Announcements for January 31

• Guest Preacher: Canon Vicki Garvey
  Next 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• New Beginnings Closing Worship
  The diocesan New Beginnings retreat for Junior High youth will close with a festive celebration of the Holy Eucharist at St. John’s at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 31. Everyone is welcome.
  
  
• 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 3:00 p.m. to work on a project to help the South Suburban Family Shelter. All grade school aged children are invited. Friends (and older and younger siblings) are also welcome. Meet in the undercroft.
  
  
• Deadline for Print Evangelist
  The Lent/Easter edition of The Evangelist will be published soon. Please submit material by February 1.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Meeting
  The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 3, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. All women of the parish are welcome!
  
  
• Brotherhood of St. Andrew Meeting
  The Brotherhood will meet Sunday, January 31, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the undercroft.

Reflection for January 31

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar. Not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true even from his own angle. I have made no attempt to identify any of the human beings mentioned in the letters; but I think it very unlikely that the portraits, say, of Fr. Spike or the patient’s mother, are wholly just. There is wishful thinking Hell as well as on Earth. [From the Preface to The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis]

Announcements for January 24

• Annual Meeting Recap
  At last week’s annual parish meeting, the following persons were elected to serve on the vestry: Senior Warden – Donna Blackburn; Junior Warden – Cyndie Knoll; Vestry – John Huntoon, Bev Keene, R.J. VanSwol. Pledges for 2010 are up approximately $15,000 over 2009, and the vestry presented a balanced 2010 budget to the parish. Copies of the printed annual reports are available in the church and parish office.
  
  
• Haiti Relief
  The need for relief in Haiti is immense and will continue for a very long time. To contribute through Episcopal Relief and Development, please go to www.er-d.org or use one of the envelopes available in the church. The Episcopal Church Office of Communication compiles information about Haiti and ongoing reports on church activities and relief efforts there. Click here.
  
  
• Sunday Adult Classes
  Two Christian Formation classes for adults meet on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. The lectionary class studies the Sunday Scripture readings in the Guild Room. The Living Faithfully class is currently studying Paul. The DVD-based curriculum includes instruction from John Dominic Crossen and Marcus Borg and a tour of sites in Turkey and the Holy Land. The class meets in Classroom 4.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Meeting
  The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 3, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. All women of the parish are welcome!
  
  
• Brotherhood of St. Andrew Meeting
  The Brotherhood will meet Saturday, January 23, beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the undercroft.

Reflection for January 24

Baptism

I went to church in San Francisco on Sunday, the big stone church on Nob Hill, whose name is an old slang term for a rich person, where a gaggle of railroad tycoons built their palaces high above the squalid tenements of the poor back in the Gilded Age, and there with considerable pomp we baptized a dozen infants into the fellowship of faith and we renounced the evil powers of this world, which all in all is a good day's work. . . .

And here, this morning, in a city famous for eccentricity, we strangers in a cathedral embrace other people's children and promise to fight the good fight in their behalf, a ceremony that never fails to bring tears to my eyes. We renounce evil powers. I renounce isolation and separation and the splendid anonymity of the Internet and the doink-doink-doink of the clicker propelling me through six Web sites in five minutes. I vow to put my feet on the ground and walk through town and make small talk with clerks and call my mother on the phone and put money in the busker's hat. We welcome the infants into our herd and though some of them sob bitter tears at the prospect, they are now in our hearts and in our prayers and we will not easily let them go. [Garrison Keillor, Chicago Tribune, January 12, 2010]

Announcements for January 17

• Parish Annual Meeting This Sunday
  Sandwiches will be served after the 10:00 service, followed by the annual parish meeting at 11:45.
  
  
• Haiti Relief
  The need for relief in Haiti is immense and will continue for a very long time. Bishop Scantlebury’s letter to the Diocese of Chicago is available at www.episcopalchicago.org. To contribute through Episcopal Relief and Development, please go to www.er-d.org. Paper copies of this information are available in the church.
  
