St. John's Weekly Newsletter

Thursday, April 16, 2020

 

An Easter Prayer
 
As you cause the sun to rise, O God,
Bring the light of the risen Christ to dawn in our lives.
Give us grace to reflect Christ's light:
Let his love show in our deeds,
His peace shine in our words,
And his healing in our touch,
That all may give you praise, now and forever.  Amen

Bishop Susan's Easter Sermon
 
Bishop Susan Brown Snook's Easter Sermon 2020
Bishop Susan Brown Snook's Easter Sermon 2020

 
Second Sunday of Easter
Announcements:  

1. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Holy Week liturgies.  Even though we can't gather in person, it has been wonderful to pray together virtually.  Special thanks to Norma Dunn who recorded a reading for the diocesan Easter Festival of Lessons and Music.  It was great to have St John's represented in that beautiful Easter celebration of our entire church.


2. St. John's was able to donate to ECS drive for clothing and masks.  We contributed 140 pairs of socks, 10 bags of toiletries and $370.00 in for Maundy Thursday collection.  In addition, we have contributed and 140 masks for the ECS services that are still in operation. Well done "good and faithful servants".


3. Office - Maria continues to work from home on Mondays and Tuesdays.  She is in the office for essential work on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  

Sally is also working from home and is in the office on Thursdays.

Ryan makes rounds daily to make sure that the church property is safe and deals with any maintenance and cleaning issues that needs to be done.  He is doing a great job; during the last rain, he found water intrusion in Maria's office and the nursery which he was able to immediately take care of and dry out those rooms.  Thank you Ryan.


4. We continue to move with some property improvements:  we have successfully corrected water mitigation issues  at the school - classroom 2 and the roof over classrooms 17 and 18.  We have also corrected some necessary plumbing issues. While we cannot gather at the church yet, we are making sure that the property is being maintained. 


 




Stewardship
 
As we continue in this time of separation, please know that the operations of the parish continue with our staff working from home and in the office.  Even though we can't gather in person on Sundays, it is important - as you are able - to remain faithful stewards of our time, talent and treasure.  In a time when people are losing their jobs and income, I can imagine the difficulty of trying to make ends meet.  The church is no different - as we have financial obligations that the parish must continue to meet. 

As you are able, I offer 4 ways to continue giving your pledge: 
1)  US mail

2)  the secured lock box next to the parish office door on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:00am and 3:00pm

3)  Sally can add an automatic credit or debit payment by providing to her in writing the necessary information (bank name, account number, expiration date and amount to be withdrawn, 

4)  you can go to your bank (physically or on line) to set up an automatic payment to St. John's by bank check once a month.


 

If you need help with any of these options, please contact Sally via email ( [email protected]) or phone call to the office on Thursdays for assistance.

I hope that you will be able to join us in worship either live on Facebook or "on demand" with the recorded worship service posted on our website.  We all look forward to the day when we will once again gather in person as a family of faith to worship our God. Blessings and Peace

Scripture Readings For the Week

Readings for Sunday, April 19, 2020

Acts 2:14a,22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 3:9
John 20:19-31


Facebook Link for Sunday Service: St. John's Facebook Page

Year of Discipleship

In the Diocese of San Diego, Bishop Susan Brown Snook has called us to spend the year 2020 focusing on discipleship: How we grow in faith as followers of Jesus Christ.  Discipleship grows as we adopt spiritual practices for daily living.  Our diocese offers these resources to help you develop spiritual practices as individuals, families, small groups, and full congregations.

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego invites you to  Learn  as part of
The Year of Discipleship 2020  in this holy season of Easter.

Find resources for the Learn area of The Way of Love in this season of Easter here:  Learn- Discipleship EDSD





Current office hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Wednesday and Thursday.
If you need assistance, please email Maria Love: 


Prayers

We Are Available in Your Time of Need

If you have a pastoral emergency when the parish offices are closed, 
please call 619-301-0724 or email  [email protected]

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, Bill, Brian, Marcia,  Ed, 
Bernie,  Donna,  Mary Ann,  Liz, Dean,
Caroline, 
Lorena, Minnie, Barbara,
and for all doctors, nurses, medical support personnel, 
police officers, and first responders.

For Churches in Transition in our Diocese

Christ Church, Coronado
St. Paul, Palm Springs
St. Margaret's, Palm Desert
All Saints', Vista


From the Prayer Journal of Fr. Jack Tolley

"Silence of the Heart." 

I like this recommendation  from Mother Teresa that I placed in my Prayer Journal  recently. I wanted to share it with you. 
Blessings,  love, and hugs from a safe distance of course,
Fr. Jack

"Silence of the heart, not only of the mouth - that too  is necessary. Then you can hear Him everywhere: in  the closing of the door, in the person who needs you,   in the birds that sing, in the flowers, the animals - that  silence which is wonder and praise." 

"Nothing can ever separate us from God's love."   
                                      (Romans 8: 35-38)
 
ECS Program Update

Lesslie Video Message 4.6.20
Lesslie Video Message 4.6.20

To support ECS programs right now, please visit this link: https://www.ecscalifornia.org/donate-to-ecs-for-covid19
 
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 April, our featured items will be cereals, powdered and canned milk.  Thank you for your support!
  
Free Entertainment
 
Here is a list of some things to do while you are quarantined at home:

Streaming of operas from the Metropolitan Opera, which are occurring daily.  Go to https://www.metopera.org/ to enjoy the daily streaming available.

The Seattle Symphony is also offering live streaming at this site: https://seattlesymphony.org/

Museums worldwide are offering their exhibits online: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner?hl=en&tab=pop

One of the pianists who frequently visits our communities has made a free video performance, which you can enjoy by following this link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI_FTFZNGm8

A free class to take at YALE University: https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview

More Museums offering free virtual tours: https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g31815495/museums-you-can-virtually-tour-right-now/

Free coloring books for adults from 113 museums: http://www.openculture.com/2019/02/download-free-coloring-books-from-113-museums.html

An article with links to a variety of things that are now free: https://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818670715/getting-bored-heres-a-list-of-free-things-that-werent-free-before-coronavirus
 
The Vestry

David Dennehy,  Senior Warden
619-840-9994 
[email protected]
Mark Higginbotham,  Junior Warden
619-861-5510
Terry Farrelly,  Treasurer
Pamela Brittain
Ray Contreras
Diane Gustafson 
Mark Higginbotham
Muriel Kulikowski
Jim McDevitt
Judy McKay
Lynn Young

Approved Minutes for the January 22nd Vestry meeting can be found here:

Approved Minutes for the February 19th Vestry Meeting can be found here:

Rev. Roger's Office Hours
 
Rev. Roger will be available in the office Monday and Tuesday depending on his school schedule and all day Wednesday and Thursday.  He will be available by appointment.  Please call the office (619-422-4141) to schedule an appointment.

In case of a pastoral emergency, Rev. Roger may be reached on his cell phone at 619-301-0724.


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  [email protected] .

Please submit your announcements by Tuesday of each week for inclusion in the Enews and Sunday bulletin.

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
[email protected]). 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.
 
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, ([email protected]), 858-793-4555 or Ms. Equilla Luke, ([email protected]), 760-583-0485.

Safeguarding God's People
 
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May God's face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short;
Grace to risk something big for something good;
Grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth 
And too small for anything but love.
So, may God take your minds and think through them;
May God take your lips and speak through them;
May God take your hearts and set them on fire.
-William Sloane Coffin

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Contact Information
phone: 619/422-4141
pastoral care: 619/301-0724
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