Announcements for June 26

• St. John’s is on Facebook
  If you use Facebook, search for St. John the Evangelist, Flossmoor. Photos of parish events are posted there, including recent photos from the picnic. If you add St. John’s to those organizations that you “like” you will also receive timely announcements and reminders on your home page.
  
  
• Position Open: Director of Christian Formation
  St. John’s is currently seeking an individual to fill the position of Director of Christian Formation. For more information, speak to the Rector. And help spread the word!
  
  
• Restructuring of Diocesan Office
  After considerable study and input, a major restructuring of diocesan staff is underway. Bishop Lee is currently seeking applicants for three newly defined positions: Director of Operations, Director of Ministries and Director of Networking. Nine current positions have been eliminated. Letters from Bishop Lee with more details are available on the information tables. More information on the open positions is available on the diocesan website.
  
  
• The Fourth of July is Almost Here!
  You can help us offer this event to the local community. Donations of money and time are both welcome. Look for the red, white and blue donation envelopes around the church or speak to Gale Michael.
  
  
• Don’t Forget Pets in Need
  Some pets are abandoned or turned into shelters every summer simply because they cannot be accommodated on the family vacation. The Little Hands Donation box for the South Suburban Humane Society is still available. Donations are sought of dog or cat food, kitty litter (non-clumping), old blankets or towels, bleach, or dog and cat toys.

Reflection for June 26

We are back in the field and trying to get as much done as possible. We all worked 13 hours today, picking, cultivating, disking, mowing and getting ready to replant some areas that did not handle the vacillating temperatures. It is better to replant than it is to try to coddle a crop. So, away they go. And, new will be on their way in another day. With farming one must learn to go with the flow. It is also best not to set one's heart on any given crop as it may not prosper and need to be removed. I have learned not to hold on, but be willing to release whatever is best to release (Vicki Westerhoff of Genesis Growers, a Community Supported Agriculture program in St. Anne, Illinois).

Announcements for June 19

• Bishop Scantlebury Visits This Sunday
  Bishop Scantlebury will visit St. John’s this Sunday, June 19. He will celebrate, preach and confirm at the 10:00 service. Please plan to attend.
  
  
• Vestry Meeting
  The June meeting of the vestry is this Monday, June 20, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
  
  
• St. John’s is on Facebook
  If you use Facebook, search for St. John the Evangelist, Flossmoor. Photos of parish events are posted there, including recent photos from the picnic.
  
  
• Restructuring of Diocesan Office
  After considerable study and input, a major restructuring of diocesan staff is underway. Bishop Lee is currently seeking applicants for three newly defined positions: Director of Operations, Director of Ministries and Director of Networking. Nine current positions have been eliminated. Letters from Bishop Lee with more details are available on the information tables. More information on the open positions is available on the diocesan website.
  
  
• Fourth of July Ice Cream Social: Donations Needed
  Every year individuals and families from the broader Flossmoor community attend St. John’s Fourth of July ice cream social. We always offer special entertainment for kids. This year, the highly popular balloon twisters will be back again with their wonderful creations. We seek donations from parishioners to help defray the costs of providing this entertainment. Look for red, white and blue donation envelopes around the church. You may place your donation in the offering plate or drop it off at the parish office.
  
  
• Don’t Forget Pets in Need
  The Little Hands Donation box for the South Suburban Humane Society is still available. Donations are sought of dog or cat food, kitty litter (non-clumping), old blankets or towels, bleach or dog and cat toys.

Reflection for June 19

Formative Moments

As a child I was particularly drawn by the tales of the Israelites in the desert, the images of the pillars of cloud and of fire. I was appalled at the people’s persistent rejection of God, little knowing that as an adult I would come to know this condition well. Jesus seemed OK, but I much preferred the narrative punch of the Old Testament.... It seems that I am always returning to the origins of my faith, the inexhaustible stories of scripture and the poetic imagery of the Psalms. I need a God who created whales to play with and makes hills leap for joy, a God who calls each star by its name. I need those resonances, images and metaphors that, like God, are beyond my understanding. They speak to me in a way that nothing else can (Kathleen Norris, in The Christian Century, February 22, 2011).

