Interim Update for August 30, 2019

Elevator update

the elevator inspector was here on Thursday, and said that everything checked out with regard to the elevator, however our certificate of operation as displayed in the elevator car had expired. he wrote us up for that, and gave me the phone number of the office in Columbus to call to see if something had crossed in the mail. I called the number he gave me and I was told by the person I talked to that we were up to date, and that he would send a new certificate via email. I received the certificate, printed it out, and all we have to do is put it in the frame in the elevator car, but we will need like an allen wrench or something to do that.

Shrine visit with Ken

I joined the prayer group on Thursday morning, and afterwards Ken suggested that we visit the Shrine, as I had never been there before. So we went and did a walk through the grounds, noting all the grottos and chapped. The church and open air Pieta Chapel are also very impressive. Certainly a strong statement regarding the breadth and depth of Catholic piety and devotion. Really quite amazing that a facility of this size is in our back yard.

Care Center visits

Tuesday was the monthly visit to Orchard Grove and Bellevue Care. Had good turnouts both places, including the St. John's members at each. On the way home I stopped at The Meadows at Osborn Park and visited Sandy W. On Wednesday I stopped at Providence Commens, Sandusky, and visited Tom L., and also Theresa C., for whom I have recently conducted funeral for their spouses - Alohoea and Bill.

Flame Pastors meeting

On Tuesday, following care center visits, I went to Sandusky to pick up at least the end of the Flame pastors meeting. Pr. Katie Suggitt from Grace Castalia was there, and I asked her if she would still be available to be the Call Process Facilitator for us. She said no, Faith Fremont is my last call process, and then she is retiring from that position. So far, a replacement has not been found, so not sure who will be working with St. John's to orient the Call Committee -- most likely someone from synod staff.

One more for Confirmation

On Tuesday I met with a confirmation parent who was unable to come to the recent Confirmation parents meeting who plans to have the 6th grader in the family participate in the program. So now we're at 9 total.

Transition Team update

The transition team Matt on Sunday after worship and is continuing it's work in completing this important document. We have been assigning various sections to individuals on the team, and then doing some joint editing of what was offered. My daughter, Sarah, is on the call committee at the ELC congregation she recently joined in Logan, Utah, and helped to write their MSP. Sometimes it helps to read how someone else has phrased something and that can give us some ideas on how to proceed. We have found a few other MSP's online and those have been helpful also. Our next meeting is September 8th after worship.

Diakonia grows a bit

I signed one more Diakonia registration, so now there are five from St. John's who have applied. Applicants received emails from Pr. Sarah Schaaf, whose congregation handles the payments, with information on payment options, and from Pr. Jim Lehmann, who will be teaching the first course on Intro to the New Testament. A small problem is that the book he is asking participants to purchase is unavailable from Amazon. Another small problem was a typo in one of the program schedules, that indicated the opening potluck would be Tuesday, September 3, but this indeed was a type -- the potluck will be on the regular Thursday meeting day, Thursday, September 5.

ACC back on site

ACCC, Advanced Computer Connections, was back in in the building finishing up some installation, and repairing our wifi. Some of the cabling raceway had become detached, and some areas had no raceway, so both of those problems were fixed. Also, guest wifi had stopped working, and the ACC remedied that problem also.

Trinity Seminary Newsletter

The latest issue of "New Beginnings", the newsletter from Trinity Seminary, reveals that the seminary has a total of 15 students enrolled, 12 in the M.Div. program, which leads to ordination. You can read it here. One of the first year M.Div. students is Morgan Walker, who was a member of my first interim congregation, Trinity in Vermilion, then a high school freshman. The pastor who retired, Terry Parker, took Morgan to visit Trinity when she was an eighth grader. She graduated from Capital last spring, and now she's aiming for ordination in four years.

Bishop Daniel's weekly message

You can read it here.

Sunday and Thursday Bible Study resources ordered

Beginning Sunday the 15th and Thursday the 19th, I, along with Dr. Harry Wendt, will be leading the course See Through the Scriptures. Last January, we experienced a very basic course in the Bible's message, which gets ones toes wet. This course provides a more thorough overview of Scripture, and uses many full color illustrations as learning aids. The Best Bible learning course that I have ever seen and led. Hope you consider participating. It should take us all the weeks before the end of the year to complete.

Interim Update for August 23

Update on Ellen D.

