This week at St John's

THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN'S

Dear Friends:

This coming Sunday is our celebration of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit inspired the disciples and empowered them in a new way as witnesses of God's love. In Sunday School, we teach our children that Pentecost is the birthday of the church.

You have three choices for worship this Sunday, early communion at 8:00 a.m.; Holy Eucharist with full choir and refreshments at 10:15; and the Children's Service with Holy Eucharist served by the children at 3:00 p.m.

Let me now highlight a few items from the newsletter below:

We are sad to announce the death of our dear friend Gay Richardson. Please see below for details about her celebration of life
Art Credo is in its final week: come to the Poetry Nightt this evening and be sure to have a last look at the paintings before they come down on Sunday
The worship recording from this past weekend includes both the Jewish and Christian sermons on the story of David and Jonathan - click on the link below to listen

When you feel wind on your face today, think about how that can become a metaphor for God's movement in our lives. Hope to see you Sunday!

Gary+

P.S. This Sunday is Ottawa Race Weekend, so you will need to take the street closures into account in planning your trip to church. You can find a complete list HERE

Church and Synagogue together last Sunday for our Interfaith Preaching Weekend

SUNDAY May 24 | Day of Pentecost | 8:00 & 10:15 a.m.

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23

SUNDAY May 31 | Season After Pentecost | 8:00 & 10:15 a.m.

1 Samuel 2:1-10; Psalm 113; Romans 12:9-16b; Luke 1:39-57

LISTEN TO RECORDED WORSHIP SERVICES

Worship recordings include the following portions of the service: prayers, readings, the sermon, and music.

Seventh Sunday of Easter - Interfaith Preaching Weekend - May 15 & 17, 2026

Sixth Sunday of Easter - May 10, 2026

Fifth Sunday of Easter - May 3, 2026

Find all St John's Worship Recordings HERE

ST JOHN'S IN PICTURES

ABOVE: Rabbi Mikelberg with Gary

Flashback 2025

TOP: Tulipathon Walk, May 25, 2025

ABOVE: Children's Service for the Pentecost, May 25, 2025

BELOW: Emmy, Mary Frances, and Dorothy, May 25, 2025

Flashback 2024

BELOW: Confirmation Class celebration, May 26, 2024

REST IN PEACE

Gay Richardson (August 28, 1944 - May 19, 2026)

We give thanks to God for the life of our beloved Gay Richardson. Read Gay's obituary HERE.

A celebration of life will be held at St John's on Saturday, May 30, 2:00 p.m. with reception following in the Parish Hall.

UPDATES

LIFELONG LEARNING

A book for this summer!

In the summer we've made it a habit to read a book and then get together to talk about it. The book we've chosen for this year is Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community by Anglican priest Maggie Helwig.

Encampment is the story of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, an Anglican church in Toronto's Kensington Market, and how they responded when economic pressures and lack of housing, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, pushed those without shelter to set up tents in their courtyard. It is also the story of those residents, of what brought them to that courtyard and what they found there, and how the church fought to let them stay when the city sought to evict them.

Our plan this year is to have a BBQ in July where we have time to discuss the book, our reactions to it, and its application for our own context. We will then also have a follow-up Zoom discussion for people who were unable to attend the BBQ and to continue any unfinished conversations.

Encampment can be ordered from Perfect Books and Indigo for around $25. It is also available at the Library, but there is currently a long wait list.

The Rev Canon Maggie Helwig was interviewed about Encampment on CBC Radio Ottawa on April 30, 2026. Listen to the interview HERE.

BOOKS & BBQ DATE: Saturday, July 18 - hosted by Ian & Michelle

ZOOM FOLLOW-UP DATE: Wednesday, July 22 - 7:00 p.m.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Art Credo: Final Week!

The Art Credo Exhibition and Sale concludes on Sunday, May 24.

This year’s show features 111 works by 60 artists—nearly half of whom are participating for the very first time! Is there one that catches your eye? Time is running out so be sure to look again!

Poetry Night is back! This Art Credo extension event welcomes local Ottawa poets and your own works of inspiration, Thursday May 21 beginning at 7 p.m.

Contacts: Detlef Dransch at ddransch@sympatico.ca , tel. 613.592.9897

or Mary Ann Varley at varleymaryann1@bell.net , tel. 613.745.2996

Poetry is tonight!

Read your own poems or your favourite poet. Sign up on the reader list before readings begin at 7:30. Hope to see you.

JOIN THE TULIPATHON TO SUPPORT

MULTIFAITH HOUSING INITIATIVE

Tulipathon will soon be here and I would like to invite you to join Team St. John’s. You can be a member of our team whether you are able to walk or not supporting the walkers with a donation and/or reaching out to friends and neighbours to encourage them to donate. The 2 to 3 km walk will take place on Sunday, May 24 in Commissioners Park. The goal of Tulipathon is to raise funds and awareness about housing insecurity and homelessness in Ottawa. Every dollar raised through Tulipathon helps to provide housing ‘below market rent’ for low-income families and individuals in MHI communities. As a proud member of MHI, St John’s is helping to create safe and affordable housing.

To join St. John’s team, or to donate, please visit the following link:

Tulipathon 2026 | St John the Evangelist.

A pledge form is available at this link:

tulipathon_2026_pledgeform.pdf.

When visiting with friends, colleagues and neighbours, please encourage their support of Tulipathon and tell them about the Multifaith Housing Initiative, Tulipathon and the need for affordable housing in Ottawa. Each donation of $15 or more will receive a tax receipt.

Marilyn Collins

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR CALENDAR

WORSHIP EVERY SUNDAY

Please join us at 8:00 and 10:15 a.m. each Sunday. Special services listed below.
St John's worship services begin "summer hours" on June 7, with one weekly worship service on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, May 9 to Sunday, May 24

Art Credo. 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. most days

Thursday, May 21

Art Credo Poetry Night, 7-9:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 23

Safe Church Public Interaction Workshop, Workshop by India Bedson, Belong Ottawa, Parish Hall, 10:00 a.m.

Sunday, May 24

Children's Service, 3-5 p.m.
Tulipathon 2026 2:30 p.m. Commissioners Park

Saturday, June 6

Doors Open Ottawa. The Church is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, June 7

Summer Worship schedule begins, one service at 9:30 a.m. to Labour Day.
Joy of Faith Celebration (Capital Region Interfaith Council), hosted at St Augustine's Catholic Church (Baseline Road), 3-5 p.m. The Annual Joy of Faith Award will be presented to Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg and Rev Canon Gary van der Meer celebrating the shared friendship between St John's and Temple Israel.

TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER

Our Parish

Prayers for those in leadership roles: Gary, Allen, Christina, Pat, Nicholas, Kimberly, Kerry, Aot, Monica, Barb, and all who minister at St. John's.

Prayer Requests: David, Earl and Alice.

Our Diocese

Kathryn, our Bishop-Elect; Anne, our Metropolitan; Shane, our Primate.
Staff at Ascension House, including the Archives.
Our Diocesan Partner: Anglican Fellowship of Prayer.
St. Paul’s, Renfrew.
Emmanuel, Arnprior.
The Reverend R. Susan Smandych.
For custodial staff serving the parishes and ministries of our diocese as well as for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life.

Anglican Church of Canada

The Bishop, and the people and clergy of the Diocese of Ottawa.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Luther College at the University of Regina and Luther College – High School.

Together

Jerusalem and the Holy Land Sunday; The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and for peace in the Middle East.

Moravian Church in Canada

The Anglican Communion - Pray for Anglicans Worldwide

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines.

Flowers

The flowers are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Sam and Betty Milnes by their daughter Vicki.

Parish Prayer Group

If you wish to have someone prayed for, send an email to:

Prayer Request

DONATE

CANADA HELPS QR CODE

e-transfer accounts@stjohnsottawa.ca

HOW YOU CAN DONATE TO ST JOHN'S

Identified donations to St John’s are charitable donations and are eligible for a charitable tax receipt. Receipts for donations made directly through St John’s are usually generated on an annual basis. Donations to St John’s through Canada Helps are receipted by Canada Helps.

Here are the different ways that you can give:

E-Transfer

accounts@stjohnsottawa.ca

PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance)

Enrol in the PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) program, whereby a designated monthly amount is withdrawn from a parishioner’s bank account or credit card. Peggy Lister, the Envelope Secretary, will provide you with the application form required to enrol in this program.

Weekly Offering Envelopes

Use identified weekly offering envelopes to make your cash or cheque donation to St John’s. A request for such envelopes goes to Peggy Lister, the Envelope Secretary, who will provide the envelopes.

Cash or Cheque Donation on Sunday

Make a cash or cheque contribution during a weekly service. The donation must be identified (i.e. a name & address on the envelope or a cheque with the donor’s information) if the donor wishes to receive a charitable receipt for the donation.

Canada Helps

Make a donation to St John’s through Canada Helps by scanning the QR code on the weekly bulletin, the QR code on the sign at the back of the church or through the ‘donate’ button on the St John’s website. Canada Helps donations can be for a single time or set up as an on-going monthly donation.

With thanks to God for your generous support