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St. John’s Lutheran Church

44 West Main St

Shiremanstown, PA 17011

JANUARY 2020

VOLUME 46 NO. 1

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ASSOCIATE PASTOR’S MESSAGE Pastor Sarah Keilholtz

What does Stewardship mean? It’s one of those words that we throw around in the church that we don’t really use anywhere else. You know the words I mean – words like stewardship, evangelism, theology…those sorts of words that get used so much and sometimes we just tune them out and not really pay attention to what they mean. But they are important words, and we should have them in our vocabulary beyond just hearing them at church. Stewardship is an important idea. Perhaps you are thinking…great…more money talk. And yes, that’s part of stewardship, but stewardship is so much more than money. It is about how we live our lives as a whole – how we chose to share what we have with God and the world around us. It is how we chose to make decisions about where we spend our time and energy. It is how we live and interact with the world around us. It’s not just an important idea, it is how we should be living our lives – with good stewardship. We make stewardship decisions and choices every day in our lives without even realizing it - the food we eat, the people we call friends, how we spend our money, the entertainment we select, the hobbies we enjoy, the many ways we spend our time, and so many more that we do without even thinking about it. And when we make those sorts of decisions, we are choosing where our treasure is – with God or with the world. So perhaps we need to put a little bit more thought into it?

To faithfully practice stewardship, we have to live in prayerful awareness and make conscious, thoughtful decisions that will advance us in Godly directions.

As 2020 begins, prayerfully consider the most important areas of your

life, such as your physical, mental and spiritual health, as well as your relationships and time, and ask God to help you steward them in ways that will help you be the person God wants you to be and have the life God wants you to have. Let’s make this a year of learning to be better stewards of all that God has given us together and to walk into the new year as disciples with open hearts and open minds to what God is calling us to do!

St John’s Staff would like to thank all for your kind words and appreciation during the Christmas season. Have a most blessed 2020!

January Team Meetings Monday, January 6 6:30 PM Finance Team Meeting—Conference Room

Tuesday, January 7 6:00 PM Social Ministry Meeting—Diane Lauck’s Home Tuesday, January 14 6:30 PM Parish Council Meeting—Library Monday, January 20 6:30 PM Mission Teams Meeting

Tuesday, January 21 6:30 PM Worship and Music—Conference Room Thursday, January 30 6:00 PM Children’s Garden Board Meeting—Library

JANUARY 2020

Weather Watch! Snow Cancelations are listed through the following media:

St Johns Home Page—www.stjohns1787.org St. Johns Lutheran Church 1787—Facebook Page

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2020 Offering Envelopes A reminder that offering envelopes for 2020 are available. If you have not picked up your 2020 envelopes, please do so soon. Offering envelopes not picked up by January 14, 2020 will then be available in the church office.

S�. J���’� QR C�#$ The QR code displayed here will take you to St. John’s secure eGiving web page. Once there, you’ll see several options to donate to St. Johns.

Income

1 1,265.00 Parsonage Rental

2 12,201.00 Daycare /Fac Use

3 122.50 Flowers

4 612.00 Business Designations

Disbursements

1 0.00 Church Maintenance

2 834.16 Educ. Bldg. Maint.

3 183.98 Flowers

4 177.81 Vanco fees

5 97.20 Parsonage

6 749.36 Pastor Rick

7 4000.00 Youth Ministry

8 510.00 Lawn

9 662.50 Service Contracts

November 2019- Financial Manager's Report

Beginning Balance

Income Disbursements Ending Balance

CURRENT -73,579.86 46,156.76 34,046.56 -61,469.66

BENEVOLENCE Benevolence 0.00 2,186.50 2,186.50 0.00

World Hunger 0.00 1,158.50 1,158.50 0.00

BUILDING 97,708.21 2,350.00 700.70 99,357.51

MEMORIAL 9,734.94 0.00 0.00 9,734.94

TOTALS 35,555.29 51,871.76 38,092.26 49,334.79

ORGAN FUND 1,692.00 20.00 0.00 1,712.00

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ANNUAL REPORTS: Written reports of all Standing Teams, Special Teams, and Organizational Activities during 2019 are due no later than January 27, 2020. These reports will be published in the 2019 Annual Bulletin of Reports.

