3/24/09

Dear St. John Members and Friends,



This year my Christmas gift to my wife was the repair of her anniversary ring. That may not seem like a very special gift, but it was actually exactly what she wanted. (Actually the repair cost more than the original ring.) About 12 years ago I had given her the original ring because she wanted a gift to commemorate our 20 years of marriage at that time. A stone had been lost from the ring so she wanted to replace the stone so that she could wear the ring again. Now that the ring is repaired Kathy is wearing it again. There is a joy in giving a gift that shows love. There is joy in giving a gift that brings joy to one you love.



We may all have given different kind of gifts that show love. But there is one gift we can give to another person that is the most valuable, and the most long lasting gift. When we share Jesus with a friend or a family member we share the love of the Almighty God. When we share Jesus with someone we share forgiveness and eternal life. When we share Jesus we share the ever present love of God through all of life’s trials.



I don’t mean to make this sound overly simple. If someone does not know or believe in Jesus there may be a resistance in their life to hearing about Him. Or, there may be something in our relationship with a friend or loved one that makes it difficult for us to share God’s good news.
Sharing Jesus is not always easy.



That is why we are holding Friendship Sunday this Sunday at St. John.
You are encouraged to invite a friend, a neighbor, or a loved one to worship with us. The hope is that our worship will share God’s love so that our friends and loved ones might again have an opportunity to consider and hopefully accept the love and mercy of Almighty God which He gives us in Jesus Christ.



A child of God seeking to share the Greatest Gift of Love,

Pastor Jonathan



P.S. The Evangelism Board will provide snacks after each worship
service on this Sunday.



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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages,
hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.





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A GATHERING OF OUR CHRISTIAN FAMILY – In order to provide spiritual care, our elders have divided our congregational membership into ten groups, one group for each Elder. Hopefully these gatherings will help us get to know each other as God’s people, and help us to be united in doing the Lord’s work.

Wayne Woods’ Elders group will meet at the Rockey’s home after worship this March 29. Lunch tentatively begins at 1:30 p.m.

Please check the bulletin board in the back of the church to see who your elder is. Also, if you can’t find your name let us know. Mistakes are made in compiling these lists.



SPECIAL UPCOMING EASTER OPPORTUNITIES



PASSOVER MEAL – Our Traditional Passover Meal and Maundy Thursday Worship is offered again this year. The Passover Meal is at 6:00 p.m.
and the Maundy Thursday Communion Worship Service is at 7:30 p.m.

This traditional lamb meal helps us to remember the gift of Jesus, our Passover Lamb. Please help us with this meal by signing up:

* Attendance - Please sign up on the sign up sheet on table in the
Narthex to let us know you are attending. This helps in preparation of the food.
* Helping with the meal - Please sign up if you can help with one
of the 7 or 8 jobs that go with offering this meal such as set up, take down, preparing different foods, etc.



EASTER LILIES – One of the traditions of Easter is Easter Lilies beautifying the church with their fragrant Easter smell. We ask people to consider placing an Easter Lily in the church. Please bring them to the church during the week before Easter. The lilies will be kept in a class room and placed on the altar for Easter Sunday. You can pick up your lilies after the final worship for use in your home.



EASTER BREAKFAST SERVED BY OUR MEN – A tradition at St. John is Easter Breakfast served by the men of our congregation. The breakfast has traditionally included Eggs and Ham and Hot Cross Buns. Recently we have added Pancakes and some health food options as well. We usually serve breakfast to between 200 and 300 people, so it takes a good sized crew of people helping. You could help us with this traditional Easter celebration in one of two ways.

* Hot Cross Buns - Bring some hot cross buns (or other pastry)
that you have prepared or bought. If you plan to bring these please sign up on the sign up sheet on the table in the narthex.
* Helping with the Meal - If you are a man of any age and you can
help set up, cook, or serve please sign up on the sign up sheet on the table in the narthex to let us know how you can help.



SEEKING A SERVANT HEART FOR OUR CHURCH KITCHEN – We are in need of a servant who could regularly check our kitchen and keep it organized.

As our Trustees and staff have discussed the much use that our kitchen receives it has become evident that we need one person to help us keep our kitchen in order.

If you are willing to help St. John in this servant role, please call Pastor Rockey at 745-3338, 841-4066, or 746-5131, or Administrative Assistant Judy Stahancyk at church at 745-3338. Pastor Rockey will discuss the hopes for this servant opportunity.



NEW BIBLES FOR WORSHIP – We will be buying new Bibles for our sanctuary in the coming months.

Our current Bibles are over 15 years old, and the majority of our Bibles show their wear. The council approved the purchase of new Bibles. The Large Print NIV Bible we currently have, which we will be purchasing again, cost $8.72 a piece, or $139.52 a case. Our hope is to buy about 150 new Bibles for the sanctuary, and use many of the sanctuary Bibles in Bible Classes.

A sign up sheet will be placed on the table in the narthex where you can sign up to donate Bibles. You may place your offerings for this project in the offering plate with “Bibles” written in the memo.

Thanks to those who have donated the first 66 Bibles!



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DID YOU KNOW THAT MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT ST. JOHN is available on our church website? The link is: http://www.st-john-lutheran.org
<http://www.st-john-lutheran.org/>