Announcements for May 29

• Sunday School Finale
  This Sunday, May 29, during the 10:00 a.m. service, we will celebrate the children’s participation in Sunday School and honor their teachers. We will also thank Donica Van Voorhees for her ministry as Director of Christian Formation.
  
  
• Ascension Day Service
  Ascension Day, one of the seven principal feast days of the church year, always falls forty days after Easter (therefore always on a Thursday). This year Ascension Day is June 2. The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 7:00 p.m.
  
  
• Parish Picnic: June 5
  The annual parish picnic will follow the 10:00 a.m. service next Sunday, June 5. Weather permitting, we will gather on the south lawn. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided. Please bring a dessert or side dish to share.
  
  
• Parish Office closed for Memorial Day
  The parish office will be closed Monday, May 30, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
  
  
• Looking Ahead: Fourth of July Ice Cream Social
  St. John’s ice cream social is a wonderful part of the Fourth of July tradition in Flossmoor. It is our gift to the community. Many volunteers are needed on July 4th, and also for set up and clean up. Contact Gale Michael to volunteer. Also, contributions from parishioners help us continue to offer children’s entertainment at the event and to keep food costs low. Look for donation envelopes around the church.

Reflection for May 29

A Prayer for Memorial Day

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead: We give thee thanks for all thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence; and give us such a lively sense of thy righteous will, that the work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 488-489)

Announcements for May 22

• Sunday School Finale
  This Sunday, May 22, is the last regular day of Sunday School classes for children. Next Sunday, May 29, we will celebrate the children’s participation in Sunday School and honor their teachers.
  
  
• Thank you to Donica Van Voorhees
  After five years at St. John’s, Director of Christian Formation Donica Van Voorhees has announced her resignation. She and her family will remain active at St. John’s, but she hopes to have more time to pursue another interest of hers—arts administration. May 29 will be her last official Sunday; we will thank her and celebrate her ministry then.
  
  
• Parish Picnic: June 5
  Brunch bunch will not be held this Sunday, but mark your calendars for the annual parish picnic, following the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, June 5.
  
  
• Celebrate with Bishop Montgomery
  The Church of the Atonement, 5749 N. Kenmore Ave. in Chicago is hosting a 90th birthday celebration for the Rt. Rev. James W. Montgomery, retired bishop of Chicago and former rector of St. John’s. The event takes place May 29. Call the Church of the Atonement at (773) 271-2727 for more information.

Reflection for May 22

Our prayers for others flow more easily than those we offer on our own behalf... One [reason] is that I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It’s so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him (C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm).

Announcements for May 8

• 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 responding to the devastation left by the recent tornadoes in the south. If you would like to contribute, click here.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Install New President
  At the meeting Wednesday, May 4, Janet Irvine was installed as the new president of the Daughters of the King at St. John’s.
  
  
• Faith in Films: Shadowlands
  Faith in Films’ final film of the season will be Shadowlands. The film stars Anthony Hopkins and portrays the life of C. S. Lewis. It illustrates the Easter theme: surprised by joy. Scripture readings for reflection: Acts 6:1-7, John 14:1-12. Please check next week’s e-vangelist to confirm the date and time the film will be shown.
  
  
• Little Hands Helping Homeless Pets
  Please remember to help the children of the Little Hands ministry with their efforts to help homeless pets. Pick up a flyer listing suitable donations. Used blankets and towels are particularly welcome. The next meeting of Little Hands will be Sunday, May 15, at 4:00 p.m. in the undercroft.
  
  
• 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 8

N. T. Wright recently argued that any thought that Christian hope is about “going to heaven” is biblically unsupported, theologically bankrupt and ethically corrosive. Jesus scholar Marcus Borg once told an audience, “If I were to make a list of Christianity’s ten worst contributions to religion, on that list would be popular Christianity’s emphasis on the afterlife.”

All the more welcome, then [is] Christopher Morse’s superb and profound new monograph, The Difference Heaven Makes: Rehearing the Gospel as News. Morse combs meticulously through the biblical evidence, observing that in the Gospels heaven is mainly “not about blue skies or life only after death.” Rather, heaven is the life that is now coming toward us from God, the life “of the world to come,” a life that overcomes our present age. The opposite of heaven is not hell, but instead the “world that is passing away” (Thomas G. Long, “Heaven comes to us,” Christian Century, May 3, 2011).