The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

October 4, 2026

9:00 a.m.

• Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Alicia Gomes
• Deacon: The Rev. Kevin Mort
• Music Director: James May
• Lessons and YouTube link listed below.

Please enter the church quietly and spend time in prayer before the service.

Blessing of our Pets

Saturday, October 3, 9 a.m.

Bring all your pets to St. John's on Saturday morning to be blessed in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Invite friends and relatives who have pets - "all creatures great and small." . We will meet in front of the church. Rev. Alicia Gomes and Pastor Anne Harmon will administer the blessings. Other churches in our deanery have been invited.

We will be collecting pet supplies for animal shelters. Items needed: towels, flat sheets, pillowcases, pet food, dog and cat toys, shredded paper.

Do you shred paper at home or at work? If so, put it in a bag and bring it in. Shelters use it as bedding for Guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets and other little creatures..

If you are unable to come on Saturday, Oct. 3, you can bring items to church on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Italian Fellowship Dinner, Oct. 16, 5 p.m.

Ciao! Do you have a favorite Italian dish? Make it and bring it to the dinner in the parish hall on Oct 16. Join us for good food, music, Italian trivia and fellowship with pisani (friends). Beverages will be provided. More information to follow.

Mangiamo!



The Diocese is putting together a Task Force made up of 2 representatives from each of the 6 churches involved in the replant, as well as other clergy and community representatives.

What will the Task Force be doing?

• Working closely with the Bishop and diocesan leaders to further refine timeline and goals, including transition planning for each congregation.
• Creating a "Mission Statement" for Replanting Pinellas
• Making recommendations regarding land use and future development opportunities
• Designing and implementing a plan for building community and collaboration through prayer, worship and fellowship
• Writing a prayer that can be prayed in the six congregations throughout the process.

Below are links to the Replanting Pinellas town hall meeting chaired by Bishop Scharf and Canons Booher and Norman.

Replanting Pinellas

Talking Points

National Walk to School Day, Wednesday, Oct. 7

Students, parents and teachers will gather in St. John's parking lot on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7:45 a.m. to "Walk, Bike or Roll" to Belcher School. They will be accompanied by representatives of the Largo Police and Fire Departments.

Walk to School Day is an annual event that invites communities across the country to walk, roll or bike to school on the same day.

St. John's will provide snacks and water for the participants. Join us in welcoming the Belcher School families.

Looking for a simple way to serve St. John's and the community?

Good Neighbors is in urgent need of strong, dependable volunteers to help receive, sort, and load food for our community. Even 1, 2, or 3 hours of your time can make a real difference in helping feed families, seniors, and children across Tampa Bay.

www.goodneighbors.org/volunteer-application-fl

St. John's is in need of ushers. The job consisists of arriving at 8:30 on Sunday, greeting people as they arrive, asking visitors to sign the guest book, handing out bulletins. taking up the offering, and guiding people to the communion rail. Training is provided, along with serving alongside an experienced usher. Contact Ellen Seto

There is a need for assistance for Sunday coffee hour - set up, clean up. There is also a need for "goodies" for coffee hour.

October Birthdays and Anniversaries

Happy Birthday wishes in October to:

1 Sally Brown

6 Sallie Devine

8 Mickey Super

10 Norma Brooks-Parks

12 Norma McClellan

21 Jim Beaton

27 Janice Boutin

28 John Piatak

If you have a birthday or wedding anniversary in October and it is not listed, please contact the church office with the information.

Prevent Mosquito borne illnesses - Dump Standing Water

Pinellas County is experiencing an increase in Dengue cases and West Nile activity. Both viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes. Please take immediate action by dumping any standing water, dressing in light-colored, long-sleeved shirts and pants with closed-toe shoes, and defending yourself with an EPA-registered bug spray. Pinellas County Mosquito Control crews are knocking on doors in many neighborhoods to help residents. Please allow them to help find potential problem areas. For more information, visit Pinellas.gov/mosquito

St. John's Facebook Page and Website

Are you aware that St. John's has a Facebook page? As of today, our Facebook page has 751 followers! It grows weekly. Are you one of them? If not, please go to Facebook.com and search for St. John's Episcopal Church, Clearwater, FL. Then either "like" or "follow" the page. We post not only events of local interest, but also information from the wider Episcopal Church.

St. John's website, www.stjohnsclearwater.org, is one of the ways that we communicate who we are as a community. If you are interested in learning and helping with the website, please contact Jim May, jimmay.stjohns@gmail.com

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.

Worship

Our services are live streamed on Facebook and YouTube. The YouTube link is listed below. For Facebook, go to the St. John's Facebook page and click on "videos".

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m.

Readings:

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Psalm 19

Philippians 3:4b-14

Matthew 21:33-46

Readers:

First Reading: Marti Moore

Second Reading: Jessi Griffin

Prayers of the People: Peri Worrell

To watch on YouTube: Click HERE

Weekly Schedule

Choir Rehearsals

6:00 pm. Bell Choir

7:00 pm Vocal Choir

Thrift Shop schedule:

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 9:30- 3:30

Wednesday Morning Bible Study -

10 a.m. in the Parish Hall; for more information, contact Charlie Stupia

Rug Hookers - Parish Hall

Thursdays 10:00 am.

Men's Cursillo Grouping- Parish Hall

Thursdays 7:00 am.

Dates for your Calendar

October 3 Blessing of Pets, 9 a.m., in front of the church

October 7 Walk-to-School Day; 7:45, St. John's parking lot

October 9-10 Diocesan Convention

October 10 Celebration of Life service for Dr. Charles McAllister, 10 am

October 13 56th Anniversary of the Dedication of our church building

October 16 Italian themed fellowship dinner; 5 p.m.

November 11 Veteran's Day

November 26 Thanksgiving

Contact Information

Church Office: 727-531-6020, jandavis.stjohns@gmail.com

Priest: revalicia.stjohns@gmail.com

Senior Warden: seniorwarden2024.stjohns@gmail.com

VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE

The eNews document is frequently cut off at a certain point to better fit on a page of your phone, tablet, etc. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE.

Hurricane Preparedness

It is important to us that we know your plans in case of a hurricane. Are you in an evacuation zone? Many zones have changed this year, so be sure to check on yours.If you are in an evac zone, will you evacuate and where will you go? If you aren't, can you take in a parishioner or two?

We also need your emergency contact, preferably someone who is not local and won't be afftected by a hurricane. Please fill out the form and return it to church or email it to jandavis.stjohns@gmail.com.

LINK TO FORM

Pinellas County now has an app that can be downloaded to your phone or computer which put all storm information such as zones, shelters, emergency response, and more at your finger tips. It can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play

CLICK HERE for the Ready Pinellas App information

CLICK HERE for The Pinellas County Hurricane Guide

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 Thursday enews is Wednesday noon.

Marlene Eichelberger

NEWS, MINISTRIES, AND UPCOMING CHURCH EVENTS!

Forming Disciples

Developing Leaders

Embracing Differences

Transforming Communities

https://episcopalswfl.org/

https://episcopalswfl.org/news/the-rev-alicia-gomes-called-to-st-johns-clearwater-as-priest-in-charge/

The 58th Diocesan Convention

of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida

Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10

Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center

Friday will include a full-day of learning. Saturday will include Holy Eucharist and the Convention Business session.

St. John's delegates are Mary Anders, Marti Moore, Marlene Eichelberger,, and alternate Diane Pfaus.

For more information: https://www.conventionswfl.org

Read more HERE

To read more click HERE

To read more click HERE.