FOOD COLLECTION FOR A LOCAL FOOD PANTRY
We will be accepting weekly food donations, in the baskets provided in the rear of church, to support a local food pantry Helping Hands Rescue Mission located in Huntington Station. Donations needed are unexpired, non-perishable products such as: Peanut butter & Jelly, Rice & Pasta Sides, Canned Vegetables, Canned Corn, Cereal, Instant Potatoes, Pancake Mixes & Syrup, Canned Soups, Canned Fruit & Juice. Fred Hansen will be delivering these collected items to their food pantry weekly. Please bring them to church with you. Please do not drop off in the church lobby. Thank you for your generosity.
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ALTAR GUILD- WEEKLY FLOWERS & SANCTAUARY LIGHT
Remember your Loved Ones and Special Thanksgivings by making a donation for the weekly Altar Flowers and/or Sanctuary Light. The forms can be found in the back of the church for memorials -birthdays - thanksgivings -etc. They may be placed in either in the offering plate or handed into the office. Thank you for your support - Nancy Feustel & Barbara Hinton
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PRAYER CONCERNS FOR ST. JOHN’S
For the sick: Roger Giacomini, Teresa Santiago, Bill Hinton, Irena, Philip Wulfken, Christine Bushnell, Jean Giacomini, Cheryl Hairr, Anna Felter, Martha Kee, Marta Dovi, Mark Bellissimo, Brain A., Frank Elliot, Kathy, Tom,Karin, Bill Wesp,Milton Dove, Josephine Anne Ferreri, Barbara Aasheim, William Mulligan, RJ Sumner, Rev. Robert Johansson, Robert Earley, Sharon Hinnant, Karen Moran, Bill Standley, Michael Busterna, Diane, Tom, Ashley Webster, Debbie Peltz, Bill Cahoy,
William Greaser, Steve Lazaar, Kathleen McCartney, Patrick Burns, William Greaser, Steve Lazaar, William Murphy
We pray for all our men and women serving in the armed services. May they return safely home.
For the recently departed: Arline Settle, Paul R. Jennings, and Dorothy Nicholson
For the safe travels and successful mission of those going on the NavajoLand Mission Trip from July 10- 18.
To have someone entered onto our Prayer List for 4 weeks, please e-mail the church office with the person’s name as well as the requester’s name. The e-mail address is: .
Last Sunday attendance:113
THE CHALICE
The weekly Sunday Bulletin of St. John’s Episcopal Church
July 5, 2015
At the 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City this past week, we elected The Right Rev. Michael Curry as our next Presiding Bishop. When asked by the budget committee where he will lead the church, Bishop Curry said, “Put Jesus up front. Put sharing that good news in front. Put forming our people as followers of Jesus – as disciples for real – at the front of it,” he suggested. “And then put inspiring and enabling them to serve in their personal lives, and for us to witness in the public square in the front. That’s the church; that’s the movement. I know full well that movements can float off into the air if they are not incarnated in reality.” Bishop Curry is the first person of color to serve as our Presiding Bishop. The Episcopal Church also proposed a new $2 million initiative on racial justice and reconciliation. Curry is a gifted preacher and I believe he will be a strong leader in the Episcopal Church.
In the wake of the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage for all Americans, General Convention followed suit on July 1 with canonical and liturgical changes to provide marriage equality for Episcopalians. The House of Deputies concurred with the House of Bishops’ approval the day before of a canonical change eliminating language defining marriage as between a man and a woman (Resolution A036) and authorizing two new marriage rites with language allowing them to be used by same-sex or opposite-sex couples (Resolution A054). The resolutions marked the culmination of a conversation launched when the 1976 General Convention said that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance and pastoral concern and care of the church,” said the Very Rev. Brian Baker, deputy chair of the Special Legislative Committee on Marriage. “That resolution began a 39-year conversation about what that full and equal claim would look like. The conversation has been difficult for many and painful for many.” Resolutions A054 and A036 represented compromises reached after prayerful consideration and conversation within the legislative committee, and then the House of Bishops to make room for everyone, Baker said. “I know that most of you will find something … to dislike and to disagree with” in the resolutions, he said, asking deputies to “look through the lens of how this compromise makes room for other people.” (Episcopal News Service, Salt Lake City)
The General Convention covered many other topics. Here is a summary of some of them. The church voted to begin the process of revising the Book of Common Prayer 1979. This will take over a decade to accomplish. We voted not to consider open communion. This means that only baptized adults are canonically allowed to receive communion, but leaves pastoral considerations open to the priest’s discretion. We are also in the process of changing the structure of the Episcopal Church. The church voted to reduce the number of standing committees to two. We voted to consider carefully the effects of alcohol and drugs in our society and church. The council also discussed the “Five Marks of Mission.”
Developed by the Anglican Consultative Council between 1984 and 1990, the Five Marks “are summed up in the image of pursuing God’s kingdom here on Earth as it is in heaven,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in her opening remarks.
The Five Marks of Mission are:
To proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God.
To teach, baptize and nurture new believers.
To respond to human need by loving service.
To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind, and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the Earth.
You may agree or disagree about any of the resolutions voted at General Convention and I am happy to discuss them with anyone. The church, like us, is a work in progress. Please join me in supporting Bishop Curry’s request to put “Jesus up front.” I also pray that we can stay focused on the “Five Marks of Mission” despite all the political upheaval in the world. I will do my best to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and stay out of the politics that can divide our nation and the church. I think that we can all agree that these are challenging times in the church, but that God is doing something special at St. John’s. Please keep Jesus up front by attending service at St. John’s and look at how God’s love will transform the world through these five marks of mission in our ministry at St. John’s.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Duncan
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VISITORS AND NEWCOMERS WELCOME!
We welcome you to St. John’s Episcopal Church. Established in 1745, this historic church opens its doors to all who seek to deepen their faith and provides warm hospitality to all. We are blessed by your presence and invite you to fill out a Visitor’s Card on the back table of church. Visit the Greeters’ Kiosk in the rear of church, where Greeters are available to answer questions and provide you with a packet of additional information about church services and activities.
WELCOME WALLY
Today we welcome back Walter McCarthy as our substitute organist at the 10am service. Thank you Wally for sharing your musical gifts with us.
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GARDEN CLEAN-UP
Come one, come all…and bring all your gardening tools! Calling for volunteers to help clean the church’s garden on Saturday, July 18 at 11:00 am.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HOST GERMAN YOUTH CHOIR
Our old friends from Germany are coming back to New York in August and hope to spend the last few days of their trip in Huntington. Following their musical tour at Concordia College in the Bronx, Pastor Johannes Hulser's Youth Choir will be with us from Thursday, August 13 (or possibly Wednesday, August 12) through Friday, August 14, returning home on Friday evening. They are a group of 23, 18 girls and 5 boys, from age 14 to 21 and 2 adult chaperones. So we are looking for several volunteers to host members of the group in your home. With both Fr. Duncan and Ford Spilsbury out of town that week, we really need your help. For more information, or to offer your hospitality, please call Heather Kress at 631-549-5186 (or email her at ) as soon as possible. We thank you in advance for your help!
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BASEMENT CLEAN-UP
We will be cleaning out the basement during the month of July. Any committees that have any materials stored in the basement that they want saved – please tag items you do NOT want thrown out, otherwise garbage and anything moldy or mildewy will be discarded.
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HEALING
On the first Sundays of the month, Deacon Jones will be at the side Altar during Communion for healing. Today healing is available for any who wish to receive.
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CANTERBURY SHOP
Summer is here! The lovely sound of chimes are in the air. Why not select from one of the beautiful new Woodstock Chimes we have in the shop? Treat yourself!! Also, don't miss the variety of SELECT items that are now 30% off!!!If anyone is interested in working in The Canterbury Shop, please call Patti at 631-385-1410.
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NAVAJO LAND MISSION TRIP
There will a meeting today at 11:30 am in the Guild Room for all those going on the Navajo Land Mission Trip. If you would like to give to the Navajo children, we are currently accepting donations that will be used for a gift to the mission from St. John’s and giveaways for the children at the community dinners. Please make your check out to St. John’s with “Navajo” in the memo line.
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SECOND QUARTER STATEMENTS
Please be sure to pick up your second quarter statements from the table in the back of church. Help us keep postage costs down. Thank you!
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