Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, April 12, the 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. services will be combined into one 10:00 a.m. service, to be followed by our traditional Parish Picnic on the church grounds. Church School classes do not meet this morning and casual dress is appropriate for this service and the picnic following.

Monday in Easter Week, April 6

This service will be held in the chapel. 

Thanks to Hal and Sally Wiley for coordinating, to Dave Kenyon for cooking the delicious food, and to all the clergy and staff who helped make this meaningful series happen!

The next Men's Ministry event will feature speaker Matt Walter. Matt's background includes a degree in Near Eastern Languages from Yale and 15 years living in the Middle East; five as a child, when he lived in Tehran, Iran, and ten as a missionary in the country of Jordan, where Matt directed an Arabic language school for missionaries.  After returning to the US in 2007, Matt served as a pastor in South Carolina and then in Ocala, Florida.  In 2013, he left his pastoral role to establish the Tampa Muslim Outreach, Inc., the mission of which is to evangelize the growing Muslim population of the Tampa Bay area with the Gospel.  Matt, his wife of 23 years Mave, and their seven children ages 3 to 18, reside in New Tampa.

And save the date for our next event on May 5: Writing about (Your) Inspiring Lives. St. John's parishioner Phil Leigh will share lessons learned as a biography ghostwriter and explain how you can write your own. As Tennessee Williams put it, "Life is all memories except for the one present moment that goes by so quickly you hardly catch it going."

After finishing an investment career, Phil's first Civil War book was distributed by the University of Chicago Press in 2013 and followed by two more in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, Phil has written twenty-three Civil War articles for the New York Times. In 2013 he began ghostwriting the biographies of living Floridians in order to learn more about the challenges and accomplishments of others.
  

We have had great attendance of late, wonderful food as usual, and outstanding speakers. Please join us in the Parish Hall at 6:00 p.m. for wine and fellowship time, a fine meal catered by Holy Hog Barbecue at 6:30 p.m., and our speaker following dinner. RSVP to Dallas Coffield at dcoffield@gmail.com.

Please mark your calendar for Saturday, April 25, for the St. John's Parish Fellowship Retreat.  We will have activities for all ages at this parish-wide event.  There will be a ropes course, canoeing, labyrinth walk, and centering prayer, The day includes lunch and a closing worship service.   Dayspring is the Episcopal conference center just 30 minutes south of Tampa in Ellenton.  

The Committee on Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida is presenting a retreat for all people working a 12-step recovery program (couples welcome). The retreat is at DaySpring on April 24, 25 and 26.  Click here to go to the diocesan website for more information.

The next Men's Ministry event will feature speaker Matt Walter. Matt's background includes a degree in Near Eastern Languages from Yale and 15 years living in the Middle East; five as a child, when he lived in Tehran, Iran, and ten as a missionary in the country of Jordan, where Matt directed an Arabic language school for missionaries.  After returning to the US in 2007, Matt served as a pastor in South Carolina and then in Ocala, Florida.  In 2013, he left his pastoral role to establish the Tampa Muslim Outreach, Inc., the mission of which is to evangelize the growing Muslim population of the Tampa Bay area with the Gospel.  Matt, his wife of 23 years Mave, and their seven children ages 3 to 18, reside in New Tampa.

We have had great attendance of late, wonderful food as usual, and outstanding speakers. Please join us in the Parish Hall at 6:00 p.m. for wine and fellowship time, a fine meal catered by Holy Hog Barbecue at 6:30 p.m., and our speaker following dinner. RSVP to Dallas Coffield at dcoffield@gmail.com.