Announcements for October 28th

Fleece Blanket Donations

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center provides fleece blankets to all children with whom they conduct sensitive interviews.  At this time they are running out of blankets.  We will be putting together blankets on Sunday 11-11-2018 after the 10:00am service and Tuesday 11-13-2018 at 6:30pm.  If you are planning to help assemble the blankets please bring sharp scissors, a ruler and a marker.  If you would like to donate towards supplies, please contact Shirley Reilly at 708-305-2540.  Thank you!

Blue Jean Yard Cleanup — Sunday, November 11^th

2018-2019 Directory

A new edition of the directory is underway, and a draft has been placed in the back of the church. This Sunday, please look at the information we have listed for you (the entry under your name as well as birthdays/anniversaries, and if you are listed as a contact for a group) and verify that everything is correct. If you need to update anything, take a pen and correct it right in the directory. Any written changes noted will be changed in the master copy of the directory before copies are made.

Yarn Ministry — Monday, November 5^th at 7:00 pm in the Guild Room

Who Has Church Keys?

Also located in the back of the church will be a sort of sign-up sheet for anyone who has been given a church key. If you currently have a key, please write your name down (first and last name). We’ve never kept a record of how many people have keys, and it is good practice that we start doing so for insurance purposes. Thank you in advance for helping us out with that.

Interfaith Dinner, November 18^th

The South West Interfaith Team (SWIFT) will be having its annual interfaith dinner at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Homewood on Sunday, November 18 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. There will be lots of food and great conversation. Tickets are $20 and must be bought ahead of time. If you are interested please talk to Rob McManamy or Bryan Burke. 

All Souls Day — Friday, November 2^nd at 7:00 pm.

This Sunday, please bring photographs and/or mementos of loved ones who have passed away for us to include in our Shrine of Remembrance for this All Saints Day, which will remain up through the month of November. You can give them to Fr. Jeremy or drop them by the church office. Also, please send to the church email your list of names that you would like to be remembered in the All Souls bulletin.

Don't Throw Away Your Halloween Candy

Again this year we will be collecting left-over (or specially purchased) Halloween candy for the Manteno Veterans' Home. The facility serves up to 294 veterans with medical and special needs issues. The residents are provided with meals but not with extras, so candy is a real treat for them -- especially the fun-sized candy bars. You may donate opened bags of candy as long as the candy pieces are individually wrapped. There will be a donation box in the food collection area between the two staircases. The collection will continue through Sunday, November 11th, which, appropriately, is Veterans' Day.

Only 7 Spots Left to Help Feed the World! 

Join other St. John volunteers on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2:00 - 4:00 pm, as we pack nutritious meals for the world's malnourished children.  We will caravan from church (approx 1:00 pm) to the packing facility for Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in Aurora, IL, where we--along with over 200 other volunteers--will assemble and pack meals for shipment to the hungry.  It's fun fellowship with like-minded folks, it's perfect for chalking up service hours, and it is quite literally life-saving, soulful work.  Can't join us?  PLEASE consider donating money to cover the cost of the meals we will pack!  Each volunteer will pack $50 worth of food which translates to 216 meals!  Our goal is to raise $750...that's 3,240 meals. Make checks payable to Church of St. John with FMSC on the memo line.  Want to know more about FMSC?  Check out this amazing Christian organization at http://www.fmsc.org. If you want to go with us and help pack meals, please email Dee McManamy. There are jobs for everyone and for every ability from age 5 yrs upward. Need to sit while working? We've got those jobs, too!  If you signed up for this project during St. J's Ministry Fair in September, look for info emails soon with more details. 

Announcements for October 21

Got Freshmen?  We'll Send Care Packages!

If you know a college freshman who would enjoy a fun care package, please give us their name and mailing address. If your freshman attends school locally, they need a care package too! Everyone can help. Look for our collection area in the undercroft this Sunday; we'll collect items until Wednesday, Oct 24.  Keep it simple and inexpensive. Appreciated items are gum, pencils, ChapStick, individual packs of Kleenex, lotion, etc.  So far, we have seven young women and five young men on our list. Questions?  Contact Dee McManamy, Margi Strombeck, or Mike Madden.

Fleece Blanket Donations

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center provides fleece blankets to all children with whom they conduct sensitive interviews.  At this time they are running out of blankets.  We will be putting together blankets on Sunday 11-11-2018 after the 10:00am service and  Tuesday 11-13-2018 at 6:30pm.  If you are planning to help assemble the blankets please bring sharp scissors, ruler and a marker.  If you would like to donate towards supplies, please contact Shirley Reilly.  Thank you!

2018-2019 Directory

A new edition of the directory is underway, and a draft has been placed in the back of the church. Over the next two weeks, please look at the information we have listed for you (the entry under your name as well as birthdays/anniversaries, and if you are listed as a contact for a group) and verify that everything is correct. If you need to update anything, take a pen and correct it right in the directory. Any written changes noted will be changed in the master copy of the directory before copies are made.

Who Has Church Keys?

Also located in the back of the church will be a sort of sign-up sheet for anyone who has been given a church key. If you currently have a key, please write your name down (first and last name). We’ve never kept a record of how many people have keys, and it is good practice that we start doing so for insurance purposes. Thank you in advance for helping us out with that.

Blue Jean Yard Cleanup – Sunday, November 11^th

Announcements for October 14th

Got Freshmen?  We'll Send Care Packages!

