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St. John Lutheran Church Newsletter
16 Great Rd., Sudbury, Ma 01776 978-443-8350
www.stjohnsudburyma.org
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Sharing Our Blessings Through Service | | |
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A congregational meeting to discuss budget and other 2024 topics and issues is scheduled for February 4, at 11 AM. Please provide all ministry annual reports to the office on or before January 22nd to: office@stjohnsudbury.org. Thank you!
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From the Pastor
Thoughts of Light & Dark
Epiphany is the season of presence. Christ is born! The Church is receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit’s vocation. We ponder light that shatters the darkness — and then we encounter something that every generation has to wrestle with, what used to seem somewhat benign presents problems with which we have to wrestle. CLICK HERE to continue reading.
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Events and Opportunities at St. John | |
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SENIORS POTLUCK LUNCH - JANUARY 16, 2024, AT NOON
ST. JOHN HERITAGE HALL
Please join us for our January Seniors potluck lunch as we gather together to share the blessings of food and fellowship. We would like to have some people bring salads or main dishes to balance out our usual good supply of deserts.
Please contact Royce Fuller at 978-897-8397 or royceaf11@gmail.com, to let us know you are coming and what you plan to bring. Beverages will be provided.
Sign up deadline is Today, January 12.
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St John Annual Christmas Smorgasbord
On Saturday, January 6th, the Fellowship Committee held our annual Christmas Smorgasbord. The event was extremely successful, as usual, with 49 attendees in their festive attire. We served the traditional Smorgasbord in three courses. The first course was the cold food table which consists of sil, deviled eggs, cold cuts / cheeses, lefse and limpa, just to name a few. The second course (hot food) consisted of poached salmon, meat balls, ham balls, kokkorv (homemade by Bart), scalloped potatoes, plus Scandinavian veggies. And the third course was the dessert table, which was filled with lots of homemade Scandinavian desserts - pastries, pies, cookies, cake, rice pudding, coffee ring, and a trifle.
Thank you to all who prepared the food and participated in this fun celebration of our Scandinavian heritage.
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Outreach Update and Opportunities | |
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Outreach Update
November and December were very active, productive months for St. John outreach efforts. Diaper donations were generous. Nine huge boxes, 9 small packs, plus wipes and a bag of baby-proofing items were delivered to Concord Community Chest for the Concord Best Western shelter. The shelter is housing 300 people, 80 of which are children ages 4 and under. Many thanks for keeping those babies clean!
St. John people came through big time for the Mitten Tree! Kids: hats - 26, mitten/hat sets - 6, mittens/gloves - 24 pairs. These went to AB Exchange at the Acton-Boxborough Resource Center, serving needy residents, as the Maynard Backpack program did not need them this year. The Outdoor Church was happy to receive the adult sizes donated: hats - 23, gloves - 15 pairs, scarves - 18, socks - 3 pairs. Thank you!
A sincere thank you to the warm-hearted St. John members, who donated gift cards totaling $1240. Outreach used T-Mobile funds to add $1000 for a total of $2240. This is one of the most generous amounts ever! The cards benefit Boys & Girls Club of Assabet Valley families in need.
St. John committed to supplying Holiday Dinners to the Maynard Food Pantry again this year. Jen Adams coordinated and, with help from Outreach and her son, Alex, boxed and delivered 8 complete dinners plus 2 boxes of extra food! Wow, St. John folks really were generous!
A heartfelt thank you to all St. John members who provided 3 weeks of dinners to support Jessica (formerly Matthew) Miller in recovery for upper body transitional surgery she had on Dec. 12th. She was very grateful for the “yummy” meals!
The Coat Drive for McLean Hospital is deployed in the lounge and coats, sweatshirts and sweatpants are coming in! We will keep this drive going into January.
Bulletin Board: Check out the Living Lutheran article highlighting the Navajo Lutheran Mission, with whom St. John has a long-standing supporting relationship.
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St John Prayer Shawl Ministry
20th Anniversary
A group of women in Hartford Connecticut began a Prayer Shawl Ministry in 1998 after completing a course at the Hartford Seminary. They started knitting shawls for women who were undergoing treatment for breast cancer and other illnesses. Then they did shawls for new mothers and then for those entering hospice. The intention was that the shawls would bring comfort to those who are ill, console those who are dying or grieving, bring hope to those who despair and as a celebration or to show love for another. The women made prayer shawls for Holocaust survivors who had not been able to have bar and bat mitzvahs as youth and were able to participate in the ceremony as adults. St. John began this tradition in January of 2004. CLICK HERE for full article.
