ST JOHN UCC – January 2017 / page 6
Pastor Mark's Thoughts
January 2017
Happy number 12! And here we are completing the month of December and Advent, while moving forward to Christmas! As I write this newsletter today, there is much to share. As we began this season of Advent, this time of anticipation, we also began focusing on the Gospel of Matthew as the church begins a new lectionary cycle.
The church sanctuary looks a bit different as it is decorated for the season and moving the true spirit to all who gather! In that Spirit of the Season, we have gathered with many from the community as we celebrated our annual ecumenical Christmas concert on December 11th. We got to listen to the many talented voices in our town with our mass choir and amazing duets! We also heard some loud voices from some small people from the pre-school who started out our concert with a few Christmas songs! It was the memories that were made that brings the excitement and joy to our lives. Those memories continued with a time of gathering to share in some delicious and healthy cookies! J I want to thank everyone who made this concert a reality through their time and talent for the community and one more opportunity to share in Christ’s kingdom!
The excitement of the season didn’t stop there, as we had all the children participate and offer their talents again in a play titled, "Lo and Behold! Seeing is Believing." It was a wonderful and very cold morning but it carried on the season of the Spirit for many where there were many warm hearts and smiles! We are also closing in on our Christmas Eve candle light service at 7:00 pm and our Christmas Day service on Sunday morning. And while the busyness of the season continues, may we all be able to sit in the presence of God and realize the love and caring that God bestowed to all of God’s children!
As this article comes to an end, many of you know that my family and I will be returning to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends after Christmas. As I will begin my preparations to travel, I pray for all those who are traveling this season to have traveling mercies surround you as you journey to visit those you hold close to your heart this season. And in the anticipation of the hope, peace, love and joy of this season, may we all follow God’s spirit through the active participation of continued fellowship and caring for all that God envisions for God’s world. May you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year while holding tightly to these words; that no matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcomed here!
Yours In Christ,
Pastor Mark
St. John Prayer List
Countryside Manor – 450 West First Street – Aviston IL 62216: Marty Isler, Jack Milligan
Trenton Village – 980 E. Broadway – Trenton IL 62293: Betty Becker, Joellen Kimmle
Clinton Manor – 111 E. Illinois Ave. – New Baden IL 62265: Marge Yohe, Bob Schmitt, Joyce Schmitt
Faith Countryside - 100 Faith Drive - Highland, IL 62249: Marge Goble
Magnolia Terrace - 623 Hamacher St. - Waterloo, IL 62298: Velva McGavock
Summit Place NMB - 491 Hwy 17N, Apt. # 306 - Little River, SC 29566: Miriam Huelsmann
At Home: Hal Wehrle
Worship Participants
Thank you for your service to the church!!
GREETERS:January 1: Betty Sappington
January 8: Lana Tobin
January 15: Mark & Corrie Klein
January 22: Pauline Kraemer
January 29: Tim & Dorrie Stemple / ACOLYTES:
January 1: Henderson Family
January 8: Haller Family
January 15: Wesselmann Family
January 22: Emily Fisher
January 29: Johnson Family
LITURGISTS:
January 1: Karen Koch
January 8: Lisa Groennert
January 15: Mickey Williamson
January 22: Eileen Hoffmann
January 29: Ian Henderson
If you can be a liturgist for a Sunday or a series of Sundays, there is a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex. Thank you! / COFFEE HOUR HOST/S:
January 1: Lonna Patton & Steve Feldmann
January 8: Women's J.O.Y. Fellowship
January 15: Worship Committee
January 22: Congregational Life
January 29: Connie Zimmers
If you can supply the Coffee Hour refreshments for a first Sunday of the month in 2017, there is a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex. Thank you!
Pastor Mark can be contacted at 224-9828 (work) or 224-6009 (home) or . Pastor's general office hours are 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Tuesday through Friday with Mondays off. Meetings are by appointment.
COMMUNION PREPARATION
January: Greg Erdmann
ST JOHN UCC – January 2017 / page 6
BLESSINGS FROM ST. JOHN TO:
January 2 January 3
Maddie Henderson John Rogers
Rachel Kuhn
January 5 January 8
Ken Campbell Jillian Rottman
January 10 January 13
Leon Jones Gay Kuhn
Lois Roach
January 14 January 16
Michael Rinderer Trudy Kline
Miriam Huelsmann
January 17 January 18
Teresa Von Bokel Marian Funk
January 20 January 22
Jim "Moon" Arentsen Barbara Nelson
Bryan Wernle Kaeden Tobin
January 23 January 27
Dena Rinderer Mary Jane Brichler
January 28 January 29
Laurie Henderson Hudson Szpila
Aaron Becker
January 30 January 31
Cecil Brown Tim Bair
· To Richard Sappington for cleaning the carpet in the Fellowship Room and hallway
· To all who helped decorate the church for Christmas
· To everyone who rang the bell for the Salvation Army at the IGA
· To those who bought items for our Angel Tree for needy families in Trenton
· To all who participated in the Christmas Concert and reception
· To Kris Schaeffer and Pehg Zeller who supervised the Christmas Program
· To members of the council who are going off and those who are coming on /
CONGRATULATIONS FROM ST. JOHN TO:
January 13
John & Sharon Logan
...The Council President
January 2017
This is a great time of year at St. John’s! Yes, it has been busy and sometimes stressful – it is just so cool to see our sanctuary filled with people that have come for our recent events. The community Christmas concert that we host every year was awesome. The pews were filled and we needed to brush off those old usher duties from our past – remember when the ushers had to work to find open seats and squeeze everyone in? We had approximately 300 people for this evening and I thank everyone who worked so hard to make St. John’s a welcoming place (I love the cookies and know many of you do, too)! And then we had our own Christmas program during the 12/18 Sunday service. Again, another great crowd and I think we all very much enjoyed the presentation that so many worked so hard to create, practice and then perform. We have a most wonderful group of parents and volunteers that support St. John’s children’s ministries. What a blessing! We can hope that someone at one or both of these events was nudged into thinking “Hey, I need to check out St. John’s a little more” and ultimately comes to Christ through our church family.
