A message from The pastor St. John Journey january 2014 Even though the Christian Year beginning with Advent is almost into the sixth week, January marks the beginning of the new year. This year 2014 will be rung in and cele- brated in various ways around the world. When the calendar turns over to a new year there is a thought that all things can be made new. The Isralites observed a time of “jubilee”, every seven years everything went back to the original owner, all debts were forgiven and all was paid in full. A time of renewal, a time to evaluate life and to start over with a fresh lease on life. In a cartoon I read this morning one of the characters was ask if he had finished his New Year’s resolutions. He said that he had a proceeded to read them, the other character said those are the same from last year and the reply was these are the same resolutions I have had since 1977. So for 2014 what does all this mean? Martin Luther explains Baptism in the Small Catechism as a daily dying and rising. I think we can see this as a “mini jubilee” every- day of our lives. We die to our old self and we rise to the new self. The new self that has been forgiven by the act of a Savior, Jesus coming into the world. Knowing that we have been marked with the Cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit, looking out into the vastness of a clean canvis in which to paint our picture of life in 2014. It is exciting to think how it might turn out. The one thing we begin knowing for sure is that we are a CHILD OF GOD. On a personal note let me say on behalf of Robin, thank you for the generous Christmas gift, for all the cards and notes and again thank you so much for welcoming us into the life of St. John Lutheran Church. We have been and continue to be blessed by life here in Southwest Virginia and at St. John Lutheran. Let me again say or remind you please call if you need Pastoral Care. My email has changed and the new one is: [email protected]. My telephone numbers are: 276-739-7740 (Home) 276-525-5801 (Mobile) (Feel free to text but let me know who it is) Peace. Pastor Scott
Transcript
A message from The pastor
St. John Journey
january 2014
Even though the Christian Year beginning with Advent is almost into the sixth
week, January marks the beginning of the new year. This year 2014 will be rung in and cele-
brated in various ways around the world. When the calendar turns over to a new year there is a
thought that all things can be made new. The Isralites observed a time of “jubilee”, every
seven years everything went back to the original owner, all debts were forgiven and all was
paid in full. A time of renewal, a time to evaluate life and to start over with a fresh lease on
life. In a cartoon I read this morning one of the characters was ask if he had finished his New
Year’s resolutions. He said that he had a proceeded to read them, the other character said those
are the same from last year and the reply was these are the same resolutions I have had since
1977.
So for 2014 what does all this mean? Martin Luther explains Baptism in the
Small Catechism as a daily dying and rising. I think we can see this as a “mini jubilee” every-
day of our lives. We die to our old self and we rise to the new self. The new self that has been
forgiven by the act of a Savior, Jesus coming into the world. Knowing that we have been
marked with the Cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit, looking out into the vastness
of a clean canvis in which to paint our picture of life in 2014. It is exciting to think how it
might turn out. The one thing we begin knowing for sure is that we are a CHILD OF GOD.
On a personal note let me say on behalf of Robin, thank you for the generous
Christmas gift, for all the cards and notes and again thank you so much for welcoming us into
the life of St. John Lutheran Church. We have been and continue to be blessed by life here in
Southwest Virginia and at St. John Lutheran. Let me again say or remind you please call if
you need Pastoral Care. My email has changed and the new one is:
St. John is on track to finish 2013 with a balanced budget around $212K.
On Sunday, Dec 8, St. John’s members approved a $220K budget for 2014. The budget increase was possible by those of you who increased your pledges for 2014, and will enable St. John to hire a Music Director and maintain a bal-anced budget.
Thank you for your generous giving!
The Finance Team.
Sanctuary Flowers
The 2014 Flower Chart has been posted on the bulletin board in the Narthex. Flowers may be
given to the Glory of God or in memory, or in honor, of loved ones, or on special occasions.
Dates are available on a first-come-first-served basis. What a wonderful way
to help beautify the Sanctuary. You will need to make arrangements for your
flowers. Humphrey’s Flowers in Abingdon has a key, so they can deliver your
flowers for you if you wish to use them. Please advise the Church Secretary
what you want put in the bulletin.
