Sunday, November 25, 2012

New Fellowship Hall Dedication
December 9, 2012


St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak will celebrate the completion of their new fellowship hall Sunday, December 9, 2012. Rev. Paul Sieveking, President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's Iowa District West will preach at the 10:00 am worship service.

The theme verse for the building's dedication will be Ephesians 2:19-22, in which St. Paul calls believers themselves become God's temple, with Christ as its cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:19-22 New International Version (NIV)19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Immediately following worship there will be a dedication ceremony at which the cornerstone to the new building will be laid and a ribbon will be cut. A chicken and ham dinner will be served at noon, catered by Staley's Food Service. A free will offering will be taken for the meal.

An open-house will then be held in the new fellowship hall from 2:00 PM till 4:00 PM. Contractors and Building Committee members will be available to answer questions. Visitors may also take a look at how volunteer workers remodeled the church basement to accommodate St. John's Sunday School.

In addition to the twelve contractors, member volunteers dedicated many hours to these projects, from excavation, cleaning, dry-walling, moving pianos and  historical displays, to painting, installing ceiling tiles, and assembling shelving.

The project began in the summer of 2011 when St. John began considering how to replace the school  building, built after WWI, which had fallen into disrepair.  The church held an auction of the contents of the old Lutheran school, and held a day of prayer dedicated to "Praise, prayer, and progress," before kicking off a fundraising campaign for the building project.

On Father's Day, 2011, the congregation held a "farewell school picnic" for the building, and had it taken down. A memorial to the school, founded in Charter Oak in 1902 now stands on the corner of First Street and Birch Avenue in Charter Oak, across from St. John's, where the school once stood.

Ground breaking ceremonies were held for the new addition on the first Sunday in April, 2012. St. John members have made pledges and gifts to cover much of the costs of the new fellowship hall. Church leaders hoped to avoid borrowing or borrow as little as possible to pay for the building project. Many costs were kept down thanks to donated and volunteer labor. Recently, members gave money to purchase new tables and chairs for the new fellowship hall.

St. John's pastor, Richard Merrill sees a fellowship hall as a means of offering ministry and outreach to the whole community since it will host various receptions for events like funerals and other church events. Ground level entry and convenient parking should make the addition more accessible for the elderly and handicapped.

This Week @ St.John

  • TUE 11/27- Pastor returns
  • WED 11/28- 1:30pm Confirmation
  • THUR 11/29- 6:00pm Cub Scouts
  • SAT 12/1- Drop off cookie donations for LWML Bazaar by Noon
  • SUN 12/2- 8:45am Sunday School & Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship with Communion
    • LWML Cookie & Candy Bazaar 
      11:00am-1:00pm Come fill your box with lots of goodies!
      Cookies will be sold for just $6 per pound.
      All proceeds will go toward furnishing the kitchen in the new addition.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- to help with projects for the new church addition in order to be ready for the dedication on December 9. Please call Bob Kroll (678-3407) or Don Friedrichs (678-3720) if you are able to help. Working times will vary and volunteers will be called and scheduled when needed. Examples: moving archive wall, pianos and cooler, installing ceiling tiles, assembling pantry shelving, and dusting kitchen cupboards. All help is appreciated.

LYF Rake-and-Run Sunday, December 4
Call the church office if you need your leaves raked. They'll rake as many lawns as they can, so first come-first-served.

LYF Collecting Winter Coats-
Especially for children; also sweaters & sweatshirts. See the collection box in the church entryway.

December 9th- New Fellowship Hall Dedication
  • 8:45am- Tour of the remodeled Sunday School rooms in the basement
  • 10:00am- Worship, Preacher LCMS Iowa District-West President Rev. Paul Sieveking
    Sunday School kids sing at this service
  • Immediately following- the setting of the cornerstone and ribbon cutting
  • Noon- there will be a free-will offering dinner catered by Staley's Food Service with a short program
  • 2:00pm-4:00pm Open House will continue with refreshments

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sunday School Christmas Letter

Dear Parents,

Its that time already! Winter is here.

