Announcements for May 1

• Thank You
  Thank you to everyone who contributed to the parish celebration of Holy Week and Easter. From filling hundreds of eggs for the children’s Easter egg hunt to presenting the Halleluiah chorus... from reading at Good Friday vespers to setting up and cleaning up for the Maundy Thursday agape feast... altar guild, acolytes, choir, lectors, prayers, lay Eucharistic ministers, Sunday School teachers, and many more individuals... together we make this time holy. Alleluia!
  
  
• Confirmation (Becoming an Episcopalian)
  Confirmation is the opportunity for those baptized as infants to reaffirm their baptismal vows with their own will and voice. It is also an opportunity for those from other denominational backgrounds to join the Episcopal Church. Bishop Scantlebury will be at St. John’s Sunday, June 19, and will offer Confirmation. The church now encourages Confirmation for young people at an older age than in the past. Young adults (ninth grade or older) or adults interested in Confirmation, please contact the Rector as soon as possible.
  
  
• Responding to Tornadoes in the South
  Episcopal Relief and Development is already responding to the devastation left by the recent tornadoes in the south. If you would like to contribute, click here.
  
  
• Yarn Ministry Gathers This Monday
  The St. John’s knitters will be meeting Monday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. in the Guild Room. This will be the last meeting for this season until the fall meeting October 3.
  
  
• Sunday School Classes for Children and Adults Resume
  All Sunday School classes resume this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. following the Easter break.
  
  
• Diocesan Leadership and Ministry Fair
  The Diocese of Chicago’s Leadership and Ministry Fair will be held Saturday, May 7, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Lutheran School of Theology in Hyde Park. The event includes worship, an address from Bishop Lee and a variety of workshops on ministry, spirituality, and church leadership. It is open to all. Deadline for registration is May 4. More information is available here on the diocesan website.
  
  
• Concert with Heart on May 15
  Grande Prairie Singers present "From the Heart of America"--a concert of spirituals, Americana, and more--Sunday, May 15, at 4:00 p.m. The uplifting event will be held at Celebrations Ministries (formerly Hope Lutheran Church) in Park Forest. For tickets, see St. John's choir members Kevin Sprinkel or Betsy Burgwald.

Reflection for May 1

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

• Good Friday Service
  If you are unable to attend the noon service at St. John’s, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Family (Sauk Trail and Orchard in Park Forest) offers an evening Good Friday service, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
  
  
• Good Friday Offering
  Since 1922, American Episcopalians have dedicated the Good Friday offering to the work of the Episcopal Church in the Holy Land. Special envelopes are in the pews.
  
  
• Children’s Liturgy of Light, Saturday, April 23
  All children are invited to the Liturgy of Light celebration on Saturday April 23 at 3:30 P.M. We will begin by making Easter crafts in the undercroft, proceed to the atrium for the liturgy and conclude by retrieving the A------- banner and sharing refreshments. Thanks to Pat Smith Huntoon and Tracie Moxley for leading this event.
  
  
• Easter Egg Hunt
  The traditional children’s Easter egg hunt will be held on the front lawn following the 10:00 service on Easter Day. Children are encouraged to bring their own baskets for collecting.
  
  
• Sunday School Notes
  All children’s and adult Sunday School classes will not meet Easter Sunday. Classes resume May 1. Children’s chapel will be held and nursery care will be available.
  
  
• Landscape Work Day
  Your help is needed to help spring arrive in its full glory to the grounds and plantings at St. John’s. Please come help rake and prune Saturday morning, April 30, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
  
  
• Yarn Ministry
  The St. John’s knitters will be meeting Monday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. in the Guild Room. This will be the last meeting for this season until the fall meeting October 3.
  
  
• Concert with Heart on May 15
  Grande Prairie Singers present "From the Heart of America"--a concert of spirituals, Americana, and more--Sunday, May 15, at 4:00 p.m. The uplifting event will be held at Celebrations Ministries (formerly Hope Lutheran Church) in Park Forest. For tickets, see St. John's choir members Kevin Sprinkel or Betsy Burgwald.

Reflection for April 24, Easter Day

A horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight (traditional prayer).