Visited Ellen (Lisa's mom) at Promedica Toledo Hospital on Sunday, where she had been getting tests and anticipating procedures. However, Toledo decided they couldn't treat her, so she has been transferred to Henry Ford in Detroit. Lisa says that one procedure has been completed, and two more to come. Keep Ellen, Lisa and the family in your prayers.

Transition Team meets

Our Transition Team is back to full force, which is good, because the task before them now is to complete the Ministry Site Profile. We met Sunday after worship, and divided up some of the tasks and have scheduled a meeting for this Sunday again, after worship. Here are some of the items on the MSP that they will be responding to:

• What are the primary goals of your ministry site (please refer to any Strategic Plan that has been adopted).
• What is your congregation or organization really excited about right now?
• How does this congregation or organization see itself as a member and active participant in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the synod?
• How does this congregation or organization understand its reason for being in the light of God's call to mission and service? Who are you? Why are you here?
• What are your gifts and resources for fulfilling this purpose? What are the congregation’s or organization's top three assets and how are they being used? Are there obstacles that must be overcome to be able to use these gifts and accomplish the mission?
• In light of the way you have described your ministry context in this Ministry Site Profile, what are the top three mission priorities which, if accomplished, hold the most promise for the continued development of this ministry?

If you have any insights on or responses to these questions, I'm sure the Transition Team would be happy to receive your suggestions.

Beverly DeBlase funeral

The funeral for Bev on Thursday was very large, about 200 in attendance. Certainly a tribute to her distinguished service as an educator and her faithfulness as a member of St. John's. Extra tables had to be set up in the fellowship hall for the luncheon with the lunch crew doing a marvelous job of serving such a large group of people.

ELCA Worship News

The latest issue of ELCA Worship News can be read here.

Diakonia Update

This week we registered four St. John's members for Diakonia starting in September. If any others have considered this, it's not too late to join the fun.

Bright Spot from Previous Interim Setting

I'm still on the email list for the Southeastern Minnesota Synod which was the synod for my 2015 interim at Epiphany in Eagle Lake. The monthly newsletter has a feature called "Bright Spot," which highlights a significant ministry that a congregation or group of congregations in the synod has engaged in. This month's Bright Spot was written by Ronald Myers, the pastor called by Epiphany. Pastor Myers writes about a three-day mission project carried out by youth from Epiphany and neighboring congregations. It's a good example of congregations working together in youth ministry. You read Pastor Myers "Bright Spot" here.

Call Committee Update

I have now received and tallied all the preference forms from Council members which will determine who will be asked first for each of the six demographic groups that we formed at last week's Council meeting. The results were very close. Thanks for your input.

Congregational Photo Directory Update

With September upon us, the photography sessions for the congregation's new photo directory is just around the corner. I have contacted Cindy for more info regarding the time slots on the scheduled days in October. We'll need to get a team together to work with the Klein's on scheduling, and anything else that's needed for this production. For your convenience, I've copied and pasted the announcment from August 2, and which ran in the August newsletter. I'll have Kristen repeat this for the September newsletter.

Firelands Photography of Bellevue will be photographing and producing St. John's Lutheran Church's new on-line church directory. The Directory Committee will be contacting you to schedule your family's portrait session. Convenient times will be available on weekdays, weekend days and evenings. Photography dates will be October 19th to October 27th.

There will be no charge to participants or the church. All photographed members and families will receive a free 8x10 portrait. Special pricing will be available at the time of the session for additional portraits. Portraits will be delivered in time to make for personal Christmas presents.

Newsletter items due by Monday morning

If you have something for the September newsletter, get it to Kristen by Monday morning.

NWOS eNews for August 21

You can read the latest issue of synod enews here.

Interim Update for August 16, 2019

Misconduct In Congregations Workshop

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I attended a workshop that addressed the issue of misconduct in congregations. The theme of the workshop was "Moving from Hurt to Wholeness," and was held at St. Stephen Lutheran in Stow. One of the presenters was Bishop Lohrmann, who spoke from eighteen years experience as Bishop in our synod, where he had to ask many pastors to resign from their congregations and from the clergy roster because, in most cases, the leader had engaged in sexual misconduct or marital infidelity.

Sponsored by the organization that I received my training in Interim MInistry from, the National Association of Lutheran Internet Pastors, the workshop attracted 27 pastors from about a dozen different states. A Martin Luther quote from one of the handouts is worth repeating:

This life therefore is
not righteousness, but growth in righteousness,
not health, but healing,
not being but becoming
not rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing to it,
the process is not yet finished, but its going on,
this is not the end, but it is the road.
All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified

August Survey results are in

The online survey that we conducted this month is now closed and the results are in. This survey asks three questions that are on the Ministry Site Profile with regard to TASKS that your new pastor will need to address, and GIFTS he or she will need to bring to St. John's. This survey also gave an opportunity for those who did not attend a small group meeting to offer their responses. A total of 45 persons responded to the survey. You can review the results here.

