St. John's Episcopal Church

Sunday, January 17th at St. John's: 9 am Holy Eucharist in person/online 10:15 Drive By Communion 12 noon to 1 pm NOAH meal 3:30 pm Alyssa Rizzo pre-service music... 4 pm Holy Eucharist in person/online 6 pm Teen Bible in the Zoom Room See more

Another bible space--and this mom has three very active boys to keep up with, so I am very impressed she manages to find both time and space! You go, girl!

Blog for Day 9--put your hand under my THIGH?? What the...?? (slightly late--sorry!!) https://www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/day_9living_in_god_genesis

Blog for Day 17--Edging God Out https://www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/day_17egoedging_god_outa_r

Someone else's 'bible space', including a journal she is using with a picture of the Tree of Life (or at least that's what it looks like to me!!)

On Monday, January 17th, area clergy and lay people (look for our own Pam Miller and Alyssa Rizzo!!) will celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr with a virtual service online at 1 pm. All proceeds raised from the event will be donated to the new Code Blue Shelter in Gloversville. For full details about donating and for Zoom invite, please visit our website at www.stjohnsjohnstown.org

The new Bibles are in! The new Bibles are in! Message me to reserve your copy.

Blog for Day 16--Moooosssseeeessssss!!! https://www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/day_1mooooossssseeeesssssw

And one more...

This hero is one of our hometown 'boys'--Trooper Connor Wager, grandson of Arlene Sitterly. Connor, your St. John's family is so grateful for you, and so proud of you! Be blessed and stay safe!! https://www.facebook.com/montanahighwaypatrol/posts/3566936930063786

What does your RAMP (Read And Meditate + Pray) Bible study space look like? One person noticed that her nail polish matched the cover of her bible as she was about to read. Message me pics of your bible study space!!

Day 8 blog for our daily bible reading--RAMP it up!!! (Read [And] Meditate, Pray) https://www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/day_8the_god_story_genesis

Good morning! Today marks the beginning of a daily blog as we read through the bible together in 2021. I'll post the link to the daily blog here once I record it. Some may be very short, some may be longer, some will challenge you even as I am challenged by what I read. But let's commit to doing this together. I may even ask for some guest posts from time to time, so be prepared! The link I am posting now is just the intro--I will post my reflections or thoughts for the day a...fter this post. Be blessed on 2021, and I hope you can take this journey with us. If not, feel free to read these entries to get a flavor of the journey to Jerusalem, God's meeting place with his people : "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" Revelation 21: 1-2 https://www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/in_the_beginning See more

And so God, as morning breaks, and the sunrise tints the sky with pastel colors, we thank you that the violence in our Capitol building has been stopped. We pray for those families who lost loved ones, knowing that yesterday ended very differently than they expected, and that now there is grief for some. Be with them and comfort them. We thank you that there has been a completion of the Electoral process, as our Constitution has outlined. And now we pray for the hard work ahe...ad of finding ways to work together, to speak with respect and to do the work You have given us to do together--to care for widows and orphans, to bless the least, the lost and the marginalized in our society. May yesterday remind us that no matter who we voted for, the only way to effectively live into our Christian mission is to make a conscious decision to see others as brothers and sisters in Christ. You did not promise us that this would be easy, Lord Christ, but you did promise to be with us always, even until the end of time. "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" God asked Sarah in our daily bible reading (Gen 18:14), and we know that in his extraordinary love for his people that NOTHING is too difficult for God. So we pray hard that we can all navigate these days being the peace that we so desperately wish to see in our world. And we ask all this in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Amen (I'm in!!) See more

Genesis Chaps 1-14

Despite the frightening things happening in our country right now, we must continue to study together and to pray together. In fact these are the best things we can do right now! somehow it feels more comforting to stay home so all programs tonight will be broadcast from the rectory. Speedy Bible study will be at 6:30 on Facebook live. Compline will be at 7:30 on FB live--send your prayers!!! We will use readings from epiphany. Isaiah 60:1-6... Psalm 72:1-7 Deus, judicium 1 Give the King your justice, O God, * and your righteousness to the King's Son; 2 That he may rule your people righteously * and the poor with justice; 3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, * and the little hills bring righteousness. 4 He shall defend the needy among the people; * he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor. 5 He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, * from one generation to another. 6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, * like showers that water the earth. 7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; * there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

