SERMON: by Pastor Terry Cripe “Joy or Fear?”
based on the text: Matthew 25:14-30
ALTAR FLOWERS
The altar flowers are given by Phil Rohlf in memory of his wife, Eileen and his daughter, Tina.
2026 ALTAR FLOWERS
We still have this weekend available for 2025. If you are interested in signing up for the altar flowers for (in) 2026 please contact Krystle. After speaking with Kirchers, the price will be increased to $25.00 a week.
SPECIAL INVITATION OR MESSAGE
During the month of November the St. John Lutheran Food Pantry will be distributing Thanksgiving food items to the clients who visit the food pantry.
If you or your children would like to color or share the message of Jesus Christ with the food pantry clients please drop off your invitations and/or messages as soon as possible. Each food pantry client will receive an invitation to attend our church services. Thank you for sharing Jesus Christ with others.
CONGREGATIONAL CHRISTMAS PARTY
The Congregational Christmas Party will be held on Sunday, December 7th at 12:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. The menu consists of chicken breast w/honey sauce, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables, tossed salad, applesauce and cottage cheese, and an assortment of pies. If you would like to sign up, there are flyers in the cafeteria. Please drop your RSVP in the designated box in the cafeteria.
POINSETTIA FLOWER ORDERS
Please see the flyer included in this week’s bulletin. Poinsettias will decorate the church during the Christmas services. Proceeds will benefit the Angel Tree Project. Fill in the order form and drop it off in the church office or in the designated box in the narthex. Please make checks payable to St. John Lutheran Church.
CHURCH TEAM MEETINGS
Beginning November 10th, our church staff will be in team meetings every Monday morning from 8:00-9:00 a.m. When calling at that time, please leave a voicemail and someone from the team will return your call. The church office hours will now be 9:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The building doors will be locked at 3:00 p.m. daily and all phone calls will be returned if you call outside of business hours. If you have an emergency and need to enter the building around office hours, please ring the doorbell for immediate assistance.
CHAIRMAN OF CONGREGATION
We are very much in need of appointing a new Chairman of the Congregation. If you are interested or may know someone that you believe would be a good fit for this position, please talk with Pastor Mews or Steve Meyer.
SJL SPORTS UNIFORMS
We are looking to part with the basketball, cheerleading and volleyball uniforms. We will have them sitting out on tables in the lower hallway this weekend. The items are free to anyone.
THANK YOU
Thank you to everyone who served our Community Trunk or Treat by donating candy, decorating one of the 27 trunks, helping setting up and tearing down, or working at the welcome and food tables. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful sunset. Our final count for the evening was 336 adults and children. Chick-fil-A was sold out in 45 minutes!
BLUE CHRISTMAS
THE MARVEL & MIRACLE OF ADVENT
The Marvel & Miracle of Advent, by Christine Cane & Lisa Harper is being offered multiple times throughout the week. If interested in attending, check the hallway and sign up on the sheet across from the lunchroom.
ACT (ADULT CROSS TRAINING STUDY) ADVENT STUDY
“Have you ever received everything you wanted for Christmas?” This is the question Lisa Harper asks us in the introduction to our 2025 Advent Series “The Marvel and Miracle of Advent”. Please join us on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in the Adult Ed A classroom as we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus as our Savior. Our discussions will continue November 12 and December 3 and 17. All are welcome to join us for this exciting preparation for Jesus’ birth.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP ANGEL TREE MINISTRY
Prison Fellowship® partners with churches to deliver a Christmas gift and personal message to local children on behalf of their incarcerated parent through Angel Tree. A simple gift could spark hope and healing for families and become the launching point for relationships between local families and your church. Christmas is just the beginning. Engaging with Angel Tree families year-round can be as simple as inviting them to participate in programs and events your church is already offering, including small groups, Vacation Bible School, holiday services, and summer camps. We will soon be organizing our Angel Tree for this Christmas season. Please contact Tami Rohlf at 419.438.5860 if you are interested in serving with our Angel Tree ministry team.
LENTEN MEALS
As we are preparing the 2026 calendar, and with the Epistles getting printed bi-monthly now, we would like to get your group scheduled for the Lenten meals. Please contact the church office at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
GREETERS NEEDED
We are looking for greeters to serve at our church services. We are especially in need of members who can greet at the 5:30 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. church services. If you attend one service on a regular basis, could you serve as a greeter prior to that service at least once per month? If interested, please call Debbie Wagner in the church office.
CALL COMMITTEE
*************************************************************************
Experiencing the Joy of Generosity:
The Joy in Managing God’s Blessings
Today begins the second week in our stewardship emphasis, Experiencing the Joy of Generosity. Our theme for today is “The Joy in Managing God’s Blessings.” As God’s stewards, we are to manage faithfully the time, talents, and money that He has entrusted to us. Through faith, we understand that all that we are and have are gifts by God’s grace in Jesus. To express our gratitude, we manage our blessings in ways that give our Lord praise and honor.
We hope and pray that these worship services and Bible study opportunities will help you draw closer to God and will help you understand the importance of following God’s plan for managing your blessings.
We pray you will read and be blessed by the trifold brochure “The Joy in Managing God’s Blessings.”
THE HOLY LAND CHRISTIANS ARE GOING TO BE OUR GUESTS – HEAR THEIR STORY AND SEE THEIR BEAUTIFUL OLIVEWOOD CRAFTS
On November 15 & 16, 2025 and during all services, we will be hearing about the Christians of the Holy Land, and after each service we will be hosting at the church a nice display of handmade olive wood religious articles from Bethlehem available for purchase. These carvings include olivewood Nativity sets, crosses, Christmas ornaments, candle holders, angels and many other religious crafts that could make a nice wedding, baptism, confirmation, Easter and Christmas gifts. The carvings are handmade by Christian families from Bethlehem who rely on it for their daily bread.
More than 70% of the Christian Community in the Holy Land depend upon tourism as their only source of income . For decades those Christians have been enduring many hardships as tourism in Bethlehem has plummeted and access to other sources of income has been sharply restricted due to the ongoing conflict, the wars , the 12 yard wall built around Bethlehem , the COVID-19 pandemic , and nowadays the catastrophic ongoing war for the past twenty months , due to this tourists are afraid and unable to visit the Holy Land . This made it very difficult for the Christian families to find their daily bread and forced them to immigrate and flee their homeland since they lost their source of income . The Christian population of the Holy Land was 30% in the last century, today it is less than 1%. If it continues like this, in a few years we will find no Christians in the land of Christ, which could cause tragic consequences to our faith and holy sites .
Please help support our Christian brothers and sisters in the town of Bethlehem where Christ was born by purchasing their carvings.
A Christians family from Bethlehem will be telling us the story of the Christians of the Holy Land and they will be presenting these carvings after the services.
It is never too late to help. All proceeds go to support Christian families from Bethlehem.
Let us carefully tend to our roots, Christian children of God in the Holy Land.
And let us pray together for peace in the land where our Savior once walked to tell the world the good news of salvation .
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely in Christ,
Dr. George Ghanem
Holy Land Christian Solidarity Cooperative
ATTENDANCE CHURCH SERVICES
November 1 70 5:30 PM
November 2 112 9:00 AM
TOTAL: 236