JANUARY 2020

KERYGMA - Discovering the Bible - Returns for the 2nd session of 5 bible studies Mondays from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. in the library 1/13; 1/20; 1/27; 2/3; 2/10 What the heck is KERYGMA? Kerygma is a Greek word used in the New Testament to refer to the content of the Christian proclamation about Jesus. It means to proclaim, to preach. We are offering a small group six week Bible study on Monday evenings using a curriculum called Kerygma: Discovering the Bible. This is the second session focusing on the Old Testament. In the first session we started in Genesis and ended at the beginning of the Exodus. In this session we will focus on:

� The Journey (through the wilderness) reading passages from Exodus; Numbers and Deuteronomy

� The Conquest (of the Promised Land) reading passages from Joshua; Judges and Samuel

� The Kings (Saul, David and Solomon) reading passages from 1 & 2 Samuel; and 1 Kings

� The Two Kingdoms (What went wrong?) reading passages from 1 & 2 Kings

� The Prophets (Who speaks for God?) reading passages from Amos; Hosea; Micah and Isaiah.

There is no requirement to have participated in the first session to enjoy this session. And there is no requirement to attend all five weeks. If you are interested, contact Mike Kadjeski or Beth Bard to obtain a study guide in advance of the first class so you are able to read the background in-formation and the relevant scripture passages before the class. Or just feel free to come any evening. Bring your Bible and your best friend!

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Have you ever had a question about something happening at the church and not been sure who to ask? Maybe you saw a budget report and wondered what does that mean? Or you wondered what council really does at those meetings every month and wanted to ask someone about them. Well, our council members would like to give you opportunities to ask questions…and maybe even have some answers for you! Beginning on January 19th, Council will be hosting a monthly Council Corner…a time that at least one council member will be available to answer questions and share conversation about the ministries that are happening in our congregation. On January 19th, you can find a council member in the parlor follow-ing all of our worship services. They will be available for at least 15 minutes following Saturday evening, and both of our Sunday services. This will continue every month on the weekends following our monthly council meeting – usually the third weekend of the month. Watch the bulletin for announcements and reminders to meet with members of our church council. Finally, please pray for our council! They have hard work to do and have agreed to serve God’s church in this way. Please remember to pray for their wisdom and discernment as they lead St. John’s into 2020. Our 2020 council members are: Dave Smith, President Mike Kadjeski, Vice President/liaison for Administration Allison Graybill, Secretary Susan Van Zile, Member at Large/liaison for Children’s Garden Sandra Kroft, liaison for Outreach Barb Gibson, liaison for Faith Formation Steve Sloat, liaison for Nurture Jake Trybulski, Shannon Kincaid, liaison for Evangelism

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JANUARY 2020

St. John's Little Free Pantry Cold Weather Collection: Items Needed

As temperatures consistently fall below freezing, the needs of the Little Free Pantry will change. Please consider donating any of the following items* to help prepare the pantry for colder weather:

Dry or Boxed Grains and Beans (Beans and Rice Mixes, Quinoa, etc.) Ready to Make Dry Soup Cups or Packs Dry Pastas (Spaghetti, Mac and Cheese, etc.) Pasta sauce (plastic containers please) Cold or hot cereals (oatmeal packets) Peanut butter or other nut butters (plastic containers please) Jelly (plastic containers please) Beef Jerky Dried Fruit, Granola bars, or snack crackers Snack mixes, nuts, or seeds. Bars of Soap Toilet Paper or Tissues Diapers or Feminine Items New Socks, Hats or Gloves

*Please do not leave any expired food items and please mark clearly “LFP” over any barcodes, thanks!

We will start collecting canned items again when temperatures are above freezing in the Spring. Feel free to stock items in the Little Pantry at any time or bring items when you come to church and drop in the donation box labeled Little Free Pantry. If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Kroft at 717-697-2660.

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Muffins for Safe Haven To support church members volunteering to staff Safe Haven’s homeless shelter during the week of January 19th—January 25th, the Social Ministry team is collecting nut-free muffin mixes and baking cups from Sunday, January 5th, through Sunday, January 12th. The mixes will be used to bake muffins

for the men. Since we would like to provide one muffin per individual each night, approximately 30 muffins are needed each day. For the week, about 210 muffins will be distributed. Popular mixes include the following:

blueberry cranberry orange triple berry lemon poppy seed chocolate chip

In the spirit of serving the community and helping our fellow church members, Social Ministry welcomes your donations. A collection bin marked “Muffin Mixes for Safe Haven” will be in the coat room area of the Narthex. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

St. John's/Shiremantown's Community Blood Drive dates for 2020. Thank you to all who donate blood, whether at St. John's or elsewhere. Each blood donation can help save up to three lives as they often separate the plasma, platelets and blood cells for different uses. Please mark your calendars for the follow dates for 2020. All are Sunday's from 8:30 to Noon in the youth lounge. I'll see you there. February 2nd March 29th May 31st July 26th September 20th November 15th

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GOOD NEWS: The deadline for the February GOOD NEWS is Monday, January 13. If you have any information to be included in this issue, please have it in the Church Office by that date.

