Announcements for February 28

• Little Hands
  Children of St. John’s are invited to participate in the Little Hands ministry Saturday, March 6, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the undercroft. We will work on the Bishop’s challenge to us all to help provide school uniforms for children in developing countries.
  
  
• Brunch Bunch next Sunday, March 7
  Let’s look forward to spring and share a meal together immediately following the 10:00 service next Sunday. The entrée will be provided. If you can, bring a dish to share (last name beginning with L-P, a dessert; everyone else a side dish). But most importantly, bring yourself.
  
  
• Brotherhood of St. Andrew meeting Sunday, February 28
  The Brotherhood will meet this Sunday, February 28, at 6:00 p.m. in the undercroft. All men of the parish are welcome.
  
  
• Vestry Retreat
  The annual vestry retreat will take place Saturday, March 6. Coffee and light breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. The retreat takes place from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
  
  
• Donate Your Extra Mugs
  If you have extra coffee/tea mugs that you are not using, please donate them to St. John’s. All standard size, durable and washable mugs are welcome. Just leave them on the kitchen counter. As an eco-friendly move, we are now using them at Sunday coffee hour.
  
  
• Yarn Ministry
  Yarn Ministry is open to all parish members and friends. We meet the first Monday of every month at 7 PM in the Guild Room at the church. If you are unable to attend the gatherings the first Monday of the month, we would welcome items you create at home. Our handy work is donated to a number of charities. All levels of experience are welcome. If you would like to learn to knit, Sue O’Brien is willing to instruct. Yarn Ministry is not limited to just knitters, crocheters are also welcome. Please contact Sue O’Brien if you are interested in joining the Yarn Ministry group.
  
  
• Ecumenical Lenten Worship Services
  Tuesdays during Lent the South Suburban Ministerial Association will offer services of prayer and reflection on the “I am” statements of Christ. Various local ministers offer the reflections. The services begin at 12:10 a.m. at Homewood Presbyterian Church (17929 Gottschalk Ave). Lunch follows.

Announcements for February 21

• Observing Lent
  A variety of resources to assist in your observance of Lent are available in the church. Look for The Observance of a Holy Lent (Lent for Dummies), 2010 Lenten meditations (from ERD), and Daily Collects and Scripture Readings for Lent.
  
  
• Sunday Lenten Study: Conquering Pharoah’s Production-Consumption Society Today
  The Sunday morning adult Living Faithfully class begins this special Lenten course this Sunday, February 21. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann brings the voice of the prophets to life in contemporary society as he describes our need to escape the slavery of our production-consumption society. Everyone is welcome. The class meets at 9:00 a.m. in Classroom 4.
  
  
• Wednesday evening Lenten study: The Screwtape Letters
  This year the Wednesday evening Lenten study series will read and discuss C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters. The first class will be this Wednesday, February 24, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the church. A syllabus will be available Sunday; please read the first seven chapters for Wednesday. A light soup supper is served in the undercroft at 6:00 p.m. Please sign up or call the church office if you are coming for soup.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Meet Saturday, February 20
  The St. John’s chapter of the Daughters of the King will meet in the Guild room on Saturday, February 20, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. (beginning with a light breakfast). All women are welcome—we’ll save a place for you!
  
  
• Brotherhood of St. Andrew meeting Sunday, February 28
  The Brotherhood will meet Sunday, February 28, at 6:00 p.m. in the undercroft. All men of the parish are welcome.
  
  
• Donate Your Extra Mugs
  If you have extra coffee/tea mugs that you are not using, please donate them to St. John’s. All standard size, durable and washable mugs are welcome. Just leave them on the kitchen counter.
  
  
• Yarn Ministry
  Yarn Ministry is open to all parish members and friends. We meet the first Monday of every month at 7 PM in the Guild Room at the church. If you are unable to attend the gatherings the first Monday of the month, we would welcome items you create at home. Our handy work is donated to a number of charities. All levels of experience are welcome. If you would like to learn to knit, Sue O’Brien is willing to instruct. Yarn Ministry is not limited to just knitters, crocheters are also welcome. Please contact Sue O’Brien if you are interested in joining the Yarn Ministry group.
  
  
• Ecumenical Lenten Worship Services
  Tuesdays during Lent the South Suburban Ministerial Association will offer services of prayer and reflection on the “I am” statements of Christ. The services begin at 12:10 a.m. at Homewood Presbyterian Church (17929 Gottschalk Ave). Lunch follows.

Reflection for February 21

Invitation to the Observance of a Holy Lent

I invite you, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. [BCP, p. 265]

• Little Hands
  St. John’s Little Hands ministry donated stuffed animals and assembled goodie bags for child clients of South Suburban Family Shelter.

• Vestry Meeting Monday, February 15
  The vestry will meet this Monday, February 15, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the church. Materials have been e-mailed; paper copies are available in your vestry folders.
  
  
• Observing Lent
  A variety of resources to assist in your observance of Lent are available in the church. Look for The Observance of a Holy Lent (Lent for Dummies), 2010 Lenten meditations (from ERD), and Daily Collects and Scripture Readings for Lent.
  
