Interim Update for January 29, 2021

Rostered Ministers Gathering

Every year, Rostered Ministers (pastors, deacons) in the three synods of Ohio meet near the end of January for three days of learning, fellowship and worship. As with so many other events of this nature, this year's gathering was conducted via Zoom. About 150 leaders attended from our own NWOS, as well as Northeastern Ohio and Southern Ohio Synods.

We had two speakers for our gathering; Rev. Dr. Laura Barbins, the newly elected NEOS bishop, who led us in Bible study, and Rev. Mike Ward, an associate with GSB Fundraising. You may remember that we partnered with GSB and our synod for our stewardship campaign last fall.

Mike's presentations on stewardship are always inspiring and challenging. He encourages us as congregation leaders to constantly tell two different kinds of stories - outcome stories and generosity stories. Outcome stories are stories that describe how our ministry as a congregation makes a difference in people's lives. Generosity stories are simply that, stories of people being generous. Ruth George, for example, but there are so many more. Too often we approach stewardship from a perspective of scarcity (we're out of money) and of institutional survival (give, or else we'll have to close the doors). Mike, and so many others, challenge us to consider why we have our doors open in the first place.

One of the things that I took away from Mike's presentations was to consider going the next step with GSB with their program "Stewardship for All Seasons (SAS). St. John's has the best Stewardship Team that I have ever had as a called or interim pastor. SAS would be a great resource for them to continue to develop stewardship at St. John's.

St. John's Oldest Member Dies

For a number of years, Hazel Orwig held the honor of being St. John's oldest member, less than a year older than Ruth Paul. On Tuesday, Hazel relinquished that honor to take on a greater one, a member of the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) who is now cheering us on to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Funeral services for Hazel will be next week Tuesday, at 10:00 am. at the church. You can read the obituary for Hazel here.

Confirmation Meeting

I have scheduled a Zoom meeting of Confirmation and High School Youth and parents for next Wednesday, February 3, beginning at 6:30 pm. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how we will finish out the Confirmation season including Day of Confirmation, and to renew our discussion and plans to attend the ELCA Youth Gathering, which has been rescheduled for July 24-28, 2022 in Minneapolis. Registration will begin in September, which is a bit more than seven months away.

Preschool Virtual Open House

Our St. John's Preschool forges on with its school year, having made many adjustments to normal operation. Kudos and thanks to Mrs. Lilly, our teachers, support staff and board members for everything they do to ensure a quality preschool experiece for the kids under our care during school hours.

One of the things I have missed is interaction with the kids, which I have done in the past primarily through temple talks in the chapel. This enabled the kids to recognize me when they'd see me in and outside the church building.

Board meetings and other preschool activities have gone either hybrid or entirely virtual. The annual open house, which is held at this time in the school year, has gone virtual, with a PowerPoint of the teachers and the school activity areas. You can view a pdf version of the PowerPoint HERE.

Return to the Mission

One of the perks of our subscription to Breeze, our church management software, is occasional blog posts from Breeze staff that help congregations focus on their mission. Their most recent post is titled "Now is the Time for Your Church to Return to the Mission." The post reflects on where we are at in the pandemic ("end of the middle," according to the post), and what we need to be thinking about now. I encourage you to read the post, and the posts that are linked to in that post are also worth reading.

Reading the New Testament Chronologically

Here is the next group of links in our chronological read of the New Testament 2021, a project which Bishop Daniel has challenged us to undertake. The year-long reading guide is also linked below.

PDF Reading Guide

• January 28 First Corinthians 9
• January 29 First Corinthians 10
• January 30 First Corinthians 11
• January 31 First Corinthians 12
• February 1 First Corinthians 13
• February 2 First Corinthians 14
• February 3 First Corinthians 15
• February 4 First Corinthians 16
• February 5 Second Corinthians 1
• February 6 Second Corinthians 2

Links for You

• ELCA Advocacy
• ELCA Worship News
• Trinity's New Beginnings

Interim Update for January 22, 2021

Council Extends In-Person Worship Suspension

Council voted at their monthly meeting Tuesday evening to extend the suspension of in-person worship until at least February 14. A Mailchimp message was sent on Wednesday to inform the congregation. In case you missed it, you can also view it HERE.

Welcome back Mike!

