ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH M A R C H 2 0 1 5 OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI

Lenten Suppers. As a Lenten discipline, you are invited to attend the Healing Service on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Each service will be followed by a simple Lenten supper.

March Adult Forum. Sunday, March 22 at 10:10 a.m. in the Parish Hall. Betsy Kourkounis, Bethesda Free Health Clinic will be our guest speaker. For more information about Adult Forums at St. John’s contact John Switzer or Valerie Winn.

Ultreya. "Ultreya" is a Spanish word meaning “Onward!” An Ultreya meeting is an opportunity for those who have attended a Cursillo retreat to share their faith journey with others. These sharings from real-life experiences, serve as examples to all of us of the challenge which Jesus lays before His followers: "Go and do likewise.” There are two Ultreya groups at St. John’s (a weekly and a monthly group). The monthly meeting is on the first

Tuesday of the month. For more information about Ultreya contact Lena Melton.

Daughters of the King. The Daughters of the King meet on the first Tuesday of the month. Contact Lisa Baker for more information about the Daughter’s of the King at 228-282-3733.

Merry Widows. The Merry Widows meet on the first Friday of the Month at 5:00 p.m. Contact Ame Severson to RSVP at 228-327-0689.

Saints & Sinners. Saints & Sinners (the men’s group of St. John’s) meet on the second Tuesday of the month. All the men of the parish are invited to join in the fun. For more information on Saints & Sinners contact David Pritchett.

Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is March 29, 2015. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.

March at St. John’s

THE GRAPEVINE

Every Member Canvass of 2015 Annual Stewardship Campaign for St. John’s

$350,000 - Pledged Goal 150 - Pledges Goal

$322,306.10 - Pledged (through January 31, 2015) 132 - Pledges (through January 31, 2015)

*If you have not yet pledged for 2015, please do. It is not too late! Pledge cards are available in the narthex and on the ministry table in the parish

hall.

St. John’s Episcopal Church A p r i l 2 0 1 5 Ocean Springs, Mississippi

“Triduum” means “three days” The Holy Triduum or Paschal Triduum is composed of three worship services.

Maundy Thursday. Thursday, April 2. We will observe Maundy Thursday at St. John's with Holy Eucharist and the washing of feet, an Agape meal, and the stripping of the altar. The Maundy

Thursday observance at St. John’s is beautiful and moving. If you have never experienced it, you will wish to do so. Our Maundy Thursday liturgy and Agape meal will be enriched by guest musicians, Rebekah and Mathew Atkinson, harp and violin duo.

Good Friday. Friday, April 3. The Good Friday liturgy will be prayed

at Noon and at 6:00 p.m. at St. John's. A powerful and sublime service of worship.

Easter Vigil. Saturday, April 4. The first official celebration of Easter. The Great Vigil begins at St. John's at 8:00 p.m.

A complete listing of all Holy Week services is on page 2.

Paschal Triduum at St. John’s

MAUNDY THURSDAY GOOD FRIDAY

The Grapev ine

EASTER VIGIL

Left: Jim Lancaster, Jessica Leonard, and Eliott McGraw.Above: Wilse Manning, Darlene Stuart, and David Grigsby

BELL CHOIR

St. John’s Bell Choir meets on a variable schedule. For more information about St. John’s Bell Choir, contact Martha Thompson.

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Wednesday, April 1Holy Wednesday

Tenebrae at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 2Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday Service: Holy Eucharist with the washing of the feet, Agape Meal, and Stripping of the Altar

Beginning at 6:00 p.m.Our Maundy Thursday liturgy and Agape meal will be enriched

by guest musicians, Rebekah and Mathew Atkinson, harp and violin duo.

Friday, April 3Good Friday

Good Friday Liturgy at Noon and 6:00 p.m

Saturday, April 4Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday Liturgy, Noon

Saturday, April 4after Sunset

The Great Vigil of Easter at 8:00 p.m

Sunday, April 5Easter SundayHoly Eucharist

7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 11:15 a.m.

