News

Birthday Buddy Bowling Party

We give thanks for Tri Church Birthday Buddies! Residents of LSSI Group Homes birthdays are celebrated by Immanuel, St. John’s and St. Paul on a rotating schedule. A small gift, cards and cupcakes are shared with residents and volunteers who join in the celebration. We are over a year into our partnership in this mission and it has been a mutual blessing to all involved. What a gift it is to share life and God’s love together!

While birthday parties continue for the residents of the LSSI Sterling Group Home and Partnership House, a special activity is planned for September. Tri Church is hosting a bowling and pizza party on Friday, September 12th at 3pm at Blackhawk Lanes in Sterling. The party will include 2 rounds of bowling with pizza to follow at the bowling alley. Each resident received a bowling shirt for one of their birthday gifts and will be encouraged to wear their shirts that day.
You are invited to cheer on the birthday buddies as they hit the lanes on September 12th. If you plan to attend, please let Deb Keaschall know by calling 815-718-5237 or emailing debkeaschall@gmail.com. You are invited to wear a bowling shirt if you have one.

LSSI continues to be very grateful for the Tri Church partnership with the Birthday Buddy program. Whether you have helped plan a birthday party, shop for gifts, attend a party, signed or sent a card, thank you for making these residents feel special and recognized on their birthday. We are church together!

~Deb Keaschall, Tri Church Convener

September Special Offerings

Lutheran Social Service of Illinois (LSSI) has served in our state since 1867. It is one of the largest nonprofit, statewide social service providers and welcomes and serves people from diverse backgrounds. Critical social and human services include foster care, mental health services, alcohol and drug treatment, affordable senior housing, home care services for older adults, and residential programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our congregation, in partnership with our Tri-Church congregations, works with this organization to celebrate the birthdays of men in one of the LSSI group homes. Funding for some organizations, like LSSI, has been cut, making our support even more important. Please join the Congregation Council in supporting this Lutheran organization with a generous donation to the St. John’s Special Offering initiative in September.

Who Should Get The Shingles Vaccine?

The shingles vaccine (Shingrix) is recommended for adults ages 50 or older, even if you: 

• Have had shingles before
• Received an older shingles vaccine called Zostavax (it’s less effective and is no longer given in the United States)
• Don’t recall having had chickenpox

It’s unclear how long you should wait to get the shingles vaccine if you’ve just had shingles. At a minimum. Wait until after all signs of shingles have resolved. Some experts recommend waiting a year.

Don’t get the vaccine if you currently have shingles, are allergic to any components of the vaccine, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of Gullian-Barre syndrome. For people with certain health conditions — such as those who have specific autoimmune conditions or types of cancer, or are receiving certain types of immunosuppressive treatments — the decision about whether to get the Shingrix vaccine should be made with their health care provider.

~Harvard Health

Scrappy Workshop

St. John’s will host a Synod event entitled, “Finding Vitality in Scrappy, Small Congregations. The event will take place in our fellowship hall on Friday and Saturday, August 22-23. Congregations that worship fifty members or fewer are considered small; approximately 60% of the congregations in the Northern Illinois Synod fall into this category. A planning meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 17th, with Pastor Julie Monnard from the Synod Office to plan the details of the event. Our Tri Church partners have been invited to assist with the planning and the event itself. More details will follow.

Seeking Student Musicians

This summer, the UNITE churches are again hosting student musicians from the Sterling/Rock Falls area. This includes any student completing 7th grade – a just graduated college student. We ask that students share a piece with us at St. John’s and then arrange to play that piece at other UNITE congregations, where you will be paid $25/service as a guest musician. This is a chance to keep your music skills tip top over the summer, share an IMEA or audition piece you may be working on, or another special piece. Please contact Dawn Zeigler 815.275.3775 or dawn@stjohnsonthird.org for all of the details! We can’t wait to hear you!

God’s Work Our Hands – Cledy’s House of Hope

Cledy’s House of Hope was introduced in the May newsletter as a Tri Church God’s Work Our Hands project.  Cledy’s is a sober living home for women with a current wait list of 10 women located in the former Arrowwood facility in Rock Falls and next to the former Rock Falls Rehab Nursing Home.  On Sunday, June 8th, Ashley Odell, a Cledy’s staff member, will give a brief temple talk on her recovery story.

How can you help? To help “furnish” this 42-bed facility, Cledy’s House of Hope has a needs list of new items as follows: bath towels and wash cloths, twin size sheet sets and comforters, pillows and pillowcases; cups, plates and bowls – sets of 4; cooking sheets and cooking utensils; and brooms and dustpans.  These items will be collected through the month of June and can be brought to the church.  Cash donations (check to Sauk Valley Voices of Recovery) or Thrivent cards are also welcome. Also, volunteer help can utilized to visit local thrift stores in search of gently used additional needs list items not mentioned above – contact Deb Keaschall at 815-718-5237 if interested.

In addition, there are still a variety of projects such as sanding and painting cabinets, tables and dressers.  They are also looking for someone to help with weekly mowing of the grounds (mower is provided).  While there is no designated date to help with these projects, please contact Deb Keaschall to help coordinate your availability with Cledy’s staff.

Thank you in advance for “your hands” to support God’s work in our local community.

~Deb Keaschall, Tri Church Convener

School Kits

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:

• Four 70-sheet notebooks of wide or college-ruled paper
• One ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other
• One pencil sharpener
• One pair of blunt scissors
• Five unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers, secure with a rubber band
• Five black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink), secure with a rubber band
• One box of 16 or 24 crayons
• One 2½ inch eraser

St. John’s Yard Signs

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

ELCA World Hunger Committee Speaker

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.

How To Report Spam Text Messages

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:

• Copy the message and forward it to 7726 (SPAM). This helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages in the future.
• Report it on the messaging app you use. Look for the option to report junk or spam. For how to report spam or junk in the iPhone Messages app: support.apple.com/en-us/111104. For how to report spam on an Android phone: support.google.com/messages/answer/9061432?hl=en.
• Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov