January 13th is the Baptism of our Lord. On this day, Cassidy, Wade and Joshua will receive Bibles from the St. John's congregation. We will all remember our baptisms and give thanks that our God has claimed us and continues to call us beloved children.

As part of a baptism, our congregation promises to help the baptized grow in the Christian faith and life. We celebrate that Joshua, Cassidy, and Wade are beginning the next part of their faith journeys, joining Cole in catechism each week. There are so many ways that they grow during this time, as Jesus' love becomes (hopefully) more evident and meaningful. Please keep them in your prayers.

As part of this journey, they are also encouraged to complete a variety of activities and keep track of their points. Many of you are involved in activities that can help them acquire points--serving in the community, attending a team meeting, singing in the choir, etc. Please invite these young people to join you!

It’s time for Being the Body of Christ!

We will be doing the Together in Faith series from Augsburg called “Being the Body of Christ: A Study in 1 Corinthians”. Please sign up on the welcome table by January 13.

The cost for a participant book is $6, which can be placed in the offering plate with “bible study” in the memo line.

We will meet for four weeks at 10 am at Mr Smith’s coffeehouse downtown. The dates are:

· January 24
· January 31
· February 7
· February 14

Please let Pastor Stacy know if you have any questions.

Supper Club is resuming again on January 24, 2019.

We will be going to Berardi’s Restaurant in Huron on Cleveland Rd. East. They have a nice back room for us and we are supposed to be able to order from the menu. All of their food choices are very tasty!

We will meet at the usual 6:00 PM time. Looking forward to a great turnout for a fun evening.

The annual congregational meeting will take place immediately after worship on Sunday, January 27th. All confirmed members of St. John’s are asked to attend.

We will discuss important ministries for 2019. Plus, a world famous pot-luck lunch will follow the meeting! Drinks will be provided, but please bring a dish to share.

Don’t miss this important meeting of the congregation and fellowship time to follow.

It is with great joy that we join together in celebrating the sacrament of

Holy Baptism
for Raelynn Hermes
on Sunday, February 17th.

Please plan to support this child and her family in their new lives of faith.

Raelynn was born June 23, 2018 to Sarah and Thomas Hermes, Jr.

This fall, in place of the annual CROP WALK, the local Lutheran churches are combining efforts to raise money for local hunger efforts.

On October 14 we will walk to help feed those who are hungry. We walk at the Prayer Path at Zion Lutheran Church in Huron.

We will combine walking with prayer for hunger relief. We will raise money that will be distributed to local food banks and hunger relief organizations.

Please walk and pray with us on October 14. Donation documentation records can be picked up on the welcome table.

Young Family Eucharistic Ministers

When your child first wished to take the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and you believed he or she was ready to do so, you began to help prepare them to receive the Sacrament. Maybe your child loved talking about communion. Did they have questions about it? These questions and their answers may well have been in your home.

For many of our homebound members, Holy Communion always happens at home.

So we would like to partner families who have youth, with families who are homebound. We ask that you visit the homebound member once every other month and take communion to them.  This can happen anytime that fits your schedule!

We hope relationships will form and we can learn from each other.

Interested? Have questions? Join us for a brief discussion on November 3rd at 11:30 before Art and Pizza, or see Pastor Stacy.

Please join us again for a craft, prayer, and pizza on November 3rd from 12-1.

These special times strengthen young people and their families in their relationship with God; help them to grow in their faith in Jesus Christ; and to enjoy and share God’s love together.

All young people and their families are invited.

All Saints Sunday is when we take the time to give thanks for the saints who have shared their faith with us and helped us grow in ours. It is a day when we commemorate those we have lost as well as the Christians who have lived before us and have testified to their Christian faith.

You are invited to bring a picture of someone you would like to remember on this special day and place that picture on the altar before worship begins.

The SPURS visioning team is offering two opportunities on Monday, November 5th to encourage everyone at St. John’s to share their dreams for St. John’s. Ann Voight, team leader and Pastor Stacy will host two meeting times 10 am and 5:30 pm in the Upper Room.

SPURS is a think tank where together we dream big dreams and seek God's vision for the future of the congregation. Your dreams and creativity are needed, so please come and join in casting a new vision.

S -Support
P -Persons
U -Understanding
R -Renewal in the
S -Spirit who leads us on

AT Ohio Veterans Home.

Join us to help place flags on the graves of veterans at the national cemetery for Veteran's Day.

This event is a proper way to show patriotism and honor those who served our country. It's important to have this time set aside to celebrate the lives given so we could receive our way of life.

Meet by the south end of the cemetery and be sure to dress for the weather. Your help is needed!

Parking is available on that side of OVH as well.

DRESS WARM

Just For Your Information:


A property team meeting will be held on the 13th at 7pm.

WE NEED YOUR PUMPKINS, and fruits, vegetables and fall flowers to decorate and celebrate the season of Thanksgiving on Harvest Sunday.

Decorating will take place at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 17th.

Volunteers are needed to help decorate!

Adam, master of all he saw, was walking in the Garden and wanted to eat of the fruit. He stretched out his hand to pluck an apple, but the branch moved away from him out of reach. He tried the same with a pear and the same happened again. This went on two or three times. Then the voice on high spoke. 'First water and tend the trees, then you may eat of the fruit.'

Christmas We practice for the Christmas program during 9 am SundaySchool.

All young people are invited—to read, have a role, play bells, sing a song, unwrap a gift.

The Christmas program will be December 16 at the 1030 worship service.

