Comments for St. John's Holbrook, MA http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org A Christian Community for You and Your Family Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:12:45 +0100 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Our Guestbook by mike richards http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=147#comment-69 mike richards Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:12:45 +0000 http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=147#comment-69 I like the look of the site. Is the old chatboard site still available? If so, how can i access it? thanks, mike I like the look of the site. Is the old chatboard site still available? If so, how can i access it?

thanks,
mike

]]> Comment on Inspirational Thoughts by Sue Sullivan http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-16 Sue Sullivan Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:43:56 +0000 http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-16 As part of our 2012 Stewardship drive, I was asked to share with you a little bit of why I’m here at St John’s, how God has worked in my life, and how that ties in to our stewardship drive. I was born into the St John’s family. My parents and siblings were already here. I was baptized at the ‘old’ St John’s building on the other side of Holbrook Square, before this building was built. I don’t really think about my faith much. I try to live well, but I hadn’t ever given it much thought until I was asked to write about it a while back. I haven’t had any real ‘epiphany’ moment where I suddenly realized that God was active in my life………he just always was. As a child, I often used my prayer book and bible in my pretend play. My dolls were all baptized, there were doll weddings, doll funerals, and lots of doll church services & Sunday school lessons. Many times, there were prayers that I’d find while playing & I’d stop to pray because it was pertinent to something in my life that day. Growing up as part of St John’s community was always comfortable for me. My family life and our social life revolved around the church – we had Sunday School, Jr & Sr choir, Jr YPF, then Sr YPF, Christmas Fairs & pageants, variety shows, dances, and early morning mid-week Lenten services. All attended by my family and friends. Through these activities we built memories together and created friendships that continue to be important to me even now. We spent many hours each week involved with our St John’s community. When I was about 18, my family left St John’s – I never really understood why, but I went with my parents to attend another church. I became quite comfortable there, though as many young people do, I stopped attending for a few years while I was going to college. I got married, and then, when I started having my children, I felt the need to return to church. My parents were still attending at the other church, so I did, too. It was a supportive environment, and I developed friendships with the people there. My children were growing, and I was grateful for the help I received there when I found myself going through a divorce, in the midst of financial difficulty, and ultimately, when I met John, they were all there to celebrate with us when we decided to marry. But, for me, there was still something missing. My sister had already returned to St John’s. I found myself longing to return, too. I felt called here. I knew I needed to return to my spiritual roots. That was over 16 years ago. I felt like I had come home. I felt needed here. I quickly became involved in Outreach, Choir, and vestry. I found many of the friends I’d known since I was born were still here, and made new friends. My parents returned, too, and our local family was once again worshipping together. As you know, St John’s was also the real spiritual home for my parents. And I can’t begin to tell you how deeply they felt connected to everyone here. I’m happy that they were both able to enjoy their final days worshipping here. But that only tells you why I’m here. I want to also tell you that throughout my life, God has been busy with me. As I look back, I can see that I was not wrong to assume that things were going as they should. That I was right to trust that God had a plan for me, and I just needed to keep on listening to Him, keep on following my heart, and everything would work out. Don’t get me wrong…..there were many times that I tried to ‘do it my way’, in my time! I didn’t always get it right the first time. But when I proceeded prayerfully, and took time to listen for God’s direction, all was well. I didn’t need to know where I was going. I just went. So many times things would seem to be going horribly wrong – but then, looking back, I’d see that it was a learning moment that I needed to carry with me. As many of you know, after 37 yrs of praying daily for the safe return of my son, who I’d surrendered for adoption when I was 16, my prayers were answered. At the perfect time in my life, and at the perfect time in his life, we were reunited. And it was – it IS – absolutely wonderful!! And I am able to see, in retrospect, that God had been preparing me for this moment all those years. Choosing adoption for my son made me the person I had become. My experiences had helped me to become a better mother to my other children. The lessons I learned through my loss prepared me to be an effective foster parent; I understood the pain of the loss the parents felt, helping me to be more compassionate in my dealings with them. Much of what I do relates back to experiences in my life. I know what it is to need help feeding my children – I received help when I needed it, and God blessed me with the ability to help others feed their families through the Food Pantry. I was blessed to receive anonymous help to provide Christmas for my children - then I was blessed to help others. I could go on, but I think you see the pattern here……… There are still many things in my life that I don’t understand. Maybe I never will. But I trust God to take care of them. So, I’ve been asked to tie this in to Stewardship. To me, stewardship doesn’t simply refer to the amount of money you choose to donate to St John’s. It refers to how we care for the world, the environment, our community, our building, and each other. Certainly, it’s important for our church building to be maintained, so the money we pledge is much needed. But that’s only part of our obligation to care for the blessings God has given us. We also need to pledge our time and our talents. We need to be involved in our church