Prayer for Our Nation--and a gentle reminder that we are praying for the safety of ALL people regardless of political affiliation... Heavenly Father, blessed Son and Holy Spirit--we pray for peace and blessing in Washington DC and in other places where protesters may be putting themselves and others in danger. We pray that they are able to decide to protest safely, which our government guarantees, and that there are no injuries, no deaths, no resulting outcomes that will leave families without those they love, that will cause heartbreak. God, bring your peace, your reconciliation, your help, your compassion, your wisdom to this unprecedented situation at our nation's Capitol. We ask all this in your Holy Name, knowing that you are the Prince of Peace and the God of Love. Amen.

Genesis chaps 1 - 14

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the 'aha!' moment when the Wise Men arrive at the home of Jesus and his family, the moment they see him and know he is the True King, the moment God's kingdom cracks open to invite ALL people, Jew and Gentile alike, to know, to love and to worship Jesus. Keep following His star...

We are reading through the Bible in a year and our study begins TOMORROW with Genesis chapters 1 - 14. You can do this! Join us for Comedy Hour Bible Study from 10 am to 11:30 am OR Speedy Bible Study from 6:30 to 7 pm. It's not too late to start--if you need a bible let me know or order it online: NRSV Daily Study Bible. Who's psyched to start?? ME!!

You did this...thank you! Please share this good news!!

Loving our community back--we brought Shawn some of our gorgeous poinsettias today at Second Wind Coffee to add beauty to his space.

January 3rd 2020 pre-service music with Alyssa Rizzo and 4:00 p.m. worship service

Again we are blessed by so much good news today. Today some of our online friends from Ballston Lake drove all the way to Johnstown to bring food to our pantry. Thanks to Heather and Chrissy and John!

Helping us 'undecorate' the church this a.m. by taking poinsettias home. We will have our usual 3:45 pre-service music with Alyssa (maybe I can convince her to do the amazing version of "We Three Kings" that she did this morning!) We will also broadcast our 4 pm service, but note that it will NOT be the beautiful fancy service--just using my phone !!

One Wise Guy to another: "Do you think we brought enough hand sanitizer for the trip?" Come see them complete their journey tomorrow during the 9 am service, online or in person as we celebrate the Epiphany.

Good News of the day--shout out with gratitude to Ruby and Quiri! Do you SEE all the food they collected for our pantry? Equal shout out to Main Motor for 'motoring' over with a van, packing up, and unloading at One Church Street. Gosh, we our community!!! Thank you for helping us help others.

Another Bible Project video--the first of two videos that will cover the main themes in the book. In six minutes you get a great overview. Today's readings--Genesis 4 and 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOUV7mWDI34

Two things--one is that we are now officially at $19,000 after our fundraising challenge yesterday. Only $1000 away from $20k...just saying. Two is the attached video that will walk you through Genesis chapter 1. This is useful if you are reading the Bible in a Year with us. We are in this together. https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/genesis-1

Our team for Friday's Table tonight. Thanks to Karl and Carolyn for serving with me and Alistair on New Year's Day! People left with a great meal and we all enjoyed ourselves too.

First day of our romping read though the Bible! Today's reading is Genesis chaps 1 to 3. I'll post a great intro video later today to go along with your reading. Ready, Set---->READ!

FIRST--if you are in this project to see it through, post in the comments: "I'm in!" Next, read this whole post to see what you did...yesterday our Donor Friend was in the car, driving at 6:30 a.m. and saying morning prayers, unprepared for God's answer: "Call St. John's. Set up a challenge. Help them help others." Donor Friend (DF) trusted and listened. And called. And I answered. But then YOU...you crazy, faithful, generous, loving, active people of God...YOU started givin...g and you kept on giving, inspiring our Donor Friend so much that DF woke up this morning, the first day of this good New Year, and donated $2500 MORE in honor of God, and because of you and your generosity, and with so much joy. Yes, I got another phone call this morning at 8 a.m. (much more normal time) letting me know that YOU created so much excitement that DF wanted to do more. "Blown away. Awed. Inspired." The words of Donor Friend. I already know this about each of you and so does God. But yesterday, you let the world know we are not kidding. We will be helping and feeding and caring for our neighbor in a new accessible, light-filled facility. We are swinging a sledgehammer in September of this year and beginning the hard, expensive and messy work to do just that. "Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established." Prov 16:3 Are YOU in??? See more

As the clock ticks closer to midnight, I bet you want to know, don't you? Well, you did it! Our goal was $5000, and we raised (drum roll, please!) $11,425!!!!!! Our Donor Friend added their $5000 to our total to bring us to a GRAND TOTAL of $16, 425. Please know how grateful we are to each of you and all of you together. Our one-day challenge reminds us how powerful we are when we work together. You are helping us nourish our community in body, mind and soul. Happy and Healthy 2021 to all of you--the year is off to a great start!

