Did you know the word “Lent” means “spring”? Some people think Lent is a “downer,” but it’s true aim is joy — the joy of a deeper experience of God. In the western church the forty days of Lent extend from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, omitting Sundays. Christians are invited to the observance of…
The Church of the Awakening: Services Begin Around 3:00am. For the last ten months, I have been regularly attending a new church, and I venture to guess that many of you have too. Looking back, I have been a faithful member of this new church since I started teaching high school, and until an “Awakening”…
Mentorship and Leadership Matters!!! Having lived my formative years during the struggle against apartheid, I learned some important truths about leadership and mentorship. Often it looked different than the mentorship and leadership we are most familiar with. Because leadership was not endorsed by an institution, at times needed to be discreet, often came at great…
I’ve continued to reflect deeply this week, as I imagine you have also, on the violence visited upon the Capitol on January 6 – what it means about that state of our democracy, the state of race relations, the state of our political relationships, and the role of religious extremism in this country. I mentioned…
You might not know this about me yet, but I love a good list. And I have a lot of them. There is the grocery list, the “to do” list for each of my jobs, our home improvement wishlist, my list of personal “to do” tasks, the leftover staycation “to do” list still hanging on…
Greetings to all, and Merry Christmas! I am absolutely thrilled to be taking the reins as your Senior Warden, and I appreciate the kind words that so many of you have shared. The first thing I’d like to do is to offer a huge thank-you to Lois Sauer, our out-going Senior Warden. I may be…
The Annual Report is a written compilation of lay and clergy leaders’ reflections on St. John’s ministry and mission in 2020. Certainly, 2020 is a year for the history books! The Rector’s Report Submitted by The Rev. Sarah H. Phelps In early 2020, we were busy adding new parking spots, moving ministries into larger meeting…
This past week the Community Council through the Town of Wake Forest named its Citizen of the Year and Organization of the Year. This committee and ceremony have many ties to St. John’s including members of the committee, the Mayor who announced the winners and a beautiful painting by our beloved Shirley Matheny that has…
Dear Beloved People of St. John’s, Where to begin? Last Sunday marked the beginning of Advent…really?? Already?? We have entered into an Advent and Christmas season like none we have ever known, significantly reshaped and reimagined in the midst of the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. I suspect for most of us…
Our Annual Giving Campaign for 2021 has “officially” concluded, but it is never too late to let us know your “estimate of giving” (or pledge) for the year ahead. It is how we build a responsible budget for our ministries. 2020 v. 2021 Comparison In 2020, St. John’s received 140 financial pledges totaling $366,235.…