St. John’s recently purchased several items from Thistle Farms, an organization founded by the Reverend Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest in Nashville. Thistle Farms provides supportive housing and employment to women who are recovering from addiction, abuse and violence.

One of the items we purchased is this welcome mat, which will be used on the altar this Sunday in lieu of our regular linens. These mats are woven out of used life vests by refugee women who have made the dangerous overseas journey from the Middle East to Greece.

According to Thistle Farms, they have named this project #LOVEWELCOMES in an effort to “keep the emphasis on welcoming refugees and recognize that love is the most powerful force for change. A couple hundred people still arrive in Greece every day. Daily life in the camps is hard and legal assistance for relocating to a permanent home can be a long waiting game. Women sit with idle hands with a low sense of drive for day to day living. #LOVEWELCOMES has been a pivotal movement to employ and support women in the camp. Through their weaving, the #LOVEWELCOMES team are able to provide key services to the whole community.

One mat at a time, these life vests, once representing tragedy and loss, are being transformed into a symbol of prosperity and hope.”

The $100 purchase price for each mat is divided in the following way:

$50 for the women weaving

$20 for transportation to legal meetings, food markets and medical appointments and for I AM YOU, our wonderful partners on the ground (in Greece)

$30 to Thistle Farms for shipping, materials, and administration

Supplies for Dominican Republic mission trip: Six of our young members will be going on a mission trip with the Episcopal Church in CT this summer. They will be helping with a Vacation Bible School for 400 children and need craft supplies to take with them. We are collecting the following items, either new or gently used:

Please drop them off in the parish office or give them to Mary Scripko, our religious education assistant.

Cloister Garden work morning June 9: Our beautiful Cloister Garden, which serves as a final resting place for those whose ashes are interred there as well as a peaceful spot for quiet reflection, needs some basic maintenance. Please join us for a Cloister Garden work morning on Saturday, June 9 at 9 a.m. (rain date June 16). Work to be done includes weeding, dead heading and pruning as needed. We could especially use someone who knows enough about gardening to provide some guidance and instruction. If you can help (as either a garden guru or a worker bee!), please call or email Ellen in the parish office ([email protected] or 860-523-5201). Work will only take a couple of hours with sufficient help.

Musicians for Hughes Home services: Throughout the year, St. John’s volunteers lead a 10 a.m. Sunday morning service at Hughes Home, just across Farmington Avenue on Highland Street. We need additional people to accompany hymns on the piano (or another instrument, such as guitar). If you’d like to help, contact Kim Byrd. We need accompanists both during the summer and during the program year. If you’d like to help lead the services instead, consider becoming a St. John’s layreader. Layreaders at St. John’s wear many hats—they read scriptures and the Prayers of the People at our services, serve as chalice bearers for communion, and lead services at Hughes Home. We’d love to have new people join this ministry! Contact Kim Byrd or the rector for more information.

Please take a moment to respond to a very brief survey (only three questions!) about child care on Sunday mornings. While we especially need to hear from parents of young children, all are invited to respond. Click here to access the survey, which will only take a minute or two. THANK YOU!