This spring, St. John's Church and Congregation Rodeph Shalom will host a joint three-session series about healing and transformation, led by Rabbi Marc Sack, and the Reverend Doug Remer and Dr. Hal Wiley from St. John's. Each evening in the series will begin with dinner at 6:30 p.m.  The events on April 25 and May 16 will take place at St. John's in Rudisill Parish Hall, and the May 9 event will take place at Rodeph Shalom at 2713 Bayshore Boulevard.  Please contact Leland Baldwin at lelandtbaldwin@aol.com for more details.   

Parishioners, it is with regret that we (the Centennial Planning Group) must announce the postponement of our Centennial Celebration until the fall. After trying very hard to accommodate the schedule of our busy parish, it seems that there are too many insurmountable obstacles to  holding the Celebration this spring. However, believing that sometimes good things can come from challenges, we hope this allows us to answer the requests for involvement from so many and to broaden our scope for the Celebration itself, which will now take place during the weekend of September 29 and 30. Look for more information as we work hard over the summer to make this a memorable tribute to the history of St. John's. 

Show your school spirit by voting for St. John's in the weekly FOX 13 MyFoxPrep.com Cool School competition now through April 25. If our school gets the most votes, they'll feature us LIVE on Good Day Tampa Bay on Friday, April 27, airing from 6:45 to 9:30 a.m.!

Go to MyFoxPrep.com, find the voting box in the right-hand column, and vote.  Vote often!  You can vote an unlimited amount of times online (or three times per hour using your cell phone by texting either COOL1 or COOL2, depending on your choice, to 94465). Voting will take place from Friday, April 20, at 5:00 a.m. through 11:00 p.m. tonight Wednesday, April 25.   

Youth and Adult Confirmation Rehearsal  

This Sunday, April 29, 10:15 a.m. 

Please meet in the church. Youth, contact Leland Baldwin at lelandtbaldwin@aol.com with questions, adults may contact Father Remer at dremer@stjohnstampa.org. 

Monday, April 30, 6:00 p.m. 

How do you get selected for Survivor? What is it really like to appear
on history's most popular reality TV show?  Join BSA Troop 4 on Monday, April 30, for an evening of fun and adventure as one of this season's contestants, South Tampa's own Monica Culpepper, tells her story and answers your questions about Survivor.  Tickets are available at the door. Click here for a flyer with more information and prices.  

Sunday, May 20, at the 9:00 a.m. Service  

Seniors, this is our chance to celebrate you, and your chance to tell us what St. John's has meant to you over the years.  Parents, please pick up your mortarboard cutouts from the parish offices (sign them out, please) and decorate them with photos and memories of your child's journey to this important moment.  Mortarboards are due back to the parish offices by Sunday, May 13.  Contact Leland Baldwin with questions at lelandtbaldwin@aol.com. 

Sunday, May 20, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. 

Newcomers to St. John's Church, please join us for an informal wine and cheese reception at the home of our rector, Fr. Doug Remer, and his wife Sterling, on Sunday, May 20. Enjoy fellowship with other newcomers to the church and get to know our clergy in a relaxed setting. We welcome you!

Due to a change in date of the Parish Centennial Celebration, together with a conflict with a youth group function, of which some of our boys and girls are members, the Annual Benefit Concert has been postponed from Sunday, May 6 to Saturday, September 29, 2012.  Please mark your calendars for the September date and note that it is a Saturday.  

St. John's Outreach Committee suggests that making donations in memory of Mary Ellen Smith, Bishop Dabney Smith's wife, would be a meaningful way to honor our Bishop.  Please send donations for mosquito nets to the Diocesan Office clearly marked "NETS" on the memo line along with "St. John's (Tampa)" so the Bishop knows our parish is thinking of him.   Episcopal Charities (our Diocesan charitable fund) is keeping track of nets donations as we move toward our diocesan goal of providing 10,000 nets.  In order for the diocese to get a check to the Nets Inspiration Fund before May 25, please send donations to 7313 Merchant Court, Sarasota,  FL 34240 by May 15. 

Sandwich Sunday Hosts Needed 

Thanks to you, Sandwich Sunday, St. John's own meals ministry for South Tampa's local poor and homeless, has provided over 17,000 meals since inception!! We are now in great need of volunteer hosts for Sundays, May 20, June 17, July 15, and August 19.

Hosting is easy! Just buy supplies (reimbursed up to $300) from a list provided to you. The Congregation pitches in to help create bagged meals on Sunday morning. Next, you get the satisfaction of delivering boxes of food to the Faith Cafe on Monday. It takes only a few hours, but does so much good in our community. If you are interested in hosting, please contact Meg Russell (Bereday) at scobeyrussell@yahoo.com or 253.0061. 

The St. John's Men's Thursday Bible Study and Lunch will continue its discussion of the Beatitudes this Thursday, April 26 from 11:45 a.m.  to 12:45 p.m., in the John Peterson Room on the Middle Division School Campus, 240 Plant Avenue. (Parking is in the school's parking area across Plant Street under the Selmon Crosstown Expressway.)  Newcomers are always welcome in this group, so please invite a friend to join us.
 
The Rev. John Reese, the Rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, will facilitate the April 26 session: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you because of me...
 
Sandwiches will be provided for $5 per person. Please e-mail mkconstcorp.com or phone Marie at 831.4696 if you and a friend plan to attend, and let us know if would like to participate in lunch so we can order the correct number of sandwiches.