This Week @ St. John's (Beginning of Lent Edition)

Hello Friends!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. We've got a lot of stuff going on this week, plus a lot to talk about from this past weekend. As you know, Parish Retreat at Kanuga was this past weekend, and I have to say it was a lot of fun for everyone who went. We had a program talking about the church 100 years ago, took silly pictures, went to Eagle Rock where we had a lovely Noonday service, watched a few movies, and competed in the Talent Show, where the Youth finished tied for 3rd place. If you would like to see pictures from this past weekend, they are on the Facebook page, which can be accessed by clicking the link on the left hand side of the page, and if you'd like to see the EYC's talent, you can watch it on Youtube here.

This Saturday night, St. John's will be hosting Fr. Fritz Lafontant, founder of the mission in Cange, Haiti for a reception. This event will be from 5:30-7 P.M., but I need some youth to volunteer to be greeters/ushers at this event. You will need to get here at 5, dress somewhat nice, and just tell people where they need to go. This will count as Community Service Hours for those of you who need them, and it is also a great opportunity for y'all to learn about our Diocese's mission in Cange.

Sunday night, we will be meeting for EYC at St. John's from 5 till 7 to discuss "What is Lent" and talk about what Lent means to us, why we celebrate this season, and what we can do to better ourselves during this time. We will also be making shopping bags for the Harvest Hope event on March 3rd to help with the collection.

This Wednesday, the 29th, we will begin our month long Lenten program "The Gospel According to Willy Wonka," in which we will watch the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory in its entirety and discuss the biblical connections between the movie and the Bible, plus our everyday lives. I hope you'll join us every Wednesday from the 29th of February till March 28th for this wonderful program.

We are still doing our Firewood Fundraiser. We will be selling firewood after church this Sunday, and will also be selling from 4-5 on Sunday. There's still time for it to get cold, so get your firewood today!

Here are a few upcoming events to keep on your calendar:

March 23rd-25th: Happening #67 @ Camp Gravatt

April 20th-21st: All Ages Lock-In @ St. John's

April 27th-29th: Jr. High Spring Retreat-New Beginnings @ Camp Gravatt.

If you're in 10th-12th grade and haven't gone thru Happening, Candidate forms are due March 1st and can be found here. Forms for New Beginnings can be found here.

Lastly, during this season of Lent, I want y'all to look at this daily Lenten reflection made specifically for youth. The reflection can be found here and only takes about 10 minutes to complete daily. It's a great reflection, and I hope y'all will take the time to do it.

Until next time

Peace and blessings,

Clay

The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”-Mark 1:15

This Week @ St. John's (Kanuga Weekend Edition)

Hello Friends!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week full of fun and joy! As you may know, this weekend is Parish Retreat at Kanuga. Because of this, there will be NO EYC on Sunday. HOWEVER, we will meet @ 4 to sell and bundle Firewood once again. We raised a fair amount of money last week, so I hope you'll come out for an hour and help once again.

If you are going to Kanuga this weekend, and wish to ride on the bus, we will be leaving no later than 4 PM on Friday. So I strongly suggest that you get there around 3:30-3:45 so that we can leave on time.

This coming Wednesday, the 22nd, is Ash Wednesday. This is one of my favorite services of the year, and St. John's will be having services at 7:45 AM, Noon, and 6 PM. I encourage you to attend one of these services, as they serve as a reminder that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.

We will have EYC on February 26th. We will be meeting at St. John's from 5-7 for dinner, fellowship, and also to discuss "What is Lent" and what we can do during this time to better ourselves and to better others.

Wednesday the 29th will mark the start of our Wednesday night programs here at St. John's. We will be doing "The Gospel According to Willy Wonka" during which time we will watch the movie "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" (The Gene Wilder version) and have discussions based on stories in the Bible and also everyday life.

There was uproar when I announced that Paintball would be on March 10th, since apparently many of you have conflicts with that date, so please let me know sometime around then that would work for us to go and play Paintball.

Here are some upcoming events:

March 23rd-25th: Happening #67 @ Camp Gravatt.

April 20th-21st: All Ages Lock-In @ St. John's

April 27th-29th: Jr. High Spring Retreat-New Beginnings @ Camp Gravatt.

