Anticipating Worship (April 1)

The Resurrection of our Lord—Easter Sunday


Worship Focus:  Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
Mark 16:1-8

Sermon Meditation:  Isaiah 25:6-9

Enjoy the Lord's Easter Feast
1.  With a heap of promises
2.  With a hymn of praise

Prayer of the Day:  Almighty God, by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ you overcame death and opened the gate to eternal life.  Grant that we, who have been raised with him through baptism, may walk in the newness of life and ever rejoice in the hope of sharing his glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit be dominion and praise now and forever.  Amen.


Easter allows us to gaze into an empty tomb to see Jesus' resurrection from death and gather with others to celebrate Jesus' victory for us.  See you at 9:30 AM.  Happy Easter.


Please join us for breakfast before worship.  It begins at 8:30 AM.

Shaping Our Ministry Vision

Ministry Self-Assessment and Adjustment Program

In 2018, St. John will embark on a Self-Assessment and Adjustment program (SAA), offered by WELS Commission on Congregational Counseling. The purpose of the SAA is to assess and evaluate our ministry and to develop plans to adjust and expand our ministry in appropriate ways. The congregation indicated strong support for this program through several surveys.

Read more about the program here: https://ccc.welsrc.net/self-assessment-and-adjustment-program/ 

Watch a video about the program here: https://vimeo.com/164633091

How you can be a part of this effort:
The first step is to complete a Congregational Profile consisting of eight research topics (outlined below). If you are willing to help in any of these areas, please talk to or email Pastor Voigt (dvoigt@stjohnev.net).

1. Congregational History
2. Church Statistics
3. Congregational Makeup
4. Ministry
5. Financial
6. Parish Area Mapping / Demographics / Economics
7. Religion in the Community
8. Community SWOT

Watch your email/mailbox in April for information on how to complete a member pulse survey.

Upon completion of the congregational profile and pulse survey, a WELS counselor will lead us through Bible study and small group discussion on every aspect of our ministry. This will take place over Saturday and Sunday – exact dates coming soon!

Lastly, the counselor will provide a report back to us and we will meet as a congregation to determine what adjustments to our ministry, if any, we would like to make over the next year.

Timeline:

St. John Tuition Support for WELS Elementary Schools

We are excited to share that St. John will continue tuition reduction programs with two local WELS schools for the 2018-2019 school year.

• Crown of Life School – St. John will remain a Contract Church with Crown of Life. St. John will contribute $10,000 to Crown of Life’s school ministry (approximately 4% of our budgeted revenues). St. John members will have access to reduced tuition rates (10% above Crown of Life’s member tuition rate). In addition, St. John members will be eligible for Tuition Assistance through Crown of Life’s program. This agreement is the same as what was provided in the 2017-2018 school year and worked well for our members.
• Christ Lutheran School – St. John will support member students attending Christ by offering a tuition assistance program, which is different than the 2017-2018 school year. For the 2018-2019 school year, St. John members that enroll at Christ will pay the normal non-member tuition rates; however, are eligible to apply for tuition assistance through Christ’s TADS Application and St. John will fund needs based assistance to our members. A small committee of St. John members will recommend anonymous tuition assistance awards to the Church Council for approval. Recipients will be notified through TADS and any tuition assistance funds will be paid directly to Christ to offset the tuition due. There is no formal cap on this program, but we anticipate the total assistance awarded to be around $10,000.

God’s Blessings,
St. John Church Council


Frequently Asked Questions:

Why did the program change for students attending Christ Lutheran School?
The agreement with Christ Lutheran School for the 2017-2018 school year did not provide tuition assistance to our members and therefore St. John was unable to support families to the fullest extent needed. 

Why are the two programs different? 
When meeting with the local schools to discuss these agreements, we put a priority on consistency between Crown of Life School and Christ Lutheran School. Unfortunately the same program was not available at both churches and we subsequently put a top priority on securing needs based tuition assistance for our members. The Church Council strongly feels these programs will fit the needs of our members and encourage members to take advantage of the programs.

