However, health regulations prohibit the clergy from being informed when our parishioners are in the hospital, so we will not know if you or someone you love is there unless you tell us. W e want to provide support in any time of need or crisis.
Please call the parish offices at 259.1570 or email
If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
John 3
This Week in
St. John’s
Thursday, March 16
10:00 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) and Healing & Anointing (Chapel)
Men’s Thursday Bible Study and Lunch
11:45 a.m., Peterson Room
The Men’s Thursday Bible Study and Lunch group meets on Thursdays at 11:45 a.m. at the School’s Middle School campus. The readings the group will study are those from the Revised Common Lectionary for the coming Sunday.
Please do not park in the Four Green Fields parking lots. Lunch is sandwiches at $5 per person. RSVP todlrncrtpa@verizon.net if you would like to partake.
Coffee Hour Fellowship and Sandwich Sunday (Parish Hall)
Thanks to our Sandwich Sunday hosts, Cindy and David Martin!
Adult Christian Formation
The Christian Formation group will meet in the Lowry Room at 10:30 a.m. for their Lenten study.
Each session lasts approximately 30 minutes and takes place in the Lowry Room. Bring your coffee and join the conversation! For more information, email Kathleen Moore or call her at 221.6253.
11:15 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite I) (Church)
12:30 p.m.
Focus on Faith (Parish Hall)
4:30 p.m.
Middle School EYC (Discovery House)
A Service of Choral Evensong: This Sunday, March 19
The next Choral Evensong will take place on Sunday, March 19 at 5:00 p.m. in the church. Choral Evensong is widely considered the jewel in the crown of the Anglican Choral Tradition. We hope you will join us for this lovely way to worship and wind down your weekend.
Monday, March 20
Bible Women
4:00 p.m., Lowry Room
The Bible Women group continue their new study during Lent called The Women of Easter, written by Liz Curtis Higgs. The book can be purchased through Amazon for $11.14. They welcome all ladies to join them.
CWBS continues their study of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.
After conversation and a light breakfast (fruit & some type of bread) that members take turns bringing, the study starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends shortly before 8:00 a.m.; a few people may leave early if they have to go to work.
All women of St John’s and their friends are welcome; the current group includes several valued members from other branches of Christ’s church. For more information, please contact Kathleen Moore at 221.6253 or kathleenmarymoore@gmail.com.
Mid Morning Women’s Bible Study
The Mid Morning Women’s Bible Study will meet in the Church Sanctuary from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 21. They will be continuing the study of Luke’s Gospel. Deacon Kathleen Moore will guide their study of Luke 15 on March 21.
The group invites all interested women to join them in the Church every other week on alternate Tuesdays. For more information, you may contact Joan McKay at mckayjhm@aol.com or Pat Wilson at 644.4640 or patwilson68@tampabay.rr.com.
Wednesday, March 22
12:15 p.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) (Chapel)
Wednesday Nights In St. John’s
The Wednesday Nights group will not meet during Lent. Parishioners are encouraged to attend the Lenten Wednesday night series. Contact Paul and Winkie Game at
pgamefla@aol.com for more details about the Wednesday Nights group.
Wednesdays in Lent
5:30 p.m., Parish Hall
We will gather in the Parish Hall at 5:30 p.m. for social time and prayer with a delicious dinner by Chef Dave served at 6:00 p.m. At 6:45 p.m. there will be a program for children in the Lowry Room. Adults will remain in the Parish Hall for a series of discussions on the topic When Bad Things Happen to Good People, led by our guest speaker, the Rev Everett Walk of Sarasota. The evenings will conclude at 7:30 p.m.
A Service of Choral Evensong: This Sunday, March 19
The next Choral Evensong will take place on Sunday, March 19 at 5:00 p.m. in the church. Choral Evensong is widely considered the jewel in the crown of the Anglican Choral Tradition. We hope you will join us for this lovely way to worship and wind down your weekend.
Preserve our Heritage Campaign Update
The Preserve Our Heritage Campaign is underway! If you have driven by the Church lately during the week, you likely have noticed the trucks and workers at the Church. This work is the first phase of a multi-faceted effort to restore and improve the structures that are critical to our worship and parish life as well as to our School. This week the work includes
new caulking, paint, and protective coverings for our beautiful stained glass windows.
The Campaign goal is $445,000, and we launched the Campaign with existing commitments totaling $245,000 from the School, our Endowment, and a few large individual donations. We are now raising the remaining $200,000 from St. John’s parishioners to reach our goal, and we have received $124,000 in contributions from 56 families and individuals toward that goal to date.
If you haven’t yet contributed to the Campaign, please prayerfully consider a gift. Contributions to the Campaign should be made to St. John’s Church, and please note “Preserve Our Heritage” on the check. If you have questions on the Campaign or didn’t see the February 8 letter outlining details of the Campaign, please contact the Parish Offices. Thank you!
Music Notes
We are delighted to welcome two new faces to the music program – both of whom will be with us through the end of the current season. Many people have already met and heard Margaret-Mary Owens. Margaret is a graduate of Florida State University, and is currently in the midst of auditions for a post-grad place at three of the country’s finest music conservatories. She has played some challenging organ repertoire to a high standard over the weeks that she has been with us.
James Hendy has, quite literally, just arrived from the UK. James hails from Plymouth in south-west England, and was a student at Canford School, one of the UK’s top public, (as they’re known there, but private here!) schools. He is taking what is commonly known as a “gap year” between school and university, and is hoping to win an organ scholarship to one of the Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) colleges. Please take time to make both Margaret and James feel welcome.
We are, of course, now in the season of Lent. There are many ways in which we mark this season liturgically – the crosses are veiled, we omit Alleluias, and the vestments are purple. The tone of the music changes too. Some of the greatest hymns and anthems, in their often minor keys, were written for this season. In marking Lent musically, some churches, especially those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, suppress the use of the organ almost entirely, and all of the hymns and service music are sung unaccompanied. Here at St. John’s, we have not gone quite that far, but we have, for the past two years, ceased from playing postludes at the end of the services. In adopting this practice once again this year, it is our hope to encourage a reflective end to our services, and that the impact of the organ voluntary will be all the more meaningful when it returns at the Great Vigil of Easter.