If you're in 10th-12th grade and haven't gone thru Happening, Candidate forms are due March 1st and can be found here. Forms for New Beginnings can be found here.

Until next time,

Peace,

Clay

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer-Romans 12:12

This Week at St. John's (1 week till Valentine's Day Edition)

Hey Everybody!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I've heard from many of you who participated in the Stop Hunger Now event at the Church on Saturday, and all of you kept mentioning what an amazing event it was. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for it. But we'll touch on that in a second.

If you haven't heard, thank you to everyone who helped with The Souper Bowl on Sunday morning! We raised $370.10 which will go to our Helping Hands Weekend Food Program, and will go a long way to continuing the help this ministry provides.

Over the past weekend, Winston, Beaumont, Sam, Gordon, and I were at Kanuga for The Diocesan Youth Conference, or DYC for short. It was a great weekend, as we learned how to tell our story through things that we love. This included the Outdoors, Photography, Music, Art, and Storytelling. There are photos and video links located on the Facebook page, which also has a link on the left hand side of this page. You can also find pictures from our Super Bowl party this past Sunday on that page as well. I want to thank David and Janine Lewis for allowing us to take over their home for the game. Y'all were wonderful hosts!

Coming up this weekend, we'll meet on Sunday at the church from 5 pm till 7 pm. Dinner will be provided, and we'll have a "St. Valentine's Day Party" where we will discuss who St. Valentine was and also make Valentines for the shut-in's of St. John's. I look forward to seeing everyone there!

It's not too late to sign up for Parish Retreat at Kanuga! Please turn a form in ASAP if you want to go so I can know who to expect that weekend. Also, let me know if you want to ride on the bus up to Kanuga on the 17th.

Senior High Guys: We're going to need some help this Saturday bundling up Firewood at Dr. Close's Lake House for us to sell as a fundraiser for Youth Mission. Please contact me if you're able to help at all.

Here are some upcoming dates of St. John's and Diocesan Events:

March 23rd-25th: Happening #67 @ Camp Gravatt

April 20th-21st: All Ages Lock-In @ St. John's

April 27th-29th: Jr. High Spring Retreat-New Beginnings @ Camp Gravatt

Forms for Happening can be found here, while New Beginnings forms can be found here

I'll have some more news about upcoming events/activities in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Until then,

Peace,

Clay.

P.S. St. John's EYC also has a Twitter Account now! You can find it by clicking here or clicking the link on the left hand side of the page.

This Week @ St. John's

I hope everyone is doing well! I want to take this time to remind everyone of some of the things coming up this weekend, and also give everyone some dates to keep in mind as we move forward this Spring.

Saturday (Feb. 4th) is the Stop Hunger Now event in the Barr Center from 1 P.M. till 4 P.M. This is a great chance to work with everyone from the church, and also an opportunity to earn some service hours as your help pack 20,000 meals.

Sunday morning(Feb. 5th), after each service, we will need some people to help with the Souper Bowl! All you have to do is hold out a Soup Pot while people donate their loose cash and change to the Helping Hands Weekend Food Program.

Sunday evening, we'll be watching the SUPER BOWL! We'll meet at the Lewis' home at 6 PM to watch the first half of the Big Game and also share in some fellowship. Please bring a side to share with everyone, as I'll be providing the entree. The Lewis' address is 81 Foot Point Road, located in the King's Grant Neighborhood. Their phone # is 787.2486 if you need directions!

Here are a few dates you may want to write down for some upcoming St. John's & EDUSC events:

February 17th-19th: Parish Retreat @ Kanuga (NO EYC ON THE 19TH)

March 23rd-25th: Happening #67 for 10th-12th graders @ Gravatt

April 20th-21st: All ages Lock-In @ St. John's

April 27th-29th: Jr. High Spring Retreat-New Beginnings @ Gravatt

Also, this weekend Eileen, Gordon, Winston, Beaumont, Sam, and I will be at Camp Bob at Kanuga for DYC! I ask for your prayers for safe travels and a fun filled weekend! I can't wait to hear about y'alls on Sunday after we get back!