When are tuition assistance applications due? Where can I apply? 
Families should discuss the tuition assistance program directly with Crown of Life School or Christ Lutheran School. Each school runs a different program and our members will follow the school’s application process and deadlines. 

When will I be notified if I was awarded any assistance?
For families at Christ Lutheran School, notifications will start to be sent following the May council meeting, but may take up to 4-6 weeks after your application and supporting documentation is submitted. Applications are due to Christ Lutheran School by April 30th, however, submitting your application earlier than the deadline will increase the likelihood of receiving a notification in mid-May.

When will the congregation be informed of tuition assistance amounts granted? 
The total amount granted for Christ Lutheran School will be presented to the congregation at the annual budget meeting in June. Variance to the anticipated amount awarded for assistance will be discussed at this time.

Other Questions?
Please contact Derek Meyer, Committee on Education (derek.l.meyer@gmail.com).

Anticipating Worship (March 11)

Fourth Sunday in Lent


Worship Focus:  Faith in Christ crucified saves.

Scripture Readings:
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 38
Ephesians 2:4-10
John 3:14-21

Sermon Meditation:  Numbers 21:4-9

Life Is about Knowing Where to Look

Prayer of the Day:  Almighty God, we confess that we deserve to be punished for our evil deeds.  But we ask you graciously to cleanse us from all sin and gladly to comfort us with your salvation; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.


Our Lord is worthy of our worship.  See you on Sunday at 9:30 AM.

St. John/Immanuel Hmong Cooperation

This coming Sunday, we will be going forward with what we talked about at our January Congregational Meeting.  We discussed how we might have a closer partnership with our Hmong Brothers and Sisters in the faith.  The idea is that we grow together and encourage one another.

We will have our normal worship time of 9:30 AM with Bible Class to follow at around 11:00 AM.  Most of the changes impact Immanuel Hmong.  They will have their education time alongside us.  If some of their members would like to attend our English class, they are certainly welcome.  We will run a coordinated and combined Sunday School/Little Lights program.  Please see another post detailing that.  Immanuel Hmong's worship service will be after that.

St. John and Immanuel Hmong Sunday School Program Integration

                Start children off on the way they should go, and even when are old they will not turn from                  it.  - Proverbs 22:6

We are excited to share St. John and Immanuel Hmong will join together in their Little Lights/Sunday School program. Our first classes together will be on Sunday, March 25^th, and joint classes will continue through May. In June we will reassess the program and determine if this is a long-term change.

The new age groups and classrooms are listed below. Each classroom will have one teacher from each congregation (at this time St. John will not have a teacher in the Grades 6-8 classroom). This change will add additional dates throughout the year for the children to hear God’s word, as well as extend the ages of children attending. To enable this we need 4 additional teachers.  Please contact Mary Meyer if you are able: derekmarymeyer@gmail.com.

Group	Classroom
Ages 3	Multipurpose Room (downstairs)
PreK-K	Sunday School Room
Grades 1-2	Library
Grades 3-5	Music Room
Grades 6-8	6-8 Room

School Supplies Sale

If you missed the sale the last 2 Sundays and are interested in what
might still be available, please speak to Tony Wimmer.

Set Clocks Ahead 1 Hour!

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 11th. Remember to set your clocks

ahead 1 hour before turning in on Saturday.

Anticipating Worship (March 4)

Third Sunday in Lent


Worship Focus:  God wants his people to live in his saving love.

Scripture Readings:
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
John 2:13-22

Sermon Meditation:  Exodus 20:1-17

View God's Words Properly
1.  Seeing your Savior-God
2.  Seeing your single goal

Prayer of the Day:  Almighty God, look with favor on your humble servants and stretch out the right hand of your power to defend us against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.


The Lord your God wants to reassure you of his love in his Word.  Come and listen.  See you at 9:30 AM on Sunday.