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The Fledgling--Week of May 24, 2019

From Mother Megan:

When my brother and I were small, my father coached rec league basketball for children ages 6-8 years old.  If you have never witnessed small children attempting basketball, I commend it to you.
As I recall these games, what we would commonly call skill or talent was no where on display.  Most of the kids were just learning the rules of the game, and in times of great tension, delight, or panic, would promptly forget them again.  This led to sights like a kid passing the ball inbounds, and the other kid hugging it to their chest, and sprinting down the court, clutching it tightly, til the bemused referee finally blew the whistle.  Other kids would get overexcited during rebound scrambles, and attempt to tackle whichever kid seemed closest to the ball.

But it was fun.  Watching small children fumble their way through a game was alternately hilarious, groan-inducing, and triumphant, for those rare moments a kid finally figured something out for the first time, and was so, so proud of themselves.

I imagine God regards our faith journeys in much a similar way.  Smiling indulgently as we try, again and again, often failing, marveling at the many ways we come up with to thwart ourselves, but still God cheers us on, waiting until we finally make some progress.   

 



If you have a submission to the Fledgling, send it to the office by Thursday morning for inclusion on Friday.  Bulletin announcements should be into the office by Wednesday morning.
  • If you know of someone who would like to receive the Fledgling, please send their email to the office. 

Prayer for the week

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Readings for this week

 
Have you had coffee/tea/hot cider with Mtr Megan?  Send me an email and come by to chat!  It's fun (I promise) and helps me get to know everyone better! 
THIRD SUNDAY BREAKFAST IS ALMOST HERE!  This week, the Third Sunday Breakfast returns after its Easter Break.  We still need cooks and setup/cleanup helpers--no skill required!  If this is something you can do, email the office, or look for the signup sheet at Coffee Hour this Sunday.  Thanks!

  Do you ever have a nagging question about God, theology, or the nature of the world?   If you send it to the office, Mtr. Megan might answer it during Announcements at the 8am service!  

(Particularly suitable for kids.)
Scheduled This Week:



ALTAR GUILD John Jackson
 
8 AM
GREETER Brett Oakes
 
LITURGICAL MINISTERS Roy Ives, Lloyd Hall
 
10:30 AM
GREETERS Susie Backstrom
 
LITURGICAL MINISTERS Daniel Ripperton, Pat Kinney, Sara Van Looy
 
ACOLYTES Michael Roman, Lisa Tatusko
 

Upcoming:

The funeral service for Peter Hedrick will be June 8, at 11:00am 

If you would like to bring sandwiches, fruit, or cookies for the reception to follow, please email the office.  
 
Free Time?  Want to Volunteer? Here's how!
 
  • There are many ways to volunteer here at St. John's!  Many of our signup sheets are now online, but all these ministries need volunteers!

    Open Doors (sitting in the sanctuary to welcome all comers)

    Laundry Love (welcoming people to our laundry service)

    Greeters for 10:30 service (welcoming people to church and handing out bulletins)

Ongoing Concerns:

ITHACA FESTIVAL St. John's will be open for the Ithaca Festival! Please sign up for a "shift" on the sign up sheet on the Vestry bulletin board. Also, Loaves & Fishes has invited St. John's parishioners to join them marching in the parade. Meet at 6 pm on East Jay St., section #97.
 
RESCHEDULED BLESSINGS:  Due to a conflict, the Blessing of the Air Conditioning/Laundry is being rescheduled for June 12 at 5pm.  Come one, come all to the Blessing of our new facility!  If you'd like to bring light finger foods for the reception following, please email Sara VanLooy or the office. 


CHANCEL CHOIR sings through Trinity Sunday, June 16. Any singers interested in giving choir a try this spring are invited to speak with the Director Of Music / Organist after any service!


LEARNING COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE
St. John's Ithaca is participating in our diocese's Learning Communities Initiative (LCI). The goal of the LCI is to help congregations discern what gifts they've been given and what future God is calling them to build. As part of this project, St. John's Ithaca's Learning Communities Guiding Team would like to learn how St. John's parishioners experience God in their everyday lives. A Guiding Team member might ask to have a conversation with YOU where they will ask these or similar questions about your spiritual life:
- Please reflect on a time when you would say you grew spiritually in a significant way.
- What was it about this time of your life that you think caused you to grow spiritually?
- Was there something during this time of your life that you think God was trying to teach or show you?
- Where do you experience God’s presence most often now?
 
This is a listening exercise; you can say as much or as little as you choose. The Guiding Team member may take notes, but you won't be identified in them and your answers will not be publicized. At the end of the conversation, you'll get a copy of the questions for yourself, and we encourage you to find someone else in the parish and listen while they answer the same questions.
 
If you would like to volunteer to be interviewed, contact a member of the Guiding Team
(Peg Coleman, Michael Roman, Pam Talbott, Lisa Tatusko and Sara Van Looy).
If you're interested in learning more about the Learning Communities Initiative, see:
https://cnyepiscopal.org/resources/formation/learning-communities/

 
PRAYER REQUEST FOR MAY The Episcopal Peace Fellowship of Ithaca Area requests prayers in the month of May for prisoners in our penal systems as well as those incarcerated around the worldly, justly or unjustly.  We remember that redemption is an aspect of our faith.  We pray that NYS government will act to make our prisons humane and rehabilitative.  We pray with our brothers and sisters of St. Thomas, Slaterville, and Epiphany, Trumansburg.



  

Lots of ways to support St. John's!

We've partnered with Tithe.ly to offer the option of online giving for St. John's. Go to the website at stjohnsithaca.org, and look for the donate button in the upper right corner. It's safe, secure, and VERY convenient!

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You can also download the Tithe.ly app on the iTunes store or Google Play store to your smartphone, and search for St. John's Episcopal Church, and give that way.  It will even set up automatic payments so you never have to remember your checkbook again!

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Help support St. John's while you shop! If you are shopping on Amazon, use our unique link and Amazon will return 0.05% of your purchase price to St. John's. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/15-0615665


 



 
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