Dear St. John’s,
Earlier this week, I got a flat tire while driving home from Trenton. I could have ranted at the inconvenience and unfairness and expense of it all. Instead, I find myself feeling gratitude. I’m thankful that it didn’t happen while I was driving at high speed on a highway. That I didn’t get into an accident. That I got out of work early, so I wasn’t late for the Got Faith meeting St. John’s was hosting. That a kind stranger advised me on putting air into the tire, tried to fix the malfunctioning tire stem and then changed the tire for me when it became clear the stem was broken and the tire thus couldn’t hold air. In short, I felt as though God had been watching out for me. God does watch out for us and eases many a sticky situation. If we pay attention, we can notice and give thanks. Where have you noticed God’s providence in your life lately? Rev. Sharon
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Dear St. John’s,
On this Sunday, and the first Sunday of each month, we collect special offerings for the clergy discretionary fund. These are funds that I may use at my discretion to address needs among congregation and community members – to apply them to “pious and charitable uses,” as the official church canons describe it. This doesn’t mean I can use them for anything I choose. I can’t use the funds to make payments to benefit myself, for example, nor are the funds supposed to be applied to meeting operating expenses of St. John’s. What I can do is help people in need. Perhaps someone has lost their job or dealing with a sudden medical crisis. The discretionary fund allows me to assist them during a difficult time. The amount of money in the discretionary fund helps determine how many people I can help and how much I can assist them. Last year, our Afghan Refugee Resettlement Fund benefited from charitable donations from other clergy’s discretionary funds. I encourage you to contribute to the fund, as you are able. This is one way we can help our neighbors in need. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
Did you know that the tradition of praying the “Prayers of the People” in our Communion service dates back to the year 150? While the prayers for much of our service are set, our prayer book allows for great flexibility in the prayers of the people. We must include prayers for the Universal Church, its members and its mission; the nations and all in authority; the welfare of the world; the concerns of the local community; those who suffer or are in any trouble; and those who have died. But we are free to use or adapt one of the forms in the prayer book or to create our own prayers. The beauty of this is that it allows us to tailor the prayers to the concerns of “the people” – in our case, to the congregation of St. John’s. We can pray for individuals we care about who are sick or who have died; give thanks for the birth of a baby or successful surgery or a new job; and raise up current events, from a local house fire to national elections to a war overseas. I’ve discovered that working with church school classes to write their own prayers of the people is a joy because they enthusiastically add items for every prayer category. They pray for everyone from sick grandparents to ailing goldfish. They remember close relatives and folks like George Washington among the dead. And they give thanks for everything from families and church to dance class to individual pets and stuffed animals by name to Shore homes undamaged by Hurricane Sandy. Adults generally are much shyer about adding their prayers aloud. But the prayers of the people invite us to do just that – to lift up our prayer concerns, so we all may pray about them together. I encourage you to give it a try! Everyone also is welcome to give prayer concerns or thanksgivings ahead of time for inclusion in the prayers to me or Deacon John. And if anyone would like to assist in writing prayers of the people for our worship service, please let me know. Looking forward to praying with you all on Sunday. Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
As I take time to reflect on our busy last few weeks – the iftar dinner, the Black Poster Project and Stations of the Cross, Holy Week and Easter – I’m grateful and amazed at how many people pitched in to help. A large percentage of our members volunteered their time cooking, cleaning, serving at the altar, welcoming visitors, preparing and printing bulletins, creating art, arranging for flowers and palms, setting up displays, filling candles, publicizing events, rehearsing and singing, making signs, preparing the altar for worship, serving as lectors, adjusting the sound system ... and the list goes on. It’s a great demonstration of how we all are part of the body of Christ – many individual members, all working together to do God’s work in the world. Just as we work together within St. John’s, we also work together with other churches in our region to do ministries that are more than one congregation can tackle alone. The SLS and the Afghan Refugee Resettlement program are two prime examples. On Monday at 7 p.m., members of churches throughout our Constance and Companions region will meet on Zoom for no more than an hour to talk about ways we can work collaboratively as a region to better serve our parishes. Everyone is invited – not just clergy, and not just those in leadership positions. I hope many of you can make it. The Zoom information is below. Rev. Sharon Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84158770376... Meeting ID: 841 5877 0376 Passcode: 575819 One tap mobile +16465588656,,84158770376#,,,,*575819# US (New York) +16469313860,,84158770376#,,,,*575819# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdxy4iF1bh Dear St. John’s,
