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.
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