| July 20, 2010 Good News, Everyone! This year's Country Fair and Auction and Pork Barbecue on July 10 and 11 promises to be the best ever! See the announcement and take a look at the poster! You can preview the items (list). First bake sales were quite successful, with nearly 20 bakers and appreciative buyers. Please sign up for those of September 4 and October 9 from 11 to 1 pm at the KOA campground, County Rt 7 in Copake. July 1, 2010 The Church of St. John in the Wilderness is sponsoring a bake sale at Copake KOA, 2236 County Route 7 in Copake, Saturday, July 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All are welcome. Vatican has issued an invitation to Episcopalians unhappy with liberal changes to join the Church of Rome. Read the New York Times story. May 19, 2010 Easter Day may have come and gone, but we have fifty days of feasting and celebration in Easter season. Rejoice and be glad in them! William Love, our Bishop, is visiting the deaneries to report on General Convention and map future directions for the diocese. Bob Dodd reports on these matters in the September Messenger. March 25, 2010 The Messenger has a new look, a new editor, and a new name. Robert Dodd has suceeded Marya as editor and our newsletter is now A Voice in the Wilderness. See the new issue. We are grateful to Marya for her years of service! Fr John and Lucy Eldridge will facilitate a Contemplative Prayer Group on Wednesdays at 3 pm, starting February 10. We will use a meditative approach to prayer and scripture. Call 518-329-3674 for details. March 16, 2010 Winds in the Wilderness will perform the last of this series of concerts March 7 at 2 pm at our church. Hear Edith Hedrick and other renowned musicians perform works classic and original. Read the invitation and the publicity poster. February 13, 2010 David Chittick, Elen Freeston, and Jane Peck represented St John's at the Diocese of Albany Convention on June 5-6. Much business of the usual sort was conducted, without rancor, upset or surprise. Read Jane's report in The Messenger. Have you checked the St John's Photobook? Several new faces have been added. Welcome all! The 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church is now history. Reportedly the Anaheim convention was far more collegial than the explosive GC03 and the fractious GC06. Robert Dodd has a short report. November 13, 2009 Charley will offer a selection of Advent Calendars for sale at coffee hour this Sunday. Every child enjoys opening the tiny doors on the "countdown to Christmas"! This year's Country Fair & Auction and Pork Barbeque was very successful indeed! Thanks to all the volunteers whose hard work paid off and special thanks to our Co-Chairs, Susan Mollo and Lucy Eldridge. October 20, 2009 Fr John has a repaired heart! Although recovery will take a while, he is feeling stronger and looking good. John is easing back into his ecclesiastic duties and will be our celebrant at Sunday Eucharist! 2008 Lambeth Conference is over and the church still stands. Read Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's hopeful statement on the real challenges that face our larger communion. Also of interest from the conference: Indaba Conversations. September 10, 2009 Mark your calendars now! Copake Falls Day is Saturday, August 22, 2009. Mibs Zelly asks for bakers to prepare blueberry muffins for the runners on the Fun Run. Local artists will exhibit their work in Burke Hall. Our church is headquarters for more activities. See Schedule. August 7, 2009 This year's auction promises to be one of the best ever, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our donors! Review the partial list of items for sale and see selected photos. Come to the Country Fair Saturday, July 11, and place your bid. Items available for viewing at 9 am; bidding starts 11 am. As usual, there will be thousands of items tagged for sale at low, low prices! Fr John is out of rehab and back in the rectory. Although he is recovering nicely from the infection, operation, and complications, his heart is not working efficiently, leaving him weak in body and spirit. We all pray that he will feel better than ever as soon as his heart is repaired! The Country Fair and Auction and Barbecue is coming July 11 & 12. Donations are being accepted in Burke Hall, where the Crafters meet every Tuesday at 6 pm to prepare items. See The Messenger, May 2009 (pdf) for full details. The Messenger has also an essay by Walt Zelley on what we, as Episcopalians, are obliged to confess. Walt's been reading the back matter again! September 25th saw the gathering of hundreds at the Church of St John the Divine in NYC to support the Millennium Development Goals, which the recent Lambeth Conference and Katharine, our Presiding Bishop, endorse. World poverty could be substantially reduced with a mere fraction of the proposed Wall Street bailout, an irony. March 24, 2009 Fr John is in St. Peter's Hospital in Albany