  
• Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
  The annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper will be held this Tuesday, February 16, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in the undercroft. Tickets will be sold at the door, but please sign up in advance.
  
  
• Ash Wednesday Services
  Ash Wednesday is February 17. The Holy Eucharist and imposition of ashes will be offered at 6:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m.
  
  
• Two Lenten Study Opportunities: The Screwtape Letters and Conquering Pharoah
  This year the Wednesday evening Lenten study series will read and discuss C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters. Please acquire your own copy of the book in advance of the class. The first class will be February 24. The Sunday Living Faithfully class is offering a special course during Lent entitled Conquering Pharaoh’s Production-Consumption Society Today. The class begins Sunday, February 21, at 9:00 a.m. in Classroom 4. All are welcome; just drop in.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Meet Saturday, February 20
  The St. John’s chapter of the Daughters of the King will meet in the Guild room on Saturday, February 20, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. (beginning with a light breakfast). All women are welcome—we’ll save a place for you!
  
  
• Donate Your Extra Mugs
  If you have extra coffee/tea mugs that you are not using, please donate them to St. John’s. All standard size, durable and washable mugs are welcome. Just leave them on the kitchen counter.
  
  
• Yarn Ministry
  Yarn Ministry is open to all parish members and friends. We meet the first Monday of every month at 7 PM in the Guild Room at the church. Our handy work is donated to a number of charities. All levels of experience are welcome. Yarn Ministry is not limited to just knitters, crocheters are also welcome. Please contact Sue O’Brien if you are interested in joining the Yarn Ministry group.
  

Reflection for February 14

St. Valentine's Day
Two Valentines are listed in the Roman Martyrology on 14 February: one a Roman priest martyred on the Flaminian Way, supposedly under Claudius, the other a bishop of Terni who was martyred at Rome, but whose relics were translated to Terni. The Acts of both are unreliable and the Bolandists assert that these two Valentines were in fact one and the same. Neither of them seems to have any clear connection with lovers or courting couples. The reason for this famous patronage is that birds are supposed to pair on 14 February, a belief at least as old as Chaucer... On the other hand, some authorities see the custom of choosing a partner on St. Valentine’s Day as the survival of elements of the Roman Lupercalia festival, which took place in the middle of February. Whatever the reason, the connection of lovers with St. Valentine, with all its consequences for the printing and retailing industries, is one of the less likely results of the cult of the Roman martyrs [The Oxford Dictionary of Saints].

• Guest Preacher: Canon Vicki Garvey
  This Sunday, February 7, Canon Vicki Garvey will be the guest preacher at both services. She serves as the Canon for Lifelong Christian Formation with the Diocese of Chicago. She will also visit the lectionary study class. This Bible study class meets every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in the Guild Room.
  
  
• Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
  The annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper will be held Tuesday, February 16, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in the undercroft. This year’s supper is jointly sponsored by the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and the youth of the parish. Tickets will be sold at the door, but please sign up in advance so we can get an estimate on attendance. You may call the parish office or sign up sheets are available in the church and undercroft.
  
  
• Absalom Jones Celebration February 14
  The 27th annual diocesan celebration of the life and ministry of Absalom Jones, first African American priest in the Episcopal Church, will be held Sunday, February 14, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 3801 South Wabash. Everyone is welcome.
  
  
• Faith in Films: Mother Teresa on February 12
  Friday, February 12, Faith in Films will show Mother Teresa: In the Name of God’s Poor. Meet in the Guild Room at 7:00 p.m. Popcorn and discussion are served.
  
  
• Ash Wednesday Services
  Ash Wednesday is February 17. The Holy Eucharist and imposition of ashes will be offered at 6:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m.
  
  
• Feast Recipes
  Recipes are available for the dishes served at the Feast celebrating St. John the Evangelist. Look for the goldenrod colored pamphlet in the undercroft. If you pick up a copy, please consider making a freewill donation. All proceeds will be forwarded to Episcopal Relief and Development for Haiti relief. Perhaps the amount of a typical restaurant meal? The need for relief in Haiti will continue for a very long time. You may always contribute directly through Episcopal Relief and Development at their website, www.er-d.org.
  
  
• Lenten Study Series: The Screwtape Letters
  This year the Wednesday evening Lenten study series will read and discuss C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters. The book is a satirical account of a devil’s attempt to win the allegiance of his human “patient.” Copies of the book are inexpensive and readily available. Please acquire your own copy in advance of the class. The first class will be February 24.
  
  
• Little Hands
  The Little Hands ministry will meet Saturday, February 6, at 4:00 p.m. to work on a project to help the South Suburban Family Shelter. Each child is asked to bring one small, new stuffed animal. All grade school aged children are invited. Friends (and older and younger siblings) are also welcome. Meet in the undercroft.

Reflection for February 7

Work hard, then, on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman. The Enemy [God] allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavour.... In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what he calls His ‘free’ lovers and servants—‘sons’ is the word He uses with His inveterate love of degrading the whole spiritual world by unnatural liaisons with the two legged animals. Desiring their freedom, He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits, to any of the goals which He sets before them: He leaves them to ‘do it on their own’. And there lies our [the devil’s] opportunity. But also, remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt. [From chapter 2, The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis]