A blessed feast of Saint Laurence to you all!
I pray you are all well and those with children are getting back into the routine of school. Around the parish, we have a few more weeks before things really get going, but I am always amazed at how fast life seems to move.
This Sunday we will bid good-bye to Paul Lee. Our morning service will be ‘normal’, and then Sunday evening we will have celebrate Evensong to honor Paul’s time here and to enjoy one last service before he leaves us. The service will be nothing short of awesome, with friends of the choir coming from all over to sing with us and celebrate Paul’s leave taking. A reception will follow in the parish hall.
Last week I wrote about the shortage of pledged giving. Many of you responded, and the parish thanks you. Some of you may not be aware, or may not have thought about it- but Saint John’s exists almost entirely from her members financial giving. That is to say, the only means we have to pay bills, pay staff, keep the building up, and most importantly engage in ministry is by the pledge and plate giving of all. Saint John’s operating income is entirely made up from faithful giving. We don’t have a financial cushion or any other source of income. If people forget or do not give, we cannot operate, and we can only operate to the extent that you give. So thank you for helping us catch up, and please remember that the parish is completely and entirely dependent on the gifts and giving of all.
Be sure to sign up for the Liturgical Workshop. I am excited to announce an additional offering. Mr. Troy Scott, our interim Organist/Choirmaster will be meeting with folks who may be interested in joining the parish choir. So, if you have ever entertained thoughts of singing in the choir, sign up and come visit with Troy. The entire article is below as well as a sign-up llink.
Finally, on September 11th, Saint John’s will have our annual Back to Church Sunday. On this day, we will officially kick off the Fall programming season. We will have a full Breakfast around 8:45 to give everyone the chance to catch up and share some time together as a parish. The Sunday, as the name implies, is a day designed to invite/encourage/welcome people back to Church. It is especially appropriate on this day to invite friends and loved ones who have fallen out of the habit of church-going to come back. It is also a great Sunday to invite folks who do not go to Church to come and give Saint John’s a try. The parish office would be more than happy to send folks a personal invitation, so send us names of folks you want us to invite and be sure to bring someone back to Church on the 11th.
Don’t forget Sunday School is back up and running! See you all this Sunday.
God bless
Jeff+