Newsletter1

Recently I mentioned how prayer is our power source for serving and living life. It has been said that a life without prayer is like vacuuming a whole room and not having the vacuum cleaner plugged into the wall socket. We work, we pull, we struggle, we plan until we are utterly exhausted. The problem is we forget to plug into our source of power – God Almighty.

For some of us prayer is easy and natural. Not a day goes by without spending some quiet time talking and listening to God. For others of us, prayer is a struggle. We know it’s good for us, it’s the right thing to do, but for one reason or another it’s difficult to do. Prayer does not have to be hard or intimidating. Prayer is like hanging out with a best friend or a beloved. We can be ourselves, talk some, listen some and just share time together. Prayer is simply paying attention to God. And for those of us who find this a challenge, sometimes it simply comes down to making it a priority.

There’s a story about a man named Charles Schwab. Schwab was president of Bethlehem Steel back in the early 1900’s when he met with a management consultant named Ivy Lee. Lee told Schwab that his consulting firm could help the steel company get more done. Schwab said, “If you can do that, I’ll be glad to pay you whatever you ask within reason.” With that Ivy Lee gave him a method to increase efficiency by 50 percent. He handed Schwab a sheet of paper and told him to list the most important things he had to do the next day and number them in order of importance. Schwab did as he was instructed. “Tomorrow morning,” Lee directed, “you begin with number 1 on your list. After it is taken care of completely, move on to number 2 and complete it.

Don’t worry if you do not get all the way through the list. At least you will have completed the most important tasks.” Schwab was told to continue this practice every working day, and when he was convinced of the results to have his employees use this method as well. “Try it as long as you like and then send me your check for whatever you think this idea is worth.” In a few weeks Charles Schwab sent Ivy Lee a check for $25,000.

It’s simple, yet extremely valuable advice. If our power source is truly God, doesn’t it make sense to make prayer our number one priority? When we do we receive the wisdom and energy needed to follow Christ in our daily lives. Give it a try. Plug into the power and peace that passes all understanding. And then go tackle life’s vacuuming!

Before you know it, school and Sunday School start again and Fall will be upon us. Where did the Summer go?

Although she has been working with Vivian and the other Sunday School teachers the last few months, Tracy Strange will be our new Sunday School Director beginning in September. As always, volunteers are needed. Those who have not been involved in the past, please step up to the plate and support Tracy and the other teachers in this important ministry. The future of our wonderful Parish is with the small children and youth whose first memories of Christ in their lives begin with this program.

When you are in the Church, please take a moment to enjoy the newly refurbished and painted windows. A lot of time and labor went into this project. Also, look at the outside of the Mission House where the deteriorated and missing siding has been replaced with a new type of wood shingle siding. Thank you Sonny for all your time and effort required in overseeing these two projects along with the other ongoing projects necessary to maintain our buildings and grounds.

Over the Summer, I had a chance to really explore the contents under all the category tabs on St. John’s website which June has worked so hard to setup and maintain. In addition to the calendar of activities and schedules at St. John’s, the website is very creative and contains links to other websites of importance and interest to our Parish, including the link to June’s Photoshow Circle Website of recent events at St. John’s which is great fun to watch. I encourage all of you to regularly visit our website for better entertainment and information than you find on TV.

While it may be a little early to be thinking about the end of the year and at the risk of sounding like a “lame duck”, two new Vestry members will be elected at the Parish annual meeting the first Sunday in December. All baptized and confirmed adult communicants of the Church are eligible for election to the Vestry. If anyone is interested in serving on the Vestry, please advise Kathleen or any Vestry member. It is an extremely worthwhile experience and vital to the spiritual welfare and programs of the Parish.

Pastoral Notes

The sympathy of the parish is extended to Carolyn and Bud LaFon for the death of Carolyn’s mother,
Elizabeth Gamble, on June 11, 2007;
and to Andy Rea for the death of his half-sister, Peggy Cento, on June 13, 2007.

Summer will soon come to a close, which means it’s time to think of our fall and winter season. Several projects have been completed this summer and some are still to be scheduled. It’s been difficult to find the right people to agree to small jobs - although we think they are large.

