August 2020 Issue 100

The Disciple

St. John’s Anglican Church, 230 Southland Rd., Americus GA 31709

www.stjohnsamericus.org stjohnsanglicanamericus@gmail.com 229-924-3380

Dear Friends in Christ: It has been a long six weeks since Anne and I have been away from the family of St. John’s. It makes me realize we do not know how much we miss something until it is gone. I have missed coming to the office, studying and working on my sermon, and tending to the needs of the Parish. But, I miss most of all, people coming by and sharing their concerns. Each of you make up the body of what St. John’s is all about, a loving, car-ing community centered in Christ. I look forward to re-suming my regular office hours the first week of August. As I reflect on my health, the covid 19 virus that has as-saulted our community and the discord that has affected our country, it makes me think that these are not ordinary times. Ordinary Time is the part of the liturgical calendar that falls outside the major seasons such as Advent, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. Ordinary time begins with the passing of the Day of Pentecost and continues until the First Sun-

day of Advent, and is the longest season of the church year. While the term is used by the Cath-olic Church, The Anglican Church doesn’t typically use the phrase “Ordinary Time” and it is nowhere

to be found in The Book of Common Prayer. Rather, these Sundays are named in relation to the previous feast day, for example, “The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost.” The term ordinary may be derived from “ordinal,” which means “counted,” though this is disputed. It may simply mean ordinary. This isn’t necessarily negative. It’s simply the time of the year when we are not commemorating the major events in the life of Jesus—such as his birth, death, and resurrec-tion—but rather the things he said and did throughout his time on earth. Most of the days of our lives are ordinary, of course—no birth or death, no epiphanies or miracles, time filled with the ordinary love and hope and fear common to daily life. The liturgical color of this season is green, which is why it is sometimes called “the green season.” Green often symbolizes growth. During this season, the church delves deeper into scripture and the life of Jesus. We read his para-bles and remember how he changed the lives of everyone he interacted with, in ways big and small. This is a time when we explore what it means to live daily in faith, a time of growth as we explore everyday sacredness.

By Fr. Jim Parker

Ordinary Time in the Anglican Liturgical Year

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Darrell Hobgood graduated from Southland Academy and

Georgia Southwestern College with a BS in Business

Management. He was born in Americus and raised in

Plains. Jan was born and raised in Butler, attended Uni-

versity of Georgia and graduated from Georgia Southwest-

ern College with a Marketing degree. Jan and Darrell

married on May 23, 1981 and have two sons, Lijah and

Landon.

Jan retired from South Georgia Technical College as the

Adult Education Director/Assistant Vice President. Dar-

rell retired from Georgia Farm Bureau however he contin-

ues to operate a turf/row crop farm and runs Hobgood In-

surance Agency LLC, specializing in crop insurance.

Previously members of First Baptist Church, a loving

mentor, Garland Mears, invited Darrell to the monthly

men’s meeting at St. John’s. After attending the men’s

group, Darrell and Jan felt God calling them to join such a

warm, caring congregation at St. John’s in

early 2013. Darrell is currently serving St.

John’s as the Treasurer.

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ST JOHNS AND PERRY WELLNESS COMMUNITY MEETING ON BEE KEEPING

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 AT 9AM IN PAISH HALL

Are you interested in learning about bee keeping? Please join us next Saturday at 9AM.

1. Dwayne Pitts a leading authority on bee keeping will in-struct the class.

2. George Peagler will lead a discussion on Honey Bees, the Bible and as a perfect example of a Christian Community in

Action.

3. St Johns Bee hives will be opened for the first time. The honey will be gathered and Happy Patch’s and St John’s own bee keeper Jamie Minick will lead us along with Dwayne Pitts

on the actual hands on processing of the raw honey.

4. There will be refreshments.

All are in Invited to attend. We will be finished by 12:00 o’clock PM.

Bee Seminar Topics

1. To Bee or not to Bee Falling in love with a Bee

2. Life Inside the Honey Hive

3. The Bible and Honey Bees

4. Basic Equipment for Bee Keeping

5. Obtaining and installing Bees

6. Time for the opening of St John’s Bee hive

7. The Process of gathering and processing Honey

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Dear St. John’s, Thank you for blessing my ministry the last 10 months with your love for Jesus, your passion for prayer, and your mission to care for our com-munity in Sumter County, GA. I am so grateful for the gift of being part of your church fam-ily. As I mentioned several times, it has been a blessing

and privilege for me to witness your love for God and one another in action. I have seen your faithful study and joyful participation in worship whether it has been in per-son or online. I have been honored and humbled to be part of your con-gregation. You will be in my prayers and I will pray that your love continues to shine in and out of Americus, GA. A love that brings about positive change and reflects the

hope of God in this world. Remember to attach yourself to Jesus in prayer and include him in your decision mak-ing. It is through Christ’s love for us that we feel empow-ered and courageous to love radically like Jesus. He said, “Take my yoke upon you” because he wants us to do the hard work of loving God and our neighbor alongside us. Being yoked to Jesus does not mean that the work is even but that he will carry the heavier burdens and hardships so that our work is a little easier. He did say, “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Thank you again, St. John’s! Many blessings to all of you and your work in being God’s love in Southwest Georgia. God bless, Sean George+ email: rev.seangeorge@gmail.com

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Coffee & Conversation

As soon as the virus abates, or proper arrangements are settled we want to again welcome everyone to coffee and conversation each Sunday in the Parish Hall from 9:30-10:00 AM. This will give us an opportunity to visit before Church and at the same time give people a quiet time to pray in the sanctuary before Church. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Men’s Christian Fellowship

There will be no Men’s Christian Fellowship in August. Hoping to resume soon.

Stay Tuned!

August

6-France & June Pierce 24-Sid & Beth Cameron

Vestry Meeting

August 18, 2020

6:00 pm

August

2-Jacob Barton 5-Terri Joiner 9-Margaret Hawkins 10-Ann Parker 13- Madelyne Jones

15-Alan Curtis 23-Jody Simpson 25-Pete Warlick 31-Darrell Hobgood

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AUGUST ROTA

DATE SERVICE LEM LECTOR USHER ACOLYTE

8/02 Holy Communion Andrea Thomas Everett Byrd Jeff Joiner

8/05 Evening Prayer

& Healing Jeff Joiner

8/09 Holy Communion Beth Cameron Susan Curtis Alan Curtis

8/12 Evening Prayer

& Healing Andrea Thomas

8/16 Holy Communion Lou Chase Everett Byrd Sid Cameron

8/19 Evening Prayer

& Healing Susan Curtis

8/23 Holy Communion Jeff Joiner David Snell Darrell Hobgood

8/26 Evening Prayer

& Healing Beth Cameron

8/30 Holy Communion George Peagler Lou Chase Jeff Joiner