Church guide

Some images from Easter!

This year's Easter sermon. Christ is risen!

Happy Easter!

This week's sermon. Happy Easter! https://foldedandunfolding.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/an-idle-tale/

Some images from tonight's Stations of the Cross.

This evening, we have Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm at St. John's. Tomorrow night, we'll celebrate the Great Vigil of Easter at 7:30 pm at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz on Pine Grove Ave. NOTE: The time is 7:30, not 8:00 as previously announced.

Beloveds: Tomorrow is Good Friday. Here's where the community of St. John's will be: We're combining congregations and will be at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz tomorrow for the Good Friday Prayer service at 12 noon. I'll be preaching and the entire Passion will be chanted, not by me. Then, come to a new Stations of the Cross tomorrow night at 7:00pm at St. John's. A meditation on the stations with images and music, honoring our beautiful woodcut images hanging throughout our Sanctuary. Sleep well. Or, stay awake with Jesus. Your choice. Rev. Michelle

Our Paschal Triduum (Holy Week Services) starts in about an hour at 6pm. Join us for a simple supper and a beautiful liturgy of service and love. And thank you to our Social Concerns team for the new banner, just in time. Great design, Cathe Decker!

The Easter Triduum begins tomorrow. Join us! Maundy Thursday at St. John's at 6pm Good Friday at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz at 12 noon (Stations of the Cross at St. John's at 7pm) The Great Vigil of Easter at Holy Cross/Santa Cruz at 8pm And then... Easter Sunday (April 21) at St. John's at 10am (no 8am service)

Register your team now!

Holy Week Announcements Maundy Thursday – food for our shared meal: Our Maundy Thursday service (Thur, April 18 at 6pm) is a beautiful liturgy that starts with a simple shared meal of soup, bread, and salad. Please join us and please bring something simple to share. Contact Deacon Sue to let her know what you’re bringing so we can plan. Email: [email protected] or text: 845-750-2389 Holy Saturday – preparing the space for Easter: Our Holy Saturday Work Party (Sat, April 20 at 9am) begins with prayers and continues through the morning. Join us for an hour or two to clean, shine, rake, clear and participate in preparing ourselves for Easter. Adult Formation Programming – May and June Mark your calendars! Adult Inquirer’s Class: Whether you’ve been an Episcopalian all your life or are new to our church, this is a series for you. An invitation to learn more about the Episcopal Church and our Christian faith and ask the tough questions. On Thursday evenings in May, join Rev. Michelle for a series of 5 classes. All class sessions start at 6:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Please register ahead of time so we know how to prepare materials. Sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board. May 2: Belief – Examining the creeds and statements of faith (May 9: No class session) May 16: Structure – Understanding the history and structure of the Episcopal Church May 23: Scripture – Learning ways of reading Holy Scripture, the foundation of our faith May 30: Worship – Exploring our worship as a model for how we live in the world June 6: Ministry – Reflecting on how our faith forms us to be the Body of Christ First Wednesdays – from 10-1 • May 1: Planting the Angel Food East Herb Garden Getting our hands in God’s good earth is a deeply healing and renewing spiritual practice. Come and help Angel Food East serve their clients by putting some herbs in the ground! We’ll have tables and chairs outside under the shade where people can help plan the layout and remove prepare the new herbs plus plenty of willing workers to do the bending and kneeling. • June 5: Elder Law Practitioner, Erica Halwick Elder Law is an area of legal practice that specializes on issues that affect the aging population. If you are an elder or are taking care of an elder, you will want to join us for this First Wednesday. Bring your questions. Erica will start at 10:30 sharp so make sure you’re early and get your coffee and a good seat! Rector’s Forums • May 19 – Biblical Images of God Holy Scripture – both the Hebrew and Greek testaments – offers us many different imaginings of God. We’ll explore the wide variety and look at why and how these images are used. • June 16 – The “Gnostic” Gospels Did you know that there are more Gospel accounts (teachings of Jesus) than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? In 1945, more writings were found outside the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. We’ll focus on the Gospels found: Thomas, Mary Magdalene, and Philip. Second Wednesdays Every Wednesday, we have a contemplative musical prelude at 5:15 and Centering Prayer at 5:45. On Second Wednesdays (May 8, June 12, etc), we extend our time together with dinner and discussion over videos from contemplative Christians like Thomas Keating and Richard Rohr. Join us! Invite your friends: all are welcome!

As Lt. Dan from the movie Forrest Gump says, "Two standing orders: 1) take good care of your feet, and 2) try not to do anything stupid, like getting killed." Here's a little more on foot washing. The Diocese of San Diego, doing public foot washing. I've heard of other congregations extending this idea and creating a yearly foot-care service to those in need - complete with washing, pedicures, new socks and shoes. Rev. Michelle https://edsd.org/episcopal-church-center/community-foot-washing/

Ever wonder why we feel uncomfortable during foot washing services? Can we sit with the discomfort of what it means to give or to receive such an intimate act of service? It's a part of the Gospel - a revolutionary act of hospitality and love. Schmaltzy music aside, this is a good little video from the UMC church. Please take a look. And I'll see you on Maundy Thursday next week. Rev. Michelle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Y5fM9lyBo

Every Wednesday, we meet and we sit in silence. Come and learn the way of peace! Tomorrow is Second Wednesday, so be our guest for dinner and discussion after prayer.

Amma Suzanne, you will be greatly missed and it has been a blessing having you here at St. John's!