St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Welcome, thank you so much for visiting St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Berrysburg, PA – the historic Hill Church. 

Founded in 1780, ours is a congregational family with a deep and rich heritage that informs out efforts to reach out to our present-day community – near and far – with the Gospel of Jesus.  In my years of service here, I have come to see that we are a congregational family that defies easy description.  We have the warmth and intimacy of a small congregation, while also being blessed with an extraordinary body of committed and gifted believers that allows us to do many of the ministries of a large congregation.  We hope that you will visit often – here, from the comfort of your computer or smart phone or other electronic device, but also in person.  Whether you are seeking a family of believers with which to join in serving God, or just stopping to take in the view, we would love to welcome you in person to “The Hill”!

Important Information

Join Us for Church Services
We welcome you to Join Us for
Weekly Worship or Bible Study via Zoom!
To do so, please contact Pastor Tom by email at stjohnhillchurch@frontier.com or by phone at 717.362.9519 for information about how to join us with an internet-connected device or by calling in with a telephone.

Also, you are welcome to tune in any time at all to our YouTube Channel to view previous Zoom worship or other worship resources we have posted there!

We also welcome you to Join Us for In-Person Outdoor Weekly Worship!
Prayer for a Pandemic: by Cameron Bellm
May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between preserving
their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our
children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money
in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot
physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving
embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen.
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.

Opportunities for Fellowship

Book Club

Next up on Monday, October 26, at 7:00 P.M.

Checkout the Book Club Page for more information.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee meeting to prepare the 2021 Current Fund and other budgets will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, October 27, at 6:30 P.M.

Trunk or Treat

October 31st - 2:30pm-4:30pm

Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat Information

Connecting with us!

Current Schedule
Come visit us every Sunday!

8:30am - Worship via the Zoom Platforms

9:30am - Faith Formation Activities for All Ages

11:00am - Worship In Person
Congregation YouTube Page
Listen to our Sunday Services!
St. John's YouTube Channel
Social Media
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/stjohnhillchurch

Pastor's Letter - November

Dear Friends in Jesus,

I’m going to use this space this month to highlight a few scheduling items relating to the month of November.

First, there is the matter of an upcoming time change. For a good many years now, we have all made the jump back from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time in early November, but this year it comes up really quickly – at 2:00am on All Saints Day, November 1. So, different from any recent year I can recall, this year be sure to set your clocks back before you turn in on the last night of October, Reformation (and Halloween) Day, October 31!

Just a couple of days after that, there is also the matter of an upcoming election. I’m guessing there are few, if any, of us who don’t already have that November 3 date seared into our brains. I’m also guessing that you, like I, are growing weary of the many voices telling us how we ought to cast our ballots, including those voices claiming to have the “one faithful” way to vote. So it is worth remembering that (often to the great
chagrin and frustration of the People of God then and now), the Bible makes clear that God grades leaders (and the citizens who support them) not based on who promises the lowest taxes -or- who plans the strongest military-or- who engages in the most God-talk, but rather on who does the best job of taking care of those folks who find themselves at the very bottom of the societal “ladder” – in biblical times, widows, orphans, and “resident aliens” (yes, immigrants) – the most vulnerable in our midst. What might that God-view mean for our casting of our votes? PLEASE BE SURE TO DO YOUR DUTY AS A CHRISTIAN AS WELL AS YOUR DUTY AS A CITIZEN OF OUR GREAT NATION, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND (IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY SUBMITTED YOUR MAIL-IN OR ABSENTEE BALLOT) VOTE on November 3!!

Moving to later in the month, you might note that, missing from the monthly calendar later in this St. John’s Epistle is our traditional Thanksgiving Eve Community Worship, shared with our neighbors of the Lykens Valley UCC Charge. In this pandemic year, it would have been a prudent decision to not hold this worship in any case, but our Congregational Council, with the recommendation of Worship & Music
Committee has also made the decision that we will no longer hold this worship in 2021 and beyond. With Pastor Jeff Wagner’s retirement from Peace and St. Peter’s congregations, and with his and my having come up “empty” in trying to interest other neighboring congregations in joining with us in this worship opportunity, it is a good time to put this steadily-shrinking (but still beloved by me and the rest of the hardy crew who made it a priority) event to a well-deserved rest.

Finally, on the last Sunday of the month, November 29 – also earlier than is many times the case – a brand new Christian Year will begin with the First Sunday of Advent. As per our congregational family tradition, at sundown that day we will light our steeple stars. It is also Congregational Council’s and my hope that November 29 will mark our return to our familiar Sunday morning schedule of 9:00 Faith Formation Time and 10:15 Worship. Between now and then, we need to assembly the necessary “people power” (see the separate article in this newsletter about the Video Ministry Team) and “Wi-Fi power” to enable all interested folks to “Zoom into” in-person worship here at the church, instead of having a separate time of Zoom worship as presently. As with so many things these days, all of this is subject to change, depending, for instance, on what happens between now and then with regard to the virus, so please stay tuned!

Advent is the blue season, the Season of Hope, and ours is a Hope that nothing and no one can ever take away – we have Jesus’ word on it. Thank you for reading and for your partnership in following Him!!

Pastor Tom

News from Miss Laurie, Young Christians Minister

Happy October, everyone!   Don’t you just love the crisp evening and early morning temperatures that mean autumn is here?  And the “smell of fall” - I LOVE it!!  Autumn really is a multi-sensory experience!!  Thank you, God, for the beauty of Autumn and ALL the seasons!!

With fall upon us, I wanted to let you know about a few upcoming autumn activities:
  • Wednesday, October 7th – Celebration Club meets IN-PERSON at St John’s!  Join us at the church from 6:30 – 8:00 pm for our first gathering back in our Celebration Space!!
  • We’ll continue to use the Safety Procedures established for in-person meetings like wearing masks and social distancing.  Treats and snacks will be ‘take home’ until further notice and the ending time (8:00 instead of 8:30) reflects the fact that there will be no “snack time”.  All youth aged 3 through 4th grade are invited to join in the fun!!!
  • Friday, October 16th – Drive-In Movie Night.  To get you in the mood for Halloween, we’ll be showing our new favorite character, Shawn the Sheep, in “Little Sheep of Horrors”.  Sunset is around 6:30 on that date, so we should be able to get the movie started around 7:00!
  • Saturday, October 31st – Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat.  The Girl Scouts are hosting this event in the parking lot of St. John’s and we’re going to have a “Celebration Stop”!  Join the fun from 2:30 – 4:30 that afternoon!
  • And just a reminder:  We have begun IN-PERSON SONday Celebration!!!  For the time being, we meet every Sunday at the church from 9:45 – 10:45 am!  Please join us for this time of fun, faith formation!!

Mark your calendars and plan to join us for all these fun activities!!!

Have a GREAT October and enjoy the sights, and sounds, and tastes, and SMELL of autumn!!    

Miss Laurie                                                                            

PS:  I enjoy this verse for fall: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” -  Galatians 6:9
Photos used under Creative Commons from shixart1985, wuestenigel, ricky-from-left-field, shixart1985