getting antibiotic therapy. Our Rector Emeritus, Barbara Mogan, filled in for him this week and will be with us on Ash Wednesday for the evening service. Please keep John and all the sick and suffering in your hearts and in your prayers. February 22, 2009 The Episcopal Church Women will sponsor a Valentine's Day Dinner on Saturday, February 14 at 5:00 and 6:15 pm. Read the details and call Susan Mollo at 329-0395. Fr. John Thompson was inducted Rector of Church of St. John in the Wilderness by Bishop William Love on Saturday, January 10th at 11 am. We invite photos of the joyful reception! January 30, 2009 Episcopal Church Women (ECW) of SJW plan several fall activities. In November, they will sponsor Operation Christmas Child to supply gifts overseas. Be sure to check their full schedule of events. January 5, 2009 Choirs from many local churches will join for a special Christmas Service of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 21 at 4:30 at St John in the Wilderness. Come and enjoy this heartwarming pause for peace! December 31, 2008 Selected Sermons Images of the Kingdom of Heaven Catholic Encyclopedia December 15, 2008 John is leading a group examining the life of Jesus from popular and scholarly perspectives. We meet in Burke Hall at 7 pm Mondays. (more info) November 25, 2008 John Thompson, the new preacher in town, has been tapped to preach at the Annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving on Novemebr 25 at the Hillsdale United Methodist Church. John is leading a group examining the life of Jesus from popular and scholarly perspectives. We meet in Burke Hall at 7 pm Mondays. (more info) November 16, 2008 The Women Who Walk. A group of about a dozen meet at SJW at 7:15 am weekdays. Founded by Peggy Anderson and Leslie Strom, TWWW walk several miles in a little more than an hour. They invite newcomers to join them for fellowship, conversation, and aerobic exercise! October 8, 2008 We held a website development session on September 14. Ten persons practiced posting photos and events to the calendar. Handouts. Episcopal Church Women (ECW) of SJW plan several fall activities. First of these is the United Thank Offering drive to take place in October. Be sure to check their full schedule of events. September 9, 2008 We plan a website development session Sunday, September 14, after Coffee Hour in the Rectory Office. Come and learn how to add your own photos and events to the website. Special Bonus to the first 8 participants: a CD full of essential software. Sunday School resumes Sunday, September 14. If you wish your child enrolled, please contact Wendy Langlois or Rebecca Briggs John Thompson celebrated his first Eucharist as rector of St John in the Wilderness on August 10. After the service, we met for a reception on the lawn (photos). Next Sunday, August 17, our little church will host the summer meeting of the Hudson Valley Deanery. This will be John's opportunity to meet his peers and local church leaders. Join us in celebration. 2008 Lambeth Conference is over and the church still stands. Read Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's hopeful statement on the real challenges that face our larger communion. Also of interest from the conference: Indaba Conversations. August 12, 2008 John Thompson, our new rector, has arrived and now awaits his stuff, somewhere on route from Alabama. He moves into the rectory this week. Sunday he joined us for worship (photos). John's first service as rector will be August 10, 2008. There will be no early service this day. Whole congregation of St John in the Wilderness will gather at 10 am to welcome him. Read Karen's Welcome Letter. See some website enhancements. Anticipating John's arrival, the rectory has undergone an extensive and pleasing face lift. Our thanks to all who worked on the renovation! If you wish to help with the final details, contact Karen Flynn. To ease John's transition to Columbia County, we invite parishioners to contribute items to a welcome basket of necessities. Your editor, an engineer, plans to offer baling wire and duct tape. The Country Fair & Auction and Barbecue took place on the weekend of July 12-13. Weather was great and a good time was had by all. Read Marilyn Kay's full report. Our thanks to the many faithful who make this one of the memorable events in the life of the parish! April 5, 2008 The Search committee continues its work to find a new rector for St. John's. The Parish Self-Study was sent to our members in late November. Fifty-one surveys were returned. The Search Committee was heartened by the positive responses regarding our activities and worship life at St. John's. Survey analysis formed part of the parish description. Last December, Barbara Morgan, our beloved rector, retired after a decade of service to our church community. We thank her from the bottom of our grateful hearts and wish her all blessings in her retirement in Massachusetts. |