Here are dates to remember for the Sunday School Christmas Program:

  • DEC. 9- Sunday School kids will sing in Church for the dedication of the new Fellowship Hall
  • Dec. 12- Program Practice after Confirmation 5:00pm-6:30pm (First grade thru Eighth grade).
  • Dec. 16- Program Practice During Sunday School
  • Dec. 19- Program Practice after Confirmation 5:00pm-6:30pm (First grade thru Eighth grade).
  • Dec. 22- 9:00am-11:00am Program Practice for ALL Ages (PK-8)
  • Dec 23- Sunday School Christmas Program at 6:30pm (please have children here at 6:15pm)
Thank You,
Peggy Sue Henschen
Sunday School Superintendent 

This Week @ St.John
GIVE THANKS

  • WED 11/21- No Confirmation or Bible Study
    • 7:00pm Thanksgiving Eve Worship
    • 8:00pm Elders' Meeting
  • THUR 11/22- Thanksgiving Day
    • Office Closed
    • Pastor gone Nov. 22nd-26th
  • SUN 11/25- Last Sunday of the Church Year
    • 8:45am Sunday School/Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship- with recognition of Veterans
    • No 'Truth Project' Bible Study this week

Food Donation Collection for the Temporary Aid Program (TAP) in November- This year the Sunday School Children are challenging the grown-ups of the congregation to match their donations.Watch the collection table in the sanctuary all month to see who'll win!

Temporary Aid Program (T.A.P.)
210 S. 25th Street
Denison, IA 51442
Contact Person: Donna Weiss
Phone:712-263-4733
Hours of operation: Mon. & Th. 9-12


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- to help with projects for the new church addition in order to be ready for the dedication on December 9. Please call Bob Kroll (678-3407) or Don Friedrichs (678-3720) if you are able to help. Working times will vary and volunteers will be called and scheduled when needed. Examples: moving archive wall, pianos and cooler, installing ceiling tiles, assembling pantry shelving, and dusting kitchen cupboards. All help is appreciated.


LWML Cookie & Candy Bazaar Sunday, December 2
11:00am-1:00pm Come fill your box with lots of goodies!

Please Bring Your Items in by noon on Sat. Dec. 1st. Your donations will be greatly appreciated. Cookies will be sold for just $6 per pound. All proceeds will go toward furnishing the kitchen in the new addition.


LYF Rake-and-Run Sunday, December 4
Call the church office if you need your leaves raked. They'll rake as many lawns as they can, so first come-first-served.

LYF Collecting Winter Coats- 

Especially for children; also sweaters & sweatshirts. See the collection box in the church entryway.


December 9th- MARK YOUR CALENDARS- 

The new Fellowship Hall will be dedicated in a special church service. 

  • 8:45am- Tour of the remodeled Sunday School rooms in the basement
  • 10:00am- Worship, Preacher LCMS Iowa District-West President Rev. Paul Sieveking
  • Immediately followed by the setting of the cornerstone and ribbon cutting
  • Noon- there will be a free-will offering dinner catered by Staley's Food Service with a short program
  • 2:00pm-4:00pm Open House will continue with refreshments




Monday, November 12, 2012

Pastor Prouty Called Home

Rev. Albert Prouty passed away November 7, 2011.
Cards may be sent to his widow, Mary at

Mary Prouty
22431 Kinyon
Taylor, MI 48180

Pastor Albert I. Prouty served from 1968 to 1976 at St. John in Charter Oak. He came back and spoke this past March on the actual 125th anniversary of St. John. He served his vicarage at St. Paul’s church in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Following his graduation from Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Illinois, he has held pastorates at Salem, St. Paul churches at Gurley and Potter, Nebraska, and at Redemption Lutheran Church in Detroit, Michigan. He was most recently semi-retired as a Visitation Pastor for Calvary Lutheran Church in Lincoln Park , Michigan

Sunday, November 11, 2012

This Week @ St.John

  • TUES 11/13- 8:45AM Circuit Pastor's COnference at Zion Luth. in Denison
  • WED 11/14- 9:00am Ladies Bible Study
    • 3:30pm Confirmation
  • THUR 11/15- 6:00pm Cub Scouts
  • SUN 11/11- 8:45am Sunday School/Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship with Communion
    • 7:00pm 'Truth Project' Bible Study at parsonage

Food Donation Collection for the Temporary Aid Program (TAP) in November- This year the Sunday School Children are challenging the grown-ups of the congregation to match their donations.Watch the collection table in the sanctuary all month to see who'll win!

