Pledge Envelopes: Thank you to those of you who have already pledged. If you have requested envelopes, there are three options for you to receive them:1.) You can pick them up after Sunday morning’s online service in the church parking lot where we will also be offering drive up communion.2.) You pick them up in the parish house during regular office hours (9am-3pm weekdays).3.) We can hand deliver them if you are a Hampton resident. Please contact the church office if you are interested in this option.
Vestry Nominations: If you would like to nominate someone for the Vestry of St. John’s Church, prior to the Vestry Elections on Sunday, January 24, 2021 at the Annual Meeting, please fill out this form. This year we will be electing three persons to serve a three-year term from 2021-2024. There will be no nominations from the floor. We ask for these nominations in advance so we can get information on the candidates to the parish ahead of time. You may nominate yourself. Nominees for Vestry must be active, confirmed, pledging members of the congregation. The deadline for submission is Thursday, January 14, 2021.
Christmas Altar Decorations: If you would like to make a donation for altar decorations (poinsettias), please return a completed donation card and a check to the parish office. You may also complete the online donation form using this link. Please read the instructions carefully to ensure your donation is counted; after completing the form you will be asked to follow a link to a tithely page to finish making your donation. The list of memorials and honorariums will be published in the February newsletter. Thank you!
In person worship: The bishop has mandated that we cancel all in person worship for the foreseeable future. While this in incredibly distressing right before Christmas, we are of course abiding by her decision. We have been given permission to have outdoor worship with limited numbers. That said, we are not quite clear if that will still be allowed given the Governor’s announcement yesterday limiting in-person gatherings to a maximum of ten people. We will follow up next week about whether or not we can have outdoor worship for Christmas Eve. Regardless, we will have a “traditional” Christmas Eve service online at 8pm. We know that there is nothing traditional about this Christmas, but we must carry on as best we can. We find solace is the knowledge that there was nothing traditional about the first Christmas Eve. It was small, informal, and more than a little uncomfortable. Yet Jesus was born and came to live among us. That is what matters. You can receive “drive by” communion between 10:15am and 10:30am on Sunday.
Confederate Memorial Update: Our committee met for the second time over zoom on December 9. Our next meeting will be December 16. We will then break until January. There are a wide range of opinions and perspectives from committee members, which will provide for wonderful conversation and discernment. The goal is for this committee to conclude their work in six months.
Advent at Home: We know that many of you will not be venturing to church this Advent. However, you can still find ways to observe Advent from home. Follow this link to see the prayers that we are using on Sundays when we light the Advent candles. We hope you will use these same prayers with us. Additionally, Virginia Theological Seminary is offering meditations and images during this holy season beginning Sunday, November 29. Images and meditations can be experienced via the #AdventWord website, direct daily emails, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ASL videos via YouTube.
Communion To-Go: Have you missed communion but don’t feel comfortable attending church because of COVID? We will be creating bags with consecrated bread and wine, as well as the prayers we use for at home communion. We will even deliver them to you if you can’t come to pick it up. If you are interested, please contact the office at gro.notpmahhsnhojts@eciffo. You can also call between 9am and 3pm on weekdays at 722-2567.Prayers for our Nation: A St. John’s parishioner suggested that we pray for our nation every day at noon. You can do this anywhere with any words that you choose. The idea is that we know somewhere, other members of St. John’s are praying for our country. While you can pray in any way that you would like, the Book of Common Prayer is a treasure trove of prayers. Therefore, we will be providing a different one every week. Here is this week’s: Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.