Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Thank you to all who were involved in the making of sausage last weekend. It seemed to go very smoothly. I came in on Saturday around 11:30 thinking there would be more work to do, especially clean up, but everything was done. The only person who was left was David who was waiting for people to pick up their orders. Again, thank you. Job well done.
It made me start thinking about what we are known for. I love to be known for sausage making. It brings in many people from our community as well as people in our church that we haven’t seen in a while. For sure, the quilting ladies working at our church are well known in the community. The people know to bring their unused fabric to our church. There is always a bag of fabric waiting for them on one of the tables.
These are great activities. They put our church on the map. But, I think we are known for other things as well. If you come to our Bible studies you see many members of St. Johns. However, you will see others that grace our church. Someone told we that we don’t believe in the Bible. I stated my point that we certainly do and invited them to one of our Bible studies. I also invited them to church. I hope we are not known for this. It is so untrue.
Because of your support, we are also able to help those who need our help. Our office phone rings often for gas cards. I give a monthly list of all the things that the Good Samaritan Fund has done to the Church Council. The list is not getting any smaller. I want to thank those who support this Fund. But please, do not forget the Blessing Box. We are well known for this also. People are able to come 24-hours a day, 365-days out of the year to receive food. Cars pull up at all times of the day gathering a day’s supply of nourishment. Thank you to those who help fund these ministries.
I am also thinking of the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Through the efforts of many, they are able to feed the people who are at the PADS shelter. I was telling Gerlyn last weekend that my favorite part of the letter she puts out every month is to look at who are helping with meals and serving. I love reading about all the people who are involved in this ministry. One more thing St. Johns is known for.
I love the direction our Sunday School is taking. We all gather together in the church sanctuary first. Jan has us beating sticks and drums and we are learning new songs together. This is all being done before sitting in their classroom where they receive their religious education. Instead of just seeing only their group in the classroom, they see the bigger picture of all who are involved. Make sure you thank all the teachers. They deserve a great deal of gratitude.
I wish you could see what I see with the choir. Well, you can if you just turn around. They are a small but mighty group. Thank you Barb for leading this group. They put in a lot of time before they sing on Sundays. If you ever have come to their Musical Cantata in December, you will see we are known for this also. People come from our community to hear them sing. Thank you to the choir.
I thank all the gardeners. What a great job they do. I know many people are thankful for your efforts. I am beginning to see people I do not know wander around the garden to see what is available. There is a reason why it is called a community garden. It is for everyone. Thank you to all of you who enjoy getting your hands dirty.
Can you imagine if one of these things were gone? It would affect more than our church. It will affect many in our community. This is the reason we need everyone’s help. I would not like to see any of these programs go away. I would not like any of the different church committees to have to wait for another time.
I think we have been pretty transparent in what we have been doing. Bottom line, our giving is down. Is there a way you can increase your giving, even by 10 dollars a month? Any amount of increase makes a big deal when everyone in church plans on doing the same. Maybe a dollar more a month. One of the things St. Johns is also known for its open-handedness. Please pray about it. Listen to what God is stirring in your heart and then obey.
What God mostly does is love you. (excerpt from Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie)
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for 6 Weekend of Epiphany – February 15 & 16
Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, February 10 to Sunday February 16
Day 2 Samuel Psalms Proverbs Acts
Monday Ch 15:13-Ch 16:14 71:19-24 Ch 6-Ch 7:19
Tuesday Ch 16:15-Ch18:18 72:1-20 Ch 7:20-43
Wednesday Ch 18:19-Ch 19 73:1-14 Ch 7:44-Ch 8:3
Thursday Ch 20 – Ch 21 14:25-35 Ch 8:4-40
Friday Ch 22 – Ch 23:7 73:15-28 Ch 9:1-31
Saturday Ch 23:8-Ch 24:25 74:1-9 Ch 9:32-Ch 10:23
1 Kings
Sunday Ch 1-Ch 2:12 74:10-17 Ch 10:24-Ch 11:18
2 Samuel/1 Kings – Here we read about the transition of power from David to his son Solomon. You will see by no means is it an easy transition.
Psalms- We sometimes get inundated with people wanting or grabbing power. Maybe we are also to blame. However, we see in Psalm 73:25 who we really should be seeking and put our trust in. “And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.”
Proverbs- 14:29 sounds like James borrowed that verse from the Old Testament. We receive more wisdom on how to treat the poor and the needy.
Acts- Again we see the Holy Spirit active in the chapters we read. About chapter 7 or so we see the transition from Peter to Paul. Not that we will be done with Peter but towards the second half of the book of Acts, Paul is the main character. What you do see is the struggle with the early church if Jewish law should be followed by everyone, including the new Gentile converts. Paul, who is the Apostle of the Gentiles is going to push back pretty hard in the next couple of chapters. The conversion of Saul to Paul is always a good story to read.