St. John's Financial Summary
November 2013
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
175,000
200,000
225,000
250,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
$
Income to Date Expenses to DateProjected Income Projected Expenses
Budgeted Income = $226,300
Budgeted Expenses = $224,400
CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS MEACHAM
Congratulations to Chris Meacham who received his Master of Business Administration
Degree from Radford University on December 13, 2013
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Page 3 St . John Journey
The St. John Quilters are meeting on Tuesdays at 9:30AM, beginning on January 7th. Come out and enjoy the fun, fellowship, and sewing (no experience necessary).
Tuesday Afternoon Bible Study.
The Tuesday afternoon Bible Study is resuming for the new year on Tuesday, January 7th
at 1:00PM. Bring a bag lunch at noon and enjoy fellowship beforehand.
St. John Choirs St. John Welcomes new Choir Director
Beginning with Choir Rehearsal on January 8th, Wrenda Fuller will
begin as the new Music Director at St. John. Wrenda has recently
moved to Abingdon from Lebanon, Va.. She was the Music Director at Lebanon
Memorial United Methodist Church for 30 years. Wrenda has been involved as a church musician since she
was in the 8th Grade. She also directed the Choral Music Program at Lebanon High School. Wrenda and her
husband have retired to the Abingdon area to be closer to Wrenda’s mother who lives in Bristol. We
welcome Wrenda to St. John.
Beginning on Wednesday, January 8th, rehearsal times will change for both the 9:00 AM Praise Team and the
11:00 AM Choir. The 11:00 AM choir will rehearse at 6:00 PM on Wednesdays and the 9:00 AM Praise
Team will begin rehearsals at 7:00 PM. Please mark your calendars and make your plans now to be here on
January 8th.
St. John Ladies Book Group 2014
Jan.26 hostess is Katie Gifford ( we are still doing pot luck appetizers)
book chosen is Guests on Earth by Lee Smith
discussion leader is Carole Ann Rosen
February 23 Hostess is Brenda Murphy
book is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hasseini
discussion leader TBD
March date TBD
Book is: The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore` Edie Hiltebeitel has all of the books if you would like to
hostess and discussion leader TBD borrow them.
April date TBD
Book: The Lemon Tree by Sandy Talon
hostess and discussion leader TBD
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Baptismal Font Update
I have been exploring the use of distilled water in the baptismal font. In fact, I filled it December 21 with distilled water after running it with white vinegar water for sev-eral hours. The local water has so much calcite that recirculating 20 to 25 gallons deposits lime on the basin, bowl, plumbing, and tiles in less than 3 weeks. Up to now, the font has gotten drained, treated for calcite, flushed well, and refilled every 3
to 4 weeks. The hope is that distilled water will allow longer periods between cleanings. The water will still attract bugs, dust and other items, but the calcite hopefully will be go away. So in the future I may be looking for donations of distilled water (I have 20 empty 1-gallon jugs) if this test works. If you have any suggestions, please call me at 628-5533 (cell 276-608-8060) or email me at [email protected]. Thanks, Edie Hiltebeitel.
Thank You from St. John Preschool
The St. John Preschool teachers would like to thank the congregation for their generous
Christmas gift. We appreciate all the help and support the congregation has given to the pre-
school and our staff throughout the years.
Thanks again,
Mel Schnelle
Rita Kestner
Linda Jenkins
Sharon Meacham
St. John Journey
Thank You from the Barter Theatre
December 18, 2013
Dear Pastor Scott and St. John Lutheran staff,
Thank you for generously allowing us to borrow your folding chairs for our Annual Barter/United Way
Silent Auction this past Monday. With your help, we raised over $2,000 for United Way that night!
I do hope the lending/borrowing process went smoothly enough for you—please let me know if there’s any-
thing that we can improve on in the future!
Many, many thanks—perhaps we can do this teamwork again next year!
We are a community of believers, gathered by the Spirit, washed in Baptism, marked with the cross of Christ, nourished by Word and Sacrament, called to respond to God's gifts of grace, and set apart as disciples of Jesus Christ for a life of learning, witness, and service.
