Come as you are! Everyone welcome … In-person or on Zoom.
R E A D I N G S
🔆Psalm 32 🔆Genesis 2 & 3 🔆Matthew 4 🔆
S E R M O N
“The Creation and the Temptation” The Reverend Dr. Max Lynn
M U S I C
PRELUDE … Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley, Trad. Spiritual arr. Marianne Kim (b. 1972)
INTROIT … God to Enfold You, John Bell (b. 1949)
HYMN … How Blest Are Those
ANTHEM … I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
HYMN … Great is Thy Faithfulness
OFFERTORY … O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig. J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
HYMN … Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley
POSTLUDE … Canzona in d minor, BWV 588, J.S. Bach
Join us for Coffee Hour immediately after the service.
To subscribe to the weekly newsletter, click here.
To join the Zoom weekly Service, click here.
A N N O U N C E M E N T S – – – – – – –
Lenten Meditation
Join us the Sundays of February 22, March 1, and March 22, at 11:30am in the Fireside Room for a time of Lenten Meditation. We will follow the themes in the book, Wondrous Encounters by Richard Rohr, but reading the book is not necessary. We will combine a brief reading and reflection on the scripture passages from the week with a suggested meditation, and a time of silent meditation. We have a few books available for purchase for $8.99. You may also take a book for free or order it from other channels. If you have any questions, please contact intern Elizabeth Conway.
SJ Annual Family Snow Trip, February 27 to March 1
Get ready for an exciting, memorable Church Snow Trip! All families and individuals are welcome to join and participate in snow activities, fellowship, and devotional time together. We will depart from St. John’s around 10am and return in the afternoon of March 1 (weather permitting!). Need more details? There is a leaflet on the Snow Trip in the narthex table, or talk to me. – Manju Noone, manju@stjohnsberkeley.org
Per Capita Tax
Per Capita Tax connects Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations and mid councils with the work of the wider church. Per capita is how Presbyterians mutually and equitably share the costs of moving the church forward. The work of the PC(USA), and the work of the General Assembly, is only possible because church members have said they are “all in” and committed to connection through per capita support.
It is about joining together as a community and being one body, the body that is Christ’s church in the world. In support of the operations and administration of the Presbyterian Church (USA), please send in a check for $45 for each SJ member in your household. Write “per capita tax” in the check memo line and place in the offering plate, or mail to Cathy Lyon, our bookkeeper. Click on link for detailed information on Per Capita Tax found on the PCUSA website. Thank you for your consideration. – Lynne Royer
St. John’s Annual Meeting on March 8
The Annual Meeting of St. John’s Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, along with a potluck lunch, will be held in Hunter Hall right after worship on Sunday, March 8, 2026. The purpose of the meeting is to receive St. John’s Annual Report for 2025 and to vote on the 2026 Terms of Call for Pastor Max Lynn. – Diane Morrison
QR Code for Giving Money to St. John’s
One can now donate via PayPal for weekly giving and special events. Simply scan the PayPal QR Code in our bulletin or church lobby. All donations are tax-deductible. Thank you for your continued support.
Seeking a. new Camp Elwood director
Camp Elmwood is in search of a new Camp Director for the summer of 2026 (and possibly for subsequent summers!) In partnership with Manju Noone, this leader helps deliver a great camper experience and supervises volunteers and staff. The role is time-limited (not year-round). The two Camp weeks are very busy, full-time weeks, and the Director participates in about 35 hours of prep/cleanup.
This is perfect summer work for a young adult or a newly graduated college student, or an aspiring leader in education, recreation, or youth development. The Director must be 21 years old or older (per state law), and most work is on-site in Berkeley, California. Ideal candidates are passionate about and experienced with camp or youth programming. Do you know someone? Can you help spread the word? Reach out to Manju@stjohnsberkeley.org for more details and the full job description, or send candidates directly to her.
A stewardship of Lent
by Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — Give. Pray. Fast. In Matthew’s gospel, especially here and here, Jesus spells out for us what our stewardship of the season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday (February 18) and culminates with Easter Sunday (April 5), ought to look like, according to the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson, who delivered the homily during Wednesday’s Chapel Service. Wilkinson, a longtime Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastor, directs Stewardship and Funds Development in the Unified Agency. “Many of us were churchified in a post-Vatican IIworld, as was I, meaning we are much more open to ecumenical expressions of the faith,” Wilkinson said, “and more prone to be liberated from the liturgical constrictions of our tradition. Nonetheless,” he told about 45 people attending the weekly online service, “we Presbyterians have not always known nor are we sure now what to do with Lent or Ash Wednesday — and yet here we are.”
“Given our understanding of what stewardship is, we would receive this 40-day season as a generous gift from a gracious God,” he said, “and then live into our calling to nurture this gift, to cultivate it and invest in it — and then to give it away, to spend it down, for the sake of our souls and for the sake of the world God loves so much.”
We haven’t always quite known what to do with this 40-day gift, Wilkinson said. We’ve treated it “as a season of deprivation, a season of punishment, a kind of spiritual bootcamp — or we’ve trivialized it” by giving up chocolate or not using our devices for five minutes a day, “as healthy as that latter practice might be and as difficult as it sounds,” he said. More recently, “we have reflected on taking something up [for Lent] rather than giving something up– a good move,” said Wilkinson, who reported some of the results from a survey he’d recently seen: 6 in 10 Americans plan to spend Lent fasting from a favorite food or beverage and attending church services, almost 4 in 10 planned to pray more and give more, and up to one-third said they’d fast from a bad habit or from a favorite activity.
To continue reading this article, please go to the Presbyterian USA website here.