WORSHIP SERVICES MOVING TO GYM
As we are moving ahead with the St. John Lutheran elevator project, all church services will be held in the gym beginning the weekend of January 17th and January 18th for approximately three months.
2026 ALTAR FLOWERS NEEDED!
If you are interested in signing up for the altar flowers for (in) 2026 please contact Krystle. After speaking with Kirchers, the price has been increased to $25.00 a week. There are a lot of open weekends!
PASTOR MEWS ON VACATION
Pastor Mews will be on vacation from January 16th through January 26th. We will have Pastor Stephen Niermann preaching for the Saturday, January 17th service and there will be Communion on Saturday evening only. On Sunday, January 18th, Pastor Mews’ pre-recorded sermon will be projected. For the weekend of January 24 & 25, Seminarian Joshua Gerken will be preaching at all three services. If you have an emergency, please call the church office at 419.782.5766.
COMMUNION WEEKEND
AT THIS TIME, for the weekend of January 17th and 18th, Communion will be offered on Saturday January 17th, but there will be no Communion on Sunday, January 18th.
HANDICAP PARKING SPOTS
There are now a total of five handicap parking spots next to the south entrance of the building. Please refrain from parking in those spots.
GIVING STATEMENTS
All 2025 giving statements have been mailed or emailed on Realm to those who have Realm accounts. If you need a hardcopy, please contact Krystle Clark.
DECEMBER 2025 FOOD PANTRY REPORT
It was a busy December filling the food orders. As of December 30th, we served 76 families or 230 people and distributed 488 bags of food. We continued to distribute EXTRA Thanksgiving food items that were donated from the previous month. Thank you to everyone who donated food. It was very much appreciated. I used two Thrivent Action Team events for the canned turkey and the hams, and that totaled $500 of additional assistance. We spent $1,180.01 in Meijer Simply Give Gift Cards.
I want to thank Sandy Joost and Elaine Carpenter for their many volunteer years of service to the Food Pantry. May God continue to bless you both.
Thank you to all the volunteers who made the distribution of food go well.
We welcome Ruth Blake, Fran Coonrod and Mary Ann Hurst, who are being trained to use the software program, PantryTrak. Also, thank you to Mary and Howard Grime, who help with bread donations.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support the Food Pantry. We always welcome food and money donations. If you wish to give money toward this ministry, please send it to Krystle Clark. Once a month we go to the Toledo Food Bank and spend money on the order and Krystle pays the invoice from the Food Pantry account.
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY FOOD ITEMS NEEDED: canned tuna, cooking oil and cream of chicken soup. Bath tissue is always needed.
CLOTHES CLOSET NEEDS
The Clothes Closet is in need of all winter clothing and coats for men, women, and children’s sizes 5 and up. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry. The Clothes Closet is also in need of volunteers to cover shifts on Thursday and
Friday mornings.
2026 LENTEN MEALS
February 18th – Ladies Aid Lasagna Supper
February 25th – Boy Scouts Soup / Sandwich Supper
March 4th – Elders Sloppy Joe Supper
March 11th – Youth Board / Dartball Spaghetti Supper
March 18th – Cross Training Taco Bar Supper
March 25th – Tuesdays @ 10 Bible Study Chili Supper
PLASTIC CAPS UPDATE
We are starting to sort through all of the plastic caps and lids that have been donated. We are taking a pause for the collection of these until that process is finished. Please do not send in lids for now. We will keep you updated as to when and if we will continue to collect them.
CHURCH ENVELOPES
2026 church envelopes may be picked up on the table in the lobby of the south entrance outside the church office.
MANY THANKS
Thanks to all who helped “undecorate” the church on Monday, January 5th.
HAND BELL PAUSE
Due to the construction of the elevator, the Hand Bell group will be taking a pause until the project is completed.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
The church office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The outside doors will open at 9:00 a.m. and will be locked at 3:00 p.m. Our staff is in the office from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm. The hours before and after are used for team meetings and for staff members to work on special projects like power points, needs in the church, etc. If you call before or after office hours, please leave a message. If it is an emergency, please call Pastor Mews at 419-670-5014.
JANUARY CARE NOTES:
There are new Care Notes available in the Bergman Resource Room:
Take One – Take Heart; Give One – Give Hope
Working Your Way Through Stressful Circumstances
Additional titles have been placed in the Caring Ministry Resource
Room just off the Work Room. Please take one for you or give to a friend.
Care Notes now available:
“When You Feel You’re a Disappointment to God”
“Discovering the Healing Power of Laughter”
“Humor—It Helps Us as We Age”
“When Someone You Love Is Far Away”
“Learning to Trust Again”
“Grieving the Loss of a Good Friend”
“Suffering Alone with a Grief Kept Secret”
“Accepting the Realities of Aging with Hope and Purpose”
“Embracing Hospice: Living as Death Approaches”
ATTENDANCE CHURCH SERVICES
January 3 49 5:30 PM
January 4 98 9:00 AM
TOTAL: 206