Dear church members and friends of St. John's,
Last Sunday we hosted a Community Thanksgiving Service last Sunday. The church was packed and the service was powerful. There was a sense of unity of purpose and a real sense of community in the sanctuary during that service. Thanks to Jeanne for organizing the reception in McPhail Hall after the service. Everyone seemed to enjoy spending time together. It was a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving with our partners in ministry. $4,015 was collected in the offering for BIM and Sunday morning's BIM offering was $782. What a great Harvest Sunday!
Here is a thank-you note written by Kyle Damron who coordinated the music for the service.
Thank you for your gracious hospitality to us-not just on Sunday, but a week ago last Sunday night for our first choir rehearsal! Your folks are wonderful! You are so warm and kind. Thank you for your music and sharing your talents so graciously and generously. I was humbled and honored to serve and collaborate with all of you. You are a fine group of musicians! St. John's is very blessed to have you. The handbell choir did a fine job and the tone/spirit of the worship hour was well-established by the musical offering at the beginning of the service.
Kyle serves as Music Director at Westbury Baptist. Choir members from Bethany UMC, St. John's Presbyterian, Westbury Baptist, Westbury UMC, and Willow Meadows Baptist composed the community choir. We also heard a wonderful solo from the new Cantor at Temple Beth Israel, Daiel Mutlu. Temple Beth Israel was also represented by Associate Rabbi Adrienne Scott. This was a memorable Thanksgiving service. As we sometimes say in Mississippi, "Y'all did good!"
We are having a great Stewardship season. As of November 20 we have received 70 pledges for 2012 for $328,173. This is well above last year's tally at this time. Thank you to each of you generous givers! If you plan to pledge and have not yet turned in your pledge card, please do so at your earliest convenience.
Congratulations to Jackson Burnham, Kaelan McGuire and Colette Johnson who confirmed their fait last Sunday. We celebrate with them and their families. The choirs remembered Lee Shoemake's significant lifetime contributions to our congregation during the service last Sunday.
This Sunday heralds a new beginning in the life of our church as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. As we think about the way God's Spirit is moving in our world and in our congregation, we will hear from Isaiah 64:1-9, where the prophet says of God, "You did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence." This image of an explosive volcano God opens us to creative new developments in our world. In particular, the sermon will consider the implications of a new way of making products called additive manufacturing and the implications of this process for how we live out our calling as Christ followers who are members of the Body of Christ.
Things are going to get very creative over the next ten years as we transition to a new system of production and distribution. A Renaissance in manufacturing is in the works during our lifetime. It will eventually return production to the United States as production becomes localized. Most other aspects of the production process will be virtualized. This link opens a PDF file with an overview of 3D Printing. Here is a video that demonstrates how additive manufacturing works. Churches such as our that intentionally incorporate the principles of additive manufacturing will prosper.
As we look forward, one week from this Sunday is the Holiday Gift Market.
✼ Holiday Gift Market Brochure-Tells a bit about each ministry represented
✽ Holiday Gift Market Publicity Poster -- Copy and forward this link or print and hang it up in a public place
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! It was great to see how the congregation came together as we hosted the Community Thanksgiving Service last Sunday. Thanks to all who participated and led in various ways.
Peace,
Pastor Jon
The Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Burnham
St. John's Presbyterian Church
5020 West Bellfort Ave, Houston, TX 77035
Phone 713-723-6262 | sjpresby.blogspot.com
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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