Temporary Aid Program (T.A.P.)
210 S. 25th Street
Denison, IA 51442
Contact Person: Donna Weiss
Phone:712-263-4733
Hours of operation: Mon. & Th. 9-12


VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- to help with projects for the new church addition in order to be ready for the dedication on December 9. Please call Bob Kroll (678-3407) or Don Friedrichs (678-3720) if you are able to help. Working times will vary and volunteers will be called and scheduled when needed. Examples: moving archive wall, pianos and cooler, installing ceiling tiles, assembling pantry shelving, and dusting kitchen cupboards. All help is appreciated.


LWML Cookie & Candy Bazaar Sunday, December 2
11:00am-1:00pm Come fill your box with lots of goodies!


LYF Rake-and-Run Sunday, December 4
Call the church office if you need your leaves raked. They'll rake as many lawns as they can, so first come-first-served.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Speak Lord, Your servant listens

This week, Sunday School students read about how God called young Samuel to become His prophet in 1 Samuel, Chapter 3.

Samuel's mother Hannah was barren and begged the Lord for a child. When God blessed her with a son, she literally dedicated her son to God, offering him to serve in the temple.

When God verbally called Samuel by name, Samuel thought for sure it was the old priest Eli. After he's woken up Eli twice, the priest realized who was really trying to get the boy's attention, so he told Samuel to reply with "speak Lord, Your servant listens."

What God had to say wasn't easy. He had Samuel deliver his first message as a prophet. Samuel had to inform Eli that his family would be cursed because of the sins of Eli's corrupt sons.

A prophet is not some wizard that predicts the future. A prophet is a spokesman for God. We may be prophets when we share God's Word. But how can we share it, if we don't listen to it?

How can we listen for God's message today?

Three great ways to communicate with God: 
   1) Spend time in fellowship with other Christians, sharing how God has worked in your lives (like in church, Sunday school, Bible Study, youth group, or confirmation).
   2) Prayer and
   3) Reading the Bible.

But don't just go to God with your needs, wants, and questions- be willing to wait, be still,  and listen to Him.




Ask your kids about what they learn in Sunday School, have conversations about the Bible and your faith. Talk about times when God used you or times when you may have thought you didn't need God but found out otherwise. 

Take a look at some of the stories they're learning about in Sunday School & Confirmation in the Bible for yourself and make these last few months of 2012 "The Year of the Word."

The  best way to get God's Word into you, is to start getting into God's Word.


Disaster Relief for Hurricane Sandy


From http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1600
LCMS Director of Disaster Response Rev. Glenn Merritt said that it is too early for volunteers, including chainsaw crews, to travel to the storm-affected areas. He stressed that material-good donations have not yet been determined. If and when these volunteers or material goods are needed, the LCMS will publicize the needs.  
“The best thing people can do at this time is to give financial donations [that] can be used to provide immediate aid and assistance,” said Merritt. 
To help:
  • make an online gift (http://www.lcms.org/givenow/disaster);
  • mail checks payable to “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod” (with a memo line or note designating “LCMS Disaster Response”) to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861; or 
  • call toll-free 888-930-4438.
“What is really important is for us as the body of Christ in those places to be there first for the members of those churches and then especially for the people around that community, around that altar out in the community,” said LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison in a video update to the church. “They are the objects of love and care. It’s very important for us as the body of Christ across the United States to come support these districts in their time of need and to support our pastors and congregations in these times of need.”

To view all the LCMS videos about Sandy, visit: http://video.lcms.org/archives/category/disaster-response.

Sandy left a wide swath of devastation along the East Coast, killing more than 70 in the United States, wiping away hundreds of waterfront homes, flooding streets and subway tunnels, littering neighborhoods with debris and leaving millions without electricity.
Already, damages from Sandy, which came ashore Monday night in New Jersey, are estimated to be in the billions. Hurricane Sandy first made landfall in the Caribbean Oct. 24 and has been credited with 69 deaths in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
In the last five years, the LCMS has provided more than $35 million for domestic and international disaster response efforts.  Keep up to date on the LCMS’ disaster response effort at www.lcms.org/disaster.

