This Week @ St. John

• MON 9/3- LABOR DAY; Office Closed
• TUES 9/4- 6:30AM Men's Bible Study
• 4:00PM LWML meeting
  
• WED 9/5- 3:30PM Confirmation Classes
• SAT 9/8- 6:00PM Worship with Communion at Immanuel, Soldier TWP
• SUN 9/9- RALLY SUNDAY | Sunday School Resumes; First Graders receive Bibles, Fifth Graders receive Catechisms, Installation of Teachers/Helpers. Mission Dinner after worship; Grilled burgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, coleslaw & deserts. Proceeds go to mission projects.
• 8:45AM Sunday School & Bible Studies
• 10:00AM 'Rally Day' Worship
• 11:00AM Mission Dinner
• 1:30PM LWML Fall Rally, St. Paul Ute
• SUN 9/16- 2:00PM Celebration of Ministry Service at St. Luke, Ricketts; Music by Rev. Tim Frank, Message by Rev, Eugene Ernst.

This Week @ St.John

• WED 8/29- 7:00PM Confirmation Orientation for 5th-8th Graders & their Parents
• SAT 9/1- 6:00PM Worship at Immanuel, Soldier
• SUN 9/2- NEW FALL SCHEDULE:
• 8:45AM Adult Bible Study
• 10:00AM Worship
• SUN 9/9- RALLY SUNDAY | Sunday School Resumes; First Graders receive Bibles, Fifth Graders receive Catechisms, Installation of Teachers/Helpers.  Mission Dinner after worship; Grilled burgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, coleslaw & deserts. Proceeds go to mission projects.
• SUN 9/16- 2:00PM Celebration of Ministry Service at St. Luke, Ricketts; Music by Rev. Tim Frank, Message by Rev, Eugene Ernst. 

Play Ground Re-Dedication Picnic | RALLY SUNDAY

St.John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak will be hosting an open house to celebrate the re-dedication of their playground on the corners of Birch Street and First Avenue in Charter Oak on Sunday, September 11, from 11:00AM, after worship services until 1:00pm.

St.John will serve hot dogs and root beer floats and host a free throw contest on their basketball court in addition to other games and miniature train rides.

The playground re-dedication is part of St.John’s “Rally Sunday,” where they will install their Sunday School and Confirmation teachers during worship which begins at 10:00am. Children are invited to Sunday School beginning at 8:45am.

Last year, St.John members formed a committee to find ways of improving their playground. Since it was formed, St. John has cleaned and refurbished existing equipment and added new playground equipment as well as a bench, a sign and shade trees.

While the town has a school playground across from Charter Oak-Ute School and the Ortner playground at the City Park, North of highway 141, St.John members hope to provide a safe place to play for children on the West side of Charter Oak. Many kids have already begun to enjoy the new equipment this Summer, especially before and after St.John’s Vacation Bible School in early August.

Members Bob & Annie Kroll built and installed a sign at the entrance to the playground. Annie, a master gardener, selected two young oak trees for the playground that were planted by the committee on either side of a new swing set in the shape of a cross, built and installed by Adam Dorale and his family.

This Spring, Adam’s father Ralph designed a monkey-bar, climbing set in the shape of Noah’s Ark. The ark is a nod to the Noah’s Ark Pre-School once held in the old Lutheran school building on the site of the current playground. Dorale will be installing a teeter-totter before the open house and has plans for a climbing wall in the shape of the Ten-Commandments.

Originally the playground was part of the Lutheran elementary school, then Noah’s Ark Pre-School. Much of the original equipment, including a wooden climbing fort with a slide, bridge and sliding pole, were part of a memorial honoring Mary Schoenfeld and her daughter, Cecelia, St.John members who were killed in 1986.

This Week @ St.John

• MON 9/5-  LABOR DAY- Church Office Closed

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters 

~ Colossians 3:23

 

For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 

~1 Timothy 5:18

• TUES 9/6- 6:30AM Men's Bible Study

• WED 9/7-3:30PM  Confirmation Classes Resume
• THR 9/8- Happy Birthday Pastor Merrill!- Join us for cake in the Fellowship Hall 9:00AM-11:00AM

• SAT 9/10- 6:00PM Worship with Communion at St.Luke's, Ricketts (Triple Parish)
• SUN 9/11- 8:45AM Sunday School & Bible Classes
• 10:00AM Worship- RALLY SUNDAY
  First Graders will receive Bibles
  Fifth Graders will receive Chetechisms
  Sunday School & Confirmation Teachers & Volunteers will be installed
• 11:00AM-1:00PM Playground Open House & Re-Dedication

Rally Sunday

Sunday School children sing 'Go Tell it on the Mountain.'

Six first graders were presented with Bibles and six fifth graders received Luther's Small Catechism in church today. Adult teachers & volunteers were installed as Sunday School & Confirmation leaders as well. Please pray that God will bless this school year and open hearts, minds, and lives to His love and guidance.

Rally Sunday 2012

To launch the new school year, five First graders received Bibles and four Fifth graders starting Confirmation were presented with Catechisms. Pictured here with Pastor Merrill in the back row are Fifth graders Tanner Hoffman, Ellen Mallory, MaKenzie Smith and Evelyn Henschen. In the front row are First graders Lily Schwarz, Kennedy Goslar, Garrett French, Marissa Galvin, and Caralyn Henschen.

Today new Sunday School and Confirmation teachers, helpers and memory-work listeners were officially installed during worship. Please remember to pray regularly for these volunteers and all of the children of our congregation, that God would nourish their faiths and that they might all grow in relationships with Him.

It has been discovered that a number of Confirmation students didn't receive Bibles as First graders since their families have transferred to St.John when they were older. We are looking through our records to find out who they are and will try to make sure that they also receive Bibles which they can use in Confirmation class, Sunday School, or for personal reading and devotions.

Rally Sunday 2011

Above, Pastor Richard Merrill leads a discussion of the Adult Bible Class which will be meeting in Room 101 this year. High School Bible Study meets with Leon Meseck in the Kitchen, 7th and 8th Graders meet in the basement meeting room, while PK-6th Grades meet in the newly completed basement classrooms.

 Today we celebrated the beginning of a new Sunday School Year. Teachers and Volunteers were installed during worship.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

"I have hidden your word in my heart..." Psalm 119:11a
Today Fifth Graders who are beginning Confirmation classes were presented with copies of Luther's Small Chatechism, including Kaitlyn Conto, Crysta Gierstorf, Brian Gossage, Lizzie Jepsen, Skylar Kelm, Alyha McCartney, Robert Self, Kaitlynn Thoreson, and Madison Young.

First Graders were presented with their own Bibles, they included Annamarie Mallory, Hailey Meseck (2nd grade), and Andrew Thoreson.

Below, Pastor let the Sunday School children in an opening devotion before Music Leader Bethany Mallory reviewed the song that the children would sing during the worship service.

Sunday School Rally Day 2008

Our old Lutheran School Building is pretty dilapidated, so to tide us over while we have a study done and eventually perhaps a building project, we purchased the neighbor's house so that our kids are safe and warm. They won't even have to cross the street anymore!