News of St. John's Lutheran Church
From the Pastor...
Dear friends in Christ,
I’d like to think I’m a generous person. I know that sometimes I am. I also know that sometimes I’m not. I’ve discovered that, like a lot of people I know, I’m on a journey of generosity. That is, I’m figuring out month by month, year by year, how I can keep growing in my generosity. The reason I want to keep at generosity is that I find joy in giving. I think it’s similar to learning to read. At first, it’s uncomfortable, even difficult. But as letters and sounds become more familiar with practice, reading becomes natural and can become a source of joy. I continue to learn about generosity from people I’ve met through my life. From my parents and in-laws, to my home congregation that provided a scholarship for seminary. I remember a parishioner, Brad, who had become more interested in the Bible and started listening to the Old Testament during his commute to work. He approached me one day, saying he had listened to a section about the offering of animals and first fruits offering to honor God. He had a hobby farm, and asked me what I thought about him dedicating the sale of his first calf of the season for part of his offering. A few months later we received his check with a note about how special that first calf had been to him, knowing that it was a gift received from God and now would support God’s work through our congregation. During the pandemic pastors shared with me how they had people in their congregations who did not need the pandemic relief checks from the government and so donated them fully to the church’s ministry during such a trying time. My experience of St. John’s is that you are a generous congregation! There is a culture here of wanting to give – and doing it! From my arrival and receiving so many gifts of welcome, to learning about the Ministry Enhancement Fund, which has inspired many more acts of generosity, to witnessing the outpouring of gifts for rainboots for children in Honduras and Romania. In my experience, generosity begets generosity, and creates a culture of generosity. I am so grateful to be surrounded by generous people who continue to teach me about generosity. We are entering “stewardship season,” and we will be on a generosity journey together these next weeks. We will share stories of past generosity and hopes for what God will bring forth from us for ministry in the coming year. I look forward to hearing more of your stories of generosity as we begin this generosity journey together. ~ Pastor Elise Join us for worship on YouTube!Simply click on the button above to go to our YouTube page. Once there, you can watch any of our worship services (just double-check the date).
Help Yourself...
Our Quilting group has replenished the walker bags in the Narthex with lots of new bags. If you know of someone who would enjoy a walker bag, or if you would like one, please feel free to help yourself.
The quilting group will meet on Tuesday, October 22nd. You are invited to join them at 9am in the fellowship hall. You do not need to know how to quilt or sew to help create these beautiful quilts. All are welcome (men too!) to join us for a morning of work and fellowship! |
Welcome Rev. Elise Rothfusz
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