Mark your calendars – on various Thursday nights in July and August, St. Johns will host a “God in Film” Series. We will gather at 6 pm in the Gathering Space Meeting Room, and watch various family friendly films in which God is portrayed as a character (or at least a voice). We will have dinner (pizza) and discussion of how God is portrayed at a midway point, and end with some additional discussion. All ages are welcome – please consider inviting friends and neighbors. No Cost – No RSVP needed.

July 10th – Evan Almighty (PG);
July 17th - Oh God (PG);
August 7th - Joan of Arcadia (Pilot episode and other episode); and
August 14th - The Prince of Egypt (PG).

Parents: Want to know more about these movies before bringing kids? Read the USCCB reviews here:

Evan Almighty

Oh God

The Prince of Egypt

One of the issues that these reviews raise is whether your kids can distingish between fantasy and reality. These movies all explore the concept of God and offfer their own understanding of God. The point of the discussion will be to examine how the image of God in these movies is similar to or different from the Catholic Churches understanding of God. If you have young children that may not yet be able to make these distinctions, this may not be the best programming for them.

Tomato Garden - Green Thumbs Needed

As part of St. John’s efforts to engage justice issues, we are planning on growing tomatoes at St. John’s this summer to give to our St. Vincent De Paul clients. We are looking for people who have a green thumb to help water, weed, and harvest the fruit of our labor. Why vegetables? – the poor often have little control over their food choices and consequently have limited or no access to fresh vegetables. If you are interested in helping to tend our garden plot, please contact Jen Mayer at jmayer@stjohnsp.org or at 410-647-4892.

How are the Tomatoes?: Great. Last week we delivered 5 tomatoes to those seeking food from our food pantry and this week we will provide even more. We hope that each of these tomatoes will provide delicious nutrition to one of our neighbors who comes to our door in need of food. At the same time, hope each of the recipients will know God’s love for them through our community’s effort. This week, the garden also reminds us to accept our imperfections. Unlike supermarket tomatoes, our homegrown ones have quite a bit of character, in the form of imperfections here and there. Although imperfections are not a surprise to the experienced grower, they do cause us to remember that despite our best efforts, we rarely reach perfection. There are often things in our lives that we wish were a little better, prettier, smoother, or less obvious. However, the garden teaches us that despite the imperfections, the tomatoes still taste great, provide nutrition, and are the result of God’s hand. Similarly, despite our imperfections, we are still God’s creatures called into loving relationship with Him and each other.

Did you see the story in The Capital about our garden? Click here to read it.

Interested in Becoming Catholic?

Are you interested in becoming Catholic? If so, please come to a Question and Answer session on either Monday August 18th or Tuesday September 2nd. Both sessions will begin at 7 PM in the church library. In these sessions, we will discuss how God acts in our lives, as well as answer any questions anyone has on our process for becoming Catholic. For more information of if you cannot make this meeting, please contact Jen Mayer email 410.647.4892

Evangelization Conference: Upon this Rock

On August 23rd, 2008 the Archdiocese of Baltimore will sponsor an evangelization conference from 8:30 to 1:15 at Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City. The day will include prayer, a keynote presentation and two workshop sessions you can choose. This year, the keynote address, given by Fr. Edward Miller, will be “Catholic Evangelization: Enthusiasm and the Person of the Evangelist”. The workshops include evangelizing young adults, using technology, knowing what to share and when, and reaching out to inactive Catholics among other topics. Last year a group of nine of us went from St. John’s. If you register with Jen Mayer by August 6th, St. John’s will cover your registration fee. After that date, you can register directly with the archdiocese, but must pay your own $25 registration fee. You can find a link to more information here.

Welcome Home!

Have you been away from the church for a while? We have missed you. We know there are many reasons people stop regularly practicing the faith:

perhaps you were hurt by someone in the church,
perhaps you feel let down by the community,
perhaps you feel lost in the mass or the crowd,
perhaps you have questions that no one ever answered or answered well,
perhaps you did something you think was unforgivable,
perhaps you lost your connection with God, or
perhaps life simply got too busy.

Whatever the reason, you are missed. We would like to work with you to address these issues. For more information please contact Deacon Dean Lopata at dlopata@stjohnsp.org or 410-647-3912.

St. John's Parish Library

Hours:

Sunday Mornings:

8 - 8:30 AM

10 AM - Noon

The parish library has a variety of resources, including books, videos, and cassette tapes on various religious and spiritual topics. Materials can be signed out for a three week period. Please stop by and browse our collection.

The library is located off the Gathering Space as you enter Church.

If you like to volunteer to help patrons find and check out books during the 10 AM - Noon period, please contact: Kay Gilner email 410-647-4892. Training will be provided. If you have other questions or comments about the library, contact: Jen Mayer email 410.647.4892

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