Author: admin

March 14, 2020

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

            I am writing to tell you that, at the recommendation of our bishops in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are suspending public worship services at St. John’s for at least the next two Sundays.

            Bishop Ian and Bishop Laura have been in touch with the clergy in the diocese several times this week concerning the growing crisis.  The last communication was a pastoral letter, yesterday afternoon, to everyone in the ECCT.  To quote from that letter:        

“Our primary advice and counsel are that we should do all in our power to mitigate the speed of COVID-19….Medical and health=professionals, epidemiologists, and government officials all agreethat the best way to [do that] is to reduce human contact and practice “social distancing”.  To that end we strongly encourage the clergy and lay leadership of ECCT parishes to decide against holding public worship for at least the next two weeks….”

I firmly agree with this recommendation; and we have to be prepared for the possibility that it’s going to be a good bit more than two weeks. The coronavirus is spreading across the whole country, and though we don’t know how many it will infect (that’s part of the problem), we do know that it can be lethal and that it is ten times as lethal as standard influenza.  We need to do everything we can – all of us – to slow its spread.  This is truly a matter of loving our neighbor as ourselves.

            Churches throughout the ECCT will, electronically, be providing liturgical worship experiences of various kinds during this period.  We at St. John’s will begin tomorrow with a video recording of the service of Morning Prayer, which you can access through the church website (stjohnsepiscopal-newmilford.org).  

I encourage you to do so, not only for the service itself, but some wonderful excerpts from the Bishops’ pastoral letter which I include.  You are also invited to join our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, in celebrating the Eucharist at the National Cathedral (which has suspended worship as well.)  Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUGZLwnLhUU

             We will get through this.  Our neighbors, our community, our country, and our world need us to act in this difficult time as the Body of Christ, witnessing to the power of God’s love.  Keep in prayer; and remember that God is always with us, and God will strengthen us. May God bless us all.

Faithfully,

Jack

To see our latest edition of St. John’s Connects please click here. https://conta.cc/38FgKUr

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut announced Thursday that “all major upcoming diocesan events” have been canceled in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

To see the status of specific events, click here and then scroll down the page just a bit.

We are sad to announce that we have canceled the St Patrick’s Day Dinner that was scheduled for this Saturday, March 14th at 6.00pm. 

Acting out of an abundance of caution, we want to do all we can do to try to keep everyone safe. 

,If you have confirmed your attendance via sign up sheet or through the church office, please email Kim Polhemus at polhemus.kim@gmail.com (if you haven’t already done so) so she knows that you are aware of the cancelation.

Join us Saturday, April 25 when St. John’s hosts the Loaves and Fishes Empty Bowl Dinner.

The dinner is sponsored by the Loaves and Fishes Hospitality House here in New Milford and will take place in St. John’s Hall from 4 p.m to 7:00 p.m.

For $20 you will receive an all-you-can-eat dinner as well as a handcrafted bowl for you to take home. Or, for $15 you can enjoy the meal only.

Tickets are available at Nutmeg Olive Oil Co. in town or you can contact Loaves & Fishes Hospitality House at 203-417-1333 or loavesfishes@charter.net. 

Proceeds will go to the hospitality house, which provides two meals a day to low-and-no-income community members as well as literacy training, counseling and other services.

Mark April 18 on your calendar.

St. John’s will host a Tag Sale and Bake Sale to help support Emily Lee as she confronts her medical diagnosis. The event will take place at St. John’s from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Emily is the mother of three young children and a teacher at our Sunday School.

Please reserve a table to sell your items. The cost is $20. Please contact Jen Kamp at Hpkspaz@yahoo.com to reserve a table or if you have any questions.

Sellers can keep their earnings, donate that money to the fundraiser or make a separate donation.

Whether buyer or seller, we hope to see you there. Thanks!!

