Parish Life
Fr. Philip Linder's Installation
Check out our wonderful celebration of Fr. Linder's installation as Rector of St. John's!
Reading Camp 2012
Wow, we made it through another successful Reading Club Summer Camp! We worked with 20 wonderful children on their reading skills and provided them with transportation, breakfast, lunch and snacks. During the mornings they worked with teachers on their reading skills and in the afternoons we did crafts, took field trips, looked for bugs, painted turtles, visited the UK Arboretum and the Kentucky Geological Survey and much more. At the end of the week we sent the children home with books, tshirts, book bags, terrariums, painted birdhouses, walking sticks, pottery turtles, and most importantly the desire to continue reading and doing well in school.
Thanks to everyone at St. John's for your prayers, the use of the church, and your donations through the Roger Reeves golf scramble and individual donations. BUT, most of all THANK YOU to all the volunteers (30 in all!!!) who gave their time and energy to plan, organize, and work with the children. This is a huge TEAM effort! We could not have done this without Sheryl starting to recruit after Christmas, the teens singing songs with the children, Jane and Doris cooking wonderful lunches, all the teachers coming up with fun creative ways to inspire reading, Linda telling really awful (sorry Linda) knockknock jokes, Rick bandaging knees, Sara teaching and organizing, Ed making walking sticks, Virginia making word-of-the-day posters, Maribell changing the classes with the Turkey Call… and so much more! Just saying thank you really seems inadequate but when a child asks "Can we come to Reading Club next week too? This is the most fun I've ever had!" - I guess that's all the thanks we need. Katherine Harper and Julie Ross Co-Directors, Woodford County Reading Club
Shrove Tuesday
St. John's celebrated Shrove Tuesday with an all you can eat pancake supper hosted by the Vestry and prepared by the Men's Club.
Quiet Day
On Saturday, December 3, we shared our annual “Quiet Day” sponsored by Daughters of the King with Father Linder leading our devotions.
Kirkin O' Th' Tartans
We had a rainy Kirkin O' Th' Tartans parade thru the chapel garden and into the church! The music and worship were wonderful.
New Beginnings
On September 4th we welcomed Father Philip and Ellen to St. John’s. There was a joint service at 10 followed by a luncheon.
Vacation Bible School 2011
We’re On God’s Team was the theme of VBS 2011, our first multi-generational VBS, and everyone signed on in earnest! Each evening included a lesson, mini-mission trip, snacks, singing, crafts and fun!! The trips were out to the community garden to weed and plant, to the Clothing Bank to sort and hang clothes and to the Food Bank to put away food and separate bags. There was interest among those in attendance of continuing the mini-mission trips throughout the year!!
Fifth Annual Reading Club Summer Camp Takes Reading Skills to a Higher Level!
The Reading Club curriculum uses six activity-based learning centers: phonics, decoding/encoding, strategies, comprehension, writing, and pleasure reading. For three hours each morning during camp, small groups of students rotate in groups of three or four through these centers spending thirty minutes in each. Most of the centers are set up on the floor, use materials that are different from those used at school, and include lots of hands-on activities and games. The goal is to build skills, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment to make the experience as “unschooly” as possible. These children have built defenses to protect themselves from failure and our goal is to break down those defenses and build success in their place. It was most rewarding to realize that two campers have improved their reading skills two grade levels since last year’s camp!
The afternoon activities included lots of chances to practice reading skills and to have fun. All of the activities were planned around the theme of “The Art of Reading’ and offered numerous opportunities to experience the arts. The week included team building activities and rock wall climbing at Life Adventure Center, making tie-dye t-shirts, constructing Chinese lanterns under the direction of UK students from the Confucius Center, a week-long project making a windsock and wind catcher, two wonderful dance sessions, a trip to the Art Village to make a project using recycled materials, a chance to observe and sketch insects and other creatures at Buckley Wildlife Center (see frog on front page), and painting a ceramic monkey at iPotter. There was a chance to make your own snack in a cake-filled ice cream cone, a visit from a local published author, an architecture feature scavenger hunt down Main Street on the way to a scavenger hunt at the Woodford County Historical Society and a trip to UK on Friday for a voice demonstration in the Singletary Center and a drawing tour at the UK Art Museum. Everyone left with “See Blue” UK stickers!
Each child received a bag containing their work for the week including a journal that they’d written in every day, books appropriate for their reading level to enjoy over the summer, simple art supplies to continue exploration of their creative talents and several other surprises.
Reading Club Graduation - May 11th
On May 11, The Reading Club once again held graduation ceremonies for its fifth graders. It is a bittersweet time in that we get very attached to our kids! We spend a week each summer with them and then meet every other Wednesday after school during the school year. We work on all areas of their reading and writing but have lots of fun as well, as you might be able to see from these photographs.
Fourth Annual Roger Reeves Memorial Golf Tournament Another Big Success
The Roger Reeves Memorial Golf Tournament was held on Monday, May 9, at the Woodford Hills Country Club on what was undoubtedly the most beautiful day of spring to date! “Roger is always in charge of the weather,” joked one of the organizers of the tournament, Tim Downey. Sixteen teams hit the links and had a marvelous time and again raised funds for The Reading Club, one of Roger’s favorite charities. As has now become tradition, the winning foursome kept only the fabulous trophies and donated back their prize money. Most participants took home a door prize thanks to the generosity of many Versailles merchants, corporate sponsors and even golf teams. An added surprise was the announcement by the caterer that the tab for the evening meal had been picked up by a kind soul thus further increasing the tournament’s contribution to The Reading Club.
As usual, the tournament held a surprise on the 14th hole, Roger’s favorite hole, when golfers found that they were required to putt with a cue stick! Also a surprise for the volunteers who manned the registration table were the birdies of a non-golfing sort in the rafters of the pavilion.
Many, many thanks to all of the corporate and hole sponsors, golfers and volunteers. See Photo Album
Annual Derby Party
St. John’s Annual Derby Party was a huge success! Thank you Cindy and Charlie for hosting us!!
Newly Received and Confirmed
The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls, Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, celebrated and preached at all three services on Sunday, January 30. Seven members of the parish were received or confirmed.
