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The Air Conditioning in the Church is working!
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Monthly Report to Vestry and Congregation
July 2019
You're encouraged to make sure that you are
up to date on your pledges.
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Ingrid Andersen's reflections on the text of "The World Must Yet Be Young"
that will be sung during the Offertory on August 18
Although it was written during WW2 and the author undoubtedly meant surrounded by literal enemies, I always understood it as more of the feeling of being alone in the world, surrounded by people who are at best indifferent and at worst, intend us harm. And in this sea of loneliness, and angst in the face of so much adversity and cruelty in the world, overwhelmed by our own impotence in the face of cruelty, we may cry out (mentally at least), what can I do? How can I fight the injustice in the world?
The second verse is the response: your Faith is your weapon; your faith in humanity and for all our futures sake, seek it and strengthen it. In this I hear a call to action, a reminder that it is Our job to strengthen faith in humanity, our own faith and the faith of others. We can do so even in small ways: talking to people, being inclusive, be kind, show love, acceptance, support, etc.
The third verse returns to using war imagery, the pathways of the grenades is swift and silent, until they hit. Evil/cruel acts are often hidden, until their impact is felt. We must stop them. "War is contempt for life, Peace is to create" - this line, and especially the second part, is so powerful in that it makes Peace a verb and tells you how to reach it - when we create, we find peace, we create peace. Whether it is creating art, a soothing space, a garden, a home, safety, whatever it is that makes you engage in Life and be present, makes you want to throw your energy and strength into it - it will create peace.
The final two verses feel to me like the poet reminding himself of the good of life and reasserting that humanity is noble and worth fighting for. Our world is truly rich and owned by all, and so we promise "from sister to brother" (since we are all the children of God), to take care of this Earth and its inhabitants as we would a child on the arm. The Earth depends on us and our loving care as much as a small child depends on their parent or caregiver.
Rather than daunting, I think the message is empowering and meant to bring us together as people. And to remind us to live good, kind, noble, caring lives. I suppose just another way to say, to embody living faith in action.
The World Must Yet Be Young
poem by Nordahl Grieg; music by Otto Mortensen
English translation :
1. Surrounded by enemies go
into your time,
During a bloody storm
wed yourself to strife
Maybe you ask in angst/fear
What can I fight with?
What is my weapon?
2. Here is your shield against violence. Here is your sword:
Faith in this life of Ours, in human worth
For the sake of all our futures, seek it and cultivate it.
Die if you must, but increase it and strengthen it.
3. Quickly fly the grenades
silent paths
Stop them with breath/spirit
War is contempt for life.
Peace is to create,
Throw your strength in,
evil must lose
4. Humans are noble. The earth is rich.
If hunger and need exist, it is because of deceit.
Yes, yes! In the name of Life, injustice must fall;
Sunshine and bread and faith, is owned by all.
5. This is our promise, from sister to brother,
We will be good to the human's earth.
We will take care of the beauty and warmth,
As though we carried a child carefully on our arm.
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Tuesday Night Bible Study
Tuesday Night Bible Study will be on summer break until Tuesday, September 3rd. Please join us then as we begin a new study.
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Calendar of Events:
Office hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday-Thursday.
The office is closed on Fridays.
Men of St. John's Meeting
Monday, August 19, 6:00 pm at Tim & Gloria Attaway's
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Morning Prayer and Bible Study
Wednesday, August 21, 9:30-11:00 am
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Parish Council Meeting
Saturday, August 24, 9:00 am
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Baptisms of Gabriel and Dashawn Eldridge
Sunday, August 25, 10:00 am
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Baptism of Luna Palaylay
Sunday, August 25, 12:00 noon
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Healing Service
Sunday, September 1, 11:30 am
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Prayers
We Are Available in Your Time of Need
If you have a pastoral emergency when the parish offices are closed,
Prayer List
Today and every day include some time for prayer, for yourself,
for your church family, and for those in need.
