Category: News and Events

St. John’s Lutheran Church
821 Denver St. • Schuyler, NE 68661
stjohnslutheranschuyler.wordpress.com
402-352-3550

Dear siblings in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of Christ.  We are one year into this pandemic journey, and as you well know, it has been a year full of challenge and change.  Despite this, as your church council, we remain confident that God is with us and that the Spirit is at work among us, continuing to move us to live out our call to witness and serve in the name of Christ.  We remain thankful for your continued faithfulness and consistent stewardship throughout this time.  And we remain committed to working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of this congregation in as transparent a manner as possible.

We are writing to let you know that at our March council meeting, we made the decision to revise our criteria for resuming our in-person worship services.  The specific details are at the end of this letter, for any who wish to read them.  What’s important to know about this change is this: 

• We are optimistic that this new metric will get us back to worshiping in person a lot sooner than the old one.
• Our return to in-person worship will be announced on Facebook, on our website, and in worship no later than the Sunday before.
• Because this is a more fluid metric, it is possible that it may lead us to revert to meeting online for a time – this will be communicated in the same way as in-person.
• We are well aware that many parts of our community are resuming full and unrestricted levels of activity, but as leaders and stewards of this congregation, we are taking our call seriously to care for the health and safety of this congregation by making decisions grounded in faith and guided by data and science rather than by feelings.

When we do return to gathering in person, we will continue to live-stream worship via Facebook Live – both for those who will not feel comfortable gathering in person right away, and also for the many new friends who have joined us virtually!  And those who are not able to participate in our online worship are already welcome to join us for worship in person so that all may be included.  

And for the time being, our safety precautions remain in place for in-person gatherings: masks are required that cover your nose, mouth, and chin; six feet or more of distance maintained between anyone who doesn’t live together; no assembly singing; and washing/sanitizing hands.  These are the things that we know will keep us safe while we wait for everyone to get vaccinated – these are the things that will help us finish strong, together.

Continue reading “March 2021 Letter to congregation” →

The Evangelism and Social Ministry team is challenging the congregation of St. John’s and our friends to kindle “sparks of kindness” during the season of Lent!  We’ve all had to give up so many things this year; for Lent, let’s add something instead: acts that put some kindness into the world.  Choose an idea from the following list, or come up with your own!  See if you can challenge yourself to do one (or more!) a week, and then share stories or pics of your “sparks of kindness” with us on Facebook!

• Write someone an encouraging note
• Call or text someone who could use some cheering up or some company
• Ask someone how you can pray for them – and then pray for them
• Bring someone a meal or a plate of cookies
• Pay for someone’s meal in the drive-thru
• Offer to pick up someone’s groceries
• Send someone flowers or candy
• Make a gift basket for someone with things like cozy socks and lotion or hot chocolate
• Take coloring books to the hospital
• Volunteer at the food pantry or make a donation

Our annual Shrove Tuesday pancake supper had to be postponed due to the cold. We are pleased to announce that pancakes are back on! Please join us Sunday, March 21, from 11am-2pm for our “Should Have Been Shrove” pancake feed. See flyer below for more details.

At a special congregational meeting held via Zoom following worship on Sunday, October 25, 2020, the people of St. John’s offically adopted the most up-to-date version of the ELCA constitution and our bylaws.

Thank you to everyone who put in the work of reviewing and revising our constitution and bylaws. Your efforts are appreciated!

Today, August 9, at 3pm Central, there will be a special worship service — “Beloved: A Celebration of Women in Ministry” — in honor of the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ELCA. This service will feature the voices of women leaders in the church preaching, reading scripture, and doing lots of singing! Pastor Day has also contributed some vocals for this special service. Please click here to check it out (video should also continue to be available after the event).