Interim Update for March 5, 2021

Council Decision on In-Person Worship

Countil met in a special meeting on Tuesday, March 2, to consider returning to in-person worship. Decision was to return to in-person worship beginning Palm Sunday, March 28. The Executive Team revised the Plan for Return that guided our return to in-person worship on June 7. I reported this to the congregation in an email that was sent Thursday. Most of you would have seen and read it, but ICYMI, you can also read it HERE.

The Puzzle of the Cross and 40 Days of Giving

Last week, the first piece of our puzzle was "God," and on Wednesday we considered the second piece "Humanity." Our remaining pieces are:

• March 10 - "Sin"
• March 17 - "Savior"
• March 24 - "Sacrifice"
• April 1 - "Salvation" (Maundy Thursday)

Be sure to monitor the St. John's Facebook page for information and resouces for our 40 Days of Giving theme, which is sponsored by the ELCA Hunger Program. We have set a goal of raising $1,000 for this program, which helps fight hunger around the world. We are suggesting a gift of $1, $2, or $3 a day for 40 days of Lent. I've pledged at the $3 rate, or $120. You can give directly to a special St. John's fund through our online giving portal HERE, or mark your gift "40 Days of Giving."

Buckeyes, Turtles, and Pretzel Rods!!

The Preschool is doing their annual spring candy sale, although they've scaled it down a bit and will only fill advance orders for the items in this paragraph title. If you want to get a piece of this sweet action, you'll have to put in your order. I sent out a separate email today that included both online and pdf order forms. In consultation with Shaun, I also set up a special account in Breeze, so that members (and preschool families as well) can order and pay online. For more information and to place your order, go HERE.

LInks for You

• ELCA Advocacy
• ELCA Global Mission Links
• Bishop Daniel's weekly email

Online Worship Metrics

I reported in a previous Update that we (I, Shaun, Kristen) had completed the ELCA Parochial Report and submitted it. I noted that the attendance stats included estimates of worship attendance based of YouTube views, stating that I used a metric of 1.5 attendees per view. Interestingly enought, I came across a blog post on precisely this issue. My estimate is very close to the metrics suggested in this post, which you can read HERE.

ACC Visit

I reported previously that the a new staff person from Advanced Computer Connections (ACC) paid us a visit to introduce himself. He wanted to know if we had any problems that needed addressed, and I told him that wifi in the loung was weak, as it failed me several times while doing confirmation lessons in that room. He made some adjustments to the router, so we will see if that helps. If not, we may need to add a separate access point in that room, which would be at our expense of several hundred $$.

Confirmation Youth learn Baptism

We started the first of two lessons on Holy Baptism, and learned from the first question and answer on Baptism in Luther's Small Catechism:

What is Baptism?

Baptism is not water only, but it is water used together with God's Word and by his command.

What is this Word?

In Matthew 28 our Lord Jesus Christ says: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."