Special Council meeting
Council members, don't forget that there will be a special meeting after worship on Sunday to review and approve the 2020 budget.
Bishop's Fall Meeting
Every October our Bishop meets with pastors and members of the Synod in regional evening gatherings. The gathering for our area was held Tuesday night at Faith Lutheran Fremont. Jan LaBonte and I represented St John's. Attendance at this event was about 150. After indulging in a rich selection of potluck desserts, we learned about the importance of keeping focused on mission and outreach. Bishop Daniel challenged us to consider the difference between being a sent congregation and being a settled congregation. He also challenged us to consider whether we are making disciples, or members. He reviewed with us the current mission statement of our Northwestern Ohio Synod which is this:
Sent by the crucified and risen Jesus to make disciples, equip leaders, strengthen parishes, launch new communities, for the renewal of Northwestern Ohio and the world..
Here are some scripture passages that support the statement (click on each link):
- Sent by the Crucified and Risen Jesus to
- Make Disciples
- Equip Leaders
- Strengthen Parishes
- And Launch New Communities
Church Directory Photography
Photography for our new church directory concludes this weekend with appointments on Saturday and Sunday. If you haven't signed up yet, I'm guessing there are slots available. Give Cindy a call at 419-483-5428, or check with her or Pat Olsen on Sunday morning.
Funeral for Markus Doss
Lifelong member of St. John's, Markus Doss, died on Monday, and funeral services were held Thursday morning. The story of Markus and how his life enriched those of his family and St. John's. Special thanks to Nancy P., for her loving concern for and mentoring of Markus. She, along with his family, guided Markus through all his years of Sunday School and Confirmation. It is an inspiring story, and speaks to heart the St. John's has for kids. The gospel reading for his funeral was Mark 10:13-14, which was his confirmation verse. You can aread the obituary here.
Confirmation lesson
Our confirmation lesson this week was the Fifth Commandment:
You shall not kill What does this mean for us? We are to fear and love God so that we do not harm our neighbor in any way, but help him in all his physical needs.
You can view the PowerPoint of our lesson here.
Flat-screen TV in Narthex
The flat-screen TV that has been purchased to display announcement will be mounted in the narthex. Lenny is working on this -- thanks Lenny!
Visits
On Tuesday I traveled to Orchard Grove and Bellevue Care for our monthly communion service. Since this was the week before Reformation Sunday, we did a Reformation theme with Martin Luther as guest speaker.
November Newsletter
Kristin will be printing the November Newsletter on Monday. If you have something to get in, there may still be time. Email it to her so that she receives it first thing Monday morning.
Stewardship emphasis starts Sunday
Our Stewardship emphasis starts this weekend with the theme "How Much is Enough?" A bulletin insert will appear for each of the following four weekends. Stewardship packets have been prepared the the Stewardship Team, and will be distributed and mailed out beginning the weekend of November 9-10. Congregation members will be encouraged to return their plan for giving cards the following Sunday, November 17. A "Stewardship Stew" lunch will follow worship that day, with the Annual Budget and Election meeting following.
Something for College Football Fans
While I know that some of you could care less about college football, I'm sure that some of you follow at least one team closely. I've become more of a college football fan since moving to Ohio, as there is a really good team here to follow. Saturdays matchup between the Buckeyes and Badgers should prove to be more interesting that many of the easier opponents in the early weeks of the season. Recently I have also been following Notre Dame, because one of their starting linebackers, Drew White, is the son and grandson of members of one of my first call congregations, Our Savior's in Stanton, North Dakota. Drew's mother was in my first confirmation class, and his grandmother was on the Call Committee. Drew has make quite an impression on his coaches, and is a valuable element in the Irish's defense. You can read more about Drew here and here. Drew's older brother Sean White also played for a D1 team, Auburn. He started at quarterback for portions of the 2014 and 2015 seasons, until he was bumped by transfer student Jarrett Stidham, who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.
You can watch Drew play - he's number 40 - on Saturday night on ABC, as Michigan hosts the Fighting Irish at the Big House. Kickoff is 7:30 pm.
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