Newsletter Edition 2, Vol. 3 Spring 2002

Editor: Shirley Mustard, Christian Education Coordinator

From Cocoons to Butterflies

           In the Easter processional at St. John’s there will be a new banner and we need your help in making this happen. If you haven’t picked up one of the little brown bags found either in the parish hall or in the narthex please do so soon. The children in preschool through 5^th grade were given individual bags and we hope they made it home. Instructions and a pattern with supplies are in these little brown “cocoons/bags” for making beautiful butterflies. Just make sure you get those beautiful butterflies back no later than Palm Sunday!

        The purpose of this project is to involve all the families of St. John’s and not just the children or families with children in creating an Easter Banner. In the event we should just happen to have 99% participation and be swarmed with more butterflies than a banner could hold, we’ll certainly use the rest to beautify our bulletin board in the parish hall.

            Children, grandchildren, and friends are invited to attend St. John’s annual Easter luncheon and egg hunt on Saturday, March 30th from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Activities include: an egg hunt, games, crafts, a puppet show and the telling of the Easter story by Fr. Tom. The sharing of Jan Karon’s picture book, Miss Fannie’s Hat will be presented by Ms. Honey. This event promises to be a Kodak day!

        Anyone who would like to help needs to see the sign-up sheet (clip-board) in the parish hall or talk with Shirley Mustard. Help is needed in providing the finger foods, goodies for the treat bags, hiding the eggs, or supervising a craft as well as setting up and cleaning up

Are You Helping Fill The Ark?

        On the first Sunday of Lent, theyouth of St. John’s distributed to the congregation the little brown ark-banks and a “Fill the Ark-Giving Calendar” from Heifer Project International. An important part of our traditional preparation during Lent is the giving of alms to the “least of these‘. For the past several years with the leadership of Laura Rodes, Heifer Project International has been St. John’s designated charity.

        Today each of us have the opportunity through Fill The Ark to share our gifts and help bring hope from those of us who have to those who do not.This daily missions giving program offers us many creative ways to fill our little brown ark-banks before returning them on Easter Sunday. It is a way our family of St. John’s can feel we have directly played a role in helping make a difference for hungry families around the world.It is doubtful than any of us who were privileged to meet Beatrice last year can forget the determination and gratitude she demonstrated as she captured our hearts and hopefully our “pockets”. Let’s all dig deeply!

        Three of our youth have been chosen to attend the National Episcopal Youth Event. In July they will travel to Wyoming where Episcopal youth nation-wide will come together at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Brenda Church will accompany them. The girls were accepted after having gone through a selection process. Go girls! The youth will be undertaking several fund raising activities in order to make this trip possible.

           When the YEA team met   in February they were in general agreement that Youth@Council was another fun-filled and spiritual weekend. Jim Church, who did the purchasing and supervising of meals for the over 125 youth who attended, reports this year was hard work. He added, “but, it was worth every bead of sweat upon my brow”.

        On March 3, the youth will meet for food, fellowship, and to make plans for a group trip to a Christian Rock Concert in Salem on Friday, March 8. The tickets are $19.50 for a group of 15 or more. Anyone who plans to attend will need to pay for a ticket Sunday night .

      Langley Weber, teacher of the primary children, has never been conventional in getting the old and new testaments stories across to his class. Last fall they were often found listening to Langley under a tent, their “old testament home” . If not out on the lawn, they were sitting inside the imaginary body of a whale while learning of Jonah. Making Biblical stories become real to these active learners is part of his mastery teaching.

        The most recent and very ambitious project the class has undertaken is the planning, designing, and making of a stained glass window which will be placed in the children’s chapel.  Maybe the seed for the idea was “planted” when St. John’s begin restoration of the stained glass windows and “watered” when the children designed an altar cloth for their chapel. Knowing the designer behind the scenes, the project needed no prompting for creativity and will be a curiosity to watch unfold.