family, in our community and beyond, by offering to help out, by offering moral support, by giving ourselves, not just our money. God has put us where we are for a purpose. So many times I’ve looked around at the wonderful people in our parish, and I see such a diverse community. In my opinion, it’s no accident that we have the likes of David & Michial here to help with fixing things, or that we have Rosalee, Linda & Kim here to share their experience with finances. We have Sandy & the choir to share their love of music, leading us in song each week. And we’re blessed to have Eleri here to not only be our Sunday School director, but also to help us learn how to best care for the environment. Our Church Fair committee, the Vestry, the altar guild & Sunday school teachers,…….all made up of different people with different talents working together to make St John’s what it is. And I’m convinced that we were guided to Rev Diane, as she was guided to us……..because this is where she belongs. We are beginning a journey together with her, learning over time what it is that God has brought us together to accomplish. For me, I hope to approach our stewardship drive this year prayerfully. I hope that I will be able to support St Johns, not only financially, but by being involved. When I see something that needs attention, I pray that I will be able to attend to it. I want to use my God-given talents and blessings to serve our parish and our community. And I pray that I will be able to remain God’s humble servant. As part of our 2012 Stewardship drive, I was asked to share with you a little bit of why I’m here at St John’s, how God has worked in my life, and how that ties in to our stewardship drive.
I was born into the St John’s family. My parents and siblings were already here. I was baptized at the ‘old’ St John’s building on the other side of Holbrook Square, before this building was built.
I don’t really think about my faith much. I try to live well, but I hadn’t ever given it much thought until I was asked to write about it a while back. I haven’t had any real ‘epiphany’ moment where I suddenly realized that God was active in my life………he just always was.
As a child, I often used my prayer book and bible in my pretend play. My dolls were all baptized, there were doll weddings, doll funerals, and lots of doll church services & Sunday school lessons. Many times, there were prayers that I’d find while playing & I’d stop to pray because it was pertinent to something in my life that day.
Growing up as part of St John’s community was always comfortable for me. My family life and our social life revolved around the church – we had Sunday School, Jr & Sr choir, Jr YPF, then Sr YPF, Christmas Fairs & pageants, variety shows, dances, and early morning mid-week Lenten services. All attended by my family and friends. Through these activities we built memories together and created friendships that continue to be important to me even now. We spent many hours each week involved with our St John’s community.
When I was about 18, my family left St John’s – I never really understood why, but I went with my parents to attend another church. I became quite comfortable there, though as many young people do, I stopped attending for a few years while I was going to college. I got married, and then, when I started having my children, I felt the need to return to church. My parents were still attending at the other church, so I did, too. It was a supportive environment, and I developed friendships with the people there. My children were growing, and I was grateful for the help I received there when I found myself going through a divorce, in the midst of financial difficulty, and ultimately, when I met John, they were all there to celebrate with us when we decided to marry.
But, for me, there was still something missing. My sister had already returned to St John’s. I found myself longing to return, too. I felt called here. I knew I needed to return to my spiritual roots.
That was over 16 years ago. I felt like I had come home. I felt needed here. I quickly became involved in Outreach, Choir, and vestry. I found many of the friends I’d known since I was born were still here, and made new friends. My parents returned, too, and our local family was once again worshipping together. As you know, St John’s was also the real spiritual home for my parents. And I can’t begin to tell you how deeply they felt connected to everyone here. I’m happy that they were both able to enjoy their final days worshipping here.
But that only tells you why I’m here. I want to also tell you that throughout my life, God has been busy with me. As I look back, I can see that I was not wrong to assume that things were going as they should. That I was right to trust that God had a plan for me, and I just needed to keep on listening to Him, keep on following my heart, and everything would work out. Don’t get me wrong…..there were many times that I tried to ‘do it my way’, in my time! I didn’t always get it right the first time. But when I proceeded prayerfully, and took time to listen for God’s direction, all was well. I didn’t need to know where I was going. I just went.
So many times things would seem to be going horribly wrong – but then, looking back, I’d see that it was a learning moment that I needed to carry with me. As many of you know, after 37 yrs of praying daily for the safe return of my son, who I’d surrendered for adoption when I was 16, my prayers were answered. At the perfect time in my life, and at the perfect time in his life, we were reunited. And it was – it IS – absolutely wonderful!! And I am able to see, in retrospect, that God had been preparing me for this moment all those years. Choosing adoption for my son made me the person I had become. My experiences had helped me to become a better mother to my other children. The lessons I learned through my loss prepared me to be an effective foster parent; I understood the pain of the loss the parents felt, helping me to be more compassionate in my dealings with them.
Much of what I do relates back to experiences in my life. I know what it is to need help feeding my children – I received help when I needed it, and God blessed me with the ability to help others feed their families through the Food Pantry. I was blessed to receive anonymous help to provide Christmas for my children – then I was blessed to help others.
I could go on, but I think you see the pattern here………
There are still many things in my life that I don’t understand. Maybe I never will. But I trust God to take care of them.

