Announcements for July 31

Supply Clergy
The Rev. Sam Portaro, retired Chaplain of Brent House, the Episcopal chaplaincy at the University of Chicago, will be at St. John’s this Sunday.

Position Open: Office Manager
The job description for the office manager/parish secretary position is posted HERE.  Please share this with anyone whom you think might be interested.

Wednesday Service: Holy Eucharist Resumes
This Wednesday, August 3, the 9:00 AM service resumes its regular schedule of the Holy Eucharist with anointing for healing.

Reflection for July 31

[My] spiritual gifts do not seem to include the gift of solar spirituality. Instead, I have been given the gift of lunar spirituality, in which the divine light available to me waxes and wanes with the season. When I go out on my porch at night, the moon never looks the same way twice. Some nights it is as round and bright as a headlight; other nights it is thinner than the sickle hanging in my garage. Some nights it is high in the sky, and other nights low over the mountains. Some nights it is altogether gone, leaving a vast web of stars that are brighter in its absence. All in all, the moon is a truer mirror for my soul than the sun that looks the same way every day (Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark).

Announcements for July 24

Supply Clergy
The Rev. Stacy Alan, Chaplain at Brent House, the Episcopal chaplaincy at the University of Chicago, will be at St. John’s this Sunday.

Position Open: Office Manager
The job description for the office manager/parish secretary position is posted HERE.   Please share this with anyone whom you think might be interested.

Wednesday Service: Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 27, the 9:00 AM service on Wednesday will be Morning Prayer. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 3.

Reflection for July 24

Let us live out a mission that seeks to rescue the world from its present peril, to save those drowning in a raging river of despair, to rescue those caught in a wasteland of hopelessness. Let us commit ourselves to give the waters of baptism to those who thirst for justice (From a sermon by former Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Edmond Lee Browning (1929-2016)).

Job Opening - Office Manager

Office Manager Job Description 

Overview 

Part- time position, reports directly to the Rector. During the school year, 20 hours/week; reduced hours June – August. Pay: $17/hour. No benefits. 

The Office Manager serves as receptionist for the parish and also performs general secretarial duties, communication, office management and financial bookkeeping. Accuracy and attention to detail are critical components of this position. In addition, proper execution of this work requires a high degree of sensitivity to the needs of people contacting the office. Diplomacy and patience are critical, as is the ability to maintain appropriate boundaries and confidentiality. 

Major Duties & Responsibilities 

            Administrative Support

• Provides administrative support to the Rector.
  
• Provides additional administrative support to staff and parishioners as needed.
  
• Files inbound and outbound correspondence; maintains church files and records not handled
  directly by volunteers or the Rector.
  
• Prepares and distributes special mailings and all-parish correspondence – such as the Easter and
  Christmas letters from the Rector and stewardship materials.
  
• Orders office supplies and facilitates ordering of building supplies by volunteer purchaser
  
   Reception

• Greets visitors to the church office and directs them appropriately; accepts deliveries; works with vendors.
• Answers telephone; takes/retrieves messages; responds to email; retrieves mail from P.O. box and distributes mail/packages.
  
  Communication
  

• Prepares weekly church service leaflets; special holiday leaflets and leaflets for weddings, funerals, and any other special services.
  
• Prepares and distributes monthly acolyte schedule.
  
• Prepares and distributes quarterly schedule of weekly lay worship leaders.
  
• Prepares/updates the Annual Report of St. John’s.
  
• Prepares/distributes the parish directory (approximately every 12-18 months).
  
• Maintains community bulletin boards as well as flyers, leaflets, newsletters and sign-up sheets.
  
• Maintains all office files and assists treasurer and Rector in maintenance of files.
  
• Maintains/updates ACS People Suite membership database.
  

        Finance

• Prepares checks, maintains check register in Excel.
  
• Inputs weekly contributions into ACS People Suite (church membership database); works with
  treasurer to ensure accurate reporting.
  
• Provides administrative support to treasurer.
  
• Prepares/distributes quarterly contribution statements to parishioners and other regular
  contributors. 
  
  Qualifications
  
  Must be organized and have superior time-management skills.
  Must be diplomatic, patient, and sensitive to the needs of others.
  Must have a minimum of a high school diploma; college graduate preferred.
  Office experience or experience in a professional setting a plus.
  Must have above-average computer skills.
  Must be proficient in Microsoft Word and have experience/familiarity with Microsoft Publisher and Excel. Must have superior communication skills, both verbal and written.
  Flexibility and willingness to learn are assets.
  Familiarity with Episcopal Church polity and practice is a plus.
  