Confirmation Youth and Parents Meet

The orientation for our 2019-2020 confirmation program was held on Wednesday evening, with eight families in attendance. Sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Mentor sessions will be held during Advent and Lent. We will need congregation members to serve as mentors. Let me know if you'd be willing to help out.

Hospital update

Visited Beverly D. at Bellevue Hospital and she is now under hospice care. Daughter Faith requests prayer for her parents. Also, keep Ellen D. in your prayers, also. She has spent a couple days at Promedica in Toledo, but should be returning home soon.

Call Committee Selection begins

Council began the process of selecting the Call Committee at the Thursday night meeting. A Committee of five adults and one youth was settled on. Suggestions from both Council and Congregation were considered, and nineteen candidates were divided into six age and gender groups. Members of Council will rank their preferences in each group, and will determine who is called first for each group. If that person declines, the second person on the list will be called, etc., until all the positions have been filled. Council will approve members of the Call Committee at the September meeting. Continue to surround this process with your prayers.

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Sanctuary Vote

I mentioned this at Council on Thursday night, but I'm simply going to refer you to the following links. I encourage you to read the information that is available on these pages.

• Sanctuary Church Body: What does this mean for us today?
• Sanctuary Church Body: Resources
• Churchwide Assembly Summary

Busy Day on Sunday

This Sunday will be a big day because we will install our Preschool Staff and Board, and we will baptize Jackson Richard Sieger, grandson of Rick and Aleta. Also, the Preschool will hold an open house beginning at noon.

Transition Team Meets Sunday

All the meetings and surveys have been completed, and now it's time to let the Transition Team put it all together in the Ministry Site Profile. The team will be meeting after worship on Sunday, and it will be full steam ahead.

Council Members Express Interest in Diakonia Program

I have posted in previous Updates about the Diakonia Program of adult Christian Education for the Eastern and North Central Conferences at Grace Lutheran in Fremont. Six five-week courses will be held Thursday evenings from September through May. Council voted to provide financial support to anyone who requests it. Here are the links I promised at Council on Thursday night:

• Diakonia flyer
• Diakonia Schedule for 2019-2020
• Diakonia Application Form

Council Changes Meeting Night to Tuesday

In order to accomodate Council Members who plan to enroll in the Diakonia program, which meets weekly on Thursday evenings, Council has changed its meeting day to Tuesday, beginning with the September meeting on Tuesday the 17th.

Interim Update for August 9, 2019

Hospital visit in Toledo

Several weeks ago there some first time visitors at the Sunday service -- Bob and Sherri. Bob was confirmed at Zion Lutheran in Akron, and he and Sherri have lived in the Bellevue area for about ten years. But this was their first visit to St. John's. Late last week I received a phone message from Sherri that Bob was having some serious medical problems, and was at St. Vincent in Toledo. Last Sunday he was still at St. Vincent, so I made a trip Sunday afternoon to visit. He is now home and doing better -- hope we'll see them again soon.

Toledo Blade Story on LIFT MIgrant Ministry

Some of you may be familiar with the acronym LIFT -- if you don't, it means "Living in Faith Together," and is a joint ministry of six Lutheran congregations in Fremont and vicinity, one United Methodist congregation, and a newly formed migrant ministry called Iglesia Camino De Vida. A recent Toledo Blade article tells about the formation of this newly formed ministry. Pr. Scott Mauch is called by the LIFT congregations to provide leadership for this ministry. You can read the Blade article here. LIFT's website can be viewed here, and LIFT's Facebook page can be found here.

Synod Congregation Sponsors Back to School Carnival

It's always good to learn more about what other congregations in our synod are doing to reach out to their community. St. Paul North Robinson, my 2014 interim congregation, sits in the front yard of Colonel Crawford school. Under their new pastor's leadership, Pr. Jarrod Schaaf, St. Paul's has found new ways to reach out to the public school community. Most recently they sponsored a back to school carnival with games, a bounce house, free food and school supplies. You can view their Facebook page featuring photos from the event here.

