St. John’s is a member of Marin Organizing Committee (MOC), which works together “to develop leaders, identify shared issues affecting our communities, and take action around these issues.” Our connection with MOC began under Rev. Ginger’s leadership, and it’s one of the ways we participate with other churches, faith communities, and non-profit organizations to help improve life in Marin, with an eye toward the most vulnerable in our community. Currently, MOC is focused on an issue that affects Aging and Disability.

The following reflections were written by Margaret Partlow and Karen Petterson, St. John’s members and leaders of our work with MOC.
 

Justice Before Charity: MOC Living Wage Action

As one of St. John’s representatives on the Marin Organizing Committee I have participated in several sessions to educate all of us about the plight of the caregivers employed by Marin County to assist the poor, elderly and vulnerable in Marin County. They are IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services) employees.

To understand the depth of this issue, we heard stories from qualified caregivers who are doing this work. We heard from those who feel called to care for vulnerable people but are finding that their ability to continue is made increasingly difficult because they are paid a poverty wage ($16.95 per hour.) They find themselves working two or more jobs. They cannot maintain their own health and well-being. They cannot make a living doing this essential work in Marin County. - Margaret

From sadness to empathy to action: 
advocating for those who care for the poor and vulnerable in Marin

I have attended three MOC Civic Academies concerning the living wage for caregivers. The most striking times to me are when someone shares their story. As I listened to stories for the second time the feeling was just as raw as the first time they were told. I heard from a daughter who quit her job to care for her mother, who due to a rare condition was in need of permanent round the clock care. IHSS paid her to “work” as her mother’s caregiver, but she turned around and spent all of that pay to make up for the wage shortage to keep caregivers in place for her mother at the times of the day when she could not cover it herself. I can only imagine the grief she is experiencing. I heard from caregivers who want to do this work, they feel both called to it and qualified for it, but cannot make a living in the profession in Marin County. 

But this is not about my pity, my just feeling really bad for people. It is about empathy. Empathy allows me to open myself to the possibility that these people’s painful experiences could one day be mine too. When I empathize, I walk in their shoes. In empathy, I realize it's pitching in, doing the efficacious work, that matters. - Karen

On Thursday, March 9, from 7-8:30pm, we all have an opportunity to make a difference. MOC will present the case for increasing Marin County’s Living Wage and the caregiver’s wages to Marin County Supervisors. Your presence is welcome and needed - and your presence WILL make a difference. We want to demonstrate to the County Supervisors just how important a living wage is to the people of Marin. The event will be held in person at First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael (1510 Fifth Ave, San Rafael) and online. Register here, to attend in person or receive the online link.

SUNDAY
8am: Worship (inside)
9am: Family Worship (Held on the lawn, weather permitting, or in the Parish Hall.)
10am:
Worship (in-person & live stream)
Sunday School for children
Sunday School for youth 

MONDAY
7pm: Bible Study (Zoom). All are welcome. 

TUESDAY
7:30am: Christian Meditation (Zoom)
Click here to receive an invite for the online service.

One TUESDAY a Month
6pm: Dinner Church in the Parish Hall (3/21, 5/16)

2nd SATURDAYS of the Month
8am: Men's Group 
Click here to request a meeting invite. 

Annual Fund 2023  St. John’s is so grateful for your stewardship of our parish and needs your continued support through your contributions to our Annual Fund 2023 – ‘Connect to God through Stewardship.’  We have reached about 83% of our goal with generous gifts and commitments from 202 households so far. If you have not yet made a donation, you can give online or make a commitment. Your contribution makes a great impact on the financial stability and security of our parish. Please consider increasing your commitment by 10% to help us pay for higher operational costs caused by inflation as well as support of our vibrant parish programs. You can also go beyond that amount if you are able, increasing your commitment to God through Stewardship

Names of all households who make a commitment or gift to the Annual Fund 2023 will be published in the Easter Sunday bulletin on April 9. 

We are so grateful for your generous financial contribution that joins with the other 295 pledging families making our one million dollar Annual Fund 2023 goal a reality.

For assistance, please contact:
Lee Steward, Director of Stewardship via email or at 415.456.11023, x117.

Celebrate Pi Day! Channel your inner math geek with beer and a pizza [pie] on 3.14, otherwise known as 'Pi Day.' The annual release of 'The Rector,' a beer brewed by Absolution Brewing Company in collaboration with St. John's rector, Rev. Chris, will be released on Tuesday, March 14 at Creekside Pizza and Taproom starting at 5pm. Rev. Chris will be at Creekside to autograph a can of The Rector 100% of tap sales of The Rector and 20% of pre-ordered cans will benefit St. John’s outreach ministries. 4-packs of The Rector are $18. Please place online orders by 6pm by next Thursday, March 9. Select “pick up at Brewery” to ensure free delivery to Creekside based on your zip code. This year’s The Rector is a Belgian Golden Ale with orange blossom honey.

St. John's Church Trip to Agape Farm in Malawi, Africa (July 10-20, 2023) All are invited to participate in this parish trip to Agape Farm, Malawi, Africa and to deepen our understanding of other peoples, their culture, traditions, and forms of religious practice. Parishioners will engage with the Agape Farm community by visiting the surrounding villages, meeting village chiefs and community leaders, assisting in the teaching and tutoring of school age children, partaking in the support groups, and/or contributing to the maintenance of the farm and its buildings. Please email Amy Rankin-Williams with any questions or interest.

Click here for our Spring 2023 Youth Calendar

Sunday Morning Youth Group We meet at the 10 am service – 6^th-12^th grade in the Youth Room. Join us for doughnuts and good chats! 

Sunday Evening Youth Group We meet from 5:00-6:30 pm on Sunday evenings. Join us for games, chatting, crafts, service projects, and more! Dinner is provided.

Evening Youth Group Dinner Volunteers We need volunteers to provide dinner for Evening Youth Group as we enter Spring 2023 of our program year. Sign up here

Your help is always appreciated!

"O Salutaris Hostia" is from one of the Eucharistic hymns written by Thomas Aquinas, one of the most important of the medieval thinkers of the church. It is often sung in the context of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in traditional Catholic churches. The French composer Leo Delibes is most famous for “The Flower Duet” from the opera Lakmé, which has been used in, among other things, British Airways commercials. You can hear elements of that in today's tuneful communion piece.

John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,” was a former slave-ship captain who, after having a conversion experience, renounced his profession and became a staunch abolitionist. He was later ordained and served in a parish at Olney in Buckinghamshire for the last two decades of his life, hosting Sunday evening prayer services and writing hymns (another of which in our hymnal is “Glorious things of thee are spoken”). Newton wrote the hymn sometime before 1779, and based it on King David’s questioning prayer in the First Book of the Chronicles, “Who am I, O Lord God … that thou hast brought me thus far?” The hymn is biographical and makes note of his own conversion and lifestyle change which made him the person he became. He lived just long enough to see Parliament abolish the slave trade in England.

In the name of contemporary tastes, many modern hymn collections have changed the phrase “that saved a wretch like me” to “that saved and set me free.” The editors of Hymnal 1982 felt that the autobiographical nature of the text makes it clear that there were few options available to Mr. Newton to describe his own self-hatred before he found grace. Yet, however extreme that description is, it could nevertheless be a transcendent term to describe moments in our own lives when we have felt despair. It’s the word “saved,” then, that becomes the most important word in the phrase, and it’s why Newton’s text is so ingenious.