The following are some highlights from the March 21, 2024 meeting of our Church Council:
Roofing quote will require a special congregational meeting. MSC to have a meeting on April 7, 2024 to approve the Council’s recommendation of the quote.
Review of St. John’s crisis manual is in process; revisions to be approved in April and communicated to staff, ushers, Sunday School teachers and anyone else interested.
Vacation Bible School will be held from 9am to noon, July 22nd to 26th.
St. John’s will have information available at the Mendota Community Engagement Fair at the Civic Center on May 4th from 9am to 12pm.
The next All Teams Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th at 7pm; and the next Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm.
Finance Report Year To Date thru February 2024: Budgeted Income $63,004 Actual Income $50,677 Budgeted Expense $54,632 Actual Expense $43,082
We are grateful for your continued financial support, through your offerings in person, through the mail, and through automatic giving. We are blessed to have such a faithful St. John’s family.
Get-To-Know-You Gatherings in April
The transition team has been tasked with assisting Pastor Elise in getting to know the congregation. To that end, the transition team has arranged Get to Know You Gatherings, 90-minute conversations with Pastor Elise and a small group of other St. John's disciples. These gatherings are open to confirmed youth and adults, those who are very involved in ministries at St. John's and those who don't make it here very often or who worship online.
These gatherings will take place the first half of April; dates, times, and locations vary. Some are at St. John's and some are at people's homes. You can find a list of dates and times by visiting https://tinyurl.com/55vxpprz. Or you can use the QR code with your phone’s camera. You can also call or stop by the church office during office hours and the staff can get you signed up. A paper sign up sheet will be available on Sunday mornings. If you would like to join in, but none of the dates or times work, please let the office know.
You all are a vital part of the ministry we do in Jesus' name! The transition team hopes that you will make time for one of these gathering in your schedule, so that Pastor Elise can continue getting to know you better personally, and be an effective pastor for all those who wish to follow Jesus at St. John's.
St. John's Transition Team — Aimee Holland, Carol Dilbeck, Myrna Simon, Richard Althaus & Shirley Pierson
Give Poverty The Boot
The first Task Force project for 2024 is in support of the “Give Poverty the Boot” campaign by Another Child Foundation, a group St. John’s has worked with many times in the past. The project will kick-off on Sunday April 7th and end on Sunday April 28th. For every $15 collected, a child will receive a beautiful pair of durable rain boots. These boots are a $35 value and are supplied by Roma Boots, a socially conscious company that combines fashion with philanthropy. The Task Force will match every donation dollar for dollar. There will be envelops in the pews for you to place your donation of any amount. The donations will be collected and our progress displayed each Sunday in April. If you are writing a check, please make it payable to St. John’s Lutheran Church and write “boots” in the memo section. More information will be shared on Sunday April 7th. Let’s help them “Give Poverty the Boot!”
Earth Day, Earth Church
Join Pastor Elise in celebration of God’s good creation at the Earth Church afternoon at the Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center near Oregon on Saturday, April 20th from 12pm to 3pm. There will be lunch, an earth church service, forest meditation walk, prayer labyrinth, and hiking. Families and individuals who would like to attend with Pastor Elise and carpool together: we will meet at the church at 11am. Cost is $7 per person. Details and registration can be found by clicking the button below.
Every year, the Fourth Sunday of Easter lifts up the image of Jesus as our Good Shepherd in our lectionary readings. It is also a day when Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) asks congregations to learn more about what LSSI does across the state of Illinois. On Sunday, April 21st our worship service will offer an opportunity to hear about ministry done on your behalf for those in need through LSSI’s work. Information on how to support LSSI’s ministry - financial or otherwise – will also be available.
Small Group Option for Adults on Sunday Mornings
The Wired Word group will meet in the Luther Lounge following worship on Sunday mornings. This group for both men and women is led by Mitch Mays and effectively applies the Bible to stories taken from the headlines of the day. We hope you will plan to join us!
75th + Birthday
April 1 Darlene Meisel April 6 Sandy Mosier April 7 Albert Schrader April 11 Fran Pinter April 15 Sandra Eich April 19 Herb Champlin April 23 Laura Schaefer April 29 Linda Buettner Carol Dilbeck
Happy Milestone and 50+ Anniversary Wishes!
