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6/17/09

Dear St. John Members and Friends,

Sunday I watched my son, Tim, play in an American Legion baseball game.
Tim pitched and the team did well and led until the last inning. But,
the opposing team came from behind and won in the last inning. Tim was
pretty upset and told me, “I lost that game for us.” In all reality,
even if a pitcher is a focal point of the game he cannot win a game
alone, and he can’t lose it alone, as was the case in this game.
Sometimes we forget that point.

Sometimes Christians can forget that we are not alone in the work of the
church. First of all, when we come to faith and hear the call of God to
share His love with others, actually the Holy Spirit is the one working
in our hearts by God’s Word and Sacraments, by worship and Christian
fellowship, to motivate us toward Christian faith and love. But, no
single child of God is ever alone in this world when it comes to
believing in God’s love and serving Him. Other people have helped teach
us about Jesus dying and rising. Others have encouraged us. Others
work beside us. That, by the way is one of the reasons that God calls
us to worship. We are not in this alone.

In addition, no congregation is alone in doing the work of the Lord. We
owe a debt and share responsibility with Christians of every age, and
with those who are active today.

That is why I am writing to ask you to pray this week for our “District
Convention.” We work together to accomplish what God calls us to do.
Every 3 years our denomination, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod,
meets in a Regional meeting to plan our work together. Our Region, the
Northwest District, made up of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska
(And Hong Kong and Shanghai.) will be meeting this week in Portland on
Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will elect leaders, discuss mission
strategies and doctrinal issues, and celebrate God’s blessings in our
midst. This week Pastor and Eleanor Allen, Shelia Olson, and Kathy and
I will be in Portland representing St. John at this Convention

In Ephesians 6:18 b, Paul wrote to Christians of his day, “be alert and
always keep on praying for all the saints.”

St. John may be most aware of the baptisms, the worship, the mission and
fellowship activities that happen in our own congregation. But, we are
not in this alone. We share a responsibility with other Christians to
respond to God’s love and to “make disciples of all nations.”

So, Paul writes, “be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints.” I ask you, please pray for God’s blessings on this District
Convention.

Another Child in the Family of God
Pastor Jonathan

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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.
**********

THANKS to all who helped with our parade entry for the Colony Days’
Parade and with our Ice Cream Social held for the community after the
parade. About 50 people marched in our parade entry. The Ice Cream was
a big hit. And we share God’s love with the people of Palmer. Thanks
to the Evangelism Board, the Fellowship Board, The Joyful Noise praise
team, the Promise Keepers Men’s Bible Study and many others who helped
in this effort of sharing God’s love.
If you click the link below you can view pictures I took
last Saturday.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/ChurchIceCreamSocialAndColonyDaysP
arade#
<http://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/ChurchIceCreamSocialAndColonyDays
Parade>


A NEW SUNDAY MORNING ADULT BIBLE CLASS – “Nooma”
Last Sunday 15 adults attended the new Sunday video Bible
studies we are beginning. These “Nooma” Bible Classes examine everyday
events in our lives as an opportunity to see how God is working in our
lives, or how we could be living for God. These classes will be held in
the South Fellowship Hall outside the kitchen beginning this Sunday at
9:45 a.m. Please come and join us.

NEW BASIC CHRISTIANS TEACHINGS / ADULT MEMBERSHIP CLASSES. (PLEASE
RESPOND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED)
I have been asked about new Basic Christian Teachings Bible
Classes which people can attend if they wish to join our congregation.
We have sometimes held these classes for an hour at a time on Sundays,
and sometimes held these classes on a Saturday or Sunday, and gone
through all the material, somewhat less in depth, in a 6 hour period.
At the present time I am considering holding such a class on either
Saturday, June 27, or Sunday afternoon June 28. If you are interested
in attending such a class, and have a preference about date and time,
please let me know.
In addition, we may start such a class on Sundays beginning in July.
Please keep watch for more information.

THANKS FOR THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE SPECIAL MISSION OFFERING – Our
congregation received a letter from the Mission Department of the LCMS.
With the financial downturn offerings to Synod are down. There is a
need for help for missions. The Board of Elders recommended, and the
Church Council approved a mission offering for last Sunday, June 14, to
help share Jesus with others around the world. Over $500.00 was
received in this offering.

ST. JOHN FINANCES – At our June 14 Church Council meeting the Church
Council put a freeze on non-essential spending.
Giving is still up by over 6% over last year. However
expenses are also increased, and we have had some large repair bills and
other expenses, and our giving has up with our spending. For the year
expenses are $28,000 more that our giving.
Please continue to be faithful to our faithful Lord by supporting His
work at St. John.

CHECK OUT THE NEW PRAYER ‘CLOSET’ in the West entry in the old coat
area. Thanks to our Trustees, especially Noel Woods for helping with
this Prayer Closet. The idea is that this may provide a quiet place of
meditation for individuals.

********
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/> At the current time our web master,
Jacki Rose, is revising our web site with some new pictures and
software.



Jonathan Rockey
Palmer, Alaska
907-745-3338, St. John Lutheran Church
907-746-5131, home
907-841-4066, cell