Yes, it's already 2021 in Scotland and we watched the bagpiper pipe in the new year at Edinburgh Castle. But we are still working towards our Challenge Goal! Feel free to share our post so we can invite more people into this amazing project. Final tally for today's challenge at 11:30 pm!

Oh yes--so far 21 people have donated to our "end-2020-by-giving" challenge! We are so grateful for all that you do to help us help our neighbors., 2021--One Church Street is ready!! (PS: keep spreading the word. This challenge goes until 11:59 p.m. tonight!)

Total so far, at 1:45 pm??? Just over $3000!! Let's keep doing this! Help us nourish our community!

Donate fast--aim your phone's camera at the QR code below and you will be brought to our donation page--easy peasy!! (Please note that donation is for One Church Street to count towards our challenge!!)

The back story...my phone rang at 6:30 am. On the other end was a Friend of One Church Street. And our Friend said "Let's make 2020 end on a good note. I challenge you to raise $5000 today and I will match that $5000, giving you $10,000 more dollars to begin your project in 2021." We have until midnight tonight. Can you help us reach our goal? Click here to donate www.stjohnsjohnstown.org/give or use our QR code (I'll post it next)

Speedy Bible Study

Of course we have Speedy Bible Study tonight at 6:30, and Compline will follow at 7:30 pm. Bring your prayers, your bibles, your hearts. Readings: Luke 2:36-40 Psalm 96 Cantate Domino... 1 Sing to the Lord a new song; * sing to the Lord, all the whole earth. 2 Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; * proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples. 4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; * he is more to be feared than all gods. 5 As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; * but it is the Lord who made the heavens. 6 Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! * Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary! 7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples; * ascribe to the Lord honor and power. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; * bring offerings and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; * let the whole earth tremble before him. 10 Tell it out among the nations: "The Lord is King! * he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity." 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea thunder and all that is in it; * let the field be joyful and all that is therein. 12 Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, * when he comes to judge the earth. 13 He will judge the world with righteousness * and the peoples with his truth.

Oh the blessings abound! While we are sad about the closing of the Johnstown Restaurant Supply store, we have been so grateful for their support of our NOAH meal program with dishware and a prep table and other things that will be of great benefit to us when we open up One Church Street for feeding our neighborhood! We love you, Marie Barr, and we are happy that we will have wonderful, useful ways to remember you in our program! Johnstown Restaurant Supply @johnstownrestaurantsupply

Comedy hour Bible Hour

Ready, Set...Read!!! We begin the Great Bible Read-through on Friday, January 1st, 2021. While we are using a particular bible, you do not need to do that. We are publishing a list of readings by date so you can follow along in whatever bible you are using. See below...we'll pin this to the top of the page for easy reference or you can print it out easily.

Big shout out to our local community business Ruby and Quiri which is raising funds and food for local food pantries, including the pantry at One Church Street. See flyer below, and make sure to say thanks to our neighbors for helping us help others.

Another great picture from the past week--watching online Christmas Eve services in a family 'bubble'--the Van Slyke-Wakefield-Rizzo bubble!!

One of my favorite pics of Christmas 2020 so far from a family raising two energetic boys--a Dump Truck manger scene, complete with helicopter escort!!

Sunday December 27th 2020 pre-service music with Alyssa Rizzo followed by a service of Holy Eucharist

Ooooohhhhh.....starting to get pictures of people's stars! If you did not get a star kit, message us and we'll make sure we send them to you. This star is from the Miller family.

