A Newsletter
concerning the MISSION & MINISTRY of St. John's Ev.
Lutheran Church
________________________________________________________________
VOLUME XLIX LA
PORTE, INDIANA
September
2001 No. 8
WOW!
Starting another
interim pastorate is always interesting. But this one is not only
interesting, it is very challenging as well. It’s not that
the problems are overwhelming. They aren’t and I can already
see many ways we can get past them. It is that the ongoing work
is so very much. For example, I may have more weddings here in
one year than in the past ten years.
Understand, I’m
not complaining, just observing. One good thing has come out of
this busy schedule, I’m forced to act out one of my beliefs
– that pastors too seldom rely on their members to get
things done. Now I KNOW I need your help to get things rolling.
This has led me to observe that there are many gifted members
here at St. John’s. I’m looking forward to helping them
to do their ministries among us.
I’ve
enjoyed the fellowship and sharing we’ve had in our meals
together. This program accomplishes TWO things. First, I
don’t have to cook. Second, we get to know one another
better and you gain some insights into how I do interim ministry.
I hope we can continue to do this “meal-time” gathering
until I get to meet with each one of you. Mary Felts, our Church
Secretary, can arrange a time for you (362-3726).
Congregational
Workshop - Sept 15th
A
Congregational Workshop will be held on Saturday, Sept. 15th,
from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A lunch will be served.The outline of
the workshop follows:
Part One: Our
Mission and Vision
During the
morning we will discuss and state the mission of St. John’s
Lutheran Church and School. Once the Mission Statement has been
set we will discuss and develop those behaviors which will lead
us to achieve our mission.
Part Two:
Doing our Mission and Living our Vision
After lunch we
will break into teams, each team working on specific programs and
activities that will bring our mission and vision to reality.
Some of these teams may work on existing programs, such as Sunday
School and fellowship.
Others may work
on new programs, such as alternative worship and programs of out-reach
to people of the community
Part Three:
Reports and Next Steps
The final part
of the day will be reports back from each team, with recom-
mendations for how to carry these efforts forward through
existing or new committees and boards. The last thing we will do
is plan any needed follow-up meetings of the entire group.
Who Should
Attend?
This workshop is
intended for ALL members, whether officers or committee members
or not. Teens are welcome as well as older adults.
Is Help
Needed?
YES! In the
following categories. Co-leaders, to assist Pastor in conducting
the workshop, particularly at team tables. Volunteers to help
with beverages, treats, and the noon luncheon. (Perhaps lunch can
be a Potluck?) Prayer Partners – individuals who will pray
for the three days before the workshop. Baby-sitters and children
watchers so that parents can attend and participate. BUT, THE
MOST IMPORTANT HELP WILL COME FROM THOSE WHO SET ASIDE THE TIME
TO COME AND PUT FORTH THEIR CONCERNS, IDEAS, AND COMMITMENT.
FROM THE
PREGNANCY ASSISTANCE CENTER
This year’s
fund-raising “Walk for Life” will be held Saturday,
Sept. 8, at Allesee Park off Boyd Blvd. at 8:30 a.m. This is a 2-mile
walk followed by refreshments. All ages are welcome!
Pledge forms are
available in the Church Office and at the center at 902 Michigan
Avenue. If you are not walking but would like to support this
effort by sponsoring a walker, call Monyean Hahn (362-8390)
before Sept. 7.
DISCIPLESHIP
CLASS BEGINS
The Discipleship
Class for people interested in joining St. John’s Church
will begin Sunday, Sept. 16, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the school
Cafeteria. The catechism will be used and their will
also be a time of Bible Study. Please pass this
information on to any of your friends who may be interested in
attending. Also, come to the class with them! If you have any
questions, talk to Pastor Koch.
PUBLIC SCHOOL
CONFIRMATION CLASSES
Pastor Koch will
teach the Confirmation Class for 8th Grade students
not attending our Day School. Classes will be held on Saturday
morning from 9-10:30 a.m. in the school 8th Grade
classroom. Classes start Sept. 22.If you have a child eligible to
attend, please make note of the date/time and place.
SCHOOL NEWS
School Starts
St.
John’s Lutheran School opened the school year on Aug. 20
with worship, fellowship, and classroom introductions.
New Principal
The School Board
asked me to serve as Principal on an interim basis for this
school year 2001-02. After prayerful consideration and hours of
thoughtful rumination, I couldn’t tell if God was leading me
or kicking me along.
But, here I am–with
God’s help and your support we will get the job done. Books
and supplies have arrived for the most part and we are good to go!
–Mr. David
Wippich
School Staff
Teachers and
Office Staff for the upcoming school year are as follows:
Preschool - Mrs.
