THE MESSENGER
THE MESSENGER
March 2020
St. John’s Lutheran Church at Stone Bank
W334 N6990 Stone Bank Rd.
Stone Bank, Wisconsin
Phone: (262) 966-2034
Website:
From Pastor Karen:
Shoring Up Our Ruins During Lent
“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong…Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt…you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Isaiah 58:11-12.
Many of us this year find ourselves entering the season of Lent a bit nicked up, as my husband Jim would say. Some of us have been sick and are still recovering our strength; some of us have lapped a year of grieving over the loss of someone we love and find the way ahead still painful; some of us worry about family members who face health or financial troubles; some of us are running so hard, so fast, in our jobs and family commitments that we feel panicked and overwhelmed. Others struggle with older age issues, unemployment, or depression. Our friend Ed ended 2019 with successful surgery on his cancer, and looked forward to a fresh, healthy start for 2020, but now as Lent begins another unrelated surgery looms. Our newly graduated niece Greta is filling out her 39th job application this week, with no job or hope of a job in sight.
But now it’s Lent, and as we sing the old hymn “Restore in Us O Lord,” we ask God to do just that: restore us, put all our stuffing back, heal us and the ones we love, fix everything. Only the prophet Isaiah cautions that God often works another way; that Lent may not be a time for quick fixes, even 40-day fixes, but rather a time for shoring up the old ruins; for securing our bodies and spirits where they are right now, so that we’re ready for the time of growth and healing when it finally arrives.
I learned this truth from watching a pleasant show on Netflix called “The Repair Shop,” which features ordinary people who bring in broken or aged treasures into a real repair shop where technical experts and crafts-people from all around England restore and rebuild them. My favorite expert is the painting restorer, Lucia Scalisi. In one episode a customer brought in a lovely painting that had a gash slashed right through the canvass—from some unruly grandchildren playing with toy light sabers.
Ms. Scalisi never begins her restoration by repairing the tear. First she must painstakingly build up the remaining paint fragments clinging to the edges of the gap, so that no more of the original paint is lost during the patching. This involves repainting tiny white spots where the paint has been knocked off, carefully matching the original colors; and dabbing each drop of the paint still present with a special bonding fluid. This shoring up of the broken ruins of the painting can take days. “You can’t be in a hurry,” Ms. Scalisi says, flashing a wry smile. But when the restoration is finally complete, the painting is whole again, the tear so thoroughly mended, it can no longer be seen.
God can mend us too. But Lent may not be a time for quick fixes. Lent may be a time when we slow down, take a breath, and let God secure our frayed edges, calm our restless spirits, and prepare us for the time of wholeness, which is not this time. Lent may be the time when we, in reflection and prayer pause, and give God the time to rebuild our brokenness, and get ready for the restoration still to come.
May God bless you with patient spirits on your Lenten journeys!
Pastor Karen
Holmans' February Update
February 20, 2020
Baba Doka Yerima of the Waja translation team in Nigeria sends you greetings and thanks for your prayers! His surgery was successful, and he’s recovering well. There is no news of any follow-up procedures necessary. I’m currently working on Exodus with the Waja team by Skype. The internet connections have been good! Tom will soon be doing the same with the Lala team. Keep praying!
We would also appreciate your prayers for our upcoming trip to Washington and Oregon. We will be at Bethel Lutheran Church of Shoreline in Seattle on March 15 and at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Longview, WA, on March 22. We’ll also visit friends along the way.
Yours in Christ,
Mary
Mary and Tom Holman
Mailing Address: 7611 36th Ave. North #215, New Hope, MN 55427
Phones: Mary: 262-497-4085 Tom: 651-726-4581
E-mail addresses: Tom_Holman@ Mary_Holman@
STEWARDSHIP EMPHASIS
Our emphasis for March is to collect bars of biodegradable soap (preferably IVORY) for Lutheran World Relief. Donations can be placed in the box near Pastor’s office or the bathtub in the Narthex.
WORSHIP, MUSIC, & HOSPITALITY
Mark Calendars:.
Every Wednesday from March 4th through April 1st –
Light soup and sandwich supper at 6:00 p.m.
Mid-week Lenten devotional service at 6:30 p.m.
Maundy Thursday Worship Service – Thursday, April 9th at 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday Worship Service – Friday, April 10th at 7:00 p.m.
Easter Sunday Worship service – Sunday, April 12th at 9:00 a.m.
