SERMON: by Pastor Kurt Mews “One Sliver of Light”
based on the text: Matthew 24:36-44
ALTAR FLOWERS
The altar flowers are given Beth Miller in celebration of Walt and Lorna Smith’s 22nd wedding anniversary on November 22nd.
2026 ALTAR FLOWERS
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.
CHURCH ENVELOPES
2026 church envelopes may be picked up on the table in the lobby of the south entrance outside of the church office after the December 6th’s evening service.
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.
NO DONUTS!
Due to the setup of the congregational Christmas Party on Sunday, December 7th, there will be no coffee and donut fellowship in the cafeteria that morning.
THE MARVEL & MIRACLE OF ADVENT
The Marvel & Miracle of Advent, by Christine Cane & Lisa Harper is being offered multiple times throughout the week. As classes continue, if you would like to join, please see the bulletin board in the lower hallway for class times.
BLUE CHRISTMAS
St. John Lutheran Church will be offering a Blue Christmas service during the Advent season. Blue Christmas is traditionally held on December 21st (which is the longest night of the year) to symbolize the struggle with darkness and grief faced by those living with loss. For some, the Christmas season can be one filled with joy and cheer, but for others, Christmas can be a painful reminder that the world is still deeply broken and longing for Jesus to come again. We grieve with those who have lost jobs and relationships. We mourn with those who have seen dreams deferred and celebrations canceled. We take time this Advent season to approach God in our sorrow, knowing we have a Savior who says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28 (NIV). We are planning a Blue Christmas service on Tuesday, December 16th at 6:00 p.m. in the church sanctuary. If you have any questions, please call the church office at 419-782-5766.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP ANGEL TREE MINISTRY
As of the bulletin going to print, there are only a few Angels left on the Angel Tree located at the south entrance of the building.
CHRISTMAS DRIVE-THRU AT FAIRGROUNDS
The drive-thru continues through most of December. It promises to be full of color and lights. Please watch for our church’s display early in the route. It is located right after you drive past all the wooden Christmas cards. We have a different Nativity scene and a couple of surprises! If anyone knows where the Nativity scene is that we used for the past two years, please contact the church office. Thank you! From the Outreach Team
No Sunday School
There will be no Sunday School from December 14th thru January 4th. The Sunday School children will sing on December 14th at the 9:00 a.m. service.
SAVING CHIEF RECEIPTS
Please keep saving Chief receipts (no June, July, or August) and bring them to the box by the reception desk at the south entrance. Recently, we received a check for $169.03 and it will be earmarked for the social welfare ministry, helping people with utilities, housing, etc.
LENTEN MEALS
As we are preparing the 2026 calendar, and with the Epistles getting printed bi-monthly, we would like to get your group scheduled for the Lenten meals.
March 11th and 25th dates are still open. Please contact the church office at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
CALL COMMITTEE
If you’re interested in being a part of the call committee to find our next associate pastor, please talk with Pastor Mews or contact the church office.
ENDOWMENT NEWS
As our Endowment Committee now meets on a quarterly basis, so too will we consider requests on a quarterly basis. We believe this gives our boards and the committees the opportunity to better- time their non-budget needs for our assistance. Currently, requests are presented in the Nov. / Dec. timeframe even though the funds will not be needed for perhaps six to twelve months. As we generally remove the money from long-term and higher yielding investments immediately and place them in much lower paying money market accounts to avoid market risk, we have suffered opportunity loss, especially on requests that don’t materialize for quite some time. We feel this change will allow us to be better stewards of the money entrusted to us as well as get the funds out faster for our groups needing the money. If you are taking money from your IRA before the year’s end, please consider a legacy gift to our Endowment Fund.
You may contact me for information. Thank you.
Blessings,
Dave Memmer, Chairman of Endowment Fund (Phone 419.956.1920)
CLOTHES CLOSET NEEDS
The Clothes Closet is in need of all winter clothing and coats for men, women, and kids sizes 5 and up. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry.
LENTEN MEALS
As we are preparing the 2026 calendar, and with the Epistles getting printed bi-monthly, we would like to get your group scheduled for the Lenten meals.
March 11th and 25th dates are still open. Please contact the church office at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
CALL COMMITTEE
If you’re interested in being a part of the call committee to find our next associate pastor, please talk with Pastor Mews or contact the church office.
NOVEMBER 2025 FOOD PANTRY REPORT
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the food pantry to allow families to have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We served 110 families or 346 people with 610 bags of food distributed. We served 19 new families who visited our pantry for the first time. For December each family will receive a small ham. Thrivent is paying $250 for the hams. We have a number of Thanksgiving food items that are leftover and will distribute those items in December along with their regular food order. Thank you letters went out to various people or groups who contributed to our pantry as well; 1st Presbyterian Church, RealtyFive5, AMVETS and a couple of deer hunters who donated their deer. Fort Defiance meats grinds the meat in 2-pound packages. Again, I want to thank Jim and Janet Seymour for serving the food pantry for over 13 years.
ATTENDANCE CHURCH SERVICES
November 8 57 5:30 PM
November 9 142 9:00 AM
TOTAL: 256