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Our Mission Statement

We of Joy Lutheran Church foster 
grace-filled relationships with Christ
through worship, fellowship, and service.
Notes of Joy - Week of February 21, 2021
Gospel: Mark 1:9-15
On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah’s family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world.
Sunday, February 21 Worship
In-person and Online

First Sunday in Lent

Sunday School and Confirmation are after worship at 10:15am.

Our Sunday worship is also available on the Facebook app at 9:30 am., or online any time after 10:15am.


Wednesday Lenten Services

Midweek Lent Services will be provided virtually this year every Wednesday at 7:00pm on our Facebook page.
Upcoming Pastoral Candidate Visit - March 5-9th  
In case you missed it, the Call Committee and the Church Council are recommending candidate Pastor Sean Avery, to be considered as our next Pastor! He and his wife, Becky, will be coming up for a "meet and greet" and will be at Sunday worship March 7th. Please keep the Avery's and Joy's discernment process in prayer. 

We are also still looking for any donations such as a gas card or restaurant certificates for them while they are here as we will be picking up all the expenses of this trip. It is an exciting time!

Thank you ALL who have offered your airlines miles
to bring the Averys to Alaska! We have been blessed
with more offers than we need at this time.
We will keep you in mind if needed again in the near future.
You are all so generous!
In Case You Are Wondering:
In case you missed it, our Office Manager position went from full time to part-time on February 1st. We are so lucky that Jan Deering has remained in the position. You will still see her smiling face in the office, just not as often. 

  • Office Manager: Tues. - Wed. (10-5), Thurs. (10-4)

  • Pastor Karen in Office: Mondays and Thursdays 

**New deadline for "Notes of Joy" and Sunday bulletin announcements: Wednesday by 4:00 pm
Council News

The Joy Church Council met on Tuesday February 9th. We welcomed our newly elected council members and elected officers for the coming year. Our members are: Sue Weimer (president), Tom Bird (vice president), Scooter Bentson (secretary), Debbie Bird, Heather Slocum, Corrine Finnie, Kelly Mulin, Kristi Swain, Charlotte Kotlarchuk and Rachel Christman. Clarke Hemphill is our treasurer. This is a great team and we look forward to an exciting year ahead. Please keep your council in your prayers.

-Sue Weimer
Would you like to learn more about storytelling?
​On Thursday, February 25, 5 PM, the Alaska Synod of the ELCA is hosting a synod-wide workshop on storytelling. It's called: I Love to Tell the Story: Finding and telling stories of God at work. It will explore how to identify stories of God at work through your congregation or ministry and how to tell those stories for impact.
Joy of Reading Book Club
Joy of Reading Book Club meets the third Monday of every month at 6:30 PM. 

Recently our meetings have been ZOOM meetings, but we would like to meet in-person for our March Meeting if everyone feels comfortable with that. We will wait until a week before to make a final decision on whether it will be ZOOM or in-person, leaving our options open.

The book for March will be Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. It is a botanist’s memoir - in the Science section! Sue Weimer will lead the discussion. We hope you can join us even if you don’t get a chance to read the book.
Adult and Youth Readers
This year as a way to include more ages, we will be aiming for 2 Readers per Sunday - one adult and one youth. Lately we have had some fantastic readers - young and old! The sign-up Worship Assistant Schedule is on the Opportunities bulletin board in the upper narthex. 
Needed: Worship Service Recorders on Sunday 9:30am 
  • You do not provide the equipment
  • We provide the device
  • It is quite simple
  • You can be trained in 10 minutes
  • We would like to increase our pool of people willing to do this!
New Church Directory
We are creating a new directory for Church uses only. Its important to have this updated for our membership and for the new Pastor who will be arriving hopefully soon! Please look at how your entry is listed. Make any changes needed and initial your entry as your indication that we have your permission to place your information in the Directory as written.  
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Children's Message - Saturday at Noon
Pr. Karen records a 3-5 minute message for young people each week. The Children's Message is available on Facebook every Saturday at noon. Click the Facebook link above.
Library
We have a Church library filled with children and adult books on the West side of the building. Free lending.... take one home and return after you have finished reading. 
Food Pantry Donations Needed! 
This can be a very difficult time for families. Bring your food donations to church on Sunday or you’re welcome to call ahead to drop them during the week.  Special need: empty egg cartons
The next Church Council meeting is
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 7:00pm