God’s Beloved, Blessings for the month of May, a month of many opportunities at St. John. • Saturday, May 4th is Spring Cleaning, at 9:00 a.m. come when you can • Sunday, May 5th our 8th grade confirmation students will have a chance to celebrate all their hard work with a bowling outing, followed by them serving the community dinner at First Presbyterian Church. • Monday, May 6th the Book Club will meet to discuss The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. • Sunday, May 12th we will celebrate Mother’s Day and all of our graduating seniors with a Blessing of the Blankets. • Tuesday, M ..read more

God’s Beloved, Blessings for the month of April. A popular slogan for this month has often been April showers, brings May flowers. A time of year when we often need rain; to refresh the lands and rivers around us, to give way to hope, and to help birth new creation only found during spring (and maybe to help melt some snow from the most recent snowfall). As we know, God is always bringing about new beginnings. And God does so even with the element of rain. Rain is necessary for plants to grow, to replenish our fresh water reserves, and is a reminder of God’s presence and God’s promises. The p ..read more

God’s Beloved, Blessings for the month of March, a month of many happenings, especially this year with how the Liturgical Calendar falls. A few things we will observe together are Daylight Savings, The Spring Equinox, Holy Week, and Easter. With the longer daylight hours, it feels as though the earth is waking from its long winter slumber. A time for us in Wisconsin to wonder, when will the last snowfall be? When will we see those hearty and beautiful spring flowers? The start of spring is a time of anticipation, excitement, and hope. Which can be wonderful, while at the same time, this can p ..read more

God’s Beloved, Grace and peace to you all. I hope you had a joyful Christmas and a very happy new year! Now that the new year is upon us, let us pray. Renewing God, with hearts of gratitude, we give thanks for the start of a new year. A time when possibilities seem endless, when life shimmers with excitement and hope. Inspire and fuel the people of St. John. Open us to the movement of your Spirit, and help us deepen our relationship with you and with one another. As we journey together, may Christ’s light illuminate our path and guide us this new year. Amen.” The new year and all of its pos ..read more

God’s Beloved, Grace and peace to you all. February is upon us, and with that we look to Ash Wednesday and Lent. Our mid-week Lenten services this year will be, Created for Community. As our ELW states, We are created for communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation.”   As I recently discussed with our confirmation students, Lent is a sacred time. It is a time to reflect, repent, acknowledge, anticipate, and hope. In addition to this, Lent, in the early church, was a time of intense preparation. Preparation specifically for those who would be baptized on ..read more

God’s Beloved & Members of St. John, Blessings for this month of October. I look forward to kicking off the month with our Fall Chili Raffle & Living River Concert on Sunday, October 1! October is an important month for our church and other Lutheran churches, as many will celebrate Reformation by commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-five Theses.  We will commemorate Reformation on Sunday, October 29 (actual day of Reformation is October 31). In addition to Martin Luther, October is also a month to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi (his day of commemoration is Octo ..read more

God’s Beloved & Members of St. John, I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I hope you also found many moments to connect with yourself, with others, and with God. I am excited for fall, and for the different ministries taking place at St. John. A reminder, our official fall kick off will be on Sunday, September 10 with Rally Sunday/Blessing of the Backpacks/Potluck/Parking Lot Meeting. I look forward to our time together as we continue to discern the ways of the Spirit here at St. John. I value all of your dedication and commitment as members. And I am grateful for all of you, as you mak ..read more

God’s Beloved, Grace and peace to you for this month of December. I know December is a busy month and that it can be a hard month. It can be hard for many reasons: it’s the last month of the year and you may be asking yourself, where did the time go? Holidays can be stressful, lonely, or involve a lot of traveling. It is dark, cold, and the weather is ever changing… Usually not for the better. And yet, there are many beautiful blessings that December brings. For outdoor enthusiasts (with enough snow) one can go snowshoeing, skiing, sledding, and snowmobiling. There are holiday movies, family ..read more

God’s Beloved & Members of St. John, Blessings this November. I look forward to a fun filled month at St. John! We will start off the month with our Vacation Bible School Recap on Sunday, November 5. Get ready for a joyful service filled with song, dance, and praise. Here we will learn the many ways to Shine Jesus’ Light! November is a beautiful time to be reminded about Jesus’ light, especially as the world grows darker around us here in the northern hemisphere with shorter hours of daylight. A time when creation starts to settle in for the long winter ahead. A time when we come together ..read more

God’s Beloved & Members of St. John, I hope you have found time to enjoy the summer and that you continue to find joy this summer. May your days be filled with gladness, peace, energy, and rest. And even though these warm and beautiful months are among us, filled with light and life—summer can be difficult—especially when the outside sunshine does not mirror how you feel inside. And in those moments, the good news is, you have another light to turn to, the light of Christ. For Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light no darkness can overcome. Light that can seep into your hardest ..read more