  
• Celebrating the Feast
  Saturday evening’s Celebration of St. John’s Family in honor of our patron saint was a fun-filled event. Why wouldn’t it be? The Vestry hosted it! Anyone who has attended this event in the past knows the Vestry always serves an abundance of tasty hors d’oeuvres, food and beverages. This year was no exception. Who needs caterers when the Vestry can whip up a delicious meal including homemade meatloaf, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes and oriental coleslaw?
  
  Parishioners had been encouraged to bring their old photos prior to the event. Trying to match up current faces with past faces was a real challenge. Although most of the photos were identified by lifting up a tab, a few framed pictures were not. Some of us were stumped by a small picture of a young woman dressed in western garb holding a rifle. Do we have an Annie Oakley in our parish?
  
  Hats off to Junior Warden, Donna Blackburn, who organized this year’s feast, and to each member of the Vestry for working so hard to give us another memorable evening. –Joan Unterburg.
  
  
• ECW Lunch
  The Episcopal Church Women will gather for lunch at 11:30 this Wednesday, January 20. Lunch will be provided, no need to bring a dish. All women of the parish are welcome.
  
  
• Daughters of the King Meetings
  The Mary-Martha Chapter will meet in the Guild Room on Saturday, January 16, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. (beginning with a light breakfast). Betsy Burgwald will lead a reflection on Psalms. The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 3, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. All women of the parish are welcome!

Reflection for January 17

Leadership
Leadership involves more than representation. Former Yale football coach Herman Hickman once said that he felt it was his job to keep the Yale alumni “sullen but not mutinous.” Leadership is not a matter of simply reflecting other people’s opinions and so keeping them happy but of learning, educating, informing, and persuading others.... Leadership involves working to realize a vision of what the parish could be but is not. It involves change.... Leadership is a matter also of prayer and Bible study. [Christopher L. Webber, Vestry Handbook]

Announcements for January 10

• Parish Annual Meeting Next Sunday
  Everyone is urged to gather after the 10:00 a.m. service next Sunday, January 17, for food and fellowship, followed by the annual parish meeting. The annual meeting is an important opportunity for the parish as a whole to share information on the life of the parish. Please plan to attend. Brunch bunch will precede the meeting.
  
  
• New Adult Sunday School class studies St. Paul
  The Living Faithfully adult Christian formation group will begin a new class this Sunday, January 10. Entitled Eclipsing Empire: Paul, Rome, and the Kingdom of God, the study explores fresh insights into Paul’s message of the Kingdom of God, its challenge to Roman imperial theology, and the apostle’s radical relevance for today. The DVD based study is filmed across Turkey, Greece and Italy. The Living Faithfully class meets on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in Classroom 4 in the Education Wing.
  
  
• Children’s Sunday School Classes Resume
  Sunday School classes for all ages resume at 9:00 a.m. this Sunday, January 10, following the holiday break.
  
  
• Vestry Budget Meeting, January 11
  The vestry meets at 7:00 p.m., January 11, in the Undercroft Conference Room to finalize the 2010 budget.

Reflection for January 10

The Wisemen
The gifts that the three Wise Men, or Kings, or Magi, brought to the manger in Bethlehem cost them plenty but seem hardly appropriate to the occasion. Maybe they were all they could think of for the child who had everything. In any case, they set them down on the straw—the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh—worshiped briefly, and then returned to the East where they had come from. It gives you pause to consider how, for all their great wisdom, they overlooked the one gift that the child would have been genuinely pleased to have someday, and that was the gift of themselves and their love. [Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures]

Announcements for January 3

• RSVP Now for The Feast: January 9
  The vestry invites you to a family gathering of the people of St. John’s in honor of our patron saint, St. John the Evangelist. The Feast takes place Saturday, January 9, beginning with worship at 4:30 p.m. The vestry will provide a home-cooked meal. Fellowship and entertainment for all ages will abound. An RSVP response card was included with your invitation or you may call the parish office. And don’t forget to lend us an interesting/historic photo of yourself for display at the Feast.
  