ADULT FORUM

The Adult Forum meets monthly during the coffee hour (Sundays at 10:10 a.m.). For more information about Adult Forum, contact John Switzer or Valerie Winn.

ULTREYA

St. John’s has three Ultreya groups. The first meets on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. in the Rawls Room.

The evening group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the parish hall.

The third meets at Pat Spear’s home on Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. For more information about Ultreya at St. John’s, contact Lena Melton.

SUMMER CAMP

Registration for the 2015 summer at Camp Bratton-Green has begun. You register online at graycenter.org.

The schedule for the summer can be found at http://graycenter.dioms.org/camp/schedule.html

(As a reminder the grades for the sessions apply to the grades the camper is currently in, so a camper who is currently in the 5th grade would attend a Middler 5th and 6th grade session.)

Camp Bratton Green, Coastal Pioneer Camp 2014

MERRY WIDOWS

The Merry Widows normally meet on the first Friday of the Month at 5:00 p.m. For the month of April, however, we will meet on the second Friday of the month. (The first Friday of the month will be “Good Friday.”) Contact Ame Severson to RSVP at 228-327-0689.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY DINNER “ROTA”

Wonderful Wednesday Dinner at St. John’s is set on a new course.

The vision is for a rotation of teams to be responsible for the meal one Wednesday every 4 – 6 weeks. This includes planning, shopping and preparing the meals. (The church pays for the food.) A planner and recipe book will be in the kitchen for reference.

If you enjoy working in the kitchen whether you like to organize and set up, chop vegetables, make salads, plan meals or cook, WE NEED YOU!

A signup sheet is located in the Parish Hall on the Ministry Table. Please feel free to call Darlene Stuart (228) 365-6246 or Angela Bishop (601) 991-4012 with any questions

DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

The Daughters of the King meet on the first Tuesday of the month. Contact Lisa Baker for more information about the Daughters of the King at 228-282-3733.

Prayers for the SickAlmighty God, giver of life and health: Comfort and relieve those who are sick and give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that they may be strengthened in their weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Parish FamilyJan Waterhouse, Mignon Cousins, Viola Bardsley, Ed Krecker, Marge Aldrich, Chuck Aldrich, Richard Heard, Roselyn & Lindy Ross, Ouida Atkins, Jim & Linda Shaw, Hazel Hall, Rosemary Furr, Charlie Ashby, Jean Boley, Terry Armstrong, Amanda N., Pat Spear, Charlie Melton, William Lewis, Fran Newby, Jim Lancaster, Wes Clearman, Bobby Ray Ricks, Charles Fowler, Frank Hedges, Marilyn Hoard

Extended FamilyVera Barton, Marlene Mclean, Leota Ray, Gladys Efaw, Roger Collier, Lillian Delzell, Judy Braun, Will Newman, Frances Kennedy, Claudia Reda, Teri Coate, Keith, Blake Jackson, Judy Nash, Donna Brown, Emily Lee, Lois Majure, Diane Hutchinson, Joan Mercer, Frannie Brown, David Kulick, Huron & Bessie Virden, Scott, Floyd Patrick, Lori, Robert, & Harlee Seiler, Judith Brown, Jean Higgins, George Sparkman, Dorrie Colomar

Greater CommunityRosemary Gonzalez, Belle McCann, Judy Williams, Julia Gregg, Butch and Paula, Mikel Anthony, Percy Sanderford, Karen Nelson, Gail Banks, Hannah Raymo, Monty Noblitt, Norma Langdale, Betty Smith, Melissa Lee, Dee Smelly, Connie Avera, Betty Page, Delores Carter, Gary Michaels, Brianna Medina, Robert, Kathy Grizzard, Glen Angus, Shirley Angus, Stacey Randall, Robert Webb, Angela Clary, Daisy Clauselet Pilot, Arthur Carlisle, Helen Lloyd, Margaret Moniet, Leroy, Patrick, Victoria, Glenn, P. Bell,Tim Cyrus, Vanessa, Amy, Donna & Rodney, Brian Gurney, Kendall Lamb, Nichole Gilbert, Shan Hudlow

How and when does the priest-in-charge process conclude? 

