S T . J O H N ’ S A N G L I C A N C H U R C H

S T . J O H N ’ S

A N G L I C A N

C H U R C H

Volume 82

The Disciple

Welcome to the

life and ministry

of St. John’s!

March 2019

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent in the Christian Church year.

The imposition of ashes is a sign of our repentance and mortality, we are chal-lenged to follow Jesus in our lives, exam-ine ourselves for the sins of which we need to repent, and are encouraged to take on spiritual disciplines which draw us into holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Archbishop Beach calls us to prayerfully examine your own life during Lent, I want to encourage you to look for your sins of neglect. What are your sins of omis-sion? “What is God asking me to do which I am refusing to do?” Am I neglecting my time alone with God? Am I neglecting feeding the poor? Am I neglecting speaking out against evil? Am I neglecting teaching my children about my faith in Jesus? Am I neglecting taking care of my body? Am I neglecting praying for and loving my enemies? Am I neglecting returning to the Lord His portion of my earnings? Am I neglecting caring for those in pain around me? Am I neglecting time with my spouse? The list could go on and on. You get the point: What are my sins of neglect of which I need to repent? In trying to deal with my sins of neglect, I have noticed two issues which seem to arise. Firstly, to repent of these sins costs me time. They usually take time to accom-plish, which means that if I am going to follow God’s leading and repent, then I am going to have to stop doing something that I am currently doing in order to make time for it. To minister to the needy means I have to give up time doing something

else. To spend more time studying the Scriptures means I am going to have to give up time doing something else. Secondly, I have noticed that, more often than not, I am blinded to my sins of ne-glect. It takes someone else, a sermon, the Scriptures, a book, or a friend to point them out to me. I am afraid this is a pat-tern for most of us. We don’t think we have an issue, and then the Holy Spirit convicts us and brings it to our atten-tion. Because they are usually blind spots, this means we are used to living with them; they are comfortable in our lives. To repent will make us uneasy and it is often difficult! We have to be inten-tional, and oftentimes, we need someone to hold us accountable. Jesus wants us to repent so we can experi-ence the Kingdom of Heaven in our lives on earth. We often pray in the Lord’s Pray-er: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our sins of neglect truly get in the way of this. As you walk through the Season of Lent this year, prayerfully look for your sins of neglect. When the Lord reveals them to you, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach Archbishop and Primate Anglican Church in North America

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE INVITED TO A HOLY LENT

Arch Bishop Foley Beach

The Disciple Page 2

Father Jim Parker

Just as we set aside time to

spiritually prepare for Christ-

mas Day, it makes sense to set

aside time to prepare for the

two most important days of the

Christian year. Lent is a time

that offers us an opportunity to

come to terms with the human

condition we may spend the

rest of the year running from and it brings our need

for a Savior to the forefront. Like Advent, Lent is a

time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and

understand our Lord a little deeper, so that when

Good Friday and eventually Easter comes, it is not

just another day at church but an opportunity to re-

ceive the overflowing of graces God has to offer.

But unlike the childlike joy associated with the sea-

son of Advent, with it’s eager anticipation of the pre-

cious baby Jesus, Lent is an intensely penitential time

as we examine our sinful natures and return to the

God we have, through our own rebelliousness, jurt

time and again. Lent is also an opportunity to con-

template what our Lord really did for us on the

Cross—and it wasn’t pretty. But ultimately, the pur-

pose of Lent does not stop at sadness and despair—it

points us to the hope of the Resurrection and the day

when every tear will be dried.

And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud

voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My

God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

Although the nature of suffering is not one that offers

itself to easy explanations or pat answers, the answers

we seek seem to make the most sense in light of the

Cross. There is nothing in the world—no religion,

philosophy, or material comfort—that offers such a

powerful answer to life’s toughest questions as the

two slabs of wood on which our Savior died. Alt-

hough I was drawn to Christianity in search of joy,

it’s the Cross that keeps me coming back day after

day, year after year. It is this time of year, known as

Lent, that I am reminded of what Jesus did for me.

And as your Rector, This 2019, I call you to the ob-

servance of a Holy Lent that our hearty and soul may

be freed of the trivia of this world.

What is Lent—A Time Set Aside

Page 3

March

11-Kailey Taylor Hale 24-Mary Marshall

March

9-Russell & Andrea Thomas

Coffee & Conversation

9:30 AM

Sunday Mornings

We 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

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

6:00 PM

Bring a steak and a friend!

Sides provided.

New Flower Sign Up

A new flower sign up sheet will be available in the Narthex. This new sheet has an area for you to circle In Honor of or In Memory of and a space to write the

name or names. We will check the list each week and add the information to the

bulletin . If you have any questions, please contact the Church office.

Page 4

The Disciple

St. John’s is ReVived and being Revived

Cannon Mark Eldredge of the AAC led a ReVive Workshop this past weekend for the Church. We found that a bigger church is not better, a smaller church is not better, but a healthier church is better, ReVive! emphasizes strategies that will bring church health and then growth to any size congregation. Without a genuine love for Jesus in the congregation even great strategies fail. The workshop was first dedicated to personal renewal. In addition, we learned that leading the church through change is cru-cial to the revitalization being more than just a good idea.

The Seminar Syllabus was as follows:

Introduction -- Understanding the Church Life Cycle.

Session 1 -- REnewal of your heart, soul, and mind!

Session 2 -- Values and Vision!

Session 3 -- Insist on Church Health!

Session 4 -- VITAL Strategies!

Session 5 -- Enacting the Vision!

Cannon Mark led an exciting ReVive weekend. He met with church leaders on Friday evening and pre-sented a workshop for the entire congregation on Sat-urday. He then stayed through Sunday morning to observe. Following the weekend, the Church will receive a written report with recommendations and six months of follow up coaching for Fr. Jim and the Vestry. AAC has found that without the fol-low up coaching the congregation is far less likely to implement new strategies and experience revitaliza-tion.

In conclusion, the weekend was exciting and very spiritual. We are learning how to ignite passion and apply principles that will breathe new life into our church for greater Kingdom impact in our congrega-tion and the community we serve.

Thanks be to God.

Page 5

The Disciple

Ash Wednesday Service at 6:00 P.M.

Bring your family and friends.

Page 6

Volume 82 March 2019

Date LEM Lector Usher Acolyte Service

3/3 Andrea Thomas Everett Byrd Alan Curtis

Sid Cameron Holy Communion

3/6 Jeff Joiner

Imposition of

Ashes & Holy

Communion

3/10 Lou Chase Beth Cameron Jeff Joiner

Darrell Hobgood Sydney Joiner Holy Communion

3/13 Susan Curtis EP & Healing

3/17 Debbie Standridge Susan Curtis Sid Cameron

Tony Chase Holy Communion

3/20 Andrea Thomas EP & Healing

3/24 George Peagler Beth Cameron Jeff Joiner

Alan Curtis Sydney Joiner Holy Communion

3/27 Deacon’s Mass Debbie Standridge

3/31 Holy Communion Jeff Joiner Andrea Thomas Sid Cameron

Darrell Hobgood

MARCH ROTA

It is your responsibility to find a substitute if you are unable to serve as scheduled