  
• Pledge Reminder
  If you have not yet returned your pledge card for 2010, please do so as soon as possible. The vestry will be meeting next week to finalize the 2010 budget.
  
  
• Epiphany Service Wednesday, January 6
  The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 7:00 p.m. on January 6 in celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany, the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
  
  
• Church School Vacation
  All Sunday Christian formation classes for children and adults are on vacation until January 10.
  
  
• Faith in Films: Luther on January 8
  Everyone is invited to view the 2003 film Luther, starring Joseph Fiennes as Martin Luther. Meet in the Guild Room at 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 8. Popcorn is served.
  
  
• New Adult Sunday School class studies St. Paul
  The Living Faithfully adult Christian formation group will begin a new class Sunday, January 10. Entitled Eclipsing Empire: Paul, Rome, and the Kingdom of God, the study explores fresh insights into Paul’s message of the Kingdom of God, its challenge to Roman imperial theology, and the apostle’s radical relevance for today. The DVD based study is filmed across Turkey, Greece and Italy. The Living Faithfully class meets on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in Classroom 4 in the Education Wing.
  
  
• Annual Parish Meeting: January 17
  Following the 10:00 a.m. service on January 17, please plan to gather for Brunch Bunch and the annual parish meeting.

Reflection for January 3

Biblically challenged
Biblical literacy involves the recognition that there’s always more to learn. Simply by virtue of the subject, the Bible is both enormously complex and persistently engaging; it invites a life-long relationship. That, finally, is both the problem and the promise of biblical literacy. [Kristin Swenson, “Biblically challenged,” Christian Century, November 3, 2009]

Announcements for December 27

• Celebrating the Children’s Christmas Pageant
  In this photo pageant participants await the beginning of the service. Thank you to all of the children for their wonderful portrayal of the Gospel nativity story at the 4:00 p.m. service on Christmas Eve. And thank you to Donica Van Voorhees for coordinating and directing the pageant and to all of the other adults who facilitated and supported the event.
  
  
• Christmas Eve Thanks
  Special thanks to Jeff Peterson and the choir for their glorious gift of music at the late service on Christmas Eve. And thanks to the acolytes and altar guild for their extra time and dedication as part of our parish Christmas celebrations. Your gifts of time and talent provide a blessing to us all.
  
  
• The Feast: January 9
  Please RSVP if you are planning to attend the third annual Feast celebrating the feast day of St. John the Evangelist. The Feast takes place Saturday, January 9, beginning with worship at 4:30 p.m. An RSVP response card was included with your invitation or you may call the parish office. And don’t forget to lend us an interesting/historic photo of yourself for display at the Feast.
  
  
• Pledge Reminder
  As the year comes to a close, please remember the importance of fulfilling your 2009 pledge to support the ministry of St. John’s. And if you have not yet returned your pledge card for 2010, please do so as soon as possible. The vestry will be meeting soon to finalize the 2010 budget.
  
  
• Christmas Lessons and Carols
  The 10:00 service this Sunday will include a celebration of Christmas Lessons and Carols. This service is a rich part of our Anglican liturgical tradition. We welcome home several of our current college students as readers of the Scripture lessons. Holy Communion will also be offered at this service.
  
  
• Church School Vacation
  All Sunday Christian formation classes for children and adults are on vacation until January 10.
  
  
• No Wednesday Service December 30
  The celebration of the Holy Eucharist with healing will not be held Wednesday, December 30. It will resume the following week.
  
  
• Parish Office Closed
  The parish office will be closed December 31 and January 1 for the New Year’s holiday.

Reflection for December 27

A Bidding Prayer for Christmas
Beloved in Christ, in this Christmastide, let it be our care and delight to hear again the message of the Angels, and in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Let us read and mark in Holy Scripture the tale of the loving purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience unto the glorious Redemption brought us by this holy Child; and let us make this place glad with our carols of praise.
[Christmas Festival of Lessons and Music; The Book of Occasional Services]