Friday Fish Fry!
Friday, April 11, 6-8:30 p.m. See details below.
A Personal Tribute to Emmett Till
In honor of his birthday on July 25
Parishioner Marvin Childress was a friend and classmate of Emmett Till. On Sunday, July 23 at 9 am Marvin honored Emmett’s memory by sharing his memoires of Emmett, growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s, and his reflection on life and racism in Chicago today. You can listen to the 45 minute talk, including questions with this YouTube link A Personal Tribute to Emmett Till by Marvin Childress.
St. John’s Composts!
See the poster below and inform yourself on what goes in the green compost bucket!
We use Wastenot Compost. Check out how you might use their services.
We also collect natural corks – the carbon cost of recycling was too much, but we can compost them!
Reckoning and Reconciliation with our Indigenous Neighbors
A reading list
Recommended reading and resources for parish study groups and book clubs from the Peace & Justice Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago
The Red Nation: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth (2021)
Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous leaders, Dreamers and Changemakers from the Past and Present by Adrienne Keene (2021)
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance (2nd edition) by Edgar Villanueva (2021)
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer 2013 (Study Guide available)
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (2014)
The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston (2015)
Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn
The Night Watchman a novel by Louise Erdrich (2020)
Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder North America by Micahel Johnson Witgen
Videos available from “Indigenous Ministries” on The Episcopal Church website: 1. “Native Voices: Speaking to the Church and the World” (37 min.) 2.“Doctrine of Discovery” (14 min.) 3. “Native Voices: A Response to the Episcopal Church’s History with Indian Boarding Schools” (1 hr. 33 min.)
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Article from Sojourners: “Will Christians atone for church boarding schools?”
Bexley-Seabury Course by Mary Crist:
Report calls church to address harms of white supremacy, colonial and imperial legacies; create $2 million healing coalition by David Paulsen
Antiracism team
St. John’s Antiracism Mission
As members of St. John’s Episcopal Church, we work to identify, disrupt, and dismantle racism within our church and our community.
More about our work
Recording of Peace and Justice Webinar
Webinar from April 7, 2022 Here is a Link to YouTube recording.
Please note the addition of a presenter, The Rev. Garth Howe, enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux and Episcopal Deacon at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
Here is a link to recommended reading and viewing list.
Giving to St. John’s
Thank you for supporting St. John’s! There are four ways to give to St. John’s.
This fun video shows all the ways you can give to St. John’s! Or read the details below:
You can write a check and mail it to the office: 3857 N Kostner Ave. Chicago, IL 60641. The cost to you is the envelope and the stamp (about $.60).
If your bank offers on-line bill payment you can schedule a reoccurring payment. You just need the name and address of the church. If you have a pledge number please add it to the memo line. The bank will generate and send the checks to St. John’s. There is no fee for this.
If you use Zelle you can schedule a donation to St. John’s by using the email treasurer@stjohnschicago.com. There is no fee for this.
You can donate on our website. Click on the red “give” button at the top of the screen and enter in your debit or credit card number. The fee is 3.95%. For example, if you donate $100 it will charge you $103.95.
Please use the memo line to designate “pledge” or a specific event or area for donation such as “flowers,” “memorial donation,” etc. If you have questions contact Lisa at parishoffice@stjohnschicago.com or call her at 773.725.9026. Thank you!
Capital Campaign Feasibility Study
Please join us on Sunday, September 12 after the 8:00 or 10:00 a.m. to hear the results of our Capital Campaign Feasibility Study.
Electric Vehicle Charger at St. John’s!
News For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian Urbaszewski BUrbaszewski@resphealth.org 312.405.1175 or The Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer, rector@stjohnschicago.com 773.960.1889
Electric Vehicle Charging Sharing Platform uses Keeling Curve Prize Funding from Global Warming Mitigation Project to Expand Charging Locations in Chicago’s Urban Residential Neighborhoods: St. John’s Episcopal Church Installs First Charger
St. John’s Episcopal Church at 3857 N. Kostner Ave. Chicago, IL 60641
Chicago, IL – July 2, 2021 – EVmatch, the first electric vehicle (EV) charging platform for connecting EV drivers with nearby private chargers through a reservation-based system, has a new publicly-available [level 2] charging station located at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3857 N Kostner Ave in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood. As the charging station host, St. John’s listed its charger on EVmatch to make driving EVs easier for community members – whether it’s neighbors of Old Irving Park, many of whom rent or live in multi-family housing without a reliable place to charge, or other Chicagoans visiting the neighborhood in electric cars and needing a spot to charge up.
The installation was made possible with the experience and technical expertise of Chicago-based BIG CLEAN POWER, LLC, a worker collective incubated by Blacks in Green (BIG, NFP) and its affiliate Green Power Alliance to connect trade professionals to clean energy business deals. EV Match, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and the Community Charging Initiative are pleased to have partnered with BIG, Blacks in Green in identifying energy conscious contractors Arthur Burton of AMB Renewables and Wendell Terry of W. Terry Electric to perform the installation at St. John’s.
The full press release is available at this link.
About St. John’s Episcopal Church
An inclusive congregation committed to Christian worship and service to the community, St. John’s is a vibrant and diverse group of people of all ages, races, abilities, and identities, engaged in anti-racism and other transformative work. We offer three Sunday services, religious instruction for children, and adult and youth choirs. In addition to our annual Darwin Day celebration of science and religion, St. John’s offers a free series of concerts, sponsors a refugee family, hosts an Electric Vehicle Charger for parish and community use, and is actively working to identify, disrupt, and dismantle racism in our church and community. Established in 1883 in Old Irving Park, the church is located on Chicago’s northwest side, on the corner of Byron and Kostner. For more information visit our website at www.stjohnschicago.com.
Why change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
Learn about the current movement to change the celebration of Columbus Day to a celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Thank you to all who attended our conversation. We discussed this press release calling for the change.
Other suggested reading:
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
This document will give you background and perspective from the American Indian Center.
Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem: How Religion Drove the Voyages that Led to America by Carol Delaney
1) Plan and facilitate a series of events to support justice for Native American and indigenous people
Since the beginning of antiracism work at St John’s we have been especially concerned with our history as a predominately white congregation in northwestern Chicago. How might have previous generations at St John’s unjustly taken advantage of their privileged status? We immediately learned that St John’s was gifted with ownership of land that had been forcibly and unjustly taken from indigenous people living in the Chicago area.
Accordingly, we developed a land acknowledgement plaque affirming that the church’s land was previously home to many different Native Americans. The plague has been installed in the front walkway on Kostner Avenue. The plaque dedication, however, was not able to happen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our revised plan is to present a series of virtual events from now through the dedication event some time in 2021. Some of the possible opportunities which need your leadership and support include the following:
- Update the St John website to include resources and links about Native American people
- Support the development of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Chicago
- Organize installation of art by a Native American artist or artists in the church garden
- Plan and facilitate education and cultural events for adults and for children
- Sponsor one session of Sacred Ground, a film-based dialogue series on race and faith developed by the Episcopal Church. Session 3 is “Whose Land? Exploring Indigenous History”
- Develop other ways to include Native American perspectives during our regular worship services
- Promote, participate in, and help fund public events sponsored by Native American organizations
- Identify and invite indigenous leaders to speak at St John’s
- With guidance from indigenous people design the plaque dedication event (2021)
To assist with the Sacred Ground events, please contact Andria Anderson at classikal4ll@aol.com
