Remember the session in prayer this weekend as we have a day retreat
this Saturday.
Mary Sterner and I will teach a confirmation class for 7th and 8th
graders beginning the last Sunday in February. Those who complete the
course may join the church as confirmed members on Palm Sunday, March
28.
Sunday, February 7, is SouperBowl Sunday. Everyone is invited to
gather in McPhail Hall after worship for soup. One of the soup choices
will be "stone" soup created from donated items from the congregation.
Bring your favorite fresh, canned or frozen ingredient to the kitchen
before church to be added to our chicken stock.
Here is a message from Eloy Montes, Executive Director of Braes
Interfaith Ministries ...
Friends of Braes Interfaith Ministries,
A 3-alarm fire destroyed 20-25 apartments at the Royal Masters
Apartments on Stella Link close to Loop 610. Approximately 100
individuals lost most of their belongings. Some of those individuals/
families belong to our member congregations and are in desperate need.
The Braes Resale and Consignment Shop is partnering with the Corpus
Christi Catholic Church and will be collecting new and clean, gently
used pillows and blankets. These items will be distributed to the
residents who were displaced due to the fire.
We are asking for your help. Please bring the pillows and blankets to
the Braes Resale and Consignment Shop at 10319 South Post Oak, Monday -
Saturday between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM. It is is forecasted that
a deep freeze will occur this weekend and we would like the residents
to be warm and comfortable.
Braes Interfaith Ministries, the Food Pantry, will be assisting the
residents with food. If you know of a family who has been displaced,
please let them know that we will help. No identification is required
for these residents.
Your food donations and gift cards will be accepted at 4300 West
Bellfort. Toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, razors,
shaving creme, feminine products, toilet tissue, etc.) are also
needed.
Blankets, pillows, food, toiletries, and gift card donations will be
accepted at both locations.
Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.
Eloy Montes
From the beginning St. John's has been a key supported of BIM. I know
some of you have already responded to Eloy's request and trust others
will also respond as the word gets out about this particular need.
Here is the latest update from John Freeman on our response to the
earthquake in Haiti ...
Members and Friends from ChristChurch, Bellaire and St. John's
Presbyterian Houston Expand Partnerships to Respond to Earthquake
Crisis
In a partnership that included the Synod of Living Waters, the Synod
of the Sun, and the Southwest Rotary Club, members of ChristChurch
Presbyterian, Bellaire, and St. John's Presbyterian, Houston,
installed a water purification system in Arcahaie, Haiti in July 2009.
The successful installation was a pilot project that represented the
first time a Living Waters for the World water filtration system was
powered by solar energy.
Members on that trip also surveyed a large number of other potential
sites in churches, hospitals, schools and orphanages within a 30 mile
radius of Port au Prince. With this exposure to the tremendous needs
in Haiti, the group felt called to expand their ministry beyond water
systems to include food, health care, and medical supplies for a
number of orphanages, clinics, hospitals, and schools.
That small group expanded to include others interested in Haiti, and
has been working on a number of projects prior to the earthquake. One
of those projects included outfitting a shipping container as a mobile
clinic, and in the past two weeks it has been filled with medical
equipment, supplies, clothing, non-perishable food, and water, and was
shipped the last week of January.
One member of our group, Surpris Cherazard, is a Houston resident,
financial planner, a Rotarian, and a Haitian native. He has been at
the center of the relief efforts here in Houston and nationally, and
because of his long history of development work, his network of
contacts and relationships has been invaluable.
Many groups and individuals have helped tremendously in gathering
supplies and equipment to fill the container, including CCP and STPC,
Christian Alliance, Faith in Practice, the Multi-Cultural Service
Center, the Haitian Multicultural Association, the CCP Youth Group,
First PC in Palestine, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, and
individual doctors and dentists. The group has also channeled much of
its relief efforts through Seventh Day Adventist Medical Mission
networks in the US and Haiti, the Haiti Education Foundation, and the
Episcopal Church in Haiti.
One project in the planning stages has become desperate. The JELA
School/orphanage ("youth in action" in Creole) in Limbe, Haiti has
been absorbing internal refugees from Port au Prince since the
earthquake. The number of orphans they are caring for has doubled, and
they are now feeding and providing medical care for a large number of
injured elderly. The situation is dire, and we have been sending
emergency aid money to provide food and basic necessities for the JELA
School/orphanage as they try to meet these needs. Individuals from
ChristChurch, St. John's and Community of Servant Savior Presbyterian
have contributed cash donations for direct aid to the JeLa orphanage
and a second, orphange, Leogane. If you would like to help with this
project, please send funds to ChristChurch and mark your donation for
the JELA School or to St. John's and mark your donation for Haiti
Relief.
We will continue to monitor the situation and we will be committed to
these needs over the long haul. If you would like to help with other
groups that are working on the ground, here are a few that we would
recommend: Presbyterian Disaster Relief <pcusa.org/pda>; Haiti Mission
Network <http://pcusahaitinetwork.ning.com>; Haiti Education
Foundation <http://www.haitifoundation.org/>; World Vision
<worldvision.org>; International Red Cross <icrc.org>; Doctors Without
Borders <doctorswithoutborders.org>; Partners in Health <http://
www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti>; CARE <care.org>; United Nations
Association, Houston chapter <http://www.unahouston.org>; Clinton
Foundation <clintonfoundation.org>.
We appreciate the leadership John and others are providing in our
efforts on behalf of Haiti. We will keep the people of Haiti in our
prayers.
I will be here this Sunday and the next but will be on continuing
education next week beginning Monday, February 1, until Saturday,
February 6.
Peace of Christ be with you,
Pastor Jon
= = =
To view this online click on
http://groups.google.com/group/st-johns-presbyterian-church/web/epistle-for-january-28-2010
- or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that doesn't
work.
--
St. John's Presbyterian Church
5020 West Bellfort / Houston, TX 77035
T. 713.723.6262 / F. 713.723-4015 / Email: office.sjpc@gmail.com
Worship Service: Sunday, 10:30 am / Sunday School: 9:00 am
