April 16, 2008

Pastor Max and his merry band are safely back from Guatemala. . .

which was wonderfully apparent last Sunday.  No doubt, in the fullness of time, he will comment on that trip in these pages.  The time is not yet full.  Watch for it!

Unique Musical Event this Saturday at St. John's. . .

San Francisco Renaissance Voices, Todd Jolly, Music Director, will be performing Music of the Labyrinth on Saturday, April 19, at 4:00pm at St. John's.  Renaissance Voices will be joined by Alta Sonora Renaissance Wind Band (Peggy Murray, Director) with the music for Eastertide and the Feast of St. Fulbert des Chartres from the great cathedrals of the Franco-Flemish Renaissance.  Dancerie Terpsichore (Aurie Bradley, Director) joins the voices and instruments with dances of the period including a re-creation of the pilota dance of the clerics, that was danced on the labyrinth at the Cathedral at Auxerre.   Thomas Crecquillon’s Sancta Maria based on St. Fulbert’s text will be performed along with Guillame Dufay’s Gloria, Missa da pacem by Josquin de Prez & Jean Mouton’s glorious Missa Alleluia.

A message from Joe Martin and Liz Monk, 
St. John's members who joined the Peace Corps

Hey St. John's!

            Sorry it has taken so long for us to send any word.  Liz and I have begun our Peace Corps service and have now been in Romania for about two months.  We are currently in the last few weeks of our training process.  For the time being, we live in a large industrial city called Ploesti (PloyeshT) about an hour North of Bucharest, and stay with a very nice host family in a Bloc apartment.  Just about everyone in the cities lives in one of these large, gray, ubiquitous remnants of the communist era. 

            We recently received our permanent placement, and in three weeks will be moving to a smaller town called Turda, in Transylvania.  It is a former salt mining town and incredibly beautiful (from what we have seen in pictures). 

            I will be working for an NGO on an Anti Human Trafficking campaign, and Liz will be working with an NGO providing sustainable agriculture support to local villages as well as contributing to an annual agricultural festival in the town. 

            We are both very excited about this work and feel it is a great fit. 

            Most of the churches out here are Orthodox.  From what we have seen so far, they are beautifully ornate, and the one I attended had a remarkable choir, though I am not quite yet able to understand the sermons. 

            St. John's is in our thoughts and we would love to hear from any of you, even if it's just a quick note.  Hope you are doing well!

                                                                                                       Joe and Liz


The English literature seminar. . .

will meet at 2:30pm on Thursday, May 1, in the Ark Annex to discuss the second half of E.M. Forster's novel, "Howards End."  Plus the first half, of course.

Editor's note: Virginia is planning to lead us on a journey through the Bible as literature.  Watch for more information, and do convey your excitement about this series to Virginia! We're very fortunate to have her perceptive guidance.

 

A Message from St. John's Deacons

Deacons call on, call, and send notes to our members who are homebound or ill. Do you know someone that we should call on? Let us know. You can also help the Deacons by calling a member whom you haven't recently seen in church, or visiting or writing to a member who is no longer able to attend Sunday service.  

                                    —The Deacons (Barbara Taylor, Helen Dole, Karma DeWitt, Ann Arndt, Alice Bodnar, Tamara Banda, Mark Coplan, Dorothy Worth, Feliciana Lynn)

Another special musical experience for our Sunday morning worship, 
with thanks to our music director Todd Jolly

On May 18, St. John's will welcome the Intermediates of San Francisco Boys Chorus and Training Chorus Director Margaret Clark.  They will provide music for worship, and our chancel choir will join them on the anthem.

 
Reminder: Please and thank you pay your capita tax, $27.50. . .

to help reimburse our church. St. John’s will make a total obligatory payment to Presbytery of $3,850. This is the first year we're not sending out a separate letter requesting your help (to save postage).

 
St. John's has renewed its $10,000 investment. . .

in the Northern California Community Loan Fund.  Our church has been a supporter of the NCCLF for many years.  In renewing, Session voted to extend our term from one year to three years in response to a request from NCCLF to give them greater flexibility in making loans.  NCCLF makes loans ranging from $10,000 to $1 million for four types of nonprofit projects: affordable housing, community facilities,human services and economic development.  You can learn more at their website www.ncclf.org.

                                                                 —Lynne Royer, St. John's Treasurer

 
Get your act together!

The World Famous Annual St. John's Retreat Talent Show will take place the weekend of our world famous annual retreat (May 2-4) at Asilomar, so start dreaming up your contribution!

 
The next Water Into Wine event. . .

will be held on May 17, 5:00-8:00pm at the home of Norma and Garth Watson.  Come and enjoy a casual evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and fellowship!

Flick Flak, our eternally enjoyable movie discussion group...

meets Friday, April 25, at 6:30pm, in the Campbell Reception Room for potluck and discussion of "Flawless" and "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."  Call Martha Perdue or Barbara Taylor for information.


Women at the Well, a St. John's gathering. . .

which convenes to nurture, support, and encourage its participants — and to which you are always invited, meets Saturday, April 26, from 8:30-10:30am in the church office.
 

Registrations are coming in for Camp Elmwood. . .

our day camp for ages 5-13 and teen counselors, ages 13-18, scheduled for July 28-August 1 but we have room for lots more campers. Please register your young people now and pick up flyers for friends and neighbors, Adult help is also needed. See Fred Harvey if you will have any time available during our camp week.


Our ever faithful Kathy Pratt will be on vacation. . .

for four Sundays in April and May. Fred Harvey could use some help with our church school program. Let Fred know if you would be willing to spend some time with our students during worship. No experience is needed, just patience and enthusiasm.

 

Join our Nature Hiking Group led by Karma Dewitt, Saturday, April 19. . .

for an outing of a couple of hours to enjoy wildflowers in the East Bay Hills. Meet in our garage at 10:00am.

Can you help set up the sanctuary when Bob McConnell is unable to perform that service? 

He really feels the need for a backup. Please give him a call ; Bob will be glad to train you in the elemental ways of assisting.

Please wear your name tag to Sunday Worship!

St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA  94705