In church worship guidelines changed a bit starting last week. We are allowing anyone to register for a slot beginning Monday, no more alternating weekends. The spacing allows for 50 people to worship each Sunday and when that limit is reached the registration will be stopped. Masks are required.
Please call in by Thursday at 4 p.m. so we can get the seating chart made for the ushers, so social distancing can be maintained. This also allows for contact tracing in the case we learn of a person attending that later develops the covid infection.

We will continue the virtual service but want you to have more options. Remember, for the in-church worship you need to come in through the Narthex door to attend worship.


For the virtual Sunday Service, click on the image above and you will be directed to the YouTube page where the worship service is located or click this link: St. John YouTube.
The new one is usually uploaded on Saturday so check back and click to watch. You can also listen to the podcast by clicking on the podcast image at the bottom of the page or.....

As always, you can listen on KCHA Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

The weekly Taking Faith Home and the bulletin are here on the website.

****The St. John Council has decided that boards can meet in person in the church building. It will be limited to one board per day. Contact Kathy Hoeft to put your board on the calendar.****


ANGEL TREE
We will soon be doing our Angel Tree tags. Due to Covid 19, we have made some adjustments to our normal process.



  1.  I will have tags available for those of you that wish to do your own shopping. If you would like a specific tag, we can do that over the phone, and I will mail the tag to you. (Shirley Holm 641-330-8336) These gifts will need to be returned by December 6th. They can be dropped off at our table during the drive thru communion on December 6th.
  2. If you would prefer that we do the shopping and wrapping, you can make a donation and we will be happy to provide that service for you.
  3. To make a donation for a tag, religious material, or a family food voucher we do have options available. We will have a donation table at the drive thru communion in November and December. You may donate by cash or check. Checks can be made out to St. John with Angel Tree written on the memo line. Donations may also be dropped off or mailed to St. John.
These are trying times and we would like to thank each of you in advance for remembering these children by putting “God’s Love in Action” through the Angel Tree ministry.
It has been an honor to work with Jean Rima on Angel Tree for the past 13 years. Jean has decided to step down from her position as Co-Chair. We thank her for all the work she has done to build this ministry over the years!
Jessie Holm will be the new Co-Chair of Angel Tree.
In Christ,
Shirley Holm
 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parish Ed News

Confirmation began October 7th via zoom, but the Council has approved the return to in-church confirmation with precautions. More information to follow.

Confirmation Sunday is postponed, but will be scheduled for a date, hopefully soon.

Plans for in-church Sunday School are also in process. Stay tuned for more information as it is developed. Virtual Sunday School is happening now for registered kids.

The First and Fourth Grade St. John Sunday School students will be receiving their Bibles during the month of October. We will be blessing those that have received Bibles during the online and in-person worship service on Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2020.

First & Fourth Grade students receiving Bibles in October

First Grade:                                      Fourth Grade:
Nathalia Esther Dean                       Graham James Hansen
Nathan Michael Korbel                     Sierra Lynn Hinz
Laker James Kubik                          Ajay Ryan Johnson
Abigail Jo Lacour                             Tyler James Parish
Melia Jocey Lantz                             Owen William Prichard
Cameron William Lessin                   Riley Jean Quade
Anna Maye Mehmen                         Benjamin Henry Tracey
Addison Grace Merrifield                  Isaiah Keaton Watkins
Olive Kate Tracey                                        

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though the St. John building is closed to the public, you can call the office with any questions or concerns from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., otherwise leave a voicemail for Kathy. You can also reach her by emailing khoeft@stjohncharlescity.com. 



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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REOPENING INFORMATION
 A reopening team of church staff, Deacons, and ushers have planned for a safe return to in-house worship at church.  There are safety guidelines to follow, including a registration system to attend, social distancing, and mask wearing by everyone. Only those that are preregistered will be admitted.

Members and Friends of St. John Lutheran,
 
The Church Council has made the decision to begin offering a weekly in-person worship option in addition to our weekly online and radio services. We will have one, in-person service on Sundays at 9 AM. The following instructions were taken from the in-person worship plan and are intended to help make the in-person worship experience meaningful and safe:
•  There will be a limit of 50 people for each worship service to maintain social distancing.
•  All worshipers will need to register by 4 PM on Thursday before the Sunday service by calling the church office. Only registered worshipers will be admitted.
•  Entry and exit will be through the main doors which will open at 8:45 AM Sundays. Worshipers will need to check-in with a greeter as they enter the building.
•  Face masks will be required for those five years and older. We will provide a face mask for anybody who needs one.
•  All worshipers will be ushered to their seats to maintain physical distancing between family groups.
•  Communion will be offered at every service so that it’s available whenever worshipers are able to attend. We will not be singing or speaking in unison, any singing and responsive readings will be pre-recorded.
•  Please read the full plan for additional information.
 
 An on-line video explaining the modified in-person worship is available. HERE is the link.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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:

On the St. John Website is a Digital Simply Giving tab which will allow you to manage your electronic giving from home! You can decide how much you would like to give, the frequency and which fund you would like your donation to go to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To get to the church website, click at the top of this page on the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church logo.

https://www.facebook.com/stjohncc will get you to the Facebook page

An email address you can use to get a message to the church khoeft@stjohncharlescity.com
Other emails are available on the website.

To call the church (641)228-3397
“Drive Through Communion”
We will have “Drive Through Communion" on the 1st Sunday of each month between 10 a.m. and noon. We will ask that you enter the parking lot at the top. You will proceed down to the canopy where you will be handed a disposable communion cup with wafer. Next you will proceed to the pastor to partake of communion. Gluten free cups will be available.

Click on the icon to go to the church podcast.