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November 1 - 30, 2001 St. John’s Episcopal Church 404-761-8402 SPECIAL EVENTS
EACH WEEK WE OFFER
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR PROPERTY In the last month or so, John Musser and the Properties Commission have undertaken a number of projects to improve our property, including: Demolition and removal of the stoop outside the door to the playground (which was pulling away from the building), and installation of a new concrete stoop. Installation of a handicap access ramp to the playground door. Work on the drainage basin on the playground and repairs to the underground pipe from the playground to the street (to try to solve some of our water problems). Repair of loose masonry on an exterior brick wall facing the horseshoe parking lot. Repair of a condensation pan in the room the choir is moving into. Replacement of treated wood between concrete squares in the garden patio. Clearing of roots from under concrete and re-leveling of squares. Coming Soon: Installation of handrails at the step in the garden (to match existing rails). In memory of Mrs. Prendergast. Installation of handrails on the new handicap access ramp. Repair of the steps in the bell tower. There’s always something, and lately there have been lots of things! It costs many thousands of dollars just to keep St. John’s standing. Thanks to John for his work and to you for your support. CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to Jane & Don Randolph on the birth of their granddaughter, Taylor Hunter Smith. BRING THAT BABY ON! As many of you know, Jane and Emile Escalera are in the process of adopting a baby from Russia. What you might not know is that the adoption will cost the Escaleras $27,000! Even after taking a second mortgage on their house, the adoption (from a financial standpoint) is a matter of "stepping out in faith." If you would like to help defray costs and serve other worthwhile causes, make a check to St. John’s and mark it "Rector’s Discretionary Fund." Won’t it be fun to baptize that baby? ANNUAL PARISH MEETING ON NOV. 11 On November 11, we will have a combined service at 10:00, followed by our Second Sunday Brunch and Annual Parish Meeting. Please plan to attend. Even if you are not eligible to vote, you will learn about the parish and enjoy the fellowship. Short biographical descriptions of those who have agreed to stand for election are included as an insert. REQUIEM FOR THE HOMELESS A service of remembrance for the homeless people who have died in the last year will be held at St. Philip’s on Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Dinner will be provided for all who are there at 6:00. The Rev. Canon Gray Temple will be the preacher. For information, call (404) 230-5000. HOLY COMFORTER On November 14, we will again visit our friends at Holy Comforter, a parish in East Atlanta that cares for mentally disabled adults. We meet at St. John’s at 5:15, carpool, make supper, worship at Holy Comforter, and make new friends. Call the church if you can go. If you’ve never been, try it! You’ll be with friends. CONVOCATION MEETING NOV. 4 We are members of the Southwest Atlanta Convocation, a sub-unit of the diocese consisting of ten parishes. On November 4 at 4:30, the convocation will gather at St. John’s for a business meeting (discussing the upcoming Annual Council of the Diocese) and potluck dinner. Besides the good food, this will be a chance to meet folks from other parishes and learn more about the diocese. See you there! UTO INGATHERING Dear St. John’s Family: Don’t wait to celebrate Thanksgiving. If any of you are not already using United Thank Offering (UTO) Blue Boxes, start now thanking God for each blessing every day. The UTO Fall Ingathering will be held on Sunday, November 25. Expressing thankfulness is an excellent starting point in telling others of the presence of God in our life. There is so much we can all be thankful for: family, friends, love, warmth. What are you thankful for? Each member could offer a prayer of thanks and put a coin in the box. May we all find many reasons to give thanks this fall! Thanks Be To God Georgie White UTO Coordinator FROM ERNIE RADAKER T-shirts from this year’s Blessing of the Animals will be sold after the service on November 11 for only $6.00. Sizes are limited and the money will go to support Parish Life activities.
FROM THE RECTOR Is Our Generosity I wish we didn’t need to have a time we call our "Stewardship Campaign." I wish we all thought of our responsibility to share God’s gifts all year long, so that making a pledge would be a routine part of that commitment, an administrative detail enacting only a small part of our desire to live lives characterized by gratitude to our wonderful, loving, giving God. I wish we thought of stewardship less in terms of a season and more in terms of a way of life. But I don’t get lots of things I wish for, and I suppose it is human nature that we need a season to concentrate on a particular subject. And so we have begun our Stewardship Campaign. And this is an "interesting time" (in the sense of the Chinese curse) to be asking you to make a promise of support to the parish. Churches all over the country are afraid of these uncertain times. In the wake of the unthinkable events of September 11, Americans showed our characteristic generosity (we really are a very generous people) by donating billions of dollars to relief efforts. As heartwarming as that response was, it almost immediately caused anxiety among churches. "Has America’s generosity been used up?" they’ve asked. "Are we as a people ‘tapped out?’" As Bishop Allan used to say, "we will live with what you give." If we have to make cuts in programs, or if I have to take a cut in pay, so be it. But I am really not anxious about this. I believe that the terrorist attacks have helped Americans focus on (re-discover? remember?) what is really important. Really important. What did we hear people talking about after the attacks? Sacrifice. Heroism. The fleeting nature of life. The cell phone call: "I love you; I love you; I love you." The firefighters who said that when they finally got home, they hugged their sleeping children before dropping exhausted into bed. The people who made sandwiches for the workers at Ground Zero. The prayers. Everywhere the prayers. So many people praying. People knowing they need one another. People knowing they need God. I believe that the terrorist attacks helped us all remember what is really important. And, as it turns out, what is really important is our stock in trade at St. John’s. So if all you can give is a little money, give it joyfully. If you can give a lot of money, give it joyfully. But, whatever the amount, if you are giving it grudgingly, or to just make us go away — keep it; I don’t mean to sound harsh, but you’ve missed the point. It’s not that we don’t need your money, but what we are about is so much more than fundraising. God wants your whole life — your money, your time, your intellect, your heart, your hurt, your joy, your anger, your shame, your love — all of you. Let the promise of your money be an administrative detail in a life given to God. It’s important!
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Eagle Notes