Worship & Music
Racial Healing Eucharists
8am and 10am in the Church and on YouTube
Sunday, April 27: Honoring the life and work of social reformer Toyohiko Kagawa. With guest preacher the Rev. Anna Ostenso Moore.
Sunday, May 25: Honoring the life and work of Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo
Sung Compline (Night Prayer) led by the Mirandola Ensemble
Thursday, May 1 at 7pm in the Church and on YouTube
This quiet, contemplative liturgy for the end of the day takes place every Thursday and is led by the Mirandola Ensemble on the first Thursday of each month. **Incense is used at this service.**
Artaria Chamber Music School Concert
Friday, May 2 at 6pm in the Church
The talented students of Artaria Chamber Music School will perform chamber music from the Modern Era showcasing quartets by BIPOC and female composers. Free and open to the public. A reception will follow.
Staff Singers Concert
Sunday, May 4 at 2:30pm in the Church and on YouTube
St. John’s choir is blessed with extremely talented staff singers—take this chance to come hear them performing solo and in small ensembles, and get to know them a little better! Featuring accompaniment by Alex Woods, pianist. A reception will follow.
Worship with Godly Play Gospel and Sermon
Sunday, May 11 at 8am and 10am
Ecumenical Choral Vespers (Evening Prayer) for the Ascension
Thursday, May 29 at 7pm in the Church
Offered by the combined choirs of St. John’s, St. Thomas More Catholic Church, and St. Paul’s Reformation Lutheran Church.
Choral Matins (Morning Prayer) with the Copper Street Brass Ensemble
Sunday, June 1 at 10am
Featuring John Ireland’s morning canticles Te Deum and Jubilate Deo.
Community
Makerspace Saturdays
Saturday, April 26 and Saturday, May 24 from 10am-1pm in the Gym
Join other creatives to work on projects of any sort. The coffee will be on and there will be comfy chairs for knitters, big tables to spread out on, outlets for sewing machines, and cleanable surfaces for messy projects. Open to friends and neighbors as well as congregants. Teens are welcome with attending adult.
Kentucky Derby Watch Party
for the LGBTQ+ and Young(Ish) Adults Spiritual Life Groups
Saturday, May 3 from 4-6pm
Don your fancy hats and seersucker suits! Those who identify as young(ish) adults and/or LGBTQ+ are invited to a Kentucky Derby watch party as our kickoff of reinvigorating these spiritual life groups. Traditional Derby fancy drinks (including nonalcoholic options) and nibbles will be featured.
Youth
Youth Group End of Year Pool and Pizza Party
Sunday, June 1 from 4-6pm
Dungeons & Dragons Youth Event
Sunday, June 8 at 2pm at St. John’s
A combined event for 5th-12th graders from St. John’s, St Mary’s, St Clements, and Ascension churches! Bring your dice and your characters if you want; beginners are welcome and there will be plenty of extra supplies! Everyone please bring a snack to share. RSVP to Shelley Byrnes by June 1.
Space for parents with neurodiverse children to meet and chat will be available at the same time.
Formation
Faith Forum Series: “Pathways to Belonging in Resurrected Community”
Sundays at 9am beginning April 27 in the Fireside Room and on Zoom
Our Eastertide faith forum series will explore “the promise and peril of Christian belonging.” We will be using the book from our All-Parish Read (see below) as our guiding text; however, you do not need to read the book to come to the forums. Each Sunday an author/contributor to the volume will present a unique perspective on the idea of Christian belonging:
Sunday, April 27: “Finding Christian Identity by Belonging in Resurrected Community”
Presenter Erin Weber-Johnson
Sunday, May 4: “Voice & Verse: Breathing and Belonging Together”
Presenter the Rev’d Craig Lemming
Sunday, May 11: “Honoring Women in Sacred Iconography”
Presenter Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman
Sunday, May 18: “Fostering Belonging through Afrofuturist Design”
Presenter Dr. Mike Dando
All-Parish Read: Pathways to Belonging
“We need belonging as much as we need air to fill our lungs. But alienation, isolation, and distrust are the everyday markers of our lives—including our faith communities.”
During the season of Easter, we will together be reading Pathways to Belonging, a new volume from Wipf & Stock, coedited by Erin Weber-Johnson, Dustin Benac, and Glen Bell. This brilliant new collection of essays unfolds valuable theological wisdom and practical insight on what belonging can look like in Christian community.
At St. John’s we are so proud to celebrate the contributions to this volume by Erin and many other fabulous writers, not least of which includes our Associate Rector Craig Lemming! Other authors in the volume include Willie James Jennings, Walter Brueggemann, Eric Barreto, Michael Norton Dando, Jennifer Awes Freeman, and many more!
The Rev. Sam Wells, vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, writes: “These authors are glorious in their diversity and enriching in the texture of their illustrative power. The result is a medium that communicates a subtle yet timely message: we do not know who we each are apart unless we attend to who we all are together.”
Copies will be available in the church for a suggested $15 donation.
Outreach: Faith in Action
Meal Giveaway At First Nations Kitchen
Sunday, April 20 at All Saints Indian Mission Episcopal Church in Minneapolis
Yes, that’s Easter Sunday — and what a wonderful way honor this joyous day by serving others! As always, many hands make light work, so we are looking for 8+ folks for Prep Shift (12:30-3pm) and 6+ for the Giveaway Shift (3:30-5:30pm). Kids are welcome to join! Sign up here.
Eco Fair On Summit
Saturday, May 17, 1-4pm at House Of Hope Presbyterian
At this free, family-friendly event, you can enjoy good food and learn about all things green, from e-bikes to pollinator gardens, electric vehicles to solar installations. Join us rain or shine under the big tent! Hosted by six area congregations (including St. John’s) with support from Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light.
Serving Dinner at Project Home
Saturday, May 17 and Saturday, June 7 at 4pm
Help prep and serve our monthly dinner at Project Home, a ministry for families experiencing homelessness. Sign up here.
