Category: News and Events

The SJN Booklet “What Do I Do Now? Advance Planning for the Health Crisis” is available for digital download. Additionally, the Advance Medical Directive (AMD) Grid and fiduciary worksheets resourced in the back of the print and digital booklet are also available for download.

If you would like a hard copy of this booklet, please contact the Susan Infeld, Parish Nurse, at sinfeld@saintjn.org or stop by the Parish Office.

6:30 p.m. in the Brown-McCarthy Auditorium

This film is rated PG-13.

2022 Academy Award for Best Documentary

2022 Grammy Award for Best Music Film

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary

Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award

It’s the summer of 1969, best known for Woodstock, but not far from Woodstock, the Harlem Cultural Festival was also making history. Over several weekends, and attended by audiences reaching tens of thousands, the Harlem Cultural Festival featured some of the greatest musicians of that time including Stevie Wonder, the Fifth Dimension, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, B.B. King, the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and many more.

This film highlights how the powerful expression of music and social culture in the late 1960s shaped a new identity for Black Americans. “Summer of Soul” contains never-before used footage of musical performances and interviews with those who attended and remember the festival, as well as commentary from social and political leaders, then and now.

View the official trailer for “Summer of Soul” below.

Join us to watch this vibrant and important film. Light refreshments and adult beverages will be served, and there will be opportunities for discussion of the film. RSVP is not required, but will help us plan for the event.

Estimados feligreses,

Como muchos de ustedes saben, Duane Hyland, nuestro Gerente de Comunicaciones de la Parroquia, dejará su puesto el 19 de junio. Se mudará a Florida con su esposa, Roberta. En sus dos años aquí en SJN, él ha avanzado considerablemente las comunicaciones parroquiales y ha ampliado nuestra publicidad. Nuestra parroquia se ha beneficiado de sus conocimientos y dedicación. También echaremos de menos su papel como fotógrafo en muchas de nuestras actividades parroquiales. Les deseamos a Duane y Roberta lo mejor en sus nuevos proyectos.

Me complace anunciar y dar la bienvenida a Elizabeth Wright como nuestra nueva Gerente de Comunicaciones de la Parroquia. Ella comenzó el 5 de junio, lo que permite la superposición con Duane. Elizabeth y su familia son relativamente nuevos feligreses de SJN.

Thomas Patchan, nuestro Coordinador de Formación de Fe para K-5, dejará nuestro personal de la parroquia el 21 de junio para perseguir una oportunidad en el campo de la ingeniería. Agradecemos a Thomas por su servicio dedicado a nuestros niños pequeños y sus familias. Le deseamos lo mejor en su futuro. Actualmente estamos buscando un reemplazo para la posición de Coordinador de Formación de Fe K-5.

Por último, espero que se unan a nosotros para nuestra celebración de Juneteenth, patrocinado por el Comité de Justicia Racial, el sábado 17 de junio, a partir de las 10:00 am. Por favor, vea más información en este número del boletín y en nuestro sitio web.

Disfruten de estos primeros días de verano.

Viva Jesús,

P. Joe

El Programa de Inglés para Hablantes de Otros Idiomas (ESOL) en St. John Neumann busca profesores voluntarios adicionales para enseñar clases de inglés en persona en SJN para los semestres de otoño e invierno/primavera de 2023-2024. Al final de nuestro semestre de invierno-primavera 2023 el pasado mes de mayo, el programa contaba con 14 profesores trabajando con 21 estudiantes, tanto en línea, utilizando el programa ZOOM, como en persona a través de clases en SJN. El programa tiene sus clases presenciales de 60-90 minutos en el SJN los jueves por la mañana y por la tarde. Para estas clases se utilizan los libros de texto Step Forward de Oxford University Press, por lo que hay un plan de estudios a seguir para cada uno de los cinco niveles de dominio del inglés. La inscripción de los estudiantes para el semestre de otoño tendrá lugar en julio, cuando finalicen los recursos didácticos. El Semestre de Otoño comenzará a mediados de septiembre de 2023. Si usted está interesado o tiene alguna pregunta, por favor visite el sitio web de Saint John Neumann para más detalles sobre el programa y la enseñanza de Inglés y / o póngase en contacto con Eddie Byrne en esl.stjohnneumann@gmail.com o
703-298-2292.

Para leer esto en español, visite https://saintjn.org/14256/que-es-el-juneteenth/

Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday in the United States, commemorating the end of slavery. Known officially as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, June 19 became a federal holiday on June 19, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Specifically, Juneteenth celebrates the occasion in 1865 when two thousand Union Soldiers, led by General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, announcing the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Two hundred and fifty thousand enslaved people in Texas were declared free.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863; however, Confederate States did not adhere to it until the Union could enforce its provisions after the Civil War in April 1865. Word of the war’s end and the Proclamation declaring all enslaved people free did not reach Texas until June 19.

For many years, the celebration of Freedom Day was confined primarily to the African American Community. Southern states held parades, picnics, and family gatherings to remember the struggles and celebrate the triumphs of Black Americans. As the celebration spread in popularity, several states adopted the holiday, often including reciting the Emancipation Proclamation in observation of the occasion.

Excerpt from the Emancipation Proclamation:

“That on January 1, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as enslaved people within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. The Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom…”

However, it is essential to understand that Juneteenth was not the end of slavery in our nation. The institution of slavery still existed at a state-wide level in Delaware, Kentucky, and New Jersey. The institution of slavery would not end in those states until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in December 1865. It is worth noting that Delaware did not ratify the Amendment until 1901. In the states of California and Oregon, about 400 enslaved people also remained post-Juneteenth. These were people brought into those states by slaveholders under terms that allowed the holders of enslaved people to keep any enslaved people they “brought” to the state when they migrated there. The 13th Amendment also freed these individuals in December of 1865. To learn more about slavery in our nation following Juneteenth, visit http://www.tracingcenter.org/blog/2016/06/where-in-the-u-s-did-slavery-still-exist-after-juneteenth/.

The first of the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching is the Life and Dignity of the Human Person. The USCCB, on its web page devoted to these themes, states, The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society……. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.   The Emancipation Proclamation was the first step in restoring dignity to formerly enslaved individuals. Like our celebration of July 4, Juneteenth recognizes and celebrates a historic moment in our country’s story and the successes and freedoms that our nation promises.  

Celebrate Freedom Day! As Catholic Americans, this newest federal holiday is one that we can embrace with enthusiasm. On June 21, in the parish auditorium, the Racial Justice Ministry is sponsoring a Juneteenth Celebration—a family-friendly event with food, games, vendors, and more! To learn more about Juneteenth, check out this site from the National Museum of African American History and Culture:  https://bit.ly/41YaQd0 .