Holy Week - Worship Schedule

Palm Sunday - April 17
7:50 a.m.: Blessing of the Palms (outdoor altar)
8:00 a.m.: The Holy Eucharist
9:40 a.m.: Blessing of the Palms and Procession (outdoor altar)
10:00 a.m.: The Holy Eucharist

Monday in Holy Week - April 18
7:00 p.m.: The Holy Eucharist

Tuesday in Holy Week - April 19
7:00 p.m.: The Holy Eucharist

Wednesday in Holy Week - April 20
9:00 a.m.: The Holy Eucharist with Healing
7:00 p.m.: The Holy Eucharist

Maundy Thursday - April 21
6:30 p.m.: The Holy Eucharist with agape meal and stripping of the altar

Good Friday - April 22
12:00 noon: The Proper Liturgy for Good Friday
7:00 p.m.: Vespers

Holy Saturday (Easter Eve) - April 23
3:30 p.m.: Children's Liturgy of Light (undercroft)
8:00 p.m.: The Great Vigil of Easter with Holy Baptism

Easter Day - April 24
7:40 a.m.: Morning Prayer
8:00 a.m.: The Holy Eucharist
10:00 a.m.: Choral Holy Eucharist

Announcements for April 17

• Palm Sunday: Liturgy of the Palms
  The Liturgy of the Palms will precede both services this Sunday, Palm Sunday. At the early service, the liturgy will begin at the outdoor altar at 7:50 a.m. and process directly into the church. Before the later service, the Liturgy of the Palms will begin at the outdoor altar at 9:40 a.m. followed by a short procession through the neighborhood.
  
  
• April Vestry Meeting
  The vestry will meet Monday, April 18, following the 7:00 p.m. celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
  
  
• The Watch
  A sign up sheet is available in the back of the church for the prayer vigil and watch at the altar of repose following the Maundy Thursday service.
  
  
• Sunday School Notes
  All children’s and adult Sunday School classes will not meet Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday. Classes resume May 1. Children’s chapel will be held and nursery care will be available.
  
  
• Children’s Liturgy of Light
  All children are invited to the Liturgy of Light celebration on Saturday April 23 at 3:30 P.M. We will begin by making Easter crafts in the undercroft, proceed to the atrium for the liturgy and conclude by retrieving the A------- banner and sharing refreshments. Thanks to Pat Smith Huntoon and Tracie Moxley for leading this event.
  
  
• Easter Egg Hunt
  The traditional children’s Easter egg hunt will be held on the front lawn following the 10:00 service on Easter Day. Children are encouraged to bring their own baskets.
  
  
• Little Hands Work to Help Animals
  The children’s Little Hands outreach ministry is sponsoring a collection drive to aid the South Suburban Humane Society. Ask any Little Hands participant how you can help.

Reflection for April 17

Christ's Passion
The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. A good many different theories have been held as to how it works; what all Christians are agreed on is that it does work (C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity).

Announcements for April 3

• Lenten Study Series: The Lord’s Supper
  This week’s adult Lenten study class will focus on the Last Supper and our current practice of the Eucharist. The class meets in the church on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  
  
• St. John’s Yarn Ministry
  The St. John’s knitters will be meeting this Monday, April 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the Guild Room. All are welcome... knitters, crocheters, or talkers!
  
  
• Faith in Films: The Insider, Friday, April 8
  Al Pacino, Russel Crowe and Christopher Plummer star in this 1999 film about an “insider” who suffers, risking life and death for his convictions—themes which anticipate the events of Holy Week. Scripture Readings for Reflection: Isaiah 50:4-7; Matthew 26:14-27. The film shows at 7:00 p.m., Friday, April 8, in the Guild Room. Everyone is welcome.
  
  
• Little Hands Meets April 10
  Little Hands meets next Sunday, April 10, at 4:00 p.m. in the undercroft to coordinate an outreach project benefiting needy pets. All children of the parish are invited to participate in this outreach ministry.
  
  
• Survey on the Hymnal
  The last General Convention authorized the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to conduct a feasibility study on the need for revision of the Hymnal 1982. As a part of this feasibility study, the Commission is soliciting input from individuals within the church. An online survey is available through April 30 here. In part, the survey seeks to answer the question, “Do the hymnal and other authorized resources that the church has for worship music meet the needs of the church?”
  
  
• An Abundance of Molasses
  Buying in bulk is cost-effective, but sometimes there are left-overs. We have large amounts of left over syrup and molasses from various church events. If you would like to tap into this abundance, please bring your own bottle or container and help yourself. They are on the counter in the kitchen.

Reflection for April 3

The Church
Paradoxically it is in church that we learn how to live alone—to be free, strong, and mature—just as it is when we are alone that we realize how properly to live with others. There is an interesting relationship between being alone and being in community: “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.... Let him who is not in community beware of being alone” (William Sloan Coffin, quoting Bonhoffer).