2026-27 PROGRAM YEAR
““Abide in me as I abide in you.… Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.””
What might grow when we make room to abide?
In John’s Gospel, Jesus offers his friends the image of a vine and its branches: rooted, connected, nourished, and growing. “Abide in me,” he tells them. Stay close. Remain in my love. And from that place of connection, something begins to grow.
Later, Jesus makes the invitation even clearer: “Abide in my love” and “love one another as I have loved you.” Abiding in God’s love draws us more deeply toward God, toward one another, and toward the world God loves.
That invitation feels especially meaningful for St. John’s this year. As we have listened to one another, we have heard a longing to go deeper in faith, to build relationships where people are known and belong, and to make a meaningful difference in the community around us.
Throughout 2026–2027, Abide in Me will be a thread running through our life together. It is an invitation to stay close to God’s love, to one another, and to the places and people around us, and to pay attention to what might grow from those connections.
We don’t know yet all that will take shape. That, too, is part of the invitation. But we do know where we want to begin. This year, we’ll be making intentional space for three areas of our life together, places where we hope to deepen what is already growing and make room for something new.
WHAT THIS YEAR HOLDS
Scripture, Prayer & Spiritual Practice
Creating more opportunities to engage scripture, explore different ways of praying, ask questions, and discover practices that deepen our relationship with God and help us notice God in our everyday lives.
Gathering & Belonging
Making room for relationships to grow through conversation, shared experiences, hospitality, and opportunities for newcomers and longtime members alike to know and be known by one another.
Faith in Our Community
Looking beyond our walls and asking how our faith takes shape in the places we live through service, justice, creation care, community partnerships, and joining in where God is already at work in Portsmouth and across the Seacoast.