Tidbits from Toni:

    The lessons from the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) in June are foundational for the Christian church. The flood story with God's promise to protect and preserve creation is important for how we live our everyday lives. At the Quarterly meeting, I asked if we might begin to consider the impact of our use of disposables. What is the thinking on this stewardship issue?

    The next series of lessons is the promise of God to Abraham to have descendants to populate the earth. The lesson on June 22 (Genesis 21:8-21) is important for us to understand the "other Abrahamic faith" Islam.

    Judaism and Christianity are the other two of the Trinity of religions that look to Abraham and are considered descendants of that promise that God made to humanity. This is one of the hard scripture passages to read and understand. Hagar is the mother of Islam just as Sarah is the mother of our faith. If we read this series of lessons from the point of view of women we might come away with a new perspective. Give it a try!

    Please, read all the lessons in the lectionary each week. Join us on Mondays to study and discuss, increase your understanding and enjoyment of the worship experience. If you want to start a second group -- great, let me know when and where and we will begin. God promises that when two or three are gathered, God will bless them. God is certainly blessing the initial group, we are consistent and growing in faith and in number.

    Confirmation news The confirmation class will complete Unit One of their series of lessons on the faith. So far we have studied prayer, worship, God's mission, St. John history, and symbolism. They will be examined on June 1 to see if they have mastered the concepts covered in the first lessons. This is an attentive and diligent group and I certainly anticipate that they will exceed my expectations.
    Some comments that members of the class have made over these last weeks since April 12:
       Dennis: I am glad that we pray for the military in this church. When the sermon was on the unity of the church on May 4, Dennis said that he understood that "we are all one big family." He thinks that part of the mission of this church might be to "spread the word of God".
       Allen: On April 20 he understood that Jesus is the chief cornerstone of our life and that when we celebrate communion we are "breaking the bread of life". He thinks that God is helping him to pray with other people.
       Todd: Wondered how we chose to read the lessons selected each week. He was happy to find out that many churches of a variety of denominations read the same lessons that we read as a sign of our unity. On April 20, he was looking forward to Communion and liked the children's sermon that again explained it.
       Wesley: On April 13 he thought that the choir anthem was not just good but "it was grrrrreat". On April 5 when the message was about the stoning of Stephen he remembered for 2 weeks when we again talked about Stephen as a disciple in class.
       Tayler: was able to make a connection between the cornerstone sermon, the stoning of Stephen sermon and the stone that was moved at Easter. She noted that she thinks about the messages in her spare time so she can understand what they mean. She also liked to learn the parts of a prayer.
       Tanner: he thinks that the announcements are good for us so we can find out about real things like the kids in that San Angelo problem. He can pray about these kids. He liked the choir anthem Standing on the Solid Rock.
    The class will take a recess from lessons for the summer but each student is still required to be present in worship weekly and to prepare worship notes. Classes will resume August 24 with fellowship with mentors and Unit Two which will focus on the Bible and church history.

    South Central Conference Annual Meeting is June 6-8, 2008. There are no monumental decisions on the agenda, no disturbing news (as of this writing). What is planned is a series of worship services, reports and encouragement, break out workshops, and fellowship. We still need one more voting delegate. Are you that person?

    Chrismons are a traditional way to decorate the Christmas tree. Our tree at St. John is striking and an asset to the worship atmosphere here in the sanctuary each year. On June 18 at 9:30 a.m., a small group will gather to make some ornaments to add to our collection. Please join us, learn about the traditions, and help us make Chrismons. In July we will observe what I hope will become a St. John annual event "Christmas in July".

    I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church is a book many of us at St. John are reading and finding to be an inspiration. Rev. Nixon, the author, will be the keynote speaker at Annual Meeting. One thing he said is that we are to "choose life" which means if we are to grow and thrive we need to be intentional about the kinds of decisions we make or fail to make. The chapter headings are a good indication about the kinds of choices a church makes: life over death, community over isolation, fun over drudgery, frontier over fortress, now rather than later. We can gather to discuss this book Sundays after church starting June 15 and continuing for six discussions to conclude July 27. Sign up to indicate that you will join. We will also start a second discussion group at a second date and time to be determined. There are a few copies of the book available to purchase or borrow.

    Hymn of The Month will take the place of the choir anthem when the choir begins their summer recess in June. We hope to have special music from time to time in place of the hymn of the month. We have a license that gives us permission to copy music. The hymn selected for June is from the UCC hymnal and is one that we used at my installation as the pastor in October. It is especially fitting for the scripture lessons in June about the rainbow after the flood and the journeys of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, and we who are on a journey.

    Rev. Toni