Please wear you pjs and join us for hot cocoa, snacks, and a Christmas story. All ages are welcome” ― Martin Luther

We thank you for all of the times you've opened your lives and homes to us over the last year, and we want to open our home to you.

Please join us for a dessert open house November 20th @ 5:30-7 at the parsonage.

The Scovanner Family

Join us for the annual Hanging of the Greens as the St. John’s church family comes together to decorate the sanctuary for the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Hanging of the Greens will take place immediately following worship on Sunday, November 25th. Lunch and drinks will be provided before we get to work.

Families and individuals, young and old, all are invited. Don't miss this festive event!

Ladies you are invited:

The 2018 Women's Gathering will be held on Sunday, November 25th at 6pm at Grace Lutheran Church, 203 S. Washington St., Castalia. $5 donation goes directly to Project Share which helps Margaretta School district families.

Join us in the fun watching Charlie Brown learn all about involvement and the real meaning of Christmas!

Doors open at 5:30 and please bring a small gift to share.

Please join us for this intergenerational activity during the Sunday School hour on December 2nd.

We will prepare for Advent with special stories, songs, and prayers and the making of a family treasure -- our own Advent Wreath!

Can you help? We're looking for small scale Christmas items for our Advent Wreaths. Do you have small ornaments, greenery, tinsel, and other holiday stuff you could donate?

We will be collecting now through mid November and then shop for everything else we need. We're also looking for:

• pink, purple, and white birthday candles;
• votive candles;
• pink, purple, and white 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon;
• average size wine glasses.

All Friends! All Families! You are invited!

Help us start off the Christmas season at St. John's with a Christmas Celebration. Join in the fun and fellowship.

A light supper will be served. Please feel free to bring a your favorite appetizer or dessert.

Hope you can be there.

Ladies and young ladies of St. John’s plan to attend the Christmas Get Together at the Sandusky Yacht Club on Thursday, December 6th at 6:00 pm.

Come help us begin a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Mark your calendar and plan to attend and bring a friend!

Please make your reservations on the sign-up sheet located on the Welcome Table.

Endowment Applications are on the Welcome Table.

The applications are due by the 15th of December 2018 for disbursements by April 15, 2019.

If you have a questions, please contact a member of the Endowment Commitee.

Let the Endowment Fund support you in your mission plans!

Everyone is ivited to go at Admiral's Point in Huron on Saturday December 15th at 2:45 pm.

Please come and sing the joy of Christmas for the Admiral's Point residents and staff.

Sing unto the Lord a Joyful Song!

This year the Faith Life Team has selected to do Christmas for Nursing Home Seniors. These residents and their wish lists do not have much family or visitors.

Typically they spend the holiday alone. So let's reach out to them by choosing a tag, buying the items requested, wrapping and returning it to church by Sunday, December 16, 2018.

The items will be delivered to happy residents so the residents can receive the love of the Lord and the true meaning of giving this Christmas Day. Thank-you for your continued generosity.

CHRISTMAS for NURSING HOME SENIORS

• Choose a tag on the Welcome Table
• Purchase the gift
• Wrap gift (or don’t wrap)
• Attach tag to the gift (IMPORTANT)
• Return gift to church by Dec 16.

FOR CASH DONATIONS

• Cash will be used to provide gifts from the lists not picked
• Take a cash donation tag with envelope
• Put cash in envelope and place in the basket provided

Bishop Daniel Beaudoin reminds us in this his Bible Study that a long time ago, Nehemiah was called by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, Book of Nehemiah, we read that before Nehemiah lays even one stone; Nehemiah prays. He prays for strength. He prays for protection. He prays for forgiveness. Nehemiah takes everything to the Lord in prayer.

God of justice and joy, as we begin this study of the Book of Nehemiah may we be inspired by your love and transformed by your will to be built into the people you long for us to be. Lead us to grow strong in our daily prayer and in our love for you. This we pray in the blessed and holy name of Jesus. Amen

We will meet on Tuesday mornings at 9 am for six weeks. We begin October 23 at Barry Bagels on Milan Rd in Sandusky (behind Five Guys). Sign-up sheet is on the Welcome Table or just show up for the study.

Our Book Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month.

When Richard Beck first led a Bible study at a maximum security prison, he went to meet God. His own faith was flagging, but Beck still believed the promise of Matthew 25, that when we visit the prisoner, we visit Jesus. And sure enough, God met him in prison.

We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 9 am in the Upper Room, beginning January 8th . The next book will be Stranger God.

This is a remarkably useful book. Beck lays out the core issues affecting our relationships to people outside of our normal social circles, shows why this is an exceptionally important issue, and gives a great practical way to become more like Jesus.

This book would be of value to any Christian who is interested in addressing the various divisions in our world.

A nice perk is the simplicity and concise nature of Beck's writing style. His message is accessible and valuable to anyone regardless of educational background, and makes a fabulous small group resource for us.

Please join us.

On January 15th you are invited to be a part of one of our ongoing small groups. We gather for prayer, scripture, fellowship, and food. Would you like to participate? Currently, there are two groups:

1. One group for people of any age will meet this month at 5:30 on January 15th at the home of Chuck & Peg Kingsley At this gathering, appetizers are provided and you are invited to bring a dessert to share.
2. The young family group will meet this month on January 15th at 5:30 at Castaway Bay to go swimming together--and remember our baptisms. All "young" families are invited.

Please sign up on the welcome table.

You are invited to the monthly fellowship of Dinner Church :

• a potluck dinner and prayer time that begins at 6 pm. on the 4th Wednesday of the month in the basement of the church.
• At 7 p.m. we will have a short, conversational worship service.