  Resumes will be accepted through August 5, 2016. Please submit electronically to:
  The Rev. Kristin Orr, Rector
  The Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist Flossmoor, Illinois
  sje2638@gmail.com

Announcement for July 17

Supply Clergy
The Rev. Stacy Alan, Chaplain at Brent House, the Episcopal chaplaincy at the University of Chicago, will be at St. John’s this Sunday.

Help Local School Kids Start School in the Fall
The Daughters of the King are once again coordinating the collection of school supplies for Respond Now. This year they are particularly requesting that we provide spiral notebooks, folders and backpacks. They will be assembling the backpacks early, so all donations must be in to St. John’s by Wednesday, July 20. Look for a collection box in the west foyer.

Volunteer to Help Pets
Can you spare an hour this Saturday, July 16th? We need your help to package pet food for Best Buddies Pet Pantry. Local community food pantries will distribute the packaged food to their clients who need a little extra help in order to keep and feed their pets. It can make the difference between keeping their canine or feline best buddies at home or having to surrender them to shelters. This is an easy ministry for all ages. Please help on the 16th at 10 AM in the education wing.

Wednesday Service: Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 13, the 9:00 AM service on Wednesday will be Morning Prayer. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 3.

Death of Former Presiding Bishop Browning
Bishop Edmond Lee Browning, who served from 1986 - 1997 as the 24th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, died July 11.  His obituary is HERE.

Reflection for July 17

I retain a warm sympathy for Anglicanism at its best: its distinctive low-temperature culture and art, its ability and readiness to question itself, and an attitude to the exploration of truth which is both reverently cynical and patiently serious (Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation, 2003).

Announcements for July 10

Fourth of July Ice Cream Social
A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Ice Cream Social by scooping ice cream, cutting watermelon, setting up tents and tables, arranging flowers, making and 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 and most importantly praying for good weather. This event would not work as well if all of you didn’t support it. THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Help Local School Kids Start School in the Fall
The Daughters of the King are once again coordinating the collection of school supplies for Respond Now. This year they are particularly requesting that we provide spiral notebooks, folders and backpacks. They will be assembling the backpacks early, so all donations must be in to St. John’s by Wednesday, July 20. Look for a collection box in the west foyer.

Volunteer to Help Pets
Can you spare an hour on Saturday, July 16th? We need your help to package pet food for Best Buddies Pet Pantry. Local community food pantries will distribute the packaged food to their clients who need a little extra help in order to keep and feed their pets. It can make the difference between keeping their canine or feline best buddies at home or having to surrender them to shelters. This is an easy ministry for all ages. Please help on the 16th at 10 AM in the education wing.

Wednesday Service: Morning Prayer
This Wednesday, July 13, the 9:00 AM service on Wednesday will be Morning Prayer. The Holy Eucharist will resume August 3.

Vegetable Abundance
This week: Fennel, cucumbers, zucchini.

Reflection for July 10

I know and I speak from experience, that even in the midst of darkness, it is possible to create light and share warmth with one another; that even on the edge of the abyss, it is possible to dream exalted dreams of compassion; that it is possible to be free and strengthen the ideals of freedom, even within prison walls; that even in exile, friendship becomes an anchor (Elie Wiesel, 2009).

Announcements for July 3

Fourth of July Ice Cream Social
St. John’s Old Time Community Fourth of July Ice Cream Social begins after the Flossmoor Children’s Parade, Monday, July 4. The parade begins at 10:00 a.m.; we begin serving around 10:15 a.m. Skiddles and Twistina will be twisting balloons into all sorts of fun shapes. Come enjoy free ice cream and cool drinks. Hot dogs will be available for purchase. (Financial contributions to help underwrite the event are still welcome.)

Office Manager
Office Manager Diane Pugh has resigned, effective July 1. Unanticipated changes in her life, including the need to provide additional care for their son and the emergence of new professional opportunities, have left her life extremely busy and complicated. We thank her for her dedicated service and wish her and her family God’s blessings in the future.

Help Local School Kids Start School in the Fall
The Daughters of the King are once again coordinating the collection of school supplies for Respond Now. This year they are particularly requesting that we provide spiral notebooks, folders and backpacks. They will be assembling the backpacks early, so all donations must be in to St. John’s by Wednesday, July 20. Look for a collection box in the west foyer.

Vegetable Abundance
This week: kale. 

Reflection for July 3

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).