Below is the manner in which a priest-in-charge process concludes; ending in a non-call, a non-accepted call, or a tenured relationship between a parish and rector:

1. At about the 18-month point of the priest-in-charge's tenure, the senior warden contacts the Diocesan Office to schedule the first meeting of the Mutual Ministry Review process. [January 1 was 18 months for St. John’s and the Rev. Dr. Charles Hawkins]

2. The Canon to the Ordinary has an initial meeting with the Vestry. [Meeting occurred on February 11]

3. The Vestry and priest-in-charge participate in an on-line Mutual Ministry Review survey which is a 360 degree look at all parish ministry -- including the ministry of the laity and the ministry of the priest-in-charge. [On-line survey concluded March 2]

4. A few weeks later, the Canon to the Ordinary comes and presents a comprehensive report of the MMR survey to the Vestry and the priest-in-charge. [Meeting is set for March 31]

5. Based on the results of that survey, the Vestry reflects on whether or not it wishes to call the priest-in-charge as the tenured rector. Likewise, the priest-in-charge discerns whether or not he is called to continue as Rector. Either party may opt-out at this point (This is the reason the initial Letter of Agreement is for a two-year period).

6. Over the next few months, the Vestry and Rector -- if the relationship is to continue -- arrive at a list of mutual expectations and include them in an addendum to the Letter of Agreement. Those attachments are a "Rector Position Description" and a "Vestry Leadership Description", each of which includes four-to-six clear, concise, quantifiable and attainable expectations for the next three years.

The broader congregation does not have a direct role in this process. In the Episcopal Church, the Vestry is entrusted with the authority and responsibility to call and evaluate the Rector, in conjunction with the Bishop.

Praying It Forward

The Praying It Forward Campaign was a debt elimination campaign, begun in the Fall of 2014. The campaign will conclude in 44 months.

Each year Episcopalians around the country conduct an “Every Member Canvass” asking parishioners to financially support the mission and ministry of the parish they attend by making a pledge.

The average annual pledge in the Diocese of Mississippi is $3,222 (the figure is from 2012, the most recent year data is available).

Mississippi Episcopalians are more generous than the average. Nationally, the average annual pledge is $2,473.

St. John’s has 136 pledges (so far) for 2015. The total pledged (so far) is $330,266. Therefore, the average pledge at St. John’s is $2,428.

St. John’s has not yet reached her goal of 150 pledges for a total of $350,000 for 2015. If you have not yet made a pledge for 2015, it is not too late.

Our Goal $725,000

Pledged $737,506 (as of January 31, 2014)

How many people made a pledge in the Campaign? 146

How much as been paid? 167,617.86 (as of January 31, 2015).

How much remains to be paid on the pledges? $569,888.14

Let’s do the numbers...

YEAR TO DATE AMOUNT AS OF

Year to Date Giving:, etc.: Budget $29,431 1/31/15

Year to Date Giving, etc.: Actual $43,926 1/31/15

Year to Date Expenses: Budget $37,704 1/31/15

Year to Date Expenses: Actual $34,285 1/31/15

Over/Under $3,419 1/31/15

EVERY MEMBER CANVASS 2015 AMOUNT AS OF

Our Goal $350,000

Pledging Unit Goal 150

Pledged $330,266 1/31/15

Pledging Units 136 1/31/15

An Updated Note on Annual Giving at St. John’s

Mailing Address

Grapevine St. John’sSt. John’s Episcopal Church705 Rayburn AvenueOcean Springs, MS 39564

Address Service Requested

A Special Gift for LentGiven to the honor and glory of God by Marjorie

Anderson Ashley and Melissa Johnson, are two chalices and two patens of pottery created by Shearwater Pottery

of Ocean Springs.

A S P E C I A L G I F T F O R L E N T