For our Military
Matt, Drew, Cody,
Cameron,
Chariti,
Mark,
Sean, Jonathan,
TK,
Christopher,
Timothy,
Jeremy,
David,
Jonathan,
Nick,
Jamal,
Matt, Daniel,
Jocelyn, Devon,
Taylor, Jorge, Katherine, Sebastian and Richie.
For Strength in Time of Need
Scott, Betty,
Rob,
Ed, Eva, Becky and Irad
.
For the repose of the soul of Cathy Williams.
May light perpetual shine on her.
Those unable to come to services, but thankful
for their continuing connection with Saint John's,
especially Lois, Roland
and
Juanita.
For Churches in Transition in our Diocese
All Saints', San Diego
St. Thomas, Temecula
Christ Church, Coronado
St. Paul, Palm Springs
St. Margaret's, Palm Desert
St. John's, Chula Vista
St. David's, San Diego
All Saints', Vista
St. Paul's, Yuma
Holy Cross, Carlsbad
From Bishops United Against Gun Violence August 4, 2019
Following the murder of thirteen precious children of God in Thousand Oaks, California in November 2018, Bishops United Against Gun Violence offered a litany in the wake of a mass shooting to commemorate the dead, to comfort their loved ones, and to honor survivors and first responders. Today, the litany has been updated to include two more mass shootings that took the lives of 31 precious children of God in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio within a single 24-hour period
We offer this litany, once again, with the reminder that one does not pray in lieu of summoning political courage, but in preparation for doing so. Bishops United Against Gun Violence invite you to join in this litany and our commitment to take action so that our country can be freed from the epidemic of gun violence.
Litany in the Wake of a Mass Shooting
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Opportunities For Service
Pill Bottle Ministry
Did you know that in developing countries, the pill bottle and cap is often more expensive than the medication inside. You can donate your empty prescription bottles! Just drop off your empty prescription bottles in our collection bucket located in the foyer- no need to peel the information off. Our volunteers will take care of that for you! We will wash them and ship them to Matthew 25: Ministries. Matthew 25: Ministries accepts donations of empty plastic pill bottles for inclusion in shipments of medical supplies and for shredding and recycling. Our pill bottle program fulfills the dual needs of improving medical care in developing countries and caring for our environment.
Please note that we can currently only collect the clear orange prescription bottles. We have found that the others do not benefit the program.
Thank you for your support!
Emergency Food Pantry:
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." John 21:17
The South Bay Community Services
"Emergency Food Pantry" needs donations every month. It's easy to donate! We will focus on a different food category each month. Pick up a flyer from the narthex, carry in your car until your next trip to the market, purchase the food, and place it on the table in Nale Hall before the end of the month.
During the month of August, our featured items will be diapers and baby food.
Thank you for your support!
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Scripture Readings For This Week
Readings for Sunday, August 18, 2019
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2,8-18
Luke 12:49-56
Readings for Wednesday Morning Prayer
Psalm 128
Acts 23:23-35
Mark 12:13-27
Celebrant's Schedule
Here is our upcoming celebrant's schedule:
August 18
Presider: Fr. Tom
Gospel: Fr. Tom, 8:00
Fr. Jack, 10:00
Sermon: Rev. Cathey
August 25
Presider: Fr. Tom
Gospel: Rev. Cathey, 8:00
Fr. Jack, 10:00
Sermon: Fr. Tom
September 1
Presider: Rev. Cathey
Gospel:Rev. Cathey, 8:00
Fr. Jack, 10:00
Sermon: Fr. Tom
Weekly Bible Study
and Morning Prayer
Tuesday night Bible Study meets on
Tuesdays from 6-7:30 pm
in the youth room.
For information, please contact Mike Gollihur
at 619-852-4960
or
mgollihur@aol.com.
Tuesday night Bible Study is on a brief summer break and will resume on September 3rd.
Every Wednesday, Saint John's will have Morning Prayer at 9:30 am and Bible Study from 10 am to 11.
