News

Poinsettias Order Form

Poinsettias are wanted to decorate St. John’s Chancel for Christmas. You can order on the group order or purchase your own. If you purchase your own please bring to the church no earlier than December 23rd and place a tag with your name on it. All poinsettias should be RED. Plants can be picked up after the 6pm worship Christmas Eve. Payment should accompany the form. Make checks payable to St. John’s Lutheran Church. Deadline to turn in form & payment is December 15th. Click here to download a Poinsettia order form.

Altar Guild & Offering Counters Needed!

HELP NEEDED! With the end of the year quickly approaching, new schedules for duties throughout the church will be formulated and mailed. Two such areas where our volunteer base has dwindled are in the weekly offering counting process and setting the table for communion by the Altar Guild volunteers. Offering counters are typically scheduled for one Monday or Tuesday per month and the task usually takes less than an hour. Communion set-up or clean-up is typically scheduled for a month of Sundays and requires less than an hour each week. With fewer volunteers, most people serve both a clean-up and a setup month during the year. With more volunteers, we could decrease the number of times needed for each person to serve. Please contact Dave Geil (499-0437) or Denise Norman (631-9506) if you are willing to join the offering counters. Contact Denise if you would like to join the Altar Guild. It takes all of us to serve within St. John’s. Please consider one or both of these ministry opportunities.

Organ Concert by Ross Jallo

Join us on Sunday, November 24th at 2:00 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dixon for an organ concert by Ross Jallo. There will be a free will offering to support Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center (LOMC) in Oregon, IL. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the concert.

Youth Butcher Shop Fundraiser

A fundraiser for youth activities is being held through The Butcher Shop and will begin on November 3. Order forms will be on the table across from the sanctuary entrance. Please put the completed order form along with cash or check made out to St. John’s Lutheran Church in the manila envelope on the same table by Sunday, November 17. Order will be available for pickup on December 6 at 4 pm. Any questions, please contact Denise Carl at 815-499-4093.

Moving Beyond the Page

Join us for faith, fellowship, and book study on November 7 & 21 at 6:30 pm in the church library. Watch the Sunday announcements for information on the next book. Please speak with Pastor Jacob to learn more.

November Special Offerings

Please join the Congregation Council in spreading joy through the LSSI Holiday Hope Chest. The November Special Offerings of the congregation have been designated to this program. The goal is to raise enough funds to provide a Christmas gift for each client served by LSSI programs in Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, and Carroll counties. LSSI clients include children in foster care, adults with disabilities, and older adults. LSSI believes each person should know that they are loved, that God has a plan for them, and that we are called to participate in that plan. Most of us are reasonably certain that we will receive a gift at Christmas. Please help ensure that the clients of LSSI will also have that assurance.

IMPORTANT Messenger Update–PLEASE READ!

Beginning with the January 2025 monthly newsletter, the publication will no longer be mailed to members and other acquaintances. We will, however, continue to mail the printed copy to our shut-in and nursing home residents. Several options will be available for reading the Messenger. A limited number of printed copies will be available at worship on Sunday mornings. The remainder of newsletter recipients who received a mailed version will need to sign up to receive an email link to view and read the newsletter. Please call the church office (815-625-2634) or email Office Manager, Nina Peters, at office@stjohnssterling.org to add your name to this email list. A second option is to read the newsletter on St. John’s website at www.stjohnssterling.org. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. As our members have decreased, our mailing list numbers have also reduced. We no longer meet the USPS requirements for bulk mailing at a lower cost. Mailing at the first-class rate would increase our mailing costs dramatically. It is for these reasons the Congregation Council made this difficult decision.

Festival of Trees

Rock River Hospice & Home need our help with a donation of 15 dozen cookies (any variety) for the Festival of Trees. Please bring them to the kitchenette on Tuesday, November 19. They will package the cookies. Please call Sharon Zinanni with any questions at 815-508-2585. Thank you for your help!

All Saints Breakfast

“Holy, holy, holy, let all the Saints adore thee.”
You are invited to join us for the All Saints Breakfast on Sunday, November 3 immediately following morning worship.

MENU
Juice, Coffee & Hot Tea
Breakfast Casserole
Biscuits and Gravy
Cinnamon Rolls
Assorted Pastries
Cookies for children

There will be a free-will offering with all proceeds going to Riverview Haven (Self-Help Ladies). We thank Thrivent for providing matching funds. We encourage you to join us and bring a friend.

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.” -Psalm 1a

Trunk or Treat 2024!

St. John’s Lutheran Church (703 3rd Ave., Sterling) will host Trunk or Treat on Halloween night from 4:30-7 pm.

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