~ Important News! ~
"In-person" worship in the Sanctuary continues!
We also offer online worship each Sunday morning at 9am
via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Palm Sunday, Holy Week Happenings
and Easter Celebrations!

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Holy Week will begin this year with our Palm Sunday service at 9am on March 28th.  The excitement of the day begins as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem with the traditional waving of our palms.  We will also have a dramatic reading of the entire passion story according to Mark presented by members of our St. John family.  This will also most certainly be a special day for several of our second-grade students who will take part in their first communion.

Then, as Holy Week continues, we will offer up a unique and prayerful way to journey toward the Easter event by offering up three services called “The Triduum.”  The Triduum is the time of the Church year when we celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This three-day celebration begins with Holy Thursday and continues on Good Friday with the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion.  At the end of this liturgy, we leave the church in silence, waiting to celebrate the glory of our Lord’s resurrection.  Then, on Saturday at sundown, the Church re-gathers to celebrate the final and most grand moment of the Triduum: The Resurrection of our Lord.

The Triduum is somewhat like a three-day prayer marathon with the services of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday both ending in silence.  As the Maundy Thursday service ends and we depart in silence, it allows us to journey with our thoughts toward the next service on Good Friday.  Again, as we depart in silence, we continue the journey to the cumulating worship event of Holy Week, the Easter Vigil and the end of Lent.

The Easter Vigil is the service that I think will be additional to what has been done recently here at St. John’s.  This service is incredibly special, and I hope as many as possible might take it in.  We will begin in the courtyard around an actual fire in a fire pit similar to the fire that Peter found himself gathered around as he waited to see what would happen to Jesus.  There at that fire we will light the paschal candle and from it all present will also light a candle.  We will then proceed into the sanctuary, signifying the light of Christ coming back into our lives.  Also, during this service, we will bring the Glorias and the Alleluias back into our worship experience.  It will be time to sing Glory to God again as Lent has ended.

The next day we have Easter!  Alleluia!  We will shout: “Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!”  Our Easter services this year will be at 7am and 9am on April 4th.  I truly hope that we all take part, in some form or another, in these special worship services.

See you in the pews or on line!                        ~Pastor Ken Gibson

Join Pastor Ken for Daily Devotions

We hope you are joining Pastor Ken for daily devotions, Monday through Thursday mornings at 8am on St. John’s Facebook page.  It’s a nice way to start your day!

Pastoral Care

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If you find yourself in need of pastoral care or you or a family member are hospitalized, please contact the church office and we will put you in touch with Pastor Ken Gibson.  Remember that because of privacy laws, the hospitals do not contact us when you or a family member are admitted. 

Church Office Hours

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The church office is open Monday through Thursday beginning at 8:30am.

The church office is CLOSED on Fridays and this is also Pastor Ken’s day off.  In case of an emergency, you can reach Pastor Ken at (815) 861-9554.

Help Yourself...

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The Quilting Ladies have replenished the “Walker Bags” in the narthex.  If you know of someone who would enjoy a bag, or if you would like one, please feel free to take one.

Online Giving to St. John's
is Now Available!

Thank you for supporting the mission of St. John's!

RO-GA-TION {ro-gā-shen}
“Rogation Sunday!”

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“Hey Pastor Ken; ‘What does Rogation mean?”   This question has been somewhat frequent the past few weeks as we begin to put a service and activities together to celebrate Rogation Sunday.  I even heard it said: “I think it is a term Pastor Ken invented to find a way to get tractors to church and have tractor rides.”  Well, I wish I could take credit, but the truth is that it is a term with long standing traditions tied to it.
 
Here’s a little history.  Rogation Days were traditionally celebrated during the fifty days of Easter on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day.  The word “Rogation” has its roots in the Latin word that means to ask or petition, and it comes from the ancient introit for the Sunday proceeding Ascension.  In some places, the celebrations were very elaborate and included processions from the church to and around fields while asking for God’s blessing.  We will have petitions asking for a good and bountiful growing season and to ask us to remember the gifts of God’s earth and our role as stewards of the earth.
 
Although Rogation Days are agricultural celebrations, they are not solely for rural congregations.  The truth is we are all tied to the land for our very existence, we all eat and we are all called to be stewards of God’s creation.
 
Here at St. John’s, I believe we have many connections to the land and the prayerful petition for a good growing season is most appropriate.  In this special service on Sunday, April 11th, we will indeed have a prayer and seek blessing upon the seed, soil, and water.  We will also have a blessing for the machinery to be used for the season ahead, and that is where things get fun.  At least I think it is fun!  Following our worship service, we will have a tractor parade and blessing on machinery.  We have invited many of our farmers to be around to parade by and receive a blessing as they perhaps literally head to the field to proceed with the spring planting season.
 
Please make plans to be part of this special worship service.  I will have my antique tractor on display and invite others who wish to have a tractor on display as well, to feel welcome to do such.  If you have questions just seek me out and let’s chat.

"Virtual Worship"
Information for April

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The Zoom log-in information for our April worship services have been set so that the Meeting ID and Passcode are the same for each week during April.  This is not an error.  We hope that it will make it easier for those logging in to Zoom.
 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8191024353
Dial up: 1 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 819 102 4353
Passcode: 316316

The log-in information will also be emailed to you each Saturday at noon.
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You are also able to watch the worship services via Facebook Live even if you don’t have a Facebook account.  Using your web browser, search for St. John’s Lutheran Church Facebook page.  Once you find us, simply scroll past any invitations to create a Facebook page and you’ll see the Facebook Live video.