VBS 2013: Live in Love!  

 Monday, July 22 -Thursday, July 25

9:00 a.m. to noon

Ages 3 to 10

The registration form for St. John's 2013 Vacation Bible School is now available!  Please click here or go to our website at www.stjohnstampa.org to download a copy. 

Choral Evensong 

Sunday, May 5, at 5:00 p.m. 

Save the date and join us for a special Evensong on Sunday, May 5, at 5:00 p.m. in the church.  Composers will include Bernard Rose, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, and T. Tertius Noble.  This will be the last Evensong sung by a few of our choristers, namely Carter and Stuart Lindquist, and Sterling Purdy, join us to bid them good luck! 

The 13th Annual Mother's Day Ingathering for the  Mothers and Babies of Alpha House

May 12, 2013

While Mom will get lots of "Luvs" and "Huggies" on her special day, remember that others need to be pampered too! We can help the mothers and babies at Alpha House by bringing "Wish List" items on (or before) Mother's Day Sunday, May 12. Collection bags with wish lists will be distributed following all services on April 28 and May 5 and will also be available at the reception desk outside of the parish offices. Cash and gently used in-kind donations are also appreciated. All donations will be collected in the garth prior to all three services on Mother's Day, or drop off in the parish offices before May 12.

Volunteers are needed to distribute collection bags following all three services on April 28 and May 5. If you planning to attend and can lend a hand, please call Ruth Giordano at 254-4332.

Children's Wish List items include: Diapers (all sizes including pull ups), wipes, baby food, bibs, clothing (infant though age 3) , baby wash and shampoo, diaper rash cream, sunscreen, Aquaphor products, crib sheets, strollers and car seats (infant and toddler), baby monitors, new undergarments and socks, toys.

Mother's Wish List items include: gift cards (grocery, Wal-Mart, etc.), towels/wash cloths, twin sized bedding/pillows, full size toiletry (alcohol-free/Aveeno oatmeal products), sanitary items, grooming items for nails and hair, perfume, makeup, plastic storage bins, non-disposable plastic dishes and cups, flatware, bus passes, wallets, stationary and stamps, books, Band-Aids, Cetaphil cleanser, antiseptic and hydrocortisone products, lanolin, new undergarments and slippers.

Alpha House is an accredited, not-for-profit, local organization that was founded in 1981. Its mission is "to offer homeless pregnant women and mothers with young children safe housing and the tools they need to become self-sufficient, effective and responsible parents". This mission is accomplished through the provision of "safe housing, education, counseling, parenting and life skills training, vocational assistance, and spiritual support." The women live in the 20-bed maternity home or in the post-birth transitional apartments. The agency serves about 200 pregnant or parenting women and children each year.

Please call Ruth Giordano or email tampagio@aol.com with any questions.

Sandwich Sunday Hosts Needed

Now that Faith Café has opened in their new space, we are able to deliver bagged meals to them again for the deserving people who come there for lunch. 

We are in need of families to sponsor this important outreach on July 21 and August 18. If you can help, contact Amanda Sansone at asansone@carltonfields.com or 220.5573, she will be the temporary coordinator. Thanks to all who helped this past Sunday with the assembly! 

Candle and Flowers Available 

2013 Every Member Canvass  

Feast Day Facts: Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles 

The two apostles commemorated on this day are among those about whom little is known, except for their mention in the Gospels. James the Less is so called to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee and from James "the brother of the Lord," or perhaps to indicate youth or lack of stature. He is known to us from the list of the Twelve, where he is called James the son of Alpheus. He may also be the person referred to in Mark's Gospel as James the younger, who, with his mother Mary and the other women, watched the crucifixion from a distance.

Philip figures in several important incidents in Jesus' ministry as reported in John's Gospel. There we read that Jesus called Philip soon after calling Andrew and Peter. Philip, in turn, found his friend Nathanael, and convinced him to come and see Jesus, the Messiah. Later, when Jesus saw the hungry crowd, he asked Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" (John 6:5). Philip's practical response, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little" (John 6:7), was the prelude to the feeding of the multitude with the loaves and fishes. In a later incident in John's Gospel, some Greeks came to Philip asking to see Jesus. At the Last Supper, Philip's request, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied," evokes the response, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:8,9).