| | Weekly Dispatch, April 6th, 2022 |
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| |  | | A Message from Fr. Joe | St. John's Schedule- Catechesis Hour – Sundays at 9:00 AM before Church
- Holy Eucharist – Sundays at 10:30 AM at Church and via Facebook
- Eagle and Child – Thursday, April 7th at 7:00 PM at Maggie Archibald's
- Vestry Retreat – Saturday, April 9th at 10:00 AM at The Archibald's
- Palm Sunday – Sunday, April 10th at 10:30 AM at Church
- “Spy” Wednesday Evening Prayer – Wednesday, April 13th at 6:30 PM at Church
- Maundy Thursday – Thursday, April 14th at 6:30 PM at Church
- Good Friday – Friday, April 15th at 12:00 PM and 6:30 PM (Church open for prayer, 12pm-3pm)
- Great Vigil of Easter – Saturday, April 16th at 8:00 PM at Church
- Easter Sunday – Sunday, April 17th at 10:30 AM at Church (No Catechesis)
| | Holy Week is upon us starting this Sunday! Can you believe it? We have some wonderful services coming together for us to fully participate in the most important week of the year. I thought it would be helpful to provide a snapshot of each service, its significance, and what you can expect.
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Palm Sunday – Throughout the Gospels, the writers will often note how Jesus would set his eyes to Jerusalem. Then he would tell his disciples that he came to be betrayed, killed, and buried, and on the third day rise. On this day, we recount Jesus’ arrival and enter the narrative through waving palm branches, shouting hosanna, and processing together into the church. But it is also a dual service where we transition from shouts of welcome to cries of crucifixion of our Messiah. This includes various voices re-telling the full Passion narrative ending the service with the death of Jesus.
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“Spy” Wednesday – We will keep our Wednesday Evening Prayer pattern connecting it to the lessons on what some call “spy” Wednesday. It is the day in Holy Week where we recount the betrayal of Judas and the silver coins. We will take the time to keep watch and pray along with openly discussing texts surrounding Judas. (6:30pm)
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Maundy Thursday – Maundy derives from the word mandate and refers to the two commands Jesus gave his disciples on this day. First, Jesus commands his disciples to wash each other’s feet. It was to take the heart of a servant to love one another. Second, Jesus commands his disciples to eat of the bread and drink of the wine which is His Body and Blood and to do this in remembrance of Him. The liturgy gives us the option to participate in foot washing, but this year we will engage in an instructional Eucharist with the stripping of the altar. We will devotionally invite each other to reflect on the various prayers within the Eucharist and what we are trying to communicate. The stripping of the altar reveals how our Lord was abandoned by the disciples and taken away to be crucified. Finally, we depart in silence and return in silence on Good Friday. (6:30pm)
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Good Friday – This is the day our Lord was crucified where he bore the sins of the whole world. It is a highly solemn day where we encourage fasting and prayer. We will offer two services. First, we will offer one at 12pm focusing on the dying words of Jesus on the cross. Various parishioners will offer their brief reflections on each dying word. It will last an hour. But we will also leave the church open for silent prayer and reflection until 3pm. 12pm-3pm are the traditional hours of Jesus’ torture and death upon the cross. The second service will be in the evening at 6:30pm with focused prayers and Scripture passages oriented around the solemness of this day.
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The Great Vigil of Easter – One of the richest services Anglicans offers. We begin outside where we light our candles and enter a darkened worship space. We hear from the Scriptures the patterns of the Gospel going from dark to light, from death to resurrection. We also renew our baptismal vows and for the first time declare our alleluias! It is appropriate to bring bells and noise makers celebrating the joy of Christ’s resurrection. It is a service to experience! (8:00pm)
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In another parish I served, one parishioner recounted her decision to attend every service for Holy Week for the first time. Afterwards, she said it was the most renewing experience in her faith. As much as you are able, I highly encourage you to attend these services and even bring others along to carpool. It is the most explicit way we enter the Gospel within the context of worship. Together, let us keep a Holy Week.
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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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| Count It As Loss by Fr. Joe |  | A message from the series "Sermons from Lectionary Texts." St. Paul makes some startling claims about his so-called religious gains to be counted as loss when confronted by Gospel grace. We are not unlike Paul where we chase after our own righteousness, and where we realize it is never enough. Yet in Christ, we have the achievement of someone else and He is the one who ultimately gives value to our lives. Still interested? Hear it out.
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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 Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis to discuss Lewis' layered text pointing us to the great truths which underlie the Christian faith. |
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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 Update| This Sunday will be our last Lenten observance of Morning Prayer and discussions on the Ten Commandments. There will be no catechesis on Easter Sunday, but will resume the following Sunday (April 24th). |
Our new Eastertide catechesis will focus on the sacraments and the sacramental life expressed in the Anglican Way.
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| Our children will conclude their Lenten Gospel Play wondering and exploring the significance of Palm Sunday. They will begin a new season in Eastertide April 24th as well. |
| | Easter Lilies| One of the ways we can beautify our worship space for Easter is through white Easter lilies! The cost is approximately $8, and if interested, we will provide an order form which will be available for the next two Sundays. Alyssa is the point person where you can submit cash or checks made out to St. John’s Anglican Church with Easter Lilies in the memo. All ordered lilies will be placed around the church, and you can pick up your flowers after service on Easter Sunday or leave them for someone else! If you have any questions, please see Alyssa. |
| | How Can I Serve at St. John's? There are plenty of ways to serve at St. John’s and we would love for you to join in on what God is doing in the church. Below you can see all the different ways to serve. No special skills required, simply a willingness to learn and grow in service.
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| Acolyte Ministry – Carrying the cross, assisting at the table, and learning more about the Anglican Way. |
Altar Guild – Preparing the Lord’s Table for Holy Communion before the service and developing a sense of holiness in worship.
Readers – Approaching God’s Word with boldness and declaring it to the people.
Hospitality – Providing food, setting up and cleaning up the area, and making space for all people to feel welcome and belong. We also hold special events throughout the Church calendar preparing feasts together.
Gospel Play – Experience catechesis with our children with interactive materials enhancing biblical narratives within the liturgical calendar. It is a lot of fun!
Ushers/Greeters – Welcome people as they come to church, especially newcomers, handing out bulletins, and passing the plates for the offering. |
| Music – We would love to expand our music ministry with your various gifts. Do you play an instrument? Are you a gifted singer? Come join the team! |
We hope to develop these ministries with more lay leadership. In the meantime you can contact Fr. Joe, Dcn. Chad, or Maggie if you interested in participating or even taking leadership in these various ministries. |
| | Evening Prayer and Bible Study As we enter a new season in the life of the Church, we will begin a new pattern of prayer and focused conversations on the Scriptures. Eastertide is often associated with the book of Acts or what’s called the Acts of the Apostles. Acts is a wondrous text to explore and engage to help inspire us in our called ministry together. Please come with a desire to be shaped, formed, and sent out by the Scriptures.
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| | 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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