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From the Prayer Journal of Fr. Jack Tolley
"Pray without ceasing" was the advice of the Apostle Paul
to the newly founded Christian community in Thessalonika, present day Greece.
Paul was a realist who knew that ordinary people had neither the time nor inclination to devote long periods to contemplation. His meaning was: "Pray whenever you can. In short, hurried bursts, if necessary. But if you are to be followers of Christ, and coworkers in the saving of the world, you must be men and women of prayer." This was written by James Keller in a book titled
"Prayers for today," Richard Armstrong's book published by the Paulist Press.
Here's one of the wonderful prayers from this book. Have you ever felt this way?
Blessings and love, Fr. Jack.
PRAYER IN MOMENTS OF DESPAIR
God sometimes I want to give up stop dead in my tracks go off someplace and hide.
I get so tired and don't want to try any more. Where can I find the courage and strength to go on?
The hope that things will eventually get better isn't enough.
The thought that adversity builds character doesn't convince me.
The only thing that gives me any hope is the example of Your Son.
He didn't quit even though He faced death which he conquered in His resurrection.
May what He did teach me. May I find in His life the pattern according to which I can live mine.
And may I try-at least in a small way-to urge others to keep trying even though they've come up against a dead end. Amen.
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News from Around the Diocese
School for Ministry Fall Classes
The School for Ministry in Ocean Beach is a community of students, teachers and staff
who are dedicated to nurturing and preparing people for church service.
It is a place of formation that allows people to learn, grow and deepen their faith.
The School for Ministry welcomes any and all who would like to increase their knowledge
in faith formation.
Track your carbon footprint at home and at church
The Episcopal Church is providing a carbon tracker - Sustaining Earth, Our Island Home - for Episcopal households. This online carbon tracker lets Episcopal households take actions - some easy, some more difficult - to reduce their carbon footprints. Household actions are aggregated church wide. Yes, switching light bulbs for your household may seem insignificant, but if 10 households in your church or 100 households in your diocese switch, the impact becomes clear.
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The Vestry
Karen Duignan-Senior Warden
(619) 470-1647
David Dennehy-People's Warden
Terry Farrelly - Treasurer
Pamela Brittain
Ray Contreras
Diane Gustafson
Mark Jordan
Jim McDevitt
Judy McKay
Lynn Young
Calling Committee
Tim Attaway
Lynn Boster
Alice Burnham
Bob Dunn
Jane Ferguson
Helena Livingston
Lynn Young
Approved Minutes for the July 24th Vestry meeting can be found here:
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To our Saint John's Family:
Here is your weekly newsletter highlighting important events at St. John's Episcopal Church. You can also find news about St. John's at
www.saint-johns.org.
We welcome your feedback, photos, and news items. Contact Maria Love at 619-422-4141 or
maria@saint-johns.org
.
Please submit your announcements by Tuesday of each week for inclusion in the Enews and Sunday bulletin.
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Emergency Contact Information
If you had a medical emergency at church on Sunday morning, would the Wardens or church
staff know who to contact? If you would like to add someone to St. John's emergency contact
list in case of such an emergency, please contact Maria, our parish secretary (619-422-4141 or
maria@saint-johns.org). A sign-up sheet will also be available in the church lobby to collect this information. Please provide your name, the name of your emergency contact, their relationship to you, their phone number and/or their email address. This is one more way we can show how we love one another.
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Reporting Misconduct
As part of our ongoing commitment to creating a safe haven for everyone, our diocese trains people in the prevention of misconduct and encourages all to report misconduct. All reported incidences are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly and confidentially. If you believe you have experienced misconduct of any kind, please contact Mr. John Seitman, (jseitman@pacbell.net), 858-793-4555 or Ms. Equilla Luke, (aequilla@icloud.com), 760-583-0485.
Safeguarding God's People
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Contact Information phone: 619/422-4141 pastoral care: 619/483-7883 |
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