Rio Light
Kindergarten -
Mrs. Karla Eigenmann
1st
Grade - Mrs. Marlene Will
2nd
Grade - Mrs. Sally Foglesong
3rd
Grade - Mrs. Lois Krider
4th
Grade - Mrs. Janis Martinsen
5th
Grade - Miss Jennifer Van’t Hof
6th
Grade - Mrs. Cheryl Hoard
7th
Grade - Mr. Steven Parry
8th
Grade - Miss Julie Stelter
Administrative
Asst. - Mrs. Mary Rooney
Interim
Principal - Mr. David Wippich
Our Athletic
Department is run by Miss Stelter, the Grade 5-8 School Choir
will be directed by Mr. Steven Parry, and our Gr. 1-4 Jr. Choir
will be directed by Mrs. Sally Foglesong. Our Accompanist is Mrs.
Susan Rosselli.
Devotions
Just as we are
getting our school, classrooms, and selves prepared for service
and learning, so should we prepare our hearts for our journey
through God’s Word. Each month we will present a devotion
topic in this Newsletter which will sometimes relate our school
year’s theme, “Following the Leader...Through:
Aug./Sept. -
Serving
Oct. - Praising
--------- Feb. - Loving
Nov. - Praying
--------- Mar. - Leading
Dec. - Giving
----------- Apr. - Caring
Jan. -
Encouraging ---- May - Serving
If you look in
Matt. 1&2 you will read about the ultimate “service”
of Mary and Joseph used by God to bring our Savior into this
world and through to His time of ministry of life and death for
our redemption. The Bible foretold or was full of one prophecy (a
message telling what God will do in the future) after another
regarding the service Christ would provide. So, climb onward
today and look up Luke 22:67-71 to find Jesus talking about a
prediction He makes about Himself. What does Jesus say about
Himself as He stands before the religious rulers of the day just
before He dies on the cross? Do you believe it?
JESUS VIDEO
CONTINUED
The Board of
Missions and Evangelism is once again asking you to share our
faith in Jesus via a JESUS VIDEO distribution this year. Can you
think of a better way to celebrate the millennium! Your
contributions will be collected in September (no price increase–$7
per video). You may place your donations (marked JESUS VIDEO) in
the offering plate at church, leave it at the Church Office, or
hand it to a board member. Prayerfully consider this opportunity
to witness. Pray for God’s blessing on this project, too.
Distribution will be in October.
We would love to
have many recipients come to worship with us here at St. John’s,
but our primary purpose is to lead people to Jesus wherever they
may be. Pray that these videos may continue to find their way
into homes and hearts that need to find Jesus, our Savior and
Lord.
WHAT’S NEW
AT SUNDAY SCHOOL
Well, it’s
here already...time to head back to school! Some areas of our
country have school year ‘round. Maybe the institution of
“Sunday School” was the originator of this idea. At any
rate, we were busy learning all summer long about how God wants
us to listen to Him, learn from Him, pray to Him, and witness to
others of our faith in Him! At the beginning of this new Sunday
School year let’s take a moment to outline our goals. Our
goal is and always has been that each Sunday School child would
come to know Jesus as their Savior and very Best Friend, and
develop a God-pleasing attitude and lifestyle. Another goal we
try to achieve is to strengthen and encourage the students in
their daily walk with the Lord. It’s not easy being a child
today. While we hope the children enjoy Sunday School, our goal
is not to entertain or amuse them! (We’ll leave that to
someone else.)
Our “Rally
Day Round Up” will be held Sunday, Sept. 9, beginning at 9:30
a.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear their western “duds”
that day and join us for some “down home” fun!
Promotion Sunday will follow the next week, Sunday, Sept. 16, at
the usual time of 9:30 a.m. This is the Sunday we “move up”
a class and meet our new teachers.
La Porte County
Fair Fish Pond Report: We are so happy to report that this year
we had 24 willing workers who braved the heat and humid weather
to take their turn watching the pond. Thank you all SO much! Your
willingness to serve really makes a difference. Great news! Over
742 little fishermen stopped by and received a reminder of Jesus’
love for them. Wow! We wish you could have seen their happy
faces. We also handed out many V.B.S. fliers. Thanks to the
Lutheran Laymen League for sharing their booth space with us
again.
Those with
perfect attendance in June were: Rachel Alexander, Brooke Baima,
Tyler Berker, Caleb Bublitz, Samuel Feldt, Austin Gropp, Storm
Shortt, Susan Feldt, Lindsey Hull, Jenna Marie Kalsow, Alexander
Kelsey, Curt Scherer, Taylor Baima, Emily Barnhart, Zachery
Robbins, Brittney Ryan, Ryan Searing, Aaron Vaughn, Sam Bublitz,
Victoria Kelsey, Andrew Schuelke, Sky Shortt, Tom Feldt, Kathryn
Scherer, Nicole Scherer, Brianna Searing, Valerie Swan, Scott
Vaughn, Nathan Alexander, Alyssa Rosselli, Brittany Scherer,
Aubrey Barnhart. These students received Christian witness
telescopes. Congratulations everyone!
Our Staff
Spotlight this month falls on our 5th-6th Grade Teacher, Mr.
