Sunday, November 21, Christ the King

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday, November 21 is the last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King. Find the readings here. Worship booklet here: Holy Eucharist, Autumn 2021

Please join us at St. John's Church for one of two in-person services at 8:00 am and 10:30 am. We will try to stream the service live on our Facebook page. If you follow us on Facebook and are logged in around 9am, you should be able to see it. Also, the service will be posted on our Youtube channel by the early afternoon.

If you want to join the Zoom coffee hour at 12:30, please email the Parish Administrator for the information.

ST. JOHNS VILLAGE FAIR—many thanks to all who helped and shopped! Special thanks to Gwen Kopka for her dedication, energy and time, and to all her helpers!

Grace Center Coming to St. John’s: Grace Center, a day program for homeless and low-income persons, will be using St. John’s parish hall on Sundays from 12-4, beginning Dec. 5th. Clients may join us for coffee hour or may hang out in the Thompson Room until coffee hour is over. We welcome this ministry that St. John’s continues to support!

Advent and Christmas Offerings:

Sunday, November 28: Advent 1; Baptism at the 10:30 service.

Sunday, December 12: Order for Worship in the Evening. 5 pm.

Choral and organ music for the season.

Friday, December 24: Christmas Eve services at 5 and 8:30 pm.

Sunday, December 26: Sunday after Christmas, 9 am.

Stewardship/Pledge Drive: Please bring in or mail in your pledge card, if you have not already done so. This will help the vestry craft the budget for next year. And no, you don’t HAVE to pledge—we’ll take any gifts any time—but pledging is a way to show your intentions and to help with planning. Thank you! And thanks to all who have completed their pledging.

Open Door Donations: Claudette Chmura reminds us to reconnect with the Open Door food pantry by bringing in food donations: By bringing items to Saint John’s, we can continue to support this important ministry. Don’t worry about what to bring, as long as it has not expired. Diapers, baby wipes, and other miscellaneous items are also welcome. Thank you for helping to continue our community outreach.

Air Purifier System: Thanks to the hard work of our wardens, in consultation with DeeDee Bedford, Chuck Everett, Sue Lupo, and Mark Nelson and with the support of the vestry. The air purifier system is up and running!

Mary McCarl Retrospective: Be sure to catch the McCarl art exhibit at Cove Gallery, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, through the end of November!

Forum Time: Let’s Chat! Today (Sunday) between services (9:15 to 10:15), come to have a conversation with Pastor Lise. Who are you? What is your spiritual hunger? How has Covid changed you/the church? All are welcome!

Contacting Pastor Lise: Pastor Lise (aka Lise) can be reached at lise@stjohnsgloucester.org. She has a church cell phone of 351-217-9209. Please use these to contact her.

Updated Covid Instructions: Masks are required for all indoor activities, and we are to keep distanced (>=6 ft) from other households. Please wear your mask over both mouth and nose.

Music Notes: Although we’re not in Advent yet, we start a new worship booklet which will allow us to settle into this music and liturgy for 6 weeks (rather than 4). We’re using Eucharistic Prayer C, so called “Star Wars” owing to one phrase: “the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.” We’ll celebrate with singing the hymn “Earth and all Stars,” written for the 90th anniversary of St. Olaf College, Northfield MN in 1964. That explains all the academic pursuits mentioned in the text. We will finish with “All my hope on God is founded,” a text by Joachim Neander, translated by Robert Bridges and perhaps the finest 20th century hymntune: Michael, written by Herbert Howells.

The Parish Choir sings 2 new anthems this week. “Awake my heart” is the winner of the 1957 American Guild of Organists anthem competition. Jane Marshall was a noted choral composer, hymnologist and teacher long associated with Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The trebles of the Choir will sing English composer Mary Plumstead’s “Grateful Heart.” Unfortunately, her music only rose to prominence after her death but now has entered the choral repertoire in Britain and North America.

Awake, my heart, and render to God thy sure defender,

Thy maker, thy preserver. A song of love and fervor.

Confirm my deeds and guide me: My day, with the beside me,

Beginning, middle, ending, Will all be upward tending.

My heart shall be thy dwelling, With joy and gladness swelling;

Thy word my nurture, giv’n To bring me on toward heaven.

Words by Paulus Gerhardt, 16547, tr. Winfred Douglas

Thou that hast giiven so much to me Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if thy blessings had spare days:

But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.

Words by George Herbert (1593-1632) Music by Mary Plumstead