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March 1 - 31, 2002 St. John’s Episcopal Church 404-761-8402 SPECIAL EVENTS
EACH WEEK WE OFFER
WORK DAY IN MARCH Mark your calendar for a Work Day on Saturday, March 23 from 8 a.m. until noon (or any part of that). Please come and mop, dust, clean inside or outside, learn to polish brass (we need help with this!), or any other of the things that always need to be done around the church. We’ll gather to have a light breakfast together, then get to work. It’s a fun way to spend some time with your pals, or meet new ones. Make your plans now to be here. Lenten suppers and program On Wednesdays from February 20 through March 20, we will gather in Bott Hall for a light supper at 6:00, followed by lessons and discussion from the Emmaus Road curriculum. After that, we will go into the church and observe the Stations of the Cross, except for March 20, when we will observe Tenebrae (see below). Bring a friend! DON’T MISS TENEBRAE! — OR THE GREAT VIGIL! Tenebrae (the Latin word for "darkness ") is the only service that moves from light to dark as we extinguish candles after each reading until we are illuminated only by the "Light of Christ." This dramatic service is the "bookend" to the Great Vigil of Easter, which begins in the pre-dawn darkness of Easter morning and moves from the dark to the light. (Yes, it will be worth getting up that early!) Come experience the drama!
EASTER FLOWERS Yes, it’s time to send your contributions for Easter flowers!! Please do this as soon as possible. Let us know if it is a memorial or a thank offering. The deadline is Thursday, March 21, 2002. Thank you. Please do not wait until the last minute! MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER There’s just time to register for the next Marriage Encounter week-end April 12-14. Call Connie or Ron Bergeron at 770/951-1411 for all the details. In the new millennium put the icing back on your marriage’s cake. NEWCOMERS - Jeanne Mull In St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans he says: "Welcome one another, then, for the sake of God’s glory, as Christ welcomed you." Remember, all of us at St. John’s are greeters. Each and every one of you can make visitors feel more welcome. Did you know that a visitor usually "makes up his mind" about a church in the first 10 minutes? That doesn’t give us much time, does it? Visitors tend to arrive either 10-15 minutes before the service or within 10 minutes after it begins. The latter group may be trying to avoid direct contact with greeters and ushers. If you sense they are hurrying (to avoid contact) simply greet them at their level of comfort; perhaps "hello", sharing your name, visitor’s information and allow them to be seated. They may be trying to avoid the "visitor routine." After the service, make it a point to tell visitors how pleased you are that they came. Offer to introduce them to the rector: this is quite an honor for guests and reinforces their sense of your sincerity when you have remembered their names. Offer to escort them to Bott Hall for refreshments, however, if they are reluctant, be prepared to let them go. Do not overwhelm them if they need time and space. (Avoid using the term "coffee hour," that can sound too long to some guests). And don’t forget to make sure first time visitors are offered a St. John’s coffee mug with our brochure. We want them to remember us and come back! TRANSITIONS Please welcome two new members of St. John’s: Daniel Ayiteyfio, 2332 Browns Mill Rd., SE, Atlanta 30315 (404) 624-4010 (transferred from Ghana); Thomas Rowland, 1295 Spencer Ave. East Point, 30344 (404) 761-5171 (transferred from All Saints’, Atlanta). Welcome! Our sympathy to the loved ones of Nancy Letz and Triever Patton Anderson, both long time members of St. John’s, who died recently. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in God’s peace. INSTRUCTED EUCHARIST On March 17, we will have instruction concerning our worship at both services. This is a great time to introduce a friend to the Episcopal Church! MARCH BIRTHDAYS
FROM OUTREACH - Blanche Shropshire Once upon a time a man entered a village and asked for food. At each house he was turned away because it was a poor village and not much food was available. The man spied a big pot in the center of the village. He gathered sticks, placed them under the pot and set them afire. After adding water, he stirred the pot. Curious villagers asked what he was doing. He replied: "Making Stone Soup." He would taste it occasionally and make remarks such as "good, but it would taste better with an onion" -- which a villager supplied. Then he would remark, "something is missing, maybe it needs a carrot." Eventually, with each villager supplying a bit, there was enough soup to feed the entire village. I was reminded of this story as St. John’s parishioners bought Christmas cards after services. Proceeds were divided between a ministry to fight homelessness in Philadelphia and our outreach ministries here. Each person who bought cards added only a small bit, but the contributions were totaled. Deliberate acts of kindness are the results. Volunteers acting as community builders in Philadelphia will help prevent homelessness. St. John’s Church is using it’s share to provide full scholarships for two Haitian children at Fr. Bruno’s school Thanks Be To God! FROM THE RECTOR I’ve got a couple of things I would like to share with you. First, I love Blanche’s article about outreach, and I want you to know of some of the other outreach work St. John’s does. In our budget this year, the vestry allocated $4200 to Family Life Ministries, the wonderful ministry to the poor with which we have such close ties (Ray Townsend volunteers every week). We have also budgeted $3600 to Bethlehem Ministries, which supports the work of our friend Father Bruno in Haiti. In addition, we will send $1800 to Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, which is run by the Rev. Mark Moline, an Episcopal priest who serves as chaplain to the Atlanta jail. Finally, we have budgeted $3000 to The Interfaith Airport Chaplaincy, which quietly ministers to the spiritual needs of travelers and airport employees. (I’m on the board and Jackie Berlin is a volunteer). I’m proud that St. John’s ministers to the community outside our walls, and I hope you are too! The other topic I want to discuss involves ministry within our St. John’s community. As you know, Jane and Emile Escalera have been in the process of adopting a Russian baby for some time. After some disheartening false starts, they now have a baby assigned. The cost of the adoption is almost $30,000! There are several ways you can help. One is to donate money (to my discretionary fund). The other is to donate frequent flyer miles (both Jane and Emile will have to make two trips to Russia). Won’t it be exciting to see that baby! As you prepare for Easter, may you have a Holy Lent.
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Eagle Notes