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Housing Crises Around Us
Our Ministry to the community is influenced by the housing crisis in our area and beyond. Ascentria (formerly Lutheran Social Services) is focused on relocation of immigrants in Worcester, Springfield and Concord, NH. Additionally, St. John has long supported Family Promise in Metrowest which provides transitional housing assistance to family groups in temporary need. CLICK HERE for the full article.
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Youth and Family Ministries | |
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CONFIRMATION CONNECTION
As we continue to explore what it means to be Lutherans, we dove into The Lord’s Prayer in December. We introduced the prayer by thinking about the difference between knowing the words to something and thinking about the meaning of those words. Good news! We know all the words of The Lord’s Prayer! And we also have an understanding of what those words mean.
We also played a little Lord’s Prayer trivia. Can you answer these questions? CLICK HERE for the full article and the trivia.
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Sharing Christmas Cheer with Cambridge’s Outdoor Church
It was 12 noon of Christmas Eve eve, December 23rd. Youth and grown-ups from St John and Sudbury United Methodist Church (SUMC) gathered on the sidewalk in front of Harvard-Epworth Church in Harvard Square. We loaded a van full of food and clothing into 3 wagons and many bags as we prepared to share lunches, as well as homemade cookies and muffins, with street-dependent folks in Harvard and Central Squares in conjunction with Cambridge’s Outdoor Church.
It was a chilly day, but Christmas cheer was in the air as we shared the lunches of turkey, ham or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, fruit, and cookies.
And when we mentioned that we had socks, winter hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves? Folks happily “shopped” through the bags of items! We worked with everyone to find scarves and hats that coordinated with—or provided a colorful accent to—their outerwear. “Shoppers” smiled as they continued down the street wearing their new gear.
We are grateful to the St John members, as well as folks from SUMC and the Presbyterian Church in Sudbury, who regularly provide items for up to 120 bagged lunches for Outdoor Church parishioners. And we were thrilled to share all of the adult items that decorated our St John Mitten Tree with Cambridge’s street-dependent folks.
The “Sudbury Contingent” distributes lunches with the Outdoor Church on the 4th Saturday of each month. We provide sandwiches, chips, cookies, and fruit as well as water and muffins. And we provide the people power to share the lunches in Cambridge. If you would like to join the Outdoor Church volunteer list, please let Michelle Rose know at mrose@stjohnsudbury.org.
Founded in 2003, the Outdoor Church is an ecumenical Christian church for homeless and street-involved men and women in Cambridge. Each week, through worship services held outdoors and extensive programs of street outreach and pastoral visiting, the Outdoor Church shares a message of hope and unconditional love with those who need to hear it most. Staffed by clergy from different denominations and supported by over 40 local churches and organizations, the Outdoor Church has become a Cambridge institution. The hallmark of the ministry is consistency: worship services and street outreach take place year-round, in all seasons and weather.
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St John’s Super Bowl Squares for the Souper Bowl of Caring
Help our youth raise $1000 for local food pantries by buying one—or more—square(s) for $10 between now and Friday, February 9th. At our Souper Bowl of Caring BRIDGE event (Intergenerational Sunday School) on the morning of February 11th, we will randomly draw names of all contributors out of a hat and assign names to squares. If your square has the last digit of the score of both teams at the end of each quarter or the game, you will win a homemade soup dinner including soup, salad, bread, and dessert! Four dinners up for grabs!
To join the fun and sign up for squares, you can click this link to our Google Form https://forms.gle/5ngRwHYh1yY6Jxt36! Or call the church office.
Provide $10 for each square you are purchasing and place your donation in the offering plate or mail it to St John, 16 Great Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776. Note Souper Bowl of Caring in the memo section of your check or note Souper Bowl of Caring on your envelope if you are purchasing your squares with cash.
Another way to help is to purchase some non-perishable food items place them on the Food Pantry cart in the lounge by Sunday, February 11th. Outreach will deliver food donations to the Acton Food Pantry.
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THANK YOU!
Thank you to all of you who took the time to write a thoughtful note or to decorate leaves for this beautiful tree that you created for me. I always tell people that I love my job—and many marvel how that could possibly be true given all the balls to juggle. You, the people of St John, are the reason that I love what I do. You support me, inspire me, and encourage me to keep exploring new ideas.
