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The Season of Lent at St. John's

....and Shrove Tuesday

A Lenten Devotion for Everybody!

Lent Madness is back for its 16th year of sneakingly teaching us about saints, well-known and less-known, through a bracket style tournament of 32 saints. Each day of Lent, two saints compete to win their round: Players vote online and the winning saint advances until the final two vye for the Golden Hero on the Wednesday of Holy Week.

Ready to play? There are two ways to get started:

• Pick up a bracket sheet and Saintly Scorecard booklet at church OR
• Print a bracket at home and browse the Saintly Scorecard booklet online.

Either way, fill in your bracket and leave it in the marked basket on the piano or email it as a PDF to mary@stjohnsdecatur.org. Brackets will posted in the parish hall and scored throught out the season.

Outreach News

The Committee on Church Cooperation is in need of volunteers for some upcoming events! If you’re feeling especially community-minded – and have some extra time – please consider volunteering in the following ways!

Friday, February 28 Barrels of Love. Help with sorting, boxing, loading and unloading foor. Two locations/times: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm at Beltline Church of Christ and 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm at the CCC.

Monday, March 3-Friday, March 7- Sorting Barrels of Love food and boxing it for storage. Call Ashley or another representative at the CCC for a time to help!

Friday, March 21 6:00 am to 1:00 pm- Rummage Sale! We will feed you well in exchange for some mild manual labor.

Friday, March 28th ~7:00 am to ~ 2:00 pm, River City Run at Pt. Mallard- Volunteers to run aid stations, run snack areas, and help with registration.

Reach out to Sam with additional questions, or call the CCC directly at 256-355-8893.

The Outreach Committee is happy to report that St. John’s has awarded organizations in the Decatur area a total of $60,000 in grants for 2025!

The Community Free Clinic is in need of these hygiene and clinic supplies:

Paper Towels Rolls

Copier Paper

Clorox wipes

Toothpaste

Tooth Brushes

Full-size Shampoo & Conditioner

Full-size Soap

Please leave your donations in the marked bins in the narthex and office hallway. Thank you!

The Diocese of Alabama has a medical/ educational mission trip to Tegulcipgalpa, Honduras May 3-10, 2025 sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church Tuscaloosa, led by the Rev. Paul Pradat with the Rev. Dr. Catherine Collier handling logistics of the trip.

The Mission Trip will need medical personnel (doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists), and also people to help with tasks at the clinic and providing education for folks while they are waiting to be seen by the practitioners. If you have always wanted to try a mission trip, now is your opportunity! You do not need to speak Spanish, there will be interpreters and Hondurans from the churches assisting us.

Get more information here.

Cursillo in Alabama

Sign Up for April's Cursillo!

April 3 to April 6 at Camp Mcdowell

Applications are open for April's Cursillo at Camp McDowell from April 3 to April 6. Contact the office or Erika Huber (256-425-1877 or ehuber4404@gmail.com) for information about Cursillo and the application process. Application deadline is February 27!

Can't attend in April? There are two other 2025 weekends in the schedule: June 5-8 and October 9-12. 

Upcoming Events

Weekly Happenings

Mid-Week Holy Eucharist With Prayers for Healing and Anointing

Wednesdays, 12:10 pm, in St. Mary's Chapel

VBS Save the Date!

Monday, June 23-Friday, June 27

Sunday, June 22' Movie Kick-Off at the Princess

Inspired by The Wild Robot film and book series, St. John’s Wild VBS will invite children to reconsider our hardwired programming to look out only for ourselves and to learn that following Jesus’ command to love and look out for others is the very best way to survive and thrive in a wild, wild world. More information and registration to come!

Altar flower dedications are given to the glory of God and in memory, thanksgiving, or celebration for people or events important to that day's flower donor. One dedication per Sunday is accepted; flower donations are $75. Please send the completed form with payment to the church office. Contact the office with questions.

Available dates: March 2, 23, 30; April 6, 13, 27

Bee conservation = native plant conservation = saving natural areas

DID YOU KNOW….There are at least 4,000 species of native bees in North America. Few produce honey, few sting and most live in the ground. They are endangered, yet essential for our ecosystems’ survival. You can help by planting native flowering plants, leaving winter killed dry stems until late spring as shelter and by avoiding lawn chemicals and mosquito treatment. "Bee Hotels”made properly can provide larval nurseries for native bees. "

Lent Creation Care Challenge

For this season of Lent, challenge yourself to go beyond acting in "stewardship" of the earth--rather, to live in fellowship with God's creation. After all, whether you believe in our existence via Eden or evolution, flora and fauna were here first! Take each day to prayerfully examine how you can better live in harmony with nature.

Give Online: Give securely online with Realm using an e-check, debit card, or credit card for a single gift or automatic recurring gifts, with options for where your gift applies.

Give By Mail: Mail checks to St. John's, 202 Gordon Drive SE, Decatur AL 35601. Please note on memo line where your gift applies.

Pastoral Care Emergency Line: 256-280-3792

Office Hours

Monday-Thursday (Closed Fridays)

8:30 am. - 4:30 pm

Closed for Lunch Noon to 1:00 pm