Online: Pay through Zelle using treasurer@stjohnschicago.com.
Please put “Mardi Gras tickets” in the memo.
Or use the donate button on our website stjohnschicago.com.
In person: Purchase during Sunday coffee hour
Category: In the Community
Latinx Book Group
The next meeting is Thursday, May 28 from 7:30–9:00 p.m. to discuss My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomajor. Email rector@stjohnschicago.com for Zoom details.
Everyone welcome! you do not need to be a member to attend.
Previous books included:
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
Native Country of the Heart by Cherríe Moraga
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education edited by Jennifer De Leon
When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
St. John’s honored with a grant
Reading to End Racism at St. John’s Chicago
Two years ago, members of St. John’s, Chicago, began a book group dedicated to reading what its participants called “the essential texts of the African American experience in America.” The book group served as a catalyst for the congregation’s antiracism efforts, which have now been recognized with a Becoming Beloved Community grant from the Episcopal Church. St. John’s will collaborate with All Saints, Chicago, which has also received a grant.
The St. John’s reading group has published its booklist with an introduction that reads, in part, “We offer our book group as a model for other majority-white congregations that want to move toward racial reconciliation but don’t know how or where to begin.”
Download the Reading to End Racism booklist.
Angels I have known
Today we celebrate the legacy of St. Francis. We’ve probably all heard stories about him – making you believe he was, perhaps, a little crazy – but he was a good man and loved to share the Good News of the Gospel.
One story tells of an encounter with a flock of birds – doves, crows – all sorts of birds. When St. Francis spotted them down the road, he ran toward them and expected them to scatter but to his surprise – and probably anyone else’s who may have witnessed this – the birds stood still and seemed to wait for him. He was filled with awe and he asked them to stay and then proceeded to give them a little sermon, reminding them that they should always praise their Creator for he was the one who gave them feathers for clothes, wings to fly, and anything else that was needed. “It is God who made you noble among all creatures, making your home in thin, pure air. Without sowing or reaping, you received God’s guidance and protection.” And so the story goes that from that day on, Francis made it his habit to invoke all animals to praise and love their Creator.
But wait a minute, Francis. While all of what you told those birds was certainly true – if I may say so – you missed the bigger picture! I believe that animals have a lot to tell us, to teach us, and to remind us of. They are messengers and, I believe, vessels enabling 2-way communication with God. So, Francis, perhaps spending some time listening to them would have done you some good, too.
Click here to read the whole sermon preached by Susan Mitchell on Pet Blessing Sunday, 2019
Festival of the Arts
Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and
Sunday, October 27, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church on Chicago’s Northwest Side will host a new Festival of the Arts on October 26 & 27, 2019, celebrating new and local talent in visual, culinary and horticultural art with a focus on sustainable, recycled and upcycled materials. Shop for holiday gifts! A homemade chili and bread lunch will be available on Saturday.
Antiracism Team
The Antiracism Team was established in January 2018 and meets monthly. Our Antiracism Action Plan was presented to and accepted by our vestry (leadership council) on June 20, 2018. We worked on our 2019 Antiracism Plan and are continuing our work in 2020. The team began with an African-American Literature Book Group. A list of the books we read over two years can be downloaded here: Reading to End Racism. Our list of books about white supremacy and white privilege is here: Wrestling with White Supremacy. Currently we have a Latinx Book Group and that reading list is on this page of our website.