Dennis Proud, and our Nursery Assistant, Miss Krystal Burke:
Dennis is single and enjoys photography as a hobby. His favorite
restaurant is Fazolli’s. A Bible verse that is special to
Dennis is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.” He has been teaching
this class for six years. The thing that Dennis says he likes
best about working with our Sunday School is “seeing the
children learn.”
Krystal is also
single and lists soccer, reading, and talking as her hobbies! Her
favorite type of food is Chinese. Krystal’s special Bible
verse is, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot.”(I Peter 1:18-19) Krystal has been
assisting in various locations within our Sunday School for four
years. When asked what she likes best about helping, she answers,
“Keeping track of Abbey.” We thank these two dedicated
volunteers for helping make our Sunday School a place where
children readily learn about Jesus and His love.Keep up the great
work...you both are really appreciated!
VACATION BIBLE
SCHOOL NEWS!
Ps. 42:4 -
“For You make me glad by Your deeds, O Lord–I sing for
joy at the work of Your hands.”
By the grace of
God, “Seaside with the Savior” was a week of smooth
sailing. Despite the hot, humid temperatures outdoors, we all
managed to stay relatively comfortable throughout the week. Many
thanks to the numerous volunteers that helped make V.B.S. a
success! The children were all receptive to your T.L.C. (tender
loving care). What a blessing it is to look back and count the
many blessings we all experienced.
We were joined
by 111 very well behaved children, 44 of which we re preschool/kindergartners.
The children learned how to be Jesus’ disciples by visiting
five different parts through-out the week. In Bethsaida, they
were taught how to follow Jesus as His disciples did. The parable
of the Sower and the Seed taught in Capernaum, encouraged the
children to read their Bibles every day to grow in their
relationship with Jesus. While in Gennesaret, the children
witnessed how Peter trusted Jesus and how Jesus enabled Peter to
walk on water. At Tiberias, the children learned of Jesus’
forgiveness after hearing about Peter’s denial and
forgiveness. What comforting news the children heard in Caesarea
of the security and hope found in Jesus as Peter experienced
while he was in prison.
In tune with our
seaside theme, the children enjoyed participating in this year’s
V.B.S. Mission project. Through their generous hearts, God will
enable us to benefit two missionary ships, the Logos II and the
Doulos. These ships travel under the ministry of Operation
Mobilization, an international and interdenominational outreach.
The Offering, which was collected in the form of pennies,
nickels, dimes, and quarters came to a grand total of $684.09.
This will enable the purchase of up to 3,420 storybooks titled,
“The Most Important Story Ever Told.” It is a colorful
book teaching the Gospel message of Jesus in that child’s
own language. Praise to You, Lord, for blessing St. John’s
with another great year at Vacation Bible School.
CAN YOU HELP?
There are many
loyal individuals who have been helping stuff inserts at the
Herald-Argus for years, but we are always in need of new workers
and substitutes for times of illness, vacation, etc. We need more
Saturday workers if we are to continue this project which has
benefitted the church, school, sports teams, and more. Last year
over $11,000 was raised for the Church General Fund and special
needs!
Saturday hours
are approximately 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. every other Saturday.
Mondays we start at 6:00 a.m., but some workers arrive at 7:00 a.m.
YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 16 YEARS OF AGE TO HELP. Our next Saturdays
are Sept. 8 and Sept. 22. Please consider helping out even once a
month or be on call when regular workers are sick. If you can
help, call Karen Piper (362-8070).
Without your
help, we may have to eliminate the Saturday stuffing which would
mean less funds given to projects such as V.B.S., the Guatemala
Mission Trip our teens participated in, etc.
ITEMS OF
INTEREST
The Altar Guild
will meet Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 6:00 p.m. in the school Ladies’
Lounge. All guild members should plan to attend.
SEPTEMBER AT ST. JOHN'S
Sept. 1-2 “It
is a Struggle” (Heb. 12:1-13) Special Music: 8:00-David
Wippich 10:45-Bill Trowbridge, Baptismal Family
Sept. 8-9 “Where
are You?” (Heb. 12:18-24) (Sun. School Rally Day) (NO
8:00 SERVICE–Outdoor Service/10:45 A.M.)
Sept. 15-16 “Keep
on Loving” (Heb. 13:1-8) Special Music: 8:00-Walther
League Chorus
Sept. 22-23 (Guest
Preacher-Larry Kalsow)
Sept. 29-30 “It
Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This!” (I Tim. 1:12-17)
Special Music: 8:00-Walther League Chorus
FINANCE REPORT
FOR JUNE
2000 Attendance - 1,606
2001 Attendance
- 1,684
2000 General
Fund receipts - $40,044.66
2001 General
Fund receipts - $57,353.22
2000 Mission
Fund receipts - $165.00
2001 Mission
Fund receipts - $598.00
Church Budget
Year To Date for 2001
General Fund (short)
- ($101,656.51)
Mission Fund (short)
- ($1,493.50)
