3/13/08
Dear Friends and Members of St. John,
I ate breakfast today with member, Rick Luthi. Rick and Brenda spent most of the 2006-2007 school-year living in Albany, New York, and watching their son Jake play hockey in his senior year of college. As Rick and I were eating breakfast today the topic of New York state politics came up. We talked about now former Governor Eliot Spitzer. When he was elected Governor Spitzer was known as ‘Mr. Clean,’ a man of high integrity. But as of this week Governor Spitzer is now resigning after a government investigation into banking transactions tied him to a prostitution ring.
We should not be surprised when even seemingly honorable people, like Governor Spitzer, are caught in scandals. Scripture tells us that ‘all have sinned’ (Romans 3:23) There is no one immune to struggles with selfishness, struggles with insensitivity, struggles with rebellion, struggles with our sinful nature. I recently read one commentator on the world scene who said (paraphrased), ‘There is one verifiable spiritual principal. If we look at the state of the world around us, no one can dispute the existence of sin and evil.’ In fact, when we see a scandal like the one in New York, rather than point the finger at another failed public figure, we should cautiously realize that we have ‘all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3:23) Unfortunately, that does include us.
Being honest about sin could be depressing, if it were not for the events of Jesus’ life we will again remember in worship in the coming week. From Jesus’ Palm Sunday entrance to Jerusalem, to his disputes with the religious leaders in the temple, to His time in Gethsemane, and his time being tried unjustly, to his death and burial, God has a solution for our weakness and our sin. God’s solution is an act of sacrifice and love, the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus.
Some might indeed see the remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death as a ‘depressing’ activity. But, for people who are honest about their own plight with sin, and for people who know the love of God in the sacrifice of Jesus, this week is a reaffirmation that God really loves us. We can see the love God has for us in the price He paid to win our forgiveness. In love, the Son of God suffered and died to pay the debt we owe for our sin.
I encourage you to make it a point to participate in worship this Holy Week, and to remember and celebrate the amazing love God has for each of us!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Rockey +++
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. 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. +++
HOLY WEEK WORSHIP SCHEDULE:
SUNDAY, March 16
8:15 and 11:00 a.m. Palm Sunday Worship (Sunday School 9:45 a. m. )
THURSDAY, March 20
6:00 p.m. Passover Supper (Please call the church office at 745-3338 if you haven’t yet made reservations.
7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Communion Worship
FRIDAY
7:30 p.m. Good Friday Worship and drama – Led by St. John High School Youth.
SUNDAY, March 23
7:00 a.m. Sunrise Worship
8 – 10:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Easter Worship
11:00 a.m. Easter Worship +++
IF YOU WISH TO DONATE EASTER LILIES for our Easter Worship, please bring them to the church during the week of March 16, for Easter morning, March 23. The lilies will be kept in an office until Easter Morning. Please place your name on the bottom of the lily so you may pick them up after worship.
CONFIRMATION DAY at St. John is Sunday, March 30 this year. A Total of 13 young people will be confirmed; Ian Ahrens, Brittney Anderson, Jenna Arlow, Aaron Butcher, Taylor Cottingham, Jessica Dennis, Stewart Forrest, Jared Gilden, Conner Hannam, David Ingalls, Sarah Olson, Kalah Statz, and Chris Ziegler. They will share their faith in the Lord and their desire to live for him.
Confirmation ceremonies will take place in late worship. This is also a time that those of us who are already confirmed can remember our vows to the Lord.
COULD YOU HELP A MEMBER, COLLEGE STUDENT, in need of a vehicle? Member, Kim Dietz, needs a new vehicle because her old one stopped working. She has a job, and is going to school. Because she works as a care giver, Kim needs a car big enough to hold a wheel chair.
If you have a car that would be reliable, and could hold a wheel chair, and is relatively inexpensive to purchase, you can contact Kim at 745-3735, or at her e-mail address, dattei_demon@hotmail.com.
READER SIGNUP - WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO READ IN WORSHIP SERVICES?
We are re-organizing our Lay Readers a little differently than in the past. We are looking for people who could read on a normal first, second, third, fourth, or fifth Sunday. We are also looking for people who could fill in when the scheduled reader cannot attend worship.
At the present time there are openings for a reader on the fifth Sunday for early worship services, and for the the second, fourth, or fifth Sundays for late worship. If you think you can commit to help with Scripture readings in worship, please put you name on the sign up sheet on the back table.
Pastor Rockey has also written a pamphlet on reading that would help people know what is expected as they read for Sunday worship.
BABY PICTURES! If you want to see some pictures of Jonathan and Kathy Rockey’s new grandson, Jacob Andrew Rockey, and dad Josh and mom Erin, you can go to the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/jonrock53/JacobAndrewRockey
By the way, Jacob will be baptized in early worship on Sunday, March 30.
CONTINUING ANNOUNCEMENT
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE ST. JOHN WEB PAGE??? Our web page is up and running and is a tool we can use as for ministry.
Go to http://www.st-john-lutheran.org/ and see what you think. If you have suggestions for information or communication that could help our web page, please let the church office, or Jacki Rose – our ‘web master’ - know. You can e-mail Jacki at jackirose@gci.net. Jacki is only a volunteer, so her time is limited, but she is doing a wonderful job for our congregation.. We are thankful for Jacki’s continuing work on this web page. Ryan Murphy and Eric Hurst have been resources too.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL INSTEAD OF IN THE MAIL??? There are many advantages to receiving a newsletter by e-mail. They include
If you would like to receive your newsletter in this way, please e-mail Judy Stahancyk, our administrative assistant and let her know. Judy’s office e-mail is stjohn@mtaonline.net. Judy will send you an e-mail with a link to our newsletter on our web page. You can read the newsletter on line, or you can print it out.