In the May Baptizer, instructions were published for the return to church on 6 June. Bishop Mark sent a new set of Guidelines for In-Person Gathering, effective Sunday, 23 May 2021. We will use his new guidelines when we gather on our first Sunday back. There are some changes, but many are what we have been doing. Included are guidelines that are required. General Guidelines:

• All participants (including choir members and musicians) should remain socially distanced.

• The maximum number of people at any event is the number that can comfortably fit in the space while remaining socially distanced.

• Prayer books, hymnals, and bulletins may be used.

• Communion will be received in one kind only, save for the celebrant.

• Appropriate distance should be maintained during the passing of the Peace, which will preclude physical contact other than with household members.

• Pastoral services may resume without previous liturgical restrictions, while observing cau-tion appropriate to the setting.

Outdoor Gatherings:

• Masks are not required to be worn, though are encouraged for non-vaccinated teens and adults, per CDC guidelines.

• Singing by the congregation is allowed. Please continue to sing in quiet voices. Refresh-ments may be served in individual portions. Participants may also bring their own fool for picnics or other meals and events.

Indoor Gatherings:

• Masks are required of all participants, except while preaching, reading lessons or interces-sions, officiating, or otherwise leading an event, as long as such persons are fully-vaccinated. Note: Fully-vaccinated means two (2) weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine.

• Singing by the congregation is allowed. All must wear masks. Please continue to sing in quiet voices.

June

Tuesdays on Zoom St. Tim’s Bible study, 4:30PM Thursdays on Zoom 5PM, St John’s Bible Study Sundays on Zoom Virtual coffee hour following ser-vice, 11:45AM (Link in email) 6/3 Annual Reports due 6/6 In-Person Worship resumes 6/13 Annual Meeting, fol-lowing church 6/17 Vestry meeting, 11:15AM

The Baptizer The Newsletter for St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church 1505 East Wooster Street, Bowling Green, OH 43402

June 2021

This Issue

Cover Story, Pg. 1 St. John’s News, Pg. 2 Diocesan News, Pg. 3

Financial Report, Pg. 3

Cont.

Upcoming Events

tions. The Pantry is located at 419 Gould Street, Suite 6. Monetary donations may be sent to P.O. Box 84, Bowling Green or through their website at https://christianfoodpantry.wixsite.com/bowlinggreen.

June 4 — Vernon Wolcott June 8 —Jessica Emke

Please take a moment to pray for those members of our community who cele-brate a birthday. Even better, send a card, give a phone call, or share your good wishes in some more personal way. **Have you told us your birthday? If we don’t have your name and birthday on file with the church office, please let us know. We don’t want to miss your special day!

PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE For the sick and others in

need:

Carlena Dorothy Michael Jon Pam Roberta Su Betty Ed Crystal Zach Julia Connor

Clara Allison Rick Ginger Nancy Bob Donna DeeDee Russ Judy George Anne

• Refreshments may be served in individual portions by a person wearing a mask.

Cleaning and Sanitizing:

• Higher traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces should be thoroughly cleaned weekly. Bathrooms should be cleaned and sanitized weekly, as well as following any event of significant size.

It appears, by the Bishop’s guidelines for indoor gatherings, that we are able to have coffee hour. This would require the host to wrap everything separately which requires additional work. I would like to hear your thoughts on this. The vestry will also take up the subject. In the meantime, Coffee Hour by ZOOM will continue.

Pat’s Ramblings Change is the constant in life. The organist tells me that he will be available in June except for the second Sunday, 13 June. He has put out a call through the American Organ Guild for someone to help us out on 13 June. We will have music. The Rev. Jeff Bunke of St. Timothy’s told an organist who is retiring 1 June about our need, and she agreed to fill in for that Sunday. In the meantime, we are seeking an organist to fill the position after June. The May issue contained information on Saint Vincent DePaul’s food pantry at St. Thomas More University Parish inviting folks in need of food to come. The pantry hours are Tuesdays: 10:00 a.m.-noon, Wednes-days: 3:30-5:30 p.m. and Thursdays: 10:00 a.m.-noon. Volunteers are needed, and they need the word spread to anyone who needs food. This month, the Bowling Green Christian Food Pantry is asking for monetary dona-tions, food donations and volunteers. Sourced from Feeding America, there are 18,840 people in Wood County who go to bed hungry each night, stated the food pan-try’s letter. The letter stated further that the number of clients served this past pandemic year quadrupled to 5600 families! The Pan-try needs volunteers to help restock shelves or help clients make their food selections. You may volunteer as little as two hours a week, month or whatever fits your sched-ule. The hours of operation are Monday, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to Noon; every other Thursday, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Friday, 10:00 to Noon. The Pantry can be reached at bgcfoodpan-try@gmail.com or 419.353.5174 for ques-

From the Vestry • D. Grassley thanked everyone for their

help on Saturday, May 15th for the clean-ing of the inside of the church. M. Grass-ley and she cleaned out the shed, found where repairs were needed and will make the shed useable. Other repair projects will be completed soon.

• M. Grassley reviewed the church's finan-cial status through April. He reported we were close to our projected income level. Our expenses, specifically for office sup-plies, are high. We need to be careful of our future spending.

• For our Diocese Assessment, the loss from outside groups not using our church has hurt us, financially. A part of this as-sessment is based on having groups use the church. P. Patton reported we spent less this month on our assessment due to correction to amount paid for April.

