Linda VonHolten will host a painting party on Saturday, June 28th at 10:30am at St. John’s. The event will take place in the church basement. The cost is $40, to be paid when you sign up. Checks should be made payable to St. John’s. Registration deadline: June 20th. Children age 8 and up are welcome if they have an adult present with them. Proceeds benefit the YWCA of the Sauk Valley Domestic Violence Program.
The Social Ministry Committee will begin collecting items for school kits beginning May 18. The collection period will conclude September 14. We had a great response last year and have asked St. Paul and Immanuel to partner with us again this year for assembly. Our time together was an awesome time of fellowship and stewardship. Some of the kits will be shared again with the Regional Office of Education (ROE) in our community. Bins will be available to receive donations in the entry area outside the east sanctuary doors and the narthex. Monetary donations will be accepted if you prefer that we do the shopping for you. Please include these items for each kit:
St. John’s Lutheran Church has a loving tradition of adorning our altar area with geraniums for Pentecost Sunday, which this year is June 8th. Everyone is invited to participate in this ministry to beautify our Sanctuary and our Church Grounds. Plants will be planted outside after Pentecost. The cost is $7 each. Geraniums can be ordered in honor of or in memory of a loved one or a special event. Orders must be received by Sunday, June 1st. Click here to download an order form.
The Congregation Council has designated the Special Offerings for the month of May to be donated to Rock River Hospice and Home. This facility was established in 2017 to fulfill an urgent need in our community for dedicated, intensive end-of-life care for patients and families who need more than in-home hospice care. The facility also houses the organization’s administrative and outpatient nursing offices. Please consider a generous donation in support of this compassionate and experienced group of caregivers and the specialized care they offer to our community.
Join us for faith, fellowship, and book study on May 8 and 22 at 6:30 pm in the church library. We will be discussing The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Please speak with Pastor Jacob to learn more.
Please help support the ministries of St. John’s by purchasing a yard sign! These durable and colorful signs will be available before and after Sunday church service. They are $25 each. For additional information or to purchase a sign, please contact Stewardship
Committee co-chairs.
Rhonda Stutzke – (815) 441-3264
Aislinn O’Connell – a.shae.oconnell@gmail.com
On Saturday, May 17, St. John’s will be a location again for the community wide garage sale. Item collection for the Community Garage Sale is happening now! A registration for the event will be filed with the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event and provides maps showing participating locations. Items donated will temporarily be stored and organized in the Luther Chapel. Tables will be set up in the main parking lot for times during the sale. Those wishing to help participate in the fundraiser by donating items for sale please remember that items may be new or gently used.
Please do not donate any of the following:
Hunger has been a persistent challenge in our world. As Christians, we are called upon to follow the example and teachings of Jesus to help people in need. Beginning in 1974 the Lutheran Church in America has given special attention to reducing hunger for fifty years. While the money donated by a single congregation such as St. John’s may be small, when combined with the gifts received at congregations across the country, between $20 and 24 million is raised each year, resulting in many great projects. The ELCA is using this 50th anniversary year to increase explanations to congregations how the contributions have been used and to seek increased giving to its Hunger Appeal.
Dr. Norm Moline, Professor Emeritus of Geography at Augustana College and member of our synod’s world hunger committee, will be at our church on April 6 for an adult education program. He will review how our dollars are used for some “good news” projects. He will stress that if we move beyond the big numbers of starving people and focus on individuals who can be helped, we can realize how life-giving our gifts can be. AND he will thank this congregation for its regular participation in this hunger appeal.
The Special Offerings for the month of April have been designated by the Congregation Council to be donated to the Twin Cities Homeless Shelter, formerly the Twin Cities PADS Homeless Shelter. The shelter serves 20-25 guests per night for emergency shelter and as an entry point into other outreach programs. They currently have limited space and funding and are struggling to support those who rely on their services to survive. Please consider a generous donation to support this ministry. Their mission is to help people and be a light to those lost in the darkness. Help them keep the lights on.
Unwanted messages are becoming increasingly common methods for scams and fraud. Often these messages may look like they are from someone you know but are really a scam looking for personal information. If you get an unwanted text message, there are three ways to report it:
