Plus upcoming events and activitiesΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 
St. John's
 

Dear Friends,

Our Annual Meeting is this Sunday after the 10 AM service. I’m going to start with information pertaining to this important yearly gathering. If you are uninterested in the meeting, please scroll past the vestry bios for a list of upcoming events and to see some of our groups and activities.

At our meeting, we will vote to fill vestry vacancies (our vestry is our board), Alex, Chelsy, and I will present ministry reports, I’ll discuss our upcoming bicentennial, and the approved budget for 2025 will be presented. Below are bios (written by those running) for the four folks who have put their names to be considered for vestry. (Anyone who is over 18, is a giver of record, and is a member in good standing can be considered for vestry. The deadline for consideration is the date of the Annual Meeting.)

Ron Kilgard: Ron is an older guy – he remembers the Kennedy-Nixon Debates in 1960. He moved to Brooklyn from Phoenix, Arizona in late 2023. (A friend has told him that he is the only guy in the history of the world who, in his seventies, moved from Arizona to Brooklyn and not the other way around.) He began coming to St. John’s even before he moved to Brooklyn (and even before Father Ben arrived) in early 2023. He’s a lawyer from the Phoenix office of a national, Seattle-based firm, still practicing, but not full time. He’s not a total stranger to Brooklyn, however. His son lives here, as do his daughter-in-law and his two young grandchildren. Nevertheless, starting a new phase of life, late in life, in a new city, even Brooklyn!, has been challenging. St. John’s has been beyond welcoming, and Ron hopes he can help Father Ben and the vestry ensure that this lovely parish continues its mission into its third century.

Running for a three year-term.

Gerard Neely: During the work week, Gerard serves on the TIAA-CREF state government relations team.  In his role, he represents TIAA-CREFs New York State participants in Albany helping to advance sound public policy that advances retirement solutions and outcomes for plan participants. While raised in an African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion Church), Gerard was drawn to the Episcopal Church via his college's Episcopal Student Fellowship and has attended St. Johns since the end of the pandemic.  If selected to serve on vestry, Gerard looks forward to working with fellow parishioners to plan for St. Johns' 200th birthday festivities and advancing the ministries of our parish to the community and next generation of future parishioners.  In a time of polarization in our communities, Gerard knows St. Johns can serve as a beacon of light for Park Slope and Brooklyn in spreading the good news of the Gospel.

Running for a three year-term.

Mathew Elder: I have been attending St. John’s for the past two years. I started attending St. John’s during Father Wallace’s tenure, and even though we were a bit smaller of a community then, I was struck by how welcome and open this parish is and how dedicated the members are to St. John’s. Over the last year, I have served as Clerk of Vestry, which has given me a first-hand view into how much the members of this parish care about this community (both our parish community and the broader neighborhood around us) and are willing to put in the work needed to sustain and grow it. I have also observed that this parish is not scared of change and transition.  

My journey to the Episcopal Church comes by way of the Anglican Church of Canada, and before that Evangelical and Pentecostal traditions. After studying theology in college, I switched gears and went to law school in Canada, which ultimately led me to move to New York in 2019 to work as a commercial litigator. I moved to Crown Heights in 2022 and have been attending St. John’s ever since. In my spare time, I still love to read theology and I try to get out of the city and into nature as much as I can (including as part of the St. John’s hiking club). I’d be honored to serve on Vestry.  

Running for a three year-term.

Micah Goldston: The substantive steps that led me St. John’s began over 15 years ago when responding to a roommate ad posted by the guy that does sound for us most Sundays.  Though raised in the Baptist tradition, I was drawn to liturgical worship in my early 20s. Years later, while seeking a closer church community, our sound guy, Jeremy, invited me to his Episcopal parish in Manhattan. There, I discovered the richness of our tradition and its contributions to the Christian faith and society as a whole. (e.g., A.A.)

When attempting to define or label my two years here at St. John’s, I keep landing on β€œencouraging.” Perhaps an unexcitable term, but anyone who has spent significant time in a Christian community knows many of our experiences are anything but. St. John’s embodies diversity, acceptance, and practical service. But most encouraging to me is that St. John’s achieves these things while emphasizing the grace offered to us by God through Jesus Christ. Thus, I’d consider it a privilege to assist St. John’s sustain and hopefully expand its ability to represent God’s love in Park Slope and Brooklyn.