One of the delights of spring is seeing green shoots poke up from the soil, the first crocuses open their flowers and buds swell on leafless branches with the promise of new blossoms and growth. The earth’s yearly awakening after the dormancy of winter is a visual reminder of the spiritual path we trace through the quiet days of Lent and the somber days of Holy Week to the joyful celebration of Resurrection on Easter. Outdoors, the signs of spring seem to accelerate as the days grow warmer. Here at St. John’s, things seem to be speeding up, too, as we prepare for our April 1 Black Poster Project event, the Stations of the Cross exhibit and six worship services from Palm Sunday through Easter. I’d like to highlight two upcoming volunteer needs: 1. St. John’s is hosting the Saturday Luncheon Social next week, on April 1. We anticipate we may have more guests than typical because of the Black Poster Project program that afternoon. Please let Sharon Liparini know if you can help. 2. Volunteers are needed to open the parish hall and greet visitors to the Stations of the Cross. Multiple people are welcome to volunteer at each time, but we need at least one greeter per time slot. You can sign up online here: https://tinyurl.com/thestationsarttinyurl.com/thestationsart Also, don’t forget to RSVP to me or the parish office if you are interested in participating in the painting workshop at 2:30 on April 1. Debra Cook, a talented artist from Grace Church in Nutley, will provide all supplies and instruction. Cost is $40. (All other activities on that day are free of charge.) Dear St. John’s,
Being of Irish heritage, I made sure to wear a bit of green on Friday. I’ve also been celebrating a different sort of green: The COVID tracker for New Jersey shows Morris County, and indeed all of North Jersey, consistently and solidly in the green. This means that the infection rate and COVID hospitalization rate both have dropped and are remaining low. At church, this means that mask wearing now is completely optional. For now, I will continue to wear a mask while presiding at the altar and distributing Communion as an extra precaution. Let us give thanks that this public health crisis has finally subsided, and let us pray that New Jersey’s COVID map keeps wearing the green. A few notes for Sunday:
Rev. Sharon Good day, all!
It's hard to believe we're only a couple of weeks away from Holy Week! Where does the time go? Tomorrow, Saturday March 18th, I'm trying to get a clean-up crew together to dust and clean our church sanctuary in advance of Holy Week, and the Black Poster Project. We'll be cleaning the pews and floors and dusting away the cobwebs! We'll begin at 10:00 A.M. and wrap up by 1:00 P.M. You don't need to stay for three hours if you only have one to spare. Many hands make light work, so if you have a little time, please come by and lend a hand. Many thanks to all for all you do for our little church! XOXO Sharon Liparini Dear St. John’s, If you look at the service music on the first page of your bulletin on Sunday and think, “It’s Greek to me!” – you’ll be exactly right. During Lent, many churches switch from singing the celebratory Gloria to the petitionary Kyrie. This is an ancient prayer of the church that translates to: “Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.” The editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica tell us, “The word Kyrie is used in the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament, to translate the Hebrew word Yahweh. In the New Testament, Kyrie is the title given to Christ, as in Philippians 2:11.” So when we sing this prayer, we will be joining our voices with Christians who have prayed using these same words for centuries. A few other important notes for Sunday:
Rev. Sharon Dear St. John’s,
When I started seminary, one of the professors spoke at orientation about diversity and the value in getting to know people different from us. She encouraged us, for example, to sit at meals with people of other races or cultures. Following that advice turned out to be fun and the foundation of new friendships, as well as an educational experience. On Saturday, March 25, we will host a group of Turkish-American Muslims from the Peace Islands Institute. This non-profit group promotes peace and understanding through interfaith dialogue and friendship. Perhaps you met two of their members who recently attended one of our Sunday services. Institute members will provide us with a delicious Ramadan iftar feast and an informative program at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall. We are hoping the two Afghan refugee families will participate as well. And we are inviting members of some of our other regional churches to join us. This evening will allow us to eat and talk together and learn about each other. I encourage you all to come. Please let me or the office know if you can attend, so we can let the institute members know how many people they are cooking for. Rev. Sharon It’s safe to say, most folks don’t greet the season of Lent with the same enthusiasm as Christmas or Easter or even Advent. But Lent needn’t be all gloom and doom. We can embrace it as a quiet time to reflect on our lives and our values and what God is calling us to do. It can be a time of discovery and learning. It even can be fun.
Fun? Really! Just check out lentmadness.org A colleague of mine created Lent Madness about a decade ago as a fun way to teach people about the individuals on the Episcopal saints calendar, from the well-known to the obscure. He arranged them in competitive brackets – like the college basketball March Madness brackets. Each day of the tournament, participants vote for their favorite saint based on biographies and other information about them posted on the website. Over the course of Lent, the competition heats up, saints advance, and the ultimate winner receives the coveted Golden Halo. Anyone can participate. You can sign up on the website for e-mail reminders about when to vote, or just visit the website each day. If you forget to vote, there’s no penalty. The only sin is attempting to vote twice! Special project On a more serious note, St. John’s will be raising awareness, providing education and exploring the spiritual dimensions of the addiction crisis in this country. Please read the attachment to this email to learn more, and let me know if you would like to participate. Save the dates!
Rev. Sharon |
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