One of the brightest ways we can help each other at St. John’s is to be positive and supportive and perhaps not so quick to make judgements before a project is complete. If you have questions or concerns about a project, please don’t hesitate to speak to me. I will be glad to spend some time and explain the process.

..................................................Church : 1. The painting of the windows and doors. Still to be finished is the sealing .....process. Thank you Jeff Sprouse for your help in overseeing this process. 2. Sanding floors 3. Replacing mats at the door. 4. Cleaning the carpet. 5. Fixing mortar joints on the chimney. 6. Fixing shingles on the roof.	.............................................Mission House : 1. Repaired frozen/broken sewage pipe 2. Replaced shingles where needed. Thank you Jeff Sprouse for your help .....in overseeing this project and bringing the house to life.
............................................... .............................................Parish Hall : 1. Fixing nursery table. 2. Fixing sheet rock near restrooms. 3. Cleaning out the basement.	................................................Grounds : 1. Demolish old garage, dog pen, and dish. 2. Fill in old septic tank. 3. Trim shrubbery. 4. Work on cemetery grounds and bank near the road. 5. Replace tractor battery.

If you find something that needs my attention or if you are interested in helping with any projects, please don’t hesitate to call me at (434) 531-4675.

Parish Members Donate Needed Items

Faye Williams donated an American Flag to be flown in the cemetery.

The Earl Gianniny estate donated two ladders, which can be used in many ways.

.....As Activities Director, I’ve been busy planning for our fall church season. There are several activities planned and I hope that you are able to attend at least one if not all this fall.

.....Thank you for sharing and giving to all the events we have. Without each of you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.

.....If you have ideas or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call (434) 823-4666.

Sunday, August 26 ...........End of Summer Luncheon
Monday, August 27 .........Parish Hall Clean-Up Day ... Getting ready for Sunday School starting September 2nd.
Sunday, September 16 ....Bishop Lee Visits ..Baptisms and Confirmations may be arranged through the Rev. Sturges.
Saturday, September 22 .Giant Yard Sale (date change due to Bishop’s visit). ..Our sale will be held at the church or at Jeff & Michelle Sprouse’s.
..........................................Please contact Nancy Sprouse if you would like for her to meet you to unload -- (434)823-4666.
..........................................Please leave a message if she’s not available.

Wednesday, October 3 ...Buildings & Grounds Clean-Up Day -- Preparing for Homecoming
Sunday, October 7 ..........Homecoming
Sunday, October 21 ........Fall Festival & Halloween Celebration
November/December..... ECW Christmas Bazaar
Sunday, December 9 ......Annual Church Meeting
Sunday, December 16.....Christmas Pageant & Luncheon
Monday, December 24.. Christmas Eve Services
..............................dates subject to change

......Emily Nelson and Jordan Sprouse join a new friend at the 2006 Fall Festival & Halloween Celebration.

Thank you for your continued support of our Altar Guild. The service schedule, which may be found on the bulletin board in the choir room, tells lector schedules as well as altar guild.

As I’m sure you know, the Altar Guild is responsible for making sure the church is cleaned and prepared properly for each service. I will take care of any extra services during the week (funerals, baptisms, weddings or any additional needs (silver, candles, supplies, linens). If you find you are unable to fulfill your commitment, please don’t hesitate to give me a call: (434)823-4666.

Please remember that coffee, refreshments and fellowship may be enjoyed every first Sunday following the service. Please thank Carolyn Fowler and your monthly Altar Guild member for providing refreshments. All other Sundays, you can enjoy coffee and fellowship in the Parish Hall.

The checking account balance on July 31^st for the Operating Fund was $16,581.85.

The Scott and Stringfellow accounts continue to do well. The account totals as of July 31^st:

Thank you so much for your stewardship. We have much to be thankful for. There will be ongoing repairs and work on the Mission House. There are items the church building needs also. Therefore, the total of the Building and Maintenance Fund will be fluctuating.

Any donation made to the Building and Maintenance Fund will help finance the needed repairs/upgrades.

