. Please see Fr. Duncan with any questions.

We accept donations of new or gently used clothing, accessories, and household items. Please no books, furniture, out-dated electronics, or damaged items.

Volunteers continue to be needed - We are still bulding our Thursday and Saturday teams. If you wish to become a volunteer, please contact Lilly Welch.

St. John's is a member of the Huntington Greening Fellowship. We are looking for a volunteer to represent St. John's. Are you interested in the environment? Are you able to help St. John's partner with local faith and environmental organizations to be better environmental stewards?

HUMuS: Huntington Mobilization for Sustainability wants to train you to become a local environmental leader. As a a Huntington Greening Fellow you will:

Dates: March 13 – May 22, 2022

Commitment: 7 meetings (on Zoom; alternating Sun/Thur nights), + 1 Sunday afternoon in-person field trip (outdoors)

Please contact Coral in the Parish Office to sign up for the next training series.

October 24 – 31 2022   

OUTREACH is sharing Christ’s love with all our neighbors! 

All are welcome to attend 

Your stewardship is a commitment to sustaining St. John’s ministry today and going forward.

Pledge cards are available in the pews and at the back of the church. You may also submit your pledge online using our online pledge form. You may send your regular stewardship payments in the mail, leave them in the collection plate on Sundays, or set up automatic, recurring payments online.

We pray for the sick: Liz, Harry and Christine, Hal, Richard, Barbara, Fanny, Jackie, Diana, Edward, Christine, Fred, Tom, Allison, Amy, Kate, Cole, Jennifer, Spencer, Sue, Wylie, Matt, Susan, Maggie, Tom, Olivia, Christina, Victor, Melissa, Jack, Ursula, Anita, Nancy, Peter, Patti, Shannon, Kelsey, Justin, Cheryl, Kristin, Patricia, Jeff

To add or remove someone from our prayer list, please email prayers@stjohns1745.org or call Coral in the Parish Office.

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