Here’s the latest from our monthly newsletter, St. John’s Connects:

The Spirit of the Place! – The 2020 Annual Meeting

Quite often at our annual meeting, Pastor Jack and other speakers mentioned that building users, visitors, those who work with and for us and fellow parishioners have mentioned how much they like “the feel of the place” – the vibe given off at St. John’s.

A theme of the meeting was our right to celebrate where we are now and how far we’ve come, while realizing there’s more to be done and we have a plan to get there.

Pastor Jack opened the meeting with a rundown of St. John’s many projects, programs, events and causes that thrived in 2019 and continue to do so in 2020, saying they show a “consistently increasing sense of cohesion and purpose” in the parish.

2020 Vestry and Officers

• Kim Polhemus and Herb St. Jean were re-elected as Senior and Junior Wardens respectively.
• Emily Lee, Jim Altemus and Jim Polito were elected to three-year terms on the Vestry.
• Jim Rains and Sharlene Zagozewski will return as Vestry Clerk and Treasurer respectively.
• Herb St. Jean and Paul Manfredi will act as our convention delegates, with Flora Quammie and Carolyn King acting as alternates.

Thank You For Your Service!
Jiri Krten, Leigh Alhage and Judy Coster came off of Vestry. We thank you for your faithful service on Vestry and for all you do at St. John’s.

Social Justice Lenten Project
The St. John’s Social Justice Ministry will host a four-week Lenten program to focus our attention on those our community struggling with limited financial resources.

March 1 – Presentation Day, at the 10 a.m service 

• Pastor Jack will preach on the Social Justice of income inequality and oppression, and related topics.

March 8 – Message Day, at coffee hour after the 10 a.m. service.

• Join us as we address the economic gap faced by, and the few options available for those with limited resources. What can social service groups and churches do?

March 15 – Speaker Day, at coffee hour after the 10 a.m. service

• Please join us for a talk given by parishioner Ivana Butera, director of the New Milford Department of Social Services. 

March 22 – Advocating Day, at coffee hour after the 10 a.m. service

• Time to decide what advocacy looks like at St. John’s. We’ll present some action items as well as seek ideas on steps forward from parishioners.

Also Coming Up At St. John’s…..

Racial Justice Ministry
The next meeting of the Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation Ministry is Sunday, March 1, after the 10 a.m. service and we’re hoping you will join us to learn more about what we do.

St. John’s Concert Series

Our series will continue with two concerts in the Spring.

On April 5 we will feature music for soprano, viola and piano. And on May 31 we hope you’ll join us for a Larsen Family Recital, featuring our very own Laurel Larsen on piano and Jens, Gabe and Margo Larsen Larsen on trumpet.

All donations received at the concerts this season will benefit the New Milford Refugee Resettlement group. Our Feb. 2 concert raised $815.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

Come enjoy a delicious traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner with all the trimmings. Bring Your Own Beverage. 

The dinner is $10, which will be collected at the door. Children under 12 are $5. Bring your friends.

It is important you sign up in the back of the Church for our headcount.

Palm Sunday Brunch
We will gather as a parish community for brunch on Sunday, April 5 – Palm Sunday. The brunch will be served right after the 9 a.m service. Please be advised the 9 o’clock service will be the only service on Palm Sunday.

Out on the Town
Come join us for our next Men’s and Women’s Nights Out. Each month we gather at a local restaurant for casual conversation and a good meal.

The guys will next meet at Greca, the new Greek restaurant next to Big Y, on Tuesday Feb. 25 at 6:00 p.m. The ladies will gather again at 6:00 p.m. on March 2 at Tuscany, the new restaurant in the old Tivoli space. If you’d like to go, please email Bill Kamp (Men’s Night) and Lise Smith. (Women’s Night)

Please visit this page often for timely updates.

We are in the final stages of development for our new newsletter, St. John’s Connects.

It will debut on Friday Feb. 14 and you will be able to see its content right here!

Find out about upcoming events, meetings, services, service opportunities and other parish goings-on by checking this page on or after the 14th.

It’s the best way to check on the day-to-day at St. John’s. We hope you’ll make checking it a habit.