St. John’s Episcopal Church
207 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401

The Good News of St. John’s

December 23, 2021

Christmas Services: Changes… Please read!

We are responding to the increasing need to keep everyone safe this holiday season by making a few changes to our Christmas worship plans.  Please read below for details.

All Ages Christmas Eve Service  NOW ONLINE
Friday, December 24 at 5:00 pm 

We will now be broadcasting our All Ages worship online.  Tune in for a singing angel choir and puppets who will help us tell our most sacred story – the birth of Christ.
Join us online by clicking here: Online Streaming Worship

Candlelit Festive Eucharist   NOW ONLINE AND IN PERSON
Friday, December 24 at 8:00 pm

Our traditional festive Christmas Eve service with singing and candlelight.  Caroling starts at 7:30 pm.  Join us in person in the St. John’s Sanctuary OR online by clicking here: Online Streaming Worship

Christmas Day Morning Prayer  ONLINE ONLY
Saturday, December 25 at 9:00 am

A brief service of Morning Prayer to offer song and praise for the coming of light and love into the world.  Click here to join: Online Streaming Worship

Christmas I – The First Sunday of Christmas   IN PERSON ONLY
Sunday, December 26 at 10:00 am

Come for Sunday Eucharistic worship to continue celebrating the birth of Love Incarnate.  In person in our sanctuary.

 

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The Housing Crisis and Our Christmas Story


Today a group of us from the Kingston Interfaith Council met with NY State Senator Michelle Hinchey. We requested the meeting because we can see the state of true emergency coming in our housing crisis once the moratorium on evictions lifts in mid-January. There are many efforts working on the long-term solution to our housing crisis but, come January, we are going to see a huge number of people without housing in the middle of winter. The good news is that Sen. Hinchey has promised to work alongside us in pushing for an immediate solution as we begin working with county officials to make a plan and put it into action. I’ll continue to be a part of this effort.

Housing is one of our major concerns as Christians. Our most sacred story – the birth of Christ – utilizes homelessness and itinerancy as one of its themes to demonstrate the miracle of God’s work among us. In the midst of our worldly attachments and our self-centered ways, when we would rather say “Not in my backyard” or “There is no room in the inn,” we are brought to our knees because this is where we will always find God – when we open our hearts to the most vulnerable among us. So, to do whatever we can to make sure there is a safe space for everyone, is at the heart of our faith.

If you would like to be more involved in this effort, please reach out to me. I will keep you informed as this process unfolds.

In the meantime, if you would like to support two stellar organizations in our community who are working on the issue of homelessness and housing, I recommend: 1) Catholic Charities who runs the homeless shelter, designed to be a stop-gap solution with no capacity for the enormity of the emergency that’s coming and 2) Kingston City Land Bank who works to transform vacant/distressed properties and keep them at a low cost for Kingston residents as a way of providing social and economic development. Our own parishioner Bob Dennison is on the board of the KCLB so please talk with him more about this wonderful organization.

One last, much more personal note: Last week, the furnace in the Rectory was deemed unusable. The Vestry is currently doing a lot of good research and discernment about a heating system that will replace the gas furnace. Please keep them all in your prayers as this is a sudden and significant decision.  Ana and I are fine and are keeping as warm as is possible with a series of space heaters in the house so that we don’t have to winterize the property and we can stay in our home. Along with our amazing wardens, Claudette Ford and Lynn Dennison, I will keep you informed as this situation progresses.

This Christmas season, my dream for you is that you find hope in the truth of Emanuel, which means, God is with us. May you experience that hope so that you may become that hope for others.  And may you remain healthy, safe, and warm.

In God’s love and mine,
Rev. Michelle

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Announcements for
December 23, 2021

 

 

Fellowship Hour Sign up! – The Hospitality Committee invites you to sign up for St John’s Social Hour.  A sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board in the Vestibule.  All are welcome to offer their generosity to others & share some good conversation as well. Questions? See Barbara Johnston.

St. John’s Pledge Campaign continues!  If you haven’t made a financial pledge for 2022 yet, the Stewardship Committee is still receiving pledges.

The Ulster Immigrant Defense Network (UIDN) will soon be in need of volunteer tutors, to work with motivated students to improve their reading skills. If interested, please let Jeanette Baggot know. An initial prerequisite is completing a Volunteer form located on the Kingston City School District website. More details will soon be on the way!

Page Turners Book Club: For January 4th the book is, ‘The Lincoln Highway,’ by Amor Towles. The books for the next several months have also been announced: February 1- Oh, William, by Elizabeth Strout; March 1-The Rules of Magic, by Alice Hoffman; April 5- Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr; May 3- The Murmur of Bees, by Sofia Segova. Speak with Lynn Dennison for more information.

Have an announcement?
Please send by Wednesday at noon to
stjohnskingston@aol.com.

St. John’s Upcoming Schedule
Jan 2: The Feast of the Epiphany, transferred
Jan 9: The Baptism of Christ
Jan 30: St. John’s Annual Meeting and Ministry Fair
Feb 27: Storytelling with God – More information to come soon!
Mar 1: Shrove Tuesday
Mar 2: Ash Wednesday
Mar 5: Vestry Retreat at Huntington House
Apr 10: Palm Sunday
Apr 14: Maundy Thursday
Apr 15: Good Friday
Apr 16: Holy Saturday and Easter Vigil
Apr 17: Easter Sunday