A message from the St. John Executive Board:
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of our lives since March 2020 when churches were closed to prevent the spread of the virus. The St. John Lutheran Church Executive Committee, Council, and staff are committed to protecting the health and welfare of the members of our congregation and have prepared a reopening plan that outlines what church activities are allowed as we progress further into the COVID-19 pandemic. This was based on reviewing current government and ELCA publications, health authority publications, and interviews with local health providers. It is a complicated situation with no easy answers. Once the plan is approved, it will be made available to the congregation. No matter what phase of the plan we are operating under, we ask that all members follow the recommendations to help mitigate the spread of the virus, practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and proper hand hygiene (soap and water or 60%+ alcohol hand sanitizer). Be responsible. Do not attend or visit the church if you are feeling ill, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, have a compromised immune system, or are at high risk of exposing others. The best way you can love your neighbor is to protect their health and yours. If at any point in time a parishioner becomes ill with COVID-19 and has been in attendance at church, a small group, or worship service, the parishioner is highly encouraged to contact Pastor Leeper or church office staff immediately in order that the church may assist with contact tracing and initiate appropriate disease mitigation processes. The Executive Committee and Church Council asks that the members of St. John please remain patient throughout the reopening process, keeping in mind this may take some time to work through. This is new territory for all of us and we are endeavoring to make the best decisions we can. As the people of St. John, we must be prepared to take a few steps forwards and possibly many steps backwards at any point in time. The Church Council is committed to regularly reviewing the reopening process and making scientific, fact-based decisions in conjunction with thorough moral deliberation that benefits the well-being of all the people of St. John and the greater Charles City community.
Though the St. John building is closed to the public, you can call the office with any questions or concerns. When staff is there your call will be answered, otherwise leave a voicemail for Kathy. When you call the office after the announcement there is a short pause and then her voicemail. Kathy can check her voicemail from home. You can also reach her by emailing
khoeft@stjohncharlescity.com.
Linda Reit will be calling for Meals on Wheels drivers! St. John drives the weeks of June 8th & June 15th. If you would like to volunteer, you can call Linda at 641-220-1720.
A member of the St. John congregation has 2 iPads that she is willing to lend to someone who would like to watch the Sunday morning service on YouTube. She will clean and sanitize them, deliver to you, and pick them up. The recording does not require internet because it is copied onto the ipads. If anyone is interested in one call the church office at 641-228-3397 and leave a message.
The June Good Newsletter with all sorts of information is ready and can be accessed in several ways. You can click on this link below and get a .pdf of the newsletter,
or you can go to the church and pick up a physical copy in the church mailbox in the
afternoon
or go to the church website and access it online. You can get to the website by clicking on the St. John logo at the very top of the e-Skinny.
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We are God's People and we are
"
God's Love in Action
".
From the Church Council: A Time of Opportunity
We would like volunteers to call some of our members during this time of isolation. We would like to make a list of people that would like to call and also those that would perhaps enjoy that call.
We have an "errand group" to help those of you that are older or more health compromised that might need something picked up at the grocery store, etc. Let the office know if you require this help.
We have a member who works in Mason City and has volunteered to run errands to and from there Monday – Thursday. To volunteer or to have calls and errands done for you call the church office at 641-228-3397 and leave a message for Kathy. You can also email her at khoeft@stjohncharlescity.com
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Thank you to all of you that have been mailing in your offerings.
To keep up with your offerings: they can be mailed to St. John at 200 S. Main St, Charles City, IA 50616
or to sign up for Simply Giving, click on this link for a printable form:
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To get to the church website, click at the top of this page on the
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church
logo.
Other emails are available on the website.
To call the church
(641)228-3397
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YOUTH NEWS
WIYLDE
has been postponed and the format changed because Synod Assembly has been postponed. Laurie will advertise the new date as soon as we know when it is.
Summer Mission Trip 2020
– The trip to North Dakota has been canceled for this year because of safety concerns with traveling and staying and working in such close quarters. (We also do not know if the church where we planned to stay would even have been open to out-of-state guests by that time.) We hope to go to North Dakota in the future as I think it will be a great trip!
VBS
– In-person VBS has been canceled for this summer due to safety concerns of being in large groups. The Parish Education board is currently deciding whether we will try some form of online VBS later in the summer or cancel for this year.
Preschool
On May 15, Carleen, Pastor Russ, Gma Evelyn, Gma Cindy, and Whittney had a drive-through “Moving-On” Ceremony for our friends going on to Kindergarten! It was definitely NOT the way we wanted this to happen, however it was great to see their SHINY SMILING faces!! They pulled up to Mrs. Laue to get their supplies left at preschool, then drove up to Pastor Russ to receive their “mortarboard”, then drove to me to get their “diploma” and get a picture, and then finished with the grandmas passing out a bubble wand and a balloon!
We are excited to welcome many of our preschool friends back for the afternoon classes next year and are also anxious to meet many new friends. We do have a few openings in our program, but spots are filling up fast! Our morning classes (there is a 2-day and 3-day option) are open to any child who will be at least 3 on or before September 15, 2020. Our afternoon classes (there is a 3-day and 5-day option) are open to any child who will be at least 4 on or before September 15, 2020. Please call the preschool (228-7274) if you would like more information.