Tom & Joanne Maloy April 4th — 60 years
Richard & Leslie Althaus April 19th — 60 years
Raymond & Linda Karstens April 20th — 55 years
Dan & Laura Schaefer April 28th — 50 years
Updated Addresses for our Military Members
Haleigh Wendel is stationed in Hawaii. Mail can be sent to: Haleigh E. Wendel 1175 Oklahoma Dr. Unit #46 JBPHH, HI 96860
Special Items of Interest:
If you would like a pastoral visit when you or a family member are hospitalized, please contact the church office. 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.
Cemetery Plots are available for purchase. Please see Melissa in the church office if you would like more information.
New Disciples and Members at St. John's
Those who are interested in learning more about following Jesus as a Lutheran Christian and/or officially becoming part of St. John’s ministry by joining our congregation are invited to conversation with Pastor Elise in May (dates and times are pending). If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Pastor Elise by email at pastorelise@stjohnsmendota.org.
Wednesday Prayer Group
Prayer Requests
The Wednesday prayer group will continue to meet from 9am to 9:30am every Wednesday to lift up prayers on behalf of the St. John’s community. You can pray aloud or silently, come frequently, or on occasion. All are welcome!
During Sundays in Lent, prayer requests of the congregation were gathered and specifically prayed for during worship each week and during the Wednesday morning prayer group meeting. Going forward, prayer requests will be gathered for worship prayers on the first Sunday of the month. Prayer requests submitted on other weeks will be prayed for by the Wednesday prayer group.
Attention St. John's Teams & Members
If you would like to use the church building for your meetings, please contact the church office so we can put you on the calendar. This is especially important with the addition of Embrace Change Therapy seeing clients in our building. Thank you!
Quilting News!
The St. John's Quilting group will meet on Tuesday, April 23rd at 9am.
The Quilting Group has replenished the walker bag basket 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. They have also been able to assemble some Quilt Top Kits. If you would like to sew at home, the Kits are now available at the Information Booth and the Church office.
If you have cotton fabric or sheets that need a new home, we would be more than happy to be that new home! You can drop them off in the church office during regular hours.
Thank you for your continuing support of our projects for Lutheran World Relief.
St. John's Prayer Chain Ministry
The prayer chain has been very active these last several months and we are grateful for all of you who participate and offer your prayer support to those going through difficult times. If anyone else would like to join the prayer chain, please contact the church office. The prayer chain is conducted primarily through group text messages with a few members receiving information by a phone call.
The Christ In Our Home daily devotional booklets for April, May, and June are available in the narthex and the church office.
Virtual Worship Information
Get connected with us! We invite you to "like" and follow our new Facebook page, "St. John's Lutheran Church, Mendota, IL." We also stream our Sunday morning worship on our YouTube page. Simply go to www.youtube.com and search for STJ LUTHERAN MENDOTA. You do not need to subscribe to YouTube or our channel in order to watch the worship services. We have also added a "button" to the first page of our website that will take you right to our YouTube page, as well as in the Worship tab.
Of course, we invite everyone to join us in person for worship on Sunday mornings at 9am.
Thrivent Financial Members
Please be sure that you have designated St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mendota for your 2024 Choice Dollars before the end of March. In 2023, we received $1,453.00 through the Thrivent Choice Dollars Program. We thank you for choosing St. John’s! Also, don’t forget that Thrivent provides promotional resources and up to $250 in seed money to jump-start a fundraiser, educational event or service project. Members are eligible for up to two Thrivent Action Team grants per year. Please speak to someone in the church office if you would like help applying for a Thrivent grant.
We welcome Embrace Change Therapy to St. John's!
We are excited to announce that Jennie Espinoza, M.S. ALMFT, will begin renting space from St. John's for her mental health counseling practice, Embrace Change Therapy. She will use the former Youth Director’s office (Vicar Anthony’s old office), and offer appointments to the public.
Mrs. Espinoza has a passion for helping others, especially youth, young adults, and families. She previously worked as a behavioral health specialist at St. Margaret's Health-Spring Valley. She can be reached by calling (815) 878-9066. (Se habla Espanol)