8/20/08

Dear Members and Friends of St. John,

 

It is 11:30 a.m. right now on Wednesday, August 20.  That means it is 2:30 p.m. Memphis time.  You may wonder, “What is Pastor Rockey talking about today?”  (I get that a lot.)  Well, it was 31 years ago today (in about a half hour) that the Lord blessed me with my wife, Kathy.  We were married in Memphis, Tennessee in her home congregation, Immanuel Lutheran Church, on Saturday, August 20, 1977, at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  I have many fond memories of that day; most of them humorous.

 

Proverbs 31:30 says “30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”  I believe God has blessed me with a wife who not only fears the Lord, but has beauty and charm (or a sense of humor that keeps me humble.)  What a blessing!  What a blessing especially to have a wife who joins me in the adventures of faith that life and family bring.

 

As pastor I know first hand not all marriages are peaceful and happy.  But, God has blessed me with a wife of faith, who has loved me and grown with me in faith.  Today I can only say two things. 

 

“Thank you, Lord.” 

 

“Thank you, Kathy.”

 

A Humble Recipient of God’s Love and Grace,

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.

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COMMUNITY PICNIC – Please remember THIS Saturday, August 23 we are inviting Palmer to A Community Picnic on our grounds after the Fair Parade.  The idea is to make people know they are welcome at St. John so that we can share Jesus’ love with them.  If you haven’t yet done so, you can help in these ways.  We need:

Ø      Members and friends to bring 1) a side dish and 2) a dessert that we can serve with the hotdogs and hamburgers.

Ø      Cooks.

Ø      People to set up around 9:00 a.m., and to take down around 3:00 p.m.

Thank you for serving to help us reach out with the love of Jesus.

 

PRAYER REQUESTS:  I have a number of prayer requests.

Ø      For God’s blessings for good weather and good results for our Community Picnic and Square Dance.

Ø      For all children and educators who this week are back in school.

Ø      For Joel Stefanski (Dawn Brettrager’s brother-in-law), in Seattle receiving treatment for injuries suffered in a fall at the State Fair.

Ø      For Dave Miranda, in Seattle for more cancer treatments.

Ø      For Cathy Smith, whose hip has become dislocated, and is having other health problems.

Ø      For Paul Ziegler, recovering from Chemo Therapy for lung cancer.

 

 

IN AUGUST WE ARE MEDITATING IN WORSHIP ON THE TOPICS OF  A SERMON SERIES based on requests from congregational members.  The following topics are being examined based on God’s Word during the month of August.  So far we have had good response to this series.

            August 3           “When God’s Response to Prayer is (heavy) Silence”

            August 10         “Earth Stewardship”    

            August 17         “Similarities between Christian and Native Worship”

            August 24         “The Difference between Worship and Evangelism”

            August 10         “Meditation and Rest with God”

(All these sermons are being posted on our web page:   http://www.st-john-lutheran.org