St John's e-News for Sunday November 13, 2011

Thank you from Marvin and Alice Seaman – We would like to thank parishioners for the many acts of kindness shown to Marvin. Thank you all for the beautiful cards, notes, telephone calls and delicious food. For your thoughts and prayers which have helped so much in his recovery, we thank each and everyone.
Outreach Meeting – The Outreach Committee will meet this coming Wednesday, November 16th at 7:00 pm to discuss end of year plans, identify recipients of 3rd and 4th quarter funds, and help prepare a committee budget for 2012. All are invited to attend to assist in our Outreach program.

Liturgy Team Meeting – Our next Liturgy Team meeting will be held on Sunday November 13 following the service. We will plan worship for Advent and Epiphany that Sunday. All (not just the members of the team) are invited to attend.

          We will also plan the Lessons and Carols Service and discuss the celebration of Sunday services on December 25th and January 1st.
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November 13, 2011, 10:30 am Holy Eucharist Rite II
Lessons for 22 Pentecost (Proper 28)
First Lesson: Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123
Second Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
The Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Lay Participants for November 13, 2011 - 10:30 am service

Chalicist:  Mary-Margaret
Lector:  Ben
Prayers:  Jim
Ushers:  Anne and Bert
Nursery Attendant:  Stephanie
Nursery Assistant:  Lynn

Refreshments:  Leone

Sermon for November 6:  http://chirb.it/DfhmPc

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Our Mission and Vision – At St. John’s we will work together; as members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in Suffolk, Virginia; by capitalizing on our spiritual and community heritage; to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
          Vision As we attempt to achieve our mission we will:
Maintain a presence in our community sharing our gifts with all members of our Parish, village, town, region, and state.

This Sunday’s Psalm – We will sing the portion of the Psalter in unison. We will use a metrical version of the Psalter from A New Metrical Psalter by Christopher Webber. The Psalm will be set to Hymn 297 Descend, O Spirit (Erhalt uns, Herr) from the Hymnal 1982. The words and music will be found in a bulletin insert.

Christmas Eve Service – What is your preference for our Christmas Eve Service time? Would you like the service to begin at a more “traditional” Christmas Eve Service time of 10:30 or 11:00 pm? Or would you like to have the service earlier as it has been in past years? Please let members of the liturgy team or the Rector know of your preference.

Budget Year 2012 $$ Pledge Drive $$ – We will be conducting our pledge drive in the coming weeks. Please be aware that (1) your pledge, while it should be firm, is not cut in stone – you can modify your pledge based on family and financial situations; (2) the pledge includes time, talent, and treasure to help the church achieve its mission and vision; (3) every little bit helps and helps us plan for the coming program year; (4) is something that you should determine based on your prayerful consideration of the thankfulness you have for God’s gracious bounty in your life – not simply in the past year but over the span of your lifetime.

          I believe Stewardship is something we do every day because we are Christians. Once a year the Parish needs to determine the amount of income pledged for the coming year. The 2012 Pledge Drive is scheduled to begin in November with the Vestry proposing a 2012 budget following the November 14 meeting. Sunday November 20 will be the day we begin distributing pledge cards.

Winter Quiet Day – The clergy from Convocation IV will be holding their Clericus in December at St. John’s. During this meeting the clergy will participate in a Quiet Day led by the Rev. Canon Michael Spear-Jones. The quiet day will be held Tuesday December 6 from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.

“Women’s” Book Study - The “Women’s” Book study will be studying The Grand Weaver by Dr. Ravi Zacharias this year. The study is not limited to women alone; the Rector does participate most weeks. The next meeting will be Wednesday November 9th from 10:00-11:30 am in the Parish Hall. We will discuss “Your Spirituality Matters; Questions 13, 14, 15, and 16.”

Formation Classes – This week’s class will discuss our Old Testament reading: Judges 4:1-7, Deborah and Barak. All are invited to join us in the Parish Hall from 9:15-10:15. Next week we will cover Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, God the true Shepherd.

Community Thanksgiving Day Service – This service will be held at St. John’s Tuesday, November 22 at 7:00 pm. The guest preacher will be Rev. Mark Burns and nearly all greater-Chuckatuck churches have pledged participation. We need two Lay Participants from St. John’s to serve as acolyte and usher. Ministers and parishioners from the other churches will participate in the other duties.

Coffee Hour – There is a sign-up sheet for Coffee Hour in the Narthex. Please sign-up for an upcoming Sunday. The goodies can be as extravagant or simple as you would like – you need not be a gourmet chef to volunteer, simply desire to assist the fellowship efforts at the church.

Thought for the week – Choice: How we choose to live our lives is no happenstance thing. It’s not about the ways the planets line up, or about the hand we’re dealt, or the luck of the draw. How we choose to live our life is rooted in the good treasure that has been entrusted to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us and how we know that treasure to be true.

-Br. Mark Brown, SSJE
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Upcoming Events:
Wed. Nov. 9th        Garden Club meeting (Parish House)
Fri. Nov. 11th         Veterans’ Day
Sat. Nov. 12th        Rug Hookers – 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (Parish Hall)
Sun. Nov. 13th       Liturgy Team meeting – following service (Parish Hall)
Mon. Nov. 14th      Vestry Meeting – 7:00 pm (Parish Hall)
Tue. Nov. 15th       Fall Clergy Conference – Camp Chanco (through Wed. Nov. 16th)
Wed. Nov. 16th      Outreach Committee Meeting – 7:00 pm (Parish Hall)
Mon. Nov. 21st       Junto Women’s Group – 11:00 am -2:00 pm (Parish House)
Tue. Nov. 22nd    Greater Oakland/Chuckatuck Community Thanksgiving Service – St. John’s
Thu. Dec. 1st          "New Chapter: Your Church in God's Unfolding Story" conference –
                                Williamsburg VA (through Sat. Dec. 3rd)
Sun. Dec. 4th          Parish Advent Potluck – following the service (Parish Hall)
Tue. Dec. 6th          Convocation IV Clericus Quiet Day – 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (Church and Parish
                                House)
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PASTORAL CARE
Pray for Katherine, our presiding bishop; Holly, our bishop; and Les our priest.

St. John’s shut-ins, Marianne, Meriwether, Allen, David, Shirley, Suzanne, Janis, Dominique, Virginia, Lon, Luann, David, Evan, Kevin, Peg, Faye and family, Carter and family, Foster family, Jim, Lisa, Terri and Family, Marvin, Millard, Bev, and Denise.

Serving in the Armed Forces and Overseas: Bryan and Susan; Jonathon, David, and Patrick

Parish Cycle of Prayer: Fred & Marlene
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: Happening #57; Nov. 15 - Clergy Conference; St. Luke's, Courtland; St. Michael's, Colonial Heights.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama of Uyo, Niger Delta, Nigeria.

Altar Flowers: To the glory of God and in memory of Heather D. Jones (November 16, 1969 - January 18, 1982) and Renate H. Brady (November 19, 1926 - April 29, 2011) by Kevin and Terry.

Birthdays in November

Bev 03                 Dianne 04
Doug 11               Eddie 13
Steven 16            Kathy 28
Laura 28              Dotty 29

If you are in need of Pastoral Care,

Please call Father Ferguson.
Home:  757-484-8409

Contact Music Minister Roger Peyton

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