At our December 8 Tree Trimming and Gift Giving the Sunday School classes collected and donated the following to Cumberland County Children and Youth:

49 hats 3 scarves 54 pairs of underwear 159 pairs of socks 80 pairs of gloves Thank You!

Mission Team is looking for new members. Looking for a new passion in 2020? Want to be part of a team who has the goal of helping the downtrodden get to know God? The Mission Team is look-ing for new members to bring fresh ideas to the team. If you have enthusiasm for mission work and want to increase awareness to our community about the needs of others, the Mission Team would love for you to join them in their efforts. The Mission Team has their planning meeting on Monday, January 20 at 6:30 pm. For more information, contact Pam Wenner at wenner@comcast.net.

JANUARY 2020

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Dear St. John’s, Thank you so much for the delicious pork and sauerkraut dinner delivered to me by Barb Gibson. We enjoyed it a lot. Very Good. Sincerely, Ed and Marian L

To Pastors Sarah and Rick and my St. John’s family, I just wanted to thank you so much for the beautiful altar flowers I received. They really brightened my day during a very sad time. In Christ’s love, Jeanette DeF

The Social Ministry Team thanks all the Sunday school classes for creating 128 cards for Meals on Wheels recipients. Because of your generosity, people who live alone and may not have a family will feel the presence of God’s love and the hope realized in Jesus’s birth. For some, this card may be the only gift they receive. How we appreciate you all for lifting the spirits of those in need during the holiday season!

The Social Ministry Committee would like to extend a big thank you to St. John's congregation and The Children's Garden for all of the donations to the New Hope Christmas Blessings collection. The items we collected for the New Hope families totaled over 300 pounds! Your generosity is appreciated!

Thanks to all cookie bakers and those who helped to assemble the bags for the Truck Stop Ministry. We have 179 bags for donation this year. We appreciate everyone's help at this busy time of year.

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Confirmation classes for Grade 8 begins on January 8th at 6:30pm.

See you all there!

On Sunday January 5 we will celebrate the New Year with a Gathering in the Lounge from 6-8pm. These are relaxed evenings with snacks, games, and Bi-ble study. Bring a friend!! On Sunday January 18 we will meet at Project Share at 8:30am for a morning of volunteering for our neighbors in need. This is a food distribution ware-house in Carlisle. Plan to stay until about noon. Finally, January 26 we will have a Gathering in the Lounge from 6-8pm. Save the Date: February 9-Gathering in the Lounge 6-8pm February 23-Gathering in the Lounge 6-8pm Feb 29-Mission Central 9:00-12pm

Camping Weekend There are lot of questions in life that can be answered by church camp…What is one of your best memories from childhood? Going to church camp! What is one of the most influential experiences that clergy claim in their discernment process? Going to church camp! What is a great family trip to take in the summer? Going to church camp! What is a great place to work in your college years? Church camp! What is one of the best values of camp for kids today? Church camp! The weekend of January 25 – 26th we will have some visitors from the Lutheran Camping Corporation in worship and Sunday School to share a little bit of their wonderful ministry with St. John’s. Have you even considered going to camp or sending a child to camp? Please join us to celebrate the wonderful ministries we have right in our own backyard! Ps…there may or may not be s’mores at coffee cart…come out on Sunday morning to Sunday School to see!

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Worship Schedule and Hours

Saturday Evening Service—Saturday—6 PM

Sunday Church Services—8 & 10:45 AM

Sunday Church School—9:15 AM

Associate Pastor—The Rev. Sarah Keilholtz

Seminarian—Susan Scott

Minister of Music—Thomas A. Notestine

Youth Director—Stephanie Alsvan

Discipleship Coordinator—Beth C. Bard

Office Hours: Monday—Friday

9:00 AM—1:00 PM

Office Phone (717) 761-5121

Office Fax (717) 761-4110

Email: church@stjohns1787.org

Website: www.stjohns1787.org

News and Notes: sjnewsandnotes.wordpress.com

Facebook: St Johns Lutheran Church 1787

Twitter: stjohns1787