Check out http://www.avenue.org/sjbec at any time. Suggestions for improvements in the site are always welcome. This is St. John’s website.

The website photo page does not yet have Vacation Bible School pictures. The photoshow should be uploaded soon. If you would like to download or order a print of one or more of the pictures, the Photoshow website will allow you to do so.

Send as many free E-cards from the E-card page for as many occasions as you like! The site on which the E-cards are located is CrossDaily.com. This is a Christian based website.

September 9th marks the beginning of the new Sunday School year. I would like to start by thanking Vivian Morris and Michelle Sprouse for taking time out of their busy schedules to assist me in preparing for the upcoming season. Their knowledge and expertise was invaluable.

I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our wonderful volunteer teachers whose dedication is a blessing to all of us. I welcome anyone interested in ministering to the children to please contact me.

I am looking forward to making this school year an exciting and enriching experience for all. I hope that you will feel comfortable coming to me with any questions, concerns, or ideas that you may have. Thank you again for allowing me to serve as your Sunday School Director.

I’d to thank everyone at St. John’s for your support of my mission trip to Sudan. It was such an amazing experience. We attended two Episcopal church services where I shared greetings with from our church on the other side of the world. I told them that we pray for them each week.

While we were there, we helped with the construction of a school that was being built by Hope for Humanity. This will be the first high school they have for many miles and contribute to the education of the nation for many years to come.

All the Sudanese people were so friendly. If we stopped somewhere, the entire village wanted to shake our hands. They were so happy, yet had so little in material things.

Please continue to pray for these wonderful people and peace for their nation. You have helped make a difference for God’s children.

The women of the ECW are busy preparing for our annual Holiday Craft Show. We invite everyone to participate in making our 2007 show the best ever. Our ladies are busy making hand-made or homemade items to be sold.

We don’t want to leave out our men of the church. You might consider homemade woodworking projects if you are handy with a saw.
Plants are another good money-maker. If you need an idea talk to any of the ECW women.

All ECW monies are given to worthwhile projects. We recently provided funds to send Lindsay McFarlane and Randi Thomas to St. George’s Camp at Shrine Mont. We also donated money to Brian Hutcherson to help support his trip to the Sudan. We have also set aside $1,000 to help with mission house repairs.

Thanks to each of you who continue to donate and buy items from the table in the Parish Hall. This on-going fundraiser has been very profitable.

Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, September 9 following the service. All women of the church are invited to attend.

I am very sad to report that Michelle Aldridge and her four girls moved out of the mission house in August and will now make their home near family and friends in Maryland.

Michelle would like to send her many thanks for letting her family live in the mission house and enjoy the scenery and quiet surroundings. Living on her own and raising four young girls has taken its toll on the family over the past few months. Although she worked two jobs, it was still difficult for Michelle to make ends meet. She sincerely appreciates everything done for her and the girls during her stay.

Our annual budget is very dependent on the mission house rental income. It is very important that upon the house becoming vacant, we immediately begin work on preparing the house for our next renters. Following my home inspection, a punch list of items will be prepared and I hope everyone can help.

We will also begin advertising right away for new renters and hopefully we can find the right family or person soon.


More than 20 children and a dozen volunteers spent the week at Avalanche Ranch during St. John’s Vacation Bible School. The end of the week brought a wonderful service and summer picnic. For more photos, please visit the St. John's website.

Vestry
The Rev. Kathleen M. Sturges
John Fowler, Sr. Warden
Sonny Sprouse, Jr. Warden
Bob Harrison, Tracey McFarlane, Michelle Sprouse.

Other Church Leaders
Activities/Altar Guild:...... Nancy Sprouse
Bulletins/Newsletters:..... Michelle Sprouse
Cemetery: ..................Bobby Thomas
Flowers:................ Bettie Hutcherson
Hospitality: ................Pam Strange
Organists:.......... Paul Fisk, Boo Dulaney
Secretary/Treasurer, Website:....... June Tate
Sunday School: ..................Tracy Strange
Youth Directors: ..........Brian Hutcherson, Bettie Hutcherson

FALL 2007 NEWSLETTER