You may remember that Mike Berger completed his term as Congregation President and did not run for further office. You may also remember that there was no one on the ballot for Vice-President. Mike has kindly offered to serve as Vice-President for the balance of the year (if necessary) but will willingly step aside if another candidate steps forward. Council officially appointed Mike as VP with a unanimous vote.

Hardcopy Newsletter Sent

Kristen and I have been sending out a hard copy version of the newsletter to those who do not have an email address in the system. Using the "active" and "friend" filters in the status field of the data base, this is currently generating 28 addressees.

Lent and Easter Reimagined

On Wednesday afternoon I attended a Zoom meeting led by Bishop Daniel which included several presentations with ideas for observing and clebrating Lent and Easter. Ideas included home based versions of Ash Wednesday, and a Palm Sunday procession through the neighborhood. Ash Wednesday is four weeks from next Wednesday on February 17. Palm Sunday is March 28 and Easter April 4.

ELCA Resources

• Seeds Monthly
• Worship News

Healthy Congregations Leadership Series

I have mentioned this before, so this is just a refresher. Since September I have been participating in the Healthy Congregations Leadership Series. This is my primary continuing education event for 2020-2021. It consists of eight full-day seminars, one a month from September to May minus December. The monthly seminars cover conceptual learning in the morning, and group discussion in the afternoon. The sessions seek to teach and apply Bowen Family Systems theory as it applies to congregations and their leaders.

Today was was our January session, which focused on "Polarities," or opposite sides of an idea or process, which are necessary to manage for balance for healthy congregational functioning. Here are some examples of polarities to manage in congregations

• Tradition AND Innovation
• Spiritual Health AND Institutional Health
• Management AND Leadership
• Strong Clergy Leadership AND Strong Lay Leadership
• Inreach AND Outreach
• Nurture AND Transformation
• Making Disciples: Easy Process AND Challenging Process
• Call AND Duty

This was one of the better programs in this series. I also attended the series in the 2016-17 season.

St. John's Preschool sets Trike-a-Thon record!

Reported by Mrs. Lilly
Our preschoolers joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® in the fight against childhood cancer by participating in a St. Jude Trike-A-Thon the week of January 11-14. This week-long event teaches our children that they have the power to help others. They also learned trike safety through fun lessons. They prayed for all of the children, their families, and staff at St. Jude. Every dollar that was raised helps St. Jude ensure that families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food - because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. I am happy to share with you that our preschool families raised $7,337 for St. Jude! This is the highest amount raised in our past 13 years of participating! And this was done with only 65 children enrolled this school year compared to 90+ all other years. Nice work, preschool families!!!

Reading the New Testament Chronologically

Here is the next group of links in our chronological read of the New Testament 2021, a project which Bishop Daniel has challenged us to undertake. The year-long reading guide is also linked below.

PDF Reading Guide

• January 21 1 Corinthians 2
• January 22 1 Corinthians 3
• January 23 1 Corinthians 4
• January 24 First Corinthians 5
• January 25 First Corinthians 6
• January 26 First Corinthians 7
• January 27 First Corinthians 8
• January 28 First Corinthians 9
• January 29 First Corinthians 10
• January 30 First Corinthians 11

Interim Update for January 15, 2021

Council next Tuesday

Our January meeting is Tuesday at 7:00 pm. I'll send out the Zoom invitation before the meeting for those attending remotely.

Funeral for Vera

The funeral for Vera Beiler was held on Tuesday at 1:00 pm. There was a one-hour period of visitation prior to the service. There were many more people in attendance than I was expecting -- an approximate count was 90. My personal feeling is that this was too many for the current coronavirus environment -- another problem was that so many people were gathered in the narthex at the same time. That so many came was a very nice tribute to Vera, but I'm wondering if, until things get better, we should limit attendance for possible future funerals. Let's talk about this at Council Tuesday night.

https://www.1517.org/articles/hold-on-loosely-to-your-politics?fbclid=IwAR2MfYcqvm7IL0z48LGmNg7zKdQi3S48SGzJMJdrJKGslAd0g8IDmwf44

Updating Quickbooks

Shaun worked four long days this week, so was available to come to the office to do Treasurer stuff. One of the items on his list was to renew our QuickBooks license/software, which is done every three years. Shaun will not be able to do the end of the month payroll until this is done. The last time it was renewed was when Terri was still on the job, who was able to renew by creating a new "subfolder." What Shaun needs this time to renew is to do so using the original name on the account, which is David Wietelman.

