Announcements for August 2

Supply Priest
We welcome the Rev. Stacy Alan back to St. John’s this Sunday. She currently serves as chaplain to Brent House, the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Chicago.

Recap of Respond Now School Supply Drive
Thank you to the Daughters of the King for sponsoring St. John’s participation in Respond Now’s school supply drive. And praise God for everyone who so generously participated. 49 binders, 62 pairs of scissors and 98 packages of loose leaf paper were delivered to Respond Now.

Wednesday Service is Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, August 5, the 9:00 AM service will be Morning Prayer with special prayers for healing. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 12.

Reflection for August 2

It was inevitable that the Prayer Book would have a key role in deciding what was good English: it was destined to be one of the most frequently printed and often most heard texts in the language. Whatever its content it would have become decisive; as it was, the Prayer Book’s language was created by an individual with a natural ear for formal prose: for sound and sentence construction. For this reason Cranmer deserves the gratitude not merely of the Church of England, but of all English speakers throughout the world. Through his connoisseurship, his appreciative pilfering of other people’s words and his own adaptations, he created a prose which was self-consciously formal and highly crafted, intended for repeated use until it was polished as smooth as a pebble on the beach…. He stands prominently amid a select band of Tudor writers, from Tyndale to Shakespeare, who set English on its future course….

Twentieth-century scholarship has reminded us just how fundamental is the structure of language to the way in which we construct our lives and our culture. Cranmer’s language lies at the heart of our own English-speaking culture, which has now become so central to the destiny of the world (Thomas Cranmer, Diarmaid MacCullough).

Announcements for July 26

Supply Priest
We welcome the Rev. Sam Portaro back to St. John’s this Sunday.

Best Buddies Pet Pantry
Best Buddies is a local, all-volunteer organization that provides free pet food to families who are facing economic hardship. Their hope is to keep pets and families together and reduce the number of pets that are surrendered to shelters. Look for more information in flyers on the information tables. In addition to supplies, financial donations are also welcome. A donation box is in the west foyer, or speak to Susan Marquis about volunteer opportunities. (You may also, of course, continue to help the work of the South Suburban Humane Society. A donation box is in the undercroft. They particularly welcome towels, blankets and bleach in addition to pet food.)

Wednesday Service is Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 29, the 9:00 AM service will be Morning Prayer with special prayers for healing. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 12.

Reflection for July 26

A Prayer for the Church 
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, p. 280).

Announcements for July 19

Supply Priest
We welcome the Rev. Sam Portaro back to St. John’s this Sunday.

School Supplies for Respond Now: This Sunday is the Deadline
The Daughters of the King are coordinating our participation in a drive to collect school supplies for clients of Respond Now. Specifically requested: Children’s scissors (either safety or pointed are OK), “college ruled” notebook paper, and 2 inch ring binders. Please bring donations to church by this Sunday, July 19. Thank you.

Best Buddies Pet Pantry
Best Buddies is a local, all-volunteer organization that provides free pet food to families who are facing economic hardship. Their hope is to keep pets and families together and reduce the number of pets that are surrendered to shelters. Look for more information in flyers on the information tables. A donation box is in the west foyer or speak to Susan Marquis about volunteer opportunities. (You may also, of course, continue to help the work of the South Suburban Humane Society. A donation box is in the undercroft. They particularly welcome towels, blankets and bleach in addition to pet food,)

Wednesday Service is Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 22, the 9:00 AM service will be Morning Prayer with special prayers for healing. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 12.

Reflection for July 19

Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name (Jaroslav Pelikan, "The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities").

Announcements for July 12

School Supplies for Respond Now: Next Week is the Deadline
The Daughters of the King are coordinating our participation in a drive to collect school supplies for clients of Respond Now. Specifically requested: Children’s scissors (either safety or pointed are OK), “college ruled” notebook paper, and 2 inch ring binders. Please bring donations to church by Sunday, July 19. Thank you.

Summary of General Convention
You may read an online wrap-up of the actions of the recent General Convention of the Episcopal Church HERE.  Paper copies are also available on the information tables at the church.

Best Buddies Pet Pantry
Best Buddies is a local, all-volunteer organization that provides free pet food to families who are facing economic hardship. Their hope is to keep pets and families together and reduce the number of pets that are surrendered to shelters. Look for more information in flyers on the information tables. A donation box will be coming soon or speak to Susan Marquis about volunteer opportunities. (You may also, of course, continue to help the work of the South Suburban Humane Society. A donation box is in the undercroft. They particularly welcome towels, blankets and bleach in addition to pet food,)

Wednesday Service is Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 15, the 9:00 AM service will be Morning Prayer with special prayers for healing. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 12.

Reflection for July 12

Faith lives in the human world by the grace of God, because of the love and loyalty of God, and in the presence of God, which is free, indifferent to our anxieties, to our categories, and, quite emphatically, I think, to our very negative judgments about the spiritual state of our neighbors (Marilynne Robinson, “Sacred inwardness,” Christian Century, July 8, 2015).

Announcements for July 5

Ice Cream Social
A big thank you to everyone who did or is about to (depending on when you’re reading this) participate in the Ice Cream Social by scooping ice cream, cutting watermelon, setting up tents and tables, arranging flowers, pouring lemonade and iced tea, serving ice cream, lemonade and iced tea, grilling hotdogs, selling food, overseeing the children’s table, helping the balloon ladies, greeting the community, attending, cleaning up, donating to the entertainment (you still can!) and most importantly praying for good weather. This event would not work as well if all of you didn’t support it. THANK YOU!!!!!!!

School Supplies for Respond Now
The Daughters of the King are coordinating our participation in a drive to collect school supplies for clients of Respond Now. Specifically requested: Children’s scissors (either safety or pointed are OK), “college ruled” notebook paper, and 2 inch ring binders. Please bring donations to church by Sunday, July 19. Thank you.

Reflection for July 5

For the Nation
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, p. 258).