Sunday schedule: 9 am service (in person and online) 10:15 am Drive By Communion 12 noon to 1 pm NOAH Community meal (take out only) 3:45 pm pre-service music with Alyssa Rizzo... 4 pm service (in person only--let us know if you would like us to broadcast the 4 pm service as well. We are talking about additional broadcasting) See more

If you got a Silver Package from St. John's, you received a kit and instructions to make this star. Every star had different color combinations, and we'd love to see YOUR star completed. Message me pics of your star for posting here!

From all of us at St. John's Church to our extended church family that now stretches far beyond the boundaries of our small town--Blessed Christmas to all of you! May you be blessed by the love, hope and peace that Jesus brings to all his people: the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never overcome it.

Some pics from our Christmas Eve service...a beautiful, holy night. Special thanks to the Price family for sharing the gift of their music with us.

If you are wrapping presents and would like to tune into Christ Church's concert at 3:30 pm, here's the info. You'll want to head over to their page to view it: https://www.facebook.com/ChristChurchDuanesburg They will also have a 4 pm service that will be broadcast live.

Christmas Eve services will be online and in person (reservation only!) at 7 pm. Christmas Day service in person at 10 am (no reservation needed) Sunday, December 27th our usual services are at 9 am and 4 pm. Please note that ALL materials needed to worship with us online are on our website for easy printout. www.stjohnsjohnstown.org

Four minutes of calm with St. John's

Speedy Bible study Wednesday December 23rd 2020

Tonight at St. John's--the church will be open for reflection with music from 5 to 6:30 pm. (I am doing the Speedy Bible Study on John 1 from 6:30 - 7 pm in the church) Compline at 7:30 with music from last night's Lessons and Carols Service (if you haven't watched that service, please do your heart a favor and watch it!) Readings: Mark 1:1-8 Psalm 86 Inclina, Domine... 1 Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, * for I am poor and in misery. 2 Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; * save your servant who puts his trust in you. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; * I call upon you all the day long. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, * for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, * and great is your love toward all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, * and attend to the voice of my supplications. 7 In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, * for you will answer me. 8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, * nor anything like your works. 9 All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, * and glorify your Name. 10 For you are great; you do wondrous things; * and you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; * knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name. 12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, * and glorify your Name for evermore.

Jess brings in her Reverse Advent bags today. We've had so many people helping with this program! It's been really exciting to see the bags of food arriving. Thanks to all of you who completed your calendar. You can bring the food to One Church Street at any time.

Comedy Hour Bible Study

Join us tonight at 5:15 in the church (or anytime afterwards--just click the link) to watch a service of Lessons and Carols broadcast by our neighbor church, Christ Episcopal Church in Ballston Spa. Featuring local musicians and deeply meaningful reflections, this service of 9 Lessons and Carols is different than the traditional English service. Performing a variety of folk music and world music about the birth of Jesus, as well as some traditional hymns, you will be so blessed by the service which is online for the first time. We have always had to attend in person before this. The service lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Come join me and remember what you love about Advent. https://youtu.be/FeYGmQvE2zI

"Silver bags...silver bags...it's Christmas time at St. John's!" Go ahead and sing--you know you want to! Silver bags for our 7 pm worship service on Christmas Eve, and to take home for those who will be watching us online. We only have a few left so please be sure to call the office to arrange to pick yours up before the service. Or message us on FB.

This is an article I wrote for the Albany Episcopalian, our diocesan magazine. I am blessed to offer these thoughts during our current Advent and Christmas season, which is a difficult and challenging time to say the least, and I am including a link to the song that helped inspire the article itself. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li2hddmy63U) The full lyrics are also in the article. I pray you are blessed as we now move from the longest night of the year, and turn the corner from darkness into light. https://s3.amazonaws.com//mother_laurie_december_2020_lett

Quiet time at the church...what do you see hiding in this picture? Christmas is coming!

Also tonight from 5 to 7 pm, and on Tuesday and Wednesday as well...spend some time in quiet prayer and reflection in the church. All Christmas lights will be on, we will have music playing quietly in the background, and you can simply take a break from the pandemic, from the busy-ness, from the worry, from the world.

Tonight...post your comments if you are able to spot it. https://www.nasa.gov//the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and

Sunday December 20th 2020 pre-service music with Alyssa Rizzo

The church is well greened....if you are not familiar with that term, it means that it is decorated for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. In other words most of us hang some greens in the church as decoration therefore when all of the things are hung and the lights are lit, we say the church has been greened.