I was able to find Pastor David's phone number and give him a call, and as he had just sat down for lunch and the phone number in the caller-id was vaguely familiar, we were in luck, so Shaun and I were able to do a quick conversation with Pastor David to see how he could help us. He gave us his current email, which Shaun will use to send Dave any documentation he needs to transfer ownership of the account to Shaun at stjohnstres44811.

Shepherd's Fund

Carol Stout, as a member of the Evangelism/Outreach Team, has been diligently working on some administrative items for the congregation's Shepherd's Fund. This fund is technically disbursed at the discretion of the pastor, but what Carol is doing is developing a list of guidelines that the pastor can use in administering the fund, along with an application form for those requesting help to complete, and a form for recording and tracking help. Carol will also look into purchasing such items as vouchers for gas, and making arrangements with local grocery stores for food purchases. When we get things finalized, we'll share the documents with Council. Thanks, Carol, for your hard work on this!

Wednesday Night Zoom Meeting

Six of us were present on Zoom Wednesday evening to discuss the events of the January 6 and its aftermath. Our conversation lasted about 45 minutes, and we closed with prayer for our nation, its leaders, those injured, the families of those who were killed, those affected by Covid-19, and the vaccination rollout.

Interim pastors meeting

Synod transitional leaders met via Zoom on Thursday afternoon. Sherry Krieger was rather blunt in her assessment that Northwestern Ohio Synod is not getting many interviews from candidates outside our synod because so few parishes in our synod are able to compensate at a rate necessary to attract those persons to come.

Offering Statements

End of Year Offering Statements did not get sent this week but the Stewardship Team will be here on Tuesday to fold, stuff and apply postage to the statements. You should receive yours soon after that. Again and always, thank you for your generosity!

Reading the New Testament Chronologically

Here is the next group of links in our chronological read of the New Testament 2021, a project which Bishop Daniel has challenged us to undertake. The year-long reading guide is also linked below.

PDF Reading Guide

• January 14 Galatians 1
• January 15 Galatians 2
• January 16 Galatians 3
• January 17 Galatians 4
• January 18 Galatians 5
• January 19 Galatians 6
• January 20 1 Corinthians 1
• January 21 1 Corinthians 2
• January 22 1 Corinthians 3
• January 23 1 Corinthians 4

Worth the read

One of my Facebook friends shared this, and I'm passing it on to you.
Hold on Loosely to Your Politics

Interim Update for January 8, 2021

A Sad and Tragic Week for our Country

We have all been shocked and saddened by the events of the past week as an armed, pro-Trump mob stormed Congress Wednesday and violently disrupted the proceedings certifying the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President. Five people have now died from this attack, including a member of the Capitol Police force who was clubbed by a protester with a fire extinguisher, and one of the protesters, who was shot by a member of the Captitol police as she tried to force her way to the House Chamber.

So many questions remain unanswered, including how the crowd was able to gain access to the Capitol, and once once at the front door, how they were able to get in and go pretty much anywhere they pleased.

Many have condemned these events and their causes with words more eloquent than I can put together, including four former presidents and Republican Senator Mitt Romney.

A question for us as Lutheran Christians is this: what do we do? Corporately, as a congregation, synod and national church body, we committ ourselves "to defend human dignity, to stand with poor and powerless people, to advocate justice, to work for peace, and to care for the earth in the processes and structures of contemporary society. (ELCA Social Statement "Church in Society).

Individually, we live out our Baptism by dying to sin and rising with Christ in our ordinary lives as family members, friends, citizens, workers, and participants in voluntary associations. Since “daily life [is] the primary setting for the exercise of [the] Christian calling,” (Constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ELCA 4.01.e.) it is in that setting that we as Christians are to serve God and neighbor.

On Sunday we observe the Baptism of Our Lord, and I'm hoping to shed some more light on this subject as we remember and reflect our own baptism and what that means for us.

Death of Vera Beiler

We received word today from her daughter Julie, that Vera Beiler died this morning. I will be meeting with the family tomorrow (Saturday) to make arrangements for the funeral, which most likely will be at the church.

