Coming Up at St. John’s
THIS WEEK: April 30
April Rector’s Forum: Life at the Time of Jesus
Context is everything! Join Rev. Michelle after worship to learn more about this time and explore questions like: What was life like in Galilee? Who had power and who didn’t? How was Judaism practiced when Jesus was alive? What did people believe about resurrection?
NEXT WEEK: May 7
All Ages Worship
All Ages Worship is held every first Sunday of the month and is designed to engage minds and hearts of all ages. Our story for May will be about how God’s Love is connected to our own resilience.
Inquirer’s Class from 1:00-3:30 pm in the St. John’s Rectory
We continue our two-part primer on reading scripture as a part of the Inquirer’s Class Series from 1:00-3:30 pm on May 7: How We Read Scripture in the Episcopal Church. We begin with the Hebrew Scriptures or as they are often called, the Old Testament. In the second session, we delve into the Greek Scriptures, or the New Testament. Why spend 2 sessions talking about scripture? To put it into perspective, we claim that Holy Scripture contains all things necessary for salvation. And “perspective” is one of the important things to discuss as we take a look at scripture. So, what lens are we using? Where did all these writings come from? What are some helpful resources/guides? We will discuss these questions and more, and also spend time reading scripture together.
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St. John’s Outreach Committee Project: People’s Place
Fellow parishioners,
There are two ministries that we would like to resume.
Although a few people have been donating non-perishable food items for People’s Place we haven’t made announcements about this ministry recently. Please bring non-perishable food items and place them in the basket
and these items will be delivered to People’s Place. This includes things like pasta, canned goods, sauces, canned meats, peanut butter, etc.
People’s Place also provides birthday cakes and party supplies to children 12 and younger. They provide a birthday cake which is being donated by People’s Place, but they need donations of birthday-themed napkins, plates, cake candles, and gift bags in various sizes, so we will also be collecting these items.
Thank you for all that you do,
St. John’s Outreach Committee
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The St. John’s Rental Program
Welcome, Brian Silver! Our new Kitchen/Office Administrator
This week, we welcome Brian Silver to our St. John’s Community. Brian is taking over for Suzanne Campise, who recently left to take a job with the Kingston Farmers’ Market. His primary focus at St. John’s will be to continue developing relationships between St. John’s and the members of our community through our space/kitchen rental program.
When he’s not working for us at St. John’s, Brian is an events manager and booking agent at Mohonk Mountain House and also works as a realtor. He graduated in 2016 with dual degrees in Communication and Music from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Brian will be working mostly from home, staying in touch with current clients and reaching out to the larger community to explore more possibilities for community partnership. He will also keep up with incoming email and phone calls. Brian’s office hours at St. John’s are Wednesdays from 10-12.
You can reach Brian by contacting the St. John’s Office at 845-331-2252 or stjohnskingston@aol.com.
If you would like to schedule a rental or recommend our facility to a friend, have them contact Brian at kitchenatstjohns@gmail.com.
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The Sacrament of Baptism
Dear Ones,
As you hear me say every week during our celebration of Eucharist – All are welcome at God’s Table. And “all” really means ALL at St. John’s. I truly hope that everyone feels welcome to participate.
Eucharist is one of our two sacraments in the Episcopal Church, the other being Baptism. What does that mean? What is a sacrament? Our Book of Common Prayer defines sacrament as “an outward and visible of sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” This means that when we celebrate/participate in a sacrament, we are making known to all and, perhaps, mostly to ourselves, that this inward and spiritual grace is present and real. We are actively claiming that as true for us. I supposed one might say that it’s a bit like coming out of the closet.
What is this grace that we are claiming? To put it simply, by participating in Eucharist, we are claiming the continuing presence of God’s reconciling love. By participating in Baptism, we are recognizing that we are God’s beloved children. Nourishment and identity, and the healing and love that deepen when we claim these surrounded by the support of our Christian community.
In the Episcopal Church, we will offer the Sacrament of Baptism on 4 occasions throughout the year and our next opportunity for Baptism is on the Feast of Pentecost (this year, on May 28). The other times we set aside for Baptism are the celebration of the Baptism of Christ (early January), the Great Vigil of Easter (Easter Eve), and All Saints Sunday (early November).
If you are interested in Baptism or interested in having your child baptized, let’s talk.
In God’s love and mine,
Rev. Michelle
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Announcements for April 30
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
THIS SUNDAY! Rector’s Forum: Life at the Time of Jesus Context is everything! Join Rev. Michelle after worship to learn more about this time and explore questions like: What was life like in Galilee? Who had power and who didn’t? How was Judaism practiced when Jesus was alive? What did people believe about resurrection?
NEXT SUNDAY! All ages worship: Our story will be about how God’s Love is connected to our own resilience.
NEXT SUNDAY: Inquirer’s Class meets from 1:00-3:30 in the St. John’s Rectory as we continue our primer on “How We Read Scripture in the Episcopal Church” All are welcome!
Page Turners Book Club Meetings are on the first Thursday of the month at 2 p.m., in the parish hall. Here’s what we selected for next month: May 4 – If on A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino. All are welcome! Interested? Talk with Lynn Dennison.
St. John’s Outreach Project: When you go to the store, pick up a few extra non-perishable food items for People’s Place food pantry (tuna, soup, pasta, sauce, etc.). We are also taking donations of birthday napkins/plates, candles, and gift bags in various sizes. Bring them to church and place them in the appropriate baskets near the altar.
Interested in Baptism? In the Episcopal Church, we offer the Sacrament of Baptism on the Feast of Pentecost (this year, on May 28). If you are interested in Baptism or interested in having your child baptized, talk to Rev. Michelle as soon as possible to set up a time to talk more about it. The next time set aside for Baptism will be All Saints Sunday on November 5.
Have an announcement for the bulletin?
Please send by Wednesday at noon to stjohnskingston@aol.com.
St. John’s Office Hours
Mondays from 12-4 pm and Wednesdays from 10 – 12 noon
Phone: 845-331-2252
Email: stjohnskingston@aol.com
2023 Easter Season at St. John’s
May 20: Consecration of Matthew Heyd as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of New York, Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in NYC.
May 21: Godly Play for kids, Healing Sunday AND Inquirer’s Class – What We Do: Ministry and the Baptismal Covenant, from 1:00-3:30 pm.
May 28: Feast of Pentecost
June 4: All Ages Worship – The Creation Story
June 11: Guest Preacher – The Rev. Richard Witt of Rural and Migrant Ministries and a special forum after worship to learn more about the good work they do in NYS.
June 18: Godly Play for kids, Healing Sunday AND Pastoral Care meeting, after worship
June 25: Rector’s Forum: Celtic Christianity, after worship
July 2: Summer Worship begins in the Parish Hall