Diakonia on Thursday, not Wednesday

In previous posts I have provided information and encouragement regarding the expansion of Diakonia, a program of adult biblical and theological education, to the Eastern/North Central Conference of our synod, with classes beginning in September at Grace Lutheran in Fremont. I have incorrectly indicated that the sessions would be held on Wednesday evenings, when actually they will be on Thursday evenings. The Southeast Conference Diakonia program meets on Wednesday evenings, I was looking at that schedule when I wrote the post. A Thursday evening would pose a problem for those who are on Council or whose committee meets, then, or who would otherwise have a different conflict for Thursday evenings. For those considering participation, hope that you can still do so.

Fall Gathering with Bishop Daniel

The annual Fall Gathering for our area will be Tuesday, October 22, at Faith Fremont. You can view a flyer regarding this event here.

Death of Tonya's sister

We extend our sympathy to Tonya Hayward on the death of her sister, Judith Savey. Visitation was held yesterday, and a funeral mass today at ICC. The obituary can be viewed here. Keep Tonya and his sister's family in your prayers.

Preschool Rooms Get Makeover

Move the bus! Move the bus! Well, it's not that extreme of a makeover for the preschool rooms, but almost. The Preschool is using some of its Ruth George estate money to remodel the rooms -- fresh paint, and the big thing is new flooring -- new tile and carpet in all the rooms. It's looking very nice -- stop in and take a look when you have a chance -- hopes are that the project will be done by open house on the 18th. Now all we need is new flooring in the hallway to finally say goodbye to 1950's decor.

Preschool Installation next Sunday and open house

Just a reminder that St. John's Preschool staff and board members will be installed during worship next Sunday, August 18, with open house following in the afternoon. This will be a busy and exciting Sunday, because also on the schedule will be the baptism of Jackson Richard Sieger, grandson of Aleta and Rick.

Confirmation Parents meeting

A letter was sen early this week to parents of youth in the 6th, 7th and 8th graders announcing a meeting for parents and youth for the Confirmation Program for the coming year. The meeting will be Wednesday, August 14, at 6:30 pm. A total of 15 letters were sent, but if we get 10, that would be fantastic! We are planning to do mentoring again this year, with the primary session on Wednesday evenings before Advent services in December, and Lenten services in March and early April. Is God calling you to be a mentor this year? Good for the youth. Good for the mentors.

Small Group Meetings report

Our fourth and final Small Group meeting was held on Sunday, July 28. A total about 45 members attended at least one of the meetings -- some of our leaders including Council and Transition Team members attended all the meetings. Generally, I thought the meetings went well -- there was some good discussion about the past, present and future at St. John's, and the kind of leader that is needed right now. I have summarized the responses for the four meetings into a report document, which you can read here.

Many Call Committee suggestions

We have received quite a few suggestions for St. John's members to serve on the Call Committee, and many names were suggested by more than one person. Forming the Call Committee will be on the agenda for our Council meeting next Thursday, August 15, 7pm. Hope we can have as close to full attendance for this meeting as possible.

Email Messages from NWOS

Several links received this week from Bishop Daniel and the Synod Office. A reminder that the ELCA Churchwide Assembly has been in session this week. The Assembly will vote on Presiding Bishop -- Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, elected in 2013, is expected to win election to a second 6-year term. Check out these links:

• Reminder: Justice and the Prophets: A Bible Study with Rachel Wrenn
• 2019 Churchwide Assembly
• Reminder: NWOS Event Calendar
• Bishop Daniel's Weekly Message

Misconduct in Congregations Workshop Monday - Wednesday

Just a reminder that I'll be attending a workshop in Stow, Ohio next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday regarding misconduct in congregations. I'll be commuting to the event the three days, the schedule for which can be viewed here.

Survey Responses trickling in

The SurveyMonkey survey regarding Tasks that the new pastor will need to address, and Gifts he or she will need to bring has been out there for a few weeks, and I'll keep in open until next Wednesday. If you haven't completed the survey yet, you can find it here. It should only take a few minutes.

Next Transition Team Meeting

I'm hoping to gather the Transition Team on August 18, so that we can begin the process of completing the Ministry Site Profile. With the online survey, all the input that we have asked members of the congregation to contribute will have been collected. Then it will be a matter of translating that input into responding to the questions on the Ministry Site Profile.

Interim Update for August 2, 2019

A Bachelor Week for Me

Marcy departed Sunday afternoon for a week of continuing education at UNC inCharlotte, attending The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 6th Annual National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) on Innovation, STEM, and Intellectual Property July 28-August 2. Marcy is representing Ohio at this event. If you want to learn more about what she's been up to this week, you can go here. It looks pretty interesting.

