Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Christmas Eve Eucharist!

Please join us for Holy Eucharist at 8:00 pm on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24. Father James Mulligan will be celebrating Eucharist with us. We will begin with caroling. Marilyn Thompson will play the organ and Samantha Hirt will be our soloist. This promises to be a beautiful and blessed beginning to the Christmas season.

Morning Prayer This Sunday

In addition to being Christmas Eve, this Sunday is also the Fourth Sunday of Advent. To complete the season of preparation for Christ's coming, St. John's will have Morning Prayer (Rite II) at 9:30 am Sunday morning. Please join us in this time of peaceful prayer.

Monday, November 20, 2006

St. John's Holiday Fair

Saturday, December 2 from 10 am to 5 pm downstairs at the church. Great crafters (many returning from the summer Organic Farmers' Market) and delicious food and hot soup. Then stay for the annual Sandy Hook tree lighting , which will take place across the street.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Worship Sunday Nov. 19

We will be celebrating Holy Eucharist on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 9:30 am (please ignore the mismatch of day and date in a previous post). The Rev. Robert Ross, Chaplain of Wooster School, will lead our worship.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Worship Schedule

Join us Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006 at 9:30 am for a service of Morning Prayer with the Rev. Canon Marjorie R. Roccoberton, Deacon and Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Connecticut. Canon Roccoberton will meet with the vestry after the service to discuss our parish's transition.

On Sunday, November 18, 2006 at 9:30 am we will celebrate Holy Eucharist.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Parish in Transition

As you may have gathered from the previous post, we are indeed in transition. "The report of my death was an exaggeration." Mark Twain's quote definitely applies here. The members of St. Johns will be working with the Diocese of Connecticut to determine the best way forward as a parish. We are not closing, and won't be for a while. Episcopal churches don't close or merge with one another quickly. Extreme measures such as that require consensus of all concerned, including the bishops and the diocese.

So we're open. The groups that meet in our church - AA, FAITH Food Pantry, etc. will still have a place to meet. We will still worship at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. The scheduling of Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer is unknown right now, but we will be worshiping one way or another at that time.

So come join us! This is an opportunity to join a group of committed Christians in finding a way to move forward as a community. We'd love to meet you!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Father Daniel Mattila's Last Day at St. John's

Father Daniel’s last day as Priest-in Charge of St. John’s will be Sunday, October 15. We’ve grown to love him during his 5 years plus at the parish. Father Daniel brought us a firm faith, expressed clearly and gently, grounded in Scripture and church traditions. He shared his insights on psychology and how the human mind works in order to help us live as Christians in community, in the outer world, and inside ourselves, all of which can be complex and confusing. His sermons, always well thought out, prayed out, and prepared, challenged us, educated us, and often made us smile. It is a joy to worship with and be friends with Father Daniel. We will miss him and we wish him well in whatever the future brings. God bless!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Salvation by Grace

I (Cecilia) was thinking of all the things that I learned from Father Daniel, and one of the biggies is finally getting a clue on salvation by grace, not works. This book that Father Daniel recommended in that sermon a while ago made it even more clear:

Saving Salvation: the Amazing Evolution of Grace by Stephen Smith, ISBN: 0819221384

Turns out that "works righteousness" pops up in many traditions, maybe it's the human want to Do Something that makes it turn up in so many forms.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Daily Office Available Online

Here are some sites for the Daily Office online, thanks to the Letter Of St. James, Danbury. Josh Thomas and, I presume, a team of volunteers put them together with the prayers, psalms, and readings for each day so that it's possible to choose the day and time and start praying without a lot of calculating of lectionary and season.
The Daily Office has Noonday Prayer and Compline exactly as they are in the Book of Common Prayer. http://www.dailyoffice.org/
Daily Office for LGBT People has Morning and Evening Prayer, illustrated with pictures relevant to the LGBT community and sometimes with original prayers. Of course, the site is open to and welcoming of everyone. And what a great plug for the Episcopal Church on the homepage! http://www.rainbowprayer.org/
Daily Recovery Prayers also has Morning and Evening Prayer, and a similar setup to the LGBT version, with relevance for those in recovery from addictions. http://www.recoveryprayers.org/
These are a wonderful set of resources for any of us who sit in front of a computer all day. Thank you Josh Thomas and friends!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

First Post

Our doors are open to all!