Beloved St. John’s community,
As you know, I am going on sabbatical from June 22 through October 19, and will focus on the theme “Deepening Relationship with God’s First Book of Revelation, the Sacred Earth.” The people of St. John’s have been invited to read any of three books (which are all carried by Comma, the bookstore down the street from St. John’s) to participate in this theme alongside me: Sabbath by Wayne Muller; Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by John Philip Newell; and Church of the Wild by Victoria Loorz. This article is to let you know the answer to the question who should I call about [insert subject] when Lisa is not here?
I will not have church email on my phone or computer during my sabbatical, and will not check it. Please try to avoid sending me emails during my sabbatical for this reason, as they will not be answered. Instead, please (1) contact the following people and/or (2) email me AFTER I return from sabbatical on October 19 for any issues that arose you feel I should be aware of.
Thankfully, we are blessed with incredibly gifted, wise, joyful and competent leaders—both clergy and lay people—at St. John’s, and I know they will care very well for all of you in my temporary absence.
Sunday Morning Clergy
Our Associate Priest, the Rev. John Bellaimey, will join with guest clergy the Rev. Anna Ostenso Moore to preside at Sunday morning services. John, Anna and Rex will do the majority of the preaching Sunday mornings, though we will also have guest preachers (including the Rev. Howie Anderson, Sophie Callahan, and Susan Swann—and hopefully Jim Bear Jacobs). John Bellaimey will also care for the liturgy and will work with staff to ensure it is properly represented in the bulletins, with Rex McKee’s support.
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Anna Ostenso Moore – anna.v.ostensomoore@gmail.com
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Music
Our Music Minister Chad Smith will continue to have responsibility for the excellent music programs that we have at St John’s, which will continue uninterrupted.
Chad Smith – chad@stjohns-mpls.org
Children, Youth & Family
Our Children & Youth Minister Heather Miller will continue to have responsibility for the excellent children, youth & family programs that we have at St. John’s, which will continue uninterrupted.
Heather Miller – heather@stjohns-mpls.org
Baptisms
Please contact John Bellaimey if you would like to discuss baptizing your child.
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Pastoral Care including Hospital Visits and Funerals
John Bellaimey and Anna Ostenso Moore will provide most pastoral care. Peter Stebinger, a St. John’s member who is also a retired Episcopal priest with many years’ experience as a Rector, may also provide pastoral care if there are periods John and Anna are not available. Our Deacon Rex McKee will also be apprised of pastoral care situations and can support as needed. John and Anna will plan for and preside at funerals. There are a few very rare pastoral care circumstances in which Lisa would be contacted by John, Rex or Anna, but for the most part, they will handle the normal pastoral care needs of the church including the death of parishioners and funerals.
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Anna Ostenso Moore – anna.v.ostensomoore@gmail.com
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Community Forums
There will be a light supper and planning evening at John & Lynnell’s home sometime in August, to discuss the first semester’s worth of 9am classes. Anyone can join Rex, John, and Lynnell for that planning evening. Stay tuned for more information about the date of that meeting.
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Staff and Administration
Our Deacon the Rev. Rex McKee will run staff meetings and provide staff support. He will also provide administrative support for weekly and monthly financial operations of the church, with our Wardens Kari Rusch-Curl and Roger Rose, and our Treasurer Jennifer Anderson, providing oversight. Should any unanticipated personnel issues or needs arise, John Bellaimey, Rex McKee, the Wardens and our Personnel Committee Chair Stacy Walters will work together to address them.
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl – kruschcurl@gmail.com
Junior Warden Roger Rose – rprose@morris.umn.edu
Treasurer Jennifer Anderson – jennifer@jlandersontax.com
Personnel Committee Chair Stacy Walters – stacy@jmns.com
Communications
Our Deacon the Rev. Rex McKee will work with our Communications Consultant, Rachel Svihel, to plan, coordinate and oversee the weekly e-news.
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Stewardship / Pledge Drive
Our vestry, under the leadership of Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl, will oversee the fall pledge drive.
Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl – kruschcurl@gmail.com
Finances
Our Treasurer Jennifer Anderson will work with our Bookkeeper Hillary Clayburgh and our Deacon Rex McKee to approve weekly bills and bimonthly payroll, oversee church credit card expenses, and produce monthly financial statements. The Wardens Kari Rusch-Curl and Roger Rose will work with the Treasurer, Finance Team and vestry to have oversight of the former and to consider (and, if warranted, approve) any large or unanticipated expenses.
Treasurer Jennifer Anderson – jennifer@jlandersontax.com
Bookkeeper Hillary Clayburgh – hillary@stjohns-mpls.org
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl – kruschcurl@gmail.com
Junior Warden Roger Rose – rprose@morris.umn.edu
Capital Campaign
Our Capital Campaign Chair Michael Morrow will continue to work with the excellent capital campaign team of St. John’s members, and our capital campaign consultants, to do background preparation and work on the campaign, but it will not be launched until sometime after Lisa returns from sabbatical.
Capital Campaign Chair Michael Morrow – michaelmorrow.mn@gmail.com
Buildings & Grounds
Our Building Caretaker John McKee will continue to work with Buildings & Grounds Chair Allen Gooch to ensure our building is well cared for, that repairs and maintenance are covered, and that ongoing projects like the solar panels are responsibly shepherded. If unanticipated buildings needs arise, they will work with the vestry, through wardens Kari Rusch-Curl and Roger Rose, to address them.
Building Caretaker John McKee – john@stjohns-mpls.org
Buildings & Grounds Chair Allen Gooch – allengooch314@gmail.com
But Who’s Really in Charge?
In the absence of the Rector, the Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl and Junior Warden Roger Rose have ultimate authority over the temporal affairs of the church, including managing staff, the building, and providing oversight of the clergy. The clergy (including Associate Priest John Bellaimey, Sabbatical Priest Anna Ostenso Moore and Deacon Rex McKee) are responsible for caring for the spiritual and pastoral needs of the church, including the services, the liturgy, adult education, pastoral care, funerals, baptisms, weddings, and the additional responsibilities described above.
If a truly catastrophic event occurs, church leadership will contact Lisa and will in the meantime provide excellent, competent, thoughtful and grounded decision-making and oversight over any issue that may arise.
Emergencies
For any true church emergency, please contact all of the following people:
Senior Warden Kari Rusch-Curl – kruschcurl@gmail.com
Junior Warden Roger Rose – rprose@morris.umn.edu
John Bellaimey – bellaimey@gmail.com
Rex McKee – rex@stjohns-mpls.org
What about other subjects not covered in this email?
For a topic you don’t see addressed in this email, please reach out to our Associate Priest John Bellaimey or our Deacon Rex McKee who can point you in the right direction.
My prayer is that you will rarely need to contact any of the people above, and that you will deeply experience your own renewal and refreshment by focusing on connecting with God through nature. Meanwhile, however, we are abundantly blessed with excellent, thoughtful, gifted leaders at every level of St. John’s operations, and they will support the church beautifully until my return.
In Christ’s love,
Lisa
