December 24, 2014 Issue 
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Visit the St. John's School Website

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Parish Office Phone: 813.259.1570
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We are always looking for church-related pictures to share with the congregation.  Submit them to LLowry@stjohnstampa.org.
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We want to provide support in your time of need!
Health regulations prohibit the clergy from being informed when our parishioners are in the hospital, so we will not know if you or someone you love is there unless you tell us. We want to provide support in any time of need or crisis.  
 
Please call the parish offices at 259.1570 or email 
parish@stjohnstampa.org to let us know when you need us.


 


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From the Parish Register

  

Birthdays:

 

December 25

Harry Hedges, John Overton, Sr.

 

December 26

Nancy Adams, Heather McGeachy, Constance Severn, Kimberly Wiese, Amy Yost 

 

December 27

Chris Spiker

 

December 28

Caden Hearing, Kevin Kellar, Lorraine Lutton, Yair Maya

 

December 29

Barrett Browning, Winifred Game, Benjamin Graham, Leslie Jennewein, Sandra Koulouris

 

December 30

Barbara Armstrong, Robert Kelley, Jr., Pat LeVarge, Tate Maggart,           Cynthia Martin

 

December 31

Andrew Duryea, Peter Duryea



 

 
Sunday's Scripture Snippet

 

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

 

Luke 1 







 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

News
Holiday Hours and Services 

Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve

Parish Offices Close at Noon

4:00 p.m. The Holy Eucharist (Rite II)

The Children's Christmas Pageant will take the place of the sermon at this service.

6:00 p.m. The Holy Eucharist (Rite II)   The St. John's Choir sings this service.

10:30 p.m. Christmas Music in the Church by the Florida Orchestra's String Quartet

11:00 p.m. The Holy Eucharist (Rite I)   The St. John's Choir sings this service.

 

Thursday, December 25, Christmas Day

Parish Offices Closed

10:00 a.m. The Holy Eucharist (Rite II)  The St. John's Choir sings this service.

 

Friday, December 26

Parish Offices Closed

 

Wednesday, December 31, New Year's Eve

Parish Offices Close at Noon

Please bring final pledge payments to the offices before noon on the 31st.  If you are mailing your payment, the IRS requires that it be postmarked by December 31 to count for 2014.

 

Thursday, January 1, New Year's Day, and Friday, January 2

Parish Offices Closed

Notice of Annual Meeting and Vestry Elections

The Annual Meeting of the Parish, which will include the election of four new Vestry members, will follow a combined service at 10:00 a.m., will take place in the Parish Hall on Sunday, January 18. Lunch will be provided.

 

At the meeting, four new Vestry members will be elected. The Vestry has nominated the following parishioners: Truett Gardner, Drew Graham, Cindy Hadlow, Kenneth Lane, Dax Nelson, Jackie Preis, Lisa Sepulveda, and Scott Simons.

 

Early voting, supervised by Vestry members, will take place following the three services on the preceding Sunday (January 11) and during normal office hours in the parish offices during the week before the meeting. Voting by proxy is not permitted.

 

According to our by-laws: "Only adult communicant members of this Parish, those who are 16 years of age or over, whose names are duly enrolled as such in the Register of said Parish, and who are regular in their attendance at its services and make stated contributions of record to its general support, shall be Electors qualified to vote at a duly convened meeting of the Parish."

 

Metropolitan Ministries Outreach

Last week a small team from St. John's met at the Holiday Tent of Metropolitan Ministries to pray for the clients as they selected toys and groceries for their families.  Prayer cards were completed by the shoppers to be left in the Chapel of Hope.  The card had one side for prayer requests and the other side for thanksgivings.  We found most cards had more thanksgivings than requests. Those who wished to pray with someone came into the Chapel for prayer with our team members.  Thank you to Father Connelly, Jim Whittlesey, Kathleen Moore, Sally Wiley, David Schenck, Nicholas Nitch and Mother Alice for their outreach to Metropolitan Ministries.

 

Robert Baker to Be Ordained

The Ordination of Robert Owen Baker to the Sacred Order of Priests will take place on Sunday, January 4, at 4:00 p.m., in the church. Reception follows in the Parish Hall. Join us for this joyful event!

