The latest from St. John's, Clearwater

St. John's Episcopal Church

to love, to serve, to grow in Christ

April 8, 2025

The Palm Sunday Service (April 13) will be held at 9:30 a.m.

(Please note the time change)

This is a combined service with St. John's Episcopal and St. Paul's Lutheran

The Rev. Jim Beaton and Pastor Anne Harmon will be the celebrants.

The Offering of the day will be divided as follows: Any designated offering to either church, in form of a check or the use of an offering envelope belonging to one of the churches, will go directly to that church. Undesignated funds will be divided equally.

Both congregations will gather for fellowship in the Parish Hall following the service.

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Scan the QR code below to make a donation to St. John's, via Faithstreet. Your generous donations help to continue our mission of loving and serving God in our community and the world.

Passover

Our Jewish friends and neighbors celebrate Passover from sundown on April 12 to sundown on April 20. Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of the forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites.

According to the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and mark their doorframes with its blood. For that night, God would send the Angel of Death to bring about the tenth plague, in which he would smite all the firstborn in Egypt. But when the angel saw the blood on the Israelites' doorframes, he would pass over their homes so that the plague should not enter (hence the name). The story is part of the broader Exodus narrative, in which the Israelites, while living in Egypt, are enslaved by the Pharaoh to suppress them; when Pharaoh refuses God's demand to let them go, God sends ten plagues upon Egypt. After the tenth plague, Pharaoh permits the Israelites to leave.

Passover is often celebrated with great pomp and ceremony, especially on the first night, when a special family meal called the seder is held. At the seder, foods of symbolic significance commemorating the Hebrews’ liberation are eaten, and prayers and traditional recitations are performed. The story is recounted by reading the Haggadah, a standardized ritual account of the Exodus story.

In the New Testament, Jesus’ Last Supper was a Passover seder as Jesus was a Jew when he was crucified. Passover and Easter dates are always close. The date of Passover is set by the Hebrew calendar as the first full moon after the equinox. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox (March 21).

Information taken from Wikipedia and Britannica as well as the Book of Exodus and the Gospels of the New Testament

Clashing kingdoms. Rival rulers. The enemies of Jesus close in while His followers

struggle to keep up, leaving him to carry the burden alone.

The Chosen - Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

Please join the Thursday evening group watching the Chosen as a lead up to Palm Sunday and Jesus' journey to the Cross. The journey will break for Maundy Thursday and then continue to the end of Season 4.

Book study begins Thursday, May 9:

Luke -

Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts and Outlaws

by Adam Hamilton

In the Gospel of Luke, a first-century portrait of Jesus, we find stories of Jesus’s ministry with ordinary, unexpected people. They weren’t perfect. Many of them were struggling. Some were outsiders or even outlaws. Whoever they were, Jesus brought the good news of God’s kingdom to those who most needed to hear it. That includes you and me.

A sign-up sheet is available in the church entryway. Please indicate whether you need a book or not. Books can be purchased from Amazon for $15. We will order books if needed, so it's important to sign-up.

Karen and Anthony Campanaro will facilitate the class.

Prayers for our Country

The following prayers can be found in The Book of Common Prayer, pages 823-824. St. John's is including these prayers in the Prayers of the People on Sundays. Let us commit to pray daily for our country.

For Social Justice

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Times of Conflict

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

EPISCOPAL 101 will return after Easter

Why do you attend an Episcopal Church? Think about it, and let me know. It can be a single sentence, a paragraph or an entire article.

eNews

What you would like to see in eNews? We need your input to keep it fresh and relevant. Is your ministry area doing something that you would like to share? Please send your news, ideas, articles, photos, etc. to me at seniorwarden2024.stjohns@gmail.com

The deadline submission for the Tuesday enews is Monday, 3 p.m.

Marlene Eichelberger

Worship

Our service is live streamed on FaceBook and YouTube at 9:00 am on Sundays.

If you can't watch live, you can watch it at your convenience by going to St. John's FaceBook page and click on "videos".

To watch on You Tube: Click HERE for April 13 service.

Palm Sunday - The Passion of Our Lord

April 13, 2025

9:30 a.m. (note time change)

Readings:

Luke 19:28-40

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-19

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 31:1-49

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 22:14--23:56

Prayer Chapel

The Chapel is open for anyone wishing individual prayer. You are invited to go to the Chapel to receive prayer with a member of The Daughters of the King immediately following Holy Eucharist. Daughters of the King is an Order of Women that take vows to extend Christ’s Kingdom by Prayer, Service and Evangelism. Prayer requests are held in strict confidence.

St. John's Thrift Shop

The Thrift Shop is always in need of donations, especially home decor, small appliances, kitchen and decorative items, purses, shoes -pretty much everything!. A donation shed is located in front of the parish hall. The Shop is also in need of newspaper to wrap delicate items.

The Shop is always looking for volunteers to work at the desk. If you would like to help, contact Caroline Barnett.