I also thank all of you for your support of our (2nd annual) pledge campaign and for your year end financial support. With your generosity we hope to end the year with at least a ‘break even’ budget!
At our Annual meeting on January 22nd, we will be able to see the final results for 2016 and also have a brief overview of the 2017 plan.
Regards,
Hank
Musings from the Church Mouse
As we celebrate the twelve days of Christmas, do you ever wonder what each day represents? If so, here we go!
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ
Two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments
Three French hens stand for the Holy Trinity or faith, hope and love
The four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament
The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation
The seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy
The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes
The nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control
The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments
The eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples
The twelve drummers drumming symbolizes the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed
Men's Fellowship Breakfast
The January Men's Fellowship Breakfast will be on Tuesday, January 3rd at 8:00 AM. All men of the congregation are invited to join us for good food and great fellowship at Aviston Family Restaurant. If there are other men's fellowship activities you would like to participate in, please talk to Pastor Mark.
Women’s J.O.Y. Fellowship
It took one trip and one detour to get all fifty-two pair of pajamas to Kindercottage. That's a lot of fleece! In addition, a fleece throw, some Toostie Pops, those beloved cheeseballs, some cupcakes, and three bags containing puzzles, necklaces, Hot Wheels, books, a memory game, coloring books, and crayons were sent along. These are all wonderful and much needed donation to the children. In January we will collect healthy snacks again. No school for a few weeks so the bigger kids are there and they are hungry. That collection will not be taken until after January 15. We need a volunteer to take these items to Kindercottage after the 15th. The regular driver will not be available at that time. Contact the office if you can do this small job.
Our monthly meeting will be Tuesday, January 3rd at 7:30 PM. All women of the church are invited to join us.
Christian Ed News
The Sunday School teachers would like to thank the Wesselmann Family for the gift of a flock of chicks given to the Heifer Project in their honor this Christmas. The Heifer Project helps people around the world end poverty and achieve self-reliance. It was a very thoughtful gift and the staff is very appreciative.
The students of the Second and Third Grade Sunday School Class of St. John decided to use their Sunday School money to purchase a gift for one of the children whose wish was on the Angel Tree in early December. They were able to buy ten Hot Wheel cars that the little boy wanted from Santa, but they had to use all their money. When a very kind lady from the Methodist Church heard of their generous donation, she replaced their funds and a little extra. They are now on their way to funding another mission project which is yet to be chosen. Lots of kind, giving spirit from everyone involved.
DO WE REALLY NEED SUNDAY SCHOOL? Now that we have your attention, the Christian Ed department would like to invite all Sunday School families (with children age 0 to high school senior) to a luncheon meeting on Sunday 02/05/17. We as the Christian Ed department feel that Sunday School is a very important part of our church. However, we would like to have a chance to talk to all the families and see what it is they are looking for in our Sunday School program. What is working? What changes could we make? Your input is very important to us and to helping us design the programs going forward. The luncheon meeting will start after Sunday School (approximately 11:45 a.m.) and we will provide a pizza lunch for adults and children. During the meeting time, childcare will be provided for the younger children and supervised activities for the older children. Our goal is to have at least 95% of the families join us at the meeting (100% attendance would be awesome).
Please “RSVP” to one of the Sunday School teachers, Pastor Mark or Bev in the church office. THANK YOU!
YOUTH RETREAT NEWS
Illinois South Conference has two retreats for youth in January and February. High school kids have the annual Winter Weekend retreat at Dubois Center on January 14-16 and 6th-8th grade kids have the annual Festival of Faith, also at Dubois Center on February 18 & 19. The reservation form and deposit money have already been sent to ISC for Winter Weekend but if you are high school aged and wish to go, contact the church office to see if there is still room.
Space reservations are now open for Festival of Faith so if you have a child in grades 6, 7 or 8, please let the church office know you are interested so we can get you the information. You must make your reservation through the church and cost is $60 per person (includes $10 reservation deposit) which covers housing, food and all activities. Space reservation and deposit need to be in by January 24th.
WEBSITE MANAGER
St. John is in need of a website manager to update and keep the church's website current. This is a once or twice a month volunteer job that can be done either from the church's computer or from your home computer. The website is set up on Word Press so you can access all the pages, pictures and calendar that are on the website. Some training will be needed and will be conducted by the office manager on the church's computer. If you are interested in learning more about what is involved, please call the church office at 224-9828.
REMOVAL OF THE GREENS
The Worship Committee will be taking down the Christmas decorations on Saturday, January 7 at 9:00 AM. Members of the congregation are invited to join them as there are many decorations and trees to take down and pack away. They would appreciate any and all help!