If you know a college freshman who would enjoy a fun care package, please give us their name and mailing address. If your freshman attends school locally, they need a care package too! Everyone can help. Look for our collection area in the undercroft this Sunday; we'll collect items until Wednesday, Oct 24.  Keep it simple and inexpensive. Appreciated items are gum, pencils, ChapStick, individual packs of Kleenex, lotion, etc.  So far, we have seven young women and five young men on our list. Questions?  Contact Dee McManamy, Margi Strombeck, or Mike Madden.

SWIFT Event

SWIFT will be hosting an event called “Women in Faith” on Sunday, October 14^th at Faith United Methodist Church (15101 South 80^th Ave, Orland Park, IL 60462). This will be a speaker’s forum offering insight from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives. Registration for the event is at 2:30 pm, with the program taking place from 3:00-6:00 pm. SWIFT also encourages those attending to bring along a toiletry item to donate to Respond Now. If you have any questions, please contact Rob McManamy.

  

Care for Our Common Home: Interfaith Forest Clean-up at the Little Red Schoolhouse

The SouthWest InterFaith Team (SWIFT) will be spending a morning working to help protect the trees by clearing out invasive species around the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 9800 Willow Springs, IL on Saturday, October 13, 10:00am to 12:00pm. Light refreshments, gloves, and tools will be provided and a ranger will be on-site to help with identifying invasive plants. This is a great opportunity if you need community service hours for school as well as a great opportunity to work and talk with people of different faiths. Contact Bryan Burke by October 10 to sign-up.

Fleece Blanket Donations

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center provides fleece blankets to all children with whom they conduct sensitive interviews.  At this time they are running out of blankets.  We will be putting together blankets on Sunday 10-21-2018 after the 10:00am service or 10-23-2018 at 7pm.  If you would like to donate towards supplies, please contact Shirley Reilly at 708-305-2540.  Thank you! 

Blue Jean Yard Cleanup – Sunday, November 11^th

Announcements for October 7th

A Note from Fr. Jeremy

Dear Friends,

Someone told me this week that she didn’t think this day would ever arrive.  I hope that she was exaggerating the way we all did as children when we thought Christmas would “never” get here.  But I realize that this has been a long road for you. Transitions are always difficult, even for the best prepared congregations.  I delight with you all that Brave and I have finally arrived. We are slowly getting settled in the Rectory and look forward to hosting an open house soon(ish).  Your parish leadership has done a commendable job, in the search process and in preparing St. John’s and the Rectory for our arrival.  I hope that you will join me in saying thank you, thank you, thank you!!  You all should be commended as well for the great care you have taken in maintaining the life and mission of St. John’s during this time of transition.  This is not always the case – and I would venture to say is most often not the case.  

We are looking forward to joining you in worship for the first time this Sunday and to beginning our common ministry together.  We have so many opportunities to impact our community and to make known the life-giving, life-affirming love of God in the person of Jesus Christ.  So let’s make this Sunday, “Bring a Friend to Church Sunday,” and begin this this next chapter in the life of St. John’s.  Again, thank you to everyone who was involved in making this day “finally arrive,” from the Search Committee and Vestry, to those who have worked so hard to renovate the Rectory, clean the church, purge the stuff that collects so quickly and easily, wear their nametags, and to all of you who kept praying and preparing all along and for your presence in this wonderful community.  I can’t wait to meet you all!

Grace and peace,

Fr. Jeremy

Nametags

This will be Fr. Jeremy’s first Sunday with us, so make sure you put on your nametag to help him start getting to know everyone’s names. Additionally, if anyone needs a replacement nametag or cannot find theirs, simply drop off the old one in the box outside the parish office (or a note if yours is missing). It will be replaced for you.

Got Freshmen?  We'll Send Care Packages!

If you know a college freshman who would enjoy a fun care package, please give us their name and mailing address. If your freshman attends school locally, they need a care package too! Everyone can help. Look for our collection area in the undercroft this Sunday; we'll collect items until Wednesday, Oct 24.  Keep it simple and inexpensive. Appreciated items are gum, pencils, ChapStick, individual packs of Kleenex, lotion, etc.  So far, we have seven young women and five young men on our list. Questions?  Contact Dee McManamy, Margi Strombeck, or Mike Madden.

SWIFT Event

SWIFT will be hosting an event called “Women in Faith” on Sunday, October 14^th at Faith United Methodist Church (15101 South 80^th Ave, Orland Park, IL 60462). This will be a speaker’s forum offering insight from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives. Registration for the event is at 2:30 pm, with the program taking place from 3:00-6:00 pm. SWIFT also encourages those attending to bring along a toiletry item to donate to Respond Now. If you have any questions, please contact Rob McManamy.

Care for Our Common Home: Interfaith Forest Clean-up at the Little Red Schoolhouse

The SouthWest InterFaith Team (SWIFT) will be spending a morning working to help protect the trees by clearing out invasive species around the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 9800 Willow Springs, IL on Saturday, October 13, 10:00am to 12:00pm. Light refreshments, gloves, and tools will be provided and a ranger will be on-site to help with identifying invasive plants. This is a great opportunity if you need community service hours for school as well as a great opportunity to work and talk with people of different faiths. Contact Bryan Burke by October 10 to sign-up

A Thank You from Fr. Mike

Dear Sisters and Brothers, thank you so much for your generous gift last Sunday. Jane and I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thank you all for letting me be your priest these past 11 months; you have taught me much about being a child of God. Please keep Jane and me in your prayers. May God’s Spirit bless you and keep you, and may his face shine upon you and give you Peace.

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Mike & Jane

The Blessing of the Animals – Sunday, October 7^th at 4:30 pm.