Stream services online at www.sjlc.com/live

From the President

Monthly updates from the Congregational President

Dearest Members of St. Johns –

Well, it’s been quite the spring hasn’t it? So many ups and downs! I know that I feel exceptionally blessed to have our live stream services on Sunday to reset and refresh for the week ahead. In an effort to move ahead with the “business” of St. Johns, the Church Council met virtually last Sunday. We discussed potential for re-opening, the coming departure of Pastor Campbell, approved the recommendations of the Endowment Committee and had a financial update.

I bet many of you are wondering what the State of Virginia, and Northern Virginia specifically, move to phase 1, means for St. Johns. Good question! Luckily, we have some really smart people helping to figure it out. Greg Miller is leading the Re-opening Response Team, a small team that includes Andrew Ehlers, Judy Weikart, Rachel Dancy and Patte Crampton. There is a ton of guidance to sort through, both from government and from our church body, and I really appreciate their service. As they develop recommendations, we will share them with you all.

Decisions we make over the next several weeks will determine how we can best say farewell to Pastor Campbell, Leslie, Lily and Cade. Their farewell weekend will be July 19th. More to follow. The Council briefly discussed next steps for the called staff, and given the uncertainty of, well, just about everything, we’ll pause for now on any future decisions.

The Council approved the recommendations of the Endowment Committee to distribute $3,444 in fund earnings to Muslim Outreach Studies, Carpenter’s Shelter, the Southeastern District Student Loan Repayment Program and for new ESL Teacher Text Books.  We reviewed the current status of church finances, which are good (thank you for your continued stewardship!) and the ECEC, which are not great due to closure and much reduced attendance. The church applied for and received $214,678 through the Paycheck Protection Program, and we continue to pay full salaries and benefits to ECEC staff.

Finally, the Council agreed that we should proceed with the Congregational Voter’s Meeting, as scheduled, on June 14th. This will be accomplished via Zoom, and members will be able to connect either through the internet (computer, smart phone, etc.) or by phone. We’ll need to vote on final approval of the by-laws and the full slate on Council members for 2020-2021. I regret that we won’t be able to enjoy in person fellowship. Meetings without a potluck just don’t seem as fun J

Yours in service,

Elisabeth Auld

Congregational President

PS – if you are in need of a mask, Maria, one of our ESL students can help you out! Only $4 and they can be delivered. Contact Dori McCormick at dorimccormick@msn.com to order.