With gratitude and faith,
Michelle
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Special Birthdays
Senior Ministry has a long-standing practice of honoring our members when they reach certain milestone ages. We celebrate and recognize people, starting with their 80th birthday, and every 5 years thereafter. The recognition is usually a brief overview of the individual's life with St. John, followed by the congregation singing happy birthday and finally a cake in the lounge after the service. A recent birthday celebration was for David VanCleave, on August 27, in honor of his 80th birthday.
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Join Calumet and the synod's AntiRacism Advisory Board for our next book discussion February 27 or 28.
The book is readily available for purchase in a variety of formats, hard and soft cover, audio and ebook versions (as well as at your local library). You may sign by following the link below.
Click Here for Link
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Reconciling in Christ
2024 marks the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation, which advocates for the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregations, and community.
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Sunday is an annual worship celebration created to share in the commitment our organization and partnering faith communities have in the ongoing work of welcome, inclusion, celebration, and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the church. This year's theme is inspired by Amos 5:24 'Let justice flow like a river, and righteousness flow like an unfailing stream.'
Stay tuned for details on St. John's RIC Sunday 2024. To learn more about ReconcilingWorks and RIC Sunday, visit their website: https://www.reconcilingworks.org/.
Social Justice Ministry
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Weekly/Monthly Opportunities | |
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Seniors Monthly
Pot Luck Lunches
Watch the weekly news for upcoming dates!
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Seniors on the Go book club
Meet Tuesdays at 11 am via Zoom. Watch the weekly news for details each week.
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Seniorcise
1/15/24 class will be held via Zoom as the office is closed.
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ZOOM Meeting to Discuss Race, Racism, and Antiracism.
Our group meets the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at 4:00 PM for informal, unstructured discussion about books, ideas, and experiences touching on race, racism, and antiracism. Please join us!
Any questions, contact Jan Nielsen at jrnielsen@charter.net
or 978-549-3044.
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Together: Called, Sent, Serving
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Giving to St. John
Giving to St. John can be done online, mail, or in person.
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You can go to the St. John website: https://www.stjohnsudburyma.org and click on Give in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This will take you to our giving platform, Tithely, where you can make an account and set up recurring donations or make a one time gift.
- You can mail in your donation to 16 Great Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776.
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You can pass in your donation during the passing of the offering plate during service or bring it into the office during office hours (978-443-8350).
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All Saints' Chapel
All Saints' Chapel is available as a place of prayer, meditation, and worship.
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WORSHIP ASSISTANTS NEEDED!
If you would like to sign up to serve as a Worship Assistant, sign-up sheets are located outside Heritage Hall. You can also join our distribution list to have access to sign up online. Call the office if you would like to be added.
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Church Communications
For all church calendar events, Zoom requests, weekly announcements, or newsletter articles, please forward them to Tracy at office@stjohnsudbury.org. The deadline for all weekly announcements is Tuesdays by noon. The deadline for monthly newsletter articles is last day of each month. To view previous newsletters, click here.
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Church Event Set-ups
If you have a church event listed on the calendar that requires a set-up or a task for our Sexton, George, you may now email that request to sexton@stjohnsudbury.org. George will also continue to check is mailbox for those who prefer to leave a note. Please be reminded that George works Mon-Wed-Fri 10-2 p.m.,and will review these requests during his work hours. Please be sure your request gives George the appropriate time to fulfill your request. Thank you!
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Church Calendar
If you have an event or church meeting to add to the church calendar, please submit your request to office@stjohnsudbury.org, or call the office with your request so we can keep the church calendar up-to-date!
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Giving Envelopes
Giving Envelopes for 2024 will be available in the Narthex after 12/14/23. If you currently do not use envelopes but would like to, please let Sharon Horton know at sk2horton@yahoo.com, and she will set you up with them.
Giving Statements
The 2023 year-end giving statements will be mailed out in the next week via regular mail and email.
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Friendly Reminder on Email/Text Scams
Always be alert to email and text SCAMS targeting churches. If you ever receive an unexpected email or text message from Pastor Eric or any of the church staff regarding donations (e.g. gift cards, financial contributions, or purchases), please do not reply, open attachments, or click on links. Instead, contact the church office immediately. Your safety and security are most important to us.
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