 

The Entrepreneurs Group Seeks New Member

The Entrepreneurs Group is now looking for a new member to join them in their peer review process, with five other small business owners.  If you are a small business owner, you know it's "lonely at the top," so if meeting with other fellow small business owners would benefit you from a peer review and support standpoint, we urge you to contact us.  


The group is led by Walt Hardenstine, himself a small business owner, and facilitator to Renaissance Executive Forums here in Tampa Bay.  This organization already works with over 40 business owners and CEOs, so the interaction is well accepted by some of the most successful businesses in the Tampa Bay area.  

If you are interested in joining us, please email Walt at whardenstine@executiveforums.com.  The group meets at the church on alternating Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Upcoming Events

Annual Circle Cocktail Party: Friday, January 9

Plan to join us for our annual January Circle Cocktail party on Friday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. Guests should bring an appetizer or dessert to share, as well as a beverage of your choice. The party will be hosted by Chris and Vera Farmen at their home, and co-hosted by David and India Witte. 

 

Look for an evite after the holidays, or contact Betsy Graham at betsygraham@verizon.net to make sure you are on our mailing list!

The Soiree: Friday, January 16

The next Soiree will be at the home of Carol & Henry Woodroffe, 2109 North Dundee, 33629. It will be on Friday, January 16, at 7:00 p.m. Please bring an appetizer to share and your favorite beverage. 

 

RSVP to Mary Hulse,mmhulse@tampabay.rr.com,286.1121

or Pat Wilson,patwilson68@tampabay.rr.com,644.4640.

St. John's School Alumni: Save the Date!

St. John's alumni are invited to join us for a cocktail party on February 11, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. We will reminisce, enjoy festive food and drink, and learn more about where the School is headed! Mark your calendars and look for more information soon! Questions? Contact Lee Lowry.

Your Action Needed
Sandwich Sunday Help Needed

Each month, we make sandwiches and bag lunches for the needy patrons of Faith Café to take with them after they eat a hot meal at the Café. We are in need of a number of monthly hosts for 2015. Hosting means purchasing supplies (costs are reimbursed by St. John's), helping facilitate the assembly line, and delivering sandwiches to Faith Café. Please contact Amanda Sansone if you can help at amanda.arnold.sansone@gmail.com.

This Week at St. John's
Thursday, December 25
 
Parish Offices Closed
10:00 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) (Church)
Friday, December 26
 
Parish Offices Closed
Sunday, December 28
8:00 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite I) (Church)
9:15 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) (Church) 
Congregational carols will be sung at this service.

Sunday School for Children (Parish Hall)
Children of all ages will meet in the Parish Hall for learning and fun together this Sunday!
Immediately following the 9:15 a.m. service
Coffee Hour Fellowship (Parish Hall)

11:15 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite I) (Church) 
Congregational carols will be sung at this service.
Monday, December 29
12:15 p.m.
Noonday Prayer (Chapel)
Tuesday, December 30: The Holy Innocents
No Contemporary Women's Bible Study today
12:15 p.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) (Chapel)
Wednesday, December 31: New Year's Eve
Feast of the Holy Name

Parish Offices Close at Noon

12:15 p.m.
The Holy Eucharist (Rite II) (Chapel)

No Wednesday Nights at St. John's tonight

More Upcoming Events
Tuesday, January 6
5:00 p.m.
Men's Ministry (Parish Hall)

Mark your calendars for January 6 when the St. John's Men's Ministry starts its 2015 program with some inpact. We will be hosting Rob Greenway, a retired senior intelligence officer at the US Central Command currently working as a civilian in the Defense Intelligence Agency. Based on first-hand experience through deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rob provides an in-depth perspective on Islam, and how the religion has garnered the attention of the world in its spread through the Middle East and beyond. While Rob continues to serve our country as a civilian, the views and perspectives he offers are his alone, and offers them from a solid Christian perspective. We've asked him to condense a couple of centuries of history in a short presentation-a big challenge. 

 

To accommodate the extensive program, we will start social time at 5:00 p.m., serve dinner at 5:30 p.m. sharp (that's 1730 for Cary Brown), and we'll let Rob take the floor shortly thereafter. You don't want to miss this one. RSVP to Dallas Coffield at dcoffield@gmail.com.