Running to fill a vacancy for a one year-term.
 

Finally, Charmaine Derrell Jacob β€” who has tirelessly worked for the church for years! β€” will be rolling off as our senior warden (the diocese has made clear that there are no longer junior or senior wardens, but when she was elected she was presented as such.) We are so grateful for her service, and so glad that she’ll continue to serve St. John’s in a less formal way.

In her place, Rebecca Banks β€” our current Junior Warden β€” and Ursula Orsene β€” a current vestry member β€” will run for the two open warden slots. (Wardens must be current vestry members.)

That concludes the Annual Meeting announcement.
 

New Announcements:

Youth Hang is Back This Wednesday Night

All 4th-6th graders are invited to hang with Ms. Chelsy for the next six Wednesday evenings at the church from 4-6pm for fellowship, games, and pizza as we continue our β€œ12 weeks through the Bible” hangs.

Lent Youth Chats

Beginning Sunday, March 9th, all youth in 6th-10th grade are invited to join Mr. Doug Hecklinger in the Guild Room (room next to the sanctuary) after the Gospel reading (during the service) for discussions. Email Chelsy if you’re interested.

Families w/ Littles

Join Julian Dean and his baby, Harry, for some quality time with other families with young kiddos. For more info, email Julian HERE.

Brooklyn Nets Game

On Friday, February 28, you’re invited to a St. John’s outing to the Barclay’s Center. The Brooklyn Nets are playing the Portland Trailblazers at 7:30 PM. Join us for a fun time, whether or not you’re interested in pro basketball. Tickets are $20. Reach out to Micah if interested.

Book Club

Book Club is back on Sun. Feb. 9th (15 min after the service ends). This time we’ll celebrate Black History Month by reading of James Baldwin’s Notes From a Native Son. We’ll read the 10 essays over 5 Sundays beginning on Feb. 9th and ending on March 9th. Contact Sophia or Gerard for more info!

Wednesday Post-Service Read and Hang

Join us after the Wed. 12:10 PM services to hang, talk, and begin discussing Elizabeth Oldfield’s wonderful Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. (I mean, just look at some of those reviews!) Read the Introduction for for our Wed. Jan 22 gathering. For more info, contact me.

12 Steps For Contemplatives

Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 22, our very own Kris Vieira Coleman will co-lead an online class with the Center for Spiritual Imagination called 12 Steps for Contemplatives. If you been coming to St. John’s for any time at all, you know that I’m a big 12 steps fan. If interested, check out this site, or reach out to Kris directly.
 

2025 PLEDGE DRIVE UPDATE

Thanks to all who made a financial commitment to the parish for 2025! If you’ve yet to pledge, please fill out an online pledge card here. Thank you!
 
 Submit a Prayer Request 
 

Listen to Sunday’s sermon or any our past offerings here πŸ“£
 

More Groups and Regular Activities

  • WORSHIP

    • Wednesday service at 12:10 PM

    • Sunday services at 10 AM πŸ’’

  • SUNDAY SCHOOL

    • Sunday School is in full swing for the winter/spring semester. Ms. Chelsy leads downstairs in The Learning Center.

  • ADULT-ISH GROUP

    • If you’re a young adult (or a young adult at heart) and enjoy all kinds of fun events, email Jennifer to join in on the fun.

  • WEDNESDAY POST-SERVICE HANG | Wed. at 12:45 PM | Guild Room

    • Join us to hang, talk, and discuss Elizabeth Oldfield’s Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. Read the Introduction for for our Wed. Jan 22 gathering. For more info, contact me.

  • SUNDAY NIGHT EVENING PRAYER ZOOM

    • We have an Evening Prayer Zoom every Sunday at 5:30PM. Get your prayer on by clicking this link: https://app.zoom.us/wc/84901577553/join?fromPWA=1
 
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St. John's Park Slope, 139 St. John's Place, Brooklyn, NY, 11217, USA

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