Our big, welcome-back cookout bash features fish by grillmaster Jim MacRae and covered side dishes by volunteer parishioners. Bring the whole family; bring your friends. Let’s come together and celebrate the beginning of a new program year!

The director of the Transportation Museum, parishioner Bruce Daws, has invited us to a private viewing of the museum’s new Lafayette exhibit, which will open June 7. Before dinner downtown, trace the historical tour of the U.S. that Fayetteville’s namesake, Marquis de Lafayette, made in 1824-25. Join us for worship beforehand at 5:15 p.m. Dinner on the Town, our summer Wednesday parish dinners, begins June 4 after worship.

God's spirit, good food, and great people! Close out the church program year with us!

The closing fanfare of the series, presented by the Fayetteville Symphony and St. John's, features the FSO brass quintent's "Brass Spectacular," Baroque music for two trumpets, strings, and harpsichord. Tickets at the door or fayettevillesymphony.org

St. John’s Gift Shop invites you to a book reading and discussion of “Crazy Christians” with the author the Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. If you haven’t read the book yet, ask for it in the gift shop! Bishop Curry will also deliver the homily for a special Evening Prayer service at 5:30 p.m. Refreshments and conversation following prayer and before the book reading.

St. John's will open its doors for Fourth Friday, March 28, as host to a performance by the Fayetteville Cantate! Cantate's Fourth Friday concert will be a smorgasbord of styles. They will sing a little sacred music, a few standards, show tunes, and folk tunes. Plus, they will give you a preview of their "Celtic Cantate" Concert at 4 p.m. June 1 at St. John's. Don't miss it: there's something for everyone!

The cantate will have two performances on Fourth Friday at 6:20 and 7:20 p.m. with tours of our historic parish preceding each performance on the hour! It's the perfect opportunity to see and learn about one of Fayetteville's oldest churches!

Come and listen to a yarn that weaves together vignettes of a nation in crisis as glimpsed through prayer books and devotional manuals from the American Civil War. Fr. Alves will have a collection of prayer books on display and will reveal fascinating stories about the efforts of religious leaders in the North and South to provide spiritual support to soldiers, sailors, and civilians. Fr. John Frazier, dean of the Upper Cape Fear, will be the guest preacher and celebrant at the 5:15 p.m. Eucharist. Members of the deanery are invited to join us for worship and dinner. Dinner is $6. Dinner purchase is not required to attend the presentation.

Our yearly milestone approaches! We look forward to your support and attendance at the 10:30 a.m. service and following lunch, which provide a reflection on the life and ministry of the parish this past year and a survey of the horizon before us. The 2014 Annual Report will be available on Jan 26 as well: it summarizes the work of all committees in the previous year and includes a synopsis of the 2014 budget. During lunch, our outgoing wardens will give brief reports, and we will be able to thank outgoing Vestry members for their service over the past three years.

The third concert in the series, presented by the Fayetteville Symphony and St. John's, features the Magnolia String Quartet, performing a themed program, "A Postcard from America."

Fellowship, fun, and food are just some of the ingredients that make up the recipe for our Rood Screen tradition at St. John’s. Please save Wednesday, December 18 on your calendar for the greening of the Rood Screen. Your efforts in Hauser Hall that day will contribute to one of the most recognizable Christmas traditions in all of Fayetteville: applying fresh cedar to the Rood Screen frame. All ages welcome. Feel free to drop by to help for an hour or two or whatever part of the day you can manage. Melene Hatcher has graciously volunteered to make a winter's day lunch: chili, Mediterranean turkey stew, three-potato soup, grilled cheese, and desserts. Plenty of festive music and snacks, including brownies and rum cake, culminating with a light supper at 6 p.m. Bring pruning clippers if you can and a pair of gloves to protect your hands from cedar needles.

As you look at the beautiful glass art in the church that surrounds us each week, have you ever been curious about the story of those windows? Parishioner and author Annette Dunlap regales us November 20 with little-known history, ancillary anecdotes, and other threads of the story that reaches back to the 19th century. Join us for dinner and Annette’s presentation at 6 p.m. in Hauser Hall.

Enjoy the wide open spaces  while grilling out with fellow parishioners! Burgers, hot dogs, fixings and more – you don’t want to miss this get-together at Bill & Annette Dunlap’s farm in Beaver Dam, starting at 4 p.m. November 16. RSVP to Annette (abdunlap2011@gmail.com) or to Bill (beaverdambeef@yahoo.com) by November 11. This is a BYOB&C event: bring your own beverage (adult or otherwise) and chair. Because the Dunlaps have cattle and electrified fencing, this is an adults-only (21 and over) event. We’ll keep you updated if we need to reschedule due to weather.

The second concert in the series, presented by the Fayetteville Symphony and St. John's, features the FSO woodwind quintet.