Easter Continental Pot Luck Brunch following Easter Worship
MID WEEK LENTEN SUPPERS & DEVOTIONAL SERVICES
Beginning on Wednesday March 4th we will have weekly Lenten devotional services at 6:30 p.m. following a soup and sandwich supper fellowship at 6:00 p.m.. See the sign up sheet on the bulletin board across from the steps to sign up to contribute soup and/or sandwiches for the supper.
EASTER LILIES
Help us decorate the sanctuary for Easter Sunday with Easter lilies. The cost is $8 per plant. The plants can be designated in memory or honor of a special person in your life. Following the service on Easter Sunday the plants may be taken or donated to a shut in or health care facility. Order forms are available in the narthex. The deadline for ordering is Palm Sunday, April 5TH.
PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday is April 14th and will be celebrated at St. John’s with the distribution of palms to wave in honor of Jesus entering Jerusalem during the worship service.
MAUNDY THURSDAY & GOOD FRIDAY
A special service will be held on Maundy Thursday, April 9th at 7 pm. The service will include Holy Communion and stripping of the altar at the end of the service. Attendees will be asked to leave the sanctuary in silence in reverence to the betrayal and arrest of Jesus Christ.
The Good Friday service will also begin at 7 pm on April 10th.
EASTER SUNDAY April 12, 2020
We will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave with a worship service with special music, favorite and uplifting hymns, and, of course, celebratory liturgy. The service will begin at the regular Sunday morning worship service time of 9 am.
POT LUCK CONTINENTAL EASTER BREAKFAST
A continental pot luck breakfast will be held following the Easter morning worship service. Join us as we continue our Easter celebration with coffee, pastry, fruit and fellowship. A sign up sheet for the pot luck is posted on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall.
ST. JOHN’S 2020
COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Several programs were put in place that will be nurtured in 2020:
1. Invest in Education by enhancing the Sunday School curriculum; continuing with Confirmation; and continuing with family programs.
2. Revise our constitution and by-laws to reflect our congregation.
3. Nurture St. John’s by enacting a “going green” campaign, putting a security plan in place, and connecting with new members.
STRONG ROOTS IN FAITH FOR BRANCHING OUT IN HOPE AND SERVICE TO ALL!
JOIN ST. JOHN’S FIRST EVER LENTEN PLASTICS FAST!
Lent is the time when we prepare for Jesus’s suffering and death by taking our own spiritual journeys toward the renewal of our faith. We do this by setting aside quiet time for reflection, joining mid-week Lenten soup suppers and devotions, and sometimes by engaging in healthy, healing faith practices.
In the past, many Christians have chosen to engage in short-term fasts, give up desserts during Lent, or even temporarily stop indulging in harmful habits—such as junk food or addictive substances.
Today we urge you to give up a practice that is harmful to our planet: single-use plastic. Each year, it is estimated that around 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans from land, according to the Global Risks Report 2020. Our culture has trained us to think we are “throwing away,” such trash, but in fact we are throwing it not “away,” but into landfills or the ocean.
Although recycling helps, some 75% of recycled plastic ends up in landfills or the oceans anyway, because plastic is durable, and unlike aluminum foil, paper, or glass, it does not easily break down.
So take a good look at your single-use plastic—water bottles, storage bags, and plastic grocery bags for a start—and consider a Lenten fast.
ASSISTING MINISTERS
March 1, 2020 March 22, 2020
Ushers: Deb Runt Ushers: Scott Hampton
Judy Runt Debbie Hampton
Lector: Judy Runt Lector: Megan Rollefson
Comm. Servers: Judy Runt, Cheryl Talatzko Comm. Servers: Megan Rollefson
Nancy Barr
March 8, 2020 March 29, 2020
Ushers: Alan Abeld Ushers: Dean Katz
Grant Schuldt Phil Baird
Lector: Susan Boeding Lector: Marlene Lucht
Comm. Servers: Susan Boeding Comm. Servers: Laura and Cameron Katz
Cynthia Tobolt
March 15, 2020
Ushers: Nancy Barr
Renee Novobielski
Lector: Vera Novobielski
Comm. Servers: Renee and Vera Novobielski
MARCH ALTAR CARE
Nancy Barr
Marlene Lucht
WEEKLY LESSONS
March 3, 2019
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
March 10, 2019
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
March 17, 2019
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35
March 24, 2019
Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
March 31, 2019
Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
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