So, I’ve been asked to tie this in to Stewardship. To me, stewardship doesn’t simply refer to the amount of money you choose to donate to St John’s. It refers to how we care for the world, the environment, our community, our building, and each other. Certainly, it’s important for our church building to be maintained, so the money we pledge is much needed. But that’s only part of our obligation to care for the blessings God has given us. We also need to pledge our time and our talents. We need to be involved in our church family, in our community and beyond, by offering to help out, by offering moral support, by giving ourselves, not just our money. God has put us where we are for a purpose. So many times I’ve looked around at the wonderful people in our parish, and I see such a diverse community. In my opinion, it’s no accident that we have the likes of David & Michial here to help with fixing things, or that we have Rosalee, Linda & Kim here to share their experience with finances. We have Sandy & the choir to share their love of music, leading us in song each week. And we’re blessed to have Eleri here to not only be our Sunday School director, but also to help us learn how to best care for the environment. Our Church Fair committee, the Vestry, the altar guild & Sunday school teachers,…….all made up of different people with different talents working together to make St John’s what it is. And I’m convinced that we were guided to Rev Diane, as she was guided to us……..because this is where she belongs. We are beginning a journey together with her, learning over time what it is that God has brought us together to accomplish.
For me, I hope to approach our stewardship drive this year prayerfully. I hope that I will be able to support St Johns, not only financially, but by being involved. When I see something that needs attention, I pray that I will be able to attend to it. I want to use my God-given talents and blessings to serve our parish and our community. And I pray that I will be able to remain God’s humble servant.

]]> Comment on Inspirational Thoughts by Webmaster http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-3 Webmaster Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:53:36 +0000 http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-3 A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper-wrapped package: 'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.' He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. 'She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died. He turned to me and said: 'Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion'. I still think those words changed my life. Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything. I spend more time with my family, and less at work. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day... I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.. I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words 'Someday....' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.... I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.. A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper-wrapped package:
‘This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.’
He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.
‘She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.
Well, I guess this is it.
He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.
He turned to me and said:
‘Never save something for a special occasion.
Every day in your life is a special occasion’.
I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with
my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything.
I use crystal glasses every day…
I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it..
I don’t save my special
perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words ‘Someday….’ and ‘ One Day…’ are fading away from my dictionary.
If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now….
I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell..
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.
I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food.
It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one..

]]> Comment on Inspirational Thoughts by Webmaster http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-2 Webmaster Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:53:39 +0000 http://www.stjohnsholbrookma.org/?page_id=118#comment-2 Ten Rules of Life 1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life." 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work." 4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. 5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned. 6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here." 7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself. 8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust. 10. You will forget all this. Author: Unknown Ten Rules of Life
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.”
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
Author: Unknown

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