Important Information

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are indeed living in a very dynamic and fluid time with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just in the past hour or two, Governor Wolf has acted to close all PA schools and President Trump has declared a national emergency. When I sent my email earlier today, I never would have expected that I would be reaching out to you again so quickly, but I do so to share with you a pastoral letter received via email from our Lower Susquehanna Bishop, Pastor James Dunlop, within just the past hour. The text of that letter follows this note, but the gist of it is to ask that all congregations of the synod suspend worship and other public activities for the next two weeks, effective immediately. (Since we do not dwell in a branch of the Christian Family where a bishop can order such things, Bishop Dunlop instead made this as a very strong recommendation. Since the letter arrived, I have spoken with Roy Henry, our Congregational Council President, and we are in agreement that we at St. John should follow our bishop’s recommendation, out of an abundance of caution.)
To be honest with you, my head is still spinning and I think it will be for some time to come. In my soon-to-be 59 years of Christian life, not to mention my soon-to-be 32 years of pastoral service, I have never experienced something like this. Off the top of my head, what this suspension means for us, to begin with, is that the following will not be held, at least physically at our church building:

• ​All Sunday morning activities on March 15 and 22
• Hosting the Upper Dauphin Conference Spring Assembly on Monday, March 16
• Senior Choir Rehearsals on Tuesdays, March 17 and 24
• Worship & Music Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 17
• Wednesday Lenten Meal/Worship on March 18 and 25 (To be clear, neither of these Wednesday evenings involve us hosting or my speaking so this is not really my/our decision to make, but I will be sharing Bishop Dunlop’s letter with my fellow pastors and encouraging them to cancel, and I will not be attending in any case, so as to hopefully in this small way avoid being exposed to the virus, which would then create further problems for our ministry together.)
• The Youth Group hot dog and sausage sale on Saturday, March 21
• Property Committee meeting and my Inquirer’s Class on Tuesday, March 24

Sunday morning activities on March 29 will be subject to Bishop Dunlop’s further guidance.

This coming Sunday morning, my plan will be to come into my office at my usual 8:00am. One of the first things I will be doing on Sunday morning is putting my sermon of the morning, which currently exists only in my usual form of notes, into email/document form so that I can send it via email to you all, along with the readings that we would have been hearing in worship. I would like to ask your help in advance, IF YOU FEEL IT CAN BE SAFELY AND COMFORTABLY DONE, in making that Sunday morning email available to your relatives or other loved ones who may not have their own internet-connected device and email access.

Congregational Council President Roy Henry and I have made plans to talk further at length on Monday at the latest about other arrangements and plans for these upcoming two weeks and the time to follow, whatever that will look like. Please rest assured that I am not looking at these next two weeks as a vacation time or a time to sit on my hands. For starters, I plan to keep my regular office hours. During this time, and in the time freed up by the above cancellations, besides working with congregational leaders and with you all to figure out possible directions and planning for the future, I am hoping to work ahead on projects that too easily get delayed in the course of typical weeks and get caught up on things that have been delayed until this point.

Please read Bishop Dunlop’s letter. And, as I was urging you in my email this morning, take a deep and reflective and prayerful look at Psalm 121, along with your other favorite sections of God’s written Word, the Bible. God is good and great and will bring us through this challenging time, even if not in the exact way any of us would have planned or desired!

-Pastor Tom

Our Mission
St. John congregation, responding to the call of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, unites together to preach and teach the Word, administer the sacraments, and carry out God’s mission. With God’s guidance and grace, we strive to boldly proclaim by word and action the reconciling Gospel of Jesus: Working together for justice and peace, and caring for those in need in our community and world. We invite everyone to join us wherever you are on your faith journey.

Connecting with us!

Current Schedule

Come visit us every Sunday!
9:00am - SONDay Celebration
9:00am - Adult Sunday School, Confirmation Class, Youth Sunday School
10:15am - Worship with Celebration Time

Calendar of Events

Online calendar of events coming soon!

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Letter from the Pastor

Dear Friends in Jesus,

Once again this year, on Wednesday evenings during Lent, the Lutheran, United Church of Christ, and United Methodist congregations of the Berrysburg and Elizabethville area will again join together for a light supper and worship. The supper, consisting of simple items like soup and sandwiches, will begin at 6:15 P.M. Following supper, at 7:00 P.M., we will join in worship. Worship will end before 8:00 P.M. The host pastor of each congregation will lead the worship, while the pastors will each take turns preaching in a congregation other than their own. Our theme for this year’s series will be Preachers of the Gospel in which the preacher of the evening will share his story of a Person of the Faith, from recent times or from ancient times or from some time in between, whose words have been especially influential in his faith journey and ministry as a pastor. The details for these Wednesday evenings are as follows:

Date: Host Congregation: Preacher
March 4: St John: Rev. Nathan Minnich
March 11: Peace United Church of Christ, Berrysburg: Rev. Jim Lewis
March 18: Trinity United Methodist Church, Elizabethville: Rev. Ray Holland
March 25: Salem Lutheran Church , Elizabethville: Rev. Jeff Wagner
April 1: Salem United Church of Christ , Elizabethtown: Pastor Tom

Please don’t miss these opportunities to have your faith refreshed and deepened, as we journey together through the Season of Lent. (And, depending on what day you find yourself reading these lines, please don’t forget that our journey through the Season of Lent begins with our observance of Ash Wednesday on February 26 with worship at 7:00 P.M.) May God bless us as we once again make our way along this pathway that leads to the Cross!

Pastor Tom

News from Miss Laurie, Young Christians Minister

I’m starting to think the groundhog got his prediction correct this year with all the warmer temperatures we’ve been having.  Either that, or he’s just lulling us into a feeling of “early spring” and then WHAMO – we’ll get hit with a late season arctic blast!  I guess we’ll just have to wait until the 19th (the first day of spring) and see how it plays out!!

While you’re waiting, take out your calendars and jot down the following dates:

• Because St. John’s is hosting the Lenten Service on March 4th, Celebration Club will be meeting on THURSDAY, March 5th!  Join us from 6:30 – 8:30 for “Moses Madness”!
• Sunday, March 8th, is Girl Scout Sunday and Sunny will be joining us in worship with a Sunny Sermon!  It’s also another “Breaking Bread” Luncheon and this time the ladies are making pot pie!!  You won’t want to miss THIS one!!
  
• Sunday, March 15th, we’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day SONday Celebration style!  Join us for a little “wearin’ of the green” fun!!!
•  This month, we’ll also be reuniting the “Cotton Tails”!  So that we’ll be ready to sing during the Easter season, we’re kicking things off with practice and a Pizza Party on Sunday, March 22nd!  I’ll keep you posted on more details in my weekly emails.

No matter what the weather is like outside, you can count on “cool” things happening on “the Hill”!  Have an awesome March, and join us for the fun!! 
                             
Miss Laurie