| | Weekly Dispatch, January 19th, 2022 |
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| |  | | St. John's Schedule- Catechesis Hour – Sundays at 9:00am before Church
- Holy Eucharist – Sundays at 10:30am at Church and via Zoom
- Evening Prayer and Lectio Divina – Wednesdays at 6:30pm at Church
- Vision Charette – Sunday, January 23rd, after Church (lunch provided)
- Vestry Meeting – Thursday, February 10th, 6:00pm at Church
- Annual Meeting – Sunday, February 20th, after Church
| | A Message from Fr. Joe | “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
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If you are baptized seeking to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit within you, and He provides you with gifts for the life of His Church. When the Church presents herself with pressing needs, we trust the Holy Spirit to empower His people with gifts and services that even take individuals by surprise.
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My hope and prayer for you is that when St. John’s presents needs for your willingness to serve, you will take it to serious prayer asking the Holy Spirit to direct you in the life of the church. Yes, this is regarding Gospel Play with our children and I will breakdown more of what we need detailed below, but this is also important as it relates to our Vision Charette this Sunday after church. Please do what you can to make it. Lunch is provided and we seek to make it highly intergenerational. As we dream together, we are trusting the same Holy Spirit to empower us with what’s needed to move forward in ministry together.
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Each of us are called to contribute our time, our talents, and our treasure with where God has called us in His Church. This is your opportunity to voice and share two things; the values and essentials that make up the identity of St. John’s, and the potential vision of ministry together for the future. It is to answer two questions; who are we and where are we going? Throughout the week leading up to Sunday, keep these questions in front of your own prayers and reflections. And as you pray and reflect these two questions, ask the Holy Spirit to use you as He sees fit for St. John’s.
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Pray for your financial giving and be inspired to invest in moving the Gospel forward. Pray for your talents and use them to glory of God and the building up of His Church. Pray for your time and make the most of it in ways to serve with confidence that Jesus is LORD over all things.
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If you would like to support St. John's during this time, you can give online by clicking the button below. You may also send a check to the following address:
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PO BOX 36591, CANTON OH 44735
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| A Surprising First Miracle by Fr. Joe |  | A message from the series "Sermons from Lectionary Texts." Isn’t it odd that one of the first signs Jesus performs to manifest His glory is through turning an absurd amount of water into incredible high-class wine for an already sloshed wedding party who ran out? What does this sign reveal to us about Jesus, what He came to do, and what His Kingdom is like? Come and see (or hear).
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|  | | Join us every second and fourth (usually) Thursday night for our Eagle and Child reading group! This is a group that meets to discuss and apply classic works in Christian theology from the likes of Lewis, Augustine, Bonhoeffer, and other important authors. Currently, we are reading The Love of Wisdom by Andrew Davison to discuss the history of philosophy as it relates to Christian theology and practice. |
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 | | Cana Vox is a discussion group that meets every other Friday where those, married or unmarried, who support a classical understanding of marriage can explore the controversial issues in a calm, deliberative setting that is not subject to the hostilities often found in today's public discourse on the topic. We seek to discuss thoughtful and gospel-oriented responses to the confusion surrounding marriage in our culture. |
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| | Catechesis| Throughout Epiphany we will focus on the creeds of the historic Church. What do we believe and why do we believe it? This will be very helpful for those discerning membership with St. John’s. |
| | Gospel Play: Questions and Answers Gospel Play is a rich approach towards catechizing our children. It is highly interactive and imaginative, focusing on passing down the consistent word of the Gospel not only with our children but with one another. Many volunteers who have experienced Gospel Play, noted how much the Spirit revealed to them the Gospel and deepened their faith. I thought it might be helpful to be even more direct with what we need and how you can serve.
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| What would be my role in Gospel Play? |
There are two roles: Teacher and Host. The Teacher will lead the lesson for the day. Their main responsibility is preparing and teaching. The Host welcomes the children into Gospel Play, sits with them throughout the lesson, supports the teacher, and assists with the provided activity.
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| Do I need to come up with the teaching for the week? |
Nope! We have everything prepared for you. We provide the teaching and instructions for each Gospel Play session. We also provide an activity connected to the lesson. You simply need to read ahead of time, come 10 minutes earlier to prepare, and ready to welcome them into the space.
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| Do I need to know everything about the Bible? |
We can always learn and grow more in the Scriptures. Gospel Play and our children will probably teach you more than you think!
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| Do I need to volunteer every week? |
You can volunteer as much as you want. But we ask you to consider committing to at least once a month or you can even choose a season of the Church (Lent, Easter, Ordinary) and simply commit to it. Your willingness to serve is what we need.
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| Do I need special training? |
Fr. Joe will meet with each volunteer to go over the approach in leading Gospel Play. Also, volunteers will be trained in our diocesan safety policy guidelines for sexual misconduct prevention. Each volunteer will be required to have a background check too.
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| I hope this addresses your questions, and even helps you to discern your service in this ministry. Please contact Fr. Joe or Maggie to be a part of Gospel Play! |
| | Evening Prayer and Lectio Divina| Alongside our regular Evening Prayer we are going to implement Lection Divina or “Divine Reading.” This practice helps us focus our attention towards the Scriptures and relies upon the Holy Spirit to direct our hearts and minds to the text. We will be praying through the Gospel of Luke outside of the normal Lectionary readings. Come and rest in prayer and the Scriptures. Every Wednesday at 6:30pm. |
| | House Blessings| Fr. Joe would love to visit each of you and offer a blessing over your household. Epiphany is a wonderful season to extend the blessing of Christ over our homes. House blessings can be as formal or informal as you would like. Do not feel you need to entertain or invite others, but obviously welcomed to do so. Fr. Joe would like to invite the whole parish to his home where the bishop has graciously offered to bless his new home. It will be on January 28th at 6:30pm. Please RSVP through e-mailing Fr. Joe for planning and sending out his address to you. |
| | Interested in Becoming a Member of St. John’s?| Fr. Joe would love to take you out for coffee discussing your interest in becoming a member at St. John’s Anglican Church. Membership is wonderful step forward in affirming your sense of calling to the local and even wider church. If you have any interest in becoming a member or seeking discernment of membership, please reach out to Fr. Joe. |
| | The Daily Office| Interested in a simple way to pray the daily office from the Book of Common Prayer? Follow this link for text and audio versions of the morning, noon, and evening prayer services taken directly from the 2019 ACNA BCP. |
| | Contact Fr. Joe
| I am here for you. If you would like to grab some coffee or other beverages, or would like a home visit, please don’t hesitate to contact me at: frjoe@stjohnscanton.org |
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