News

Church News

Church Council Highlights

The following are some highlights from the August 16, 2018 Church Council meeting.

There will be a Potluck Brunch on Rally Day, September 9th, following the worship service;
Stewardship update: Kick-off on September 30th, Generosity Sunday on October 28th, and Commitment Sunday on November 11th;
The Property Team is having a privacy fence installed at the parsonage, and landscaping work done in the church courtyard;
The Ministry Site Profile was accepted by the Synod office and is now online; and
Council appointed a “Constitution Revision Team” who will work to update the St. John’s Constitution.

Finance Report Year To Date thru July 2018:
Budgeted Income $207,301 Actual Income $193,574
Budgeted Expense $222,607 Actual Expense $203,431
Behind Budget on Regular Offerings by -$15,073
Special Offerings: $165 (Shoe Drive)

“LINKS For LEUKEMIA
because we believe in Benny.”

We are so happy to share this photo of a smiling Ben Bokus with the Links for Leukemia prayer chain that we created and delivered to him at St. Jude’s in Memphis! We pray that Ben and his family find strength and encouragement in knowing that we are praying for them as Ben continues his battle with leukemia! Thank you to everyone who participated in the 3-Day Around-The-Clock Prayer Chain in support Ben and his family.

2018 Quilt In-Gathering for Lutheran World Relief

On September 22nd and 23rd, we will celebrate our annual Quilt In-Gathering. Over 150 quilts will be displayed on the pews in the Chapel and Sanctuary. The quilts are the handiwork of countless hours of work performed by many dedicated women throughout the year. Their diligent work has resulted in assembling these quilts for Lutheran World Relief (LWR).

In addition, the sewing group has expanded their outreach to include providing quilts and fleece blankets to the PADS homeless shelter in Peru. Quilts and blankets have also been given to the Another Child Foundation in Princeton for the Romanian orphans they support. We continue to make walker bags for the residents at Heritage Health, Mendota Lutheran Home, and Stonecroft. There is a basket of walker bags on a table in the Narthex, and you are welcome to take one for yourself or anyone you know who would like to have one.

Your continuing support of our mission work is greatly appreciated. God's Work, Our Hands at St. John's!

Abigail Women's Clinic
"Baby Bottle" Fundraiser

During the month of September, we have the opportunity to support Abigail Women’s Clinic in Mendota by taking home one of their baby bottles and filling it with change, cash or checks. Baby bottles are available in the Narthex, Fellowship Hall and Office. Please return them to church by September 30th. Thank you for your support of Abigail’s mission to protect God’s most helpless.

75th + Birthday

Aug. 29   Ed Bock
Aug. 31   Allan (Tim) Munson

Sept. 4    Jean Schwingle
Sept. 10 Dale Fischer
Sept. 18 Robert Politsch
Sept. 28 Linda Jordal
Sept. 29 Richard Althaus

Congratulations!

Gregory & Judy Forney
August 30th — 15 years

Jan & Judy Schuster
September 1st — 56 years

Gary & Mary Kay Sutton
September 4th — 53 years

Dale & Louise Epps
September 26th — 66 years

~ Altar Guild News ~

We extend a “Thank You!” to Joyce Dinges and Jean Schwingle for their many years of dedicated service to St. John’s through their involvement in the Altar Guild. If you are interested in serving on the Altar Guild, please speak to Myrna Simon or contact the church office.

Special Items of Interest:

Please contact the church office when you or a family member are hospitalized. Because of privacy laws, the hospital will not contact us.
For the safety of our precious children, and for the security of our members, guests, volunteers, staff, and church property, notice is given that the premises are video-monitored.
Find us on Facebook! Search for "St. John's Lutheran Church" and join our page. It's an easy way to stay up-to-date on the happenings here at church.
Due to a lack of use and a small number of volunteers, we are not offering a staffed nursery during Sunday morning worship at this time. However, parents with infants or small children are welcome to use the Nursery or the Cry Room (near the Women’s restroom in the narthex) during Sunday services. TV monitors are provided in both locations so you may view the service. Please ask an usher for assistance.

Can you believe it is almost time for the new school year? School supply lists are ready and the stores have all the supplies on their shelves. This is a reminder that we at St. John's continue to support Lutheran World Relief. In addition to making quilts, we also assemble school kits. A total of 8 items are needed for each kit. LWR is very specific about items that are allowed in the school kits -- 70 pg. spiral notebooks, rulers, pencil sharpeners, blunt scissors, unsharpened #2 pencils, ink pens (no gel), 16-24 crayons, and erasers.

When you are shopping, would you consider purchasing and donating any of these items for our LWR School Kit Project. There is a box marked "School Supplies" in the Fellowship Hall for these items. Thank you for your continued support of LWR.

An Update from our Seminarian

We are excited to announce that Maria has successfully completed her CPE course (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Mercy Health in Rockford. She will begin her internship at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Evansville, WI on September 1st. Once the year-long internship is complete, Maria will spend her final year on campus at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA. Please continue to include Maria and her family in your prayers.

You are invited to join the Quilting Group in the Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, September 25th beginning at 9am. Did you know that our Quilters make quilts for Lutheran World Relief, Romanian Orphanages, the Mendota Lutheran Home, and the PADS homeless shelter? They also gift baby quilts to newly baptized children at St. John’s. We are currently in need of fabric and sheets. You may drop items off in the church office. Thank you!

The Ministry of
Holy Communion Teams

Members of the newly formed Holy Communion Teams have been commissioned and received their visitation kits. The purpose of the Holy Communion Teams is to take Holy Communion each month to those in our congregation who are homebound. These faithful volunteers will provide an important ministry of prayer and support as they take the sacrament to those who are currently unable to attend worship. We thank Roger & Barb Anderson, Lauren Anderson & Jean Carnahan, Richard & Leslie Althaus, Karen Goy & Shirley Pierson, and Maria Bonine for being part of this ministry. If you know of someone who is homebound, please contact the office.

Crossroads Counseling Center

Over one year ago, Allied Counseling Group of LaSalle became our new providers. We are pleased to be able to provide professional behavioral health counseling services for members of our congregation and for the entire Mendota area.

Thanks to the generosity of St. John’s, the services provided at Crossroads are affordable to everyone. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

Appointments can be made by calling the Allied Counseling office at 815-224-4522 and asking for the Mendota site. Ms. Pamela Wolf, LCPC - Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, serves at our Crossroads Center.