Corey Henning death

Corey Henning, a member of the St. John's 2000 confirmation class, died in his sleep last Friday at the age of 33. His mother, Ann-Marie Kerr, is married to Alan Kerr, who is a son of Don (LInda) Kerr, active members at St. John's. The funeral will be today (Friday) at 6pm at the Eastman Funeral Home on West Main Street in Norwalk. You can read the obituary here.

Willows update

I visited at the Willows on Wednesday, primarily to check on Ellen D., who was admitted to the rehab department there after a brief stay at the Bellevue Hospital. Hopeful that her Willows stay will also be brief. While there checked in on our other members there, and discovered that Bob W. recently moved there from his Nancy Way home in Bellevue. Bob is 92, I think -- his Breeze record doesn't indicate his DOB.

Tasks and Gifts Survey

I reported last week, and through newsletter and bulletin announcements, that there is one more survey for congregation members to complete. Repeating from last week's post: this survey has items taken directly from the Ministry Site Profile, here they are:

• From the list below, select the five most critical TASKS that our new pastor will need to address.
• From the list below, identify five gifts for ministry that our next pastor MUST bring to our congregation.
• From the identical list below, identify five more gifts that would be HELPFUL for our next pastor to have. (Do not duplicate choices from Question 2.)

The survey also provides an opportunity to respond to questions that were asked at the small group meetings for those who did not attend one of those meetings. Haven't taken the survey yet? You can find it here. It should take you about five minutes to complete.

This afternoon I sent an email via Breeze, our church management software program, with a request to complete the survey, so most of you will likely receive that email. We only have emails in the system for about 82 persons.

Congregational Photo Directory Update

The last congregational photo directory at St. John's was produced in 2012, now seven years ago. We have made arrangements with Doug and Cindy Klein for their photography studio to produce the next photo directory this fall, which will primarily be online. I received the following message from Cindy, which was posted in the August newsletter:

Firelands Photography of Bellevue will be photographing and producing St. John's Lutheran Church's new on-line church directory. The Directory Committee will be contacting you to schedule your family's portrait session. Convenient times will be available on weekdays, weekend days and evenings. Photography dates will be October 19th to October 27th.

There will be no charge to participants or the church. All photographed members and families will receive a free 8x10 portrait. Special pricing will be available at the time of the session for additional portraits. Portraits will be delivered in time to make for personal Christmas presents.

Committee Meetings

Thursday was Committee Meetings Day. A quick summary:

• Worship - Primary item of business was to wish Jan L. a very happy birthday. Other items of discussion included plans regarding a 5th Sunday Outreach project for September 29 - a fund raiser for an iPad for one of the Preschool kids with special needs, perhaps a noisy offering during and a hot dog roast after worship that day. Also made plans for which settings to use for coming liturgical year. Dennis B. was going to present his plan for the Ruth George Memorial items, but will wait until full committee present
• Stewardship -- did some date coordinating concerning fall Stewardship drive. Likely will coordinate it with November annual meeting as we did last year. November 10th and 17th were two suggested days.
• Education -- discussion about Sunday School, including grade breakdown, Rally Day (September 8), Adult Class (yes for both Sunday and Thursday mornings), Confirmation program, and youth activities. Possible compensated youth activities coordinator to add to 2020 budget

Small Group Meetings conclude

Last Sunday was the fourth and final of the small group meetings to gather input that will aid the Transition Team in completing the Ministry Site Profile. I haven't done the final analysis and summary of the meetings, but overall, I think the meetings went well. We had a total of about 40 different members attend.

Call Committee Suggestions

Quite a few forms have been returned to the church office with members' suggestions for Call Committee. This will be one of the agenda items for the August Council Meeting on the 15th. Hope you can all make it to this very important meeting.

August Newsletter in the mail

Mine came today. Hope yours did, too. Thanks to Rebecca F. who helped with processing (sealing, labeling, sorting, etc.)

Diakonia update

For the last couple updates I have included info about Diakonia, the new program of adult biblical/theological education that is now available in our area, at Grace in Fremont on Wednesday evenings during the academic year of September through May. I've heard interest from two persons from St. John's in this program, and I would recommend it to anyone. You can commit to the full two years of the program, or you can choose the 5-week courses cafeteria style. I'm wondering if there are some designated funds somewhere that could be used to help defray the registration costs. I know that First in Galion did that for the four from that congregation that attended the Southeastern Conference version of Diakonia. For more info, I'll direct you to last week's update, which you can view here.