Announcements for June 12

• Bishop’s Visit next Sunday, June 19
  Bishop Scantlebury will visit St. John’s on Sunday June 19. He will celebrate, preach and confirm at the 10:00 service. Please plan to attend.
  
  
• Wear Red for Pentecost
  This Sunday is Pentecost. The liturgical color is red, a reference to the tongues “as of fire” that lighted upon the disciples. There is an informal custom in the church for everyone to wear red on the Sunday of Pentecost.
  
  
• Looking Ahead: Fourth of July Ice Cream Social
  July 4 is only three weeks away. St. John’s ice cream social is our gift to the people, young and old, of Flossmoor. Financial contributions are needed to help cover the cost of the children’s entertainment. And many volunteers are needed to run the event. Contact Gale Michael to volunteer. Look for red, white and blue donation envelopes around the church.
  
  
• Remember Those in Need During the Summer
  Donations to food pantries and outreach agencies typically decline during the summer. The need for food often increases because children are not receiving meals at school. Please remember to bring food donations for the Rich Township food pantry.

Reflection for Pentecost

The word spirit has come to mean something pale and shapeless, like an unmade bed. School spirit, the American spirit, the Christmas spirit, the spirit of ’76, the Holy Spirit—each of these points to something you know is supposed to get you to your feet cheering but which you somehow can’t rise to. The adjective spiritual has become downright offensive. If somebody recommends a person as spiritual you tend to avoid him, and usually with good reason. Inspiring is even worse. Inspirational is worse still. Inspirational books are invariably for the birds.

Like its counterparts in Hebrew and Greek, the Latin word spiritus originally meant breath (as in expire, respiratory, etc.), and breath is what you have when you’re alive and don’t have when you’re dead. Thus spirit = breath = life, the aliveness and power of your life, and to speak of a man’s spirit (or soul) is to speak of the power of life that is in him. When the spirit of a man is unusually strong, the life in him unusually alive, he can breathe it out into other lives, become literally in-spiring.

God also has a spirit—is Spirit, says the Apostle John (4:24). Thus God is the power of the power of life itself, has breathed and continues to breathe himself into his creation. In-spires it. (Frederick Buechner, from “Spirit” in Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC)

Announcements for June 5

• Parish Picnic: This Sunday, June 5
  The annual parish picnic will follow the 10:00 a.m. service this 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. Come join in fellowship and officially kick off summer!
  
  
• From Donica Van Voorhees
  I would like to thank the parish for the wonderful celebration of my ministry as Director of Christian Formation at St. John's last Sunday. I love the collection of books and especially, the cookie jar created by the children. Thank you all!
  
  
• Wear Red Next Sunday
  Next Sunday is Pentecost. The liturgical color is red, a reference to the tongues “as of fire” that lighted upon the disciples. There is an informal custom in the church for everyone to wear red on the Sunday of Pentecost.
  
  
• Bishop’s Visit June 19
  Bishop Scantlebury will visit St. John’s on Sunday June 19. He will celebrate, preach and confirm at the 10:00 service. Please plan to attend.
  
  
• Children’s Chapel is on Vacation
  Children’s Chapel is on vacation for the summer. Children of all ages are encouraged to worship with their families during the 10:00 service.
  
  
• 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. Can you contribute time to help set up, host, or clean up for the event or money to help cover costs? Contact Gale Michael to volunteer. Look for donation envelopes around the church.

Reflection for June 5

Jesus' Ascension
So that he might fill the universe the Christ was emptied to the last drop of self. But in his ascended glory he remains man. Dare we believe that? If the incarnation did something to God, ascension did something to matter.... The ascension of Christ promises the transfiguration of matter, its divinization, as the Orthodox Churches have never ceased to teach. The physical will glow with God like metal enveloped and permeated by fire (“There is a Man in Heaven” in The Incarnate God by John V. Taylor, quoted at episcopal cafe).