Annual Reports Meeting

The St. John's Constitution directs that the Annual Reports Meetting of the Congregation shall be held during the month of February. The date is to be set by the Congregation Council. We will do that at our January 19 meeting. The following is copy/pasted from the St. John's Constitution:

The agenda of the Annual Reports Meeting shall include:
Written reports from all committees and organizations of the Congregation, including full financial reports for the previous year. Such reports, including financial reports shall be submitted to the Congregation Office Manager at least four weeks prior to the annual meeting for printing. All proposals, including the budget proposals, shall be published and distributed to all voting members of the congregation at least two weeks in advance of the meeting. The following agenda items may be included at either annual meeting:

• Opportunity to vote on any proposals submitted by the Congregation Council.
• Opportunity to vote on any proposals submitted by at least 20 voting members.

Endowment Trust Fund

The Endowment Trust Fund committee will be meeting soon to prepare for possible grant proposals for the February Congregation Annual Reports Meeting. As before, the Committee will receive suggestions on possible grantees through a grant application form. You can download and print the forem HERE. Return completed forms to the church office. As of this writing, I do not have a deadline, other than that the Committee will be meeting soon.

Offering Statements

End of Year Offering Statements will be prepared and mailed by Kristen early next week. You should receive yours soon after that. Again, thank you for youre generosity!

Reading the New Testament Chronologically

A reminder that Bishop Daniel is challenging us to do a "Chronological" reading of the New Testament in 2021. This means that the New Testament books which were written first are the first ones to read. A year-long reading guide is linked below, as are a week's worth of linked readings for your convenience:Two daily reading guides have been provided:

PDF Reading Guide

• January 9 First Thessalonians 4
• January 10 First Thessalonians 5
• January 11 Second Thessalonians 1
• January 12 Second Thessalonians 2
• January 13 Second Thessalonians 3
• January 14 Galatians 1
• January 15 Galatians 2
• January 16 Galatians 3
• January 17 Galatians 4

Interim Update for January 1, 2021

The Year of Generosity

Bishop Daniel has designated 2021 the Year of Generosity, which will center around the following questions, which consider generosity in its many forms:

• What does it mean to be generous with your time?
• What does it mean to be generous with your gifts and talents?
• What does it mean to be generous with your resources?

Our theme verse for this year will be Matthew 6:21, where Jesus speaks these words, which are a part of his Sermon on the Mount: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NRSV) For other translations of this verse, you can go here.

Bishop Daniel is challenging us to do a "Chronological" reading of the New Testament in 2021. This means that the New Testament books which were written first are the first ones to read. Two daily reading guides have been provided:

• PDF Reading Guide
• DOCX Reading Guide

For your convenience, I have linked the first week of readings:

• January 1 James 1
• January 2 James 2
• January 3 James 3
• January 4 James 4
• January 5 James 5
• January 6 First Thessalonians 1
• January 7 First Thessalonians 2

ELCA Youth Gathering

One of the many events disrupted by the pandemic was the ELCA Youth Gathering, which normally meets every three years. After the 2018 Gathering in Houston, the Gathering Team scheduled the 2021 Gathering to be held in Minneapolis. After much prayer and consideration, the Team decided to postpone the Gathering to 2022. The Gathering will be held July 24-28, same place, with the same planned theme: “boundless: God beyond measure,” based on Ephesians 3:19 CEV: “I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.”

Registration normally begins in September prior to the Gathering, so by the fall, youth from St. John's will be eligible to register. Our current group of youth and parents had met early in 2020 and decided to plan to attend, and scheduled the first fundraiser, a casserole sale at the end of March. Of course, that never happened, as that was the begining of in-person worship suspension. This is an excellent goal for 2021, to register a group of youth and adults to attend the Gathering in 2022. For more information you can go HERE.

Sunday Morning Social!

I've scheduled a Zoom meeting for every Sunday morning beginning at 10:00 am. I'm calling this meeting "Sunday Morning Social!", as that's what it'll be -- just a time to check-in with each other and stay in touch. I've scheduled the meeting for 45 minutes, but will advertise it as a half-hour gathering. If it goes longer, that's fine with me. I just need to be ready for drive-through communion at 11:00. Here's the invite info, which I will also publish in tomorrow's Weekend Update email, and will stay the same each week:

• Join Zoom Meeting Sunday mornings at 10:00 am
• Meeting ID: 830 6507 5274
• Passcode: 098677
• Join by phone: +1 646 558 8656

End-of-the-year Giving

I'm guessing you received my Tuesday email regarding end-of-the-year giving. I'm happy to report that that the email generated two gifts through the St. John's online giving portal: one for $200 and another for $300. Also, several brought their offerings to the church office in the waning days of the calendar/tax year. Thank you ALL for your generosity!