Click here for a service preview – Besides a preview of the service music and bulletin for upcoming services, this link also provides access to sermon texts, podcasts and live-stream service videos.

Last June/July, six St. John’s young people and their chaperones traveled to the Dominican Republic with a group from the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Please join them in Hubbard Hall this Sunday, October 21, at 9:30 a.m. to hear about all they did and saw on their trip.

The annual Acolyte Training will take place immediately following the 10:30 service this Sunday. All current acolytes are asked to attend, along with any middle or high school students who would like to become an acolyte. Lunch will be served.

A service of Holy Eucharist celebrating the life of Audree Raffay will take place at St. John’s this Saturday, October 20, at 11 a.m. Audree was a long-time St. John’s member and a concert pianist. As part of the service, friends and colleagues from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and our own Scott Lamlein will offer beautiful music in Audree’s honor.

EVERYONE is welcome to attend the Newcomers Reception, whether you are brand new, or have been here a while and just want to learn more and meet people, or have been here a long time and would like to share with others why you call St. John’s home. We’ll serve heavy appetizers and beverages, and the reception will end promptly at 7:00 so the Vestry can continue to their monthly meeting. Please join us!

We’re pretty sure that scripture cancels out the calories in the coffee cake. No meeting next Thursday (October 25) due to travel schedules, but we’ll be back and better than ever on All Saints’ Day, November 1! Join us at 6:30 a.m. in the Reception Room.

The Dream of God, by Verna Dozier, is the featured book for the next five-week series for Women Together, beginning October 23rd. Women Together meets weekly on Tuesdays from 2 to 3:15 p.m. in the Reception Room at St. John’s with the purpose of exploring Christian faith and practice through book discussion, prayer and fellowship. Women from St. John’s and Trinity are current attendees but new members from any church are always welcome! For more information, contact Sarah Kieffer.

Pipescreams!, a popular annual event, is Friday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. Hear the celebrated St. John’s Austin organ played by a stunning cast of costumed players in this spooktacular concert. The music will be kooky, creepy, dramatic, doleful—featuring old favorites as well as some pieces you may not have heard before. Reception with ghoulish treats follows the concert. Fun for all ages. Don’t miss it! Co-sponsored by the Greater Hartford Chapter, American Guild of Organists. A freewill offering helps support the L. Cameron Johnson Memorial Organ Competition for young organists.

The second in this year’s Choral Evensong series will feature the St. John’s Schola (a small group of singers from our Adult Choir). Choral Evensong is an ancient tradition that offers a restful, contemplative service of music, chant and prayer. Beautiful words and music in a beautiful space will feed your soul and prepare you for the week ahead. Please join us and bring a friend.

St. John’s has a “Lost and Found” area in the coat closet just outside the Education Wing. We’ve built up quite a collection of jackets, scarves, mobility aids, reading glasses, water bottles and more. Please stop by to see if anything belongs to you! Anything still there on November 1 will be donated. Thank you!!!

Following Hurricane Michael, Episcopal Relief and Development’s 2019 hurricane response has expanded to include those along the gulf coast and in parts of Georgia, as they continue to partner with dioceses and congregations in the Carolinas following Hurricane Florence. Contribute to their hurricane relief work here.

Journey Home is a nonprofit organization that works to end homelessness in our area, and one of St. John’s community partners. They are selling t-shirts and sweatshirts as a fundraiser for their important work. Order items here.

Theologian and writer Diana Butler Bass will speak on Saturday, October 27 at 7 p.m. at First Church in West Hartford Center (12 South Main Street).

Dr. Bass’s topic is Gratitude as Resilience: Why We Need to Be Grateful Now. Nearly everyone knows that gratitude is good, but why is it often so hard to practice? With the upcoming season of thanksgiving—and our political moment—in mind, Dr. Bass will explore the misconceptions we bring to gratefulness. She suggests the radical possibility that gratitude is just what we need right now to live together with joy and hope.

Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She is the author of nine books; her latest, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks came out last April.

Registration is required to attend. Please follow this link to reserve your spot!