• P. Patton has advertised our secretary position at various locations in Bowling Green and sent it to various groups. No replies at this point.

• There is a Stewardship webinar conduct-ed by the Diocese which P. Patton signed up to attend starting in June. These are held on Tuesday nights. She hopes other vestry members will sign up.

• In-Person worship starts June 6, 2021. Service will be live and coffee hour on zoom. Possible outdoor Coffee Hour with no food will be explored.

• It was decided we will only record the service on June 6th and post it afterwards to determine the need.

• The Annual Meeting on June 13, 2021 will be held in person in the East room after the Sunday service. Committee reports are needed from Building & Grounds, Financial/Treasurer, Senior Warden, Bridges, and Altar Guild by June 1st.

• Discussion was held on the Internet and phone service quotes received to replace our current provider, Frontier. After dis-cussion Bechtel made a motion to table changing Internet and phone providers at this time. P. Patton seconded the motion. Motion carried.

• Annual Parish Audit is due June 1st. P. Patton-will forward forms to M. Grass-ley.

• Organist posting fliers will be posted at various locations in Bowling Green. Our current organist will be with us through June. He will not be here on the second Sunday in June.

• P. Patton asked all members to think about where each wants the church to go. She will contact Rev. Percy Grant about the parttime priest opportunity. She asked ideas/suggestion to be sent to her so she can place them on the Annual Meeting agenda.

• Vestry elections: Vestry members whose terms are up are P. Patton, D. Grassley, and M. Grassley as Treasurer. A. Stubbs' and C. Heckman's terms are current. P. Bechtel has to decide if she will serve on Vestry in the future.

• C. Heckman has found a volunteer to help us in the summer as a secretary. She can't be paid so we will determine a way to compensate her for her time.

Financial Report

If you have any questions about this financial report, please call St. John’s office at (419) 353-0881.

April 30, 2021 YTD

Income: $3455.00 $10181.96

Expenses: $2492.87 $9763.44

Net Income $962.13 $418.52

Depression There was a girl bound in chains. One for each wrist, one for each ankle. On the end of each chain was a boulder. Each boulder was solid, square so it could not roll. Taller and Fatter than any human and heavier too. At first the girl tried to escape. Beat her limbs bloody and bruised. Hopeless she thought she might end it. Maybe she even tried a time or two. One day she woke with a fire inside her. With nothing to lose, she decided to try. Try to move with the boulders, four in all, bigger and heavier and greater. She led with determination, imagination, one step and then two. On that day, this small frail girl, tripping and stumbling, pulled all four boulders across the dirt. She did not make it far on the first day, exhausted and in pain after only a few steps. But eventually she moved further and further, day after day. Sometimes, she didn’t even notice the boulders were there. She grew accustomed to the exhaustion that sunk deep in her bones. The burning that singed every muscle. The pain that bloodied her chains. And she called it her strength. But then she awoke, on just any day. And something had changed. Her fire was small, sputtering in the eye of a cold and dark storm. On that day the boulders could not budge. She refused to give up. Would not lay down or give in. Just yesterday she moved them just fine. Pulled them like always. Nothing was different, nothing had changed. Outside everything stayed the same. What was wrong with her? She was lazy. Stupid. Failing. Useless. She has to try harder. Be better. Do more. She wrenched, ripped, screamed, and strained at the chains. All day. All night. Sometimes, it was days before the boulders could move. Sometimes, it was months. But every time they stopped it was her fault. It wasn’t because the boulders had always been too heavy. It wasn’t because she deserved a rest. She fought so long to do the impossible she could no longer see the whole picture. A picture of a girl so small, four massive boul-ders dragging at her back, and the mountains that she climbs.

I have a young, college-age friend who suffers from bouts of depression. On an occasion when we were discussing the subject her aunt suggested she write about it. The following is a description in prose on how she feels at a low point during a bout.

We know that there are many folks with mental problems brought on by the past year of COVID-19. (My friend’s depression precedes those brought out during COVID.) Seventeen mass shootings killing many folks this week of 24 May should be a wake-up call to all of us that our society has great prob-lems. WBGU PBS will have a four-part series on mental illness June 22 and 23 at 9 & 10 p.m. All the television ads on meds to help depression are appearing regularly. Spectrum One ran a story last month about a group of high school students who went to their principal to discuss making their school a safe place where students could go to the counseling center without feeling ashamed. They were upset with folks committing suicide. Even youngsters are paying attention to the problems in our world. (Just food for thought, in my opinion.) ~Pat Patton

In-Person Worship Sundays at 10AM Please join us for online wor-ship on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFEc7RO5ahJLSmD_-_Sf2Pw

Vestry Members Anabel Stubbs Carol Heckman

Officers of the Vestry Clerk—Pam Bechtel

Junior Warden—Dorothy Grassley Senior Warden—Patricia Patton

Treasurer—Michael Grassley

St. John’s Episcopal Church 1505 E. Wooster Street Bowling Green, OH 43402

The Mission of St. John the Baptist Epis-copal Church

Our mission is to serve Christ by nur-turing and educating people in the faith, providing a spiritual home for our community and Bowling Green State University students through prayer, worship, and theological programs. To do so, we are com-mitted to motivate parish members and students to reach out in active service to our community and the world.