• Altar Flowers this week are in memory of Nicole Morissey given by her family.

Sunday School registrations for kids age three-Sixth Grade are now available on the kiosk near the east entrance of the sanctuary and on the St. John's website. Contact Sheryl Reed with any questions.

► WIRED Yoga is starting a 5-week session on Thursdays, August 4 through September 1, at 5:45 in the Fireside Lounge. If you would like to attend, please contact the yoga instructor, Corinne Lambert, (515)556-3679, or by e-mail: callingwisdom1@hotmail.com

► WIRED Event ~ "Open the Door" Retreat and Luncheon, Sunday, October 23, 12:30 - 4:00. Sign up now before space is gone! This retreat, based on Joyce Rupp's latest book and led by the author, offers inspiration and encouragement for personal growth. Our heart-door opens inward to the deepest, truest part of who we are. There we find the inherent goodness seeded in us at our birth. The door then opens outward to the world where we bring this giftedness and share it with others. The retreat will include a conference, guided meditation, small group dialogue, and creative prayer experience. The retreat is open to the women of St. John's and their friends first through July 31. On August 1, it will be open to the community. Please sign up in the fireside lounge as soon as possible, e-mail Darla at darlastiles@stjohnsdsm.org or sign up on our website, www.stjohnsdsm.org. Cost is $30 for lunch and the retreat, due at the time you signup or you may send your check made out to St. John's Lutheran Church (with Joyce Rupp WIRED Retreat in the memo line) to: St. John's Lutheran Church, Attention Darla Stiles, 600 6th Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50309.

► Gardening: The St. John's gardeners will meet on Wednesday, August 10, at 6:00 pm at the home of Don Jordahl, 2110 Army Post Road, WDM, for a "Picnic in the Country" and a chance to see prairie grasses, wildflowers, and much more in this serene setting with many interesting focal points. We will eat in a 120-year-old wooden peg barn and have dessert in an 1860's log cabin that was taken down in Minnesota and reassembled on Don's property. Because Don will be grilling 'dogs and 'burgers, you will need to respond by August 3 if you can join us. Please e-mail or call Darla at darlastiles@stjohnsdsm.org or phone, 243-7691.

► Couples/Singles August Event: The group will meet at the West Des Moines Christian Church, 4501 Mills Civic Parkway, on August 12 at 7:00 pm for a concert that is a part of their Lighthouse Concert Series. The performer is Dennis Warner, a folk singer from Minnesota. The cost is $10 a person at the door. They serve wonderful desserts and coffee from Grounds for Celebration! The atmosphere is wonderful and the performers great. You can check out directions and listen to Dennis by clicking on his picture at www.lighthouseconcerts.webstarts.com. Hope to see a lot of you there!!!! To give Ed and Mary Slattery an idea of who is attending, contact them at maryslatt@mchsi.com.

The next Quilting Bee for LWR will be on August 6th from 9:00 a.m. - noon. See you there!

► On Wednesday, August 3, at noon, St. Paul's will hold a ribbon cutting and garden planting to celebrate their new rain gardens, outdoor chapel, and labyrinth. There will be light refreshments and live jazz, and we're hoping to put some plants in the ground as well! We hope you will be able to join us. Mayor Frank Cownie, representatives of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Trees Forever, PACE, and the Downtown School will be here to help us celebrate, and we hope you will too.

► To view the exclusive Des Moines screening of "This is a Music: Reclaiming an Untouchable Drum," an ethnomusicological documentary shot in Tamil Nadu, India. Produced and directed by Des Moines native Dr. Zoe Sherinian, the event is Friday evening, August 5, 7:00 to 8:15 p.m., followed by a discussion and reception to meet Dr. Sherinian. The event will be held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul corner of 9th and High Streets downtown. (Free parking is available on the street or in the new lot -- enter from Pleasant St.) This documentary narrates the psychological and economic transformation of a group of untouchable (Dalit) parai frame drummers from a village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Through the lens of rarely filmed folk performances we see these drummers negotiating discrimination within the Hindu caste system, which regards them as polluted because they play for funerals. As they professionalize, re-conceiving their performance as "music" and their identity as "worldly," they are able to participate in the Chennai Sangamam folk festival in the state capital, where their reception by urbanites further transforms their self-understanding. The question then becomes: can they sustain these changes back in their village? Woven throughout the film are dynamic and rare images of village folk performances, as well as interviews with the drummers and local activists who tell the story of working for the economic A free will offering will be accepted.