This Week @ St.John

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED QUILT!
This year, 135 quilts were completed for needy families this Winter. The quilts have been displayed over the pews in the sanctuary and were dedicated during the service today (Sun. Nov. 4). 
Tiers included Shirley Hopp, Lois Butler, Marilyn Pirwitz, Jackie Kohnekamp, Jane Kunze, Iva Lee Kuhlman, Ruth Bruggeman, Leanna Hopp, Elaine Stoltze, Letha Goslar, Jeanne Kuhlman, Annie Kroll & Bernice Simpson. The
  • TUES 11/6- Election Day
    • 6:30AM Men's Bible Study
  • WED 11/7- 9:00am Ladies Bible Study
    • 1:30pm Confirmation
    • SAT 11/10- Martin Luther's Birthday, 1483
    • 9:00am LYF decorate for Thanksgiving Dinner
  • SUN 11/11- Veterans' Day
    • 8:45am Sunday School/Bible Study
    • 10:00am Worship- with recognition of Veterans
    • 11:00am Finance Board Meeting
    • 11:00am Annual LYF Thanksgiving Dinner
    • 1:00pm Pastor preaching at Denison Care Center
    • 2:00pm Pastor preaching at Evencare Lutheran Home
    • 7:00pm 'Truth Project' Bible Study at parsonage
VETERANS' DAY, Sunday, November 11-
This year, St. Johns will be recognizing the service of our veterans who served during the Korean Conflict. Those who serves and surviving spouses of those who served will be presented with a special certificate of appreciation. Currently, this will include; Don Friedrichs, Don McCall, Harvey Meeves, Edwin Nemitz, Dan Throckmorton, JoAnn Creese (LaVerne), Lois Goslar (Edward), Dorothy Gries (Don), Jackie Kohnekamp (Walter Boland), Barb Magill (Virgil), and Marilyn Pirwitz (Darlo). If we have missed anyone, please let the church office know.

LYF THANKSGIVING DINNER- Sunday, November 11, 11:00am-12:30pm
Turkey, Potatoes & Gravy, Dressing, Corn, Cranberry Sauce, Desserts, Tolls, & Drinks
Free Will Offering. Proceeds raise funds for LYF projects including 2013 National Lutheran Youth Gathering in San Antonio

Food Donation Collection for the Temporary Aid Program (TAP) in November- This year the Sunday School Children are challenging the grown-ups of the congregation to match their donations.Watch the collection table in the sanctuary all month to see who'll win!

Temporary Aid Program (T.A.P.)
210 S. 25th Street
Denison, IA 51442
Contact Person: Donna Weiss
Phone:712-263-4733
Hours of operation: Mon. & Th. 9-12

VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED- to help with projects for the new church addition in order to be ready for the dedication on December 9. Please call Bob Kroll (678-3407) or Don Friedrichs (678-3720) if you are able to help. Working times will vary and volunteers will be called and scheduled when needed. Examples: moving archive wall, pianos and cooler, installing ceiling tiles, assembling pantry shelving, and dusting kitchen cupboards. All help is appreciated.

LWML Cookie & Candy Bazaar Sunday, December 2
11:00am-1:00pm Come fill your box with lots of goodies!


December 9- Dedication of the new Fellowship Hall
Iowa District West President Sieveking will preach the sermon during worship. The setting of the cornerstone and ribbon cutting will follow the service. Dinner will be served at Noon by Staley's Food Service for a free-will-donation. Open House 2:00-4:00pm.

OPEN CUPBOARD
Open Cupboard food pantry benefits from the unique relationship between our local food bank in Sioux City and the support of community churches, businesses, and leaders of Monona and Woodbury Counties. We secure food from local churches, retailers, farmers, individual donors, and the Food Bank from Siouxland Inc. We hope that all ten towns will organize food drives to keep Open Cupboard food pantry filled and operational throughout the year. For every $1 donated to the Open Cupboard food pantry we are able to acquire 13 pounds worth of food – a remarkable return on your investment in our community.

Your donation will help our efforts, whether it is food, time or money.

Call Joann Nielson at 712-880-6171 or visit us at 209 N 6th Street, Mapleton, IA 51034 or email: aljonielsen@hotmail.com


TABLE & CHAIR PROJECT
We need 30 tables and 240 chairs for the new fellowship hall, this will cost about $8,700. We are already half way there. If you'd like to donate toward this project, please sign up in the church office. Tables cost $90 and chairs are $25. Thank you.